Surefoot 19: Star Crossed

It felt... good.

He looked to his fellow cadets. "Nancy, focus on measuring the ionising fields surrounding the debris; Soo, scan for residual thruster energy from Cardassian vessels, plot and calculate age and type."

Nancy Yeager glanced up. "Are you looking for anything in particular, Jonas- I mean, Lieutenant?"

Now Jonas allowed himself a smile; once, Nancy had been vitriolic in her opinion of him and his suitability for Starfleet after his emotional wobbles, but that had changed in recent months. She had even been supportive of his promotion, and so her remarks just now didn't sound critical or taunting. "'Jonas' will do, I'll be that a lot longer than I'll be 'Lieutenant'. And I want baseline readings on the background radiation absorption for some of that older debris."

"Gotcha." She returned to her monitors.

He opened a channel. "Sureswift to Littlepaw: what's your status, Mx Ledit?"

The friendly voice made Jonas blink. "Systems nominal, Sir, and datastream maintained, but watch yourselves, these phenomena are unpredictable. Do you require anything else, Sir?"

Jonas exchanged glances with Rrori before replying, "If I do, I'll let you know. Sureswift out." He smirked. "Wow. Are we sure Ledit's not been replaced by an android duplicate?"

The Caitian shrugged. "It's been just a profound change, I just assumed s/he was getting some."

"Ledit's been nice to everyone," Yeager pointed out from her station. "If s/he's getting some, it must be spectacular."

"Maybe it's secretly Rrori?" Soo teased, her olive-green Rigellian face brightening with mischief.

"Rrori wouldn't," Jonas replied, but then looked to his friend. "Would you?"

Rrori started to retort, but then seemed to genuinely consider it. "It would be interesting. Two sets of genitalia. I wouldn't be bored."

Jonas laughed at that - but then grew serious as he was alerted to new data. "Soo, turn your scans to that clump of Cardassian debris at 119 Mark 47."

Soolamea leaned forward in her chair, frowning. "Looks like nothing more than ancillary debris from a Galor-class vessel. Scorch marks, ionisation, particulates... everything you'd expect."

"Not everything. Nancy, can you get more detailed readings on the background radiation absorption patterns?"

"Not from here, at the current fidelity levels."

"Mr Darcy, can you boost the sensors further?"

The crewman shook his head. "Sorry, Lieutenant, I can't change the Laws of Physics."

Jonas nodded in acknowledgement. "Mr Rrori, take us closer."

The Caitian looked to him. "Are you sure? These cosmic waters are particularly choppy and treacherous. I'll have great difficulty in handling it."

"Yes, but think of all the females back on the Surefoot who will swoon to the tales of your struggle with the forces of the mighty Arkady Cluster."

"That is very true. I must think of them."

Jonas smiled and reopened the channel. "Sureswift to Littlepaw."

"Yes, Sir?"

"We're moving further into Arkady. If there's an ion spike and we lose the engines, you'll have to come in and tractor us out. Acknowledge."

"Acknowledged, Sir, and please be careful."

As Jonas closed the channel, Rrori switched to the Manual Steering Column, announcing, "Secure yourselves, people, we may hit turbulence-"

As if in illustration, the Sureswift shuddered and seemed to drop like an aircraft in an atmosphere, before Rrori recovered and put them back on course towards the debris clump Jonas had identified. Jonas ignored the churn of turbulence and fear in his stomach to focus on the readings, scanning the individual pieces they found... "Mr Darcy, access the tractor controls, lock on to the items whose readings I'm sending you."

"Tractor controls? You want to bring back some souvenirs?"

"Yes. I've identified three, possibly four items that the Captain will want to see."

"I'm all for being thorough, Jonas," Rrori ventured. "But you don't think you're overgrooming the fur, do you-"

Then he stopped as Jonas shot him a look, before looking to the others. "I'm not at liberty to go into details about the reasons we're out here, but you can imagine it's important. Rrori, coordinate with Darcy on using the aft tractor array to hook the items."

No one argued further. Jonas watched everyone at work as the Sureswift passed near the floating debris.

Seconds later, Darcy announced, "Got 'em, Lieutenant!"

Suddenly the lights flickered and the shuttle lurched hard to port and went to Red Alert, the occupants holding on as Rrori declared, "Ion spike! We've lost the engines!"

Jonas stayed calm. "Darcy, keep hold of those parts!" He opened the channel again. "Littlepaw! We've lost power! Get in here and tractor us out, on the double!"

For a moment, there was silence, and for a terrible moment Jonas feared the communications panel was down as well.

But then Ledit finally replied, "I'm sorry, Sir, but I can't do that."

Jonas blinked, not quite sure what he heard. "What did you say?"

"The ion spikes are too dangerous, I can't make it to you."

"Is he kidding?" Rrori exclaimed.

Jonas leaned forward, grasping the edge of the console as shuddering increased. "Ledit, you don't have to be scared, it's safe enough for you! The chances of your shuttle losing power from another spike are thousands to one! Now get in here and tractor us out! That's an order!"

"I'm very sorry, Sir, I'll do my best to find a way around it, but I can't guarantee I'll make it in time. Ensign Ledit out."

"Ledit!" Jonas cursed, tried reaching the Surefoot, failed, and struggled to keep his heart from racing as he looked out into the stormfield; tossed about like this, it wouldn't be long before they slammed into some debris out here, and end up the latest in a long line of ships that underestimated the power of Arkady.

*

In the Littlepaw, Ledit watched the readings of the area surrounding the Sureswift, not believing hir luck - or the opportunity that had arisen.

S/he went to the replicator and produced a Kasala fruit juice, putting hir feet up on the co-pilot's seat as s/he sipped, smiling. Finally, steeling hirself, s/he sat up and opened a channel, quickening hir breath before announcing, "Surefoot, this is Ensign Ledit on the Littlepaw! The Sureswift has been damaged by an ion spike! They're requesting I move in to tractor them out, but the situation is still dangerous!"

S/he sipped at hir drink again and counted the seconds, before the reply came from Lt Neheru. "Littlepaw, this is Surefoot: we are commencing emergency undocking procedures from the Tempest and are on our way. Take no unnecessarily risky actions to endanger your own life. Keep us apprised. Surefoot out."

Ledit's smile became a grin, as s/he watched the image of the other shuttle bob and weave on the gravimetric eddies, pushing it towards a large collection of ship debris. He could sweep in now, affect a dramatic rescue and earn kudoes; the ionisation was already ebbing in the area.

Or... s/he could just sit here and see what happens. Seeing that upstart mongrel Ostrow and his little friends killed could open up much for hir...

*

On the Sureswift, Jonas felt himself fighting, needing to stay in control, for the sake of the others. He had no time to wallow in rage at Ledit, or panic at their predicament, or kick himself for killing his shipmates and himself on his first mission as Strategic Engineering Officer.

He did think about Neraxis, though. About never seeing her again, and about all that foolishness he had hesitating being intimate with her, just because he might need sex aids. So what? You idiot! You idiot! He swallowed; he needed to stay in control-

Control... "Rrori! We still have manoeuvring thrusters! They won't get us out, but they'll stabilise us! Darcy, keep a lock on that debris! Soo, have we still got a datastream link running to the Sureswift?"

The Rigellian glanced at her monitor. "Yes, but why?"

Jonas didn't answer her until his hands danced over his own monitors, replacing the Engineering data with the Remote Control screens. "I signed out both shuttles in my name. As per Flight Ops Regulations, I was required to memorise the prefix codes of both vessels-"

"Oooh!" Rrori cooed in understanding. "You're going to take over the Littlepaw and remote pilot it in to rescue us!"

"No, you're going to remote pilot it in." He nodded to Rrori's own panel. "Link established through the datastream. You should have access now, and see through the other shuttle's sensors."

Rrori worked the control, laughing. "Jonas, if this gets us out, I'll make sweet love to you all night long!"

"There's no need for that," Jonas assured him. "Really no need."

*

Ledit had been finishing hir drink when the Littlepaw's engines suddenly powered up and the vessel lurched - spilling the remainder on hir uniform. S/he sat up, tossing aside the container and moving hir fingers over the controls - without success. What was going on? A malfunction? The Cardassians?

Then s/he realised, as s/he scanned the readout. Damn you, Ostrow... Ledit considered breaking the connection, but that would certainly show up in the inevitable enquiry.

S/he opened a channel. "Littlepaw to Surefoot: I'm going in to rescue them, will keep you posted, over and out."

Now s/he cleaned hirself up as s/he worked out hir story...

*

Hrelle was on the toilet when the Red Alert sounded, but he kept that part to himself as he left his Ready Room and entered the Bridge. "Status!"

Neheru straightened up from his Ops station, his tangerine-coloured skin flushed. "Distress signal from the shuttles, Captain! The Sureswift was struck by an ion spike, and the Littlepaw states it's too dangerous to enter! I have initiated emergency undocking procedures!"

Hrelle nodded and took his seat, his mind racing as he considered what he had done. He should have waited. He had enough to work on here, he didn't have to send Jonas out there. But Hrelle had been so eager to give the cub a chance to prove himself, to shine- if Hrelle had got him hurt, or worse-

A furred hand rested on his shoulder. He didn't look away from the main viewscreen, didn't have to, to know who it was. "They're in danger-"

"Maybe," Kami murmured softly. "But that shuttle is full of the Best and the Brightest."

"I sent them out there..."

"Yes, you did. And you will again. And when something likes this happens, you will feel exactly the same way. But you won't change, because you know how things work."

"Captain!" Neheru announced, "We've just completed undocking, but now I'm picking up another signal from the Littlepaw!"

"Let's hear it," Hrelle ordered, as Kami released her hold on him.

Ledit's voice filled the air. "Littlepaw to Surefoot: I'm going in to rescue them, will keep you posted, over and out."

Hrelle blinked, nodding with approval. "We'll continue on to meet them. Helm, lay in an intercept course, Warp 6 - Engage!" As the ship shuddered into warp drive, he grunted to himself, "That's unexpected. Nice to see that Ledit's improved-"

"Has he?" Kami asked cryptically.

Before he could enquire further, the ship dropped back into real space and stopped. "What's happened?"

Lt Velkovsky glanced over her shoulder at him. "Nothing, Sir. We weren't that very far away. At Warp 6, 'not very far away' is really not very far away."

"Smart ass." He watched as the two shuttles approached, the first one tractoring the second one, the second one tractoring something smaller. He rose from his seat. "Hrelle to T'Varik: meet me in the Shuttlebay." To Neheru he added, "Take us back to the Tempest and recommence docking once they're back onboard."

*

Hrelle and T'Varik were entering as the Shuttlebay doors were closing, the shuttles and their tractors had shut down, and the cadets were emerging - Jonas rushing out towards Ledit, Rrori and Darcy struggling to hold him back as he shouted, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The senior officers raced up, Hrelle getting between the two cadets as T'Varik snapped, "Mr Ostrow! Calm down at once and explain yourself! That's an order!"

It took a few seconds before Jonas complied, his face taut and red, his breathing heavy, and his furious gaze seemed to burn through Hrelle towards Ledit. "When our engines died, we called for him to rescue us, but he refused! He was willing to let us die!"

Hrelle turned, looking at Ledit, his own face tightening. "Is this true, Ensign?"

The Hermat stared back in anger and indignation. "Certainly not, Sir! As I reported, it was too dangerous for me to go in at that time! If I'd gone in immediately, both of us would have ended up disabled, maybe even destroyed! I was merely waiting for the right opportunity!"

"You lying bastard!" Jonas made a move, as Rrori re-tightened his grip on his friend.

Until Hrelle reached out and placed his hands on either side of Jonas' head, making the young man stop and listen as he instructed, "We will deal with this, Lieutenant, I promise you. But you have a job to do. Put this aside for now, and report."

Jonas looked up at him, visibly recovering himself and straightening up, as Hrelle and Rrori released him. "Y-Yes, Sir." He swallowed before continuing. "Sir, we've discovered something, out in Arkady... we brought back physical evidence."

Hrelle nodded. "So I see. Care to take me over and give me a brief summary before you prepare your report?"

"Yes, Sir."

Hrelle motioned him towards the Cardassian debris, glancing once more at Ledit, before looking to T'Varik. "I'll work on the Tempest mission; you deal with this. And I want it dealt with yesterday."

The Vulcan nodded, unprepared to argue the temporal impossibility of his request. "Aye, Sir."

*

The Conference Room was as crowded as Hrelle had ever seen it, even if one of them was holographic: Admiral Tattok, standing near Hrelle's desk, his coal-black eyes darting between Captain Acres and the other officers of the Tempest, the images on wallscreens of the Captains of the Hurricane, Tornado and Zephyr, the other border ships in this sector, and Kami and Lieutenants C'Rash and Ostrow, who was now moving around the table, pointing to the holographic recreations of the Cardassian pieces he had brought back from Arkady. "We found these, and identical pieces, scattered in the area in seemingly random locations. They were made to look like scrap, wreckage, left behind from the last War. But they're not."

"And how do you know this, Lieutenant?" Tattok asked, his elderly slate-grey scales seeming to reflect the light from the holoprojector in his office.

"Arkady emits specific wavelengths of ionisation, Admiral, that are absorbed by anything near it. The longer the exposure, the greater the absorption. Most of the debris out there has been around for years; these pieces have only absorbed a few weeks' worth, at most. The Cardassians could fake scorch marks, collateral explosive scarring, but not that."

Tattok nodded, his diminutive size belying the level of authority he exuded. "Continue."

"Yes, Admiral." Jonas' hand moved over one spectral image like a stage magician, as the image expanded to reveal its distinctive features. "This is the piece that first caught my attention. It has many of the components of a typical probe: manoeuvring thrusters, microtractor beams, sensors, a shielded memory core."

"But it's not a probe," Hrelle prompted.

"No, Captain. It's designed to activate at a predetermined time in the future, seek out these other pieces, and a couple of others we didn't retrieve, and assemble itself into something else."

"Into what?"

"A Cardassian navigation buoy."

Standing nearby, Acres sneered. "You're wrong!"

Jonas looked to him, momentarily wondering how to respond to the outburst, before settling for, "With respect, Sir, I'm not. We accessed the memory of the unit we retrieved and confirmed its purpose. And there are others out there, enough to become at least six buoys, crossing the stars between our side of Arkady, and the Cardassians'. "

"And what would be the purpose of all this?" Tattok asked, though it sounded like he already knew, and merely spoke for the record.

Hrelle faced the image now. "Navigational buoys would be required to safely traverse Arkady, but if the Cardassians had seeded intact buoys, we would have detected them. But they could, and did, seed the pieces of said buoys, pieces designed to assemble themselves at a later time, and allow a Cardassian strike force to cross over, in an area of the border they know is thinly patrolled, because we assume Arkady would be sufficient protection." He looked to Acres. "All they needed was an excuse to be near Arkady, and the unwitting help of a Starfleet officer too... distracted... to get suspicious and report their presence."

"No!" Acres exclaimed. "You're lying! This is just a conspiracy to keep Nerim and me apart!"

Hrelle glanced at a bemused Jonas. "Thank you, Lieutenant, excellent work. You're dismissed - and you remain bound to keep the details of this inquiry confidential."

Jonas nodded. "Yes, Sir."

After the young man left, Hrelle faced Acres, his expression a mix of anger and sympathy. "You were chosen, Captain, carefully studied, so that a Cardassian agent, probably an operative of the Obsidian Order, could become your perfect lover. And slowly but surely, he eroded your objectivity, your sense of duty, and gradually you broke more and more regulations as you became wrapped up in your own delusions-"

"No!" Acres was reddening, almost shaking, and he glanced at his officers - including Commander Olir and Lt Commander Blum - before facing Hrelle and the holographic Tattok. "I'm not some lovesick teenager! There must be some other explanation for this! There must be!"

Hrelle regarded him for a moment, before tapping his combadge. "Bridge: is that other transmission still open?"

"Yes, Sir, though they have complained about the delay-"

"Patch it through to us here."

"Aye, Sir."

Seconds later, a nearby wallscreen came to life, presenting the image of an older Cardassian with the senior rank of Legate. His clay-grey skin was cracked and wrinkled, and he was missing some of the ridges around his face, but his dark marble-like eyes flared with vitality - and impatience. "It is about time, Captain. You might have all day to waste, but some of us have busy schedules."

"Thank you for your patience, Legate Hovat," Hrelle replied, not sounding too genuine. "I called you to let you know that it's failed."

"That what's failed?"

"Your plan to seed the area around Arkady with self-assembling navigation buoys. We discovered them, and dismantled them - but we have left in their place some Nekrosi subspace mines we confiscated a few weeks back. But I wouldn't approach them if I were you; they're rather volatile."

Hovat's face was a perfect mask of control, as was his voice. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Captain."

"Of course not. But I thought I'd call you as a courtesy - and to make a request."

Something like a sneer raised one side of the Cardassian's thin mouth. "A request? You accuse us of violating the Treaty, and now you make a request?"

"Yes - I was hoping to have a word with the Obsidian Order agent posing as Gul Nerim Ersat."

"Gul Ersat? I know of no Gul by that name."

"Of course you don't. Can you put him on, please?"

"Captain, I told you already, there is no-"