Surefoot 24: Snakes on a Starship

Swiftly he reached up, twisted the weapon out of the way and kicked the man between the legs, before booting him in the stomach as he doubled over. Hrelle dropped his bottle and shifted the weapon so he held it fully, examining it: a primitive-looking ballistic rifle, something he didn't expect to see, even though Starfleet ships usually carried a small cache of such weapons in the event of entering environments where phaser-based arms were unusable or impractical.

He drew up to the man, who was jackknifed on the floor, coughing and dry-heaving, and kicked him onto his back, before stepping away, raising the weapon. "Next time, keep your distance." He tapped his combadge. "Intruder Alert." With no response he tried again. "Hrelle to Bridge! Hrelle to Security! Computer: Respond, Priority One!"

He nudged the man with his boot. "Who are you? What are you doing on my ship? Why was I called down here?"

He was moaning. "Can't- Can't breathe-"

"Sure you can, boy." Hrelle approached and set his boot on the human's chest. "At least, you will until I put my full weight on you, smash your ribcage and pierce your heart with the broken bits. Shall we try that, or are you gonna start talking?"

His breath quickening, the human shook his head. "Was sent- to bring you to the Shuttlebay- make it easier with you out of the way first-"

"Make what easier?"

"Ship takeover- Captain Koulev- the Vlathi-"

Hrelle's hackles rose. "The Vlathi?" He knew about them; his extended time undercover on the planet Skaros turned up a number of rumours about them, a guild of assassins operating under the control of their absolute monarch, the Imperium. They were said to be strong, fast, vicious, venomous... and sometimes ate their victims. "How many?"

"T-Twelve- my crew- helping them- got a dampening field- knocking out phasers, communicators, transporters- you can't win-"

Hrelle grunted; that explained the ballistic weapon in his hands. "What for? You're hijacking my ship? Taking us back to Skaros for ransom?"

The human's face remained creased in pain, but he struggled to laugh. "You... your family... every Caitian onboard... marked for death..."

Hrelle's face tightened. "Where are the Vlathi now?"

But the human kept chuckling. "Hope... you said goodbye... to your little bastard..."

Hrelle drove his boot down on the man's face and left him there, gripping the weapon in his hands as he rounded the corners, listening ahead; he could hear sounds forward, towards the Emergency Barracks, and the Shuttlebay, but there were closer, more familiar voices aftward, towards Engineering, and he headed that way-

-Nearly running into a forcefield in the doorway leading to Engineering, and Chef Grev, holding up his hooves. "Captain, watch it! Security fields are up over every juncture! We don't know what's going on!"

"It's a hijacking." He told Grev everything he knew. "Get your team back inside Engineering, bring down the doors, lock up, and shut down the engines. Eject the warp core if you have to, I don't want my ship going where they're taking us. Then focus on trying to regain control from inside. Do whatever it takes. Understood?"

The old Tellarite looked at him, before narrowing his beady black eyes and nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"Get moving." He turned, absently listening to the Chief Engineer bark orders to his shift crew, and then rolled the doors down and locking them, as Hrelle's thought raced up several decks, to Kami, Misha, Sasha... he knew he had a whole ship and crew to think about, but he couldn't stop going back to them- No! He forced himself to stay focused as he moved forward, picking up the scents and sounds he detected earlier.

He stopped when the voices became clear. One of them was the Nagaina's captain, Koulev. The other was more sibilant, and accompanied by sounds like something being dragged around. "Monty will be bringing the Captain along in a minute. But their doctor said there are more Caitians onboard than just the four of them."

"Good. We will enjoy the hunt. Did she manage to put tracers in any of them?"

"Just the infant."

"Even better. Hotbloods don't stray far from their hatchlings. What iss the frequency, Kenneth?"

"Subspace Channel 47."

Hrelle's breath quickened. The doctor? Did they mean Kline, the Klingon from the Medical Exchange Program? No, they said 'she'... Doctor Ling? No! They had served together for nearly two years now! She wouldn't have-

"You can trace the location of the rest of them with your scanners," Koulev was saying. "This time of night, most of their crew will be locked in their quarters, we've locked down the turbolifts, and the force fields will be up at the junctures. But there may still be enough crew around to cause trouble."

"Not with their phasers unable to function -- unlike our own weapons. You and your men secure the Shuttlebay and-"

The rest of their conversation was lost as Hrelle caught the scent of someone unfamiliar trying to sneak up on him, and he turned and struck first...

*

Deck 3 Fore -- Arboretum:

The lights were down, and the junctures leading back to the crew and cadet quarters had force fields erected, but there was a clear way to the Arboretum, and the door opened for her approach, letting the collective scent of flora and soil drift out. "Mr Hrulish?"

There was no answer, and she thought he might have already returned to his quarters before the lockdown commenced, but she entered anyway. It wasn't a part of the ship she had visited much since they had boarded; it seemed superfluous, when one had Holosuites that could recreate any natural environment from a thousand different worlds and times.

But she could appreciate the need to have a corner of the ship with real, living things, to ground one; it also helped those Medical and Science cadets running Botany projects.

There were sectioned areas where flowers, bushes and trees were planted, and in the background, she could hear a soft chirping from some insects. There was more emergency lighting in here than in the corridor, given the particular needs of some of the plants. "Mr Hrulish?"

There was a sound in the corner, and her eyes fixed on the figure reclining on some grass, like he was back on Cait looking up at the stars. Now he sat up leisurely, tail swishing idly behind him. "Oh, look, it's the Human Who Wants To Be A Caitian. And what can I do for you, Ms Hrelle?"

Sasha fought down the urge to respond to his taunt, preferring to remain professional as she approached him. "Sir, something's happening, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

But he seemed sluggish, uncaring, helping himself back to his feet. "That's awfully nice of you, young lady, but I'm rather enjoying the scents of this room. Very conducive to meditation."

She frowned at his insouciant response -- then noticed something he left on the grass, reached down and picked up... a small silver box, its lid opened to reveal a powdery substance with a strong scent escaping it. "Is this yours, Sir-"

Suddenly he snatched it from her, cursing when some of its contents spilled out as he closed the lid shut. "I'll thank you to mind your own business, Ms Hrelle!"

She stared at him. "That's snuff, isn't it? Caitian snuff? It's an addictive substance."

He pocketed the box in his jacket. "Perhaps to Lowborns unable to handle its deleterious effects. My clan are made of sterner stuff."

"It's also illegal, whether you're Lowborn or not. I'll have to report this, Sir."

Hrulish smirked at her. "My Clan can trace its ancestry back to the First Landing, Human. You think I'll be intimidated by- by-" He stopped and frowned towards the doorway, his muzzle twitching. "What in the Seven Hells..."

She didn't know what he meant, her nose not being as strong of course -- then she heard the sound outside: a heavy sliding sound.

And then something large entered.

Sasha first saw a torso, with long, thin arms ending in long thin claws on its digits, and topped with a head that rose up high, and cowled. The rest of its body... was serpentine, a long singular tube of leathery flesh and muscle that propelled it along as it drew in fully, coiling around itself as it regarded the two of them.

Hrulish's breath quickened. "I'm- I'm seeing things..."

"No," Sasha countered, her own pulse racing as she stared at the figure blocking their way out. Her first thought was that it was one of the Aldebaran Serpents that had been rescued from the Nagaina and had somehow escaped from stasis. But this thing only had one head, even as it exhibited every other snake-like attribute, including a forked tongue. "I- I don't know what it is-"

"It iss a Vlathi," it helpfully provided. "It thinks and speaks, Hotblood."

Sasha shifted in place, taking a defensive stance, kicking herself for not thinking it could have been sentient. "What do you want?"

The Vlathi bobbed and swayed slightly, as if adopting a stance of its own, as it pointed a claw in Hrulish's direction. "The Caitian. Stand aside and let me have him."

Hrulish gasped. "M-Me? What do you want me for? What did I do?"

"The Imperium of Skaros demands your death. The death of all Caitians onboard the Surefoot."

Sasha's heart skipped a beat. Skaros, she knew about, from the accounts by her Dad, C'Rash and Rrori. But she focused on the Vlathi's response about killing all the Caitians. "No- you won't get away with that. This is a Starfleet vessel-"

"We are already 'getting away with it', Little Starfleet," it informed her with its a sibilant sneer. "But we have no quarrel with you. Step aside. I'll be quick with this one."

Hrulish was shaking his head and holding up his hands towards it. "N-No, wait- my clan has money- I can get you anything you want-"

The Vlathi rose up a little, making an angry sound as if insulted by his offer, but stayed focused on Sasha. "I will not make my offer to spare your life a third time, Hotblood."

As she kept her gaze on him, Sasha had already worked out her options... there weren't many. She could have stepped aside, departed, on the pretext of going for help, for weapons. But, assuming the Vlathi wasn't lying and would attack her anyway, it could still take down Hrulish.

Together, however, they might have a chance against it... if she could get her gym bag opened to get at the contents within. "I can't go... This man... is my responsibility. I'm sure we can come to some reasonable compromise-"

The Vlathi's hooded head shot forward, snapping.

Sasha reached in, pulled out her damp, sweaty towel and threw it towards the creature's head, before grabbing the gauntlets beneath. "Hrulish, come on! We can fight it together!"

The Caitian stared at her.

And ran away.

The Vlathi flung aside the towel and lunged towards her.

*

Deck 3 Fore -- Sickbay Suite:

Kami had been concerned when Dr Ling had summoned her, asking her to bring Misha along. Now her concern doubled as she saw the look on the woman's face -- anxious, almost frantic, and... guilty? -- and the confused expression on Eydiir's face nearby. "Juliet, what's wrong?"

The woman was almost pacing. "About time you got here. Come on." To Eydiir, she barked, "Go back to your quarters, Cadet! Immediately!"

The Capellan girl rose from the desk where she had been studying. "What is wrong, Doctor?"

"Nothing! Just go, now! That's an order!" She kept glaring at the confused cadet, until the latter complied, picking up her sports bag and departing.

Then she focused on the Counselor and her infant -- who hissed at Ling. Ling ignored her. "Kami... I made a mistake. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what? Juliet, you're scaring me-"

Ling moved over to a tray and lifted up a hypospray. "The Nagaina crew- they brought something onboard with them, something I didn't detect at first- it could be fatal for you and Misha-" She stopped and looked straight at her. "Hopefully it's not too late. May I?"

Kami's pulse quickened. "Yes! Yes, do what you have to!"

Ling nodded and injected the other woman, and after adjusting the dosage on the hypospray, injected the still-hissing Misha. She stepped back, looking a little less frantic now. "I want to keep you both under observation for a little while. In the Isochamber."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now please, get in there! It'll only be for a short while!"

Bemused, Kami carried her infant into the reinforced chamber, before looking back at Ling. "Wait, what about Esek, the others-"

The lights went out, and the ship shuddered to a halt as it dropped out of warp space. Ling shut the door completely, activating the manual deadlocks.

Panic rose in Kami now. "Juliet! What's going on! What are you doing?"

Ling glanced around in the darkness, not able to look at either of them. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

*

Deck 3 Mid -- Alpha Squad Cadet Quarters:

Eydiir entered, glaring at Jonas and Kit, who were sitting at the table, the Durotta board game between them. "Get up. Something's happening."

Her fellow squadmates rose, Kit tilting his head towards her. "Is this a prelude to a practical joke or some hazing ceremony, Good Friend Eydiir?"

"Neither. Where are the others?"

"Rrori's with the other Caitians in the Mess Hall, Neraxis is on duty in Security. Wasn't Sasha with you?"

The Capellan nodded. "We'll go back for her first-"

She was standing in the doorway when the lights went out and the door to their quarters starting sliding shut on her, something it should not normally have done. She dropped her bag and propped herself against the doorframe, forcing it to stay open, her face grimacing. "Chair- Quick-"

Jonas grabbed his own chair and brought it over, manoeuvring to lodge it where Eydiir was standing, keeping it from closing entirely. Eydiir stood outside in the corridor, glancing around. "Try to hail the Bridge."

Jonas tapped his combadge repeatedly, without success, before looking up as he felt the ship shudder to a halt. "That felt like a Cold Shutdown! We have to get to Engineering-"

"No. We have to get to Sickbay- something's happening there, involving the Counselor and the Cub."

Mention of Kami and Misha galvanised the two cadets. "I'll get my Engineering Gear, we might need it."

Kit looked out at Eydiir. "What do you think is happening, Good Friend?"

She didn't answer, not having felt like this since she was a child, back in her tribe, as they prepared for an ambush from one of their neighbouring tribes during a Blood Feud...

*

Deck 2 Fore -- XO's Quarters:

T'Varik lifted up her head. "We have dropped out of warp." She rose up fully from where she was.

Beneath her, C'Rash bolted upright, hissing. "Mother's Cubs, do you know how close I was?"

"Of course; I have become quite familiar with your body, as you have no doubt noticed."

"Oh, very funny -- you had some fun first!" But C'Rash set aside her frustration and rose, dressing quickly to catch up with T'Varik, even as the Vulcan tried her combadge on the side table of her bed, and then her wall intercom, failing. The Caitian never tried her own combadge, instead snapping, "Where do you keep your phaser?" When T'Varik didn't respond, she reminded her lover, "All senior officers are required to keep a hand phaser in their quarters. Where's yours?"

The Vulcan moved to her desk. "I am certain it will not be required."

But when C'Rash followed her, retrieved the weapon and checked its status, finally pointing into a corner of the corner of the room and confirming it would not function, she countered with, "Think again. Have you any other weapons? Blades? Clubs?"

"No," T'Varik replied, allowing indignation to lace her voice.

"Then stay behind me." She moved to the door, worked the manual release and straightened up, her tail twitching in agitation. "Do what I say, when I say it."

"Lieutenant, I realise you might be feeling frustrated from our interrupted-"

"Shhh." She peered out into the dimly-lit corridor, pointed ears twitching. "No one's out there. Let's get to the bridge." She looked back at T'Varik. "At least pick up something heavy to take with you. Like that pointy rock carving."

"That 'pointy rock carving' is a miniature replica of the Kir'Shara, an ancient Vulcan artefact containing the writings of Surak. To use even a reproduction as a weapon would be at best irreverent, at worst-"

"Never mind." She stepped outside, beckoning T'Varik to follow. "At least tell me you remembered your unarmed combat training from your Academy days?"

"Of course, though I believe it will be unnecessary."

"Logic tell you that?" C'Rash grunted as they made their way to the Bridge doors, finding them encased with a security forcefield. T'Varik attempted to override it manually -- before being distracted by the Caitian's increasingly agitated behaviour. "What is it?"

"Something- Something's in the air-" She moved down the hall in the opposite direction, before running into another forcefield at a juncture. Then she moved to a nearby access hatch in the corridor wall. "Come on, we have to get to Security for more weapons, we can't waste time here."

"Lieutenant-"

"Now!" C'Rash snapped, sliding aside the hatch.

The Vulcan regarded her subordinate, before silently complying.

But she had found herself stopping in their horizontal crawl when C'Rash, leading the way, paused at a vertical juncture, her breath quickening, her tail smacking the side of the Jefferies Tube. "Lieutenant-"

"Turn-" came the whispered, ragged reply. "Turn and head the other way! Hurry! Something's in here with us!"

T'Varik was about to protest -- when she heard it too.

*

Deck 3 Fore -- Arboretum:

Sasha rolled with the swipe driven to the side of her head, letting herself hit the soft moist earth around one section, but giving her the chance to slip her hands into the gauntlets. She rose up again. "Hey, you ugly Stroker!" She beckoned to him. "Try that again!"

The Vlathi had been slithering towards Hrulish, who was huddling pathetically behind a tree, shaking, unable to take his eyes off of the invader. Now the Vlathi faced her again. "What kind of fool are you? I told you we were only after the Caitians!"

Sasha grunted. "I am Sasha Hrelle, daughter of Captain Esek Hrelle. My father is Caitian. My grandparents are Caitian. My brothers and uncles and aunts and cousins are all Caitian. I am listed in the Clan Registry on Cait. So, as far as you're concerned... I'm Caitian too."

She couldn't believe she was saying it.

She was ready to fight this creature, fight to protect someone she barely knew, and didn't like. Someone who was- who was-

Who was Caitian. Like Sasha assumed herself to be. And a Federation citizen.

And it was her duty, as a Starfleet officer, to protect him.

"I accept your argument," the Vlathi conceded.

And attacked.

*

Deck 4 Fore -- Starboard Corridor 1:

It was a human, one of the Nagaina crew, brandishing another of the ballistic weapons Hrelle had taken from the first human. And like the first, stupidly not using its obvious long-range advantages, preferring to try and sneak up on Hrelle.

The Caitian captain grabbed the barrel of the weapon and aimed it upward, even as he raised his own and fired. Both weapons discharged; bullets shot up past Hrelle's ear and struck the bulkhead, and his own was just as loud and sharp. Hrelle flinched -- Mother's Cubs, that was loud! -- until he saw the back of the human's head open up from the back, and was thankful that all he would end up with was ringing ears.