“This rust bucket we call home”
“Damn it, I thought you said this boy could fly!” Simi called from the engineer’s console.
“He can, he better!” Tommy shouted back, then stared hard at the back of the young hybrid at the ship’s controls. “Come on Kyle!”
“You realize that this thing isn’t exactly made to outmaneuver anything?” Kyle shouted back over his shoulder as he jammed a finger down hard on the thruster controls willing the vessel to roll away from the attacker. “Seriously!”
“She’s got it where she needs it!” Tommy shouted back, now over the sound of something exploding near the aft of the cramped bridge.
“I get it, you upgraded the weapons, and shields. But you should have upgraded her engines!” Kyle shouted again as the nose of the ship sluggishly came around to show the aft end of a Miranda Class vessel almost close enough you could touch it.
“Jesus!” Tommy said, then shouted. “Ram! FIRE!”
The freighter converted into a fighting ships weapons reported, causing the ships lighting and some of the consoles to flicker as they laid into the aft end of the Miranda class ship. “I’ll try and stay with her!” Kyle said.
“Good, right there is perfect!” Ram’eth called out, his tongue hanging out of the corner of his mouth as if it would help his aim and concentration.
“Your giving me splash!” Simi called out. “Back us off a bit!”
“No, stay on them, we can take it!” Tommy said, gripping his chair as a torpedo slammed into them in response to their sudden onslaught. “Right?” he said giving Simi a haphazard look.
“Fine!” she said begrudgingly. “But you need to finish this!” she said pointing at the screen. “Soon!”
“Ram’eth?” Tommy asked as he turned to the man at their makeshift tactical console. “Can we go home now?”
“Just about!” he said and jammed a finger down on the controls to fire again.
Kyle looked up from his console to see the freighters weapons play out over the aft end of the Miranda, her shields blazing brightly, then several explosions peppered her hull as their weapons broke through. “Shit!” Kyle said having to reverse engines and turn away as the Miranda suddenly decelerated.
“Don’t you dare hit that ship! I will have your ass Kyle!” Simi screeched at him.
Kyle watched the distance tick away and it looked like they might bump, but all that came was the sudden flare of their own shields as it came into slight contact with the edge of hull of the Miranda class. He continued turning the freighter.
“Ut oh!” Ram’eth called from his console suddenly looking up. “Incom..” the Klingon didn’t get a chance to finish as the ships shields were peppered with Phaser and Torpedo fire.
The ship rocked violently, and it took everything Kyle had to keep himself in his seat. Even with the ship shaking he could see they were at least still maintaining their Impulse turn. “Were coming around!” he said over the sound of a fire, and some sort of exhaust that was expelling into the bridge causing a cloud to gather at all their feet.
“Damage?” Tommy called, pulling himself back into his seat.
“Shields are down to thirty percent; our aft shields are near failure, but they held!” Simi called out as she deftly ran her hands across her console clearly trying to triage whatever she could remotely.
“Thank goodness for small favors!” Tommy said as he returned his attention. “How about them Ram?”
“They’ve lost shields, I think that was their last hurrah.” The Klingon said giving them a toothy grin. “Should I finish the job?”
Kyle noted a message playing across his console. “They just transmitted a Surrender.” He called over his shoulder as he turned to look back at their Captain.
“Scan them for anything quick and easy to get at, beam it to the hold, and then get us out of here!” Tommy said having come to a decision.
“But they are a True Federation ship!” Ram’eth said in protest.
“Yes,” Tommy said holding up a hand to quell the next protest from the Klingon. “But think of the stories they will tell their comrades. Mysterious freighter gave them a hell of a pounding. How embarrassing will this be to them when they get back home. Hell, I’d execute them on that alone if it was me. But it’s not. My ship, my rules.” He said shrugging. “Besides it still a blown to their supplies which are not in great order right now from what I hear anyhow. So, we did our part. Now we can get back home. We’ve been out here too long to begin with.”
“Whatever you say boss.” Ram’eth said begrudgingly and started going about beaming whatever wasn’t held down that could be of use.
“Kyle, lay in a course for No’matt maximum warp, then join me in my cabin.” He said standing and heading aft.
“Aye.” Kyle said, and felt a sudden pit in his stomach. Only a day helping these guys and already being called to the principal’s office. Not a good start to the trip he had hoped would have been uneventful. He glanced over at the Klingon at the Tactical Console. “You finished cleaning them out?”
The Klingon man nodded and leaned back in his chair.
Kyle pressed the engage button and sent the vessel rattling off at warp. She was an old freighter who had been in service for a good long time and had seen many refits and changes to her outfitting. This one clearly was not a freighter once you got under her sensor masking.
“Close the door behind you!” Tommy said spotting him approaching.
Kyle stepped into the small space, he was certain it had once been a large storage locker but now had a small desk, a couple of chairs, a shelf which he was certain was original. He stepped in and pressed the button just inside the door and waited until it slid shut then settled onto a chair.
“I’m not usually one to reach out and well ask a random person this, I’m not going to lie we lost a good helmsman saving your hide and the rest of the lot back in cargo. It was nice of you to volunteer to help us but I’m wondering what it would take to make it permanent.” He asked pulling a bottle off the shelf and a couple of glasses.
Kyle pondered his response for a moment, part of him was intrigued by the things he’d seen and the clearly high functioning crew he had pulled together. It wasn’t every day that a freighter this old could best a Miranda class vessel let alone the Bird of Prey they had taken out saving him and the other passengers from the charter he was on. “While I appreciate the offer, I’m on a mission.”
“What for Starfleet?” he asked. “What are you Starfleet Intelligence?”
“No.” Kyle said and laughed. “No, nothing like that.”
“Then what?” Tommy asked him while watching him for a long moment before pouring some of the clear liquid into both glasses. “Drink?”
Kyle nodded and took the glass. “I’m looking for someone to Settle a score.” He said.
“A high one I bet if you left Starfleet to come all the way out to the wild west of space.” Tommy said with a chuckle himself. “You know it’s gone crazy out here since the Empire went sideways.”
Kyle nodded. “So I’m told. Which helps my cause.”
“Who you looking to kill?” Tommy asked flatly.
“Don’t rightly know yet. But once I find them, I’ll make them pay.” Kyle said taking a drink without considering what was in his glass. The liquid burned going down and made him pause, he exhaled sharply. “Wow… the hell is this engine cleaner?”
Tommy smiled. “Nearly. We call it the Dark Falcon Grog. It’s a concoction that Simi and the Doc cooked up.” He said and offered the bottle. “More?”
Kyle nodded and held his glass out. “I don’t want to sound inconsiderate, if the circumstances were different and I was done with the fleet I might consider joining you, though I’m not really sure what you’re doing out here. You’re not set up for hauling cargo that much is clear.” Kyle said taking another drink, this time showing a bit more caution.
“Yup, we dabble in a little of everything. But if you’re looking for someone or trying to get at them I’d be willing to bet we could help each other out. You need a way to get around, we go places. I need someone who can fly and fix shit, and despite all the griping out there you did a fantastic job. So if you want to stick around for a while I’m thinking we can be of help to one another. Mutually beneficial you see.”
Kyle leaned back in the uncomfortable chair turning the glass in his hand examining the clear and deceptive liquid. “Okay.” He said simply.
“That easy? You don’t even want to negotiate your cut?” Tommy asked, a bit of astonishment filled his voice.
Kyle shrugged. “Pay me what you were paying the last guy.”
“Done!” Tommy said and extended a hand which Kyle firmly shook. He held up a glass. “To our new partnership!”
“To new partners!” he bounced the glass off the Captains and finished the contents. “So, what’s the plan back at No’matt?”
Tommy poured himself another glass. “Ah, yes. Well were going to drop off our cargo and your fellows we rescued there and get that engine upgrade done.”
“Seriously?” Kyle asked as he set the glass down. “Where the hell you going to put anything bigger on this rust bucket and get the power. You barely can fire your weapons and maneuver!” he said.
“Upgrades, upgrades, upgrades my new friend.” Tommy said smiling over at him.
Kyle slowly stood up. “I’ve some ideas for you that might help, mind if I write them up and get them to you. We can see if we can put them in place cheaply enough to fit it in.”
“I thought you might. I knew I was right about asking you. See were already off to the best start.” Tommy said downing the contents of his class. “Sure, you’ve got till we reach No’matt.”
Kyle nodded, and hit the button to open the door. He slowly stepped out and smiled as the door shut behind him. It was exactly what he had hoped would happen. Granted he was going to just sign up with a mercenary ship back at No’matt so this opportunity just kind of fell in his lap.
“Welcome aboard!” Doc’s familiar voice called as she slowly came around the corner.
Kyle shook his head. “You knew he would ask after seeing me fly, or were you listening in?” he asked.
“Soon as he figured you for a fleeter he looked you up. Knew he would likely ask you since we lost our last pilot. It was clear you were not here for Starfleet, so we came to some conclusions.” She shrugged. “Not hard to figure out, Starfleet Officer loses a family member, mix in Klingon heritage and viola you’ve got the makings of a mercenary looking to get some payback and resolve honor.” She nodded. “Yup, we knew what we were doing.”
“Sounds like were off to a beautiful friendship.” Kyle said with a half-smile pushing past her heading aft towards the cargo bay. “I’ll get my things, where am I Sleeping?”
“You’re with Ram, on the port side deck two.” She said and disappeared into Tommy’s office.
Kyle shuddered at the thought of rooming with the Klingon, while they had some run-ins he knew virtually nothing about the Klingon serving on the ship. He crossed the threshold of the cargo bay and took note of the crew and passengers from the Lyra who were hard at work stowing the cargo that had been beamed aboard.
“What happened this time?” the Captain of the Lyra asked as he approached seeing him enter.
“Had a run in with a True Federation ship. Everything’s good. Should be at No’matt soon. Your going to be let off when we reach that outpost.” Kyle said as he collected what was left of his belongings.
“Where are you going?” The Captain asked watching him pack.
Kyle glanced up as he finished stowing the last article of clothing he had. “Got a job offer from Tommy, I took it.” He said with a shrug.
“You’re seriously going to crew this thing?” he frowned. “You realize they are mercenaries, or pirates?” the man asked his frown deepening. “You’re in Starfleet!”
Kyle considered his words, and then nodded. “Yeah they probably are. And I left the fleet temporarily. Maybe permanently. I came out here to do a job. This helps me get to where I want to be, I can live with that!” he said standing. “Thanks for trying to talk me out of it though.” He said clapping the man on the shoulder.
“Do you want me to pass any message back to your family, or the fleet?” the former captain of the Lyra asked.
Kyle stopped, then shook his head. “If anyone asks…” he pondered his response for a moment before turning back. “Tell them the truth.” He shrugged and then disappeared out the doors. He could have given any number of messages and he was certain that the Captain would have faithfully delivered it as it was apparent that the people from the Lyra owed him their lives.
The sound of footsteps falling into step next to him surprised him, but he was getting used to Petra appearing from nowhere. He smiled as the urge to respond left him. “Hello Petra.” He said.
“So even knowing what we are, what we do, you decided to join us?” she asked, there was a serious tone in her voice.
He stopped and turned to match her gaze. “I’m here for a specific purpose. I don’t entirely care how we get there.” He said with a shrug. “I’m along for the ride until I find cause to part ways.”
She smiled. “Good.” She stared silently at him for a long moment before she spoke again. “Where are you heading?”
“My new room. I guess I’m bunking with Ram.” He said, there was a sound of dread in his voice. “Better than the hold though.”
She smiled. “I think you’ll find that despite what he smells like on duty he’s good about cleaning up before heading to his home. Its kind of a condition.” She said with a shrug as they turned and continued down the hall, turning to head down some stairs.
“That’s promising at least I guess.” He said.
She let out a chuckle. “Well it could be worse. You could be rooming with Simi.”
“That bad?” he asked, glancing over at her.
“She’s…” Petra started, but stopped trying to find the words. “She’s difficult to room with which is why no one rooms with her.”
He nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.” He said and glanced down the two lengths of corridor that led to quarters, one which had Ram’elth’s name plate, and now showed his name too which had clearly just been added. Then toward the other end, which had Peta’s name. “Neighbors.” He asked raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. “Yup. If you need anything, I’m just down the hall.” She said with a smile, then turned to head down the hall. He turned and started down the hall towards his and as he got to the door he glanced back to find her staring back down the distance of the hall at him as well before disappearing inside her room.
He stood there a moment then pushed the door open. Standing right in front of the door as if he was expecting him was the portly Klingon, he was dressed in what looked like a white workout suit. The Klingon regarded him and then smiled. “Welcome!” he said.
“Guess we get to spend some quality time together.” He said looking around the room, despite the Klingon’s disheveled appearance while at work his quarters were immaculate. “Nice place.” He said.
The Klingon nodded. “Your room,” he pointed to a door that was shut. “We have separate bedrooms. They are small but it offer’s some privacy. We share the open living space.” He said gesturing around. “Keep it clean, we won’t have problems.” He said with a nod.
“Sounds good my friend.” He said clapping the Klingon on the shoulder before turning to head to his room.
The door pulled open without any issue, from the looks of it they had turned a small cargo pod into a small apartment. The portly Klingon was right the bedrooms were small. Very small in fact there was enough room for a small bed, a locker that attached to the wall, and just enough space to change in. He nodded and tossed his bag on the floor in front of the locker then slowly lowered himself to the bed. He was shocked to find that the bed itself was comfortable. “Thank goodness for small favors.” He muttered to himself.
He wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed but he was suddenly pulled awake glancing around his small home. He was always nervous when he stayed in a new place, even with a door that would lock he still didn’t know this Klingon and was just getting to know the rest of the crew of the Dark Falcon.
He glanced at a clock that was set just above the door to his room, it was the middle of the morning. He wouldn’t have to be awake for several more hours. It dawned on him that he had not showered before he had fallen asleep. “Crap…” he said and collected his things from his bag. It dawned on him that he would need more cloths. Most of his were lost with the Lyra.
The ship was quiet, just the slight rumble and rattle of the ship traveling at high warp. He made his way to the lavatory and stopped just outside as he could hear that at least one of the devices was active. He considered going back but then decided that he didn’t care.
He pulled the door open and stepped into the room pulling it shut behind him. He moved past the active stall, the larger of the four and started stripping out of his cloths, dropping them on the bench next to his clean cloths. He turned to open the stall doors and then froze. Petra stood with the doors to the stall hanging open, she grinned and beckoned him to join. He hesitated for a moment, but only a moment.
Kyle stood next to Tommy as they waited to speak to the Dock Master, they had put into the outpost at No’matt several hours ago, had enough time to arrange some meetings for the sale of the excess cargo they had collected, as well as gave the crew and passengers from the Lyra a chance to depart. Only one other had stayed on board the Lyra’s cook, the man who helped his ground in the galley with but a frying pan essentially against the Klingon’s. He was out helping to restock the vessels stores while Kyle and Tommy were arranging some yard time for the Falcon.
“What do you want Tommy!” the Dockmasters voice which took on a very metallic sound. He clearly had some sort of throat injury as he was speaking with the help of a medical device. “Last time you were here you gave me no end of problems! I don’t need that, not now!” he said.
Kyle grinned, he was happy to see that even in the civilian world the same constant applied for ‘yardies’.
“No, no trouble. Just upgrades.” He said and handed over an isolinear chip.
The yard master took it and slipped it into his desktop shifting his considerable weight, the data slowly displayed showing the parts, and services they were requesting. “Your serious?” he looked over at him.
Tommy nodded. “Yup.”
“This will be costly.” The man said rubbing at the stubble on his chin.
Tommy nodded again knowingly. “I’m aware. How much?”
It took him a long moment to respond to that, but he ran the manifest through some software and added labor charges and spun the monitor to show him. “Costly.” He said again.
“This should cover it.” Tommy said handing him another isolinear chip.
The Dock master took it and slipped it into another slot, his eyes widened for a moment then nodded. “Agreed. I can start tomorrow, we’ll have to clear a ship to get you in.”
“Surely for that amount you can expedite?” Tommy asked, a bit of annoyance slipping into his voice.
The dockmaster shook his head. “Can’t, all of my drydocks are full of Teffie ships right now.” He said with a shrug. “Not people you want to double-cross or kick out.”
Kyle felt his heart quicken and could see the sudden unease in Tommy. “Teffie ships? Your seriously doing work for them?”
The portly man nodded. “Don’t have a choice. Besides there is one ship that’s just about complete. Got waylaid by a freighter a few days ago.”
“Miranda class?” Tommy asked.
The dockmaster nodded. “Yup, know something about it? Pretty embarrassing honestly.”
Kyle grinned and let out a chuckle. “I can see how that would be just a little embarrassing.”
Tommy also was grinning. “Not directly, but there was some musing about it over the net.” He said shrugging. “Tomorrow it is then.” And he turned and walked out stopping not far from the office. “Crap…”
Kyle nodded. “Yup. Let’s hope that does not come back to haunt us.”
“It won’t, we cover our tracks pretty well. Part of that junk that’s in line with our drive system allows us to change our signature pretty easy.” Tommy said. “Besides, hiding out in the open is better than hiding any day of the week.”
Tommy held out another Isolinear chip to him. “This is yours, your cut from our cargo haul.”
Kyle nodded and pocketed the chip. “Thanks boss.” He said. “Need to get some personal effects so this should help.”
“Yeah that should be plenty and then some.” He said with a smirk. “Salvage brings in a lot these days.” He said with a shrug.
Kyle nodded. “Need me for anything else?” he asked.
“Nope, your free to do as you please. If you don’t mind being the point of contact in case the ship yard guys need guidance while Simi’s away that would be appreciated. Otherwise enjoy yourself. It should take them about a week or two at the most to make those refits. Were stuck here until then, unless you had other plans.”
Kyle shrugged. “Nothing on the books, I’ll stick around here and see what kind of trouble I can get into.” He said with a grin and headed down the hall towards the commercial district of the outpost.
He had taken some time to go through the various shops in the crudely set up market, he had found cloths easily enough, it was the rest of the stuff that was a bit more difficult to find. It was clear early on that the Falcon did not provide weapons to its crew, they were on their own in that regards. He had found several market stalls to find what he was looking for. It was surprisingly easy to find illegal weapons, but the cost was great. While he had funds, he was still trying to be somewhat thrifty about it as he didn’t know when he would get paid again.
“Ah, Phased polaron pistol, you like?” the vendor’s voice was shrill on his ears, but he shook his head.
“No.” he said noting the price. “Too much for me.” He said continuing to look through the selection of weapons. He found one thing that he could use. “How much?” he asked pointing to a boot knife.
The vendor showed him the price on a padd, and he nodded and slid his isolinear chip into the device and pressed his thumb to it, allowing the funds to transfer. He took a moment to equip the knife, it was always good to have a backup.
He stopped midrise and pointed to something poking out over a shelf behind the vendor. “What is that?”
The vendor pulled on the grip and proceeded to blow the dust off the weapon. “Oh, no one wants this, its broken. You want something you can shoot, not to sit like a paperweight. Unless you collect.” He said holding the old Phase Pistol out.
Kyle knew what it was when he had seen the handle hanging out, he took it and turned it over in his hands, then pressed the release, when he pushed the front of the weapon down to expose the space the power pack would have been inserted the weapon fell into two pieces. He frowned and noted the power pack was missing. “Got any of the power cells for it?” he asked looking up. He saw the confused look on the mans face.
“Yes,” he shrugged. “Do you want?”
Kyle nodded. “Yes, this and all the power cells you have for it.”
“They do not hold a charge any longer.” He said setting the small box of them in front of him. “You certain?”
Kyle nodded. “Yes, how much?”
The vendor regarded him for a long moment, then punched in the information into his device and showed him. Kyle didn’t bother checking, he slipped in the chip and thumbed the purchase. He placed the box and weapon into his bag and continued his way.
If there was one thing he learned long ago was that this old weapon while needing a lot of work could be customized very easily, and with a bit of todays technology he could make the old energy weapon formidable again. Even if it was hundreds of years old. That and who would put two and two together if he were using this old hunk of junk. Even modified.
After spending a few more hours shopping he had located a heavily modified Klingon disruptor rifle, it too was very old, but functional so it nearly took up the rest of his remaining credits, but the purchase would be worth it in the end. He had that sent to his room as he didn’t want to alarm anyone carrying it through the outpost.
He wound his way through the stalls coming to a stop just outside of a restaurant, he glanced inside and spotted Petra who was waiting for him, drinking some multicolored drink that seemed to swirl with a life of its own. And each time her finger bounced off the edge of the glass as she absentmindedly tapped it seemed to cause a reaction. He set his bag down next to the table and slowly slid into the chair opposite her.
“Got some shopping done I see.” She said glancing up from the Padd in her hands.
He nodded. “I now have more than two and half sets of cloths, and they actually fit!” he said jokingly.
She smiled. “Good I was getting tired of seeing the same crap over and over.” She remarked and took a drink. “Got anything else to do?”
He shook his head. “Nope, not until tomorrow.”
“Good.” She said, a mischievous smile appeared. “Want to join me in some antics in a holodeck suite?”
“After dinner?” he asked, his stomach had just reminded him that it was still their and in need of food. “I’m starving, Tommy dragged me all over the ship going over the plan once again. I’ll give him some credit, he’s very….”
“Obsessive compulsive?” she asked, an eyebrow arching.
He nodded. “Indeed. When it comes to the job, his ship, and it would seem his crew. Most certainly.” He said.
“He is, it’s why most of us have stayed on.” She said waving at a waiter.
“How long have you been with Tommy?” he asked picking up a menu and began scanning over it.
“I’ve been on for about five years, most were here before me. It’s taken a while for him to build up to this, and to get together a crew he trusts. You know him trusting you is out of the ordinary, at least this quickly. He had family in the Marquis so he’s not too fond of the Fleet.” She said and looked up as the waiter arrived. “Another please, and for my friend.” She said taking the liberty in ordering him a drink.
He peered over his menu at her, and chuckled. “What makes you think I’d enjoy that?” he asked.
“You like our DF Grog, you’ll like this far better.” She said with a shrug.
“Fair enough,” he pointed to a dish on the menu showing the waiter. “Can I get this, minus to sprouts.” He asked.
The waiter nodded and looked to her. “Anything else for you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Yes, the Romulan Ale Sautéed Gagh!”
Kyle looked up at the woman an eyebrow arched. “That’s a thing?” he asked.
“Yes, and its amazing.” She shrugged. “A good friend introduced me to it ages ago.”
“I’ve never known dead Gagh to be that great though, I’m skeptical.” He said as he accepted the drink she had ordered for him. “What’s this thing?” he asked.
“Drink it.” She said and leaned forward watching him.
He admired the drink and noticed that it wasn’t nearly as brilliant as her glass was, he looked at her questioningly. She simply leaned across the table, and flicked the glass hard, and it flared brightly in his hand, and he thought he could even hear a tinkling sound coming from the glass. He took a drink, at first, he wasn’t sure what he was tasting, it was light. Like taking in a mouthful of thick fog as it seemed to evaporate when it touched his lips, but the sweet taste that seemed to cascade over his senses was eye popping. He stared at the glass for a long moment, realizing the colors of the glass were entirely more vibrant. Now he realized why she kept tapping the glass. He looked up at her, she was staring back smiling.
“Good isn’t it?” she asked grinning.
He nodded. “What is it?” he asked again.
“The tender only serves that to select guests, the guys a softy. He named it the Petra Nebula.” She said with a shrug.
“Really, you have a drink named after you here?” he asked taking another sip from the drink, the effect seemed to increase. He had a very euphoric feeling swash over him, he had not realized how stressed and tense he was until this very moment.
“Yup,” she said with a smile as she leaned back in her chair and flicked her glass.
He stared as the colors shimmered with such brilliance, it wasn’t overwhelming, it was honestly one of the most fascinating and beautiful things he had seen in a long time. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” He said staring in pure fascination.
“Thanks for reminding me that I’m human.” She said softly reaching out and taking his hand.
He stared back at her, he wasn’t sure why, but they had bonded quickly. Maybe it was his youthful nature, or maybe it had just been that long for her out here with only a handful of options, but it didn’t matter this was fun and he was enjoying spending time with her. “Thank you for reminding me I have a life to live.”
“Can I ask you something?” she said withdrawing some.
“Sure.” He said and eyed the plate of food that the waiter suddenly produced in front of him.
“Why are you here? Really?”
His expression shifted slightly as he was reminded why he was here as the image of his brother’s face flashed before his eyes. “Someone killed my brother, and honor requires that I find them and make it right.”
“So that is true, your really out here hunting for someone. True Federation I’m guessing?” she asked as she dropped some Gagh into her mouth.
He nodded and took a bite of his food. “Yes, its that simple.”
She regarded him for a long moment, clearly unconvinced. “This war has taken a lot, what makes this so different that you feel you should go off on a crusade to avenge your brother?”
“True.” He said acknowledging her point. “So then why am I out here?” he asked looking up at her from his food.
“Maybe your trying to find out where you fit in this new galaxy?” she asked an eyebrow arching as she too glanced up at him from her plate. “Its not what it was when our families were out in the Galaxy years ago.” She said.
“No.” he said which caused her to look up. “No, this is exactly what I grew up in.”
She studied him closely. “What do you mean?”
“Well the Dominion War was the better part of my young life, mixed in with another spat of civil unrest that got swept under the rug nicely. Granted I got a reprieve from some of the other War’s and fights we’ve been in but no, this is the life I grew up in. I guess I’m more like my father than I care to admit in the fact that some scores have to be settled?” He set his fork down and sat back as the realization both struck and stung harshly.
She grinned. “Is that such a bad thing?”
He shook his head. “No, not really. Besides I’d be doing the universe a favor removing a few more of those assholes.” He said with a shrug. His appetite was suddenly gone, and what replaced it was anger and frustration in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t mad at her for having brought it up or helping guide him to a personal realization but that it was that obvious, and that maybe it was a little bullheaded of him. “What about you?” he asked picking up his fork, he stabbed at some of the food on his plate.
“Why am I out here being a thorn in the side of the Klingons, and the True Federation?” she asked as she stopped to take a drink, staring at him over the rim of her glass. “It’s not obvious?”
Kyle shrugged. “Sometimes it best not to assume.”
“Fair enough,” she took another drink and her brow furrowed a bit. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I found that I have a specific skillset that is far to natural and a good bit scary. It’s taken me some very bad places until I found Tommy and the Falcon Gang.” She grinned, one of those Cheshire-like grins full of mischief. “I was actually sent by my employer to kill them.”
“Really?” Kyle asked.
“Yup,” she laughed out loud, a bit louder than necessary which drew some momentary glances from those around them. But they quickly went back to their own business when she glared at them. “Ended up that I switched sides in that mess, and my former employer paid the price instead of Tommy.”
“Why the double cross?” he asked with slight amusement.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged casually. “Something about these people and seeing how they operated. I guess I got soft. Might be that I was just tired of the job I was doing.” She pushed her plate away.
He nodded. “Maybe one day you’ll tell me more about it. When your ready.”
She nodded and offered a smile. “One day if your around long enough, maybe. Well we’ve dined, shall we now slay together?” she asked standing and finishing her drink.
He nodded approvingly. “Abo-so-freaking-lutely!” he said with a sense of renewed energy, standing and doing the same. He grinned and followed her towards the back of the establishment, to the door with the flickering sign that read ‘holosuites’. He had yet to see her fight and knew that this should prove to be a very educational evening. She pointed to a series of lockers along the wall which he stored his things in, at a heavy cost for what he was getting but he didn’t want to waste the time, not with his blood pumping already. He wanted a fight. He needed one!
“This will not be easy!” she said as she pressed some keys on the console on the wall next to the doors. “But it will be fun as hell.” She said with enthusiasm.
He simply grinned and followed her into the holosuite as the program came into being around them. It was a planetoid, a civilization had once stood here, but now was rubble and ash. He grinned and armed himself from one of the bodies lying near where they had appeared. The intense sight and sounds of battle growing ever closer.
“They will keep coming in waves, getting harder each wave.” She said, glancing at him. “Try and keep up.” She said with mild amusement and turned just as the simulated creatures came charging around what was once a street corner. Their eyes glowing deep reds, and greens as they charged like animals coming in for the kill.
He stepped forward coming up abreast with Petra, ‘child’s play’ he heard that voice again in his head, it was like something had awoken in him suddenly again, he shifted his feet and took up a fighting stance that his father had taught him and readied himself for what was to come.
“You look like hell!” Simi said watching Kyle approach, the bruises he felt had bruises and those ones had bruises after spending hours fighting in the holodeck. He felt like he had been throw into an escape pod and sent off into a dense asteroid field.
He gave the engineer a half-hearted smile, “All work and no play.” He said with a shrug. The look on his face as his shoulder protested caused the Andorian woman to let out a laugh.
“I guess so.” She said as she keyed the monitor in the meeting space to life. “Shall we get down to business?”
Kyle just gave her a nod as he produced some coffee from the nearby replicator. “On schedule I hope?”
She nodded. “The yardies are ahead of schedule however they ran into a few complications, so we will still be here about the same amount of time if not a little longer. One of the main structural members that runs along the lower hull has microfractures to boot so it has to be replaced.” She said as the image on the viewer enlarged. “Can’t risk that so the Captain’s shelling out to have that and some of the other structural members replaced and or reinforced.”
“That’s probably a good thing, between the increased mass were adding, and a variety of other reasons its not a surprise. Its just good they had scanners good enough to catch that.” He said settling into a chair gingerly. “What about the weapon hard point mounts? Those were never meant to house weapons of that magnitude; did they check those?” he said gesturing with his mug.
Simi nodded just as the door slid open to admit a bleary-eyed Tommy. “Morning.” She said.
He nodded, and likewise got a cup of coffee from the replicator, and just dropped into a chair and gave a hand signal to continue.
Kyle smiled and nodded. “Weapon hard points?” he asked looking at Simi.
She gave him an affirming nod. “Yup, that was one of the areas he wanted shored up.”
“Getting two more Structural Integrity, and Inertial Dampening field generators installed too.” Tommy said as he finished consuming nearly his entire mug of coffee already. “Also, four more thruster packs.”
“You may have to give this thing an NX register and name it a new class of ship before too much longer.” Kyle mused.
Tommy laughed and swept a hand across the air. “Vekk Class Combat Freighter!”
Simi frowned. “How about Dark Falcon Class instead.”
He scoffed at her but smiled. “Falcon Class Combat Freighter!”
Kyle shook his head. “Maybe once your finish adding on and changing her she can be named. What else are we doing while she’s in drydock? The time to completion seems awfully long for just this work in general.”
“Damn Starfleet Engineers.” Tommy said grinning. “Can’t sneak anything past you can we.”
“Nope.” He said flatly.
Simi shook her head. “Well since your on for the time being and you’ll be helping me out, I suppose you should know.”
Tommy nodded his approval, his facial features shifting from a jovial nature to something far more serious. “Pretty much had the entire lower half of the ship removed, getting a new Warp Drive, Impulse system, most of our primary engineering systems will be swapped out for an Antares IV engine room module, with modifications of course. Weapon overhaul, new crew quarters, and replacement of those damn sonic showers amongst other things.”
“A new bridge module.” Simi added.
“Wait, one that actually has a real engineering and Tactical Station?” Kyle asked grinning over at Tommy who stared back at him with mock disdain.
“Funny.” Tommy said shaking his head. “Yes, with extra stations that we can program how we want.”
Kyle nodded. “How much of this are we going to have to do ourselves?”
“Yard will do most of the physical installation, we will have to probably do a good bit of work to get everything working right. We’ll probably be here longer than I planned but the upgrades were a good deal.” Tommy shrugged. “Though we have a job to do in order to fit part of the bill.”
Simi nodded. “Thought you might say that.”
“What kind of job?” Kyle asked.
Tommy pulled out a Padd and sent a new file to the monitor. “This is Kera’l Petral, he runs a small convoy out of a system nearby. Station Master did some work and he’s defaulted on his payments. He’s asked us to pay him a visit and get what he’s owed.”
Kyle nodded.
“He’s also a True Federation sympathizer. So, we get double the pleasure, and a thirty percent discount on our work here. Depending upon how much cargo we recover may adjust our costs additionally.”
Kyle let out a whistle. “Nice.” He didn’t have to say it, the prospect of piracy was not exactly something he was keen on, but it was an end to a means. But this is what he was looking for, a way to strike back and hurt the bastards that took so much from him. The look in his eyes was not missed by either of his companions.
“So, your training with Petra?” Tommy asked as he got to his feet.
Kyle nodded. “You could say that.”
Tommy regarded him for a moment then laughed. “Yeah, just make sure you stay fit enough for duty. The both of you!” he said and with that he turned and left.
“Training huh?” Simi said with a laugh.
Kyle grinned. “Training.” He said repeating the word. The next couple of weeks was a whirlwind of bruises, pain, and a lot of hard work between working on the ship once it was released to them and working with Petra on expanding his skills as a fighter. He had a long way to go, and while his Starfleet Training and the work he had done with his father in his early life helped, he was learning a lot of painful lessons working with Petra.