The Red Circle
Posted on Tue Jun 27th, 2023 @ 6:09pm by The Narrator & Lieutenant Commander Javiylah MacArthur & Lieutenant Commander TaijanSuda ch'Thulhu & Lieutenant Jayla Kij MD & Lieutenant JG Fox Jasper & Ensign Asami Inoue & Chief Warrant Officer Mara O’Sullivan
3,236 words; about a 16 minute read
Mission:
World Wide Web
Location: The Wreck, The Scrimshaw Star
Timeline: Day 4
The door into the indicated space was marked with the signs and wards of esoteric engineering: radiation, antimatter, null gravity. These were stylised but clearly from the same orchard of language as the English on the walls, married to the alien script. The three trio-foils of the radiological warning her curved as though it was windmilling.
Similar, but not.
It was, also, the only door closed within the vessel. All the others had been opened, either by force or by implying being open as though left in a moment of tragic poor timing. Odd oval-shaped marks gouged the metal, revealing the deep grooves made there with flakes of bare metal. Perhaps a very determined band of cookie-cutter welding assassins had laid siege to the ship?
"Reinforced titanium with a hydrocarbon-based weave embedded within it as a radiation shield," Morpheus said from where his mechanical claws latched don't the deck. "A standard phased cutting beam should suffice to enter the engineering space beyond."
Suda directed the Security detail to take up flanking positions. As they did so, he stepped aside and made space for whichever technician would make an open door for his breaching action.
"Given the warnings, I'm not sure we should force this one," Mara commented as she surveyed the surroundings for a possible bypass. Nothing stood out as an emergency access panel. "Perhaps further afield..."
"Designs of the twenty-second century usually had multiple entrances to Engineering, however all were often secured during operations." Asami was glad that she had taken that elective Starfleet History class last year. She would have to gloat to Archer that it had come in handy!
"Given the material, if the engineering core was damaged in some manner we would be well aware of it regardless of the shielding. Radiological and other safety concerns are well within standard mission parameters," Morpheus stated. The FELINE had sat itself before the away team, its tail flicking back and forth as the to glowed a soft orange. Then with a flicker-like lighting a phased cutting beam lashed out from it, leaving a trio of glowing metal furrows in the metal where hinged locking rods had locked it down.
Small motes of sizzling metal boiled their heat back into the vacuum slowly.
"The way is open," Morpheus said. "Though it will need the mass of a suitably massed biped to move it aside. Mister Suda's medical file suggests his suitability for this task."
Could a machine be catty?
Asami let out a little yelp and jumped back as the small cutting Phaser slid out of the FELINE's mouth, the unexpected move having her scrambling out of the way. Moving back into the group she couldn't help but giggle as she ended up next to Commander Suda as the mechanized cat suggested he could be used as a battering ram.
After testing its weight with the muzzle of his phaser rifle, Suda put a swift boot to the metal. It budged a few centimeters but still held fast. Shouldering his rifle, Suda dropped back into a martial stance, gathered his full inertia into his center mass with fluid motions of hand and limb, and then sprung from his stance like a leopard from tall grass. His spinning heel transferred the twist of his hip directly into the center of the metal cutout. It not only dislodged but flung backward end over end as the burst of force overwhelmed its expected trajectory.
"I got point," Suda said as he accessed his weapon and went first through the breach.
Jayla glanced around at the others. “Don’t tell me you’re going to make the doctor go second,” she joked.
"Definitely not," One of the Operations specialists laughed, stepping in front of the CMO to go second. "You're the one who's supposed to patch us up if we need it!"
Mara just shook her head as she followed the petty officer, gesturing that both the doc and their science specialist stay behind her.
"All clear!" Suda called back. "Couldn't a' waited, huh?" he said to the two who followed before knowing it was safe. Two Security officers came through, leaving only the rear guard with the rest of the team as they took up their flank positions.
Helmet lights stabbed into the darkness, revealing the door which had rebounded off the far wall and had now come to rest amongst a forest of pipes in the ceiling. From there the lights fanned out, painting the walls in circles of vivid detail that faded to murky obscurity. Old-style computer terminals, thick screens mounted to brackets on the bulkheads. A machinists work station with a lathe and drill, compact and elegantly constructed but compared to a replicator as good as a rock and a stick. And in the centre, protruding from the rear bulkhead and supported on stubby columns was undoubtedly a power core of some design. Chubby, but not the obese doughnut of a fusion tokamak or plasma containment vessel of an antimatter reactor.
A honeycomb pattern was etched into the front end of the power plant, each cell filled with a rod of pale metal. Some of the rods were fully sunk into the behemoth devices, whereas others had been removed or were partially raised out of it.
"A nuclear fission power plant," Morpheus said. "A very inefficient means of power generation for a warp engine. Perhaps it feeds into a large capacitor bank, and stores energy for set duration warp jumps?"
Any answer to this question was answered by a thudding rattle through the boots of the away team's soles. The chiming of an off-tune bell in pure silence.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
"Fireteam! Defensive zones!" Suda called out as he dropped to one knee. The other Security officers followed suit, forming a star pattern around the away team. "Check for hostiles and call your targets!"
Asami had been about to go on a tangent about the inefficiencies of nuclear fission as a power source for a warp engine when the bangs echoed around the room. Ducking down she scooped up the mechanical Cat in one arm huddling the pair of them near the reactor console, FELINE in one arm, Tricorder in the other.
Jayla’s eyes had gone unnaturally large. “Leaving feels smart right now,” she commented nervously.
"Agreed." Asami mentioned glancing Jayla's way. Even with the Security Team around and the training theirs been receiving it was more than little nerve racking to be aboard at the moment.
"Negative," Suda barked. "We stay on mission and follow orders. Understood?"
“Focus on finding what we came for,” Mara commented, not affected by the commander’s bark, using her authority as the second-in-command of the team and the away mission.
Javi, for her part, was watching through Bhéara’s sensors as the FELINE prowled just slightly to the left of the reactor. She moved forward, trusting Mara to keep the others on the primary mission, following the FELINE’s path. Her gaze took in the mess of wires protruding from the reactor, clearly rigged up for a reason, which led away from the central mass into a corner. “What do we have here, hmm?” She spoke to Bhéara, who hissed as one paw hovered over a crumpled thermal blanket. The light from her helmet showed more blankets, all soaked in what appeared to be blood, a medical kit, power adapters, and a pipe. “There appears to be a campsite here,” Javi directed her comment over the teamwide channel while she focused on the pipe and the dented bulkhead next to it. “Unoccupied. If you could scan the substance here, Doctor,” one hand waved toward the thermal blankets.
"I do not think she needs to," Morpheus said, cradled in Asami's arms, looking up at the ceiling of the reactor room. The trio of photoreceptors on the FELINE's head lit up, casting a bright cone of light that illuminated the space ably. At first what the machine was speaking about wasn't entirely clear, until piping moved and slithered in unnatural ways.
Its six limbs, festooned with cabling and power shunts, were hooked into the pipe-filled ceiling. Two of the limbs ended in powerful-looking mechanical claws that had crimped the pipe work they were closed around. All of the limbs folded and connected back to a central body of polished chrome and gold flanges, a guided cages within which pulsing sacks and tubing could be seen. And atop this central torso, turning slowly around in a full circle, was ahead. Triangular in form, with three eyes set at each corner with a grilled mesh over a central space that could have been a mouth.
"CLICK"
The static burble lanced across the comm network.
"CLICK. You are not Hawk or his cronies."
The voice was rich, cultured, and with a tone of voice that could be best described as a belaboured disappointment.
To Jayla, the tone held a clinical interest, almost as if the creature were curious as to who they were. However, she could not form an intelligent response while trying to take in its physical form. So all that came out of her mouth was, “no. We are not.”
"CLICKEvidently so." It stated. It slowly began to scuttle across the ceiling towards the wall of the reactor room, slowly transitioning from ceiling to bulkhead, and then to the deck. As it stomped about on its legs getting itself squared away before them, part of its chassis came into view. It was the titanium white of Starfleet hull cladding, with a blinking LCAR's display padd seemingly tied to it with strips of the foil blanket.
"CLICK I had assumed by hijacking the Icarus's Log Beacon I would force them to return after they, my most despicable crew, stranded me here. Imagine my surprise when not only do Federationists reappear but they are not the ones I have had trespass against me." It growled. One of its eyes turned to look at Suda and the rifle in his hand. "CLICKCollimated phase packet delivery mechanism. How...quaint. I happen to know a being or two who could provide you with a personal graviton lance of Second Lunar Imperium manufacture. Very rare, Very exquisite. For the discerning fellow, such as yourself. Much more effective against the local fauna, I'm sure you will agree."
“They just… they just left you here?” asked Jayla, annoyance evident in her voice. “Why in the universe would they do that?”
"CLICKA very good question, a very good question indeed. And one I would gladly aid you in answer were we to return to your star ship," the alien said, its feet clomping and clanking on the deck. "CLICK After all, you got past the rock spiders and the plasma leviathans, so clearly you are not foolish to rush in where few dare."
Quaint or not, Suda flipped the safety on his phaser rifle and allowed the resultant hum to punctuate his next statement. "You're not coming anywhere near our ship." He held his rifle at high ready, his stony face promising action if the lifeform turned hostile. "Give us the beacon and we'll be on our way."
“Don’t be an idiot!” Jayla snapped at Suda, eyes flashing uncharacteristically angry. “That is a sentient being who has been abandoned by his friends and hasn’t even made the slightest attempt at hurting anybody. I’m not saying we should take him back, but you don’t have any reason to threaten his life!”
"It knows about our mission principal, has offered no evidence of anything it's claimed, and is trying to talk its way past us to the ship," Suda said, keeping his weapon trained on the augmented horror. "So shut the fuck up, Doc. It isn't getting near the Daedalus." Nodding up at the...the thing. "Now make with the beacon."
“And we have no evidence to the contrary!” Jayla pointed out hotly. “And you’re doing everything in your power to ensure that he has reason to attack us. How about if you shut up and maybe we can figure this out with words- like adults!”
"Are you fucking blind?!" Suda shouted, still not looking away from the target. "It named the Icarus and its captain, claims to have the ship's beacon in its possession, and it has a goddamn scrap piece from a Starfleet ship hanging off its ass! I'm not going to say it again: shut the fuck up. That's an order, Lieutenant." Once again, gestured at the cybernetic thing. "I ain't asking. We're taking the beacon. Do not move. If you do, you will be fired on. If you're peaceful, you can chit-chat with the captain all you want once my team's cleared out."
Gesturing for the two security officers on either side to fan out and search for the beacon, Suda kept his weapon trained on the target as he maintained position between it and the rest of the team.
"CLICK There is no beacon, I dismantled it and threw the errant parts into the void. No doubt those spiders crushed any active electronics, and what was left would have been fried by the leviathans," the metallic crab said, sounding ever so pleased with itself. "CLICK As I said, I was stranded here. By good luck Hawk and his rabble had left one of their log beacons in orbit. It was...not without its challenges to get to it, leaping from rock to rock, coasting through the orbital planes of this petulant star. Avoiding the spider, and the leviathans I admit, I took some small joy in tearing it apart."
He raised one of its claws, holding it up towards the two guards.
"CLICK Before, I had seen the benefit of downloading its data cache into my internal mechanisms. To that end, I could argue with a good deal of success, that I am your beacon." It chuckled. "CLICK I, Ship Master Proximal Assurance Of Success, demand that you take me to your leader for parlay."
"Who's they?" Asami asked, not realizing she spoke out loud at first, her eyes going wide as the... Construct's focus seemed to shift. "I mean, sorry, when did you last see the Icarus?" She couldn't get that part out of her head. It hadn't quite said that it was the Icarus who abandoned them... Since despicable crew and all... But if it was... Could this Master Proximal be a part of the Icarus crew? Or was she over thinking it... She was definitely overthinking it.... fuck is it talking? She really needed to work on not getting so lost in her own head...
"I'm not taking his word for shit," Suda barked. "Listen up, shit-bolt, because I'm only saying this once. If you have the beacon logs, then give one as sample data to take back to our captain as evidence. He'll decide whether you 'parley' or not." The word felt sleazy in Suda's mouth, but he'd said worse. "No deal means we chalk the recovery mission up as a loss and we up and leave your ass here. What's it gonna' be?"
"CLICK. Bargained well and done," the spidered cyborg muttered. Morpheus stiffened slightly, and the three illuminated lights on its head began to flicker.
"The Ship Master has transmitted a data file to me. Standard LCAR's format, all digital tamper seals remain intact. The file is a holographic recording," the FELINE uttered in its airy tone of voice. "I have partitioned that segment of my data architecture to make sure there is no malicious code. I can confirm the file originated from the USS Icarus."
"CLICK. I am a being of my word and do not feel slighted in the least for being so cavalierly characterised as a villain," Prox clacked. "CLICK.Now, shall we discuss our exit? Your ship must be formidable if it has survived this place, but it is folly to stay longer. The native fauna is not known for its limitless patience."
"Sir...?" Asami looked between Suda and then over to MacArthur. They couldn't really be thinking of taking this thing with them... were they? That couldn't be even close to procedure outside of an emergency.
“Stand DOWN, Suda,” Javi deliberated-omitted his rank as she issued the order, moving back to the group. Bhéara bounded past, uttering a low growl, a beam shooting out of her mouth at the other FELINE present. Javi grabbed Morpheus in the general area of its neck and shoved the FELINE at Suda,” Since you’re eager for something to do, secure Morpheus in your pack or on your person.” She then turned her head towards the entity as she addressed it,” You will not be accompanying us." Javi turned her attention back to her team, "Move out."
"You heard the Commander," Suda barked again at the rest of the security team while giving the hand signal to return to the shuttle. He lowered his phaser rifle long enough to attach Morpheus to his EV suit, but he quickly kept the business end at low ready. Just because he was standing down didn't mean he would let the cybernetic bug out of his sight for an instant. "Goes for you too," he warned the creature. He brought up the rear, walking backwards with an unblinking stare at the... the thing, primed for it to make a move during their tactical retreat.
"CLICK. You would leave me here to die!" Proximal's voice rose enough that the crackling static distortion at its edges cackled madly around it. "CLICK. Do you think this husk of a starship is anything other than my tomb if you depart? And within it, mayhaps, the only means you have to safely navigate this region of space! I am a trader! A wanderer! I know these stars and their people, I could be invaluable to you and your Captain!"
"Tell it to the deity in the afterlife of your choice," Suda said coolly, still backing away while the others safely made their egress. "If the captain says go, we'll be back. Until then, consider your shit fucked if you come near our ship."
Taking his feet off the DSRV console as he heard the away team approaching that last point of connection between unknown nightmare's lair and his taxi back to Daedalus, Fox hit 'stop' on the recording and smiled. Despite the popcorn-worthy conversation with an unknown intelligence, they were all still alive and well and it seemed at least one step closer to finding out something regarding Icaurus. Of course, whether 'Proximal Assurance of Success' was friend, foe or more likely somewhere in between, the critter had definitely encountered said lost ship. And, despite everything, Fox's scans couldn't locate any other sign of life to suggest the Icarus crew were here. He'd take that and the return of MacArthur's team to be a Good Sign.
"Hope we don't meet these Leviathans on the way back out," the pilot said, with gravitas to his voice as the others began to return. "You think the Captain will invite our Clicky-Crab-of-Success on board, Commanders? Sounds like someone else left them there for a reason..."
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