"Nice And Easy"
[Previous post: "Tactical Return"]
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Bridge
To be on a ship able to travel faster than light and instead inching their way through space seemed weird to Uxtar, the Sec/Tac officer never having been one to do anything *slowly*. On the other hanb though this crawling pace had come across as a hunt for something unseen and unknown which had made the Hirogen quickly adapted to find the slow journey around SURIAL III actually stimulating.
"Approaching the southern pole," Derek announced form the helm. If the
tone of the FCO was to be any indication, the half Vulcan pilot had not found anything *thrilling* about what they had been doing. Uxtar on the other hand had noticed that his pulse had increased and that his senses had sharpened in anticipation of whatever they might find. As unwelcome as the Imperians might have been at this particular time, the Hunter had been ready for them.
"Sensors are not detecting anything aside from the inactive weapons platform," the ExO/CEO said not at all sounding disappointed. "Even the disturbances in the atmosphere are quiet. If we needed or wanted to, I am sure that we could beam down to the planet surface."
"Planning an away mission?" The CO said sarcastically, not expecting
David or anyone else to want to go to the surface of SURIAL III.
"If I was, it wouldn't be on this world," Lt. Dawson replied with a wry grin.
"Sir," Derek piped up, "picking up something metallic. Whatever it is, it's caught in the lower magnetic gravitational well of the southern pole."
"Locking weapons on target," Uxtar said not giving a second thought about what the object might have been.
"You might want to hold on for a moment before blasting it into oblivion," the ExO said as be brought the object in question to fill the main view screen.
"What is it?" the CO asked, tilting her head in an effort to get a better look at the rough-edged piece of metal.
"Based on the type of metal, it's Cardassian in origin," the CEO said with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Looks like a section of outer hull, maybe from a cruiser or a freighter. I'm picking up a lot more debris on the planet surface now. Looks like a ship went down and that piece of debris was stuck in a decaying orbit which we are seeing the final stage of."
"Are there any survivors?" the CO asked, wondering if she would have to send Doctor Summers down to the planet surface to render assistance.
"Negative," the Hirogen replied, not solely focusing on the debris field mentioned by the ExO/CEO. "The ship is so badly broken apart that there are no sections of it that landed in one piece. Also I am not detecting any escape pods anywhere near the crash sight. Maybe the ship had been evacuated prior to it crashing."
"Or maybe the Imperians got to those onboard beforehand," the FCO said in a purely logical tone.
"If any Imperian was onboard when the ship crashed I doubt that they survived," the Hirogen added basing his observation on the extent of the devastation the sensors had found.
"Given what we have seen of the Imperian's durability, I would not dismiss the possibility of one or more of them having survived this crash, regardless of how bad it may be," Lt. Dawson noted. If there had been any doubts about sending someone to the planet surface before then what the ExO had said had settled this once and for all.
"Helm," the CO sighed, "steady as she goes and let's keep our eyes open. Whatever was the cause of this crash may very well still be out there waiting for its next victim."
Not at all wanting the HATHOR to suffer the same fate as the Cardassian ship, Uxtar doubled his efforts in scanning the atmosphere of the planet and anything else that might be in orbit. If the Imperians were indeed here waiting for them, the Hirogen would do everything in his power to make sure that the surprise would be in their favor and not that of the robotic killing machines.
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[Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.] 2006 post #103
Stardate: 60342.0830
Mark Hutchings {h172mark16@fastmail.us}
Ensign Uxtar
Chief Security Officer
USS HATHOR
