EP 8 "EROWOON: PART II" - ACT II



Commodore Jackson stood at the rear of the Yacht’s Officer’s Mess, staring out into space.  With her enhanced vision via the spectacles she wore, she could just make out a faint green-pink dalmatian nebula, the area of ‘local’ space where the Fantasy’s Beta Section was parked.  She felt a pang of responsibility for the passengers she’d left in Commander Struckchev’s charge, and a little guilt at their probable state.  She hoped that they were all safe, at least, and that the Kosovan wasn’t giving people too hard a time.  No doubt Lirik and the big man had clashed once or thrice already, but she assumed that Lirik would handle the situation – probably by keeping a low profile.

The doors hissed open behind her – it was O’Hara, flustered but trying to keep a lid on it.  “Forgive me, Commodore, I just wanted you to know that our search teams are back.  There’s been no sign of the Captain and Souveson anywhere.  Isn’t it time we contacted the Romulans?”

“What about Reb?” Jackson asked, her face deadpan.

“What about me?” Reb entered the room at warp speed with Lieutenant Commander Leonard, Narli and Ganhedra hot on his heels – his hearing had obviously grasped the words even through the thick bulkhead doors of the mess before they opened ahead of him.

“Where the hell have you been?!” the Commodore boomed, her face contorting into the consummate disciplinarian.   “Mister Leonard contacted you nearly an hour ago, you knew we had a situation.”

“They’re being held on the Romulan ship,” Reb panted, explaining quickly.

“Duuh!” O’Hara snapped sarcastically.

“But why do you say so with such conviction?” Ganhedra asked suspiciously.

Reb reached into his pocket and showed them the two Starfleet comm badges.  “When Leonard called me, I …,” he fidgeted nervously, flushing red and blotchy around his faint lobes, “well, the truth is I didn’t want to come back to the ship completely empty handed so I went back to the bar where I’d started off.
“’M’?” Ganhedra frowned.

“Murak,” Narli concluded.

“The boy said that a pale thin man with pointy ears wearing a square shaped jacket had given them to him in the docking level corridor where the Romulan ship is sited.  He told the boy that if he found anyone from the Fantasy they would give him a substantial reward in return,” Reb swallowed, not wanting to disclose just how much the alien child had managed to extort from him before getting the badges.

“Well, not knowing where their loyalties yet lie, I’d rather not alert station security at this time,” Jackson bit her lip.
“Commodore!” the Helan thick-necked man called Midrian bounded through the door, face flushed.  “Commodore!  We have just monitored on the station’s arrivals information network that a flotilla of K’Tani ships are on their way here.”

Everyone either sighed in despair or gasped.
“About three hours before they are scheduled to dock,” he said  “But they could already be in range of the Beta Section.”  A few more gasps and one ‘tut’ at this.

“There’s one other thing,” Reb grasped Jackson’s arm to impart his sense of urgency and make her focus on him rather than the innocent civilians she always seemed so overprotective towards.
The Commodore paused, taking everything in.
“About as much as I trust anyone, Ma’am,” Reb said honestly.  “But given the circumstances, we don’t have a lot of time to find an alternative.   My gut feeling is she’s okay.”

“Does she require a down payment?” Narli asked, checking his padd which held their current balance of funds available.

“No, but I have to go and meet her in person to finalise the deal,” he said.

Jackson nodded her head slowly, considering the timetabling of the next three hours.  “Then we had better act quickly.  Mister Leonard, you’ll accompany Reb, make a few enquiries, see that she knows her stuff.”

Leonard nodded, glancing at the others, and at Reb who looked a bit deflated by the Commodore’s over cautiousness.

“Meanwhile, I’ll brief everyone on the rescue plan,” she said.  Then, as they thought there was more detail to come: “Be quick, gentlemen.”

Leonard nodded and slapped Reb on the arm, hauling him away.  Everyone else looked nervously at the Commodore, each uncertain about her ability to lead them in what was essentially a risky tactical mission against Romulans.

ACT 3