Take Us Home
Posted on Sat Jan 18th, 2014 @ 1:53pm by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii & Lieutenant Horatio Hawke & Lieutenant Ciaran McIntyre
Edited on on Sat Jan 18th, 2014 @ 2:17pm
Mission:
Remnant Part 2
Location: Deep Space
"Come on!" McIntyre shouted to the small huddle of officers who had congregated in the corridor on Deck Two, before calling out to a Petty Officer who was clearly headed for the Bridge. "You can't get up that way- the launch mechanisms on the pods are busted!"
McIntyre looked around at the battered corridor of the Endeavour. Not long ago, he had come aboard this ship as a replacement, someone who filled the void left by the death of a crewmate. Now only a matter of months later, he stood ready to evacuate the ship which he had presumed to call home. He felt that he could have done more to save her but who would have seen another attack coming? Certainly not him.
Hawke ran up to McIntyre and the XO, having finished a last sweep of the deck and Deck Three below. He ushered the two security crewmen he'd ordered to help into the nearest pod and then reported. "This section's clear," he said. He took a last moment to look around. She was a fine ship - one of finest he'd ever had the privilege of flying. "She's going out before her time," he said to nobody in particular.
18 Hours Later
"No, Hawke." McIntyre stated flatly. "I'm not playing you any more! You're hustling me. At this rate I'll owe you more than the Gross National Product of Ferenginar by the time we get picked up."
McIntyre had suggested a game of poker to pass the time in their escape pod and Hawke seemed keen to fleece him. In truth, the game was more to allow them to ignore the fact that the Endeavour was gone and Captain Byrne with it. It was the second time they had lost him within a week.
Hawke shrugged and absently tossed the deck of cards into the replicator where their molecules were quickly pulled apart, returned to basic matter and stored to maybe one day be reconstituted into their last meal. It wasn't a cheery thought, but Hawke wasn't feeling cheery. Lifeboat fever was setting in among his boatmates and he wasn't immune.
"Fine," he said to McIntyre, the edge in his voice matched his friends. "I'll give it all back if you can conjure up a bloody rescue ship."
McIntyre patted all over his threadbare uniform. "Oh no! I've left my magic hat on the bloody ship!" He'd gone past the point of knowing whether he was joking.
"Good work, man! Sarcasm! That's what we need right now, floating in the middle of who the hell knows where. Sarcasm!" Hawke hadn't slept in about thirty hours. It showed and he was quick to temper. "Any other helpful insights up there?"
"You never know, Hawke. Maybe my sarcasm will make our air run out quicker and I won't have to be stuck here with you cheating at cards!" McIntyre hadn't realised that he had risen to his feet. He was so delirious from sleep deprivation that he seemed to be getting into a situation in a ten foot square box with five other people.
Hawke was on his feet as well, though he didn't realise it. "You may not have noticed the five other people in here, Mac, but we'd much prefer to stay alive. So why don't you try something different and shut your mouth? It'll keep our air going twice as long!" He clenched his jaw and felt himself tense up all over as adrenaline pumped.
McIntyre glared at Hawke as the two men drew eye to eye. It seemed as though the time for talking had passed as the stresses and strains of the last days of the Endeavour boiled to the surface.
Gauis had spent the last few hours pretending to sleep, but knowing that the stress and anxiety of the time spent in this poor excuse for an escape pod, was weighing heavily on those under his command. Commander Ra-Xialli was regretting having to report that his Captain and more over his friend, was gone. The XO's job was to protect his Captain, and he had failed several times over the past while.
The little tustle that was about to break up would have been quite entertaining to Gaius, a distraction from the inevitable. But as the senior officer, he had to do his duty.
"Oh gentlemen, If we were on an Andorian vessel right now, one of you would be laying on the floor with a gaping chestwound. Dont make me use our remaining power to replicate two uushan tors. Kiss and make up, or you will be introducing yourselves as Ensigns," He said, remaining in his seat with his arms folded, only opening his eyes at the mention of the gaping chestwound. He felt only a pang of guilt for perhaps being too harsh, but it quickly dissipated.
McIntyre grumbled. "Sorry, Hawke."
The Commander's calm admonishment brought the helmsman back to himself and he suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed. "I'm sorry, too, Mac," he said. Hoping for something to break the awkward mood in the pod.
"Escape pod flotilla, this is the Scimitar, prepare for pick up." A message came over the communication system. Gaius keyed a response.
"Scimitar this is Commander Ra-Xialli," He had to pause, leaving out the end of his assignment, as now, it had no more relevance "Good to hear your voice. Is this Shafto's Scimitar?"
Another voice came over the comm, "Oh yes it is, Gaius, glad you made it, got a bottle of Aldebran whiskey with your name on it over here, debark, shower and we'll debrief, Shafto out."
"Haha!" McIntyre shouted, leaping from his seat and cracking his head on the ceiling of the pod and barely even registering the pain. "You hear that? The Scimitar! Fantastic!"
The tension disappeared in an instant and everybody felt the intense relief of imminent rescue. Hawke punched the air and whooped in excitement, "Ha ha! Have you ever seen a more beautiful sight than that?" he exclaimed, pointing to the visual on the console of the Scimitar as she made her approach.
The next voice over the comm. had a slight Scottish accent to it, and belonged to Shafto's first officer; Commander Murdoc. "We're towing you in to our shuttlebay now. Brace yourselves for a bit of a bump as you touch the deck; we'll try and bring you in as gently as we can."
"Nice to hear a friendly voice." McIntyre hit out as he playfully jabbed Hawke in the ribs. "You hear that Horatio? It's no wonder we've been rescued so quickly; they've got a Scot aboard."
Hawke couldn't contain the smile on his face and he jabbed right back at his friend, the confrontation of a few moments before completely forgotten. "Ah, he must have a Martian there to pick up the slack," he retorted with a pat on McIntyre's back.
The occupants of the escape pod were thrown to and fro as the tractor beam corrected their flight path. Murdoc hadn't been kidding when he had suggested it would be a bumpy landing. The deafening sound of the pod grinding along the shuttlebay deck plate was bad enough but it seemed to McIntyre that the pod was being pulled over the approach to Everest on its way to a full stop.
"Well, at least we're alive." McIntyre said as he pulled himself back to a crouching position on what had once been the ceiling of the craft.
Hawke was adjusting his uniform, zipping up his collar and trying to make it as presentable as he could under the circumstances. So much time in the one uniform meant he could only do so much. He was closest to the console, so he started to tap away at the interface as he said, "I don't mind a bumpy ride if it means a nice hot shower at the end of it."
The heavy mechanisms in the pod hatch released as the proper access codes were inputted from both sides. The light from the Scimitar's shuttlebay suddenly flooded the dingy pod, leaving the Endeavour crew wincing from the light. It had been days since they had seen anything other than emergency lights.
Gaius stepped from the pod as gracefully as he could, not being able to feel his left leg. His ponytail had come undone, but with limited room, his hair ran free. He walked up to the assembly of officers before him, smirks evident on their faces.
Hawke was next, closely followed by McIntyre as they approached the Commander's side, quickly realising how disheveled they looked in comparison to the neatly turned out officers of the Scimitar.
"Welcome aboard people, we are going to have to get some info from you Commander. We lost telemetary on the Endeavour completely," Colonel Shafto said, his arms folded.
"I'm sure you'd like to get cleaned up before your debrief," Commander Murdoc said, standing next to his CO. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to some temporary quarters where you can change. It'll be two to a room I'm afraid, but it's the best we could do on short notice."
Colonel Kyle Shafto (Played by Ra-Xialii)
Commanding Officer
Commander David Murdoc (Played by Byrne)
First Officer
USS Scimitar
&
Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii
Lieutenant Ciaran McIntyre
Lieutenant Horatio Hawke
The former crew of the USS Endeavour
