Acting captain’s log, Stardate…whatever. It’s been several hours since we began our trip to Ganalda Station and I can only hope that our new mission doesn’t last too much longer than that. Despite my frustration, I hope that Erica’s sister, Karen, is alive and well…or, as well as she can be considering her company. No one deserves a life of slavery, especially an innocent civilian. Makes me wish I had a big, bad tactical cruiser at my disposal. Then I could ensure the safety of other civilian transports and this bullshit would happen a lot less.
I haven’t said anything to Trixie about what I saw on the holodeck and to my knowledge, she hasn’t gone anywhere near Deck 4 so I can only assume she doesn’t know that I know about…ugh, this damn drama is giving me a headache. I’m at a loss as to how I should handle the situation, being quite out-of-practice. It’s definitely not a bad thing. At least it probably won’t turn into another round of ‘wham, bam, thank you, Cole’. I hope not anyway. (End recording)
I sighed and reclined on my recently remade bed. In a fit of shame and regret, I had stripped the old sheets off, recycled them in the replicator, and fabricated new ones. They weren’t as soft and well worn-in as my old ones but it was a price I was willing to pay to rid my sleeping space of her scent.
Beyond that and the obligatory log entry, I was at a loss as to what to do next. We would arrive at our destination in about an hour but I still needed something to pass the time. Normally, I would plan what I was going to do but since all we had to do was piss them off, I figured I could probably ad-lib this one.
Of course, there was another reason I needed to occupy myself.
Bored and full of regret is a debilitating combination, and it was the condition with which I found myself afflicted. I needed something to do, something to take my mind off the feeling of betrayal staging an invasion of my heart. I had a dozen or so holodeck programs ready to go, there always diagnostics to run, and there was usually some annoying little technical issue to torture my less-than-technical mind with.
Or I could just get drunk…
The sound of my door chime shook me from my thoughts. I stretched and got up so I was sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Come in,” I called. “Oh, hey.” I greeted as Trixie tentatively entered. “Is there…something you need?”
“Trixie is…Trixie is okay,” she replied hesitantly before looking up at me, concern gracing on face. “Trixie…I, came to see…if you were okay.” I sighed and offered her a tired smile.
“Thanks, Trix,” I replied, ruffling her ears. “I’m okay, just…still getting over the shock, I guess.” There was a pause.
“You really liked her didn’t you?” Her tone was gentle, not at all accusatory like most of her inquiries, which was especially surprising considering her feelings towards me. So that was it, huh? She was gonna make come out and say it.
“Yeah,” I replied quietly. “I did.”
And that’s all it took. I began to bawl like a helpless infant. The dam shattered, letting loose all the latent feelings of shame and betrayal I had kept under wraps for the past several hours and quite possibly, years. First, my parents on Romulus, and now this; what could’ve been a wonderful and fulfilling companionship…gone because of some filthy injustice that I now found myself a willing part of. Irony is a cruel mistress indeed, to say the least.
I’m not sure how long we sat there, my face buried in Trixie’s mane while she gently rubbed my back with a front hoof. She never once hinted at being bored or disappointed or ashamed of me. She just sat and waited the storm out until the deluge turned into a small trickle at best. Having finally banished most of my emotional distress, I sat up and wiped my eyes for what I hoped would be the final time for a long time.
“Feeling better?” she asked quietly, continuing to rub my back. I nodded and set my hand on her free hoof, squeezing it.
“Yeah,” I replied, a little out of breath from the rather considerable outpouring of emotions. “Quite a bit, actually. Thanks for doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Staying with me. You didn’t have to do that. But…I’m really glad you did.” I assured her, adding a hug for good measure.
“I just wanted you to know that you could…” She fidgeted nervously, although rather than pull away, she returned the embrace. “…y’know, count on me. To…be there for you.”
“I appreciate it,” I murmured into her soft mane, carefully resting my head atop hers. “We have to be there for each other.” I could feel her muzzle curve into a smile, even before she spoke.
“And we will be.”
***
“Computer, what’s our ETA?” I asked as Trixie and I entered the bridge.
“We will arrive at Ganalda Station in approximately 12 minutes.” I looked at Trixie and offered her a small smile that I hoped appeared at least somewhat confident.
“Ready for another round with the Orion Syndicate?” I asked. She grinned and nodded.
“Of course! Trixie is always ready for a challenge! Bring ‘em on!”
“Hey, easy now!” I replied with a small laugh. “I appreciate your enthusiasm but we’re trying not to fight them this time, remember?” The showmare rolled her eyes.
“Yes, yes, Trixie knows.”
“Are you sure?” I asked with a healthy amount of scrutiny. “I think we should go over the plan one more time.”
“Ugh, fine,” Trixie replied, slightly exasperated.
“Step one: show up right on their doorstep. Step two: Provoke them into following us into shared space and if we can, Federation space. Step three: hope that Captain Remy has enough friends in high places to support a possible confrontation with the Syndicate and rescue any slaves from the station.” There are some ideas that sound more outlandish when stated aloud rather than simply thought about in one’s mind. This was one of those ideas.
“Trixie doesn’t like this,” she muttered, her face contorted into concern and skepticism. “Just being the bait. At least in a fight, you know what’s going to happen. Either they’re gonna get you or you’re gonna get them.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” I commented. Her ears flattened as she frowned at me.
“Once or twice…” she ventured cautiously. I could see it on her face; this was a particularly touchy subject with her and not one I wanted to broach, at least not at the moment. We had a job to do.
“Good enough for me,” I assured her. “Computer, tactical status.”
“All phaser banks and torpedo launchers are operating within normal parameters. All Aegis modifications also operating within normal parameters.” Trixie looked at me quizzically.
“Just feels good to know we’re ready,” I said with a shrug.
“I guess so but Trixie didn’t need the ship to tell her that.” she replied smartly, sending me a confident wink. I smiled and nodded.
“That’s what I like to hear.”
We dropped out of warp a few short minutes later, appearing exactly where we expected in the Archanis Sector, and as close as we could get to Ganalda Station.
“Dear Celestia…” Trixie murmured as we beheld the large cloud of Orion ships crowding the station, taking note of the titanic warship directly in the middle.
“That’s a lot of big green men…” I muttered. “We have to work quickly. Computer, scan all vessels and the station for any human females and pinpoint any that match the profile given by Erica.” The computer beeped and there was a pause as it performed its task.
“38 subjects in total and one match found.”
“Location?”
“They have just been transported aboard the Warbarge Dreadnought.”
“Damnit,” I cursed. “Guess anything else would’ve been too easy, huh?”
“How are we supposed to beat that thing?” Trixie asked, clearly unsettled by the presence of so many of our former ‘friends’.
“That’s the best part; we don’t have to. Captain Remy made it clear that he and whatever task force he manages to scrape together will take care of any warships that come after us.” I assured her, hoping it would turn out to be true. Starfleet reinforcements were one thing but there were a lot of Orions camped out by the station. As I gauged Trixie’s reaction, I couldn’t help but notice an expression of…regret? “Something up?” I asked out of curiosity.
“What do you mean?”
“You looked like you were actually disappointed that we wouldn’t have to fight them.”
“How are you not?” she countered. “They’ve been making our lives miserable for weeks! Trixie thinks we should return the favor!”
I had to admit that she did have a point.
“Look, if they need us to provide additional support, then I promise we’ll get right in there. For now, I think we should concentrate on getting their attention and setting this ridiculous plan in motion.”
“Warning: proximity alert. Hostile vessels approaching.”
“Trixie thinks we have their attention,” the showmare pointed out as dozens of ships, including the Warbarge converged on our position, blocking our view with sheer numbers.
“Computer, open a channel to all Orion vessels,” I instructed.
“Channel open.” I took a deep breath as the viewscreen filled with no less than 40 green faces, none of which looked too happy to see us. I looked over at Trixie, receiving a ‘go ahead’ nod. “Alright…which one of you wants to surrender first?”
My ‘ultimatum’ was met with riotous laughter. After a few seconds, they regained their composure and a particularly large face occupied the majority of the viewscreen.
“Who are you?” he demanded, his deep voice reverberating across the COM channel.
“Never mind that.” I knew they’d scan us eventually but I wanted to buy as much time as I could for Captain Remy. “I’m here for one of your captives, a human female by the name of Karen. Transport her to my ship immediately and I’ll be on my way.”
Just for the record, I didn’t expect to be taken seriously.
“You have some nerve, boy,” he growled. “Do you not know who you are addressing? I am Hassan the Undying!”
“I know,” I answered nonchalantly. Up and to my left at the tactical station, Trixie stiffened in anticipation and subtly moved her hoof until it just barely hovered over the ‘fire’ button. “The deal stands. Give us the prisoner and we’ll leave.”
“Oh, you’ll be leaving,” Hassan assured me. “But not as you are. All ships, target the Federation vessel!”
“Warning: multiple weapons locked on. Recommend evasive maneuvers.” the computer exclaimed.
“You should listen to your computer,” Hassan warned. “If you had, perhaps you would have lived to see another day.”
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I plan to. Trixie, now!” She nodded and with that, a burst of phaser fire from the forwards arrays hit the first four ships, catching the overconfident vessels completely by surprise. The subsequent explosions, though not enough to destroy said vessels, provided the perfect opportunity to escape, which we did…after sending a photon torpedo at the Warbarge just before going to warp. If that didn’t provoke them into chasing us, nothing would.
***
Here's a little joke for you; how many idiots does it take to piss off an entire Orion fleet? If the answer is not abundantly clear, our warp trail was the black box. No sooner had the Targ manure hit the fan, we were scanned, subsequently recognized, and immediately fired upon. Fortunately, the Aegis system kicked in just in time, preventing any serious damage, and we were able to escape by the skin of our teeth. I had to admit that for a bunch of barbaric slave-keepers, they were pretty Johnny-on-the-spot and jumped to warp immediately after we had.
I looked over at the blue mare as we streaked towards the rendezvous point. She didn’t even bother to hide it; as a matter of fact, I could feel a thought working its way onto my face in the form of a disgruntled and frustrated expression.
We were tired of running. Turning tail and racing for our lives to the nearest friendly port was beginning to get to us, not that it hadn’t bothered us before. The difference was thanks to my new gear, we had a way to fight back and regain our honor, as the Klingons would say. I was finally starting to see the wisdom behind some of their ‘philosophies’. And by the expression on Trixie’s face, she was thinking the exact same thing.
We reached the meeting point and dropped out of warp with the Orion fleet right behind us…which really sucked for them. Awaiting their arrival was the dreadnought Repulse, the Multi-Vector tactical ship Prometheus, and at least two dozen other starships of various configurations, all stood ready to engage.
And engage they did. I immediately ordered evasive maneuvers, barely evading the ensuing crossfire as both fleets clashed. Beams and torpedoes turned the space around us into no man’s land. Surprised for the second time that day, they fought with desperation to escape the trap. If they hadn’t been such honourless dogs, I might’ve appreciated their tenacity. Instead, I scanned for their leader, intent on showing him just how sick and tired of the Syndicate we were.
“Over there!” Trixie exclaimed, pointing at the viewscreen.
“Damn coward!” I growled as Hassan’s Warbarge slunk away, a small but steady stream of plasma leaking from the port side near the stern. “Whaddya say?” I asked, turning to Trixie. “Wanna teach ‘im a lesson?”
“Let’s do it!” she exclaimed, a determined grin gracing her muzzle.
“Then let’s go to work. Computer, pursuit course. Configure manual firing control to fire all beam weapons and stand by.”
“Acknowledged.” I looked back up at Trixie and gave her a grin of my own.
“How’d you like to be my tactical officer?” Her eyes widened.
“Are you…are you serious?” she asked, clearly in disbelief.
“Look at it this way; not only were you trapped on one of those damned slave ships, you saved the lives of six children. You deserve a chance to get even.” Her grin quickly turned into a full-on smile.
“Trixie would love nothing more!”
It didn’t take long for the quick and nimble Ranger to catch up with our prey. In what would soon become an irony fetishist’s wet dream, we let loose with every attack pattern and weapons combination I could think of, ensuring that we only targeted weapons, shields, and engines so as not to inadvertently hurt the innocent people on board. While my tactical knowledge was limited at best, we’d had quite a bit of practice fighting the Orions, giving us a decent advantage. Using our superior maneuverability, along with the adaptive shields of the Aegis system, we both fought and survived, twisting, turning, and weaving, peppering the dreadnought with torpedoes and razing it with phaser fire. If nothing else, it was one Hell of a light show.
“Told you learning some bridge controls would come in handy!” I exclaimed as Trixie practically hammered the newly-minted ‘fire all weapons’ button.
“Shut up and steer this thing!” she retorted, staring intently out the viewscreen.
“Evasive pattern Delta 5!” I shouted, pleased that one of the two or three I actually knew was doing what we needed it to do. “How’s that?”
“Better!”
I spared a glance at our shields and hull integrity; despite our efforts and the capabilities of the Aegis, the Ranger was never designed to go toe-to-toe with a dreadnought. Try as we might to disable or disarm it, we just weren’t doing enough damage to make a serious enough difference. It was only a matter of time before they repaired whatever was leaking and went to warp. If we were gonna stop ‘em, it had to be really soon.
“Alright, Trixie, I think it’s time for Plan B!” I announced.
“What’s ‘Plan B’?” she nearly shouted.
“We need more firepower and with Captain Remy and the others occupied, it’s up to us to stop Hassan here and now! How about giving that Amulet of yours a squeeze?” Then, suddenly remembering what had happened the last time she’d used it, I backpedaled so fast I’m surprised I didn’t go flying out the shuttle bay. I sighed; Trixie paused and looked at me apprehensively. “I’m sorry.”
“What? Why?”
“Because of what happened at Starbase 39. I almost lost you last time you used it. I…I can’t…won’t ask you to take that risk again.” To my surprise, the showmare offered me a confident smile and placed a hoof on my shoulder.
“Cole, it was a risk I was willing to take.” She returned her attention to the viewscreen and the flying behemoth therein. “And one Trixie is more than ready to take again!” With that, her horn and Amulet began to glow. The bridge became enveloped with blue light before condensing into several spheres and flying out the bridge. We watched through the viewscreen as the spheres appeared in front of us and transformed into very familiar shapes.
“Aha! Yes!” I cried as the photonic fleet began a coordinated attack on the Warbarge’s shields, weapons, and engines. Trixie kept her eyes closed as she guided them and after a minute or two of overwhelming fire, the fleeing warship came to a dead stop and finally stopped firing.
“Target's shields, weapons, and engines have failed.” the computer informed us. Trixie opened her eyes and the magically-conjured fleet disappeared with a flash.
“Computer, casualty report. Are the captives alright?”
“Affirmative. Holding cells located deep in ship’s interior.” I breathed a sigh of relief and got up, wiping my brow as I did so.
“We did it, Trix,” I said as she came around and sat on her haunches beside me, panting and staring at the viewscreen.
“Eep!” she squeaked as I suddenly picked her up around her waist and hugged her, smushing the sides of our faces together. Blushing madly, Trixie relaxed and wrapped her front hooves around me. We leaned away from each other shared a victorious smile.
“Amazing as always, Trix,” I said as we watched the victorious Federation fleet surround the crippled Warbarge. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Hell, I don’t know what anyone would…”
Her lips touched mine, rendering anything more I might’ve said completely irrelevant. As far as kisses go, it was chaste and felt like it ended prematurely but that did not in any way make it any less meaningful.
Or surprising for that matter. I mean, I knew she liked me but I wasn’t expecting…well, that to happen. How was I supposed to know how she would choose to show affection? After all, she was an Equestrian, a species about which I possessed little knowledge, to say nothing of their mating habits or courting preferences. Maybe it was the thrill of our victory. Maybe it was the teamwork. Maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment gesture brought on by my equally spur-of-the-moment gesture. What I eventually concluded as we stood still, holding each other tightly was that none of that mattered. We had persevered and triumphed over incredible odds and staged yet another daring rescue.
“Mr. Stevens?” The voice of Captain Remy brought us back to reality. I quickly (but gently) set Trixie down and stood at attention as the captain regarded us through the viewscreen from the comfortable chair in his ready room. “I apologize for the interruption but the Admiral would like a word with you regarding Erica and Karen.”
“How are they doing, sir?” I asked.
“Shaken up but otherwise unharmed.” Trixie let out a huff. I scratched her ear absentmindedly and felt her relax.
“Thank you, Captain,” I replied with an appreciative nod before pausing. “Sir…what’s going to happen to them? Will Erica stand trial? And what about Karen?” Captain Remy nodded.
“Yes, Erica will have to stand trial. We have placed her sister under Federation custody for the time being.”
“What about their parents, sir?” I asked, wondering how I had not asked that earlier.
“According to the database, they were killed when the transport they were on was attacked by the Orion Syndicate. Apparently, Karen and Erica were the only survivors. They tried to escape when the ship made a stop at Risa but only Erica made it. From what I gathered during our discussion, she tried to go back for her sister but Karen insisted that she save herself and get help.” The captain sighed and drummed his fingers together. “It’s amazing what people will do in the face of a crisis,” he mused. “I don’t think her sentence will be very serious. While she did commandeer a starship, no one was hurt as a direct result and that allowed us to capture one of the Federation’s most wanted criminals. I expect that the evidence will absolve her of any serious trouble.” I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s about as good as can be expected given the current situation, right?” I asked. Remy nodded.
“I would say so. The Admiralty has requested that you submit a full report on what happened to the best of your knowledge. I suggest you finish that sooner rather than later to make sure we have it by the time the trial comes along.”
"Yes sir. I’ll get to to as soon as I can.”
“I know you will. Best of luck to you and Trixie, Mr. Stevens,” Remy replied. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
“I hope so, sir.” I answered. “By the way; thanks for all your help. We’re in your debt…again.” Remy smiled and chuckled.
“It’s just part of my duties, Mr. Stevens, although if you feel so strongly about it, just buy me a round of Kanar next time and we’ll call it even.” I nodded curtly.
“Sounds real good, sir.”
***
Acting Captain’s log, Stardate something, something. After three days of repairs at Deep Space k7, we’re finally ready got get under way. Fortunately, most of the damage was fairly easy to remedy and I am pleased to report that the Ranger is ship-shape once again, although I’m now of the opinion that if insurance still existed in the Federation, I’d have a policy as long as my arm.
Things with Trixie have been…different. Don’t get me wrong; things between us are fine, probably better than they’ve ever been. It’s just that we obviously both need some time to really examine our feelings and thinks about where we want to go. I know I’m probably being overcautious and what have you but Trixie’s really important to me. I’d rather not screw things up between us.
Having said that, I’m starting to warm up to the idea of being in a serious relationship with her. We’ve both grown a lot since we started this journey together and I think we’re finally starting to meld. It’s a nice change from the hourly wars we used to wage, that’s for sure.
I think I’m ready to give this a try. (End transmission)
I yawned and stretched, grunting as my back cracked and loosened up. I glanced at the clock; almost three in the morning (Earth standard time). I got up and made my way to Trixie’s room to bid her good night.
“Computer,” I said, remembering how late it was. “Where's Trixie?”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is on the bridge.” I couldn’t help but laugh; apparently, the sly showmare had instructed the computer to address her as she saw fit. Still, I suppose that after those last two photonic fleets, she deserved some opportunity to stroke her ego.
Upon exiting the turbolift, I found her sitting close to the main viewscreen, staring out at the stars beyond the station. She always did love the stars. In fact, if I wasn’t sure that the star on her flank was attached to a wand and therefore denoted magic affinity, I would’ve attributed her cutie mark to her love of the stars.
“Nice view, huh?” I asked, causing her to turn around in surprise. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. May I join you?”
“Sure. It’s your bridge.” I smiled; even in a pensive half-trance, she still retained her wit.
“Thanks.” I replied, taking a seat beside her. There was a silence as I joined her in her observations. “Trixie…is there something you…maybe wanna talk about?” I ventured. There was a pause and although I wasn’t studying her face, I could tell she was thinking very hard about her answer.
“Kind of…” she admitted, much to my surprise. Up until this point, she had been a very private mare and had kept me on a need-to-know basis. Nevertheless, I welcomed her candidness. “Trixie…I…kinda…maybe…you know…” she murmured nervously. I decided to let her off the hook.
“Look, Trix, it’s been a strange last four days so I understand if you need time to… y’know, think things over. I know I could. Still…that kiss was…it was really great.” I assured her, ruffling her ears.
“T-thanks,” she replied sheepishly, blushing. “It f-felt really good to me, too.” I smiled and put my arm around her. She let out a small, happy sigh and leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Receiving incoming transmission from Starfleet Command, priority Alpha.” the computer announced, startling us. Trixie sighed and I rolled my eyes.
“On-screen.”
My eyes widened as I read the message, after which I absentmindedly rose to my feet. Sensing something amiss, Trixie read it as well before looking up at me with an inquisitive expression.
“Cole…what’s a ‘Dyson Sphere’?”