Terraces of Purgatory
Posted on Sun Sep 29th, 2024 @ 8:32pm by Captain Mrazak & Lieutenant JG Ryland Dedeker & Lieutenant Commander BaoJun Qiao & Lieutenant Commander Finley Chu & Lieutenant Sophie Xiong & Ensign Rozreell Purr & Gunnery Sergeant Roderik Kos & Ferrofax & Lieutenant Commander T'Bela & Lieutenant Commander Leonora Wolf MD & Lieutenant Teejay
Edited on on Sun Sep 29th, 2024 @ 8:50pm
2,369 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
S1E6: Where Skies End
Location: Tuatha De Danann | Limbo System
Timeline: MD 7
As it turned out, the Rish had a novel form of navigating the Stygian Traverse that was as random and hasty as befitting their space gypsy culture. By partnering together, several warp capable ships would tug a derelict inside a warp field and slingshot it into the void. When warp speed dissipated to around the standard velocity of 750 milicochranes, approximately the max impulse capability of a Type 15 Starfleet shuttlepod and 3/4 the speed of light, another group of Rish vessels would tractor the vessel, engage warp, and slingshot it forward again in a zigzag pattern that threw off the coordinated Archon response to warp fields.
The technique added another day to the journey to the Limbo system, but that was far better than the week or more they would have spent on Charon's tail making repairs. Console notifications alerted Mrazak of the end of the hot-shotting pattern. They had arrived at the fringes of the Limbo system where Archons did not roam except for the summons of the self-titled pirate lord who laid claim to it. But they were at the mercy of the Rish who had rescued them.
"At last!" Mrazak threw his hands up as he looked on the main view screen. Each problem would be solved in turn. For now, he was setting his eyes on the prize. "We made it." He hurried to the science station. "I am collating all long-range scans for a view of the system."
On the main viewer appeared the small, dim light of a red dwarf star. Limbo in all its gloomy glory. Its weak and crimson glow cast a dull, eerie light across the system. The planets orbiting the faint star presented a diverse but hazardous environment, each world a unique challenge to any who dare venture close.
Pulling away from the red dwarf revealed just a faint light. A barren, irradiated rock glowing from the intense radiation it absorbed and reflected. Clearly it was little more than a desolate, lifeless world, the kind that repels all but the most desperate or foolhardy.
Beyond it was a larger world world covered in toxic, bleach-filled oceans. The atmosphere was thick with chlorine, giving the planet a sickly yellow hue.
What dominated the scans was a Jovian giant with a deep, swirling atmosphere of gas. Matching the descriptions of Avalon, the host planet for the pirate moon of Fiddler's Green, its gravitational pull held sway over everything else in the system
Orbiting Avalon was the crown jewel of Fiddler’s Green, a bustling outpost on its third moon and refuge for outlaws, pirates, and smugglers. On the nearby second moon was a ghost fleet of impounded ships and the staging area for Maximilian Dedeker’s pirate fleet.
Alas, none of that was to be the Phantom's destination. The Rish dragnet hauled the disabled Starfleet ship to the outermost planet in the system. Annwin, another gas giant, loomed larger than Avalon but even more dark and desolate, having devoured most of its moons over the eons. What remained is a single, inhospitable rock, home to the Rish enclave of Tuatha De Danann where the survivors of a wrecked homesteader vessel formed a small but thriving community. The enclave was a place of last resort for those who can’t afford the luxuries of Fiddler’s Green. They live off the meager resources of their barren world, trading and scavenging what they can to survive. The colony is a rough and tumble place, and unfortunately it seemed destined to be the Field Team's first stop.
"This is your captain speaking," Mrazak said, after opening a shipwide message. "All hands are to prepare to make berth in an unknown dock while the Field Team joins me once we have made landing. Check the packets I've uploaded to the mission briefing for the latest system scans." Mrazak double checked his own PADD to ensure the upload been successful before continuing his message. "Ferrofax will be left in command. Do not do anything I wouldn't do. Mrazak out."
After helping secure the ship, Wolf had talked to Rozreel Purr, enlisting the Trill's assistance for her mission, without revealing too much. Leah's response came through comms, as she'd gone down to Sickbay again to assist T'Bela. "Wolf, acknowledged." The comm from Leah then closed.
Bao had spent the majority of the day tinkering with the universal translator. His first thought had been to try and learn enough to be able to understand the unfortunate scavengers they had encountered, but he had quickly given it up in favour of attempting to, instead, supplement the universal translator into rendering their speech comprehensible to normal people. Time to find out if it worked or not, he guessed. He gave an acknowledgement and prepared to head out, briefly debating armaments before deciding to go with his standard collapsible weapon, being at least somewhat discrete.
Rozreell checked her appearance once last time before departing for the dock. Truth be told, she was a little surprised that Wolf had requested her assistance on this mission but as she thought about it more and more, the less surprised she really was. On a ship where information was currency, it was no shock that Leah would have investigated her past and the many lives Purr had lived. So even though the intel provided had been vague, there was a small part of Roz that quivered with excitement over the proposition. “Show time…” She murmured to herself with that final glance in the mirror.
Outside the main airlock that had been patched after Calvain's plasma torch had forced it open, Mrazak stood with the field team and looked around for whatever passed for government in this barren hellscape. The narrow corridor which had deposited them into the main dry dock had several impromptu viewports where it had been patched with transparent aluminum as well as actual bulkhead, giving it a ramshackle appearance far distinct from the sleek and polished veneer of Federation outposts.
Leah stood to the Vulcan-without-logic's side, calm and stoic as a statue. In her pocket she had a personal holographic disguise device, for when she and Roz broke off for their mission. She also had a voice-changing device she would use in conjunction with the holographic disguise. Purr had a pair of her own devices as well.
The welcome committee appeared through a wide mechanical door that yawned open along the side of the pressurised dry dock. The number of them was hard to determine given the array of materials their clothing was made of, appearing like ancient sea-going vessels sporting dazzle patterns. An arm from a Starfleet uniform, the hem of a Cardassian Gul's tunic, and more homespun and comfortable wear. At their head was a tall fellow with an intricately braided beard, beaded in places and patterns with small metal items. He lead the procession, going around the dry docks railed perimeter and to a small extending metal bridge that would mate with the airlock.
Standing upon this bridge, the man used the controls to extend it out until 3 meters separated the ship from shore. Closer now, his bearing was not cowed by the Starfleet vessel nor its crew. His eyes bore into Mrazak and the others.
"It takes somethings for a man of my position to turn away salvage brought to me by one of the wayward sons of the Rish, but give me a reason not to toss you back and let the well drag you down?" he said in a voice that was uncharacteristically accented away from the Rish normal Celtic tones. He sounded almost...normal. Was that a phrase one could use here?
"My flight control specialist tells me that would violate the plenipotentiary accord I struck with your man." Mrazak looked at Ryland. "What was his name?"
"Calvain," Ryland offered.
"Ah, yes, Calvain," said Mrazak. "We were promised safe harbor for fair trade. Let us do so now. My team stands ready to make good on our end." Looking at the Rish entourage and the overall disrepair of the entire dry dock, Mrazak let out a derisive sniff. "Field Team, make yourselves useful and upgrade any piece of detritus you please. Show our hosts why they need us more than we need them."
With a roll of her eyes, Sophie uncrossed her arms and headed to the nearest console only a few steps away. A few quick key strokes is all it took. =/\=Power efficiency increased by 70%=/\= flashed across the screen. Without a word, she recrossed her arms and returned to her original position.
If there was one thing Roz loved more than anything, it was a chance to stand in the limelight. Effortlessly pushing out a hover-dollie onto the dock, a large display tank filled with chunks of the planet’s inhospitable rocks was set up in the middle of the room. From there, Rozreell began to hook up a handful of sensors and conduit poles around the tops and sides of the tank. When she was finished, it was a rather flashy display of lights and thrumming current.
“In all honesty, Federation red tape surrounding true terraforming is a bit of a bureaucratic nightmare…” Purr explained to the Rish that had started to surround her while she typed away on her PADD, the lights on the conduit poles blinked and synchronized in response to her command. “But the ability to provide hydraulic landscaping, much easier to provide.” With an over the top final tap to her PADD Rozreell activated the program connected to the display tank and the Rish watched as water appeared out of nowhere and began to flood and reshape the lifeless rocks. “We can create a water basin for you using hydraulic landscaping.” The waters began to warm and a faint layer of condensation appeared on the glass inside the display tank before the once clear water turned a tad cloudy. “Then, microorganisms and micronutrients can be introduced as the first constituents for biosphere permitting. And as the biosphere expands…” Rozreell pushed another button and rapidly growing duckweed-like plants with tiny blue blue flowers appeared on the surface of the water. “Higher order plants can be introduced. It takes time and continued observations from the Federation, but a true habitable ecosystem can be created.”
Sophie rolled her eyes again. Terraforming? Please.
On the other hand, Ryland was more than impressed. He grew up as a spacer in a long family of spacers from a rugged tradition of boomers dating clear back to the 22nd century. Resource shortages were unheard of in Federation space, but the universe was a big place and typically hazardous to humanoid life. Without a background in science or engineering, he wasn't sure at first what Rozreell was doing, but the demonstration spoke for itself. Ryland's eyes with bedazzlement; she had offered the Rish a proverbial golden goose that would potentially cast off the yolk of his brother and his stronghold further within the solar system.
The implications were not lost on Mrazak either. A wolfish smirk spread across his face, but he said nothing. Better to let the moment stand so the Rish leaders could marinate on the revelation of just whom they were dealing with.
Sophie’s usual expression of bored indifference mixed with smug superiority changed to one of frustration and anger. This is what impressed Dedeker? She didn’t know why she would have expected any different. Dedeker was easily amused. Clenching her jaw, she glared at him. Not that he noticed; his eyes were focused on Little Miss Unsanctioned Terraforming. Steaming, she focused instead on the Rish. It was easier to not hate them for being impressed by parlor tricks.
Leah smirked at Roz's theatrics. "Well done, kid..." she thought to herself as she stood next to Mrazak. If there was anything more they needed now other than repairs, it was favors. In their world and line of work, favors could save lives. Purr had just landed them a massive one worth calling upon in a crunch.
"I'll start asking around, let me know when we're good to go," Leah stepped close to Mrazak and whispered, his heightened hearing would pick the words up, before stepping away to ask a few discreet questions of the Rish.
"Based on your stunned silence, I can only presume that our point has been made," Mrazak said. "We can do more than you can, we know we can do more than you can, and now you know and we know you know. Let us dispense with unnecessary threats toward one another and get down to settling terms." Folding his arms in a smug display, he asked, "Surely we can retire to a more private place to talk? My team will make themselves useful and oversee the initiation of repairs."
One of the other leaders of the Rish, an older woman with gray and ginger hair nodded. "While Calvain works to shut his fly trap, we will agree to your suggestion. Let's not waste time." She motioned for them to follow her. "This way, we can talk over here."
While she waited for Mrazak to take the lead, Leah gave a subtle signal to Roz to follow her.
Bao thought for a moment. He didn't have anything as flashy, but he did have a few things that might enhance or support things the others could do. After a moment, he decided to voice such. "Perhaps while you talk, someone could point me toward your creche? I believe my talents could be applied to improving the efficiency and breadth of offerings of your educational system."
"We can probably discuss more in private, where posturing need not be something that bends the hand of the unwilling," the first leader of the Rish's quasi-council said. "Until then be as guests here, with the rights and responsibilities that maintains. Don't worry a jot, if you find yourself breaching that social contract someone will tell you."
Mrazak followed the Rish leaders, certain now that he had a grasp on the local color and how to handle them. He left the field team and ship's crew to make a splash as only Memory Theta could.
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