Star Trek: Fortitude
Season Two-Episode Twelve - ‘Determination of Spirit’
By Jack D. Elmlinger
PROLOGUE
“Distance?”
“Thirty thousand kilometers,” Arden Vuro reported,” and closing fast.
Captain Llewellyn ran his hand across his creased forehead, exasperated at the constant running that he and his ship, the USS Fortitude, had been enduring for almost four days straight and the Welshman was reaching the end of his tether. Transporting their important passenger was becoming a very dangerous occupation through this particular section and the outer hull had one or two scorch marks already.
Still, it was their duty and a new ally to add to the list of Federation-friendly races in the Beta Quadrant. Was that worth the passing attention of a handful of space pirates?
“Raise shields,” Llewellyn ordered,” and charge phasers. Yellow Alert. Let’s see what they do.”
“They’re still closing in on us,” Vuro continued. “Captain, they’re charging weapons!”
“Somebody’s brace…,” Valerie Archer noted with some sarcasm.
Ewan turned towards the tactical console, almost expecting to find Jim Morgan standing there, forgetting as he frequently wanted to about the young ensign’s recent passing. Instead, his old partner Jason Armstrong was manning the weapons. Since the recent past involved more trading shots with the pirate vessels than mapping star systems from Ops, he had moved across the Bridge and used the memory of his relationship with a tactical officer to provide an adequate service. It was an honor thing.
“Lock weapons on target,” Llewellyn demanded. “See if we can shake them off.”
“Done, but they’re not budging, Captain,” Jason responded with some concern. “I don’t think that they’re as nervous as the last bunch. They want the Senator and they mean business. I recommend firing a warning shot.”
“Do it,” nodded the captain,” and let’s hope that the waves remain calm.”
ACT ONE
Captain’s Log, Stardate 50714.8;
Our continued transportation service for the Senator of Heowei Prime had made a target of my ship and crew. My loyalty to our mission and my realization of the need for a strong ally is hampered by the complete lack of answers that I’m getting from the Senator himself, who seems not to trust me with revealing the motivations of our attackers. The latest volley from the pirate ships has done limited damage to Fortitude but I’m hoping that it’s enough to pry some information from our tight-lipped passenger.
Considering the circumstances, Llewellyn thought that he was being polite by ringing the door chimes. Entering the assigned guest quarters of Senator Xukel with his fists clenched, he felt a distinct frustration and mounting anger that made him concerned that he would be presenting himself undiplomatically.
At this juncture, he didn’t care.
It only took him a moment to sweep the room with his cold stare settling his eyes upon Xukel’s tall, slender form and graceful blue-grey skin. Entirely without any hair and possessing tiny facial features, he reminded Ewan of those old sketches he had seen in history class back in school. They had been what people had thought that aliens looked like in the 2oth century.
“Captain,” the Senator whispered politely,” I take it that we repelled the attack?”
“Barely,” Llewellyn lied, exaggerating the facts of the matter in an attempt to get some answers,” but we’ve taken some serious damage. Now, Senator Xukel, I don’t mind being your ferry service in the name of diplomatic relations between Heowei Prime and the Federation, but there’s something more to this mission and I want to know what it is.``
“I assure you, Captain, we will be quite safe when we return to my world.”
“Yes, I’m sure that we will… in two days… during which any number of assaults could cripple my ship and endanger my crew!”
“I have faith in your command abilities, Captain,” smiled Xukel.
“Faith isn’t going to make our shields hold out against plasma cannons, Senator.”
Xukel let out a slow whistling noise that was something akin to a Human sigh, Ewan estimated with scant curiosity. His willowy figure breezed from one end of the guest quarters to another, his thin head turning slightly to note the stars blasting past the ship at a faster-than-light velocity. Llewellyn stepped forward, anticipating an answer any moment now.
“It will have to be, Captain,” was his disappointing reply.
“Senator,” Llewellyn protested again, adding a layer of force to his tone,” when we agreed to act as your courier from your negotiations with the Eastleans, we did so in the spirit of good faith and cooperation. I’m asking you to cooperate now. We’ve obviously become a target of these pirates and bandits since bringing you aboard. So, tell me, please… what do they want from you?”
Xukel’s expression bordered on the serene. He clearly wasn’t worried. “I apologize,” he offered,” but I cannot present answers to your questions.``
“Cannot… or will not, Senator?”
That question got him. The peaceful blue-grey skin contorted around his head as an approximation of a frown crossed the Senator’s face. Opening his tiny mouth to protest at the captain’s blatant disregard for diplomacy, Xukel was cut off as the communications system interrupted their conversation.
“Bridge to Captain Llewellyn,” Valerie Archer’s voice filled the room.
“Yes, Commander,” Ewan answered after tapping his combadge,” what is it?”
“Sir, they’re back… the pirates, and they’ve brought some friends.”
* * * *
“How many are we talking about?”
Llewellyn had returned to the Bridge in a flash, leaving Senator Xukel to stew in his quarters over the latest revelation of an incoming fleet that was much larger than what Fortitude had faced in the last few days. In some warped way, the captain hoped that being assaulted by these mysterious aliens would loosen the Senator’s tongue. Overriding that hope was the knowledge that the answers that Ewan wanted probably wasn’t worth trading the lives of his crew… or worse, the structural integrity of his starship.
“Six,” Jason reported from Tactical, having dashed over again,” with another four on an intercept course, according to our long-range sensors.”
“Blast and damn,” Llewellyn cursed. “This time, Ensign… Red Alert.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Bridge to Engineering,” was his next call to make.
“I’m here, Captain,” the Suliban chief engineer replied with haste.
“We’ve got ten of them incoming,” he relayed to Sollik. “Please tell me that our battle damage has been repaired.”
“Just about. Although, I wouldn’t have minded a few extra minutes.”
“That will have to do. Obviously, ten against one isn’t an even playing field. Have you got any way of pulling a rabbit out of a hat for us?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, Sollik,” the captain apologized, reminding himself to scale down some of his favorite sayings for the alien members of his crew. “Is there any way that you can even the odds? Give us something more useful than simply our phasers?”
“It will take some time,” the Suliban replied after a few seconds. “I’ll need detailed scans of their vessels. A shield frequency would be ideal.”
“We’ll see if we can get that for you,” Ewan concluded. “Bridge out.”
His attention was now turned back to the main viewer. He could see the ominous and threatening outlines of six pirate vessels were expanding towards them and seemingly without any limits. They grew closer and closer, bearing down on the fleeing Intrepid-class starship with no remorse or any hint of anything but violent intent. They were ugly craft, with weapons sticking out at random intervals along their dorsal and ventral hull plating. They were like twigs extending out from a gnarled old tree trunk in winter. Each ship was slightly different in design, leading to the conclusion that their crews were experts in modifications, upgrades, and using whatever materials that they could seize, capture, or steal.
“Tactical analysis, Ensign Armstrong,” Llewellyn ordered.
“I’ll bet that the short answer to that will be ‘lots of guns’,” Valerie Archer observed with dry sarcasm, rising up from her seat and joining the captain at the center of the Bridge, her arms folded over her chest. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”
“The commander is right, sir,” Jason reported, a few seconds later. “Between these first six ships, we have a total of thirty plasma cannons to contend with, not to mention rotating shield generators with multiple frequencies.”
“So that frequency that Sollik wanted isn’t going to happen,” Ewan grumbled.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Arden Vuro piped up from the helm console, his blue hands dancing a skillful waltz across his LCARS display,” if I may make a suggestion, there’s a gas giant on our present course with a very dense series of rings. It would make an ideal hiding spot from their sensors.”
“Reasoning, Lieutenant?,” asked Archer.
“The rings are made up of several mineral particulates that are confusing to sensor grids, including kelvanite and sadranite. It would give up some time to breathe until Sollik can come up with a tactical solution to our persistent menace.”
Vuro was a very clever man. It only took a second to reach a decision.
“Go for it,” Llewellyn agreed.
ACT TWO
Captain’s Log, supplemental;
We remain concealed in the rings of the gas giant. We have been here for over four hours as the pirate vessels continue to search for us… with no success, I’m pleased to note. Although, much the same can’t be said for my efforts to get answers from our esteemed passenger who seems to be angrier at the delay than scared of the constant attacks. I can only rely on the ingenuity of my chief engineer to provide a solution to this tense standoff before something or somebody snaps.
“No. It’s absolutely out of the question,” Sollik put it bluntly.
“It’s those damned rotating shield generators,” Valerie nodded, understanding where the chief engineer was coming from. She was standing beside him in Main Engineering, addressing the captain who had marched in, moments earlier, demanding an answer to the problem with the pirate vessels.
He seemed to be on edge, which was understandable, given the circumstances but more than usual. Perhaps he didn’t like being kept in the dark over this diplomatic gesture of goodwill towards Senator Xukel. Oddly and uncharacteristically, Valerie was having a hard time with diagnosing Ewan today.
She proceeded with her observations, nevertheless. “Without a fixed shield frequency, tuning our phasers to punch through theirs is next to impossible. We would have to get damned lucky, and frankly, in a ten-to-one scenario--”
“Okay, so it won’t work,” Llewellyn interrupted her. “What will?”
“I have a theory,” Sollik reported with some hesitation. It was a hesitation that Ewan didn’t appreciate but tolerated anyway. “It’s never been done before so it might not work… but we could do a little mining and create a photon cascade.”
“Explain…”
“We’re surrounded by chunks of kelvanite and sadranite in this planet’s rings. If we used the transporter to mine some of those minerals, I could refine them and place them in the warheads of several photon torpedoes. Detonating them close to the pirate vessel would surround them in a cloud of interference. We would be effectively cloaked to their sensors. They would be blinded.”
“That sounds risky,” Valerie pointed out. “If we miss, they would have a fixed point from which we fired our torpedoes and cut us into bite-sized snacks in minutes.”
“It’s either that, Commander, or stay in this planet’s rings forever,” the Suliban emphasized, folding his arms in defense of his plan. “Captain, I’m not saying that it won’t be risky, but the sooner than we get the Senator to his homeworld, the better.”
“How long do you need?,” Ewan asked him.
“Two more hours and I’ll have a brace of ten warheads ready.”
“I want fifteen,” stipulated the Captain, ever one to cover his own backside,” just in case we miss. We’re short of a tactical officer. Valerie, tell Jason to get practicing on torpedo simulation regulations. I’m going to speak with the Senator and see if the coming firefight won’t reveal some information.”
“You really think that he’ll start talking?,” the first officer inquired, brushing her hair away from her concerned expression as she and Ewan left Main Engineering and Sollik got to work on the photon cascade.
“I don’t know. It’s like trying to draw blood from a stone right now.”
“Good luck, Ewan.”
“Yes… once more unto the breach…”
* * * *
Captain Llewellyn went back to the guest quarters, only this time, he was armed with a renewed fortitude and the distraction of the upcoming violence. Senator Xukel was enjoying the benefits of the replicators, he noted with some annoyance, and so without any grace or tact, the Welshman launched into his pitch.
“We engage ten pirate ships in ten hours, Senator. It’s unlikely that we won’t survive the encounter. I need to know who they are and what they want with my starship and I want to know now!”
“The same questions, Captain, shall yield the same answers.”
Ewan was about to protect in the strongest possible terms when his combadge interrupted him. Ignoring the coincidence that seemed to happen every time that he stood in Xukel’s guest quarters, he tapped his combadge to reply to the summons from the Bridge.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Vuro hailed him,” We’re getting a transmission from the pirate vessels on a wide-band signal. They’re flooding all subspace channels.”
“Patch it through to Senator Xukel’s quarters.”
It took only a moment.
“Federation vessel,” a harsh snarl growled from outside the planet’s rings,” we demand that you hand over Senator Xukel immediately in the name of social justice and peaceful coexistence with the people of Heowei Prime. Xukel is responsible for genocide on our world and the puppet regime is sheltering his murderous ways from prosecution. We promise to maintain relations with the Federation if you cooperate and deliver Xukel to our lead vessel.``
Wide-eyed at this revelation, Llewellyn turned slowly to face the Senator. “It seems that I’ve gotten my answers after all,” he said at length. “Is this true?”
Xukel simply shook his head in a gentle denial.
“Failure to comply with our demands,” the harsh snarl continued,” will lead to the unfortunate bombardment of the planetary rings that you’re hiding in. one way or another, you shall reveal yourselves to us and we shall detain Xukel for punishment. You have eighty rels starting from this point.”
“Rels?,” the Captain asked of his passenger.
“Comparable to one of your hours,” Xukel confirmed for him. “Listen to me very carefully, Llewellyn. They are liars and unsavory elements of Heowei society who wish to pick away at the fabric of our society by blaming the problems of our past on the guardians of our future.”
Ignoring the rather pretentious label that the Senator had awarded himself, Ewan allowed himself to sit down in one of the various comfortable chairs that dotted about the guest quarters and let his face fall into his cupped hands. This situation had become more interesting. The answers that he had sought out did little to alleviate the growing tension between himself and his passenger.
How could he even trust this man?
Who was right?
It was one word against another.
Oh, sure, the Senator spoke for his people and his society, due to his position within their government. If the Federation Council was out here, making First Contact with new species, they would listen to Xukel.
Ewan didn’t have that luxury as the factors that the Federation Council never had to contend with weighed down on his shoulders of responsibility. The safety of Fortitude and her crew with the promise of aggression from the pirate vessels…
… damn…
“Senator, I’m going to ask you again and I want your honest answer,” he finally spoke, fixing a piercing stare upon Xukel. “Is it true?”
“Absolutely not, Captain,” came his expectant reply.
Of course, he would say that, Llewellyn thought. Perhaps I should try a different approach.
“Was there genocide on your world?”
“Almost one hundred years ago,” the Senator nodded with dismay. “Afterwards, we radically changed our ways, remodeling our society, our government, everything… to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again.”
“You told me that your life spans were extremely long,” Ewan remembered.
“Yes, Captain… and I was alive during the genocide.”
“Do these pirates have any other evidence as to your involvement? I mean, anything other than the fact that you were around at the time? I can imagine that there were lots of people around at the time who are still alive today. Why you?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“You don’t know?,” repeated the Captain with emphasis.
This situation was becoming more and more difficult to analyze objectively. Everything about the Senator’s actions, his demeanor while discussing the subject… everything told Llewellyn that an innocent man sat here. He was a man hunted down for reasons beyond his comprehension and yet, niggling away at the back of his mind, the reluctance to answer questions to begin with resurfaced. Xukel knew that the pirates were here for him. He knew that they held this specific grudge against him without knowing why, and that grated heavily against the Captain’s objectivity. It clashed with the image of an honest politician.
No, now wasn’t the time to second-guess one’s self. Standing, Ewan decided that it was time to move.
“Thank you for your eventual Candor, Senator,” he finished. “We’ll get you back to Heowei Prime. After all, it’s not my place to arbitrate on the internal affairs of your world or of your people. I suggest you remain seated. This trip could get a little bumpy.”
ACT THREE
They soared through the rings and into open space.
Two photon torpedoes, each heading for a pair of pirate vessels that were closest to the hidden location of the USS Fortitude, independently branching away from one another as the novice skills of Ensign Jason Armstrong were tested to the limit. On the Bridge from where they were fired, all eyes were on the viewscreen, watching the little orange warheads flying towards their explosive fate. Captain Llewellyn leaned forward in his command chair, anticipating success… and craving it too.
“Three,” Jason said from the tactical console behind them,” two… one…”
The viewscreen flashed with the twin detonations.
“Yes!,” cried out the young Kentuckian with excitement. “Perfect hits, sir!”
“Prime the next two warheads,” Ewan ordered. “Vuro, thrusters to full power!”
Fortitude started to move.
The blind pirate vessels moved away from them instinctively. Their pilots remembering where the planet’s rings were and desperately wanting to avoid falling into them and a malevolent blender of ice and rock that would certainly end their spacefaring days prematurely. As the glistening smooth hull of the Intrepid-class starship rose from the rings, the pointed saucer section breaking the surface like the nose of a playful whale leaping from the sea, two more photon torpedoes were unleashed by Jason Armstrong. They reached out across the stars, detonating perfectly on time and covering the next two pirate vessels, their ugly weapon ports and sensor relays in a choking cloud of kelvanite and sadranite.
“That’s four,” Valerie noted, sitting beside her captain. “I’m showing six of their friends moving to intercept.”
“Any indication that they know what we’re up to?,” Llewellyn asked.
“No. All they can see is a big mess of stuff. Nothing specific.”
“A big mess of stuff,” Arden chuckled at the helm, enjoying the humor as a calming influence on his otherwise precise and skillful concentration. “Would that be a technical term, Commander?”
“Just fly the ship, Lieutenant,” Archer replied with a smile.
“Target the next two torpedoes,” Llewellyn commanded with grown confidence. “In your own time, Ensign Armstrong. Open fire!”
“Firing photon cascade,” Armstrong acknowledged,” volley three.”
They were successful. Fortitude was now one starship against four and a good distance away from the relative safety of the gas giant’s protective and confusing rings. They were prepared to jump to warp as soon as the photon cascade had been victorious in obliterating the enemy’s ability to scan. Piercing through the clouds of minerals that hung amongst their fleet, the closest pirate vessel almost seemed for a second as if it could see the escaping Federation starship, turned an unsightly nose in accordance. Jason was quick to blast it with the modified torpedo earmarked for such use and it fell away, reeling in the loss of its artificial sight. One more torpedo at one more attacker, and there only remained two.
“Captain,” Armstrong frowned as the plan started to go wrong,” I’m not getting a response from Torpedo Control.”
“Bridge to Sollik,” Ewan barked immediately. “You promised us ten!”
“That was when I had two hours to work with, not one,” came the annoyed and yet polite tones of the Suliban chief engineer in reply. “It’s a wonder that you’ve been able to fire eight of them so far. Standby, Captain…”
There were a few moments of tense silence.
“Sollik, report!”
“Stand by, Captain. Loading now!”
“The remaining two targets have changed course,” Vuro noted. “They’re on an intercept course. I think they can see us!”
“Sollik!”
“Stand by!”
“We can’t stand by!,” Llewellyn cried out, getting to his feet. “It’s now or never!”
“Ready!,” the word finally came.
“Fire them, Jason!”
The torpedoes were propelled from the aft launcher, striking out and exploding mere meters from the hull plating of the final pair of pirate vessels. The cascade was a beautiful sight to behold, showering the stars in a cornucopia of various colors that streaked a rainbow through the darkness of space and lighting up the Bridge of Fortitude via the main viewscreen.
With the battle over and with no lives lost, Ewan felt a grin move across his handsome features. It was a grin that he flashed towards Valerie and a grin that was shared by his First Officer in a moment that was indicative of their harbored feelings.
Jason Armstrong was elated. It was his first true success since the loss of Jim Morgan and a reason for him to finally be happy about something. Arden was busy tapping away at the helm’s LCARS display and as planned, he folded the warp nacelles of Fortitude inward and threw the starship to Warp Eight.
Their destination: Heowei Prime.
* * * *
“Thank you again, Captain,” Senator Xukel nodded.
“Don’t mention it, Senator,” Llewellyn said, returning the nod and smiling.
They were standing in Transporter Room One. Fortitude was safely in orbit of Heowei PRime, dodging space platforms and Heoweian starships as they delivered the Senator back to his people and guaranteed future cooperation between Heowei Prime and the United Federation of Planets.
Stepping up onto the transporter pad, the slender blue-grey alien gave what could only be interpreted as a smile as he turned back to Ewan and bowed his head.
“I hope you see you again,” he concluded,” and I wish you a safe journey.”
“One last thing, Senator. Those pirates… what will you do about them? What will you do about the accusations that they leveled against you?”
“I will do what all good politicians must do, Captain. I will survive.”
Llewellyn didn’t quite know what to make of his comment but it was said with such grace and a passive tone that he just smiled once again and stepped back from the transporter pad. He was confident that a civilization as upstanding and as peaceful as their politicians would find a true balance of justice and fair punishment for the crews of the pirate vessels that were still floating blind in orbit of the gas giant.
“Energize,” he ordered.
Senator Xukel disappeared in a wave of blue energy.
Well… this particular mission was completed. What was next?
EPILOGUE
“Captain, I have… a, uh… report…”
Something was clearing bothering Valerie Archer. She had come to the Ready Room with a PADD as she often did, but the content of the PADD’s information must have been disturbing to say the least. The Commander was shaken… no, sickened at something.
Concerned, Ewan stood and took the report in hand as he gestured for her to sit down. He headed around his desk to the replicator as he scanned the first few lines of the PADD. he barely managed to start placing the order for two coffees.
“Computer, two…”
“Specify,” it asked him.
Ewan didn’t care what it was asking him.
“Oh, God, no…,” he gasped.
Clutching his head, he staggered back to his chair almost as if he had been run through the chest with a bat’leth. The rest of the report’s data flew before his disbelieving gaze. Upon finishing the report, he noted that Valerie was wearing the same expression that he had adopted: disgust, distaste, and sheer horror.
“He murdered them,” the Captain whispered. “That bastard murdered them.”
“Long-range sensors show Heoweian cruisers arrived to detail the pirate vessel in orbit of the gas giant,” Valerie confirmed, giving a voice to the report. “Instead of taking them into custody, they obliterated all ten of them.”
“And we assisted in that obliteration… in that murder!”
“Now who do you think was telling the truth about that genocide?”
The Captain didn’t want to answer that question.
He didn’t even want to know.
The End.