Chapter Text
The old but sturdy GSN Gorn Talon, gracefully soared through the vast expanse of space. With a resolute purpose, its warp engines propelled the ship through space. The trip would take a few days to cross Federation space but they were going as fast as the old ship could take them safely.
Commander Morg stood on the semi oval bridge with his arms folded across his chest. Something he had picked up from his brother Nugra so many years ago. The wet, blue marble that was a planet was plastered on the view screen and the Gorn looked at with a hint of disgust. He preferred more arid worlds than the one they were about to visit.
"Ensign Vl'Rakk, scan the area of space around Miniar 7. Report your findings."
Mkk'Nrr focused on the scanning task and reported to his superior, "Uh...I can't see anything, sir. Wait! I'm picking up a vessel orbiting Miniar 7. Its call sign is the USS Renegade. Nothing else is there."
‘As expected’ the lizard thought to himself.
Mkk'Nrr continued to watch the screen as Tak maneuvered the ship into orbit, their mission steadily unfolding before them. So far everything appeared to be going according to plan.
"We are in orbit, Commander," Tak said with a flourish across the keyboard.
“Senior Commander to the bridge,” Morg called out knowing the computer would send his message t where ever Tk’Lnn was at the moment.
The heavy door to the bridge ground open and Morg turned to see his superior stride in. He moved towards the command seat that Morg left empty. An Executive never sat in the Captain’s chair. It remained open as a reminder of who was in charge.
“Teams are being assembled as per requested,” the executive officer said. “Anything else before we go?
“No,” Tk’Lnn said sitting down. Take your shuttle and head down. We’ll follow up with you.”
***
The shuttle Gorn Blood dropped from the shuttlebay of the Bravery Class starship and darted towards the surface. Its green hull glinting in the starlight as it banked and accelerated. Morg sat in the co-pilot’s seat while Ensign Tak flew the craft. Their engineer Mk’Nrr was in the back monitoring the ship’s engines as this shuttle was one of the older ones in the Black Fleet.
“We’ve begun descent, Morg,” Tak said.
The Commander ignored the lack of protocol. Tak had been recently paroled from a penal colony and so military decorum was not going to be the top of his list. Why he had been brought aboard and what he did was only known the Senior Commander himself.
"Good. Head us for coordinates 342.2 Vector 4."
As the inertia shift told Morg that the Ensign was following orders, the young lizard spoke up. "What are we going to be armed with?"
Morg contemplated the situation and replied, "The captain didn't want us to go down with weapons, but I guess some defense is necessary."
His species was not keen on going anywhere unarmed and since many humanoid species responded poorly to their reptiloid features, it was always wise to be prepared.
Tak understood, set the ship to autopilot, unclipped his belt and went in the back. Morg turned to watch him and saw him retrieve three Vss’Kot daggers from the back of the shuttle. Handing them to Morg and Mk'Nrr, Tak jokingly advised, "Here you are. Let's hope we don't use these!"
Tak then returned to the controls, humming contently. Reporting to Morg, Tak said, "Sir, we are ready to land."
Morg acknowledged, "Alright then. Let’s get this started.”
"Yes, sir. Landing, you better hold on... this is my first time landing a shuttle like this. Here we go."
Morg expressed surprise, asking, "You don't know how?"
Tak whispered back, "It's not that hard... I hope."
"Just don't wreck it!"
“Sure... get ready for impact."
“Impact?"
Tak corrected himself, "Okay, okay, landing. Is that okay? Guess what?"
Morg inquired, "What?"
Tak happily announced, "We are on the ground, and we are still alive."
Mk'Nrr interrupted the exchange, reporting, "Sir, there are life readings outside, and they have weapons."
Morg looked surprised and move to examine the scanners himself. After a moment of thought, he mused, "I don't know if this is some type of greeting party."
Decisively, the lizard issued orders, "Ensign Mk'Nrr, Let’s just assume they are taking precautions. We barely warned them that we were coming. Daggers hidden in the belts. Let’s not give them a reason to shoot."
Mk'Nrr acknowledged, "Understood, sir."
Morg turned to Tak, assigning further tasks, "Ensign Tak, while Mk'Nrr and I go out, I want you to contact the Gorn Talon and let them know what's going on. Don't come out unless attacked or I call you out. Once we are gone, I want you to investigate on your own to locate Aneera-10. They won't know you came. Got it?"
Tak confirmed, "Aye, aye, sir."
Morg continued, "And after you send the report, don't use your communicator unless necessary."
Tak complied, "Yes, sir."
Morg signaled to Mk'Nrr, and they exited the shuttle, leaving Tak behind. As they departed, Tak prepared to contact Tk'Lnn.
Taking a breath and straightening his uniform, Morg motioned for Mk’Nrr to follow.
***
When the two Gorns left the ship, Tak waited for the automated system to slide the door closed before he moved from the corner he was in. Tak was actually excited that the Commander had thought to let him on his own. Being a thief had given him some distinct advantages and for a Gorn, he was much smaller than other others. He came from one of the other three species that evolved on their planet.
Tapping the comm, he made sure it was on a narrow band before he let the signal go.
"Tak to Gorn Talon."
"Go ahead, Ensign." came the voice of the man who had gotten him off the asteroid penal colony.
"They left the shuttle and are gone. They are going to the people, and I was supposed to wait here and tell you what is going on. Then, I'll leave by myself unnoticed so I could search on my own, to avoid being found. This will be my last communication unless necessary."
Tk'Lnn understood the situation, cautioning, "Understood. Don't get yourself killed."
Of course he wasn’t going to get himself killed. What was the fun in that?
"Tak out."
With that, Tak packed a backpack with his weapons and departed the ship, heading towards the city.