Chapter Text
Chapter Four
NCC-74229 (USS Gallant)
Stationkeeping near Special Projects Dock Bravo, Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Mars
Main Bridge
Stardate 54663.7 (31 August 2377)
Warrant Officer Grey entered the bridge a few minutes before the beginning of his shift at the tactical station. He took a moment to appraise the area as others came onto the bridge to relieve their counterparts from the overnight shift. The fire control specialist who held the night shift gave him a fatigued smile as he stood from his seat.
"Active night?" Grey asked.
The petty officer shook his head. "Very uneventful," he admitted. "Mostly preliminary tests from the engineering section and we conducted a level four diagnostic of the weapon systems. We're pretty much sitting a shore watch, but it gave us something to do."
Grey raised a brow, not caring much for the color commentary. "And the result of the diagnostic?" he asked pointedly.
"Oh, all green, Mister Grey," the petty officer replied quickly, his posture stiffening slightly under the sudden scrutiny from his division officer.
"I hope, for your sake, that the diagnostic was not simply an exercise in staving off boredom," Grey intoned. "I will be going through the final report later today. I relieve you."
"I stand relieved, sir." Without another word, the petty officer retreated from the bridge as Grey turned his attention to the console immediately.
Lieutenant Hiroko Yamamoto, seated at the operations console nearby, remarked, "A little harsh, Mister Grey."
"With all due respect, sir, work for the sake of keeping someone busy often has the opposite effect upon readiness," Grey did not turn his head as he spoke.
Hiroko gave Grey her full attention. "This isn't the SMT."
"It makes little difference. I expect my people to execute with precision." With that, Grey met her gaze. "I would hope that we all strive for that, especially aboard this ship."
"I don't understand. Why would this ship be different from any other?"
" Gallant is an intelligence asset, Lieutenant. I shouldn't have to remind you of that."
"No, of course, not. Sorry, I thought you meant something else," she replied, her tone and posture cowed. "Maybe we could do with a little more of that mindset around here."
"I agree," said Kelley from behind them. "More of that is never bad," she said, gesturing with the coffee mug in her hand. "Are we ready for the live test?"
Both Grey and Hiroko indicated in the positive. As did most of the other sections, except engineering. The young-looking chief seated there turned her head and admitted, "Sorry, XO. Senior's making some last-minute checks on the power grid."
Kelley could not help her small smile. "As usual. We go when he says, 'go.'"
"Aye, sir."
The bridge comm system erupted with a short three-tone chime, then Teelis' voice called out, "Engineering to bridge. The senior chief is ready to proceed with the probe deployment."
Hiroko replied, "Probe is loaded with the Rihannsu sensor package, as requested, XO. It's in the forward tube, ready to launch at a distance of five hundred meters to the port side and hold position."
"Understood." The exec opened her side of the channel. "Engineering, this is Kelley. Probe is on deck. We're deploying now." She nodded to Hiroko. "At your convenience, Lieutenant."
"Aye, sir. Firing now." The main viewscreen blinked once to show the interior of the massive secure dock at Utopia Planitia. A small flash from the bottom of the screen showed, then a probe with its small engine firing sped out to a short distance from the ship and counter-thrusted to hold at the pre-programmed range. "Probe is now in position."
Grey announced, "We're receiving telemetry."
"On screen," ordered Kelley. She tapped her commbadge, "Bridge to captain, we're ready for the live test."
"On my way," said Kircheis, before she closed the channel. Within moments, she stepped onto the bridge and took her seat in the center. Kelley took up her customary standing position on the captain's right side. Gone was the coffee mug from before, replaced by her PADD.
"Engineering, this is Kircheis," she spoke to the audio pickups. "Ready whenever you are."
Karis' voice was strained. "Skipper, we're good to go down here. I'm satisfied that we won't blow out the power grid... too much."
Kircheis smirked. "Glad to hear it." She addressed Grey, "Black alert. Engage stealth mode, program one."
"Program one engaging, aye, sir," replied Grey. "Black alert, confirmed." The bridge lights dimmed to indicate that the tactical experiment was now engaged. On the viewscreen, Gallant 's image shimmered somewhat, taking on the hazy form of a Merchantman-class light freighter. "Program one online."
"Emissions translation matrix appears to be online, sir," reported Hiroko. "I'm showing proper translation of all outboard emissions, including some leaked intercom signals. The probe is... uh, not sure what's happening."
Grey brought up the probe telemetry on his main display and noted, "The matrix program isn't fooling the probe quite yet, sir. I don't think the overlay signal is powerful enough to mask our normal running mode."
Kircheis ran her hand over her console quickly. "Can we boost the signal?"
Over the comms, Karis could be heard deferring to Teelis. "Lieutenant?"
"Not without overloading the new power nodes," Teelis answered. "With the Captain's permission, I would like to proceed with the signal boost in order to ascertain the overload parameters."
Kelley indicated with her PADD toward the captain. "Sir, it should be within the margin."
Kircheis glanced over briefly, then ordered, "Proceed with the boost, Teelis. We'll continue to monitor."
"Yes, sir," Teelis replied over the comm. She could be overheard directing the engineering crew to boost the signal. "Increasing signal strength by 20 percent."
Grey reported, "Seeing some sensor resolution problems with the probe, now. At this power level, they probably won't be too sure that it is a freighter, but at least it's confused enough that our true identity is obscured."
"Not good enough," Kircheis determined. "How much more of a signal increase can the power grid take, Senior?"
Karis sighed. "Twenty-four... twenty-five, if we're lucky. I'd like to try a one percent increase at a time, and let the system catch-up on the back-end. I can't promise that the probe will pick up 100% sensor resolution."
"As you say, then." She spoke loud enough for the bridge to hear her, "Proceed at the senior chief's direction."
Teelis answered, "Aye, sir. Increasing power to twenty-one percent."
"We have a power spike, but it's within tolerances," said Karis.
Grey watched the probe continue to report its findings. "No change in the probe's readings, Captain. Still unable to make a clear determination on identification due to the overlapping signals."
"Twenty-two percent above normal," Teelis said.
"The freighter image is starting to take over a little more," Grey indicated with a finger toward the upper bank of displays above his console. "Visual image resolution is compensating for the lean toward our facade."
The image of Gallant appeared to solidify, though portions of the "freighter" were still artifacting as though being shoved through a tight compression field. The compression artifacts were lessening under the increased power.
"Let's continue. I'd like to get as close to perfect as possible," Kircheis said.
Kelley remarked with a sound that was close to a scoff, "I'm concerned with jumping to warp, if we can't maintain a strong enough signal standing still. A warp signature's going to be quite the chore if these are the current circumstances."
Kircheis furrowed her brow. "One thing at a time, XO."
Teelis continued the increase in signal strength. "Twenty-three percent."
Hiroko's alarmed voice called out, "Sir, I show an overload in the tactical subsystems. We're going to lose power to the torpedo tubes."
"I'm shutting down the torpedo control subsystem to compensate," Grey said as his hands moved to back up his words. "A freighter wouldn't necessarily have them, anyway."
Kircheis snapped her fingers. "That's it! Mister Grey, would you be so kind as to shut down all offensive systems?"
"Powering down all weapons, aye, sir," Grey said. Within seconds, he reported that the task was complete. "And the probe is now showing a ninety-seven percent image resolution at the current power levels." The viewscreen showed a near-perfect image of the freighter that Gallant pretended to be, complete with registry and running lights.
Teelis noted, "Our original plan was to make weapons available, Captain. I apologize that we were unable to perform the mission parameters."
Kircheis replied quickly, "It's a viable workaround, Teelis. Nothing to apologize for; you've exceeded expectations. Let's regroup a little up here, and see what we can come up with now that we have a better understanding of the problem. Bridge, out." She closed the channel and nodded to Kelley. "XO, secure from black alert and take us back into dock."
"Are we sure she didn't intentionally design the system to prevent us from using the weapons?"
The question caused Kircheis to stop her coffee mug from reaching her lips as intended. She had retired with her exec to her ready room while the engineers finished reviewing the initial testing data. "I beg your pardon?"
"Sir," Kelley began, "I know you have a previous relationship with the 'lieutenant,' but this mission sees us operating within Romulan space. How do we know that she's not aiming to hamstring us for the purpose of making her return easier?"
"Merrit, I can assure you that she has no intention of returning to ch'Rihan," Kircheis completed the route to her lips and took in a quick sip of the mug. "I was there when she defected. It was not like slipping in and out of the shower. Her family did not undertake that decision lightly."
If she heard Kircheis, Kelley made no indication. She stood before the desk, her gaze toward the corner of the room, her tone filled with thinly-held anger and contempt. "I read the technical specifications of the stealth system and it mentioned nothing about having to leave us without the ability to fight in order to use it. I find it highly suspect that all of a sudden, we're faced with going alone into Romulan space without those means at our disposal."
Kircheis set her mug atop the desk and regarded her executive officer carefully. "Merrit, she's been a friend to me for nearly a decade."
"I know it's not politic-"
"You're accusing her of sabotaging her own system!" Kircheis allowed her frustration to color her tone and volume.
"Captain, I know how these people operate. They're all smiles and warmth as they try to manipulate you and their surroundings... but they're constantly plotting to gain the upper hand for some surreptitious goal." Kelley's blue eyes made contact with Kircheis'. "They're all like that. Even her."
The captain felt her ire rise within her briefly, but it cooled under the fury burning behind Kelley's expression. With a gesture of her left hand, Kircheis ordered, "Take a seat, and tell me what this is really about."
Kelley took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as though she might be counting to herself. Finally, she took the seat and placed both of her palms atop her knees. "I was posted aboard Tereshkova at the Second Battle of Chin'toka."
Kircheis nodded. "I remember you telling me about that, but what has that got to do with Teelis? She was finishing up her junior year at the Academy when that battle occurred."
"Our ship was assigned to liaise with the Romulan battle group that was on patrol in that system. When the Breen attacked, most of our defensive systems were useless against their weaponry," her exec began.
"Yeah."
"The Romulan D'Deridex-class warbirds were among the first to get hit, and since we were assigned as an escort, our captain ordered our ship into position to shield one of the badly hit warbirds, to give them time to escape. He thought that Federation-built deflector shields would hold against their weapons."
Kircheis' eyes widened. She could see in her mind how that would have played out but she said nothing, hoping to encourage the lieutenant to continue.
"He was the first one to die; it happened right in front of me. Our shields did nothing. They struck the bridge and I remember it being a complete mess. We had to evacuate to auxiliary control with the exec screaming at us to hurry up. The Breen just kept attacking.
"By the time we made it down there, it was too late. We'd sustained too much damage to be anything more than a living shield between us and the Romulan ships we were protecting. Because the gravity systems got cross-connected and the fields were pulling everyone to the portside, we were going to have to slide down the service shafts. We were moving that way when the bulkhead exploded..." Kelley's eyes watered and she looked away, fighting to retain her composure.
Kircheis waited until her exec's breathing slowed and then prompted, "And something else happened?"
"We took a bad hit when we were running down the corridor. The bulkhead just behind me just..exploded and the containment field went up and...my closest friend, he was on the other side." She stopped to swallow, pausing again. When she resumed explaining, her voice was tight and her words were clipped. "I watched him get sucked into the vacuum."
"I'm... I'm so sorry, Merrit. But what does this have to do with.."
"Those Romulan bastards!" Kelley interrupted, vehemently. "They had a shuttle from one of the warbirds picking up pods, but they left the Starfleet pods to fend for themselves! And then, seven days later, after I and the rest of the few of us managed to survive, we found out there was another warbird who joined the fight and they just helped their own, left us to take the Breen fire and die!"
"I'm sorry, Merrit."
"You're sorry and they aren't, and that's the damned problem, Captain. That's their culture. We don't matter, only Romulans matter. You can't tell me she doesn't think that too."
"Yes, I can tell you that," Kircheis replied with an icy edge to her tone. "When I say I know this woman, it's not because I met her once or twice. I was there when she defected and I've seen her family more than a few times over the eight years she's been a Federation citizen." Kircheis turned in her seat, reaching to the table behind her to pick up a particular PADD. She found the file she was looking for and handed the device over.
There was a picture of four Vulcanoids on display. A woman in early middle-age and two teenage boys, one on the cusp of manhood, and a girl who was firmly in that nebulous 'tween' category. "That's a picture of Teelis' family right before that older boy there, S'Harien, left for the Academy. The one making the face is Freddy, which is the nickname everyone calls him, even his family. The little one is Llaiir who was all of two the first time I saw her. Their mother sent this to me, and I'm not exaggerating when I say I talk to Ael'Raha more than I do with my own mother. Teelis is not one of the Rihannsu you described and neither is her family. There is no way she would ever do anything to jeopardize this mission."
Kelley looked over the picture but her flinty expression did not change. After a moment, she placed the PADD on the captain's desk. "Yes, sir."
Kircheis sat back in her chair. Assessing her exec with new eyes, she asked bluntly, "Merrit, I have to ask... are you going to be a problem?"
"No, sir," replied Kelley without hesitation.
"Because there are ways for me to seek another berth for you that would have no impact on your eventual command," Kircheis promised, as though she did not hear Kelley's assertion. "All I'd have to do is call Admiral Leone and Hiroko can be elevated to your position easily."
"Captain!" Kelley's tone rose at the idea. She cleared her throat when Kircheis leveled a silencing gaze toward her. "Sir, I mean to say, that won't be necessary."
The corners of Kircheis' lips turned downward and she rose from her seat as she spoke. "This mission is too important to let pride get in the way, Lieutenant Kelley," the captain leaned against the front of her desk in front of her quarry. "Until now, I've never had a reason to question your attention to duty, but I will admit that the last few weeks, you've not been the same stalwart XO that this ship needs, especially now. So, I'm going to ask you one more time, and I want the truth-"
"Sir, you can always count my candidness."
"Do you wish to be transferred to the temporary pool for the duration?"
"Absolutely not, sir."
Kircheis paused as she stared into the convicting eyes of Kelley. Satisfied, Kircheis folded her arms across her midsection, and ordered, "Very well. You will then do your damnedest to keep a tight hold on your prejudices."
"Aye, sir."
"I'm serious, Merrit!" The captain raised her right index finger. "Teelis is a Starfleet officer. She's wearing the same uniform as we. I will not have you disrespecting her whilst under my command, and if I sense that you've crossed the line, I'll relieve you on the spot and confine you to quarters."
Kelley nodded with her head turned away from Kircheis' gaze. "Yes, sir."
"Good."
Kelley rose from her seat as though she had been dismissed and made for the exit to the corridor. Before she reached the door sensor to open, Kircheis called for her. Kelley turned around fully, to listen.
"We have forty-eight hours before we have to get underway. I'd like for you to go see the counselor at Utopia, one hour today and one hour tomorrow," Kircheis said as she settled back in behind her desk. She tapped on the desktop monitor to activate it and focused her attention there, instead.
Kelley turned around once more, but Kircheis' words stopped her.
"To be clear, that wasn't a suggestion. I will be following up to make sure you did spend some time."
Kelley blushed, with her head hanging slightly. "Aye, sir." Her eyes lifted up, but her head did not. With a demure shrug, she asked, "By your leave, Captain?"
Kircheis waved her off with a dismissive left hand. "Go away."
"Six more months, I'm telling you," Karis said as he wiped the perspiration from his brow. He held a plasma torch in his hand and focused the business end on a new power connection. "Six more months and I'm due for rotation. I could've pushed for a new assignment this time around, but I knew the captain would need me for this one. This one's going to be rather interesting."
Teelis handed the patch to Karis and listened to him speak. When he paused, she asked, "Are you unhappy with your position on Gallant ?"
"Not at all, Lieutenant." He stopped talking long enough to weld the patch to hold the new route into place, then stepped back with a loud sigh. "No, I'm aiming to transfer from the Intelligence squadron and to the Border Patrol."
"The Border Patrol?" Teelis' tone betrayed her confusion.
Karis lifted the face guard and fixed an icy stare toward Teelis. "Something wrong with the Border Patrol?"
"I didn't mean to imply that there was, I simply was expressing surprise at the desire. You have been serving in Intelligence for some time. Why the change?"
Karis turned back to the panel and tilted his head as he fixed it back in place. "I have a fairly large family, even by Andorian standards. My four parents divorced when I was very young and they each remarried into new groups. I have sixteen parents. I have twenty-seven siblings. And I can't speak to any of them about what I do." His tone was full of annoyance. "I've had to lie to all of them about what I do and I want that to end."
Teelis took the torch back and placed it in its proper place in the kit. "I can understand that," she remarked softly. "I have five siblings and I can really only speak to one about anything I do and even then, in a very circumspect way."
"Five? Isn't that a lot for a green-skin?" Karis asked bluntly. Only after a heartbeat did he seem to realize what he said, his eyes going wide. "Lieutenant, I meant no disrespect," he hastily added, his antennae twitching anxiously.
The lieutenant had an astonished look on her face and then, to Karis' surprise, she began to laugh. "I do not know if that was originally meant to be a pejorative for Vulcans, but I just find it....a little accurate?" she suggested. "But no, for Rihannsu at least, it is not uncommon to have large families. Certainly not in the House in which I was born. It is one of the most populous Houses on ch'Rihan."
Karis relaxed and gave her a smile in return. "What number are you?" he asked as he walked over to another console to begin a diagnostic on the new relay.
"Three," Teelis replied, having no trouble following him. She went to another terminal and tapped in a few commands. "When the diagnostic comes back clear, I want to run an initial test on this new bypass system, Senior, before we go to the Captain with it."
"I'm two," he noted. "Looks like the connections are good, Lieutenant."
"Weapons systems are online," Teelis confirmed. "And at sixty-percent power. Better than expected. You were right, Senior."
"It was your idea, Lieutenant. I just told you what she could handle."
"I'm sure it's been done before."
"Not while the warp core was functional."
The smile the Rihannha gave him was mild. "Even so." That said, she tapped her communicator. "Lieutenant Tei to Captain Kircheis."
A few seconds later, the captain's voice responded. "Kircheis, here."
"Sir, Senior Chief Amdal and I have figured out a way to keep more of our weapons online while providing enough power to the holosystem. We have set the warp core to power it while letting the fusion reactors power the weapons system."
Karis chimed in. "It won't give you full power, sir, but you'll be able to bloody someone's nose before running away in a crisis."
"We are at sixty-eight percent power in weapons now, sir," Teelis clarified. "But the Senior Chief and I should be able to tweak that, given another day or two."
"Good job," replied the captain. "Will we eventually have one hundred percent availability?"
"Doubtful, Captain. The fusion reactors do not have enough power for that but they will be available even as Gallant is projecting an entirely different signal," Teelis explained.
"If that's the best we can do, then we'll take it," Kircheis said quickly. "Especially since we were faced with the prospect of no weapons. I can give you forty-eight hours, but no more. We must get underway day after tomorrow. I'll check in with Admiral Leone shortly, but I don't think she will have a problem with a minor delay, considering the gravity of the mission."
"Thank you, sir," Teelis answered. "The Senior Chief and I will get to work immediately to facilitate an earlier departure if possible."
Kircheis said, "I look forward to your next report. Again, good job and my compliments to your engineering staff, Senior Chief."
After the comm connection closed, Teelis noted, "Senior Chief, if you are interested in a more stable posting, perhaps you might enjoy working at Utopia Planitia. You are clearly an expert in the Defiant-class and, since they are going to be a significant part of the Fleet for years to come, there are a number of projects that could use your input. You would not be able to speak about the particulars of your job with your family, but they would know where you are and you could speak about your co-workers, at the very least."
"I never really thought about that," Karis replied, his tone thoughtful.
"If you are interested, after the mission I could put in a good word with my superior. He is always looking for effective engineers to push projects to completion," Teelis noted wryly. "I am sure he would appreciate your expertise in the class."
"I'll think about it," Karis returned, his antennae quivering as he considered the possibility.
Teelis nodded then turned back to the display. "Let us see if we can add a bit more power to the weapons. I would like to aim for seventy-three percent power."
Karis grinned in response. "See? Now you think she can do it. I told you, Lieutenant."
"You did indeed, Senior Chief."