Chapter Text
By now, Captain Tanaka had learned to block out the blaring sounds of the emergency sirens and the flashing lights. It was his only hope of trying to keep a cool head in the midst of a desperate emergency. Still, his head was spinning, hands shaking, and stomach uneasy. His ship was falling apart around, though at least the life support systems were functioning normally. Any small comfort where he could find it.
“Captain.” Even though the voice came in low and static, Captain Tanaka could recognize the distressed voice of the engineer. “Nothing is working, I can’t bring the engine back online.”
Tanaka hung his head. They were worryingly close to the planet’s gravitational pull, and with no engines they would be falling hard and fast.
”Understood,” he replied with a heavy sigh. “That planet is Class M. We’re going to have to make an emergency landing.”
”Captain, this vessel isn’t designed to go planetside. She might not survive entering the atmosphere.”
”I know, but we have no choice. Prepare for impact.” Tanaka hung his head and took a deep breath to brace himself. “Computer, send a distress call on all frequencies. The civilian ship Toyotomi has experienced catastrophic engine failure and is forced to make an emergency landing on the planet Ceti Alpha V. Send rescue crew immediately.” He could only hope that those rescuers would find any survivors.
Maya was gasping for air by time the time they reached for wreckage. She had been able to keep up with the frantic speed with which the others raced to the wreck by sheer willpower alone, pushing forward at full speed even though she felt like she could collapse at any moment. In a way that was like any day in her life: working twice as hard to accomplish half as much, and going to great lengths to hide her shortcomings. Her mother used to tell her that on Earth she would shine brilliantly, but that was little comfort.
The ship’s hull was a scorched, twisted mess. The vessel looked massive to Maya, but she was also aware that with her limited experience she was in no place to judge whether a star ship was large or small. Her father’s primary interest was in survivors…hostages, but Maya doubted if anyone could have lived through this crash. All she cared about was the salvage. She had spent most of her life repairing and tinkering with what little worn out tech that they had been left with. It was the only thing she had ever felt good at, the only thing that made her feel useful.
There were nine others in the search party, including her father and her half brother, Arjun. The three of them went to the bridge as the others searched the ship. Inside the wreck, the air was hot and heavy (which didn’t help Maya to catch her breath), and the interior was dark save for a few dim, flickering lights. On the bridge, Maya spotted a console that appeared to be (barely) functional even though the screen was cracked and the display dim.
“This one’s still online.” Maya said as she approached the console, but her heart sank once she saw a clearer view of the display. “It’s set to Japanese.”
“You studied Japanese,” Her father replied, impatiently.
”I’m sure I can understand it with no trouble at all,” Arjun interjected, smugly.
”No, it’s fine. I remember enough.” Truthfully, Maya felt as though she had forgotten more Japanese than she remembered, but she wasn’t about to let Arjun steal the spotlight from her again. With some concentration she was able to recall just enough to switch the language settings and access recent logs. “They called for help before the ship went down…and they got a response. Starfleet is on the way already.”
Her father let out a soft, sly chuckle the likes of which Maya had never heard before. “Open a channel. I would hate to leave them awaiting a response.”
Maya went to work on the console. Even with the damage it was still a more advanced piece of technology than she had ever seen before, but she found it intuitive.
“Captain Tanaka, do you copy?” The voice that came in was soft and warbled.
Another sly chuckle from her father before he responded ”Captain Tanaka is unable to respond, but fear not. The Toyotomi has landed, and your rescue party is no longer necessary.”
”I don’t understand. To whom am I speaking?”
”Just think of me as the leader of a local welcome committee.”
”I still don’t understand. Ceti Alpha V is uninhabited.”
“Are Starfleet’s records really kept so poorly? This planet has been colonized for twenty five years. Call off the rescue mission and tell your superiors that the Toyotomi’s survivors will only return home if James T. Kirk comes to collect them himself.”
”What does Adirmal Kirk have to do with any of this.”
”Tell him Khan sends his regards. End transmission.”