Escape on the Freighter Part 2

Posted on 19 Feb 2018 @ 4:28pm by Ensign Teela Tjaansz
Edited on on 23 Feb 2018 @ 9:22pm

1,929 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: S02 Episode 3: When Realities Collide (Incidentals)
Location: A Dominion station/Freighter
Timeline: Mission 4 Day 65-0.1

NOTE: Parts 1 and 2 of this sim are alternate versions of the ships crew.

[ON]

Two Days Later.....

"Come on, quick," she whispered, waving Timmy, Jenn, and two others into the freighter. "Now's the time. We have to go!"

It was a maintenance downtime on Terok Nor; given the pacified area in the Bajor sector, the Cardassians in charge had been 'persuaded' to take the short and long-range sensors offline for a four-hour maintenance cycle to conduct repairs on all systems.

"Everyone, get into a room and strap in," Nicci said as she yelled out, walking toward the command area of the freighter. She failed to notice a little cat jump in the gear-like rolling airlock door. The Maine Coon was dark red furred and had bright mismatched green and blue eyes. It snuggled down and hid among the gear in the back of the freighter. She used to have a Maine Coon herself when she was a child and likely would've loved to have seen the cat.

"I went over the outer and inner hull. I removed two tracking devices that weren't there before. Jarlie said.

"We are looking good for departure. Timmy said he will stay in the engine room to help keep it as up to par as he can. We are just wanting to get out of here and he knows this ship needs al the help it can get." Jen stated.

"Good to hear," Nicci said with a smile. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"I don't think the way the warp core is configured will hold for long We could be in for a very bumpy ride. On the other hand, I would rather die than stay here". Jarlie said somewhat fatalistically.

"I do agree, we are green on all systems. Engineering is giving us the green light but will work to keep the system up as long as possible. But it is all good either way as long as we are away from this terrible place." Jen replied.

"Release docking clamps," Nicci said to Jen, who was to her left. To her right, Jarlie, she said, "charge impulse to get us away from the station. The sensors are offline, but anyone can see a warp jump if we're too close."

"Docking clamps released I hope that fake flight plan you filed works". Jarlie said.

"All diagnostic protocols in security just activated and so they will be down for an hour and that should give us a good chance to get away from the sensors reach by the time the protocols are finished," Jen added.

"Maneuver us down to -87.4 Mark 14 from the centerline pointing through and at Bajor. There are no viewports there to see us," Nicci said.

"87.4 marks 14," Emma said, tapping controls. The lights on the impulse engine showed red. She smacked the panel and it returned to green. She exhaled the breath she had been holding in. "Quarter impulse," she said, taking it easy on the system.

"Bringing the warp core online, the warp field is fluctuating a bit, trying to compensate". Jarlie said.

"Crossing my fingers this works, but I am glad to be here with you than still on the station," Jen replied as Jarlie worked her magic along with the crew in engineering.

Moments later, they were on the trajectory and everything was working. No alarms, no ships noticing them. The trailing drone that absorbed and dispersed ionic residue was working, eliminating their trail, making tracking almost impossible. Hopefully, it would stay attached while they were on impulse.

"Alright, warp 5, engage," Nicci said, giving a two-finger gesture her father had done when he told her about his old captain in Starfleet.

The ship's engines charged up and the viewer ahead started showing an accelerating as the so-called 'rubber band effect' shot the ship into warp. The stars looked like rainbows as the ship accelerated up to warp five without much incident or breakage, to Nicci's surprise. She knew those weren't stars, just an optical illusion of accelerated interstellar particles interacting with the warp field, but it was still pretty anyway.

Nicci let go of the chair she was gripping like a vice, seeing that the ship was flying as it should and not blowing up, that was a big bonus.

"Okay, Jarlie, ease us up to warp 7," Nicci said with a friendly tone. "That was the trickiest part of this whole thing. We should get at least 18 hours of warp 7 before we have to throttle back."

"Warp 5.5...warp 6....warp 7, Nicci. Warp field stable but I don't know how long it will last though". Jarlie said.

That is when the Maine Coon started purring, loud enough for anyone to hear, it seemed very very happy that they were away from the station of hellish life for any that was not the ruling classes...

"Does anyone hear that purring sound?" Jen asked. "I think it sounds like a feline but maybe I am hearing things because I am so happy to be off of that retched station.

The dark red-brown Maine coon cat inched out of its hiding place purring louder tail flicking like it just didn't have a care in the world as it green and blue eyes took in everyone. "Mrourrr?" It could have been a hello or a What's your problem? Either way, it appeared the Maine Coon wasn't afraid of anyone on the freighter.

Some Hours later...

The crew were a little relaxed now that they were several star systems away from Bajor. Some had taken lunch, others were just napping. Their course was not a straight shot since that would be unwise leading any potential follower straight to their final destination, which Nicci hadn't even told her crew. She just said "away from here," and that was enough to get them to come along.

Nicci was a courtesan, and she used that position to her advantage while she was on Terok Nor. She remembered her old body, something the Orions made sure of, so the change would be all the more painful for her. Before she was definitely not attracted to men and never wore a dress. Now she wore a lot less than that most nights. Her hair was long, down before her perfectly shaped rear end, was full, radiantly shiny, and with her bangs, would be worn in braids, twin tails, or however her clients paid her. Whether a shapely red short dress with full-on cleavage, or a 'slave bikini', or a sporty pair of short shorts and sports bra for a mountain hike. She didn't question, and sadly to her old self, she enjoyed some of the 'encounters' as she called them to disassociate from them after.

She left the bridge area to go back to the quarters on the port side, to give her some privacy. It was on one of her 'encounters' that she heard of an old Merchantman Class J Freighter being docked at Terok Nor; from her side pay, which cost quite a few strips of latinum, she was able to gamble enough winnings to win the ship. The Orions were too smart by half. They upped her intelligence and eidetic memory, and she was great at counting cards and reading people. Like almost every girl on board, she was sensitive to pheromones of others, her nose being more sensitive than normal humans, the better to 'enjoy the moment,' as it were, and to get excited more quickly, but they also gave off stronger pheromones. It was a two-edged sword. She and everyone else on board were more than attractive enough on their own, but with their pheromones, they could manipulate practically anyone to do what they wanted if they didn't take a treatment to suppress them, and some girls were good enough to give off more pheromones at will. Only Vorta, Jem'Hadar, and some Cardassians were really immune. The other downside was some girls couldn't tell if a guy really liked them or if they had no real choice; that not knowing was unsettling and disheartening, to say the least.

Nicci sat on the floor and brought out a little box. It was all she had of her old life. An old-style photo of her family; her dad insisted. Digital could be erased, but a picture lasted, he would say to...her...when they had their talks. A little LEGO man. A little Bumblebee Transformer and an Optimus Prime she transformed to robot and back. Her old shirt that, now that she'd been 'enhanced' her endowments had stretched out in front. A tear fell down her cheek, remembering her family. She missed them all. It'd been two years, she figured, since she talked to them. That was about when she was kidnapped on the shuttle and changed by the Orions.

The door chimed. It was Teela. That purple tailed tree-dwelling alien was cute and friendly and immune to all the pheromones on the ship. The only real friend Nicci had.

"Hey, fearless leader," she said as the door slid open. She noticed the tear streak. "What's wrong?" She hurried over and sat down on the floor, putting her arm around Nicci.

"Just remembering old times," Nicci said with a smile. "How's the ship?"

"We're handling it," Teela said, her arm pulling her friend closer. "Jen and Jarlie are getting to know each other over some food in the mess hall on deck 2; Timmy is talking with Alexi down in engineering. He said she used to be his brother, oddly enough."

"Well the Orions thought they'd punish some of us by changing the team we played for," Nicci said a little bitterly.

"I didn't know you played team sports!" Teela said, not getting the euphemism.

Nicci laughed a little, "No, they think a lot less of women than you Aktevans or humans do. And they made us captive to our bodies."

"Well they may have enhanced all of us," Teela said, "but you've proven that just because you're a slave, it doesn't mean you have to be their captive. I never thought we'd leave there till you told me about this ship four months ago. That was the happiest night of my life!"

"I remember," Nicci chuckled a little. "You earned five strips of latinum as a tip that night on the Dabo table."

"Oh, I bought a few rounds on the bar after hours that night," Teela remembered wistfully. That Centauri Moonlight was one of the best drinks she'd ever discovered.

"So, since you need to know where we're ending up...it's New Xindus," Nicci said finally. "It's not under Dominion control, and I heard there are millions of humans living free there. And hundreds of thousands of Aktevans, Vulcans, Andorians, and even Betazoids."

"Maybe the Federation can come back some day," Teela said with some hope.

"If only," Nicci replied.

"Well, for now, let's get you some food. I stocked up on steaks and roasted potatoes. I know how you courtesans need to eat lots of protein," Teela said as she got up, her arms out to pick up Nicci.

"Yeah, there were a few former vegetarians among us," Nicci said as she got up and followed her friend down the stairs to the mess hall for some food.

The Maine coon had wandered the freighter at a leisurely pace often stopping to meow at someone once or twice before moving on again. It seemed to be testing folks patience before getting any closer...

[OFF]

Lieutenant Jg Nicole Taggert
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Tomcat

Ensign Teela Tjaansz [PNPC: Taggert]
Computer Systems Specialist
USS Tomcat

 

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