Ghost Squad | The Dark Side

[Chirakis 1]

Ghost Squad | The Dark Side
Cayne, Chirakis

 

“Psssst. Jake.”

A dirty, rag-tag boy, his face and arms streaked awkwardly with camouflage colors, stopped his progress through the crawl space, and threw a disgruntled glance over his shoulder to his cohort. “What?” he mouthed, aggravated.

His partner slapped two fingers on the left side of his chest, then jerked his thumb frantically over his shoulder.

Jake tossed Billy a skeptical look while he listened for any sound in the crawl way, then his eyes widened in alarm as irregular creaking broke the silence. At the younger boy’s frantic nods, they both scampered frantically through the crawl way, Billy whispering directions to Jake from behind and Jake whispering back, telling Billy to “stop whispering because the Fleeter could follow them easier”, and Jake whispering back to “shut up and turn right, then left”.

Then the sound of a phaser unholstering reached the boys, and a deep voice echoed, “I'm not going to hurt anyone, but this area is off limits.”

Jaws dropped, they exchanged glances, then scrambled around the turn to a storage access hatch that always made a good hiding place. The cover slipped off and they hoisted themselves in, secured the hatch and pushed back against the wall. Eyes closed, they began deep, even breaths to slow their heartbeats and calm their nerves so they could sit perfectly still, like in the old Starfleet training holovids. It usually worked when the Sirius Gang came hunting for someone to torment, but this was different. This was real.

Less than a minute later, a rugged Starfleet security officer passed underneath, mumbling something about finding a single slip of latinum in a Ferengi vault. Either he had so many he could not single them out, or he was spending them so extravagantly he'd have none to spare. Each passing minute meant the suspects either buried themselves deeper into the bowels of the ship or found some route to escape that security never considered. "All those scans and nothing," he muttered as he lifted a panel leaning against the wall. No secret passage behind it, time to move on. Before he left the room he placed something on the door frame. It stuck to it for a moment before melting into the metal. The boys waited a full five minutes to be sure he was gone before they moved.

“Gol, Billy,” whispered Jake on an exhale. “Thanks for the warning. What in blazes do you think he’s doing down here?”

“Dunno, Jake.” He shrugged. “Check out the grab from the minivid we put up,” he continued, flipping over an old, well worn PADD. “See the brass on ‘im?”

“Gees,” Jake breathed in admiration and gave a low whistle. “Commander. Big guns. He sure doesn’t belong down here. They usually send the little guys—you know, the probies, the ensigns, the ones who do the dirty work of checking out places in the station no one else wants to.” Jake gestured emphatically, pursing his lips in serious thought. “But he’s here, and that means it’s somethin’ important. I mean really important. And I heard him say something about ‘scans’ and ‘suspects’.” He blew out a breath. “He really means business. Gol….” His eyes widened. “Ya think he’s looking for more aliens?”

“But… word on the chain is they got ‘em all... right? I mean, aren’t they all dead?”

“Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time the chain was wrong. But even if he isn’t looking for aliens, he’s headed toward the syndicate quarter, and tonight’s Crow’s exchange night.” Jake stopped to think a minute, his face scrunched into decision mode. “You go back and tell the others. I’m gonna follow him. Maybe we can help him out if he needs it, and if he does, I’ll report back.”

Billy’s jaw dropped. “How’re we gonna help him?”

“I’ll think of somethin’,” Jake replied, sounding not quite confident, but determined.

Billy nodded. “Right. But… what’re we gonna call him? We gotta have a code name.”

They gave that a few minutes of thought so deep that it screwed up their faces. “How about… Redbird.” Jake said finally, nodding.

Billy’s lips spread into a grin. “Yeah. That’s cool. Redbird,” he said, giving Jake a high-five.

Jake reached for the hatch release, took a deep breath followed by one careful, quiet turn, and they eased out, making sure the hatch was secure. After exchanging their Ghost Squad good luck handshake, they parted, Jake turning to follow Redbird, and Billy moving in the opposite direction.

 

* * * * *

 

Cayne took his time looking over this more remote part of the station. Even though the entire station is new, this section seemed run down compared to the more trafficked command sections. Like any large structure, there were places to hide. Sadly, they were often smaller than him. Some engineer had an idea to place a series of pipes at nearly knee height then cap it off with a rather low ceiling just above. He grunted and twisted his bulk over the blue tube, but hit the deck with a thud.

 

The impact of the fall echoed against the walls of the service room. As the dust settled he heard movement back where he entered. Cayne recognized it as someone caught between not wanting to be seen and the flinch of wanting to see if someone was alright. Cayne remained silent as he listened to what he thought he heard. The machinations of some machine just past a far wall filled the soundscape, but so did someone's breathing.

 

"You better have a good explanation for tailing me," he called out. The machine churned away in the distance. He waited for an answer while he lay in a bit of old commander pain. He chuckled at the thought of the name Commander Pain, or it pained him to know that may soon be a name of his. He listened, then asked again. "I'm not going to take you in, if that's what you think, nor do I have any credits on me." He waited.

 

Soon, an inhale and a hard swallow, like someone trying really hard to not make a sound, drifted toward him, and the sound of shifting weight in the crawl space.

 

"What's your name?" He still could not see who followed him. "I'm Commander Cayne." If indeed there was no one around, he needed to contact medical. "Come on, I'm an old worn out man who was bested by a pipe." The commander propped himself up on one arm.

 

It took a few minutes, but eventually the camo-grease covered face of a teen stared down at him from the crawl space hatch. His eyes were wide in alarm and a finger pressed on his lips as he shook his head.

 

"What's on your face son?" He saw the camo, but did not understand why on a decidedly gray backdrop such as a Federation space station he'd choose it.

 

The boy’s expression became stern as he said, “Shhh….”, then dropped gently into the storeroom next to Cayne. “You wanna get yourself killed…. Commander?” he whispered as the kid took a deep breath, like he was trying to calm his nerves. “Name’s Jake. Commanding Officer of the Ghost Squad.” He glanced up, then around the room before he added, “Sir. I mean… Commander.” Even through the camo you could see his face blush.

 

"Commander Officer of the Ghost Squad eh? Is that some Section 31 offshoot infiltrating my station?" He joked of course, but had no idea if this kid could read him just yet. "Were you my assailant or were you waiting for the utility pipes to get me?"

 

Jake stared a minute, then his eyes widened and his hands went up as he began to stammer and plaster himself against the opposite wall. “W-wait. You think I’m….? Oh, No. No, I’m not… ah, gees, sir. I mean… I uh…. No, I’m not Section 31. Really… I’m not,” he pleaded, licking his lips. “I’m a kid, so… Section 31 is… no, not me.” He seemed to have lost concentration and he swallowed hard. “You’re not gonna…. Please, sir? I’m a kid. I mean, I am Ghost Squad commander, but….” He seemed to shake the previous thought off and his tone held forced confidence. “We’re here to help you.”

 

Cayne grunted. "Right, well then… little help?"

 

“Yeah, help.” Jake seemed to gradually regain control, “You’re about to run straight into syndicate territory where Crow is probably doin’ an exchange right now ‘cause this is his usual night.”

 

"Really?" He perked up, but remained where he was. "Well, there is one way you can help, right now."

 

Jake relaxed, a little more enthusiastic. “Yeah?”

 

"Yeah," he looked at him. "I think I twisted wrong when I fell. I can't get up. Can you get over here and help?"

 

After a moment of uncertainty, he scooted closer. “What ya want me to do, sir?”

 

"I just need to stand up. Pulled a muscle in my back." He started to further straighten himself up, but the combination of twitch and pain held him on the floor. "Don't get old kid."

 

Jake stared at the last comment, then shrugged. “Yeah. Well, don’t think it’ll happen any time soon, but….” He looked Cayne over. “We got some stuff back at the station… I mean the place where we meet. The Ghost Squad meets, I mean. But we gotta get you back there first. I’m not sure how to do that, ‘cause…” He tossed his head, then shrugged. “You’re… well.. a little bigger than I am, but I can sure try.”

 

Quite a while later, after struggling through crawl spaces that pressed Cayne’s body almost beyond its limits, they stopped at an exit hatch and listened. After a minute, Jake quietly tapped “shave and a haircut”. Five seconds later, “two bits” came in reply, the crawl space panel opened, and Jake dropped into a fairly large room that would be used for storage if that area of the station was ever finished. “Guys, I need some help,” he said. “We got company.”