"Huntin' For Pirates"

[Joe Manning 0]

There was only one planet in the Hyades Epsilon-2 system, and it was probably the most important planet in the star cluster. Goldrock contained the richest Federation-controlled tritanium deposits beyond Aldebaran colony, so it supplied tritanium to almost every Federation settlement and outpost in that region. Its environment wasn't as habitable as that of the Hyades Theta-1 II colony -- in fact, its thin atmosphere had to be supplemented by artificial generators -- so it could not be called the most populous of the cluster's worlds. But tritanium was second in importance only to dilithium in the Federation's eye, and there was plenty on Goldrock to go around.

 

There was enough tritanium on Goldrock, in fact, that large shipments of it were regularly transported through Aldebaran to supply the Federation core worlds. Since the subspace-accessible databanks of the Federation possessed enough capacity for just about any nugget of information possible, it was easy for the crew of the USS Trinidad to determine that one such shipment was scheduled for export in three days' time. Having followed a Klingon Bird of Prey's warp trail straight to Goldrock, the inevitable conclusion was arrived at.

 

So the Starfleet cruiser circled Hyades Epsilon-2 I seeding the area with tachyon probes. No cloaked ship on or near Goldrock could get away, and no cloaked ship farther away could approach the colony and endanger more innocent lives. The pirates had slipped up at Starbase 215, allowing Trinidad to detect a transport signature and to begin tracking the cloaked Bird. Admiral Thorne was not about to allow this advantage to slip away.

 

"Tachyon probe network in place, Admiral," the tactical officer reported as the last probe was fired.

 

"Activate the grid," Thorne ordered. "And begin expanding the network. Supplement the network with more probes if it is required. I want this planet surrounded with as wide a buffer as possible. Ensign Garfield, have we managed to reach the colony outpost?"

 

"No, sir," the operations officer answered. "Still no response to our hails. Further, more in depth scans of the planet are yielding muddled results. There is a great deal of sensor interference blanketing the entire colony, far more than is normal of the EM field that a large-scale mining operation produces. This same interference may be the cause of our inability to contact the outpost."

 

"Which would likely mean they cannot contact the orbital subspace platform," Thorne said. "So the fact that the colony has not reported any incidents does not suggest that the pirates are not already causing trouble down there. Can we pinpoint the source of this interference?"

 

"No, sir, the interference is too great." Ensign Garfield shook her head. She turned her chair to face the Admiral. "Sir, if I may hazard a leap of logic ... this kind of interference could, theoretically, be produced by a subspace antenna specifically remodulated for just such a purpose. The antenna that was stolen from Starbase 215 would certainly be capable. The remodulation would be very difficult, however, and would require a significant amount of power."

 

The Admiral scowled. "Well, we know there are Humans aboard this Klingon ship. There is even at least one Starfleet officer who is now, unfathomably, working with them -- this Doctor Collins. There is surely someone on their crew who was capable of making the necessary modifications. I wonder ... would this Klingon ship be capable of providing sufficient power to both the antenna and their cloaking device?"

 

"Based on the size estimates we've extrapolated?" Garfield replied. "Doubtful. Our sensors are having difficulty reading anything on the planet, so a decloaked Klingon ship would be difficult to locate without a thorough scan."

 

"Begin such a scan. I want the entire affected area swept."

 

"Admiral," Commodore Blake's voice came over the comm. "The shuttle is prepped for launch. Away team awaiting your clearance."

 

"Away team may proceed," the Admiral instructed. "Be advised that our Klingon vessel is likely on the planet's surface and that it is decloaked. It would appear that you are finally going to meet this Klingon problem head on, Commodore ... "