"To Hide Forever..."

[FredM 0]

"To Hide Forever..."

Stardate 0307.14

Captain Fred Michaels

Commander Aidan Ridire

 

 

      "Mr. Revolone, set course for Starbase 345. Warp six....", Fred said in passing as he entered the ready room. Uncommon for him, he didn't even wait for the order to be acknowledged. It didn't really matter...Michaels just had to get off of the bridge. He was on his last nerve. The only clue they had into the entire Cairo disaster had just gone up in flames and there hadn't been a thing he could do about it.

 

      The Captain moved next to the window in his office and slammed his fist against the wall. Before he could utter another sound, he heard the door open. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who it was, though the reflection in the window helped if there had been any doubt. Fred turned and looked at his XO, noting the expression on his face. It was all Michaels needed to see to know his mission to find evidence on the doomed base had been a failure.

 

      Aidan watches the Captain's expression shift from hope, however slim, to resigned loss. Aidan says with a quiet intensity "I am going to take the opportunity to speak freely.  If you had waited ten more seconds..or even five more seconds before you beamed us back I would have had something very...interesting on the tricorder. As it is, it's only in my memory."

 

      Aidan strides forward and sets the tricorder on the Captain's desk as he continues "Mr. Shamor is still analyzing what he managed to record on his tricorder. However while we were there we managed to find the control annex and the communications station.  Whoever pulled off this little...fiasco was, at the time all hell broke loose, sending a communication to a coded destination." Aidan pauses a second before dropping the bombshell "A Starfleet code in fact. However, that is as far as the message got. What the intent of the message was for, we'll never know..at least not from the Rigel system. It could have been a ransom demand or...it could be we are dealing with..to be melodramatic, a conspiracy of darkness from within. I used the recording function of the tricorder to enter the code manually so it's on there." He points a finger to the tricorder before saying "Speaking for myself, I would very much like to find out what the truth is..one way or the other."

 

      Fred groaned, his legs seeming to collapse. He forced himself into his chair. "If we'd waited another few seconds, neither of us would be alive to debate it..," the Captain said grimly. Glancing at the tricorder, Michaels looked at the code. The entire concept had not been too shocking, given Doctor Matthews' earlier findings about Richard Drew's personnel file. In fact, it only reaffirmed earlier suspicions. After all, someone must have seen to it the moon facility in orbit of New Rigel was constructed without anyone noticing, edited Richard Drew's personnel file and had the entire timetable for the Cairo.

 

      The Captain paused and leaned forward taking a deep breath. He glanced at the tricorder again, "If this is what I'm thinking, it's probably just the first set of coordinates for the signal. Might get us the planet the thing was sent to...." This prompted Fred to sigh and rub his temples....a headache was certain to follow.

 

      Instead, a familiar beep occurred and a voice came over the speakers in the Ready Room. "Sir, incoming message from Starfleet Command. Priority One," said the voice. Several seconds later, Fred's terminal lit up to display the seal of the Federation and then a bunch of text. His only response was too faint for Aidan to comprehend. Michaels simply acted as if he was going to slam his fist against the desk, but instead gently sat it down.

 

      Almost looking at his First Officer's boots, Fred spoke in a forced calm voice, "It seems subspace is working fine...as Starfleet has gotten our transmission about what just happened. I have been ordered to take a shuttle to meet Fleet Admiral Salvar aboard the U.S.S. Olympia to give a full account of our actions and determine Starfleet's official response to this matter." The Captain glanced upwards, his annoyance now present in his voice, "Seems after the Cairo, there were at least two other attempted attacks against Starfleet vessels by individuals impersonating officers. Both of the attackers ended up vaporized, one by shooting himself and another by forcing a transporter to degrade his signal. Apparently they are worried. If this situation is not handled properly, others may see this as a way to attack the Federation."

 

      Aidan frowns darkly as he listens to the Captain. "Sir, they're not going to be able to sweep this under the rug. Way too many people know as it is and that number is only going to grow once we turn the colonists loose. And unless the colonists are as stupid as Arwelleian swamp rats, it's not going to take them long to tie what happened to them to what happened to the Cairo. And they're not going to be able to cover that up either. The families of the Cairo dead are going to want an explanation and then they're going to want justice. And the Admiralty at Starfleet and the higher-ups in the Federation are just going to put their own heads in the noose if they try dismissing it as nothing more then the hazards of space."

 

      Aidan pauses for a second, long enough to suddenly feel twice his age, before asking "At any rate, do you want me to accompany you to the Olympia? Or am I to remain here?"

 

      Fred shook his head, "Stay here...the more your not involved in this probably the better. Knowing my luck, I'll say something that'll get me transferred to running a penal colony on some backwater world." The Captain leaned back in his chair again, "I don't think they're even going to try to sweep it under the rug...at least not the Cairo herself. But more than likely....."

 

      Michaels paused and stood, turning to face the window, clearing his throat and almost forcing the words out, "Until I hear otherwise, keep the news about the confirmed other two attempts to yourself. I have a feeling those may suddenly become a 'forbidden' subject...." Fred shook his head again, "At some point Aidan, we'll get a break....but that point isn't going to come anytime soon. Someone....somewhere....knows what happened out here. Eventually they'll slip up and hopefully we'll get word of it."

 

      Aidan nods "Understood. And I'm sure something will turn up, eventually. They can't run forever."  He turns to go but stops before he reaches the door. He says over his shoulder "I don't know if you were informed earlier but six of the people who we beamed aboard were armed. They were disarmed and..placed under control. They might be with the colonists or they might be with the kidnappers. Either way, they should be questioned.  Though perhaps it might not be among the best ideas to let me do it.  Considering my personal involvement with all this."

 

      Fred stood and shook his head, "I'm leaving Commander....use your best judgment." With that, the Captain watched his First Officer exit the room. Michaels' legs again collapsed, forcing him back into his chair. "Oh the webs we weave...."