Things Seen and Unseen

[Chirakis 1]

Things Seen and Unseen

~Cayne and Chirakis

 

Several fighters and other small craft had been deployed from Rendezvous October, tasked with investigating reports of alien ships moving through the quadrant. Not far from Aegis, a strange ship that slipped through the edge of a nebula created a media frenzy. Soon after that, Drakkor, piloted by Chirakis and under the direction of her newly-acquired associate, Cdr Wyatt Cayne, was sent to find the freighter, observe it, determine its purpose, and possibly discover another piece to the ever-growing puzzle. After several cargo stops along the way, their quarry landed on a small, nondescript and tectonically unstable planet not far from Aegis. As Drakkor hung in orbit, their reconnaissance seemed routine until they detected a threat other than their freighter.

 

Drakkor’s advanced sensor package revealed a cloaked ship lurking in high orbit at station keeping. It didn’t seem to be doing anything peculiar except sitting there, but the question of why there would be a cloaked ship in a nebula far from anything of particular interest was puzzling. Furthermore, Drakkor was a stealth vessel and not cloak-cable. As a precaution, the captain killed every detectable system, putting them dead in space while they waited for the cloaked ship to make its move or reveal its purpose.

 

“The ship has a general Romulan signature, and some Federation-like readings,” said Cayne, somewhat puzzled.

 

“I’m intercepting a transmission from the surface,” Chirakis added, pulling its message onto her monitor.

 

“Status Normal. 1/2 rotation to next check in.”

 

The captain relaxed and smiled. The message had an embedded distinctive signature that pointed to only one vessel: Aegean, an intricate blend of Joint Allied Powers’ premiere technologies.

 

Built at the Aegis Shipyard under the watchful expertise of SubCommander Tylus Petrinius Jorahl, Aegean was more Romulan than Federation, and arguably the most formidable hybrid starship in the quadrant. SubCommander Jorahl’s reverse engineering skills had earned him the title “Reaper” within Starfleet Intelligence circles. Having been given free rein in her construction, he had made Aegean a masterpiece of technology. Chirakis had no doubt that Aegean would eventually detect, and probably identify Drakkor, if they had not already.

 

“Secure from the cloaked ship; move in sync with the freighter,” she spoke evenly into her com, and in obedience the fighter drifted slowly and silently from its present position to settle some distance away, in synchronous orbit with the freighter they had been tracking through the nebula.

 

"Who do you think these people are?" Wyatt asked as he peered at his display, building a mental picture of any soft points. So much of the ship moved with automation he wondered if the onboard computer would answer first.

 

“I know who they are,” Chirakis replied casually. “We have nothing to fear. They probably have detected us, but we must not show any signs of having detected them, and we cannot interfere with them in any way. Their presence here is important.”

 

"And the freighter? I'm guessing they are not nearly as advanced?" He shook his head. "I feel like I'm just getting my space legs again." So many more missions on-world rather than off. As open as space was it always seemed claustrophobic since most ship walls were mere meters away. Space remained largely just the void on the other side of a pane of transparent aluminum.

 

“Is the freighter advanced?” said Chirakis. “That’s why we are here. So far it has registered as totally alien, and as far as its technology, all we know is what you have gathered, so...” she gestured in his direction, “...what do you have?”

 

The sensors displayed a rather raw view of the freighter from which Wyatt would have to parse. "Let me see here. Warp drive, ahh, probably about warp eight or so, forward and aft torpedoes, decent sublight maneuverability. One thing interesting is the hull color." He chuckled that a ship's color was coming up in conversation. "We like gray, Klingons and Romulans like dark greens, but this one is unique to me."

 

The captain watched him tinker, curious but unimpressed. “And color has significance?”

 

"Well, some factions paint theirs, but it also gives a clue to the composition of the alloy they employ. Let me run this by the computer." Given this was a small vessel the core could take a while loo- "Oh, it's done." He studied the results. "This can't be right, can it? An old chestnut from the Dominion War. Their method of constructing the alloy bears striking similarities to our departed friends, the Breen, but this ship looks nothing like those ships except for the hull color."

 

“An old chestnut,” Chirakis replied wryly, giving him a look. “Some would say that Drakkor is an old chestnut. She may appear old on the outside, but she is quite advanced on the inside.” The captain’s hand swept around the fighter’s pristine interior. “It’s entirely possible that other species borrowed from the Breen, or the Breen borrowed… or took… from someone else, just as we..,” she gave a minimal shrug, “...borrow from other species.”

 

"Well, the photon torpedo came from the Klingons, so sure."

 

“Is there anything else, Commander?”

 

He shook his head. "A large cargo space, but you'd expect that. Honestly there are so many things cobbled together I'm surprised the hull composition stood out." He raised a brow and turned towards her. "I'll study the data as we persue."

 

“And I will sit and watch.”