Ares Rising

[Chirakis 1]

Ares Rising

 

A more impressive 3.055 million metric tons of heavy warship had not been seen since USS Missouri left for parts unknown. USS Toronto, Starfleet’s third Border Patrol Akira class to be launched, settled easily into her berth, her hull gleaming in the light of drones that swarmed it, scanning for superficial damage that may have occurred during the first leg of her shakedown cruise.

 

Her commanding officer, Captain Jael Kirsch, was one of the youngest captains ever tapped for Border Patrol. Tall, sturdily built and of impressive bearing, he had made quite an impression in the last 24 hours. He reminded Kirel of another very young captain, but Kirsch seemed more stable than Kirk and wisely relied heavily on the experience of his first officer, Commander Glenn Standard, a highly-decorated veteran.

 

But Toronto was not expected to launch for several more months. So why was she now berthed at Aegis, taking her shakedown cruise so far from the beaten path?

 

“Beats me, Chir,” said Sonny Lukas, Kirel’s SI-5 team member, speaking with her via subspace from Tekal Dorn. “Word is that something’s up with the cartels and the Tjurakh, but nothing positive has shown yet. Hell, for all I know - or anyone knows - it’s the cartels and the Easter bunny.”

 

“T’Pak and Resssk?”

 

“T’Pak’s still in deep cover and Resssk’s poking around in former Breen territory looking for…” he waved a hand, “who knows what. Director’s been hunkered down with heavy brass for days in the middle of quals when he’s supposed to be out here watchin’ the watchers. And, hey - I hear you’re getting upgrades, got a first-class chop-shop goin’ on out there.” He flashed a wide grin, referring to Rov.

 

“In a manner of speaking,” responded Kirel blandly. “What is the word on Missouri and Iowa?”

 

“Not a clue, except that several heavy battlewagons are off the grid and a couple left for cartel space not long ago.”

 

“Which cartel?”

 

“That one…” his fingers snapped a few times, “what’s the name of that shuttle again?”

 

“Nei’rrh?”

 

“Yeah. Nei’rrh. Where they were attacked. Soon as you passed the word up they were off with a bunch of crazies aboard. But hey… don’t you have other ways of contacting Missouri?”

 

Staying on topic wasn’t exactly Sonny’s strong suit, but his comments did catch Kirel’s attention. Almost everyone outside the realm of special operations called their commando units “crazies,” so it was worth looking into. And as for contacting Missouri, Sonny had a point, one that had not crossed her mind. It would take a great deal of concentration on her part, not a little manipulation, and a violation of her resolve to shun telepathic contact.

 

* * * * *

 

“How has it come to this?”

 

The telepathic invasion halted Captain d’Ka’s conversation with First Officer Lie’ri mid-sentence. His eyes flashed, drifting a bit before they darted around Missouri’s bridge.

 

“Captain?” Lie’ri leaned into his field of vision. “Is something wrong?”

 

D’Ka’s attention snapped back to the First Officer, but his concentration was clearly still somewhere else. Another glance around the bridge and the captain took a deep breath before waving a dismissive hand. “Nothing, ‘Ri. Nothing. For a moment I thought….” he sighed. “Nothing. Go on.”

 

Their discussion continued for a while before they parted, but Lei’ri kept a close watch on the captain, despite his protestations.

 

“A temporary assignment, and it’s nineteen months. Nineteen months a prisoner of bureaucracy with no end in sight. Nineteen months....”

 

His attention interrupted once more, d’Ka instantly keyed in on the message and its sender: a tall, slender Bajoran, in age several years his junior but in experience his equal. Within seconds an image materialized in his mind, one as real as if he were standing next to her.

 

Kirel stood in her usual arms folded stance at an observation window, her mind sharply focused well beyond Aegis’ sector. Her piercing gray eyes had the haunted look of one lost at the intersection of past and future.

 

“Thytrin?”

 

“It’s an unnatural existence,” Kirel continued without responding, lost in a dark monologue. “The gravity, the food, the atmosphere, the very smells of this station are artificial, all meant for one purpose…. and should its fragile shell crack and let nature take its course, it fails in that purpose.

 

“So why do we persist? As soon as they are begun they have decayed. Why do we continue to tempt fate, build these monuments to our own hubris, waiting for the inevitable consummate act of the universe claiming its own? And now, with the fleet increasing its arsenal and our adversaries no doubt increasing theirs, the possibility of the universe claiming its own looms ever closer, and yet we build....”

 

“Lie’ri, take the bridge,” said d’Ka as he rose from the command chair, “Alert me of the slightest change in cartel activity. Keep Major Anastis informed as well.”

 

“There are times I long even for the dry baked soil of Ares where we met. The consummation there was at least productive, a single promise of life in the remote, unforgiving expanse the planetoid was and still remains.”

 

“And yet it nearly was our death,” Jerritt shot back as the door to his ready room closed silently behind him, “and you long for it? Maudlin thoughts, Thytrin.”

 

Her snort translated well in the telepathic link. “ And they succeeded in getting your attention. Where is Missouri and what are you doing? Why the sudden launch of Toronto and why is she docked at Aegis?”

 

“Damn Bajoran,” he said aloud before dropping into a chair and wiping his hands across his face in exasperation. “I cannot tell you our mission, and of that you are well aware. As for Toronto, best ask her captain.”

 

She seemed to acquiesce, but took sudden interest when Captain d’Ka turned his visual attention casually to a screen. A symbol top left showed the ship was in full stealth mode, the one at the bottom showed hot standby, and the sector displayed on the screen was familiar.

 

“If SI-5 were involved I would know where you are, so… another section has taken the lead, one well versed in cartels, familiar with that area of space, used to working in tandem with large starships - or aboard starships as a base of operations.” She blew out a breath. “Anastis’ Nightmares or Grigori’s Banshees.”

 

D’Ka blanked the screen and did not respond.

 

“Thank you, Thytrin. We are well protected.”