From: Joy Phillips (jkphillips82_at_googlemail.com)
Date: Tue Oct 28 2008 - 07:49:45 PDT
NRPG: This is a novella that begins by tying some posts together so if you've already read the first few parts just skim them to get to the bits that are new. NRPG: Taken from a post by me called "Normality?" Location: Undesignated Klingon shuttle Scene: Cockpit "Damn, blast, bugger," the curseing got worse and finally degraded into klingon swearing, the British woman ran her hands over a console checking readings and sighed again. "Damnit." "What is it?" the pale voice of the changeling in her seat next to her made Kat calm slightly and reach her hand out. "Nothing sweetie, you go back to sleep, everything will be fine." She brushed the little girls hair and got a smile from Safira before she drifted back to sleep. "Damn." Kat said more quietly this time, she'd manage to get the vessel into orbit before the ships had dropped into warp and wrap the cloaking device around the small borrowed shuttle before anyone had seen her, however she was loathed to drop into warp with so many other ships around, one was bound to catch the warp signature and blow her out of the skies. And now the STONEHENGE was dropping from orbit, she knew enough to know the HENGE was a replacement for the PRO and who knew what other widgets and doodads the ship had, if it was looking for her it'd find her. She held in a cry of frustration, she'd stayed too long and now the little girl she'd promised to protect was in danger because of it. Feeling overwhelmed she propped her feet onto the edge of the pilots seat and rested her forehead against her knees. She closed her eyes and forced herself to start thinking. NRPG: Taken from my post "Right this way" Location: E4 -> Space Scene: Maddies Office -> guest quarters -> Klingon shuttle Peter had barely left the office to go back to the STONEHENGE and his family when another familiar figure stepped into Maddies office. Maddies eyes widened slightly but she came around the desk and offered the tall man a hug. "Jeff." She declared, "What a pleasant surprise." She stared at her brother in law for a moment, "what are you doing here?" "I came to visit family." The doctor answered with an easy smile. "I thought you and the children would be a good place to start." "So did half of Starfleet" Mad'hron muttered. "Have you been given quarters?" she asked and waited for him to nod. "Maybe you should go and clean up, I can take you to see the kids later, and they'd like to see their uncle Jeff." Jeff nodded and then stepped forwards and hugged his wife's adopted sister before heading out the door. He was conscious of being watched as he moved to the quarters he had been assigned but he could have just been paranoid. The doors to his quarters barely closed when the transporter beam took hold of him. "What the hell are you doing here?" Kat's voice barking at him from a control panel was enough to relax him. "Trying to find out why my wife is a fugitive from Starfleet." Jeff snapped back he matched Kat in volume he folded his arms across his chest while the much smaller woman placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "And where the hell are we?" he asked looking around. "On a borrowed klingon ship." Kat answered with a small smile. "Borrowed?" "I still have friends." She pointed out and glared at her husband, "you shouldn't be here." She continued. "If anyone finds you it can only look bad for your career." "You beamed me up here." He pointed out. Kat nodded and then gave him a wry smile. "I missed you." She paused. "You look good in red." Jeff smiled at that and then looked up as he heard the moan. Kat moved two paces and stood between him and the little girl. "Don't." she attempted to order. "You can still be beamed back and no one needs to be any the wiser." Jeff looked at her for a moment took in the concern on her face and then stepped around her; he moved a blanket and looked down at the little changeling. Kat wrapped her arms around herself waiting for his response. "She needs a sickbay." Jeff said quietly. NRPG: And now the new stuff =[/\]= Location: KLINGON SHUTTLE Stardate: 2424 [2.8] 0825.2150 Scene: Bunk Room -> Cockpit "She needs a sickbay," Jeff said quietly. "I know that," Kat snapped, before sighing and shaking her head slightly. "If I get her to a sickbay, they'll take her away. Isn't there anything you can do for her here?" "I guess we're going to find out," Jeff answered grimly, reaching down into the open medkit that was beside the bed and pulling out the medical tricorder. He quickly scanned the girl, waving the wand over her form and taking in the results that were coming into the other part of the device. "Her morphogenic matrix is in bad shape," he said finally. "I might be able to repair some of the damage, but there's no way I'll be able to completely stabilize her matrix without getting access to a sickbay." Kat slumped at hearing that, having hoped that her husband might have been able to pull one more rabbit out of his hat. "If I'm going to take her to a sickbay, then you shouldn't be involved." "I'm bound by the oath I took as a doctor," Jeff countered. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm just treating another patient." Kat smiled. "And you think Starfleet Command will buy that?" she asked. Jeff shrugged. "They won't get a chance one way or the other," he said. "I have to be back on the PATRIOT in a few days and when the ship is off into combat I doubt that they'll make a big deal about me treating a changeling." Kat thought about the situation for a moment, before deciding that she agreed with her husband's assessment of the situation. "Do what you can for her," she said. Jeff nodded, before taking another one of the instruments from the medkit and activating it. He started waving the instrument over the midsection of the infant changeling. "The kids miss you," he said after a few moments of silence had passed between them. Kat hung her head. "I miss them too," she said. "How are they?" "Growing," Jeff said, stopping for a moment to look at his wife with a smile. "Ely especially; We just had a long argument about whether she could come on the PATRIOT the next time we're back at EARTH." "What did you tell her?" Kat asked. "I told her I'd ask her mother," Jeff answered smugly. "That way if you can make the decision for both of us." He laughed as Kat rolled her eyes before taking another instrument from the case and using it in an attempt to stabilize part of the changeling's morphogenic matrix. "What else has happened?" Kat asked. "Just the war," Jeff answered, putting the second tool down and picking the tricorder up again. "The Federation just finished a major offensive against the Dominion and we appear to have pushed them back even further into the Gamma Quadrant." A few moments of silence passed between them while Jeff finished the scan, shaking his head. "It's no good," he said. "Nothing's changed in her vital sign readings." "Then I have to take her to a sickbay," Kat said with finality. "At this point, I'm not sure that even that would help," Jeff said. "If you really want to make sure that she gets cured, you need to take her back to her people." "The Great Link?" Kat half-said, half-asked. "There's no way for me to get there. This shuttle is old enough that it can probably be detected by the Federation sensor grid in the Gamma Quadrant, even if it's cloaked." "I could be your decoy," Jeff suggested. "Nobody knows I'm gone yet. You can beam me back to my quarters, I can get up to the shuttle and then you could follow me back through the wormhole. I can create a diversion on my shuttle just before docking at GATEWAY and you could slip through with nobody being the wiser. Then all you need to do is get to the Founders." "I can handle that part," Kat said. "But it still sounds like a long shot." "Maybe," Jeff agreed. "But if you want to make sure that she gets saved, going back to the Founders is the best shot." "I'll have to think about it," Kat said after a moment of thought, getting up and walking into the cockpit of the shuttle. Jeff got up and followed her, taking a seat at a console right next to her. "And while you're doing that," Jeff stated. "You can tell me exactly what's been going on." Kat sank into the seat next to her husband, eyes on the black expanse of space that was dominated by the large moon, being orbited serenely by the USS STONEHENGE and the USS STORM, the first of the two staffed by friends the second of the two staffed by people charged with returning her and the changeling to federation hands. She closed her eyes against the view and breathed out a little huff of air through red lips before she began speaking. She explained quickly how the USS MCINNIS had found a destroyed federation ship, complete with foundling child and homing device. She explained the Breen presence and how Xana had chased them away and then described how once the orders from Starfleet had come in she'd kidnapped the child and ran. Sometime during her speech her husband had taken hold of her hand. Kat squeezed it, as though to assure him she was alright, or maybe to prove to her he was really there, really sat next to her. Jeff leaned across the divide and gently pulled Kat to her feet and into his lap. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. "I don't have a choice do I?" she asked him seriously. Despite, or maybe because, he was her husband Jeff was one of a small number of people who would answer her with what he thought was the best answer and not what he thought she wanted to hear. "Not if you want her to live." He answered softly, glancing over his shoulder he shook his head. "I suppose talking to Starfleet, you might get permission to take her." "The court-martial would take too long. And then the decision about her would take longer." "She doesn't have the time." Jeff agreed and sighed. "If you take her and come back." "I could be tried as a spy," Kat finished with a small nod. "Life in prison at worst." She closed her eyes and looked towards the young founder. "I can't claim that my life free is worth more than her life." Kat said softly. "I can't put me before her." "I know." Jeff answered as quietly. After a moment she stood up and Jeff knew she'd decided. Her back was ramrod straight and her eyes took on a steely glint. "I'll work that out when I come to it." She declared. "I'll beam you down to the moon, spend a day to cement your alibi for being here and this time tomorrow I'll be ready to leave." "Will do," Jeff said, standing up. Husband and wife stared at each other for a moment before Jeff pulled Kat into his arms, holding her close. **Whatever happens,** he said to her mentally over the telepathic link they shared. **I love you and the kids love you. Never forget that.** She smiled tiredly up at him, before leaning up and sharing a brief kiss. "I won't," she promised, as the two parted company. Leaning over one of the consoles, Kat entered a few commands into the unit and Jeff was transported back to the surface in a red-orange haze. ========= Time Index: The next evening Location: E4 Scene: Zanders' Office Maddie looked up from some paperwork on her desk as Jeff entered her office and smiled, standing up. "Leaving us so soon?" she asked. "Unfortunately," Jeff nodded. "I need to get back to the PATRIOT. This was never going to be a particularly long trip, but it looks as though we're leaving earlier than normal." "Nothing unusual about that," Mad'Hron pointed out, coming out from behind her desk. "The services of the flagship of the first fleet must be in high demand." "That's what I gather," Jeff said as he stepped forward and gave his sister-in-law a hug. "Thanks for everything," he said. "My shuttle will be leaving orbit within the hour." ======== Time Index: 90 minutes later Location: USS BOSPHORUS Scene: Cockpit -> Back Room -> Cockpit "Well, she's sleeping, but her fever hasn't broken," Kat said as she came out of the back room on the runabout and took a seat at the operations console. Jeff looked up from where he was sitting at the helm and smiled reassuringly at his wife. "I don't think it will," he said. "But it's not life-threatening. Let's hope that she sleeps through the whole trip." "I've set the autopilot on the shuttle to follow the runabout," Kat said, deciding to change the subject after a moment of silence had passed between the two of them. "It will remain cloaked the whole way." "Since it's an older model, it should be easy enough to transport the two of you back to the ship after we clear the wormhole," Jeff reported. He tapped a few buttons on his console to secure it and then swivelled in his chair to face his wife. "Which gives us just over an hour." Kat raised an eyebrow. "Just over an hour to do what?" she asked. Jeff chuckled, getting up and taking her hand. "I'll show you," he said. He led her into the back room of the runabout past the bunks and into the area normally reserved for dining. Set out over the table were two plates of pasta carbonara and two filled glasses of wine with the rest of the bottle being chilled in a bucket. Kat took one look at the whole setup and shook her head in amazement. "You didn't have to do this," she said, sitting down as Jeff held out her seat for her before taking his own. "I know," he said. "But I wanted to. Besides, you need to have at least one good meal in you before you go and I can't imagine you've had many these last few weeks." "You're right," Kat admitted, reaching out and fondly caressing her husband's cheek. "Certainly none like this." "Good, because for the next hour I want you to forget about everything," Jeff said, raising his glass. "And just have dinner with your husband." And that's just what they did. As the minutes ticked by, the two ate dinner and a chocolate cake for dessert, chatting about the kids, relatives, old friends and old encounters. They touched on just about every topic available except for the upcoming mission or Kat's recent activities and the English woman found herself feeling a lot better than she had in ages. As the hour came to an end, a beeping sound attracted both of their attentions as Jeff put the used dishes and glasses back into the replicator. He walked over to the console and the wall and tapped a few buttons. "We're approaching the wormhole," he said. "Before we go back to the cockpit though, there's one more thing I want to give you." As Kat looked on questioningly, Jeff grabbed a box from under one of the consoles and handed it to her. Kat quickly opened it and then laughed as she pulled a stuffed animal out of the box; a bear with a hockey stick, skates, jersey and helmet. "You gave that to me a few years ago," Jeff said. "I thought it might cheer you up later on during the trip." "I'm sure it will," Kat said, reaching up to hug her husband. "Thank you Jeff. I love it." Jeff smiled at her as the two walked back into the cockpit and he sat down at the controls for the helm. "I'm going to take us into the wormhole," he said. "Once we're clear I'll beam you and the changeling back to your shuttle and you can follow me to GATEWAY. When I dock at the station you can break off from pursuit and head into the Gamma Quadrant, safe in the knowledge that any emissions that the crew picks up will just be attributed to my shuttle." "Alright," Kat nodded her head in understanding, before reaching across and taking her husband's hand. "Thanks again Jeff…for everything." Jeff looked over at her and gave her hand a squeeze before turning back to his console. "Taking us into the wormhole…now." =[/\]= Location: Klingon Shuttle Scene: Cargo hold Katlina and the small Foundling child appeared in the usual beam of light that a federation transporter made, she settled the little girl onto a cot and then stepped into the cockpit in time to peal the cloaked vessel away from her husbands. She watched the retreating shuttle as it was silhouetted against the lights of the GATEWAY outpost with a pang of sadness and guilt and then quickly set a course into the heart of enemy territory; she wouldn't let a little girl die just because of her feelings of guilt over leaving her husband, her children and her post. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the chair. If Jeff was right Starfleet wouldn't spot her and it'd take a little while before they made contact with the dominion. A soft muttering came from behind her and she stood and checked on the foundling again before deciding to get some sleep, she curled up on a second cot and closed her eyes. She awoke hours later to the computer beeping a proximity alert. Jumping to her feet she reached the cockpit in time to see the warship drop from warp. Her hand grabbed a phaser as three jem'hadar warriors beamed onto her vessel. One of them backhanded her almost mid beam in and the small woman went flying across the pilots chair knocking herself clean out on the bulkhead. =[/\]= TI: weeks later Katlina Gorman woke up on the floor to her shuttle and groaned in pain, her head felt like a klingon opera was stuck on repeat inside it. She pushed herself to her feet and instantly regretted it as her whole body screamed in pain. "Computer, how long have i been unconscious?" She questioned, the last thing she remembered was being thrown across the room, looking around she noticed the foundling was gone. [[unknown]] The computer intoned softly. Katlina raised an eyebrow and slunk into the pilots chair; her eyes looked at the time, and then drifted to the stardate. Her hand instantly went to the console to bring up logs to find them missing. "Computer what happened to the logs for the last two weeks?" [[The logs have been deleted.]] The same reply came almost instantly. Kat swore and did a precursory scan of the surroundings, finding them devoid of anything other than herself and her shuttle she set in a course for the GATEWAY outpost. =[/\]= Location: GS-2 Scene: Brig TI: 3 weeks later Katlina Gorman looked up as her JAG representative stepped into the cell again, her court martial had been ongoing for over two weeks, with the knowledge of the senior staff being KIA her situation had rightfully taken a backseat. Besides she knew most of the security staff and they'd managed to find ways to stall the proceedings, her refusing to give evidence and the JAG officers collating personal references from old commanding officers and senior staff had added a longer time of waiting. "Is my husband back?" she asked the same question she had asked every day since she had arrived here. This time the JAG officer didn't answer. "You know, this would go easier for you if you would simply tell us what happened with the missing two weeks." "I told you I don't remember and the shuttles logs were wiped, is Jeff home?" She repeated with a note of urgency. "You should worry more about your own situation than your husbands." He snapped back. Kat growled and in two swift moves had the JAG against the wall of her cell. "My husband is on a ship, in the middle of a war. As bad as my situation can get I'm not going to die!" she snarled "I want to see him before you cart me off to SING SING again!" The forcefield dropped and Kat dropped the JAG before the security officers could drag her off him. He looked at her and shook his head. "I'll send him a message." He snarled and walked out. The security officers stepped out and raised the forcefield watching the small woman carefully before leaving her once more alone in the small cell. Katlina growled and paced a few moments before throwing herself onto the small bed and picking up the one thing she had, she wrapped her arms around the teddy bear Jeff had returned to her and rested her head against it. She stared glumly at the forcefield for a few hours before giving up. Lying down and falling asleep. =[/\]= Scene: Meeting room TI: Nearly a week later Finally the time had arrived, everyone was telling her this was it, they'd finally made up their minds and she was about to be sentenced, she'd tried to drag it out as long as she could, to see her husband one last time before she was set to the maximum security prison, to tell him she was sorry, that she wished she'd stayed with him instead of running off after her best friend all those long months ago. Sitting at the table for the defence she closed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, the door at the back of the room opened and she span around to see, instead of the tall XO she was hoping for, an older woman enter the room. She recognised Admiral Seamore even out of uniform and her face fell, the older human didn't look too offended she simply smiled and took a seat to watch the proceedings. Kat turned back to the admiral sitting in judgement of her and waited for her verdict. "With the grounds of dereliction of duty and being absent without leave we find the defendant guilty, also with regards to kidnapping a minor we find the defendant guilty. Having seen the defendant's injuries and read her shuttles logs we are inclined to believe her story of her missing two weeks." He paused. "Therefore, and speaking with colleagues of mine." He glanced at the older woman. "We are demoting you to the rank of Lieutenant, taking away your command and intelligence privileges, docking your pay for the time you were absent and for the same amount of time again. Should you decide to remain within Starfleet you will need to find a captain willing to take you on and vouch for you, also should you remain in starfleet you will face weekly reviews and will remain on the ship or outpost unless accompanied by a senior officer or armed guards until further notice." Kat's jaw dropped as he finished with. "Lieutenant Gorman, you are free to go." She turned almost instantly and walked back to the older woman. "Admiral seamore." She greeted when close to the woman. "How did you manage that?" The older woman laughed at her. "Well despite being retired I have some friends, who owe me favours, Halle is looking for a position for you as we speak." She watched the younger woman for a moment and then added. "If you want it of course" Kat smiled at her and then reached forwards and hugged the woman. "I don't know how to thank you." "You don't need to, we're friends, and you should try and see your kids while you still can though." The woman admonished. "Unless you want to join me in early retirement, I know this nice little spot were we can go fishing" ** Writen in parts by Joy Phillips Lieutenant Katlina Gorman Unassigned and Lt JG Izshlana Vort aSec/Tac USS STONEHENGE AND Rahul Chandra <vrccan_at_gmail.com <vrccan_at_gmail.com?Subject=Re:%20USS%20PATRIOT/GS-2:%20Various%20Locations%20%28%E2%80%9CStrategy%20and%20Tactics%E2%80%9D%29>> Playing… Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Gorman, MD Executive Officer USS PATRIOT & Major Daniel Clarkson, MD Marine Executive Officer USS PATRIOT From HyperNews_at_youth.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Mon Jan 05 2009 - 03:10:46 PST