Fic: Signal Fire (3/7)
Sep. 26th, 2009 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cloudydaiseSignal Fire
Scotty/Gaila
PG13
Due to their current relaxed and somewhat idle status aboard the Enterprise, Uhura found herself zoning out a little. She had set the computer to scan all channels for transmissions but their location was remote. They were the only starship in a five light year radius. Any messages they received would be coming from the outpost.
When the computer stopped scanning and starting blinking a receiving light at her, it took her a few seconds to notice it. She put in her earpiece and replied.
"This is the Enterprise, please repeat," she said. This was probably the away team - it was the channel they most commonly used.
"Hello?"
Uhura was startled. It was a child's voice. "Hello? Who is this?"
"My name is Poppy." The voice sounded shaky but determined.
"Poppy, honey, where did you get this communicator?"
"I found it on the floor."
Uhura was growing concerned. She looked around for the captain, but he was distracted by Yeoman Rand and didn't notice her. "Poppy, can you take that communicator to one of your parents, so I can talk to them?"
"No," said Poppy. "They're, umm... they died." Her voice cracked on the last word.
"Captain, we have a situation," Uhura called out. His flirting would have to wait.
Captain Kirk was there almost instantly. "What have we got?"
"A little girl named Poppy down on the outpost found a communicator. She says her parents are dead."
"Put her on," Kirk said. "Keep it at your station."
"Aye, sir."
"Poppy? Can you hear me?"
"Yes..."
"My name is Jim. I'm the captain of a ship in orbit around the moon your outpost is on."
"Okay."
"Can you tell me where you are?"
"I'm hiding."
Kirk and Uhura exchanged glances. "Hiding from what?" Kirk asked.
"There's a bad man here. He... hurt my parents and now he's hurting the nice man who told me to talk to his ship and tell them to help."
"Poppy, this is important," Kirk said, leaning forward intently. "What did the nice man say his name was?"
"He's Scotty."
"Was there anyone else with him?"
"No."
"Where is he now?"
"In jail."
"Okay." Kirk straightened. He beckoned to Spock. "Scotty's apparently been captured by someone and is being held in the outpost's brig. Scan the area for any other ships and see if you can access the outpost's logs, find out who might be down there. It seems that our research scientists have been murdered.
Spock quirked an eyebrow, then nodded and returned to his station without a word.
"Poppy, are you still there?" Kirk asked.
"Yeah..."
"Stay right where you are, okay? Can you do that for me, sweetie?"
"What if the bad man comes?"
"We're going to keep you safe from any bad men that might be looking for you. Don't you worry about a thing."
"I'm scared," Poppy whispered.
"Captain." Spock was at Kirk's shoulder. "The most recent log entry says that at 0900 hours a Klingon shuttle crashed four kilometres from the outpost. A scan showed this to be accurate. There is indeed such a crash site."
"Great," Kirk muttered. "Poppy, we're going to get you out of there."
"I have to go," she said suddenly.
"Poppy? Poppy, are you there?"
"No response, sir," said Uhura. "She signed off."
"Damn it. Try to hail the surface."
Uhura tried. "Nothing. The Klingon must not be interested in talking."
"Captain, I took the liberty of scanning the outpost for life forms. There are three, two human and one Klingon," said Spock. "We have spoken with the child, who has led us to believe the Klingon and Mr. Scott are alive."
"So, Ensign McBride must be..." Uhura trailed off.
The three were silent for a moment.
"The distress call was likely fabricated," Spock continued. "Perhaps the Klingon was incapable of repairing his own ship and thus opted to capture someone who could."
"I agree," said Kirk. He thought for a moment. "Let's continue to monitor the situation, gather more information. Time to start planning the rescue mission." Kirk took a deep breath, then smiled humorlessly. "We're gonna get our engineer back in one piece."
"Who are you?" Scotty asked.
"I am Telak, son of Tanok," said the Klingon proudly. "You are a Starfleet engineer?"
Scotty didn't see a reason to reply; it seemed fairly obvious to all present parties that he was.
"You will repair the Federation shuttle belonging to this outpost," said Telak. "I will use it to leave this place, at which time you will be released."
"I'll do no such thing," snapped Scotty. "You've killed two human scientists, orphaning a five year old girl. I'll not be helping you with a bloody thing."
Telak's eyes narrowed. "Brave words, human." He grinned, and Scotty noticed for the first time the phaser he held in his hand. The combined effect was terrifying, and Scotty tried his best not to acknowledge that. "If you don't help me, I'll make you watch me torture the human child."
Scotty went pale. Telak laughed.
"So weak," he said. "It'd be a shame, of course, to sully her so soon. I have the grandest of plans for her."
Scotty did not know exactly what this plan would entail, but it was easy to guess.
"Don't touch her." His voice was low.
"Don't make me," Telak said easily.
The two men stared at each other.
"You don't know where she is," said Scotty.
"I can find her in a matter of seconds. This base is miniscule. Locating the little baktag would be no problem."
Scotty wracked his brain, desperately searching for any other option, but there were none. He prayed to high heaven that Poppy was able to reach the ship with his communicator, because she was currently the only connection he had to them.
"All right," he said finally. "All right. Just don't hurt her."
The bridge was running on a nervous energy. Kirk had briefed the rest of the bridge on the situation, and now everyone was sitting on edge, waiting for scans or more messages from Poppy to reveal any new developments. All they could confirm at this point was the fact that Poppy, Scotty, and the Klingon were all still alive. The natural solution to this was a beam-out, but the outpost had a shield much like that of the Enterprise, and after Scotty and Ensign McBride had beamed down, the Klingon had reactivated it, rendering a beam-out temporarily impossible. Chekov was working on a way to remotely deactivate it, but without the pass codes - known only by the deceased scientists - they kept running into dead ends.
Uhura was uneasy. Naturally she was worried about Scotty, but it wasn't just that. No, she was uncomfortable because there was a certain person on this ship who would want to be informed of this situation. Kirk had indirectly asked her not to bother Gaila with this, so Uhura had waited, but it sat ill with her. If Spock was ever in trouble and she was about to sleep through it, Kirk damn well better send someone to tell her or better yet, inform her himself. There'd be hell to pay if she woke up and he'd been through some ordeal she'd been unaware of. And if Uhura knew her Academy roommate at all, she'd feel the same way.
"Computer, locate Lieutenant Gaila."
"Lieutenant Gaila is located in Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott's quarters."
Uhura smiled to herself. Of course.
"Ensign Hannity, cover my station, please." She hurried from the bridge.
Scotty's quarters were on the same stretch of corridor as her own, and though she'd never been there herself Uhura knew well enough where they were.
"Gaila, are you awake?" Uhura said into the speaker outside the door. "Gaila. Wake up. I need to talk to you. I know you're in there. Open the door. Gaila, come on, wake up."
The door finally slid open, revealing a half-awake and fully annoyed Gaila sitting up in the bed. Uhura rushed in.
"God, Nyota," she said, rubbing her head. "Who died?"
"Gaila, Scotty's missing."
"Well, he must be around here somewhere..."
"No, Gaila. He went on an away mission."
Gaila was up and out of bed in a flash. "What exactly do you mean, missing?" She grabbed up her uniform and started putting it on immediately. "Tell me what's going on."
"A little girl found his communicator, and she told us he's locked up in the brig down there. We think a Klingon kidnapped him."
Gaila, now fully dressed, pulled her wild hair back from her face in a ponytail. "What's being done to get him back?"
"They're planning a rescue op on the bridge. I think they'll send a team down soon."
Gaila put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me, Nyota."
"I'd want to know, if it were Spock down there," said Uhura.
Gaila nodded. Without another word, she left set her jaw determinedly and ran from the room.
chapter four
Scotty/Gaila
PG13
Due to their current relaxed and somewhat idle status aboard the Enterprise, Uhura found herself zoning out a little. She had set the computer to scan all channels for transmissions but their location was remote. They were the only starship in a five light year radius. Any messages they received would be coming from the outpost.
When the computer stopped scanning and starting blinking a receiving light at her, it took her a few seconds to notice it. She put in her earpiece and replied.
"This is the Enterprise, please repeat," she said. This was probably the away team - it was the channel they most commonly used.
"Hello?"
Uhura was startled. It was a child's voice. "Hello? Who is this?"
"My name is Poppy." The voice sounded shaky but determined.
"Poppy, honey, where did you get this communicator?"
"I found it on the floor."
Uhura was growing concerned. She looked around for the captain, but he was distracted by Yeoman Rand and didn't notice her. "Poppy, can you take that communicator to one of your parents, so I can talk to them?"
"No," said Poppy. "They're, umm... they died." Her voice cracked on the last word.
"Captain, we have a situation," Uhura called out. His flirting would have to wait.
Captain Kirk was there almost instantly. "What have we got?"
"A little girl named Poppy down on the outpost found a communicator. She says her parents are dead."
"Put her on," Kirk said. "Keep it at your station."
"Aye, sir."
"Poppy? Can you hear me?"
"Yes..."
"My name is Jim. I'm the captain of a ship in orbit around the moon your outpost is on."
"Okay."
"Can you tell me where you are?"
"I'm hiding."
Kirk and Uhura exchanged glances. "Hiding from what?" Kirk asked.
"There's a bad man here. He... hurt my parents and now he's hurting the nice man who told me to talk to his ship and tell them to help."
"Poppy, this is important," Kirk said, leaning forward intently. "What did the nice man say his name was?"
"He's Scotty."
"Was there anyone else with him?"
"No."
"Where is he now?"
"In jail."
"Okay." Kirk straightened. He beckoned to Spock. "Scotty's apparently been captured by someone and is being held in the outpost's brig. Scan the area for any other ships and see if you can access the outpost's logs, find out who might be down there. It seems that our research scientists have been murdered.
Spock quirked an eyebrow, then nodded and returned to his station without a word.
"Poppy, are you still there?" Kirk asked.
"Yeah..."
"Stay right where you are, okay? Can you do that for me, sweetie?"
"What if the bad man comes?"
"We're going to keep you safe from any bad men that might be looking for you. Don't you worry about a thing."
"I'm scared," Poppy whispered.
"Captain." Spock was at Kirk's shoulder. "The most recent log entry says that at 0900 hours a Klingon shuttle crashed four kilometres from the outpost. A scan showed this to be accurate. There is indeed such a crash site."
"Great," Kirk muttered. "Poppy, we're going to get you out of there."
"I have to go," she said suddenly.
"Poppy? Poppy, are you there?"
"No response, sir," said Uhura. "She signed off."
"Damn it. Try to hail the surface."
Uhura tried. "Nothing. The Klingon must not be interested in talking."
"Captain, I took the liberty of scanning the outpost for life forms. There are three, two human and one Klingon," said Spock. "We have spoken with the child, who has led us to believe the Klingon and Mr. Scott are alive."
"So, Ensign McBride must be..." Uhura trailed off.
The three were silent for a moment.
"The distress call was likely fabricated," Spock continued. "Perhaps the Klingon was incapable of repairing his own ship and thus opted to capture someone who could."
"I agree," said Kirk. He thought for a moment. "Let's continue to monitor the situation, gather more information. Time to start planning the rescue mission." Kirk took a deep breath, then smiled humorlessly. "We're gonna get our engineer back in one piece."
"Who are you?" Scotty asked.
"I am Telak, son of Tanok," said the Klingon proudly. "You are a Starfleet engineer?"
Scotty didn't see a reason to reply; it seemed fairly obvious to all present parties that he was.
"You will repair the Federation shuttle belonging to this outpost," said Telak. "I will use it to leave this place, at which time you will be released."
"I'll do no such thing," snapped Scotty. "You've killed two human scientists, orphaning a five year old girl. I'll not be helping you with a bloody thing."
Telak's eyes narrowed. "Brave words, human." He grinned, and Scotty noticed for the first time the phaser he held in his hand. The combined effect was terrifying, and Scotty tried his best not to acknowledge that. "If you don't help me, I'll make you watch me torture the human child."
Scotty went pale. Telak laughed.
"So weak," he said. "It'd be a shame, of course, to sully her so soon. I have the grandest of plans for her."
Scotty did not know exactly what this plan would entail, but it was easy to guess.
"Don't touch her." His voice was low.
"Don't make me," Telak said easily.
The two men stared at each other.
"You don't know where she is," said Scotty.
"I can find her in a matter of seconds. This base is miniscule. Locating the little baktag would be no problem."
Scotty wracked his brain, desperately searching for any other option, but there were none. He prayed to high heaven that Poppy was able to reach the ship with his communicator, because she was currently the only connection he had to them.
"All right," he said finally. "All right. Just don't hurt her."
The bridge was running on a nervous energy. Kirk had briefed the rest of the bridge on the situation, and now everyone was sitting on edge, waiting for scans or more messages from Poppy to reveal any new developments. All they could confirm at this point was the fact that Poppy, Scotty, and the Klingon were all still alive. The natural solution to this was a beam-out, but the outpost had a shield much like that of the Enterprise, and after Scotty and Ensign McBride had beamed down, the Klingon had reactivated it, rendering a beam-out temporarily impossible. Chekov was working on a way to remotely deactivate it, but without the pass codes - known only by the deceased scientists - they kept running into dead ends.
Uhura was uneasy. Naturally she was worried about Scotty, but it wasn't just that. No, she was uncomfortable because there was a certain person on this ship who would want to be informed of this situation. Kirk had indirectly asked her not to bother Gaila with this, so Uhura had waited, but it sat ill with her. If Spock was ever in trouble and she was about to sleep through it, Kirk damn well better send someone to tell her or better yet, inform her himself. There'd be hell to pay if she woke up and he'd been through some ordeal she'd been unaware of. And if Uhura knew her Academy roommate at all, she'd feel the same way.
"Computer, locate Lieutenant Gaila."
"Lieutenant Gaila is located in Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott's quarters."
Uhura smiled to herself. Of course.
"Ensign Hannity, cover my station, please." She hurried from the bridge.
Scotty's quarters were on the same stretch of corridor as her own, and though she'd never been there herself Uhura knew well enough where they were.
"Gaila, are you awake?" Uhura said into the speaker outside the door. "Gaila. Wake up. I need to talk to you. I know you're in there. Open the door. Gaila, come on, wake up."
The door finally slid open, revealing a half-awake and fully annoyed Gaila sitting up in the bed. Uhura rushed in.
"God, Nyota," she said, rubbing her head. "Who died?"
"Gaila, Scotty's missing."
"Well, he must be around here somewhere..."
"No, Gaila. He went on an away mission."
Gaila was up and out of bed in a flash. "What exactly do you mean, missing?" She grabbed up her uniform and started putting it on immediately. "Tell me what's going on."
"A little girl found his communicator, and she told us he's locked up in the brig down there. We think a Klingon kidnapped him."
Gaila, now fully dressed, pulled her wild hair back from her face in a ponytail. "What's being done to get him back?"
"They're planning a rescue op on the bridge. I think they'll send a team down soon."
Gaila put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Thank you for telling me, Nyota."
"I'd want to know, if it were Spock down there," said Uhura.
Gaila nodded. Without another word, she left set her jaw determinedly and ran from the room.
chapter four