U.S.S. Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna”
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
“Progeny of the Progenitors – Part 13”
________________________________
<<Note: Log contains mild offensive language.>>
## Bridge – USS Corsair ##
“Approaching Romulan Neutral Zone”, came the steady, clear voice of the Corsair’s helm officer.
The Corsair’s captain sat resolute in his chair his eyes carefully trained on the ship’s viewing screen. “Bring us to the edge of the border and hold position. OPS, lay out a search pattern and engage our long range sensors at maximum range and power to scan the Neutral Zone.”
“What are we looking for sir”, the operations officer asked from his station.
“Nothing”, came the captain’s reply. “Our intrusive scanning should eventually garner the Romulan’s attention.”
“What are our orders in the meantime sir”, Commander Novada asked.
“The same. Nothing. We sit and we wait.”
## Thirty Seven Hours Later ##
“Commander, how much longer are we going to sit here and stare into the Neutral Zone”, Lieutenant Redstone asked from tactical. We have been out here for nearly two days without so much as a blip on sensors.”
Novada sat quietly in command as the young and impetuous tactical officer vented his frustrations. She allowed the officer to continue for a time knowing that he was expressing the sentiments of everyone currently on the bridge. Airing certain frustrations now would help to ease the tension everyone felt sitting on the Romulan’s doorstep much like a peeping Tom attempting to catch a glimpse of something through an open window.
“Mind your place Lieutenant Redstone”, the commander replied her voice firm, but not overly harsh. “The captain has ordered us to sit and wait and that is what we shall do.”
“But for how long? What is the point of this exercise? We are not on patrol and the sector is completely devoid of anything of value or relevance. What are we doing here after blasting out of starbase at breakneck speed?”
Novada turned toward the tactical officer her eyes doing the work of putting the young man in his place. Ramius seemed to have a certain affinity for the outspoken lieutenant who manned the ship’s weapons however she often found the officer brash, abrupt, and in need of a dose of discipline to keep him in line on occasion.
“Lieutenant we are here because the captain has ordered us here. Your place is simply to follow orders not to question your superiors unless of course I have not been informed on your unexpected promotion to admiral. I hope you have been promoted or else I may find the need to put you on report for insubordination.”
She let the sting of her words settle with the man for a moment before continuing. “It is obvious the captain is waiting for something or else has orders which require us to remain as we are. We work for intelligence Mr. Redstone. As such our missions can be clouded, unusual, and unclear. Ours is not to question or even to understand – our duty is to perform. As Starfleet officers we do not always have the luxury of riding white horses, parading before the populace, or leading the charge gallantly into battle. Sometimes our orders are to simply shovel shit in the rear. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes ma’m”, came the low reply.
Novada sighed and leaned back in her chair. She couldn’t fault the officer too much. Indeed she too had her own guesses as to what the Corsair was doing sitting on the edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone furiously scanning for nothing. Once again the captain had only hinted as to their mission. Again she would have to be content with his cryptic orders and take comfort in the fact that despite Ramius’s unorthodox actions and unusual, cavalier methods the man was perhaps the most shrewd and capable officer under which she had ever served.
## Fifty Two Hours Since Arrival At Neutral Zone ##
Ramius emerged from his ready room for the first time in hours and took a long look at the viewing screen before turning his attention back to Commander Novada.
“Any activity on sensors?”
“No sir. No activity and no contacts to report.”
Ramius seemed to ponder her answer for a moment before replying.
“Launch a probe into the Neutral Zone set to scan for tachyon emissions however do not allow it to cross into Romulan space. I want a probe launched every twelve hours following those same guidelines. See to it please Commander.”
Ramius turned and again disappeared into his ready room.
Novada stood and moved toward the ops console. Launching a probe was at least a break in the routine. “Ops, prepare a probe. Let’s go scan for tachyons.”
## Seventy Nine Hours Since Arrival At Neutral Zone ##
“I thought you might enjoy a cup of coffee Commander”, Doctor Keith Durandal said holding out a steaming mug of liquid.
“Thank you doctor”, Novada said as the doctor had a seat nearby.
“What brings you to the bridge?”
“Just out stretching my legs. I thought a change in scenery might help alleviate a certain condition that much of the crew is currently suffering from myself included.”
“Oh? I hope we are not dealing with an epidemic?” Novada blew on the fragrant coffee and took a careful sip of the warm liquid which like medicine quickly helped inoculate her from some of the ill effects of the condition the doctor was currently describing.
“I fear we are and it will only get worse the longer we sit here and do nothing. The crew is quite anxious about our orders I can attest to that.”
“This is no different than a routine border patrol doctor”, Novada said quietly. “The only difference is we are not moving. How is that a problem?”
The doctor huffed at the commander’s response. Leaning in closer Durandal lowered his voice. “Has Ramius given you any idea what we are doing here? What is this business all about?”
“Your guess is as good as mine doctor. Perhaps you should inquire.”
“I have a mind to do so. This waiting is having a deleterious effect on morale.” Durandal stood and adjusted his uniform.
“Thank you for the coffee doctor.”
He nodded and headed toward the Ready Room door when the communications officer suddenly shouted, “Incoming transmission. It is from the Romulans!”
Novada stood her hand moving to her chest to tap her badge just as the doors to the ready room swished open and Captain Ramius emerged back onto the bridge.
“Ah, Doctor Durandal. Nice to see you. I expected you at least two hours ago. You’re late. As for your concerns for the crew and our mission you can rest easy. Our long wait is now at an end.”
“But…” Durandal’s face bore one of surprise and shock mixed with confusion. He wanted to say something but the captain had completely stolen his thunder as he proceeded to take his seat on the bridge.
“Well don’t just stand there gawking doctor. You’ll fluster the Romulans. Take a seat.”
“Open the channel”, Ramius instructed.
The viewscreen faded from the dark starfield and was replaced by a Romulan officer. “I am Captain Tevelan of the Winds Edge. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
“Captain Taverain Ramius, USS Corsair.”
“Well captain, now that the formalities are concluded would you mind explaining why your ship has been so intently probing and scanning the Neutral Zone for the past two days? If you are looking for something perhaps we may be of some assistance?”
“Indeed you can”, Ramius replied. “We are currently pursuing a specific transport vessel that periodically enters Romulan space at roughly these coordinates every forty five to sixty days. We have been unable to locate this vessel as we have several questions we would like to ask its crew. I will forward the vessel’s information to you. It is possible you have records of it seeing as it does cross into Romulan territory on a regular basis.”
Ramius nodded at the communications officer to transmit the files on the ship.
“Yes captain. We know of this vessel. It passed through this area ten days ago. However I fail to see what this vessel and your current activities have to do with one another. You must be aware that even if you detected the vessel you seek you are unable to enter the Neutral Zone to pursue it in the event it has eluded you.”
“I must confess my scanning of the region had an ulterior motive. I simply wanted to attract your attention which I have successfully accomplished and I will explain. We are indeed interested in locating this vessel for a number of reasons, but most importantly we believe it is responsible for smuggling individuals against their will to a location within Romulan space. If indeed this is the case we cannot permit this to continue.
“Captain Ramius”, the Romulan officer said with an insincere smile, “I can assure you that this vessel is not involved in smuggling operations. Its records and identification are up to date. There is little that escapes our attention on our side of the Neutral Zone.”
“That may very well be Captain, however do you track this ship to its final destination? Do you verify its flight plans?”
“Captain, this vessel you speak of always travels to Romulus in lawful trade and commerce activities. The vessel is small and given its engine size take exactly one week to reach Romulus and another to leave our territory. It would be impossible for such a ship to deviate from its course and arrive on Romulus on time.”
“Captain Tevelan, we both know ships can mask their true capabilities. I submit that this ship is far better equipped than either of us realize. We have obtained evidence that links this ship to a criminal organization with access to vast resources. I surmise that not only is this ship far faster than it appears but that it also is in possession of an illegal cloaking device which it employs once out of scanning range to transfer its cargos to a planet called D’aisnenn. It then uses its formidable engines to make up the time lost in its course deviation emerging from behind its cloaking shield as if it had been steadily on course the entire time.
If I may continue. We also have evidence that these smugglers have established a base of operations somewhere on D’aisnenn and are using smuggled individuals for some unknown yet decidedly illegal purpose. I will of course forward all of our information to you for review.
I submit to you a proposal. I wish to enter Romulan space and proceed to D’aisnenn to investigate this matter with Romulan assistance. It is my wish to keep this matter quiet and how to say out of official channels. If it were discovered that highly organized smugglers were indeed engaged in illegal activities and trafficking of lives across both Federation and Romulan space it would no doubt be an embarrassment to both of our governments. Once the politicians of both our governments are engaged I fear that both of our careers could be in jeopardy given our mutual task of patrolling our respective sides of the border.
The worst that could occur is that we collaborated on a joint mission to eradicate criminals if indeed we find nothing on D’aisnenn. We simply wish to ascertain the group’s activities and rescue any individuals taken against their will. If we do find activity on D’aisnenn I assure you we will allow you to claim full credit for the discovery and capture of any criminals. In return I wish to recover those who may have been kidnapped and return them home. In either case we both can claim victory if indeed my information is accurate.”
Tevelan said nothing for a moment his eyes narrowing at the captain’s unusual request.
“I require time to evaluate this information. Transmit the data. I will contact you upon completion of my review and analysis of your claims.”
The channel suddenly closed as the emptiness of the Neutral Zone once again appeared on the viewing screen.
“Is this true? You want to walk into Romulan space to investigate a criminal hideout? And you expect them to agree to this?”
Ramius smiled and looked over at the energetic doctor.
“I submit you’ve been drinking too much of your own coffee doctor. Its favorable scent is heavy on Commander Novada .” He smiled at the commander before continuing. “Might I suggest decaf. However you are most astute. Given some luck and if the Romulan believes my claims as do his superiors I do intend to cross the border and pursue the facts we have acquired.”
“Is Starfleet aware of this?”
“No. I prefer that they remain out of this affair. It would only lead to red tape, bureaucracy, and endless negotiations and protests. If Starfleet brass catches wind of this we might as well forget about following up on our leads and we can write off those who have been kidnapped by a ruthless organization with sinister intent. I am not prepared to give up on those lives whether it be one or a thousand. They are Federation citizens to my knowledge and we have all sworn an oath to protect and defend them.”
“Why the ruse? Why not have simply contacted the Romulans directly three days ago?”
“Too direct. I had to make it look as if we were looking for something to grab their attention. Simply showing up with such an outlandish claim would never have been taken seriously. However they have had the past three days to quietly watch us meticulously scan the area and we have been searching for tachyons which lends credence to my claim of the cloaked ship that may very well be out there.”
Ramius leaned forward with a playful grin as the doctor attempted to absorb the information. “Surely doctor you did not believe I would simply park the Corsair at the Neutral Zone for the fun of it? The last three days have been excruciatingly dull. Do you know I am actually caught up on reports for once. Amazing I know!”
“I have a headache”, Durandal muttered. “I think I’ll return to sickbay and find an analgesic.”
Muttering something under his breath the doctor stood and left the bridge.
Ramius clapped his hands together and stood himself. “Well we should be hearing from our Romulan confederate across the border in short order I expect. Mr. Redstone, if you would be so kind as to run a full diagnostic on our shields and weapons systems I would be most obliged. I have no intention of entering the lion’s den unarmed.
As for those of you who were bored sitting here the last few days I suspect your patience or lack of will be rewarded very soon.”
Ramius leaned over to Commander Novada. “Number One, quietly have the pilots put on alert and make the ship ready for possible combat with equal subtlety. I do not anticipate trouble but where the Romulans are concerned one can never be too careful.
Please inform me when the Romulans call again.”
[ TO BE CONTINUED ]
________________________________
Captain Taverain Ramius
Commanding Officer, USS Corsair
Commander Alanis Novada
Executive Officer
Commander Keith Durandal
Chief Medical Officer
Lieutenant Alex Redstone
Chief Tactical Officer
Riov Tevelan
Romulan Commanding Officer, “Winds Edge”
(NPCs APB Tav)
