The End of the Road

Posted on Thu Apr 24th, 2025 @ 3:43pm by Captain Malcom Llwyedd & Lieutenant JG Zub Enel & Petty Officer 3rd Class Keith Potter

3,351 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: A Long Hard Road Ahead
Location: USS Firebird

[ON]

Lieutenant JG Zub Enel put his back to the Deck 1 corridor wall so his bulky 7-foot-tall frame was out of the way of an Andorian engineer pushing by what looked like a polaron torpedo igniter coil on an a-grav sled. The blue-skinned engineer’s expression was grim. Zub understood. The Firebird was streaking toward the newly detected Jem’Hadar fleet. Battle was sure and imminent.

A turbolift opened with a hiccup. The corridor jammed with a scrum of personnel likely hurrying to their battle stations. Enel jostled his way to Cargo Bay 1. The doors from the corridor were sealed as a battle precaution. He tapped in a Security override code on the pad by the door. A klaxon blared loud enough to make him jump. A red light pulsed over the doors as they slid aside.

The Security Investigations Officer stepped quickly into the cold, airy bay. His scales had roughened from the surprise noise. The chilly air didn’t help. He worked to calm himself. The doors shut behind him and the sound of the klaxon muffled and ceased. Zub’s destination was the cargo transporter. He headed toward it.

Standing hipshot at a console was a Human, tallish for his race, and young. The male turned his head toward Zub Enel and made no secret of staring the tall scaly man up and down, the way people did when they beheld their first Voth.

Zub, more than used to curious stares, strode up. He made sure his deep voice was steady and businesslike. “Petty Officer Potter, I am Lieutenant JG Zub Enel, Security Investigations Officer. You reported an unauthorized use of this transporter. That is worrying on the cusp of battle. Tell me about it?”

Keith nodded. "Yes, sir," he said in a lazy tone. "Kind of a weird situation to be honest. My normal post is down on deck five in the main transporter room. Usually, it's pretty quiet. One of the things that Lieutenant Woodhouse has me do to stay busy is keep an eye on all the transporters on the ship. Most crew don't know but there are a couple of them. Science has one, Sickbay has one, there's one in the diplomatic suite when the visitors get kinda uppity and there's one here in Cargo Bay One," Keith said and gestured to the unusual square-shaped transporter pad.

"I got a notification about ten minutes ago that someone or something tried to access and activate the transporter system here. I came up to make sure there wasn't some kind of system fault. There isn't. So I called you because Commander t'Aegis yelled at me that she was busy due to some kind of fleet that's probably going to kill us all or something. She said you're the best investigator on the ship."

Zub Enel decided to leave out the part that he was the only investigative officer aboard. At least he was the best by default.

He parsed through the opinions and other dross in the Op Tech’s report. The Human appeared a bit slouchy and cavalier about his duties and highly disrespectful of others. Still, Zub wondered, if this Petty Officer was one of those who were simply bored out of their skull until something lethal happened. Then Potter might well snap-to into a first-rate fighting machine.

Zub said, his voice softened by thinking and talking at the same time, “Jem’Hadar beamed in on their own. So, I doubt it is them suddenly deciding to rely on our transporters. Can you tell if the activation attempt was for a beam-in or a beam-out? Maybe they left coordinates or other clues we can use to figure out their purpose.”

"Yeah, sure. No problem, LT," Keith said and tapped on the cargo transporter controls. He frowned. "Yeah definitely someone was trying to beam out." He tapped some more and muttered to himself. "Let's see if we can get an idea of... what the heck? Sir, I was trying to scan the pattern buffer so that we could see who was trying to transport but it has been permanently scrubbed. There's no data at all. That takes some real skill," Potter said.

Zub encircled his scaly chin with two of his three fingers. He thought aloud. “So they’re still aboard, eh? Not good to have someone that skilled with transporter systems running around. Wanting to beam out. But to where? We’re en route to the Jem’Hadar fleet, but not in transporter range.” He focused his golden-eyed gaze on the Ops Tech. “You are saying they were stopped before keying in a destination or they wiped any destination from memory, correct? Do you have any idea who it could have been?”

Potter nodded. "Yes. They definitely are skilled. They made it through the initial security protocols and if Commander t'Aegis hadn't insisted on the enhanced protocols, which are a daily pain in my... they would have been successful. But at the same time, they weren't able to enter the destination."

Potter accessed the position of the Firebird at the time of the attempt. "It looks like there are three possibilities that were within range of the transporter. The Romulan ship. The Ferengi ship. And the last possibility is a sensor array that feeds into DS18. It has a small compartment for techs to work on. As for who it could have been, I can think of a few people on the ship who have the skill to use the system. But they also have the security clearances to get passed the enhanced security measures."

Zub felt his skin prickle as the down between his scales stirred. No definitive clue whether the attempted transport had been in or out of the ship. None of the possible beaming points boded well for the Firebird or DS18. The Ferengi were so profit-driven that they might be up to some clandestine smuggler trade that required a person or persons to beam aboard the ship or beam away with something valuable. The Romulans were the plans-within-plans sort. They might well see an advantage of sabotaging the ship or the base before the Jem’Hadar main attack. And the business about an obscure Engineering crib in a base sensor array. Another possible strategic resource during an attack.

He said to Potter, “Excuse me a moment.” He tapped his combadge. “Enel to DS18 Security Center. Encoded message.”

An unfamiliar male voice answered the hail. Zub was surprised. He had expected to hear Cmdr t’Aegis’ female yeoman, de Vries. He then remembered with a jolt of regret that she had been slain during the Jem’Hadar surprise attack. The male prompted, “Sir?”

“We are sending coordinates for a possible beam-in or beam-out point on one of your external sensor arrays. We have had an attempted use of a transporter to or from that location. The area needs to be secured. There were indications that a nearby Romulan or Ferengi ship was within range of the attempt.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Enel out.” Zub nodded to Petty Officer Potter to send the coordinates.

“Already sent, sir,” Potter said with a smile of such self-satisfaction that Enel felt no compunction to add further praise.

The Security officer circled his chin with two of his three fingers as he thought aloud, “Romulan or Ferengi skullduggery? Some sort of fifth-column activity to sabotage our attack? And it could be anyone aboard. Hiding in plain sight. Even a compromised crew member.”

He huffed out a sigh. “Okay, if they are on some kind of timetable, they might now be desperate to do whatever they were going to do. Might even make another mistake. Looks like t’Aegis’ enhanced security worked. Though, they still might try other transporters. You said there were transporters in Science, Sickbay, the Diplomatic quarters, and here. Which would you choose next?”

"Sickbay is always busy, which is weird because we are such a small ship. Science? There's a lot going on there with the whole Wormhole stuff. So I would say the best bet is the Diplomatic quarters. There's nobody left because they are all on DS18. Commander Leed is doing a deal with some people," Potter said and shrugged. "This is all assuming that the person or persons know that stuff."

Zub’s combadge gave a hailing whistle followed by the same male as before. “DS18 Security Center to Lieutenant Zub Enel.”

“Enel.”

“Be advised a Ferengi and a Romulan ship have departed the base and are traveling toward a planned rendezvous with Firebird.”

“DS18, acknowledged.”

The tall Voth frowned at Potter. “A planned rendezvous? As we head into battle? I wonder if these are the same two ships that were within transporter range of Firebird. If so, possibly this means we can eliminate the base sensor array from our inquiry.”

He asked the Ops tech, “Were you able to identify the two ships in range when the attempted transport incident occurred? Are they the same two ships closing on us now?”

Potter nodded. "Yes, sir. They are the same."

A muted alarm began beeping on the transporter controls. Potter looked down and frowned. "Sir, we've got an unauthorized attempt to access the transporter in the Diplomatic Suite."

Zub raised his heavy brow. “You were right, Petty Officer Potter.”

The young man grinned.

Zub said, “Computer lock all doors in the Diplomatic Suite. Identify all occupants of that suite.”

The computer replied, “Diplomatic Conference Suite is already locked. There are zero occupants.”

Zub asked the Ops Tech, “Is someone still attempting to use the transporter?”

Potter slid two fingers down the display, refreshing the data. "Yes. It looks like they are trying to use a different method of attack. Who are these guys and how are they keeping themselves from being detected?"

Enel thought aloud, “Makes sense to lock the doors when doing something unauthorized. We have no occupants but active signs of tampering. That means he, she, or they might be cloaked."

The Voth turned toward the cargo bay doors. “I’ll go see. Potter, the transporter has probably locked itself out by now, but see if you can capture the Diplomatic Suites transporter buffer data before they wipe it. Then, lock this transporter down so it can’t be used without your or senior command’s personal authorization. And then follow me to the suite. I’ll need your expertise.”

Zub didn’t wait to ensure his commands were obeyed. He guessed Potter had a much-needed boost to his adrenaline to follow all orders. The tall Voth tapped his combadge as he strode out of Cargo Bay #1. “Security alert! Intruder. Diplomatic Suite. Possible cloaked individual or individuals.” He headed to the turbolift to get to Deck 2.

Potter went through the steps necessary to call up the pattern buffer to see if anything had been picked up. He was surprised to see that while the exact form was unclear, there were definitely two figures standing on the transporter pad. He copied the data and shut down the console, making sure to lock it in such a way that only he or one of the senior staff would be able to unlock it. That Lieutenant Enel is really excitable he thought as he walked out of the cargo bay.

---

Zub Enel rushed from the Deck 2 turbolift to the Diplomatic Conference Suite. The door, more ostentatious than the usual Starfleet utilitarian style, stood partially ajar. Rattling, jingling and heavy footsteps marked the arrival of a Security squad. “Too late,” Zub said to the row of stolid faces. “Whoever it was has overridden the door lock.”

He looked around. Deck 2 with its suites and VIP quarters and storage had a wealth of hiding places. There were also escape pods. He guessed, or hoped rather, that whoever it was had gotten out of the suite but hadn’t enough time to go very far.

“Spread out,” he said to the squad. “Put a temporary lock on the turbolift. Check the escape pods, then every room, especially if the door is locked. We have someone cloaked so watch for any odd glimmers or corner-of-the-eye effects.”

Potter arrived in the Diplomatic Suite just in time to see the last of the security personnel disappear into one of the doors.


"Lieutenant Enel?!" Potter yelled. "Where are you?" He could have used his combadge but there weren't a lot of opportunities to yell at officers so he had to take advantage of the situation.

Enel called from the Diplomatic Suite, “In here. These giant prawns are delicious.”

After Potter entered the suite, Zub, who didn’t actually have a plate of prawns, put some effort into getting the jammed door closed again. “There,” Enel said, “if anyone’s still in here, we’ll hear them leave.”

Zub Enel looked around the sumptuous room with elegant high-back chairs, each like a throne and a long conference table with viewing screens before each chair as well as a holographic projector in the widest part of the table. There were several replicators along the curtain draped walls. The transporter pad stood at the end of the room but was framed by more curtains and faux columns to lend a theatrical stage for any diplomat and entourage who teleported in.

Zub turned to Potter. “Do you have anything to report?”

"Yes, sir. The buffer data was incomplete but I can tell you for sure that we are looking for two intruders. There wasn't a lot of detail but they were both average height and had two arms and two legs," Potter said. "Do you suspect that they are still in here?" He looked around, trying to envision what it would be like to work in a place like this.

Zub Enel nodded. “Cloaking devices often don’t cover the entire spectrum. Let’s see if we can find a hole in these two.” He tapped his combadge, “Computer, scan this room one electromagnetic wavelength at a time until there are four persons in this room.”

“Requested scan will take six hours, fifty-seven minutes, thirteen seconds.”

“Computer, start with wavelengths radiated by typical warm-blooded creatures.”

“Room contains approximately 30 trillion heat-producing bacteria….”


Potter broke in. “Computer, stop. Scan for and locate lifeforms invisible to Humans and Voths that are the approximate size of Jem’Hadar.”

“Working.”

Enel sighed. “Thank you, Mister Potter. It takes a technician to hit on the right form of the question.”

"I've had to scan for a lot of things. Lots of practice on how to make the computer do what you want," Potter said with a smile.

The computer said, “Scan indicated two additional lifeforms. One is behind the transporter. Another is behind curtains near the exit.”

Zub Enel smiled. “Computer, lock out the exit door.”

“Door is not fully engaged in the frame.”

The jammed door made a little shimmy as though someone was pulling on it. Zub wanted to use his command voice to stop the individual but decided someone cloaked could just silently scoot away. He fired his phaser on stun at the door. A roughly humanoid blob momentarily flared.

Zub boomed, “Stop. Do not move or I shoot to kill. Show yourself.”

After a couple of heartbeats, a male Ferengi appeared by the door. He held out his palms. He had some sort of device locked under one thumb. “Don’t kill me. I give up.”

Zub said, “Drop your weapon.”

“It... it’s not a weapon.”

Zub snarled and extended his arm bringing his phaser closer to the Ferengi.

The Ferengi complied silently. The device clattered on the tiles by the door.

Potter walked over to the heavy black curtains that edged the wide windows.

"Listen, you can just come out or I'll set this phaser to heavy stun and just shoot the entire area. Honestly, I don't care. It might be interesting because I've never tried that."

"Wait!" A voice shouted and there was a movement out of the corner of Potter's eye as another Ferengi, a tall and gawky-looking male.

"Please... uhh... please don't shoot. I'm here by accident!"

"Sure you are. And I'm a Petty Officer Third Class by accident," Potter said, turning his phaser to the newcomer. He noticed that the Feregni was carrying two large satchels, one over each shoulder, and there were distinct bulges in each of them.

"Lieutenant Enel, I think what we've got here is an old-fashioned smash and grab robbery," Potter said.

Enel guessed the tall skinny Ferengi lugging the sachels was the brawn and the shorter one by the door was the brains of the operation. He turned to the one by the jammed door. The old adage came to mind that when a Ferengi’s lips were moving, he was lying. “What name are you going by?”

The one by the door wore a white pull-over shirt with a hood pushed back and pants made of soft-looking material, perfect for making no sound when moving about cloaked. He compressed his lips for a moment as though thinking up a name.

Zub said, “Oh never mind. For now, you’re A’rat and tall, dark, and handsome over there is B’rat.”

A’rat’s sunken eyes glared. His raised arms began to descend. “That is an insulting name. We have operated for months without detection. Surely individuals of our consummate skills deserve more respectful monikers.”

“Alright,” Zub said agreeably, phaser still aimed at A’rat’s chest. “You’re Shirley and the gaunt one is Temple.”

A’rat didn’t seem truly enamored with his new name. His arms drooped lower.

“Keep your hands high, A’rat. You’re under arrest for larceny, unauthorized entry into security areas, unauthorized use of mission critical equipment, and unlicensed cloaking devices.”

B’rat had a high nasal voice, “We didn’t hurt nobody. We’ll share all this stuff. Deal?”

"You mean all that stuff that you stole from us? I think we'll just be taking all of it back," Potter said. He walked up and removed the two satchels from the Ferengi and then looked inside. He wasn't surprised to see a large collection of electronic parts and a few semi-precious-looking pieces of metal.

"Quite the haul. You can think about it while you're in the brig."

"But if you don't let us transport back to our ship, our captain won't fight for you!" The Ferengi yelled.

That made Potter think. "So the Ferengi ship is only fighting with us because of this stuff?" He paused. "What are you supposed to do if you can't get off our ship?"

The Ferengi smirked. "Oh. Well, then we were just supposed to hide and meet up after." As he finished speaking, what he'd just said sank in and the Ferengi slouched. "Is the brig at least warm?"

Potter nodded. "Very. And I can even turn up the heat for you. We've had some weird environmental problems but right now things are working fine."

A’Rat’s big-lobed expression had slowly progressed to complete disgust as he watched tiny-lobed B’Rat give away the whole operation.

He said to Enel, “See what I have to work with?”

Zub smiled. “He’ll help you break big rocks into little rocks if you tell him there is a bar of latinum in one.”

A’Rat’s little eyes sparkled from deep in his gristle. “You have no idea….”

Zub touched his combadge. “Security squad, two to escort to the brig.”

The Ferengis looked especially glum. Potter slung the sachels of stolen goods over a shoulder and grinned, completely fired up by the outcome. Enel said to him. “Excellent job, Petty Officer Potter.” Big hands curved around the jammed door and wrestled it open.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Zub Enel
Security Investigations Officer
USS Firebird NCC-88298


Petty Officer 3rd Class Keith Potter (NPC by Llwyedd)
Transporter Specialist
USS Firebird NCC-88298

 

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