Any Port In The Storm

Posted on Sun Mar 20th, 2022 @ 4:42am by Commander Michael Murphy & Captain Jackson Adams & Lieutenant Niles McCulloch Lt. & Lieutenant T'Ponga Shemara & Lieutenant Peter Ramsey & Ensign Trevor Andrews Ensign & Lieutenant Stuart Mann

Mission: The Sound of Thunder
Location: Klingon Space

ON:

Six days after the ‘incident’ that stranded Montana in space, without any help or the ability to call for Federation assistance, the ship crossed over into Klingon space at 0100 hours. After finally getting a shower and fresh uniform, Captain Jackson Adams was on the bridge. He had ordered his Executive Officer, Commander Murphy, to get some sleep, as it might be some time before he got anymore. No one knew what to expect as the ship moved into an area that would have gotten them fired upon just a few months earlier. But, in this condition, any port in the storm was a good one.

“Captain, we are entering Klingon space. Should we raise shields?”

Looking puzzled, Adams replied, “No, Mr. Mann, we are supposed to be allies, and we are here seeking assistance. If we look like we do not trust them, the Klingons might pick a fight, and it would be one we could not win. Maintain current speed and adjust our heading for the nearest port.”

A very uneasy “Aye sir” came from Lt. Mann.

At almost the same time, the officer on watch at the weapons station pipped up:

“Sir, I must agree with Mr. Mann; we are taking an awful chance.”

With these objections, Captain Adams knew it was time to say something. “Communications, give me a ship-wide channel, please.”

About a minute later, the response came, “Channel open, sir.”
Then Adams spoke:

“Crew of the USS Montana. We are in bad shape, and we still do not know what caused our ‘incident.’ But one thing is clear, we need help. Communications are down, and warp is impossible. It would have taken us months to return to earth for assistance, maybe even a year or so. Our only real hope is the Klingon port were heading too. While we have an uneasy alliance with the Klingons, and yes, I do not know what will occur when we get to their port, we have little choice. As we arrive at this port of call, please keep your thoughts and prejudices to yourself. Our allies might turn us away, but it will not be because we cannot get along with them, not on my ship. That is all.”

With that, the channel was closed. Captain Adams wanted to set the example, but he did not know what the crew was about to face. Everyone on the bridge was right; they were flying into an unfamiliar situation.

Lieutenant Commander Murphy was on his way to the bridge when Captain Adams made the announcement, freshly showered, and feeling refreshed from getting the most sleep he'd gotten since the night they were struck by the object. He was still confident that they were making the right decision. After all, how better for them to prove they were serious about trusting the Klingons, than by turning to them in their time of need. Taking longer to get help from other more established allies would just have proven, at least on this particular ship, that we didn't have faith in the new alliance.

Murphy arrived on the Bridge, and took stock with fresh eyes. What he saw, was stressed out crewmates. Murphy would have to make sure the crew saw him supporting the Captain's plan, to help them feel better about it.

"Captain," Murphy said, acknowledging his commanding officer's presence.

Looking back at the Commander, Adams replied, "Welcome back, Commander. We are about to enter short range communication range with the outpost. Let's hope for the best."

Murphy nodded and grinned, "So I'm back just in time for the interesting part."

Adams smiled and replied, "You did prepare your will last night, correct?"

A minute later a sound was heard. The commination's officer exclaimed, "Captain, I think we are being hailed."

"On speaker" replied Jackson.

From the speaker came: "Federation vessel you have viol..... our.... spa.....exp........"

"Clean that up" the Captain yelled.

"I am trying sir, but we need to get closer. The battle damage is not helping."

Not understanding the complete message, Captain Adams made a judgment call...

"Commander Murphy, sound yellow alert."

Murphy activated the yellow alert. "They should be able to scan and determine the extent of our damage when we're close enough. It wouldn't be very sporting of them to attack a damaged vessel, regardless of where it came from." He knew that people could be unpredictable and they still had no idea how the Klingons would act, but he hoped that the logic of his statement would help calm the crew.

Engineering Officer Lt. Ansel Dixon was at The Bridge Engineering Station with Direct-to-Comm, to Ens. Andrews, who along with Lt. McCulloch; Lt. Aaron Mitchell; and Lt. T'Ponga were keeping the USS Montana on 1/8th Impulse, to keep-it from looking like a complete Derelict to Klingon
Sensors, as well as doing their best to also keep the whole Ship Functioning at all.

"Capt. Wells, ENS Andrews has help me figure-out the part of the part of the Klingon Message we received. Sir. It reads as follows, " Federation vessel you have violated..... our.... space.....explain........" . In short, They Want, to know why WE Violated their Spatial Territory. Sir.", Lt. Ansel Dixon awaited a reply, from the Capt.

Science Officer ENS David Kennedy, at Bridge Science Station, "
"Capt. Sir. Lt. Wallace Wilson the Assistant Chief Science Officer, just commed, me that ENS Andrews gave him the heads-up on our external comm. situation and with your added approval Capt., Sci/Dept. can cut enough to give you an extra power draw, on Comm."

" Ahh, Sir,.. Capt., Engineering says The Warp Drive system maybe dead, but They could cautiously Channel a power feed off the Matter/Anti-Matter Reactor, if you'll give them the "Thumbs-Up". Sir.", Engineering Officer Lt. Ansel Dixon adds hesitantly. Hoping he isn't speaking out of Turn.

"Consider it given, Lieutenant," Murphy answered, without waiting for the Captain. This was a delicate situation and they needed all the help they could get. If they thought it had a high chance of causing them to explode, he figured they wouldn't have suggested it.

Nodding, T'Ponga began to pull power from the matter/anti-matter Reactor and carefully feed it into several ships systems. She had hopes it would help some of the systems to gain strength. I hope we don't end up in pieces' she muttered, watching the readouts.

Murphy straightened his uniform. "Let's see if the power feed holds. Send a response to the Klingons. Let them know we're damaged and came here because we heard they have the best engineers in the quadrant." He figured that should put them in a good mood, or at least an agreeable one.

After a moment, the communications officer called out, "Commander Murphy, I'm receiving docking instructions now."

Murphy nodded, "Good job, crew. That got us through our first hurdle."

Before too much longer, they were safely docked at the Klingon outpost. Murphy wondered what kind of welcome they would find when they actually were face to face with the Klingons.

OFF:

Captain Jackson Adams
Commanding Officer--USS Montana

Lieutenant Commander Michael Murphy
Executive Officer and Chief of Security--USS Montana

Lieutenant T'Ponga Shemara
Chief Engineering Officer--USS Montana

Lieutenant Niles McCulloch
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer--USS Montana

Ensign Trevor Andrews
Engineering and Science Officer--USS Montana