This is a work of gay-themed romantic fantasy. Some chapters contain graphic descriptions of sex between consenting adults. If reading material of this sort upsets or offends you please CLICK AWAY now. Likewise, if consuming material of this nature is illegal, for whatever reason, please follow the above instruction. If neither of these caveats apply to you, please enjoy the latest chapter of The Lyra Chronicles
CHAPTER FOUR: Rescue Mission
SCENE ONE: Bridge, USS Lyra
"Captain--the Escape Pod is within visual range," Chief of Ops B.B. Wolfe announced. "Shall I put it up on the Main Viewer?"
"Please do," Ramsey replied. "Let's see what we've got!"
"What the fuck IS that?" Tracy Thomas wondered from his place at the Navigator's Console. "That doesn't look like any Escape Pod I've ever seen."
"Actually, if you look past all the stuck-on stuff you can see the outline of the original pod," Kevin McMasters said: he was occupying the Engineering Monitor Station. "The Pod has a small warp engine, shield generator and even weapons all of alien design. I suppose we'll have to ask the pilot where and how he got them..."
"Do we need to worry about those weapons?" Wolfe asked.
"They can't penetrate our shields," the Toymaker told him. "I think they are likely defensive in nature."
"Captain, the Pod is hailing us," Chee Lan said from her Comm-board, "audio only."
"Let's hear it then!"
A young-sounding tenor voice piped out of the speaker. "This is Ensign Steven Friday, formerly of the Federation Starship Merriweather Lewis. I don't recognize the design of your ship: ARE you Federation? Did the Oblivians send me to the future or another reality?"
"There was a Steven Friday aboard the Merriweather Lewis," Wolfe said after looking up the crew manifest. "He was a junior Navigator and Computer Officer: this was his first assignment out of the Academy."
"He's scared but hopeful," Felicity Fortune told the Captain. "I'm not sensing any malice from Ensign Friday."
"This is Captain Ramsey of the USS Lyra: no, you haven't been sent to the future or another universe Ensign. The Lyra is an experimental design: we were sent here to find out what happened to your ship and rescue any survivors."
"I think I'm the last one..." Friday said, sadness clearly audible in his words. "The Oblivians exist partially outside our dimension and there was an accident aboard their ship that brought them fully into ours. Unfortunately they intersected with one of our Nacelles. Most of the crew died on contact and the few survivors were so horribly injured the aliens felt they had to help us. I was the only survivor of their treatment..."
"We're going to have to give you a serious debriefing once you're aboard!" the Captain commented.
"If you really want me out of my briefs..." Friday laughed. "Sorry Sir--I know that was inappropriate."
"Is your Pod maneuverable Ensign?" Ramsey asked. "With these distortion waves we can't lock onto you with a Tractor Beam."
"I designed the Pod to deal with the rifts," the young man replied. "Just tell me where you want me to put this hunk of junk down and I'll get there."
"Shuttle Bay Three," the Captain said. "I'll highlight it for you..." Wolfe didn't need to be told directly; he tapped a control. "Can you spot it Mr. Friday?"
"Yes Sir. I should be dock in less than five minutes--Imsh' Allah, and the crick don't rise!"
"Now THAT sounds like something Malcolm Friday would say," Ramsey commented.
"He's my father," Friday replied. "I was aboard the Carl Sagan with him for a while: you were his XO back then."
Ramsey thought for a moment. "Yes, I remember you..." Steven Friday was a quiet and shy but well-behaved boy. He had been the product of a "one night stand" between Captain Friday and Madelaine "Mad Maudlin" Kirk, a noted Xenoarchaeologist: neither parent had particularly wanted the kid so young Friday spent his life shuttling between his neglectful parents and various family members when they dumped the kid. Ramsey remembered feeling sorry for the boy who only wanted his Dad to pay him a tiny bit of attention.
Felicity Fortune caught the Captain's pensive expression. "Would you like me to meet Mr. Friday's Pod?" she asked. "I could get our young Ensign settled in: maybe offer him a little help..."
"Do that," the Captain replied. Then: "Mr. Wolfe--take a Security Team to Shuttle Bay Three--just in case... Also, contact Dr. McClaren and Cdr. Rogers. I want Medical and Engineering teams there as well.!"
"Aye Sir!"
SCENE TWO: Sickbay, Dr. Josh McClaren, Lt. Galahad Jones, Panda Conn
Josh looked at his Medical Tricorder, utterly baffled. "This one must be broken as well..." he grumbled.
"How is that even possible?" Galahad wondered. "They all give the same readings! At least there should be minor variations from each scan!"
"I--don't--know..." Josh knew his Nurse was right: there should have been slight variations in pulse and heart-rate at the least.
"Is there a problem gentlemen?" the Panda asked from his seat on the biobed. "You seem distressed..."
"Nurse Jones and I have done three scans with three different Medical Tricorders," the Doctor said. "All three of them are EXACTLY on target for someone of your height, weight and apparent age: that's not normal..."
"What would you like them to read?" the Panda asked mildly.
"I wouldn't LIKE them to read anything but an accurate representation of your medical condition!"
"In that case, use the readings from your Tricorder," the older man said. "For all intents and purposes they are accurate: I won't be needing your medical services, fine as I'm sure they are!"
"One of those `Nine Mysteries'?" Josh asked.
"Indeed," the Panda replied. He pointed to a golden serpentine ring coiled around a large, blood red stone. "The `Mystery of Puissance allows me full mastery of my own body. If you don't like the readings I gave you, tell me what you'd like to have and I'll make that happen."
"What I'd LIKE is the truth!" the Doctor told him.
"Then use the readings you've already taken!"
Josh would have liked to argue with the Panda but he was interrupted by a call from the Bridge. "Dr. McClaren--we need a medical team in Shuttle Bay Three!"
"On my way!" the blond man replied. " Galahad, you're with me! Conn--we'll have to continue this chat at a later date..."
SCENE THREE: Shuttle Bay Three
"That's no Federation Escape Pod!" CPO Niedermeyer stared in slack-jawed amazement at the random assembly of parts that somehow managed to hang together floated awkwardly into the shuttle bay. "How does that fucking thing even fly?"
"That's a question th' Engineerin' Team will hafta answer," Reid Rogers commented. "Still, it's clear th' pod somehow managed to get from th' Merriweather Lewis t' here..."
"Doctor, Ms. Fortune, are you able to pick up anything from inside the craft?" Wolfe asked.
"One life form--I think..." Josh told the XO. He was beginning to doubt his own sanity since the reading he was getting didn't look at all right.
"Yes, there's one person aboard," Felicity told the group. "Mr. Friday is almost pathetically grateful to be rescued. He doesn't bear us any ill will but he's worried we won't accept him..."
"Why not?"
"I think we're about to find out!" Josh said as the door to the Escape Pod rose and a shadowy form emerged into the light.
At first glance Steven Friday seemed like a perfectly-ordinary if well-built young blond man--if you discounted the glowing, solid-silver eyes. Looking closer one could see silvery threads outlining his well-developed musculature and once he moved it didn't quite look human.
"What kind of creature is that" Niedermeyer asked, drawing his phaser. "Some new kind of Borg?"
"I don't know what he is, but it's not Borg!" Josh said. "The implants aren't of Borg design and the materials used aren't anything our scanners have ever seen. Put your weapon down Chief!"
Niedermeyer didn't. "Do it NOW Mister!" Wolfe growled. Reluctantly, the Chief complied.
"Please don't shoot me..." the young man begged with almost pathetic eagerness. "I won't hurt you--I promise!"
"It's OK young man," Felicity Fortune said. "You're safe now!" She cast a sharp look at Niedermeyer. "Nobody is going to hurt you!"
"Thank you Ma'am..."
"Bitch, you aren't even part of the goddam crew!" Niedermeyer growled. "You only became Counselor because you're the Captain's whore!"
"I won't punish you for your impudence--this time..." the black-haired beauty said softly. "But know that Socialators are far more than `common' whores! If need be I can deal with you without breaking a sweat!" Felicity introduced herself then pointed at Josh. "This is Dr. McClaren," she told him. "Please come with us to Sickbay so we can make sure you aren't bringing anything harmful aboard."
"You probably want to bring an Engineer..." Friday said.
"Agreed!" Josh said. "Reid--can you accompany us?"
"I'll get m' team dissectin' that thing then join ya shortly."
SCENE FOUR: Sickbay
Ensign Friday, still naked, glanced from Dr. McClaren to Chief Engineer Reid Rogers. "Well, what's the prognosis?" he asked, nervousness obvious in his voice.
"The good news is--you're healthy as a horse," Josh told him. "In fact, due to the modifications the Oblivions made to you, I doubt I'll ever need to see you in a medical capacity..."
"The bad news," Reid chimed in, "we won't be able t' take any o' th' mods out! Not `thout killin' ya..."
Friday sighed. "I was afraid of that," he commented, "but it's not surprising." Then: "do you have any idea what the stuff they added is for?"
"We'll have to test that," the Doctor replied.
"One thing we know f'r certain..." Reid put in, "th' Oblivians added a transmitter: ever'thin' ya see `n hear is bein' broadcast back t' them!"
"Shit!" Friday growled. "I guess this means I'll spend the rest of my life locked up in the brig!"
"Actually," the Doctor said, "a transmitter isn't such a bad idea. The Oblivians will be able to observe us without risk to themselves or others!"
"Provided th' Federation don't lock up Ensign Friday," Reid put in.
"Don't worry kiddo," Nurse Galahad Jones piped up. "You're part of the Lyra family now! We got you."
"Galahad's right," Josh added. "What happened to you isn't your fault: there's no reason you should suffer for what they did to you!"
"I agree," Reid said. "Considerin' what we found out about how some folks in th' Federation operate I think ya have th' right t' worry--but we got you kid. You're part o' our crew now so we'll do whatever it takes t' protect you."
"Are you done with Ensign Friday?" Felicity asked. (She'd been sitting off to the side pretending not to watch the examination.) "If so, I've got a uniform for him and I can get him settled in. Then we can take you to see Captain Ramsey."
SCENE FIVE: Captain Mike Ramsey, Ensign Steven Friday -- Captain's Ready Room
Captain Ramsey put down the PADD and gave the young Ensign sitting across from him a shake of his head. "You are quite the conundrum Mr. Friday," he observed. "Your bones and muscles are laced with something Lt. Cdr. Rogers calls `unobtanium'--I presume because we can't get it in this dimension..."
The young blond man nodded. "Dr. McClaren thinks they make me stronger and harder to hurt."
"It seems you also have some sort of biogenetic devices to repair most of your organs," Ransey said. "Lt. Cdr. Rogers seems to think the changes the Oblivians made to your eyes will allow you to perceive a lot further into the energy spectrum than any ordinary human."
"And let's not forget all those data caches the Oblivians crammed into my brain!" Friday said.
"Do you know what they included?"
"No Sir," Friday replied. "Those capsules seem to open at need: I can't control it--or at least I haven't found a way to. Yet..."
"You are quite the puzzle Ensign..." Captain Ramsey observed. "There are forces in the Federation that would happily try to take you apart--if they get their hands on you! I don't intend to let that happen--if I have any say at least! So I'm going to arrange to scrub a lot of the info that goes back about you. Since we're going to be away for several years that'll buy us some time to make additional plans to protect you!"
"Thank you Captain."
Ramsey might have said more but a communication from the Bridge interrupted him. "Chee Lan here Sir--we have the wreck of the Merriweather Lewis in sight. There seems to be a pitched battle between at least two forces!"
"On my way!" the Captain replied. Then: "Ensign Friday--come with me! Let's see if you can put those `quirks' of yours to good use!"
SCENE SIX: Bridge, USS Lyra
"Chee Lan--magnify the battle scene!" the Captain ordered as soon as he was in his chair.
"Aye Sir!" The Cynthian touched a button on her holoscreen and the battle suddenly seemed a lot closer. Two groups of smaller ships surrounded the wreck of the Merriweather Lewis, blasting each other with gay abandon.
"Can you identify those ships Ensign Friday?" the Captain asked.
"The little blue insect-y looking ships are Humanx," the young blond man replied. "They are operated by two crew--one human, one Thranx. The nasty-looking brown ships belong to the AAnn: as you can see there are a lot more of them: what they lack in power they more than compensate by sheer numbers and utter meanness!"
"Thranx and AAnn?" Ramsey said. "What do you know about them?"
"The Thranx are insectoid: they look like giant-sized praying mantises," Friday said. "Somehow they managed to pair up with humans and both sides ended up stronger for the alliance. The AAnn look like little gold versions of the Gorn and act like the worst mix of Ferengi and the Pakled. They breed like rabbits so they can afford to lose huge numbers. They also grab anything and everything they can use to improve their technology. Luckily, they are also kind of chickenshit..."
"Open a channel to both fleets!" the Captain ordered.
Chee Lan was quick to reply. Aye Sir: would you like me to monitor their comm traffic?"
"S.O.P. Lieutenant," the Captain said. Then: "this is Michael Ramsey, Captain of the United Federation of Planets Starship Lyra! The craft you are fighting over is a Federation ship; please withdraw so we may begin damage assessment and recovery operations if necessary."
"The Humanx are withdrawing," Wolfe said from the Ops station. "The AAnn are ignoring us."
"Take out a few engines," the Captain said. "Let's see if that gets their attention!"
Wolfe fired, quickly disabling half a dozen craft. "It seems you got your wish Sir! The rest are turning toward us!"
"Raise shields and fire at will!"
Wolfe did so, destroying nearly a quarter of the craft with the Lyra's multiple arrays of phaser cannons. "They're retreating Sir!"
"They'll be back," Friday said. "In force..."
"We'll deal with that when they show up!"
Communications interrupted any further comment. "The Humanx are hailing us Sir!"
"On screen!"
An image of a nicely-built woman with very short blonde hair filled the viewer. "Greetings Captain--I am Eileen auz Ruddyneumann, Co-Captain of the Humanx Fourth Exploration Fleet. So--the Federation finally decided to look in our direction: may I ask why?"
"Above my pay grade Ma'am,'" the Captain replied smoothly. "The Federation says `go' and we do as ordered. They sent the Meriweather Lewis out to explore and when that ship stopped reporting in, they sent us to find out what happened." Then: "did we catch you at a bad time Captain?" The woman on screen seemed to be wearing little more than a barely-there bra top.
The woman caught the angle of Ramsey's gaze. "The Thranx like it hot and humid," she told him. "We humans have had to adapt--so we tend to wear little to nothing--at least aboard ship."
"Ah--thank you ma'am..."
"I suppose you'll want to board the vessel?" she replied. "There are a few sections that still have atmosphere..."
"That's our intention," Ramsey said. "Due to the spatial-temporal distortions we won't be able to use our transporters so we'll have to take a shuttle and dock that way."
"Transporters?" The woman seemed confused.
"Teleportation system," the Captain said. "Don't the Humanx have that tech?"
"Not anymore: we find tesseracts to be safer."
"She's right," Kevin said. "They have to be damned energy-expensive to operate though!"
"If you'd like we'll remain in the area while you send your shuttle over," Ruddyneumann said. "The AAnn will be back with reinforcements sooner rather than later!"
"Thank you Captain: we appreciate the offer. We'll communicate after our away team returns. Ramsey out!"
"Looking forward to it!" The screen blanked.
"Interesting name," the Captain said. "I wonder what the origin is..."
"She symbospeeched her name,' Friday told the Captain. "In English her name is Eileen of Rudd and Neumann--her parents' last names. `Symbospeech' is a combination of English and the Thranx spoken and written language."
"Rudd and Neuman..." Ramsey mused. "Why do I know those names?"
"Do you know the legend of the Leviathan?" Kevin asked.
"You mean the largest colony ship ever built?" the Captain replied. "What spacer doesn't know that ship. It disappeared three months after launch taking 50,000 colonists and crew with it. People have been looking for remains for the past two centuries!"
"I think you might be about to find out what happened to them, " Kevin said. "Nicholas Neumann was the Captain of the Leviathan and David Rudd was the Director of Colonia Operations. She kind of looks like both of them."
"You're quite the fanboy, Mr. McMasters!"
"I'll cop to that."
"That's a mystery that will have to wait--for now at least..." Ramsey turned to his Executive Officer. "Wolfe--take Lt. Cdr. Rogers, Dr. McClaren--and Ensign Friday with you! Find a hatch where you can board and see what you can find over there."
"I've already got a spot in mind," Kevin commented. "May I go as well, Captain? The team might need me."
"Fine--just be careful Mr. McMasters! We don't want to lose the man who designed this ship!"
SCENE SEVEN: Aboard the Merriweather Lewis
Reid Rogers looked around sadly. "I'd say this poor ol' girl done took a shellacin' here!"
"And yet, in spite of everything, she's still holding together!" Kevin McMasters observed. "Miranda Class starships are vastly underrated!"
"Where are we, Mr. Friday?" Wolfe wanted to know.
"Near the Sickbay and Transporter Room Two," the young man responded. "Access to the computer core is just down the hall: all areas seem to be habitable--at least for now."
"There's some kind of energy readings from the Transporter," Kevin said. "I don't know why but I'm picking up six patterns in the buffer."
"Rogers--you and I will go to the Transporter Room," Wolfe said. "Hopefully, you'll be able to figure out what's going on there: Friday, you and McMasters go to the computer core and see how much you can download: it might save us a little time on our mapping mission." Friday nodded and the two men scurried away.
"I think I know," Reid said. "It's called th' Scott Protocol--they use it to protect lives under certain very dangerous situations." The XO, Chief Engineer and the Doctor walked the few steps to the Transporter Room.
Reid examined the devices and sighed. "Th' machine is locked in diagnostic' mode," he told the others. "Pattern degradation has started t' set in but I think I c'n restore five of em. I'm afraid th' last one is beyond salvagin' though..."
"Could Mr. McMasters fix it?" Josh wondered.
"He's a genius," the Chief Engineer replied, "this `ud take a miracle worker to restore th' final one! Whoever that pattern b'longed to is gone I'm afraid."
The ship shook as another distortion wave rocked the Merriweather Lewis. "Save the ones you can, Rogers," Wolfe said. "I don't know how much longer this old girl is going to last and I'd rather sacrifice one to save five rather than lose them all."
Reid worked to re-establish the patterns from the Transporter, Five figures and one steaming pile of random organs, bloody bones and tissue finally appeared. Josh used his Tricorder to examine the remains. "What we got back didn't live long. Fortunately..." he said, letting out a shaky breath. "Who was that?"
"Our Ship's Counselor Reed Marcus," said a long, lanky redhead. "I'm Lt. Travis Holt, Second Officer and Chief Engineer of the Merriweather Lewis. Thanks for the rescue: we couldn't get off the ship so this was a last-ditch attempt to save our lives."
"I wish we could have saved all of you," Reid said.
"You did what you could," the other man replied. With a sad shake of his head. "May I present Dr. Kent Shakespeare..." He was a big, beefy brown-haired man with floating lenses in front of his gray eyes. "This is Nurse Genevieve Goodbody..." She was a stunning platinum blonde with a body that could have put Venus to shame." "This is our Biologist Mint Julep..." This was a tall, athletic woman with green skin and abundant silver hair. "Chief Inoyasha, our Planetary Surveyor..." This was an athletic man with creamy skin, large golden eyes and large, mobile ears that sat high on his head.
The last man on the pad was definitely human but wasn't in a Starfleet uniform: he was tall and very well built with broad shoulders, shaggy brown hair and a growth of stubble on his face. The stranger wore a short sleeved red tee with an abstract green design and brown leather trim across his shoulders and down his arms. His pants were charcoal gray and so tight every muscle and a well-stuffed basket were outlined. Well-worn brown boots and large leather bracelets finished the look,
Holt caught the Lyra crew's curious glance. "That's Jo Nah, of a planet he calls Rimbor" he said. "We rescued him from a space creature he calls a `whael'..."
"I suppose we'll need to hear more about that--eventually..." Wolfe allowed.
The Doctor used his Medical Tricorder on the survivors: "Mr. Nah seems to have some sort of unknown energy permeating his system," he observed. "The rest of you seemed to have survived your time in the pattern buffer."
"We got lucky," Holt said. "There were no useable escape pods and we didn't think the ship would last so I locked the transporters into diagnostic mode. Too bad about Marcus though--he was a good guy..."
"We all know there are risks when we join Star Fleet," Wolfe replied. "What about Nah and that weird energy of his?"
"He hasn't shown any ill effect," Dr. Shakespeare told the man. "He seemed to have developed some rather--unique abilities however..."
"Said the man who can bench press a shuttlecraft!" Nah said jokingly.
"I'm a zero-range telekinetic," the Doctor commented. "Everybody on my home world, or its sister planet, has some form of psychic ability."
"Ah..." Wolfe wasn't sure what to make of this so he simply said nothing.
He was saved from further commentary by the arrival of Kevin and Friday. "We were able to download the entire memory core," Friday told him. "Luckily, it was still intact, Even so, we'd better get back to the Lyra before the next distortion wave hits. "I don't know how many more shots this poor old girl can take before she falls apart!"
END CHAPTER FOUR
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Yes, it has been a ridiculously long time since I've published anything. I'm a slow writer combined with personal issues, medical troubles (I strongly advise you not to get old and save yourself the hassle of a body that is collapsing) conspired to slow it down--not to mention a busy holiday schedule--even further. Thanks to all of you who have waited for the latest Chapter: I hope you enjoyed it.
Thanks also to Rockin' Robyn for the editorial help. Questions, comments, suggestions and complaints are always welcome. Drop me a line to HonableRonable@gmail.com or RonVenable@hotmail.com and I will write back. How many easter eggs did you find in this Chapter? No prize but I'm curious.
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