Reaper: Scenes From A Memory

Stardate: 20531.2349
Title: Scenes From A Memory
Author: Nelson Reaper
Time: After "The Yin and the Yang"
Scene: Auxiliary Control, Bridge

"Well well... long time no see, Blue." Nelson looked long at the woman before him, and did not try to hide the predatory accents in his voice. "Ever since that night at the bar... what was it? Omar's... of course." He undid her gag.

"So good to see you, Sonny. Who would've known you'd make it so far," she looked around her, presenting the ship with her eyes, "...Captain."

"That was a long time ago," Nelson replied simply.

"But the best time in your life... or so you said to me once," Blue answered snidely.

Nelson laughed out loud and moved directly in front of her, sitting on a fallen chunk of desk before her. "Fifteen years, and you still haven't changed. Still the same sweet Blue. How is it we meet again here? It's a shame, you know. It could have been so much better."

"It still could be, Sonny. Chances are that bug you let loose will take out all but our shapeshifter within 24 hours. The ship is yours, if not now then very soon. Just mosy them all over to the nearest starbase for questioning, and I'll escape with my ship... no harm done."

Nelson shook his head and smiled. "Now Blue, you know any other Starfleet captain wouldn't even take the time to talk to you."

"But you're not just any Starfleet captain, are you? You and I... we're special."

"WERE special, Blue. Sophomore summer off from the Academy was definitely a time to remember, and those eight long weeks in San Diego I'll never forget. But that was a different time... a simpler time."

"We were both a lot younger then," Blue said, seeming far away. She shook her head and looked at Nelson. "You have to believe I never meant for it to end that way. That night at Omar's was... I dont' know. I never really figured out why I left like that. It never would have worked anyway."

"It doesn't matter anymore. I moved on because I had to, I wanted to. I had so much to do then. We had different places to go."

Suddenly, Nelson saw just out of his peripheral vision as Blue's hands came out from behind her and reached for the weapon of one of her fallen comrades. The bond of sincerity that had seemingly been forged suddenly came apart as Nelson realized she'd probably meant to kill him all along. She raised the weapon-- he knew it would stop at his chest. He instinctively drew his own phaser and fired nearly point blank. She did manage to pull off the shot, but it just missed his shoulder and hit somewhere behind him.

The look of pain on Blue's face was matched in intensity by the look of betrayal on Nelson's. She dropped the weapon and fell against the bulkhead. She opened her eyes slowly and looked... but not at Nelson, behind him, just over his shoulder. She smiled as if satisfied, and visibly surrendered to her injuries.

Nelson turned around just in time to avoid being fallen on by the body of a man. It was the pirate captain, Ratagan, and he'd been weilding a knife meant for Nelson. It fell on the deckplate with a thump, and was immediately covered with his corpse. The telltale mark of a secondary phaser burn on the center of his back meant Blue's aim had been true. She hadn't betrayed him, she'd saved his life.

Nelson turned and dropped the phaser, and reached for Blue.

"Sonny..." she coughed up black blood. "In the hold of my ship... they are there for you. All along... I saved them, for you."

And then she was dead.

Captain Nelson Reaper
Commander
USS Carpathia
NCC-17499

Reaper: The Yin and the Yang

Stardate: 20531.2349
Title: The Yin and the Yang
Author: Nelson Reaper
Time: After "Ultimatum" and "Come Hell or High Water"
Scene: Auxiliary Control, Bridge

Captain Reaper listened hopefully after delivering his ultimatum to the pirates, but no response came. Finally, he looked around the room to find out what had happened to his team.

The officers were everywhere, and only two were standing. Monday and Reese were unconscious, while Yamashita and Mitchell were rubbing various parts of their bodies that had collided with various parts of the ship.

Immediately, they all moved toward the fallen. Reaper and Mitchell went to Reese's side, quickly assessing the officer's vital signs. "It looks bad, Captain," Mitchell said. "Breathing is shallow and the heartbeat is erratic."

Nelson tore open the man's uniform, revealing the large wound over his entire right rib cage. "The area's warm," Nelson said, "and every one of these ribs is broken. This man will bleed to death inside his own lungs if we don't get him out of here now." Mitchell nodded his agreement.

Yamashita called over from Monday's side. "He'll be alright, just a hard knock on the head. I don't recommend jarring him though, he'll likely be in a lot of pain when he wakes."

Nelson's mind churned, but he could think of no other alternative. Finally, he said, "One of us needs to get Reese to Sickbay."

"I'll do it," Mitchell volunteered. "But what about Monday?"

"He'll be safe here. We need as many bodies as possible when we move forward," Nelson replied. Yamashita and Mitchell nodded their agreement.

[Beta successful and secured,] was heard over the now open shipwide comlink.

"Pr'Zal's taken the bridge," Reaper said as he helped Mitchell lift Reese. "We need to move there now."

"Be right there, sir," Yamashita answered. Nelson looked back to see her leave her canteen and and Reese's phaser next to Monday. She stood and moved with a vengance in her stride. "Ready, captain."

=^=

Captain Reaper and Ensign Yamashita moved openly toward the bridge. Along the way, they encountered several makeshift strike teams moving through the ship, having secured more and more as they moved forward. Several surviving pirates had been rooted out in recent minutes, having succumbed to the initial stages of the Gana Alti virus. Apparently, however, most chose to stay hidden and die, or were regrouping with what energy they had left.

Once on deck 4, there were enough liberated crew that they had an escort to the bridge. Ensign Pr'Zal was in the command chair and stood when Reaper entered.

"Captain on the bridge!" she hollered.

Each officer came to attention where they stood, a courtesy usually only reserved for formal occasions. Nelson breathed in the collective pride and accomplishment of the entire crew as he strode forward. "As you were," he said.

Ensign Pr'Zal approached the captain as Yamashita moved to assist the others. "The bridge has been secured," she reported. "We are working on a full status report, but many of the ship's sensors have been disabled. We don't know the extent of the damage, but it seems we've been pillaged quite effectively."

"Indeed," Reaper barely said. "Keep working on it," he continued aloud. "Coordinate with the senior officers you can reach to reconstruct ship's systems one by one. Good work, everyone!" he spoke loudly enough for the whole bridge to hear him, but looked and smiled at Ensign Pr'Zal.

"One of the intruders has been detained in your Ready Room, sir," Pr'Zal said just as Nelson began to move away. He promptly turned in the opposite direction and headed aft.

"Thank you very much, Ensign," he said.

The door to the captain's office was leaning against the bulkhead in an attempt to make it look normal. Nelson glanced at it as he moved past into the shambles of his Ready Room. The guard there came to attention.

"Where is the prisoner?" Nelson demanded. The guard moved aside and Nelson could see the form of a woman bound on the floor. She looked up at him and their eyes met.

"Dismissed, crewman. I will deal with the pirate privately," Reaper ordered without taking his eyes off the woman. Quietly, the guard left.

Reaper silently regarded the woman while she surveyed him. Though bound, gagged, and wounded, she did not look defeated. Her eyes especially challenged him with an uncommon pride.

"Well well... long time no see, Blue."

Captain Nelson Reaper
Commander
USS Carpathia
NCC-17499

Reaper: Ultimatum

Stardate: 20531.2311
Title: Ultimatum
Author: Nelson Reaper
Time: After "Components"
Scene: Auxiliary Control

Reaper's team moved silently through the Jeffries tubes toward Auxiliary Control. Scouting ahead of him were Ensign Mitchell and Lieutenant Monday. Behind, Lieutenant Reese and Ensign Yamashita monitored their progress. Silently, Nelson hoped the other teams he'd dispatched were moving as smoothly as his.

Suddenly, Reaper's combadge emitted a startling noise [Capt.....his is....Mulder......hear me?]. He immediately silenced it, although any pirates in earshot of the noise had already been alerted.

Nelson cursed himself for allowing such a blatant oversight of preparation, but changed his thinking quickly to thankfulness that Mulder and his officers were safe. He glanced over his shoulder and looked back at Kimiko Yamashita. She was holding a tricorder, and shook her head urgently.

"Let's move," Reaper ordered. "Will engineering be able to cut into any of the auxiliary control mechanisms?"

"No, Captain," Andy Reese answered. He was one of the newest engineers on board, and seemed to know the Jeffries tubes like the back of his hand. "We'll need to access these junctions here... and here." He pointed out schematics on a PADD as he spoke. "Once we're in, we'll have to signal Engineering to override anything and everything that's happening on the bridge. They'll be able to take control then."

Reaper nodded to Ensign Yamashita. "Code our progress to Beta Team. Move out."

==

Several of the plasma conduits were exposed in ways only meant for drydock maintenance, having been expertly dissected by Reese and Yamashita. With their assistance, Reaper handled the final bypass node, and connected it when they nodded their okay.

All hell broke loose.

The ship lurched violently, throwing most of Alpha Team against the nearest bulkhead. Reaper himself was bashed against a control kiosk, but the shunt held. The flow of power had been successfully rerouted between the helm controls and Engineering. Now, it was up to Commander Remo. Nelson waited the breathless seconds without moving.

[Remo to Reaper, you're on.]

Immediately the captain stood and spoke, knowing his voice would be heard all over the ship. "This is Nelson Reaper, captain of the Carpathia. Attention to the invaders: my science officer has released a sample of a lethal virus that we encountered not too long ago. We have established a link between four operating units of personnel, and have locked out all control. You have two choices, and you have them right now. You can either come out and fight, or you can surrender and get the hell off my ship. Either way... you lose. Throw down your weapons and report to the ship's brig. Acknowledge."


Captain Nelson Reaper
Commander
USS Carpathia
NCC-17499

Pr'Zal: Come Hell or High Water

Stardate:  20531.1456
Author:  Kitanna Pr'Zal
Subject:  Come Hell Or High Water
Time: After 'Components' and before and during 'Bite Me!'
Scene:  Bridge

*** Initially on the Bridge ***

Beta Team's members were thrown out of the conduits into the bridge by the concussion of the ship's sudden lack of movement. Inman took a laser bolt to the chest and was killed instantly when she entered the room first. nce Kitanna's feet hit the floor, she retaliated by swinging her rifle and smashing the butt into the jaw of one of the ship's invaders. The man staggered backward, blood pouring copiously from his mouth, and tumbled over one of the navigation consoles, unconscious.  Phaser fire erupting around her, she jumped into the vacant seat and regained control, bringing the ship out of its literal drop through space.

"Shit! That was close!" Kitanna heard the rest of Beta Team taking advantage of the surprise 'fall out' from the Jefferies tube as phaser fire continued around her. Ducking several times, she motioned for another Ensign to take the helm. "Make sure NO ONE takes control of this helm but you or the Captain... understood?"

"Aye, Sir," came the simple reply.

Turning, Kitanna watched as another Carpathia crewman, Lieutenant Cray from Alien Sciences, fell at the hand of one of the remaining pirates. No longer able to control the rage building inside her, she ran full force toward the over-sized intruder.  Come hell or high water she was going to help take back the Captain's ship and...their home.

Screaming, she slammed into the figure from behind, causing both individuals to hit the floor of the bridge... hard. Within seconds, she had stood and, stepping on the man's throat, fired her phaser rifle into his chest. Looking up, she watched as Ensign Baitman strangled an intruder trying to shutdown the ventilation system. Hearing a click behind her, Kit instinctively turned and fired, dropping the last pirate face first into the floor.
==================

"Get another team to take back Engineering. Honestly, how hard is it to take a ship? WE ARE FARKING PIRATES FOR Q's SAKE!"

She stomped around in her thigh high boots and leather outfit like an angry dominatrix.

"I think it's time to kill the Monkey's Captain... do we know where he is?!?"  Before anyone could answer the door to the Captain's Ready Room opened and several Starfleet officers entered, led by what looked like a Vulcan half-breed.

"What the...!" Kitanna took all of three seconds to fire three times, hitting Blue in each leg and once in the stomach.  The pirate dropped to the floor, but not before firing back, hitting Kitanna in the left shoulder, causing her to scream in pain.

The remaining officers quickly disabled the leather-clad woman and bound her hands and feet until reinforcements arrived.  One officer remained, pointed his phaser at her head, smiling.

"Keep her alive but immobile until the Captain gets here," grimmaced Kitanna.  Slapping her comm badge, Kitanna uttered four words, "Beta successful and secured."

Ensign Kitanna Pr'Zal
Security Officer
USS Carpathia