Reaper: Broken Dreams Remade

Stardate: 20623.2212
Title: Broken Dream Remade
Author: Nelson Reaper
Scene: Pirate ship
Time: After "Scenes From A Memory"

Nelson led the away team himself, after assuring Zild all was well. He knew inside that even if all was not well, the COS would remedy that in short order.

The pirate ship was a mess of looted crap, among which were parts of Carpathia. Many of them looked unsalvagable by Starfleet standards; he was sure, though, they'd fetch a hefty bounty on the black market. Captain Reaper dispatched most of his team to look over the ship and report on the stolen goods, then headed toward the main hold.

The doors opened and a stench nearly overwhelmed the Carpathian officers. After recovering, they stepped inside. One of the main docking doors was near the entrance, nearby several crates were stacked. Close inspection revealed the contents stenciled on the sides: all were filled with luxury goods that were normally hard to come by, even in places like Starbase Arcadia. There were a few dozen metric tons of various ores, and some crates that appeared to contain munitions.

"Captain," Lieutenant Jordan called over from a computer terminal. Nelson approached.

"What is it, Lil?" he asked.

"I've been looking over the manifest, all of these crates come from worlds or governments not recognized by the Federation," Jordan said.

"That's no surprise, is it? No respectable people would do business with pirates, especially if they expected support from the Federation," Nelson explained.

"That's not the only thing I noticed, sir. Almost all of them come from known slave-trading worlds."

Nelson's mind reeled. Images of barbarism filled his head as he fathomed the practice of the sale of sentient beings. Then Blue's words rang in his ears, "...they are there for you. All along, I saved them, for you." Reaper's eyes flashed, visibly startling Lieutenant Jordan.

"Scan the hold. This isn't the whole thing, look for hidden doors or hatches." He tapped his combadge and recalled the away team to help.

Moments later, it was found. A hatch was uncovered by moving an empty crate, two officers had it open by the time Nelson reached it. He climbed inside immediately.

Here is where the stench was coming from. Two dozen or so empty crates made makeshift homes for what looked like fifty or more people. As the rest of the team filed in, Nelson took a tricorder from Lt. Jordan.

"Call Carpathia, tell Doctor Dray to expect a full house. Everybody on the move to help these people out." Each officer moved toward the crowd that had started to gather. Nelson looked down at the tricorder and moved elsewhere.

He followed a signal to a bulkhead where another hidden hatch was found. He opened it. Inside was a small storage compartment. He climbed inside.

His eyes had to adjust to the dimness, but the tricorder led him onward. At the back of the room, he found two people sleeping in beds of rags. One was a woman, the other a child. He rechecked the tricorder, there was no doubt left in him.

He knelt and wept. The woman began to stir. Clearing his eyes, Nelson whispered, "Louise?"

Captain Nelson Reaper
Commander
USS Carpathia
NCC-17499