Lurker In The Void, Part 1

Posted on Sat Apr 24th, 2021 @ 12:33am by Gunnery Sergeant Philibert "Fender" McCord

Gunner Sergeant Fender McCord was woken up by a swift kick to his side. The passenger hold of the USS Plumbata, an Arrow class runabout, was dimly lit and filled with sleeping marines. They had just finished a week of hard training and evaluations on a godforsaken rock of a moon. It was supposed to be an uneventful ride back to Canopus Station.

"Wake up, McCord!" A voice screamed. "Get your ass up now!"

The figure tried to kick Fender again. This time, Fender grabbed him by the ankle.

"Lieutenant Sternwald, you will never awaken me or anyone else by kicking them. Do it again and I'll break your legs." Fender coolly told the officer. As Sternwald struggled to keep his balance on one foot, Fender threw the man's leg. Sternwald crashed into the bulkhead of the Plumbata.

Lieutenant McElroy Sternwald bounced to his feet. "Get up you guttersnipe! There is a mutiny on the ship!"

Fender rubbed his eyes as he stood as he tried to waken up. "Mutiny? Are you kidding?"

"I would never joke with the likes of you." Sternwald told Fender in a condescending voice. "Now grab your gun and head to the bridge."

Fender just shook his head as he grabbed his assault phaser and headed up front. In what would pass for a bridge on a runabout, the two pilots were diligently flying the craft.

"Is there a mutiny here?" Fender asked.

"Does it look like a mutiny?" The Tellarite pilot with Warrant Officer's pips on his collar caustically replied, not bothering to look up from his control panel. "Grab some crayons from the replicator and get back into the hold."

It was then the blonde haired Sternwald came in with half a dozen armed marines in tow. The marines looked both half awake and confused.

"Arrest Morgav!" Sternwald shouted at Fender.

"Why?" Fender calmly replied.

"Because we changed course. We received a distress call and we are responding to it." Morgav explained, still not looking away from his control panel.

"It is not a Federation distress call and it was weak. We are a runabout. We are not geared to run a rescue operation. Now arrest them." Sterwald told Fender.

"It's irrelevant if the distress call is Federation or not. We are legally and morally obliged to respond and give what aid we can." Fender replied.

"And it is a Federation distress call, just an obsolete one." The Tellarite added.

"I didn't know our distress calls could be obsolete." Fender told Morgav.

"Every few decades, Starfleet upgrades Federation distress calls. They sound just a little different from the old one. After about a hundred years or so, the distress will call will sound different. The ship's computer will still receive it and process the call." Morgav explained.

"And Starfleet has not been in Messier 4 for over a hundred years. The signal is an anomaly and we should ignore it. Change course to Canopus Station." Sternwald ordered.

"Doesn't matter, we need to check it out, Lieutenant." Fender told him.

Sternwald looked back at the group of marines. "Arrest Morgav and McCord." He ordered.

"Hold that order." Fender used his authoritative voice. He looked over the marines, who now looked unsure. "Anyone that does not attempt to respond to a distress call will be brought up on charges, regardless of rank."

"Arrest them now!" Sternwald shouted as the marines balked at his orders.

"The only one here that is going to be arrested is going to be you, Lieutenant." Fender calmly told the officer.

Sternwald took note of his situation. "I'll make sure you end up at the bottom of the darkest prison colony I can find." He told Fender, the anger under his voice evident.

"I'll take my chances." Fender replied.

Sternwald's threats were not empty. He was the son of a prestigious Federation prosecutor and his mother was a high level bureaucrat in Starfleet's civilian infrastructure. He had a long New England pedigree that went back to the 17th Century and was not shy about reminding others of his superior breeding. Never attending Starfleet Academy, Sternwald was educated at Exeter and had a law degree from Yale. Again, he never missed an opportunity to state that he considered his education superior to Starfleet Academy. He was only in Starfleet to polish his resume. Just the first stepping stone to a prestigious career in the upper ranks of the Federation.

As can be imagined, Sternwald was not popular with his fellow officers. On more than one occasion, Fender had to step in between Sterwald and and officer over an insult the young man had thrown. Sternwald had even been rebuked by Skobelova after he tried to talk down to her.

On this exercise, Sternwald had channeled his inner asshole. He argued every point with Fender. He had demeaned his marines and NCOs at every opportunity. It was everything Fender could do from losing his temper and beating the arrogant youth. While Fender wasn't a fan of the leadership style Bishop had displayed and he thought Ingram was aloof, at least those officers had the best interests of Starfleet when they behaved like that. Sternwald was just self absorbed.

"Sergeant Khatri, get the rest of the marines geared up. I want all the squad leaders up here for a leadership meeting in five minutes." Fender told his platoon sergeant.

"Coming up on the distress call." The young pilot assisting Morgav announced.

"What do you have, Petty Officer Garcia?" Fender asked.

"A large object; 120 meters long, beam of 50 meters, height of 40 meters. I'm reading very feint power output and no life signs." Garcia told the crew.

"No signs of life? Good. Now you can change course back to Canopus Station." Sternwald told Morgav.

"We're obliged to check things out and we'll stay here until it meets my satisfaction." Fender told Sternwald curtly.

"Your insubordination is noted and will be used against you in your court martial. I hope you enjoy the penal colony." Sternwald replied, trying to regain his dignity.

"At least he won't have to listen to your whiny voice." Morgav spoke up.

"I'm getting a visual." Garcia announced. There was a moment as Garcia analyzed the ship. "It appears to be a Daedalus class cruiser."

"Out this far? Impossible, your readings are wrong." Sternwald told Garcia.

"And yet, there it is." Morgav chipped in. "USS Gorgon, NCC 164."

"How did it get out here?" Garcia asked Fender.

"Only one way to find out." Fender replied to Garcia before turning to Khatri. "Get the NCOs up here now. We have to organize an exploration team."