SEASON 2: EPISODE 07

INTO THE FIRE: Part One

  The powerful and streamlined shape of an Akira class heavy cruiser orbited over the planet of Bajor.  The nearly 500m long vessel looked as pristine as the world it orbited, but like Bajor it had a lot of conflict in its recent past.

  Lieutenant Commander Pavlo Celcho looked out the forward bay doors of the shuttlebay at the beautiful spinning orb of nature.  Over the last few weeks his job as the chief of engineering had been very busy as he oversaw the major repairs to the Swiftfire following their encounter with the Vendoth.  The Swiftfire had been engaged by three vessels while pursuing a separate issue in the Badlands.  The ship had been severely outclassed by the three Vendoth ships so much so that despite been the only ship to survive the encounter the Swiftfire could not be credited with any kills.  Though in the end that did not really matter, any battle you could limp away from still intact was a bit of a victory.

  Once they had returned to Federation space Starfleet Intelligence had debriefed them.  They had all been ordered to keep the details of the incident quiet, under threat of punishment.  All evidence was taken, sensor logs, records, and salvaged equipment and recovered Vendoth bodies.  The official story of what had happened was that a Dominion attack wing had jumped the Swiftfire instead.  Celcho wasn’t sure why the story change, but it seemed that Intelligence didn’t want anything about the Vendoth to be common knowledge.

  Celcho watched as his engineering teams continued their work.  The forward shuttlebay had collapsed during the initial contact with the enemy.  The forward ventral hull had taken significant damage when several quantum torpedoes denoted inside the ship’s shield bubble, collapsing the forward deck.  The entire bow section of the top phaser array had to be replaced and the forward hull and the forward sections of the engineering hull all had significant breaches.  All that was repaired now but there were still a few minor problems with some of the power flow systems in the forward shuttlebay.  The Swiftfire had a rushed repair job while docked to Deep Space 9 before it was moved off to make way for the almost constant flow of damaged vessels that graced the station these days.  These were the final repairs his team had to complete, having sorted out numerous other issues onboard the ship.  It was a busy time, but the ship was just about fighting fit.

  That is not to say that Celcho did not enjoy some rest, he had been given a few days on Bajor.  He spent his time at the Bajoran capital, which was one of the most beautiful cities he had ever visited.  The city had amazing waterfalls, gardens and buildings that showed the longevity of the Bajoran people and the fact that despite 60 years of oppression the Bajoran spirit was not sundered.

  There was a short klaxon and a light flashed over the forward bay doors.  This was a signal to indicate incoming craft; Pavlo cleared his team out of the way and watched as a shuttle came in to land.  It was one of the ship’s two Type 11 shuttles, the largest shuttle the Swiftfire carried.  As the vessel entered the atmospheric shield Celcho spotted Commander Core at the helm and someone who appeared to be the captain, though he wasn’t sure because of the clothes the person was wearing.

  The shuttle landed nearby and the rear doors opened.  A number of the higher ranked officers stepped out, various heads of departments.  Included were Lieutenant Letac and Wessling.  Both were dressed in typical Bajoran civilian clothes.  Both had their arms around each other and were laughing heartily.

  The last out were Commander Core and Captain Masters.  The captain was the other person at the helm of the shuttle Celcho had seen.  He was dressed in the same gear as Celcho had observed several of the Bajoran monks wearing.  The captain looked markedly better then he did when Celcho had helped remove him from SC-193, their Venture scout, following the last mission.  The scoutship had taken serious damage and the access hatches would not open, so Celcho had to force his way into the craft.  He wasn’t ready for the state the captain was in when he went in.  The captain was covered in large purple bruises and numerous cuts, some still bleeding.  A medical scan also revealed broken bones and internal bleeding.  The captain had taken a beating as bad as the one his ship had taken.

   Now the captain looked healthy and fresh and by the looks on his face and that of Commander Core, the joke the two Lieutenants were laughing about were at his expense.  The captain gave Celcho a quick nod before heading off to either the bridge or his quarters.

  “Damn shame,” commented one of the engineers.

  “What is?” asked another.

  “The lieutenants,” he received a blank look from the other.  “You know…how they are.”

  “How are they?” asked the still confused engineer.

  “You have to be kidding!  The lieutenants are…”

  Celcho clapped his hands to get their attention.  “That’s enough chatting.  The captain’s back, so it looks like we’ll be going somewhere soon and I prefer it if the ship doesn’t fall apart along the way.”

  His engineers slowly headed back to work.  They were just boys, young, and full of vigour and spent too much time thinking with other parts of their body.  As he watched them get back to work had to admit it was a shame, not how the lieutenants were that it seemed that all the pretty woman always seemed to be taken.  Celcho then shook his head; he was living in a fishbowl with only a couple of hundred beings, what he really needed was to get out more.