SEASON 2: EPISODE 03

A ROUGH TIME: Part One

  First officer’s supplemental.  It has been two weeks since Captain Masters left on a mission leaving me in command of the Swiftfire.  I never knew that the Captain had so much work to do!  This is not as easy as I thought.  The paper work in particular is tedious and boring, how does Jonathan do it?

  It has also been a few weeks since we joined Task Force 59, the very same group we helped a few months ago in hunting down a Jem’Hadar super carrier.  But our time at the front was short-lived.  It was more of a rallying point then anything else.  We have since fallen back to a sector close to the Federation border with the Breen where we are on pirate hunting duties.

  We are basing ourselves at the Ashcroft Outpost and we are tasked with convoy protection and patrols.  This also means we have a special guest onboard the ship…

  Commander Susan Core paused as the door chime sounded.

  “Computer, end log,” she ordered.  She waited for the affirmative beep from the computer before she answered the door.  “Come in.”

  The door opened and in stepped a man in black civilian clothing.

  “Mr. Patol, what can I do for you?” Core asked.

  It was Brendan Patol, the Swiftfire’s special guest.  The man was a totally unremarkable looking man.  He had no distinguishing features and looked like any forty something human in the quadrant.  He was of average height and build, Caucasian male.  He wouldn’t look out of place in a Starfleet uniform, diplomatic uniform, or as a carpet retailer.  But there was something special about him; he was a specialist in pirates and para-military groups.

  He had been part of the Maquis in their battle against the Cardassians, but other then that Susan didn’t know much about him.  His history was incomplete, but by the fact he wasn’t in a Starfleet prison and seemed to live a pretty good life she suspected that he was either working with Starfleet Intelligence or had made a very good deal with Starfleet following the fall of the Maquis.

  “We received a report of another attack,” said Patol.

  “Who?”

  “The Rough Necks, they hit a convoy not too far from here.”

  Patol handed her a padd.  She read the contents and cringed.  The Rough Necks were one of the largest and powerful pirate groups in several sectors.  They had been causing a lot of problems since the war started due to the fact that Starfleet’s ships were tied up in combat or defensive duties in other sectors.  This was the group they were had been tasked with bringing down.

  “When?”

  “Around 0300 ship time.  They took munition, equipment and supplies that were meant for Outpost Clarity, a major deep space research station in the sector.”

  “Causalities?”

  “Two escorts destroyed, one crippled.  The attack didn’t match their profile.  They’ve avoided hitting convoys with similar sized escorts.  Plus the items they stole don’t fetch that much on the black market.”

  “They’re onto us.”

  Patol nodded.  “I agree.  It is a bit hard to hide thirty Starfleet starships suddenly entering the area.  I had hoped they wouldn’t have noticed us so soon though, they must have a good surveillance system worked out.  It will be harder to find and predict them now.”

  “So what do you suggest?”

  “We keep to our original plan for now.  We can’t protect every convoy, sooner or later they’ll make a mistake and we’ll get them.”