Act Two, Scene Two

[Akirapryde]

Pit Stop (Part One)
Stardate: 53832.8
Ruins of Logan City
World: Terra Nova (Eta Cassiopeia III)
Location: Eta Cassiopeia star system, Sector 004, Alpha Quadrant

Located less than 20 light years from the Sol system, Terra Nova was an inhabited M class planet with at least two moons. As their first extrasolar colony, Terra Nova was colonized by Humans in 2078, who would later refer to themselves as Novans. There were several native animal species on the planet, including a type of burrowing animal, referred to by the Novans as a digger, as well as flying animals.

By 2069, Humans had already established themselves within their own solar system, having founded New Berlin on the Moon, Utopia Planitia on Mars, and a few asteroid bases. Deep space became the next frontier for the species, and the question began to be asked: "Could Humans colonize deep space?"

Terra Nova was discovered in the mid-21st century by astronomers working for the Space Agency. Due to its proximity to Earth, the decision was made to establish a colony on the planet. The success of such a colony was considered uncertain from the start, and the expedition became known as "the Great Experiment."

Captain Mitchell was selected to lead the expedition. Nearly two hundred colonists, made up of specialists and families, would be selected to join him on this mission. The journey to Terra Nova from Earth would take nine years at the warp speeds attainable in that period. The SS Conestoga was commissioned for the task, and was specially constructed so that it could be dismantled on arrival to serve as homes and service buildings for the colony.

The Conestoga arrived at her destination on June 23, 2078. Captain Mitchell oversaw the groundbreaking for the colony shortly thereafter. The very first transmissions from the colony were broadcast worldwide on Earth, and the population watched entranced as Humanity made its first claim on the cosmos.

The colony proved to be amazingly successful, a fully-functioning community on a world in deep space. Earth grew interested in repeating the experience. Working from the position that "nothing succeeds like success," the heads of the Space Agency announced their intentions to launch a second ship full of colonists to Terra Nova.

The colonists already living on Terra Nova were not amenable to the idea of now having to share the home they'd struggled to build. An organized opposition arose, led by a man named Mark Logan. By 2083, relations with Earth became severely strained, culminating with Logan's transmitting threats of violence upon any ships that entered the planet's orbit.

Tragically, that was the last message received from Terra Nova. Earth lost contact with the colony shortly thereafter. The Space Agency decided that it didn't have the resources to launch an investigation, and it was decided that the fate of the Terra Nova colony would have to remain a mystery. However the colony was rediscovered In 2151, by a landing party from the NX-01 Enterprise discovered the irradiated remains of the colony, and it was determined that the colony had been destroyed by a meteor strike, scattering toxic debris over the region. After a tense situation, Terra Nova allowed United Earth to help rebuild the remains of the colony.

The colony would once more thrive with the help of United Earth. Years following 2151, Military Assault Command Operations (MACO) established a forward training and sentry base on Terra Nova. As the surrounding space joined the Federation so did Terra Nova. Efforts were set out to clean up the world. As United Earth slowly gave up its own independent military to the Federation, it finally turned over its MACO base on Terra Nova to the Federation. The base was abandoned but later reactivated as a state of the art training center for the Starfleet Marines. Throughout the twenty third century, Terra Nova remained Starfleet's primary Marine training center. During the early parts of the twenty forth century, Starfleet Marines moved their basic and advanced training to Earth. Terra Nova's training center was converted to solely support Special Operation Training.

During the Dominion War, Terra Nova had been hit by Breen and Dominion forces. The attack destroyed the Special Operation Training Center and decimated the world's population. After the war, Starfleet and the Federation pushed hard to get much needed supplies to the survivors of Terra Nova. However with so much suffering going around, the Federation resources have been pushed to their very limits. A large number of worlds like Terra Nova were left with only enough to survive as the populations were forced to stand alone while they rebuilt their shattered homes. With only suffering in abundance, Terra Nova struggled on.

Through the thick overcast clouds and down in to the rain swung a Starfleet runabout. Slowly the USS Susquehanna hovered over the remains of the capital of Terra Nova, Logan City. Its large search lights illuminate the destroyed city. The thick rain and light from the runabout cast dancing shadows over what was once a proud city. Slowly the ship continued its low pass over the city till it turned and started to make its descent in the city's central park. The Susquehanna hovered over the grass fields as it seemed to search for the best place to set down. Its landing struts slowly started to show as the runabout lowered its self to the ground. Finally the struts sank in to the mud as the little runabout finished its landing. The rain water washed over the runabout as the engines hummed to a idle state and side lights lit up the hatch.

The side hatch opened up and within moments, out stepped Seona with a sense of wonder and joy on her face. She was dressed in a deep blue shirt that almost looked black in the rain and darkness. She wore a pair of tight form fitting pants that matched her shirt. Around her waist she wore a light blue flowing short skirt. She twirled in the rain with her arms stretched outward and laughed up in to the rain. The air was cool and the rain felt almost cold as it washed over her clothes. "Oh Maura its almost like home."

"Really Seona?" Maura said as she walked up to the side hatch but remained well inside the doorway. Being pure Starfleet Marine to heart, Maura was dressed in her Starfleet Marine combat uniform. "What am I going to do with you. You are going to get sick!"

"You worry too much" Seona said almost laughing while she twirled as if she was on performance. "Oh the rain feels so good. I can't believe how long it has been since I felt rain."

Maura rolled her eyes as she looked disappointed in their location. "Why did you bring us here anyway?"

Seona laughed as she continued to twirl in the rain. She took a moment to paused and smiled back to her sister, "Anyway? We need what is here, Maura."

Maura's sight changed rapidly as she scanned the surrounding area. "Seona we are being watched" she said with warning in her voice. Maura was going to say something more but her sister cut her off.

Seona nodded, "yeah I know." Seona turned and reached her arms out as she allowed her head to raise upward towards the falling rain. "God I love the rain" she said softly as she spun around a bit more. Then she suddenly stopped facing the runabout and Maura, "they're scared of us."

Maura looked confused, "how can you know that?"

Seona shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I just know. I can feel their fear. It covers the city like a thick blanket. Hundreds of them in hiding, suffering. Oh goddess, the suffering Maura." There were real tears dripping from her eyes as the rain washed those tears away. Even though the rain was washing away the tears, Maura knew the pain that Seona was feeling.

Maura looked concerned but didn't move from the ship, "are we in danger?"

Maura didn't like the idea of having no personal weapons. In fact they were near defenseless as it stood even with the runabout. The runabout was taken from its scheduled maintenance and because of that, there were no supplies that would have been normally stored aboard the ship. Their supply of mirco-torpedoes had been nearly depleted during their clash Admiral Tate's small battle group. For the most part, the Admiral and his crews saw the battle as largely one sided because the Susquehanna didn't have the fire power to defend its self against the three larger starships. It was because of this perception the crews allowed themselves to think the battle was over long before it ever began. Already the best minds were going over the three ships and would have discovered the virus that had been uploaded to the Repulse four weeks ago. From the Repulse, the virus infected nearly half of the ships of the 4th Fleet. As the review of the battle continued, there was no doubt that this battle was all part of Seona's over all plan.

Seona's plan was to spread out the ships of Admiral Tate's battle group to a point that they could not support each other. She had wanted to engage only Admiral Tate's flagship, but it didn't unfold like that. Still the virus was her ace in the hole. The virus played its part perfectly, but they can't depend on it any more. Even as the Susquehanna was making its approach to to Terra Nova, the virus was being cleaned from the infected ships. It didn't matter though, the damage had been done. Seona's name was on the lips of Admirals and Captains across five sectors. Seona had transformed herself in to a lighting rod and everyone was talking about what secret could have happened on Velos. The genie was out of the bottle. Seona knew in her heart that the next step by those out to silence her would have to be, to kill her.

Seona turned and glanced at the Susquehanna resting in the mud. Rain water ran down her hair as her eyes drifted over to her sister Maura. Maura was standing there just beyond the doorway doing what she could to remain dry. It was a strange feeling knowing that her life was on a fast track to being over. Seona wasn't scared of what was to come anymore. She knew back on Mars that this had to be the logical final act of her play which she had crafted. But at the same time, she worried about Maura. Seona knew that her older sister simply wouldn't be able to understand why the play had to end this way and why Seona didn't tell her everything. Seona didn't say anything as she scanned the area once more with a soft smile. She was comfortable with the fact that her death would be coming soon. With that death would also come the end of the pain. She didn't want to hurt anymore.

But for now, the play had to continue through its next act. Seona looked up once more at the mighty Susquehanna. In silence she walked over to the ship as her clothes continued to get soaked and her leather boots became logged with water and mud. She ran her hand over the ship and sighed heavily. The battle had played out just as Seona wanted it to go. That was except for that last lucky shot from the Valley Forge. A torpedo had nearly crippled the Susquehanna and almost destroyed Seona's plan. Had Maura not thought quickly and fired a last minute mirco-torpedo at the incoming torpedo, the Susquehanna could have been destroyed.

Instead the explosion occurred so closely that the shock wave impacted on Susquehanna's shields. The blast was so close that it nearly knocked out their shields and caused critical damage across Susquehanna's systems. Using all of her skill, Maura was able to out pilot the pursuing shuttles through a near by asteroid field and escape. Luckily, a series of well placed target decoys, programmed to simulate the Susquehanna, left the impression that the runabout was still hiding in the asteroid field. Escaping the system was a stroke of brilliance on Maura's part. She turned the runabout for far side of the system and maxed out the warp engines. The inversion field masked their escape through the system. Using the gravity field of the star, Maura was able to pick up much more speed that what the Susquehanna was capable of at the time. As they approached the edge of the system, Maura killed the warp engines but maintained a stable warp field.

With their engine effectively off line, the Susquehanna was able to coast her way out of the system and well past where Starfleet would be scanning for a warp field. This left Admiral Tate and his group chasing target drones in a sensor weak system. Maura hoped that this would buy them enough time to find a place to set down and conduct repairs. Maura was able to pilot the crippled Susquehanna to the nearby Terra Nova system. It was here that they were hoping to put down for repairs. Still it was only a matter of time before Starfleet would expand its search to include this system. For the first time since they began this play, time was no longer on their side. It was the closest that Starfleet was from capturing them and they knew it. Seona knew that she had to work quickly to get ahead of Starfleet once more. Everything depended on it.

Seona turned back towards the ruins of the city and took in a deep breath. Her body shivered a bit in the cold rain. "Maura, they mean us no harm" Seona said as she looked around. She couldn't see them, but she felt them out there watching them. She wasn't sure how but she knew they were there. "Actually they fear that we mean to hurt them." Seona then turned her eyes back to Maura as she smiled. She almost skipped back to the door of the runabout through the rain. She kicked up her right foot slashing water towards Maura. Seona boarded the ship once more as she pushed her way past Maura, "I have an idea."

Maura remained at the door and watched the surrounding area. She couldn't see them either, but her instincts told her that they were out there. Her tricorder hidden behind the wall of the ship confirmed that the Susquehanna was nearly surrounded by fifty to sixty humanoid lifeforms. She continued to scan the area with her hidden tricorder as she acted as if nothing was wrong. "We need weapons Seona. I told you we should have kept those phasers" Maure said. There was no hiding the fact that Maura was concerned about their safety. She didn't like the idea that they traded their only stash of phasers to an Orion trader for components to build Seona's dampening device.

"Maura, how many times do I have to tell you. We don't need weapons" Seona laughed from somewhere deep in the runabout. Her voice carried through the small ship as she continued. "We got this far without them and we will finish this without the need for them." There was a pause as it sounded as if Seona was looking for something. "Anyway we did pick up those Klingon bladed weapons a few days ago." Seona added as things were being bumped around.

"Oh great, a bat'leth and a pair of mek'leth. When they shot us at range, that will serve us well" Maura said coldly. She didn't like being unarmed like this. She took in a deep breath as she watched the rain wash down the area. There was a sound of victory from Seona causing Maura to add, "what do you have up your sleeve sis"

Seona laughed, "you will see." Seona returned with violin in hand. Seona smiled to her as she pushed passed her older sister and in to the rain once more.

Maura rolled her eyes as she pointed to Seona's bare feet, "Where are your shoes!?"

Seona laughed as she turned to face Maura and kicked up water back towards the runabout. "I love the feel of the mud. Oh there is grass under the water and mud. I can feel it." She let out a joyful laugh as she spun again. "Tell me sis, can you name one invader that invaded with no shoes?" She half danced half twirled as she readied her violin.

Maura continued to look unamused as she shook her head, "I can name a few!" she yelled then lowered her voice to a mumble again "This wont work."

Seona whispered just over the rain "yes it will. Trust me." she closed her eyes as she pictured the music in her mind. She could feel the violin and bow in her fingers as the rain washed down over them. Carefully she plucked at the strings causing the violin to make its music heard. Seona lifted her head to the clouds above as she felt the rhythm building in her mind and heart. She brought the bow across the strings of the violin slowly causing it to let out a soft cry that echoed across the park. The runabout's exterior communication systems amplified the music while adding back up sounds to her music. She didn't rush the tempo of the song as she allowed the wind and rain to carry her music. Slowly as the music built, her body started to sway and move with each new sound that the violin made.

Her body might have been here on Terra Nova, but her mind was lost in memory. Beyond her mind she could see the snowcapped mountains of her childhood home. The sounds of the rain melded with those of a nearby river as her mind created the illusion of home. In her mind, she became lost in that illusion of the past. In her heart and in the present she played to the fullest of her very soul allowed. The violin's music was nearly intoxicating as its notes soared over the sounds of the rainfall. Seona moved around in her dance while she played, kicking up the water on the ground. The water from the rain flung from her body as she spun around. She moved with all the grace of a professional dancer as her song was on par with a major performance.

On the wind the sound of the violin called out for hope as the Susquehanna played its part in the song. Maura watched her tricorder as the numbers around them slowly rose. Across the air, everyone heard the promise of a new day within Seona's song. Seona' just kept her eyes closed as she continued to play while moving further and further away from the safety of the runabout. There was no fear in her heart as she approached to less then a few meters from the onlookers. Her song reached behind their walls and invaded the shadows that they were hiding in. The music reached out to them and touched their hearts. Before them, Seona played without care for her own safety or what harm they might intend her. Before them, they could easily see that this lone woman was no invader.

It didn't take long for a few locals to come out of hiding to see with their own eyes the source of such lovely music. In groups of two and three more locals started to show themselves as Seona continued to play. Children with their parents close behind lead the wave of locals coming from their hiding place. Seona continued to dance almost like a ballerina with her violin on her shoulder and her bow easing each note from it. She danced as the rain washed down on her never letting the joy in her heart slip. That passion could be felt in her music as she drifted from one point to another like a swan gliding over a lake. She moved with no care, no fear. For Seona, there was only hope and promise. Soaked and feet covered in mud, Seona didn't stop playing till her song was over.

Maura blinked her eyes in disbelief, "Son of a bitch, it worked."

As Seona brought the last movement of her bow to a close, one of the locals moved up slowly to her. Seona slowly lowered the violin as she watched the man. She made no movements to startle him or the others. He stopped about two meters from her and she made no attempt to close the distance. For a moment the pair remained silent as she allowed him to scan her soaked body with his eyes.

"You are no Starfleet" he finally ask.

She shook her head as she replied, "No, sir. We are not."

He nodded, "Starbase 74 sent out a warning about you and your stolen runabout. They said you are very dangerous."

She nodded her head as the rain continued to rain down on them, "Its true" she said truthfully. "I stoled that runabout and they do see us as a very dangerous threat" she explained and allowed her voice echo the truth of her heart. "But we mean you and your people no harm. We need to make repairs and gather some things before moving on." Seona looked around, she could feel their suffering. "What can we do to help you?"

The question clearly surprised the man and nearly knocked him off guard. However he recovered and narrowed his eyes, "you mean, what can you do to buy our silence."

Seona shook her head, "No, that's not what I mean" she said truthfully. "Put a call to Starfleet and let them know that we are here. Within hours starships will be in orbit and we will most likely be captured or killed. Then they will leave your people in peace." Seona said calmly. She took a moment before continuing. Her eyes shifted over each face around her. "Call them, if you must or if you already have. This doesn't matter to me. You will do what is best for your people and I wont fault you for that. But your people are in need. So I ask again, what can we do to help?"

Maura, listening to the conversation shook her head, 'great' she thought. 'just go ahead Seona and temp them to rat us out.' Maura said nothing as she stood there watching the conversation. Her hand slipped to the handle of the her knife in the small of her back. Just cause they were near defenseless didn't mean they couldn't go down fighting.

He looked at her with the strangest of looks. He has dealt with fugitives seeking refuge before. For some reason, Terra Nova seemed to attract all kinds of fugitives from the law. Terra Nova had always had a loose style of government making it a place where many thought they could hide. But this pair was different. For some reason, he didn't have the same sense of warning as with others. He nodded as he didn't detect any lies from her. So he choose to be truthful with her. "Even if we wanted to, we can't. Yesterday, we got raided by pirates. They hit us so fast we couldn't even call for help. They took all of our supplies as well as our subspace communication uplink. We are not expecting our next relief ship for weeks. We simply don't have the supplies to make it that long. We are hoping a ship will come by before then."

Seona nodded. "Do you mind if we help" she asked softly as she shifted her feet in the mud. As much as she loved travel, she hated space travel. This had been the first time in months that she could actually feel mother earth beneath her feet.

He looked in her eyes. Seona could see the doubt in his eyes, "what do you want from us in return?"

She smiled softly as she shook her head, "Nothing really. Regardless of what you say, we will do what we can for you and your people. That is, if you don't mind. We would like to stay for a day to make some repairs. With your permission. If you don't mind, we could us some help. When Starfleet arrives, tell them we were here and held you hostage or whatever you wish. However if you desire us to leave, we will. But we would still like to help. Just tell us what you need."

"You know, I could have my people rush you and your friend over there" he pointed out. "Then I could use your own ship to call for help. And collect what ever reward there is on your head."

She knew he couldn't do that. She had already encoded the command controls of the runabout. It was what had protected them from Admiral Tate's attempt to take over their computer. But there was something else to his voice. She knew that he wouldn't do that. Once more, she couldn't explain it, but she could feel that he was a good man at his heart. "You could order such an attack on us, Sir. While I am unarmed, you will find that my sister would put up a struggle. You could possibly capture us. But I don't think you are that kind of man. You know the difference between justice and what's right. We have not wronged you or your people. Nor do we intend to."

He nodded, "One day" he asked softly.

She nodded, "And if you can spare it, some help. It will help us get out of here faster."

He nodded as he stepped forward and reached out with his hand, "Fine, one day. No more."

"Deal," she said as she smiled and took his hand and shook it. On worlds like this, a hand shake was more than enough to seal a deal. Seona smiled as the two locked their eyes. He reminded her of a man that was like a father to her when she was younger. She motioned for him to follow, "My name is Seona and over there is my older sister Maura." Seona said as she motioned over to Maura who still remained in the shuttle.

He looked at Maura, "My name is Ricard Belluomi. After the Dominion attacked our world, I was the one that everyone looked to, to rebuild. So I guess I speak for the people of this world. And this is the first time I have ever seen Starfleet Marine without a weapon." He commented as he pointed out Maura's lack of a weapon.

Maura gave a half smile with a nod. "Never allow what you see to confuse the situation" Maura said as she let go of the knife's handle. She moved to allow her whole body to be seen.

Ricard laughed, "aye, I'm sure." He turned as he motioned that it was all clear. Soon the park was filled with people. "We have a few thousand here and another hundred thousand scattered beyond what remains of the city. We plan to rebuild."

Seona nodded as she looked around. "Maura, can you take a few of them to the replicator and replicate as much medicine and food rations as we can. Bleed our deuterium dry if you have to."

Maura didn't like the idea of using up their reserves but she trusted her sister. With a motion a few locals started to move forward towards the runabout. Ricard also motioned for a few to come forward towards them. "We have a couple of technicians that can help with your repairs. Their not like Starfleet but their still pretty good."

Seona nodded, "thank you for your kindness" she said as she lowered her head in respect. Then turning back to Maura, Seona could see the disapproval on Maura's face. She knew that Maura hated to be put in a tactically disadvantaged situation. Bleeding the runabout's Deuterium reserves dry like this was dangerous. With their Deuterium low like that, if they ran in to even a Starfleet shuttle they could easily be over powered and captured. Speed was their only advantage and now Seona knew that she was putting that at risk. "Maura, please trust me."

Maura rolled her eyes as she motioned for the colonist to follow her in to the runabout. "You know sis, Robin Hood was a ENGLISH Story!" she said with her thick Scottish accent. With that, she vanished in to the runabout as the few colonist followed her in to the runabout.

Seona laughed as she turned to Ricard, "Don't mind my sister. So much of this has been hard on her." she shifted her eyes back to the runabout, "I would have never made it this far without her." Seona said softly with almost a tear in her eye. She knew that there was far more truth to that statement than anyone would ever dream. But she could never admit any of it. Nor could she ever tell Maura the truth of her plan.

---

Stardate: 53832.8
Just outside of the system: UIH-0351
USS Thunderchild, NCC-63549
Captain Jackson Campbell, Commanding

Hours before arrival, great relief came to Captain Campbell when he contacted Starfleet Command. Starfleet Command notified him that they had already been made aware of the leak of a vital command communication protocol by Admiral Tate. Because of this news, the protocol was quickly and silently removed from circulation days before it was due to go active. The leak revealed an extremely serious threat to Starfleet communication security. They had already begun a separate investigation as to where the leak might have originated from. For Captain Campbell, the report of the leak was more important than the actually discovery of itself.

Upon arrival to UIH-0351, the USS Thunderchild found the Repulse barely under her own power. While the ship didn't appear to have suffered much damage during her short but intense battle with the fugitive runabout, the damage to its computer systems were extensive. The other two ships of the Admiral's group had taken up positions on the far sides of the system. This was done to ensure that they cut off any chances of escape for the Susquehanna. Long range scans in to the system were nearly all but useless, as they could not penetrate the natural inversion field of the system. On the outskirts of the system, Admiral Tate had formed up his shuttles to create a network of sensor stations to lock down the parameter of the system. There were a handful of reports that spotted warp signatures of the Susquehanna within the system. However when his shuttles responded the runabout was long gone.

The transporter room of the Thunderchild was filled with its senior staff. It was not every day that a Vice Admiral was coming aboard. Even more rare was coming to the aid of an Admiral who's ship had just been crippled. Because of the situation, it would normally be all hands on deck in their dress uniforms. Captain Campbell knew his friend better than that. Instead of summoning his crew to their parade posts, he summoned his command staff and a select few officers to the transporter room. He made sure that everyone was in their dress uniform though. Admiral Tate was still a man of traditions and believed heavily in military respects and honors.

Crewman Travert turned his head to Captain Campbell. "Sir, the Repulse is signaling that they are ready to beam the Admiral and his staff over." With a nod from the captain, Crewman Travert activated the transporters and beamed the Admiral and his staff aboard.

Without moving Admiral Tate smiled to his old friend, "Permission to come aboard" he said looking to Captain Campbell.

Captain Campbell nodded, "Permission granted, Admiral."

With that Admiral Tate stepped off of the pad and motioned to his five companions. "Allow me to introduce," he said motioning to a tall human male that Captain Campbell knew well, "Captain Phillips, my Adjutant." Captain Phillips, Captain Campbell and Admiral Tate went back years and were often referred to as the three musketeers. Captain Phillips stepped off the pad as he nodded. He took a few short steps and stood by the wall.

Shifting his hand over, Admiral Tate directed the attention to a Vulcan Captain, "this is Captain Vakath, commander of the Repulse." Like Captain Phillips, Captain Vakath stepped from the pad and took his place next to Captain Phillips. "Those pair" Admiral Tate said directing his hand at a male and female pair of Andorians, "are Commanders Thorta th'Regda and Gevan sh'Faila." The Admiral said with pride, "They are my strategic advisors, fresh from Starfleet's War Collage." As they walked off the platform, Admiral Tate turned to Captain Campbell and joked in a whisper, "If I had listened to them, I don't think I would have needed your help today. This old dog had been taught a bitter lesson yesterday. One I will not soon forget."

He motioned to the last person standing on the transporter platform. A tall male Klingon stood there waiting for his time. "Lastly, we have the honorable Brigadier Kaho. Our Klingon liaison officer from Deep Space Nine." Admiral said as the Klingon stepped off the platform. Admiral Tate added to Captain Campbell, "Thanks to Kaho, we will have three Birds of Prey here by morning to help corner the Susquehanna. But for now, your ship, Captain," Admiral Tate said as he rested his hand on Captain Campbell's shoulder, "is the single most important ship in Starfleet."

With that Admiral Tate turned and smiled, "Computer, Let the record to show, I am transferring my flag to the USS Thunderchild, NCC-63549." With that the Computer acknowledged that the Admiral was now commanding the 4th Fleet from the USS Thunderchild.