Joint Duty Log|XO&CINT;|Ltcmdr. Dhej & Ltcmdr. Rinehart|"Rescue" Part 1

Posted on 241410.18 @ 1:24am by Commander Tierney Rinehart

=/\=Bridge=/\=
Karim yawned very slightly as he flipped to the next screen on the padd he was reading. He'd spent a lot of time on the bridge lately, having decided he wanted to learn more about the ship's systems then he'd been able to in the period since he'd been XO. His reading was interrupted, when the officer at OPS said "Sir, I'm receiving a very very faint distress call. I normally wouldn't have noticed it, but as per your orders I was upgrading some of the programming on our communications procedures." Springing to his feet, he dropped his padd on the command chair and raced around to the station. Struggling to retain his composure he said "What does the message say? Can you make out anything in particular?" After a moment of silence the man replied "It appears to say 'girls stick together' in some sort of basic code. Does that make any sense?" Nodding, Karim thought for a moment and replied "I think so. Work on it, try to get a more accurate reading and a location."

---

Being stabilized had been a true pain in the ass. Vokar had demanded nothing less than excellence of his team as they did what they could to try and figure out how to fix the ailing Starling. The fact she wasn't human, or at least entirely so, hadn't troubled him beyond what was needed to figure out her strange physiology. Fabla and the rest had taken wing shortly after Tierney had gotten back on her feet. She'd freed them, told them to run in order to keep them from being held accountable for running aground with the Pendragon. This would be her own cross the bear with the war waging on. That all being said, a still ailing Starling had been set a drift in an escape pod and the beacon with it's bizarre message had been her last hope. The risk of being found by Fed First was always there, but slim.

Karim pored over readings on an extra screen in the ops area, probably annoying the officer there, but not caring. His head whipped up when he heard the officer say "Sir, I've got a reading, very weak, about 2 parsecs from here at warp 6." Nodding, and taking a breath to calm himself he said "Good work. Can you get a message to the source?" The man nodded and said "I can get something, but it will have to be short." Thinking for a moment he said "Send the following 'be strong, I'm coming, you owe me a coffee'." The officer looked at him strangely, and was about to say something when Karim said "You have your orders. Send the message." Tapping his combadge as the man worked to carry out his orders, Karim tapped his combadge and said "Dhej to Rhodes. A .. friend of ours has contacted us asking for help. I will take a runabout and attempt to find them. I'll be very careful. I'll explain more when I can. Please understand. Dhej out." Calling over his shoulder he said "Lieutenant, send the coordinates to Runabout Hawking and then take the con." Running, he made his way to the turbolift.

'be strong, I'm coming, you owe me coffee' is what hope had read. Karim. She knew instantly who would have said such a thing, and she knew more so that the Trill wouldn't fail. With Fabla and the security of the Figaro long gone, the first officer of the Enterprise was all she had left of a very short list of friends and one she wouldn't alienate. She'd nodded when she read that, her head tiredly wobbling a couple times before she rested it back again and allowed her eyes to close. It wouldn't be long now, safety was closing in as fast as it possibly could.

=/\=Shuttlebay 1=/\=
Karim rushed past one officer who was trying to offer to pilot the runabout for him. As he rushed up the gangway, he said "Prepare for immediate departure." The woman nodded and said "We were already doing some tests on the runabout sir, she's ready to go, though I'd recommend taking the time to go through the normal start-up checklist." Shaking his head as he called up the coordinates OPS had sent him he said "I'll take your recommendation under advisement." Pressing the control to close the hatch, he quickly began starting up the vessel. Taking a moment to calm himself, he quickly sent a private encoded message to Rhodes, explaining what he was planning to do. The start-up procedure complete, he edged the runabout out of the ship and set it to warp six. As the vessel leaped to warp, he sent another short message to the coordinates 'how's the weather? did you bring an umbrella?'. He hoped she would understand his veiled attempt at finding out her current condition.

Another beep caught her attention, forcing Tierney to lift her head again to study the text. It took several attempts and the rubbing of her eyes to force herself to be able to focus long enough to understand what was being said and moments longer to be able to reply; 'raining cats and dogs, forgot the umbrella.' The moment it sent, her shaking fingers dropped back into her lap.

Feeling concern catch him as he received her response, he sighed, and fought the impulse to go faster. He didn't want to attract any undue attention. Soon, but not soon enough his concentration was drawn away from the medkit he was checking. Rushing back to the pilot's chair, he thumbed the notification and smiled. The automatic sensor sweep he'd programmed had picked up something. He said "Computer, put it on the main display screen." Seconds later the image of a small escape pod appeared. Taking a moment to breathe, he said "Scan the pod. Can you determine the identity of the being inside." After what felt like an hour, but was only a moment the computer replied "Unable to make a positive identification, but readings are consistent with those of Lieutenant Commander Tierney Rinehart." Smiling widely, but worried that the computer couldn't get a positive id, he said "Transport the being to he aft compartment biobed immediately!" Setting the runabout on autopilot, he ran towards the aft compartment.

What felt like an eternity later, Tierney heard the familiar hum and felt the familiar prickle of a transporter beam envelope her in its embracing light. Seconds later, the overhead lights of a runabout's medical compartment seared down upon her, forcing her to shield her eyes with her arm. Safety had come, Karim had been true to his word and what had transpired during her attempt to follow Malone's orders would be history. In her report, the Figaro was to have been destroyed, her crew lost, and Vokar never have been seen. It had been part of her agreement with the Vulcan, part of an understanding she'd always have with him. Push come to shove, should she need to disappear, it would be facilitated. For now, however, Tierney would return to the Enterprise.

As the transporter effect faded, Karim ran over to her, medkit in hand. Running the tricorder over her, he said "Oh thank the creator you're ok! You are ok aren't you Tierney?"

"I'll live." The redhead replied in a whisper, tilting her head slightly to be able to look at Karim. She couldn't help but offer him a tired smile and the touch of her hand as he ran a tricorder over her. "Thank you."

Nodding, he noted that she was dehydrated and needed a lot of rest. Loading a hypo and pressing it to her neck, he said "That's what friends do." Pausing, he added "Should I ask how you got yourself stuck in an escape pod in the middle of nowhere?"

Hey eyes closed as the hypo stung against her neck and brought with it a small sense of relief. The throbbing in her head slowly began to subside. "The Figaro is gone." Tierney rasped in reply, it wasn't a lie. She couldn't lie to him.

Sighing, as he draped a blanket over her and dragged a stool over to her beside, he said "Gone? And you can't tell me any more then that can you?" He knew she was exhausted, but he was worried about her, and what had happened to her.

The Starling's lips pursed slightly as her head shook. The blanket's weighted warmth offered her a budding sense of comfort she hadn't felt in a good long while, a welcomed reprieve from the worry and the drama that had been associated with the accidental meet up with the predatory Pendragon. "I can tell you that we won't be seeing Fabla or the others again. That it was uncomfortable and frightening. But I can also tell you that the Enterprise is safe."

Placing a hand on hers, he replied "Ok, I understand I won't push. Mark may, but I won't." Looking away from her, he sighed and wiped at a tear with his free hand. Quietly he said "I was so worried about you. I knew you had left the ship for some reason, but when we didn't hear from you, I was concerned you were in trouble."

Tierney's hand slowly flipped to be able to lace her fingers with the Trill's. "I'll file an official report." She nodded gently, "You know I take my orders from someone higher than Mark, you've known that for a long time." The woman admonished gently, "but I wouldn't ever just go away without saying goodbye, Karim. I promise you that."

Nodding, and still not able to look at her, he said "I know that Tierney, but it still hurt. I feel like you're the sister I always wanted as a little girl, I mean boy. When I saw your distress call I immediately thought the worst."

"It would have to be the worst to keep me form coming home." She replied, weakly squeezing his hand, "But Karim? It's going to be ok... All of it." Tierney stifled a heavy yawn. It felt as if someone had taped pennies to her eyelids.

Smiling, Karim said "Ok, I'll accept that. Now you need to get some sleep. Doctor's orders, or former doctors..." He was interrupted by the computer saying "Distress call received." Looking at her strangely, he said "Computer, what is the source of the distress call?" After a moment it replied "Distress call is originating from a planet 2 parsecs from present location." Nodding, he said "Set a course to the planet, warp 6." "Acknowledged" the computer replied. Looking back at Tierney he said "Looks like your sleep will have to wait, are you up to man sensors for me?"

"I can do my best." She nodded, her body screaming for down time. Down time, however, would have to wait.

"Great" he replied and carefully helped her to her feet. Slowly they began walking towards the main compartment.

=/\=End Log=/\=

Lieutenant Commander Karim Dhej
Executive Officer
USS Enterprise 1701-F

Lieutenant Commander Tierney Rinehart
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Enterprise 1701-F