#19 Almost There and Back Again

Posted on Wed Jan 24th, 2024 @ 1:13pm by Major Jackson "JJ" Barnes {Meji} & Lieutenant Alona Tal "Centurion" {Meji} & Warrant Officer Shannon Money {Meji}

Mission: Hijacked
Location: Viper starfighter
Timeline: current

ON:

Sitting on her personal runabout, her pilot's seat turned to angle towards the co-pilot seat with feet up and crossed at the abkles, the somewhat lone occupant continued to observe the traffic in the area. Hidden near to an ionic micro-nebula, cloak activated and ship way out of the way for any incoming or outgoing traffic, the woman continued to make notes on her PADD. When finished making notes she would then place the data device back on the console and wait. There were many ways to observe the enemy, but actual observation could never be beat. Her superiors were in full agreement. So, here she sat, using only her viewscreen overlay on her forward viewport to zoom in and gather Intel on every vessel she could see coming and going.

The data was important for various reasons and it kept her superiors in the know about what the Orion Syndicate was still doing in their small kingdom known as the Borderlands. Taking up her thermomug of red leaf tea the woman sipped and continued to look out the window for any further movement not already jotted down. The data was important in that it told those in charge who was arriving, how long they stayed, which ships built by which species, and most importantly; who operated those vessels now. The devices she had placed all throughout the townships and colonies on the surface also fed her data, but at a far slower rate. Her ingenious method of masking comm signals within the constant whine of the Universe had aided greatly in her Intel gathering. No one ever analyzed that whine, for it had been there since time began and was an every day thing which comm specialists tended to ignore so they could dial their signals in and clarify them.

A guttural yet resonant meow came from her right, towards the back of the Bridge of her runabout. Her head turning she looked over casually, a smile forming. "Good morning, Nefri. Come." She patted her lap and the feline came forward and hopped up onto her thighs, the purr immediately starting as she scritched his ears and stroked down along his spine. As was his way, Nefri arched his back in a stretch and then a yawn, before he shook his head and leaned in, angling the top of his head towards her face. The woman bowed her head and rubbed her forehead against his, with Nefri turning his head this way and that to make sure he rubbed her lovingly, distributing his scent upon her. His colors were a combination of the Earth Puma and Bobcat, with his tall pointed ears having tall tufts of fur sticking up from the top of them. He was the size of a bobcat, yet he knew nothing of Earth. Nefri was a Risan caracal, a species favored by the locals for their love, loyalty and beauty. Though Nefri was earth-toned in his colors there were those that had far more exotic coloring. Some had tabby stripes of orange and black, but the orange was a vibrant, almost neon appearance. Even Nefri, with his more traditional coloring, had a glisten, or shimmer, emanating from his fur coat. He was, in her mind, gorgeous. "Are you hungry?"

Getting an affirmative meow even as he turned and hopped back down to the floor, Nefri made sure to stop and look back to make sure she was following. "Yes, yes, I'm coming," She said, lightly giggling. She went into the back section of her runabout and began to create Nefri's feast. After all, a feline the size of a full grown bobcat could put down quite a few vittles in one go.

***

"Major."

Thinking he heard his rank being stated, Jackson Barnes began to return to consciousness. Though he was in a cockpit, cramped by its very nature, these fighters had rather comfortable cockpits. He had fully reclined his seat and let his eyes close while at warp, letting Money know so they could switch out if she too needed a nap. Eyes fluttering, Jackson reached out and used the control to right his seat, now sitting up.

"Major?" There was a lilt of unheard laughter in the query.

Barnes looked over at Money's fighter, the two of them wrapped in the same warp bubble, and gave a thumbs up and nod, leaving his helmet off for now. "I'm up. You got something?"

"Yes, but not good news. Permission to secure from warp, Sir." Even though Barnes was not her superior as far as departmental supervisors went, he was the ranking officer for this particular action. Shannon was nothing if not professional, aside from snide remarks and a sarcastic attitude most days.

"Secure from warp? Have we reached the end of the warp trail?" Jack asked even as he set up a thermomug for a cup of nutrient broth.

"I would say so, Sir," Money answered. "It's gone cold. We are now free flying to nowhere, with no bread crumbs."

Three F-bombs came out quietly from Jack's mouth. "Alright, let's drop to sub-light and see where we are. If we can't re-acquire the trail we'll need to head back."

The two of them went through the process, and soon enough, they had dropped out of warp. They were in the middle of nowhere, no star systems anywhere close by. But, the star charts showed they had been heading for, in a roundabout way, the Borderlands.

Barnes gave a sigh, then sipped some broth. "So, wherever Amandora is going, it's off the beaten path. Maybe they got word on Alesha's youngin'."

"Alesha's kid?" That news gave Shannon a pause, but she quickly recovered. "Not my business, but if that's the case, why all the carnage back at Danvers?"

"That's the trick question, isn't it." Jack sipped more broth as he got back to thinking. "We'll head back. Danvers will need assistance. If nothing else we can use our fighters to blast apart larger chunks of debris so they burn up in the atmosphere."

"Aye, Sir. Turning 180 degrees to head home." Money moved her stick and her fighter rolled over onto its port side as she made a sharp circling turn, with Barnes matching her as any good wing man would. "Angled for Danvers, Major. Setting coordinates."

Jack let her do all that as he finished his broth and disposed of the cup in the replicator refuse hatch. By the time he had done that Shannon's voice came back to him. "Coordinates set, Jack."

"Good," Barnes replied. "Let's head back at warp one, and scan every inch of space between us and them. If we're lucky we may pick up a clue or two that others may discover while going over the data. Engage."

The two fighters got alongside each other again, tying in their computers, and jumped to warp at precisely the same time. Whatever happened, whatever was to come, Jack could not shake a feeling of doom, try as he might to push it away.

OFF: