Stardate: 61105:1802
Title: Never Dull
Author: Executive Officer Abigail Winters
Time: During/after "New Beginnings"
Scene: USS Relentless


~ The Theft ~

It was an unsuspecting engineer that had had their head stuck in a maintenance hatch when the Ferengi had come in that provided the escape the two thieves needed.

After Relly had trapped the three Ferengi males in engineering and then sounded the alert, Godron had rather sheepishly told the other two about the ship’s recent sentient behavior. Scared that they would be discovered by the crew the Ferengi had taken the engineer hostage and spoken to the ship.

"If you don’t let us leave with the device we will kill this crewmember."

Relly was scared about losing the device, but even more scared about causing the death of the young man who had been thoughtfully repairing her only a few minutes earlier. She had opened the doors and watched as they took the device and left using the young man as a shield.

Relly wasn’t the only one scared. The two Ferengi had turned to Godron.

"When they question you, say we were acquaintances from home and we insisted that you give us the full tour of your new ship and that you knew nothing about our plan for the device."

Godron had shifted from foot to foot - he knew the captain would not fall for it. That was until he saw the look in the Ferengi’s face as he raised a phaser and shot him. His last thought was *I hope it is set to stun*.

Relly was surprised that she was still here, even though at this moment the Ferengi were running towards the shuttle bay with the device under their arms.


~ The Chase ~

Abigail reached engineering at the same time as Ensign Adams. With his phaser drawn he entered, Abigail following closely behind. A quick sweep of the area told them that no one was present except the unconscious administrator. The XO knelt beside him.

"Medical emergency main engineering." Abigail tentatively looked for signs of life.

As the doors opened again the security officer aimed his phaser at the newcomer. Kal entered, carrying several boxes of all shapes and sizes.

"What the hell is going on?" The CEO asked as he dumped his cargo.

"I got a message from Relly saying there was a theft in progress and when we got here Godron was unconscious."

Kal moved quickly across the room.

"The device is gone."

Abigail got up from her kneeling position.

"Ok, Relly, if you are still with us, show us which way they went." The CEO and Security Officer exchange skeptical looks about the XO talking into thin air.

A couple of seconds passed. Then the main doors opened and a floor direction indication light lit up. As the three moved towards it another lit up and then another and another until they were pretty sure they were heading to the shuttle bay.


~ The Escape ~

Relly was distraught; she had let the Ferengi go, she had played her part, and yet when they reached the main hangar deck they had needlessly shot the crew, even the young engineer.

She was mad.

When they had ordered the doors to the Relentless open she had stubbornly refused, they could not leave unpunished for the crimes they had committed aboard her.

The blast they had fired at her had not only surprised her, but also she felt something akin to pain. A part of her had been attacked.

As the shuttle left Commander Winters, Kal and Laurence arrived in the hanger bay.

"Where are they?" Abigail asked. "Did they take the device?"

"Abby, what the hell is going on?" The Captain stood behind her.

"The device has just been stolen." They looked at the damaged hole in the Relentless where an environmental force field was now present.

[Captain, the weapons systems have just come online and are trying to target a shuttle that is dodging inand out of civilian vessels] Clayton reported from the bridge.

"It’s Relly. She is mad and hurting." Abigail’s words got her a few weird looks

"Clayton, can you take control of the system." The Captain was pacing (never a good sign).

[No, Sir, I have been locked out] Clayton’s answer was worrying.

"Relly." Abby tried a direct appeal to the ship. "You can’t risk civilian lives."

[The weapons are still trying to lock on] Clayton informed them.

The XO looked at the Captain "You try."

He seemed unsure what to do.

"Relentless, I order you to stand down now." A few seconds passed.

[Weapons disengaged] Clayton informed them with apparent relief in his voice.


~ The Capture ~

Darien Trent, Chief of Security and Spec Ops on Starbase 9, sat by one of the vast observation windows watching the never-ending traffic when his combadge bleeped.

[Commander an explosion has just occurred on the USS Relentless. We have an unidentified shuttle attempting to exit the Starbase]

Darien looked out the window and could see the shuttle recklessly dodging in between bigger spacecraft.

"Get a lock on that shuttle with the tractor beam and have it escorted back in. Disable their drive systems if necessary."

It was never dull when the Relentless was docked.


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Commander Abigail Winters
Executive Officer
USS Relentless
NCC–11966
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