07-19-2024, 06:05 PM
Jenny's eyes narrowed as the Cardassian, in true Cardassian style, turned what could have been a perfectly pleasant discussion between two ship commanders into a personal attack. Though her anger bubbled below the surface, well aware of her trial and conviction in-absentia for piracy by the Cardassian Central Command, but she somehow managed to keep it in check as the swarthy Gul continued his vitriolic diatribe. One eyebrow rose, however, as the Gul was silenced by a trim and not-unattractive Cardassian woman in civilian clothes. The two conversed off-screen for a moment before Hanar closed the channel and his ship began to move away.
"What a charming individual..."
Though she was now "off the hook" with the Cardassian ship, she reminded herself that she would have to tread very carefully, at least until the ship passed beyond sensor range. With a deep breath that exhaled as a sigh, part relief that they'd managed to avoid a firefight, part frustration that such a confrontation had happened in the first place.
"T'Lari, get me everything Intelligence has on Gul Hanar. Run that woman's face through facial recognition, too; I think she told Hanar to knock it off, and Cardassian Guls don't listen to just anyone."
Before she had time to settle down, however, the voice of her new Chief Science Officer carried across the Bridge. She'd learned he was a man of few words, probably due to his new-ness to the crew, but when he spoke he was generally worth listening to.
“Captain, our probe is picking up a distress signal from an old United Earth vessel. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the Talarians, but it’s worth investigating. The technology on board would be antique. We’d better get there before your smuggler friend finds it.”
Great, first Cardassian shadows now a distress call. Who said this would be a simple survey mission?
Jenny considered Qi's words for a moment, especially her comments about Heathridge. The temptation to correct his choice of words was dampened by the ramifications of the discovery; if it was a United Earth vessel, it was two centuries out of date at least, but it was also a distress call that she was mandated by Starfleet regulation and interstellar law to respond to. The fact it was on the wrong side of a border, in space that was contested by a government hostile to the Federation, were inconsequential.
This isn't something we can ignore. Not only do we have a duty to respond, it's our moral responsibility and this time, nobody is getting a choice in the matter.
Decision made in Jenny's mind, she knew that Jensen and certain other conservatives in her crew might disagree, but this was not Parhelia. The legality of what she had done there had not depended on whether or not Parhelia was Cardassian space, as the Federation had not recognised the Cardassian occupation as legal, but whether she had disobeyed lawful orders. This time, she was morally and legally mandated to investigate so long as she didn't put her crew at risk, and interstellar law would agree with her decision for crossing a border of a Federation ally, even if that ally was under military occupation.
Not that the Cardassians will see it that way, but since when have they obeyed interstellar law when it didn't suit them?
"Mister Qi, I want a range and bearing on that distress call. Theresa, T'Lari, I want you ready for a possible border crossing; it'll piss the Cardassians off, but we should be able to outrun them; we'll be weapons-safe unless they fire on us, but I want their sensors and communications scrambled if necessary."
Crossing the border was going to require speed, which meant they were going to have to open the taps; the Yeager hadn't been properly tested at full power, and effecting a rescue in hostile territory wasn't something they could afford to dawdle on. They were going to need their best people on-deck, monitoring the systems with eagle-eyes, and more than a few hopes and prayers that the entire ship didn't decide to spread itself over a few light years on a whim.
"Bridge to Hydish. Once you've got your glitch locked down, I want you to start prepping the engines for a full-power sprint. Bring the Slipstream online as well."
Jenny figured it would take Hydish a few minutes to get things set up, which was all the time she was prepared to give Heathridge to prove his innocence. If Jensen couldn't prove he wasn't smuggling contraband by the time the Yeager was ready to depart, she'd officially impound the ship and put a prize crew aboard her; Heathridge would have to sort the rest out with the admiralty courts when he and his ship were delivered to the nearest starbase.
"Yeager to Jensen: Expedite your search, we have a change of mission. If you cannot complete your search, you will detain Captain Heathridge and pilot the Damsel to Starbase 214."
"What a charming individual..."
Though she was now "off the hook" with the Cardassian ship, she reminded herself that she would have to tread very carefully, at least until the ship passed beyond sensor range. With a deep breath that exhaled as a sigh, part relief that they'd managed to avoid a firefight, part frustration that such a confrontation had happened in the first place.
"T'Lari, get me everything Intelligence has on Gul Hanar. Run that woman's face through facial recognition, too; I think she told Hanar to knock it off, and Cardassian Guls don't listen to just anyone."
Before she had time to settle down, however, the voice of her new Chief Science Officer carried across the Bridge. She'd learned he was a man of few words, probably due to his new-ness to the crew, but when he spoke he was generally worth listening to.
“Captain, our probe is picking up a distress signal from an old United Earth vessel. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the Talarians, but it’s worth investigating. The technology on board would be antique. We’d better get there before your smuggler friend finds it.”
Great, first Cardassian shadows now a distress call. Who said this would be a simple survey mission?
Jenny considered Qi's words for a moment, especially her comments about Heathridge. The temptation to correct his choice of words was dampened by the ramifications of the discovery; if it was a United Earth vessel, it was two centuries out of date at least, but it was also a distress call that she was mandated by Starfleet regulation and interstellar law to respond to. The fact it was on the wrong side of a border, in space that was contested by a government hostile to the Federation, were inconsequential.
This isn't something we can ignore. Not only do we have a duty to respond, it's our moral responsibility and this time, nobody is getting a choice in the matter.
Decision made in Jenny's mind, she knew that Jensen and certain other conservatives in her crew might disagree, but this was not Parhelia. The legality of what she had done there had not depended on whether or not Parhelia was Cardassian space, as the Federation had not recognised the Cardassian occupation as legal, but whether she had disobeyed lawful orders. This time, she was morally and legally mandated to investigate so long as she didn't put her crew at risk, and interstellar law would agree with her decision for crossing a border of a Federation ally, even if that ally was under military occupation.
Not that the Cardassians will see it that way, but since when have they obeyed interstellar law when it didn't suit them?
"Mister Qi, I want a range and bearing on that distress call. Theresa, T'Lari, I want you ready for a possible border crossing; it'll piss the Cardassians off, but we should be able to outrun them; we'll be weapons-safe unless they fire on us, but I want their sensors and communications scrambled if necessary."
Crossing the border was going to require speed, which meant they were going to have to open the taps; the Yeager hadn't been properly tested at full power, and effecting a rescue in hostile territory wasn't something they could afford to dawdle on. They were going to need their best people on-deck, monitoring the systems with eagle-eyes, and more than a few hopes and prayers that the entire ship didn't decide to spread itself over a few light years on a whim.
"Bridge to Hydish. Once you've got your glitch locked down, I want you to start prepping the engines for a full-power sprint. Bring the Slipstream online as well."
Jenny figured it would take Hydish a few minutes to get things set up, which was all the time she was prepared to give Heathridge to prove his innocence. If Jensen couldn't prove he wasn't smuggling contraband by the time the Yeager was ready to depart, she'd officially impound the ship and put a prize crew aboard her; Heathridge would have to sort the rest out with the admiralty courts when he and his ship were delivered to the nearest starbase.
"Yeager to Jensen: Expedite your search, we have a change of mission. If you cannot complete your search, you will detain Captain Heathridge and pilot the Damsel to Starbase 214."