Moving Forward

Posted on Mon Dec 23rd, 2024 @ 5:25pm by Captain David Hawkins & Commander Raiden Kosugi & Lieutenant JG Lialla Troga[Kosugi]

Mission: The Gamma Expanse
Location: USS Gladiator
Timeline: Back Post
2245 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

(OOC I don't know if you already had a name for the planet for where we get into trouble or Hawkins does/ Both, lol anyway lets get this show on the road. Thinking that we can pick up radio chatter that sort of thing )

"Sir I am picking up communications from that planet, I do believe it's name is Thavars" came the announcement from the ensign on shift.

Raiden leaned forward in the command chair, having taken another shift, not feeling the desire to get any sleep. "Send it to the ready room please." rising up from the chair and making his way to the Captain's ready room.

Tapping his commbadge he sent a message to Hawkins. "Captain, sorry to disturb your sleep, please meet me in your Ready Room, Kosugi out."

Hawkins groggily rolled over and tapped his commbadge, his irritation barely masked. "Understood, Commander. On my way," he replied, his voice carrying a faint edge of sarcasm.

As he entered the bridge, he shot Raiden a tired but pointed look. "Thavars, huh? Well, isn't that just perfect. I guess sleep is overrated anyway," he remarked dryly, settling into his chair. "Let's hear what this planet has to say for itself."

He gestured to Raiden, signaling him to play the communication, his expression a mix of weariness and forced patience.

It was noticeable to Raiden as to the state of Hawkins body language. He didn't say a word though, not as of yet. He instead clicked on the communications hearing several news briefs of a war, then music, also a message

"You are not alone, we are not alone, though we are lost we can be found, if we pay heed to the stars above." a pause then "paid by the Society of Stargazers of Thavars. If interested please call this number." a set of numbers being read.

"Perhaps that may not be important or it can be." Raiden turning his gaze towards Hawkins. "There have been incidents of people from Star Fleet having gotten lost or separated hiding messages in some form of communication."

Raiden was interrupted by a message from the bridge, "Sorry sirs, we've got an distress call from a runabout, its transponder code is that of StarFleet. Sending it to you now."

The communicator crackled to life, "Mayday Mayday, this is the USS Lotus, is anyone out there? We need help, I am Lieutenant Troga. Please someone answer. "

Hawkins' irritation shifted to sharp focus as he listened to the series of messages. He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as the distress call from the USS Lotus came through.

"Great. Just what we needed," Hawkins muttered, his tone still carrying that undercurrent of sarcasm. But there was no mistaking the seriousness in his eyes as he considered the situation. He glanced at Raiden, his earlier fatigue pushed aside by the urgency of the moment.

"We can’t ignore that distress call. Whether or not this 'Society of Stargazers' is significant, we’ll need to follow up on it after we deal with the more immediate problem. The Lotus is our priority. If there’s a chance we can help them, we have to take it."

He stood, his demeanor all business now. "Get us on course to that runabout. Are we able make contact with the runabout?"

"Setting course Sir." came the reply, "USS Lotus, can you read us, this is the USS Gladiator." there was silence as the crew waited for an answer then the hail was repeated, "USS Lotus, this is the USS Gladiator, please respond."

A little bit of static then an answer. "Uh sorry, yes I read you. Thank goodness! " she gasped out then a fit of coughing can be heard from the woman as well as the sound of something electrical sparking.

Raiden had followed after Hawkins onto the bridge, a worried expression in his eyes.

"Sir, we have picked up the Lotus!" the viewscreen showing a runabout with substantial damage, just drifting in space.

"You know it could be a trap." Raiden intoned to Hawkins quietly, "They've not turned on their viewscreen, to reveal who they are."


David's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene on the viewscreen—the damaged runabout drifting helplessly. He considered Raiden's words carefully. The possibility of a trap was real, but so was the responsibility to respond to a genuine distress call.

"I know it could be a trap," Hawkins said, his voice low but firm. "But we can’t ignore them either." He glanced back at Raiden. "We don’t leave people behind. Not on my watch."

Turning to the tactical officer, he gave a clear order. "Raise shields, but keep weapons at standby. I want a full scan of that runabout—life signs, energy signatures, anything that might give us a clearer picture."

He then addressed the communications officer. "Continue hailing them. Keep that line open, but don’t let your guard down." His gaze shifted to the screen as he added, "And let's try to get visual confirmation of the crew on that ship. If there’s a trap waiting, we’ll see it coming."

Turning back to Raiden, Hawkins’ tone softened slightly. "We proceed with caution, but we help them if we can."

"I agree." Raiden nodding.

"Yes sir" came the response of the communications officer as well as the Tactical officer.

A crackle then an image appears that of a woman dressed in blue with a cut across her cheek, her dark hair awry "H-hello? Can you hear me and see me?" moving her fingers frantically along the console.

Hawkins watched the flickering image of the woman on the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly as he assessed the situation. The cut on her cheek and the frazzled look of her uniform were concerning, but his focus was unwavering.

"Yes, Lieutenant, we can hear and see you," Hawkins replied, his voice calm but firm. "This is Captain David Hawkins of the USS Gladiator. What's your status?"

He kept his eyes locked on the screen, silently urging his crew to be ready for anything. Raiden, standing nearby, watched the situation unfold with similar intensity. Hawkins knew they couldn’t afford to be careless, but they also couldn’t leave someone in distress.

"Stay sharp," he muttered to Raiden, his tone serious. "We don’t know what we’re walking into yet."

"Oh good, you can hear me." a rather relieved expression in her eyes. "Hawkins, you say? I wonder if you are related to the unconcious man I have here with me." she looked back towards the rear of her small craft, "Doctor how is he doing?"

Lt. Commander Jordan Spencer, standing at a nearby console with a medical tricorder in hand, scanned the unconscious man as he addressed the Lieutenant.

"His vitals are stable for now," Spencer reported, his voice clear but focused. "He's suffered trauma, possibly a concussion, but no immediate life-threatening injuries. We’ll need to get him to a medbay for a more thorough evaluation, but for now, he’s holding on."

"Captain Hawkins, didn't expect to hear from you, sir."

"Likewise," David responded, he looked over at Raiden. "Commander, thoughts?"

His eyes were narrowed as he listenend to the conversation, hearing the plea of the woman in blue, his head tilted slightly when he heard that the doctor speak with some familiarity of Hawkins. Turning to David, Raiden spoke softly, "Can't leave them out there, bring them in. Questions can be answered once they are safe."

A bump a little bit of a jarring movement, Lieutenant Troga gave out a gasp. "If you would, may we please go into the shuttlebay? I'd like to get those of us here to some sort of safety."

Hawkins gave a firm nod, his decision made. "Agreed, Commander. Lieutenant, bring them in." He motioned toward the helm. "Prepare for docking. As soon as they're aboard, get them to sickbay."

Turning to the comm, he added, "Spencer, be ready. Once we’ve docked, I want a full medical assessment."



USS Gladiator – Sickbay

The sickbay doors slid open with a soft whoosh as Hawkins and Raiden stepped into the brightly lit sickbay, his eyes quickly scanning the room. The personnel from the runabout had already been beamed directly to the medical bay, and the unconscious man was now lying on one of the biobeds, surrounded by the ship's medical staff.

Spencer was already working over the man, his tricorder whirring as he conducted a thorough scan. The rest of the Gladiator’s medical team moved with quiet efficiency, prepping equipment and running diagnostics. Hawkins' gaze shifted from the patient to Lieutenant Troga, who stood nearby, clearly exhausted but alert.

As Hawkins and Raiden approached, Spencer looked up from his readings. "Vitals are stable for now," he reported calmly. "He’s sustained head trauma, likely a concussion, but no immediate life-threatening injuries. We’ll need to run a full diagnostic scan to rule out any internal damage, but he’s holding on."

Hawkins gave a brief nod, acknowledging the update. He turned his attention to Troga, his expression firm but measured. "Lieutenant, you're safe now, but we need answers. Who are you, and what happened out there?"

"Myself, Lieutenant Hawkins and Dr. Spencer, we had gone to one of the planets to see about getting needed supplies for the USS Mercury, which had sadly gotten into a bit of a scuffle with some unknown ships. We were somewhat successful in setting up for supplies, when we had to leave the planet rather quickly. Don't know what set off some of the people we were negotiating with, but we had to leave. We managed to get off the planet, we were pursued, the Lotus took a few hits, Lieutenant Hawkins was able to give us a boost, enough to get away from our pursuers, before he fell unconscious. It also knocked out our impulse as well. I feel rather lucky that your ship had heard our distress call." Troga pausing to take a breath.

Hawkins listened intently as Troga recounted the events, his expression unreadable, though his eyes held a keen edge of focus. He glanced briefly at Spencer, who was still tending to the unconscious Lieutenant Hawkins, then back to Troga, absorbing each detail.

“So, the Mercury is still out there,” he murmured, his tone carefully measured. “And there’s no telling who those attackers were or if they’re still hunting her. We’ll have to act quickly to track her down.”

" I agree with you on that, getting her towed to safety lets get this done." Raiden looking back towards Lialla.

The man on the bio bed started to stir, giving out a groan, his eyes still closed, murmuring "I've got to get the impulse engines running again, can't let us die... Got to get back to the Mercury"

Hawkins stood silent for a moment, his jaw tightening at Raiden's words as he processed the situation. His gaze briefly flicked to the unconscious man on the biobed as he stirred and muttered, a faint grimace crossing Hawkins’ face.

“Agreed,” Hawkins said finally, his tone resolute but laced with urgency. “The Mercury is still in danger, and every second counts. We need to act now to get her—and her crew—out of harm's way. Raiden, coordinate with the bridge to deploy a long-range scan. If the attackers are still out there, I want to know their exact position before we move in.”

He stepped closer to the biobed, his expression softening slightly as he heard the man’s frantic murmuring. Leaning in, he spoke calmly but firmly, his voice cutting through the haze of the man’s disoriented state.

“You’re safe now,” Hawkins said, his tone steady. “You’re on the Gladiator, and we’re going to get you and your ship back. Rest easy—we’ll handle it from here.”

Straightening, he turned his attention back to Raiden and Lialla. “Gather any intel we have from their logs and try to piece together where the Mercury might have drifted. Dr. Spencer,” he added, glancing at the doctor, “keep me updated on his condition. If he has anything useful to share once he’s stable, I need to hear it.”

Raiden gave a nod, "Will do so, Captain." for the moment he was ignoring Lieutenant Troga. One more look at the man upon the bio bed.

Lialla noting that Raiden was avoiding looking at her hid a smile and nodded in agreement "I will help out gathering the intell. For now, we need some quarters."

Hawkins watched Raiden and Lialla closely, his sharp gaze missing nothing. There was a momentary pause, the hum of the ship’s systems filling the silence as he measured his response.

“Good,” Hawkins finally said, his tone clipped but approving. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight slightly, his eyes narrowing on Raiden. “Get the intel, coordinate with Lieutenant Troga, and make it quick. The longer we’re in the dark, the more dangerous this becomes. And Raiden?” He let the word hang in the air for a second. “Don’t let personal distractions get in the way of the mission.”

He turned to Lialla, his expression softening just enough to be polite. “I’ll have Ops assign quarters for you and your team. ”

“Keep me updated,” he added curtly, then stepped through the doors, leaving the hum of the medical bay behind as he disappeared into the corridor.