Klingon Bastards

Posted on Mon Apr 27th, 2026 @ 4:16pm by Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe & Captain William Abernathy & Lieutenant Commander Elyse White & Lieutenant Lanna Alexander

1,346 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Forgotten Wounds
Location: Brief Room | USS Arcadia
Timeline: 4 Days after Walker's Death

ON:

Tholos, the new Chief Engineer, sat at the table. Elyse had told the Captain, it seemed, that about 80% of the department wanted a transfer for him included. The Captain wanted to use the Counselor to help everyone cope with Walker's death. He listened without hearing. He doubted that the people in this room could make a difference.

"Engineering is broken," Elyse commented, "a bit of counselling may very well help, but the corridors and department has it's ghosts of memories. We need to find a solution until the end of this mission. Right now, it is dangerous."

Tholos sighed. "Yeah. 80% want to leave. Some are angry, some blame you," He looked up at the Captain, "Sir, but I've been trying to calm everyone. Point out that Walker sacrificed himself to save the last shuttle." He shook his head. "It's not going to be easy; there is a them-against-us mentality."

Elyse sighed and put her face in her hands, "I agree with the captain, though-- hunches without facts... I mean, Lanna, you didn't get the impression Walker would willingly want to do something like this-- he wouldn't go out of his way to, I mean. This was heroism, not suicide, right?"

“They’ve lost someone they all respected, someone we all came to care about,” Lanna added as she battled her own emotions. It was a rollercoaster with her pregnancy hormones as it was, adding Sebastian’s loss to it wasn’t helping; she had come to care about him after his loss, and now he was gone too. She dreaded to think how it was affecting Poe. “As for suicide…No, I refuse to believe that.”

"Heroics and suicide," prefaced Captain Abernathy. Bill looked at them all. "Interchangeable in my book. He took his own life to save the lives of others, but ultimately, he chose his own fate. He didn't do it selfishly, and as Counselor Alexander has stated, she had no reason to believe he went out there with the intention to do so."

Tholos spoke. "There is also another problem."

Elyse looked up and raised a brow, "What?"

"Poe, the kid has taken it hard. He's been adopted by the engineers. We've set up a small work station for him there, but the kid needs sleep and to eat..." He looked at the counselor. "Can you try talking to him?"

Lanna nodded. “That’s what I was afraid of, I’ll talk to him.”

"He's probably going to be pissed at me," Bill stated. "He had some sort of nightmare...hell, maybe some prophetic dream before the mission, before the shuttles launched. He was pleading to go because he felt something was wrong and saw what he believed was Walker's death."

Tholos sighed. "That sounds about right."

"I figured," replied Bill.

Bill looked at Tholos. "Let me handle the engineers. I know I am the target of their anger and frustrations right now, but they are only going to become more negative towards me if I stay on the bridge, in my quarters, away from their sight. If I speak to them directly, acknowledge how they feel, I may be able to change their perception of command right now."

Tholos gave a nod. "Aye, sir."

"You're their Acting Department Head. Get them to gather for me."

"Whoa, hang on," Elyse interjected, "a dream is no reason to change the mission. This is not your fault, Captain and nor should it be treated as such. I appreciate that everyone will want someone to blame, but the only person to blame here is Walker himself."

Bill looked directly at Elyse White. "Commander, I know. I know that Sebastian Walker made a choice that resulted in his own death. That is not going to change what the crew is feeling right now. I am their Captain. All lives aboard this starship are my responsibility. I cannot bring him back, but I can show face and try to bring about solidarity."

"I agree with the sentiment, but you should not be apologising for your actions here," Elyse said firmly, "this is a matter of offering space to grieve, not point fingers."


=/\= One Hour Later =/\=


The door burst open, and Poe, followed by at least fifteen engineers, burst in. He looked disheveled, his hair messed up, eyes wild, a uniform that clearly hadn't been changed in three days.

Eli, the Effrosian scary engineer, walked in after the group, smiling, and she walked up to Poe, kissed his forehead, and looked at the Captain, Elyse, Lanna, and Tholos. "My boy saved the day!" Her nose wrinkled. "You smell, you need a shower."

"I'll take one after we get him back."

Ela snorted, "By then, we will not be able to get the smell out of Engineering. Listen to mother Eli, bath, and then food."

She turned to the group. "Walker's alive."

“Alive!?” Lanna looked at Poe wide-eyed. “How? Where?”

"He's going to wish he was dead," Elyse muttered under her breath before making a real comment, "explain yourself. Where is he?"

Poe sighed. "The Klingons have him. I have proof." He directed that at the Captain. "No gut instincts, since they are...what was the word...useless." Poe marched to the table, hit a few buttons, and brought up data. "Since my instincts aren't welcome, I'll let Thol read the data."

"Thol," Captain Abernathy gestured. He knew that if this revelation was indeed factual, the Klingons not only took Walker, they withheld that information from Bill, from Arcadia, and from Starfleet, which only meant something nefarious. "It was no rescue. It was an abduction, and potentially a hostage situation."

Tholos sighed. "Poe, watch it. I know you're angry butt...." He turned to the readouts and looked at them. After a few minutes, he swore. "This right. Here, this is the outer probe. It was reading our ship, the Klingon ship, shields down, so we have life signs. Shuttle is here, again, shields down, life signs, and there is the skiff. It's about a minute from impact. There are thirty seconds. Skiff still has Walker. He called for help, and these are the tractors, and then the shuttle was pulled away. Here, our ship, the shuttle, shields were up, and we couldn't read life signs. Fifteen seconds to impact skiff, no life signs, no shields. At the same time, a Klingon ship. Life signs or all crew and a Vulcan/Betazoid life sign, then shields go up at the 10-second mark from impact. He's on that ship."

"Those Klingon bastards!" Bill Abernathy shouted, slamming his fist down. "Elyse, Starfleet Command. I don't care who they patch us through to. I want an Admiral, and I don't care if they oversee the radishes in the greenhouses. We're going after that Klingon battlecruiser."

"I have just the favour to pull," Elyse nodded in agreement.

Poe's eyes widened. "We are? You're agreeing to save him?"

Eli put her hand over his mouth and shoved him towards Henry. "Back to engineering, the lot of you and bath for the kid. If he refuses, you bathe him."

Poe looked horrified.

Tholos shook his head. "Poor kid." He looked at Abernathy. "We're with you, sir."

“Damn right we are!” Lanna added with enthusiasm. “Once we get closer, I should be able to contact Sabastian telepathically. I’m just not sure how much he uses his Betazoid abilities.”

Captain Bill Abernathy took a deep breath. "Yes, Poe. We are going after them and going to save Commander Walker. The Klingons will answer for this dishonor. Abducting a Starfleet Officer is not something I take lightly."

Poe gave a nod. "Okay." He saw the Captain looking at him. The man had this gaze like a principal at school that unnerved him a little. He was mad, yes, but also scared shitless.

Abernathy gave his uniform a small tug and a pull around the collar. "I do not care if we have to track that Klingon vessel for several days and several nights right back to the Klingon home world. We're getting our man back."

OFF:

 

RSS Feed