Sheathed and Steady

Posted on Wed Jul 29th, 2026 @ 2:24pm by Captain William Abernathy & Lieutenant Commander Elyse White & Lieutenant K’Var & Lieutenant Malcom Hunt & Lieutenant JG Karri & Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe

1,800 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Blade of Deceit
Location: USS Arcadia | Bridge

The USS Arcadia had surged through the last turbulent layers of the Class 9 nebula with her shields crackling faintly as residual ionized particles washed across the hull. It was a calculated move, one that Captain Abernathy needed to make given the Klingon battlecruiser had a time advantage. It had taken the Arcadia a while to realize the deception; Lieutenant Commander Walker had not died in the line of duty. He had been abducted. Behind the Arcadia lay a trail no prudent starship would have chosen willingly. Ahead lay a far greater risk, encountering the Klingons and calling them out on their deceit...and dishonor.

The bridge was cast in long shadows amid the muted amber glow of their alert condition, and the illumination of consoles and tactical displays, every station focused on a single objective: The rescue operation of one of their own, Lieutenant Commander Sabastian Walker.

Several hours prior, the Arcadia had confirmed that a Klingon D7 battlecruiser had taken the First Officer after assisting in the rescue of those aboard the Federation transport. Whether it had been an act of vengeance, political maneuvering, or something more personal remained unclear. What was clear was that the Klingons were running for the border, back to Klingon space where they would be safe to do with Walker whatever they wanted until the politicians stepped up.

Captain Abernathy had no intention of letting them reach Klingon space. I will be damned if I am going to let them use him as a bargaining chip thought Abernathy.

The decision to cut through the nebula had been a gamble. The storm systems within had interfered with sensors, stressed the warp field, and forced the ship through regions of space that Starfleet navigational charts politely described as inadvisable. Yet the risk had paid off by shaving several hours off the pursuit. The Arcadia had emerged on an intercept course directly ahead of the fleeing battlecruiser.

"Helm, full stop," ordered Captain Abernathy. Bill's order after they emerged from the nebula, placed the USS Arcadia several light-years from the Klingon border, but safely away from the Klingon side.

Malcom had done a fairly good job navigating through the nebula, considering that they really had no clue exactly where they would end up. One could say that he had been operating by faith. Receiving the order from the Captain, the helmsman brought the Arcadia to a full stop. "Full stop, Sir."

“Updated projection,” Abernathy said, his tone stern and voice rasp. He wanted to know how long until the Klingon battlecruiser would reach them.

"Updated projection still has us about four light years from the border. We'll still in federation space."

There was a clear understanding what the objective was: Stop the Klingon battlecruiser. Once the Klingons crossed into Imperial territory, recovering Walker would become infinitely more complicated. A rescue mission could become a diplomatic incident. A diplomatic incident could become something far worse.

Captain Abernathy sat forward in the center seat, the Captain's chair, eyes fixed on the stars ahead.

“Any sign they know we're waiting for them?” asked Abernathy of his Acting First Officer.

"Nothing out of the ordinary to suggest they have a clue," White looked up from her panel, "in truth they may as well be skipping through tulips."

"Lieutenant K'Var," said Abernathy, focusing on the Caitian manning the tactical controls. "We may have the element of surprise for the time being, but that won't last long. The nebula will blind their sensors, but they will be compensating quickly. We have to act fast and efficiently; we need to target that vessel to disable, not destroy. Their propulsion systems will be a priority."

“Aye sir” the Lieutenant started tapping commands into the tactical station. “I have their impulse engines targeted, ready to fire on your order.”

It was Thol who spoke up. "Sir....I they may be asshats but their engineer is a genius....Can we hold for one moment?"

Captain Abernathy gave the order to hold position. "We're holding, Thol, but they will be upon us shortly. What are you thinking?"

His hands flew over the consol. They're using their engines as coms. With Commander White's help I maybe able to ... listen in. Seems like their messaging a ship on the Klingon side."

"Elyse?" Captain Abernathy said raising from him seat and shooting a look to Communications.

Elyse nodded and started tapping a few keys on her console, "trying to scan for you. Struggling to hear anything as yet." She paused, "uhh... Maybe... Thol, see what you can do."

He gave a nod. "Boosting our pick up of the engine static...there!" He turned to Elyse. "If you can clean it up we may be able to get visual. If the output numbers go over 300 I will need to cut the signal to not give us away." He waited for Elyse and the captain to give the orders.

Elyse nodded, "already on it. Hang on-- just give me two mi--" she focused in on her console, her voice trailing off. "There you go, that's as good as it's getting."

"I do a love a bit of spy craft," said Abernathy. "Let's see what we can get" he added and waited.

The screen shimmered into a feed showing the Klingon ship. To the right was a large screen with an old Klingon with silver hair, to the left stood the Captain of the very ship they dealt with along with the XO and someone wearing a medical uniform. The Captain of the Klingon ship was visibly frustrated.

"I will not!"

The silver haired Klingon snarled. "You will obay the orders of the High Council. We do not want war! You will return the officer to them now! You acted alone in this. Be very careful how you tread!"

The Captain growled and left leaving the XO and doctor there who looked at one another for a moment before they looked back at the silver haired man.

"Council member Kopeth. We....will try to reason with him."

Kopeth waived a hand. "There is no reasoning with that parasite. He may have cost us peace." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The Federation Officer...is he alive?"

The doctor stepped up. "Bearly. He is in my sickbay and I am, for the moment, keeping him there. Broken bones, loss of blood." The doctor smiled. "He is defiant. When they asked him for the Command Codes he spelled out a particularly .... nasty two word phrase and then insulted everyone's mother."

The old man shook his head. "Keep him alive. Find a way to help the Captain of the Arcadia get his man back. Do not risk your lives unless you can take command. Your Captain has many loyal men on the ship." He paused. "Can you keep Commander Walker safe for now until the council decides how to proceed?"

They both gave a nod and the coms ended.

Thol sighed. "That's all we can get."

"Trouble in paradise," commented Captain Abernathy. He heard the words, observed the Klingon body language, and the tone of each voice revealed more than enough. "This was a personal vendetta, not something the Klingon government authorized. Clearly, we have allies aboard that battle cruiser. The problem is, their Captain undoubtedly has loyalist. We cannot wait around on Klingon bureaucracy."

Karri couldn't help but agree. "Just thinking out loud, Captain." She began. "But maybe those allies are waiting for us to make the first move. Their "honor" may take a hit going first. But if we move first, and get overwhelmed then it's a "glorious battle." And some ambitious officer mau get a promotion or something. Just going by what I know about Klingons."

"And we will make the first move," replied Captain Abernathy. "Keep us here, full stop, Hunt."

"Full stop," Hunt repeated.

Bill Abernathy straightened his uniform. "Lieutenant K'Var, Karri, transporter room one. Tactical excursion armor. Lieutenant Poe, join them."

Karri perked up. "Heading there right away, Captain!" She said, heading to the turbolift.

Poe's eyes lit up. "I can join them?"

Captain Abernathy nodded. "I said what I said. You have your orders, Lieutenant Poe. There's no time for hugging. So, don't get any ideas."

Poe smiled. "Right. No hugging, sir."

Thol jumped in. "YES! I knew their engineer was a genius." He spun towards the Captain and White. "We have an element of surprise. That coms link possibility was the engineer dropping us a message. He sent another one. Text encrypted." He waited for the captain to give permission to read.

"What is it," the Captain shot back.

"We got a message in a bottle....or in the engine output of the Klingon ship. It's the ships coordinates, and a prediction of a power outage on the klingon ship...it's the engineer...I think he's detected us or at least is hoping someone is out there."

“It’s a strong possibility, sir” K’Var spoke up.

Thol jumped in. "Can I go with them sir?"

"Thol," replied Captain Abernathy. "Granted. Your expertise may be needed. I recommend grabbing a toolkit on your way to the transporter room. You may need to splice panels to get through sealed off areas, and cut through others."

"Aye sir." Thol was already moving and prepping what he needs.

Abernathy had stopped K'Var before she filed into the turbolift. "Type III phaser rifles. You are authorized to use whatever force is necessary to get Lieutenant Commander Walker back. Doctor McDonald will be joining you in the transporter room. Utilize his familiarity with Klingon vessels to navigate that battlecruiser. We'll keep them distracted from here..."

“Aye Captain” K’Var replied her normal calm and professional tone. However inside she was excited to be able to hand out the Type III rifles. A weapon she had only used during training exercises thus far.

"Thank you, Lieutenant" replied Abernathy.

"White, draft a message to Starfleet LT. Command. Inform them we're engaging the Klingon battlecruiser in attempt to rescue Walker. I take full responsibility for this operation. The crew are following my orders. Send it when the first disruptor strikes our shielding."

Elyse pursed her lips, thinking for a moment before replying, "alright, but I suggest we exaggerate how Walker got on board, otherwise we'll start a war." Elyse started drafting said message, but was rather hesitant.

White had a point. "My wife always reminds me that the devil is in the details," replied Abernathy. "I am inclined to agree. The last thing I want is to start a war or restart one."

Elyse nodded, "I'll think of something and let you know before I send it."

"Alright," Abernathy prefaced. "It's time to take back our Commander, and put an end to this private little war before it escalates. You have your orders. Let's get to work."

 

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