Successful Delivery

Posted on 25 May 2024 @ 9:29am by Story Teller & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

1,303 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Return to Razmena
Location: Rakhari Colony
Timeline: June 18, 2390 || 0800 hours

It took some time and thinking as well as making the plasma bursts look random instead of a series of long and short bursts, which meant she had to keep the message as short as possible. This time, she made the message very simple and hoped the Black Hawk crew would know it was her. The message was simply LTCDR, short for Lieutenant Commander, spacing them out just enough to keep the message coerce, but not obvious on short range.

The cabin around her was mostly silent, save for the whirring of life support and the occasional beeps from the consoles. The long-range sensors still showed that the Black Hawk hadn't left its location. One could assume that she wouldn't be moving for some time.

It was probably no surprise when the comm system flashed an alert. It would have been the first time she'd heard from the Rakhari since leaving Razmena.

Camila slipped into her alternate persona. hoping the minor plasma releases she had been doing to spell out the morse code message hadn't been too obvious. She tapped the comms and grunted. "Go."

"We'll be dropping out of warp shortly. Sensors have picked up two Kellerun freighters. You'll want to stick close to us."

"Copy," Camila responded. "Closing distance."

The comm channel closed, leaving Camila once again to her silent surroundings.

A minute later, Camila dropped the Kwando out of warp and closed the distance between herself and the Rakhari ships. She checked her location and dropped a final pulse of plasma, then waited further orders.

Tomas' ship turned to port, away from the Kellerun vessels that were orbiting the colony. Neither ship made a move against the new arrivals. Their shields were down, but their weapons were hot. The runabout's sensors registered a scan, but it was not followed by a target lock.

Camila followed their lead and kept her sensors and weapons down, but very nervously as she did so.

It took ten minutes to fly around the Kellerun vessels and then land on the surface below. As the Kwando approached the colony, it was clear that a drought had taken hold. Rivers were nearly dry, and lakes were microscopic when compared to the dry beds. Dead fish and sea life littered the dry areas, rotting away in the harsh sun. The colony itself was in shambles. Gardens were decimated, and concrete cracking. Kids didn't even have the energy to play in the sun and dry fields. Instead, they huddled under awnings, almost fighting for any bit of shade.

The Security Chief felt her heart break and her resolve falter when she saw the conditions of the colony around her. She couldn't believe that anyone could live in these conditions or that no one would help them. No she corrected herself. The Federation had been helping until one war after another tore the Gamma Quadrant and the Federation apart and the Federation pulled out and never went back.

She went to to open the hatch before she went to the cargo hold and began to unload the probes, then set the replicator to making as much water and food bars as it could.

Tomas' ship settled down next to the Kwando. Its rear and side hatches opened almost instantly, allowing Tomas to exit. A handful of Rakhari, already pushing antigrav carts, approached the landing site to greet the new arrivals.

Camila went back and stepped out of the runabout. "Tomas, can I get some help over here?" She called. "I have food and water to pass out, too!"

"Food and water?" Tomas asked, approaching the runabout. He wasn't the only one who heard as several others rushed up to help. "Where'd you pick those up?"

"Benefit of being human," Camila said as she began to hand out food bars and water pouches. "I get some better goods you don't out here, but I'm willing to share. The probes are ready to be unloaded, too."

Tomas smiled, seeing the amount she'd replicated so far. "We've got about three hundred of us living here. Anything would help, even if we have to ration a couple of meals."

"I'll give you what I can," Camila said. "Unfortunately, it's not unlimited. Do you need any medicines? I have some stock supplies I can replicate for emergencies." She wasn't about to tell them everything, but she empathized with them far more deeply than she thought. The gratitude of just offering ration bars and water tugged at her hardened inner core and she resolved to give Starfleet hell for abandoning these people.

"Whatever you are willing to give," Tomas said, gesturing for someone with a cart to make their way to the front, "we would be happy to receive."

She began to unload the probes and food and water with the help of the others, as well as a med pack she passed off as having been stolen from Starfleet. "There isn't much," she admitted as she replicated a few more medicines for basic needs. She felt truly bad for these people and how they had been reduced to stealing and scavenging just to survive. She was going to talk to Geisler when she got back about this because something had to be done.

Several Rakhari offered their thanks as they gladly loaded up their hands and carts. Tomas and his sister didn't hesitate to express their gratitudes as the probe offloading began. "I don't suppose you'll be able to stick around for a while? I'm not sure when the next resource cache will come around."

"I'm afraid not, Tomas," Camila said and meant it. "However, if I hear of anything, I'll send word your way." She felt bad for making an empty promise, but she was going to go after Starfleet for abandoning these people.

Tomas shrugged, his disappointment not that evident. "I don't blame you, you know. People like us, we always have to stay moving. There's not enough to go around, and there's plenty of scavengers looking to make a strip or two. I suppose the best I can hope for is to run into a friendly face out there on the next run. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Tomas," she said, knowing that her generosity with the food bars, water and basic medicines wouldn't go that far, but she did plan on attempting to do more for them. "Do you have any way I can contact you?"

He smiled. "The modifications to your nacelles, match that to a subspace frequency. You can find me that way."

She came a nod. "I will not forget you," she promised him as she made a note of the modification and wondered if he would actually respond if she made it back that way. No, when she made it back, she amended.

It only took a few more minutes before her ship was completely unloaded. When it was complete, Tomas and his sister were left standing next to Camila. "Thank you again," Tomas' sister said. "You not only gave us a moment of relief, but these probes are going to be put to real use here. You'll have to come back in a few weeks once they're working and we've got rain again."

"I'll do my best, and good luck," Camila said as she boarded the runabout and prepared for takeoff. She had no idea where the Black Hawk-B would be, but she had to get out of this territory before she could attempt to contact them. Once she cleared the atmosphere, she took the Kwando to warp after noting the nacelle modification and changing it back to what it had been. WIth a sigh, she began to compile her report so it would be ready for Harvey when she got back.

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