Project Unity: Search and Recover, Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Newly minted Lieutenant Ben O'Neill watched from the sidelines as his potential security team ran laps around the deck. The two holdovers from Bonwick's reign easily lapped the trainees multiple times and were only now starting to slow down. A trio trailed behind them, desperately trying to keep up with the veterans while still leading the pack of newbies. At least two of the more average runners had kept a true and steady pace, albeit slower, maintaining their stamina for the whole run. "Stop draggin' your cheeks on the deck!" O'Neill shouted, earning a large push from the trio, a marginal push from the steady pair and several audible grunts from the rear of the pack. As his only current officers passed him once more, he waved them over. "Get a shower and back to the office, you've done your part here," he said.

With a snappy nod, the pair jogged toward the door only to be pushed back by a frantic yeoman on the other side. "Chi... er... Lieutenant O'Neill?!"

"Over here!" O'Neill called, turning to face the newcomer. He vaguely recalled the kid hovering in Commander Asada's shadow from an earlier trip to the bridge.

"Commander Asada needs you," he stammered. "Immediately."

"Aye, tell him I'm on my way," O'Neill said, turning back toward the trainees. They'd all visibly slowed without his watchful gaze on them and panicked as soon as they saw him watching. "Y'all don't stop running until you're dead on the deck!" he bellowed. "Computer, raise the temperature five degrees every ten minutes." He heard the beep of acknowledgment just as he left the gym.

When O'Neill found Meng finally, the commander was staring up at an empty screen in the astrometrics lab. There were crates scattered around the room and a few wires were still peeking from the conduits – obviously still waiting for their hardware. "When I came down here, it didn't occur to me that it wasn't finished," Meng said, swiveling around to face the security chief. "I need you to assemble a team."

"Working on it," O'Neill said grumpily, narrowing his eyes. "Still running 'em through training. Got a few potentials on the hook though..."

Meng waved his words off, "not that team. No, a team for a mission," he paused, waiting for the inevitable questions. For his part, Ben O'Neill said nothing, simply waiting. "Captain Hunt's shuttle is missing. Possibly attacked en route to the hospital. I need someone to go bring him and Doctor Ryan home." Sensing his hesitation and impending argument, Meng held up a hand to stop it before it began. "I'd do it myself if I could... in fact I'd rather it be me but Unity is already short her commanding officer."

"How are we getting there? The pods are either being used to shuttle people from the surface or under retrofit," O'Neill asked, already thinking about the formation of the team.

"Working on that still. Worst case – Unity goes and we rush the retrofit on Pod Three en route," Meng said, imagining the panicked looked Jordan would give him when he told her she had less than forty-eight hours to make a shuttle airborne again.

"And best case?" Ben pressed.

"An ally of an ally may come through," Meng replied. "Assemble your team lieutenant. Your medic and your engineer will be the toughest given the circumstances. Make sure they've got go bags ready – you may be leaving with very little notice." Without further instruction, Meng pushed past him at a brisk pace, already moving on to his next problem.

Lieutenant O'Neill nodded, "alright then," he muttered to himself before turning to follow the commander out of the lab.

------

Aryn Darcy caught up to Meng as he slipped into the lift. A frantic private – her escort – was trailing several paces behind her. To his relief, Meng dismissed him and assumed responsibility over their guest within the lift. "I've just heard from Kay!" Darcy exclaimed, leaning back against the lift wall as she caught her breath. "I came to find you immediately but you weren't in your office and then someone said you were in the security office but..."

Meng cut her off, "and? What did she say?"

"Oh! She's willing to help! In fact, she's only a couple hours out now. She just finished a trade run and confirmed what we already knew – there's been no sign of the shuttle pod beyond Xinji space," Darcy said. "She can take a team of four – and she specifically requested Doctor Azael be one of them."

"Why?" Meng asked, furrowing his brow. "Has she met him before?"

Darcy shrugged, "I'm not really sure – she probably has. She has a warehouse on Ne'Vha."

After a long moment to consider, Meng nodded. "Fine, I'll ask him. It would solve the medic problem for the team anyway. Our crew seems to be running short of them lately," he quipped as the lift doors opened outside the bridge. "Thank you for your help Ms. Darcy."

She trailed behind him, chewing on her lower lip as she considered her words. "I wonder.... I mean I hope this shows that we could be of use to you and this ship."

Meng stopped short and let out a slow breath before turning to face her once more. "I don't doubt your usefulness Ms. Darcy. Or that of your friends. And when the current crisis is ended and Captain Hunt has returned – I'm sure we'll have an answer for you all. We certainly won't leave Ne'Vha for good without addressing your request."

"Thank you," she said, trying not to appear dejected. "I... Thank you again Commander. If you let me know when Kay arrives, I'd be happy to make the introductions." Without waiting for a response, she turned to leave.

"Ms. Darcy," Meng called, bringing her up short. "You have no escort. Please join me on the bridge until we can find someone." He didn't wait for her to respond before sliding through the doors. All the chaos from before had been replaced by a deafening silence. There were only two other people on the bridge when he entered, both engineers trying to fill the shoes of the space dock crew. "Have a seat Ms. Darcy," he said as he moved toward the nearest station. "Bridge to Medical."

"Ward here," responded an unfamiliar voice. Like every other department, the rebellion and then extended shore leave had resulted in a few new trainees in the ward – although how much training they'd received with BOTH doctors absent was questionable.

"Is Doctor Azael there by chance?" Meng asked, crossing his fingers. He'd have to summon a runner to track the colony doctor down if not. After receiving an affirmative response, Meng relaxed. "Please ask him to come to the bridge along with his escort."

It didn't take long for the gray skinned doctor to enter, accompanied by a jovial nurse. The pair laughed as they entered but the escort grew silent as soon as she caught sight of Meng. "Commander," Doctor Azael said in greeting.

"Doctor, have you met Ms. Darcy's friend, Captain Kay...." Meng trailed off as he tried to recall the surname, only to realize Darcy had never offered it. He turned toward the scientist curiously. "Is it just Kay?"

Aryn Darcy shrugged, "as far as I know. She's only ever introduced herself as such."

"Fine," he said, turning back to Doctor Azael. "She's specifically requested you accompany the team on this mission. As they need a medic of some sort, I'm not opposed to this, but the choice is yours of course. You know the risks of the area."

"To answer your question, no I don't think I've met her personally. I know of her, of course," the doctor replied. "And I would be happy to join your team on this mission. The hospital can certainly spare me."

"Can you think why she might have asked for you in particular then?" Meng asked, narrowing his eyes.

Doctor Azael offered an unconvincing shrug in response. "If you'll excuse me, I should contact the surface to inform them of my extended absence. We will be leaving soon I imagine?" he asked, looking from Darcy to Meng and back again.

"Yes, Kay should be here in a few hours," Darcy offered, after Meng didn't respond. "Will you be in the Medical Ward?"

Doctor Azael nodded, "indeed. Please inform me when it is time to depart." Without another word from Meng, he offered his arm to his escort and left once more.

------

Meng stood poised outside the secondary docking port door as their new potential ally maneuvered into the space. Captain Kay's ship was smaller than he'd expect for a cargo hauler, but, as she closed in, he detected divots and clamps along the outside of her ship's port. He suspected she could attach additional modules depending on the run. With an appreciative nod, he turned his attention instead toward Aryn Darcy beside him. "What do you know of Xinji, Miss Darcy?"

"Pardon?" she said, surprised by the sudden question. The corridor had been unusually silent as they'd watched the approach of the Kay's ship. "Oh only as much as anyone does really. I've never even seen one."

"Never?" Meng asked in surprise. "Not even a picture?"

She shook her head, "no, as we said, they are extremely xenophobic. They want nothing to do with the surrounding sector and have taken great pains to isolate themselves." After a long pause, she spoke just above a whisper. "There is talk though – that the Quuvarii attempted to conquer their planet centuries ago – in much the same way they attacked Earth. Hardly surprising considering how close the system is to Nejuo. The Quuvarii suffered great losses so, of course, they don't include said failed attack in any of their school history lessons," she said with a grin.

"Then who's doing the talking?" Meng mused, not expecting a response.

Darcy started to reply but found his attention had returned to the approaching vessel. "Shouldn't your team be here by now?"

"They're ready," Meng said simply. By now Unity's docking port had sensed the approach of the ship and activated to guide them in, filling the corridor with a low buzz and a series of clicks.

"Then where..." she started to ask just as understanding washed over her. "You want to meet the Captain first." A long hiss let out as the seal between the ships was established and tested. Then the door slid open to reveal a tall, blonde woman flanked by two crew mates. "Kay!" Aryn hurried toward the captain, gripping her arm as she tugged her over toward Meng.

For her part, Captain Kay kept her eyes trained on the commander. Meng took a step forward and extended his hand. "Captain Kay, I presume. I'm Commander Meng Asada," he said as she shook his hand. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Always happy to help a friend. Or a friend of a friend, as the case may be," Kay said, finally taking her eyes off of him to glance around. "Aryn here has briefed me on the situation – a shuttle that possibly strayed into Xinji space?"

"Yes, that's what we suspect. Do you know the Xinji at all?" Meng asked.

"I know to avoid their system," she quipped, earning a slight scowl from Meng. Kay held up her hands and offered a sincere apology, "sorry – that came out wrong. I realize your crew is new to this area of space. I would have expected Azael to warn your team though... where is he?"

"Why Doctor Azael?" Meng asked, ignoring her question. "I mean, why'd you request him to come along for this?" Captain Kay only offered a shrug in response. "The team should be here shortly. It's a team of four – will that work for you?" he asked, glancing though the port window toward her small ship. "Captain Hunt and Doctor Ryan would make six when they're found."

"IF they're found," grunted one the crew men standing behind Kay. She whipped around toward him and he immediately shrank back, mumbling an apology.

"Prep the ship Garren! I'm sorry for my men," Kay said, still glaring at the offender's back as he skulked back into their ship. "We'll do everything we can to find your missing crew members Commander."

At that moment, Lieutenant O'Neill and his team approached. Ben paused for a moment to survey the assembled group, receiving a subtle nod from Meng, before falling in beside the Commander. Doctor Azael was jovial, as always, and greeted Kay as an old friend, though they'd never met. Representing engineering, Sub-Lieutenant Liam Hurley extended his hand toward the visiting captain before falling in on the other side of Meng. The final member of the team was a young, security trainee who looked both dazed and in awe of everything around her. She fumbled with her bag and offered her left hand to shake and then shrank back to try to hide her blush.

"Why doesn't your team stow their gear commander? And then we can go over the mission before departure?" Kay offered. Without orders, the other crewman jumped forward to help the Unity team with their stuff.

A few minutes later, they were gathered in the back hold of Kay's ship. Doctor Azael, Lieutenant O'Neill, Commander Asada and Captain Kay occupied the small table, while the rest of the team, Aryn Darcy and Kay's crew formed a ring around them. Unlike the large display on the bridge of Unity, Kay utilized a simple personal tablet to bring up the same map they'd seen before. "The area in red is Xinji space?" Meng clarified, mostly for O'Neill's sake.

"Yes," Doctor Azael confirmed. "Getting close enough to any of the three planets to even scan for your shuttle will be difficult."

"Difficult, but not impossible," Captain Kay said with a grin. "I can slip by those weapons platforms."

"I thought you avoided Xinji space," Meng said.

"As a rule, I do," Kay replied with a nod. "However, sometimes, if I cut the route a little too close one of those buggers will give chase. I've got a couple dozen decoy beacons that I can use to throw them off for a bit."

Doctor Azael looked dubious, "how long is a bit Captain?"

"Long enough to get past the border patrol and start a scan. Which is the real problem – our best chance it to know WHICH planet to scan on. I don't have nearly enough decoys to spend hours searching each one."

Meng rubbed his chin, "the only way to know which planet is if Captain Hunt and Freya managed to activate an emergency distress signal."

"And if they did so, they draw every weapons platform in range to their location," Doctor Azael said somberly. "If they went down on the central planet – there's not much reason to look," he said, earning a glare from Meng. "I'm sorry Commander but that's the only inhabited planet in the system. If they crashed or landed there, Xinji forces would have been on them within hours. And the Xinji don't take prisoners." Now everyone was looking at him curiously but he ignored their stares and pushed on. "Furthermore, the planet farthest from the star has an acidic atmosphere and very little solid surface. If the weapons didn't kill them, the planet would and there would be no recovering the shuttle."

"So you're saying the only planet worth searching is the one closest to the sun?" O'Neill asked, leaning in to get a closer look at the screen. "It's also considered inhospitable toward life..."

"Inhospitable perhaps. But not deadly," Azael said.

"So you start there, and hope for the best," Aryn Darcy chimed in, drawing Meng's attention for the first time since Captain Kay had stepped out of the airlock. As though sensing his impending question, she spoke quickly, "I didn't have an escort to leave..." The female security trainee let out a strangled laugh and attempted to hide it with a cough.

"Is it completely inconceivable to simply ask the Xinji if and where they crashed?" O'Neill asked.

"It's highly unlikely they'd respond to any sort of communication," Doctor Azael replied. "It's not in their nature to communicate with outsiders."

"Unlikely perhaps. But not impossible," Captain Kay said, pursing her lips. "Of course if we try the communication route and fail – we may not have the opportunity to get any closer when they chase us off. Even with the decoys." Meng stood and paced away from the group, all their eyes following him as he did. "They're your people Commander, what would you prefer we do?"

"It's your ship at risk Captain Kay," Meng countered. "Which do you think would be more successful? Diplomacy or espionage?"

Kay considered for a long moment, "espionage – by far. Doctor Azael is correct – they are unlikely to even respond, let alone be helpful. If we can sneak in, we've got a shot at least."

"Espionage it is," Meng said, clasping his hands behind his back. "Take good care of my people please Captain, I don't entrust them to you lightly. Ms. Darcy, we should let these people get underway."

End Chapter