Stargate -- Kriegsspiel -- Hoodman's Blind -- Fourteen
back to Thirteen
Fourteen
Cam sat back down in the captain’s chair with a slight smile. Captain of his own ship, not just for a few hours or days during a crisis, but for as long as the SGC refugees (and he was going to have to remember to suggest they come up with a better name at the next meeting) would be offworld. O’Neill hadn’t let him call the ship Enterprise, so he’d settled on Hope; he could tell Jackson approved. Cam Mitchell, Commander of the Hope, it had a nice ring to it.
“Sir, we’re approaching the planet,” Bosworth said from the helm station. Cam had decided to take SG-13 as his crew, with one of Sam’s scientists-Martin Gates-as his mechanic. Everyone seemed to be getting along so far, which Cam counted as a good sign. “We’ll be able to begin our descent to the surface in a few minutes.”
“We’re being…contacted,” Balinsky said from his place at communications. “There’s another ship in orbit.”
“Goa'uld, but small,” Dixon elaborated. He was at the weapons station. “It’s probably comparable to us in technical capabilities. Well, minus the tricks Carter gave us.”
“But there’s no way of knowing who’s inside,” Balinsky said.
Cam nodded. “You said they’re trying to contact us?” he said. “Put it on the screen.”
An unfamiliar figure appeared on the screen, but his Lucian Alliance uniform was enough. “I am A’dil of the Lucian Alliance,” he said. “This planet is under our…protection. Explain your presence here.”
“Oh, hey there,” Cam said, forcing a smile. He focused on keeping up the appearance of being calm and non-threatening, but his hands tightened on the arms of his chair. “We got hired to transport this settlement’s grain harvest to the marketplace on Correllia. Hope that’s not a problem.”
“This settlement has not paid their most recent protection fee,” A’dil said. “Therefore, they’re not allowed contact with outsiders. For their own protection,” he added, with a smile a shark would be proud of.
“Don’t know nothing about that,” Cam said. “But I do know we were paid-in advance. Just good business to oblige them by finishin’ our contract.” He glanced at Balinsky, and he cut the connection. “Options?”
“We could leave,” Wells said from the navigation station at the rear of the bridge. Gates, next to him, was silent, and Cam was reminded that the man hadn’t had much offworld experience before the program had been shut down.
“Won’t be the last time we bump into these folks, and if we back down now, don't see it gettin’ any easier with them,” Cam replied.
“And we actually did accept a deposit,” Bosworth added. “It won’t be good for our reputation as cargo haulers if we back out of a deal.”
Cam glanced at Dixon. “Can you tell if their shields are up?” he asked.
“They don’t seem to be,” Dixon said. “But the longer we wait, the more likely it is that they'll decide we’re hostile.”
Cam sighed. Their first trip out, and already he was going to have to risk blowing holes in his ship. Sam was going to kill him. “Can you fire and then bring up our shields?” he asked. “We don’t want to tip them off.”
“Carter installed something that should hide the energy buildup before the weapons fire,” Dixon said. “She told me she was getting bored,” he added with a grin. “Anyway, it should give us the advantage on the first shot. Then we can put up the shields and hope we haven’t misjudged their armament.”
Cam looked around at his crew. Some of them didn’t look happy, but they were all waiting for his order. “Okay. Fire when ready.”
Dixon nodded and spun back to face his consol. “Target locked on the enemy weapon system,” he said. “Firing.”
A beam of light hit the Lucian Alliance ship, and there was a small explosion. “Bring up the shields!” Cam said.
“They still have firing capability,” Dixon said, just before they rocked sideways. No kidding, Cam thought.
“Shields came up in time,” Gates called from the engineer’s panel. “We didn’t take any damage, just bounced.”
“Good,” Cam said. “Bosworth, evasive maneuvers. Dixon, keep firing. Take out their weapons; that should convince them to withdraw.”
Cam ignored the chorus of ‘aye, sir’s and focused on the viewscreen. He hadn’t realized that being the captain of a ship could feel so helpless. Even with all his experience in command, a part of him wanted to be the one flying the ship or firing the guns. Not that he didn’t trust his men; he just wanted to be doing something. It wasn’t a good feeling.
They traded a few more volleys, energy blasts sizzling off into the void, and then there was a large flash of light on the other ship and they stopped firing. “That’s their weapons,” Dixon said, grinning.
“Communication coming in, from the other ship,” Balinsky said.
Cam took a deep breath. “Put it on.” He forced himself to relax as the other captain’s image appeared on the screen. “Well, A’dil, it seems like you’re having difficulty with your weapons,” he said, with what he hoped was a concerned look. “Anything we can do to help?”
“This will not be our last encounter,” A’dil growled. “You have been warned.” He gestured and the communication cut out.
“They’re withdrawing,” Wells said.
“Good job, everyone,” Cam said.
“There’s another communication coming in,” Balinsky said. “From the planet. It’s audio only.”
Cam nodded and the bridge was filled with static for a moment. “Hello?”
“Captain Mitchell, I hope?” a voice said, as the static cleared up.
“Yes, sir,” Cam said. “May I ask who I’m speaking to?”
“Elder Huare,” the man said. “We were able to monitor your conflict with the Lucian Alliance ship. You have made friends today, Captain Mitchell.”
“And enemies,” Cam said after the connection cut. “I think we just made policy regarding the Lucian Alliance. Ah, hell, I’m pretty damn sure O’Neill is going to tan my hide but good.”
continued in Fifteen
back to Master Post
Fourteen
Cam sat back down in the captain’s chair with a slight smile. Captain of his own ship, not just for a few hours or days during a crisis, but for as long as the SGC refugees (and he was going to have to remember to suggest they come up with a better name at the next meeting) would be offworld. O’Neill hadn’t let him call the ship Enterprise, so he’d settled on Hope; he could tell Jackson approved. Cam Mitchell, Commander of the Hope, it had a nice ring to it.
“Sir, we’re approaching the planet,” Bosworth said from the helm station. Cam had decided to take SG-13 as his crew, with one of Sam’s scientists-Martin Gates-as his mechanic. Everyone seemed to be getting along so far, which Cam counted as a good sign. “We’ll be able to begin our descent to the surface in a few minutes.”
“We’re being…contacted,” Balinsky said from his place at communications. “There’s another ship in orbit.”
“Goa'uld, but small,” Dixon elaborated. He was at the weapons station. “It’s probably comparable to us in technical capabilities. Well, minus the tricks Carter gave us.”
“But there’s no way of knowing who’s inside,” Balinsky said.
Cam nodded. “You said they’re trying to contact us?” he said. “Put it on the screen.”
An unfamiliar figure appeared on the screen, but his Lucian Alliance uniform was enough. “I am A’dil of the Lucian Alliance,” he said. “This planet is under our…protection. Explain your presence here.”
“Oh, hey there,” Cam said, forcing a smile. He focused on keeping up the appearance of being calm and non-threatening, but his hands tightened on the arms of his chair. “We got hired to transport this settlement’s grain harvest to the marketplace on Correllia. Hope that’s not a problem.”
“This settlement has not paid their most recent protection fee,” A’dil said. “Therefore, they’re not allowed contact with outsiders. For their own protection,” he added, with a smile a shark would be proud of.
“Don’t know nothing about that,” Cam said. “But I do know we were paid-in advance. Just good business to oblige them by finishin’ our contract.” He glanced at Balinsky, and he cut the connection. “Options?”
“We could leave,” Wells said from the navigation station at the rear of the bridge. Gates, next to him, was silent, and Cam was reminded that the man hadn’t had much offworld experience before the program had been shut down.
“Won’t be the last time we bump into these folks, and if we back down now, don't see it gettin’ any easier with them,” Cam replied.
“And we actually did accept a deposit,” Bosworth added. “It won’t be good for our reputation as cargo haulers if we back out of a deal.”
Cam glanced at Dixon. “Can you tell if their shields are up?” he asked.
“They don’t seem to be,” Dixon said. “But the longer we wait, the more likely it is that they'll decide we’re hostile.”
Cam sighed. Their first trip out, and already he was going to have to risk blowing holes in his ship. Sam was going to kill him. “Can you fire and then bring up our shields?” he asked. “We don’t want to tip them off.”
“Carter installed something that should hide the energy buildup before the weapons fire,” Dixon said. “She told me she was getting bored,” he added with a grin. “Anyway, it should give us the advantage on the first shot. Then we can put up the shields and hope we haven’t misjudged their armament.”
Cam looked around at his crew. Some of them didn’t look happy, but they were all waiting for his order. “Okay. Fire when ready.”
Dixon nodded and spun back to face his consol. “Target locked on the enemy weapon system,” he said. “Firing.”
A beam of light hit the Lucian Alliance ship, and there was a small explosion. “Bring up the shields!” Cam said.
“They still have firing capability,” Dixon said, just before they rocked sideways. No kidding, Cam thought.
“Shields came up in time,” Gates called from the engineer’s panel. “We didn’t take any damage, just bounced.”
“Good,” Cam said. “Bosworth, evasive maneuvers. Dixon, keep firing. Take out their weapons; that should convince them to withdraw.”
Cam ignored the chorus of ‘aye, sir’s and focused on the viewscreen. He hadn’t realized that being the captain of a ship could feel so helpless. Even with all his experience in command, a part of him wanted to be the one flying the ship or firing the guns. Not that he didn’t trust his men; he just wanted to be doing something. It wasn’t a good feeling.
They traded a few more volleys, energy blasts sizzling off into the void, and then there was a large flash of light on the other ship and they stopped firing. “That’s their weapons,” Dixon said, grinning.
“Communication coming in, from the other ship,” Balinsky said.
Cam took a deep breath. “Put it on.” He forced himself to relax as the other captain’s image appeared on the screen. “Well, A’dil, it seems like you’re having difficulty with your weapons,” he said, with what he hoped was a concerned look. “Anything we can do to help?”
“This will not be our last encounter,” A’dil growled. “You have been warned.” He gestured and the communication cut out.
“They’re withdrawing,” Wells said.
“Good job, everyone,” Cam said.
“There’s another communication coming in,” Balinsky said. “From the planet. It’s audio only.”
Cam nodded and the bridge was filled with static for a moment. “Hello?”
“Captain Mitchell, I hope?” a voice said, as the static cleared up.
“Yes, sir,” Cam said. “May I ask who I’m speaking to?”
“Elder Huare,” the man said. “We were able to monitor your conflict with the Lucian Alliance ship. You have made friends today, Captain Mitchell.”
“And enemies,” Cam said after the connection cut. “I think we just made policy regarding the Lucian Alliance. Ah, hell, I’m pretty damn sure O’Neill is going to tan my hide but good.”
continued in Fifteen
back to Master Post