The Agamemnon Chronicles - Part 3 onwards

For some reason, I can't seem to respond to that other thread with The Agamemnon Chronicles in it. So, I'll just post Part 3 here (If anyone is still interested in reading it...)

[b]The Agamemnon Chronicles - Part 3[/b]

Aboard the EAS [i]Agamemnon[/i], everything was routine. You came on duty, you did your duty, you went off duty, you slept, and then the cycle repeated itself, with short breaks in between for breakfast and lunch, if you were lucky. Then, when the time came around, there was shore leave, which itself was the routine of going planetside, getting drunk, stumbling back aboard, and hoping you'll have enough time to sleep it off before you have to go back on duty again.

For Petty Officer Peter Myers, his routine was the daily update, twice a day, every day. It was rarely interrupted, only when the ship was engaged in actual combat. During peacetime, that was becoming more and more of a rarity, with Earthforce easily handling whatever light trouble occured from time to time in it's territory. Far more than his regular duties aboard the [i]Agamemnon[/i], Myers enjoyed doing the update, especially the "reviews" he got afterwards in the mess when his colleagues would be pouncing on his every mis-pronounciation, slip up, or error he had made. He loved the certain amount of fame he got from doing it, being known to everyone on the ship, even people who only served aboard the ship for maybe a few months, and never even spoke to him once.

Captain Hall hadn't approved, but Captain Hall was an old war dog, having served in both the Dilgar War and the Minbari War. To him, ship's company were simply there to eat, sleep, and serve, and entertainment to be kept strictly for shore leave. Myers hoped that the new Captain would be a little more understanding.

Myers arrived in the communication room, and settled down in front of the transmission equipment. The crew on duty there ignored him, as usual, carrying on with their own duties.

"Good evening, this is your daily update, brought to you by Petty Officer Myers." He began, his voice booming somewhat over the ship's speakers, so he backed off a little from the microphone, and continued.

"Some good news and some bad news today. The good news is, the [i]Agamemnon[/i] has been taken off Defence Watches, which should help greatly reduce the tension felt by the entire crew over the past week or so, as with any series of Defence Watches. The transition from one Captain to another during Defence Watches hasn't made them easier.

The bad news is that the ship will remain at General Quarters until otherwise ordered by the Captain. We're currently holding our relative position in hyperspace, which also means that there will be no shore leave as is usual after a long series of Defence Watches, at least for the time being. Now, I know that you were all looking forward to some well earned rest and relaxation, but the Captain is expecting that everyone on board will do their duty to the best of their abilities. That is all."

Myers let out a small, almost unconscious sigh, and stood up to go. He was wondering just how his performance would be rated by his peers, when he realised they were still at General Quarters, which meant he was on duty. Stepping quickly out of the communication room, he turned down the corridor, and rushed to grab the next lift.

=/\=

The low, almost murmured voice of the Communications Officer aboard the EAS [i]Hyperion[/i] penetrated the normal hum of background chatter on the Bridge, rousing Captain Pierce's attention.

"Captain, we're picking up a distress call." He said, one hand positioned over one of the speakers of his headset, so he could hear the distress call as it came in, and seemed to peer off into the distance. Pierce knew not to disturb him until he had heard the entire thing, and was ready to report to him. Pierce didn't have to wait long, as the young man looked up at him again. "They identify themselves as the Cymkoe IV Orbital Research Station. They're under attack by Raiders."

Pierce narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Cymkoe IV Orbital Research Station? I've never heard of it. Why would a research station come under attack by Raiders?"

The Communications Officer just shook his head slightly, obviously as baffled as the Captain was.

Pierce swung his chair to face his First Officer, a man with short, dark hair, and of no more than thirty five years of age. "Call up Cymkoe IV Orbital Research Station in the ship's Library Computer." He ordered curtly, while tapping his armrest absentmindedly.

The First Officer tapped at his console for a few minutes, before turning to report to the Captain. "Sir, there's no record of a Cymkoe IV Orbital Research Station anywhere in the computer."

Pierce rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Suggestions?" He asked to his First Officer.

The man said "I'd say we go for it, Sir. I'm sure Earthdome will want an explanation for this when we report it in, we might as well investigate."

Pierce nodded. "Very well. Copy distress call to EAS [i]Agamemnon[/i], and to Earthdome. Explain to both that we're leaving Defence Watches for the time being, and investigating a distress call we recieved at 17:47 hours Earth Standard Time."

The Communications Officer quickly turned in his chair to obey his Captain's orders.

"Helm, target source of that distress call, and prepare to engage jump drives on my mark. General Quarters!" Pierce called out, tapping the comm panel on his armrest while a soft, female voice came over the PA system saying "General Quarters. All hands, this we are now at General Quarters. I repeat, we are now at General Quarters." Pierce made a mental note to have that voice taken out at the ship's next refit.

"Fighter Bay, this is the Bridge." He said into the comm panel.

The voice of the Commander Air Group quickly came up over the comm line. "Fighter Bay, aye."

"Go to Alert 15, and start running combat drills. Be prepared to go to Alert 5 on my mark." Pierce yapped into the comm system, as he felt the jump drives in his ship warming

"Aye sir, CAG out."

Pierce looked up, and felt that his ship was finally ready. "Jump!" He ordered, and the [i]Hyperion[/i] accelerated forward into Hyperspace.

=/\=

The [i]Agamemnon[/i] had been holding position in hyperspace for nearly four hours. Completely cut off from all sensor readings in normal space, she was practically blind. However, that also meant that she was completely invisible to anyone in real space, unless they had the exact co-ordinates for her relative position in hyperspace.

Sheridan shook his head, as the tedium of the last four hours was starting to give him a headache. He struggled to keep his eyes open with fatigue. [i]I wonder what Anna would say if she saw me like this...[/i] he thought, and a smile came to his face as he could imagine the jokes she'd make about him getting old before his time.

Widening his eyes, and stretching his neck in an attempt to stay awake, he stood up from the almost too comfortable Captain's chair, and began pacing around the Bridge, occasionally looking over certain crewmember's shoulders at the work they were doing.

For what must have been the twentieth time, Sheridan doubted whether his original hunch was correct. Would anyone really be coming back here for some bits of wreckage? Was he putting the [i]Hyperion[/i] at risk by not informing her of his plan?

The [i]Hyperion[/i]. What had happened to her? He hadn't heard hide nor hair from her since they had jumped in there. By all rights, that should indicate that his gamble had failed, and he'd wasted valuable time that could've been spent looking up other leads, however something, some gut feeling, was telling him that the [i]Hyperion[/i]'s lack of communication was due to something a little more sinister.

If the [i]Hyperion[/i] had dissapeared, that would mean that they'd been sitting blind in Hyperspace all this time, and anyone could've easily come in, scanned the wreckage, and have gone again without them ever knowing. [i]Damn![/i] Sheridan thought, as he began considering any alternatives he could come up with.

He couldn't launch a Starfury to keep an eye on the Wreckage. There was no nearby jumpgate, so the only way for the 'fury to get to normal space would be for the [i]Agamemnon[/i] to open up a point herself, which would put a strain on the engines, all for one Starfury. In addition, Sheridan didn't want to risk the life of one of his pilots. If the 'fury came under attack by heavy enemy units, chances are she wouldn't be able to escape, and they'd figure out that the ship would have to have some sort of command vessel somewhere.

If the [i]Agamemnon[/i] was an explorer vessel, they could've simply dropped a beacon in normal space. However, the other side of the coin was that an explorer vessel was unarmed, and therefore wouldn't be able to stand up to raiders, or whoever else came to look at that cargo. And besides, [i]Agamemnon[/i] was a Destroyer. Wishful thinking didn't do him any good.

Simply jumping out now and waiting in normal space wouldn't do any good, as that would scare off anyone coming to scan the cargo. The [i]Agamemnon[/i] was a big ship, and could probably be detected on the other side of the system.

Finding somewhere to hide in normal space wouldn't be a good idea either. Although Sheridan didn't doubt that Quartermaster Dunstan was an excellent helmsman, especially with the expert performance he had performed earlier in getting the Destroyer close to the comet, he didn't want to test the limitations of the ship by taking her into an asteroid field, or the upper atmosphere of a planet, in an attempt to evade the sensors of any incoming ships. In addition, any of these would impare her fighting capability, something which Sheridan was not prepared to do.

No, the only thing they could do was to start following any other trails in solving this mystery.

"Officer of the Watch," Sheridan called out, and the woman stood to attention immediately. "Activate jump engines, and take us into normal space."

She nodded. "Jumping to normal space, aye."

The ship hurled itself out of the swirling maelstrom of the light blue jump point, and emerged soundlessly in normal space.

"Ah fragging hell!" Sheridan muttered under his breath, as Commander James looked up from his sensor board, and reported what Sheridan had seen from the moment they emerged from hyperspace.

"Captain, both the wreckage and the [i]Hyperion[/i] are gone." He said, turning around to face the small screen at the front of the Bridge, which was now showing an external camera view. Sheridan was staring blankly at it, as though he were a man totally lost for words.

His silence was interrupted by Communications Technician Myers, who called out "Sir, incoming transmission from Earthdome."

Sheridan nodded. "Put it through."

=/\=

"It's amazing."

"Quiet!"

"Come on Liz, don't you think that's a great sight?"

"Richard, you'll get us put on report!"

"I was just saying..."

"Shut up, Dick!"

"I love it when you talk dirty to me like that..."

"No, not like that, for God's sake! If we're caught, we could be fined a week's wages for this!"

"Just relax Liz! You never were one for taking risks, were you? Just sit back and enjoy the view."

Station Fleet Personnel Manager Richard Valentine, and his wife, Station Chief Executive Elizabeth Cordova Valentine, were huddling together in the Station Manager's office, trying not to be heard by the ten or so Administrative Personnel holding a meeting in the next room. The Station Manager's office had an incredibly impressive view of the stars outside. The station's spin, to provide gravity on board, only helped magnify the brilliance of it, as every minute and a half, the planet was in view of the side of the station you happened to be looking out of. It was always in view of one side of the station anyhow, yet many people on board agreed that it was still an impressive sight. It sure beat the vast red desert that was Mars.

The newly married couple had decided (More on Richard's part than Elizabeth's) to sneak into the Station Manager's office, and watch the view while he was in the meeting. The Station Manager enjoyed the luxury of having the largest window on the station. They sat behind the Manager's desk, at the foot of his chair, which had been left facing the window.

"You know what I just realised?" Richard whispered, his eyes still captivated on the stars moving slowly in front of him.

"What?" Elizabeth responded, now starting to let her fears melt away, and giving in to the majesty of the universe before her. She imagined herself flying freely through the depths of space,

"If we get fined, I've got to handle the amount of fines."

That sentence brought Elizabeth crashing back to reality. "Right, that's it." She whispered, carefully getting up.

"What? Oh, come on, you're not going now, are you?" Richard complained, slowly lifting himself off the floor.

"I don't know why I let you talk me into this. I'm getting out of here before they catch us."

She began to walk out, making sure that her shoes touched silently on the carpet, when the bright blue light of an opening jump point flooded the office through the window.

She turned around, and stared blankly at it. "What the hell..."

********

Special thanks to AnlaShok Douglas Nicol for giving me really good ideas to plaguarise. [img]http://forums.firstones.com/forums/biggrin.gif[/img]

Oh, and the Star Trek badges (=/\=) stay. [img]http://forums.firstones.com/forums/tongue.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by Commander Hamblin (edited 12-19-2000).]