Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/startrek/old-incomplete/huntinggrounds.p1-3

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From: [e-mail] (Tubawarrior)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: Here's Sulu! (Title: HUNTING GROUNDS)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 7 Feb 92 04:25:21 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN
Lines: 330


Thanks EVERYBODY for the letters of support!!!  I have almost 30 now and I seem to be getting
more every day.  Also thanks for those who pointed out "canon" things, like
Sulu's age, the color of Romulan ale, etc.  Here's the reworked and added to first
chapter.  As always, comments, questions, suggestions, and "just want to say hi's"
can be written to me via e-mail.





                HUNTING GROUNDS
                   Chapter 1



(My God,) he thought, (it's huge...)

Victor Xavier Pennington probably realized that the massive starship literally
filling the window of the shuttlecraft would be quite large, but this fact
never sunk in until he had actually seen the imposing shape of the starship.
Here stood the future of Starfleet, of the Federation, hell, the universe so
far as he could see.  He stared dreamily at the sleek lines and graceful curves
that belied just how much power the ship actually had at its disposal.

(...and this will be home for a while.  Wonder when I get to meet Captain--)

"Commander?"  The young pilot interrupted his train of thought.  "We've
arrived, sir."

"Oh...I'm sorry.  Just being a putz.  Thank you, Ensign."

"No problem, sir.  Airlocks are secure, so you can go on aboard."  He smiled
warmly, almost as if he were wishing Victor luck.

"Thanks again, Ensign."  He walked through the automatic doors and was greeted
immediately by an Andorian with full commander's rank and a white collar, which
represented Command section. (Here's my boss, I think,) Victor thought as he
snapped to attention.  "Lieutenant Commander Victor Pennington reporting for
duty, sir."

The Andorian considered him for a moment, and then replied.  "Welcome aboard.
I am Commander Rh'eldak, executive officer and second in command.  At ease."
Victor relaxed.  Rh'eldak offered him his blue hand, which Victor took and
shook hands with him.  The commander's frail looking hand was quite deceptive,
as Victor had to make an effort not to wince.  Rh'eldak offered to show Victor
to his new quarters, and soon they were walking around the mazelike corridors
of the starship.  Victor absorbed everything he could about the ship's design
that he could without looking like a tourist.

Minutes later, the two officers were in Victor's new quarters.  "This sure is
a step up from the _Minuteman_," Victor remarked.  It really was.  He could
actually take more than two steps before running into a wall.

"I'd hope so.  I've never been on a destroyer before, so I wouldn't know.
There's a gift for you on the shelf."

Victor turned around and noticed a bottle with a bluish liquid inside. "Romulan
ale??  I'm flattered."

"It's a tradition I'm passing along.  When I first arrived here, the captain
gave me a bottle as well.  After our first day together, we'll drink a toast
to what I hope is a long and healthy life here.  But that is for later.  Now,
we should talk a little business."

"As you wish, sir." Victor replied.

"As Chief of Security, you only answer to myself and the captain.  You're also
the second officer, so you'll probably see conn duty as well.  Have you ever
met Captain Sulu?"

"No, sir, but I've heard of him."  Having heard of Captain Hikaru Sulu was
something of an understatement.  He was perhaps one of the best young captains
in Starfleet, which was reflected in his posting to the namesake of the
new Excelsior-class starship, designed to go farther and faster than anything
that had flown previous.  Of course, Captain Sulu was famous long before he
was a captain.  As one of the top officers on the USS _Enterprise_ he was
in the history books already.  And at 42, he wasn't even close to being done
with his career.

"Well, you'll get your chance soon enough.  We have a department head's meeting
tommorow at 1400 hours.  Soon after that you should probably have your branch
meeting."

"I've already planned a gathering for 1800 hours.  You may observe, if you'd
like," Pennington offered.

"I'll be on the bridge, probably.  I'll want the standard report, of course."

"Of course, sir."  With that, the Andorian excused himself and Victor
sat down at his desk. "Computer," he said to the voice-acces panel.

"Working," the computer replied in a neutral tone.

"Access personnel records for USS _Excelsior_ Security Branch as of Stardate
one-one-three-six-four point eight."

"Stand by for voice-print verification." the computer droned.  (Yep,) Victor
thought to himself, (this is gonna be an interesting ship.  I can tell already.)
                  -----------------

Captain's Log: Stardate 11366.2 -- We have completed our minor repairs at
Starbase 28 and have also taken aboard 14 new crew members, including our
new Chief of Security.  Our new orders take us to a fledgling Federation
colony on Omicron Delta IV, to investigate the recent loss of communication
from the settlers, whose weekly reports abruptly stopped six weeks ago.
Even at Warp 6, it will take us nearly a week to arive at the Omicron Delta
system.  Starfleet Command warns us to be on guard, as the colony is close
to a known Orion trade route.

Captain Hikaru Sulu sat in the central chair of the USS _Excelsior_ as the
bridge crew made final checks on her systems to assure that they were in top
running order.  Sipping a cup of herbal tea, he felt quite relaxed.  He felt
like he *belonged* in the captain's chair.  It felt natural to him now.  Of
course, there was a time when he didn't feel comfortable on a starship at all.
A time when all he wanted to do was follow in his father's footsteps and serve
on a science vessel, but Starfleet felt he was better suited to exploration.
But the life of a starship grew on him, and he learned to sit at the helm
like a master pianist at his instrument, and soon he felt the yearnings to
one day sit in the center seat.  At one time he even thought of trying to
beat Jim Kirk's record of being the youngest captain in Starfleet.  But he
felt his loyalty to the now-retired captain for a long time.  Which wasn't
necessarily bad, just time consuming.  Oh well, he was here now, and he would
stay here as long as he could.  He belonged here, after all.

"Captain, Docking Control has cleared us for departure," said Lieutenant
Coffman at the communications board.

"All right then.  Helm, manuvering thrusters, please," the captain ordered.

"Manuvering thrusters, sir," was the crisp reply from the Vulcan helmsman.

The mighty starship stirred, and then backed slowly from the docking moors
of the orbiting Starbase.  Within a few minutes the _Excelsior_ had cleared
the starbase and was ready to leave the system.  Sulu imagined the _Excelsior_
to be like a great white stallion, reared up on its hind legs and ready to
move at a moment's notice.  (Where have I seen that image before?) Sulu thought
briefly before he proceeded.  "Half impuse out of the system, Mr. Sesik,"

"Half impulse, captain." was the response.  With a surge of energy, the
_Excelsior_ moved into the vastness of space.  Sulu looked out the viewer
and counted the planets as they went by.  He only saw two.  The others were
probably on the other side of the system.  Sulu could have had the science
officer on duty call up the system on the screen and find out for sure, but
there really wasn't a reason other than his own curiosity.  (Besides, there
are other things to be thinking of.)  "Engineering, status of warp systems,
please."

Over the intercom came the reply from a voice Sulu couldn't place right away.
"Warp systems are at 100% efficiency, captain."

"We'll be moving at a steady Warp 6 for at least 6 days.  Are the engines up
to it?"

The reply was hesitant, but not overly so. "We'll do everything we can down
here, sir."

"That's all I can ask.  Bridge out."  Sulu then returned his attention to the
helm.  "Lay in a course for the Omicron Delta system, please.  Warp factor 6."

"Aye, sir.  Course laid in and awaiting your word."  said the navigator, a
burly-looking, but mild mannered Tellarite, so far as Tellarites go.

"The word is given, then.  Warp 6."  With that, the _Excelsior_ streaked off
and dissapeared.

                          ---------------------

Victor had arisen later than he wished.  Of course, reviewing personnel
records until nearly 2 in the morning didn't help matters, either.  Looking
at his timepice, he saw that he only had 3 hours until the department head's
meeting.  (Well,) Victor thought, (I might as well not get lazy...)
"Computer, give me the location of _Excelsior's_ gymnasium and training
center."

The computer informed Victor, "The gymnasium is on Deck 14, starbord section."

With that, Victor gathered his training clothes and some of his equipment,
then proceeded to leave.  He got halfway through the door when a thought struck
him.  He turned around, went too his personal chest, grabbed a long box, and
left his quarters with a spring in step.

The gym wasn't very full, since it was first shift and the majority of crew
were on duty.  Victor reviewed his own schedule in his head briefly.  He had
second shift for the remainder of the week, and then he would change over to
first.  This gave him time to adjust to the _Excelsior's_ sleep cycles, since
planetary time based on sunrise and sunset was pretty meaningless in space.
His shift started with the department head's meeting and ended with the
Security branch gathering.

Victor warmed up and streched, and then worked with the weights for 30 minutes.
Then he went to his bag and pulled out the long box.  He smiled as he opened
the box to reveal a set of fencer's blades.  He took out his foil, which was
one of his personal favorites, adjusted the safety tip, and headed to the clear
part of the floor.  He imagined his adversary standing in front of him, blade
in hand, and not planning to be nice.  Victor lunged and parried, slashed and
blocked, remembering the drills and strategy he had learned since he was a boy
in New British Columbia.  This was where Victor felt unstoppable.  (Hell with
a phaser, let me do rounds with this!) he thought as he imagined his opponent's
exposure and lunged after it with everything he had.

"Touche."

Victor started, not realizing anyone was watching.  He turned and saw his
imaginary adversary turned to life.  A man in full fencing garb, mask on and
foil at his side.  Victor smiled.  "I didn't realize I'd find a fencing partner
so soon.  Care to join me?"

"I think so.  Put your mask on, then."

Victor tightened his mask, adjusting it so his line of vision wouldn't be
impaired.  Doing this, he realized that a small crowd was gathering to spectate
the impromptu fencing match.  Settling into position, he saluted his opponent
and waited for him to be ready.  Having the salute returned, Victor said his
favorite words: "En guarde!"

The two swordsmen approached each other, observing the other's movements and
stance, looking for weaknesses that might me exploited.  With no warning at
all, Victor's adversary attacked.  Victor barely parried the lunge in time.
Taking advantage of his partner's non-defensive position, Victor let loose
a series of lunges and slashes, which were defended seemingly without effort.
(This is getting fun,) Victor thought sarcastically to himself as he continued.
The match had lasted for nearly five minutes without a single touch, and Victor
was beginning to tire.  Parries were coming slower, and attacks seemed even
more easily defended.  Realizing he couldn't hold out at this pace much longer,
Victor decided to go all out and gamble getting a double touch, which was the
risk of going strictly offensive.  With a grunt, Victor repeatedly lunged,
until. . .

(Damn.)

He would probably be dead had he not been wearing his gear and the safety tip
not securly affixed to his opponent's foil.  He stood and saluted his most
worthy opponent.  The crowd applauded for both competitors, and then went back
to their own workouts. Victor removed his mask, thinking of something to say
that would compliment the winner, yet salvage his pride a little.  "Man,
you're good.  I must be getting old or something."

"I wonder what that makes me, then," said Sulu as he took of his mask.

Victor looked twice.  And then a third time.  And a fourth.  And suddenly, he
felt his face warm considerably when he realized how stupid he must have
sounded just then.

(oops.) "I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean--"

Sulu held up a hand.  "It's alright.  You're one of the best swordsmen I've
seen in a long time.  If you hadn't gotten desparate, you probably would have
outlasted me.  You're Victor, correct?"

"Yes, sir, Lieutenant--"

"We have a rule in this gym, Victor.  Rank doesn't exist.  That way you don't
have to feel bad about beating me, and you can't come down on one of your
people just because he or she happened to catch you off guard when you're
sparring.  That way everyone plays as hard as they work.  Make sense?"

"Yes, si--I mean. . .Hikaru?" Victor asked more than said.

"That's right, Victor.  We'd better get cleaned up and changed.  There's a
department head's meeting in about 45 minutes."

"You're right.  I'll see you there."  Victor saluted with his foil again and
went to gather his stuff.
                             _________________

(The captain seems much more intimidating in uniform...now would probably not
be a good time to call him 'Hikaru')  thought Victor as he entered the briefing
room and looked around at his new officers.  Rh'eldak was sitting next to the
captain, with the chair on the other side of Sulu empty.  On the other side
of Rh'eldak was a human lieutenant with engineering insignia and a blue-eyed
human female no older than he was wearing a Medical Branch tunic.  A Vulcan
and a Tellarite occupied the chairs on the other side of the empty chair.
Victor sat down and was introduced to the command crew by Captain Sulu.  He
was all business at this point, Victor noticed.  Sulu quickly had the computer
supply information about the Omicron Delta system and _Excelsior's_ orders
concerning the Federation colony there.

"We really don't know what we're going to find when we get to Omicron Delta IV,"
Sulu remarked as the department heads finished digesting the computer's output.
"All Starfleet knows is that regular weekly reports ended two weeks ago, without
any warning or explination.  Because of the distance of the star system, that
means whatever happened to the colony happened six weeks ago."

"Which also means that we might be too late to do anything if they needed help,"
Rh'eldak stated.

"Don't be so negative, Rh'eldak," snapped Marcus Newton, the chief engineer.
"It could be something as simple as a broken comm unit which they ran out of
parts for."

"I was not being pessemistic, Mr. Newton.  I was only stating a possibility."
rebutted the Andorian.

Victor spoke for the first time.  "And that possibility does exist.  We know
that the Orions travel along that system.  If they were to discover the colony,
they might decide it's ripe for the picking.  What I don't understand is why
the colony's even there in the first place."

"The colony is primarily scientific in nature," Rh'eldak stated.  "More than
one hundred Federation scientists and their families are surveying the planet's
natural resources, meteorlogical patterns, archaeology, and wildlife.  The
interesting thing about the planet itself, according to reports from the colony,
is that no intelligent life seems to have lived on the planet for a long period
of time."

"Excuse me?" said a confused Lauri Lindstrom, the chief medical officer.  "What
do you mean by a 'long period of time'?"

"What I mean," Rh'eldak informed, "is that although the colonists have found
signs of technology, no race has stayed on the planet for more than a century,
so far as the scientists can determine.  For one reason or another, every race
that has colonized there, has either left or died out.  Most seem to have left,
but there have been evidence of a dozen different alien races that have been
on the planet at one time or another."

"That could mean any number of things,"  Victor said with a chill in his spine,
"and I'm not sure I like any of them.  Captain, I suggest that we increase speed
so we don't waste what could be precious time."

Sulu looked at his chief engineer.  "Can we handle Warp 7 at limited times,
Mr. Newton?"

He nodded.  "Yes, sir, but no more than 12 hours at a time, with 12 hours
between each time we go Warp 7."

Sulu thought for a brief moment.  "All right, then, that's what we do.  Thank
you for your input.  Let's do our jobs."  With that, the meeting broke.



From: [e-mail] (Tubawarrior)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: HUNTING GROUNDS--Chapter 2
Date: 13 Feb 92 05:52:41 GMT
Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN


Again, many thanks to everyone who's dropped me a line and given me support or
suggestions and such.  I really appreciate it!  I'm trying to respond at least
once to you all.  Please don't feel bad if I forget (I've gotten almost 50
messages now!) :-)

As always, I can be reached by e-mail.


                HUNTING GROUNDS
                   Chapter 2

Victor walked through the ship from bridge to engineering.  He met people,
familiarized himself with where things were, and tried to seem as nice a guy
as he could.  Most people were pleased to meet Victor, and those that didn't
were the type that got intimidated by command officers or Security Chiefs.
He tried not to take those cases personally. The Security people he ran into he
made sure to say "Hi" to.

He met the rest of his staff during the 1800 hours security meeting.
He introduced himself, got to know who his people (and nonpeople)
were, let them know that he was aviailable to talk to about anything, and
know how he planned to run security on the _Excelsior_:  VERY tightly.
"You all should have pride in yourselves," Victor said "because Starfleet
entrusts you with the safety of some of the Federation's best and brightest.
Never forget that.  It may not be the most glorious job, but it's one of the
most important jobs there are on this ship."

Since no one seemed to object, he called the meeting closed and invited
all his new co-workers to play 0-g rugby on the Rec deck.  Victor had learned
from experience that few things bring people together like a game.  Play
was as important as work, and Victor began to appreciate Captain Sulu's
"no rank on the rec deck" policy.  Victor had never seen people have so much
fun on a starship before the _Excelsior_.  On the _Minuteman_, where Victor
was Security Chief prior, personal workouts were meant to be fast and
efficient.  This was primarily because there just wasn't room to have many
people working out at the same time.  There was no such thing as an organized
game on the _Minuteman_.  (Which reminds me,) thought Victor after the game,
(I just *have* to get a full match with the captain sometime.  Maybe with the
epee this time...)

                         ---------------------

Hikaru sat in his quarters, going through paperwork.  This was the one thing
he did *not* like about being a captain.  He thought back to when he didn't
have to do paperwork, but instead listened to his captain complain about
paperwork.  (That's one thing I'll agree with you on, Jim,) Hikaru thought
to himself.

Jim.  Just plain Jim Kirk.  Hikaru still had a hard time calling him Jim.
Not long after the Khitomer incident, Captain Kirk had retired from Starfleet.
He was still in San Francisco, as an advisor to the Admirality and to the
Academy.  Jim had insisted that his friends call him by his first name--he
didn't want to have a title anymore; that part of his life was over, he said.
Jim kept in touch with Hikaru whenever he could, and Hikaru did the same.
There were times that he tried to figure out what it was about Jim that made
him such a famous captain--and realized that there wasn't any one thing that
set Jim apart.  In fact, the only thing that let Jim succeed when others with
as much or more ability failed was simply that Jim never gave up.  He was the
most dedicated officer that Hikaru had ever met in Starfleet.  Because of that,
Hikaru chose to stand with him as he broke nearly every rule in the book to
bring back his best friend.  Hikaru knew that he was putting his career in
jeapordy.  At the time, he didn't care.  That was the loyalty he had felt.
True, there were times when he didn't agree with him.  There were times that
James T. Kirk could be the most arrogant SOB in the known universe.  Despite
that, Hikaru loved and respected the man that he had learned so much from when
he was on the _Enterprise_.

Just then his commlink beeped.  "Captain, you have a personal message coming
in from Starbase 32," Janice Rand's voice said over the speaker.  "Shall I
send it down to your quarters now?"

"Please do," Hikaru said a bit too eagerly.  "It's an excuse not to do
paperwork."

The mini-screen blinked, and a face appeared on it.  Hikaru's eyes widened in
surprise.

"Pavel!  How are you?  I haven't seen you in nearly 3 months!"

"I'm doing good," Pavel Chekov said from the distant starbase.  "Sorry it has
been so long, but I have been busy with my rest and relaxation."  He grinned.

"I'll bet you have," Hikaru teased.  "So what's the word?  Rumor mill says
you're up for a promotion."

"I know nothing of what you speak of," Pavel said calmly, as he stood a little
higher.  Just high enough to show off his shiny new captain's insignia.

Hikaru laughed.   "Pavel, that's wonderful!  What ship did they give you?"

Pavel said, "They gave me the _Andromeda_.  Looks like we'll be racing to the
end of the galaxy together."

"That's great!  Let me know when you get on board.  I'm happy for you, Pavel."

"I'm happy too."  (Pavel always has a way of understating things,) Hikaru
thought. (If he was anything like me, he didn't sleep for days.) "I have
other news as well, Hikaru.  Spock's mother died not long ago."

Hikaru's face dropped.  "Oh, no.  How is Spock?  Have you heard from him?"

"He is on Vulcan now, preparing for her memorial service.  I sent him and his
father my condolences.  I know little else."

"Well, thanks for telling me," Hikaru said.  "I'll get a message out before
we get too far away."

"That is good," Pavel replied.  "I must go now.  Soon _Andromeda_ will be here
and I must be ready to recieve her.  Good-bye, Hikaru."

"Good-bye, *Captain* Chekov."  Pavel grinned as the communication ended.

Without hesitation, he beeped Janice on the bridge.  "Lieutenant Rand, I need
to send a message to Sarek on Vulcan."

"Sarek?  Can I ask why?" Janice inquired.

"I'll tell you about it later.  Is that okay?"

There was a brief pause.  "I guess it is.  I'll pipe it down to you." Rand said.

As Hikaru began to compose his sympathy message he thought to himself,
(Paperwork doesn't seem so bad now...)

                -------------------

The week travelling to Omicron Delta IV seemed to go pretty fast.  Victor
and Rh'eldak drank their toast, even though it was a couple of days after
Victor's first day; the thought was what counted, anyway.  Victor had met
few Andorians in the Academy or in service.  Rh'eldak, in fact, was the first
Andorian he had ever really gotten to know.  Victor pondered this idea; Andor
was one of the original members of the Federation, and yet it seemed that
there were more humans in Starfleet than any other species.  Rh'eldak seemed
as capable as any other officer; in fact, Victor couldn't see a reason why
Rh'eldak shouldn't have a command of his own.  (I might have to talk with him
about it sometime. . .but later, when we know each other better.)

                            -------------------

"Approaching Omicron Delta system, sir,"

"Take us into the system at three-quarter impulse and initiate standard orbit
around Omicron Delta IV." Victor said from the center seat.  He then tapped the
commlink on the chair. "Bridge to Captain Sulu."

"Sulu here.  Yes, Mr. Pennington?"

"Sir, we've entered the system and will achieve standard orbit shortly.  Any
instructions?"

There was a brief pause, then a response.  "Nothing that I can think of.  Is
there still no response from the colony?"

Victor looked back at Janice Rand, the ship's communication officer, and gave
her a nod.  She understood and replied from the comm board. "Nothing, captain.
The colony has been quiet since we started trying to hail them."

"All right then," Sulu said over the commlink.  "I'll be on the bridge shortly."

"We'll be expecting you, sir," said Victor.  "Bridge out."  Victor sat for a
moment, then thought to himself, (We should all be here.  Rh'eldak will be
around somewhere.) "Bridge to Commander Rh'eldak."

"Rh'eldak here," came the soft reply.

Victor informed Rh'eldak of the same thing.

"I'll be there in a few minutes.  Rh'eldak out."

                             -----------------

Sulu walked down the hall towards the turbolift.  He had felt the ship slip out
of warp, and assumed that the _Excelsior_ had reached its destination.  He was
almost out the door when his commlink beeped.  (Well, at least he's thorough,)
Sulu thought to himself as the turbolift doors opened for him.

"Bridge," Sulu said to the wall.  Within a second the turbolift was moving.
The lift made one stop along the way, and Rh'eldak stepped into the lift.

"I assume you're going where I am, sir?"

Sulu smiled and nodded.  "What have you been able to find recently?"

"Nothing we didn't already know, I'm afraid." Rh'eldak replied.  "Perhaps the
colony's log will tell us more--if they ever figure out we're here."

The turbolift slowed down, and finally let its passengers off at the bridge.
Victor stood down as Sulu approached, allowing the captain to have his
customary seat.  Victor moved to the Defenses station.  This was a relatively
new idea in Starfleet, creating a station that kept control of sensors and
weapons, which let the helmsman concentrate on steering the ship, and the
science officer concentrate on analyzing data.  Victor liked his station.
He felt like he took a more active role in defending the ship, which was his
job, after all.  Victor settled down in his seat and checked out the systems on
his board.

"Standard orbit, Mr. Sesik."  Sulu told the helmsman.  "Anything at all,
Lieutenant Rand?"

"Nothing, sir.  I've been trying since we could do realtime communication
on subspace, with no luck."

"Try opening a channel one more time," Sulu said. "If they've got handheld
communicators, we'll be in range of them now."

Rand adjusted her controls accordingly.  "Channel open, sir."

"Delta Omicron IV, this is the Federation starship _Excelsior_.  Do you read
us?  Can you respond?"

They waited a few minutes, and there was nothing.

Sulu shifted in his seat.  This was making him nervous. (Why don't they
*respond* already?!?), he thought.  "Mr. Pennington, do a sensor sweep of
the colony."

Victor looked at his viewscreen and keyed in the proper commands.

(Wait a minute...something's wrong...try this again...no, that's not right.
It *can't* be--)

"What's the delay, Mr. Pennington?"  Sulu was now nervous and annoyed, and his
tone of voice reflected such.

Victor turned and looked at the captain. "Sir, I checked and double-checked...
According to the sensors, there is currently no intelligent life on the
planet's surface...human, Vulcan, Andorian, Tellarite, or otherwise."

                           ---------------

They checked.  They recalibrated the sensors twice.  They did everything short
of opening the window and sticking their heads out for a closer look.  Nothing
changed the fact that nearly 300 scientists and colonists were simply not
there anymore.

"Look at the colony itself, Mr. Pennington," Rh'eldak suggested.  "Has there
been a battle of some kind down there?"

Victor examined the information on the screen.  "No signs of structural damage
to the buildings...and no sign of bodies, either.  Whatever happened down there
happened real quietly."

"Has a ship been here lately?" Rand offered.  "If the Orions found out there
was a colony here..."  She didn't finish the thought.

"There are no ion trails in orbit, but that doesn't mean much.  Six weeks
is a long time, and ion trails are traceable for less than a day." Victor
said.

"Recommendations?" Sulu asked.

"There's little else we can do up here," Rh'eldak said.  "I can check the
colony's computers and see what they've been doing.  Sending an away team
down would seem the next course of action."

"I recommend against it, Captain," Victor rebutted.  "300 colonists are
unaccounted for, and we have no idea why.  Sending people down is an
unnecessary risk."

Sulu thought for a moment.  "Anyone else?" he asked.  "Speak freely if you
wish."

"I would agree with Commander Rh'eldak, sir," Sesik said thoughtfully.  "The
only way we will be able to gather more information will be to access the
colony's computers.  The risk is there, but it is one that must be taken."

"That makes sense to me,"  Rand said.

"Both points of view make sense, Lieutenant.  That's the problem." Sulu
said with a sigh.  "Rh'eldak, you and Sesik will lead the landing party.
Mr. Pennington, provide them with Security personel as you see fit."

"Yes, sir."  Victor thought briefly on the security roster and who would
be on planetside duty.  He chose three people mentally:  Ellingson, a tall
human whose reflexes were like none he'd ever seen before; Tredrex, the
Tellarite who would go up against even the biggest people in hand-to-hand,
and Yolanda, the woman he passed by at the phaser range hitting bulls-eyes
left and right.

"Let's go then," Victor said.  "I'll have three persons waiting for us in the
transporter room."

"All right, then," Sulu said.  "Let's find out what's going on here."

            -----------------------
Path: moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!noc.MR.NET!news.stolaf.edu!asgaard.acc.stolaf.edu!waltner
From: [e-mail] (Tubawarrior)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: HUNTING GROUNDS Chapter 3
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 12 Mar 92 06:49:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Mar12.064954.7505
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Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN
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Hello everyone!! :)

My sincerest apologies for the LONG time between chapters; I've been sweating
out a tough semester here at Olaf, and I've had to put a few things aside
(including, unfortunately, my writing).  Anyone who missed the first two
chapters can ask for them by e-mail.  I'll try to get things out faster if I
can.





                 HUNTING GROUNDS
                   Chapter 3


The landing party assembled at the transporter room minutes after Victor
had summoned the three persons he chose.  Victor issued each party member
a phaser and a tricorder.  Just before the party was ready to leave, Sulu
walked through the doorway.

"Stay in constant contact with us," Sulu ordered. "We have no idea what's
down there.  Stay together, find the colony's log, and beam back up.  Don't
fool around."

"We should be fine, Captain," Rh'eldak said.  "If anything happens, you can
beam the lot of us up."

"All right then," Sulu replied.  "The coordinates have been fed into the
computer, Mister?"

The Transporter Chief looked down at his control panel.  "According to this,
Captain, the party will land in the center of the colony, next to the
administration building."

"Perfect," Rh'eldak said. "Let's not waste time, everyone."  The party began
to take their places on the transporter pads.

"Good luck, all," Sulu said.  He then nodded to the transporter chief and
muttered "Energize."  In seconds the party was gone.

"Keep a close eye on them.  I want them beamed up at the first sign of trouble."
Sulu said to the transporter chief.

"I will, sir."

"Very well then.  You know your duties," Sulu remarked and left the transporter
room.

As Sulu walked down the long corridor towards the turbolift, he couldn't help
but feel a twinge of doubt.  (Am I doing the right thing?  We don't know what
might happen. . .Nonsense.  That's why they're Starfleet officers.  They know
the risks, just like I did. . .maybe I should have gone. . .Why?  Rh'eldak
knows computers better than I do.  So does Sesik. . .Doesn't matter, anyway.
I've made a decision, and I'll follow it thr--)

He almost ran over Doctor Lindstrom just with his thinking.  He brought himself
to reality with a start.  "Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor.  Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Captain.  The question is, are you?"

"Of course I am.  I was just deep in thought.  Again, I apologize."

Doctor Lindstrom replied, "Don't worry about it.  I've got some coffee brewing
in my office.  The real stuff, not the junk the replicator calls coffee.  Care
for some?"

Sulu balked.  "I really should be on the bridge..."

"You know as well as I do that there's nothing you can do on the bridge right
now.  If you're needed, they'll call you.  So come on," she said with a smile.

Sulu hesitated, but finally gave in.  "As you wish.  I haven't had a chance to
talk to you in a while anyway."

"That's the spirit.  And if you're a good boy, I may even give you a balloon,"
Doctor Lindstrom teased.

"I think I'm a little old for that, don't you?" Sulu said with mock seriousness.

"No," Lindstrom replied, with much less mockery than Sulu expected.  "One is
never too old to stop having a child inside you.  We'll talk more in my office."
she said, and started walking back down the corridor.  Sulu followed right
behind her.

Soon the two of them were sipping coffee and talking again.  "You know, Hikaru,
you've been awfully high strung this last week.  Is the mission getting to you?"

"I'm fine, Doctor.  Really."  Sulu lied.

"Are you?  You're usually much more laid back than you are.  A lot of the
officers have said so."

"So now my officers are talking behind my back.  Wonderful."  Sulu retored
quickly, much more so than he would have liked.

Lauri fixed an icy glare at the captain.  "You know full well that's not what
I meant, Captain.  And that kind of attitude is exactly what I'm talking about.
You're a good captain, Hikaru.  You don't have to jam the rules down the crew's
throats because they respect you enough not to break them.  And you know why
they respect you?  Because you respect them.  You add 'Please' and 'Thank you'
to your orders, not just to be nice, but to make the crew feel good about
themselves and believe that they're doing good jobs.  And the crew notices
when you aren't yourself."

Hikaru thought for a moment.  Then he sighed.  "You're right, Lauri.  I haven't
been doing those things,"  He paused, gathering his thoughts and debating with
himself just how much he wanted to verbalize.  "It's just that this mission is
so strange, and I'm not even sure if I'm doing the right thing.  What if
Rh'eldak or Sesik get hurt or killed down there??  I'm responsible for sending
them."

"They're Starfleet officers, Captain.  It's their job.  You know that," the
doctor reminded him.

"I know, I know.  I was going through that before.  Mapping empty space is one
thing.  This is completely different.  No matter what, I'm accountable.  I'm
the one who has to face the families if something goes wrong.  I wonder if this
is how---"

"Don't."  Lindstrom interrupted him.  "Don't compare yourself to anyone else.
I don't care who it is.  You're Hikaru Sulu, a unique person, and the only
standards you have to live up to are your own.  You'll only end up being
miserable if you try to live up to another man's standards."

Hikaru was stunned.  Only then did he realize why he felt like nothing was
working the way it should.  The ship and the crew hadn't changed; he had.
He was trying to run the _Excelsior_ the way that _Enterprise_ had been run
when he served there.  It wasn't his style of command.  He remembered telling
himself so many different times, 'That's not the way I'd do it.'  Now he
was trying to do exactly what he vowed he wouldn't.

"Is it that obvious?"  Sulu asked the doctor.

Lauri nodded.  Then she reached out and touched Hikaru's arm.   "I'm worried
about them too.  But you're not helping yourself or them if you aren't Captain
*Sulu*, the best damn captain there is, in my book."

Sulu grinned.  "Thanks, Lauri.  I needed the talking to.  Do I get my balloon
now?"

"Well, now that you mentioned it,"  Lauri opened her desk drawer and produced
a large bag of balloons in many shapes and sizes.  "Doctor's office isn't
complete without 'em.  What color??"

Hikaru could only laugh.

              ----------------------

It was like beaming into a ghost town.  Everything was there except people.
Strange, how a place could look so modern and familiar and yet feel so alien.
As the party materialized, the wind began to move through the buildings, kicking
up dust from the disused walkways.

"The administration building is right here," Rh'eldak said.  "Let's see what
we can find out."  The six of them walked into the building and began to look
around.  Again, the same "ghost town" feeling pervaded.  Dust was covering
everything from lack of use.  After wandering around the building for a short
while, the group discovered the computer center.

"Here we are," Rh'eldak said, encouraged.  "Now we might be able to figure
out what's going on here."  He moved over to the computer and started working
with it along with Sesik.  Victor and his unit stood by the doorway, observing
the area and staying alert.

(Maybe I overreacted,) Victor thought to himself. (But better safe than sorry
is a security person's creed.)  "Anything useful, Rh'eldak?"

"Plenty, Victor, but too much to go through here."  He flipped out his
communicator.  "Rh'eldak to _Excelsior_,"

"_Excelsior_ here," came Lieutenant Rand's reply.  "What's up?"

"We've found the colony's computing center, and we'll have to download it to
you so we can get through it all."

"We'll be ready to recieve shortly, Commander," came the reply from Rand.

"All right, hold this channel open, please," was Rh'eldak's response. "Sesik,
adjust your tricorder so we can send a signal directly to _Excelsior's_
computers."

"Yes, Commander," Sesik said, and busied himself with the task.

Within minutes, the memory banks of the colony had been transferred to
_Exceslior_.  "Well,"  Rh'eldak said, "that's about all we can do here.
Anything else before we beam up?"

Robert Ellingson spoke up to the group for the first time.  "Perhaps we could
look around the colony some more.  With a little footwork, we might find a
clue that would give us a lead as to what *happened* here."

"That is exactly the reason we accessed the colony's computers," Sesik stated
flatly.  "There is no reason for a manual search that I can see."

"I don't know, Sesik," Victor responded.  "Most often, computers only observe
details they are programmed to look for.  We may be able to find something
they didn't."

"Let's see what the captain says about it," Rh'eldak offered, opening his
communicator.  "Rh'eldak to Captain Sulu."

"Sulu here.  How's it going?"

"We've completed the download, sir.  We were wondering if we should look around
and see if we can find any clues as to the colonist's disappearance."

Sulu thought for a moment.  Then he responded, "Go ahead and look around for a
while, but keep in touch.  Whatever happened to the colonists might happen to
one or all of you, and I'd rather avoid that."

Rh'eldak grinned.  "We would as well, sir.  Rh'eldak out."

The landing party began to search the colony, looking for signs of anything
out of the ordinary.  After an hour, they had searched every building and the
grounds around the colony and had discovered nothing.

Victor was talking with Rh'eldak on the northern edge of the colony as the sun
was setting.  "We may as well gather the party and get back to the ship.  This
seems fruitless."

"I would agree," Rh'eldak agreed and flipped out his communicator.  "Rh'eldak
to landing party.  Please gather back at the administration building to beam
up to the ship."

Ten minutes later the party was beginning to form at the designated site.
As the last few crew members arrived, Victor asked, "Where's Yolanda?  She's
the only one left."

"She should be coming," Trebrex said roughly.  "She went to investigate
something just as you ordered us back here.  She said she'd catch up."

"You should *not* have left her alone," Victor reprimanded as he reached for
his communicator. "Pennington to Yolanda, what's your status?"

No response.

"Sesik, tricorder scan.  Where is she?" Victor said curtly.

Sesik checked his tricorder.  "Commander, Yolanda is not within tricorder scan."

A chill ripped down Victor's back.  "Dammit," he muttered under his breath.
"Pennington to _Excelsior_, pinpoint Ensign Yolanda on sensors."

There was a pause that seemed to take days in Victor's mind. (Come on, she's
just out of tricorder range...everything's fine...she must have dropped her
communicator or something...)

The response was exactly what Victor was trying to convince himself not to
believe:  "We can't locate Yolanda on sensors.  It's like she dropped off the
face of the earth."

An instant later Victor felt the tingly sensation of the transporter effect on
his body.  He wanted to scream, but his molecules were already being hurtled
up through space towards the orbiting _Excelsior_.  Once materialized, Victor
wasted no time expressing his feelings.

"Send me back down there NOW!"

"I'm sorry, sir, Captain's orders." replied the trembling transporter chief.

Without another word, Victor bolted from the transporter room and ran to the
closest trubolift.  Rh'eldak had called after him, but Victor chose to ignore
him.  The lift seemed to take days in Victor's mind; eventually, the doors
opened to the main bridge.  He zeroed in on Sulu in the center seat.

"Why did you pull us out?!?!  One of my team is missing, and I can't do
anything about it up here!  I demand to be beamed back down!"  Victor was
still breathing heavily from the dash to the lift.

Sulu turned his seat to face Victor and fixed a piercing glare on him.  He
spoke with an even, calm voice, yet Sulu's eyes were doing lazer surgery
on Victor's face:  "I pulled you out because I do not want to lose anyone
else before we can protect ourselves from whatever's taking people from the
planet.  There is now quite a bit we can do up here, now that we have the
colony's log downloaded into the computer.  If we can find a pattern to work
with, we may be able to track down the missing colonists and Ensign Yolanda.
And nobody, *nobody* demands anything from me on this ship.  Have I made
myself clear, Lieutenant Commander?"

Victor gulped.  "Aye, sir," was all he could get out.

Sulu grinned. "Very good.  Now let's see if we can do something to get them
back.  Do what you can with the sensors.  Start a full sweep of the planet,
acre by acre if necessary, but I want a clue to go on.  Look for *anything*
that might be out of the ordinary.  Mineral content, atmosphere content,
geological patterns, whatever.  Just find something that you can follow."

"Aye, sir," Victor said and went to the Tactical station to begin his work.
Before long, Rh'eldak and Sesik came through the turbolift.  Sulu turned to
them and said, "I need both of you to start processing the colony's log so
we can find a pattern to look for so we can figure out what's going on down
there before we lose anyone else."

"Yes, sir," Rh'eldak replied.  "We'll use the main briefing room as our
research station."

"Relay your findings to Mr. Pennington at regular intervals," Sulu ordered.
"Between the three of you, you should be able to discover something.  I don't
want to sit on my butt more than is absolutely necessary."

"Agreed, sir," Rh'eldak said.  He and Sesik then dissappeared into the lift.


                --------------