Star Traks: Banshee "Lack of Evidence" By Brad Dusen USS Secondprize Captain Alexander Rydell sat in his quarters, watching the stars streak by. He turned to his desktop display. The starfield on the display lit up with a brilliant flash of light, then it faded. The destruction of the Banshee. Rydell had seen it on the viewer. They had ordered him to leave, but it seemed like a bad exchange. An Excelsior-Class vessel at the cost of a Sovereign-Class? But a greater mystery settled over the captain: why did he feel this way? The door chimed. "Come." Counselor Claire Webber walked in. "Captain." Webber smiled. "Yes?" Rydell asked. "Well you've been so sad lately." Webber said with irritating jubilation. "I thought you needed some cheering up." "I know what you're thinking..." Rydell got up from his chair. "Oh come on, it won't hurt!" Webber opened her arms. "Just stay right there!" Rydell screamed. Webber moved in and began to squeeze on Rydell's body, making it nearly limp. "Noooooo!" Rydell bellowed. USS Banshee "Captain's log, stardate 51467.2: The Banshee has arrived at Pentan V, location of a small Section Thirty-One starbase where we will drop off some supplies. I'm really starting to wonder why Admiral Newman drafted us if we're going to be used as a freighter." Dr. Lang walked into the lounge, somewhat exhausted. "Hello, Peter." She smiled. "What's wrong?" Peter asked. "I was up all night working on the schematics for a new, faster and more long-range transporter." Liz said. "I didn't get to bed until 3." "Ehhh." Peter said. It was 1300 hours now. "What can I get for you?" "Talkarian smoothie, please." She said as she collapsed onto the bar. "What's up, doc?" Ben asked as he walked up to her. "Go away, Commander." Liz said. "I'm not on the mood for whatever you have to say." "Oh come on." Ben said. "I can think of something that might cheer you up." He whispered something into Liz's ear as Peter set down her drink. "NO!" She screamed as she threw her drink at Ben, splattering the carbonated acidic juices into his eyes. "Trust me, Ben, you'll never get her if you keep whispering things like that." Peter said. "Why not?" "Because I don't think she'd do that kind of thing with you with a Risan Pleasure Woman." Peter paused. "I don't even think that you could do that kind of thing with a Risan Pleasure Woman." Charlotte sat down next to Ben. "Could you talk to me, I'm feeling lonely?" Charlotte asked. "What? Oh, coming Lieutenant Carn!" Ben ran out of the room. "Errr." Charlotte slowly got up and left. Captain Vorezze sat in a jakuzi in the Banshee's health club. Several shapely junior officers were playing water polo in the nearby pool. Sadly, his treat to beautiful women was interrupted as he was tapped on the shoulder by Charlotte. "What do you want?" He asked. "We just got a message from Thirty-One base beta four eight. Admiral Newman is coming aboard the Banshee with something to discuss." "Fine, now shoo!" As Charlotte scampered off, Jad turned back to the water polo game, only to find that it had been replaced by an elderly swimming class. He decided to leave when one of the old ladies winked at him. "Hello Newman!" Jad said as he walked into his ready room and found the portly admiral sitting on his ready room couch. "Captain, I'll be brief." Newman said. "Good." Newman walked over to Jad's desktop display and switched it on. "Do you recognize this man?" "Captain Alexander Rydell, USS Secondprize." Vorezze said. "Correct." Newman said. "He's been sending requests to Star- fleet about the last known location of the Banshee." "You don't think he knows, does he?" "We want you to find how if he does. Take a runabout with a cloaking device and survey the Secondprize." "Sir, even though the Secondprize is only an Excelsior-Class starship, if we are discovered, they could very easily destroy a runabout." "I know." Newman shrugged. "And you'd be willing to risk our lives?" "Not our, yours." Newman smiled. "Good luck, captain." "Runabout Indus requesting permission to depart." Captain Vorezze said into the comm. He, Commander Tagel, Commander Rachow and Lieutenant Carn. There was only snoring coming from the other end of the comm channel. "WAKE UP!" Jad screamed. "Wha-? oh. Indus, permission granted, yadda yadda yadda." The sleepy sounding voice said from the intercom. The Indus slowly lifted off from the aft shuttle bay on the Banshee. USS Secondprize "Still nothing." Lieutenant Patricia Hawkins said as she examined the sensor readouts. "My point exactly." Rydell nodded. "Exactly what are you trying to prove?" Dillon asked. "Shut up, Commander." "Yes sir." Dillon simply stared blankly ahead at the viewer. "The captain is right." Jaroch said. "This IS the location of the Banshee's destruction, but there is no debris anywhere within a light year." "So what happened to the Banshee?" Hawkins asked. "Did it just disappear." "Let me ask you this, Lieutenant." Rydell said. "Compared with a Dominion warhship,how would a Sovereign-Class ship like the Banshee stand?" "Given what we know of their battle potential, I'd say odds are the Banshee would have won." "But the Banshee mysteriously lost, but due to lack of evidence, we don't know why!" "Have YOU ever met their crew?" Dillon asked. "They make us look good at times." "Keep scanning." Rydell got up. "I'll be in my quarters." Runabout USS Indus The cloaked runabout Indus pulled up alongside the Excelsior- Class vessel. "I can not see the logic in using an older design when there are many newer, more powerful classes in service." Carn said as he looked at the ship. "True, it doesn't make sense to still be building Excelsior- Class ships when Galaxy, Defiant and Sovereign-Class ships are in service, but just because the design is old, doesn't mean the ships in it are old." Vorezze said. The three others stared at him blankly. "Never mind." Jad turned around. "Where is Captain Rydell?" "Headed towards his quarters." Ben said. "I can beam you into that section." Vorezze stepped up onto the mini-transporter. "Energize." USS Secondprize "Look, captain, the ****ing warp engines are pretty ****ed up right now!" Commander Baird said over the intercom as Rydell walked down the corridor. Rydell noticed a woman walking by, holding her child's ears. "I don't care what it takes, just fix them! Rydell out." He said as he walked into his quarters. Elsewhere on that deck, Captain Vorezze materialize in an empty turbolift. He had replaced his Section Thirty-One uniform to regular Starfleet and removed two of his rank pins. "Excuse me, miss." Vorezze pulled aside Counselor Webber. "Can you tell me the location of the Captain's quarters, there's something I need to discuss with him?" "Oh, you can talk to me." Webber said kindly. "I'm sorry, miss, but I really need to talk to the captain." Vorezze backed up. "You shouldn't keep these feelings all bottled up like that." Webber said. "In fact, I know what you need." She opened her arms. "NO! Get away!" Vorezze shouted as Webber embraced him, squeezing the Betazoid's breath from his lungs. Webber finally released him. "There, now wasn't that better." Vorezze's voice was only a squeak. "Great." Webber scampered off into a turbolift. "Wait, you never told me where..." The lift had left. "Fine." Another officer, Scott Baird, emerged from a nearby supply closet, holding a few spare parts. "Excuse me, sir, do you know where Captain Rydell's quarters are?" Vorezze asked. "How the **** should I know?" Baird got into the next turbolift. Captain Rydell leaned back in the couch in his quarters and stared out and the sea of starts. Funny. One constellation almost looked like the outline of a runabout. USS Banshee Commander Burns walked into the lounge and walked up to the bar. Peter turned with a grin on his face, but the smile quickly faded. "Oh, it's you." He said. "Peter, can we talk?" Charlotte asked. Peter looked around, desperately attempting to find someone who needed a drink. 'Drink, damn you, DRINK!' He thought to himself, then turned back to Commander Burns. "I guess." "Good." Charlotte said. "Why is it that no one on the ship likes me?" "Why do you think that?" Peter asked. "Well for one thing, half of the lounge is giving me the finger as I speak." Charlotte could see their reflection in the mirrored panels surrounding the painting in the center of the bar's wall. Peter glanced over her shoulder and half the people in the lounge quickly put their hands behind their backs. "So you might be right." He shrugged. "Well why do people hate me?" "I don't hate you." Peter said comfortingly. "You don't?" "No. I just moderately dislike you." "Oh." Charlotte said, disappointed. "Well why do you think that is?" "Well, you're like the ex-girlfriend for half the ship." Peter said. "And most people don't get along with their ex-partners." "I always got along with MY ex-partners." Charlotte said. "Yes, well your ex-partners happen to make up half the population of the Quadrant!" Peter said. "We're pretty sure you're the reason we're fighting the war with the Dominion. The Gamma Quadrant doesn't want you." "Hmmm..." Charlotte said. "I wonder how good a Jem'Hadar would be." "My point exactly!" Peter said. "You were wondering that too?" "No, but the thing is that you're too much of a slut!" Peter said. "If it has equipment, you've probably done it!" He paused. "And also if it doesn't." "Yeah, but I mean the scales..." "Goodbye, Commander." Peter walked over to someone else. "Fine!" Charlotte shouted after him. "I'll just have to prove my worth to you!" USS Secondprize Captain Vorezze walked into Captain Rydell's quarters after asking the computer for its location and using has fleetwide access code to open the door. "Who the hell are you?" Captain Rydell sat up. "That's not important." Vorezze said. "What I have to say is: stop your investigation into the Banshee. It's gone, deal with it!" "But..." Rydell stuttered. Vorezze hit his com-badge. "Energize." He vanished. Rydell paused. "Rydell to bridge, did you detect a transporter beam just now?" "Yes sir." Jaroch said. "It went to an area of space roughly two hundred meters away from the Secondprize." "Lock phasers and prepare to fire. Wait until I get to the bridge." Rydell got up and left. USS Indus Captain Vorezze stepped off the mini-transporter pad. "Captain, the Secondprize has locked phasers." Axik said. "Set a course back to the Banshee, warp 5." Space streaked and lit up as the Indus headed away from the Secondprize. "Captain, I don't think we're the worst of the Secondprize's problems." Carn said. "There are three Dominion warships approaching the ship." "There's no way an Excelsior-Class ship can take on three Dominion warships. Axik said. "Contact the Banshee. Tell them we have a problem." USS Banshee "Have you decided that I'm worth something to this crew?" Charlotte rolled over in bed and looked at Peter. "Not really." Peter shrugged. "I just wanted a quickie." "Bridge to Commander Burns." Vince said over the comm. "What is it, Vince?" "We're getting a priority one transmission from the Indus." Vince said. Charlotte got out of bed and tossed on her bathrobe. "But it through down here." The viewer in her quarters turned to the cockpit of the the Indus. "Captain." Charlotte said. Jad saw someone in the background, but couldn't see that it was Peter. "I pity him." Jad said. "I need the Banshee to get to the Secondprize as soon as possible, there are three Dominion warships on the way." "Okay, we're departing now." Charlotte said. "And please be wearing clothes when you get here. Indus out." The wall turned black. "Burns to bridge, cloak and set a course for the Secondprize, warp nine!" "Aye sir." Vince said. Charlotte looked back to Peter. "Want to prove my worth again?" "I guess." Peter said. "Computer, lights." USS Secondprize "Three Dominion warships, sir." Hawkins said. "They will be in weapon's range in two minutes." "Rydell to Baird, please tell me that the warp engines are working." Rydell said hopefully. "No ****ing way, Captain." Baird said. "Lieutenant Hawkins, ready weapons, go to red alert." Rydell said. "We're going to have to fight our way out of this." USS Banshee The Indus set down on the Banshee's flight deck as Vorezze, Tagel, Rachow and Carn emerged. "Report." Jad said as he was greeted by Charlotte and Vince. "We should be at the location of the Secondprize in two minutes, captain." Charlotte said. "We've loaded torpedo bays and cloaked, so we're ready for combat." "You're sure the new cloaking device will work properly?" Jad asked. "We can't let the Secondprize see us." "I'm positive." Charlotte said. "We should be able to fire torpedoes while cloaked." "Thank you, failed Klingon experiment." Jad smiled as he walked into a turbolift. USS Secondprize "Ten seconds to weapons range." Hawkins said. "Ready phasers and load torpedo bays." Rydell said. "Rydell to Baird, please tell that you can get the warp engines running, and SOON!" "Sorry, captain." Baird said. "We're pretty much ****ed at this point!" The Secondprize rocked as the three Dominion warships pummeled them with their phasers. "Fire at will!" Rydell shouted. "Evasive maneuvers!" The Secondprize swerved from side to side as it launched its photon torpedoes at the lead ship. The two on the side broke off and flew to opposite sides of the Secondprize, firing a rain of phaser blasts. USS Banshee Captain Vorezze stared out at the viewer as the Secondprize took a beating from the three massive warhsips. "Target the one attacking the Secondprize's starboard side and fire quantum torpedoes. Once that one is destroyed, loop around and take out the other two." As the warship fired, five quantum torpedoes lashed out of nowhere, slamming into the warship's side, confusing and disorienting them. Three more flew out of empty space, blasting the first one to shreds. USS Secondprize "What the hell?" Rydell saw what was going on. Eight torpedoes had just come out of nowhere, destroying a Dominion warship." The Banshee, still cloaked, swerved around the aft side of the Secondprize and fired phasers and torpedoes at the second warship. This warship had a better idea of what to do and launched a torpedo at the Banshee, knocking its cloaking device off. The Banshee quickly finished off the warship by concentrating all forward weapons onto the warship. It exploded, leaving one left. "It's a Sovereign-Class starship." Hawkins reported. "Starfleet registry NCC-9561-C. USS Banshee." "I knew they weren't destroyed." Rydell smirked. "So why the hell are they flying around with a cloaking device?" "Good question." Dillon said. "But shouldn't we be greatful that they are here? We're no longer, as Baird put it, ****ed." "Good point." Rydell said. "Hawkins, let's join the Banshee in their assault on that warship!" The Banshee and the Secondprize came about, raining torpedoes onto the Dominion warship. The warship lashed out with it's weapons before becoming a massive spark in space. USS Banshee "I think we have some explaining to do. Beam Rydell onto the Banshee. It would be a good chance to test out our new through shields transporters." Rydell materialized on the Banshee's bridge. "What the?" "Please come with me." Jad walked into the observation lounge. "Captain Velorn." The three walked into the observation lounge. Rydell looked around as Jad and Velorn conversed. "What do we do?" Vorezze asked. "We can't recruit them!" "You are the captain, figure something out!" Velorn said. "Captain Rydell." Jad said. "The Banshee is a ship of Starfleet's Section Thirty-One." He explained. "We had to fake our own deaths because no one else can know about Section Thirty-One's existence. "So that's why you walked into my quarters and told me to give up the search." Rydell nodded. "Yes." Vorezze sat down at the conference table. "Section Thirty- One uses technologies and policies that are illegal by Federation law, such as cloaking devices." "So what now?" Rydell asked. "Now that I know." "Can your crew keep the secret?" Vorezze asked hopefully. Rydell thought for a moment, evaluating each person on the Secondprize's senior staff. "You did save our lives." He said. "And I think the crew will be grateful enough to keep the secret." "Okay." Vorezze said. "I'll return you to your ship." Rydell sighed. "Swell." "Captain's log, stardate 51502: The Secondprize has departed, ensuring us that our secret will be kept. Whether or not I trust them is a completely different story, considering that the Galactic Enquirer has been offering thirty bars of gold pressed latinum for a good story. At any rate, the slight damage that the Banshee has sustained has been repaired and we have cloaked and are headed to Thirty-One base chi 21." Commander Burns walked into the lounge and sat down at the bar. Peter jumped as he saw her. "Look, Charlotte..." He stuttered, "I know what happened the other day, but I was drunk and desperate." "It's okay." Charlotte said, still somewhat depressed. "I get that a lot." Peter looked at her and, for once, saw her for what she was. Sure, Charlotte might not be much to look at, but she was somewhat good looking. She was simply a person who was misunderstood and resorted to sex in an attempt to make herself feel better. He smiled, suddenly understanding. "You know what, Commander, I think I'll buy you a drink." "We don't use money on the Banshee." Charlotte said. "Do you want the damn drink or not?" Peter asked. "Thank you." Charlotte smiled as she picked up the glass of Corgokan Fizzy. "You know, Charlotte," Peter smiled, "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."