6 - The rogue's club

Food. Real food. Lots of real food. Not ration packs or suppliments not week-old supplies or hastily gathered rubbish. Duo hadn't eaten proper replicated food in six months, and he was in gastronomic heaven as he battled his way through the small mountain of replicated dishes that were heaped on the table infront of him.

"oh man..." Duo mumbled, doing his best not to spray Jim with chunks of chicken, "you've got no idea how long I've been lookin' forward t' this!"

Jim smiled, along with Aldous. "I think I can imagine," Jim said, taking a sip of his drink.

"So," Duo said, taking a pause from stuffing his face and looking at the pair. "Do you guys wanna fill me in on what we're doin' now that we've stolen th' Scorpion?"

Jim looked at Aldous, who nodded at him, obviously giving some tacit approval. Looking back at Duo, Jim proceeded to fill him in. "We've stolen Captain Aldous's ship. With his approval," he added, smiling briefly at Aldous. "Interestingly, it turns out there are a few... improvements on this ship that can help us. You really should explain the rest of it," he said, looking at Aldous.

Aldous nodded and looked back at Duo. "Do you remember the Sernaix?" he asked.

Duo frowned, "yeah," he said lightly, pausing for a moment in reflection. "I remember the Sernaix jus' fine, they're hard t' forget."

"A few weeks ago, the Sernaix Ship Mind that we met, the one whose crew had abducted me.... he returned."

"Why?" Duo quizzed, his frown deepening slightly.

"He had..." Aldous paused a moment, looking for the right words. "He had taken control of his ship and declared himself a free agent."

With Duo silently stuffing his face, Aldous continued. "We're the same, having been converted to a 'ship mind' by the device onboard his ship, living out the rest of our existence as an energy life form instead of as a carbon-based life form. Because both he and I were changed in this way, both of us against our will, he feels we share a bond. He calls me his 'brother'."

He paused again for a moment. "He's upgraded this ship to include a phase cloak and advanced nanotechnology that has been able to assist in the automation of the ship, and includes some very efficient repair modules."

Duo looked up, swallowing hurredly. "So he helped ya get set up so that ya can run th' ship without engineers, or maintanance crews... or any crew at all?" He asked, not pausing for a reply, "sounds like a good idea t' me, but I wouldn't have expected help from th' Sernaix, of all people."

"That's right," Aldous said, nodding. "So the ship can now be run by myself. I have a virtual bridge as well as the real one, and I have virtual crew. I give orders, and they carry them out. It's quite an interesting, even surreal experience at times."

"Sounds like it," Duo agreed, "so you've got all th' upgrades an' stuff, Cap'n. What are we gonna use them for? What are we gonna do?" he asked lightly.

"Let me ask you something," Hawkins said. "Are you willing to go on a mission that's going to have the Federation itself hunting you down, with the likelihood of you being handed over to the EGR if they catch you?"

"What d'ya think I've been doin' for th' past year?" Duo asked lightly, then chuckled. "It's usually me that asks th' dumb questions, not you."

Jim smiled, and Aldous said, "Welcome to the rogue's club then." Both Jim and Aldous smiled.

Duo grinned, placing his elbows on the table and making a cradle for his chin with his hands. "Thanks, I think." He said lightly, "So, I take it we're gonna be fightin' th' EGR... but we can't do that with one ship an' a Mech, no matter how many upgrades they have." He paused to think for a moment, "so we're gonna need help from somewhere."

Hawkins nodded. "President Spock has initiated this mission, but I think he's the only one who knows about it. He met me in secret and asked me to... well, I think he was asking me to lead a rebellion." He frowned, recognising how strange those words felt to him. "So gathering a group of 'rebels' is probably a good start. And you've always been a bit of a rebel, Duo," he added, smiling.

Duo grinned, but his mind was already churning with options. "I know about a few small groups, here an' there, but they're mostly jus' tryin' survive." He said lightly, "there's only one rebel group that's still in operation, hat I know of. It's run by a guy called Hetfield, I think." He explained, "he used t' be a starfleet marine, I think, an' he operates outa Kingon space, somewhere."

Jim frowned, his mind drifting back. "James Hetfield?"

"Yeah, that's him." Duo said lightly, "great big guy, nasty temper, voice t' match. D'ya know him?"

Jim chuckled. "Yeh, we butted heads a couple times. I remember him being on Starbase Praetor for a while. Did he get out before the Scorpion Battles?"

"I guess he must have done. I know he gets around in an old dropship, so maybe he got away on it." Duo mused, "in any case, he and a bunch of marines are, or were, held up somewhere in Klingon space." He explained, "his group is th' only one I know of. There used t' be lots more, but they're all gone now."

Jim nodded, thinking. "I think we should make our way there and pick him up," he suggested. "Having him and some marines onboard will only be to our advane. In fact...." He looked at Aldous. "I think we should find all those we can, and base them onboard this ship. There's plenty of room for them, especially since we don't actually have a crew."

Aldous nodded, looking thoughtful. "I agree," he said, after thinking about it for a moment. "We're heading to the Klingon sector now."

"Hey..." Duo frowned, "It's kinda risky t' jus' go t' th' Klingon sector. That whole area is pretty well guarded an' unless you got a way t' avoid detection, th' chances of gettin' caught are pretty high."

"The phase cloak cannot be detected," Aldous said. "By anyone."

"Oh..." Duo said, "It's gonna be nice t' be able t' move around again, without havin' t' worry too much." He grinned, "pity I don't have one on Justice. It would've made like 100% easier."

"Excuse me," Aldous said. "Some of my crew need my attention." The hologram flickered off and he disappeared.

Duo frowned lightly at the empty space where Aldous was for a moment, then looked at Jim. "It's gotta be hard, havin' t' deal with a virtual reality an' this one, at the same time." He mused lightly, "But its pretty important t' have people t' talk to an' interact with. A person would go mad if it was just himself all th' time, trust me on that one. Bein' alone all th' time is pretty hard."

Jim looked at his friend and nodded. "It's good to have you back," he said.

"It's great t' be back.... there's a lot t' be said for th' comforts of home." Duo said lightly, leaning back into the chair and sighing contentedly.

Jim nodded, and then looked around the empty mess. The ship was able to hold 1,000 crew and up to another 1,200 in an emergency. And yet now it was empty. And there was nothing they needed to do, as it was automated. As he looked around at the large, empty mess, all he could think about was how much they were unable to do.

"Ok," he said, returning his attention to Duo. "We need to start our planning. Let's go make the battle bridge our home." He stood up, waiting for Duo to join him.

Duo nodded, pulling himself to his feet and following Jim. He wasn't very sure exactly what they could do, with the little information they had. But, he mused, it was better than doing nothing.

to be continued....