Chapter 29: Desperation
October 2413
Kirina sat alone in the darkened shuttle, awaiting the signal. She held one hand in the other, to stop them shaking. Of course she was nervous. If this didn’t work, it would certainly mean not only her death, but the deaths of Kaeni and her crew as well.
The Ferengi shuttle did not have the power or the fuel to reach the edge of Klingon space, but even still, it was Kirina’s best chance to escape her indefinite confinement. The plan was to launch at the same time as a Ferasan freighter convoy headed to a Federation Starbase, and latch on to avoid detection. From there, it would be a simple matter of booking passage on a civilian transport back to the Republic.
When the signal came, Kirina held her breath and engaged the autopilot. She waited for the comm ordering her to turn around, or the jolt of a tractor beam, or the weapons fire that would end her; but none of it came. The plan went off without a hitch, and within the hour she was safely stowed away in the cargohold of the Convoy’s #4 ship.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl on the freighter. For the Romulan stowaway, each uneventful moment that passed only served as a reminder that she might be discovered in the next. It was impossible to sleep when every creaking of the noisy old ship was indistinguishable from the sound of the targ cage that she was certain would be closed around her the instant her guard was down. Two weeks of travel felt like two years.
November 2413
Kirina had barely moved out of the way in time for a Ferasan crewmember to walk through the hold without noticing her. If not for the heavy jolt a few moments earlier, she might have been taken by surprise. As the large cargo door at the rear of the ship opened, the stowaway was once again forced to quietly relocate to avoid detection.
“Welcome to Deep Space 13,” said the bright young Starfleet Ensign in gold that appeared on the ramp. To the man’s disappointment, the feline crewmember just grunted and began unloading cargo.
It worked, Kirina thought to herself, this is my chance. As the dock crew got to work, Kirina snuck into the freighter’s engine room, to wait for her opportunity to slip past.
“Who are you?! What you doing in here?”
Kirina awoke with a start, to a very flustered Ferasan with a disruptor aimed in her general direction. How long was I asleep? she thought, How could I be so careless? The Ferasan spoke again, “Stand up slowly, or this one will shoot!” As Kirina followed the instruction, he continued his questioning, “Where did you come from?”
“I’m sorry,” the drained Romulan replied, her voice hoarse from exhaustion and underuse, “I was just so tired, from uh, unloading cargo…”
“Lies! This one saw last dock worker leave an hour ago!” Kirina winced, fresh out of excuses. “Mrrrr…” the Ferasan emitted, “Yeesss… Syndicate pay Hegoss top latinum for such prizes.” He waved the disruptor towards the cargo section of the ship, “Go over there!” Kirina slowly started to move as the Ferasan spoke into his communicator, “Bridge,” he said, “Hegoss capture great prize. Romulan! Lift off now.”
Kirina saw an opening – he’d gotten careless with his aim while keying his comm, and she wasn’t going to let the moment pass by. She recklessly jumped at the feline’s disruptor. The Ferasan yelped as his face met elbow. After a short struggle, she turned the man’s disruptor around on him and fired.
The success was practically intoxicating, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of still being alive. The feeling was short-lived, however, as her rationality reasserted itself. If the crew found the dead Ferasan, they’d report it to the station. If they didn’t find him, they’d report his disappearance. Either way, the station would scrutinize outgoing passengers and she would be discovered.
The pit in her stomach grew with every passing second. There has to be another way, she thought, as her eyes fell on the freighter’s nearby plasma conduit. It’s not their fault, she thought, as she rummaged through her medkit. But there’s no time, she thought, as she mixed up a concoction. And I’m NOT going back, she thought, as she applied it to a rusted tritanium beam supporting the conduit.
Content in being around to ponder her selfishness later, Kirina set off at a dead-sprint for the cargo door.