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A New Alliance	By : Kehlan Category: M through R > Predator Views: 2899 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Predator movie series, nor do I own Star Trek, nor any of the characters from either of them. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Aware that the phaser fire would have triggered alarms on the bridge, Price knew that he had very little time. His best bet, he decided, was to use the brig transporter. His own programming passwords had long since been locked out but Goyard was not the only engineer whose codes he had obtained. His lips creased in a smug smile. It had been careless of Qeytok to leave his pass codes where someone else could get hold of them – a Chief Engineer should know better than that. He’d get into trouble for this and it served him right.

Moving quickly to the console, Price input Qeytok’s code, programming the transporter for an intra-ship transport from the brig to Shuttle Bay Two. A few seconds later he was in the shuttle bay. Again using Qeytok’s code, he unlocked the nearest shuttle, settled himself in the pilot’s seat, running through the preflight checks as quickly as he could. Transmitting the shuttle bay door codes he engaged the engines and set the shuttle in motion.

*************

With a possible bomb on board the ship and the captain in an obviously bad mood there was an understandable level of tension on Endeavour’s bridge. Nevertheless, the senior officers went about their duties calmly and efficiently as they waited for the engineering team to report back.

All was quiet until an alarm on the security console sounded. Griffiths tensed. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Only time would tell if things played out the way he intended them to. “Captain, we have phaser fire in the brig” he reported crisply, opening a channel as he spoke “Griffiths to Sakamura… Report!”

There was only silence. “Sakamura… Reynolds… report!” Griffiths was not particularly concerned about the lack of response from the two guards. If Price was free then they would be unconscious and silence was to be expected.

“This is Rossi.” The disgraced crewman sounded shocked and scared as he spoke “Reynolds and Sakamura are dead! Price killed them both!”

“What?” Griffiths was truly shocked now. He must have misheard; surely Price had no reason to have killed them? “Rossi, are you sure?”

“I am sure” Rossi confirmed shakily, “He broke Reynolds’ neck. And Sakamura… He got Reynolds’ phsaer and…he put the it on maximum and shot him at point blank range. And… and… then he shot him again just to make sure!”

There was a horrified silence on the bridge, a silence which seemed to last an eternity but in reality was no more than a handful of seconds. “Where is Price now?” Kehlan demanded.

“I… I… don’t know,” Rossi stammered, his nervousness increasing now that the captain was speaking to him. “He used the brig transporter, I… I think he was going to one of the shuttle bays.”

“That’s very likely” Kehlan acknowledged, “Rossi, stay where you are, we will have a medical team on the way.” She glanced across at Lt Baker, pleased to see the communications officer was already working on it. She was about to order Griffiths to send a team to secure the shuttle bays when another alarm sounded and the computer’s mechanised voice announced, “Warning. Shuttle Bay Two doors opening. Unauthorised departure in progress.”

Kehlan sighed. “Well that confirms his whereabouts,” she muttered. She turned to Griffiths, “Just what is going on with your department anyway? How did a prisoner in the brig manage to get out of his cell, operate a supposedly secure transporter facility, break into a shuttle and open the shuttle bay doors… all with his codes and privileges rescinded?

Griffiths had been expecting that question at some point and had his story well prepared. "It looks like a hidden pre- programmed time delay command to drop the force fields" he told the Captain, tapping in a query to the computer as he spoke. “As for the transporter, the access codes entered into the system were those of Commander Qeytok.” Obviously, he thought, the Chief Engineer had been a little careless with his security protocols and now it was coming back to bite him. That was fine with Griffiths – anything that distracted the captain from laying the blame on him could only be a good thing.

The captain nodded in acceptance of the reply before turning her attention back to more immediate issues. “Get those doors closed before the shuttle gets out.”

“Already working on it,” Griffiths told her, “He’s put an override on the system.... Ah, got it! Closing shuttle bay doors now.” He swore virulently, “Too late, he’s got through!”

“Then get a tractor beam on him,” Kehlan ordered impatiently, “and don’t tell me he’s overridden that system as well, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Working on it, Captain.”

If looks and wishes could kill, the fugitive would have been stone dead as Kehlan glared at the screen, intently watching the fleeing shuttle as it pulled a string of crazy manoeuvres in a frantic effort to avoid Endeavour’s tractor beam. He seemed to be succeeding, she noticed with a mixture of anger and frustration. Price was a good pilot… not the best she had encountered, but still good enough to avoid Griffith’s attempts to recapture him. What was going on with Griffiths anyway? He did not seem to be operating to the usual high standards that she had come to expect from him, nor was she completely satisfied with his explanations regarding the prisoner’s escape. She shook her head, making a mental note to schedule a competence review if he did not improve.

She was not the only one to have noticed. Her tactical officer, a tall, lean African American with a scalp as bald as a Deltan, was already crossing the bridge to help Griffiths. Newly promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, Peter Jenkins was fairly new on board but he’d settled in well and appeared to be a promising officer. “Captain,” the young officer spoke with a slow Southern drawl, “he’s out of range of the tractor.”

“Qu’vatlh!” Kehlan swore under her breath, not even noticing that she was mixing expletives from her own native language with rude words she had picked up from the Yautja. One way or another she was not going to let that g’day’t pauk’de criminal escape! She had just opened her mouth to order Jenkins to open fire when the intercom activated again, a message coming in from the engineering department, momentarily interrupting everything.

“We’ve found a series of micro charges placed around the warp core,” Qeytok informed the bridge. The Chief Engineer’s emotions were mixed – on one hand he was both pleased and relieved to have found the explosives, on the other hand he was infuriated by their existence. Satisfaction took precedence however as he continued. “Price is not as good as he thought he was. And once we knew to look for them, finding the charges was easy.”

Kehlan growled, her reactions as mixed as Qeytok’s, anger at Price, pride in her team and concern for her ship and crew all warring for dominance. “Deal with them, Commander.”

“Already done,” the engineer told her, “All we need to do is dispose of them and we can bring the warp engines back on line and get under way.”

“Well done,” Kehlan acknowledged. “That goes a long way towards redeeming yourself. Next time you disregard security protocols and leave your codes accessible, you’ll be on a charge.”

Qeytok’s surprise and confusion was almost visible as he responded, “Huh? What?” It was not a particularly Klingon response but Qeytok had served on a Federation starship for more years than he cared to remember and had picked up several Terran mannerisms along the way.

“The prisoner used your codes to escape,” Kehlan informed her engineer, “That was…”

“Captain!” Diplomatically, Kehlan’s first officer and marines commander cut in. There would be plenty of time later to carry out an investigation and deal with subsequent disciplinary issues. Besides, what was it she’d just said? On a charge? Something sparked in his mind.

“Yes Speares?”

Speares glanced at the fleeing shuttle on the view screen. “Captain, I have a suggestion.” As she gave him an enquiring look, he continued, quickly explaining his idea to his captain and the listening officers.

Kehlan grinned; she liked the way he thought. Sometimes, she reflected, it was evident that Speares was a marine first and foremost and one with years of combat experience. She nodded her agreement. “Do it!”
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A New Alliance