The Haunted Freighter Part IV: No One Left Behind
Posted on Sun Mar 15th, 2026 @ 5:18pm by Lieutenant Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil & Major Clay McEntyre III & 1st Lieutenant Ángel Martinez & Captain Remy Johansen & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Commander Daynah Ral & Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant JG Sakkar & Ensign Tyler Williams
Edited on on Wed Mar 18th, 2026 @ 2:07am
2,704 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Peril at the Unification Accords
Location: Bridge, Nidean Freighter / Bridge, USS Astrea
Timeline: MD 09, 0945 Hours
Continued from:The Haunted Freighter Part 3: I Smell Smoke
*** Corridor of Nidean Freighter ***
It was clear that there were isolated fires nearby, though at the moment, nothing indicated that the fires were burning out of control.
"Where did you dock?" Nemec turned to the two Marines who were left with them. "I think we should take the shortest way. At least try to. Deal with the fires as we come to them. We might be able to get around them or put them out."
A message came through from the Astrea. Orders to get to the shuttle if they could and brace for airlock release.
Martinez looked at Nemec before they let out a breath. "We docked starboard, but the direct way was ugly," they said, frowning at the tricorder. "We went up a level on ingress, but we mapped a crawlspace as we passed. Marked it as an alternative extraction route."
They met Nemec's eyes, then glanced over at Xalanth. "I recommend we stay on this level as long as we can. There's multiple access points up, but the scans showed that deck was unstable. It's why we didn't come in that way."
"What was that message?" Nemec asked. "Airlock release? What airlock. Are they disengaging the shuttle? What is going on. We need to move, now!"
Martinez looped the message, shaking their head as they heard it again, clear. Nemec was right. And they had wasted time. There were few options left. "Okay, shortest route wins," they said, and they were already moving, weapon and tricorder ready. They took point, because there was little else to do, and by being point Eden was now the backup in case something happened. "The Astrea will have to clear any radiation poisoning once we get off this ship. Move out!"
*** USS Astrea Bridge ***
"Nash -- Commander Winters," Remy corrected herself quickly, wasting precious seconds. "Get on it, Crewman Echevarria might be able to help you relay the message to the crew. Work with Commander Ral on getting the transporter signal stabilized. If they can't get to the shuttle we need to know we can get a lock on them."
“Yes, ma’am,” Nash said curtly. He nodded to Remy and moved quickly behind Echevarria’s shoulder. He reached around and tapped in a carrier frequency. “Crewman, use this frequency to punch through the interference from the radiation and plasma. Tell our friends to try moving towards the shuttle. In the meantime, I’m prepping the transporter as a fallback. Ral, give me a hand, will ya?”
"Yes Commander. I am already working on the transporter signal. At the moment there is a quick and easy way to solve this. Although it would take split second timing. We could remotely open the air locks aboard the shuttle. This would vent the plasma fires and radiation. As that vents the transporter signal should clear and we can transport. However, we need to be quick as the atmosphere in the shuttle would be disappearing as well." Daynah worked furiously on her console to find other answers. At the moment this was the only one that she could come up with.
“They’d all freeze to death or suffocate. I know. Not great, but it could work. Let’s take it to the Captain,” Nash said to Daynah. In the meantime, he gave instructions to Dorsainvil.
“JB, tell the away team to take shelter in the shuttle as soon as they can. It might be a rough ride for them, but we’re beaming them home.”
Emiliano realized almost immediately what Nash wanted. He knew a carrier frequency of that band wouldn't be affected by gamma radiation and given how every moment was now being counted, it made sense to listen.
"Lieutenant," the Costa Rican crewman said, looking over to Dorsainvil, "can you--"
"Already working on it," JB said from the aft station beside Lieutenant Fulvia. "Message to Away Team has been transmitted and received."
Nash was concentrating on his engineering console and transporter access. He had a major role in improving communication between the transporter and the main bridge. Nash had assisted in designing a method to access its systems without actually having to be present in the transporter room. Nash was able to access several components remotely. In this case, he adjusted the annular confinement beam and realigned the Doppler compensators.
Daynah accompanied Nash to the center chair of the Bridge. “Captain, we can bring them back. Thanks to Lt. Ral, there’s a way to get our people home.” Nash brought Captain Johansen up to speed on the maneuver that Ral suggested. “It will be tricky and the timing has to be just right, but Daynah and I can do it.”
"We still have two crewman on the Bridge over there," the Captain reminded them. "How much time do we have to get them out of there?"
“We still have time to get everyone evacuated to the shuttle. Once the airlock is blown, it’s a matter of seconds. Getting a pattern lock is the key, Captain. Beam-out will be routine after that,” Nash confirmed.
"The shuttle has already accepted the Astrea as its mothership. She is responding to our commands. If we are going to do this I recommend we do it now." Daynah knew the pressure that the Captain was under in this moment. The memories of Alaryc came flooding to the forefront unbidden. She simply hoped that the Captain here could pull the proverbial trigger.
Nash complimented Ral on her quickness and ingenuity. “Nice going, Commander. That was quick. Captain, with your permission, I concur with Daynah. We have to do this now.”
"Let's proceed," Johansen agreed.
Daynah nodded at the Captain's command and jogged back to her station. Her hands began to work quickly on the console. "I am accessing the shuttle's airlock controls now." A beat of silence and then she continued. "I am ready to blow the airlocks. I would inform the occupants that they are going to lose atmosphere and they should hold on to something. On your command Captain."
"Have we been able to make contact with the crew yet?" Remy asked. "Let's give them that warning."
“Yes, Captain, we have. They’re moving into position and bracing as we speak. Daynah, ready to lock on to the away team on your mark. I have the confinement beam set for wide dispersion for optimal range. Standing by,” Nash confirmed.
A delayed message was incoming from Major McEntyre, littered with white noise from the radiation. [... Hakobyan ... 'n Wiliams ... on the Bridge ... almost ...]
JB shook his head at the spotty transmission. "That is as good as it's going to get, I'm afraid."
"Wait a minute… is that McEntyre? Dammit…"
Nash rushed to where Echevarria was monitoring the comms channel. "Emiliano, keep that channel open. Have to make sure they’re aware of what’s happening."
"Clay! It’s Nash. Major! Respond, please! Prepare for beam out. We’re blowing the airlock," Nash said.
Emiliano's screen flashed an angry orange. He turned to the rest of the bridge crew.
"Sensors are detecting a power surge. Qué pena! They need to get off the bridge of that freighter..."
***Nidean Bridge***
Whether it was the psychological effects of seeing the power drain from the Bridge and realizing that life support was now was now gone also, or if the cold darkness of space really was overcoming the Bridge already, the air suddenly seemed colder around Tyler and Garo. They were out of options.
Garo pressed his forehead to the console, feeling the tiny hum of power still clinging to the wreckage of the bridge. The hum was as weak as an elderly man. Every panel he had torn open, every wire he'd rerouted, had led only to more dead ends, more locked doors, more stubborn refusal from a vessel that should have been mechanical and entirely predictable. Now it was a cage that refused to open.
Tyler was standing nearby, at the ready. His rifle was slung but not raised.
"I've tried everything," Garo muttered. "Every protocol, every bypass, every trick. It's monster this ship. Monster."
A sudden tremor ran through the deck, a very small vibration at first. After a three-second respite, it returned, more violent. Sparks leapt from the operations station, sending embers across the deck. A panel beside Tyler hissed and popped, a wisp of acrid smoke rising.
"Something's happening," he said, his voice tighter with fear now. "I hope the rest of the Away Team is safe."
*** Corridors Leading to the Nidean Bridge ***
A klaxon was blaring its final warnings throughout the ship, and the overhead pipes were now venting coolant and other gases, which was increasing the temperature dramatically. Sakkar double-timed it through the narrow corridor. Beads of perspiration ran down his face. His tricorder was open in his hand, but he didn't look down at it. He remembered the way. He glanced briefly over his shoulder to make sure the big Marine was still with him.
The two were getting closer even as the klaxon seemed to grow more urgent.
A message came through from the Astrea. Orders to get to the shuttle if they could and brace for airlock release. Sakkar led them around a corner and they could now see the sealed off Bridge. Feeling the urgency of situation, Clay sprinted ahead on all fours, leaving Sakkar behind as he tried to get a message back to Nash.
[Hakobyan and Wiliams are on the Bridge]
Before he finished his sentence he was there, standing upright, his towering figure stretching near the height of the bulkhead, phaser rifle drawn.
[We're almost inside.]
Clay kneeled down and aimed his rifle up, toward the seal of the door, just above an average human's height, and in such a way that if the rifle were to somehow break through it should go over his fellow crewmember's head should they be on the other side.
Sakkar caught up and checked along the bulkhead for any evidence of a mechanical override, just as the other door had had. There was none that he could see. It didn't matter. McEntyre was already at work with his phaser. Sakkar drew his own phaser to watch the Marine's back.
Clay turned up the settings, his aim sure and steady, never letting up.
"Life support's nearly gone," Garo said, examining a readout from one of his probe-like tools. The air had already become chillier and heavier.
Suddenly, there was a dull whump followed by a faint metallic smell.
Another tremor passed through the bridge. Garo knew something was very wrong and that the Katreen's Hope was likely gasping her last breaths. The question would be whether she would die with them inside her or not.
There now came another vibration behind the main access door. It was a familiar rhythm with an electrical snarl that sharpened into a steady whine.
Garo exchanged a look with Tyler.
"I know that sound," he said with a lopsided grin.
On the other side of the door the hum became more familiar as Tyler and Garo recognized the familiar sound of a phaser on the other side of the door.
Several moments passed with both men full of anticipation as the sound became less muffled and closer. They stood well back of the accessway until a flare of a phaser beam erupted through the plating, the metal now glowing angrily along the seam.
The hiss of the airtight seal being broken was barely audible over the sound of the phaser, the slight groan of the metal was more obvious. The phaser stopped as Clay reholstered his weapon and moved forward to begin to brute force the doors open with his hands.
Tyler flashed a relieved grin despite the heat, the alarms, and the slow death of the freighter around them.
"It's about time somebody showed up."
The metal above the door creaked and drew back from the frame, being pulled backward by the large-framed Caitian marine.
Garo grabbed his toolkit and snapped it shut, stepping over the remnants of a torn-apart operations station. "I am ready to be gone from here," he muttered, following Tyler toward the gaping hole in the accessway.
The broken seal opened up something for the operations channels that had been trying to make contact with Garo and Tyler. Their communications signals slipped through the cracks, finally reaching the fighters who had been desperately trying to make contact, their life signs now once again detectable.
On the Bridge of the Astrea the Chief Operations Officer was the first to pick up on the fluctuation.
"Captain! I have the life signs. Confirmed lock. We can transport on your command." Daynah reported from her station. There was a tone of excitement in her voice about getting the officers back and getting this whole situation behind them.
"Get them back!" Remy spoke over Ral before she finished. "Spello, get to Transporter Room 3, have a medical team meet you there."
Nash monitored the situation closely from his station. “Phase transition coils in sync, matter stream at maximum dispersion. It’s as good as you’re gonna get, Daynah.”
Maxun was already on his feet, bolting for the starboard forward turbolift as Remy finished speaking. As the lift doors started to close, he reached up and slapped his commbadge. "Spello to Sickbay, meet me in Transporter Room Three with an emergency medical team immediately!"
Then the doors closed and he was gone from the bridge.
"Energizing." There was a moment of tense silence as Daynah worked the transporter controls. The silence was broken by her voice and her smile. "We got them Captain. They are little shaken up but otherwise okay."
"Scan the debris," Remy ordered without missing a beat. "Escape pods, a black box, anything..."
The stunned silence of relief from the crew lasted merely a breath for most. The well-trained crew never stopped scanning, ever alert. Starfleet to their cores.
Always searching... for survivors... danger... answers...
Captain Remira Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
Commander Maxun Spello
First Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant Commander Daynah Ral
Chief Operations Officer
USS Astrea
Lt. Commander Nash Winters
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Astrea
Major Clay McEntyre III
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Astrea
1st Lieutenant Ángel Martinez
Marine Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant J.G. Sakkar
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Astrea
Lieutenant Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil
Assistant Chief Security Officer
USS Astrea
Ensign Tyler Williams
Tactical Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of Eirly Andersen)
Ensign Garabed "Garo" Hakobyan
Transporter Specialist
USS Astrea
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
Petty Officer 1st Class Enam Nemec
Tactical Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of Remy Johansen)
Crewman Emiliano Echevarria
Operations Officer
USS Astrea
(NPC of JB Dorsainvil)
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