Following Orders by Raederle Schala McDermot
	Ensign Ulf stared at Captain McDermot. He could hardly help it. She was staring intently, and uncomfortably at the view screen. She'd told them the day before, apologetically, that she wouldn't be wearing her uniform unless absolutely necessary until she could get a new one. Everyone else's fit fairly well, despite their disappointment after being allowed to wear civvies for so long. They'd mixed up the Captain's measurements when they replicated it back on the station, and it was more than a little too tight. Ulf could almost say she was out of uniform. The only reason she was wearing it at all was because Fleet Admiral Suavée had come aboard the ship to observe. He'd seen the Admiral in the Café, but he couldn't tell much about him. He wondered if the Captain would like him. But, he supposed, she had better things to worry about at the moment. Her normally pale cheeks were flushed as she leaned on the back of Lieutenant Baatezu's chair. It really accented her exotic face. She was an odd looking creature. He knew she was from another dimension, but he'd never seen a bipedal with violet hair before. Lucas Baatezu was odd looking, too. He sometimes assumed that they came from the same race, because of their eyes, which were both huge, but he was Anime, she was Elyssian. At the moment, Baatezu was carefully maneuvering around some difficult space. First officer One of Nine was feeding him statistics from the operations console since they didn't have a Ops officer yet. One and the Captain took turns with Ops, depending on what they needed One to do. They didn't really have a tactical officer either, mused the half-Klingon ensign, but that just meant that he got to be on the bridge until they got one. Chief of Security Mesaana Founder had recommended him to the Captain, and he was grateful. He had been certain that Jade would have gotten the spot, and wasn't entirely convinced that he wouldn't be booted for her eventually. Starfleet Ranger Simikins had left on his mission weeks ago. The day before Commander One had received a distress call. They'd sprung into action, like Ulf only supposed they had to, leaving the station prematurely and putting the Captain in a tight position. Literally. Admiral Picard017 Suavée had come aboard that very day, much to the Captain's dismay, to observe the first ship other than his own USS Hastings before he saw the other ships of the Attack Wing Delta Phi. So there they were. Hot on the trail of their Starfleet Ranger, diving into Penguin space, and Captain McDermot squeezed into her uniform like a hermetically sealed sausage. "Have we found his ship yet, One?" "No, Rae. I've been tracking his warp trail, but nada. He's gone," the Borg woman replied. "I don't like the Quarton System," Baat said irritably. "It's full of potholes." Raederle half-grinned. Baatezu raised a brow. "Just hope we don't have to make a run for it," he sighed. "I'll keep that in mind," the captain returned. She groaned. "Keep me informed. I'm going to go faint in my ready room." One giggled. The door slid open then, and Admiral Suavée strode in. He looked over to the Captain critically. "May I speak with you, Captain McDermot?" She nodded. "Come with me to my ready room. I was on my way there anyway. One, you have the Bridge." Admiral Suavée followed her off the Bridge. He was surprised how well she was able to walk in that outfit. He was aware that soon his own crew would have the new fleet uniforms. Department color on the sleeves. Gold on the cuffs and collar. V-neck. Silver insignia. He just hoped his female officers didn't look like they were wearing a catsuit. Purple hair swished behind the Captain. Suavée also wondered about the extremely well-behaved nature of the crew. The last time he'd been Captain, he'd had to have crew meetings, speeches, and credit cuts to ensure peace between crew members. Still, that was mostly due to the youth of the crew. He also hadn't failed to notice how specialized each crew member was. They had to have been handpicked. But by whom? "As you can see, Admiral, I haven't had much chance to do anything in the way of furnishing this room. We left the station in a hurry." There was a desk, cluttered. With a few pictures of aliens and Raederle herself. She leaned against the frame of the window. "Well, Admiral?" "Do you always keep the Captain's chair that empty?" "I hardly have time to sit down." She remarked raising an angular brow. "Anyway, I prefer to keep in the middle of things. Afoot of all the projects running on my ship." "Very well." Suavée replied, "I need to question you about some of the policies on your ship." The way she arched her brow then was almost Vulcan. "I question the wisdom of allowing your crew to be on a first name basis with you. The command structure on a starship needs to be clear, and the captain must be respected." "They respect me." "Captain McDermot, if I may-" "Pardon me, Admiral, but with all due respect, you may not. I suggest you observe my crew longer before you make the judgement that we are out of control. Afterwards, criticize my methods all you wish." Suavée had looked insulted, but calmed as she spoke. "We'll see, Captain." He walked around the barren room a bit. "Can you explain what you're doing out here?" "This is the Quarton System. Our Ranger gave a distress call and we are here to assist him." "But why were you here in the first place?" "We received orders from Starfleet to send Simikins into Penguin space to retrieve a shuttle," she said flatly, but betrayed herself by shifting her weight and crossing her arms as if to say: You should know this already. "Starfleet is going to study the shuttle and assess the threat to our borders." "Why was I not informed?" A weighty silence fell over them. The possibility that they wouldn't get along had always been there. Raederle didn't know many Admirals she genuinely did like. She supposed they had both hoped to avoid friction so early in the time they were to know each other. He seemed so suspicious of her, and he really had no reason to be. "Who is this?" He pointed to an odd looking man in one of her pictures. "Jaro McDermot." she raised her hands when he gave her an odd look. "I know that we don't look like we could possibly be related, but he adopted me as his sister. I have no blood kin in this universe." "I saw that in your file. You'll have to tell me how you came to be with us someday." "Perhaps. It is a bizarre story." She pursed her lips. He could tell that she was open, but private. If that made any sense. Her personal life was hers and no one else's. However, she seemed to be willing enough to be friendly, once he'd given her reason to be. "Well, for the moment, could you tell me what you learned from your first encounter with the Penguins?" "Can do, Admiral." * * * Ranger Simikins looked around his cell. A place so devoid of life and color he'd never seen before. He sat there in a semi-state of self-pity. He hated himself. When they'd captured him, he wasn't sure what to expect. But it wasn't this, he thought, kicking the wall. The Penguin woman had entered like a dark wind. The way she stood, held her exquisite body, frightened him enough. She had a whip in her flipper. For torture, he'd assumed. She wore a low-cut bodice, her long golden hair flowed past her waist in a silken cascade. She'd cracked the whip in delight. She'd laughed throatily. "My name is Serena." she'd told him. "And you really have no need for fear." She strode closer to his cell, leaning forward so that he could see down her bodice. She had gently raised a flipper, barely touching the force field that barred his freedom. "This can be pleasant. If you wish." "I won't tell you anything," he'd declared. She had given no answer. Just stared. Name Rank Serial Number She had laughed at him. "Don't be silly. I'm not going to beat you." She had straightened, then walked away a bit. "Unless you like that sort of thing." Name Rank Serial Number Serena had smirked at him. "Take down the force field." The force field had fuzzed, and he had dashed for his freedom, then froze. "You have no choice." Her seductive face was all he would know for the next two weeks. It almost broke his heart that she never came to see him anymore. From his point of view, every time she had touched him was a special moment between two lovers. He had finally figured it out though. None of it had been real. It had all been an illusion put into his head by that Penguin bitch Serena. He wanted to die. He was just grateful that his didn't know more about the Cavalry's systems. Serena knew almost everything else. * * * "Long-range sensors indicating a ship, Rae." One glared at the console. "I can't tell what it is." Admiral Picard017 Suavée watched the Captain from her chair, which, he noted, she really did never seem to use. Mostly because she was always at a vacant consolee, making up for the lack of crew. She was now at the bridge engineering console. "I'm trying to compensate for all the interference." She worked the console. "Any better?" "It's big, Raederle!" One's eyes widened. "On screen." The screen swirled open to reveal a green and black blur. Captain McDermot raised her head ever so slightly as if taking advantage of seeing something the others couldn't. Violet light emanated from her direction. "It's the Penguins," she stated shortly. "Shields at maximum. Red Alert." "Captain, it's three times the size of the other ship we encountered," Ulf said. He was a little astonished, but mentally chastised himself. He was Klingon. "The bigger they are," One said. "The more bones they break," Baatezu said facetiously. "Raederle," Mesaana's voice rang over the com like a death sentence. "Permission to form a boarding party." Picard017 saw her visibly tense. "Permission denied." "Rae-" "We need you here guarding the Cavalry. Besides, we're in their space now, and I'm not prepared to start an out-and-out war today." She tugged on her earlobe as if thinking. "Deploy some security officers around the ship strategically at you disclosure. I want to get Simikins out of here. But I doubt we won't be fighting." "Yes, Captain." The way she spoke made Picard017 wonder how patient Raederle could afford to be with the Oobwambie. "Our sensors are picking up a little better, Rae, but they're coming right at us," One said, working the life out of the Ops console. Raederle stood and looked over at Tr'Farik. "Is the cloak working properly?" "It's fine, Captain." "Can they see us?" she demanded. "Rae, they're scanning us." One looked back ominously. "Damn." She slammed her fist on the console and put her head down. "We've been standing here playing peek-a-boo with a ship the size of a small moon! Hail them!" "Channel open." She sighed heartily. "This is Captain Raederle McDermot of the Starship Cavalry. One of our runabouts sent us a distress signal that he had lost his navigational controls and required assistance. We've tracked the shuttle here. Can you help us so that we may peacefully leave your space?" The screen was fuzzy, but One was working at the controls. A muscular Penguin commander stepped forward. "I am Commander Rojo of the Jedite Class vessel Toshobo. It is true. The Quarton system in its entirety belongs to us. And we do want you out of here." "Then you will help us find our shuttle?" "It's a bit late for that, little one," he sneered at her. Raederle's posture defined a very bitchy mood approaching, but she listened. "We have your shuttle. And we knew that you were coming. And we saw you the entire time, because your officer told us the frequency at which to scan." It seemed pathetically dramatic that One got the sensors working at that moment. A cruel, twisted Penguin visage appeared in frightening clarity. A long scar ran down his face from his eyebrow to his chin. Ashy, curvy and puckered, it and the rapier hanging at the side of his uniform told them that a few hundred lives down the tubes would mean nothing to this Commander Rojo. "Hope those shield frequencies he gave us don't work?" he nodded to an ensign. They fired. The ship rocked, but Raederle laughed, and One looked at her with a smirk. "Shields at 96%." Commander Rojo was visibly infuriated. "Sir," the ensign said feebly, "we didn't do any real damage." Rojo knocked the Penguin boy across the bridge like a rag doll. He growled deep in his throat. Raederle raised a brow. "Simikins doesn't know a thing about our shields, only those of his shuttle." She put her hands on her hips. "He's a Ranger. He's hardly even on this ship. The specs he gave you were probably those of his shuttle!" "Engage tractor." Rojo snarled at her, his scarred eye twitching in ire. "Baat!" "On it Captain!!" * * * Simikins slid around in his cell. He unsuccessfully tried to grab hold of something. "What's going on?!" He was weak. His voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. The Penguin security officer glared at him. "Our ship is at odds with yours." "You'll never beat the Cavalry!" He angrily brushed hair out of his eyes and tried to bolster as much dignity as possible when on all fours. The Penguin snickered. He released the force field and came at him with a laser gun. "Now that Serena has had her fun with you, I don't think the Commander would begrudge me mine." He came forward, grinning demonically. Simikins whipped his leg around and the Penguin went flat on his back, dropping his weapon. The ship rocked. Simikins grappled weakly for the laser. The Penguin kept kicking him with his flippers, and finally pinned him. "Get off me you Penguin pervert!" A sharp knee to the Penguin accomplished that, and Simikins quickly squirmed away in the direction of the laser. "Oh, no you don't," the Penguin hoffed, grabbing the human's foot. But it was too late. Simikins had the laser. He turned and fired, then shook off the remains of the Penguin. "You sure have nasty weapons. I'll be certain to let Starfleet analyze this, too," he informed the corpse. He blew symbolically at the mouth of the laser and went to find his ship. * * * One worked diligently on the Ops controls. The subspace interference had her stumped. She had to find a way to locate Simikins because this battle was taking a toll on the ship's systems. Raederle was still at the engineering console. Boosting power, rerouting power, Zen had made a sardonic comment about being glad they'd checked the liquid core back at the station. It seemed hopeless. They were in deadlock. "We're getting a message from the Toshobo," One announced. Raederle raised a brow. "On screen." Rojo appeared again. He tried to smile diplomatically, but ended up looking like a shark. "Perhaps we should stop wasting our time baiting each other. Perhaps we should come to an agreement about you leaving our space." "An agreement," the Captain stated flatly. She shot a wary look at Admiral Suavée. One continued to fight the interference on her console. "We return your Ranger and let you go. We keep his shuttlecraft." "I'm afraid that I can't authorize that," she replied sweetly, tilting her head. "We don't really share technology with our enemies." Suavée nodded almost imperceptibly in agreement. "How long can you go on like this? Our core refreshes itself. We can fight for days without stopping. Can you say the same?" Raederle cringed internally at that admission. She much preferred her enemies to underestimate her. Rojo didn't look terribly disappointed in any case. He hadn't really expected the Starfleet to accept the compromise, but Emperor Komishi's order on the com had been clear. Time for the next step. "Well, then. Would you care to meet the crowning glory of the Toshobo?" He motioned with his flipper. "Come out, Serena, my dear." A tall, docile-looking Penguin woman stepped through the doorway and slowly made her way to the front of the bridge. Her hair was loosely pinned atop her head, causing a golden-blond cascade down her back. Her filmy, powder blue dress floated just above her ankles; her flippers were held behind her back. Innocent sea green eyes probed the view screen timorously. They locked on something. For a brief moment Raederle and Serena looked into each other's eyes. An epiphany of comprehension could not be avoided. An atrocity that would not be suppressed. That must be, as surely as humanoid existence must be. And a complete understanding of one another, despite their contrary natures. "Don't listen to her, Admiral," Raederle warned. Suavée looked at the view screen suspiciously. "I am Serena, humble servant to Emperor Komishi. He has offered me as a gift to the Admiral. As a token of peace." She blinked slowly. Her head was slightly bowed, to exhibit the semblance of submission. Lucas Baatezu forced himself to stare at his console and concentrate. His instincts told him that she was more than she seemed, and since his battles thus far had been rooted in the physical realm rather than the arena of the mind, he'd rather stay out of this. He looked over at Ulf on a hunch. The young half-Klingon's eyes burned lustily. He noticed One's diligent efforts and returned his attention to the helm, prepared to get them out of there at a moment's notice. "I don't know how you do things in your Penguin society-" Picard017 began. "Empire." Rojo interrupted. "Empire. But Starfleet procedure does not allow this type of activity. If you want peace, then I suggest that you send an ambassador to Starfleet Headquarters to hammer out a peace treaty," the Admiral stated firmly. Raederle's eyes darted from him to Serena. "I could be your ambassador," the Penguin sex object said. Her eyes shimmered, and she began twirling a loose strand of hair around her flipper. Baatezu looked up a moment in disgust. One caught his eye and stuck her tongue out at him. He nearly cracked up. "Perhaps that would be sufficient." Picard017's voice sounded odd. "Admiral," Raederle interceded. "Lower all shields and have the crew stand down." Ulf snapped out of it. "Admiral??" "That was an order, Ensign," Picard017 boomed. Ulf's nostrils flared. "No! Don't," Raederle instructed her crew. "I am the Admiral here, little girl. You may be willing to let your crew be slackers despite the damage you are obviously doing to Starfleet, but you will follow the command structure while I am on this ship or suffer the consequences!!" Serena giggled. "Shut up!" Baatezu snapped. Serena scowled. "I can't allow you to do this, Suavée!" Raederle admonished. "She's controlling your mind!" WHAP! Admiral Suavée backhanded Captain McDermot, and Ulf jumped over his console and grabbed him. "Let me go!" Raederle was on the floor, hand against the smear of dark purple blood on the back of her head from where she'd landed. "Stay at your stations, people," she commanded loudly. "Activate Emergency Holographic Captain!!" A tall black-haired man appeared. "Please state the condition of command personnel." "Hold him." Raederle ordered pointing at the Admiral, who, though strong enough to take the Captain down with a sucker punch, was hard-pressed to release himself from Ulf's bear hug. "But this is not my function-" "Do it!" The EHC complied just as the ship lurched. "Sorry," Baatezu said. "Avoiding that frickin' tractor." "I'm disappointed in you, Picard017." Serena said. They noticed her again. The innocence had dropped out of her eyes. Her voice had become cruel. "I wanted you to kill her." "Forgive me, Master Serena!" Picard017 begged. "Don't listen to her!!" Captain McDermot had managed to get up and was holding her hands together strangely. "Ulf, dearheart, could you finish the job for me?" Ulf leaped forward, snarling. Suddenly a huge staff appeared in the Captain's hands. ZAKT! Ulf froze in his steps. ZAKT! Picard017 stopped resisting. "Screen off. How are we doing, Baat?" she said calmly, heading for tactical. "We're managing. I think they're having trouble maneuvering here, too." "Targeting," the Captain said. After a moment, "Firing Quantum Torpedoes." A small explosion rocked the Penguin ship. "How'd that do?" Baatezu asked. "It disabled that damned tractor," One said. Raederle hit her combadge. "Zen, I need you to start rerouting all available energy to the engine." "Right-o, Captain." Zen said. "Hop on over here, Klovis." * * * Simikins was disabling the shuttlebay doors when Serena came in on him. "What are you doing, lover?" she said suspiciously. Simikins didn't answer. He turned around. And shot her. "Aie!" She collapsed. "One more spike..." he muttered to himself. Penguin guards came rushing in with laser rifles. The shuttlebay door opened with a snap, and Simikins held onto the side of the panel. He released the shield. The incredible suction set the Penguin guards flying into the abyss of space. He knew that he had next to no time, clawing his way to his shuttle. Serena was holding onto a console and making a mournful noise to play on his sympathy. He saw her dress whipping around her deadly, beautiful body. Goodbye, lover. he thought. He opened the shuttle and jumped inside. Just before he shut the hatch, a brilliant light filled the shuttlebay. Not having time to think on it, the hatch was shut and he restored the atmosphere of the shuttle and took off. Simikins, Starfleet Ranger, with a Penguin shuttle attached on top of his own, completing his mission. He felt like Hell. * * * "They're releasing a shuttle!" One exclaimed. The ship was continuously rocking. Baatezu was dodging their torpedos, which they seemed to have a million of. Raederle was shooting them with the phasers. They both looked up. "It's Sim!" the Borg woman said jubilantly. "Beam them aboard," the Captain yelled. One's fingers furiously pounded the console. "Got him!" "Let's get the Hell out of here, Baat!" Baatezu turned for a second to give the Captain a big-toothed grimace to remind her of what he'd said about the slipstream, then turned back and got to work. "Setting up slipstream." Five seconds later they were zooming back to the Starbase. * * * One, Zen, Simikins, Mesaana, Baatezu, Picard017, and Raederle were sitting counterclockwise around the table in the conference room. Mark 3 Renoir had projected himself into the room and was trying to treat the Captain's wound, but she was squirming. "I suppose all of this will be going down in your report?" she asked the Admiral. He sighed. "Unfortunately. I hesitate to tell Starfleet how I assaulted you." "That was hardly your fault." Raederle chuckled good-naturedly. "We'd never have let you hurt her anyway," One said with a warm, inviting smile. A few of the others nodded, including Mesaana. "Serena is very strong. She has complete control over all her mental functions," Baatezu offered. "How would you know that?" Zen looked over at him. "From what I understand, you were the only one not going gaga over her." "I can tell," Baat said ominously. "A true martial artist has complete control. Which is pretty much why she didn't get me. She could have if I hadn't been careful." "And that will go in my report," Raederle continued. "At least we got that shuttle, Rae, even if we did damn near tear our ship apart in that blasted sinkpit of space," Mesaana said flatly. Zen rolled his eyes at the prospect of all the work he had to do. "You did good, Sim. I sure as Oowatha wouldn't want to have been on that ship. I've heard stories about Serena the Penguin Sex Object and Rojo the Spine Eater that would scare the fur off a targ." "I just got lucky. They were so busy trying to destroy you they neglected to unstrap their shuttle from mine. Or leave a homing signal," Sim said modestly. Mesaana pursed her lips. "Do you suppose Serena perished back there?" One asked. "I don't know." Simikins said. "I didn't see her die, and there was an odd light in the shuttlebay right before I left." "Tenacious little she'chorne probably made it. She's no innocent little servant either," Mesaana informed them. "She is a personal warrior to Emperor Komishi himself. It's been rumoured that she's a survivor of the last Empire." Mesaana shuddered. Which in turn worried the senior officers at what could spook the Chief Assassin. "Well, I'd like for all of you to make reports of you obsevation and knowledge concerning this incident. Dismissed," Raederle said conclusively. "Sim, stay a minute." The senoir officers left. Simikins reseated himself. "I've received a report that you have be reassigned to the Dominion front." "Yes, m'am. I... believe my skills would work better there." Raederle sighed softly. "I understand. But technically for the next week you are part of my crew. I'd like you to get some counseling." "Yes m'am." He seemed a little relieved. "Ulf is doing so as well, just to be safe." she added. "That's probably a good idea," he admitted. "You can't really tell what she's done 'till time lapses. I'll talk to Dierna." "Good. You may leave." Simikins left. "You done, Doc?" "I get the feeling that you wouldn't sit still any longer anyway, so yes." His manatee doll's face smiled at her. She rose to leave. "Wait..." Picard017 said softly, rising. "We need to talk." "Hmm." She lifted her chin. "Can it wait 20 minutes? I have something important to do." He nodded. "Meet me in my ready room." Twenty minutes later, Picard017 used the door chime to Captain McDermot' ready room. "Come in." she called, seemingly in a good mood. He walked in and almost laughed. She had an inflatable couch and lounge chair for furniture. She was spinning around in a real chair behind her desk, wearing some of the most comfortable clothing he'd ever seen. She noticed his staring. "Black boots. Black bellbottoms. Green v-necked, long sleeved sweater," she informed him, leaning back in her chair and pointing to each item of clothing. "Interesting." he remarked. "Have a seat." "Gee, thanks." Raederle laughed. "I see you've put the past week to good use." "Yep. What did you want to talk about?" He cleared his throat. He felt like an idiot trying to talk to her seriously in an inflatable chair. "After watching you in action, I realize that you don't ignore the command structure after all. It appears as though you don't know what you are doing, but you do better than most others. And I apologize for what I said during the battle. I didn't mean it." Raederle nodded in comprehension. "I suppose Starfleet Command had some clue when they picked me after all." "You actually match this crew in your methods. And you have a kinship here that I have found lacking in most ships." He shook his head. "Raederle, what am I going to do with you?" "Nothing, I'd hope. I've got my Magda Staff right here." She raised it for him to see. "What the Hell did you do with that thing anyway?" He cocked his head. "I cast a spell on you. You must be strong willed. You must have been fighting Serena's control because that was a weak spell. Ulf broke free not 30 minutes after I cast it." "Why so weak?" She shrugged. "Too quickly cast. Not enough source energy. Just been beaned on the head?" Picard017 smiled. "I do recognize the need to follow the same set of rules. I will try to be more outwardly obedient to protocol. Only my senior officers call me by my first name anyway." "This is going to be a smoother partnership than I had thought." They shook hands.