Cat and Mouse

Posted on Sat Apr 18th, 2026 @ 5:32pm by Commodore S'thenosis Gorgox & Commander Jenna Ramthorne & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Remal Kajun & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & Lieutenant JG Micheal Stevens & Lieutenant JG Jacob Rosen & Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale & Lieutenant JG Olivia Voight & Lieutenant JG T'Lar & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis ie-Jia'anKahr & Commander Jennifer Baldric

2,958 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Beholder
Location: Sol System Security Net

A pursuit reveals more than a confrontation ever could; in the act of chasing, intent is stripped of rhetoric, and what remains is the truth of what one is willing to justify in motion.

USS Sunfire

The bridge doors parted with their usual restraint, admitting Commodore S’thenosis Gorgox without announcement and without disruption to the ongoing pursuit. She did not immediately advance. For a brief, measured moment she remained at the threshold, her presence settling into the space as though aligning itself with the rhythm of the room. The Sunfire moved with controlled urgency, stations alive with quiet intensity, officers speaking in clipped precision as the fleeing vessel remained just beyond decisive reach.

S’thenosis stepped forward. She did not hurry to the center, nor did she seek proximity to command. Instead, she allowed her path to carry her along the periphery, her glide unbroken, her posture composed, her attention deliberate. Her gaze moved with intention rather than curiosity, touching each station in turn; helm, tactical, operations, registering cadence, posture, the subtle variances between confidence and strain. Nothing lingered, yet nothing was missed.

When her eyes reached the Captain, they did not hold, but neither did they pass without acknowledgment. The briefest alignment occurred, sufficient to register awareness without intrusion, before her attention continued its quiet circuit.

She selected a position removed from the central flow of command traffic, a place where observation could remain uninterrupted by necessity. From within the folds of her attire, she produced a PADD, activating it with a precise motion. Data began to populate the display, though her focus remained only partially upon it. Her stylus moved in measured intervals.

Watching events. Recording decisions. The bridge continued its pursuit. The distance between intention and outcome narrowed with each passing moment. S’thenosis did not interfere, did not question, did not announce her presence further. She observed.

The order was given to fire on their quarry, who were still intent on slipping through the security net. She had instructed to target their engines, she wanted them alive, and to not be able to run. Phaser fire lanced out, impacting the shields of the enemy ship.

"Damage?' Rhenora called.

"Minor damage to decks 6 thru 8. Damage control teams are already repairing the damage." Savar replied from his XO station.

Mirror Universe Ship

“Shields down to ninety percent,” the Nausicaan answered, his voice tight as his grip firmly gripped the console, eyes tracking the flicker of impact across the display.

Bonnie did not turn, her focus fixed forward as her fingers moved with quiet precision. “Twenty seconds until we pass through the security net,” she said, her tone even, almost idle, as if time itself were something she had already accounted for.

From the dim recess behind them, Remal’s voice settled into the space without effort, low and measured as it drew their attention without asking for it. “Impressive,” he said, the word placed carefully, his gaze shifting toward the sensor readouts. A slight pause followed, deliberate, weighing the detail. “They strike what they should not be able to see.” His head inclined a fraction, curiosity sharpened into something colder. “How?”

Bonnie allowed herself the faintest exhale, not quite amusement, not quite dismissal, as she adjusted the cloak modulation by a degree that only she seemed to notice. “Our cloak was borrowed,” she replied, her articulation clean, unhurried, as her eyes remained on the numbers. “Inferior to what they are used to hunting.” She let the thought settle for a beat, then continued, softer, assured. “It does not matter. We will be gone before it becomes relevant.”

USS Sunfire

Rhenora paused as the reports of the damage on the enemy ship. Their quarry was so close to escape. "Increase yield, and target their engines again. We need that ship disabled" she ordered.

"Their cloaking algorithm has changed, I'm adjusting sensor frequency to compensate." Jacob said, furiously typing into his console.

Again the energy weapons lanced out, striking the mirror ship in the aft near the engine bay. Coolant could be seen venting before the leak was sealed. They weren't taking the bait, instead of turning and fighting they kept towards their target.

"One more time, increase yield and fire!"

Jenna maintained focus on the blurred sensor image ahead of them. Every moment that passed, every tick of the clock, she tried to coax more from the engines. But it wasn't enough. They had been duped for far too long before realizing the wool had been pulled over their eyes.

"They are about to pass through the sensor net. There is a slight gap, but it should still light them up. That should be your best bet to target them." Bonnie suggested, her voice confident as it sounded across the bridge.

"Be alert and fire when they become visible." Savar ordered.

Mirror Universe Ship

“Minor damage to an aft plasma conduit,” MU Bonnie reported, her voice smooth and untroubled as her fingers traced a quick correction across the panel. She glanced once at the readout, confirming, then added with quiet finality, “Rupture has been sealed.”

She leaned back a fraction, eyes lifting toward the forward display as the edge of the security gap approached, her expression sharpening with intent. “Passing through the barrier will light us up momentarily,” she continued, tone steady, controlled, as if the risk had already been measured and dismissed. A brief pause, then the slightest tilt of her head. “I have a plan for that.”

One hand shifted to a secondary control, hovering for a breath before settling. “Prepare to release the Phosphorium container.” The countdown began without urgency. “Passing through the security net gap in three… two… one…” Her hand moved. “Release the container.” A dull thrum passed through the hull as the container detached, drifting just long enough to exist. Then the void ignited.

Light bloomed outward in a violent, brilliant flare, phosphorium scattering into a radiant cloud that swallowed sensors in a wash of false clarity and burning noise. The forward display fractured into white, then static, then nothing useful at all.

Bonnie did not look at it. “Now,” she said softly. The ship answered. Stars stretched... And they were gone. The Mirror Universe ship jumped into warp, her trail awash in light masked sensors.

MU T'Lar entered the bridge.

"Despite the damage we took, our prize is safely intact in the main cargo hold..." She stated, crossing over to Bonnie.

"I find it remarkable that they were able to locate us, cloak or no cloak. They were on the other side of the system, were they not? The odds of them plotting a direct course to our position, while we were cloaked are astronomically low. At first I suspected a homing beacon might be installed on Batel's torpedo casing, but scans came up negative."

The Ferengi shifted his weight, fingers steepled as his eyes flicked between them, calculation threading through his tone. “Astronomically low odds still resolve to profit or loss,” he said carefully, a thin smile forming as he inclined his head. “If someone found us once, they may attempt it again. I would prefer to understand the… investment risk.”

From the shadow, Remal’s voice followed, quiet and exact. “Taskmaster,” he said addressing T'Lar, each syllable placed with intent as his gaze settled on her without hurry. A brief pause, then, measured and certain, “Find the variable.”

T'Lar thought for a moment.

"The only sure variable is Batel's body. But we aren't dealing with any sort of mechanical beacon here. In order to pinpoint our location at that distance with that accuracy would require some sort of quantum entanglement; instantaneous information exchange across infinite distances, faster than subspace communications in fact. But the mechanism for such communication is beyond my ability to speculate. What I can say for certain is that if I am correct, they will find us again."

Bonnie’s fingers stilled for just a moment, then resumed with sharper intent as she turned her head slightly toward T’Lar, eyes narrowing with quiet resistance. “Our intelligence doesn't support that conclusion,” she said, her tone precise, edged with controlled disagreement. “The Primes don't possess that level of entanglement capability. Not stabilized, anyway.” A brief pause, her gaze flicking back to her console. “If they did, they would not have needed the ghost.”

From the shadow, Remal shifted just enough to be felt, his voice lowering a fraction as it settled over the room. “Then we are left with error,” he said, calm and deliberate, each word landing cleanly. A measured pause followed, his gaze moving between them. “Yours.” Another breath, unhurried. “Or theirs.” His head inclined slightly, his hand resting on his agonizer, consideration without warmth. “Failure will be corrected.”

A Nausicaan near the forward station straightened, eager to fill the space before it tightened further, his voice carrying a note of assurance shaped by confidence in violence. “The asteroid field is primed,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder. “They are in place. Sensors are masked. If they follow us in, they'll fly straight into it.”

USS Sunfire

In quarters Aurora had, had enough of resting she was going to join the others on the bridge. It didn’t take her long before she stepped out and headed across to her seat. “I got fed up of sitting out of the action” she smiled a wry smile.

T'Lar got up immediately from the counselor's seat, relinquishing the Ship's Counselor duties back to her superior. She moved over to the Sciences station and took a seat.

As the blinding flash dispersed Jacob held he hands between himself and the viewscreen for a long moment. A rapid chirp of alarms came from the Operations Console, lighting up several readouts. "Whatever that was overloaded the entire sensor suite." He said, moving quickly to different segments of his station. "Automated reboot is down, we'll need to manually restart each segment."

"Screw the sensors, we don't have time for a restart without moving...ahead full, get through the net, then we find where they're heading." Rhenora overlaid the navigational onto the main viewscreen, which was still flickering as the sensors fritzed. "Dean, where did they go? Ops, prioritise navigational sensors and targetting first, everything can wait."

Dean closed his eyes a moment, shaking his head, "Damn." Pausing a moment, blinking a few times. "They're..." He shook his head, looking down. His head then shot up quickly, "Moving way to fast, they had to have gone to warp. 34 mark 167."

"Helm, adjust bearing and go to warp as soon as we're able and through the security net. Once the sensors are back online we should be able to track their plasma leak" Kaylen ordered, wondering just where this ship may be heading.
"Dean, anything interesting along that bearing? Planets, trading ports or the like?"

Dean glanced down to his console pulling up sector charts and traffic lanes. "There's a small asteroid cluster in that general direction. Could be a hidden base, or just wanting to use it to hide for now. I'm sure they are wondering how we keep finding them."

"Aurora, can you get a read on who we are dealing with?"

Jenna entered the course correction in, in preparation of the next turn but did not engage. She could not see through the blinding static. Instead she turned and delivered her word of caution, "Captain, if we go to warp blind, moving into that asteroid belt, there will be nothing left of us to write home." She glanced around at the crew on the bridge, many of whom she had never served with.

But she knew Rhenora and her stubborn dedication. This was a moment where she understood if she said too much she would undermine the Captain's authority. Instead she opted for a more subtle suggestion. "If we were to trust that our enemy is intelligent enough to steal Captain Batel's body, we should err on the side of caution. Perhaps they 'want' us to carelessly warp into an asteroid belt? Feels like a trap to me."

Jacob observed the multiple status displays for the different parts of the sensors. "I've got short range sensors back. Long range in 12 seconds, targeting in 30 seconds." The containerized systems were fairly quick in restart but the manual process meant Jacob needed to select each individual one in succession. He looked to Commander Ramthorne "I have just enough eyes online for you to jump. But only just."

Rhenora took a breath, mentally kicking herself for considering the prospect of a chase without eyes. She prided herself that her crew felt comfortable enough to question her where safety was concerned.

"As soon as you can safely do so, Jenna get us back on the trail' she ordered, emphasising the 'safely'.

"Aye Captain, of course." She calculated the jump and entered the coordinates, "Passing through the security net, now. Warp speed, engaged." The mighty Sunfire, following the same trajectory as the invisible ship lept into warp in the direction of the asteroid field Dean had indicated.

S'thenosis, meanwhile, took note of the interactions at length for later defensible posterity.

"As soon as we have long range sensors, scan that asteroid cluster... I have a gut feeling that's where they're heading" Kaylen requested, having an odd recollection of a derelict trading post there often used by pirates and others seeking to avoid detection. "Should be about 15 light years if memory serves, near a J-class system."

As the Sunfire reappeared in normal space, Jacob's attention was immediately taken by the alarms coming from his console. "There are A LOT of moving objects here. I'll need to focus on tracking them and sending that data to the helm console."

Jacob tapped his commbadge. =^= "Rosen to Ops office. Need you guys to take over sensor suite initiation. I've got my hands full up here." =^=

=^= "Acknowledged COO. We'll take over from here, looks like targeting is coming up now. "=^=

Jacob was already working on tagging not just the large asteroids but also the relatively smaller objects. This was not exactly how he thought today was going to unfold he thought to himself, risking a brief glance over at T'Lar occupying the Science station. On task Jake. He thought, correcting himself immediately.

"Captain!" T'Lar called out, "I'm picking up anomalous tachyon radiation emanating from all over the asteroid field. It's very faint but what makes it remarkable is the way it intersects between the asteroids themselves. Almost like a sensor net. Could be an early warning system, or more likely some sort of automated defense grid. Distance five hundred thousand kilometers and closing."

The fact that she'd detected the tachyon field in the first place was due to a probability calculation she'd been running in her head. The truth is she almost certainly would have missed it had she not been actively looking for passive defense measures. The only question now was what to do with the information.

An early warning system fell in with the trading post musing the Captain had had earlier. The fact T'Lar had detected it was a blessing. "If we reverse the polarity of the shields and emit a scattering pulse, could we get through undetected?" The Captain asked, prompting to see if anyone else had any ideas on the subject.

Bonnie’s hands hovered over her console as she pulled in T’Lar’s readings, her eyes moving quickly as the pattern unfolded across her display. The intersections caught her first, the way the tachyon traces threaded between the asteroids with just enough structure to feel intentional. Her lips pressed together as she leaned in, tracing one of the paths before letting it go.

She glanced sideways to Jacob, then across to T’Lar, like she was checking her footing before stepping onto uncertain ground.

“I mean... yeah, um, maybe,” she said carefully, eyes flicking back to the Captain. “If we flip the shield polarity and scatter the return, we 'might' be able to slip between the gaps. It’s... it’s not a bad idea.” A small pause followed, her fingers tapping lightly against the console as she considered the margins.

“If it’s calibrating off tachyon drift between objects, then anything we emit, even noise, gives it something to react to.” She shifted slightly, shoulders drawing in just a touch. “So it 'could' work.”

Savar had listened to the debate in silence up till now. "I suggest if there is a possibility it can work we take it before the opportunity passes us by.'

"And if it is a trap, at least we know about it" Rhenora admitted "Make the necessary arrangements and advise when they are ready. I don't want to make any more noise than we have to."

Bonnie forwarded the data to Thriss in Engineering, then turned inward to the CORE, her hands moving with quiet precision as calculations unfolded and new pathways took shape. She coordinated with Rosen and T’Lar across the bridge, her voice threading through the noise as systems began to fall silent one by one, each shutdown deliberate, each adjustment bringing the ship closer to a smaller, quieter presence.

Jenna eased the Sunfire onto an approach vector, preparing for entry into the belt. She was utilizing Jacob's plotting and memorizing as much of it as she could, in the short time they had. In that moment, she allowed a rare acknowledgment to her Mother for giving her an eidetic memory woven into her very genetics.

Seated in the XO's chair, Savar muttered "So it begins." As the Sunfire pursued the mirror ship. Taking as stealthily an approach as uit could as systems fell silent.

TBC

 

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