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Captain Sipai looked up from the report she was reading as her door chime sounded.

'Come,' she said, standing up and straightening her dark grey uniform as the door hissed open, admitting Commander Lindholm. Tall and broad-shoulder, with his brown hair cut short, he wore his usual expression of good-natured calm. And, like her, he wore the red undershirt of the command division. In comparison, she was slender and serious, her dark skin, high cheekbones and raven hair adding to that impression.

'Lieutenant Yar, Captain,' Lindholm said, stepping aside to allow the young blonde-haired woman behind him to come forward.

'Lieutenant Tasha Yar, reporting as ordered, Captain,' she said, stopping at attention in front of her desk and Sipai glanced left at Lindholm.

'Thank you, Commander,' she said and he nodded, turning smartly on his heel, the door hissing shut behind him.

'At ease, Lieutenant,' she said, picking up a PADD from her desk. 'I've been looking over your record. Excellent unarmed combat skills, proficient in Aikido and in the top ten percent of your year for marksmanship...'

'Yes, Captain...'

'I see that you've had three citations for bravery...'

'Yes, Captain...'

'...as well as two reprimands for striking fellow officers...'

'Yes, Captain...'

'...is that it? You've no justification to offer for your actions? No explanation...?'

'No, Captain...'

'...very well,' Sipai said, with a faint smile. 'I know your history, Lieutenant. Growing up on Turkana IV can't have been easy for you...'

'No, Captain...'

'I need courageous officers, Lieutenant,' Sipai said, after a moment. 'But, I also need disciplined ones. Do you understand me...?'

'Yes, Captain...'

'Good...' she said, just as the intercom beeped.

'Bridge to Captain...'

'Go ahead...'

'We've detected a freighter on sensors. Main power seems to be offline and there's no response to our hails...'

'On my way,' Sipai said, turning to Tasha. 'With me, Lieutenant...'

'Aye, Captain...'

#####################

'Report,' Sipai said, as Tasha followed her onto the Bridge.

'The freighter is still not responding to hails,' Lindholm replied, turning to the Operations Station. 'Ensign Al-Hasan.'

'It's a civilian freighter, crew of three with a Class II Warp Drive,' Al-Hasan said. 'Varyonx-class, unless I miss my guess. A medium-range vessel suited for intersystem travel...'

'Thank you, Mr Al-Hasan,' Captain Sipai said, glancing over at the dark-haired woman standing at the Engineering station. 'Lieutenant-Commander Tashiro...'

'Yes, Captain?'

'Assemble an Away Team and investigate the freighter. Lieutenant Yar will accompany you...'

'Aye, Captain,' Tashiro said, tapping her commbadge. 'Ensign Kaohi, Ensign Rauh, report to Transporter Room 1...'

#####################

The Transporter effect faded and Tasha looked around. They were standing in a dimly-lit room lined with cargo containers, a small bank of computer terminals on the far wall.

Must be the hold...

'Ensign Kaohi, see if you can access the mainframe,' Tashiro said.

'Aye, Commander,' Kaohi replied, moving towards the terminal just as the hatchway to the hold ground open and a human in rough, stained clothes stepped through.

'What the hell?' He exclaimed, freezing when he saw them, his hand dropping to the disruptor on his belt.

'Move!' Tasha yelled, drawing her own phaser and stunning him as the others took cover behind the containers. Even as his disruptor hit the floor, Tasha heard running footsteps and she ducked down, aiming at the hatchway as two more spacers, a human and a Bolian, came through with disruptors drawn.

'Starfleet!' One of them shouted, Tasha ducking back as he fired, his disruptor blast burning into the container where her head had been. Tashiro rose into a crouch, snapping off a shot that caught one in the shoulder and slammed him back against the wall. The Bolian swung round towards him and Tasha's shot struck him in the back, sending him slumping to the floor.

'There might be more of them,' Tashiro said. 'Yar, on point.'

'Aye, Commander,' Tasha said, moving towards the hatch and peering through. On the other side was the freighter's bridge, dimly-lit by the red glare of emergency lighting.

'Clear,' Tasha said, stepping through, stopping at what she saw. 'Commander...'

'Rauh,' Tashiro said, her voice suddenly monotone, following Tasha's gaze to the two bodies.

'Close-range disruptor wounds,' Rauh said, kneeling next to them and pulling out his tricorder. 'Nothing to be done, Commander...'

'Contact the Thunderchild and have the bodies beamed to Sickbay,' Tashiro said. 'Kaohi, access the freighter's logs and manifests. Yar, let's secure the prisoners.

'Aye, Commander,' Tasha said, drawing her phaser and heading back to the cargo bay. While Tashiro covered her, Tasha attached Transporter Beacons to the three spacers, stepping back and activating her commbadge.

'Yar to Thunderchild...'

'Ramirez here, go ahead...'

'Three to beam directly to the Brig...'

'Acknowledged,' Ramirez said. 'Energising, now...'

The faint whine of the transporter filled the cargo bay and the three spacers vanished, just as Tashiro's commbadge beeped.

'Kaohi to Tashiro...'

'Go ahead...'

'We've recovered the logs and flight manifest...'

'Acknowledged. Prepare for Beam Out...'

'It appears to have been a hijacking, Captain,' Tashiro said, from where she sat at the table in the briefing room. 'According to it's manifesto, the freighter was carrying medical supplies and food for Farpoint Station. These items are highly sought after on the black market...'

'What do we know about the hijackers?' Captain Sipai asked and Tashiro turned to Tasha.

'Lieutenant Yar?'

'Not much,' Tasha said. 'We're running their faces through the database to try and get an ID. However, their disruptors are crude and cheaply built. I'd say it's likely that they have connections to the black market...'

'Alright,' Sipai said. 'We've been ordered to Starbase 97 where Starfleet Security will take over the investigation. Excellent work, everyone. Dismissed.'

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.