Short Fiction: Excelsior

Title: Star Trek - Excelsior
 
"A timely rescue." Hikaru Sulu greeted the Betelgeusian Ambasador as the Avian stepped from the transporter pad. "You have my gratitude Captain Sulu." 
"You're welcome Ambassador Thuuk." Sulu led the envoy from the Transporter room out into the hallway. "I was surprised you would cut your departure from your homeworld so close with the Supernova imminent."
"Tradition." Thuuk Racour seemed to have an air of loss about him. "I am the last."
"Yes..." Hikaru Sulu nodded in understanding. "My science officer explained."
"You have a Betelgeusian Science Officer?" Ambassador Thuuk's head moved owl-like to look at Captain Sulu. "On this ship?"
"Commander..." Sulu indicated the Science Officer standing in front of them. "...Zervra Shaak."

The Betelgeusian Science officer stared at the Betelgeusian Diplomat now blocking his path.
"So this is where your stinking clan is hiding." Thuuk Racour closed the distance in a heartbeat and struck the Excelsior's Science Officer in the neck slashing open an artery spraying blood around the hallway. "Die Zervra Shaak!"
"STOP!" Hikaru Sulu leapt into the violent melee targeting the Betelgeusian Diplomat who had just unleashed bloody murder on his Science Officer with his boot heel. "Commander Zervra?"
"Shit." Hikaru knocked the Diplomat aside with a blow to the head and fell on his injured Science Officer attempting to halt the blood-flow. It was too late. "Shit."
"Stick that bastard in a holding cell and get a medical team down here now." Hikaru Sulu looked up at the Excelsior security officer who had followed from the transporter room. "Now!"

Captain Sulu remained with Commander Zervra's body as Security and Medical arrived to pick up the pieces of this diplomatic incident.
Sulu swatted a pestering medic away. "I'm fine." Sulu got to his feet and was instantly plunged into darkness by a ship wide power outage revealing the Blood of Commander Zervra glowing in the dark Illuminating the walls, floors, ceiling, and Sulu. "I'll be on the Bridge."

Power flickered on stabilizing long enough to allow Sulu to ride the Turbolift to the Command deck.

"Anyone care to explain to me..." Hikaru Sulu sat down in the Captain's chair. "...why the power went out?"
"We just took a severe radiation pulse from the star." Lieutenant Commander M'kraj pulled herself away from the science consoles, her nose irritated by an unfamiliar scent. "Its collapsed the warp field."
The ship again plunged into darkness revealng Sulu to be a significant light source.
"Captain?" Lieutenant Commander M'kraj looked at her glowing captain. "You appear to be contaminated."
"Yes." Sulu nodded. "Commander Zervra was just attacked and killed by the Betelgeusian Ambassador."
"Mew?" M'kraj was overcome with the realization she had just been promoted to Commander as the news of the Commander's death drew the attention of the entire crew on the deck. "A blood-feud?"
"Who the hell knows." Sulu exhaled in distress watching M'kraj wipe a paw against her irritated nostrils. "Do we have impulse Commander M'kraj?"
"On occasion..." Power returned and M'kraj considered her options before issuing an order to the helmsman. "Get us over the Pole."

"Captain, The scent of Commander Zervra's blood is irritating me severely." M'kraj placed a paw on Sulu. "Go take a shower Hiraku."
Sulu collapsed to the deck.

 "Captain," M'kraj's growling roused Hikaru. "You are needed."
"What?" Sulu struggled to sit up. "What's the status?"
"Engineering reports ship should be fully operational," Sulu stared at M'kraj's flickering eyes. "Yet all systems continue to prove unresponsive."
"Light..." There was a definate glow coming from Beyond Sulu's field of vision. "...source?"
"Candle." M'kraj waved it into his field of view causing Sulu to flinch at the brightness. "Side-effect of exposure to Zervra's blood."
"And our guest down in holding?" Sulu placed the palm of his hand over his face and coughed. "How is the Ambassador doing?"
"Dead." M'kraj touched her fur paw to Sulu as the guilt of two deaths washed over him. "Decapitated by a filament incase you are feeling particularly guilty."
"Then..." Sulu Shook the cotton candy from his mind and focused on M'kraj. "Show me." 

"Would someone care to tell me..." Sulu looked at the decapitated corpse in the holding cell. "...why the Ambassador doesnt have a head?"

                              +

[Insert epic murder investigation here]

                              +

"You have..." Hikaru stared at the historically accurate Judiciary on the hover-throne. "Interfered in a criminal investigation."
"You have..." Q played with a metal dice cube in the palm of his hand as the human mumbled about meddling in Federation affairs. He had heard it from Picard. "Endangered lives." 
"Hikaru..." Sulu stared at the Alien Judiciary that had spent these last hours amusing itself with a simple murder investigation as it shouted his name across the courtroom. "Sulu."
"Perhaps you would like to poke me with your little sword." Hikaru found himself shirtless and holding the Katana lost several years earlier during an away mission. The Judiciary continued speaking down to him. "Hmmm...No?"
"I like you," Q tumbled the small metal cube off the end of his fingers before causing it to relocate from his hand to a position some distance from the Excelsior allowing it to expand to its full size. "But lets see how you do against the Borg."

"<We are the Borg.>klingon" Sulu, shirtless, and armed with his Katana found himself standing on the command deck of the Excelsior face to face with the new menace of a Klingon, deformed by strange technological enhancements speaking. "<Your biological and technological resources will be assimilated.>Romulan".
"Transwarp..." The Judge had just turned a Dragon loose to entertain the crowd. "Now!"