sarlina
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Post by sarlina on Oct 3, 2008 12:07:44 GMT
"I think..." Sarlina paused as the Admiral's voice carried over to where she and the doctor were standing.
“Don’t you 'With respect sir' me, Commander,” Drew said, “by being here you have not only placed my mission in jeopardy, but the lives and safety of you own officers!” Sarlina winced slightly, then froze as something exploded. Another one sounded, closer then the first, and she and Doctor Grey ran behind the statue that the Drew and Trek were behind.
"Phasers!" Trek shouted.
“Commander, we need to find our attackers and disable them,” the admiral said. "We have supporters somewhere on the other side of town. It is likely that they have now fled, but it is imperative that we find them, Mr Acelik is also missing.”
He was right. Acelik was missing. Maybe insisting on accompanying Drew down to the planet hadn't been the smartest move she'd ever made.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2008 19:48:37 GMT
“Commander, we need to find our attackers and disable them,” Drew said quickly, “we have supporters somewhere on the other side of town. It is likely that they have now fled, but it is imperative that we find them, Mr Acelik is also missing.”
"Agreed!" Dan yelled over the noise, as a phaser blast hit the statue they were taking shelter behind. He reached around the side of the statue, and fired off a shot in the same general direction, trying to discourage the returning fire.
Dan hit his commbadge. "Trek to Park and Helacaan." The returning signal was heavy in static. Looked like the dampening field was blocking communication on the surface too.
"We're under attack," he said, trying to get the message through, firing off another shot. "We're in the town center. Get here as soon as you can, we need back-up."
Dan looked up just in time to see a missile flying toward them. "COVER!!!" he yelled, huddling on the ground with his hands clasped behind his neck.
The force of the explosion knocked him backward, and he was now lying flat on his back a meter away. Looking down, he saw a piece of shrapnel sticking out his commbadge. The badge was toast.
Getting up quickly, he went over to help Admiral Drew, who was also on his back thanks to the explosion. While Drew sat up, Dan said, "Sir, based on the trajectory of that last missile and the enemy phaser fire, I'd estimate that our assailants are about 100 meters away on a rooftop over that way," he said, point in front of them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2008 21:38:19 GMT
|Hiding behind a statue |Next to the counselor
"Counselor, set your phaser at eight. We don't need to kill but if they start getting close, thumb it up to ten."
Lucy didn't wait for an answer as she peeked around the statue's knee. A rifle was being leveled in her direction and she squeezed the trigger firmly. The rifle fell away and rolled into a patch of dust where a hand reached out and grabbed it. Lucy took aim again and fired. The beam made a scorching mark along the corner of the building her target was hiding behind.
<Vise>
"Just aim in their general direction. You're bound to hit something sooner or later. I have an extra couple of charges if yours runs low."
<Vise>
Dr. Grey spun back and sat down in the dirt. Lifting her arm, she used the inside of her elbow to wipe at the sweat now rolling down her face.
"There are days when I like being on the ship and writing reports. There are also days like this when I want to be out in the sun and wind and weather. But there is no day at all when I like or want to be shot at. The fools out there just might hit their target. Which, in this case, is me."
<Vise>
"I need to get over there! Cover me! Once I'm there, I'll cover you."
Lucy moved forward to lean on one knee and the opposing hand. As soon as Vise fired, she raced in a zigzag pattern to where Dantrek was. Was was the keyword here. When Lucy arrived, Dantrek was over at Admiral Drew's side.
"Sir, based on the trajectory of that last missile and the enemy phaser fire, I'd estimate that our assailants are about 100 meters away on a rooftop over that way," Dan said, pointing in front of them.
Lucy turned back and caught the counselor's eye. Waving toward herself, Lucy then fired up and then down at the base of the building. The counselor ran as if her heart was in it. Lucy grinned.
Her tricorder already in her hand, Dr. Grey's fingers were dancing over the controls. "There are a few on the ground, too... Dan." It took a bit for Dr. Grey to use his first name as if they were simply friends and not part of Starfleet. But the Admiral had insisted they be called by name and not rank. "Paul, you'll be sore in the morning, but right now you're fine."
<tag!>
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2008 15:14:42 GMT
“If you consider ‘fine’ having people shooting at you then I completely agree Lucy,” Drew said as he brushed some dirt off from his clothes. As he repositioned himself he felt a sharp pain run down his back, forcing him to agree completely with the Doctor’s assessment that he would indeed be sore in the morning.
“I think we need to spread out,” Drew said when he found his phaser and set it to heavy stun, “it will give them more targets and also give us a better chance of fighting back, if we can we need to encircle them.”
“Also, we need to find their jamming device and destroy it otherwise we’ll never get any help from the others.”
Lucy, Dan and Sarlina all nodded their agreement. They decided that they would split into two groups, Drew and Dan would go in one direction while Lucy and Sarlina would go in another. Along the way they would fire at their targets as often as possible and hopefully confuse their targeting and also trapping them in the Away Team’s fire. Whoever reached the jamming device first would also make sure to destroy it. That done they would be able to contact the Nevada and get reinforcements.
They each checked their phaser settings, and then once everyone was sure of the plan, Drew gave the signal. Together the four of them quickly hurried off in their different directions, keeping low and looking for their next cover.
As soon as they ran out they were met by fresh phaser fire, Drew tried to return fire, but he was fairly certain that his shot missed. Thankfully the town centre was becoming less crowded now as most people had reached safety, however Drew still had to dodge some bodies of less fortunate people. Seeing the dead made Drew regret their presence on this world, but he knew that now was not the time to question their own actions, now was the time to win.
“Dan,” Drew called out as they took cover behind a fallen tree trunk, “the ladies should be round the other side by now, any luck pinpointing the location of the jamming device?”
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sarlina
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Registered: Apr 20, 2024 15:25:41 GMT
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Post by sarlina on Oct 5, 2008 20:48:29 GMT
"Counselor, set your phaser at eight. We don't need to kill but if they start getting close, thumb it up to ten."
Sarlina grimaced and adjusted the setting on her phaser. She didn't like getting into the sort of situations where killing others would be necessary for her own survival, but these things happened.
"I'm not a very good shot," Sarlina confessed.
"Just aim in their general direction. You're bound to hit something sooner or later. I have an extra couple of charges if yours runs low."
Sarlina crouched down next to the doctor. "I don't..." she started.
"There are days when I like being on the ship and writing reports. There are also days like this when I want to be out in the sun and wind and weather. But there is no day at all when I like or want to be shot at. The fools out there just might hit their target. Which, in this case, is me."
Sarlina knelt down and shot at whoever got too close to her. She was getting the hang of this. "I need to get over there! Cover me! Once I'm there, I'll cover you." Sarlina nodded, and got ready. She fired, and the Doctor ran over to where the others were standing.
Grey caught Sarlina's eye, and she ran. She was relieved that she hadn't been injured in the brief sprint over. Sarlina nodded at Drew's suggestion to split up. When Drew gave the signal, she and Grey ran for the nearest cover. Sarlina shot her phaser without worrying too much about whether or not it hit. Hitting them would be nice, but staying alive was more important.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2008 23:24:08 GMT
“Also, we need to find their jamming device and destroy it otherwise we’ll never get any help from the others.”
Dan nodded along with the other two, and pulled out his tricorder and scanned for the jamming signal. "It's in that direction," he said, pointing ahead of them. "But I'll need more data to give you a range."
They split up, with Dan firing blind in the direction of the enemy fire, doing his best to, most of all, protect the Admiral.
“Dan,” Drew called out as they took cover behind a fallen tree trunk, “the ladies should be round the other side by now, any luck pinpointing the location of the jamming device?”
Dan looked at his tricorder again as he threw himself behind the tree. Analyzing the minute difference in signal strength between this location and their previous, and doing some rough calculations in his head, he said, "Based on the change in the jamming signal, I'd say it's about 300 meters in that direction," he said, pointing ahead of them and slightly to the right. "From the signal strength itself, I'd say we're dealing with a crude device, roughly a meter square."
As he finished talking, a thought struck him. Putting down his phaser and tricorder, he removed his commbage from his chest. Gingerly removing the shrapnel embedded in the case, recoiling briefly from the latent heat imbued in the shrapnel from the explosion, he rolled up one pant leg and shoved the commbadge into his boot.
He then removed his uniform jacket, and cast it aside. He proceeded to take off his Commander's pips and attach them to the inside of the cuff of his pant leg.
"Dan?" Drew asked, obviously wondering what Dan was doing, as Dan rolled back down his pant leg.
"Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, Paul," Dan said, as he removed his uniform vest and then his red shirt, till he was left just wearing his tank top. "Probably too late to throw off our pursuers," he said, piling the three vestments together a meter a way.
"But this should help me blend in," he said, pulling out his phaser, adjusting the setting, then vaporizing the cast off pieces of his uniform. As he readjusted the setting on the phaser, he said, "I didn't want anyone scavenging my uniform, but I wanted to keep my commbadge and pips.
Picking up his tricorder again, he said, "That jamming device is probably in a basement somewhere, or something. It'll be guarded."
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Seth Helacaan
Civilian 4
Registered: Feb 8, 2008 12:30:38 GMT
Posts: 467
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Post by Seth Helacaan on Oct 9, 2008 13:59:50 GMT
One of the Naal had advanced around to the flank of the Wezean taking cover behind a crest in the endless field of gravelly ground. It was not long before the man had been neutralised, and the Naal, seeing that his enemy was hit, quickly scampered across the grey surface, making his way back to the road. The four Naal now turned to look at the other side of the road, where the remaining RV had fled to.
"Where's my brother?" Seth croaked to the man crouching behind the vehicle just in front of him.
The man pointed with his hand to the other side of the vehicle, "Over there, we need to get him into better cover." Shots from the other side of the road, which was now solely occupied by the four Naal, lashed nearby to Seth. Realising that he was only just in cover, he dragged himself to the left, so that the RV fully obscured his vision. Feeling was starting to come back into his legs, he felt them with his hands, and then found out that his left hand was badly burnt. The ruined skin had been charred black and red. The pain was terrible, and it felt like it was still burning. Heat enveloped his hand, making him feel faint. He looked around, and swore that the world had become redder, the greyish surface looked as if it had been boiled to death in some pressure cooker of a world. Surely not Ascension, the place of his birth and beloved home. This place was hell.
In a desperate attempt to escape the nightmare that he slipped into, Seth put weight on his one good hand and dragged himself up. His legs nearly buckled under the sudden weight but the more Seth moved them, the more he found that they were coming back to life. Seeing that the man taking cover behind the RV was too preoccupied to see what he was doing, Seth began stumbling forward a few paces. It was slow and arduous at first, but he soon found a new lease of strength. He made his way around the vehicle and with a sudden sense of fear that he may be shot, virtually collapsed into the dirt again beside his brother. "John.." he tried to get his attention but John Helacaan appeared to be unconscious.
Painfully for Seth, he had to leave his brother. The first priority was to ensure that they all survived, then he could worry about John. There was a time when Seth would not have reasoned that, and he would have stayed beside his brother, protecting him like an older sibling would, even though Seth was actually the younger by a year and a half. Taking one last look at the older Helacaan before making his way across the road, Seth was suddenly furious. The encroaching Naal had already caused his family so much pain over the years... surely the Helacaans had suffered enough. This final injustice had snapped something inside him. Seth glared with a vengeful zeal at the occasionally visible Naal that were still firing their weapons. Jon Park and the two other Wezeans were still firing back so Seth, hoping that their fire would provide him with cover, picked himself up from the ground and charged up and across the road. At the last second before he reached the other side, he remembered that he carried a sidearm. Drawing it, he jumped off the side of the road and climbed over the top of a crest, behind which the Naal were taking cover.
Seth pressed the trigger button, fully expecting a green energy-projectile to tear itself from the muzzle of his weapon. When nothing happened, he was understandably shocked. Two Naal were behind him, one of which bore the portable rocket device looked up in surprise at the Wezean. With the adrenaline coursing through him, Seth leapt off the crest and fly-kicked one of them in the face. Then, brandishing his gun as a hand weapon in his one good hand, he lashed out at the other Naal with it. The bone-crunching noise that Seth heard when he made contact with the Naal's chin, told him that he had broken the raider's jaw. Taking advantage, Seth hit him again with brutal strength and the Naal crumpled into the dust of the ground..
Still moving... Seth thought. The Naal was not moving. He hit him again and again, savagely beating the faulty weapon on the Naal's temple, until he was sure it was dead. Seth ignored the dark red blood spattering onto his face. Gripped in his madness, Seth ran across to where the other Naal were. One took aim at the onrushing Helacaan, but the latter didn't care. Seth threw his broken weapon and the Naal's shot was misaimed, the projectile shot off wildly to Seth's left. Before he could reach them, the two Naal were hit from the side. They went down, the black marks in their sides showing where Jon Park had hit them. The Nevada's security chief jumped off the road and came to stand by the bodies of those whom he had shot.
Seth came to a halt before Commander Park, he took a mad look at him and felt his muscles tense. He kept staring at Park, not knowing what he was thinking, thoughts were passing to quickly through his head for him to figure them out. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. In the end he turned away and, in a daze, sat himself down on the ground.
Soon after, the five remaining men were climbing into the RV. Dan Trek and the others was likely still in trouble, they had to be going. Everyone was in, except Seth. He looked around, taking in the dour landscape before getting into the vehicle. It no longer looked like hell. Seth hoped that he had escaped that for now at least. The wind was picking up again, he had better be going. Before he turned away back to the vehicle, his eye was caught by the presence of a formation of boulders situated some forty yards out into the plain. What had made him look there? He stared at the largest boulder, wondering how it had come to be there, and then saw a flash of light, just a pinprick of red. It was a signal light, Seth realised. Suddenly he occurred to him what it was.
Without a word to the others he bounded off the road and across the gap to the boulders. He saw him instantly. "You!" Seth exclaimed. The man sheltering behind the boulder gave a tight-lipped smile. Seth could hardly believe it, this man was part of the group he secretly met with.
"Seth, I think I need your help.." the man said without greeting.
TBC
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2008 15:56:18 GMT
Drew smiled as Dan vaporised his uniform. At first he found the Nevada First Officer to be slightly annoying and careless, but he was starting to appreciate his resourcefulness. Trek was an old school officer who knew old school methods, and those, as far as Drew was concerned, were the best sort.
“If it’s in a building,” Drew said he looked around, “it’ll be one that they are not shooting at, find that and we find out target.”
“In that case, I’d go for that one over there,” Dan answered pointing across to a building just in front of them. While others in the surrounding area bore scorch marks and other signs of damage, this was relativity undamaged.
“Agreed,” Drew replied, “have Lucy and Sarlina follow us in, soon as we destroy the device, hail the Nevada and have them get us the hell out of here.”
While Dan issued his orders to Lucy and Sarlina through hand signals, Drew continued to survey the area. The people he was going to meet must still be close by, they would not have risked transporting out and so they would have made their escape on foot. That meant that they were close and raised the possibility that they might be able to render assistance. Providing of course that Drew and his team could destroy the device blocking their communication.
“OK, we’re ready,” Dan said at last, “we’ll go in first and the ladies will follow.”
“Right,” Drew said in understanding, “well, let’s go then.”
With once last check of their phasers, Drew and Dan hurried across the street, while still avoiding the fire from their assailants who still held the higher ground. That too would be an advantage that would soon be lost, while Drew and Dan searched for the jamming device, Lucy and Sarlina were going up to the roof to finish off the attackers as quickly as possible. If everything went to plan, the situation should be resolved within minutes.
Kicking the door open, Drew and Dan charged into the seemingly derelict building. As they did so, Dan’s tricorder began to beep excitedly, the jamming device was close.
“Down stairs? Right?” Drew called behind him as he began to hurry down a nearby flight of stairs.
Drew kicked one more door open and there it was before him. The device that had been causing all their problems. Drew took aim with his phaser and pressed down on the small trigger. A power stream of golden energy was instantly emitted from the weapon which quickly encompassed the jamming device and vaporised it instantly.
“Done, let’s go,” Drew said. But when he turned round he saw to his horror that he and Dan were no longer alone. The building had not been so derelict after all, four Naal now stood before Drew, and three of them were pointing weapons at him. The fourth was already holding Dan captive, a phaser pressed against his head.
The lead Naal stepped forward, an evil sneer on his face, “You’re going nowhere,” he laughed as he took Drew’s phaser.
<Lucy, Sarlina, Jon and Seth, it’s time to be a hero>
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2008 3:05:58 GMT
As Drew destroyed the jamming device, the four Naal that had been lying in wait for just such an act used the cover of the noise of the explosion to rush enter the room, and Dan felt a hand grab hold of his arm, his phaser yanked out of his hand, and was pressed to his temple.
At the same time, three more rushed past him, and leveled weapons at Drew. When Drew said, “Done, let’s go," and turned around, he discovered their sudden plight. Looking around, Dan saw that his own captor was the largest of the group, for obvious reasons.
The lead Naal stepped forward, an evil sneer on his face, “You’re going nowhere,” he laughed as he took Drew’s phaser.
"If you have to kill one of us, take me," Dan called out, trying his very best to fulfill his duty to protect the Admiral at all costs.
The lead Naal looked at Dan briefly, then turned back to Drew. "Your underling is very brave," he said. He then turned and walked back over to Dan.
"Or is it out of cowardice, I wonder?" he asked, his face mere centimeters from Dan's. "Do you not have the stomach to see what we might due to your superior?"
Dan's face tensed in anger, glaring at the Naal as the latter took a step back. Cowardice? Dan had undoubtly seen more combat in his long lifetime than this Naal had, commanded men in battle, and won many campaigns. How dare he. But he restrained himself, and did nothing.
"Perhaps you're thinking I want to kill you to send a message to your Starfleet," he said. "Oh yes, I know who you are. You may have ditched most of your uniform to be less conspicuous, but it wasn't soon enough to avoid attention. Or can you not stand the heat?"
Dan's anger kindled into rage. Not stand the heat? He grew up on a desert planet. The lead captor was trying to provoke him.
"You don't like having your mettle questioned, do you?" he asked, coming closer again. "I can see from your tough hide that you're a desert dweller," he said, running a finger along the sandpaper texture of the skin of Dan's arm. "This needling, you can hardly stand it. You'd like nothing more than to strike out at me."
He dropped his voice low again. "Go ahead and try. Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to kill you both. Unfortunately, I need you alive."
He turned to the others. "Bring them both over here," he said, indicating the wall opposite the door.
As Drew and Dan were both forced down onto the floor against the wall, with weapons pointed at them, two of them previously their own, Dan asked, "Any ideas?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2008 3:06:51 GMT
|The Dastardly Planet
Lucy nodded in acknowledgement at Dan and Paul. Paul... she'd never get used to calling him that.
Speaking as quietly as she could, Lucy said as she pointed with her phaser, "We run around that side. We need to get to the roof. So fire as we go. I'll take off when you've fired the first round. You count to 7 fast then run after me. It's an uneven number and it can't be tracked easily. Any questions?"
<Vise>
Relaxing a bit, Dr. Grey replied, "Every one of us will need counseling when we get back. But you'll need to start at the bottom... probably with Seth Helacaan. Working your way up, you can end with Paul... it's the strangest feeling calling him that. But the command officers have more training and more discipline. They work through their problems faster after having had so many counseling sessions way back when."
<Vise>
"Okay, I'm as ready as you are," Lucy said.
Together, the women fired at the building then Lucy ran as fast as she could. In the middle of her sprint, she slowed, came to a stop then ran forward again. She hoped it threw off whoever was trying to kill them. Reaching the edge of the building, she looked back to see Sarlina racing toward her.
The counselor fell, scrambled up and ran on. Lucy grabbed the edge of a stone and reached out to Sarlina. "Hurry!" she yelled.
<Vise>
As the counselor reached the building, Lucy sighed with relief and grabbed the woman's hand. 'Would hate to lose a counselor before I even got to know her,' she thought.
Stumbling over the sand and small boulders, the doctor and counselor made it to and over the ladder.
"Up the ladder, counselor! They're on the top!"
A loud noise sounded behind them and Lucy rushed as fast as her little legs and fists could carry her. Feeling the breath of the counselor, Lucy's adrenaline spurred her on.
<Helacaan>
"Seth! Drew and Trek are in here!"
Lucy didn't hear the answer but could relax knowing that he heard and would help.
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Jon Park
Commander 1C
Approved Grade Reduction
Red Alert
Registered: Oct 14, 2007 20:46:50 GMT
Posts: 811
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Post by Jon Park on Oct 12, 2008 16:32:41 GMT
Seth and Park just started to head out from him home when they were attacked. Park dove for a set of boxes by the south wall and yet he was still hit more of a glancing blow. Park glanced at Seth who had taken cover behind one of the old "car" type things that were in front of the house. Park looked at his arm and saw it was a glancing blow but knew it would hurt for days. Just as Park was going for his Phaser Park's combadge chirped tapping in he heard heavy static but knew the voice of Commander Trek no matter how bad the transmission was.
Commander Trek told them they were in the center of town and Seth and a few others headed there to assist. Park saw a few people dead on the ground and glanced at his arm again. the wound was healing but he would need some medical assistance. Park walked with a second member of Seth's family and they got split up. Just as Park was about to turn back he heard a explosion from the building in front of them. running to the building Seth meet him at the door. Entering they both looked at each other and then checked the phaser settings and charge.
Descending to the basement they found drew and the other being held hostage for the moment no one saw him or Seth. Park moved to the door and watched a phaser being held to Dan's head and three phasers held at Drew. Slowly moving away so no one saw him Park knew he needed a plan. Fining the other officers he asked. "Anyone have a flash bang? If we do i have a plan."
<Tag Seth, Vise or Grey>
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Seth Helacaan
Civilian 4
Registered: Feb 8, 2008 12:30:38 GMT
Posts: 467
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Post by Seth Helacaan on Oct 13, 2008 1:08:06 GMT
The RV sped along the road with its characteristic high pitched whine. In one of the rear seats, an exhausted Seth sat, cradling his brother who was not in good shape. Seth didn't think that he had ever saw his brother so badly injured, he knew that he himself had been in situations as bad as this, but still...
Seth thought about what the man (whom he had met by the boulders) had said. It was difficult to think about, particularly when the man had been so cryptic. 'He was into too deep' was the common theme in his words, the thing that he had kept repeating in differing forms. It was tough for Seth to help him when that was all he had said... However, regardless of what had taken place, Seth was still due to meet with this group again, perhaps what the man had said would reveal itself when the time came. Something good, Seth hoped, had come from the Naal's attack on them after all. He would have hated to see two men die in vain.
Soon, the smoke from the centre of the town became visible. "Oh god.." one of the men at the pilot seat murmured. The dirty plume of smoke and dust rose from several buildings, pretty much right in the centre of the town. All of the occupants of the RV shifted uncomfortably; even Jon Park, a trained Starfleet Security officer, seemed perplexed.
"Ok," Seth announced, wincing with the pain of speaking, "Let's park this thing by the intersection coming up, right here.." The vehicle came to a halt and Seth, Park and one of the Wezeans climbed out. Seth quickly took in the surroundings, he needed to get a grasp of the situation, even though he knew exactly where they were.
The town was a rather sombre place. The roads were unpathed, and dusty.. no more than dirt tracks until you reached the very middle of the town, where there was some rather stately pathing. The whole place was a mottled, pale yellow colour.. The buildings were meant to be a neutral grey, but time and the weather had eroded their appearance, turning them into sun-bleached constructions looming over the beaten ground, and casting long shadows where Ascension's notoriously low sun caught the buildings in the side.
The three humans (one Earthling, two Wezeans) jog-ran towards the town square, which looked to be where the smoke was predominantly rising from. One of the buildings on the edge of the square did indeed have smoke rising from it, and it also had a large gaping hole where it looked as if a rocket had hit. The three of them entered the square, dead bodies already confronted them. Seth looked at them for as long as he could and then looked away, squeezing his eyes shut, and nearly weeping with the pain of seeing the spilt blood of his fellow colonists. Surely I knew some of these people.. he thought, the Helacaans were popular enough on the planet so that it was difficult for someone not to have at least heard of them.
Jon must have seen that Seth was having trouble, because he then tapped him gently on the arm. Seth noticed the Nevada's CTSO looking at him, and nodded back at Park when he saw the concerned expression on the latter's face. They watched from across the square as several people had to duck out of the way of an incoming rocket. With Park watching him, Seth pointed silently ahead to where he was fairly sure the rockets were coming from. The trio headed to the left corner of the square and were confronted with a narrow stretch of street enclosed in shadows, and just as beaten and battered as the rest of the town. They headed down that and then split up.. One of their number headed to the left after instructed to look for a back entrance. Seth and Park headed for the main entrance..
Just as they reached it, and were wondering how to get in safely, an explosion resounded from inside. It shook the ground with a gritty crunch that made Seth cringe. The two Starfleet officers rushed on inside.. "Seth! Drew and Trek are in here!"
Seth and Jon were now in a dark corridor inside the derelict building, they looked at each other in surprise and shock.. That was Lucy's voice. "Basement" The COO and CTSO stated near simultaneously. They headed down the nearest flight of steps they could find, and sure enough there was Doctor Grey, and someone Seth had never seen before.. Counsellor.. Counsellor Vise? he mused to himself. The four of them stepped up to the door that Trek and.. Drew, were behind; they were in some trouble apparently. Who was Drew? That was the next question that sprung to Seth's mind. Was it.. the Admiral? Whom Commander Trek had talked to Updeik about? That had been a while ago, Seth then wished he had paid more attention at the time. He briefly considered asking the others but now was not the time for unnecessary questions. Jon asked in a whisper if they had any flashbang devices. Seth's eyes lit up for a moment.. "It so happens Commander," he whispered, "That I picked up a pack of explosives from the RV." It was obvious what Park's plan was.
Seth set the small, circular metallic device on a three second delay, and silently rolled it into the room. He nodded at the other three, and they all readied their phasers (or in Seth's case a Wezean laser rifle). They heard the device give a distinctive beep followed by a short rising tone.....
<Tag Jon, Lucy or Sarlina>
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Jon Park
Commander 1C
Approved Grade Reduction
Red Alert
Registered: Oct 14, 2007 20:46:50 GMT
Posts: 811
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Post by Jon Park on Oct 14, 2008 16:18:30 GMT
Park was surprised that Seth had some flash bang's but it stared a plan in his head since there was a little time just before Seth threw it in he whispered. "Doctor take the man to the right, Vise you take the man to the right. I will take out the man holding the phaser to Commander trek that leaves the last to you Seth. Remember we need to all shoot at the same time so that they don't have a chance to counter. OK Seth throw the flash."
Her threw the flash bang and the device went off as Park and his team rushed in they were still blinded. Park got his shot off and the man holding Dan fell. Park heard more shot and as the flash bang dissipated Park saw all the men on the ground and Drew and Trek were safe.
Doctor Grey looked at Park's arm but he waved her off turning to Drew Park said. "Sir what ever mission we had here has gone really wrong. Don't you think we should return to the ship and regroup?"
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sarlina
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Post by sarlina on Oct 14, 2008 22:30:27 GMT
"We run around that side. We need to get to the roof. So fire as we go. I'll take off when you've fired the first round. You count to 7 fast then run after me. It's an uneven number and it can't be tracked easily. Any questions?" Grey asked softly. Sarlina shook her head, and glanced back to where Grey was pointing. It looked to be a considerable distance. "Every one of us will need counseling when we get back. But you'll need to start at the bottom... probably with Seth Helacaan. Working your way up, you can end with Paul... it's the strangest feeling calling him that. But the command officers have more training and more discipline. They work through their problems faster after having had so many counseling sessions way back when."
"Since coming on the Nevada, I've never been bored. Doesn't look like it will change in the foreseeable future."
"Okay, I'm as ready as you are." Sarlina fired, and Grey took off. Once she reached the other side, Sarlina was running after her, going as quickly as she could. Sarlina's tripped on a rock, and was terrified that she wouldn't have a chance to get up. But she managed to get back on her feet, and was running to the other side quickly.
"Seth! Drew and Trek are in here!" Grey said.
Sarlina watched as two people came down the stairs. One was Park, and the other was presumably Seth Helacaan. She was surprised, and slightly worried, to learn that Seth had flash bangs. It didn't make a good first impression on the counselor, but in the current situation it was useful.
"Doctor take the man to the right, Vise you take the man to the right. I will take out the man holding the phaser to Commander trek that leaves the last to you Seth. Remember we need to all shoot at the same time so that they don't have a chance to counter. OK Seth throw the flash." As Park fired, Sarlina did the same and her target collapsed.
"Sir what ever mission we had here has gone really wrong. Don't you think we should return to the ship and regroup?" Park asked. Right, the mission. Sarlina had done a pretty bad job of watching Acelik, or of learning what Drew wanted to do here. But she was still alive, and that counted for a lot.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2008 22:33:45 GMT
|Underground hostage situation room
Lucy's phaser shot a beam of pure light at 'her' man. The guy let out a yelp, his arm went into the air and he fell backwards. Dr. Grey was on one knee, still aiming at her target just in case he didn't want to stay down.
"Sir what ever mission we had here has gone really wrong. Don't you think we should return to the ship and regroup?" Park asked.
Lucy went to each of the downed men in turn, her tricorder scanning their life signs. She felt like congratulating everyone on not becoming killers.
"We do need to get out of here before they regain consciousness," Lucy said. She spoke directly to the admiral. It was still his call.
<Drew>
"Not to rain on your parade, but we have about five minutes to be far enough away to be safe." She paused a moment, her eyes flicking from one to another of the disabled men. "I can give you an option, Paul. Anesthezine. It'll keep them out for a good hour."
<Drew>
<Seth>
"Give me a decision, guys. Be quick."
<everyone>
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2008 4:11:16 GMT
Dan saw the flash-bang roll in the room, but it took a moment to register what it was, and while he shielded his eyes, he didn't quite do so in time to completely avoid the blast.
Dan looked around wildly, trying to identify whether the latest participant was friend or foe, but his eyes weren't cooperating just yet.
"Sir what ever mission we had here has gone really wrong. Don't you think we should return to the ship and regroup?"
Oh good. It was Park. At least Dan knew he wasn't going to be shot or something.
"We do need to get out of here before they regain consciousness," Lucy said.
"Give us a minute, Doctor," Dan said, trying to regain his vision. "These old eyes aren't what they used to be."
"Not to rain on your parade, but we have about five minutes to be far enough away to be safe." She paused a moment."I can give you an option, Paul. Anesthezine. It'll keep them out for a good hour."
Dan looked around some more, his vision still clouded. This was hardly the first time in his long life that he'd been exposed to the brunt of a flash-bang. But it was, however, the first time he hadn't recovered quickly.
"Give me a decision, guys. Be quick."
"Doc, I think I need some help over here," Dan said, looking over towards Lucy, reaching out towards her but not being able to see her clearly. "My vision isn't recovering from the flash-bang like it should be. I'm seeing white spots all over the place."
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Seth Helacaan
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Post by Seth Helacaan on Oct 20, 2008 0:41:35 GMT
"... It'll keep them out for a good hour."
Grey looked at both Seth and the Starfleet Admiral, and Seth wondered on whether Drew was going to respond or not. Why was there an admiral here on Ascension? he thought. Seth hadn't seen a Starfleet admiral in person in a fair while, he was expecting someone a bit more formal-looking but he supposed that Drew thought he needed to blend in (the Admiral had clothed himself with a reasonable approximation of the typical, local attire). But why only him and Counselor Vise and not Lucy, or Dan Trek who was wearing at least some elements of Starfleet uniform. Seth had discovered over the last few days that Starfleet did indeed continue to hold an appreciable interest in the planet, but he had had no inkling that they cared as much to send a full Admiral. The Nevada enough was suffice, and that ship was something that Seth had begun to feel quite attached to.
"Give me a decision, guys. Be quick."
Lucy brought Seth's thought back to the unconscious Naal lying on the basement's floor. An hour... Seth contemplated, Would that be enough? The man that Seth had met by the roadside further out of the settlement had indicated that he and the 'group' would be around in the town for a short period of time... Whether it was enough time Seth did not know. He did however, know the location of the meeting place. He looked at Admiral Paul Drew again, and Seth could see that the flag officer was thinking hard as well, what for he didn't know.
After formulating a response as well as a plan for his next move, Seth began to speak. Before he could however, Commander DanTrek spoke. The Nevada's first officer was stumbling around and rubbing his eyes, apparently having trouble with his sight. Seth felt a small pang of guilt, it was his flash-bang device (which he'd inadvertantly been carrying) that had caused this. Wezean weaponry was crude, to say the least, perhaps it was something in their construction that did not go well with Trek's species' physiology.
Lucy rushed to Trek's aid, and Seth was saved the awkwardness of answering the question. He still had no idea why Drew had not said something himself, but Seth did notice that the Admiral was still deep in thought. Seth had plenty of things to think about himself: like, why were there so many Naal in the centre of the town, and how did they get there undetected?
He also noticed that the Counselor, Vise, was looking at him in an odd way. She glanced at Trek being tended to and then back at Seth, as if indicating silently the reason for her almost accusing stare at him. "Counselor Vise." Seth nodded at her politely, unsure of what else he could do. "I am Seth Helacaan, if you are not already aware." He smiled a little.
<tag Vise>
Seth wished that their first meeting was in different circumstances, but some things just couldn't be helped. By the time Helacaan and Vise had spoken a little, Drew had made his mind up on the matter of the anaesthezine gas [tag] and Grey was treating Trek's sight problems. The Admiral was starting to make a move for the exit, and the others started to follow him. Seth pushed through to the front past Vise and Park and came up along side Drew as they exited through the basement entrance.
"Admiral." Drew looked at Seth as they climbed the narrow steps, as side-by-side as was possible. "Uh.. Sir I mean," Seth corrected himself. Sometimes he could forget that he was in still in Starfleet, perhaps he could forget it for good in the near future. "Sir, I'm guessing you are in charge down here, what's the next move?" Seth was growing curious at this Admiral, what was he up to? And why did the others seem unaware of it?
<tag Drew>
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2008 18:25:12 GMT
"Doc, I think I need some help over here," Dan said, looking over towards Lucy, reaching out towards her but not being able to see her clearly. "My vision isn't recovering from the flash-bang like it should be. I'm seeing white spots all over the place."
Forgetting the Naal on the floor for the moment, Lucy rushed over to DanTrek. Holding the portable medical scanner in her palm, Dr. Grey moved it slowly over the XO's eyes. Picking up her tricorder, she looked over the results of the scan.
"Retina burns, commander. You need to get back to the ship. Wait... you're about 150 Standard Earth Years, aren't you?"
<DanTrek>
"Thought I remembered that correctly. I'll notify the optician. You're relieved of duty, commander, until further notice. This isn't something to fool with. We have treatments but you'll have to discuss it with him."
=/\= "Grey to Nevada. Beam Cmdr. DanTrek directly to sickbay. Notify the optician of retinal burning." =/\=
=/\= "Yes, ma'am. Locking on now." =/\=
The familiar blue shimmer surrounded DanTrek and they all watched as he disappeared without protest.
<Drew> (OOC: Guessing it's a good idea to keep them down.)
Lucy nodded then went to the Naal and injected the anaesthezine. One of them was waking up. He sighed and fell back to sleep.
"Good to see you, Seth. What else have you got in store for us?"
<Tag Everybody>
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2008 23:40:42 GMT
"Retina burns, commander. You need to get back to the ship. Wait... you're about 150 Standard Earth Years, aren't you?"
"Yes," Dan replied. "149 to be exact."
A few moments later, Dan was disappearing from the planet and reappearing in the Nevada's sickbay. He would have protested, but what could he do? There was no way to pull rank on a CMO's medical decision, and since he'd been relieved of duty, he didn't have rank to pull anyway.
Dan looked around at what he was fairly certain was Sickbay, but with his injured eyes he couldn't tell for sure. As the optician appeared, and had a nurse lead Dan over to a bed, Dan's spirits sunk rapidly.
Relieved of duty, over an eye problem. An eye problem that was compounded by his advancing age. Would this trend continue? Would his further advancing of age hinder his ability to perform his duties more and more? How long did he have before such failing health forced him to retire?
And then there was his double handicap rearing it's ugly head again. In years past, he could have used directed mental energy to heal his retinas in little to no time at all. But that was before the accident that resulted in his holographic prosthetic. He couldn't control the prosthetic arm and the mental energy at the same time. There was a time when he was intrigued by the technology and looked forward to the challenge of controlling it. But now, more and more, it was a burden, becoming increasingly difficult to bear.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2008 11:37:49 GMT
While others busied around him, Paul Drew was momentarily dazed. Just minutes before he and the Nevada’s First Officer were being held captive, with little help of rescue. Now, what seemed like the entire senior staff of the Nevada had suddenly stormed the room, incapacitated their captors and taken control of the situation. Not for the first time, their actions made Drew appreciate just how well Starfleet trained its officers.
However, that training seemed to be taking a little longer than usual to kick in for Drew. Recent events had taken him somewhat by surprise and he was now truly uncertain about what the best course of action would be. The safe and logical decision was to return to the ship, assess the situation from the safety offered there, whilst also treating their wounded and any innocent bystanders. But something else, perhaps that much celebrated human intuition, told him that they should stay, that now was the time to end this, once and for all.
“Admiral?”
Drew’s attention was brought sharply back into focus by Lucy approaching him. The Doctor wanted to know what she should do with the fallen captors and also reported that Dan had been injured. Drew gave his consent to the First Officer returning to the ship and to Lucy taking whatever action she felt was necessary to keep their captors incapacitated.
Now fully assessing the situation, Drew decided that it was right to stay. The attack, although regrettable, perhaps offered them the best opportunity to end this conflict. People would be panicked, but they would also be more willing to listen to authority figures, eager for someone to tell them what to do and stop the violence.
As Drew made this important decision, a young man who Drew had yet to meet approached him. Presumably this was the Nevada Lieutenant who had already been present on this world before the ship’s arrival. Seth introduced himself, and then asked Drew, quite reasonably, what the plan was. Inwardly Drew felt himself laughing, if only these people knew that whatever plan he may have had was now useless. He had little idea what the best way forward should now be, but as Seth pointed out to him, he was now in charge and had to lead these people. It would not do for them to see him indecisive.
“We have friends here Lieutenant,” Drew said finally, “very good friends in fact; Starfleet Intelligence has had several operatives on this planet for twelve months, attempting to find a peaceful solution to this conflict without the need to involve Starfleet.”
“Contrary to what these people might think, the Federation has not forgotten this world, but we are aware of the high level of anti-Federation and anti-Starfleet feeling here. It was felt that using undercover means would be the best way to help.”
“I was supposed to be meeting with those friends before I was captured by the Naal, and again before this latest attack. They have uncovered evidence that the Naal are behind all of the problems this world has been experiencing, they have been supplying the weapons, spreading the propaganda, they are in short, the enemy of this world. It is our belief that they intend to annex this colony and enslave the population, but only after the Federation has completely withdrawn from here.”
When he had finished, Drew realised that the entire Nevada staff had been listening to his conversation. Now they all finally knew the truth, he could tell from their expressions that some of them were truly shocked. Operating behind the shadows like this was something that the Romulans would do, not something that Starfleet was meant to be involved in, and certainly not something they expected to see Starfleet Admirals doing.
“We need to find our operators and help them present the evidence to population, once we have done that; we need to drive the Naal off this world, once and for all.”
“Admiral,” Seth said slowly, “I think I might know where to find those friends of yours.”
“Then led the way Lieutenant,” Drew said, “we have all be hiding in the shadows too long, it is time to move out into the open!”
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Seth Helacaan
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Post by Seth Helacaan on Oct 26, 2008 1:01:08 GMT
“We have friends here Lieutenant,” Drew said finally, “very good friends in fact; Starfleet Intelligence has had several operatives on this planet for twelve months, attempting to find a peaceful solution to this conflict without the need to involve Starfleet.”
In amongst the shock that the Admiral's words invoked, the mental strands in Seth's brain linked together like the final pieces of a jigsaw puzzle being laid into place. It was as if something had snapped in his mind, and the neurons that had up to now been tied in knots trying to figure out the truth of this mess were suddenly set straight, like a lattice untangling itself.
It all made sense. The 'group', the mysterious woman.. she was Starfleet Intelligence. Unbelievable. So, Seth thought, she knew me to be Starfleet yet I did not know her to be Starfleet. Seth continued to listen to Drew, but it was mainly a background noise, which served to help Seth and confirm all the things that he was now thinking. His full attention was returned to Drew soon enough though:
"... It is our belief that they intend to annex this colony and enslave the population, but only after the Federation has completey withdrawn from here."
Seth knew that much already, at least, he had suspected it with a near certainty. He was tempted to tell Drew that 'That had always been the Naal's eventual goal, to completely and utterly take the colony over. It was a goal that the people of Ascension would have made sure that the Naal never achieved, not as long as the Helacaan family drew breath.' Something held his tongue, though. Or rather, something prevented his tongue from forming the words in any shape or form. He could not speak, for the shock of the Admiral's revelation (although it had always been known to Seth he had just not fully accepted it, preferring instead to bury his head in the sand) was still too much.
"We need to find our operators and help them present the evidence to the population, once we have done that; we need to drive the Naal off this world, once and for all." Drew said.
Perhaps he was right. Perhaps Seth and the people of Wezea had been cut away from the Federation for too long, and as it now appeared, that cut-off was quite unfortunate. The Federation had not planned for it, the neglect of Ascension had not been on purpose, the cause was due rather to an unforunate sequence of events. Seth and the people of his colony had been alienated by the lack of attention, to such an extent that they forgot their roots in the Federation, they had forgot the feeling of trust that all the members of the Federation held for each other. Perhaps the Federation did hold their only means of salvation.
Seth acknowledged that it was dangerous. On the one hand, to expose the presence of Starfleet Intelligence on the world could make the people feel welcome in the Federation and restore their trust in it to regard them and to repel the invaders. Or on the other hand, just by showing the people of the Ascension the evidence, these operators could alienate the Wezeans even more. Seth made a decision.
"Admiral," he said slowly, "I think I might know where to find those friends of yours."
Seth Helacaan led the group into the sunlight. The harsh white star of the Canis Major Delta system was beginning to set, casting even longer shadows on the buildings as it made its way down the orange-grey sky. The wounded were still being tended to in the square a few tens of metres ahead where the majority of the missiles had detonated. In any other situation Seth would be by their side as well, but for just this once, there were more pressing matters.
<Tag all>
He led them to a small, squat building, nearer to the town outskirts. The five of them (Seth, Admiral Drew, Doctor Grey, Jon Park and Counselor Vise) stood at the entrance to the small, dark building and Seth pressed the antiquated buzzer. He looked around as he waited. By now the sun really was setting, and dusk was beginning to fall. Wezea's dark and cold nights were not to be taken lightly, they needed to get inside. Then, in a grind of ageing servos, the door slid open.
They were guided in by blindfold. Behind his blind, Seth could hear whispered and frantic voices. "...Who are these others?..."; "...What do we do?..."
Finally, their blinds were removed. Seth was taken aback at how many people were in the place. It was the same, customary room where he and the others held their meetings. Except, this time there were five rather than three already there, they all sat studying them silently. One of them was the man Seth had met earlier, the one who had warned him about what had happened. This was it then, the two unknown faces were Starfleet Intelligence; they had, in effect, hijacked the 'group'.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2008 21:23:55 GMT
The nurse went about doing the initial examination of Dan's eyes. As she went about it, Dan heard someone else approaching.
"Number One?"
"Captain?" Dan asked, looking in the direction of the voice. Only how he had been addressed identified the speaker as Captain Updeik; he couldn't see well enough to identify the man by sight. Had Updeik addressed him as "Commander", then Dan would little chance of identifying him on his own.
"What happened down there?" Updeik asked.
"We, myself and Doctor Grey that is, managed to find Admiral Drew, near the Town Center," Dan began. "Not too long after, we were attacked. Explosives, missiles most likely."
"So that'd lead to you getting retinal burns?" Updeik asked.
"We radioed to the rest of the away team for help, and found that there was a jamming signal in place. Drew and I managed to locate the jamming device in the basement of a building. We took out the device, but then we were ambushed. The rest of the away team came to our rescue, using a flashbang to disable our attackers."
"And the flashbang damaged your eyes," Updeik added.
Dan nodded. "I didn't cover them fast enough, and when I didn't recover my vision properly, I got Doctor Grey's attention. I've been relieved of duty. Admiral Drew's taken over the away team."
"How are you holding up?" Updeik asked.
Dan sighed, looking down at the floor. "Not so well, sir. I'm worried that my age is rapidly getting in the way of my ability to perform my duties, Captain. I fear that I'm not too far from retirement. And this thing," Dan said, holding up his arm. "Is proving to be an increasing burden."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2008 20:50:42 GMT
|On the planet in a building somewhere
"What's going on, Seth?" Lucy asked as quietly as she could.
<Seth>
Turning, Cmdr. Grey faced Admiral Drew. "You couldn't have told us? You had to keep secrets from your own team?"
<Drew>
"I might get over it, but not anytime soon!" Lucy stamped her small booted foot in frustration before she fell silent.
::Later::
Dr. Grey instinctively swatted at the blindfold being waved in front of her. Something along the lines of "don't resist" or "resistance is futile", crossed her mind and might have been muttered by the tie-er. Lucy, herself, was the tie-ee. Feeling a growl of anger rise within her, Lucy glanced at Seth. He seemed accepting of the blindfold and Lucy relaxed a bit.
Once the darkness settled over her, the doctor started to panic once again. She could force blindfolds on others but as for herself, she would fight the imitation blindness with her dying breath. After all, what could be worse than being blind?
Her thoughts went to Dan Trek, now safe in the ship's sickbay, was going through the hated black in reality. Lucy involuntarily shivered.
Cmdr. Grey's hands had not been tied for which she was eternally grateful. When the blindfold was removed, her eyes reacted to the light and she brought her hands up to shield them. Suddenly, a hand shot out to slap her arm down. Sneering, Lucy turned to the offender. She wasn't getting a real good impression of these people at all.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2008 16:47:22 GMT
Everyone’s reaction was largely as Drew had expected it to be. Out of the crew, Seth seemed to be the most understanding, while Lucy appeared to be the most hurt by the secrets. Drew tried to explain to her how he had no choice but to keep the true nature of his mission from them, it was not a question of trust or his belief in their ability to complete the mission, but rather a matter of operational security. He had not been prepared to risk the mission until he had no other choice. That may have been the wrong decision, but as far as he was concerned that was his duty. Just like now it was his duty to fully inform the Nevada crew and bring an end to the terrible tragedy that had befallen this world.
The problem was, of course, that he had no idea where the Starfleet Agents had fled to following the attack. Although they would have relocated somewhere close by, it might as well have been the other side of the world because if they did not want to be found, then no one would be able to.
It was therefore something of a surprise to Drew when Seth spoke up and said that he had an idea of where they may be.
As Seth led the way out of the building, the crew were once again faced with the destruction that had been caused in the town centre. Just hours before this had been a busy, vibrant place now it was eerily silent, with many buildings destroyed and black burn marks along the pavements. Scavengers had now started to wander out onto the street and were searching the remaining dead bodies and remains of shops for anything that they could sell. Emergency workers had already taken most of the wounded that could be saved to nearby hospitals and few law enforcement officials seemed to be on the scene leaving Drew to wonder what had happened to them.
As they walked down the street, some people looked up to see them, a few saw the uniforms worn by Lucy and the others and quickly fled, while others seemed hardly to notice. Once or twice someone started to approach them and one old man even started to follow them part of the way. However, by the time they reached their destination, there was no one else with them.
Seth pressed on the buzzer and they all waited for someone to answer their call. When they did, all of them were blind folded and then led inside. Drew was fairly taken aback by this last measure and given all that they had been through in the last few hours was reluctant to allow himself to be restricted, but the guide made it very clear that there was no option. Either they allow themselves to be blind folder and taken inside or they would not get in.
It took about five minutes for them to be taken into the room where the Starfleet Agents waited them. When the blind fold was finally removed Drew saw five people standing before him, two of whom he recognised as Starfleet Agents, another two he did not know. Standing in the centre was someone Drew knew very well, in fact, thanks to their long established physic connection, he knew her better than any other person alive.
“A bit extreme don’t you think?” Drew said to his oldest friend as he lifted the blind fold up, “what did you think I was going to do?”
“I don’t take risks, you know that,” KezTrek answered crisply, “now any other time you know I’d love to sit down and chat, but not now. Tell me who the hell these people are and what they are doing here.”
“Everyone, meet Special Agent KezTrek, my charming former First Officer,” Drew said, “KezTrek, meet the Senior Staff of the USS Nevada.”
“I knew Starfleet Command would interfere in this somehow,” KezTrek said angrily when she knew who the Nevada crew were, “we would have had all this resolved if they hadn’t had stuck their ore in where it was not needed”
“Without them I’d probably be dead right now,” Drew retorted, “the time for secrets is over Kez, we need their help.”
KezTrek looked the Nevada crew up and down, assessing and judging them. Drew knew that was trying to decide if she could trust them or not, how far she could push them and how committed they really where. Finally, he knew she decided that they could be trusted. She gave a grunting sound, nodded her head and then handed Drew a data padd.
Drew quickly scanned the contents and then passed the padd over to Seth. It contained all the details and evidence of the Naal’s involvement on this world and also the location of their secret base. It seemed they had gotten cloaking technology from the black market and so had been able to hide their existence. That was not however the most startlingly information.
“They have a warship in orbit?” Drew said in shock while Seth and the others reviewed the information.
“We think they may actually have two,” KezTrek replied, “using the same cloaking systems as the base on this world. We need to find a way to disable their technology so that the colonists realise how much they have been manipulated.”
“Then we have to return to the Nevada,” Drew said decisively, “we can adjust the sensors to detect their ships and base and attack them from orbit, once that’s done the entire world will see what has been going on.”
“For once, I have to agree with you,” KezTrek said slowly, “and the sooner we do it, the better.”
Drew nodded his agreement, and then turned to face Lucy, the only member of the team still in a full uniform complete with comm badge.
“Doctor, contact the ship and request beam out.”
Minutes later they were once again in the transporter room of the Nevada. Captain Updiek had hurried down to meet them, but Drew did not have the time to explain what had happened. Instead he informed the Captain that for now he was personally assuming command and had an important task to carry out.
“Lucy and Sarlina, get down to Sickbay and check on Dan,” Drew ordered as they all hurried out into the corridor, “Jon, once we are back on the bridge adjust the sensors and then take out all of the Naal ships and bases, Seth stand by to broadcast to the entire planet what has been happening.”
“Seeing a friendly face giving the message will make things easier,” Drew added as they reached the turbolift, as the doors closed, he delivered one final order, “let’s finish this people.”
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Seth Helacaan
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Post by Seth Helacaan on Nov 2, 2008 17:12:50 GMT
Seth looked at the PADD, his eyes widening has he read through the incriminating evidence that this Intelligence officer had collected. Admiral Drew continued to talk to her as if they were old friends while Seth contemplated. He still could not quite believe that Starfleet Intelligence were involved. They had been here for a full year, why had the Federation Council not informed him? It had been the news that Seth had been waiting for all of the past four years he had spent on Earth. If only he had known then he could have returned to Wezea, and...
Then it was clear to him. If he had been made aware, then the whole classified nature of the operation would have been made moot, and the reason for Intel's involvement was probably because the Federation had waited too long in trying to reclaim the colony. To simply walk in and try to take them back would have risked alienating the colonists completely. A no-win situation. Starfleet Intelligence was the best and only solution.
Seth looked around at the others, they were silent. They can't appreciate the fullness of this deception, Seth thought, Of course they're not to blame, how could they be aware of its significance? Eventually his eyes settled on the two true Wezean men who made up this secretive group. They looked almost forlorn, contemplative, staring at the floor and biting their lips, thinking about what this all meant and not finding the words to express it. The two of them had been deceived as well, Seth realised, not by the Naal, but by the Federation. Of course, it was a good kind of deception.. wasn't it? As the transporter beam of the Nevada embraced Seth for the first time in weeks, months even, the two Wezeans looked up at him in one last meaningful look.
Transporter room aboard the Nevada
Seth had little time to get used to how clinically clean the Federation vessel seemed, because Drew was giving orders. "... Seth stand by to broadcast to the entire planet what has been happening."
Seth looked at Drew questioningly as they all walked out of the transporter room.
"Seeing a friendly face giving the message will make things easier." Drew stepped into the turbolift leaving Seth and the others behind in the corridor.. "Let's finish this people."
Seth grunted, "Admiral, you should know that the Helacaan name is not universally liked on Wezea, far from it in fact..." He trailed off as the turbolift doors slid shut. Sighing, he turned around and rubbed his hands together, trying to get the dust off, and nodded at the senior staff still lingering around the lift. "Well, it's been fun," he mumbled, turning to unsteadily head off down another corridor.
Seth considered changing in to cleaner attire, duty uniform seemed the right thing to wear. Something stopped him however, and instead he headed to the bridge in his dirty, dusty and worn out civilian clothes.
The turbolift doors to the bridge slid open, and Seth entered. A few pairs of eyes fell on him as he made his way forward, and soon enough the whole bridge were aware of his presence. Seth slunk off to the side slowly, avoiding the eyes of those who were looking at his clothes. "Lieutenant Hasak," he greeted the duty Ops officer, "I'll take it from here." Seth took the Ops station from Hasak, and briefly leant on the console just to steady himself. His hands deposited a layer of Wezean dust on the black edge of the station's controls. He rubbed it away and started working.
"Are you alright, sir?" Hasak asked curiously from over Seth's shoulder. "Do you need to go to sickbay?"
"I am fine, and don't call me 'Sir', we are the same rank." Seth retorted, nearly too bluntly.
Before long Commander Park and Admiral Drew arrived on the bridge.
<tag Drew and Park>
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