Alien Crossfire
+ Captain’s Log: Stardate [Classified] +
+ The Independence is patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone, Sectors [classified] through [classified]. No anomalies are reported. On a personal note, I am somewhat relieved. After the stress and strain of our previous mission, the Indy’s crew could use just such a ‘milk run’ (as humans refer to it). +
********
* The Captain crouches low, k’tann in hand as his assailant moves in clumsily. The silver blade flashes quickly, the half-Andorian making quick work of the attacker even as the next one appears. This one circles slowly, apparently learning from the motionless body on the floor. The Captain moves warily as well, the ancient blade flitting from hand to hand as he searches for an opening in his opponent’s defense. Suddenly, in a blur of motion, the two are locked in a heated volley of slashes, thrusts and parries. Sparks dance off the clashing blades as the combatants each search for a weakness in the other. *
=/\= “Bridge to Captain.” =/\=
* Startled by the intercom, D’arz fails to fully parry a slash, and his opponent opens a small, deep wound on his shoulder. Annoyed at the intrusion and at his own lack of concentration, he kicks the legs out from under the attacker, flipping his blade behind the back of his opponent and driving its body down onto the Andorian hunting blade. An old move, but still a good one. Panting, D’arz pulls his knife out from under the bulk of his fallen opponent. *
“ Computer: end program.”
* The arena and the motionless bodies shimmer once and disappear, replaced by the Holodeck of the Independence. D’arz winces as he gingerly touches the wound in his shoulder. Just a flesh wound. With the holodeck safeties turned down, he knows better than to let his mind wander. He should have the Doctor leave a scar, just to remind himself of his carelessness. He looks down at the long scar traversing his ribcage, the result of another careless moment in his youth, during his Trial of Ascension. That one had nearly cost him his life. *
=/\= “Bridge to Captain D’arz.” =/\=
* Sighing, he stands up, moving towards the wall panel. Pulling a towel from the small storage locker next to the display, he rubs the sweat from his upper body. He taps the console, completing the connection to the bridge. The face of First Officer Parker Lewis appears, wearing a rather conciliatory expression. *
=/\= “Sorry to disturb you, sir. But Lieutenant Reed has picked up a sensor anomaly in the asteroid field we are currently scanning, and you asked to be notified of anything out of the ordinary.” =/\=
* The Captain nods. Reaching for the red command shirt hanging out of the locker, he pulls it over his head, fastening the collar in the rear as he questions the XO. *
“How far into the ‘Zone’ is the reading?”
* The XO looks down at the command console, tapping in a query to the ships mainframe. *
=/\= “Approximately 280,000 klicks.” =/\=
* D’arz takes his jacket from the locker, sliding his arms through the sleeves as he thinks to himself. The damned Romulans loved to use this part of the asteroid belt as a staging area for various clandestine operations. Hell, for that matter, so did the Federation. The Independence was usually involved in them one way or another, whether it was a routine patrol or the extraction of a Black Ops team. The Captain is worried that a covert FDTF team may be stranded in hostile territory. He is reminded of the time they destroyed the Romulan lab on Cobra226g. An eerily similar situation, and not an experience he longed to repeat. The Captain looks back at the Commander, who is waiting patiently. *
“Take us to within 10,000 klicks of the Neutral Zone, as close to the signal as possible without crossing into the Zone. Perhaps we can get a better read on whatever it is.”
=/\= “Yes, sir. Ten thousand. Course laid in: engaging. ETA at current speed is thirty minutes.”
=/\=
* D’arz nods. Just time enough for a quick shower and a raktajino. *
“Very good, Number One. I will be on the bridge shortly.”
=/\= “Yes, sir.” =/\=
* D’arz taps out the connection. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomachs. The anomaly was probably nothing, just some sensor feedback off an asteroid, perhaps. The minerals in the field sometimes played havoc with the sensors. But he didn’t believe it even as the thought took shape in his mind. He locks down the holodeck, and exits through the doors, heading for the turbolift. *
********
* Parker turned to the view screen as the ship changed course. He started to sense something, a new sensation in his head. He shook his head and it went away. Tara noticed him sit forward as he rested his head on his hands... *
”Are you okay, sir?”
”Ummm, Yes Lieutenant, maybe its your replicators, they may need some servicing.”
* Parker smiled as he turned his attention to her. Of course he was lying, but he didn’t want to fuss on small “feelings” he was getting. Being half-betazoid sometimes meant sensing new feelings. *
”They are all fully functional sir. I did a systems diagnostic last week. They are all above Starfleet standards.”
”Good to see a fellow perfectionist - you will probably have this chair before I do.”
”Do you see me as a threat, sir? Mutiny is against regulations”, Tara jokingly replied.
”Well, at least the food would be good under your command.”
* Parker returned his view to the screen. Then again he felt the same sensation in his head only stronger , then it disappeared. Parker in turn dropped to his knees.
”Sir!”
* Tara jumped up to help him. *
“It’s okay Lieutenant, I am fine”, Parker replied as he got up.
”You don’t look fine to me, sir. Maybe you should go to Sickbay and get checked out”, Tejan added.
“Okay, Lt. you have the conn.”
“Did you want me to escort you sir?” Tara offered.
“No, I think I will be okay”, Parker replied, walking into the turbolift. *
“Sickbay.....”
********
* Captain D’arz emerges from the turbolift, glancing at the center seat. Immediately noticing the XO’s absence, he moves to the Captain’s chair. Lieutenant Tejan smoothly vacates the seat, as D’arz looks expectantly at the Kalandan. *
"Report, Mister Tejan."
* The Science Officer smoothes his hair back, unruffled by the Captain’s scrutiny. He stands at parade rest, hands clasped behind his back. *
“Sir. Mister Lewis was taken ill and reported to Sickbay, sir. We have been scanning the anomaly, narrowing the focus of the sensors so we may obtain more information."
* D’arz sighed inwardly. Like most Kalandan’s, Tejan’s social skills were a bit stilted. Even though he was a third-generation Kalandan, they never really got the hang of being ‘human’. Some of his people spoke of returning to the Andromeda galaxy, now that transwarp travel had been discovered. But it was all talk. It would still take generations, even at transwarp speeds. The Captain, realizing his mind was wandering again, snapped back to the conversation at hand. *
"Very good, Mister Tejan. Lieutenant Reed, what have you found?"
* Tara looked up at the Captain, her face beaming. She was still very much enamored of the new half-pip on her collar, and her promotion to Lieutenant (jg). Every time someone called her Lieutenant, her face lit up. *
"I’m, not quite sure sir. I can’t get a clear scan for some reason. But I think it’s a ship."
"A cloaked ship?"
* Reed shakes her head, tapping at the sensors. Her face is a picture of confusion. *
"No sir. There would be indications of a cloak in different spectrums of the scan. This is like...I don’t know. Like the scan is 'sliding' off somehow...some sort of stealth technology, maybe?"
* D’arz gets out of the chair, moving over to the Ops panel. Looking over the diminutive officer’s shoulder, he studies the readouts. Tara points to one indicator that slowly rises and falls intermittently. *
”See, Captain? It’s there……and then ‘not-there’."
* The Captain nods, absently stroking his goatee. Tara taps a control, changing the readout. *
"And then there’s this..."
* The hiss of an open channel fills the bridge. Lost somewhere in the din, is something that sounds like a regular signal, breaking through at moments. Tejan speaks up. *
”Standard hail, repeating?"
* Tara shakes her head. *
"Distress beacon. I’m sure of it."
* The Captain looks at the young Ops officer, a stern expression on his cerulean features. *
"Are you telling me that it is a distress call because it gives me the excuse we need to cross into the Neutral Zone? Or are you absolutely sure, Lieutenant?"
* Tara draws herself up to her full 5’ 4", and looks the Captain square in the eye. *
“Sir, it’s a ship. And that’s a distress call. Sir."
* The Captain nods, grinning inside. He would have gone in anyway, but he liked to test Reed’s mettle from time to time. She had the fire in her guts needed to make it to the center seat. All it would take was time, and experience, he muses. He turns from the Lieutenant, striding back to his place at the center of the bridge. *
"Mister K’mtor. Plot us a course into the Neutral Zone, quickest way through the asteroid field to the coordinates being transferred to your console by Lieutenant Reed."
* He looked at Tara, and she nodded to confirm his order. *
"Prepare to engage on my mark."
* D’arz paused, looking around at the crew for a moment. *
"I do not make this decision lightly. I take the Treaty Of Algeron very seriously, and so do the Romulans. We will move in, determine if assistance is required, and then leave - and quickly. Any questions?"
* That sobered a few of them up. He didn’t want any of them thinking that it was okay to go crossing into the Neutral Zone on a whim. This wasn’t like hopping over the neighbor’s fence to get your rizzball back. This was the kind of thing that started “Interstellar Incidents”. He turned back to the Klingon helmsman. *
"Mister K’mtor - Engage."
* The Independence elongates, stretching into infinity for a moment as she explodes into warp, and crosses into the Neutral Zone. *
********
"Captain permission to speak freely", piped up the only Klingon on the Independence bridge.
"Go ahead Lieutenant."
"I suggest we go to red alert. The Romulans cannot be trusted and would do something dishonorable, like hide in the Neutral Zone."
"K’mtor I think you may be right, but I am not ready to put my ship on such high readiness when there is no threat. However, I will put the Independence on yellow alert."
"Lieutenant Reed, put the Independence on yellow alert until further notice", barked Commander Lewis as the Independence streamed closer to the source of the distress call.
‘Thank you, sir. Honestly, I hope I get a chance to kill a Romulan p’tach"
"Well Lieutenant, for the sake of the rest of the crew I hope you get that chance on another mission. I would not want to lose you. You are a fine officer."
"Yes sir, Captain."
********
* The Independence drops out of warp, running ‘silent’. All scans were passive, and her running lights were dark. All ports were darkened or sealed. This was the ships specialty: prowling about in the dark, looking for prey. Captain D’arz sat at the center of the bridge, listening to the murmur of the crew as they passed information quietly back and forth. It really made no difference how loud anyone spoke, but the hushed atmosphere seemed to come from the tenseness of the situation itself. Tejan’s console beeped, and the science officer looked up from his console at the Captain. *
“Sir, partial reading: 045 mark 6."
* The blue-skinned Captain turned to Lieutenant Reed at Ops. She answered him before he issued the order. *
"I’m on it, sir."
* D’arz nodded, stroking his chin. A nervous habit, but it helped him think. He stared at the asteroids on the viewscreen, tracking the occasional stray that shot past the screen’s field of vision. Reed piped up. *
"Got it! 048 mark 3, approximately 10,000 kilometers."
* The captain looked at K’mtor, who was already laying in the course. *
"Engage, Mister K’mtor. One quarter impulse."
"Aye, Captain."
* The Independence eases deeper into the asteroid field, sliding past several of the larger moon-sized chunks as they creep closer to the source of the readings. One particularly large piece begins to center on the viewscreen. The Captain looks over at Reed. *
"Our destination, I take it?"
* The diminutive Ops officer nods. She taps a control. *
"Yes, sir. The signal is coming from the far side of the asteroid."
"Mister K’mtor, take us in closer. Lieutenant, feed him the exact coordinates."
* Twin replies of "aye sir" follow the order. The asteroid looms large on the viewscreen as the Independence follows the signal to its source. As they come around the leading edge of the huge asteroid, there is an indentation in the surface of the rock, and what appears to be a ship is nestled in it. The Captain looks over at Tara again. *
”Still getting the distress signal?"
"Loud and clear, now, sir."
* He stares hard at the screen. *
"Light it up."
* As the young officer complies, the Independence’s powerful searchlights come on, illuminating the craft. It seems almost to be a part of the rock itself, melding into the surface of the asteroid. The Captain glances at the Security Chief. Rasczak shrugs. *
"Never seen anything like it, sir. Maybe another ‘Pegasus’-type project?"
* The Tac officer was referring to an incident a decade or so ago, when Starfleet was illegally testing some sort of phased-cloaking device, in violation of the Treaty of Algeron. An incredible failure and embarrassment for Starfleet Intelligence. Mister Tejan spoke up from the science console. *
"I don’t think so, Mister Rasczak. The ship seems to be fused to the surface somehow. But I can’t get a solid reading from it. The hull is somehow reflecting my scans back at me, making it read at times as if it weren’t there at all."
”That’s a pretty large ship to be hiding. Almost as big as the Independence."
* The Captain nodded, listening intently to Rasczak as he stared at the viewscreen. He was right. Awful lot of trouble to hide a ship like that. Who has that capability? D’arz sees a dark smear on the side of the vessel. Something on the lower hull....*
"Reed, focus in on that dark patch. Is that a hull breach?"
* The Lieutenant zooms the view in on the screen, scanning all the while. *
"Yes, Captain. It seems to have blown outward from the inner hull."
"Not holed by an asteroid?"
* She shakes her head. *
"No sir. The pattern indicates an explosion from within."
* “Curiouser and curiouser”, his mother used to quote from an ancient child’s story. The one about the white rabbit, and that little girl..what was her name? Alex? No matter. This was surely looking to be a trip down the ‘rabbit hole’. Turning back to Lieutenant Reed, he looks at her questioningly, although he thinks he already knows the answer. *
”Transporters?"
* She was already shaking her head before he finished the word. *
"No sir. Nothing’s beaming through that hull."
* He stares at the ship on the screen. “Krit!”, he thinks. “If we have to go over there, I am pulling out the heavy artillery.” D’arz turns to Ops. *
"All right, if we are going to do this, let us do it quickly and quietly. Reed, contact Mister Lewis and see if he is fit for duty. If so, have him meet us in the conference room in ten minutes, along with the rest of the Senior Staff. Also contact Lt. Colonel Boyington and Captain Wilcox, and have them meet us there as well."
* He turns to Rasczak. *
"Assemble an Away Team. Keep it small. You will be going in with the Marines as support. Take someone from sciences with you: have Mister Tejan recommend someone. I want your team prepped and ready in thirty minutes. Have them report to Bay 2. You will report to Captain Wilcox while on-site."
* Rasczak looks intently at the Captain, absorbing the orders, nodding as he taps on a PADD. He is already configuring the equipment layout in his head as the Captain continues. *
"I want you at the briefing as well, Mister Rasczak. So you had better hurry. Dismissed."
* The Security Chief nods once and strides toward the turbolift. The Captain leans back in his chair, looking at the screen, trying to pry the secrets from the unknown craft through sheer force of will. It was a mystery. He hated mysteries. Any lack of information was dangerous out here. He sighs. Glancing at the chrono, he stands up. Time for a cup of raktajino while he prepares the briefing. *
"Lieutenant Reed, you have the conn."
* The Captain enters his ready room, to prepare himself for the task at hand. *
********
As Byrne sat in Engineering listening to the heavy comm traffic, he finished a few minor tweaks on his new little invention. A small self-contained portable field generator. He had gotten the idea from the repairs they had done to the starboard SIF assembly. "
* “Pretty ingenious”, he thought to himself. Finishing, he tapped his comm badge to call the captain. *
" Captain, this is Byrne in Engineering, request permission to assist the away-team. All mechanical and EPS systems are functioning normally. And let Commander Lewis know that a full diagnostic was completed on the replicator systems, and they are fine".
=/\= " Agreed", said the captain, "Meet Lt. Rasczak in the shuttle bay, with full gear and equipment. Out." =/\=
* With that, Byrne headed to his quarters to suit up. Until the shuttle bay......... *
********
=/\= “Lt. Rasczak to Commander Lewis.” =/\=
“Lewis here”, Parker said, as he was lying on the bed.
=/\= “How are you, sir?” =/\=
“I should be fine, the doctor said that it could be coming from the strange ship nearby, he has giving me a suppressant for my telepathic receptors.”
=/\= “Will you be able to join the senior officer's meeting in 5 minutes?” =/\=
* Parker looks at the doctor. She nods, but he doesn’t sense anything from her; the drug has already started to work. *
“On my way - Lewis out.”
Parker jumps off the table as the doctor hands him a hypo spray. *
“Now if the sensations start to get worse, inject yourself - but only once every two hours at maximum. I know you will be on the away team, so I want you to beam back if you can’t handle it”, Moira ordered.
“Yes, Doc. Thank you!”
Parker walks out of the Sickbay. As he walks towards the turbolift he feels the sensation again, only softer, muted. He looks into nothing, trying to make sense of it. Byrne walks up behind him, a Starfleet carryall in one hand. *
“Sir?”
“Yes, after you Lieutenant.”
* They both enter the turbolift. *
“Bridge.....”
********
* The Captain looks up from the PADD he is studying, as Lewis and Byrne enter the Conference Room. As they take their seats, D’arz surveys the table. The Marine commanders, Boyington and Wilcox sat to his left. The rest of his officers were assembled around the table with the exception of Mister Rasczak. He has decided to begin without the Tac officer, when the young man hurries into the room, looking slightly out of breath. D’arz grins to himself as the Lieutenant takes his seat. Picking up a PADD, the Captain addresses the crew. *
"Now that everyone is here, let us begin. We will send a joint team of Marines and Fleet Security to the ship, to determine its origin and to search for survivors. I want you to sweep it clean once, and then get out of there. This is essentially ‘enemy territory’, and I want to spend as little time here as possible. Mister Rasczak, is your team assembled?"
* The Lieutenant nods affirmative. He picks up his own PADD, tapping the controls. *
"Yes sir. The Team is comprised of myself, Mister Byrne - who graciously volunteered, and Ensign Molinari from Medical. Mister Tejan recommended Ensign Liam from Sciences-"
* Tejan interrupts. *
"Very good with particle physics. Needs some time in the field."
* Rasczak continues. *
"-and Xellos and Wesson from Security."
* The Captain holds up a blue-skinned hand. *
"Xellos? Is he recovered from our mission to Daros?"
* The new CMO, Lieutenant Jaral speaks up. *
"I’ve cleared him for duty, sir. He’s still a little stiff from the therapy, but otherwise he’s fine."
* The Captain nods. Good man, Xellos. He motions for Rasczak to continue. *
"The team will assemble in Bay 2. The runabout ‘McArthur’ is prepped and ready for launch."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Captain Wilcox will continue the briefing."
* Wilcox leans forward in his chair, interlacing his hands and placing them on the table. He hardly glances at his PADD. *
”The Away Team will be accompanied by 1st Platoon. I will pilot the ‘McArthur’ to the hull breach noted on your scans. We will EVA to the ship interior, and search for survivors while the Fleet team sets out to discover the ship’s origins."
* Wilcox looks up and down the table. *
"We’ll be there doing our job, so that you can do yours."
* D’arz looks over to Tejan. *
"Mister Tejan, have you completed scans of the vessel?"
* Tejan glances across the table at Reed, who gives him an encouraging expression. The young Kalandan clears his throat, and looks down at his PADD. *
"Um, sir. This is going to sound odd, but scans were inconclusive, even at this range. The hull is comprised of some alloy we can hardly read, let alone penetrate. And the parts of the ship that are fused to the asteroid seem to be almost…..organic in nature."
* The Captain’s eyebrows shoot up. *
"Organic? That is odd. No life-signs though?"
* Both the Science officer and Lieutenant Reed shake their heads in unison. Reed speaks up. *
"If there were life-signs sir, we still wouldn’t be able to read them through the hull. And there’s no guarantee that we’ll get reliable scans inside the vessel either, Captain."
* D’arz nods his head in understanding. *
"All right, then. Let us get this over with. Let me know the moment the team is ready to depart. Dismissed."
* As the crew departs, D’arz turns to the two Marine officers, extending a hand. *
”Thank you, gentlemen. Good luck. Take care of my men."
* Wilcox shakes the half-andorian’s hand warmly. *
"Of course, Captain. Don’t we always?"
* The Captain smiles. The officers leave. D’arz notices that Lewis is still in the room. *
"Yes, Number One?"
"I was wondering why I wasn’t assigned to the Away Team, sir."
* D’arz gestures at a seat and the two men sit facing each other. *
"I do not want you over there if you are not one-hundred percent. We have no idea what we are walking into."
* Lewis shakes his head, still looking slightly haggard, and D’arz is worried about the young XO. The Betazoid leans forward. *
“Sir, there’s something over there. I can ‘feel’ it."
"You certainly felt it on the bridge. What if that happens over there? There is no way to beam you out if you are overwhelmed again."
* Lewis shakes his head, holding up a hypospray. *
“Sir, Doctor Jaral gave me this suppressant, and so far it’s working. I can function. Let me go. I need to do this, sir. Something is very wrong over there."
* The captain leans back, looking over steepled fingers at the Betazoid. Whatever he was experiencing was eating at him. Was it worth the risk involved to the young man? The Betazoid looks back at him with troubled eyes. The captain sighs. *
"Hurry. They are leaving in four minutes."
”Thank you, sir!"* D’arz watches from his seat as the XO bounces from the room, hoping he has made the right decision. *
********
* Parker walks into the locker room as the marines and fleet personnel start putting on their gear. He opens a locker up and starts suiting up. Wilcox approaches him. *
“Commander, I need to know now if you’re going to be needing any baby-sitting over there. I don’t want to put the away team under any more difficulty than they are all ready. ‘Specially when I heard you took a dive this morning.”
* Wilcox looked him straight in the eye. Parker didn’t have to sense that he was concerned about the crew and respected that, even though he put it out there like a typical marine. *
“I will not be a problem, Captain. The only thing I can’t do is sense when the marine Captain stresses too much about petty matters.”
* Wilcox steps closer to him, unimpressed. Parker doesn’t move. Even though he can’t sense anything he knows he can’t stand down. Then Wilcox puts a smile on his face. *
“You’re all right Commander! You sure that you never served in the marines, even in a past life?”
* Wilcox handed him a phaser rifle. *
“No, but a least I can fix a ship to pick up your sorry-ass marines”, Parker replied, smiling.
* Wilcox laughs.*
“Okay Fleet, Marines - lets move out!”
“You heard him, lets go!” Lewis added, and they all hustled out of the room. *
* Byrne and Rasczak pull Parker aside. *
“Sir, do you have any idea what might be over there?” Byrne asked.
“I don’t know, I think it might be pain I am sensing from over there.”
“Which might be construed as anger?” Rasczak added.
“I don’t know John, but just watch our backs, okay?”
* Rasczak nods in agreement. *
********
* The ride to the derelict ship is short. The team assembles in the runabout’s airlock, double-checking the EVA suits and equipment. Wilcox’s voice comes over the comm, echoing in the helmets of the Away Team. *
=/\= "Okay, gentlemen. We are as close as we’re gonna get to the hull breach. I’m scaling down the artificial gravity in the airlock: prepare for EVA." =/\=
* At once the gravity in the huge airlock is lessened, and the assembled Marines all grab for handholds, as do the Fleet officers. Rasczak has to grab Ensign Liam, to prevent him from floating off. The Bajoran gives the Tac officer a sickly smile. *
"Didn’t do so well at the Academy in my zero-g training..."
* Rasczak gives the junior officer an encouraging smile. *
"You’ll be okay. Make sure you’re always holding on to something, even when you’re tethered."
* The ensign nods, swallowing nervously. Staff Sergeant Pol, another Bajoran, glances around the room once, making sure everyone is in position. He nods once and activates the airlock door. Air is cycled out of the room, and the thick door slides into the wall, revealing the hull of the alien vessel. Several of the Marines moan when they see how far the ‘McArthur’ is from the hull breach. One of them shakes his head. *
"Damn! That’s a good fifty meters!"
* The sergeant’s voice cuts through the chatter. *
"Whaddya want me to carry you, Frost? Quit groaning and let’s move!"
* The team lines up at the bay door, Marines in front. Corporal Hicks is the first to leave, the jets in his pack igniting silently in the vacuum, propelling him towards the ragged rent in the unknown ship. When Ensign Liam’s turn comes, he hesitates. Looking ‘down’, he sees the gaping vista of the asteroid field, and his knees buckle slightly. Rasczak grabs his arm as he starts to float again. *
"Come on. Kal. You can do this. Just focus straight ahead."
* The younger man nods, the gesture lost inside his suit helmet. His breathing is terribly loud in his helmet as he steps off, igniting the jets in his pack. He gasps as they push him away from the safety of the ship, towards the opening where the first Marines are now working their way into the hull breach. Rasczak turns to Lewis, a small grin on his face visible through the faceplate of his helmet. *
"And I thought you were the one we were gonna have to watch."
* The XO smiles back, but the grin seems forced to the Security Chief. He leans forward. *
"You okay, sir?"
"I’ll be all right. Let’s get a move on. The Sergeant looks as if he’s ready to toss us over there barehanded."
* Rasczak nods, smiling. Privately he is concerned, and determines to keep close to the Betazoid, just in case. He stands in the bay, bracing himself as the jets kick in. As the hull breach looms larger and larger in his field of vision, he casts a glance over his shoulder, looking for Lewis. The First Officer is several meters behind him, with Sergeant Pol taking up the rear. The ‘McArthur’ seems like a child’s toy, hanging in the darkness, with the larger bulk of the Independence silhouetted behind her. His chest swells with pride for a moment, seeing the ‘Indy’ from a vantage point seldom viewed. Then he turns back to the hull breach, where several outstretched hands wait to pull him inside. As he is helped through the tear in the hull, he notices the distinct pull of gravity, and thanks the Maker for small favors. He hadn’t been looking forward to floating around in the dark over here. The Security Chief moves out of the way, as first Lewis and then Sergeant Pol make their way inside, joining the others. Pol attempts to contact Wilcox inside the ‘McArthur’, and is rewarded with a harsh buzz in return. *
"Okay, no communication with the runabout; we knew this might happen. Nelson! You stay here at the breach. I may need you to jet out beyond the interference and contact the ‘McArthur’."
* The PFC nods, moving closer to the breach in the hull. The weather-beaten sergeant looks at the assembled Team. *
”Stay close everyone. Buddy up with someone: I have a feeling communications are going to be spotty in here as well. Marbuk, take the point."
* The Klingon moves up to the front of the group, large phaser rifle in hand, as the group prepares to explore the inside of the unknown ship. *
********
* Wilcox and Lewis start walking though the lifeless ship, but it wasn’t lifeless in Lewis’ head. He seemed to be feeling more stable. He was sure that he was 'feeling' agony now, and began to show concern as they moved though the walkway, with only their personal lights as a guide. They come to a three-way walkway.....*
“Sir, are you getting some thing?” Byrne asked.
“Yes, and I don’t like it. It seems to be coming from that direction.”
Parker points towards a walkway to the left. *
“Sir, I am picking up a faint energy reading ahead - some kind of antimatter”, Liam reported from behind.
“Okay - Kal, Rasczak and Byrne: we will go on ahead. If it’s some kind energy generator it might help us find any survivors. Wilcox, hopefully we have it online before you find anyone or anything. I will join you when we do.”
“Right you are Commander – Marines, move out! You two right walkway, we will go this way. Check in every two minutes”, Wilcox ordered.
“Captain, careful down that way. Don’t make contact until you have contacted me. Whatever it is – it’s not happy.”
“Noted.”
*Wilcox moved off with another Marine to the left.*
* Parker knew that he should be going with Wilcox, but he had a feeling that he would be more useful in getting the power back on. It was like he was being led to do it. “Let’s just hope its not a trap”, he thought to himself......*
********
* The Fleet officers moved slowly down the corridor, swinging their tricorders back and forth as they search for the source of the power readings. Lewis puts a hand to his temple, the suppressant only partially blocking the waves of agony he felt. They came in almost regular intervals, breaking upon the mental barriers he had erected, like waves against the shore. It wouldn’t be long before he would need another shot, but he wanted to wait. There was no telling how long they would be over here, and he had a limited supply of the drug. He looks over at the Chief Engineer Byrne, who is gesturing with his tricorder at a door in the corridor ahead. *
"Power readings emanating from that room, Number One."
* The XO nods, regretting it immediately, and turns to the Security detail. *
"Rasczak, I want phasers on heavy stun. Split left and right as we enter and prepare to lay down covering fire if need be."
* The Tac Officer nods and turns to relay the order. Lewis turns to Ensign Liam. *
”Still no life-signs, Ensign?"
* The young Bajoran shakes his head. *
"No sir. I’m not picking up anything. And still no life-support."
"All right, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s go see what’s inside..."
* The Security Team groups up on either side of the door. On a silent count of three, they enter the room, quickly taking up positions on either side of the large console dominating the center of the room. The walls are lined with banks of indecipherable consoles that chitter and buzz busily. Byrne scans the room, going over to a console on the wall and tapping a few controls. The First Officer moves over to him. *
”Should you be doing that?"
* The Chief Engineer nods absently, concentrating on his tricorder readings as he adjusts several more controls. A short chirp sounds, followed by the sliding back of a small panel in the console: obviously a viewport of some sort. The Chief gestures to the port. As Lewis looks in, he sees what appears to be a miniature star, floating in some sort of stasis bubble. He grimaces as a wave of nausea strikes him. Holding himself up against the console, he gasps, as an alarmed Byrne comes to his aid. *
"Commander, are you all right?!"
* Lewis refrains from nodding this time, having learned his lesson. He fumbles the hypospray from a suit pocket and presses it hard to his neck, making sure it penetrates his suit. Warmth spreads out from the hissing spot on his neck, and the feeling of dread and despair lessens. But it is still there, flitting about on the edges of his subconscious; he can feel it. Feeling somewhat better, he turns to Byrne, gesturing at the viewport. *
"Okay for now, Chief. Is that what I think it is?"
* The Engineer looks worried, nodding his head in affirmation. *
"Quantum singularity. And the only race that uses that as a power source is the-"
"Romulans!"
* Both officers turn, slightly startled by Ensign Liam’s interruption. The Bajoran is palefaced, the ridges on his nose standing out starkly against his pallid complexion. *
"Lieutenant Rasczak found some Romulans in the hall! Well, Romulan bodies, anyway."
* The First Officer nods. That confirms that theory. *
"Why didn’t you contact us via combadge?"
* Kal shakes his head, tapping his helmet. *
”Tried, sir. Only intermittent signals are penetrating."* “Damn!”, Lewis thinks. “The last thing we need’s a comm problem!” He turns back to the Ensign. *
"Okay, show us."
* Byrne and Lewis follow the Bajoran science officer. Through the next door, and into the corridor they go, until they come upon Rasczak and Flores, standing over the grisly remains of two Romulan bodies. Lewis kneels, examining the corpses. They appear to be burnt, as if by acid or disruptor fire, perhaps a combination of both. There are several burn marks on the deck as well, including one spot that seems to have completely eaten it’s way through the hull onto the deck below. Green blood is splashed liberally about the corridor junction. Lewis turns questioningly to Rasczak. *
"By the Holy Rings...what happened here?"
* Rasczak looks down, offering his tricorder to the XO, who examines the readings as the Security officer continues. *
”There appears to have been a fierce firefight here in this junction. Readings are off the scale for disruptor fire, and some of the injuries on the bodies seem to confirm this. The burns on the dead and on the deck appear to be some sort of concentrated acid. It may have been used in the attack as a weapon or a defense."
* Byrne speaks up. *
"Attack by whom?"
"Unknown. But Ensign Liam says the acid is an organic compound, not replicated in his databanks. So the question might very well be, "Attack by what?"
* Lewis looks up suddenly, dimly sensing alarm and panic through the drug-induced suppression of his telepathic abilities. The Marines! He activates his combadge. *
"Lewis to Captain Wilcox! Wilcox, do you read me?"
* A harsh buzz is what he receives as a reply, with bursts of transmission breaking through at points."
=/\= "-icks! Look out!" *-followed by the whine of a phaser-* "Down! Down! Watch your s-*crackle*-ewis! Can you here me? Get t-*buzz*-ull breach! Evac NOW!" * -sustained phaser fire followed by screaming fills the channel until it’s replaced by a long hiss. Then the transmission abruptly cuts off. * =/\=
* Lewis looks around quickly, standing up. *
"Everyone to the Evac point,NOW!"
* The Away Team begins a mad dash to the hull breach, rushing back the way they came. *
********
* Wilcox and his men move down the corridor, clearing each room as they pass it. The rooms are all eerily empty, with no signs of life. Frost looks around, scanning the area with his tricorder. *
"Damn, this is creepy. Where is everyone?"
* Hicks scans the door he’s next to. *
"Reading some low level power in here, Captain."
* Wilcox nods. *
"Do it."
* Hicks nods at Frost, and together they enter the room, followed by Wilcox and the remainder of the Marines. The Corporal lets out a long, low whistle. *
"What goes on here.....?"
* The Marines stand around, momentarily stunned by their discovery. One end of the room is occupied by several stasis chambers, two of them showing low-level activity. The other end of the room is a mass of some sort of chitinous growth, with a large opening in the center. The dank orifice drips some sort of protoplasm, and leads into the dark interior of the vessel. Wilcox gestures to the stasis chambers. *
"Corporal Hicks! Check it out!"
* Hicks nods, the moment broken. He is all business now, moving stealthily to the stasis chambers. He examines the first one in the row: empty. The second contains a body - a Romulan body. Hicks looks up. *
“Sir, you better have a look at this."
* Wilcox peers into the shattered viewport of the stasis chamber. The Romulan’s face is contorted in agony, the huge wound in his chest the obvious cause of death. Wilcox takes one look at the uniform and shakes his head. *
"Damn! ‘Tal Shiar’!"
“Sir, these two still appear to be alive!"
* Wilcox leaves the remains of the Romulan Intelligence agent, and moves to where Crichton, the platoon medic, is scanning the stasis chambers. He looks down to see two ‘Tal Shiar’ officers, one male - one female. They both appear to have some sort of strange mottling on their faces, but are otherwise unharmed. The medic looks at the captain. *
"We should take them back to the ship before we attempt to revive them."
* Wilcox nods, turning quickly to his left. He thought he had caught some motion out of the corner of his eye, but it was just Hicks and Samuels, continuing to scan the area. “Jitters”, he thinks. He faces the medic. *
"Prep the stasis units for transfer to the runabout. I’ll contact Lewis."
* He taps his suit badge, turning to Hicks to issue a command, when the wall behind the corporal seems to come alive, grabbing Samuels in a bear hug. The private screams as the life is crushed out of him. Wilcox is stunned for a second, and then has his phaser out, aiming for the struggling Marine. *
"Hicks! Look out! Look out!"
* The corporal dives out of the way as a vaguely humanoid creature descends to the deck, tossing the dead Marine aside like a rag doll. The creature hisses loudly at the Starfleeters through a huge set of teeth, rearing back its elongated head as it crouches, preparing to strike again. A spiky armored tail whips visciously behind it. Protuberances on its back shake as it leaps at the Marines, bringing down another one as his comrades pump phaser fire into its body.*
"Get down! Get down! Watch your six!"
* Someone is screaming, and is abruptly silenced as Wilcox screams into his combadge. *
"Lewis! Can you read me? Get to the hull breach! Evac NOW!"
* He fires off another salvo at the alien as another emerges from the dank opening in the wall. *
"Marines! We are leaving! NOW!"
* The Marines regroup, laying down suppression fire as more aliens stream into the room. The platoon backs towards the entrance to the room, firing constantly. *
"Damn! It got Charlie - and Rexos! What the are hell are those things?"
* Hicks looks over at Frost, changing a phaser power pack as he does so. *
"I have no intentions of finding out! Move!"* The two men scramble to catch up to the rest of the group, as the aliens close in from behind. *********
* Lewis and the rest of the Away Team rush down the corridor, back towards the hull breach in the side of the ‘Tal Shiar’ vessel. The XO could feel the panic and fear of the Marines through the haze of the telepathic suppressant. And something else as well....something...disturbing. As if the sensation he is receiving is on another wavelength, one that he is unaccustomed to listening to. Shaking off the feeling, he concentrates on the Marines. They are moving closer. He looks up ahead, and spies the junction where they had originally split up. *
"Let’s wait here a moment. I can feel them coming."
* Rasczak glances over at the First Officer, nodding as he looks at the XO with concern. The Fleet Team pauses in the corridor, listening as the sound of the approaching Marines grows closer. Suddenly, Wilcox tears around the corner, snapping his phaser rifle up quickly at the sight of the Away Team, the rest of his platoon pounding up the corridor close behind. *
"Jesus! What the hell are you people still standing around for?! Move! Move!"
* Startled by the ferocity of the Marine Captain’s order, the Away Team quickly snaps back into action, moving rapidly towards the breach. Lewis moves next to Wilcox, switching to command frequency on his comm. *
=/\= "You want to tell me what’s going on?" =/\=
* Wilcox shakes his head, the expression on his face speaking a thousand words to the young XO. *
=/\= "Not now. Back on the runabout." =/\=
* The waves of fear and anxiety rolling of the Captain were pounding on the XO’s mental defenses, and he decided to let it drop for now. If something here scared the hard-bitten Wilcox, he didn’t want to be here when it came creeping around the corridor corner. *
=/\= "Right." =/\=
* As they approached the doors to the room containing the hull breach, Wilcox activates his comm. *
=/\= "Wilcox to Nelson. We’re coming in - prepare to EVAC." =/\=
* no response *
* Wilson gestures wordlessly to the large Klingon, Marbuk. The private nods and moves cautiously to the doors, peering through them. After a moment, he waves the team closer, shaking his head. He stands up and forces the doors open wider, moving into the room. The rest of the team follows. *
"No sign of him, sir."
* Lewis looks at the Captain. *
"Any chance he went EVA to contact the Independence?"
"Wait! Over here!"
* Ensign Liam is holding a Marine-issue phaser rifle, the barrel melted and burned away. A closer examination of the surrounding area reveals several phaser burns and more of the acid burns seen earlier. Wilcox mutters to himself. *
"Damn...."
* He looks over at the Marines. *
"Hicks! You and Marbuk secure those doors. We’re gonna need to buy some time here. Frost, go help ‘em."
* It would take some time to get everyone EVA, and even then he wasn’t sure if those...things...could pursue them outside the ship. They were already sucking vacuum, and the zero Kelvin temp didn’t seem to be bothering them, either. *
"Lewis! Get your men together! You’re going first."
* The XO nods, herding his team closer to the breach in the hull. *
"Let’s go, gentlemen. On the double!"
* On the other side of the room, a feeble scratching on the now barricaded doors can be heard. This soon escalates into a pounding, the doors shaking in the frame as the Federation teams back away. *
"Out! NOW!"
* The Teams scramble for the breach, as the pounding grows deafening, combining with the sound of tearing metal as the doors are slowly torn from the walls. A deadly sounding hiss emanates from the other side of the ruined doors.....*
********
(to be continued.....)
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