Marchin' into Hell

Posted on Mon Jun 19th, 2023 @ 12:25am by 1st Lieutenant Kayleigh London & Lieutenant Commander Diane Doctrine

Mission: Starship Side Quest
Location: On The Asteroid...

The corridor was poorly lit with red-tinted emergency lights. Nash and Fran both turned on the flashlights they had mounted on their rifles. Nash was moving in step with Diane, his rifle at the ready.

"Halt! Nash called out and motioned to a wire stretched across space in front of them at the level of Nash's shoulder and Diane's throat. "Don't move. That's the decoy, I'm standing on the trap."

Diane tried not to roll her eyes and failed. "Damn it! Didn't I tell you all to be careful?"

Fran spat a curse under his breath and looked at Kay. "London, where you are, I need you to scan the bulkhead beside Nash… I need to know where the power box is."

"What will happen if Nash moves?" Diane asked, "And can I move at all and help?"

"There's some sort of explosive wired to the sensor for the overhead lights. Nash growled. I heard it click, it's probably a plasma flare. We're standing close enough that I don't know if you're in the sensor too. Please stay still so we don't get fused into the bulkheads."

"This son of a bitch is good." Fran laughed as he watched Kay with the tricorder.

Kay stayed very still as she just moved the tricorder up and down the bulkhead. "Found it, sir," she said softly and pointed at it. "I may be able to reach it from here if you tell me what to do."

Fran handed her his tool pouch, "Open the panel. I'll do the rest." He adjusted a setting on his rifle.

Very carefully she moved her arm and hand and opened the panel.

"Sheild your eyes," Fran cautioned.

Fran fired a thin cutting beam from his rifle all the lights in the corridor went out, he activated his helmet light. "That should take care of any other trap in the immediate vicinity."

Kay exhaled. "Thank you." she said to Fran. He had the same kind of accent that Ren had so she liked to think they came from the same place. Now was not the time to ask, but she would later on. Now she looked at Diane for new orders on how to proceed.

"We need the keep moving, stay close 'Lasoa'" Fran smiled as he spoke.

She could not help but smile at him. He reminded her so much of Ren.

Nash reached into the panel and pulled a cylindrical object out and put it in his pack, "He had that wired to a disrupter power pack. That would have us both."

Diane exhaled in relief, “The save is much appreciated. Let’s keep our eyes out a little sharper moving forward… I have a feeling Soran didn’t expect anyone coming after him.”

"Or he figured the rescue team would be smart enough to avoid them," Nash said.

"Yeah, he expects the best from us." Kay said softly. "we have to think like him." She looked at Fran.

"I don't look me Lasoa," Fran laughed. "Wagnor and are both Slathvats, but the Sentails are their own brand of crazy."

"Yeah, but you know his culture. And I guess I know him a bit as well. My dad tends to adopt strays. Let's not waste any more time and move forward, do you want me to lead, ma'am?" She asked Diane.

"I've never met the man and our culture is vast and nuanced," Fran explained. "Nash was Sentinel and Doctrine is our leader, medic should stay in the back."

"I don't mind taking point," Diane mentioned. "Just keep all our eyes out for more traps." She consulted her tricorder once more. "I think we take the right at the next junction, down that way appears to be some sort of control center." She went ahead, one step at a time, while scanning with her tricorder after each step.

"You watch those tricorders," Nash said. "I'll keep an eye out for trip wires."

With a little grumble Kay did as she was told. She was also a marine damn it. But she was too well trained to complain and followed orders.

“I’m not reading the usual life forms typical of an installation like this,” Diane explained, “but I am picking up several bodies… Soran’s work no doubt.” She stopped walking and looked into the room they’d just arrived at. “Maybe we just follow the trail of bodies.”

"I bet." Kay said with satisfaction. "Sounds like a plan, ma'am."

Nash looked at Kay. "Don't touch any of the casualties they could be rigged by either Wagnor or the mercs."

"Ren would not rig anyone that is still alive." Kay said with conviction. "It is my duty to help wounded even enemy wounded." She exhaled. "But I will ask for your advice first."

Nash gave Kay a weary look. "I've seen good men do worse, we will be cautious."

Diane had just scanned a body with her tricorder while keeping a safe distance. Shaking her head she added, "There'll be no wounded enemies to aid Kay... going by these readings... looks like they're all dead."

"Then Ren did what he had to do to save his own life." She had an unshakable belief in the man who was like another big brother to her.

Fran looked at a set of bloody footprints heading out of the room, "If these are Wagnor's footprints, he's injured."

"Giving what we know we can assume they'll both need medical attention," Nash said.

"I am ready." Kay said. "Let's just find them."

"Wait," Diane studied her tricorder a moment, "I caught a glimpse of an Angosian life sign..." she looked up and down the corridor, "This way..." she started of quickly but still being careful of traps.

"Wagnor might not be the only Angosian here," Nash sighed

"That makes sense with the amount of destruction we are seeing? Could there be another rescue party out here?" Kay asked.

"No, the Angosian Government wouldn’t risk the treaty for one man. Especially a defector." Fran explained.

"Then how?" Kay prodded.

"Who do you think took him?" Nash asked.

"I don't know. Not his own people surely."

"Many of our Ex Military will do anything for a paycheck." Nash growled.

“That adds an interesting twist,” Diane commented as they made progress down the corridor. “I’m also searching for our chief counselor’s life signs… hopefully we can find them together.”

Moving down the corridor with great care, Diane started picking up a faint life sign. "I've got a contact... but it's reading as an Orion… it’s really weak." Her expression was perplexed as she glanced back at her teammates. "It's around the next bend."

When they group came around the curve in the corridor the acrid smell of blood filled their nostrils. There were several Orion bodies strewn about and one seemed hanging on some sort of conveyor. "This seems to be where the material they're mining is transferred to ... " Diane stopped dead in her tracks as her tricorder led her to the Orion that was hanging. "SHIT!" She leapt the last few steps and had to check her emotions. "This is Lieutenant Gilohesh, help me get her down.. NOW!"

The two Angosians rushed Nash and helped Diane lift Gilohesh. Fran fired his rifle cutting the chain she was hanging from. "We have to beam her out, she's almost gone."

“Agreed,” Diane was nearly frantic seeing one of her best friends in this manner. She tapped her commbadge nearly missing it, “Doctrine to Eldritch… medical emergency, transport Lieutenant Gilohesh directly to sickbay.”

[Aye ‘Commander.] came the immediate reply. The Orion woman was whisked away by the Eldritch’s transport beam.

Visibly shaken, Diane stood and took a moment to steady herself with one hand holding her up against a bulkhead. After a couple of deep breaths she stood on her own two feet. “All right, let’s go find Sky and Soran,” she nearly whispered in a determined tone.

She had a feeling she knew what happened… the most probable explanation was Soran was in some kind of rage and mistook Tale for one of the Orion mercenaries they’d seen strewn about the facility.

=^= Eldritch to Doctrine… Lieutenant Jansen was just transported to Sickbay with Lieutenant Gilohesh's COMM Badge.

Diane scowled. Now she had a better idea of what happened. "All right, the rest of you find Soran. And be CAREFUL. I'm taking Tale back to the ship. Doctrine to Eldritch, beam me plus one directly to sickbay, this is an emergency."

Diane cradled Tale's inert form and prepared to be whisked away.

Now it was up to the rest of the away team ...

====


Soran jumped up from his hiding place and grabbed the closest armed figure.

"Danger Close! Sentinel stand fast!" Nash shouted.

Soran had Fran by the throat and Nash didn't have a clean shot.

"Ren! Let him go." Kay said loudly trying to make eye contact. "It's me, Kayleigh, your nasty little sister. I need you to do this for me."

Soran blinked, but I didn't seem to register. Nash took the hesitation and fired a shot that almost grazed Soran’s face. Sorran cried out and let Fran go.

"Tranquilize him!" Nash shouted.

With tears in her eyes Kay quickly moved forward and pushed a tranquilizer against his neck. "I am so sorry, Ren." She whispered. "I got you now."

Soran shouted in a language Kay didn't understand and stung his arm. Fran caught his blow and shout at something at Soran.

He looked at Kay, "Put the medallion in his hand Lasoa."

She did as she was told and kept talking to him. "It's Kay, Ren, please just let yourself relax, I don't want to have to give you a double dose. Just relax, you are safe now." She kept saying this over and over.

Soran's eyes rolled back as his hand closed around the medallion.

Kay bit back a sob and got out her tricorder to start working on stabilizing him.

Fran took off his COMM. badge and put it on Soran. "Beam him back, Lasoa."

Kay had him stabilized and then beamed out with him where doctors could do more for him than she could.