Valley of the Shadow of Death - Part I - Lower Decks

Anomaly TrekMUX Episode 10/20/01

Valley Of The Shadow Of Death - Lower Decks - Part I

Gellan turns back to the bar when the bartender sets a glass of pinkish wine in front of her. She thanks her with a smile and picks up the glass, then glances about the bar curiously.

Blutox looks on the assembled crowd with a stoic expression.

Zero and One speak briefly to each in their native language - which are basically di-pitched beeps in rapid successions.

Zeel sits by herself at a table, absently drinking a thick orange liquid.

Gellan turns a curious glance toward the door. Here's a pair she hasn't seen before. Turning a bit on her barstool, she spots Zeel sitting by herself and, after a bit of thought, slides off her barstool to meander in that direction.

Leah arrives from the mall, the entrance's double doors sliding silently closed behind her.

Leah has arrived.

There is a gale of hearty laughter from some of the traders near the bar.

You paged Park with 'We're playing if you want to join the off duty group as park or on-duty group as Gerok.'.

The Bynars go up to the bar, barely able to see over it, and order a strange concoction - like they always do. Today's specialty is Nausicaan Serpent's Poison. Of course, it isn't really poison.

Leah rubs at her eyes as she enters the NZ, pausing in the doorway. It's difficult to tell whether she's 'on the beat' or offduty, but from the looks of it, it's the second option.

Zeel looks up from her drink to the approaching Gellan, a slight frown forming on the Orion's features. Quickly, she tosses down the thick orange drink and folds her hands on the table.

Gellan notices the frown, but flashes a quick smile in response. "Sorry, I didn't intend to disturb you," she says quitely as she comes even with the table. "Just thought I'd come over and say hello." She lifts a shoulder in a mild shrug and moves over to the neighboring empty table. As she pulls out a chair, she glances back toward the door to catch Leah entering and lifts a hand in a cheerful wave.

A Human freighter captain bemoans the current state of the Dominion war.

The yellow alert klaxon sounds throughout the station.

Zero and One each take a sampling sip of the drink they ordered before looking around the NZ again. They notice the fellow science officer Zeel and, not having the chance to talk to her very often while on duty, decide to approach her, but pause as the station goes to yellow alert.

"Heya Sharra," Leah calls, moving towards the woman's table. She smiles as she approaches, opening the top of her jacket a bit. "Long time no see." Then the alert goes off. Halting in mid-stride, "What on Earth..."

Over the interstation comm channel, a voice says, "Dakin to second shift officers. Report to Aegis duty stations immediately. Repeat, report to Aegis immediately."

Zeel grunts once in response to Gellan's statement and continues staring morosely into her now empty glass. When the alert klaxon sounds, Zeel jumps slightly, looking around. "Wonderful. Just wonderful. What the hell is wrong -now-?"

Gellan pauses in the process of seating herself at the table, almost jumping at the unfamilar sound of the alert. "Ouch..what's that all about?" She looks to Leah with a bit of surprise. "At least we got to say hello."

The lights on the jukebox flash.

The Bynars chirp at each other rapidly. Occasionally, they would look around with jerky movements as they tense up, knowing what yellow alert indicates.

"Sounds like trouble." Leah announces, glancing over to Gellan. "Hopefully not our last hello though... keep safe, Sharra." She heads back out for the doors, a serious look on her face.

Zeel sighs heavily and begins to rise from her seat, muttering a few choice Orion swears darkly.

"Sounds like trouble." Leah announces, glancing over to Gellan. "But not our trouble at the moment." She takes a seat, a slightly worried look on her face.

Gellan nods her head slowly and settles into the chair. "Its times like this when I wish I wasn't just a counselor. Not much for me to do." Setting her glass down on the table, she waves over Sileel to order coffee instead. "Wonder what's going on though.."

As they are not called to duty, the Bynars decide to continue on as before, and so they once again walk toward where Zeel is.

Sileel serves drinks to a group of loud Klingons.

Leah shrugs her shoulders, "Could be a lot of things, but likely it isn't an attack or direct danger to the station....... they would've shot up to red alert for something like that." She flags down Sileel and orders a rootbeer.

Zeel takes up her glass and begins to make her way back to the bar, continuing to mutter darkly to herself.

"Ew. I prefer yellow, thanks." Sharra makes a dry attempt at humor, flashing a smile to Sileel when coffee arrives. "Anyway..it's been ages since we had a chance to talk. What've you been up to?"

Zero says as Zeel nears them, "Greetings-"

"-Cadet Zeel," finishes One.

"Cross-training on duty... cross-training off duty." Leah replies with a grin, rubbing at her lower jaw. "Trying to keep myself in good shape, you understand.... all these root beers can't be doing good things to me." She pauses, then asks, "How about you?"

Zeel grimaces as the Bynars speak. "Hullo," Zeel replies, turning towards them, "Ensign. Something I can do for you?"

Zero says, "Not anything in particular."

One says, "We wish to speak with you, if you have the time?"

Gellan chuckles softly. "Rootbeer cant hurt you, Morgan. You're still tiny." She lifts a shoulder in a mild shrug and reaches for her coffee. "I've been staying busy. People are jumpy these days, naturally."

Blutox looks on the assembled crowd with a stoic expression.

"Muscular then, Sharra. I need to be able to physically capable for my job." Leah says, nodding to the jumpy part. "Yeah, murders tend to do that."

Zeel runs her free hand through her hair and motions back to the table, "Sure, sure. No problem, Ensign. Lemmie just go refill my drink, m'kay? I'll be right back." The Orion then turns and heads off back to the bar, placing the glass down, "Tandelouvian Happy Juice, please."

The two Bynars nod simultaneously to Zeel, but do not go to the table. Instead, they wait patiently for the cadet to get her order at the bar.

The yellow alert indicators flash.

Gellan bobs her head in a nod. "I know, I know." She settles back in her chair to sip quietly at her coffee for a bit. "So what are you cross-training in? I remember you mentioned it the last time we talked.."

The two Bynars nod simultaneously to Zeel, but do not go to the table. Instead, they wait patiently for the cadet to get her order at the bar.

Leah leans back as her order arrives via Sileel, eyes lingering on her friend. "Ah, engineering, actually... though I've just been doing the basics so far. I have yet to start the actual training with Lieutenant Nevaren."

Zeel gets her drink refilled and starts moving back to her seat, frowning when she notices the Bynars haven't moved. Shrugging, she moves past them to return to her seat.

A young ensign carefully sidesteps one of the bar's more drunken patrons.

Gellan leans forward a bit, looking a bit surprised. "Engineering?" She flashes a grin at Leah. "I didn't even know you had an interest in it. Sounds like it would be fun though. Probably come in handy too," she adds with a nod.

The pinkish-violet pair follow Zeel to her table and, with a little effort, manage to get themselves into the seats. Zero starts off with, "We don't get the chance to talk to you when we're working."

One asks, "How are your duties going?"

"Not so much an interest as a big gaping hole in my training. It would be in my best interest to know more about engineering." Leah says, then takes a slurp from the root beer.

"As well as can be expected," Zeel mutters grumpily, taking a swig of her drink, "Sorry, Ensign... uh... I forget, what am I supposed to call you again? Is it one or zero?"

Gellan nods her head. "I can see where it would be. I considered some cross training a while back...just hard to decide what I would train in." Her gaze drifts a bit to Zeel and the Bynars at the neighboring table. "One of these days I keep meaning to take you up on that zero-g program you told me about.."

The Bynar on the left says, "I am Zero."

The Bynar on the right says, "I am One."

"Sounds like a plan. I still have it, on a data storage cube up in my quarters. I haven't used it in a few months though." Leah shifts in her seat, and follows Gellan's gaze to Zeel and the Bynars. "I need to get in some Zero gravity practice soon though... or I'll get rusty."

Zeel rubs her temples lightly. "Yes, yes, I know that, but what do I call you as a gestalt? When I address you, I address the both of you, correct?"

A Bajoran starts arguing about the Cardassian occupation with the man he is sitting near.

Zero and One nod simultaneously. Zero says, "Many people call us by 'Ensigns'."

One says, "It is often easier to call us by that."

Gellan says "So do I..that's why I mentioned it. You know I haven't done any zero gravity since leaving the Academy?" She shakes her head with a slight grin. "I must be getting lazy."

Zero and One nod simultaneously. Zero says, "Many people call us by 'Ensigns'."

One says, "It is often easier to call us by that."

"Or maybe you just don't like throwing up in the suit?" Leah asks with a twinkle in her eyes, lips smirking. "Just remember not to eat beforehand."

Zeel quirks an eyebrow at the Bynar pair, "That seems a little... dehumanizing, if you will excuse the terminology. You really should come up with a name that refers to you both as one unit. Zone, maybe? Ono?"

Gellan laughs softly, dropping her gaze to her cup. "Maybe," she answers, smirking a bit herself. "It doesn't matter if I eat or not. It still makes me dizzy." She lifts a shoulder and glances back to Leah, grinning. "I suppose that's part of the fun, though."

The din of the bar gets strangely quiet. Then someone laughs, and the silence is broken, returning the Zone to a counterpoint chorus of voices.

The Bynars look at each other and chirp briefly. Turning back to Zeel, Zero says, "But neither of those two-"

One: "-are our designations."

"That's part of it, yes." Leah glancing once again at the Bynars, then back to Gellan. "Cute, aren't they?" She grins.

<CONTEST> Zeel contests her Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

"No, not -yet-," Zeel replies, glance bouncing back and forth from the Bynars as they speak, "They're sorta combinations of your two names. So when someone addresses both of you as a whole it's more personable. A hell of a lot better than just 'Ensigns'." The Orion's gaze happens to drift to the viewport to which she does a double-take, eyes widening. "What the...? Uh... Ono... do you see that, or did I get a bad batch of Tandelouvian Happy Juice?"

Zero and One, or Ono, look out the viewports to see what Zeel is talking about when the station rocks violent and light items are thrown across the floor. A second set of explosions shakes the station again.

The red alert klaxon sounds.

Gellan follows Leah's glance and nods, smiling. "Yes they are." Suddenly she chuckles and glances away again, looking chagrined. She leans forward to say something quietly to Leah and suddenly finds herself hanging onto the table for balance. "By the Rings, what just hit us!"

A small maintenance drone drifts by the window.

Leah grabs onto the table top, though she is unable to save her drink. "What the heck...." The red alert klaxon starts, "Jeese." She stands and heads for the viewport. "What did that?" She calls loudly, to see if anyone got a good view. She taps her combadge.

Zeel blinks twice, gripping on the table as the station shakes. "Those torpedoes were real," she blurts obviously, absently reaching out for her glass. It's no longer there, unfortunately, having been spilled in the ensuing blast. "Those bastards!" Zeel snarls,"They spilled my drink! They're gonna -pay-!"

Gellan disentangles herself from the table and spilled liquid all over it, trying to follow Leah in all the confusion. "We were at yellow alert Morgan. Something tells me things went from bad to worse," she says while navigating past fallen chairs and other obsticales to reach a viewport. "Oh gods..," she says, suddenly hushed as she peers out. "We're under attack..by the Dominion?!"

The Bynars are holding tightly onto their seats to keep from flying off. Ignoring the Serpent's Poison spilled on them, they talk in a rapid language incomprehensible to many species while looking around nervously.

Leah's face goes pale, looking blankly at Gellan, and her hand drops from her combadge. She gulps once, then starts to speak in an authoritative tone of voice... oddly cold, but strong and confident. "Alright, everyone. Listen up. They may or may not board. We need to be prepared if they do... don't take this the wrong way, coming from a cadet, but if you're Starfleet get to your proper duty stations... civilians, stay in here. Do -not- go out into the mall ring."

Gellan turns to give Leah a /look/. "Proper duty stations..sorry, I'm not going to the counselor's office right now." She glances around at the buzzing crowd and sighs. "Crowd control.." As she speaks she starts glancing around and then sets a chair upright. "Morgan, if they board us, we're sitting here unarmed."

The Bynars are still chirping hysterically at one another.

"Right." Leah responds to Gellan, "Look, the nearest available weapons are in a locker in the security station down the mall ring.... they're probably handing out weapons as we speak." She licks her lips, stopping just by the door. "I'll go... and bring some back."

Gellan looks to Leah and nods. "Try to hurry. I don't relish the thought of defending ourselves with chairs and wine bottles," she quips, bending over to right another chair. Turning to a small group of frightened civilians, she puts on a smile and puts them to work too. "Lets clear some floor space so no one trips over anything."

The Bynars look with frightened expressions out the viewport to see many ships move out of the viewing angle as the enemy fleet begins spreading out to surround the station,

Leah nods and determinedly heads out into the mall, directing any civilians (and any Starfleet officers, regardless of rank) off the mall ring or to the security station. She doesn't go quite so far as to say, "The Dominion is coming, the Dominion is coming,' though, no need to panic people all that much. A glance up through the transparent ceiling of the mall ring reveals that most probably know who is attack by now. Licking her lips she continues onward, racing for the security station.

Gellan turns to follow they Bynars glance and pales, seeing the spreading ships as well. She looks back to shoot a worried look toward the door and moves away from the viewport, setting things back upright as she walks back to her table, rather than stepping over them. "We might need to be able to secure that door..."

The Bynars are in too much fright to answer to anything.

Blutox glares at a patron who is getting overly friendly with Sileel.

Leah hurries into the security station, which is a flurry of activity. She heads straight-away to the weapons locker, nodding to the officer on duty. Figuring her uniform marks her pretty clearly as security, she opens the locker, taking out four phasers, clipping two to her belt, and carrying the others in her hand. "We'll hold down the portion of the ring next to the NZ, sir... until further orders are given." With that she's speeding as fast as she dares back to the Neutral Zone.

Leah , finally, returns to the Neutral Zone, entering with weapons in hand. Without so much as a grin, or a how do you do, she gives one to Gellan, then heads for the other starfleet personnel, handing out a phaser to each.

Leah reveals her Type I Phaser.

Leah reveals her Combadge.

The din of the bar gets strangely quiet. Then someone laughs, and the silence is broken, returning the Zone to a counterpoint chorus of voices.

Gellan glances to the door in relief to see Leah breeze back through. "Thanks," she murmers quietly as she palms the phaser. "Is it crazy out there?" She spares another glance toward the viewports. "At least it doesn't seem like we've been hit again.."

Gellan reveals her Type I Phaser.

The Bynars remain where they were before.

The station rocks under the impact of fire as one of the Jem'Hadar attack fighters blast away at the shields with its polaron weapons.

Leah takes up a spot near the doors, "You were saying, Sharra?" She asks as the station rocks once again. "If they beat down our shields and start boarding, we're going to be hard-pressed to stop them.... How many of you have experience fighting the Jem'Hadar?"

Dakin's voice says over the comm, "Attention, all personnel. The station is under siege and boarders are expected. Take up arms and prepare to repel. All civilians are advised to bar themselves to quarters or make haste to their vessels."

Several Starfleet Ensigns make their way out, heading back on duty.

Gellan glances to Leah, shaking her head and about to answer a negative, when the intercom goes off. "Wonderful," she mutters, glancing down at her phaser. "Maybe we should get the civilians to their quarters and evacuate the mall.."

The station rocks again and some of the lights blink off uncertainly before coming back on. The two Bynars are holding onto the edge of their table, looking like small, freightened children.

"Alright, but we're going to have to go out there and keep an eye out while they....." Leah starts to responds before she is silenced by the latest Dominion strike on the station. "Too late now... Start turning over tables. That will provide them some protection."

Gellan grabs onto a table for support as the station rocks again. "Gods.." she murmers softly, then nods sharply to Leah. Moving quickly to a table next to the frightened Bynars, she flips it over on its side, tabletop facing the door, then gestures to it. "Huddle down here. Its safer," she says to them. Turning to glance toward the back of the bar, she pauses to reconsider. "Might be better if we move everyone back, too."

Columns of lights can be seen in the mall through the door. Out of those lights come Jem'Hadar bodies, solidifying in a couple of seconds. The Bynars jump out of their seats and huddle down behind their flipped table for cover.

"Everyone get behind some cover!" Leah dials up the setting on her phaser to a fairly high intensity kill setting, but remains to the side of the door, out of sight of the Jem'Hadar.

Gellan sprints for the bar and dashes behind it for cover, then fumbles with her phaser a bit as she checks the settings and adjusts it. Ready to duck in an instant, she leans against the inside edge, shoving a discarded drink out of her way.

Most of the Jem'Hadar disperse throughout the mall, but a small group of three are headed directly toward the bar.

Leah hisses, "Steady....," through her teeth, her stomach clenching. At the appropriate moment, she raises her phaser and fires at the nearest Jem'Hadar.

<CONTEST> Leah (claiming advantage) contests her Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Leaning along the counter for balance, Gellan steadies herself and aims her phaser at the next Jem'Hadar coming through the door.

<CONTEST> Gellan contests her Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

The first Jem'Hadar that enters the NZ has his polaron rifle at the ready, but apparently it was not enough as he was immediately shot by Leah and killed. A second one comes in half a second after the first one and is shot by Gellan, but not before he gets a shot off on the cadet.

GAME: Leah spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Leah (claiming advantage) contests her Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Leah gets blasted and hits the deck plating limply, phaser flying out of her hand.

The third Jem'Hadar fires as the second one began to fall. A burst of polarized energy flies toward Gellan.

<CONTEST> Gellan contests her Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Gellan stands up a bit from the bar to get a shot at the third, but is distracted by the the second one shooting Leah. "Morgan!" She doesn't even see the blast coming from the third Jem'Hadar and goes crashing into the back of the bar.

Several more shots and shouting can be heard from somewhere else on the mall deck. The remaining Jem'Hadar in the NZ orders loudly, "Remove your weapons and surrender!" There are few people still in here who had not left at the first signs of trouble. They all raise their hands in submission, except for Blutox, who is being stubborn. The Jam'Hadar aims his rifle at the guard and shouts "SURRENDER!" Grudingly, Blutox raises his hands into the air and sinks to his knees.

Leah twitches on the floor, biting her lip to keep from crying out. She slowly turns herself and starts to reach out for her phaser.

From behind the bar, Gellan slowly pulls herself up to a sitting position and then to her knees. The phaser is a about a foot away from her, and she edges toward it on hands and knees and finally slips her hand around it. Amid the yelling and screaming on the other side of the bar, she pulls herself up to lean against inside of the counter, gathering herself to jump and fire..

The Jem'Hadar fires another shot - right into Leah's outreached hand. "I said surrender, or die where you are!" The Jem'Hadar then looks over at Gellan.

The Jem'Hadar fires another shot - right into Leah's outreached hand. "I said surrender, or die where you are!" The Jem'Hadar then levels his rifle so that he could swivel it around easily. "Everyone, gather in the middle of the room!"

Leah cries out in pain, pulling her hand back to her chest. Glaring in hatred at the Jem'Hadar, she hisses, "Never...."

Gellan grits her teeth, hearing Leah cry out, and springs up at that moment to fire a shot off over the counter..

<CONTEST> Gellan contests her Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

The Jem'Hadar was watching everyone carefully, and noticed Gellan as she popped up. The shot just misses him and he shoots back with precise aim. The blast hits the phaser and it explodes in Gellan's hands, burning her hand, arm, and face. "If anyone else tries to fight me, I kill everyone in this room."

As if to show that he was not bluffing on hurting anyone, the Jem'Hadar jams the butt of his rifle into Blutox's shoulders. The guard falls down, unconscious.

Leah touches her combadge, as her hand is close to her chest anyway, and speaks rapidly, "Cadet Leah to Ops, we're overrun in the Neutral Zone... officers down..."

Gellan cries out as the phaser explodes and pulls her arm against her body. She leans heavily against the edge of the bar, sinking down an inch at a time.

There is no reply from Leah's combadge. The Jem'Hadar snarls and fires again, at Leah's other hand. "You two!" the Jem'Hadar barks at the Bynars, "get her and the other human to the middle of the room. NOW!" Zero and One obeyed immediately, hustling first to Leah.

"-Cowards-!" Leah manages to moan out, aimed at Zero and One likely, as she clutches both hands to her chest now. She struggles with what strength she has left.

<CONTEST> Gellan contests her Projective Empathy skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Gellan (claiming disadvantage) contests her Projective Empathy skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Gellan glares across the counter at the Jem'hadar, brows drawn together in concentrantion as she pulls herself weakly to her feet. Rather than wait on the Bynars, she starts limping along the inside of the bar, holding on to the edge with her uninjured hand.

The two small Bynars attempt to help Leah up and over to where the Jem'Hadar could see her in plain view. The fire shots have died down elsewhere on the mall too - and for those with a good ear, the Federation phasers where the first ones to quiet. Still keeping a careful watch on everyone in the bar, the Jem'Hadar contacts someone over his comm unit. "The bar is secured."

10/27/01

11:57 AM

Valley Of The Shadow Of Death - Part II - Lower Decks

Last time, on Star Trek: Anomaly...

While off duty in the Neutral Zone, several Starfleet officers witnessed an attack on the station from a Dominion fleet. Rushing to the armory for weapons, Cadet Leah returned just in time to defend the bar as Jem'Hadar begin transporting in all around the mall level. Cadet Leah and Ensign Gellan managed to shoot two of the three incoming Jem'Hadar warriors down, but the third took the both of them out.

Those who remained in the Neutral Zone are now gathered in the middle of the room where the captor could watch over everyone with ease. Leah and Gellan have noticeable injuries all over their bodies, and Blutox lies unconscious near the doorway. Another Jem'Hadar comes into the NZ, holding onto Ensign Arton by his collar.

The Bynars are sitting in the center of the room with the others. They look around nervously, not daring to make even a single beep.

Arton looks like hell, but doesn't he always look like hell, When a Gem'Hadar pushes him to move faster he snaps at him, "Aiight, Aiight! I'm moving as fast as I can." He grumbles slightly to himself before being pushed into a corner.

Gellan is seated on the floor near Leah, cradling her injured arm while trying to stay upright and send hateful looks toward the Jem'Hadar soldiers. She turns to glance to Arton and nods once toward him. "Don't worry..we'll be fine.." Another glare is sent toward the Jem'Hadar and she falls silent again.

After having layed quiet for a few minutes, Leah summons some reserve of strength and sits up, glancing over at Arton as they drag him in. She grits her teeth, then looks over to Gellan and asks in a low voice, "How we feeling, Sharra?..." Something in her eyes doesn't look right, definately not the person she was before.

"You will be quiet!" the horned Gamma Quadrant warrior barked. He lays his polaron rifle across his chest to show that he is the man wielding the gun, and thus the man in charge. The second Jem'Hadar, who brought Arton in, says to the first one, "The rest of this deck is secured."

Arton sits up a little bringing his arm around his knees, letting a slight sigh out. He quickly starts to assess the situation, Where the Gem'Hadar are, and more importantly, if there's any console in proximity, that's the only few thing he could do, but he sighs. He looks over to Gellan and nods silently, won't talk, wouldn't like to play with his luck.

Gellan lays herself over on her side, bringing herself closer to Leah, and winces. "Lousy," is her single, whispered response to Leah. She glances over to Arton with a feeble smile, and then rolls a bit, trying to get herself comfortable, at the least. Another scalding glance toward the overseers as she clamps down on some seething comment.

Carefully, Leah moves onto her knees, then glances down at her hands, both fairly badly burned. Then, pointedly, she looks and slares daggers at the Jem'Hadar that did the damage.

Uneffected by the looks he is getting, the first Jem'Hadar says to the second one, "Good. Take guard over there." He points to a spot a few meters away from himself and closer to the huddled group of captives.

Arton frowns slightly, His mind is racing right now. There's so little He can beside look miserable and wish death upon his captors. He hudles a little closer to the group. Still thinking He starts taping a finger against his knee, tap tap tap, tap .. tap .. tap .., tap tap tap.. He keeps repeating the simple patern hoping He's not the only one who knows this.

Gellan pulls herself back up and gives her hand and arm a critical look, then does the same to Leah. "I need a medical kit..something.." She looks back to the first Jem'hadar with a frown. "There's probably first aid supplies behind the bar. I need them."

Leah winces and falls back onto her bottom. She catches the tapping by Arton and sends an odd glance his way.

The two Bynars are trying to attract as little attention as possible to themselves.

Arton notices the odd glance he's getting and lets a silent groan out, okay nobody knows morse. How convenient, well, can't blame them, early 17 century languages aren't the most common of things. He stops the silent tapping and slumps down some more, this is hopeless his thinks to himself. He mutters something to himself as he sends a cold glare toward the Gem'hadar who roughed him up earlier.

Leah seems to relax finally, sitting up on the floor. Not to anyone in particular, but sort of replying to Gellan, "They won't give us a damned thing and you know it. They're Jem'Hadar. No honor whatsoever."

Over the two Jem'Hadar's wrist comms, a voice says, "Start executing civilians, one every five minutes, until I tell you to stop. If you run out of civilians, start killing the crew." The first Jem'Hadar looks down at the limp body of Blutox, then over to Sileel. His eyes almost glisten with glee.

Arton thanks the heaven that He was wearing his uniform while off duty, or he's be considered a civilian. But that message certainly doesn't make him feel any better, His eyes are gleaming with sheer terror as a shiver runs trough his spine. He looks to the two other crewmates and mouths, "We can't just sit here dammit."

Gellan sits up straighter and shoots an angry glare at the Jem'Hadar soldier. Her quiet voice nearly drips with sarcasm. "Oh, now that's such a brave thing to do. Lets just kill the helpless civilians, since they can't fight back. What brave soldiers!" Glancing sideways, she shoots a glance to Arton, shaking her head, then glances back to the Jem'Hadar. "You could at least let me get to the first aid kit. Unless you're afraid I'll attack you with it."

Leah's outer demeanor doesn't change, but something inside of her galvanizes. In a rush of adrenaline and what reserves she has, she gets to her feet and rushes at the nearest Jem'Hadar, trying to put it between her and the other Dominion warrior nearby.

GAME: Leah spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Leah contests her Athletics (Running) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

The Jem'Hadar closest to Leah easily spots her approach and swings the butt of his rifle into her stomach once she gets within range. As she falls, the Jem'Hadar points his rifle at her to shoot, but the other Jem'Hadar interrupts. "No, not her." Pointing to Sileel, he says, "Her."

Arton winces and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, trying to supress any tears that feels like surfacing. Of all the hostile races he heard of. The Jems are about just as scary as the borgs, so needless to say, He's never been under such stress. He's handling it, but oh so very weakly. He clenches his teeth, looking around him for something, ANYTHING...

That brings Gellan to her knees with a growl. "Noo!" In the same motion, she grabs the back of the nearest chair and hauls herself to her feet, then hurls the chair toward the Jem'hadar wielding the rifle with all her might.

GAME: Gellan spends a courage point.

Leah crumples onto the floor, groaning and clutching at her stomach. "Do... something...." She croaks out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

<CONTEST> Gellan (claiming advantage) contests her Coordination skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

As the second Jem'Hadar aims his rifle at Sileel, he catches sight of Gellan rising up and attempting to fight. He quickly changes trajectory and fires the rifle at the chair, making it splinter into hundreds of pieces.

Now John! Flares up in Arton's mind as he muster all he has left in him to stand up and make a run for the closet terminal, already there, no time to think, no time to breath, quick, He starts typing commands franticly at the terminal, his fingers dancing widly.

GAME: Arton spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Arton (claiming advantage) contests his Athletics (Running) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Gellan ducks her head as the chair blows to pieces, almost dropping to her knees. She sees Arton make the dash and then glances around madly, looking for something, /anything/ to divert the Jem'Hadar further.

Leah still on the floor, lashes out with the only uninjured portion of her body... her legs, going for the Jem'Hadar who decked her.

GAME: Leah spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Leah contests her Unarmed Combat (Starfleet Martial Arts) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Arton contests his Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

The second Jem'Hadar went from Leah to Sileel to Gellan, and now to Arton. However, before he could fire, a shot from the first Jem'Hadar hits Arton in the legs as the Starfleet officer attempts to activate the console he is at. Leah sweeps his legs into the second Jem'Hadar's knees, forcing him to collapse on himself.

Arton lets a sharp cry of pain as he feels the blast roasting his leg, his fingers still trying to input any commands, but it's too hard. He falls to his side, wincing, tears streaking from his eye. "Wasn't.... fast.. enough..."

Gellan sees a window of opportunity when the the first Jem'hadar collapses. Grabbing up another chair as a weapon, she makes a mad charge at the one standing.

Leah is a bit occupied with a very angry Jem'Hadar to hear the announcement.... if she had actually heard it, she would have recognized Dakin's voice, but.... She tries again to kick at him with her legs, despite her ebbing strength.

Leah just lays there where she is, feigning unconsciousness as the Jem'Hadar she tripped up falls. Hearing the message almost makes her smile, but she remains still, head lolling.

"Get up!" the standing Jem'Hadar yells at the fallen one after aiming his rifle at Leah, but not firing since she looks like she has already lost consciousness. With a much evident snarl on his face, he stomps over to Sileel, grabs her by her hair, and sticks the muzzle of his polaron rifle into her temple. A few seconds later, Sileel lies lifeless on the ground, a smoking hole in the side of her head. "This will be you if you continue fighting!" yells the Jem'Hadar.

Arton bites his lip. The message would cheer him up, that is, if he wasn't in total and utter agony, right now, there's nothing else in his world beside the seering pain that runs trough his leg, all the way up to his hip. He makes a mental note, Polaron Rifles hurts like hell. He tries to move over, reaching for his leg, seeing if he could even judge the seriousnes of his wound, but as he touches it a cry of pain escapes his lips. The death of Sileel is totally ignored by him, which is good, because that would be the last drip.

Gellan watches in horror while Sileel is murdered and then seems to just draw in on herself. Holding on to a chair with her good hand, she slides back down to the floor and lets shock sink in.

Leah chokes at the polaron rifle going off, twitching where she is... but her strength is gone, all of her youthful energy gone and needing recharging. Inside though, she is roiling with emotions, the sound of the polaron discharge echoing in her mind... Perhaps, in a few minutes she might be able to move again, but for now, she's powerless.

The second Jem'Hadar gets back on his feet and looks like he wants to strangle Leah with his bare hands, but decides to just kich her in the leg - hard. He moves back to a safer distance and goes into a guard stance. The first Jem'Hadar also walks back to position, glaring with cold, gray eyes at everyone else in the room.

The pain won't go away for Arton, it just seems to grow stronger as the cold air starts to tickle the gaping hold in the back of his lef, only reminding him of the pain the discharge created. There's nothing this man can do but lay prone on the floor, bleeding.

Gellan curls herself into a ball against the chair and lets a dark gaze sweep across the room. It ends with a hatefull glare at the Jem'Hadar. Torn between her own emotions and those of the rest of the hostages, she simply stares as if she could bore a hole through them with her eyes. Bring on the calvary.

Leah chokes at the polaron rifle going off, twitching where she is... but her strength is gone, all of her youthful energy gone and needing recharging. She doesn't respond much to the kick by the Jem'Hadar, as she's already in quite a bit of pain.... a little more won't make a difference. In her mind all she can hear is the echo of the polaron rifle discharging.

Leah doesn't so much as twitch when the Jem'Hadar kicks her. She goes totally limp.

A whirl of blue light encompasses the two Jem'Hadar. They look bewildered at first, but then too little of them are left to tell what their successive expressions are when they disappear.

Arton fights the pain, but still fails so much... Now a slick thin puddle of blood is surounding him. If somebody found him to look rather pale, they obviously never saw him right now. He's a white as morning snow, his face twisted with a grimace of pain.

Gellan blinks in mild surprise as the objects of her hatred are caught in whirling blue. Still she doesn't move..instead staring at empty space.

Leah 's eyes flicker open and she glances where the Jem'Hadar should've been.... then she -slowly- brings her hand up to her combadge, which chimes, and forces out the words, "Leah... to... Ops... to anyone... help... Neutral Zone..." The pain gets a little to great for her and she goes silent, biting her lip.

There is no answer over Leah's combadge. The two Bynars look around, surprised at the sudden exit of their enemies, and almost immediately begin chirping to each other in their binary language.

This is pretty much as much as Arton can take... He fought long enough, It's time to give in, He wants to sleep. If he sleeps the pain will go away, yes, that's what he needs to do.

Leah waits for a reply, forcing herself to think more coherently. She looks to the Bynars, not a pleasant look by any means. "-Get-... help..."

Dakin's voice says over the combadge, "Leah?! ... Sir, permission to check on things in the 'Zone?"

The Bynars stands up and move toward the door.

Arton lies still, the weak flow of blood from his leg would indicate he's still alive.

Leah's comm badge chirrups, and a voice says, "Lieutenant JG Dakin to Cadet Leah."

Leah grimaces and speaks through the com.

Leah taps her badge, saying, "Cadet Leah here."

From Leah's comm badge, Dakin says, "Morgan, what's your status?"

Leah taps her badge, saying, "Bad... we lost ... I couldn't protect her.... We tried... Many wounded."

The two Bynars, injured from the attack, slowly leave the NZ, checking to see whether there are any Jem'Hadar still outside or not before going for help.

Arton bleeds.

From Leah's comm badge, Dakin says, "We'll get somebody down to help you ASAP, Morgan. Dakin out."

Leah reaches up and taps her badge and terminates transmission.

Gellan lets out a long breath and settles an anguished gaze on Leah. Relief washes over her for a moment and she finally moves, edging over a bit to check on those nearest to her. Averting her gaze from Sileel's body, she finally inches over toward Arton and drags out a tricorder.

Gellan reveals her Tricorder.

Leah closes her eyes again, some tears flowing freely across her face again. She starts to mumble, "Poor Sileel..."

After the Bynars have left, Blutox begins to stir.

Gellan makes a quick scan of Arton, assuring herself that he does indeed still live. She fumbles the tricorder and it clatters to the deck and is then ignored while she tries to think. "Morgan?" She glances over her shoulder to Leah. "They're sending medical? Are you alright?"

Leah shakes her head just slightly, breaking her mumbling with silence.

Blutox slowly props himself into a sitting position, rubbing his sore shoulder. He has not yet seen the damage the Jem'Hadar had done while he was unconscious.

Leah responds hoarsely, "I don't know, Sharra... I can't feel my hands."

As if snapping back to reality, Blutox's eyes go wide as he looks frantically around for nearby Jem'Hadar. He scrambles to his feet and prepares to defend himself when he sees a couple of transporter beem forming in the room. The transporter beams resemble Federation ones...but not quite. Out of the beams come two humans, both wearing all black and holding onto a kit.

Gellan picks up the tricorder again and fumbles it as she rises back to her feet to move back over toward Leah. "Ensign Arton is unconcious and needs immediate medical attention. I don't even have a first aid kit." She mumbles this irritably while running a quick scan of Leah. Her own injuries seem to be forgotten for the moment. The sound of a transporter beam draws her attention and she turns and gapes at the two humans. "Who..who are you?"

Leah glances at the newly arrived people, then her eyes rolls up in her head and she passes out.

Without answering Gellan's the two people opened up their kits and took out unfamiliar equipment that somewhat resembled medical instruments. "Hold still," one of them says as he uses the device. The other kneels beside Leah and briefly passes a tricorder over her.

Raxil arrives from the mall, the entrance's double doors sliding silently closed behind him.

Raxil has arrived.

The NZ is in total disarray. Tables are strewn about, chairs are splintered, and a Bolian waitress lies dead on the ground with a head wound. Two people dressed completely in black are working on those still alive.

Gellan just stares at the two humans dressed in black. There's a vague sense of recognition in her expression. "Who /are/ you?" she asks again, ignoring the one who speaks, while waving a hand toward Arton. "Him first..he's badly injured." There's a touch of anger in her voice as she speaks.

A slight groan is heard from where Arton is laying, "Jem.... Hadars...." He gaps painfully, still unaware that the treat as ended, "Jem... Hadars..." He keeps uttering in a mental do loop. He still doesn't have enough strenght to open his eyes.

Leah seems to go in and out as the seconds pass. She definately isn't coherent anymore.

As the two people in black pass their instruments over Leah's and Arton's wounds, the wounds practically heal instantly, leaving not even a scar. As they move onto other injured people, Blutox sees the dead Sileel, and he rushes over to her body.

Raxil steps over to the two in black. "I just got sent down from Ops..." he trails off, gesturing to Leah and Arton. "How are they?"

Dakin arrives from the mall, the entrance's double doors sliding silently closed behind him.

Dakin has arrived.

The NZ is in total disarray. Tables are strewn about, chairs are splintered, and a Bolian waitress lies dead on the ground with a head wound. Two people dressed completely in black are working on those still alive.

Arton winces as he reaches to touch his leg, He finally manages to string up something coherent, "I'll.. Be.." He takes a deep breath, "I'll be fine." He opens his eyes, "What happened to those...." He clenches his teeth, "Them..." With that he slowly sits up too look around the room, noticing the dead waitress and sighs, "I wasn't fast enough..."

Gellan scoots back from where she kneels next to Leah, and then keeps on scooting back, away from the black-clad humans. Her gaze falls on Sileel's body for a moment, and then turns cold a bit cold when she looks back to them. Without a word she keys up her tricorder and runs a scan, gritting her teeth against pain. "Wasn't you who didn't act, John," she says grimly. Standing, she takes another step back and comes up against a chair, which she drops heavily into.

Leah 's eyes flicker open and stay open. She looks up at Gellan and the two black-uniformed Starfleet officers. Raising her hands before her eyes, she stares at them in disbelief for a brief second before starting to struggle to her feet.

The man wearing the black Starfleet uniform glances over his shoulder at Raxil before returning his attention to his task.

Raxil kneels down by Leah, pulling out his tricorder and scanning her vital signs, glancing suspiciously at the two in black before turning back to Leah and Gellan. "What happened?" he asks.

Dakin steps cautiously into the room, surevying the damage. He has a hole inthe back of his uniform, but no corresponding wound for some odd reason. He then rushes over to Leah and Gellan, asking Raxil "They gonna be okay?"

Arton slowly stands up, He doesn't look like he's in any condition of going anywhere. But you try telling him that. "I have to get to engineering. The station must be a mess right now." With that, He slowly staggers toward the door, "Let's just hope the turbolifts are still operational." He turns to Dakin, "What are the damages? And what system is at critical?" He figures the one fresh out of ops should know what's going on.

Seated in a nearby chair, Gellan just sort of sits numbly and watches, her burned hand and arm tucked close to her body. "Are they gone Rann?" She finally asks of Dakin, though her gaze remains glued to the two in black.

"We ambushed some Jem'Hadar, but we couldn't finish them off. They holed us in here, then ... " Leah chokes up and glances off towards Sileel's body a moment, then stares down at the floor. "We tried to stop them from killing her.... we tried...."

Blutox stares in disbelief at Sileel's corpses, shaking his head. "If there are any of them still on the station, I am going to kill them!" he vows. Brushing aside a Starfleet officerin black as she tries to scan him, he rushes out the door in search for and remaining Jem'Hadar.

Raxil shrugs, tapping at the tricorder displays, irritated and perplexed. "This shouldn't be happening... by all rights, you should be dead." he says to Leah. He turns to Gellan. "Counselor? You all right?"

Dakin says to Arton, "Shield generators, hull, and life support on Level 5. In other words, a lot." He then kneels down next to Leah and Gellan. "Yeah, I think we've... sorry, THEY'VE gotten rid of them all." He eyes the black-clad figures, then says to Leah softly, "I know you did, Morgan, I know..."

Dakin's comm badge chirrups, and a voice says, "Ensign Laco to Lieutenant JG Dakin."

Arton winces and chews his lower lip shaking his head, "I'll report to Lieutenant Ghorev right at once... And I don't think anybody is going to court martial me for going on duty right now." He sighs as he heads out of the room, already skipping toward the nearest Turboshaft.

Dakin taps his badge, saying, "Dakin here, Ensign."

From Dakin's comm badge, Laco says, "How're things going down there, Lt?"

Dakin says into his comm badge, "Not great, Leah and Counselor Gellan are down but being treated, place has been shot up all to hell... Sileel's... Sileel's gone...".

From Dakin's comm badge, Laco says, "Alright, thanks Lt."

Dakin reaches up and taps his badge and terminates transmission.

Gellan looks to Raxil and nods slightly. "Just some burns," she says quietly, holding out her arm and hand and staring down at it dumbly. "I was lucky." She shoots another look to the black-clad officers and frowns slightly. "And where did they come from?" Looking back to Dakin, she finally notices the hole in his uniform. "You've been shot..."

"Who -are- they?" Leah asks softly, swaying a little on her feet. "And -why- didn't they come sooner?" She closes her eyes a moment, gathers herself, then looks down at her uniform, frowning at the scorch marks. "Can I borrow your jacket, Rann?" Turning just slightly, she touches one of the polaron-blast caused holes.

As the two medical officers in black finish healing everyone in the NZ, they walk out and proceed to another section of the mall level.

Raxil shrugs off his uniform jacket, beating Dakin to the punch as he hands it to Leah. "Sorry about the blood..." Hooking a chair with his foot, he pulls it over, sitting down, closing his eyes and massaging his temples, smearing some blood across his spots.

Dakin glances to the black-clad officers. "A question I wouldn't mind answered, Sharra." To the comment about the hole in his jacket, "Yeah, don't worry, I'll live." He then pulls a chair uponto its legs and sits himself. "Wasn't sure we were gonna make it outta this one..."

Leah wraps the jacket about her, and gets out a soft, "Thanks," to Raxil before finding a stool, setting it right and sitting down on it. "I feel so cold."

Gellan nods her head slowly, still in a bit of shock. "They could have gotten here sooner," she says as the two officers leave. Giving the bar a final look around, she lets out a long breath and shakes her head, pushing up from the chair. "If the station is safe..I..think I'd like to get out of here. To my quarters, preferably."

Raxil sighs. "Who are these people? Just before I got out of Ops, Lt. Edwards had a serious stomach wound. This medic passes something over it... it disappears... how'd they do that?" he muses quietly to himself.

Gellan heads out and into the Mall.

Gellan has left.

Dakin exhales a bit. "I'm not sure, but Edwards seemed to know that old woman. And what's with the black uniforms?"

A few of those Starfleet officers dressed in black can be seen walking around outside.

Raxil smiles humorlessly. "Shall we ask them?"

Dakin frowns. "Something tells me they wouldn't be too forthcoming."

Raxil shrugs. "Never hurts to make new friends."

Leah shivers where she sits, then stands up. "I don't trust people who beam in like that. They're not Starfleet intelligence either, not from the looks of their uniforms.... I mean, God... I don't know what I mean." She glances towards the replicator, likely inoperable. "I'd better take up drinking coffee..." That said, she walks for the door.