Laco's Parents
Episode Name: Laco's Parents Written By: Raijin & Laco Cast: Clough, Dakin, Edwards, Havaris, Raijin, Kentoz and Laco. Produced By: Starfleet Directed By: Raijin Aired On: Mon Feb 18 01:57:49 2002 Stardate: 52187.7
Time: Sun Feb 17 21:12:32 2002
Stardate: 52187.5
Clough smirks, eyes going to Michael. "Frankly, I don't care /what/ they have so long as everything goes according to plan. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky."
Laco sits in the back of the runabout, scratching his nose.
A comm signal reaches the runabout which James Laco promptly opens in audio. "Y-yes?" A smooth and confident Cardassian voice intones, "Mr. Laco, how good of you to come so quickly. Is Starfleet aware of the runabout theft?" James Laco says, "Not yet. I can't access the files to send them to you," he says as has been scripted, "...so I'm going to let you guys beam aboard and get the PADD the files are on manually. The file is programmed to delete itself if transported, I guess."
Belgarath has left.
Dakin is doing intermittent checks on the weapons systems at the tactical console where he's seated. He stays quiet for now,
Kentoz gulps and watches the viewscreen while rubbing at his life sign shrouding suit. From out of the planetary rings around Irdosia III comes the Namuul class ship. "We are preparing to send one of our men aboard your ship. Drop the shields, Mr. Laco.
Havaris stops fussing with his weapons now that the wait is over. He just tilts his head up a hair and releases a slow sigh from the nose, his gaze shifting over to Lt. Clough. He watches her intently for a good long time.
Edwards glances back at Havaris and Clough and mutters, "Let's hope the Cardassians got their copy of the script." Turning back to face forward, he nods toward Dakin, indicating for him to do as the Cardassians want, and murmurs to Kentoz, "Get ready."
Clough settles back in her seat, waiting silently while the channels are open.
Laco looks at one of his boots.
James Laco says over the comm, "Ye-yes, dropping them now." The man shrugs his shoulders and looks back at the crew.
Dakin nods to Edwards and tabs the command in the console. "Shields lowered."
Havaris pushes up out of his seat without preamble, phaser in hand. He looks to Dakin, apparently as prepared as he's going to get, awaiting orders.
James Laco begins routing the tactical controls to his station and runs his hands across them while gazing at Laco for confirmation.
Edwards grabs his own phaser and turns his chair around, to face the inside of the runabout. Can't have too many phasers ready in case that Cardassian makes it over.
Clough, rather useless with a phaser, herself, settles farther back into her chair, frowning. She glances over toward Kusto and murmurs to him quietly, "I meant what I said, if you get hurt, you'll answer to me." And with that comment made, she finds a smile.
Laco starts fiddling away at his console.
James Laco gulps and watches the team move in to action.
Dakin calls up the commands to deliver the graviton beam so it's a one-button
command within easy reach, then stands away from his console and pulls his
phaser, cycling up the setting for medium stun. His off hand is poised to
deliver the beam when the time's right.
Dakin stands away from his console and pulls his phaser, cycling up the
setting for medium stun.
Kentoz nods at Laco while charging up the inverse graviton field. He scans
the readings being sent to him and furiously punches away at the controls.
"Mr. Laco, what are you doing?!" The Cardassian's voice roars out just
before the Napean nods and releases the wave. A flash of light and the
Cardassian pulses with a surge of lost energy. "Ok, guys. Get ready,"
Kentoz gasps, surprised he got it right. The transporter fires up and all the
officrs save Kentoz find themselves on the Cardassian ship with warning klaxons
wailing.
Edwards glances about swiftly once the scenery changes. "Where is
she?" he questions, looking to Laco. "We need to get her and get out
of here, ASAP."
"Didn't think of that -before- we boarded?" Havaris notes it
levelly, keeping his back to the room as he searches rather habitually for
something to shoot and something to hide behind should he miss. Ahh. Security.
The team arrives in a corridor. Ahead it branches off at a T junction. Behind
it dead ends. Two ways to go at this point.
Clough moves nearer to the middle of the group, away from either end where
Cardiassians are likely to come running. Being the least battle-ready member of
the party, her course of action for the time being is to stay out of the way.
Her eyes narrow thoughtfully.
Laco flips out his tricorder, and begins scanning for human lifesigns.
Laco, still looking at the tricorder, states, "Right."
Dakin clenches his phaser tightly in his hand then turns to Edwards. Nodding
to the right exit, he asks, "I got point, sir?"
Edwards nods to Dakin and motions for him to head right. "Havaris, you
take up the rear." he orders. That said, he prepares to follow behind Dakin.
From above, a Cardassian voice hollars out, "Security! Intrusion on
level 2, section 1!"
"Aye, sir." Knowing they'll be going right, Kusto gives a quick
dart of the head to the left and moves out into the corridor in a nice oblique
in tandem with Dakin's move. Doing as ordered. Covering the rear.
Clough keeps with the group, satisfied to remain in the middle. She watches
Laco with a light smirk, but says nothing to anyone. Her hand lowers to rest
near the phaser she does, at least, carry - not that it'll serve her
particularly well here.
Laco continues scanning away.
Dakin indeed starts to make his way at the head of the group, carefully
checking the corner, and assuming he's met with no resistance, makes his way
into the right-side corridor.
Edwards alternates between looking ahead and making sure the people behind
him are still okay as he trails after Dakin. "She's close by, I hope?"
he questions of Laco. "Only thing that could make this mission go more
smoothly is if she were on the opposite end."
Havaris waits for the whole party to clear their point of entry before
backing away along the corridor, one hand kept behind him to prevent him to
bumping in to someone and proving Edwards wrong.
Laco says "Uh...about thirty meters, but there's some bulkheads in the
way.""
Dakin frowns. "There any quick way around them? I emphasize 'quick'
since it would appear we're about to have company."
Some stomping can be heard from Havaris's direction. Whoever's coming isn't
in sight...yet.
Edwards frowns at the mention of the bulkhead. "And I left my explosives
back home." he comments. "We need the quickest route all the way
there, Mr. Laco."
"Company," Havaris comments loud enough for those behind him to
hear, "get some cover." Kusto himself manages some zen-like state of
calm at the sound of approaching stomps. He lowers himself to the ground, taking
a knee, hugging the wall to present an unexpected and therefore exceedingly
lethal target.
Needless to say, Havaris's phaser is at the ready.
Clough glances over her shoulder once at the sound of the approaching
stomping, but even so, she doesn't stop moving. Head flipping back forward, she
looks for some of that suggested cover.
The corridor stretches forward and then T junctions again. Doors are on each
wall but probably won't open for you. The team is in the open. It's fight or
flight
Laco has partially disconnected.
Laco says "Straight ahead and to the left."
Dakin hugs the opposite wall from Havaris, phaser aimed towards the opposite
end. Switching glances from one end of the corridor to the other.
Two Cardassians rush out in to the corridor. As they charge forward, the ship
rocks hard, sending them crashing against the walls in mid stride while
clutching to their weapons.
Edwards notices the Cardassians before they can get to the junction. He
reaches out to grab a hold of Clough's arm, so he can pull her behind him, and
fires his phaser at the stumbling troops. Who needs cover? "Laco, get
down!" he orders.
GAME: Edwards spends a courage point.
Edwards's target takes a beam of phased energy in the chest and collapses
before he knows what hits him.
Havaris does his job, simply put. Trusting Dakin at his side, he sights down
the only remaining target and releases a rather pleasant burst of phaser fire.
The second Cardassian falls backwards and lands squarely on his tail before
collapsing next to his comrade.
Clough knew all of those gymnastics lessons would pay off one day. She
manages to maintain her footing in spite of both the ship's sudden rocking and
Edwards' dragging. Of course, the fact that he goes down within the next second
does very little to make the movement smooth or graceful. She drops to one knee
immediately and has her tricorder in hand before her heart even has time to
beat. "How bad?" is all she asks as she scans.
Laco is knocked off his feet by the rocking ship, and covers his head with
his arms once he hits the deck.
Dakin keeps his phaser aimed towards the corridor where their Cardassian
hosts arrived as he goes over to help Laco to his feet with his free hand.
"You all right, Mr. Laco?"
Kentoz's voice echos from the commpins. "Hope it isn't too rough, sirs.
They're trying to raise security systems and anti-intrusion fields. I'll keep
their engineering crew distracted as long as I can."
"Sorry about that, Callie." Edwards apologizes as he releases his
grip on her arm. "C'mon, people. Let's get this done with." He turns
back to face the T-junction they were previously headed toward and motions for
Dakin to retake the lead.
Havaris remains in position. No point in getting up out of a perfectly
comfortable crouch with the doors locked, closed, and that fact not changing
anytime soon. "You okay, Clough?" He doesn't turn his head to ask the
question, simply pitching it loud enough to be heard.
Clough smiles lightly, getting herself off the wall she was pushed against
and slipping back into her position near the middle. "Just a bit of
manhandling here and there, I'm fine, Lieutenants."
Laco gets onto his hands and knees, catching his breath for a moment.
Standing, he looks about the deck for his tricorder.
Dakin nods to Edwards and heads over to the corner, as before checking it
carefully for any newcoming resistance. Before he makes his way in, he asks Laco
without looking in his direction, "How much further do we have to go?"
Edwards begins to move behind Dakin once again. While he walks, he's careful
to maintain his balance, just in case Kentoz feels a need to cause some more
shakeups.
Havaris waits for the team to fall back a ways before abandoning his
position. He rises efficiently and pads backwards as he had before, taking his
cover at the corner once the team rounds it.
Laco spots his tricorder by the wall, and stoops over to pick it up. He
frowns at it for a second, then gives it a quick, hard *WHACK* on its side with
the heel of his hand. He looks at its small display screen while rubbing the
back of his head with his free hand. "Uhm..pretty close. Just around that
corner. Forward then left."
Dakin nods then proceeds before giving either side of their exit another
cursory glance.
Edwards follows along behind Dakin and trusts that the Bajoran won't get them
all lost. "Someone remind me to send a message to the Cardassian Central
Command about these convoluted corridors." he remarks.
"Make sure it ticks." Havaris can't really contain his contempt.
It's not as though he's trying, of course. He remains at the corner, keeping an
eye on their rear as the part starts to round the next bend, falling back once
the first around around.
Clough smirks at Michael's back. "I'm sure they'll take your suggestions
under advisement." Her mouth clamps down then abruptly, threatening to take
off a part of her tongue. After a moment to wince over the new wound, she
comments quietly, "The Union doesn't seem to be particularly pleased with
us just now."
Dakin leads the group through the winding corridors. "The feeling is
VERY mutual, Callie..." He peeks around each corner before waving the rest
of the team towards him and heading in himself.
Edwards spares a glance back at Havaris after that, but can't really disagree
with him. "I'd imagine that's why they're trying to kill all of us and
destroy the Federation." he replies after Clough's comment.
Havaris falls back easily until he's positioned at the next corner. His
attention, as ever, is focussed forward. It's always when you're glancing back
that they charge en masse, after all. "Less talk, more stalk."
Clough speeds her steps just a touch, bringing her directly behind Edwards. A
hand stretches out to touch his back, using him now as her guide dog. Any
chancing a glance at her will see that her thoughts are clearly elsewhere.
Dakin continues to lead the team through the maze of the ship's interior,
somewhat glad the chatter behind him's come to something of a hiatus.
Edwards does glance at Clough briefly, then turns his attention back to the
front. Always good to pay attention when you're on a ship full of the enemy. For
now, he withholds any commentary.
Havaris falls into the easy rhythm of holding a corner, waiting a ten count
and falling back. It becomes clockwork, and he does it in silence.
Clough murmurs, just loud enough to be heard. "Watch yourself, Rann.
We're heading right for them." After a displeased pause, she adds in a
grumble, "I think."
Dakin murmurs back, also in a voice only audible to those immediately
present, "Copy that, Callie," as he continues to carefully make his
way deeper, the grip on his phaser tightening slightly.
As the team continues along this corridor, a second hallway juts out from the
right. It's either straight ahead towards a brownish door or around the corner
to the right.
Edwards tenses a bit as he hears the new. But he's not so much worried as
getting prepared for whatever may come their way. "Non-combatants stay
behind the combatants when any targets are sighted." he murmurs.
"Which way, Laco?"
"Stick near Edwards, Clough." Kusto notes that quietly from his
position at the corner. This doesn't seem to be a problem, however. Not that he
can see.
Clough mutters, this time to herself, "Here's hoping they're a deck or
so above us." Shaking her head in frustration, she continues to frown as
she awaits directions from Laco. "Right up until he starts shooting,"
she comments over her shoulder toward Kusto in a slightly louder voice.
Laco says "Straight."
Dakin nods to the assembled and carefully proceeds straight forward.
Edwards eyes the brown door that's at the end of the corridor warily as they
approach it. "Here's hoping that that's the promised land." he mutters
under his breath.
Havaris falls back more rapidly now. If things heat up in there, the rear is
going to be the least of their concerns. He spares glances backwards as he
moves, more for the speed of it than necessity, pausing when he's flush with the
rest of the group. Since nobody's looking, he flashes a quick smile towards
Callie, accompanied by a wink, then turns his attentions back up the corridor,
game face in place.
Clough speaks up again, carrying on her conversation quietly, and with the
air judging by the attention she actually gives those nearby. "They think
we're after the... bridge, not the prisoner. One is prepared to fight and the
other thinks it's a waste of time. I'm counting only three total, one being Mrs.
Laco. She seems in good enough condition just now. But... they could always
decide to use her as the hostage she is. Be careful, there could be more.
They're just... quiet." That said, she lets go of Edwards' back and
straightens, her attention returning to the corridor. From her belt she
retrieves her tricorder with one hand while the other hovers over her phaser. A
return smile is given to Kusto, though she is still somewhat dazed.
Dakin looks over to Edwards and nods to the door. "Light it up?"
The door stands in front of the team but does not open.
Edwards offers a simple nod to Dakin in response. As he does so, he motions
for Havaris to come up to the front. "We want to hit them with everything
we got," he comments, "Right away."
"My kind of plan." Havaris abadnons the rear as ordered, turning
about to step around Callie and take a position near the front. "I pray to
the Prophets you never become an Admiral." A blithe aside to Edwards,
keeping things light.
Clough falls back a step, watching The Three Amigos prepare for their
performance. Quietly, she points out. "Mrs. Laco is with them. Please be
careful that she isn't injured in the fire. And... why not /try/ the door,
first?" Ah well, it had to be said.
Dakin looks over to Edwards. "Might be a good idea to check it for
possible ricochets. Laco?"
Edwards comments to Havaris, "What can I say? I like shooting
things." When Clough speaks up, he frowns. Women. Always gotta ruin the
best laid plans. "Are there any controls, Rann?"
On closer inspection of the door, there is a small keypad by the right hand
side of the door. It's in Cardassian, however.
Havaris just waits. It's not that hard.
GAME: Clough spends a courage point.
Clough glowers at the world in general, saying nothing. The keypad, in
particular, bears the brunt of her irritation.
Dakin frowns at the keypad also. "Well, we have two options. Try to hack
the keypad or blow the door. I'm for the direct approach myself. Laco, can you
get an exact location on your mother and is she far enough away that blowing
this door won't hurt her? Or for that matter, will trying to blow the door hurt
us?"
Edwards looks to Laco and waits to hear what he has to say. He's getting
antsy, though. Being forced to stand right outside the room that holds their
rescuee gives him the feeling that most people get he night before Christmas. He
doesn't wanna wait anymore.
"We could always knock?" Kusto's dry suggestion as he pantomimes a
rapping at the air. "Cardassians are exceedingly levelheaded.
Physiologically speaking." Ha ha. Ha. His gaze turns back over his
shoulder, followed by his body. Let them decide. He's watching the rear again.
Laco says "Uh..how about we try the keypad?"
Dakin says to Edwards. "I'm for letting him try to hack it. That doesn't
work..." He hefts his phaser. "There's always our passkeys here."
Edwards remarks, "Oh, for--" He cuts himself off, since he's in
charge and must lead by example, and shakes his head, "Stand back
people." That said, he jacks his phaser up to 'holy shit' and prepares to
turn the door into a gooey mess when everyone's out of his way.
Havaris isn't quite certain what example this is setting, but it does get him
to turn around and pay attention. He, too, humbs his phaser up to 'holy shit',
and takes aim at the door, just in case a pair of holy shits are in fact
required.
A beam of phased energy lances out from Edward's phaser and connects with the
door. It burns a lovely indent and leaves that section red hot but doesn't
completely burn through on it's own. Darned reinforced security doors.
Clough sighs and steps back and to the side. "So much for having
surprise on our side. I'd expect company in the near future."
Dakin cranks up his phaser setting and adds a setting-15 beam of his own to
Edwards' and Havaris'. "Laco, see if you can hack the keypad... unless
anyone here can read Cardassian..."
The door shoots open revealing two very confused looking Cardassians. Seeing
the Starfleet officers spur them in to action as they pull their weapons from
their holsters.
Edwards blinks. "Whoops." he comments. Relying mostly on instinct,
he unleashes another phaser blast at one of the Cardassians. Good thing they're
at war, since he doesn't have time to change his setting.
The Cardassian glows a bright crimson as the beam impacts him, leaving
nothing but vapor in it's wake.
Havaris uses this excuse himself. He actually grins a touch, too. A quick aim
is taken as he fires down on the second Cardassian.
Clough flattens herself against the wall, trying to blend neatly into it as
she slides down to a lower crouch - presenting less of a target for the oncoming
Cardassians. She edges forward a half-step, watching both the team and their
adversaries and looking for an opening to get into the room beyond where Mrs.
Laco waits.
And the opening appears in the form of a bright red flash. There isn't even
any bio material left to make a mess with.
Dakin eases his way partially into the room once the Cardassians are vaped
and trains his phaser on the outer edges of the room in case there are more
Cardassians here than visible. He also keeps a wary eye for Mrs. Laco.
In the security room, the form of a middle-aged woman sits in shock within a
holding cell. A field is visibly flickering within the doorway. "Wha-what's
going on," she exclaims in shock and a little relief.
Edwards jacks his weapon back down to heavy stun now that the Cardassians
have become so more vapor. As much as he enjoys level fifteen, it is a drain on
the power pack. That done, he moves to enter the security station.
Havaris returns to his initial orders. Guarding the rear. He powers down his
own weapon somewhat reluctantly, turning about to guard the way they'd come,
stepping back to the corner to lay in wait.
Clough darts into the room from her low position against the wall, shooting
past Michael and Kusto and meeting up with Rann inside. She trusts her
additional senses to find Mrs. Laco and avoid any hidden enemies far more than
she trusts the typical five.
Dakin steps fully into the room and looks it over a bit before noticing the
central control panel. He dials down his phaser to light disrupt and aims it
towards the panel. "Blow it?" he asks Edwards.
Mrs. Laco stares at the team and asks, "Will somebody tell me
something?!"
Edwards frowns as Clough darts past him. He shakes his head and enters the
security station. "Mrs. Laco, we're your sons crewmates from Station 419.
We're here to rescue you." he states, trying to reassure the woman.
"I'm Leftenant Edwards." While that hopefully calms her down a little,
he glances to Dakin, "Do it."
Clough moves over to the cell that holds Mrs. Laco, waiting before the
flickering shield until something is done about it. She smiles gently at the
human woman and explains quietly. "The cavalry's here, Mrs. Laco. Your son
is waiting nearby, and your husband is on board one of our runabouts outside,
waiting for your transport back to him. Hold on tight and we'll have you home
again in time for dinner." Continuing the trend of brief introductions, she
adds, "I'm Doctor Clough, but Callie will do fine." How's that for
telling her something? She finishes telling the woman something with a
suggestion to step back, then fits similar actions to her words so that the
field can fizzle without snapping too near to either woman.
Dakin nods to Edwards, turns towards the panel once again, and thumbs the
trigger on his phaser.
A lance of phased energy and the result...a burned out console. It may have
had /control/ of the field but it sure wasn't providing the energy to the field.
Edwards watches Dakin blast the controls... and watches the forcefield
continue to stay in place. "Someone shoot me." he remarks. No, he's
not enjoying this mission. "What happened?"
Clough sighs, "Nothing in life ever comes easily, I'm afraid." She
turns from the woman to her companions. "Any more suggestions? I'd say we
missed the power supply and just shot our chances of picking the lock." No
sarcasm there, nope.
Dakin fumes slightly as _that_ plan didn't work. Or is it because he finally
got to shoot something and it didn't help at all. Oh well. He cranes his head
over towards the cell, specifically the control pad next to it. "We're not
sunk yet, Callie..."
Mrs. Laco jumps at the phaser blast then regains her composure while
listening to Clough. She nods at Dakin and says, "Ahh, I've seen the
Cardassians tap on the keypad by my cell door before, but I don't know what they
type.
Edwards glowers at Clough. If looks could kill... "Well anyone have any
good ideas?" he questions. "Because I'm not good with Cardassian
security codes."
From outside of the bulkhead, Kusto's voice rings out. "There's a pour
relay to this section of the ship somewhere. Do what you do best and shoot it a
lot." Hard to tell if there's a joke in there somewhere or not.
Clough glances toward the sound of Kusto's voice, then asks the room at
large, "Any guesses where that power relay might be? Cardassian ship
schematics are not a hobby of mine."
Dakin looks over towards Laco. "Can you scan the relay?"
"Unless Cardassians have invented a new way to relay power? If you can
get behind the control panel, you might be able to cut the power to the whole
control panel. If they've got the generator running on a separate relay, see if
you can't get into the ceiling. Where -is- the field originating from,
anyhow?" Kusto's voice, nearer the bulkhead, his head poking in to get a
feel for the room.
Dakin hops up onto the deadened control console and tries to knock loose one
of the ceiling plates. "Good question..." he grunts to Havaris while
he hammers at the plating.
The ship lurches again as the compinns chime. "USS Aegis here. We're
keeping the Namuul's shields down but they're starting to regenerate power.
Hurry up and get the target out of there!"
"Working on it Aegis," Havaris replies to the hail, "keep us
advised." Kusto decides covering the way they'd come is taking a low
priority to mission critical objectives. "Clough, watch that door. If
anyone rounds the corner, shout something to that effect and get down."
Yeah. He can't give orders, but he can't very well abandon the door, either. A
glance to Mrs. Laco. "I'm a real big fan." That's perhaps, another of
his jokes that isn't. He glances once more around the room, frowning a lot.
"Havaris to Aegis. Can you shoot this thing where it hurts? The target's
behind a forcefield, and we're having a hard time getting it down. Advise."
Clough muses, "Think the Aegis could cut power to the ship in general?
We don't really need to breathe for the few seconds it would take to transport
us out once that field is down." She shrugs. It may be a last resort plan,
but it's better than being the Cardassians' newest prisoner. Besides, Kusto
doesn't seem so opposed to the idea, either. She heads for the door as
requested.
Dakin looks to Clough briefly. "Callie, I like it." He slaps his
combadge. "Aegis, this is Lt. Dakin. If there's some way you can target
this ship's power systems, we should have plenty of life support left for an
evac..."
"Warp core is still low, auxillary should only power life support and
basic systems. We can knock out their impulse system but it's pretty risky to
everyone involved."
"Define pretty risky, Aegis. Over." Kusto's voice into the air.
"Pretty risky as in if the engine ruptures, you are only 20 meters
away."
Clough, while waiting for the Aegis' reply, comments to the room, "If
someone's by that opening when the field falls to latch onto Mrs. Laco, and the
Amazon already has a lock on us, then couldn't the transfer take place
simultaneously with the blast? It's still risky, I'll grant you, but even though
I don't have as much against the Cardassians as some of you might, being a newly
acquired slave doesn't sit well with me."
Dakin frowns then thinks for a minute. "Aegis, Lt. Dakin again. Can you
scan our location and pinpoint the direct power feed for the room we're
in?"
"Negative, Lieutenant. They've regained enough power to the warp core to
power up their hull somehow and create an energy sheath. The good news is they
aren't trying to raise the security systems at the moment."
"Aegis, if I can fight my way into the engine room, should I be able to
cut power from there? Over." Kusto again.
Clough looks between the two men, waiting expectantly. Belatedly remembering
her 'job', she turns her eyes back out into the corridor.
"If you can figure out how to operate the Cardassian controls, yes. I
wouldn't recommend trying to blow up the engine room, however. The warp core is
somewhat unstable after that inverse graviton beam."
Dakin grumbles a Bajoran curse. "Prophets' sakes... all right. That
tears it." He hops down off the console and goes over towards the keypad.
He sets to work trying to get into the guts of the mechanism and disable it that
way.
GAME: Dakin spends a courage point.
"I'll see if I can't pick up a prisoner along the way. It's our best
shot right now. Keep this channel open, Aegis. I'll be in touch." Kusto
glances towards Dakin, noting simply, "I'm going to try for the engine
room, Rann. Have the Aegis notify me if you get that shield down." He
begins pacing for the bulkead, straddling the scarred metal, pausing to see if
this route works, glancing towards Callie with a shrug.
A spark, a flash, but no dice.
Clough is, to say the very least, not pleased with Kusto's choice of actions.
She frowns severely. "I think I'd rather take our chances at blowing all
power to the ship. Like I said, we don't need to breathe to transport." And
that's about as direct a 'don't go' as she can manage.
Unfortunately, Callie isn't in charge of Kusto. Not under these conditions.
He gives the woman an unreadable -- outwardly -- expression and glances towards
Dakin with simple request. "Sir?"
Dakin grumbles and shakes his head. "This is so very much not my day...
yeah, Kusto, what?" He's slightly annoyed but not towards his XO.
"My plan, sir? The engine room?"
Clough's temples bulge as she clenches her teeth. Her eyes narrow and cut in
Dakin's direction. With effort, she manages not to shake her head or say
anything at all. Finally, she does speak up, clearly irritated. "We've been
shooting everything else, why not shoot /that/ panel, too? We /aren't/ going to
hack it.
Dakin nods and shrugs. "Fine. Mrs. Laco, please move to the back of the
cell as far away from this keypad as you can." He aims his phaser at the
keypad, still set on light-disrupt and fires.
A wise man once said that any problem can be solved with massive destructive
force. Perhaps it is better to say that /proper/ use of destructive force wins
the day. The control panel fries under the beam of phased energy and the field
flickers before dying out. A short moment later, the lights black out to be
replaced by a dark crimson lighting and the warning klaxons change tone.
"Aegis to away team. Get out of there now! They've overloaded their warp
core and have engaged the self destruct sequence!"
Dakin growls into his combadge. "Dakin to Aegis! We have her! Six to
transport NOW!!"
Havaris glances down at Callie and nods calmly over to Mrs. Laco. See? That
wasn't so hard. He steps back into the room a pace to get a clearer signal.
Assuming, of course, they still have them. Which, given previous events would
probably be a gross over simplification of things.
Clough heads rapidly back to the group of officers plus one freed hostage.
"Shouldn't we be heading to the Amazon? They /should/ have the lock on us
already." And so saying, she slaps her own compin, giving the same order -
this time to the Amazon. "Whoever gets us first is fine with me." Not
picky, this one.
The ship rocks presumably under phaser fire. "Energy sheath disabled.
Routing you to the runabout, transport engaged." Mrs. Laco and the away
team disappear and rematerialize on the runabout with Ensign Kentoz and a very
panicked Mr. Laco. "Rebecca!" he cries out joyfully.
Dakin wastes no time strapping himself into the tactical seat.
"Everyone, strap in! Kentoz, get us out of here!"
"Aye aye, sir!" The Napean takes the controls and turns the
runabout around in a tight 180. Less than half a minute later at full impulse
there is a flash of light and an explosion from the Namuul, leaving a charred
husk behind. "Amazon, this Aegis. We're going to stay behind and collect
the debris for Starfleet Intelligence. Proceed to Station 419 at your
discretion."
"Mr. Laco, Mrs. Laco, you need to take your seats, please." Kusto's
really not one to ruin a happy reunion. So he motions them, at the very least,
to seats that are side by side. The Bajoran himself moves to settle in at a seat
near the back, powering down his phaser, clipping it to his side in his usual,
quietly brooding silence.
Clough doesn't exactly obey Dakin's orders - but she doesn't disobey them,
either. She leads Mr. and Mrs. Laco to their seats and kneels before the latter.
Her tricorder comes to hand and she begins scanning the woman for injuries. If
she gets knocked around a little, at least with her current position the
injuries won't be horrid.
Dakin tabs a communications channel open. "Copy that, Aegis. See you
when we see you. Amazon out." He sighs and looks over towards the Lacos
then to Callie, "Everything good, Doctor?"
James Laco embraces his wife and sits down beside her as instructed.
"Thank you! I...I'm sorry I didn't trust you like I should have
before." He smiles sheepishly and goes back to attending to his wife.
The thing about brooding silences is that they're silent. And brooding. Which
makes Kusto more furniture than man.
Clough removes the few remaining bruises on the woman's body, then closes
down her tricorder and heads over to where Kusto has found a seat.
"Everything's better now, Rann. Let's just get home." She looks over
at her betrothed and tilts her head, "Are you alright?" she asks
quietly.
Dakin nods to Mr. Laco. "Everything's worked out, Mr. Laco, I have no
complaints." Following a brief concerned glance towards Havaris, he says to
Kentoz, "Best speed back to the station, Ensign."
Kentoz says "Aye aye, sir."
