Lines on the Map

 Episode Name:  Lines on the Map

   Written By:  Fortunae

         Cast:  Blair, Idrani, Medes, Park, Poole, and Turtledove.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Fortunae

     Aired On:  Fri Sep 27 04:13:43 2002

     Stardate:  52663.1

Time: Sun Sep 22 20:26:39 2002

Stardate: 52652.7

(Mission Briefing) "Sector Command has concluded after the recent discovery on Fimdari that it is indeed the next target for a ground invasion. Your team is one of four being dispatched to Fimdari along with supplies to strengthen the planetary defenses against Dominion attack. Your mission is to coordinate with the local ADF forces and assist with the installation of planetary defense guns, phaser artillery positions and urban defense shields. You were flown to Fimdari along with the other construction teams from Dulcais on the U.S.S. Sutherland which is remaining in stationary orbit until your mission is concluded. "

(Scene) Six sparkles of light appear in the cleared out circle of grass. As the figures inside the light solidify they are revealed to be the crew of Station 419 sent to Fimdari for this mission. Around their arrival point are the 24th century camp elements, portable shelters, a cooking area, a toiletry station on the outskirts of camp. Andorians in camouflage uniforms with subdued rank pips following Starfleet lines and shoulder tabs bearing the Federation Standard Letters ADF, look to the new arrivals by turning their heads or just their antennae. The Andorians are all armed with a bullpup variant of the Phaser III-C.

Poole sighs as the transport finishes, straightening her jacket as she steps forward. Giving the Andorians a nod, she starts off with an introduction, "Salutations... I'm Lieutenant Poole... And these are my officers for this mission."

Running a hand through her persistently unruly hair, Medes tugs on her left ear and wrinkles her nose slightly, remaining silent and in observation mode for the time being.

Park simply looks at his new surroundings and remains silent.

Blair glances around, rolling his shoulders slightly and getting a residual tingle from the transporter out, electing to just shut up and watch for the moment.

Turtledove stands quietly, waiting. She surveys the immediate area slowly while she waits. She seems relaxed.

Idrani remains quiet as well, observing her ADF counterparts.

An apparently youthful Andorian steps out of those clustered around the camp and moves to meet the officers from Starfleet. "Greetings and Welcome, Lt. Poole and... your fellow officers." He smiles casually looking to each of officers for a moment, casting a wink to the only Andorian among them. "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Gher Aldin of the Andorian Defense Force mission to Fimdari. We are grateful you could make it down to lend a hand. Our mission in this area is to establish a fortified planetary defense phaser battery, as well as establish sites for precision defensive artillery and defense screens for the facility. I've been instructed to turn my command over to you and for all of us to provide as much assistance as we can. Where would you like to start, ma'am?"

"Very good, Lieutenant Aldin. I believe we should start with what humans like to call a pow-wow," Lt. Poole says, smiling at the young ADF officer. "Let's move into your operations center and begin analyzing the task at hand. I imagine we should start with surveying the surrounding area for an optimum location..."

Park is absolutely out of his element, here, and settles for walking slowly around the area, occasionally spying an interesting looking plant or flower and stooping over to inspect it.

Medes remains in idle observation mode, taking in the conversants. She folds her hands behind her back once one of them tries to escape and futz with her hair again.

Blair looks around, one hand reaching up and awkwardly holding the back of his neck as he quietly surveys the facilities. His jaw sets to one side thoughtfully as he looks the small base camp over.

Turtledove stays put. She remains relatively still, keeping an eye on things.

Idrani gives Lieutenant Aldin the faintest of smiles in response to his wink. Her body posture is calm and relaxed, while maintaining professionalism.

(Scene) Following Lt Poole's decision to relocate, the crew follows Lt Aldin to the prefab building that the ADF team is using for thier command post. Inside are field computers with projection screens showing the area in a variety of formats. Air conditioners inside blew a cool wind throughout, and a few Andorians follow the crew into the tent, perhaps to work, perhaps to check out the company. Lieutenant Aldin, focuses on his business outlining the points of the area and the equipment involved while a few of his subordinants pass out camp rations to their guests, or try to engage in idle conversation.

GAME: Poole spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Poole (claiming advantage) contests her Command (Starship) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

Poole nods and starts taking in the data, filtering through it to find what needs to be done and who is best suited to work at the tasks ahead. Smiling, she turns and regards the other officers, her voice confident as she starts giving out orders. "Ensign Medes, I'm assigning you to the construction teams, assisting in the shell construction, bunkers and the like. Ensign Blair, I want you supervising the component installation of the shield grid and the weapon circuitry." Turning to Park, she says, "Lt. Park... If you could focus on keeping up ADF morale... and smoothing out any differences we might come to have with them. I understand what they are facing here." A look to Idrani, "Ensign Idrani, you'll be acting our people here and the ADF officers. We have to work as a cogent unit here... there's a lot of work to be done." And last but not least, Poole turns to Turtledove. "Ensign... You are in charge of keeping us safe, as always. Not many of us are used to the dangers our current jungle environment might present."

Park nods with a smile and approaches Lieutenant Aldwin, offering his hand. "Hello, I'm fellow crewman Aaron Park. If you can find someone to show me around a little bit, I'd be most appreciative."

GAME: Park spends a courage point.

Apparently her assignment agrees with Ensign Medes rather well, as her face splits into a wide grin. A nod seems to suffice as response, along with, "Sir," before she accepts rations from one of Aldin's subordinates and pauses before the aforementioned Andorian. "If I could be directed toward the construction teams, sir, I'd be much obliged," she submits, after he's had a change to address Park.

Blair raises both eyebrows for a moment, then blows a small breath out. "Right," he murmurs, one hand reaching down and tapping lightly on his tricorder. After a moment, he looks around, unsure precisely who to ask, and so says a bit broadly, "Does the site for installation already exist, or do we need to find it before we put everything together...?"

Turtledove takes what's given to her by the Andorians with a smile, thanking the Andorians quietly as she listens to Aldin. She discourages any idle conversation by smiling apologetically and tilting her head discretely toward the speaking Lieutenant. She takes a more alert stance as Poole starts doling out orders, and grins as Poole outlines her responsibilities. She nods precisely. "Yes, sir." She glances around, and moves to scope out a good vantage point for monitoring the safety of the unit.

Idrani nods. "Aye, sir." She says, acknowledging Poole's order. She moves to stand a little behind Lt. Park, as their jobs seem to co-incide.

<CONTEST> Park (claiming advantage) contests his Persuasion (Counseling) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Idrani (claiming advantage) contests her Diplomacy (Federation Law) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Blair (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!

<CONTEST> Medes contests her Material Engineering (Civil) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Turtledove (claiming advantage) contests her Planetside Survival (Jungle)) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

(Act II ) (Scene) Over the course of a two days you work alongside your crewmates and the ADF to erect the 4 story tall gun emplacement and it's duracrete bunker and trench system under the blazing equatorial sun of Fimdari. For some of you this is the most back breaking activity you have participated in since the academy despite the assistance of micro-tractor beams and other technological wonders. The defense bunker is nearing completion and you are all in the ADF Engineer's tent discussing sites to place the mammoth segments of the surface defense shields that will complete this fortification. Parks has done wonders to keep the mood upbeat and everyone happily focused on their labors, which is important as Blair's and Medes' projects fall behind schedule, sometimes due to complications of the environment, sometimes due to conflicts between ADF and Starfleet methods. Fortunately Ensign Idrani has been able to smooth out these conflicts before duels were issued, in some cases, just in time. Ensign Turtledove has been vigilant about the hazards of this area, and more than once has issued a timely warning that has prevented an injury. Suddenly, the communications station in the tent starts a broadcast in Graalen, translated for most of you by the combadge on your chest.

"Citizens of Fimdari. The U.S.S. Sutherland broke orbit twenty minutes ago to investigate a sensor shadow near the edge of our system. Seven minutes ago our communications grid picked up a garbled message from the Sutherland followed by a distress call. Two minutes ago our planetary sensors registered an explosion that is suggestive of starship falling to enemy fire. The AAS station claims that there is a Dominion Task Force moving on an attack and deployment trajectory towards this planet, though we have been unable to confirm their report independently. The colonial governor and ADF commander have thus put the entire planet on High Alert and suggest that all citizens arm themselves and prepare to defend their liberty. May the Six Hundred Gods be with you all."

Even as you take a pause to adjust to this new development, you can hear the whine of the alert siren near the defense bunker. The Dominion have come to Fimdari

Poole 's face becomes stoney as she looks to her officers, "We will /not/ let the Dominion take this planet. We've drawn our line in the sand. If they bloody step over it, it's their funeral, right?" She checks to make sure each officer is armed.

Medes, already displeased, sets her face in a slight scowl which looks unfortunately rather at home on her face. Her only response, however, is a nod.

Park checks his phaser quickly and then makes a thourough check of the medical kit that he picked up. Grim determination is written all over his face as he follows Poole and his shipmates to their defense point.

Blair runs one hand back through sweating hair, eyes narrowing slightly, lips pressing into a thin line as one hand draws his phaser free and begins double-checking and altering settings. His eyes dart between the others in his group for a moment before he squeezes his eyes shut, beginning to move after the others with quick steps.

Turtledove takes a quick glance at the other members of her unit, maintaining her characteristically calm exterior. She is all business, though, as she follows her unit into position.

Idrani seems to take the news of the attack in stride. To a non-Andorian, she appears very calm and methodic, a proud member of a warrior species. She has the standard issue Phaser 1, of course, but obviously favors her Keth's chosen weapon. Her hand moves to caress the leather-wrapped hilt of the hrisal at her hip. "I am ready." She says, simply.

Idrani reveals her Type I Phaser.

Turtledove wields her Type I Phaser.

Blair reveals his Type I Phaser.

Blair wields his Type I Phaser.

Time: Thu Sep 26 22:05:13 2002

Stardate: 52662.5

"Alright. We should head for the cannon's bunker," Poole says, starting to lead the way towards the cannon's bunker. "Medes. Blair. I want you two to get that cannon operational and it's shields up. The rest of us are going to concentrate on keeping the area around the bunker and the bunker itself secure while you do that."

Lt Aldin leaps from his position and is outside of the structure before the second alarm blast is heard, you can hear him and other officers barking orders and yells of complience. After a moment, Lt Aldin returns and says, "Can we get those firing positions online?"

A glance sidelong from Medes to Blair, and the former nods, a bit uncomfortably holding her phaser in her left hand. "Right. Let's go." Without further ado, she books it toward the machine in question. /This,/ at least, she looks fairly confident about.

Park hefts up his Medical Kit, holds tight to his phaser and keeps himself in the middle of the little formation as they move.

Blair grimaces in response, lips pressing a bit thinly as he returns Medes' look before checking his phaser and sprinting. "Recommend shields first," he calls out, glancing back over his shoulder once before he keeps moving.

Turtledove acknowledges Poole's order with a nod. She hefts her Type III and follows Poole et al to the bunker. On the way, her eyes stray to the sky, searching.

Idrani speaks to Lt. Aldin quickly, "We're issued Phaser Ones. Those aren't going to do anything against the Jem'Hadar. Do you have anything stronger that the ADF can loan us?"

Lt Aldin, stops short at the question and says, "We have some extra carbines over at the ammo bunker, we can bring them up to your position." He then breaks from the moving Starfleet crew group and runs a different direction, the alarm still sounds about the camp but the other Andorians are becoming more scarce as they settle into their defensive positions along the perimeter.

The crew runs up the gradual rise from the construction camp, hustling over the embankment of the duracrete sides of the trench line and then running low and lean single file through that network of firing points and grenade sumps until they reach the fortified stairs leading into the Defense Point facility which houses the guns, the shield generators and the fire and control station. Bringing the shields the rest of the way online will require a trip to the subbasement power interlace grid to establish the last connections. Bringing the defense batteries online will require a different trip to the fortified computer core beneath the fire and control station to finish connecting all the Friend or Foe recognition chips and link those into the targeting scanners.

Out of the sniper port windows they can see ADF troops bringing the transport inhibiters around the trench line up, ordnance guys running down the trenches passing out photon grenades, some young troopers rolling out optical cable to establish a back-up communications arrangement lest the subspace channels start being jammed, and throughout all of this the alarms continue to wail.

Poole pauses to take a defensive position and looks back at her officers. "Alright, this is where we make our stand... Blair, Medes, get the shields up and the cannon operational." She adjusts her own weapon, "Set phasers to level seven." A pause. "They're going to come in shrouded. Any ideas on how to light them up?"

"Yes, sir," begins Medes in reply to Poole, then runs a hand through her hair once. It's to Blair that she speaks next. "Kay. You're right. Shields first, which means hooking up the last bits in the subbasement. You head off to that, I'll make with bringing the defense batteries online." She wastes no time after this, scurrying off toward the computer core. (directed)

Park just shakes his head and concentrates on what he DOES know how to do. He pops open the medkit, quickly loading some hypos and rearranging things to his liking. He then takes a position to provide cover fire, but stays in the back, out of the way of the shooters.

Blair presses his lips together thinly, coming to a stop as the group reaches its position. "Keep an eye out, sir," he says quickly to Poole, already starting to turn towards the defense installation. "From what I've read, Jem'Hadar decloak prior to any weapons discharges -- there's a chance the sensors may pick up on it before the living eye." He nods quickly, taking off after Medes. "Good luck," he manages, and then moves to catch up with the other Ensign. "Comm me if there's an issue with the targeting sensors," he says, two fingers touching his forehead and flashing her a slight, almost mock salute, before he takes off at a lope.

Turtledove casually flips the setting on her weapon and settles into position, only partially visible in the sniper window. Her alert eyes scan the immediate area methodically, waiting. Her index finger caresses the trigger gently while she waits.

Idrani finds some cover along the perimeter. She takes out her standard phaser 1 out and sets it in front of her. The Phaser 2 is then set to setting seven. She removes her tricorder then and attempts to set it to recognize bio-matter movement that is contrary to the wind and weather conditions.

"A banging rustling sound comes from the stairwell and a moment later Lt Aldin comes into view carrying one side a crate, an enlistedman with him. He drops the crate as he says, "The rifles you wanted... I have to get back to the lines. " Without even a pause to flirt with Idrani he runs back down the stairs, but the young Andorian remains, opening the crate and extracting Phaser Carbines to pass out to those who want them.

<CONTEST> Medes (claiming advantage) contests her Systems Engineering (Weapons) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Blair (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Weapons) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Poole sets her phaser nearby and takes one of the phaser carbines, resuming her firing stance. She stares out at the soon-to-be battlefield, licking her lips in anticipation. "Progress on trying to light them up?" -direct to Idrani-

<CONTEST> Idrani (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Idrani frowns, working with her tricorder. "I have an idea, sir. I am going to try to monitor for animal life that would move away from the area. They are very stealthy and can be invisible, but I do not think the shroud device can mask /smell/." (direct back to Poole)

<CONTEST> Turtledove contests her Systems Engineering (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

"Keep working, Ensign..." Poole urges, grasping her carbine tightly. "They'll be coming soon."

"Same to you, Ensign. Holler if you need me, and do it twice if I don't answer the first time." Without explaining that, Medes offers Blair a nod and a cocked half-grin in response to his salute, heading down to the computer core thereafter. Once there, she runs a hand through her hair and then, with a scowl, grabs a stepstool so as to be able to easily reach all of the recognition chips. Her hands flicker self-assuredly over the machine bits, and she murmurs to herself as she does so, a low mumble that, even if anyone else were next to her, is incomprehensible. When finished, she taps her combadge, starting out a bit /too/ loud when she calls, "Ensign Medes to Lt. JG Poole. Sir, they ought to be online. Give 'em a try, please, while I'm down here, and let me know how it goes." By the middle of her first sentence, however, she's corrected her vocal volume.

"Will do." And with that, Blair is gone as well, reaching a ladder above the lower power interlacing grid and grabbing on, sliding down to the basement like a firefighter in gold and black. Dropping to the ground, he moves quickly to the grid in the dark subbasement, rummaging around for the toolbox before running into it with his foot. "Ow! Bloody -- " He swipes up the toolbox and crouches next to the grid, eyeing it for a moment. "Grid three-beta to four-alpha, routed through...uh...." He frowns. "...five-delta. Right." Reaching forward with one of the tools, he squints -- and this is what saves his eyes when a bright flash emits from the grid, sending Blair tripping and sliding back across the floor of the subbasement. After a moment of blinking, he reaches for his combadge a little dazedly. "Uh -- Blair to Medes...I think I may need your expertise down here -- and your eyes," he mutters a bit darkly, rubbing at his own with his hand.

The emergency lights flicker inside the bunker just before Blair's call to Medes.

Turtledove glances at Idrani, then at Poole. "Ensign Idrani's idea has merit. Works for me." She grins, relaxing her grip on her rifle and fiddling briefly with her tricorder. She props it up where she can see it, and resumes wielding her rifle.

Idrani looks up from her tricorder. "Lieutenant Park, do you have a Jem'Hadar physiology database on your medical tricorder? Or maybe the ADF computer does. I need specific biochemical patterns to scan for... phermones... or baring that body odor.." She muses the latter. Then raises her voice again, "I'll need to link together some tricorders to reduce the range factor."

Park nods once and then reaches down and snatched the medical tricorder off his belt. "Give me a second to reconfigure it for life sciences."

GAME: Park spends a courage point.

From outside you can hear a distant but rapidly approaching rumbling, then you can make out the contrails of ADF Fighters plowing up through the clear blue sky at an angle no doubt intended to carry them super-atmospheric. The troops down the hill from the bunker in the trenches let loose a passionate cheer of support for their fellows moving up to meet the enemy. The cheer is brought to a sudden sharp halt when one of the ascending craft explodes just after being struck by a purplish hued energy beam that came from beyond the clear blue sky.

<CONTEST> Park (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

"Jesus..." Poole says as she watches the explosion, blinking once, then turning to Turtledove. "Get up to the fire and control center and give those fighters some cover fire." As her combadge is already active, she simply speaks, "Medes, help Blair get the shields up... Once you're finished down there, tell me."

"As long as you don't need my ears, Blair, we should be fine," Medes notes wryly into her combadge, before hopping down from her stepstool and moving out of the computer core as fast as her legs will carry her. Once she's to the ladder, in a bit of engineer syncronicity, she does the ladder slide right down into the basement herself. "On my way, sir," is hurriedly replied to Poole as she moves.

Park tosses his tricorder over after it is properly indexed and ready for use. He switches back into his firing position and waits quietly.

Through the sniper ports the crew at the top of the fortified stairs can see another explosion as an ADF fighter pays the final price for resistance. The other two fighters in the formation fire up into the sky and then break off and and try to evade the Dominion forces that have the advantage of altitude. Then, at a speed so high it makes a contrail of flames follow the Dominion Attack Fighter, the Dominion vessel comes into sight wafting into a barrelroll to compensate for the evasive manuevers on one of the Andorians and then ends that crew's life with a display of precision firing.

<CONTEST> Medes contests her Systems Engineering (Weapons) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Blair sits up slowly, still blinking slight dots from his vision. "There you are," he says with a relieved grin only halfway visible in the dank emergency lighting. "Here, take a look at this -- " The work moves at a decent clip, as Medes asserts her authority on the subject and begins tinkering with the power grid, the still slightly blinded Blair only handing her tools and squinting periodically. This arrangement appears quite successful -- to a point. Namely, the point at which Blair squints and attempts to hand Medes a hydrospanner for a quick maneuver. As Medes applies the hydrospanner, she realizes rather abruptly it's actually a conduit-specified conductor relay, which proceeds to suck up and redistribute the power of the grid in about seven different ways before, with a *CRACKLE* audible even from outside, the grid goes completely dead.

There's a long moment of silence before Blair's voice echoes in the darkness. "...So...how 'bout them Andorians?"

Turtledove's eyes flicker to the smoke plume in the sky, then back at Poole. She nods briskly, straightening up and swinging her rifle onto her shoulder. Moving at a swift and nimble pace, she beats a rapid path toward the fire and control center.

Idrani begins linking her Tricorder with the medical database on Park's, and adding in Turtledove's to increase the range. Her antennae twitch, hearing the CRACKLE. "They will start planetary bombardment soon, sir." She says, "After they cut through the ADF fighters. If we do not get the shields on this up, this will be a smoking crater in a few minutes." She speaks calmly as she works on her little project, betraying no anxiety or agitation.

The red hued lights of the emergency back up generators come on after a moment of darkness.

Poole keeps her gaze focussed on the battlefield ahead of her, speaking into her combadge again. "Turtledove, lock on and fire, immediately...." -direct-

The Dominion Attack Fighter veers from it's course after downing one of the ADF fighers, rolling back and then plunging down towards the trenchline which has no shields. The valient ADF troops fire up at it with thier phaser rifles to little effect as it strafes thier lines with it's forward polaron cannons. As it passes directly over the heart of the lines, close enough that those in the station can see the small figure of the pilot through the window of the craft, it releases a small glowing ball of light out the back then accelerates hard towars the jungle and trying to climb. The energy ball tumbles for a breath then expands a bit before imploding in a bright ball of light... the unshielding troops below find themselves being torn upwards from thier defensive positions by the massive vaccuum implosion rising as high as 10 or fifteen meters before tumbling back down into their trenches or the duracrete between the dug in points to land in wet, broken heaps.

Turtledove says, over her comm. "Right away, sir." She proceeds rapidly to the control console, sliding into position. She pauses a moment. "Lt. I'm going to need power here." She leans back slightly, calmly waiting for a response. It comes in the form of many blinking lights and beeping noises. She sits back up, and immediately begins tapping away at the console, getting the system online... she looks up, then back at the console, fiddling and tapping. She gets a lock... she fires!

GAME: Turtledove spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Turtledove (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

Wow, and what a shot! The crew's tactical fortification reverberates with deep satisfaction as the cannon fires on a Jem'Hadar transport, tearing it asunder with fiery fury. The residual fire ball tumbles limply into the jungle. Ensign Turtledove's eyebrows twitch upwards slightly as she watches.

Turtledove says, "One Bogey Down, Ma'ma." --Direct --

Poole curses as the power grid fluctuates. "Please tell me that you flipped the wrong switch, Ensign Medes. Get yourself and Blair up here." A second, then, "Lock on and fire again Turtledove." Then to Idrani, "Any luck with those sensors?"

When the message from Poole comes through, Medes is still in the middle of a streak of extremely unladylike shuttle-bay-oriented words, though she breaks off when she hears Poole's voice. "Uh. No, sir, unfortunately, we're kind of f... we're in trouble. It'll take us an hour to get this thing back up. You want me up there, or you want us to try? There are occasionally miracles." She baps Blair on the shoulder, maybe a /little/ harder than she needed to, and gets to her feet, helping him to his. "You alright, there, Sparky?" Her grin's screwed on a little too tightly, it kinda looks like a grimace.

Park gasps at the carnage outside, and without a word grabs his medical kit and start running down the stairs that will carry him back into the maze of the trenches.

Blair winces noticeably at the bap, even in the low light, and he swipes up the fizzling and shot conduit-specified unit. "Yeah, but I think I'll stick with sensors," he says faintly, "for the next...seven years, maybe...eight...nine...." Before he can reach ten, however, he scrambles up the ladder, still blinking to clear the residual images on his retinas. "G'luck." That done, he quickly moves towards Poole's position inside the installation, arriving in silence, jaw clenched tightly.

Idrani continues working at the tricorders. Overhearing the bit of news about needing an hour to get primary power back on line, she says to Poole, "I might be able to set up a distance scan, but I don't think there is time for anything else. Sir, if we cannot get our shields up, we are going to have to abandon this position. They are going to hit us from orbit. We may be able to take one or two shots, but certainly not more than that. The ADF has been preparing underground bunkers and supply stockpiles. Unless the ADF is doing better than they it seems, we may have to hole up and wait for reinforcements."

Turtledove says, over her comm, "Yes, sir." A grin tugs at the sides of her mouth as she fiddles and taps, attempting to lock onto another transport. A thoughtful expression crosses her face, and her fingers pause briefly, hovering over the controls. She resumes tapping on the controls, slowly at first then rapidly picking up the pace. Meanwhile, she says over her comm, "Sir. It's getting pretty hot out there. Without shields, this installation can take maybe 1 or 2 hits before it collapses." She taps and taps. "It might be time to consider spiking the cannons and getting the hell out of here, sir." She looks up briefly, getting a lock on an incoming transport. Tap tap. She fires again.

The cannons fire, and fire again, Turtledove launching deadly bolts of phased energy up towards the sky, scoring another hit with one shot and resulting in another explosion. Despite her efforts though, three Dominion Attack Fighters come in fast to the area, straffing the beleagured forces of the ADF out in the trenchline again, and getting a resolute exchange of return fire from those below still capable of firing. From the position within the gun bunkers, the crew can see multiple transporter resolutions across the fields as the Dominion craft deploy three squads of Jem'Hedar solders to the surface and head away from the emplacements firing aft as they go and peppering the trenches and now the gun bunker as well causing it to shudder and dust to fall from the ceiling onto those within.

Poole grits her teeth and nods to Idrani. "I was thinking the same thing..." Then she looks around at the officers gathered in the stairway area, "We have incoming, people, return fire!" Speaking over the com, she orders, "Take that last shot, spike the cannon and get the hell down here, Turtledove... we're under assault." Then she takes a bead, firing on the Jem'Hadar soldiers.

"Yeah, g'luck to you too," mutters Medes under her breath, rolling her eyes behind his back as she climbs up the ladder after him. Her teeth grind against one another for a moment as she hurries up toward Poole's position. "We're gonna need it."

Park comes huffing back up the the stairs trying to drag an unconscious Andorian with his hands under the fallen soldier's arm pits. The enlisteman who remained behind to pass out weapons moves to help him and grabs Park's wrist as he appears to be about to go back out there for another casualty.

The crew can see the Jem'Hadar pouring into the trenches like a wave spreading out as a cone. As they move they fire and young Andorians are spun by the impact or shredded from limbs by the cold blooded assault. A few Jem'Hedar pitch forward from the return fire, but even as they fall dying they continue to shoot unmercifully. After a moment they are harder to see as they move low inside the trenches spreading death where they pass. The incessant screams of rage or dying play counter harmony to the stacatto of weapons fire.

<CONTEST> Poole (claiming advantage) contests her Energy Weapon skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Blair (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

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

<CONTEST> Fortunae contests his Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Blair frowns rather noticeably as he reaches Poole and Idrani, drawing his phaser and quickly double-checking its settings, though he makes no rush to join the others readying their own weapons. Instead, he glances at Idrani, eyes quickly flickering over the two tricorders, and he almost makes a move for his own, but the screams and sounds of weapons fire draw his attention for a moment. Gritting his teeth tightly, he only then moves to where the other officers are crouched, raising his phaser with a bleak, harrowed look at the field and letting a round loose. "...crossed enough bloody lines already...."

<CONTEST> Fortunae contests his Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Turtledove's voice comes over the comm. "Understood, sir." Her hands move fluidly over the controls... she takes aim... and stops as she realizes she no longer has a viable target. She pauses, then slides out of the control seat, setting to work spiking the cannon. Over the comm, she says, "Sir. I no longer have a viable target. I am proceeding to destroy the cannon, and will return fire from the tower." A few moments later, she completes the task and she takes cover, partially visible, swinging her rifle into a wieldy position. She takes aim on the incoming and fires.

Idrani opens fire on the Jem'Hadar, noting calmly to Blair, "Don't let me forget those when we leave." Her shot catches a Jem'Hadar soldier in the back of the helmet, reducing its head into a fine, red mist. The decapitated warrior falls away dead from the ADF soldier it was impaling on its pike. Idrani's calm demeanor shatters suddenly in a curse hissed in Graalen as she realizes the dead ADF soldier was Lt. Aldin.

Poole let's out a loud rebel-style yell as her shot nails a Jem'Hadar by surprise... the creature doesn't suffer long though, it's dead before it even barrels over and hits the ground. A quick survey of the battlefield reveals the fact she'd been denying and she makes her decision. Her face becomes grim as she says, "Fall back. Everybody out through the escape route in the basement. Turtledove and I are the last out. Take what supplies you can carry and /move/." She looks to the ADF officers, "That means you too. /Move/."

<CONTEST> Turtledove (claiming advantage) contests her Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

The ADF personnel falling back from the trenches into the complex simply comply with Poole's orders and head for the basement without hesitation despite their burdens of wounded comrades or their own serios injuries. Out in the trenches the ADF

--'s disciplined soldiers continue to try to recover from the desperate turn of events, rallying and making the Jem'Hadar pay for each meter gained but paying a horrible price themselves.

Medes was beginning the process of lining up a shot when Poole gives the order to retreat. Gathering as much as she can carry (quite a bit, for as small as she is), she heads for the basement with a grimace plastered across her face. Like her previous scowl, it seems a little too at home on her.

Park tries to break free of the enlistedman's grasp, and looks towards Poole with a determined set to his jawline as he says, "We can't just leave all those kids out there to be killed while we run away!" His face is pale, his hands a bit shakey even if his voice isn't.

A short, small smile runs fleetingly over Blair's lips as his shot topples a Jem'Hadar shortly before it can nail a group of passing Andorians. He turns, then at Poole's order, blinking for a split-second before slapping his phaser into his holster and breaking into a jog for the two tricorders. "Jaylas," he says, chucking one at Idrani before reaching down to hoist a supply crate. He looks up and grimaces, swearing softly in accented Graalen before moving towards the staircase. He does not see the aforementioned group of dodging Andorians come under fire from the Jem'Hadar again, this time without the luck of the cavalry.

Turtledove fires a shot, but gets no justice. She acknowledges the retreat order with a disappointed upward quirk of her mouth. "Yes sir", she says over the comm, as she swings her rifle onto her shoulder, takes a quick look around, and grabs whatever looks useful... and won't interfere with her trigger finger. Without further fanfare, she takes off at a rapid pace, headed for the escape route.

Idrani quickly snags the tricorder and her Phaser I, shouldering and pocketing where appropriate. She moves to fall back with the retreating personnel and Starfleet Officers. Hearing Park's protest, she rounds on the counselor. "Lieutenant!" Her voice is sharp and full of authority, revealing command branch training. But she softens it somewhat as she continues, "I need you to help with the wounded that we have. There is nothing we can do for them right now. We /cannot/ be captured and questioned. Fall back."

The blasts of weapons fire is much much closer now as the crew heads for the escape route. Just as Poole is preparing to fall back herself there is a mighty impact higher up in the weapon placement that causing part of the ceiling to fall nearly flattening her. It's clear the Jem'Hadar have turned up their own weapons to the upper end of the scale with the intention of stopping the sniper fire from this installation while their fellows continue to burn and clear the trenches. From the distance the approaching roar of more Dominion Attack Fighters can be heard.

Poole cries out as she narrowly misses getting flattened, dirt coating her sweat-covered cheeks. She winces and doesn't look back this time. "Blair, Idrani... /Go/.... Turtledove, where are you?" She falls back a bit into the complex, carbine held in a firing position.

Over her comm, Turtledove says, "Almost there, sir." She is running rapidly through the rapidly deteriorating fortification, with long sure strides. Just as she finishes speaking, she rounds the corner coming into Poole's field of view.

Poole looks relieved as the woman comes around the bend, then she motions behind her. "Go, Turtledove, I'm right behind you." She speaks through the com then, "Sound off, everyone."

Park doesn't argue any more as the ceiling begins to collapse, instead he lifts his patient with assistance from the Andorian enlistedman who had grabbed him and the three of them head for the exit with great spead. He sounds off as he goes.

Medes is somehow the first to the escape hatch, and drops her cargo briefly to open it. Gathering the items up again, she bends slightly to hurry through the long, stooped tunnel (there are sometimes advantages to being a little scrap of a thing). "Ensign Medes. In the tunnel, sir, alive, uninjured. It's about.. maybe about five hundred meters, sir." Her words come between gasps for breath, this talking-running-carrying-stuff thing takes the wind out of a person.

Blair drops in after Medes, Turtledove's tricorder clipped awkwardly to his pocket and two crates held a bit more awkwardly as he goes, shifting his weight slightly and depressing his combadge with his upper arm. "Oof...Blair, sir. Making my way into the hatch now."

Turtledove reaches Poole shortly thereafter, and acknowledges her with a nod. "Understood, sir." She enters the escape route. She moves quickly and easily through the basement, her rifle rocking gently on her shoulder, a soothing and rhythmic motion.

Idrani follows Park and the Andorians out. "Ensign Idrani here. I am right behind Counselor Park. We're going to need to collapse this behind us, sir, or they will follow us."

"Very astute ensign, I'm on it," Poole replies, waiting until Turtledove drops through into the tunnel. Once the other woman is in, she drops into the tunnel and begins to fall back. "Turtledove... destroy that entrance."

Turtledove pauses to destroy the entrance.

Turtledove takes her phaser I and fiddles with it briefly and glances at Poole. "Take cover, sir." She places the phaser by the entrance, and moves back.

The phaser overloads, exploding nicely.

Turtledove moves back toward the rubble that exploded into the tunnel, swinging her phaser III back into position. She casually flicks the setting on the rifly, and proceeds to melt the rubble into a seal, using a high-power, wide-beam setting.

Poole nods her approval to Turtledove and starts off down the tunnel. "Come on...." And she hurries to catch up with her other officers.

Reaching the other end of the tunnel, Medes peeks out of the end hatch and notes into her comm, "We're about... fifty, sixty meters past the end of the clear cut area, sir. This opens out of a stump into the jungle." She's dropped the supplies again to facilitate her investigation, and waits for the others before moving on.

Park huffs and puffs from the exertion as he carries the heavy body of his patient, and his medical kit and his unused weapon down the low ceilinged escape tunnel calling upon Andorians that followed Medes out of the exit to help him get the patient up before he himself clambors out into the jungle beyond.

From the near space of Fimdari's orbit, several blasts of polaron energy split the sky and stab into the Planetary Defense bunker like an angry god splitting it open like a cracked egg and sending huge fragments of duracrete to spill outwards in every direction, fortunately not with enough force to reach the exit the crew is climbing out of.

Blair grunts as he approaches the end of the tunnel, stopping about forty meters from the exit and setting the supply crates down, panting softly and bracing his hands on his knees. The thunder of the hit aboveground causes him to flinch involuntarily and he looks up at the ceiling as if seeing through it, for a moment, lips pressed together thinly. "...and if -that- isn't the jewel to top the bloody crown...."

Turtledove follows Poole, eyebrows twitching upward slightly as the defense bunker is blasted.

Idrani keeps up with the Andorians and Starfleet officers. She looks over her shoulder at the explosion, pausing until she can identify that Poole and Turtledove are behind them. "All right, let's keep moving. The ADF has supply bunkers out here. We need to put distance between ourselves and this place and then find somewhere to hole up. We should be able to scan for ADF power cells, if none of these crewmen know where to find them. Reinforcements will be coming for us." She scoops up some of the equipment that Medes brought from the fortress, lightening the smaller human's burdan. Only slightly winded from the flight through the tunnels, she continues into the jungle, keeping her back to the wreckage of the Planetary Defense Bunker.

(Epilogue, sometime later.) "The natural scents of the jungle battle with the lingering fragrance of burned flesh and sizzled blood, fried circuitry and smoldering duracrete in your nostrils. Tired, in cases injured, you remain free and unbent for now. With your hastily gathered supplies and your surviving ADF allies you have made an escape from the defense bunker that would have been your tomb if you had stayed. Luckily you had the survey data for this area in your PADDs and you have found a subterranean cave system with fresh water in the side of a gulch ten kilometers from your previous position. Now is a time to plan and gather intelligence. You have a passive signal relay station crafted from a tricorder on the ridge above you and from which you are getting a picture of how the battle for Fimdari is shaping up. As it stands now the Dominion is learning that the Andorians have much sharper teeth than some of their previous conquests, and surprise after ambush after surprise keeps buying time for the stout defenders. Soon, you will see where you might best serve the cause, but for now you remained trapped under an umbrella of Dominion control."