Tanks for the Memories
Episode Name: DoF - Tanks for the Memories Written By: Fortunae Cast: Idisha, Dakin, P'Trell, Rancion, Davis and Duvane. Produced By: Starfleet & Fortunae Directed By: Fortunae Aired On: Thu Oct 17 11:45:26 2002 Stardate: 52711.9
Time: Thu Oct 17 02:21:28 2002
Stardate: 52710.9
(Mission Briefing) You are gathered in a briefing room aboard the USS Aegis, which has given you a little time to get to know each other and speculate about your mission. Since coming aboard, you've been directed to remain in this room or the adjoining head, but you must assume that the Aegis has joined the task group preparing for the invasion of the Occa system. Your discussions are interrupted by a message over the com system to stand by for a message from Admiral Whitehorse.
"Brave souls of the Dulcais Sector Alliance fleet, it is my *duty* to send you into danger this day -- into the den of our fierce and unrelenting enemy. It is my *proud* honor to do this, on *this* day as your victory and gallantry here will not only safeguard the concerns and citizens of our great star powers, but will liberate the innocent and subjugated citizens of Occa Prime from the Duranium Fist of the Dominion. You have trained for this, your resolve has been weighed and measured, and now, once again, we call upon you all to discharge your duties with the honor and valor that has become expected. The attack commences in two minutes, God Speed."
A few moments later, the doors to the briefing room open and spindly limbed Betelgeusean officer enters and appraises you all before gesturing with its elongated hands for you to sit and listen up. Clearing it's throat and cocking it's head at an unusual angle it begins to speak. "I am Lieutenant Ahshinayamopoo. Today I will be your mission briefing officer. You will need to listen carefully and follow your mission directives or you will quickly find yourselves in over your heads, yes. First things first, you will be deployed to the surface of Occa covertly using a new technology that is so classified still, any mention of it even in your personal logs will be grounds for an Admiralty Court Martial behind closed doors and your transfer to a lovely penal colony far, far away. I am going to take it that you all understand?" It looks around at all of you then nods and continues, "Very good. Your objective once you are on the ground is the Dominion Cloning facility outside of New Florida. The facility is heavily guarded by Jem'hedar, at our last intelligence briefing there were at least 30 of them there. The more important wrinkle though is that they have, we are told, thousands of Alphas ready to be decanted and deployed still in the clone tanks. The addition of these forces to the defenses in place would cause and unacceptable risk to the ground liberation operation. The clones must not be allowed to join the fight against us."
"It will be night cycle on the portion of Occa you are beaming down to, which should facilitate your ability to remain unseen. There are other groundside operations taking place at the same time, so if things get truly desperate you may attempt to contact them for assistance. Keep in mind though, as soon as you break communications silence, the greater portions of the planetary defenses will be alerted to your presence and this could put you and the teams you contact into further peril. Be judicious. Your beam down point will be into a warehouse on the outskirts of New Florida where you will be met by members of the Occan resistance. They are to provide you with more recent intelligence and help you navigate to the Cloning facility. If you are not contacted after fifteen minutes of your arrival, you will have to use the data provided on your PADDs to find your way to your mission objective. You will take control of the facility and use your best efforts to ensure that there are no civilian workers still on site when you destroy it; blowing the independent power station is a poor option as you will more than likely irradiate the local area and send a cloud of radiation into the nearby urban area. The power generator there also powers its own defense screen, so you will need to bypass or neutralize that in order to access the facility. Do you have any additional questions?"
Dakin shakes his head in response to the call for questions, then looks to his team to see if they have any.
P'Trell says, "Are there any other safety precautions that we should take in destroying the facility other than avoiding the power station?"
Davis says, "This sound like fun"
Rancion says, "What are the ROA's for this mission Sir?"
Duvane shakes his head. "None here." He says in a gravelly voice, folding his arms in front of him as he runs his eyes over each of the officers gathered there, tapping his foot lightly on the ground.
Idisha muses a moment, then nods. "Actually. I have two. Are we assigned any demolitions for this task? And the cloning center's generator, what is its power output? In short would its destruction pose a risk to the populace? Or is this generator and station one and the same?"
The Betelgeusean listens to each question then says "It should be noted that the humans on Occa are in some cases xeno-phobic about aliens, but it shouldn't be an issue on this mission. Beyond being careful not to blow up the power station, or power generator, one being the place where the other is located, there are not extra precautions I can advise you on, your Mission Commander will have to determine those on site. The Rules of Engagement are also in the hands of your Mission Commander, but we would prefer there be a minimal amount of civilian injuries and damage to non-mission areas.
Dakin turns to the others. "In short, people. I want a zero civilian body count and this facility taken out quickly and efficiently. If any surprises pop up that you're aware of, bring it up right then and there." To Idisha, he nods to the backpack next his chair. "Shaped charges. All we need."
P'Trell nods and looks at the charges. "Fair enough. How many charges do we have?"
Davis looks at Lt. Dakin "How soon are we to leave?
Idisha gives a sly grin to Dakin and a nod to Lieutenant Ahshinayamopoo. "Thank you." And in a very businesslike fashion procedes to check his toolkit for the third time. Each item gets a silent nod and a still growing grin of evil. Ooh. How many? That warrants a pause in the inventory as the Andorian looks up to Dakin.
Rancion begins to run over the status of the his weapons doing a final chack on the power packs, and the settings, and the beam focus points. after clearing those he efficiantly mocves on to checking the power pack of the tricorder. "Sounds simple hemutters" a frown coming to his face, "simple mission have a nasty tendancy of becoming complicated real fast."
Duvane wraps the phaser rifle's carrying strap around his shoulder and lets it hang at the side while he checks the settings on his phaser two before holstering it, nodding to Dakin, wordlessly, the eyes betray no nervousness for this young Enlisted Man.
Lt. Ahshinayampoo nods again, "Very good. If you all will follow me... stay together, one would not enjoy being lost as such a critical time and the embarassement that would follow....." He leads the way, the mission team behind him and escorts everyone to one of the transporter rooms on the Akira Class U.S.S. Aegis. To those who are used to serving aboard, it is noticeable that he seemed to take a longer route that did not take the team past any viewports. Relevant? Perhaps not. Moving behind the transporter station he gestures for them to take their places on the transporter pads and says, "I am told that this process is deabilitatingly disorientating when combined with visual input. All of you please close your eyes until you hear the end of the transporter whine." He then waits for the crew to take thier positions.
Dakin nods to the rest of them and takes position, hefting his rifle with both hands, eyes shut tight.
P'Trell checks his hrisal and phaser then takes his position and closes his little blue lidded peepers
Davis quickley checks over her medical bag and takes position closing her eyes.
Idisha walks up to a free spot on the transporter pad, checks the setting on his phaser, grips his kit firmly, and sets into a semi-crouch. Those familiar with Kochek will know it to be the set stance prior to the rush. His hrisal dangles at his side almost begging for release.
Rancion lets the carry strap of the phaser rifle take most of the front weight of the weapon his hand wrapped around the wrist of the butt, takes his position on the transporter pad closing his eyes waiting for the whine to start and end.
Duvane steps up to the transporter pad, taking a rear position and gripping his rifle with both hands as he shuts his eyes, exhaling slightly, then nodding at nothing in particular.
Lt. Ahshinayampoo waits until Dakin has closed his eyes, approving that Dakin waited until his team had done so... "Energizing, our prayers for success go with you." There is the beginning of the familiar whine then another new sensation, a feeling of an extension of self now outward but as if the crew were being pulled inside to themselves like matter falling into a black hole, there is a feeling of discontinuity then new scents assail the crew, scents of mustiness, scents of chemicals, sents of ripened plants and vibrant soils. The whining of the transporter stops and they feel solid ground beneath their feet.
This warehouse is large, likely three stories in height, and full of stacked cargo cases some as tall as 4 meters. Nearby you can see rows upon rows of neatly stacked crates, and just around a corner you can see what seems to be an old style forklift parked beside a anthropomorphic cargo suit. The warehouse has a lush array of scents, from the perfumes of what seems to be fruits and vegetables to the musky undercurrent of mold and dust. The crew can imagine this location is a center of bustling activity during it's operating hours, but now it still and dark with the scant illumination provided by light trickling in from the overhead skylights and the lights marking the safety exits.
Dakin blinks and opens his eyes with a bit of a flutter and looks around. He whispers back to the group, "All present and accounted for?"
P'Trell says, "I think so."
Davis says, "yeah, I am all present"
Idisha crouches still further upon completion of transport, but rises as gunfire does not erupt immediately. "Here, Sir." Is his brief baritone reply. He takes out his tricorder and procedes to execute a passive read of the area.
Rancion opens his eyes hs left hand coming up to support the front of the rifle as he glances around watching for any bystanders as his low pitched reponse "present and ready"
Duvane opens his eyes, which instantly start searching for cover, he drops behind one of the cargo cases, at that point, his eyes dart to the exit lights, searching for any guards or sentinals. "Affirmative" He replies in a flat whisper, raising his phaser rifle as it's barrel moves parallel to his gaze as his search moves to the ceiling and walls. "Area appears to be secure, Lieutenant." He announces in a low voice.
Dakin takes a look around the place then looks to P'Trell. "Scan for our contacts." --direct--
P'Trell looks about and checks for Terran lifesigns with his tricorder. "Where are these resistance members that were supposed to meet us?" he hears Dakin's comment and says, "Already on it."
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
P'Trell continues his scan and makes an annoyed trilling sigh. "Well there's tons fo Terran lifesigns around but I have no way of telling who our contacts are. We'll have to wait and see if somebody shows up in the 15 minute window. They aren't moving around much, if I had to hazard a guess I'd say the Dominion has them under some sort of curfew"
Dakin nods to P'Trell. "No doubt. All right, people, fan out and take defensive positions but stay within sight of one another. And remember, the commbadges are off-limits." He goes over towards a cluster of crates and nestles hismelf behind them.
P'Trell follows Dakin's orders and takes a position.
Davis looks about and moves to cover before doing another quick check of her med kit and phaser.
Idisha gives a nod to P'Trell. "My scans show similar results. Lots of veggies if you need some ruffage. And a mammal. Potentially terran analog dog." Putting away the tricorder, he readies his phaser and finds cover. In the near darkness, he trusts in his Andorian 'ears'. "I wouldn't count on this building taking much if it comes to a firefight sir. Late 22nd duracrete." All told, he keeps his voice low but his voice carries nonetheless. A blessing and a curse.
Rancion slips up against one of the crates positioning himself so that he can watch one of the exits, relaxing against it. his eyes dart up to check some of the skylights that cast a small amount of illumination into the warehouse looking for odd shadows or movements, letting his ears also act like another set of eyes. when peering down one of the many ailses of cargo he uses the corner of his eye where the night vision is better.
Duvane continues his visual scan, breathing quietly as he keeps his rifle ready, viewing the world through its crosshairs as he stands up from behind the case. He slowly starts turning 360 degrees, the dim light reflecting off of the surface of the metallic rifle as he does, after this he drops back behind the crates, glancing out from the cracks between them, covering Dakin's right flank, ocasionally tossing glances behind him, so as not to be caught off guard, his fingers flying to the side of his rifle, setting it to heavy stun, before he pauses, glancing over to Dakin, he asks in a loud whisper, "What setting on our phasers, sir?"
Dakin explains that he wants the weapons set on setting 3, but turned up to setting 7 if the crew start trading shots with the Dominion. Several tense moments pass, and the Tricorders indicate that two armed humans are approaching the building, then one of the outer doors to the warehouse opens with only the faintest of hisses and cracks. The crew can make out two figures, humanoid in shape, entering the building. As they move deeper into the warehouse, stripes of moonlight pouring in from the high windows above them play across their forms; and something revealed catches your attention immediately. They are wearing badges of the New Florida Police Force. For a moment the crew thinks that they have been sold out -- this is a trap but then, one of them clears his throat and says, "Hello Starfleet, it's about time you guys showed up."
Dakin rises from his position, rifle lowered, motioning for the others to do the same. "Sorry for the delay, traffic was murder. Lt. Dakin Rann, mission commander."
P'Trell nods. "Prythra P'Trell second in command."
Davis puts phaser on setting three and rises moving toward the Lt.'s "Ens Catherine Davis medic"
Idisha rises with his kit slung over one shoulder and phaser in hand, if lowered slightly. Not entirely trusting of anyone in a tense situation, he keeps his head tilted slightly to one side, keeping his ears at ther eady. "Ensign Thaal'vor Idisha." he casually fails to mention his mission status lest the walls have ears and he become a target.
Rancion rises up from his location, seeming to be relaxed. "Chief Josh Rancion" his eyes still flit up to the skylights and the doors within his view.
Duvane keeps his phaser rifle trained on the officer that isn't speaking, his fingers setting the rifle to setting 3, he doesn't know who these guys are, but until ordered to, he's not going to trust 'em. He holds the rifle steadily in his hands, finger on the trigger as he takes aim. At the command of the Lieutenant, he arches an eyebrow at Dakin, then reluctantly lowers the weapon, then gets to his feet. "Chief Devyn Duvane, Security and Support." He announces after a brief moment of hesitation, in a wary voice as he maintains his position.
One of the officers says, "How do you do, I'm Officer Grenault and this is Officer Satoir." Grenault offers his hand to shake and Satoir adds, says "We know you are probably on a tight schedule, so we'll tell you what we have found out. Early this evening the Vorta left the cloning facility and went north by northwest towards the Siinogan project. When he left he took ten of his Jem'Hadar with him, leaving only twenty we believe unless they have started decanting their clones. We received a briefing a few days ago that reiterated our orders in case of indications of a Federation Invasion, so we think they know you are coming, if not when. They've also had us start patrolling with these animals the Siinogans brought the rumor is these things are sensitive to telepathic activity and they are intended to help us prevent Betazoid infiltration. Anyway, if we hear the civil defense sirens go off, we can expect the entire city to go on lock down, so we should get moving. "
Dakin shakes hands with Grenault then, after the briefing, says, "Good thing we're telepath-free then. All right..." He looks to those in his charge. "Let's do this, people. Duvane, watch our six. Rancion, Idisha, flank Davis and P'Trell. I take point a long with our contacts. Officers, lead the way."
P'Trell gets into position to follow Dakin. "Do we know how the Jem'hadar are spread out thorought the facility?"
Davis grabs her medkit and take position with P'Trell keeping and eye on the contacts.
Idisha falls into position as well, one hand resting on the rapid-release clip of his toolkit and the other keeping his phaser handy at setting 7. He doesn't plan on shooting first, but will definately shoot last. Besides, not like anyone will know. And the Jhem'haddar don't shoot gentle.
Duvane allows his face to grow more cautious as he raises his eyebrows at the mention that an invasion might be expected, he growls something inaudible under his breath, keeping his right hand on the grip of his phaser rifle, letting his left hand drop to his side. Upon hearing his orders, he nods quickly to Dakin, taking a firm step backwards and turning 180, watching the back as he takes the occasional look ahead, waiting for the others to move. Once again, after the brief rest, the phaser rifle comes up to rest in both hands. He hits the switch on the side, toggling the built in flashlight to *ON* as he raises the rifle and uses the sight like a telescope.
Rancion moves into postion moving the setting on his phaser to 7. his eyes flowing around watchign, having a zero body count is nice, but the team come first
Grenault leads the way from the warehouse down a loading alley, and to the the Police Wagon that was parked just inside the alley. Grenault moves to the front cab of the vehicle and clambors inside smoothly, he can be seen to be buckling up some sort of safety harness. Satoir, on the other hand, stops at the rear doors and pulls them open, the lowers a small stair from the back. Inside the back of the "paddy wagon" can be seen benches obviously intended for prisoner transport. There is no window between the cab and the cargo, at least not an apparent one. Satoir says, "My apologies my friends, but this seemed the most discrete way to move you from your landing point to a position outside of the complex. To answer your question as you get in the back my new azure skinned friend, we do have a schedule of their foot partols but cannot attest exactly where they will stay inside. We should be moving... they may have detected your arrival and may even now be moving to come for you." He gestures for everyone to hurry up into the back.
Dakin eyes the wagon cursorily but looks to P'Trell and then to his tricorder in a silent prompt to keep an active scan going. He then leads the way up into the wagon, grip on his rifle a little tighter than normal.
P'Trell nods subtley to Dakin and keeps the scan running the whole way. Expanding his search for Sinnogaans and Jem'Hadar.
Davis looks about again and with a look of skeptisim gets into the wagon.
Idisha assigns a level of trust to these 'humans' and steps up into the 'wagon'. Seating himself at the rear of the conveyance, he casually leans his shoulder rearward readying himself to leap out if it becomes necessary. Perhaps to make his style of seating more 'casual' in appearance he adjusts the strap on his case.
Rancion climbs up into the wagon and passes a worried glace to Dakin, with his back turned to the resistance contacts he hand signals pointing to his eyes then over his shoulder. taking his seat he leans up agains the partition seperating the cab from the prisoner area to see if he can catch a tell tale warning they have been double crossed.
Duvane waits for the others to get into the prisoner-transport, covering their entrance before he, too, hops into the wagon, crouching near the door, his rifle barrel pointed upward as he drops to a single knee, his cold eyes and stoney expression having no visible sign of anxiety or excitement as he does so, perfectly aware that if this were a trap that they would be killed without any chance at resistance. This sort of risk comes with the uniform. Once inside the transport's back, he glances at the others inside.
Satoir gives them all a charming wink and reassuring smile before he pushes the heave door closed, and then locks it. They can hear hims bang the door twice, then Josh can hear him climb into the cab, particularly when the door closes. The engine thrums, the vehicle starts forwards into the darkened streets of New Florida.
(Act II) The vehicle moves away from the beam down point, the crew in the closed back section, the two Occan Police Officers cum Resistance fighters up front. Though the crew can't see outside, and they refrain from using their tricorders as they are aware that their use might give away their presence to the Dominion, they can still track their course in a way by the feel of the turns and long stretches. They crew has only been driving for a very short when they hear the rising howl of a distant Klaxon. This voice of alarm is met by a chorus of them drawing ever closer and they realize the battle in space above them must now be in full swing, but none of this deters the drivers from their course.
Abruptly, the vehicle slams on it's breaks...
<CONTEST> Rancion contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Dakin contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> P'Trell contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duvane contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Davis contests her Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Idisha contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
Dakin is using his PADD to try and map their position, and barely manages to keep his position when the truck stops. He grabs his rifle and points it towards the door. "Take firing positions," he says quietly to the others.
P'Trell kicks one of his long, lanky legs across to the empty bench across from him to steady himself as he brings his phaser to bear.
Davis braces quickley to keep from coming off her seat and then takes up position with phaser pointed toward the rear door
Idisha has been spending more time hugging his case than bracing himself against any possible problems and is sent flying by the sudden motion of the wagon. Hitting the opposite wall, he shakes his head and unwraps his arms from his precious bundle. Smiling faintly, he picks up his phaser from the floor and rises to his knees.
Rancion gets pushed intot he corner of the compartment and uses the two walls to steady himself placing a knee on one of the benches he sites in on the door to the prisoner section, keeping both eyes open and trying to hear what maybe going on in the cab of the vehicle. whispering low "I think we have been made."
Duvane remains silent in his position near the door as the vehicle speeds down the road, his gaze on the floor of the vehicle as he balances the rifle against his shoulder, leaning against the wall in his crouched position. The way he's posturing himself makes him reminiscent of a coiled viper, ready to strike at a moment's notice. His shoulders rise and fall as he takes deep, controlled breaths, at the sound of the sirens, he tilts his head, but remains wordless. When the vehicle halts, his rifle flies into a ready position and he prepares to disembark, maintaining his balance as the transport comes to a jarring halt. "Ready!" He announces in a sharp voice.
<CONTEST> Dakin contests his Search skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Duvane contests his Search skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Davis contests her Search skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Idisha (claiming advantage) contests his Search skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Dramatically Fails!
<CONTEST> Rancion contests his Search skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Search skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
After the vehicle comes to a complete stop, the crew can hear the front doors opening and closing. There is some sort of conversation occuring outside, but the exact nature of it is muffled...
Dakin hears the muffled voices and looks to P'Trell. "Tell me you can make that out, Prythra..."
P'Trell tilts his head so his antennae are facing the front of the truck. His lip curls into a sneer. "We have problems. It's a roadblock of some sort, we almost got through but what sounds like a Cardassian security personell has just ordered Grenault and Satoir taken into custody. Apparently they were out of their 'patrol grid'. " the Andorian says in a low voice. "They haven't mentioned us but Cardassians are too anal retentive to not search the truck. Any idead Dakin? You've had the most experience with the scaley ones."
Dakin frowns and thinks. "All right, the Cardassians are going to check back here, no question." He hits upon an idea. "Idisha, see if you can find an opening somewhere in this compartment then look for any nearby empty structures in that direction. No scans."
P'Trell double checks his phaser and says, "Satoir and Grenault have just been driven away."
Davis waits for further instruction or a reason to fire.
Idisha remains on his knees still shaking his head to get the ringing out of his ears. He hit that wall hard to be sure. Looking curiously to his left shoulder and the oddly stiff arm, he mutters a Graalen curse and looks to Davis. "Fix it." He says through gritted teeth as he brings his attention to bear on the wagon interior. A quick eye on the metal and he adjusts the setting on his phaser. "Its a cell, Sir. Where would you like your door?"
Rancion keeps his phaser locked on tot he door his face showing nothing as he strains to listen for movement outside of the vehicle
Duvane hisses under his breath something unkind about cardassians, noting that since he is close to the door, in all likelihood he will be the first one to engage. He reasons that since it will likely be a close encounter, he slings the rifle up and over his shoulder, and draws his type two, as he can aim with it more quickly. His thumb hits the settings button, stopping it at setting 7. "This isn't going to be good.... like fish in a barrel." He says coolly, gripping the phaser in a relaxed manner, never letting his eyes wander from the door.
As the crew girds for war and steels their nerves, a few moments pass. The first bang on the outer door is startling, but not unexpected. The sound of the lock disengaging is quite clear. The doors open outward, and in the Occan night, the crew can easily see two very startled human faces wearing New Florida Police Force uniforms; and two even more suprised Cardassians with phasers that they are being pulled from thier holsters even before they can come to terms with the fact that a Starfleet Commando team is in the back of the police vehicle...
Dakin grits his teeth. "All right. Target the doors dead center of each one. Wait for any sounds of them opening. Hopefully our would-be discoverers will get a face full of metal from this." He brings his rifle to bear on the doors after resetting his rifle. "Setting 9. On my mark."
<CONTEST> Rancion contests its Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Dakin contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Davis contests its First Aid (Combat Medic) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
Dakin snarls and has his rifle to bear within a fraction of a second, targeting one of the Cardassian soldiers. His beam strikes the Cardassian dead in the chest.
<CONTEST> Idisha contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Fails!
P'Trell sees the Police loading the Cardassians in and holds his fire, letting more experienced shooters to the shooting.
Davis attempt to fix Idisha's arm but the injury is too severe.
Idisha, already looking for a target, takes aim and is caught more than a little offguard by Davis' deciding to take that moment to test his arm for breaks. The pain must be excruciating because he grunts and procedes to melt a small section of the roof. Perfect setting choice I might add. Nicely vaporized hole with no blowthrough.
Rancion thumbs the selector up to level 9 and deprses the firing studd on the rifle aiming at the cardassian in the left hand side of the door, a beam of focused energy surges out of the port on the rifle, hitting the cardassian in the chest and for a moment linking the weapon and the cardassian together.
Duvane realizes that he's in the line of fire for many of those inside the transport, so his first action is to leap out of the back of the Transport, dropping to a crouch below the door, his phaser-arm moving in a fluid motion as it points to one of the police officers, an orange beam leaps from the phaser, scoring a solid hit on the human's right shoulder.
The Cardassian shot by Dakin reels from the blow and goes down, the one sturck by Josh can only begin to scream before he is utterly vaporized by the high thermal setting. The police officer struck by Duvane's shoulder shot spins on one foot and pitches to the ground, also heavily stunned. The last one brings his weapons to bear, and drops it just before putting his hands on his head as he pleads, "I'm not a soldier, I'm not a soldier!" He is clearly terrified by the utter destruction of the one Cardassian and has no apparent wish to follow him.
(background scene) The residential neighborhoods outside the urban centers are composed primarily of one or two story dwellings with their entrances facing out towards the paved roads used by their ground cars and are still clearly influenced by Terran architectural standards of past. Most of the homes have small patches of green vegetation kept trimmed to only a few centimeters of growth, and alongside the roadways are paved walks for pedestrians. At the major intersections, lights are hung that change color to direct the flow of traffic. Along the road ways are tall poles that also have lights, these only come on during twilight and night. Upon each of these lamp poles are cameras, perhaps to keep track of traffic violations, perhaps to keep track of the population. Many of the homes have fences of wood or woven wire partitioning their lots from those of their neighbors. The scent of the cut lawns still hangs in the air mixing with the fumes released by the ground vehicles, making a alien perfume even for those who are from Earth. Occasionally in the distance the sounds of domesticated animals can be heard, as well as the occasional sound of a vehicle engine.
From the open doors or the outside of the vehicle the crew can see they are pulled off the road about 200 meters from what looks like a freeway on ramp. 10 meters from the front of the vehicle they are in are two ground cars that are probably the police vehicles, both with swirling flashing lights on the roofs. The urban area directly to either side of the street is undeveloped with a sparse dispersal of trees before the houses and shops start. In the distance the alert siren sounds again, one door about a block away opens showing a human figure in silhouette.
Dakin says to Duvane and Rancion. "You two, exterior flank cover. Keep us secure. Davis, keep working on Idisha. Prythra, you're with me." He approaches the lone human. "Cooperation is good. I'm glad you realize that. Here's how it's playing. You're driving us to the cloning facility. We'll be keeping careful watch on you to make sure there're no detours. Any attempts to cause us more porblems will be met with reprisals." He catches the human shape out of the corner of his eye and nods him out to P'Trell.
P'Trell notices the the shadowy figure and nods back to Dakin. Not a whole lot he can do without scanning.
Davis "I will try sir but his cartelidge needs to be reset and smoothed and I can't so that here."
The human police officer gulps, "Thank you thank you for not killi- To where!?! But sir... that won't work... they have scanners at the gate, they will detect you, those monsters will kill us all! Please sir, not that, we can lay low... your friends are coming, yes? Please...
Dakin snarls and looks to Idisha. "You think you can find some way around the scanners?"
<CONTEST> Idisha (claiming advantage) contests his Material Engineering (Personal Equipment) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Idisha grunts and gives Davis a look behind gritted teeth. All pain aside, the snivelling human draws the most of his ire and he turns his alien visage upon him with a piercing stare. Nodding in reply to Dakin's querry, he speaks in a forced even tone. "I think I know of a way sir. It will mask sensors, but visual will still be a problem. We'll need to use the wagon but they won't be flagged by anything inside." Clamboring back into the wagon, Idisha opens up his toolkit and starts performing surgery upon his tricorder, occasionally grunting from pain.
From behind one of the patrol cars comes a snarled, "Die you Bajoran Scum!" Apparently they was another Cardassian back there, and he levels and fires his phaser towards Dakin...
Duvane widens his eyes at the sight of the Cardassian raising his weapon towards the Lieutenant, suddenly many thoughts flash through his mind at once before he hurls his phaser rifle to the ground, yelling, "SIR! Look out!" He jumps into the line of fire, standing between the Cardassian and Dakin, reaching for his holstered type II.
The beam hits Duvane squarely, and around it's contact point the enlisted security-man dissolves until all that is left of him is a memory. A memory soiled by the curses of the Cardassian.
<CONTEST> Rancion contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Fails!
Rancion swings around at the sound of the shout and the phaser fire his weapon swinging to line up with the cardassian, h is eyes are blinded by the bright discharge of the weapon, his finger hits the stud loosing a beam of light blowing a hole into one of the vehicles. as his vision clears he catches a movement of the cardassian heading off to the paddy wagon
There is a sound of running feet on the pavement, a phaser beam shoots from under the police wagon, apparently aimed at Dakin's legs, instead the beam clips the other Cardassian who lays stunned removing him from the fabric of the universe.
Dakin growls with anguish at the loss of Duvane, but it's tempered with bewilderment at his apparent savior whom he wheels around, rifle at the ready, to face, friend or foe.
<CONTEST> P'Trell contests his Primitive Weapon (Hrisal) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
P'Trell quietly draws his hrisal and as the Cardassian rounds the corner of the truck a skinny blue hand flashes out with fairly impressive speed and opens his throat before he can get another shot off. Prythra wipes the blood silently from his blade and resheaths it as the Spoonhead falls to the ground with a dull thud.
Davis follows after Idisha to see what more she can do for him "I could give you a pain killer" she says to Idisha "but it may slow your reflexes"
Idisha looks up from his work and gives Davis a quirk of the brow. Promptly going right back to his work, he finally gives a nod to himself and seals up the tricorder and kit. "I think that will about do it, Sir." Phaser fire? We don't need no stinking phaser fire. He knows the sound of a drawn hrisal when he hears one and much approves. "No. Thank you." He says curtly to Davis, finally.
Rancion blinks the glow of the weapons fire free of his eyes, "Boss" His voice pitched low but carrying some urgency, "We've got to hump it out of here. there is a witness over there." He points to the open door witht he figure in it. "We might have company soon and not the type we want."
The Police man expresses, "Alright! Alright! I'll help you! No more with the guns and knives! I'm just a simple family man, I'll do whatever you want, just dont kill me.
There appears to be a wet stain on the Police Officer's trousers that was not there before.
Dakin growls to the man. "I just lost a man. I'm not in the mood to lose more. Now get in the truck and drive us to the facility. You have my word you'll be free to go once we're there. Now move it." He looks to Josh then nods. "All right, everyone, back in the truck, we've been held back too long as it is!"
(Act III) "Secreted aboard the Occan ground transport the crew travels the last leg of thier journey to the Cloning Facility. It is a tense and quiet journey; the only sounds heard are each other's breathing and the rumble of the vehicle as it carries them through the near dawn solitude. Eventually their vehicle slows and moves forward in fitful starts towards the security gate. The crew grip their weapons, ready for action as your vehicle moves up to the gate; your stomachs are fluttering with nervous energy and they feel fully primed to spring to action if anything goes wrong. Almost as one they hold their breath as thjer vehicle passes into the scanning grid of the gate, and then they are through. The vehicle moves steadily along then turns slightly to the left as the vehicle moves into a queue before the front doors of the facility and then stops. You hear the police officer getting out and his conversation as he gathers together with other truck drivers presumably by the front doors. He makes no mention of the crew's presence, apparently more afraid of them now then the Jem'Hadar. Now is the crew's opportunity, they glance at each other and then proceed."
(scene) Squatting behind the chain link security fence, the clearly new and non-Occan facility lurks in shadows as there are almost no exterior lights. Carried on the breeze are the scents of bio-chemical processes and over-charged power grids. The building itself is only two stories tall, but the drab duracrete walls and the predominance of sniper port windows as opposed to view windows clarifies that this structure was not built by the Occans or for the Occans. The grounds around the facility are fenced off at a distance of nearly 200 meters, and access to them is gained by passing through a solid looking security gate using force field technology and likely having a sophisticated sensor system within the sides of the gate itself. There is room for many vehicles to be parked out front, and that area is paved to better support the stresses of many large vehicles. There is nothing welcoming about the building or the grounds, in fact you might suspect deliberate care was taken to make it psychologically distrubing to the Occan Human residents of the planet.
<CONTEST> Idisha contests his Stealth (Silent Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Silent Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Davis contests its Stealth (Silent Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Dakin (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Silent Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Rancion contests its Stealth (Silent Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
The two senior officers in the lead, silent and experienced, the younger officers and surviving crewmen not as successful but blessedly the Police Officer's distraction helped cover their own noise. Moving into the shadows of a wall, Dakin swiftly extracts a tool from within his jacket and pops open a concealed access. A few confident taps on the inner workings of the device and the window's security measures are bypassed. With a boost from P'trell Dakin gets the window open and soon they are all crouched in the darkness inside the quiet facility where Dakin then begins to give them their instructions....
Dakin looks around for spying ears then says to the group, "All right. Davis, you and Idisha'll be coming with me to the cloning lab to take out the cloning equipment and destroy the Jem'hadar in vitros. P'Trell, take Rancion to the security office and secure it from Dominion control. Let's do this for the Federation, people. And for Duvane. Move out."
P'Trell nods and gestures for Josh to follow him. "Happy hunting." he whispers to his comrades.
Idisha looks to Davis and gives a nod before hefting his kit with a grunt. Noting his lack of skill with the phaser, he puts it away in favor of something a little more lethal. His hrisal. Its also much quieter that way. "Ready when you are, Sir."
Rancion, crouching low he moves off with P'Trell the phaser rifle carried at 'port' position. Flashing an feral grin at the rest of his comrades he heads moves covering P'Trell. "For Duvane" He whispers
The away teams combadges all vibrate silently, a signal prearranged to inform them that the fleet has taken control of the orbital space over the planet and can now provide planetary support.
The teams split up going their seperate ways, more confident knowing thier comrades have acheived victory in space, but no word if the planetary defense grid being down puts some damper on that rush of comfort. Dakin, Davis and Idisha slink down the dimly lit corridors, until a brief glance around a corner reveals the presence of four Jem'hadar soldiers lurking outside the door that must lead to the cloning tank chamber.
Dakin looks around the corner then hefts his rifle with one hand while taking out his hand phaser with the other. To the others, "Four guards outside the door. On three, we catch 'em in a crossfire. Setting 7 if you're not already there."
Davis puts her phaser on seven and moves to secure position from which to provide crossfire.
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Search skill vs Dakin's Stealth (Silent Move) skill and Succeeds!
Idisha sighs and switches weapons to the far less subtle, and accurate, phaser. Crouching low, he cinches up the kit to sit under his arm firmly. Decidedly uncomfortable in any event, it is magnified by injury. Still, he takes aim after finding the best cover he can.
The Jem'Hadar swivel their heads, they have apparently heard something and they move to the attack...
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Davis's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Dakin's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Idisha's Dodge skill and Fails!
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Davis's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Dakin (claiming advantage) contests his Dodge skill vs Fortunae's Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Idisha contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Fails!
Dakin barely avoids getting nailed by the Dominion weaponry and trains his weapons on the Jam'hadar, opening wide-bore fire on them. "Light 'em up, people...!"
<CONTEST> Davis contests its Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Fails!
<CONTEST> Dakin (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
Davis attempts to light up the Jem Hadar, her eyes narrowed, her knuckles clenched whitely on her weapon as she fires ineffectually. One polaron beam catches her in the chest causing her to spin, the second cuts across her midriff disemboweling her and tosses her dead to ground a lifeless heap of broken meat.
Idisha bespies a barrel being aimed right for him and promptly remembers his promise to Serendis. Come home alive. One piece is optional, but alive is a must. Throwing himself against a nearby wall, the polaron blast flies beyond him and melts a section of wall. Straining against the blinding pain from the impact, he can barely see his target let alone hit it as he returns fire.
A sudden furious exchange of fire leaves one Jem'Hadar off to join the Founders and the other three moving for position to fire, unfortunately, the new medical officer Nurse Davis lays broken and smoking against the wall where she moved to flank the Jem'Hadar for a crossfire action.. momentum is on Dakin's side though...
<CONTEST> Dakin (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Idisha (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Dakin's Dodge skill and Fails!
Dakin and Idisha working in tandem cut down two more Jem'hadar before they can return fire, the last remaining opens fire on Dakin but misses him narrowly.
<CONTEST> Idisha (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Dakin (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
Still moving a fluid unit, the two officer cut down the last Jem'Hadar standing between them and thier goals. They move forward over through the wisps of vapor that once were soldiers and quickly bypass the security interlock... inside they see the rows upon rows of the Jem'Hadar soldiers in tanks... thousands, perhaps a ten of thousands.. without wasting breath they get to work setting their charges.
<CONTEST> Idisha (claiming advantage) contests his Demolitions (Booby Traps) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Dakin (claiming advantage) contests his Demolitions (Booby Traps) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
Meanwhile.... Lt P'trell and Rancion move the opposite direction from Dakin and his team, up along a flight of stairs they narrowly avoid a foot patrol of Jem'Hadar and then move with care to just outside the door to the security office. Still wary of using tricorders and losing what surprise they have, P'Trell turns his attenna towards the door....
P'Trell informs Rancion about the situation and indicates that he is going to attempt to ease the door open and take them by surprise hopefully before they can draw weapons.
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Move Silent) skill vs Fortunae's Search skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Rancion (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Silent Move) skill vs Fortunae's Search skill and Succeeds!
Silently the two officers slide the door open and move closer, the Jem'Hadar completely unaware of their actions.
Rancion nods in agreement and readies his phaser rifle lowering the selector down to 7
P'Trell slides the door open ever so quietly with his phaser drawn. Once the two starfleeters are safely inside within shooting range he opens fire on the standing Jem'hadar.
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
Rancion levels his phaser rifle at the Jem'Hedars back the feral grin on his face still there, once in side the range of the targets he opens fire on the Jem'Hedar.
<CONTEST> Rancion contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
The first Jem'hadar is cut down before he even realizes something is wrong, but the other, as if by instinct, moves to the right just before the security crewman's shot would have struck him. The one who dodges spins back towards P'Trell, a large combat knife in his hand and as moves to attack. The others spin in thier seats and attempt to bring their weapons to bear.
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Primitive Weapon (Knife) skill vs P'Trell's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Fails!
P'Trell is taken by surprise as the knife slashes its way across his chest leaving a nasty but non-leathal slash. His shot goes wild as he is cut.
<CONTEST> Rancion (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
Rancion fires off his phaser rifle at the knife holding plate head hitting him in the side of the head, he begins to swing his weapon around on the others.
The Jem'Hadar who cut P'Trell disintergrates as if he never was, but his knife bounces off the floor of the command center. The other two Jem'hadar also with leveling rifles fire at the uninjured human.
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Josh's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Jem'Hadar contests his Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill vs Josh's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Rancion (claiming advantage) contests his Dodge skill vs Fortunae's Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Rancion (claiming advantage) contests his Dodge skill vs Fortunae's Energy Weapon (Polaron Rifle) skill and Fails!
The twin beams of energy strike out at the crewman, one missing as the young human twists out of the way, but the second clips his leg just below the knee and severs it completely.
<CONTEST> P'Trell (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
P'Trell recovers from his cut and fires at one of the Jem'hadar shooting at Rancion.
<CONTEST> Josh (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Fortunae's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
Rancion beginning to fall and scream in pain and rage he squeezes off a shot, hitting the Jem'Hedar in the chest
The Starfleet officers return fire with skill and ferocity, eliminating the Jem'Hadar presence in the security control station. Moment's later P'Trell has dropped the defense grids on the facility and calls Dakin to inform him of his status. Both teams begin to fall back towards their original entrance point, P'trell helping Josh hop out after taking the Jem'Hadar's knife as a sourvenoir; Rancion holding his severed leg. Idisha puts the deceased nurse Davis over his shoulders as they depart at Dakin's orders and soon they are outside.
(Mission Conclusion) They get out of their various egress points and sprint for the exterior of the facility camp, taking and returning fire all the while as the rest of the Jem'hedar pursue them with a hell-sent determination. As they reach each other and their pre-selected fall back position the remaining Jem'hedar group into a loose formation that prevents easy use of wide beam attack, and then their Alpha screams a blood oath and they rise to charge the crew under a withering gout of their suppressive fire. But, just as they rise to make their charge, there is an explosion in the building behind them, followed by a second even larger explosion that rocks the ground beneath the crew and blasts a huge gout of fire and death out of every window and door - a fireball that washes over the attackers and sends them back to the Founders. A cheer rises up unbidden amongst the surviving crew, and with restored confidence they lean forward and fire into the few Jem'hedar who are still alive and struggling to get up to attack them from where they were tossed by the explosion. To the East the sun is coming up over the horizon, washing the scene into a grey twilight of smoke and waxing sunlight, and then from out of that sun the crew sees reassuring shapes of Federation Fast Attack fighters screaming down and strafing a distant target. The familiar whine of transporters comes to them from all around as a unit of ground forces troops appear and immediately move to secure the area. One of their officers approaches Dakin with a wide smile and says, "You couldn't have left anything for us? Do you need medical attention? An evac?" Then the rest of his question is drowned out yet another series of explosions from the deeper bowels of the facility. The ground trembles, but it feels like victory.
