The Opportunists
Episode Name: The Opportunists
Written By: Fortunae
Cast: Duncan, Fortunae, Galven, Go'rokot, Golden, Malloy, Orion, Roxsati,
Stewart, Takamura and Tyler.
Produced By: Starfleet
Directed By: Fortunae
Aired On: Sat Jul 05 20:03:47 2003
Stardate: 53339.1
Time: Sat Jul 05 11:31:06 2003
Stardate: 53338.3
Golden says, "Mission Commander's log, Stardate: 53338.2.
So far the mission to Siinoga, Operation: Clambake, has gone smoothly as I could have requested. Siinoga is a hell world of erupting volcanoes and ash filled skies required us to wear insulation suits at times and rebreather masks whenever outside the shelter of our pre-fabricated based camp.
After arrival we got immediately to work with Catch supervising the construction of the base camp while Jimmy and Dove set out for the first scout and sweep and I showed Duncan how to use the guidance on the reconnaissance drone before turning that over to his and Agent Galven's competent hands. Once this was underway I went over the maps and scan data with Wendy - going over the tactical and strategic indicators to search a particular area, she picked this all up quickly as she's a quick study. The long range scan data provided by Spookhouse on Dulcais had given us a starting point and the better part of yesterday was spent scaling cliffs, taking readings, setting remote sensor feed uplinks and hopefully avoiding any contact with the Tal Kaden.
Perhaps not hopefully, so far this mission result wise has been a complete wash unless the gentlemen out on the last sector sweep have something to give me - the folks over in Remote Reconnaissance, as we call the Quonset hut with the drone piloting system and the field replicator with the coffee came up empty. We may just get to bug out, if the expression may be pardoned , and leave the base camp for the second team that should be arriving sometime tomorrow evening."
Operation: Clambake basecamp on the volcanic hellworld that was once thriving Siinoga; a place of red and black stone and skies dark with ash and streaked with fire. The camp itself is arranged in a horseshoe on granite leveled by the ministrations of Qachen Roxsati's supervision and the labors of most. The prefabricated huts give them equipment storage,communications, remote reconnaissance, sleeping quarters and even a "sickbay" where Doctor Malloy was able to open up his field crash kit to be on standby should disaster befall anyone. It has been a day and a half of hard, honest work but all that they have to show for it so far is some fatigued muscles, dirty uniforms, and a nice camp. No sign of S'ral, no sign of Tal Kaden, no sign of S'Terik... and no sign of any surviving Siinogans. The DTI agents Galven and Duncan sit out of the unpleasant environment in the remote reconnaissance hut, Wendy Tyler has withdraw to a sleeping hut where she might hopefully find some rest. In the communications hut, Tera Turtledove takes her turn as "mission" ops and somewhere, soon to arrive back at camp the last search party of Takamura, Stewart, Catch and Malloy.
Duncan flies the drone methodically from sector to sector, watching the readouts intently, occasionally changing altitude for a wider perspective or a tighter view on the harsh landscape below. "Given the Siinogans biology, I can't see why we haven't found any survivors yet, unless they abandoned the planet." is his first comment in a while since beginning operations with the drone.
Takamura leads his team back from another boring recon patrol. After all their hiking and climbing in this environment, their arms are heavy, but their bellies are tight. It seems time for them to break out the rations for lunch.
Malloy shakes his head slightly, putting his IIIc down finally. "You know, Tak..there are times when my head tells me to switch to combat rations whenever we are on a hike. It'd be so damn convenient...but then the taste of it, combined with the memory of what good food there is...I don't know. What kinda person are you. Pro combat ration or against them?"
Golden finishes his mission log, winking to Tera before stepping out of the communications hut and stepping back outside after checking the seal on his rebreather mask. He moves out to check the perimeter sensors... seeing the sweep team coming back toward the camp he waves once with a broad sweep of the hand before attending to his routine status check.
Galven observes the auxiliary readouts of the drone, dutifully keeping an eye on systems status for fluctuation. A cup of tepid coffee sits nearby. "I would be rather suprised if they had no advance warning of a capacity of this magnitude," he comments. "Although, it's not entirely outside the realm of probability."
Playing with settings on his tricorder, Roxsati asks the question that has been plaguing him for the better part of an hour. "How hot do you think it's going to get today?" he says to anyone who is listening. Satisfied with his settings, he hefts the Phaser III back into place and scans the horizon.
Takamura shoulders his Type III, heading in the direction of Golden. "Well, Craig, after serving in the infantry, the taste of them doesn't bother you so much. But, I'd much rather have a hot meal, even if it is replicated, over a ration." When he gets to the team commander, he shakes his head. "Sorry, TC, we found nothing but rocks and dust, which might have interested my Dad. But, it doesn't do us a lick of good."
Stewart sits back in the dust, saying, "Hot enough. We're probably pretty close to the worst of it, but you can never really tell." His weapon rests with the butt in the sand, the thing leaning up against his knees. "And I can think of a few things that might wipe them all out like this. Maybe someone went back in time and poured some industrial pesticide out for the first one to crawl out of the oceans."
Golden nods, a resigned expression on his face as Tak briefs him. "Alright, good work... grab some chow and we'll start thinking about pulling out -- looks like Spookhouse is just going to have to be satisfied with a planetary survey, which isn't our job."
Malloy chuckles, adjusting the medkit he's lugging around in addition to the other equipment. "You know, Tak...Especially because you've been a groundhopper I thought you'd appreciate the fact that you don't have to slug around all those MREs but eat once, if not tasty, but nutritient enough to last you three days. I still am fascinated by the way the stuff gets released through those timed capsules. Whoever thought that up was a genius as well as a sadist..." Ah, credit where credit is due. "I'm sure Dylan LOVES that stuff..."
Golden says, "Hey, I do /love/ field rations, have you see the replicator menu in my quarters?" He brushes his forehead with the back of his hand as he finishes the check of the perimeter sensor, "I better go tell Duncan to reel in the Long Eye so we can pack it out with us."
There is a short cry from the tent where Lieutenant Tyler had been sleeping. Then suddenly the tent opens, and Wendy, wearing a slightly disheveled Starfleet uniform, her hair messed up from sleep, comes walking out fast. She smoothes out the front of her uniform with one hand, and straightens her ponytail with the other. She walks briskly, looking for some sort of human contact, or even alien contact at this point. There's Dylan, in fact. She beelines towards him, almost sliding to a halt. "Report," she says, looking out over the hostile alien landscape.
Stewart keeps quiet for the moment, just silently brooding as he stares out over the barren landscape. He's slightly crouched over, and is devoting his attention to keeping a watch, as if there might still be something lurking out in the barren wastes to suddenly spring up and mount an attack.
Duncan begins drawing on his PADD what at first appears to be a simple doodle, until one starts trying to decipher the mathematical symbols...then it gets a little weird, well to be honest a LOT weird, all the while deftly flitting the drone about the landscape and scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Ordinary of course, being rock, ash, lava, general debris etc. Occasionally some minor fluctuation on the sensors catches his full attention, he examines it in as much detail as the drone's sensors allow and passes on when it proves to be nothing.
<PROVE> Duncan has the merit of Multitasking at 2.
Takamura shakes his head at Malloy. "I never said that I didn't appreciate them, just that I prefer real food. When on the march, I swear by them, since they let me carry my mortar without being weighed down with food." Nodding towards the tents, he says, "Now let's get some real chow. I'm famished."
Golden straightens up, which helps mask any concerned expression at Tyler's arrival appearance. "Long Eye came up empty, Agent Duncan and Agent Galven are doing some free-exploration sweeps to see if they spot anything, I was about to have them reel the drone in. These guys just got back in from the last foot search grid, nothing. No S'Ral, no S'Terik, no Tal Kaden and no Siinogans. I was going to have them eat then start preparing to withdraw, we can leave the camp for Commander Poole's group with O'Rielly as planned but I don't think we need to hang around here much longer by our mission parameters, sir."
Tyler nods several times. She licks her lips. "This planet sucks," she mutters to herself. "Okay, Dylan. Carry on. Is there anything I can help with?" She keeps the shaking of her hands at bay by straightening the waist of her jumpsuit.
Roxsati continues scanning the horizon, keeping watch, and quite frankly hoping that he will see something of interest. Anything would do. Some small creature running for shelter from the environment, a strange cloud formation, anything but another eruption in the distance or dust devil snaking it's way across the plataeu.
Galven glances over, and his brow knits in mild disapproval. Unfortunately, the Zakdorn doesn't take the opportunity to read the PADD more closely to take note of its significance. Instead, he returns his attention to the drone's power readout and watches it intently as if the success of this mission depended on it. As if he actually expects it to vary, in spite of the fact that it's been constant for the entire duration of the mission thus far.
Malloy looks at Tyler for maybe slightly longer a time than necessary in a 'hello, good morning' way, furrowing his brow slightly. "I'll pass on the chow and grab some combat rations actually. Frankly, I'd rather do something other than spooning food in my mouth three times a day around here. Lieutenant Tyler. A word with you later on after you had your chow?" With a nod to himself, he grabs his IIIc again, muzzle down, looking almost uneasily around. Comfy? Him? Here? Definitely not.
Golden smiles genuinely, "Sure Wendy, you could tell the DTI boys to reel in the the drone and I'll start looking over the extraction check list."
Stewart remains seated on his rock, though his attention now turns to watch Tyler and Golden. Chow doesn't seem to interest him at the moment. Every once in awhile, he reaches up a hand to rub at the side of his neck, frowning slightly.
Takamura shrugs at Craig, pausing a moment to watch Tyler. With the attention the others are giving her, he moves on to the tent to shovel some grub into his hole. It's not often that one gets to enjoy the niceties of civilization while in the field. Glancing towards the other members of the recon team, he calls out. "Jimmy, Catch. You guys want anything to eat?"
Tyler looks towards Craig and nods in an almost dismissive manner. Her eyes drop to his feet - she knows what he's going to grumble about at her. She's heard it before. Looking back again towards Golden, she says with relief, "Thanks, Dylan." She then starts to trot towards the DTI post. She raps on the frame of the shelter and pokes her head into it. "Bring it in, gentlemen. We're getting off this rock."
Golden for his part extracts his PADD and starts studiously checking its presented information between directed glances about the camp as if comparing inventory.
Roxsati brings his gaze to Takamura, his thoughts to food. "Sure Tak. I'm all about food after that exciting jaunt you took us on this morning!" With that the Axanarian lowers his weapon and begins trudging towards the large man.
Malloy opens the wrapper of one of those bars, wincing inwardly at the about to be expected taste of the nutritious 'goodness'. Oh well, you sleep in the bed you make for yourself, right? Good night, Craig. Chewing intently, he glances around, apparently contemplating patrolling the perimeter. There's Stewart's rock. Looks like there's a new king of the hill.
Galven glances over to Tyler. "Ah. It is a shame we found nothing more substantial. Although in a way, I expect that is also a small blessing." He taps a sequence into the nearby console. "At any rate, if there is anything to be found, I suppose the full planetary expedition that will be following us up on Siinoga will discover it."
Stewart gets up off his rock, shouldering his weapon as he heads over to the tent to grab some food with the rest of the group. "Seems a shame to take the time to eat here. Sooner we get off this rock, the better. If the bugs left, I can't blame them. If they died, then until we know why and how, it's probably not the best place to be picnicking."
Duncan directs the drone to make a bee line back for base camp, but continues to scan on the way in. "Bringing it in now, should be about forty minutes, it's currently a pretty fair distance out right now." His doodle continues to grow in complexity and just plain strangeness. Glancing over at Galven, "Do you want to fly her back while I help with packing, or vice versa?"
Takamura pauses long enough for his fellow topknot to catch up to him. Then he makes his way inside for some old fashioned grubbing.
Roxsati follows Takamura inside the tent, disabling his weapon as he goes.
Galven's gaze shifts over to Duncan and he says, with a faint degree of enthusiasm, "I'll take over on the drone, if you don't mind." It's a better opportunity to demonstrate one's expertise than packing, in his mind. Of course, at this point the drone essentially flies itself from this point homeward, but still, it's the principle of the thing.
And so soon, food is consumed, gear is packed or left behind as was planned and the team starts to form up for its short if stomach wrenching trip home...
Elsewhere, in the velvet space above the ruin of Siinoga, a ship slides into view. Not a ship immediately recognizable as belonging to any of the greater powers of the area, but likewise not an organic ship that would belong to the Siinogans. It banks it's course and descends into the atmosphere, a fiery glow highlighting it's shields as it does so.
Meanwhile, back at the base camp - the agents of Timefleet assemble with their packs and weapons in position for Translocation back to the Aegis and thus S419 when- high, high overhead a trail of fire not relating to a Volcano appears in the sky. It seems to descend, far too slowly for a meteor and this is confirmed when it banks at a sharp angle and continues in an ever descending course until lost from view due to the horizon.
Golden is the first to speak, a mutter really, "Very funny Ifni." Then with more volume, "Alright people, any of you get a class I.D. on that vessel?"
Malloy checks his Type III Phaser Rifle.
<CONTEST> Tyler (claiming advantage) contests her Physical Sciences (Mathematics) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
<CONTEST> Roxsati contests his Physical Sciences skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Physical Sciences (Mathematics) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!
<CONTEST> Takamura (claiming advantage) contests his Planetary Sciences skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Galven contests his Planetside Survival (Mountain) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan contests his Planetside Survival (Mountain) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Roxsati contests his Planetside Survival skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Golden contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Takamura contests his Planetside Survival (Mountain) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Roxsati contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Planetside Survival (Mountain) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Golden contests his Planetside Survival (Mountain) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Malloy contests his Planetside Survival (Mountain) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Takamura (claiming advantage) contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Malloy (claiming advantage) contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
<CONTEST> Golden contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Roxsati contests his Athletics skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!
<CONTEST> Malloy (claiming advantage) contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Galven contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
GAME: Roxsati spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Roxsati (claiming advantage) contests his Athletics (Climbing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
Many hours later-
Elis Sa'Vange steps down the gangplank of the Artful Device, examining the blasted terrain again as the sun of Siinoga sinks deeper into evening and its setting. Even through his mask he can scent the polluted nature of the air of this volcanic world, or perhaps this is his imagination. Stopping at the bottom, the Orion gestures for his second in command to join him, saying "What is our status Raerma?"
Raerma Acula, likewise an Orion moves to join his friend and boss; "Go'rokot has the slaves finishing the last housing shelter now; after that they get their meal then we put them to work starting on production of the Singe. Are you sure that none of those nasty bugs are about?"
Elis nods and waves a hand almost dismissively, "The Klingon insists that his people have wiped out all traces of the Siinogans, and more importantly Filk's contacts with the Ferengi in the Rynkan sphere have confirmed this. Nobody is here and that is what makes it a perfect place for us to set up shop right under the noses of Starfleet." He laughs with gusto. "Still, has Sajo finished getting the perimeter defenses online?"
Acula looks back over his shoulder, picking out the Chalnothan and then looking back to his comrade, "Seems like he's almost finished now. Once that is up, the son of Krodar and Filk will help him get the Vinonium plant set up so we can stop running power from the Artful Device. Perhaps that will be completed by late tomorrow."
Sa'Vange nods, looking quite pleased. "All according to plan my friend- pick out one of the slaves for yourself for tonight, and send that lusty human with the yellow hair to my quarters after I finish dinner, I'm in the mood for a little pink tonight."
The two Orion's chuckle and their laugh carries across the breadth of the double fence and security wired exterior of their camp. The ship is parked in the center with power cables running from it's exterior into the building that have been erected from pre-fabricated portions. A central command and control building, two watch towers about 10 meters high, kitty corner from each other. Two long buildings with an additional fence have a few score of a mixed bag of aliens wearing plain brown jumpsuits and black technological looking collars, they seem despondent and broken. A final rectangle building has a large Nausicaan sitting outside it arm-wrestling with a disreputable looking Klingon while a Ferengi jabbers insults or encouragement at both of them- all of this quiet clear through the green-hued binocular viewscreen.
Tera Turtledove slinks back over the rim of the ridge from which she was spying on the camp and gestures her arm for the rest of the mission team to move up closer, within moments she relays the layout of the camp-
Dylan listens to the layout of the camp around the ship with careful attention and then he looks to each of his present teammates. "This does not seem to be Tal Kedan, and not within the parameters of our scouting mission... still, two Orions, a Chalnothan, a Ferengi, a Klingon and a Nausicaan... doesn't sound like a vacation tour company either. 40 some odd others, mixed species, most of the Federation member species by the sound of it, doing manual labor or kept in a fenced in compound within the fenced in compound. Slavers you think?"
Takamura listens astutely to Tera's report, then looks to Golden. "Sounds like it to me. Shall we liberate them, or maintain or current mission parameters?"
Malloy shakes his head once. "Sure don't sound like a guided adventure tour for the rich and famous to me, Dylan. Weapon signatures?"
Duncan checks the charge on his phaser, and looks to Dylan awaiting orders.
Stewart unshoulders the rifle, checking it over briefly as he says, "Well, it's kind of a little suspicious. Siinogians up and vanish, with not a trace except... these guys."
Galven frowns. "Taking direct action here is well outside our original mission parameters," he comments, with slight disapproval apparent even through the obscuring mask. He glances over to Stewart. "Still, it is rather curious that these individuals would already be aware that Siinoga has recently become vacant, I agree."
Tera smiles slightly, an excited twinkle in her eyes even if her expression remains bland. "The ones not in jumpsuits all had energy weapons, and the towers seem to have heavy weapons mounted up their. Anti-vehicular types."
Roxsati looks to Stewart and nods in agreement. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Someone in that camp knows what is going on with this planet."
Duncan opines "Given their current state of disarray, we have a limited and rapidly closing window of opportunity to hit them before their defenses are complete. If we're going to do something, we'd better do it soon."
Takamura glances over to Duncan, giving the man a nod. "I agree. What do you say, TC? Go or no go?"
Golden cocks and eyebrow, "Am I to infer that you gentlemen are suggesting that since these people seem aware of the planet's lack of occupancy, they do then fall within the spirit of our mission parameters as given?" He rubs his chin, "Weak, but it could hold up. I'm thinking -- General Order Two: Starfleet officers and agents shall at all times protect the life and liberty of the citizens of the United Federation of Planets; and General Order Eight: Starfleet personnel are required to investigate any and all instances of espionage on Starfleet facilities, and within the United Federation of Planets; and even General Order Nine: Starfleet personnel are required to protect and defend Federation property and territory -- though most telling here of course is General Order Thirteen: To the extent that it does not interfere with their other duties, Starfleet personnel are obligated to investigate any unusual phenomenon." He scratches the side of his nose, "What gets in the way is General Order Ten: Starfleet personnel shall take no hostile action unless responding to a hostile action. We can't go in shooting first and asking questions later, even if that is safer and easier for us... but I also think that if we go up and politely ask them what is going on we put ourselves in danger AND the prisoners perhaps and that goes against General Order Five: Commanding officers shall safeguard the safety and liberty of crew members and civilians under their command. It will have to be my call, but before I make it, opinions? Everybody chime in."
Malloy rolls his eyes. "Dylan, you are turning into a guardhouse lawyer. Jesus. Man. No books for you for a month." A slight shake of his head, then he looks in the general direction of the ship. "I'm a doctor. I say take out the cancer."
Takamura grins at Malloy's banter. "I don't think we can let slavers operate freely within Federation borders. We should haul them in and free the slaves."
Galven peers over at Golden. "While I respectfully disagree that General Order Eight or Nine has not been substantiated enough to apply, General Orders Two and Thirteen definitely have precedence in this situation." He's a Zakdorn, after all. This legal mumbo-jumbo is right up his alley, culturally speaking. "So, I agree with the general recommendation to investigate further." There's an audible emphasis on the word 'investigate.'
Roxsati says, "Well, as was said before, our window is closing. It would be better to do 'something' now. It wouldn't take much time to set up some strategically placed explosives around their encampment and to have our sniper in the hills for covering fire. With that in place, it may be best to send someone forward to announce Starfleet's presence. If things get hairy, and they start hostilities, the explosions and our sniper provide a subtle way for us to get out."
"I think we need to know what's going on", Stewart replies with an easy shrug. "That doesn't necessarily mean nuke and pave, but further investigation seems warranted."
Duncan's eyes light up briefly as an idea occurs. "What if some poor civilian approaches them asking for help, having been stranded on this planet for a week or so after a crash...That would put said civilian in danger of being enslaved, and thus give an excuse, It was too bad that the civilian team member happened to slip and roll down the incline there almost to the edge of their camp and had to make up an excuse for being on the same planet as those people down there in order to keep his own team safe..."
Galven raises his eyebrows, imperious gaze shifting over to Duncan. "That is risky. And it would compromise our ability to take advantage of the element of surprise, should it become necessary."
Takamura listens to the other suggestions, then propses his own. "I think we should send in a recon team to investigate further. They can be supported by Jimmy's rifle and my mortar, if things go poorly."
Roxsati thinks quietly for a moment. Turning his gaze towards the TC he says "A recon team properly covered may be the best solution. One thing we can probably be certain of though, if these are slavers, as they appear to be, they will not go quietly if they figure out that we are here."
Golden says, "Its nearing sunset, I think, their defenses being fully ready or not, caution on our part is judicious and frankly I don't really anticipate their defenses being that much of a problem even fully operational, after all, they aren't expecting a Rapid Response Team to be here, but if we do go, it will have to be before the other mission arrives as their ship will likely note that." He nods and then gets to business, "Your suggestion is noted Duncan, but I don't like the idea that they may just shoot the straggler out of hand, not likely but a possibility though as always your courage is noted. Here is what we are going to do... Jimmy, pick a partner and go take up a sniper position with a vantage point on that north-west tower. Tak, you can set up your mortar here -- Tera you can play spotter for him, I want you to presight the firing trajectory for a hit directly into their command structure and no place else, we can't afford any drift putting a shell into the civilians. In the mean time... Catch and Craig... once those are in position I want you two to take a slow careful unseen approach close to the camp and get me some data on those collars around the prisoners neck, I have a bad feeling about those and also get us an update on the condition of the captives -- keep an eye out for more person being on the ship still, we may not have a full head count... and watch out, Ferengi have excellent hearing. You recon then come back and we'll make up our minds after we have more information and a better idea of what is really going on -- if we go in the priorities are protecting the captives and then capturing that ship, I'll work on that while you all get in position. Any questions, if not, pick your battle buddy and get moving so the recon team can move forward. Catch, start working on an approach masking with your Tricorder, we don't want them picking up your approach on their perimeter sensors."
<PROVE> Duncan has the skill Stealth at least at level 0.
Stewart points over towards Duncan, "Mycroft. Just keep the phaser in your belt until they already have our position. Otherwise the energy trail is like God's own finger pointing us out to the enemy."
Duncan nods. "Yes, I know the drill, if you see me pull my phaser, you know we've been spotted."
Galven offers, "Perhaps I can aid in the disruption of there perimeter sensors. I imagine a ragtag affair suchas they seem to be would have vastly inferior equipment, so it should be a simple matter. A jamming signal might be sufficient."
Golden nods at the choice says to the two who are leaving immediately, "Good luck -- be safe and be careful, if they pick you up then any surprise we have is lost, you know that of course it's just my job to remind you... see you later, but hopefully not before you're ready to be seen -- set your combadges to vibrate only, if I need to talk to you I'll hail then text message over a PADD."
Golden says, "If you can help on that end Agent Galven, please assist Catch on that."
Malloy exhales slowly, then opens his medkit to take out a few things. Things you need for emergency use when being shot at, stun or kill. No, no shovels. Just a few hypos and patches. "Tak? I'll leave the rest of my kit with you. Too loud to sneak with that one." Someone's happy. Quite a lot so. "Alright, catch...Let's go."
Duncan steps over to Stewart's side and awaits time to move out.
Golden says, "Hold on there Doctor Eager, you aren't going anywhere until the rest of the pieces are in place, if you need something to do, look over the data scan Tera got and pick out your approach route."
Roxsati does as told and sets his badge to vibrate. Nodding to Malloy, he begins the sequences on his tricorder to mask their approach. "What can you do to jam their signals?" he says to Agent Galven.
Takamura nods at the assignments, then shrugs off his pack to reveal his portable artillery. Looking up to Malloy, he smiles. "Alright, Craig. I'll make sure nothing happens to it."
GAME: Stewart spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Stewart (claiming advantage) contests his Planetary Tactics (Small Unit) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Duncan makes appropriate adjustments to various equipment including turning off his temporal tricorder in preparation for sneaking around. Run silent, run deep...
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
GAME: Stewart spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Stewart (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
Stewart shoulders the TR-116 and heads off, gesturing for Duncan to follow along. With the hot, broken ground, Stewart sticks to shuffling along the numerous chasms and other scars on the ground, working his way up the hill while trusting to the rubble to block him from vision and hopefully detection. When he eventually reaches the chosen vantage, he hunts out a piece of rubble to use as cover, quietly saying to Duncan, "Stick maybe twenty feet away. Don't want to be too bunched up."
One moment Duncan is there, shouldering a type IIIc phaser rifle, and the next he's nowhere to be seen, the twilit shadows seem to have swallowed him up as he stepped away from the group following Stewart's lead. Carefully picking his way, stepping on solid ground where he can, stepping on scree and loose gravel only when there is the sound of volcanic activity to cover the crunch of his footfalls in the blasted hellish terrain. On arrival at their destination, he finds his own cover and makes like a rock and waits for his moment.
GAME: Malloy spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Golden contests his Planetary Tactics (Small-unit) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
GAME: Galven spends a courage point.
GAME: Roxsati spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Galven (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Temporal Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Roxsati (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Malloy (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Medical Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Malloy contests his Planetary Tactics (Small-unit) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
After listening to Lt. Golden give his thoughts on the condition and type of scanning that the base would probably have, Roxsati tweaks and fiddles with his tricorder, setting the frequencies to best enhance the jamming which Agent Galven was working on. Once satisfied that he has the correct settings, he waits for Galven to signal that he is ready to begin jamming.
GAME: Takamura spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Malloy (claiming advantage) contests his Planetary Tactics (Small-unit) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
Galven listens to Golden's description of the perimeter's layout, then slides out his tricorder, muting its audible output before proceeding with the scan just to be safe. After a moment or two, he smiles smugly and speaks says, "As I expected... Their sensor network is slaved to a single phase variance. Child's play." He forwards the jam signal parameters to Roxsati's and Malloy's tricorders.
<CONTEST> Takamura contests his Planetary Tactics (Small-unit) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
<CONTEST> Takamura (claiming advantage) contests his Heavy Weapons (Plasma Mortar) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!
Tera assists Hiroshi with setting up his big boom launcher, nervous energy building as she assists him silently.
Takamura finishes positioning the mortar and begins to plot his coordinates for the fire upon the command bunker. Doublechecking his calculations, he nods in satisfaction with his plotting.
<CONTEST> Roxsati (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
GAME: Malloy spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Malloy (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Dramatically Succeeds!
Since you guys had a failure.. I will need to do the emitting to set up the result of same...
Roxsati and Malloy set off and slink from rock to shadow, shadow to rock close and closer the camp... getting into position they both take their appropriate passive data scans and carefully set back out, Malloy a ghost in fog so silent and unseen is he... but the Axanarian... not so lucky. His rifle knocks loose a stone that rattles away from him and clatters down toward the camp. The officers freeze in place as they have been trained to do...
Inside the camp, the Ferengi Filk cocks his head. "You hear that?" He asks his Nausicaan and Klingon companions.
Nol'TeQ, son of Krodar looks over, "I don't have goblets for ears like you -- I heard nothing and what was there to here? We are the only ones here, you know that, I know that. Bah. You are like an old human woman."
The Nausicaan, Go'rokot stands up and looks about musing, "Perhaps we are not alone, your information could be wrong. I have no desire to become a meal for bugs."
Filk says, "You two better go check it out.. it was out that way, don't argue with me or I'll just tell Sa'Vange I heard something and he'll send you out anyway. Take tricorders, I'll stay here, just in case."
The son of Krodar scowls and bares his teeth, "In case there actually /is/ something you mean so you'll have a chance to go and hide you little coward. Bah, we go."
The Klingon and the Nausicaan move with casual speed for the exit to the camp, both pulling out Klingon Disruptors as they go, in the other hand holding tricorders which burr and scan...
<CONTEST> Nol'TeQ contests his Search skill vs Roxsati's Stealth (Hide) skill (given advantage) and Fails!
<CONTEST> Nol'TeQ contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs Roxsati's Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill (given advantage) and Fails!
<CONTEST> Go'rokot contests his Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill vs Roxsati's Personal Equipment (Tricorder) skill (given advantage) and Fails!
<CONTEST> Go'rokot contests his Search skill vs Roxsati's Stealth (Hide) skill (given advantage) and Fails!
The two search with senses and tricorders blissfully unaware that as they do Stewart's rifle is aimed at the Klingon's throat while Duncan tracks the Nausicaan, just in case. But the fire order does not come and the sensor masking stands, the two guards give up and return to the camp taking time to berate Filk for wasting their time...
After a tense few minutes of silently waiting for the probable slavers to finish their scan, Roxsati begins scanning the encampment, gathering information on the beings, the collars on the slaves, the weapons, power supplies, etc... Once that is finished, he gives a quick nod to the Doctor that all is ready. Slowly and silently, he turns to slip back through the darkness and up the hill.
Malloy blends into the darkness like ice cubes exposed to room temperature for twenty minutes into water. He owns the night. Having gathered the information he was looking for, picking up a frown on the way, he follows Roxsati back up the hill.
Golden says, "So, that was a close call, you trying to test my heart guys? What did you get?"
Galven glances over as Roxsati and Malloy return from their excursion. He remains quiet, eagerly awaiting whatever insights they have gathered.
Duncan holds his position, occasionally glancing down at his PADD to check for any tactical updates, and perhaps add a few marks to the doodle he's still working on.
Stewart lets Duncan handle keeping tabs on the situation. For his part, he keeps his rifle aimed towards the camp, tracking from target to target as they present themselves, but waiting until fire orders come in, or until something goes bad.
Golden buzzes Stewart and Duncan, then keeps his fingers poised over his PADD, typing in the report from the Doctor and the Engineer as they present it to keep the fire team apprised...
Roxsati gives a quick nod to Golden before relating the information gathered from the scan. "Alright, first and foremost, those collars are definitely rigged to explode. A shaped charge in each will go off if the master signal is disrupted. The signal is originating in that main command hut." he says as he points towards the base. "If we mess with the collars or jam the signal, they will go off. We could try to duplicate the signal, but even if we could pinpoint the frequency, I'm pretty sure that someone in the base has an override switch of some sort that could detonate them. As far as other security, they have an extensive array of sensors in place along with the heavy support weapons in the towers. One possible weakness though. They are drawing all of their power from the ship. Nothing else is generating any."
Golden type type type, the stylus and fingers work in concert relaying this tidbit..
Roxsati says, "Also, the sensors seem to be very specialized. They seem to be very keyed in to pick up biotechnology."
Golden says, "If we cut the power though, the signal goes down and he prisoners all die, am I following that correctly?"
Roxsati says, "That is how I would interpret it."
Golden nods, a grim expression on his features.
Malloy arcs his left eyebrow when listening to Roxsati's tale, then adds "No lifeforms on the ship, the ones in the jumpsuits are slightly malnourished, overworked and are exposed to a narcoctic by the name of 'Singe'. This stuff burns brain cells and calories in exchange for a hefty amount of endorphines and stimulation of the brain's pleasure center as well as increasing energy, allowing more work. It is my belief, that they are forced to work manufacturing that drug and get parts of it as a bonus. Pharmacological scans indicate the unidentified hut as a chemical lab." Grim? You bet.
Golden says, "I believe that satisfies our mandate to intervene. Illegal weapons... the disruptors. Illegal weapons in the towers. Illegal drugs. Indications of drug usage and forced captivity. Illegal explosives. I am willing to bet that ship probably has some illegalities about it as well, like unlawful transport just to start. Does anyone need any more grounds for an intervention at this point?"
Golden type type type.
Galven scowls a bit. "We are obviously not dealing with amateurs," he comments. "At least, that is what the configuration of the collars suggest to me. Our options seem to be greatly reduced. But it is obvious that we must act."
Duncan on reading the report, glances over at Stewart to see if he's had a chance to scan through it, then types in, "Awaiting firing orders."
Takamura growls softly as the reports are given. Once complete, he shakes his head at Golden. "Not from me, TC. Have any plans up your sleeve?"
Stewart looks down at his PADD briefly, scanning through it, and then taps in, "Also, I think they're probably in violation of several zoning ordinances."
Malloy blinks, then snorts. "Yes, definitely. I believe that their illegal chemical lab is definitely violating the zoning regulations for this planet..."
Galven raises his eyebrows. "Technically speaking, that would depend entirely on the laws imposed by the Siinogan hierarchy," he states, deadpan -- and possibly, serious.
Golden says, "I believe we have safely established "threat of violence" so we can respond with preemptive violence. The two that came out looking for you, they drew their weapons so this indicates willingness to use same. The automated sensors and weapons are tuned in toward bio not energy so they aren't there for anti-vehicular support, and using crew served weapons on people is illegal even in the conventions of war, only equipment is a target for those legally. The demolition collars are a clearly stated threat to kill the prisoners. That's three strikes against us going down and starting with negotiation... dead prisoners don't testify is my impression of that set up." He looks at his PADD and release a chuckle at Stewart's dark humor. "That being said.. key points in this operation are preventing the execution of the prisoners, that will require specific timing. The Chalnoth, the Nausicaan, the Klingon the Ferengi -- they are working outside, we can pick off the Chalnoth separately, the other three are clustering so I'm thinking a widebeam heavy stun, team of two to be sure they all go down at the same time, sorry for the Ferengi eating a high charge but the other two require such. Doc, prep some hypos for keeping them asleep once we have them for each of them with the medical scans you already got. Can't just fire on the command hut as that will take out the emitter so Tak, you need to change targets for timed air burst near the impulse lifters so they can't get the ship off the planet if things are going wrong, set up your launcher for remote firing as we are going to need your body down at the camp, Tera too. Galvan, if you aren't fit for a combat raid I think you should work on exactly duplicating that demolition collar signal and once you are /positive/ send it out as soon as the shooting starts, I need not remind you that if you do it wrong they all die." Hey, no pressure. "That leaves us the Orions... I think while the fire team for the cluster gets in position, two more will move around the opposite perimeter and bypass the security fencing and enter the camp since it's dark now, slink into the command hut and capture the Orions, no wide beam in there, it might set off the kill switch override. If we do this right, everybody goes down with only 5 shots being fired total. Any other ideas at this point or should we timetable this plan as is...?"
Golden type type type.
Galven nods. "That sounds like an effective strategy, Commander. I have two things to put forward: firstly, it seems likely to me that the slavers will only detonate the collars as a last resort if they are obviously outmatched, or more likely, use it as a hostage tactic so they can bide their time for escape. Nevertheless, spoofing the master signal is a vital course of action, but it should be kept in mind that the slavers value those lives as well, even if the only cost they associate with them is monetary. Second, we could also consider the possibility of using our control of their sensor perimeter to make a decoy. It is obvious that any threat they are expecting will be Siinogan in nature, since they are keyed to lock onto biotechnology."
Golden says, "I like the decoy idea, see if you can model it and if it looks good, we'll include that. Noted regarding the commercial value of the prisoners as well as the negotiation value -- hopefully they won't have time to even open their mouths to talk before we have them tagged and bagged though."
Duncan keys in a quick response offering to be on the team entering the command building, and stating that from what he's seen of it the plan it looks solid
Takamura nods at Golden's commands and commences to redesignate his target and prepare the remote firing controls.
Golden reads note from Duncan..."Okay...then let see if we can get the decoy viable, if so, I have a /perfect/ way to use that which will make everything else just that much easier..." And with that, gathering around the team present, he begins to outline the specifics of the plan and everyone's role in it, relaying for Duncan to come back down and Stewart to stay put and observe the camp indicating that when mission time is a go he'll be joining the sniper at his position.
<CONTEST> Fortunae contests Roxsati's (claiming advantage) Demolitions (Booby Traps) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
GAME: Galven spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Galven (claiming advantage) contests his Security (Security Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
GAME: Galven spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Galven (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Temporal Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Galven contests his Computer (Modeling) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Galven (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Temporal Tricorder) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!
GAME: Golden spends a courage point.
GAME: Golden spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Golden (claiming advantage) contests his Planetary Tactics (Small-unit) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Golden (claiming advantage) contests his Command (Combat Leadership) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Golden (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<PROVE> Golden has the merit of Shadow Master at 1.
<PROVE> Malloy has the merit of Athletic Ability at 2.
<PROVE> Takamura has the merit of Athletic Ability at 2.
<CONTEST> Stewart (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Takamura (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Malloy (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealhty Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Takamura contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Malloy contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Fortunae contests Turtledove's (claiming advantage) Stealth (Stealth Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Security (Security Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
<CONTEST> Fortunae contests Turtledove's (claiming advantage) Security (Security Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Fortunae contests Turtledove's (claiming advantage) Stealth (Stealth Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Stealth (Stealthy Movement) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Orion's Dodge skill and Fails!
<CONTEST> Orion contests Turtledove's Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
After Duncan joins them Dylan lays out the plan of movement and the timetable, once everyone is clear on their part and Gelvan has assured them he has the frequency to set up the collar jamming, Golden wishes everyone good luck and moves away, disappearing into the darkness until he pulls up alongside Jimmy patting him on the shoulder to let him know he's arrived and then he sends the buzz to move to first positions...
...then Dylan silently slides his rifle over into Stewart's capable hands.
At Golden's signal, Takamura slinks into the darkness to take up his ambush position with Malloy.
Stewart accepts Golden's Type III, setting the TR-116 aside for the moment in favour of a weapon that has 'stun' and 'kill' settings, as opposed to 'kill' and 'would have killed if you could aim' settings. Switching to the aforementioned 'stun' option, Stewart lines up again on the furry creature in the camp, drawing a bead.
Following Tera, Duncan is again swallowed up by the shadows as he makes his way down towards the camp. He slips up quietly to the fence just slightly ahead of Tera, and opens its access panel. He begins working on it, but realizes very quickly that it is beyond his skill, backing off and waving Tera forward, he gives her a quick shrug, then takes up a defensive position to cover her while she works. After Tera does her magic, he moves forward again from shadow to shadow towards the command building, finds a place to hide and awaits the go signal.
Galven remains behind at the staging area, tapping on his tricorder as he gets one of his signal-based feats of legerdemain ready to go on command, just in time for the second one to finish compiling. He grins confidantly.
Golden taking the field glasses, Dylan measures the distance to target and then shifts to see the progress of the other teams moving into position. "Nearly 900 meters Jimmy," he breathes softly, "Not an ambitious shot through those crates or anything, is it?"
Takamura snakes his way behind some rock with a good vantage point in the trio of slavers. Using hand gestures, he directs Malloy into a complimentary crossfire position. Once settled, he awaits the final signal from Golden.
"I've had more ambitious." Of course, Stewart isn't saying /no/, he's just deflecting the question. He waits a few more seconds, and then says quietly, "Ready to fire on your signal. Just say the word."
Tera frowns thoughtfully at the fence once they reach it, but then extracting her tool kit quickly runs a bypass of the energy flow in the security fence, cuts a hole in it silently and then slips through to work on the next. Moments later a small but easily passed breach in both fences is created and she's within the compound proper, flashing Duncan an enigmatic smile.
"Silly, silly criminals," Galven mumbles to himself where he resides, safe at the staging point. "Won't even know what is going to happen until it is too late to react." Galven likes field missions. Not so much procedure to rely on as in the lab, maybe, but it's definitely more thrilling. He also says to Golden, "The decoy is ready, as is the slave signal."
Golden receiving the confirmation signal, Golden sends the two stream buzz which means cue the decoy. He waits. And waits. And then waits a bit more until he realizes the decoy is not going to work and the automated guns aren't going to fire at sensor ghosts bringing the four outside to come looking and the two inside out to investigate... snarling a bit under his breath he signals the three buzz cue -- GO GO GO and says, "Stand by Jimmy... and five... four...three ...two...take him."
Takamura patiently waits for the diversion to begin. When it doesn't materialize, he listens for Golden's signal. Once received, he and Malloy squeeze their triggers lancing out wide converging beams of light targeted on the feasting trio.
Stewart slowly squeezes the trigger, bringing a stream of energy to bear on the target. He visually confirms that the furry creature is down and on the ground before saying, "Got him. And with those defences up, maybe a little property damage is in order. Hard targets."
At Dylan's signal, Agent Duncan, key's the door which obediantly opens. He storms in screaming curses in of all things ancient Vulcan and fires a quick burst at the first face he sees, unfortunately he misses and has to dive out of the doorway and into any cover he can find so that Tera can make her entrance.
Galven, meanwhile, is tapping on his tricorder with futility. "No... no, I don't understand. The sensor signature is flawless. It /must/ be a fault in /their/ hardware," he mutters. "Shoddy non-Federation design..." As the first whines of phaser cut the darkening twilit desert, though, Galven snaps into focuses. He activates the spoof signal with another violent stab of his finger on the tricorder's surface.
Tera's eyes are wide with delight as she finally gets to get into the mix, she sidesteps in after Duncan and her smile turns to a frown slightly as she realizes Mycroft missed his target -- this not stopping her own weapon from discharging into the face of the other Orion before he can utter a reaction to the yelling in Vulcan or the rapidly shifting position Trill, her hand flicks toward the still standing Orion and maintains that aim even as she dives and rolls a few meters into the room and the opposite direction of Duncan before coming up into a crouch preparing to fire again...
Catch furrows his brows at the Zakdorns muttering and crosses his fingers as the DTI agent seeks to initiate the spoof signal, hoping against hope he's not going to be hearing a bunch of microexplosions as a punchline to the phaser fire.
Dylan watches the results from the binoculars, exterior down fire in the command hut -- yeah Jimmy shift up and take out those tower guns before they get any ideas.. oh crap, yeah their shifting toward Craig and Hiroshi I'll take near tower you take the far tower.." His phaser II is coming to bear even as the setting is revved up, he takes a shot hoping Ifni is kind...
GAME: Golden spends a courage point.
<CONTEST> Golden (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!
... Dylan's shot hits the tower but misses the traversing turret gun...
Inside the command hut, Elil Sa'Vange bellows, "Starfleet! You'll pay for your interference!" He presses a button on either side of his bracelet and it emits a high whine... his expression is a shocked one when the sound of many, many small explosions is not the result of his action.
<CONTEST> Takamura (claiming advantage) contests his Search skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!
<CONTEST> Stewart (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
Takamura and Malloy rush to the position of the fallen slavers. As the good doctor administers the sedative, the large Asian keeps his eyes peeled for any further enemy response.
<CONTEST> Stewart (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!
Stewart dials the setting up, way up. Turrets don't stun. And now it's like they said in the recruitment fliers: See the world, then see how much of it you can destroy. With that in mind, he takes aim on the first turret, fires, and doesn't bother to check damage before swinging over to fire on the second turret as well.
Just as the closer tower was ready to unleash doom upon the unaware medical officer and his large companion, the build up of green light became a blossoming explosion of orange, yellow and red as Stewart's precision on the fly terminates it's existence with almost casual ease. Its companion tower gun, having likewise expired under the pressure of one perfectly executed shot, likewise neglects to inflict any retaliatory damage.
<CONTEST> Duncan (claiming advantage) contests his Energy Weapon (Phaser Rifle) skill vs Orion's Dodge skill and Succeeds!
Duncan rises up from cover, like death itself, and pops a burst directly into the Orion slaver's surprised face. "Wrong place, Wrong time, slaver." as his opponent collapses to the floor.
The signal now under automated transmission, Galven draws his phaser, keeping it ready in case physical intervention on his part becomes necessary. Judging by the swiftness with which the attack has fallen, however, it seems that will remain unnecessary.
Golden says, "Sweet Ifni's Milky Breasts! Nice Shooting James!" He puts the binoculars back to his eyes sweeping the area, and touches his combadge with a finger extended from his phaser toting hand he says, "Fire Teams, Status."
Tera flashes Duncan a warm smile and then unceremoniously removes the weapons from the two Orions before dragging them outside to be "treated" by the good doctor, she gestures toward Duncan to respond to the status report as she covers the two stunned miscreants with not really hidden satisfaction.
Stewart replies to Golden as he lowers the rifle just slightly, keeping it ready but not actively tracking at the moment, "And as thanks for my fine shooting, you will promise never, ever to use that turn of phrase again."
As the phaser beams lance out to the towers, neutralizing them. Takamura and Malloy duck down to avoid shrapnel. Once the blast clears, Craig finishes giving the Klingon his sleep agent. Meanwhile, Tak readjusts his rifle grip and peers around for any further surprises, giving his own cover to the doctor. Tapping his combadge, he reports in to Golden. "Team 1 has subdued the three hostiles and is administering their medication. And thanks for the cover."
Golden smirks, "Done."
Duncan taps his badge "Command building cleared, no losses on our side." double taps, then does a quick once around in the building before following Tera out.
Catch touches his badge, "The signal baffler has held, the captives are still alive, should I move down to work on disarming the Collars now TC?"
Galven listens to the communications between the commander and the rest of the team, and glances over at Catch. "I will aid you, of course." He holds up his tricorder and grins tightly. Never mind that the decoy failed to spring into existance, to be sure.
Dylan nods even though only James can see him, saying into his combadge, "Affirmative.. all personnel shift to the camp and secure, after we are on site Agent Galven and Mister Stewart will check the command hut for anything viable, Mister Takamura and Doctor Malloy will take care of the captives after Mister Roxsati and I have disarmed their explosive collars, Mister Turtledove and Agent Duncan you will site secure until Stewart and Galven finish in the command hut, then you will take point into the captured vessel. If all goes well we'll have this camp broken down and those liberated souls back aboard and be on our way to Dulcais before sunrise. Good work people, Hooah!"
Golden claps James on the back, "Damn fine shooting, damn fine."
Takamura shoulders his rifle, reaching into a pouch on his equipment belt. Pulling out some Monomesh-weave Zip ties, he goes about securing the limbs of the slavers. No need to let them have free mobility when the drugs and stun effects wear off.
Roxsati moves over to the mortar launcher and turns it off, "Don't want that going off accidentally now do we?" After a few minutes he has it disassembled and into it's carrying pack -- he looks toward Galven as if pondering if the Zakdorn could carry the pack but seems to reconsider and straps it on himself, moving toward the camp then with his own pack and Tak's, and his weapons... his progress is slow, and steady... and after his last rough terrain accident, exceedingly careful.
Duncan on exiting the command building, moves way over to the slave dorm and keys the entrance. "Pardon me, but would you all please come outside? Your situation has just recently changed, and we need to talk with you about that." at the terrified looks he gets, his expression softens a bit. "No, no, you are quite safe, please, you will not be harmed."
Stewart makes his way down towards the base after returning Golden's Type III to him. He heads down towards Galven, "Looks like we're on search and seizure detail. Let's get to work. I think this is your lead, here, I'm not so up on the technical."
Dylan stands up, brushing himself off and getting back his rifle from James so the Deadeye marksman can carry his longarm instead. As he makes his way to the captured camp he calls back to their own camp... "Lieutenant Golden to Lieutenant Tyler. We found something. No, not what we were looking for... some sort of drug slavers with 40 plus captives, mostly Federation citizens by the look, yes... we gathered evidence for a case of criminal violations, verified violent intent and then moved in on them. I'm about to go and read them their rights now... we'll come pick you up as soon as we have everything organized here. Yes sir. Golden out." He then walks the rest of the way into camp, catching up with Stewart, Roxsati, and Galven.
Galven stows his phaser back to its place on his belt. And, apparently looking down at his clothing and taking note of the amount of volcanic ash that has soiled itself unto his suit, he takes several moments to brush it of with vigor and futility. He then makes his way over to the command post of the encampment. His progress is slow and steady, like that of Roxsati, but that's probably a combination of his un-athletic build and his apparent aversion to kicking up even more dust on his field outfit than any actual burden. Meeting up with Stewart, he says, "Oh of course, Ensign Stewart. I wouldn't expect you handle anything you weren't qualified to do."
At this point, the slaves realize exactly what has happened -- and first one, then another ragged cheering cry comes from them, and then, like an avalanche the sound increases until they are all whooping and cheering and sobbing in relief and saying things like, "Bless you Starfleet!" "We knew you'd come!" "Hooray for Starfleet!"
... that no one in the rescue party is actually considered part of Starfleet by Starfleet anymore is not lost on many of them, but that is nothing compared to the feeling of having done something pure and good for citizens of the Federation, like they vowed to once upon a time.
-- Fin --
