Star Trek Raza
Season 1, Episode 4
Uprising.
Onboard the Federation Starship Raza
Commander James Mitchell Personal Log Stardate 63400.51
Starfleet Command has ordered the Raza to visit this lovely penal colony on Elba II to try and quell an inmate uprising. I for one don’t know what the hell they are complaining about. Three square meals a day and roof over your head. Minus the beach side resort what more can you ask for. Any who…the Captain along with Councilor Liira, Yeoman Braun, Field Medic Nirren and the two Jar Heads; scratch that Sergeant Young and Private Parts Ruiz are down planet side heading up negotiations between the leader of this little coup and the Penal Colony’s Director. I for one can’t wait to get back underway. Politics just aren’t my thing.
****
The Bridge onboard the Raza
As the Raza orbits Elba II for the third straight day boredom has overcome the bridge crew. Commander Mitchell is pacing the bridge bouncing a rubber ball in his hand, occasionally tossing it in the air catching it behind his back in an attempt to show off. He spots Lieutenant Phos watching him out of the corner of his eye. “Phos catch!” and he tosses the ball at the android. Phos reaches up with one hand catching the ball. She then looks at it with curiosity.
“Why did you throw this rubber object at me Commander?”
Mitchell rubs his head. “I’m trying to lighten the mood here Phos. Now toss it back to me.”
Phos lobs the ball back to Mitchell who then quick tosses it to Lieutenant Karn the ships Chief Science Officer. Not even seeing the ball coming it hits off her left shoulder startling her. The ball falls to the floor and rolls toward the Engineering station. Chief Engineer A’Ryn Sung puts her foot out trapping the ball under her foot. Reaching down she picks the ball up and looks back toward her lover. “Please put your toys away before someone gets hurt.”
“Sweetie, I’m just trying to…” but she cuts him off.
“If you want to enjoy your BIG BOY toys later I highly suggest you put this child’s toy away.” She tosses the ball back to him. He catches it and a shit eating grin comes across his face knowing that he just might get lucky later. Most of the bridge crew gets a good laugh when one of the lights in front of Jeremy Cho’s console lights up.
“Incoming message from the planet’s surface Commander.” announces Cho. “It’s Captain Decker sir.”
“On the main viewer Lieutenant.” orders the Commander.
“Aye sir.” and Cho relays it to the main viewer which lights up showing the distorted and statically image of Captain Decker. The bridge crew can barely make out the faces Nirren, Yeoman Braun, Liira and the two MACO’s behind him.
“Hold on Captain the signal is breaking up.” The Commander turns to Cho. “Can you clear that up?”
“I’m trying sir, but there’s a ton of interference.” as Cho tries to clear the image up.
“I’m detecting an incoming Ion storm in the vicinity of the penal colony. Pretty sure that’s what’s causing the signal degradation Commander.” states Lieutenant Karn.
“I guess it is what it is then.” He looks back at the view screen and squints trying to make out his Captain. “Captain Decker, you ready to come home?”
“Comma..r Mi…ell there is a ..or co. in. I .m affra.. we are goi.. to be delay.. a da. Or so.”
“Captain I’m going to try and get a lock on the away team and beam you guys out. Hold on.” and the Commander taps his communications badge. “Commander Mitchell to Transport Chief. Get them out of there now chief.”
“Yes sir.” answers the Transporter Chief.
Suddenly an explosion rocks the view screen and the Raza loses the signal to the planet completely. Commander Mitchell spins back around to look at the viewer, but now the screen is dead black. “He points at Cho. “Get them back now Cho!! Chief, tell me you got them the hell off that planet!!”
“I am sorry sir. There wasn’t enough time before the explosion.” answers the transporter chief.
“Damn-it. Cho give me some good news.”
“Sorry sir. Between the storm and whatever that explosion was it took out the long-range communications from the colony. We’ve lost them sir.”
“Someone get me some God damn answers!!” and he whips the ball across the room letting it bounce off random walls across the bridge. The bridge crew explode into action trying to their best of their abilities to get the answers the Commander wants.
****
The Penal Colony Command Center on Elba II
The Command Center was a modern structure made out of concrete and steel. It was one of the longest standing buildings since the inception of the Federation Penal Colony. That is until now. The explosion ripped a good portion of the front of the building right off. Now only a third of the front wall stands erect. Rubble can be seen strewn all across the courtyard from the blast. Sergeant Young is the first to wake up from the blast. His ears are still ringing from the loud explosion. He shakes his head trying to get the ringing to stop, but it has little effect. Aching from the explosion he rolls out from under a beam that almost crushed him. Grabbing his blaster rifle he uses it as a crutch to get himself to his feet. He squints as he sees some semblance of daylight beaming through the blast torn walls. He pins himself against the wall raising his rifle pointing it out through a small opening into the courtyard. He peers through the sights and sees a dozen inmates running around taking out what remains of the colony’s security detail that survived the blast. He knows they are fucked in the worst way. “Sound off!!” he barks out waiting to hear if anyone else survived the blast.
“Yeah I’m ok.” yells back Private Ruiz as he stagers to his feet about ten yards away. Fresh blood trickles down from his nose again and he realizes that he’s broken the damn thing again. He’s not sure what he’s more pissed about. His busted nose or the fact they got ambushed. He sees Councilor Liira trying to get up, but her leg has a deep gash that is bleeding pretty badly. He crawls over to her on his stomach with his rifle in his hand. “Don’t move. You may have severed an artery.” He quickly checks the wound out and realizes that the artery is not severed, but she will need medical help to close the wound. He scans the area for their Field Medic. “Nirren!!” but there is no answer. “Nirren!” and then he hears a moan off to his right and he spots her pinned under a pile of rocks. “Shit.” Ruiz drops his rifle and stagers over to Nirren leaving the Councilor behind. He quickly starts pulling rocks off the Field Medic freeing her from her trapped state. She coughs up dust and soot, but she seems to be no worse for wear. She’s covered with minor cuts and bruises but nothing major. “Come on Nirren I need you to pull your shit together. Liira has a pretty bad cut on her leg she needs you to look at.”
She rubs her head and sees blood on her hand as she pulls it away. “I will be fine. Take me to her.” and together they crouch low and make their way through the rubble to the injured Councilor.
“Give me a count Ruiz!!” screams out Young.
“Liira’s hurt but Nirren is ok.”
“What about the Captain? Where the hell is the Captain?” as you can hear panic start to come across Young’s voice.
“I don’t know. I don’t fucking see him.” but just then Juan hears a girl crying coming from the back of the blasted out room. “Hold on I got something.” He then hands Nirren his blaster pistol and looks her dead in the eyes. “If anyone comes in here that you don’t know…shoot them. Don’t ask any questions and don’t hesitate. Just point and shoot.” He then belly crawls over a huge pile of debris and back down the backside where he finds Yeoman Braun cradling the bloodied head of Captain Decker. At first glance Daisy just has a number of minor cuts and bruises, but it’s obvious to Juan that the Captain is in need of emergency medical aid. The left side of his head has a gash that goes down from his temple down past his cheek and ends at his jaw bone. The Captain’s jaw is most defiantly broken. The left eye is already swollen shut from whatever debris hit his face. The right forearm is protruding off in an abnormal direction pointing to a clear break. Unfortunately that’s what he can see. He’s not sure what’s busted up inside the Captain. “Nirren over here!” screams Ruiz. Waiting for what seems like an eternity Nirren finally rolls down the debris pile with her field medic bag in tow. She slides over to the Captain and activates her medical tricorder. “How’s Liira?”
Nirren never pauses her scanning as she answers him. “She will be fine.” I have given her a sedative and I have stopped the bleeding.” She looks Juan dead in the eyes. “The Captain on the other hand is not fine. He has bleeding on the brain that I cannot stop with what little equipment that I have. I have also detected internal bleeding around his left lung. I fear that it is on the verge of collapse. He needs to get back to the Raza immediately.”
“Well that isn’t happening anytime soon.” and just then he hears blaster fire coming from within the bombed out building.
“Juan I need your ass up here NOW!! We got incoming!!!” screams Young as he unloads his blaster rifle at the inmates that are trying to storm what’s left of the Command Center.
“Stay with Daisy and the captain. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” and Ruiz begins his long crawl back up the debris pile, past Councilor Liira who is now in a state of shock just sitting there staring off. He knows he doesn’t have time to deal with her as he positions himself against a wall near Young and digs in for the ground assault.
“How’s the Captain?” asks Young as he picks off two more inmates.
“Not good. He’s not moving on his own. Nirren says he needs surgery aboard the Raza asap.”
“Well we’re not gonna hold this position for long. There’s just too many of them. We’re gonna have to find a way out of here.” states Young.
“Roger that.” Juan then races over to Liira grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to her feet. She moans in pain as a sharp stinging pain races down her injured leg. Together they race up the debris mound and as they reach the top they both lose their footing and tumble down the backside coming to a rest at the bottom next to Daisy and Nirren. Just seconds behind them Scott Young makes his way down the debris mound and positions himself with his rifle pointing upward guarding for any assailants that might have followed him. “How many are out there?” asks Juan.
Young wipes the blood and soot from his eyes. “I’m guessing at least a few dozen. Most are armed with Federation blasters that got off the dead security guards. Shit’s going to get ugly.”
“What the hell happened? I thought the Captain and the Minister settled things with the Uprisings leader?”
“I guess not. These fanatics are willing to kill themselves to get their point across. Right now it doesn’t really matter why this all turned into a shit storm. All that matters now is that we find a way out of here so that we can get these people back to the Raza. How are you doing on ammo?”
Juan checks his rifle and then his bag. “Good for now. I gave Nirren my blaster pistol.”
“Good.” Scott then grabs his own blaster pistol and tries to hand it to Liira who still seems to be in a state of shock. Young snaps his fingers in her face. “Come on Commander snap the fuck out of it.” and she finally comes around looking at him.
“I’m ok.” she blurts out.
“Good take this.” and he hands her his own pistol that she takes in a trembling hand.
“The safety is off. Don’t go shooting yourself.” Scott then turns his attention to Nirren. “How’s the Captain?”
“Dire.”
“Listen, we have to move him now. If we stay here we are all as good as dead.”
“That is unwise. If you move Captain Decker he may die.”
Daisy can still be heard sobbing as she tries to stop the bleeding from her Captains head with a piece of her uniform she ripped off. The blood-soaked piece cannot absorb anymore and her blood-stained hands tremble.
“Well lady if we stay here we are all dead and I’m not having that. Now you and Liira are gonna have to get him up and follow us!” commands Young.
“You want us to carry the Captain? Any movement may…” but Young has had just enough back talk and he sticks his finger in her face barking right back at her.
“Listen, I don’t give a shit about what could happen. My job is to keep the Captain alive and right now this is MY call. Now each of you grab a God damn arm and get the Captain to his feet. We are moving out.” Daisy can’t hold it in any longer as she starts to cry openly. “And will somebody shut her up! She’s broadcasting our position to anyone in ear shot!”
Liira grabs a hold of Daisy holding her tight trying to sooth the girl’s emotions. “Easy honey. It’s gonna be alright.” as she brushes Daisy’s blood soaked hair out of her eyes and wiping the tears away she yells back at Young. “You could be a little more understanding and stop acting like a damn Klingon.”
“Well this Klingon is going to get all your asses’ home.” He then turns to Private Ruiz. “Juan, scout ahead and find us a way out. I’ll watch our backs.”
Juan grabs his blaster rifle and heads off deeper into the ruins of the Command Center.
****
The ready room aboard the U.S.S. Raza
Commander Mitchell sits silently in what is the captain’s chair as the rest of the command staff begin to file in with their data pads in hand. Each officer not saying a word as they all take their designated seats at the table. There is a pause before Commander Mitchell begins.
“Let me first begin by saying that I have reached out to Admiral Braun who assures me that a London Class Troop Transport has been launched and will be here within twenty four hours. They have been given orders to take back the Federation Penal Colony by any means necessary.”
“What are his orders for us?” asks A’Ryn.
Again Mitchell pauses uneasily. “He has ordered us to try and regain communications with the colony but until then we are to stand down and wait for back up.”
“Back up? That’s a day away? The Captain could be dead by then!” blurts out an angered Jeremy Cho.
“I know that. That’s exactly why we are NOT going to do it.”
“So we are going to directly disobey an Admirals order?” asks Medical Chief Dorn.
“That’s right. Listen people, that’s our crew down there. We don’t know if they are dead or hurt but what I do know is that I am NOT waiting twenty four hours for help to arrive when I am sitting up here in orbit doing nothing. Now if any of you want out that’s fine by me. No hard feelings. Those of you that want in, let’s get a plan together.” He pauses to see if anyone makes a move for the door. The only person that even flinches is the doctor, but he too stays seated. “Good.” The Commander looks over to his Communications Officer. “Cho what can you tell me about comms?”
“Well to put it bluntly sir it’s the perfect storm. The explosion at the Command Center along with the perfect timing of the Ion storm rolling into the immediate area has knocked out direct communications with the away team. It’s almost like this attack was planned.”
“So when can we expect to get some sort of comms back?”
“Unless the away team can find a way to boost their signal through the storm we are going to have to wait the storm out. Then our sensors and transporters will be able to detect them on the surface and maybe we can beam them out.”
“So we can’t see them or talk to them? What about beaming down to the planet?”
“The storm is causing so much interference that either beaming down to the planet or trying to get a positive lock to beam anyone off the planet is impossible. The storm will degrade the signal.” responds Lieutenant Karn.
“What about taking the Iliad down to the surface? We can take a team down to the Command Center and get our people out?”
“I’m a good pilot Commander, but the Iliad won’t take that storm. She’ll get pounded and to land anywhere near the Command Center would be like trying to hit a flee on a bull at a thousand meters.” answers Chief Helmsman Monroe.
“What if we take the Raza down there? What if we land the Raza near the Command Center? Could the Raza handle that storm?”
“It’s possible Commander. It’s better odds than taking down the Iliad in that shit storm.” states Faye.
Phos pipes in. “May I also caution the group about the unknown number of enemy combatants in and around the compound. I believe that this attack was well planned. They used the storm to directly interfere with the ability of the Raza to communicate with its captain. Based on our records about the area around the compound I believe that we may be looking at over a hundred enemy militants. Extreme caution is advised.”
“Over a hundred of them? We don’t have the manpower aboard the Raza for a full scale war with over a hundred pissed off prisoners in a ground assault.”
“Maybe we don’t need to land sir. Maybe if we just get close enough to the compound our sensors will be able to break through the storm and the transporters will be able to get a lock on them.” blurts out Cho.
“You may be on to something.” remarks A’Ryn. “I could boost the sensor dish just to focus in on a small enough area where we think the away team might be. It may work.”
“So we don’t need to land then. More like hovering?” asks Commander Mitchell.
Faye thinks hard about it. “I can do it. It’ll be a little rocky out there, but I can do it. How long do we need to hover the Raza?”
A’Ryn looks at Cho. “It’s going to take me a minute or two to get the dish dialed in once we are down to the planet’s surface and then another minute or two to align the transporters to filter out the Ion storm. Say…three or four minutes tops.”
Mitchell looks across the table to Doctor Dorn. “Good plan people. Doc, once we get the away team back on board I am going to beam them directly to the infirmary.”
“My team and I will be ready no matter what condition they arrive in.”
“Good. Let’s get ready then.” and the senior staff all get up and head off to put the plan in motion.
****
The Penal Colony Command Center on Elba II
After scouring what’s left of the Command Center, Ruiz makes his way back to the away team who are still pinned down. “What did you find?” asks Scott Young.
“The back’s all covered up with enemy combatants. We ain’t getting out that way. I did find another way though.”
“Yeah where?”
“Down.” answers Ruiz. “I found a set of stairs heading down into the basement level of the compound. I didn’t go deep enough but it’s the only way out that I can see.”
“It’s our only chance then. We go down.” Scott looks over at Liira, Nirren and Daisy. Get’em up. We gotta bug out. Those bastards are not going to wait for long before they storm this place.”
“Yes sir.” and Ruiz heads over to Nirren and Liira. “It’s time to go. Get the captain up.”
“This course of action is very unwise Private. It very well may kill our Captain.” remarks Nirren in a very serious Vulcan tone.
“All I know is that the Captain isn’t dead yet but if we all stay here we sure as shit will be. Now do as the Sergeant says and get him to his feet. We got some walking to do.” He looks over to Daisy reaching his hand out to her. “Come on girl we gotta go.” She reaches up taking Juan’s hand pulling herself to her feet.
“Thank you.”
“Thank me when we are all back aboard the Raza kid.”
Young sees Nirren and Liira drag the captain to his feet each taking an arm. “Ok let’s go people.” and they head off to the stairs that Juan found.
****
The Bridge onboard the Raza
Every member of the bridge crew is scrambling to put this make shift plan into motion when the door to the turbo lift whooshes open and out walks Gilora. Jeremy Cho sees her first and calls over to Commander Mitchell.
“Commander.”
Mitchell looks up from his control consol and sees Gilora approach him. He stops what he’s doing and looks her up into her eyes. He can tell that she’s been crying.
“Gilora I…” but she cuts him off.
“Just tell me that you are going to bring him home James. Tell me that you’re not going to screw this up?”
The bridge gets deadly silent as they all wait for his answer. “We are doing everything we can to bring our crew home.”
She points a finger at him. “If you screw this up and he doesn’t come back to me I swear to God I will never forgive you James Mitchell!! Do you hear me? I’ll never forgive you!” and she breaks down dropping to her knees sobbing on the bridge.
Mitchell kneels down next to her holding her tight as he taps his communications badge. “Mitchell to Doctor Dorn.”
“Go ahead Commander.” answers the doctor.
“Medical emergency on the bridge.”
Just then the good doctor beams directly to the bridge and takes Gilora by the arm. “I’ll take it from here sir. Computer direct transport to the infirmary.” and the on board computer transports both the doctor and Gilora off the bridge.
A’Ryn looks at James with a bit of concern seeing how hurt he is. “James are you…?” but Mitchell puts his hand up stopping her.
“I’m fine. Show’s over. Everyone back to work.” and he sits back down in the captains chair collecting his thoughts.
****
Under the Command Center on Elba II
The away team has managed to make their way down the twisted and bent stairwell and have finally reached the basement level of the Command Center. Liira and Nirren lay the Captain down on a clear space on the floor and Daisy rushes over ripping off a fresh piece of cloth from her uniform to soak up more of the captain’s blood.
“Now what?” asks Liira.
“Juan, cover that stairwell. It’s the only way in and out. They try to come down those stairs we will have them bottlenecked.”
“You got it.”
Young tries to walk by Liira ignoring her, but she is not taking it as she reaches out and grabs the man by his arm stopping him. Nirren watches on as she scans the Captain again with her medical tricorder.
“I asked you a question Sergeant.”
Young stops looking her dead in the eyes. “This is it. This is where we make our last stand. Are you happy?”
“What do you mean last stand? I thought you were trying to save us? I thought that you were trying to find a way out? Get us back to the Raza?” asks a very confused Liira.
Young pulls his arm away from Liira. “I bought us time. Time for the Raza to get down here and save us. I did my job lady so stop drilling me.” He then walks over to Nirren who has completed her scan of the Captain. “How’s the Captain doing?”
“In your world sergeant he’s alive. From a medical aspect he’s dying. He needs to get back to the Raza. Without medical treatment he will die.”
Young walks away searching the basement for anything valuable. “I did my part, now it’s the Raza’s turn.”
Liira looks at Nirren. “It’s no wonder I’m a lesbian.” and Nirren smiles half heartedly back at her.
****
The Bridge onboard the Raza
A few hours have passed and the Raza is ready to put the plan in motion. Commander Mitchell is in the Captain’s chair with a stern look on his face.
“Ok people let’s do this. Comms you ready?” as he peers over to Cho.
“Yes sir.”
“Phos, shields up. Red alert.”
“Shields up sir.” answers Phos.
“Baby how are my engines?” as he looks over his shoulder at A’Ryn.
“Engines are fine. But if you call me baby again I will break your arms.” answers an irritated Sung.
“That’s my girl.” and his internal child giggles inside. “Karn keep an eye on that storm. We only get one shot at this.”
“Will do sir.” answers Lieutenant Karn as she pounds away on her display screen.
He looks down toward his helmsman who looks back at him. “Ok Faye. It’s all yours. Take us in.”
Faye spins around in her pilot’s seat tapping away at her control panel. I’m taking us into the planet’s atmosphere. Hold on everyone it’s about to get bumpy.” and she ignites the ships impulse drives.
Commander Mitchell sits back in the captain’s chair muttering to himself. “Oh shits about to get real.”
****
Under the Command Center on Elba II
“Here they come!” screams Private Ruiz as a hoard of militants start pouring down the stairwell two or three abreast. He lets out a barrage of phaser fire that takes out the lead men, but they keep coming. From behind cover Young lets out his own blaster fire.
“Whatever you do don’t let them get to the floor.”
Liira and Nirren use their blaster pistols to shoot at the enemy men, but they are not the best of shots and most just ricochet off the walls or stairs. One man turns and fires blasting Liira in the shoulder sending the pistol tumbling from her hand across the floor near Daisy. Nirren yells out. “Liira’s been hit.”
“Don’t worry about her. Just keep shooting.” but Nirren ignores his command and rushes over to her.
Liira screams in pain as she grasps a hold of the burnt arm. “You will be ok Commander.” states Nirren as she gives Liira a shot to ease the pain.
Dozens of men try to flood the stairwell, but somehow Juan and Young manage to keep them at bay from reaching the floor. Nirren looks back seeing dead body after dead body pile up on the staircase.
****
The Bridge onboard the Raza
The ride through the upper atmosphere is worse than any of them could have imagined. The Raza is tossed and turned like a moth in a hurricane. Faye does her best to control the ship, but it’s taking every ounce of talent just not to crash the Raza.
“Storm’s worse than I anticipated sir.” yells out Karn.
“You think?!” barks back Mitchell. “How long before we get to the compound?”
“Less than three minutes sir.” answers Karn.
“Faye …”
“Doing my best sir.”
“Sir, shields down to eighty percent.” blurts out Phos.
“We are starting to lose impulse drives. Compensating.” yells out Sung.
“Don’t you lose those A’Ryn! I need those drives to get the hell off this planet.”
“I know that! I’m the Engineer remember?!” as she yells back at him.
“Sir, based on speed and trajectory the compound is within range. Less than two minutes to intercept.” yells out Cho.
“Ok Faye, time to get your game face on.”
Not even looking back at him. “I thought this was my game face sir.”
“Just get us in position above the compound. Cho, A’Ryn you guys ready to do this?”
A’Ryn looks across the bridge at Cho. “As soon as Faye gets us over the compound we are going to need a few minutes to synch the dish and get the transporters ready.”
“I’ll give you three.”
****
Under the Command Center on Elba II
“They keep coming!” screams Ruiz as the hoard of militants step over the dead bodies making their way down the stairs. “I’m out!” yells Juan as he takes his blaster rifle and uses it as a hand weapon rushing into the crowd of men trying to reach the floor.
“Juan fall back!” screams Young as he watches his friend get overtaken by the on rush of the angry mob. He watches as they beat and stab his friend driving him to his knees. One insane militant takes Juan’s own rifle and bashes his friends head in right in front of him. Young lets out a horrifying scream. “NO!!” as he watches his friend die.
The hoard finally reaches the floor level and start rushing at Young. Daisy sees this and picks up the blaster pistol shooting any which way she can. Lucky enough she picks off just enough men to slow the on rush down so that Scott can fall back.
****
The Bridge onboard the Raza
“Sir, we are in position over the compound.” yells out Karn.
“Hold her steady Faye.”
“Steady as she goes sir.” answers Faye.
James looks back to A’Ryn. “Ok kids, do your thing.”
“On it.” answers A’Ryn.
Cho begins to dial in the sensor dish as A’Ryn simultaneously calibrates the transporters. “Time people. We are running out of time.” yells Mitchell.
“I can’t hold her.” screams Faye as the Raza rocks to the left and her nacelle crashes into the top of the compound sending more rubble and debris crashing down to the ground.
“Shields are down to forty eight percent Commander.” yells Phos.
“Damn it Phos some good news would be great right now.” barks back the Commander. Suddenly the Raza is rocked by a cannon blast that sends the ship spinning like a top in a three sixty around the top of the compound. Faye struggles to keep the Raza airborne, the belly of the ship shearing off more of what’s left of the destroyed shell of a building. Mitchell looks shocked. “What the hell was that?”
“It seems that the militants have taken control of the compounds pulse cannon. We have taken a direct hit on the port side. Shields down to forty percent sir.” answers Phos.
“Take that damn thing out Phos. Fire at will!” orders Mitchell.
“Yes sir.” Phos taps away on her control console and let loose a barrage of torpedos. “Torpedo’s away sir.” and in a sudden brilliant flash of light that can even be seen through the Ion storm the cannon explodes.
Mitchell smiles. “That’s one less pain in my ass. A’Ryn tell me we’re ready to go.”
“Ready as we will ever be.”
“Cho balls in your court. Scan for the away team.”
“Scanning now sir.” and the pause is killing everyone as Cho taps away waiting for his computer to respond. “Sir I am detecting five life forms deep within the compound that match the away team.”
“Five?” and Mitchell’s face turns ghostly white wondering who didn’t make it out alive. “A’Ryn you’re up. Get them the hell out of there!”
“Engaging transporter now!”
****
Under the Command Center on Elba II
Young depletes his blaster rifle and now he too stands fast waiting for the onrush of the hoard to overtake them. He looks over to Liira with a tear rolling down his cheek. “I’m sorry.” Nirren grabs a piece of metal the size of a ball bat and uses that to protect herself with. If she’s going to die she’s going down fighting. Daisy kneels down next to her captain cradling his head in his lap. The hoard pours into the room like a mad rush of blood crazed Klingons. Just as the hoard is about to reach them, all five remaining members of the away team are beamed away. The hoard stops dead in their tracks confused as to where they could have gone.
****
The Bridge onboard the Raza
“James, we have the away team back aboard the Raza.” yells A’Ryn
“Faye, get us the hell out of here NOW!”
“On it!” answers the pilot.
Faye turns the Raza skyward and begins her journey back out of the planet’s atmosphere when suddenly from behind the Raza is hit with another blast from a second pulse cannon. Mitchell turns back to Phos. “What the hell Phos? I thought you took that cannon out?”
“Sir, it seems that they have two pulse cannons under their control.”
“No shit.”
“And shields are down to twenty eight percent.”
“Really Phos? Really?”
“The away team has been transported to the infirmary.” yells out Sung.
“I’m losing speed Commander. Impulse drives are failing. I don’t think we are going to have enough power to break the gravitational well of the planet.” screams out Faye.
“Torpedo’s away sir.” states Phos. “Direct hit on the second cannon. The second cannon has been destroyed.”
“Yay.” mocks Mitchell as he rolls his eyes at Phos. “A’Ryn what can you do about my impulse drives. Faye needs help and you’re my girl.”
A’Ryn taps away on her control screen and looks up at him. “There’s nothing I can do on short notice about the impulse drives. That second cannon blast fried a ton of circuits. But I do have a crazy idea.”
“Crazy is my specialty sweetie. What is it?”
“If we go to warp it should be enough to punch out through the gravity well of this planet and get us into orbit.” explains Sung.
“Going to warp within the planets gravity well could rip the Raza apart Commander.” states Phos.
“We can do this. I know the Raza can handle it.” pleads A’Ryn.
“You’re so sexy when you talk engineering shit.” and he smiles as he sits back in the captains chair. “Warp 1 NOW Faye.
“Engaging the warp drives. Warp 1.” and the Raza jumps forward surging through the upper atmosphere into space. Conduits and random grids spark off and small fires erupt across the bridge as emergency crews rush to put them out. A small cloud of smoke hangs in the air. The Raza finally breaks free of the planets gravitational well.
“Take her back down Faye!” and Faye disengages warp drive and the Raza comes to rest in orbit around the planet. “Good job people.” and Mitchell jumps out of the Captain’s seat heading toward the turbo lift. “There will be a senior staff meeting in twenty minutes. I want a complete brief on the Raza’s status. A’Ryn you have the bridge.” The door to the turbo lift whooshes shut as Mitchell heads down to the infirmary.
****
The infirmary aboard the Raza
Commander Mitchell waits for the door to the infirmary to open before he rushes in. He quickly scans the room looking to see who from the away team made it back and who didn’t. He sees Nirren standing over Liira. A gash on her leg being quickly healed by Nirren’s advanced medical equipment. Mitchell walks over to her. “How are you guys doing?”
Nirren answers. “Her leg will be fine. It may be sore for a few days but she will recover.”
“Mitchell smiles at both of them. “It’s good to have both of you back onboard.”
Nirren never shows emotion. “Thank you sir. It is good to be back.”
“Liira smiles through the pain. “Thanks James and if you see Faye tell her I’m ok.”
“I will. You can bet on that.” Mitchell then sees Daisy standing across the room watching Doctor Dorn; dressed in his surgical garb, trying to save the Captains life. He walks over and stands next to her. “How’s he doing?”
She wipes a tear from her eye. “He’s a fighter. The doctor says he’s going to be ok.”
“And how are you doing?”
“Commander, when the blast was about to go off he knew it. He knew it was coming and he stepped in front of it to protect me. He’s lying on that surgical table because of me.”
“No sweetie, no. The captain did what he was trained to do. Don’t take the blame for what happened. It’s going to be ok.” and he reaches out and holds her tight in a hug trying to take away the pain. He then sees Sergeant Young looking out a viewing window. None of his wounds have been attended to yet. “I’ll be right back.” as he lets her go and walks over to Young. He stops and peers out the window looking down at Elba II. “Where’s Ruiz?”
Young swallows hard never looking at his Commander. “Private Ruiz died in the line of duty sir. He sacrificed himself to save the rest of us.” Young turns to face the Commander dead on face to face. “And that sir, is on me.” and Young storms out of the infirmary. Mitchell lets him go knowing that sometimes people need time to deal with issues in their own way.
“I was wrong about him you know.” blurts out Liira from across the room at the Commander.
Mitchell turns back to Liira. “What do you mean?”
“Liira slides off the table putting some weight on her bad leg. She grimaces as a sharp pain shoots through her healed leg. “I thought all he cared about was protecting the Captain. I was wrong. He was protecting all of us.” and she too walks out of the infirmary heading back to her quarters. Nirren walks over to the Commander.
“Sir, the Captain will be in surgery for a number of hours. Shall I contact you when the doctor is done?”
Mitchell looks back at the surgery room, and then back at Nirren. “That’ll be fine Nirren. Thank you.” and Mitchell too leaves the infirmary.
****
The ready room aboard the U.S.S. Raza
Commander Mitchell again sits alone in the ready room waiting for the rest of the senior staff to file in. It seems like déjà vu all over again. Exactly at the time ordered the ready room door slides open and Sung, Cho, Karn, Monroe and Phos each walk in taking their assigned seats. They wait for Mitchell to begin.
Mitchell takes a second to collect his thoughts and then begins. “It has come to my attention that Private Ruiz has been killed in action. We are hoping to recovery his body as soon as the troop transport arrives and they take back the penal colony.” and he pauses again. “Captain Decker has been seriously wounded during the explosion at the compound and right now Doctor Dorn is in surgery with him. As soon as I get any updates as to the captain’s status I will let you all know.” again another pause. “Now tell me how my ship’s doing. Mr. Cho let’s start with you shall we?”
Jeremy clears his throat and begins. “Sir, communications and sensors are back on line and fully functional. The dish is working at maximum efficiency. I have had time to scan the compound and I have determined that it has been totally overrun by the militant group. I do not detect any federation survivors.”
“What about those cannons?”
“As far as I can see sir they are attempting to get them back online, but I do believe they lack the resources to complete the job before the troop transport gets here.”
“Very good. Phos, your turn?”
“Sir, with the help of Commander Sung’s engineering teams we have gotten shields back up to seventy six percent. We hope that by the end of the day we will have full shield capacity. Our Photon torpedo compliment is now down to forty eight. We depleted two destroying the cannons on the planet.”
“Thank you Phos, I was there. If they get those cannons even close to being back online please let me know. I have no problem taking them down again.”
“I will keep you updated on their efforts sir.”
“Also, please put a request out to Starfleet Command. We are down one MACO and we will need a replacement.”
“Don’t you think that it’s a bit soon James? We haven’t even gotten Juan’s body back yet.” asks A’Ryn.
“We may never get his body back. Plus, it’s just a request. Starfleet Command can do whatever the hell they want with it.”
A’Ryn looks at Phos and nods to her. “Yes sir. I will send out the request right away to fill the vacant position.”
Mitchell looks across the table to his lover A’Ryn. “Got any good news honey? I could really use some right now.”
A’Ryn takes a deep breath and begins. “Impulse engines are going to take some time to repair. Those cannons did some serious damage. Maybe a day, but it’s just a guess. Uh, when the first cannon hit us broadside it did damage to the Ablative Armor transfer relay. We are not going to be using that for some time either. Just a rough guess I would say six hours to repair. The blast also created some damage to the outer hull on decks four and five. There is some minor buckling in those areas. I have teams out there facilitating repairs, but we may want to have that looked at the next time we are in space dock. Oh and one last thing. I recalibrated the transporters. They are back to being fully functional.”
“Mitchell smiles at her. “Thanks.” and he looks over at Karn. “Anything to add Rheyna?”
“Not that it matters much now but the Ion storm has passed over the compound. The troop transport is less than twelve hours out so when they get here it should be clear skies for them.”
Mitchell nods his head in agreement. “Faye?”
“I really have nothing to add. The Raza performed perfectly thanks to all these people.” as she motions her hand in the air pointing at the rest of the senior staff. “She’s a fine ship Commander.”
“Yes she is. Ok everyone dismissed.” and he leans back in the chair as everyone exits the room except for A’Ryn. She waits for the last person to leave before so speaks. “Are you alright?”
Mitchell looks up at her. “I lost a man today because we were not quick enough to get down there to save him. The Captains in surgery because some of militant lunatic set off some god damn explosives we never saw coming. What kind of Starfleet officer am I A’Ryn?”
“A damn good one. Listen I was there all the way with you right by your side. We did the best we could under really tough circumstances. Yeah we could have sat back and did nothing like the Admiral wanted, but we stepped up and got the job done. That makes you a great Starfleet officer and don’t you ever forget it.” and she leans in kissing him on the cheek. She walks out of the ready room. “See you tonight.”
A smile comes across his face. “She still loves me.”
****
Captain Decker’s Office
Captain’s long Stardate 63424.537. It’s been ten days since the Raza rescued the away team and myself from the insurgent uprising. In that time the good doctor Dorn has made sure I have gotten plenty of rest while I recuperate from my injuries. I for one can’t wait to get back to the bridge and resume my duties.
Captain Decker sits back in his chair in his private room off the bridge looking out the window staring at the planet that nearly killed him. His thoughts go back to the peace talks. Where did it go so terribly wrong? Why after all the progress that they made did they still bomb the Command Center? He’s been asking this question in his head over and over again for the past week. A chime rings at his door.
“Enter.” commands the Captain.
The door opens and in walks Commander Mitchell. A smile comes across his face as he sees his captain. “Sir, it’s good to see you up and about.”
“It’s good to finally get out of my quarters Number One. I was going a little stir crazy being locked up in there.”
“Couldn’t have been so bad sir. I heard Gilora never left your side.” and Mitchell winks at his Captain.
A smile comes across the captain’s face. “I guess you’re right James. It wasn’t so bad after all was it?”
Both men share a good laugh as Mitchell sits down at the desk across from his superior. “Tell me Number One, how are the repairs to the Raza coming?”
“The Raza is fully repaired sir and awaiting your orders.”
“Excellent Number One. Tell me, how are the Marines are doing planet side?”
“Major Kiel is reporting that the insurgents have all been rounded up. The men who ordered the bombing have been located and will be prosecuted back on Earth.”
Again, there is a long silent pause as the captain looks back out the window. He takes a deep breath before asking. “Did they find…did they locate…” but he can’t get the words out.
Mitchell knows what the captain is trying to ask so he chimes in. “Sir, the body of Private Ruiz has been found and it’s already been transported back to the Raza.”
The captain turns back looking at his first officer. “James, please arrange to have the body sent back to his family. They deserve to bury their son with all military honors.”
“I’ll get right on that sir.”
“Also, please put Private Ruiz in for the Karagite Order of Heroism. It’s the least we can do for what he sacrificed for us.”
“Understand sir.”
“Tell me how’s Sergeant Young?”
“He’s taken Juan’s death pretty hard Captain.”
“Yes, well let’s do all we can to help him heal then. Make sure he sees Councilor
Liira as soon as possible.”
“Already on it. He’s seen Liira three times already. According to the Councilor Mr. Young is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s going to take time for him to work this out.”
“See to it he gets all the help we can afford him. I owe that young man my life Number One. It’s the least I can do for him.”
“Understood. So, what are our orders now Captain?”
“Admiral Braun has ordered us to meet up with Bravo Fleet and take part in a war games exercise. After that little jaunt planet-side last week they want to see how the Raza performs in the heat of battle.”
Mitchell smiles. “I can’t wait to embarrass some of those bigger starships when we kick their asses.”
The Captain smiles back at his first officer. “Let’s show the rest of the fleet what we’re made of.”
****
Turkana IV – The ruins of Turkana City
High Commander Sharn stands inside the doorway of a bombed out building long abandoned by the people that used to populate this planet. Years of war destroyed this planet with most of its population now living underground hiding from the harsh conditions of the planets surface. Lighting cracks off seemingly overhead as it lights up the nights sky. Radioactive rain pours down from the dark skies soaking everything. As the lightning lights’ up what’s left of the shell of the building, off to his right Sharn spots a lone figure standing there watching him. He turns to look at the man. “Tell me how long you have been there watching me?”
The figure approaches him. “Time matters not Romulan. What matters is what a man of your stature wants from the Orion Syndicate?”
The man comes to a stop about an arm’s length from him. The High Commander pulls his hood back revealing himself to be High Commander Sharn thinking that it might intimidate whoever this man is he’s bargaining with. “I wish to hire your organization to do a very specific, time sensitive task for me.”
The dark figure laughs back at Sharn. “I know who you are Commander and I know that both the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire are hunting you down. Now get to the point and stop wasting my time. What are you asking from us?”
Sharn reaches under his robes and pulls out a data-pad. The man from the Orion Syndicate takes it and looks at it. “Who is this an android? A Starfleet officer?”
“Yes. She is a Starfleet Officer assigned to the starship Raza. I need you to abduct her and download her memory banks into this.” he waves off to his left and another hooded figure walks out from the shadows. The figure stops next to Sharn and he removes the figures hood revealing a perfect android replica of Lieutenant Phos. “After that is complete we will send my Trojan Horse back to the Raza. They will never know that I intend on destroying them from the inside using one of their own precious officers.”
“You are crazy Romulan. You want us to abduct a Federation officer without being seen and then replace her with this thing? If we get caught we are as good as dead.”
“Then I suggest you don’t get caught.”
“I will need time to consult with my superiors. Once a decision has been made we will contact you with our demands and where we will meet to complete our transaction.”
“Very good. Understand though that I need this task done as soon as possible.”
Lighting again explodes in the night sky showing the Orion Syndicate man’s face revealing him to be a Cardassian. As darkness consumes the burnt out building again, the man disappears into the shadows leaving Sharn and the Phos duplicate standing there.
****