<USS Banshee> Preparations of Faith
- From: LtJvanDnalls@xxxxxxx
- To: ussbanshee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 15:29:51 EDT
Lieutenant J'van D'nalls stepped heavily as he crossed the threshold of
his quarters. He had quite a long day, between gathering intel on Cardassia,
training, and dealing with the emotions that he was feeling over this
mission. As he sat heavily into his black lather couch, he leaned his head
back and stared at the ceiling. He could handle almost anything, and up
until a few weeks ago, he was confident that he could handle any problem, win
any battle, and outwit every enemy. But what happens when the enemy is his
own conscience? His conscience told him that if Rhiannon were to be lost to
him now, than he would have a very difficult, if not impossible life. He had
let himself get in too deep, but there was no way to fix it. For that
matter, he didn't want to fix it. Life at her side was far more appealing
now then a life of distinguished military service.
But that did little to deter his mind from that matter at hand. Cyanah
was picking up some hand to hand combat skills, and picking them up well, but
she would be no match for the average Cardassian soldier, much less an
Obsidian Order operative, who more then likely will be the ones that we will
deal with. She would be as prepared as possible, but it was really a
feeble attempt. Of course, getting her confident in her abilities was far
more important then actually making her a killing machine. A confident
fighter is a powerful fighter, more so then training, confidence and being
able to maintain ones right mind was crucial. She did that perfectly, and
she was a prime example of someone that would be highly underestimated in
combat. She had a better then average chance. But that was not enough. It
was not enough that Rhiannon was a fairly decent fighter in her own right.
Yes, they could fend of an attack by a few unarmed soldiers, but that was
highly unlikely. If anything, they would be meeting a squad of armed
soldiers. Neither one of them was great with a weapon, but marginal to good.
He so needed to be there. If it came to a firefight, he was one of maybe 20
people in the Federation that could handle it.
As he thought of it, he remembered his conversation with Krelok from a
few days back. It was his abilities as a combatant that earned him his boon
with such an influential Klingon. It was on Habtel 4, a planet that was
within the sphere of influence of the Dominion and was a settlement world of
the Cardassians. There was a major ship building facility there, as well as
a mining operation, which mind the ram materials needed for the ships. It
was one of the joint strike forces first objectives. His team was sent in
first, they took out a few key long range sensor arrays. As the plan went,
right after that, the Klingons landed 3 Companies worth of men to destroy to
mine and its supporting military camp. Just as he transport ships reached
the atmosphere, they were surprised by 9 Kelvan class destroyers. The
virtually unarmed transports were no match for the war ships, and 80 percent
of them were destroyed in the atmosphere and fell to the planet as little
more then ashes. The rest made it to the ground, in various stages of
damage.
Aboard the lead ship, Krelok's father, General K'marl was with his
command group. The invasion force had gone from 3000 to 600 or so. As soon
as they set down, they were set upon by the military camp's reserves, 1000
Cardassians, who had the advantage of terrain and familiarity of the plant.
It was bleak at best. To say the least, the fighting was savage. Klingons
and Cardassians are fairly well matched one ot one, and after the first 36
hours, 320 Klingons were dead, an unknown number of Cardassians were as well,
and the remaining Klingons were pinned down in a valley, surrounded by
Cardassians who were taking shot at them pretty much at their leisure. The
Cardassians held their ground, waiting for an additional company to come in
and charge the valley.
K'marl did all he could to rally his weary troops, but the situation was
hopeless. Of course, J'van was lucky enough to have his squad smack dab in
the middle of this valley, with little hope of ever leaving it. J'van looked
over various data on the planet, and found something interesting. He
approached K'marl with these findings.
"Sir, I am from the Fleet Marines Spec Op Command. I was wondering if
you had a moment to look over some data?" He asked the very tall, somewhat
portly in his advancing age, Klingon.
"Data? What by Khaless' sword is going to help us that will be found in
that Data, Marine?" The Klingon bellowed a huge laugh as his white beard
seemed to dance on the hot dry winds of the valley.
"Well, I think I have found a way to get out of this Valley. Look at this
…" J'van stated as he moved closer and showed him the PADD that he was
alluding to. K'marl looked over the data and stroked his beard. His old,
battle hardened face seemed to light up as the ingenuity of the man before
him became obvious.
"The caves are located to the north east. We take a small team threw
there, and look; it leads right into their main mining shaft. Now, if I am
right, and the data does support this, there is an abandoned Dilithium mine
there. See, right there on the map. We take a few cart loads of Dilitium,
sneak it back here. Then, we plant chunk of Dilitium and explosive charges
along the ridge line, at night, when we will not be seen. We can also planet
some in the caves, in a few places that just happen to be directly under the
ridge where the main group of Cardassians is. Come sun up, when they get
ready to advance on us, we wait for them to crest the ridge, and then
detonate. Seconds later, we detonate the caves, where the troops fall back
to regroup. Once that is done, the rest of the troops will be stunned, cut
off from each other, and fairly certain that their position is about to be
blow up as well. They will eventually fall back to the compound.
Unfortunately, for them, the compound is built around the mine. We leave a
surprise in the Dilitium mine, and boom…. No more settlement…. No more
Cardassians." J'van finally finished.
"I like you, you think with the mind of a strategist, like Khaless
himself! This plan is all we have it would seem. I do believe, Mister
Marine, that you have saved us a long slow rot in this incredibly dry and
hellish place. Now, take whomever you need, and get to work." The Klingon
stated in his loud, booming voice as his heavy hand crashed down upon J'van's
shoulder so hard that he wondered if it was in congratulations or meant to
cause injury.
The plan worked, and the Klingons were able to take the camp and what was
left of the mine. K'marl offered J'van a place in the Hosue of K'marl, but
he did not accept, instead, he merely took his friendship and the hope of
future assistance if needed. Now, it was certainly needed. Though K'marl
died soon after that, his oldest son, Krelok was more then happy to repay the
debt. It seemed that he too had a bone or two to pick with the Cardasians.
After all, it was a Cardassian that had eventually killed the great K'marl.
Revenge was the greatest honor to one's death. Krelok would be grateful to
shower the name K'marl with more Cardassian blood given the chance, and now
he had it.
No doubt, the Klingon task force was already in position. Unfortunately,
J'van would never get to thank them, for if they were to go into action, it
would only happen if he were to be lost on this mission. Not a pleasant
thought, but yet it was someone nice to know that his death would too be
avenged. Of course, vengeance would not bring him or Rhiannon back. If they
died, they would hopefully spend eternity in each other's presence, but, that
was not all that comforting. He wanted his time with her now, and for as
long as mortally possible.
"Computer, open Duty Log, current Stardate." He spoke to the ceiling.
"Open, begin recording." The mechanical female voice responded with a
beep.
"All is set for this mission we are about to embark on. Well, all that
we can possibly have ready. We are trained, and prepared, but we have no
idea what we are going up against. No one here does, and that is probably
the worst part of it all. The reports about the Cardassian Union are
helpful, as everyone seems to think that they are in no position to start
hostilities toward the Federation, but, they are still Cardassians, and
Cardassians have a knack for being unpredictable. I do not fear them, but I
do know full well not to trust them, or things reported about them. Should
anything go wrong, precautions have been taken, as well; proactive measures
will be taken should we fail. I am entering a formal protest, as the Captain
should NOT be on this mission, as she is taking a risk above and beyond what
is required of her. This protest has been noted, and subsequently forgotten
it seems. At any rate, as this may be my last entry before the mission
begins, I am opposed to her doing this, as it is far too great a threat to
her personal safety. With that said, please note that all my belongings and
personal affects have been inventoried. As well, they have been listed as to
whom they will be presented to should I not return from this mission. May
the Gods of Betazed watch us all in this difficult time. Computer, close
log, record and encrypt. Standard encryption key." He finishes as he opens
his eyes and looks over his quarters. The light of the stars streaming by
was the only light illuminating the various pieces of art and furniture with
the cabin.
"It is not our time, Rhiannon." He whispered in the cold quiet night,
knowing she cold not hear his words, but she certainly would know them to be
the trust.
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