[USS Tempest] "Bringing Them Home - Part One"
- From: Elizabeth Bethell <ejbethell@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: usstempest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:41:24 +0000 (GMT)
Bringing Them Home - Part One
The Marine Special Ops Team
This was bad, this was very very bad. Soliel ran full pelt down the corridor
from Gamma to Alpha. She'd called the team as soon as the reports came in and
she knew full well that they were all heading to the same place she was. It was
a small all in one room, but it was theirs.It was where their small team housed
their equipment, held their meetings, and worked out their plans. As she burst
into the room she wasn't surprised to see her Imzadi and Thomas already there.
"There has to be a shorter route getting here or I need longer legs."
"Longer legs," Vevay retorted, not bothering to turn around from the large wall
display she was discussing with Tom. "We go in here," she said as she indicated
what looked like tunnels or passageways. "They look under-guarded and easier to
infiltrate."
Without looking up the Sergeant responded, a smile in his voice, "Come now
Lieutenant, don't tell me Captain Cammick is letting you lead an easy life over
there?"
Katerina slid silently in behind the Lieutenant, making for the weapons locker
and her TR-116. She took in the quiet efficiency of the grizzled NCO and the
two officers, noting that he was conspicuously absent.
"It's right where you left it Evanovich." Tom looked at her and winked, "Now
where is that little arsehole?"
"Little asshole?" Vevay asked as she peered round from the display.
"Your favourite Private and mine, Weaver."
"Bless his little cotton socks," Vevay snorted. "Now, back to the briefing. We
don't have time to coddle stragglers." Pointing at the display, she drew her
finger along the passageways. "Any suggestions as to how to get down there
without being detected? We have two priorities: get the captives out alive and
arrest or remove the Vorta."
Stroking his chin, Tom looked at the screen. "He's on high alert down there
now. Have we got a definite figure on number of captives Ma'am?"
"Two at the least. Could be most of Beta Company though." Vevay turned around
and stared at everyone already gathered. "We believe it's Sergeant Reynam and
Second Lieutenant Zelphox. I have intelligence that all other members of the
company were killed."
"All?" Tom was incredulous, "That means the Lieutenant is the only survivor.
Aisling was seconded from Delta."
"Gamma," Vevay corrected. "She's Captain Cammick's personal Sergeant. He's very
fond of her." Eyeing everyone in turn, she emphasised, "He was very specific
that she come home alive. Are we clear on this?"
"Crystal. I for one would not like to have to tell our Xenexian Doctor she
couldn't be saved."
Vevay sighed. "Neither would I. Besides, they're Marines. We go in, we save
everyone we can find."
"And we had best find them before our pretty head doctor actually climbs
over Zelany and kills our cloned Mr. Jord," came a soft sibilant voice. FRix's
tail was lashing in anger and anxiety as she strode in. "That will be ugly,
more than it already is."
It would be but Soliel couldn't blame the man. She wouldn't hesitate in the
matter if it where her Imzadi whose life was in danger. "We were able to beam
back some of the dead, but those Jemmie's are rabid. As for our captive
Marines, their comms are down of course, but the computer is looking for human
life signs. It's not easy though."
"Perhaps it should be looking for Xenexian and Denobulan," Vevay teased lightly.
"Tried that got nothing." Soliel replied and then shrugged. "Was going for
long shots. Anything not freakish."
"Shall we leave it at 'life signs' then?" FRix asked. Her tail swished as
she thought.
"Indeed." stated the Private, her grey eyes flat.
At the sight of his felanoid quad-mate Tom started slightly, "Kept this a
little quiet didn't we FRixie?"
"We know the transporter shield is down. Do we know if his power is out
completely?" FRix wondered, arching her whiskers at Tom.
Soleil looked at the readouts coming in and shook her head. "Most, not all."
"We sneak in where we know his sensors are dead then," FRix proposed.
"And we take out the others," Jesse added from the doorway where he was
leaning.
"We won't need to," Vevay said simply as she glanced over to the Private. "If
we're smart enough we can sneak in, do what we need to do and sneak back out
again without anyone being the wiser."
"We're not taking them all out?" Jesse asked.
"Why should we?" Vevay asked, honestly curious. "We've destroyed their ships
already, plus their long-distance communications. Why make more work for
ourselves than we have to?"
Pushing off the wall, Jesse came all the way into the room and looked right at
the woman as he asked, "You been down to Delta's MASH yet, Cap?"
"Believe it or not, Private, I have." Placing a finger under the left side of
her collar, Vevay pushed the little medical symbol toward him. "You know what
this means? It means I'm a medic. It means I give medical attention where
it's needed. I've pulled my shift up there, just like all the Marine medics.
And I still say we go in clean, we leave the same way. Want to know why?"
It was really hard for Soliel not to smile as Vevay out bested the kid until
she thought of how tired and sad the older woman had been when she'd come home.
"Sure, Cap. Tell me why we shouldn't kill the bastards who bent our people over
and fucked them till they bleed out." Jesse replied evenly.
Vevay paused for a minute and leaned against the conference table, her eyes
totally on Jesse. "Let me spell out your fabulous plan for you, shall I?
First, we get in, seek out all the sensors, waste precious time by blundering
about, alerting all the Jem'Hadar down there that we're there by blowing up
each sensor we come across and end up caught in a cross-fire. Second, once in
that cross-fire, half of the people around you get killed. So now we're down
to three. Those three, one of which is injured, limp through the hole in the
defences they've managed to blow by pure luck and try to get to where they
think the captives are. Unfortunately, low and behond, when we get there, the
Vorta has been told of our presence and all of the captives are dead, their
bodies hanging from the ceiling in mangled strips because he had them flayed to
death." Holding up one finger to show she wasn't finished, she took a small
breath. "However, playing on the small vid-screen is a recordi
ng of
Sergeant Reynam being repeatedly raped and beaten before she, too, was flayed
alive. Now, Private, does that sound like a successful mission to you?"
"Actually, except for the death part, kinda sounds like a party I went to
once." Jesse replied in hopes that it would cover the touch of paleness in his
cheeks.
Soliel bit her tongue before she could ask him if he knew Ronni.
Noting the palour of the boy's face, Vevay smiled softly at him. "So we're
going to use our heads, right? We sneak in, take what we want then sneak back
out again. No death, no flaying, no rape. Just in and out, like a warm knife
through butter."
Taking that to mean the little sidebar with Weaver was over Soliel turned back
to overlay of the compound and began to point out the areas were sensors were
down. "Once we get down there, if we don't have a location on our people, I
might be able to sense them. They're both species I've never encountered before
so I'm not sure what I'd be trying to single out."
FRix's tail reached to tap her own nose. "I could smell them as well. I
know Aisling very well but I sniff out any others too."
That brought a grin to Tom's face, "Yes, particularly good sticking it in
places aren't you my dear?" He winked at her to show he meant no offense.
FRix stuck her scratchy catlike tongue out at Tom but said nothing. "Are
we agreed then?"
"Looks that way to me," Tom replied. "Just hold the enthusiasm a bit when
we get there young Weaver."
Katerina just snorted and eyed the rest of the team carefully.
"Report to the Flighter Bay in one hour," Vevay said as she stood.
"Lieutenant, I want a full run down of all the scans we have so far in ten
minutes. Dismissed!"
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