Off the Planet -- at last
Posted on Thu Aug 23rd, 2012 @ 12:06pm by Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jackson & Lieutenant JG Ronnie Wolfe & Ensign Maria Delgado & Master Chief Petty Officer Apu Barnum & 1st Lieutenant Kara Melo & Lieutenant Jourdan Abbott & Captain Cameron Bourne & Lieutenant JG Marek Lovok [Lynx] & Staff Sergeant Allen Riley & Private 1st Class Trent Kushner
1,296 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Subjugation
Location: Planets surface
ON
Kara sat against the wall of the cave, her eyes closed. They weren't home yet, but they were out of the mines, and that was a start. The problem now was how to get off the planet and get help.
Cameron was sitting at the entrance to the Caves, keeping an eye on the situation outside. He was glad to be out of the mines, but he was starting to wonder if it was all for nothing. Glancing back into the cave at the others huddling together for warmth, he gave a sigh before turning back to the outside.
Apu slipped up beside him and sat down. "I have not seen you before today."
"that doesn't surprise me" Cameron said, turning his head to look at Apu, "I was only released from isolation today, I was lucky to run into Kara and Trent" he said, Glancing back into the cave before returning to Apu, "Sergeant Cameron Bourne, Recon Marine, Deep Space 4" he explained, offering a hand.
"Apu Barnum, Quartermaster," the other man replied. "Karma does favor the courageous."
Cameron gave a sarcastic laugh, "didn't seem that way when I got caught"
"But you survived," Apu said. "We all survived. That is more than most in our circumstances. What is the old saying? That which does not kill us makes us stronger? You are alive and now you are stronger." He grinned at the younger man. "The question is, what have you learned?"
"Shoot first, send flowers later. When in doubt, use a combat knife. One shot one kill will save your life" Cameron said
"In there, yes," Apu nodded in the direction of the mine. "I do not recommend it on a Starship."
Cameron smiled, "yea, the rules change a little on starships"
"It all depends on the rules," Apu smiled back. "There are rules ... and then there are rules."
Cam looked curiously at Apu, "are you sure you're a quartermaster? You sound more like an intelligence officer"
"I am many things," Apu chuckled. "I am the quartermaster. If there's anything you need, come to me." He grinned broadly. There would be time later for the Marine to learn that Apu had a knack for finding just about anything...given enough time.
Cam smiled, "you wouldn't have a field transporter on you by chance?"
"Alas, it does not work," Apu admitted sadly. "I tried." He tapped a small cube on a chain attacked to his belt. "You find a good number of odds and ends if you know where to look."
"I'll just settle for a stiff drink." Trent mumbled from not far away. "...That or a paradise planet"
"Hmm" Cam said, Agreeing with Trent, "A Paradise Planet sounds good right now"
"Men," Kara said, sitting down next to the other Marines. "A long, hot bath, a glass of wine and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries. Maybe a massage." It was a very female thing to say, but she didn't care.
Apu shook his head. "I will leave you to your dreams. Maybe soon, if the fates are with us, you will all have your wish." The Marines could continue the conversation if they wished. He wanted to have a talk with Jill and Kyt. The child especially fascinated him. She had better instincts than most adults he'd met.
As Apu left, Cam turned to Kara, "I'd be happy to give you a massage when we get out of here. I used to give me spotter a massage between missions"
Kara grinned. "I think you are my new best friend. I'll definitely take you up on that."
"Are you giving out paradisaic planets as well?" Trent questioned.
Torchwood
Lizzie turned to Jourdan. "Now what?"
Jourdan looked at the disabled ship on the screen.
"Boost all power to the transporters" Jourdan explained. "Use the Vaun Braun's transporter logs to track down all the crew's DNA and patterns. When you get a lock start beaming!" Jourdan said jumping up from the chair and running over to the engineering console.
"Luckily we brought across the Vaun Braun's computer logs on this" she said plugging in the storage device into the Torchwood's computer.
"Downloading patterns and DNA. Start scanning" Jourdan ordered.
"Scanning now..." Lizzie said.
"When you've got a lock. Start beaming aboard" Jourdan said.
"There's a group of humanoids 200 meters from a larger group of humanoids. Some of them match the NDS, but not all. Do you want to try beaming someone down there to check first?" Lizzie asked.
"I'm re-routing additional power to the energizing coils, hopefully it will speed up the transport sequence enough, that way we can beam up the crew faster." Marek said.
"I'm still not so sure about transporting only those who match out DNA. We don't have a large crew. I'd be more comfortable sending down some security to make sure first," Lizzie continued. But, whatever her preferences, if Lieutenant Abbott ordered her to do it, she would.
"We only have enough power to try this once," Maria said grimly. "Then we'll have to wait for a while to build up enough power to try again. Not unless we want to risk burning out all the systems. I suggest we beam everyone in the smaller group into a cargo bay, set up a containment field until we know who we have. That way, if we get the wrong people, we can stun them and send them back later."
Cargo Bay
Ronnie felt the distinct tingle of a transporter being activated and grabbed her disruptor. She had no idea who was beaming her where, but she wasn't about to be caught unprepared. Not this time.
Cam jumped to his feet as the Cave disappeared and was quickly replaced by an unfamiliar room. Scanning the cargo bay infront of him he turned to Kara and Trent, "does this look familiar to either of you?"
Kara was looking around, disruptor at the ready. "I'm not sure what it is, but not the Von Braun. Too old."
"Hey, whoa, wait!" the transporter officer said, raising his hands. "We're Starfleet."
"Yeah, prove it!" Trent yelled with his weapon leveled on the man.
The Ensign paled. "Look, this is the USS Torchwood under command of Lieutenant Jourdan Abbott. We're here to rescue the crew of the USS Calypso and the USS Von Braun. Look, if you give us enough time to reset the controls, I'll send you back to to wherever you came from."
"You are making a terrible case for staying conscious there buddy." He growled.
"stand down Trent, this dosn't look like a trap" Cam said, glancing around the cargo bay, "besides, it's got to be better than down there"
"Lieutenant Abbott was on the Von Braun with us. I don't know what happened to her," Ronnie said, stepping up to the others. She glanced at Damion before moving over to a wall panel. "This is a Starfleet vessel. A bit old..."
She looked at the man "Where's Lieutenant Abbott?"
"On the bridge."
Ronnie looked at the others. "Let's go find out what's going on."
Trent turned to follow the others but stopped just short of the door. After a moment he turned to face the transporter chief. "I don't like you." He pointed to the controls with his weapon. "Hands off." Immediately he turned and followed after his collegues.
OFF
Lieutenant Jourdan Abbott
Chief Engineer
Lieutenant JG Marek Lovok
Assistant Chief Engineer
Lieutenant JG Ronnie Lancaster
Assistant Chief Science Officer
Master Sergeant Cameron Bourne
Delta Platoon Leader
Staff Sergeant Kara Melo
Platoon Leader
PFC Trent Kushner
Marine
Master Chief Petty Officer Apu Barnum
Quartermaster
Lieutenant Elizabeth Jackson
Botanist
Ensign Maria Delgado
Science Officer
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