"Here Comes the Calvary"
(Previous post Tiffany's "Breens and Luck")
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Stardate: 60298:1430
Setting: TOLAR IV Entrance to the ruins
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The two fire squads beamed down about 45 meters from the entrance to the ruins, the small parade of life forms making it much easier for the latecomers to find the right place.
Visibility was limited to only a few meters as the Marines trudged through the wind swept snow drifts toward the opening in the ground.
The wind had kicked up and the cold was biting. Trudging through the snow was difficult and uncomfortable for all of them but especially for Prav. He had a basic patch job done to his back and for all intents and purposes should have stayed aboard the VENTURE CAPITAL.
After a long twenty minutes the two fire squads reached the entrance to the ruins.
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Stardate: 10298:1450
Setting: TOLAR IV Ruins
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Xan never noticed the quiet exit of the two women. He was too engrossed in an artifact he found tucked under a stone table. Unfortunately for him his concentration also kept him from noticing the entrance the first of the twelve Cardassians. By the time he looked up, it was too late.
The large hand of the commanding soldier reached out and grabbed Xan from behind.
"What??" he gasped as he realized he was being lifted off the ground. It was in that moment that he noticed the absences of the two women and the company of the dozen Cardassians.
The Cardassian smirked as he held Xan at eye level. "Where is it?" he growled.
Xan said the only thing a person in his position could say and he answered with a very unconvincing, "Where is what?"
The look on the Cardassian's face indicated that he didn't buy his innocent act one bit but before he could say anything another of the Cardassian remembered there had been three sets of footprints.
"Where are the others?" he inquired.
Turning his head away from Xan, the Cardassian who had him in his grip looked angrily at the one who had just spoken.
"Sir," he said quickly, "there were three sets of footprints coming in. Maybe the others..."
The commander tightened his grip on Xan and slowly turned back. "Where are they?" he asked, as he felt Xan begin to squirm. "Do they have it?"
Xan never had a chance to answer. The sounds of weapons fire filled the room. Two Cardassians went down immediately and the one holding Xan released him unceremoniously. As the huge Caradassian reached for his weapon, Xan hit the ground and scurried off to the side.
The Cardassians returned fire down the entry corridor believing that the other two had somehow doubled back on them.
They could hear scurrying and made the assumption that their opponents were retreating after their surprise attack. The overconfident commander made the decision to follow them and ordered six of his men to give chase.
Tes'Karka had led the first fire squad into the ruins and had made the initial engagement while the four marines from the second fire squad and the MCO had taken up position in whatever fissures and openings they could find. They watched as Ammunt squad retreated to the cave opening and waited for the Cardassians they hoped would fall for the bait.
Within minutes they heard the pounding of boots on the cold surface and six Cardassians came within sight. As soon as the last one passed the hidden marines they stepped out from their rocky camouflage and opened fire on the passing hostiles.
It was a short fire fight and the Cardassians never really stood a chance. Moments after the first shot, silence once again filled the cavern. Tes'Karka and her squad remained behind and took up position securing the entrance of the cave.
Prav and Sergeant Bath'kt'va led the Bastet Squad forward to the chamber where the rest of the Cardassians had remained, hoping that the overconfident Cardassians would assume the it was their men returning.
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Stardate: 10298:1510
Setting: TOLAR IV Ruins
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In the confusion of the surprise attack the Cardassian commander had lost track of his prisoner. Xan had simply disappeared.
"Sir, I've found a tunnel. He must have escaped through here," one of the Cardassian soldiers shouted from the back of the structure. "I think it leads outside. I can feel a breeze."
The commander cast a glance down the corridor toward where his men had gone after some unknown attacker and then back toward the voice calling him. He had a decision to make between finding out who had attacked them or going after the man they had found inside the chamber. It didn't make sense to him that someone would come back and attack them if they already had the artifact. It made more sense that a person with the artifact would try and disappear. Exactly what the man he just had, had done.
He turned away from the door and began to walk toward the back of the structure. It was just the opportunity Prav had wanted and as soon as the Cardassian made his move, Pravat and the Bastet squad burst into the room and opened fire on the Cardassians.
Only one of them managed to get a shot off before taking the business end of the pulse rifle in the chest. The remaining three were found at the back collapsed near a small tunnel. When the rifle fire stopped, Tes'Karka and Anapolsky came into the chamber. They had left the other two members of the squad to watch the entrance.
Prav looked at the entrance to the tunnel and the turned to Bastet's squad leader Bath'kt'va. "Let's go see if we can find any mice."
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Matt Kelly (downwitmal@yahoo.com)
Writing for:
2nd Lt. Pravat
MCO
USS ANUBIS
