"Rescue Me"
(previous post “Fishing”)
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Stardate: 60298.1734
Setting: Oceanic World, inside the downed shuttle
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Lea did not like idea of freezing to death while trapped in this sinking shuttle. She liked the idea of ending up as a snack for that giant serpent swimming around them even less. Each time the creature would rub against the outside of the ship, the inside filled with a deafening noise that Lea grew to hate more each time she heard it.
"If you are trying to make me crazy before you eat me," Lea screamed at the creature, "its working," she continued, dropping to her knees sobbing. Lea had been able to remain calm and collect up until now, but this had been the last straw. Even Luke's strong arms around her could not make Lea forget the fate that seemed only seconds away. The serpent had all the time it needed and there was nothing they could do about it. Sooner or later Luke and Lea would end up as fish food, away from everyone they ever knew or cared about.
The sound of metal again metal once again filled the inside of the shuttle making Lea gasp in fear. She did not know how much more of this she would be able to take and even considered for a brief moment asking Luke to use the phaser she had found on her.
When Lea looked up into Luke's face she saw a strange _expression looking back at her. Something had caught his fullest attention and the SFI Agent had not been sure if she should be concerned about what he had been trying to figure out.
"What is it?" Lea asked after the sound of metal rubbing against metal was again heard by them.
"Not sure," Luke said in a whispered voice. "There was something biological about the previous noise, like something living rubbing against the hull, now it's gone."
"What do you mean it's gone? I heard it. Maybe its just getting ready to swallow us whole."
"No," Luke said, "this is different. The last two shots did not sound biological but more mechanical."
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up," Lea said, forcing a smile to her lips, "but I have accepted reality. We are both dead.”
Luke turned his head to the aft part of the shuttle. The noise had been focused there but the scrapping had been replaced by a dull clunk. Something was attaching itself to their shuttle.
He narrowed his eyes as he could hear a soft hissing emanating from that direction. Realizing what was about to happen, he pulled Lea tighter in his arms and turned her away from the sound. With his back turned he couldn’t see what was happening but that didn’t keep him from understanding that someone was cutting through the hull. His hope was that it was a rescue party, his fear was that it was Starfleet.
With the hull cut away, those inside the Barracuda Class vessel had their first glimpse into the submerged shuttle. Armed with a MCAR, Pravat was the first to enter the shuttle. Not sure what to expect he scanned the inside of the small space quickly, his eyes stopping on the back of what appeared to be a humanoid.
“Turn around slowly,” he ordered, watching the figure closely for any sudden moves or hidden weapons.
As the man turned, Prav caught a glimpse of a second person, huddled behind the first. "You too," he yelled. "Come out into the open."
Luke almost groaned when he saw the Marine standing in front of him holding a pulse rifle. Not what he would have wished for but he had gotten out of tighter situations before and anyway, he had Lea. She was worth her weight in good will from Starfleet, seeing how he did rescue her.
"Hold on there cowboy," Luke said, hold his hands palms out toward the Enaran. "I take it you got our distress signal?"
Pravat was barely listening to the man as he watched the second figure emerge. "Doctor Lea Summers I presume?" he said with a grin.
He lowered his weapon slightly and called back to those waiting on the rescue craft, "It's all clear."
Serenna and David entered and saw Lea standing at the other end of the small ship. “Dr. Summers, we’ve been looking for you,” Serrena said walking over to the obviously shaken young woman.
Luke watched as the Starfleet officers began controlling the situation. He wondered for a second if anyone even noticed him. Dawson, however had caught site of the man, and was now sizing him up.
“And just who are you?” he said suspiciously to Luke.
“Lt. Luke Onison, Starfleet,” Luke snapped, emoting hurt for the suspicion being placed on him. “Do you need me to give you my service number as well? Eight-Two-Seven-…”
“Luke…” Lea gave him a look that made him stop. She came to his defence. “He was a prisoner to the Mordsythe for several years. He helped me escape them.”
“And I’d appreciate it if you stopped pointing that at me, thank you very much…” Luke rejoined, indicating for Pravat to point his weapon another way.
The marine frowned, turning the weapon away almost grudgingly. Something didn’t feel right about this man. “I don’t trust you,” he pointed out bluntly.
“This man helped rescue me!” Summers protested. She gave an irate glare to the Marine CO. A strange feeling of déjŕ vu came over her as she stared.
“You know, not every shadow has some enemy of the state hiding within,” the SFI man muttered, still receiving paranoid glances.
Prav stepped closer to the Marine-hating doctor and gave her the once over. “I think we need to get her aboard and let the doctor look at her,” he said to Serrena.
“I’m here too!” Luke spoke up. Pravat ignored him.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" Lea asked, looking at Pravat as if he had a second nose growing in the middle of his forehead.
"How convenient that you have a memory loss at this particular instant," the Marine CO replied.
"No really, I don't remember you, although your face does feel very familiar."
It took Prav a few minutes to remember that when Lea left NEW ALEXANDIA she under went a mind wipe. Her amnesia now made sense to him. Her sense of memory of him though, now intrigued him. "Familiar huh?" Pravat repeated, "In what way? I mean, I have been told that I have a face that’s pretty memorable."
"I hate you, or those like you. At least I think I do. I'm not sure right now, but when I look at you and your uniform, I have this distinct feeling of loathing. I still have to figure out if it is because of you or because you are a Marine."
Pravat shook his head. "Just remember one thing, it was me *as* a Marine that saved you from becoming that snake's lunch."
Serenna had been ready to point out that it had been the ANUBIS that had made the sea serpents leave this region, but the look on the Marine's face made her reconsider. The COO remembered the woman and her disdain for members of the Marines, so she was not going to deprive Pravat of his fun. At least not at that precise moment.
"And what about him?" Dawson said, pointing in Onison's direction.
Serenna shrugged. "That's for the Captain to decide."
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Stardate:10298.1800
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Commander’s Ready Room
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There was silence for several minutes following Luke’s story. The CO of the ANUBIS sat facing away from the SFI man, staring out into the eternity of space. Finally, James spoke. “That’s quite a story there, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, sir,” Loki answered, guardedly. He was in the belly of the beast now. This was a critical moment.
Simmons turned to face the man. “I wonder how much of it is true.”
Loki almost froze. He quickly recovered by looking surprised and hurt. “Sir?”
The CO’s next words made the terrorist relax. “I am not sure what to trust when it comes to the world of Intel.”
Loki pondered his response. “Sir, with all due respect, I’m not a spook- there is nothing shady about what I do. I’m an analyst. That’s a totally different animal.”
James stared at the Lieutenant. With his recent encounter with Enaii fresh in his mind, his dislike for the intel community was complete. It wasn’t a fair prejudice, to be sure, but it still existed.
“Mr. Onison, I’ll be blunt. Your story is an incredible one. I would like to trust you. But so far, Starfleet intelligence has given me nothing to trust.”
Loki was silent for a few moments, and then he responded. “Well sir, I’ll do my best to earn your trust.”
"We'll see," James muttered. "It's up to Koneki to decide what happens to you."
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers
Currently:
Undercover SFI Agent
Once assigned as:
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
and
Christopher B. Del Gesso
{christopher.delgesso@us.army.mil}
POSTING AS
Lt(Jg) Rawyvin Seth
Chief of Security/Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
AND ON OCCASSION
Luke "Loki" Onison
Terrorist/Criminal Mastermind
Mordsythe - Freelance Agent
"My fellow Americans. I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
- President Reagan, before a scheduled radio broadcast, unaware that the microphone was already on.
And
Matt Kelly (downwitmal@yahoo.com)
Writing for:
2nd Lt. Pravat
MCO
USS ANUBIS
2005 post #023
