" Escape "
(Previous Post was Tiffany's "Not Thinking Things Through")
==========
Setting: SURIAL III, Outside of the compound
Stardate: 60325.1345
The Marines stood ready to engage whatever dared to come out of the recently opened hatch while their commanding officer was being attended to by the ANUBIS' CMO. With the absence of their own Medic and second in command, both of whom had been on the other team, the brave warriors waited for their next set of orders.
"Thank you Doctor… I am fine." The Enaran Marine offered as he tried to return to his feet, the pain that shot throughout his entire body soon making him reconsider the insanity of the act.
"Sure you are fine… and Captain Rikar is going to be promoting me to Admiral the instant we return to the ANUBIS." Ens. Summers countered with, easily seeing that 1st Lt. Pravat had been far from being 'fine'. While the CMO continued to work on the Enaran's injury, the MCO glanced at his men who had not moved from their position at the entrance they had uncovered.
"Report!" Pravat demanded of his troops… the MCO might have been 'down' but he had been far from being 'out', plus concentrating on the task at hand made his less aware of the Doctor's presence over him.
"We have one dead hostile at the foot of the ladder… and by the looks of the armour I would say Romulan." One of the Marines promptly stated, cautiously glancing down into the opening to insure that the situation had not changed.
"Either he was alone or we forced the others to retreat." Another Marine offered as he looked towards the team leader as if requesting further instructions. Pravat met the man's eyes and seemed to think about what would be best for them to do next. Although the larger guns that had been set on the outer rim of the parameters to defend the compound had been disabled, there had still been others closer to the compound not to mention the troops that the recon probes had detected. Faced with the possibility of having their position overrun by enemy ground forces, the Enaran Marine had little choice as to the order he would have to give next.
"Send down 2 concussion grenades… then move in and secure the area. We will have to take control of the compound from the inside. As soon as the area beneath us is secured and the Doctor is finished with me I will join you." The Marine ordered before glaring at the CMO as if urging her to speed up whatever she had been doing.
"You are not going anywhere other than back to the SPHINX… you are in no condition to move, let alone lead your men into combat." Ens. Summers strongly objected as she glared back at the man under her care. Given the extent of the Enaran's injuries the CMO estimated that the MCO would require at least 1 full hour worth of reconstructive surgery and tissue regeneration using the equipment in the ANUBIS' Sickbay.
"Doc… you were sent here to take care of the injured… me and my men were sent here to find and rescue the crew of the MERCURY. So unless you are planning on scrapping this mission and explaining why you did so to the Captain I suggest that you get me back on my feet so that we can get moving." Pravat dryly suggested as he gazed deeply into the eyes of the CMO. For a brief moment the Enaran recalled the attitude that the woman had displayed towards any and all Marines the first time they met, but as the Ensign's features began to softened so did the Marine's idea that he had been speaking with the same person.
"I'll give you something for the pain… but you will have to report to Sickbay the moment we get off this planet. Given your current metabolic rate I suspect that the medication will not last more than an hour… after that you will be in no condition to do anything as I will be unable to give you another dose." The CMO explained as she loaded a hypospray and applied it against the man's neck instantly making him feel better.
==========
Setting: SPHINX, Command Section
Stardate: 60325.1348
The half Romulan, half Human ExO sat in her seat watching with great interest the exchange between the CMO and MCO… an exchange that she could only imagine the specifics of since their voices could not reach within the Mobile Command Unit.
"Do you think they are arguing?" The Cns inquired as she moved into the seat that had been vacated by the departure of the MCO.
"That would be the most logical assumption." The hybrid replied as she continued to watched the 2 officer from the safety of the SPHINX. The discussion between Ens. Mei and Lt. Cmdr. Serenna came to a full stop when the voice of the CMO came over an opened comm channel.
=/\= Summers to SPHINX… we are going in. We'll report back as soon as we can. =/\= The CMO announced causing the 2 women inside of the Mobile Command Unit to look at one another for a brief moment.
"By *we* I assume that you mean *they* are heading down that hatch and *you* are returning to the SPHINX." The First Officer in a tone that implied an order far more than a question.
=/\= Commander you said it yourself… I am here down here to assess the medical needs of the MERCURY's crew and take care of any emergencies. I already have 1 emergency that required my immediate assistance and I am more than certain that there will be more along the way. =/\= Ens. Summers argued before closing the comm link and waving at the officers inside of the SPHINX before vanishing into the opening that the Marines had discovered and secured.
"Looks like she has become unstable in her judgement." The ExO said with a lengthy sigh, knowing that there had been nothing that she could do to stop the CMO from doing as she had already done.
"Maybe she has been spending too much time with David." Susan offered only realising the unprofessional tone of her comment.
==========
Setting: SURIAL III, Underground Compound, Command Centre
Stardate: 60325.1350
"We are receiving reports from patrols from all over that the compound has been penetrated and that several of the prisoners have escaped their cells and gathered weapons." A Romulan Centurion reported from one of the monitoring stations lining the wall of the room causing Zulot and T'Preen to both growl in unison.
"How far away are our ships?" The Cardassian Gul inquired as he moved closer to one of the empty stations wanting to have a better idea as to the time frame they were dealing with before reinforcements would be available.
"According to their last transmission… they should be reaching orbit within the next 15 minutes." Another officer, this one Cardassian reported.
"I'll head up and take command of the ships." Gul Zulot offered as he took a single step towards the door looking back to the Romulan Commander to see if there had been any objections. Given the folly and errors made by those in command of those ships T'Preen actually thought it wise to send his associate up to take command of the 2 GALOR-Class Destroyers.
==========
Setting: SURIAL III, Underground Compound, Corridor
Stardate: 60325.1352
The recently freed officers of the USS MERCURY made their way through the maze of corridors… disposing of any and all opposition as they encountered them. After having been help prisoner for so long and treated as they had been, the sense of revenge had become a powerful driving force that only increased everyone's determination.
"Wait!" Uxtar offered in a whispered voice as he raised a hand to have anyone who had not heard him stop where they stood. Being the hunter that he had been meant to be, the Hirogen had taken the lead of the group, leading them down the maze of corridors and accurately pointing out whatever traps had been in their way. Because of this the group had grown to respect their FCO's skills and had not argued when Uxtar had told them to stop.
"What is it?" The imposing Nausiccan inquired, matching the whispered tone of the Hirogen's voice with his own. The question had not been meant to put into doubt what Uxtar had heard but instead to see what course of action the group would be called to do.
"Footsteps… heading this way. Something is not right though… they are not rushing like the others… they are moving slowly… cautiously." The Hirogen reported as he struggled to better identify the source of the footsteps he had heard.
"One of those Romulans we ambushed earlier could have reported on our escape and position. Those coming are likely not wanting to fall into whatever trap we might have set up for them." Cmdr. Wellington offered as she glanced at their CO who did not appear to be doing all that well.
Uxtar nodded his agreement and glanced at the Nausicaan kneeling next to him. Retreat had not been an option and there had been no time to set up a trap as Cmdr. Wellington had said, so they would need to improvise. When the footsteps were close enough the Hirogen gave the ok signal to Ens. Rostov who leaped around the corner and bowled over several of the men who had been in his way until he stopped dead in his tracks only centimetres away from a woman dressed in the colours of a Starfleet Medical Officer.
==========
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Stardate: 60325.1353
The young woman in command of the ship paced in front of the Engineering and Science stations, anxiously awaiting for any sort of news about the rescue attempt. Trying to communicate with the SPHINX or the VIPER could compromise their position so the redheaded woman had reluctantly accepted to keep radio silence.
"Captain… sensors are picking up 2 ships heading up from the planet." The CSciO reported, her instruments having been diligently trained on the planet trying to pierce the interference that had made it next to impossible to know what had been happening on the surface.
"The SPHINX and VIPER?" The CO said with a clear tone of hope in her voice, clearly wishing for the two ships to be those she had mentioned although their return could have also indicated that something had gone wrong and that the rescue of the MERCURY's crew had failed.
"Yes and no…" The Shillian replied causing the young woman to quickly turned to face the usually long-winded woman with a look that demanded the explanation to be *short*.
"First contact is not one of ours… the second is VIPER 1." Lt. Dawson announced having decided to save both the CSciO and CO the agony of what might have come.
"If that first ship is not the SPHINX… than what is it?" The CO demanded, now sounding truly perplexed by the revelation made by the CEO.
"Hull configuration is that of a Cardassian shuttle… my guess is that someone is trying to escape from the planet." David reported with a level of loathing that made the CO's heart skip a beat.
"Captain… we have another problem… sensors are also picking up 2 GALOR-Class Destroyers on an intercept course." The ANUBIS' Avatar and currently Ops officer reported causing the tension on the bridge to jump several notches.
"At their current speed and vector they will be in orbit of SURIAL III in less than 10 minutes." The Oltharian Engineer, currently the ANUBIS' FCO added obviously having been studying the same sensor information as Annie had.
"This is where things get interesting… RED ALERT, all hands to battle stations!" The redheaded woman ordered, the approaching Cardassian shuttle having suddenly been relinquished to a far lesser level of importance.
==========
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light" 2005 post #353
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
