Search & Plunder (Part 4 of 4)

Posted on 08 Nov 2015 @ 8:37pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Andreus Kohl & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Major Lamar Darius & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Olsam Mott & Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen M.D. & Ensign K'os Beaumont & Petty Officer 1st Class Unit Cu-47 "Copper" & Petty Officer 1st Class Taliesin Cynwrig & First Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen & Corporal Jaana Voutilainen
Edited on on 08 Nov 2015 @ 8:49pm

3,026 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Various
Timeline: MD 07 - 0055 hrs

Previously, on Search & Plunder (Part 3)...

"Shut up, stop resisting!" yelled Darius who swiftly injected the butt of his rifle into the back of the kid-engineer's neck to force him to the ground, after which he put a heacy knee on the back of his head and kept the man subdued. "No one speaks unless I say so!" he added, looking up and around the room at all the other present personnel.

"What the hell is that?!" Lamar suddenly added, seeing a hovering mechanical creation zomming across the room. Motioning his free hand toward his comrades, Lamar gave quick instructions to destroy the threat. "Shoot it!"

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

"Security drone, open fire!" yelled one of the Terran soldiers. The nearest Terran fireteam aimed their weapons at the exocomp and began to engage, sending multiple surging pulses of phaser energy towards the small target.

K'os' face was pressed hard against the deck. Pain at the back of his head made his vision darken as if he were looking through a hollow tube. He gritted his teeth, "Arg!" K'os managed to get out. He didn't resist -- couldn't resist. The weight of the man felt crushing and K'os felt his mind letting go. Fear paralyzed him, allowing the irrational notion that if he just stayed still, maybe the pain and confusion would just stop. He managed to look up just as they opened fire on Copper.

The exocomp immediately replicated a energetic distortion layer around his external hull. He whirled about from side to side. The phaser fire that did manage to hit him dispersed along the layer of graviton particles making him shimmer a green glow. He then replicated a tiny little emitter dish on the underside of his frame. Before anyone could say anything cheeky, Copper emitted a high frequency audio pulse towards those attacking him, making people double over while clutching their ears. K'os could only watch as Copper disappeared into the Jefferies tube hatch, leaving the flimsy flesh-machines to recover.

Seeing Yates begin to tense up Taliesin caught her eye and shook his head slightly. She wanted to badly to free K'os he could see, but doing anything now could spell disaster for everyone. They might get the drop on the soldiers in Engineering right now, with the brief disabling attack the little exocomp had retaliated with. But then what? They'd been given their orders. Still, he closed in front of Admiral Saalm, his hand twitching as he fought back the desire to draw the phaser at his waist.

"That was just a repair drone!" he called out to the idiot soldiers. "If it really was a weapon do you think it would have just waited for you to attack it first? Our leaders have an agreement, so maybe you should follow your orders before someone screws up."

Lamar quickly spun to face the feeble crew member who had just yelled at him with nonsensical subterfuge. "Shut up!" he answered back while moving close to the yellow-collared Galilean. "Stop resisting and give me your command codes!"

Taliesin was poised, ready to react, as he started to read this soldier's physical movements, but he stood his ground and raised his chin as the man approached. There was no 'reaching out' or trying to connect to the man's mind, but Taliesin's telepathic talents clued him in on Lamar's motor cortex as he got close; he'd know just how Lamar was going to move as soon as Lamar did. "No one is resisting," he said slowly, as if speaking to a someone who wasn't so bright. "Engineering is yours." As for command codes, Taliesin didn't have anything like that. He was an enlisted man, but he was acting as a human shield for the admiral who stood behind him.

With a deeply rooted hatred for all things non-Human, Lamar stared into the man's deep brown eyes and looked him over. He appeared to be Terran at first glance, yet his defense and loyalty to the ideals of some disgusting 'Federation of joint races' made him even more despicable to the major.

"You piece of shit...a proper Terran who serves aboard a starship with THESE traitors?" his hand swept across the rest of the engineering crew who were present. "And you defend them? And defy the Terran Empire?!"

Lamar got stared right back at. "I don't know anything about your heq'quvol empire, mate, and we aren't a part of it," Taliesin replied. He really hoped he wasn't overstepping his bounds here; the admiral was remaining quiet, but he knew someone had to try to defuse things. K'os was pinned down, Copper nearly got disintegrated, and this was the worst place on the ship for people to start firing energy weapons. Ever so slowly, one arm raised while the other reached for his phaser, he disarmed himself and offered the weapon to the soldier, "Look, we've surrendered. Why don't you get on with whatever your orders are?"

"You sound like a Klingon with your talk of...honor..." Lamar smirked and turned back to the rest of his team before unholstering his rifle and tossing it to them. He then looked back towards the shorter security officer and opened his arms wide. "You want this? I will destroy you, and all of your crew will become my servants. That is, if I don't choose to execute them first," he laughed.

Taliesin tossed his phaser to the deck, "I don't want a fight." That wasn't true; he wanted to smash this jerk's face into a bulkhead. "We've been ordered to stand down, and that's exactly what we've done." He saw where this was going though, and now he started to focus his telepathic senses, getting ready. "And I'll take the Klingon comment as a compliment," he couldn't help but add even knowing that it was not going to go over well.

Lamar stepped forward and brought his fists to bear. He would enjoy this despite the slight delay in securing the engineering bay. The traitor Human talked of surrendering but had still not gotten on his knees -- the major would change that.

He could sense it, something beyond just how Lamar's body was tensing. In the seconds before the attack came, Taliesin thought with furious speed. He could fight back, could show the bastard the mistake of his arrogance, but then more people might get hurt. His job as security was like his old job as a cop: he was supposed to protect people. Taliesin decided, and held still.

The dark-skinned man's large frame loomed heavy as it closed in on Taliesin. Lamar began a slow circling to the left and his left fist snapped out two consecutive jabs that connected with the man's chin. They were followed up by a heavy right straight that slammed into Taliesin's mouth and resounded across the room with a 'crack'.

"On your knees, fool," taunted Lamar with a mischievous grin.

He took the blows, grunting as Lamar's fists pounded him, and Taliesin's lip split from the hard right punch. The security man's head snapped to the side, blood splattered on the deck, and he staggered slightly. Still he didn't raise his hands to defend himself. All he did was stand back up straight and kept his trembling fists at his sides. Taliesin had to remind himself repeatedly about his orders as on the inside he was raging; he'd be damned if he was going to kneel for this man on his own accord though. He stared back defiantly, silently, daring the soldier to show how tough he was to beat up on someone who didn't fight back.

The boarding party was so focused on dark Lamar and Taliesin, that K'os had been left prone on the floor unsupervised. He got to his knees, and grimaced at the pain in his right knee. He looked over his shoulder and mouthed 'it's okay' to reassure his -- and in this moment they certainly were his -- engineers. He didn't know why he did it, and he certainly didn't do it because he was brave. He was simply doing what he thought was his duty to do. He got to his feet carefully and sprinted as fast as his injured knee would allow and inserted himself between Taliesin and 'Lamar'. A fist from the dark Lamar connected with his face and it spun him into Taliesin. He flicked his frightened grey-blue eyes into the security officer's eyes. "Stand down," he said softly before saying more forcefully, "stand down, Petty Officer." K'os began to lower himself to his knees why desperately tugging on Taliesin's uniform. His eyes pleaded with him to comply. K'os looked to Lamar. "Your General gave you orders. 'No further harm is to come to the prisoners unless they attempt to resist us. Failure will be punishable by death.'" K'os' fear and emotions made his whole body shake slightly. "Death!" K'os practically spat at Lamar. "I have command codes. I am the senior officer. You deal with me. You take me. No one else." While K'os continued to stare down Lamar, his hand remained firmly gripping the front of Taliesin's uniform.

Taliesin had done his best to catch K'os and steady the man after he took a blow as well, and his muscles tensed to finally start fighting back. He could take a few punches, that was fine, but attacking the officers just about snapped his discipline and spiked his temper. Taliesin could feel the blood pumping hard, his vision growing tunneled as he focused on Lamar and how he was going to beat the bastard into a bloody pulp- K'os' words cut through his haze, the order bringing him up short. It took obvious effort for him to obey, and even more effort to follow K'os' lead with the tugging on his uniform. Taliesin kneeled, but he stared at Lamar with unyielding defiance no matter what position he was in.


Deck 3 - Sickbay

Just outside sickbay, First Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen leaned against a bulkhead for support. It had been a long walk for her using her exoskeleton. Normally she wouldn't be on a boarding party like this, but as the highest ranking medical officer, General Holliday had ordered her to use her expertise to assist in the securing of the Galileo's medical facilities and the recovery of any medical technology that would be advantageous to the Empire.

Unfortunately, General Holliday had decided to assign her to a boarding party with her nemesis, Jaana.

"Upon entry, I want you to secure everyone and herd them into the main infirmary. Doctors can continue to treat their patients, but under your strict supervision." She nodded towards Jaana's compression phaser rifle. "And be careful with that thing; we don't want to shoot any equipment that we may want to keep for ourselves."

"Don't tell me how to do my job," countered Jaana, scowling at her sister. "This isn't my first boarding party, and General Holliday put me in charge."

"I might need you to hold a rifle, but I still outrank you," replied Tuula, motioning towards the pips on her collar. "Unlike you, I'm actually smart enough to pass an officer training course."

Jaana gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to take her phaser rifle and end the conflict she had with her sister once and for all. "Just stay out of the way," she said. "It would be a shame if you were to accidentally get caught in my crossfire."

Clutching her rifle, Jaana looked over at the four other security officers with her. Seeing that they were ready, she held her rifle up in front of the door. "Ready for entry, get the charges."

"Stand clear of the door!" yelled Lamar before stepping back behind a secure bulkhead with the rest of his invasion team. The three charges they had just placed on the door were enough to blow it to pieces along with anyone else who was next to the entrance.

"Cranking steel!" replied one of the Terran security officers, who then pressed the button on his remote detonator then ducked his head and covered his ears.

The resulting explosion was spectacular and the doors to sickbay were blown to unidentifiable pieces by the immediate shockwave. The concussion blast spread out into the rest of the room, knocking everyone from their feet and leaving the entrance a destroyed mess of thick black smoke and debris.

"Go, go, go!" commanded Lamar as his team began a forced entry and began to move through the smoke into the unknown ship's medical testing facility.

"Hands, hands! Show me your hands! Get on the ground!" he screamed through the confusion while the rest of his team followed suit. "Stop resisting!" he added, just in case anyone got the bright idea to challenge his authority.

Barging into sickbay, the Terran security guards pointed their rifles at everyone, shouting at them all to get into a corner. And behind them, holding a phaser pistol as she slowly walked in with the assistance of her exoskeleton, was First Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen.

Naois, who was still busy taking care of Wyatt, looked up but didn't move from his patient's side. "I will comply," he stated calmly, while making no move to grab the phaser that lay within hand's reach, "as soon as I finish treating my patient."

Allyndra had been expecting someone to show. They had people they were taking care of. "We have no intention of resisting however we are medical professionals and our patients come first!"

Mirror Tuula gasped at the sight of the Akkadian. "Number thirty-seven," she whispered. Of all the test subjects she had over the years, number thirty-seven was her favourite. Not only was her regeneration ability the most promising thing she had ever come across in all her research, but it enabled her to inflict pain on her over and over and over...

"You two, hands up!"

"Get in the corner!"

"Keep your hands on your heads!"

After a few moments of shouting commands and pointing their rifles at people, the Terran assault squad had gotten everyone in sickbay disarmed, and had rounded up everyone but the patients and a few medical staff who were absolutely necessary. As MU Tuula looked around the room, however, her eyes fell on a young doctor, hard at work tending to an Andorian's wounds. She holstered her phaser and walked over, placing a finger on her prime universe counterpart's chin. "Tell me, who are you?"

"Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen, Starfleet. Serial number VT-392-4013."

A wicked grin appeared on the Terran's face. Not only did she have an Akkadian, but she had the perfect test subject. One who was perfectly genetically identical to herself.

"You, Bolian," she called out, "take over here."

Mirror Tuula's eyes wandered over to the two empty biobeds. She was overcome with anticipation; just the thoughts of the experiments she could perform filled her with a certain sense of exhilaration. "Wallace, Richardson, I want you to restrain the Akkadian and the one in the wheelchair to those two biobeds. And be careful; I want my subjects in perfect condition."

Allyndra had done as asked. Shooting in the sickbay occupied with patients would do nothing but make things worse if not get someone killed. She eyed the Tuula that looked so much like her own but had that slightly mad glint to her eyes.

As two of the mirror universe types grasped her arms and all but dragged her she asked, "Subjects? We are prisoners with certain rights. We have offered no resistance nor any offense. Even the Empire has certain standards." She was not sure that was true but it was worth the try.

"Don't worry, doctor, this is for science. I want only to help others with my medical research, and those Akkadian genes of yours can contribute greatly to medical science. As a fellow doctor, I'm sure you can appreciate that." As two Terran security officers took Allyndra by the arms, Mirror Tuula could barely contain her excitement. Turning towards her prime universe counterpart, she looked down at Tuula with disdain. In that chair, she was weak, pathetic even. "As for you, I might even be able to help you."

Tuula just coldly stared up at her mirror universe counterpart. It was surreal; she was just like her, even more so than Jaana. But with one difference. When she looked in the mirror or looked into her sister's eyes, she could see a certain warmth, compassion, and humanity. With this woman, none of that was present. Just the sort of coldness and emptiness which led humanity into its darkest hours.


Shuttlebay, Deck 4

As soon as word came down that the ship was being boarded, Wintrow fled into one of the shuttles and hid inside. He was unarmed, and had nothing but his wits to keep himself safe. He wasn't a fighter, but he knew that capture wasn't something he was looking forward to. Since he barely knew how to defend himself, he knew trying to defend others would only mean sure death for himself, and others he might try to defend. So, his only logical option was to hide, and fast.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

LCDR Norvi Stace
First Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Tyrion Faye
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. j.g. Naois Mercy
Counsellor
USS Galileo
[pnpc Tyrion]

Cadet SO Wintrow Paragon
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[pnpc Tyrion]

Lieutenant (JG) Tuula Voutilainen
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

First Lieutenant Tuula Voutilainen
Chief Medical Officer
ISS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Jynn
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

CPO Keval ch-Ernov
Operations
PNPC Jared Nicholas
USSGalileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Luke Wyatt
Ass. Chief Security
USS Galileo

Crewman Abbey Wyatt
Scientists Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Wyatt]

And many others...

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