Unity – Caught Short
by Commander Karen Villiers & Colonel James Darson & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & Alderman Dorian Gabriel
Post Details
The situation had seemed to be under control and Davies could manage in Ops without Karen so she had made her way back to the JAG facility where a pile of work was building up. She had made it as far as the promenade when a tell tale knot tightened in her intestines. Karen had paused and considered the situation, the cause a lunch of improperly spiced Bahgol from the Klingon restaurant - she would have word with them later - her first priority was to find the nearest restroom.
By the time she emerged from the stall it was all over.
=^= What's the situation, Captain Flynn. I've had a ... medical situation ... and been out of the loop for twenty minutes." The Marine sounded worried.
=^= “Commander; our security systems have been compromised, Main Operations and Commander Davies cannot be contacted, and a message was sent to the Anubis ordering them to undock and move away or they would be fired upon. Where are you now ma’am?” =^=
As she listened Karen retreated into one of the stalls, choosing a 'fresh' one this time. =^= A public restroom on the promenade ... level 1. Any chance of transporting me out of here?" Karen suggested but receiving a negative response she nodded and leaned her back against the wall. "Looks like I'm on my own then. Flynn, can you locate the nearest weapons locker? I can use the maintenance passages to move around."
=^= “106 Meters down the corridor to your right. Ma’am, I’m requesting permission to declare Intruder Alert. Something is very wrong here and we have to lock down what we can before things get any work. We should probably get in touch with Commander Gabriel as well. What do you plan on doing?” =^=
NEW:
=^= Very wrong," Karen agreed as she emerged once again from the stall and moved toward the door. The promenade was quiet, quieter than it was in station's night, "Flynn, I don't have a plan," she said as she made her way slowly down the corridor. "Can you keep this line open. I need to get to that locker, then out of sight. This is eerie," Karen told her, "There's nobody around, hold off on that intruder alert - I think it’s certain we have intruders, let's not let them know what we know."
Karen sighed, the JAG offices were a hundred decks above her and she had no way of knowing if there were problems there too. Who was it that had accused her of being a desk-jockey? She mused as she keyed in her access code and slammed the cushion of her palm into the door when it failed to open, an action accompanied by a rather imaginative arrangement of expletives.
"Flynn, it's no good. I'm locked out ... Have you picked up any readings from people who are not officially aboard ... I think we can ignore the embassies on this one."
Flynn’s voice came back a little annoyed, =^= “Negative Ma’am. Security protocols are all screwed up, so we can’t trust anything the sensors are telling us. We’re moving to backup relays now, and I’ve dispatched a team to Main Operations and Main Security. I should have a better analysis for you in about a minute. What’s the situation on the promenade?" =^=
"Very quiet," Karen said as she walked warily down the corridor - funny how a familiar place could take on a whole different atmosphere, "there are still people in some of the bars, just like nothing has happened. I guess they're so used to this station taking hits that it doesn't bother them anymore," she joked, that might be the case for this fraction of the station's population, but everyone else had retreated to their quarters and locked the doors behind them. "Might help if you can get some support down here too," Karen said recalling the chaos the explosions had caused, "its quiet now, but I don't know how long that will last."
=^= “Roger that Ma’am. I’m a little short handed right now, but I’ll dispatch an MP squad...don’t expect them to get there immediately though, they’ll have to take the Jefferies tubes. As for the people…if they don’t know anything is wrong it might be better to continue keeping them in the dark, if only to avoid a public panic. Now, what are you going to do Commander?” =^=
Karen considered her options. Common sense told her that whoever was here had Ops, which ruled that out if she did not want to get caught herself. Staying on the promenade was out, and a quick examination revealed that the turbo lifts were also shut out. "I'm going to climb, Flynn," Karen said tapping her comm badge again, "A couple of hundred floors should be no worse than a frozen waterfall," she added. "I'm heading to the JAG offices."
=^= “Acknowledged. I’ll continue trying to reroute systems from here, but without access to the Security protocols, it’s going to take us a while. Ma’am, I’d recommend that after you go to the JAG offices, you come to the Marine HQ…it’s much safer here, and I think we have something that might be able to help…and I’ll need you and Commander Gabriel for it to take effect.” =^=
It was going to be something of a climb Karen thought as she crawled through the hatchway and made her way along to the ladder. Standing, she looked up, "Just like Esk Butress," she said aloud, remembering just how long it had been since she had found time to run on the fells or tackle a rock face, even a holographic recreation of one. Not since she had accepted this assignment. "Time to get back in shape," she muttered, grasping the rungs and beginning her ascent.
{Deck 54}
Just around the corner from Science Lab 2, Yolanthe and Mercy looked from the communicator on the unconscious Bajoran to each other with alarm, the ominous instruction, "Begin now!" echoing in their ears.
“What do we do now?” Yolanthe asked, her skin blurring through a nausea-inducing range of colors from lime green to apricot to canary yellow and back again. "We can't stay here doing nothing." She glanced back towards the Science Lab doors. The stand-off inside seemed to be keeping everyone there busy. "Want to make a dash for the turbo lift while that lot is still distracted?"
Mercy too had begun to realize what she'd done. "Wh... what about them?" she spluttered. "Shouldn't we tie them up and take them to Security?"
To be honest, Mercy didn't like the idea of even touching the two rebels, let alone finding herself trying to subdue one if he came round again. She had used up her flash of bravery and was beginning to feel sick.
The Bokkai leant against the bulkhead. "I don't know." She ran a hand through her hair. "Even if we had something to tie them up with, could you carry one with that hand of yours?" It wasn't that she was in over her head, it was the not knowing what to do about it that was galling her. "Security's a long way down. Do you think they'll stay out long enough to get them down there if we get them in the lift?" And would security even care? The two men had mentioned multiple attacks, including one on sick bay right below their feet. Security probably had its hands full right now. "Or we could try somewhere closer. What's between here and there?"
"Um... " Mercy looked a little distraught. "Main Security is 500 decks below us. Almost EVERYthing is between here and there, even the cargo bays!" she held out her arms to indicate the enormity of the problem.
"Then we take it one floor at a time, and see what happens." In the absence of a smarter plan, at least it was something to do. "Stay here, I'll go call the lift." She checked the science lab. No-one was looking out. Trying her best to look nonchalant, even though she was Orion green, she strolled up to the turbo lift and tapped the button. And waited.
And waited.
She pushed the button again. No sign of the lift. Her shoulder blades started to itch
she pushed it a third time, but didn't wait to see if it produced anything. She ducked back into the corridor and rejoined Mercy. "I think we're stuck."
"I'm not going down the Jefferies tubes!" Mercy declared, slightly alarmed that Yolanthe might suggest it.
At that moment one of the 'two' they had subdued began to stir. "Oh dear God" Mercy muttered, casting a look of doubt at Yolanthe and clutching her wounded hand to her subconsciously.
"We *can't* hit him again?" Mercy asked, the comment more a question than a statement. "Can we tie him up?" she suggested desperately.
Yolanthe squatted down, took the two men by the hair and banged both their heads together. "We can hit them again." She looked at her amber hands. "It’s just not something I can keep doing." She wiped her palms on her trousers, straightened, and then wiped her palms again. "Grab his belt." She pointed to the human, and took the Bajoran's. She quickly split it lengthways with the human's knife twice, and knotted the four pieces together. Then she flipped him onto his face and hog tied him with an ease that hinted at a lot of practice. Satisfied he wasn't going anywhere, she looked to Mercy to do the same for the human. The admin was staring at her. The Bokkai shook her head. "Ask no questions, hear no lies."
"I'm not sure it's dependent on whether or not I ask questions, sometimes" Mercy muttered, attempting to copy what she'd just seen done but doing a poor and painful job of it with her injured hand.
Suddenly a black clad figure came around the corner behind them silently and spotted them, coming to a stop. Obviously a woman, she was clad in a sort of matte black armor, the feminine version of Marine Pathfinder armor, with a helmet that looked oddly similar to Darson’s. She eyed the two, and the hogtied rebels off to the side and extrapolated from there. She advanced and drew a side arm, pointing it at the two, “Freeze,” She said calmly.
Yolanthe looked round, saw the woman, saw the weapon, and knew they were in trouble. Whether that would change anything, depended on who she was. She glanced at Mercy for her reaction. "One of yours or theirs?" she whispered.
Mercy shrugged. "Marines are a law unto themselves" she returned softly.
“Stand up, raise your hands over your head, and turn around…slowly,” As they did so, she took a step forward to get a better look at the two women, one of which was shifting colors in quite an interesting fashion, “Identify yourselves.”
"Chief Warrant Officer (2nd Class) Mercedes Denoublier, Administration Department" Mercy recited in a military fashion, even standing up straight to do so, as drilled.
The Bokkai straightened up as Mercy identified herself. When the marine looked to her, she just shrugged. "I just run a bar."
The armored women waited a beat before lowering the weapon, “I’m with the Marines. What are you guys doing up here, and who are these people that you have tied up?” the Marine asked.
Darmon was tired of this mission. This Starfleet uniform was too tight and it brought up bad memories. He never wanted to join the fleet. He only did so to make his father happy. He barely made it through Starfleet academy, and his lack of enthusiasm was evident during his service as an Ensign. Perhaps being drummed out of the service was one of the best things that could have happened to him.
Now, unfortunately, he found himself once again in a damn uniform helping some fanatics take over a Federation station for some ridiculous mission. At least he was getting paid a substantial amount for all of this. Whatever was going on inside that lab, he was getting tired of waiting around his corner. Fortunately, it appeared as if things were becoming better.
He waited for the female Marine to lower her weapon before he decided to come around the corner.
"Starfleet Security! Lower your weapon and identify yourselves!" Darmon said in his most official-sounding voice.
Neatly sandwiched between two phaser-wielding fleeters who both appeared to be tightly strung, Yolanthe glanced from one to the other, and grew steadily more yellow. All day waiting for security to pull its finger out, and now this. "I'm Yolanthe," she took a slow careful step that let her see both the Marine and the Security officer, even if it didn't get her quite out of the line of fire.
"That’s Mercy," she tipped her head at the admin, "That's a marine. You kind of interrupted the introduction." She tapped her foot against the Bajoran Mercy had taken out. "These two," she said to both the marine and the Starfleet officer, "seem to be part of some sort of coup going on right about now." Which meant if either of the two newcomers was also involved in, she was probably about to get shot.
Mercy nodded in agreement but stood still, astride the rather poorly tied prisoner she had been attempting to secure when things had turned for the worse. She was beginning to think she should have stayed with Bryan and the hero DNA that had suddenly activated earlier, switched itself back off again.
Darmon slowly lowered his weapon as he listened to the women speak. "I'm not sure" he responded. "Comms are down and I haven't been able to reach Lieutenants Trellis, Duquesne, or Commander Gabriel. I was on patrol nearby when I heard you all gathering and decided to investigate." He replied.
----
Karen had lost track of the number of rungs she had climbed, the tubes she had crawled along and along with it the number of decks she had ascended. Maybe she should have taken Flynn's suggestion and gone straight to the marine facility. Too late now, she thought as she tucked her arms over a rung up to her armpits allowing herself to hang for a moment, and the muscles of her arms and legs to rest; she could not go much further.
Ever the pragmatist Karen left the ladder at the next floor and unsure of the level or section she was to emerge in she crawled her way to the nearest hatch and pushed it open with more force and more noise than intended. She dropped into a corridor, relieved to be standing at last.
She allowed herself five minutes to stretch her muscles after the long climb, then Karen set about identifying her location. She swore as she discovered she had overshot the JAG offices by two floors, having lost count during her monotonous ascent. She walked warily down the corridor, and paused at a corner, hearing voices:
"Comms are down and I haven't been able to reach Lieutenants Trellis, Duquesne, or Commander Gabriel. I was on patrol nearby when I heard you all gathering and decided to investigate." He replied.
Mercy knew all of these names from the Security Department and their mention convinced her that this was a genuine Starfleet Officer. She was about to step forward to report in more detail but she didn't get the chance.
The Marine, who had been standing silently until now scrutinizing the security officer suddenly burst into action. She closed the distance and grabbed Darmon by the uniform, stuck out foot and pivoted on the other, tripping the man and sending him flying to the ground. In one continuous motion, she turned and mounted his chest, kicking the phaser away as she did so, “You’re no security officer,” she said calmly, drawing her weapon and putting it gently to his cheek, “Not anymore anyway…so, you now have a chance to tell me what you’re doing here.”
"I'm not a fleeter and that's *definitely* not a phaser in my pocket." He said with a smirk as the woman landed on top of him.
“Nope,” she said to the other two women, “he isn’t an officer. I was running a facial recognition check while I was talking to you and what came up was the record of an Ensign that had been dishonorably discharged a couple of years ago. So…that raises the question then of what he’s doing here, wearing an official uniform and posing as a security officer, doesn’t it?"
"It certainly does," Karen said coming round the corner. "Commander Villiers," she told her wondering what a paper-pusher, a bartender and a marine were doing on this level in the first place, "You can run a check on me too if you want?" she offered.
Before the Marine could answer, a phaser blast lanced through the air and struck the wall slight to the left of the Marine's helmet.
"Get off of him or I assure you that the next shot *will* hit its target." I'Pho stated in a detached voice as he walked out of the Science Lab towards the now gathering crowd.
The Marine turned the armored mask to the intruder, “Are you stupid?” she asked in a light voice, “That little pea-shooter isn’t going to do much against the armor,” She was mostly bluffing though. Unlike Darson, her armor wasn’t suited for high-intensity combat, and while she thought that she might have been able to take him under normal circumstances, with civilians and the station’s executive officer around, she just couldn’t take the chance.
"Good point, I guess that armor is useful. . .to you." I'Pho stated as he turned his weapon and fired one shot directly into the right shoulder of Commander Villiers. Before realization of the situation could set in, I'Pho grabbed Mercy and placed the weapon directly to her temple while noisily setting the weapon's setting to its highest.
"Now. . .everybody throw down your weapons, or else our Sick Bay is going to have a lot of guests in a short time." he said intently as the consoles throughout the station came to life with the image of Elliot Hartsfiled.
"Those of you who are within our secured locations, please do not attempt to fight us or disrupt what we have planned. The same request goes to the civilians throughout the station the station. Once we have completed our work, I assure you that this will all seem like nothing more than an inconvenient dream." He said as he prepared to close the link.
"You must trust me when I say, we are here to save you." he said as he closed the channel.
OFF:
Commander Karen Villiers
Executive Officer
CWO(2) Mercedes Denoublier
Administrator (NPC'd by Jools)
Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner and Bartender, The Box of Delights
Enemy NPC's
ThomQ
Mysterious Marine
NPC’s by Colonel Darson
by Commander Karen Villiers & Colonel James Darson & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & Alderman Dorian Gabriel
Post Details
| Title | Caught Short | |
| Mission | Unity | |
| Author(s) | Commander Karen Villiers & Colonel James Darson & Commander Chelsea Dunham & Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & Alderman Dorian Gabriel | |
| Posted | Tue May 25, 2010 @ 6:20pm | |
| Location | Public Restrooms. Promenade | |
| Timeline | SD17 14:30 (coninciding with "We are here to save you") |
By the time she emerged from the stall it was all over.
=^= What's the situation, Captain Flynn. I've had a ... medical situation ... and been out of the loop for twenty minutes." The Marine sounded worried.
=^= “Commander; our security systems have been compromised, Main Operations and Commander Davies cannot be contacted, and a message was sent to the Anubis ordering them to undock and move away or they would be fired upon. Where are you now ma’am?” =^=
As she listened Karen retreated into one of the stalls, choosing a 'fresh' one this time. =^= A public restroom on the promenade ... level 1. Any chance of transporting me out of here?" Karen suggested but receiving a negative response she nodded and leaned her back against the wall. "Looks like I'm on my own then. Flynn, can you locate the nearest weapons locker? I can use the maintenance passages to move around."
=^= “106 Meters down the corridor to your right. Ma’am, I’m requesting permission to declare Intruder Alert. Something is very wrong here and we have to lock down what we can before things get any work. We should probably get in touch with Commander Gabriel as well. What do you plan on doing?” =^=
NEW:
=^= Very wrong," Karen agreed as she emerged once again from the stall and moved toward the door. The promenade was quiet, quieter than it was in station's night, "Flynn, I don't have a plan," she said as she made her way slowly down the corridor. "Can you keep this line open. I need to get to that locker, then out of sight. This is eerie," Karen told her, "There's nobody around, hold off on that intruder alert - I think it’s certain we have intruders, let's not let them know what we know."
Karen sighed, the JAG offices were a hundred decks above her and she had no way of knowing if there were problems there too. Who was it that had accused her of being a desk-jockey? She mused as she keyed in her access code and slammed the cushion of her palm into the door when it failed to open, an action accompanied by a rather imaginative arrangement of expletives.
"Flynn, it's no good. I'm locked out ... Have you picked up any readings from people who are not officially aboard ... I think we can ignore the embassies on this one."
Flynn’s voice came back a little annoyed, =^= “Negative Ma’am. Security protocols are all screwed up, so we can’t trust anything the sensors are telling us. We’re moving to backup relays now, and I’ve dispatched a team to Main Operations and Main Security. I should have a better analysis for you in about a minute. What’s the situation on the promenade?" =^=
"Very quiet," Karen said as she walked warily down the corridor - funny how a familiar place could take on a whole different atmosphere, "there are still people in some of the bars, just like nothing has happened. I guess they're so used to this station taking hits that it doesn't bother them anymore," she joked, that might be the case for this fraction of the station's population, but everyone else had retreated to their quarters and locked the doors behind them. "Might help if you can get some support down here too," Karen said recalling the chaos the explosions had caused, "its quiet now, but I don't know how long that will last."
=^= “Roger that Ma’am. I’m a little short handed right now, but I’ll dispatch an MP squad...don’t expect them to get there immediately though, they’ll have to take the Jefferies tubes. As for the people…if they don’t know anything is wrong it might be better to continue keeping them in the dark, if only to avoid a public panic. Now, what are you going to do Commander?” =^=
Karen considered her options. Common sense told her that whoever was here had Ops, which ruled that out if she did not want to get caught herself. Staying on the promenade was out, and a quick examination revealed that the turbo lifts were also shut out. "I'm going to climb, Flynn," Karen said tapping her comm badge again, "A couple of hundred floors should be no worse than a frozen waterfall," she added. "I'm heading to the JAG offices."
=^= “Acknowledged. I’ll continue trying to reroute systems from here, but without access to the Security protocols, it’s going to take us a while. Ma’am, I’d recommend that after you go to the JAG offices, you come to the Marine HQ…it’s much safer here, and I think we have something that might be able to help…and I’ll need you and Commander Gabriel for it to take effect.” =^=
It was going to be something of a climb Karen thought as she crawled through the hatchway and made her way along to the ladder. Standing, she looked up, "Just like Esk Butress," she said aloud, remembering just how long it had been since she had found time to run on the fells or tackle a rock face, even a holographic recreation of one. Not since she had accepted this assignment. "Time to get back in shape," she muttered, grasping the rungs and beginning her ascent.
{Deck 54}
Just around the corner from Science Lab 2, Yolanthe and Mercy looked from the communicator on the unconscious Bajoran to each other with alarm, the ominous instruction, "Begin now!" echoing in their ears.
“What do we do now?” Yolanthe asked, her skin blurring through a nausea-inducing range of colors from lime green to apricot to canary yellow and back again. "We can't stay here doing nothing." She glanced back towards the Science Lab doors. The stand-off inside seemed to be keeping everyone there busy. "Want to make a dash for the turbo lift while that lot is still distracted?"
Mercy too had begun to realize what she'd done. "Wh... what about them?" she spluttered. "Shouldn't we tie them up and take them to Security?"
To be honest, Mercy didn't like the idea of even touching the two rebels, let alone finding herself trying to subdue one if he came round again. She had used up her flash of bravery and was beginning to feel sick.
The Bokkai leant against the bulkhead. "I don't know." She ran a hand through her hair. "Even if we had something to tie them up with, could you carry one with that hand of yours?" It wasn't that she was in over her head, it was the not knowing what to do about it that was galling her. "Security's a long way down. Do you think they'll stay out long enough to get them down there if we get them in the lift?" And would security even care? The two men had mentioned multiple attacks, including one on sick bay right below their feet. Security probably had its hands full right now. "Or we could try somewhere closer. What's between here and there?"
"Um... " Mercy looked a little distraught. "Main Security is 500 decks below us. Almost EVERYthing is between here and there, even the cargo bays!" she held out her arms to indicate the enormity of the problem.
"Then we take it one floor at a time, and see what happens." In the absence of a smarter plan, at least it was something to do. "Stay here, I'll go call the lift." She checked the science lab. No-one was looking out. Trying her best to look nonchalant, even though she was Orion green, she strolled up to the turbo lift and tapped the button. And waited.
And waited.
She pushed the button again. No sign of the lift. Her shoulder blades started to itch
she pushed it a third time, but didn't wait to see if it produced anything. She ducked back into the corridor and rejoined Mercy. "I think we're stuck."
"I'm not going down the Jefferies tubes!" Mercy declared, slightly alarmed that Yolanthe might suggest it.
At that moment one of the 'two' they had subdued began to stir. "Oh dear God" Mercy muttered, casting a look of doubt at Yolanthe and clutching her wounded hand to her subconsciously.
"We *can't* hit him again?" Mercy asked, the comment more a question than a statement. "Can we tie him up?" she suggested desperately.
Yolanthe squatted down, took the two men by the hair and banged both their heads together. "We can hit them again." She looked at her amber hands. "It’s just not something I can keep doing." She wiped her palms on her trousers, straightened, and then wiped her palms again. "Grab his belt." She pointed to the human, and took the Bajoran's. She quickly split it lengthways with the human's knife twice, and knotted the four pieces together. Then she flipped him onto his face and hog tied him with an ease that hinted at a lot of practice. Satisfied he wasn't going anywhere, she looked to Mercy to do the same for the human. The admin was staring at her. The Bokkai shook her head. "Ask no questions, hear no lies."
"I'm not sure it's dependent on whether or not I ask questions, sometimes" Mercy muttered, attempting to copy what she'd just seen done but doing a poor and painful job of it with her injured hand.
Suddenly a black clad figure came around the corner behind them silently and spotted them, coming to a stop. Obviously a woman, she was clad in a sort of matte black armor, the feminine version of Marine Pathfinder armor, with a helmet that looked oddly similar to Darson’s. She eyed the two, and the hogtied rebels off to the side and extrapolated from there. She advanced and drew a side arm, pointing it at the two, “Freeze,” She said calmly.
Yolanthe looked round, saw the woman, saw the weapon, and knew they were in trouble. Whether that would change anything, depended on who she was. She glanced at Mercy for her reaction. "One of yours or theirs?" she whispered.
Mercy shrugged. "Marines are a law unto themselves" she returned softly.
“Stand up, raise your hands over your head, and turn around…slowly,” As they did so, she took a step forward to get a better look at the two women, one of which was shifting colors in quite an interesting fashion, “Identify yourselves.”
"Chief Warrant Officer (2nd Class) Mercedes Denoublier, Administration Department" Mercy recited in a military fashion, even standing up straight to do so, as drilled.
The Bokkai straightened up as Mercy identified herself. When the marine looked to her, she just shrugged. "I just run a bar."
The armored women waited a beat before lowering the weapon, “I’m with the Marines. What are you guys doing up here, and who are these people that you have tied up?” the Marine asked.
Darmon was tired of this mission. This Starfleet uniform was too tight and it brought up bad memories. He never wanted to join the fleet. He only did so to make his father happy. He barely made it through Starfleet academy, and his lack of enthusiasm was evident during his service as an Ensign. Perhaps being drummed out of the service was one of the best things that could have happened to him.
Now, unfortunately, he found himself once again in a damn uniform helping some fanatics take over a Federation station for some ridiculous mission. At least he was getting paid a substantial amount for all of this. Whatever was going on inside that lab, he was getting tired of waiting around his corner. Fortunately, it appeared as if things were becoming better.
He waited for the female Marine to lower her weapon before he decided to come around the corner.
"Starfleet Security! Lower your weapon and identify yourselves!" Darmon said in his most official-sounding voice.
Neatly sandwiched between two phaser-wielding fleeters who both appeared to be tightly strung, Yolanthe glanced from one to the other, and grew steadily more yellow. All day waiting for security to pull its finger out, and now this. "I'm Yolanthe," she took a slow careful step that let her see both the Marine and the Security officer, even if it didn't get her quite out of the line of fire.
"That’s Mercy," she tipped her head at the admin, "That's a marine. You kind of interrupted the introduction." She tapped her foot against the Bajoran Mercy had taken out. "These two," she said to both the marine and the Starfleet officer, "seem to be part of some sort of coup going on right about now." Which meant if either of the two newcomers was also involved in, she was probably about to get shot.
Mercy nodded in agreement but stood still, astride the rather poorly tied prisoner she had been attempting to secure when things had turned for the worse. She was beginning to think she should have stayed with Bryan and the hero DNA that had suddenly activated earlier, switched itself back off again.
Darmon slowly lowered his weapon as he listened to the women speak. "I'm not sure" he responded. "Comms are down and I haven't been able to reach Lieutenants Trellis, Duquesne, or Commander Gabriel. I was on patrol nearby when I heard you all gathering and decided to investigate." He replied.
----
Karen had lost track of the number of rungs she had climbed, the tubes she had crawled along and along with it the number of decks she had ascended. Maybe she should have taken Flynn's suggestion and gone straight to the marine facility. Too late now, she thought as she tucked her arms over a rung up to her armpits allowing herself to hang for a moment, and the muscles of her arms and legs to rest; she could not go much further.
Ever the pragmatist Karen left the ladder at the next floor and unsure of the level or section she was to emerge in she crawled her way to the nearest hatch and pushed it open with more force and more noise than intended. She dropped into a corridor, relieved to be standing at last.
She allowed herself five minutes to stretch her muscles after the long climb, then Karen set about identifying her location. She swore as she discovered she had overshot the JAG offices by two floors, having lost count during her monotonous ascent. She walked warily down the corridor, and paused at a corner, hearing voices:
"Comms are down and I haven't been able to reach Lieutenants Trellis, Duquesne, or Commander Gabriel. I was on patrol nearby when I heard you all gathering and decided to investigate." He replied.
Mercy knew all of these names from the Security Department and their mention convinced her that this was a genuine Starfleet Officer. She was about to step forward to report in more detail but she didn't get the chance.
The Marine, who had been standing silently until now scrutinizing the security officer suddenly burst into action. She closed the distance and grabbed Darmon by the uniform, stuck out foot and pivoted on the other, tripping the man and sending him flying to the ground. In one continuous motion, she turned and mounted his chest, kicking the phaser away as she did so, “You’re no security officer,” she said calmly, drawing her weapon and putting it gently to his cheek, “Not anymore anyway…so, you now have a chance to tell me what you’re doing here.”
"I'm not a fleeter and that's *definitely* not a phaser in my pocket." He said with a smirk as the woman landed on top of him.
“Nope,” she said to the other two women, “he isn’t an officer. I was running a facial recognition check while I was talking to you and what came up was the record of an Ensign that had been dishonorably discharged a couple of years ago. So…that raises the question then of what he’s doing here, wearing an official uniform and posing as a security officer, doesn’t it?"
"It certainly does," Karen said coming round the corner. "Commander Villiers," she told her wondering what a paper-pusher, a bartender and a marine were doing on this level in the first place, "You can run a check on me too if you want?" she offered.
Before the Marine could answer, a phaser blast lanced through the air and struck the wall slight to the left of the Marine's helmet.
"Get off of him or I assure you that the next shot *will* hit its target." I'Pho stated in a detached voice as he walked out of the Science Lab towards the now gathering crowd.
The Marine turned the armored mask to the intruder, “Are you stupid?” she asked in a light voice, “That little pea-shooter isn’t going to do much against the armor,” She was mostly bluffing though. Unlike Darson, her armor wasn’t suited for high-intensity combat, and while she thought that she might have been able to take him under normal circumstances, with civilians and the station’s executive officer around, she just couldn’t take the chance.
"Good point, I guess that armor is useful. . .to you." I'Pho stated as he turned his weapon and fired one shot directly into the right shoulder of Commander Villiers. Before realization of the situation could set in, I'Pho grabbed Mercy and placed the weapon directly to her temple while noisily setting the weapon's setting to its highest.
"Now. . .everybody throw down your weapons, or else our Sick Bay is going to have a lot of guests in a short time." he said intently as the consoles throughout the station came to life with the image of Elliot Hartsfiled.
"Those of you who are within our secured locations, please do not attempt to fight us or disrupt what we have planned. The same request goes to the civilians throughout the station the station. Once we have completed our work, I assure you that this will all seem like nothing more than an inconvenient dream." He said as he prepared to close the link.
"You must trust me when I say, we are here to save you." he said as he closed the channel.
OFF:
Commander Karen Villiers
Executive Officer
CWO(2) Mercedes Denoublier
Administrator (NPC'd by Jools)
Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner and Bartender, The Box of Delights
Enemy NPC's
ThomQ
Mysterious Marine
NPC’s by Colonel Darson