Beg, Steal or Borrow – Holding the Line - Part 1 (Backpost)
by Colonel James Darson
Post Details
ON:
Sergeant Taneko rushed out of the Romulan Embassy, his light Riot gear clanking against the body armor he wore. As he ran down the corridor, he found himself wondering how bad things could have gotten already.
“I mean,” He thought, “It hasn’t even been an hour since the CO mentioned that the Romulans were going to attack. They couldn’t have gotten together an angry mob this quickly…could they?”
As he approached the end of the corridor, he realized that the citizens of Deep Space 5 more resourceful and organized than he gave them credit for. Even if this was just a panicked response to the announcement, this was insane.
Gathered at the end of the corridor was a massive mob that stretched all the way back around the corner. Twisting and undulating, they were shouting jeers and insults at the silent line of Marines bearing riot shields that stood across their path. A glance down the opposite direction showed that there was an identical one at the other end of the corridor at the other Marine position.
He started to sweat slightly as he analyzed the persons in front of the mob. Big and burly, most of them carried a weapon of some sorts, ranging from simple metal pipes to tools, to a long elongated black thing that he suspected was in fact a Marine Issue Stun-Baton Mark I. They were all wearing heavy clothes, presumably to absorb shocks and impacts, and a few of them were even wearing scuffed and worn armor.
He moved behind the line of Marines and tapped one of them on the shoulder, “Corporal, what’s the situation here?”
Without turning his gaze from the dangerous crowd in front of him, the younger man tightened his grip on the transparent shield, “Kind of obvious sir. When you entered the embassy, that’s when they first started showing up…first one or two at a time, then bigger groups, and then all of a sudden they were joined by a very large group from somewhere else in the station…and it’s only getting worse.”
Taneko gave a sigh of displeasure as he stared at the unruly and noisy crowd, “Well, they were scared, and they wanted to take that out on something…if this was just a random mob I think that we could contain it. But, our station’s idiot Commander came right out and said that it was Romulans attacking us…God, he’s screwed us over something fierce. I’m not sure if he did it intentionally, but he basically ensured that every mob, once organized, is going to come straight here. Thousands of people all funneling through narrow channels to get here…this does not bode well for us...or them for that matter.”
One of the Marine’s voices gave a weak chuckle as it came over the channel, “Then why are we still here sir?”
“A damm good question Marine,” the sergeant said in a sober tone, “It’s our job and even against these kinds of numbers, we must endure…right, all Marines listen up. We’ve been given orders to protect the Romulan Embassy. You’ve all seen the tactical plan in place, and you all know how to follow it. We’ll hold fast here as long as possible, and when I give the order we fall back to the next position. Understood?”
As the disciplined Marines under his command sounded off their acknowledgement of the orders, he moved forward and activated the voice amplifier in his helmet. Standard Issue for all Military Police Personnel, this baby was designed to pump out at least 500 decibels of noise. Inside this enclosed space, it was guaranteed to be deafening if used that way, but he made sure that it was dialed back some.
“Attention all Deep Space 5 residents! This is an unlawful assembly! Please cease and desist immediately!”
The response was immediate and violent. The movements of the large rout became increasingly agitated, and jeers that had been temporarily quieted when he had turned on the speaker were now back in increasing strength and insultingness. Suddenly, a bottle originated from about 15 feet deep in the crowd and, after sailing over their heads in a shallow parabolic arc, impacted on one of the Marine’s riot shields in a spray of glass and something that was probably synthale.
Taneko stood stock still as the blood drained out of his face, “Oh jeez…” he thought. “They’ve started throwing things…shit, it’s only a matter of time before they charge.” He opened up the tactical channel again and said, “Alright Marines…looks like there’s going to be no avoiding this. Buzz Batons…fire them up.”
There was a collective shifting of the Marine line as they reached for their belts and unclipped their stun batons with one hand, while holding onto the shield with the other. When they all had them in hand, in unison the snapped them open where they began crackling with electricity and an angry whine.
When the crowd saw this, they seemed to shrink back for a mere moment. But they came right back even more enraged than before, seeming like a hive of angry bees. Taneko turned on his loudspeaker to try once more to get them to disperse, “Attention all Deep Space 5 residents, this is an unlawful assembly! Please disperse immediately, or we will use all necessary force!”
That seemed to be a breaking point. With a throaty roar, the first lines of the crowd sprung forward, weapons held aloft. The Marine line did not falter however, and met them straight on, crashing into them with the riot shields and holding them at bay. Whenever they had an opening, they would lash out with their batons and the air would be filled with the smell of singed clothing and flesh.
Sergeant Taneko stayed back, observing the chaos at hand, when he saw the crowd surge forward. “Hold the line!!” he shouted as he moved forward, but he needn’t have bothered.
With a loud crashing noise, the crowds and Marines clashed. The sheer amount of force behind the mass of wild people was enough to start moving the Marines back, their high grip tactical boots sliding over the slick metal deck. But they quickly regained their footing, and with a single heave, managed to stop the rioters in their tracks.
As Taneko watched the temporary stalemate, he allowed himself to hope, just for a moment, that they would be able to hold the mob back with a minimum of problems. His hopes were shattered mere seconds later when the second squad leader, the one inside the embassy, came on the COM channel, urgency in his voice.
=^=, “Sergeant!” he shouted, “They’re gone!” =^=
Taneko was momentarily stumped. Who was gone? And how did they escape? But soon enough it dawned on him, =^= “Sergeant…do you mean the ambassador?” =^=
=^= “Yes sir, and her bodyguard. They were transported out when the shields failed during the last salvo. They’re gone.” =^=
Taneko was struck by a sudden feeling of annoyance. If they were gone…what the hell was he defending this embassy for anyway? Most of the Marines had been against this from the beginning, but he had gone along with it for the most part. But everybody could see that the Major had only done this to pacify the Romulan ambassador. And now that she was gone, there was no reason to keep up this little farce, was there?
He quickly opened up a channel to Lieutenant Fawer, =^= “Lieutenant, this is Sergeant Taneko, Red Squad leader…come in please!” =^=
=^= “Sergeant Taneko, this is Lieutenant Fawer; I read you loud and clear. Give me a sitrep. What’s going on down there?” =^=
=^= “It’s bad sir,” =^= Taneko shouted in order to be heard over the roaring of the crowd as what appeared to be a flower pot flew past his helmet, =^= “The resistance is far heavier than we anticipated; They’ve degenerated into a stage II riot, and are clashing with our lines. Sir, it’s so congested I don’t even think that our fall back plan is viable anymore. It’s just too massive! As well, Ambassador t’khellian and her Starfleet bodyguard have disappeared; transported out by persons unknown…I think they’ve been abducted off the station sir! ” =^=
There was silence on the line for a moment, then Taneko heard Fawer grumble before he said, =^= “Well, whomever said that numbers count for nothing in an enclosed space like this obviously never cared about the attackers. As for the ambassador…that is deeply disturbing information. I’ll relay it to the Major immediately. In the meantime…I’m issuing new orders. Pull back and evacuate the embassy; seal off the main doors and take all of its personnel through the escape hatch and bring them down here, where it’s more defensible. There’s no point in holding there anymore…the embassy personnel will have temporary asylum with us. ” =^=
Taneko was about to respond when he saw the crowd surge forward again, pushing the Marines back another meter or two. They were already approaching the first fallback point even though they hadn’t done anything. =^= “Yes sir!” =^= he said into the mic, than cut the channel.
TO BE CONTINUED:
OFF:
Marines NPC'd by Major James Darson
by Colonel James Darson
Post Details
| Title | Holding the Line - Part 1 (Backpost) | |
| Mission | Beg, Steal or Borrow | |
| Author(s) | Colonel James Darson | |
| Posted | Wed May 13, 2009 @ 6:52pm | |
| Location | Romulan Embassy | |
| Timeline | SD8 - 1405 (Coinciding with the Attack and "The Waiting...") |
Sergeant Taneko rushed out of the Romulan Embassy, his light Riot gear clanking against the body armor he wore. As he ran down the corridor, he found himself wondering how bad things could have gotten already.
“I mean,” He thought, “It hasn’t even been an hour since the CO mentioned that the Romulans were going to attack. They couldn’t have gotten together an angry mob this quickly…could they?”
As he approached the end of the corridor, he realized that the citizens of Deep Space 5 more resourceful and organized than he gave them credit for. Even if this was just a panicked response to the announcement, this was insane.
Gathered at the end of the corridor was a massive mob that stretched all the way back around the corner. Twisting and undulating, they were shouting jeers and insults at the silent line of Marines bearing riot shields that stood across their path. A glance down the opposite direction showed that there was an identical one at the other end of the corridor at the other Marine position.
He started to sweat slightly as he analyzed the persons in front of the mob. Big and burly, most of them carried a weapon of some sorts, ranging from simple metal pipes to tools, to a long elongated black thing that he suspected was in fact a Marine Issue Stun-Baton Mark I. They were all wearing heavy clothes, presumably to absorb shocks and impacts, and a few of them were even wearing scuffed and worn armor.
He moved behind the line of Marines and tapped one of them on the shoulder, “Corporal, what’s the situation here?”
Without turning his gaze from the dangerous crowd in front of him, the younger man tightened his grip on the transparent shield, “Kind of obvious sir. When you entered the embassy, that’s when they first started showing up…first one or two at a time, then bigger groups, and then all of a sudden they were joined by a very large group from somewhere else in the station…and it’s only getting worse.”
Taneko gave a sigh of displeasure as he stared at the unruly and noisy crowd, “Well, they were scared, and they wanted to take that out on something…if this was just a random mob I think that we could contain it. But, our station’s idiot Commander came right out and said that it was Romulans attacking us…God, he’s screwed us over something fierce. I’m not sure if he did it intentionally, but he basically ensured that every mob, once organized, is going to come straight here. Thousands of people all funneling through narrow channels to get here…this does not bode well for us...or them for that matter.”
One of the Marine’s voices gave a weak chuckle as it came over the channel, “Then why are we still here sir?”
“A damm good question Marine,” the sergeant said in a sober tone, “It’s our job and even against these kinds of numbers, we must endure…right, all Marines listen up. We’ve been given orders to protect the Romulan Embassy. You’ve all seen the tactical plan in place, and you all know how to follow it. We’ll hold fast here as long as possible, and when I give the order we fall back to the next position. Understood?”
As the disciplined Marines under his command sounded off their acknowledgement of the orders, he moved forward and activated the voice amplifier in his helmet. Standard Issue for all Military Police Personnel, this baby was designed to pump out at least 500 decibels of noise. Inside this enclosed space, it was guaranteed to be deafening if used that way, but he made sure that it was dialed back some.
“Attention all Deep Space 5 residents! This is an unlawful assembly! Please cease and desist immediately!”
The response was immediate and violent. The movements of the large rout became increasingly agitated, and jeers that had been temporarily quieted when he had turned on the speaker were now back in increasing strength and insultingness. Suddenly, a bottle originated from about 15 feet deep in the crowd and, after sailing over their heads in a shallow parabolic arc, impacted on one of the Marine’s riot shields in a spray of glass and something that was probably synthale.
Taneko stood stock still as the blood drained out of his face, “Oh jeez…” he thought. “They’ve started throwing things…shit, it’s only a matter of time before they charge.” He opened up the tactical channel again and said, “Alright Marines…looks like there’s going to be no avoiding this. Buzz Batons…fire them up.”
There was a collective shifting of the Marine line as they reached for their belts and unclipped their stun batons with one hand, while holding onto the shield with the other. When they all had them in hand, in unison the snapped them open where they began crackling with electricity and an angry whine.
When the crowd saw this, they seemed to shrink back for a mere moment. But they came right back even more enraged than before, seeming like a hive of angry bees. Taneko turned on his loudspeaker to try once more to get them to disperse, “Attention all Deep Space 5 residents, this is an unlawful assembly! Please disperse immediately, or we will use all necessary force!”
That seemed to be a breaking point. With a throaty roar, the first lines of the crowd sprung forward, weapons held aloft. The Marine line did not falter however, and met them straight on, crashing into them with the riot shields and holding them at bay. Whenever they had an opening, they would lash out with their batons and the air would be filled with the smell of singed clothing and flesh.
Sergeant Taneko stayed back, observing the chaos at hand, when he saw the crowd surge forward. “Hold the line!!” he shouted as he moved forward, but he needn’t have bothered.
With a loud crashing noise, the crowds and Marines clashed. The sheer amount of force behind the mass of wild people was enough to start moving the Marines back, their high grip tactical boots sliding over the slick metal deck. But they quickly regained their footing, and with a single heave, managed to stop the rioters in their tracks.
As Taneko watched the temporary stalemate, he allowed himself to hope, just for a moment, that they would be able to hold the mob back with a minimum of problems. His hopes were shattered mere seconds later when the second squad leader, the one inside the embassy, came on the COM channel, urgency in his voice.
=^=, “Sergeant!” he shouted, “They’re gone!” =^=
Taneko was momentarily stumped. Who was gone? And how did they escape? But soon enough it dawned on him, =^= “Sergeant…do you mean the ambassador?” =^=
=^= “Yes sir, and her bodyguard. They were transported out when the shields failed during the last salvo. They’re gone.” =^=
Taneko was struck by a sudden feeling of annoyance. If they were gone…what the hell was he defending this embassy for anyway? Most of the Marines had been against this from the beginning, but he had gone along with it for the most part. But everybody could see that the Major had only done this to pacify the Romulan ambassador. And now that she was gone, there was no reason to keep up this little farce, was there?
He quickly opened up a channel to Lieutenant Fawer, =^= “Lieutenant, this is Sergeant Taneko, Red Squad leader…come in please!” =^=
=^= “Sergeant Taneko, this is Lieutenant Fawer; I read you loud and clear. Give me a sitrep. What’s going on down there?” =^=
=^= “It’s bad sir,” =^= Taneko shouted in order to be heard over the roaring of the crowd as what appeared to be a flower pot flew past his helmet, =^= “The resistance is far heavier than we anticipated; They’ve degenerated into a stage II riot, and are clashing with our lines. Sir, it’s so congested I don’t even think that our fall back plan is viable anymore. It’s just too massive! As well, Ambassador t’khellian and her Starfleet bodyguard have disappeared; transported out by persons unknown…I think they’ve been abducted off the station sir! ” =^=
There was silence on the line for a moment, then Taneko heard Fawer grumble before he said, =^= “Well, whomever said that numbers count for nothing in an enclosed space like this obviously never cared about the attackers. As for the ambassador…that is deeply disturbing information. I’ll relay it to the Major immediately. In the meantime…I’m issuing new orders. Pull back and evacuate the embassy; seal off the main doors and take all of its personnel through the escape hatch and bring them down here, where it’s more defensible. There’s no point in holding there anymore…the embassy personnel will have temporary asylum with us. ” =^=
Taneko was about to respond when he saw the crowd surge forward again, pushing the Marines back another meter or two. They were already approaching the first fallback point even though they hadn’t done anything. =^= “Yes sir!” =^= he said into the mic, than cut the channel.
TO BE CONTINUED:
OFF:
Marines NPC'd by Major James Darson