The_Third_Law_Compile_25 Mission: The Third Law Day: 12 Stardate: 2414.3.27 =============== (Asrai Prime – Prison cell – aCMO Lieutenat jg Tayla Fraiser - 0935) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 0937) (Asrai Prime, Catacombs- YEO- Lt Mike Rosenbauer- Day- 12 0938) (Asrai Prime - Tilshol - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 0943) (Shuttle DeMarco -SOps/QM -LT Chance Raschen -0951) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1007) (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon-CO Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid- Day 12 - 1008) (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon - Lieutenant Sanok - Day 12 - 1009) (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon-aCMO Lieutenant jg Tayla Fraiser- Day 12 - 1010) (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma-1011) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1014) (Shuttle DeMarco- GSL- Lt Xim- Day- 12 1015) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1016) (Shuttle DeMarco- COPS - Lt Tom Jackson - Day 12 1017) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ACEO Lt Eian O'Neill - Day 12 - 1018) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1019) (Asrai Prime - Darkom Dungeon - CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1020) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 12 - 1021) (Asrai Prime - Darkom Dungeon - Freelancer Mayrud - Day 12 - 1022) (Shuttle DeMarco- GSL- Lt Xim- Day- 12 1023) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1023.5) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma - 1024) (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1025) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1029) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1032) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - Lieutenant Sanok - Day 12 - 1033) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - aCMO Lieutenant jg Tayla Fraiser - Day 12 - 1034) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO Lieutenant Commander Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 1035.5) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma - 1036) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - 1037.5) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1038) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma - 1038.5) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ACEO Lt Eian O'Neill - Day 12 - 1039) (Command Center Asrai Prime LT. Tom Jackson COPS Day 12 1043) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COPS Lt Tom Jackson - Day 12 - 1044) (Asrai Prime- ODSCR, The Voice, Day 12, 1045) (USS Rosenante – Bridge – FO – Commander T’Larah Sullivan - 1047 ) (Shuttle DeMarco – COPS– LT Tom Jackson - Day 12 1049 ) (Shuttle DeMarco- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1050) (Asrai Prime - OSDR - COPS- Lt. Tom Jackson Day 12 - 1051) (USS Rosenante – Bridge – FO – Commander T’Larah Sullivan – 1056) (Shuttle DeMarco- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1058) (Asrai Prime- Golden Temple- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1100) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ACEO Lt Eian O'Neill - Day 12 - 1101) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 1103) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1104) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma-1105) (Asrai Prime- Golden Temple- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1106) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 12 -1107) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - Lieutenant JG Tayla Fraiser - Day 12 -1109) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma -1111) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1112) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COPS Lt. Tom -1113) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 1114) (Shuttle DeMarco- GSL- Lt Xim- Day- 12 -1115) (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1116) =============== (Asrai Prime – Prison cell – aCMO Lieutenat jg Tayla Fraiser - 0935) Tayla sat quietly by the cell front and allowed her mind to wander. She knew that she was in trouble and that it was completely justified but that didn't stop the ache in her heart over what she had caused. Looking back at Captain Salid, she smiled. He'd finally allowed her to take a watch a few hours before after numerous attempts on her part. Suddenly, a noise hit her ears. Looking up, she saw the Bane moving towards the end of the corridor. Seeing nothing, she soon realised what was happening. Crawling back to Salid, she shook him gently and said, “Sir?” (Reply Salid) “I think they're coming.” (Reply Salid) (Posted by Jackie Smith) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 0937) The team waited has the Bane walked by seemingly unware of the danger that lied amoung them. Jessica forced herself to remain calm but already she could feel Lily tring to work her way back into her mind. She watched the Bane move into the most opertune spot has the group spang into action. One Bane was taken down quickly from the right as the Bane before Jessica turned to the confront the attackers. Jessica moved into action, with the grip on her blades reversed she crept like a shadow behind the Bane. She looked over his shoulder at Soma who smiled wickedly, knowingly at the Bane and what fate held in store for it. It was over in a second, with Jessica's blinding, speed and precision as she brought the hilt of both her blades crashing into the temples of the Bane. The Banes body stiffened from the blow, the poor man was unconciouse before his knees hit the ground. That however didn't stop Jessica from delivering a solid kick to the side of the Banes head. The kick sent him into the ground, then Jessica looked over the Bane. Has he breathed and did little else. Jessica did not envy the headache he was gonna wake up with. Turning back to Soma and Sanok, the team moved on continuing to make there down the path. Jessica tried to keep the group updates. Using hand signals to call out the distance to the Captain and when another patrol of the annoying Bane were close at hand. They made a good pace and before long they had reached the cells holding the Captain and Frasier. The group split going after the assembled Bane Soma and Sanok both went and took down their two. Jessica likewise placed her two Bane quickly on the ground, with a few well placed kicks to several key and sensative body parts. --------------- (Asrai Prime, Catacombs- YEO- Lt Mike Rosenbauer- Day- 12 0938) Mike and Jennifer had taken their positions in the corridor, ready to do their damnedest to hold off any Banes that might potentially try to interfere with the rescue of the captain and lieutenant Fraiser. Knowing that this was the most likely direction for them to move towards intercepting the away team didn't help prevent the felling that they would probably be overwhelmed if there were just too many attackers. He and Caskie along with Soma had managed to "attune " the pain belts so that they could stand side-by-side without worry of incapacitation. The narrow confines of the corridor made for a perfect bottleneck and He and Jennifer had decided to use a supporting brace of the corridor as their holding point, since it increased the narrow nature of the corridor even further. The had not seen or heard much activity since taking up their position, and in a way it was both a relief and a worry. If the Bane did not need to use this corridor, it meant that they had another pathway that would lead them to the dungeons, a possibility that Mike had considered, but dismissed based on experience. He and Jennifer had booby-trapped the corridor, by using the Banes' own trick against them. The had affixed some of the pain belts to the ceiling at various points along the corridor and then turned them on. The field extended far enough into the hallway to affect those walking beneath them. The altitude made it unlikely that they'd be discovered before the trap had snared someone. The two Starfleet officers had then retreated to their position to wait. Apparently the banes had selected a different route, because not only was it quiet here, but word came that the Banes were on the move in another portion of a corridor that was being guarded by O'Neill and matrix acting as a vanguard. Davis had joined Jennifer and he only recently, after making a quick survey of the positions that his teams occupied, which was a practice that Mike fully endorsed. It was while he was present, that he received the call from O'Neill reporting a large 30-or-so Banes moving adjacent to their position. The engineer actually requested Mike assist by name. Davis, for his part, didn't hesitate, answering O'Neill's request and giving mike an implied order in one single efficient breath, "Acknowledged, he's coming to join you now. We stand ready here." Mike gave the counselor a nod and immediately hotfooted it to the scene of the action. When he arrived a few minutes later the Banes had not made too much progress up the corridor, instead they seemed to have paused just beyond easy range of the Asrai weapons. Matrix and O'Neill were standing by, crouched behind some debris that littered the narrow corridor making it an even better fighting position than the one that he had Caskie had selected. Mike dropped behind a piece of debris roughly between Matrix and O'Neill. He warily looked up over the top of the rough barricade and took note of the mass of Banes as they just stood in place, unmoving in any way. Even the normal shifting and fidgeting that was normal was absent. It was almost...Borg-like. "How long have they been like that?" Mike asked. (reply O'Neill, Matrix) "Any idea what's causing it?" (reply O'Neill, Matrix) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Tilshol - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 0943) Matrix had been in the conduits searching for answers when his comm-badge chirped. "DeMarco to Matrix come in". =^= Matrix here. Go ahead. =^= "Steve - Tom Jackson here. We are seeing a planetary weapons system based upon pulse cannons. Any idea how to neutralize them in one move?". "Tom Jackson?" said Matrix surprised. "When…what? No matter, we'll catch up later…" continued Matrix. "Unclear Lt. We're a bit blind down here. If you can get a lock on them from orbit, a simulated EMF pulse centered at their resonating frequency should do the trick. It won't kill anyone near the area of the pulse canon either." replied Matrix. (Reply Jackson) "Let me know if we can scout anything from here…by the way…good to hear your voice again old friend." replied Matrix. (Reply Jackson) (Posted by Steve) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco -SOps/QM -LT Chance Raschen -0951) The shuttle rocked as a ground battery scored a hit. The aft shields dropped to 90%. Chance using the skills homes as a privateer. Tom used the last shot's trajectory to send a withering blast and destroyed the offending battery. The firing continued Tom's fingers playing over the controls as a pianist would over a piano keyboard. The batteries were eliminated one by one. Tom turned and asked, "Chance, any sign of the command center?" As more are scored on the starboard side of the shuttle causing blinding flashes of light making Chance flinch ever now and then. Yelling to be heard over the sound of the blasts "I don't know, but I have a hunch!" (Reply Jackson) As if in response, Raschen banked hard toward where the heaviest fire was coming from and increased speed to a little more than maximum atmospheric allowed for that class of runabout. (Reply Jackson) "The Commander Center!" he screamed between explosions. (Reply Jackson) (Posted by Charlie R ) -------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1007) With the Bane defeated all that remained was the one that clearly leaded them. Soma and Sanok stood before him Jessica stood behind like a wild cat ready to pounce on her prey. With in Jessica's head however there was another battle waging one Jessica knew she couldd not hold on to forever. Lily was persistant already she could feel the effects of the drug wear off has Lily made her presance known more and more in Jessica's mind. Soma spoke "We are not the demons you believe us to be. We also know your secrets, how you have hidden the technology from the rest of your people so you could use it to intimidate and control them. Your rein of terror is quickly approaching an end. Release our comrades and save yourself a lot of grief." ~They may not be demons but we know better about you, right Jessica.~ Lily called "We're not your enemy." Soma continued. "We do not wish to fight you or your people, it isn't our way. We are peaceful explorers, we only want to expand our knowledge and meet new people in the hopes of creating new friendships that will benefit all. Call your people off, no one has to die here." Jessica wished that this figure before her would listen to reason. But something with in her told her that people like this were known not to act in the most reasonable fashions. Jessica shifted her feet her grips on her blades tightened, she did not like this. For they did not know what trick the Asrai would pull next. After which there was one more item to worry about how were they to get out? (posted by Matthew Locke) (reply none needed but welcome) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon-CO Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid- Day 12 - 1008) Ahmed had been dozing, or at least trying to doze ever since he'd awakened Tayla on watch. He understood more than anyone else the need to maintain their strength and clarity for the desperate situation that they were in as the time seemed to slip ahead, edging closer and close to the moments of their scheduled execution. His attempts had been haunted by a semblance of a half-lucid nightmare, echoes of his past decisions filled his minds, the conflict with the Borg, the destruction of Dovek with a biological weapon, the civil war- each of these things loomed in the recesses of his imagination despite his desires to filter them from his consciousness. Still, despite all those thoughts, he must have managed to grab a few restless moments of sleep, because he almost didn't hear Fraiser when she spoke to him. "Sir?" he voice questioned as her warm hand gently shook his left shoulder. "What is it?" he asked as his eyes snapped open at the remembrance of their plight. "I think they're coming." she replied. There was a sort of desperation hidden in her voice, powered by a regret and the heavy burden of personal guilt. He could understand how she felt, he'd probably be feeling the same if he were in her shoes. Every moment of his life came down to the next few seconds, or so it seemed. His command training, his natural protectiveness and his oath said that he had to do everything in his power to help these people, and to save the people under his command. It was just a bizarre irony that the Asrai, the very people that they were trying to save, happened to want to kill them. He nodded and rose to his feet, he'd have a few more moments to prepare. There would be only a narrow opportunity for them to escape, and it wasn't clear how successful they could be at making the attempt. One thing, however was very clear: If they did not make an attempt they would certainly be executed. They could not depend on a rescue by the other members of the away team. If they were doing what they were supposed to be doing they wouldn't have time to help them. They were on their own. He set his feet, took a few deep breaths and mentally prepared himself for the coming fight. It was a mindset that he used before a boxing match, and one that he hadn't used since his days at the academy. A complete preparation of the mind to deal with pain and to persevere. He was nothing if not tenacious. "When they come, you keep your eyes open. When I make my move you run for it. Get clear, make contact with the away team and don't look back." He could see that she was going to argue, perhaps give him a lecture on the need for a sacrifice being her duty since she was the cause, but he would have none of that, he didn't pause. "That's an order Lieutenant, and one that you had better damned well obey." he added to stifle any argument. (reply Fraiser) There were seven of them, six were Banes, much like those that had been in the cell with them prior. The seventh was the same leader of the banes that had been given a taste of his own medicine. The Dominie was a large man and he'd be the one most difficult to handle, although truthfully dealing with seven banes, even between the two of them could be brutal especially if they were using those damned fields. But before any of the Banes could even consider opening the cell doors, there was a burst of action and sound. Out of seemingly nowhere a group of Asrai appeared and engaged the guards. It didn't take too long for them to overcome them. Only the Dominie remained standing when it was all finished, simply because he had not had time to react to the action. It took Ahmed only a few moments to remember that the away team looked like the Asrai, and that the three standing here were none other than Soma, Sanok and Signos. It seems that the away team had decided to rescue them after all. He wasn't certain if he was happy with that decision or not, although he was glad to no longer have need to worry about being executed. "We are not the demons you believe us to be. We also know your secrets, how you have hidden technology from the rest of your people so you could use it to intimidate and control them. your reign of terror is quickly approaching an end. Release our comrades and save yourself a lot of grief." Soma stated to the Dominie. Ahmed found himself stepping forward, but stopped just short of the restraining field. He didn't want to make contact with it, and as he was in no real position to make any demands, he decided to remain quietly for a few moments. The Dominie seemed to consider his options as Ben continued. "We're not your enemies, "We do not wish to fight you or your people, it isn't our way. We are peaceful explorers, we only want to expand our knowledge and meet new people in the hopes of creating new friendships that will benefit all." Call your people off, no one has to die here." The Dominie took a moment to straighten his back, before responding, "I will release your friends because I have no choice in the matter, but I do not have control of these men. They obey the will of the Oracle and the Voice now that you have come." He lifted his left hand, revealing a small palm device that he then pressed. A moment later the restraining field disappeared without a sound. Ahmed was through the opening within a second, followed closely by Fraiser. Once free, the captain didn't hesitate. He landed a hard right hook directly into the Asrai's jaw. The large man collapsed like a bag of stones. Within moments the captain had removed the device from the Dominie's palm. He placed it on his own left hand and tested the device. It was clear that the device controlled the restraining fields to the cells. He once again dropped the field over his once-cell, before turning back to his crew. "Mister Soma, you and Signos, drag these bands and the Dominie into the cell there, we'll secure them before we leave. Mister Fraiser, I want you to take a quick look at Mister Mayrud and make certain he isn't seriously injured. " As he spoke the Captain dropped the field keeping Mayrud restrained. "Sanok, report. What's the situation?" (reply Soma, Signos, Sanok, Fraiser) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon - Lieutenant Sanok - Day 12 - 1009) Captain Salid, now free from his cell, issued orders to the rescue team. "Mister Soma, you and Signos drag these Banes and the Dominie into the cell there. We'll secure them before we leave. Mister Fraiser, I want you to take a quick look at Mister Mayrud and make certain he isn't seriously injured. Sanok, report. What's the situation?" Leaving out his observations and concerns about Ensign Signos, Sanok gave his captain a full report of everything else that had happened. He talked about finding Kaso and the others, and everything that had been done to aid them in their rescue. He talked about the weapons they were given, and the crystals that enabled the Tilshol to hear the comm traffic of the away team. He mentioned Adom and his betrayal, how they had overcome the Banes and their pain belts. He spoke of splitting the group so a small team could do the rescue, while the others covered them. He ended with talking about the runabout from the Rosenante arriving, and the new information they had about the rogue planet. It was agreeable that things seemed to be turning out so well, though there was still much to do before they could officially close this mission. (reply Salid, any present) (posted by Bob) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon-aCMO Lieutenant jg Tayla Fraiser- Day 12 - 1010) "When they come, you keep your eyes open. When I make my move you run for it. Get clear, make contact with the away team and don't look back. That's an order Lieutenant, and one that you had better damned well obey." he added to stifle any argument. “Yes sir.” She said, meekly. She watched as the large Bane allowed them to leave. As she followed Salid out, she heard the Bane who had held them captive fall to the ground. Turning round, she watched as Salid opened the cells. "Mister Soma, you and Signos, drag these bands and the Dominie into the cell there, we'll secure them before we leave. Mister Fraiser, I want you to take a quick look at Mister Mayrud and make certain he isn't seriously injured. " As he spoke the Captain dropped the field keeping Mayrud restrained. Tayla nodded and walked into Mayrud’s cell, holding her arms out infront of her and saying, “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Mayrud.” (Reply Mayrud) She smiled and said, “Please, don’t. We are not what you think we are but we are here to help. Now, Mind if I take a look?” (reply Mayrud) She nodded and said, “I’ll be gentle, I promise.” Taking a cursory look at the Asrai that lay before her, she could tell that he had been beaten and breaks had been left to heal. He would survive but there was nothing much she could do for him here without hurting him further. Nodding that she was done, she said, “My prognosis is that you’ll live. You’ll be in a little pain but you’ll be fine.” As she rose, she felt a flash of pain in her ribs and winced a little. (Reply Mayrud) “I’m okay. Right now we should be worried about getting out of here, feel like you can stand?” (reply Mayrud) With a helping hand, she gently pulled Mayrud to his feet and supported him a little as they left the cell. Walking to Salid, she whispered, “Don’t worry. He’s a pussycat.” (Reply Mayrud) “Sir, may I introduce Mister Mayrud. He has a few scrapes and bumps but will survive.” (Reply Salid, Mayrud, Any) (Posted by Jackie Smith) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Darkon Dungeon - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma-1011) Ben was a little surprised when the man standing before him didn't put up any kind of a fight, he expected some kind of a rant or an attempt to run but he simply complied with his request and released his hostages. Upon his release Captain Salid nailed the Asrai with a solid punch knocking him out, Ben nodded his approval. He knew Salid could handle himself but hadn't seen his CO in action before. The Captain then issued orders for him and Signos to secure the Bane in the cell with their leader, Ben nodded to Signos while Salid requested an update from Sanok. Ben wondered if his friend would reveal the risk he had taken by telling Kaso who they really were. Ben helped Signos drag the Bane into the cell, but before he walked out for the last time he removed their pain belts. If they had to engage the Asrai anymore these devices would be an asset. He carried them out of the cell and walked over to where the Captain and Sanok were speaking, deactivating his own belt before getting too close. "Captain I've taken the liberty of securing the Banes pain belts, we may have need of them." Ben stated. "I suggest you and Ensign Fraiser each take one, both of you have been on their receiving end to long juding by your appearance. Our friend Mayrud may also need one." (reply Salid) Ben turned to Mayrud, he looked as if he'd been through a war. "Master Kaso will be pleased to learn of your release." He said. (reply Mayrud) "Kaso agreed to help us if we in turn agreed to free you." Ben said. "Unfortunately Adom wasn't what he appeared to be, he betrayed Kaso." (reply Mayrud iyw) Turning back to Salid and the others he said. "I suggest we get moving before more Bane show up." (reply Salid, Mayrud, any present) (posted by Milo Young) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1014) They were hunkered down, ready for a fight. There was no news from O'Neill, Matrix, and Rosenbauer. Parker's heart was pounding after he thought about the fact that he could lose three of his people if those thirty Bane blew through them like a monster truck running over a two-door sedan. The image actually popped into his mind, his Detroit childhood never too far from the surface of his thoughts. Then, completely unexpectedly and for no apparent reason, he felt an unquestionable, almost overwhelming sense of relief. He couldn't explain it. Nothing in his surroundings had changed. But it was as if at that moment he knew for sure that it was all going to be okay. He glanced around, wondering where this feeling came from in his environment. But absolutely nothing had changed. In fact, it was *too* still. "Davis to O'Neill." =^=O'Neill here, Sir.=^= "What's the situation over there?" =^=We've got no contact as of yet, Sir, but we've got the Banes in our sights. They're not moving. We're not exactly sure why. We'll keep you updated.=^= "Very good," Parker answered, exchanging a slightly confused glance with Caskie. "Davis out." It was only a moment later that he began to connect the dots. His irrational behavior of not telling the Captain. His strange apprehension about being the leader of the team. His overly concerned, nearly terrified disposition for Tayla's well-being. And finally, this unexplainable feeling of relief. "Josh," he said quietly, keeping in mind that this was a combat scenario, "I think Lt. Fraiser and the Captain have just been rescued." (reply Caskie) "It might take more time to explain than we have with these Bane so close...but suffice it to say, I believe Lt. Fraiser and I are empathetically linked." (reply Caskie) "It makes the last few weeks make a lot more sense, to be honest." ~Though it won't make the Captain any less pissed off when he finds out I didn't tell him for weeks on end...~ he couldn't help but think. (reply Caskie) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco- GSL- Lt Xim- Day- 12 1015) The moment that the shuttlecraft began their descent into the atmosphere of Asrai Prime things began to go terribly wrong. The first lances of energy that erupted from the surface of the planet were thankfully off target, but they had been close enough to play havoc with the sensor and support systems of the shuttlecraft. To make matters worse, Jackson and Raschen immediately took to evasive maneuvers, which although the right course of action, had caught Xim completely unprepared. As such, he had been thrown from his chair during a particularly stomach wrenching maneuver. He had struck his head on the console which had dazed him for a short while. It was all he could do to manage to regain his seat and hold on for dear life. "Mister Jackson, try to minimize the level of violence in your movements, I'm having difficulty staying in my seat!" he half-ordered, half growled as he struggled to keep his grip on the console with one hand and use his other to pull up the sensor scans. Jackson was , of course much too busy avoiding incoming fire to really be able to answer, but Xim was a little bit satisfied that his words were heeded. The shuttle's path became a little less erratic, if only just. "See if any of the engineers on the surface have any ideas what we're dealing with, The sensors seem to be having difficulty locking on to the source of the weapons discharges. Some sort of dampening field affecting our sensors." he commanded. Jackson immediately contacted Matrix and the conversation proved fruitful. The Chief Engineer's extensive knowledge gave credence to his time-in-service within the fleet. =^=If you can get a lock on them from orbit, a simulated EMF pulse centered at their resonating frequency should do the trick. It won't kill anyone near the area of the pulse canon either.=^= "I'm on it!" Xim replied more to Jackson rather than Matrix, although he didn't really care which of them responded. "I'm isolating the frequencies now. "Mister Raschen, see if you can locate their command center. We may need to disable it. The power readings seem to indicate that there are several batteries supported by a single command station." While Chance went to work trying to isolate the command center, Xim began isolationg the pulse resonance of the individual weapons batteries. He fed targeting information and data into the shuttles computers so that Jackson could maneuver the shuttlecraft in a manner that would afford them the ability to fire on the weapon's batteries without risking danger to any of the local population. One-by-one the batteries began to grow silent, although the shuttlecraft was still forced to chink and dodge to avoid being hit. "Chance, any sign of the command center?" Jackson asked as he maneuvered the shuttlecraft. Despite their ability to return fire, he understood that any real chance of victory lay in the ability to disable all the batteries remaining in a single blow rather than risk being hit while trying to pick off the individual batteries one-at-a-time. "I don't know but I have a hunch!" Raschen replied. (reply Jackson) Raschen and Jackson then traded off flight control and the small vessel plunged downward, screaming through the atmosphere at speeds that she was not rated for. Their vector took them directly into the heaviest concentration of incoming battery fire. The Shuttle bucked wildly as hit after hit scored against the runabout's forward shields. One of the inertial compensators failed; the affects were immediately felt as the force of the acceleration, pushed the members of the crew further back into their seats. The hull of the vessel began to groan as she drove earthward. One of the unused consoles exploded as their forward shields collapsed. "Forward shield emitters are offline, unable to transfer shield coverage to the bow." Xim reported. The Raschen added his own excited announcement to the unfolding events. "The Command Center!" He shouted above the din of the weapons impacts and the groaning of the stressed spaceframe. "Scanning!" Xim replied and immediately began to rattle off the relevant details of the command center. "Subterranean structure, massive power supply source, larger than what is needed for these weapons. I'm reading an average depth of 1300 meters, too deep for our phasers or the torpedoes to be effective. Power distribution lines are also subterranean. We can't touch that thing!" he added. "Showing about two-dozen life signs inside, and they are charging some sort of massive power sinks." The command center was located inside the heart of a mountain, as such, there wasn't enough firepower on the shuttlecraft to allow them to penetrate the protective layers of rock and earth. At least not while they were trying to avoid being atomized. "We're going to have to transport in an assault team." Xim stated. There's no other way. If those batteries are going to make use of the power sink I'm detecting it will be more than enough power to destroy the Rosenante." Then a moment of clarity struck him, "or worse the colony ship." He suddenly saw an avenue that he would not have believed; that a group of people would willing destroy a colony vessel carrying thousands of sentient people. Of course they may not realize that it was a colony ship, the Rosenante didn't realize it at first, so in that case they would be destroying what they believed was nothing more than a rogue planet on a collision course. He made a command decision. "Raschen, Jackson, transfer flight controls to my console now. Grab your weapons and prepare to beam down into the command center. You have to stop them from firing on the Rose or that colony ship. The place is crawling with them so be ready for a hard fight. I'll transport you two down and then I'll start transporting down the members of the away team to help you." (reply Jackson, Raschen) Xim opened a channel, "Xim to Davis and Away Team. There's some sort of massive energy weapon up here, there's a command center crawling with Asrai. I think they are planning on destroying the colony ship or the Rosenante. I am sending down lieutenants Raschen and Jackson to slow them down. I need to know your immediate status so i can start beaming members of the away team back to the DeMarco for redeployment to the command center." (reply Davis, Jackson, Raschen) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1016) Jessica assisted in half dragging, half throwing the unconscious Bane into the small cell. That was rapidly getting more crowded. When the last of the Bane were placed securely with ion the cell. The Captain activated the shielding that sparked to life holding the Bane with in the small confines of the cell. Sanok and Soma made way to help with Frasier, the Captain and another Asrai called Mayrud. Jessica went to the doorway that entered the small cavern. She pushed her tactical circlet to the limit to peer has far has possible. They needed to get out and with out getting into any other encounters with the Bane or those pain belts. Jessica wondered how those that held the entrance where faring. How was, Eian? She thought of him, would he ever be able to accept her darkness. To make peace with her terrible past. How close had she come to killing the Asrai that now laid with in the catacombs. All it would of taken was the smallest shift of her blade to send it plunging into his heart instead of blowing out his shoulder with the blade. Lily continued to work her way further into her mind the Nero-suppressant had done its job. It was only expected to give her about a half hour with out the interference of Lily, and that time was nearly spent. Jessica knew however that this was probably before the best. She knew by the time they reached the entrance and the rest of the away team the battle to hold that ground would be in full swing they would be under sedge by more forces then they could handle, Jessica knew that once they got there Lily would be needed. Jessica saw movement down the hall, determined Asrai Bane showed though her tactical circlet. She turned to the assembled. "Sir's we got company on the way. 100 meters out and closing. I suggest we hit them hard break there lines and keep going. We don't have the time nor resources to make a stand here." (reply Salid, any gathered.) She waited her orders, while keeping Lily at bay her alternate self thirsting for battle. Jessica tightened her grip on her blades. She knew Soma and Sanok were starting to know something was not right about the small girl now shared in the Tactical/Security duties of the Rose. She felt guilty at having to keep such knowledge away from them. She remembered how angry Eian was with her when she told him who and what she was. She wondered how Soma and Sanok would take the news that an S31 assassin shared the place they called home. Jessica could no longer deny Lily's violent nature she tried her hardest to control it, but that was sometimes harder than stopping a group of battle raged Klingon's hoped up on to much blood wine. ~ With in you ~ The words flashed though her mind has memories from Lily's past came to her. She could see herself lying upon the cold hard floor, she was beaten, blood died at her mouth, her stomach hungered for food that she had gone days with out. Before stood the man that had spoke. His shadow cast over her as he continued. ~With in we'll create an unstoppable force.~ Jessica now understanding what Lily was capable of now understood that phase. She continued to guard the door, has the rest of the group got ready to move out. (posted by Matthew Locke) (reply whoever wants) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco- COPS - Lt Tom Jackson - Day 12 1017) The battle between the shuttles and the batteries was still making things a tad bit warm for the shuttle and it's occupants. LT. Xim had made a series of decisions. Xim ordered "Mister Raschen, see if you can locate their command center. We may need to disable it. The power readings seem to indicate that there are several batteries supported by a single command station." While Chance went to work trying to isolate the command center, Xim began isolating the pulse resonance of the individual weapons batteries. He fed targeting information and data into the shuttles computers so that Jackson could maneuver the shuttle craft in a manner that would afford them the ability to fire on the weapon's batteries without risking danger to any of the local population. One-by-one the batteries began to grow silent, although the shuttle craft was still forced to chink and dodge to avoid being hit. "Chance, any sign of the command center?" Jackson asked as he maneuvered the shuttle craft. Despite their ability to return fire, he understood that any real chance of victory lay in the ability to disable all the batteries remaining in a single blow rather than risk being hit while trying to pick off the individual batteries one-at-a-time. "I don't know but I have a hunch!" Raschen replied. Tom yelled " Do it". Raschen and Jackson then traded off flight control and the small vessel plunged downward, screaming through the atmosphere at speeds that she was not rated for. Their vector took them directly into the heavier fields of fire. The ride reminded Jackson of the time he had ridden something called a mechanical bull after a drinking bout Rigel IV. Then Raschen added his own excited announcement to the unfolding events. "The Command Center!" He shouted above the din of the weapons impacts and the groaning of the stressed spaceframe. "Scanning!" Xim replied and immediately began to rattle off the relevant details of the command center. "Subterranean structure, massive power supply source, larger than what is needed for these weapons. I'm reading an average depth of 1300 meters, too deep for our phasers or the torpedoes to be effective. Power distribution lines are also subterranean. We can't touch that thing!" he added. "Showing about two-dozen life signs inside, and they are charging some sort of massive power sinks." The command center was located inside the heart of a mountain, as such, there wasn't enough firepower on the shuttlecraft to allow them to penetrate the protective layers of rock and earth. At least not while they were trying to avoid being atomized. "We're going to have to transport in an assault team." Xim stated. There's no other way. If those batteries are going to make use of the power sink I'm detecting it will be more than enough power to destroy the Rosenante." Then a moment of clarity struck him, "or worse the colony ship." He suddenly saw an avenue that he would not have believed; that a group of people would willing destroy a colony vessel carrying thousands of sentient people. Of course they may not realize that it was a colony ship, the Rosenante didn't realize it at first, so in that case they would be destroying what they believed was nothing more than a rogue planet on a collision course. He made a command decision. "Raschen, Jackson, transfer flight controls to my console now. Grab your weapons and prepare to beam down into the command center. You have to stop them from firing on the Rose or that colony ship. The place is crawling with them so be ready for a hard fight. I'll transport you two down and then I'll start transporting down the members of the away team to help you." Tom and Chance rose and headed to the transporter pad after switching control to Xim's console. Once on the pad Xim sent them off to a place with little activity. --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ACEO Lt Eian O'Neill - Day 12 - 1018) As Eian stared at the Banes standing stock-still within his view, just outside their weapons range, he felt his heart pounding. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, giving him heightened alertness. He could hear everything, see everything, and process it all linearly. The ADHD symptoms were gone. It was like a normal adrenaline rush, one that on previous occasions, he would have welcomed. But in this case, it was eerie and it felt wrong. He felt like he was about to relive the moment in which his life changed. Right before he was assimilated, staring at those Borg standing down the dark, misty corridor amidst the red alert alarm blaring and the fires started by conduit explosions and the clear view of the stars from the ruptured bulkhead nearby. ~You are not there,~ he reminded himself, but part of him thought he was. It was irrational and misplaced in a time like this, when he should have been using one of his rare breaks from ADHD symptoms to optimize his concentration. Instead, he was preoccupied with the similarities between this and the onset of his assimilation. He was very glad when Rosenbauer showed up. He knew the man was an experienced fighter and he felt like that was what Matrix and he needed right now--experience, not theory or experimentation. "How long have they been like that?" Mike asked. "Since they got here about three minutes ago," Eian answered. "Any idea what's causing it?" The young engineer shook his head, and calmed his breathing. He looked over to his supervisor. "Sir," he asked Matrix, "what does your tricorder say? Any chance they're on the edge of some kind of energy field?" (reply Matrix) He looked to Mike. "In your experience, what do you think we should we do? Just wait?" (reply Rosenbauer) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1019) Jessica watched has the Captain, Fraiser, and the Asrai male were teleported out of the small area. Jessica knew it would only be a matter of time before she felt the tingling of a teleporter beam that would remove the rest of the rescue team. She moved to the rest of the team as the Bane broke though the doorway that Jessica was just guarding. She turned to acknowledge the warriors that came for them, smiling brightly she waved to the Bane has the three were covered in the brilliant white light and vanished from sight. (Asrai Prime - Darkom Dungeon - CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1020) Sanok, in typical Vulcan fashion gave him a complete rundown of the situation as it had unfolded. It seemed that they had stumbled into a situation that was more than just a rogue world heading towards an inhabited one. It seemed that there was now a war between factions on both sides of the technology issue. As a result of this it became clear that the Prime Directive did not apply, and it was now evident that the Voice or the Oracle were firing upon their shuttlecraft. The fact that they were no longer prisoners helped a great deal as well. ~So the planet's not in danger, the colony ship is.~ Ahmed clarified to himself mentally. It was a complete reversal of roles. "Thank you Mister Sanok, excellent report." Ahmed replied as he considered their next step. "Captain I've taken the liberty of securing the Banes pain belts, we may have need of them." Ben stated. "I suggest you and Ensign Fraiser each take one, both of you have been on their receiving end to long judging by your appearance. Our friend Mayrud may also need one." Ahmed nodded and took one of the proffered belts. He hadn't really had time to inspect one of the devices, but apparently Ben and the others had. As he placed it around his waist, he realized he needed to contact the shuttlecraft. Sanok had told him it was the DeMarco. Ahmed had lost his own commbadge somewhere during the fight, and he desperately needed one. He looked to Sanok. "Give me your commbadge for a moment." he ordered. Once he had the device, The captain pressed the device to activate it and said simply, "Salid to DeMarco" =^= DeMarco here captain, Xim reporting.=^= "What's your status Mister Xim?" Lieutenant Xim rapidly explained the situation, detailing the fact that he was just preparing to beam lieutenants Raschen and Jackson into the facility with a load of phaser weapons, and was then going to begin to transport members of the away team in behind them. The idea was to seize control of the facility and prevent the weapon from firing on the colony ship. Salid nodded at Sanok, "Continue with your plan mister Xim. I'll communicate it to the away team now, you can begin your transport of Jackson and Raschen whenever you are ready." =Understood captain, DeMarco out.=^= Ahmed opened a second line, "Salid to all away team members, we will be transporting via the DeMarco into the command center that is controlling a massive energy weapon that we believe is targeting a colony vessel approaching this planet. Our task is to stop that from happening. Stand by for transport. Salid out." He closed the channel and returned the commbadge to Sanok, saying, "I'll get a replacement when I beam aboard the shuttlecraft." (reply Sanok) At this time Ben returned with an excellent suggestion, "I suggest we get moving before more Bane show up." he offered. "Sirs", Signos added, "we got company on the way. 100 meters out and closing. I suggest we hit them hard break, their lines and keep going. We don't have the time nor resources to make a stand here." "I agree, we should be transporting shortly." (reply Sanok, Signos, Soma) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 12 - 1021) Mike had left a while ago to go help Matrix and O'Neill and Josh and Parker were the only two left at their position. It made sense since she and Parker were still the only two without any decent weapons. She and Mike had previously set up as many of the pain belts as they could spare in ambush settings but once they and the front line were overrun, then she and Parker wouldn't survive for long. Yes she had a small knife strapped to each arm and, if she could access her boots she had hypos in each of them that would allow her to disable three, maybe four people before she was overpowered. That was the extent of her personal arsenal except for her trained fighting skills. On a one to one basis that would be fine. Josh rather doubted that the Bane would be so kind as to rush them one at a time. She listened as Parker contacted the front line and requested an update and then turned to her. "Josh," he said quietly, keeping in mind that this was a combat scenario, "I think Lt. Fraiser and the Captain have just been rescued." Josh smiled back at him. "That's a neat trick Parker. And you know this how?" "It might take more time to explain than we have with these Bane so close...but suffice it to say, I believe Lt. Fraiser and I are empathetically linked." Josh nodded. To be honest that would make sense. Allowing her self a minute or two to think everything through she finally looked over at Parker and smiled. "Makes sense to be honest. Tayla is half Betazoid. She likes you therefore she has linked to you. Your personal involvement however is only minimal to what we face here. Whilst I am happy that they have been rescued, you need to focus on here and now. (Reply Davis) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Darkom Dungeon - Freelancer Mayrud - Day 12 - 1022) Mayrud had just been handed one of the pain belts, which he was fastening around his waist when one of the men from the rescue group approached him. "Master Kaso will be pleased to learn of your release." "Thank you. How is it that you have knowledge of me?" the freelancer asked. "Kaso agreed to help us if we in turn agreed to free you." the man explained, "Unfortunately Adom wasn't what he appeared to be, he betrayed Kaso." Mayrud could only nod to that, it was a slow sad expression of disappointment. "I see, I think you for your aid." Mayrud then moved to stand next to the woman that had helped him. he had decided that he would protect her to the best of his ability. Assuming, of course, that she would permit him to do so. "So we are going on a great adventure." he said, more of a statement rather than a question. "I welcome it." A few moments later he felt a funny tingling all over his body and he was in another place. (reply none needed) Daniel Greene --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco- GSL- Lt Xim- Day- 12 1023) Raschen and jackson had just finished moving the weapons case onto the transporter platform as Xim fought to keep the vessel stable but motive enough to prevent their destruction. The two officers were gearing up, loading up on phaser pistols and a rifle apiece as they prepared for their one-sided assault. =^=Salid to DeMarco=^= "DeMarco here captain, Xim reporting." =^=What's your status Mister Xim?=^= We are currently flying over the capital city. upon our arrival we came under heavy ground fire from some sort of energy array. We have located a massive energy buildup that seems to indicate that they have a much larger weapon. It is my belief that they plan to destroy either the Rosenante or the Colony ship that she is escorting. We are preparing to transport Lieutenants Raschen and Jackson into the command facility in an effort to foil their attempt. It was my plan to start beaming up away team members and transport them to the same site as immediate support." Xim detailed. Jackson and Raschen were ready to transport now, all Xim had to do was activate the transporter. =^=Continue with your plan mister Xim. I'll communicate it to the away team now, you can begin your transport of Jackson and Raschen whenever you are ready.=^= "Understood captain, DeMarco out." Xim turned to look at the two lieutenants. "Get ready. I will be placing you and the case roughly 15-meters from the center of the largest compartment on what appears to be a catwalk 2 meters above the main floor. I will be beaming the others in behind you, so secure your immediate area and wait for their arrival before beginning your main assault unless you see that there is no option of waiting." (reply Jackson, Raschen) "Good luck. Energizing." He watched as the two dematerialized and then immediately set about transporting up those that were on the planet's surface. The first people were the three without commbadges. Within a moment, the Captain, Fraiser and a native were aboard. The Captain came off the plat form quickly, already barking orders. "Fraiser, get yourself a commbadge and find mister Mayrud a secure place to sit. Mister Xim, I'll take the helm. Continue what you're doing." "Aye sir." Xim transferred helm control to the captain as soon as he settled into the pilot's seat, while Tayla secured Mayrud to one of the empty seats. Xim then transported the next three members of the team up. Signos, Soma and Sanok. The three materialized on the platform. Xim immediately said, "stand by for transport to Lieutenants Raschen and Jackson's location in the command center." Within a few moments, he was transporting them out. He then moved to the next group of three, even as the shuttlecraft banked to avoid some incoming fire. Rosenbauer, Eion and Matrix were the next to appear on the platform, xim repeated his warning and immediately transported them down to the command center. Only two remained, Caskie and Davis. "Miss Fraiser, as soon as I beam Caskie and Davis aboard, you will need to join them on the transporter platform for transport down to the control center" Xim ordered. "Energizing now, stand by." Within moments Caskie and Davis appeared, Fraiser swiftly moved to join them. "Transporting down to the command center now. Energizing." Xim rose from his station and suddenly became aware that Mayrud was staring at him in wide-eyed fear. "You have nothing to worry about, I am a vegetarian" the starfleet officer told him and made his way to the cockpit to take the co-pilot's seat. "A vegetarian?" Ahmed asked. Xim shrugged as he buckled the flight belts, "It seemed a reasonable thing to say at the time." Ahmed gave a short laugh as he banked the shuttle towards the mountain so that they could be on-point for extractions if need be. (reply all) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1023.5) Their time on the shuttle was just a blink of one's eye for has soon has the light cleared the light from the beam filled the teleporter pad. When the faded again they were on a catwalk joined by Jackson and Rashen holding the small area, between them a weapons crate. Jessica ran for the crate looking at all the wonderful goodies that lied with in. Grabbing a phase rifle, a hand phaser and few extra energy cells for each, She bolted to the edge of the cat walk. The Bane below filled the area with blast from there own weapons. Jessica however was to fast to nimble has shot after shot tore though the walkway beneath her. She slid into place leading with her right foot allowing it to catch the edge of the walkway allowing her momentum to place her lying prone on the walkway her body pressed flat along the walkway she brought her weapon to bare, and fired at the first Bane to expose himself. The beam struck the Bane a solid hit that doubled himself over, as every muscle in his body locked and he fell to the ground. Another Bane filled Jessica's sight and fired on her position. Jessica lost her targeting as she made herself small on the catwalk a blast from the banes weapon passing a hair's breath over her head. The small girl rolled back to recover her sights, but she was no longer Jessica, blue eyes were replaced by violet and her hair was streaked with silver. Lily trained in the sniping arts went to her work. In short order three angry beams hissed from her phase rifle as three more Bane fell to her fire. More people teleported in and placed the Bane below in even more of a dangerous position, has the amount on phaser fire from the cat walk increased. Has there Leader broke for the main firing console Then nearly all the Bane broke cover moving from one console to another. Has they filled the catwalk with a hail of pulse blast from there weapons. Lily tried to continue to fire though the onslaught earning herself another two hits has more Bane fell from her deadly efficiently with the phase rifle was made apparent, Jessica was thankful the weapon was set to stun or there would be no telling how many Lily would of killed. Lily took aim at the leader and just has her finger graced the firing stud. "Bring that damned sniper down." Yelled one of the Bane. The immediate and intense amount of fire that poured unto her position caused her blast to go wide but just. The beam narrowly missed the Asrai passing over his shoulder and striking the console before him causing sparks to fly from the computer. Lily cursed at the miss, then screamed has the catwalk she laid on gave way, it's supports heavily damaged from the banes weapons fire. The catwalk fell to the ground below becoming a twisted metal mess, and Lily followed it down. She landed hard on the ground the air from her lungs being lost to her in the fall. She gasped for air trying to regain her breath. Lily took position behind the twisted metal structure that was the catwalk. Fire from Bane weapons continued to tear away at her hiding place. She fired back, scoring a few more hits. Before the shots started to tear though the catwalk walk and into the unarmored girl. Scores of burning blast makes appered arms and legs has she used those outer parts of her body to shield the core of her body. Jessica/ Lily returned fire whenever the opportunity presented itself. But she was more concerned about preserving her own life, till more reinforcements arrived. Arrive they did, Jessica and Lily both lost how long they were balled behind what remained of the cat walk. It wasn't until they realized that after more beams of brilliant white that the Rose had sent reinforcements, these both heavily armed and armored. She was thank full when two people from their assault force managed to get to her position and with the aid of some covering fire make it to a more secure area behind a hardened bulkhead of some kind. (reply any there) (posted by Matthew Locke) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma - 1024) One minute Ben was standing in the catacombs as Bane reinforcements closed on them, the next he was on the DeMarco and then transported down to the command center. Beside him his comrades were grabbing phasers and he wasted no time grabbing a familiar weapon either. Fortunately they had been transported to a catwalk so they had the upper ground, that didn't stop the Bane from trying to make a final stand though. Weapons fire came from all directions and everyone present did what they could to suppress the enemy. Ben ran behind a crate for cover just as a blast struck it showering him in debris, some of which burned his face and neck. He took aim and began dropping any targets of oppurtunity that presented themselves, slowly it seemed like they were gaining ground. Ben saw an Asrai moving towards a console but from where he was he didn't have a good shot, Signos however did. She fired but a group of Bane concentrated their fire on her position causing her shot to go wide. Ben turned his attention to aiding Signos, taking down several of the Bane who were pinning her down. The Asrai trying to get to the console accomplished his goal, Ben wasn't certain what he was doing but had an idea it wasn't good. Had he fired at the shuttle, the Rosenante or the Rogue? He wasn't entirely certain he wanted to know. If he hit his mark a lot of people may be dead, people he knew and considered friends. Marah was on the Rose so he hoped that wasn't the intended target, he did his best not to think about but concentrated on the fight. Seeing an opening in their defenses he ran from his cover and fired a couple short burst to prevent them from firing on him until he reached more cover. He made it and took advantage of the situation, below he saw several barrels and though his Asrai wasn't very good he understood flammable when he saw it. Taking aim at one of the barrels he left of a shot, the beam found it's mark and had the desired result. The barrel exploded causing a small chain reaction, Bane ran for cover while others did their best to put out their now burning clothing. His only regret was the esplosion wasn't close enough to the control panels to destroy then. With the fire burning and the Bane running for cover the team could now advance, hopefully they could reach the lower level in time to stop the Asrai from firing the weapon again. He tapped his commbadge. "Soma to away team." He said. "I've created a diversion we should take advantage of, the Bane are falling back so we should advance and take the control consoles out of commision." (reply any present) (posted by Milo Young) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Catacombs - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1025) After his revelation to her that he and Tayla were connected, Josh said, "Makes sense to be honest. Tayla is half Betazoid. She likes you therefore she has linked to you. Your personal involvement however is only minimal to what we face here. Whilst I am happy that they have been rescued, you need to focus on here and now." Parker nodded. ~That's been the problem, isn't it? You can't focus on the here and now.~ He forced thoughts of Tayla to the back of his mind, and successfully managed to do this for the duration of the mission. (reply none necessary) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1029) Shock. Fear. The texture of his dry tongue in his mouth...the sound of his heartbeat in his ears...the dizzying sight of phaser fire over his head, to his left, his right, in front of him, and behind him. There was nowhere safe to go. There was nowhere to hide. Banes were everywhere. He found himself quite active right in the middle of this action, despite the symptoms he knew were partially Tayla's. There was still something inside of him that, under very urgent circumstances, could rise to the surface and do what needed to be done. A violent streak. The part of him that had led him into a restaurant where he had held innocent civilians at phaser point when he was fifteen. The part of him that saw nothing wrong with running a drug ring in a juvenile detention center. The part of him that identified with those criminals he profiled. He didn't contemplate this, though. One never contemplated philosophy in the middle of a firefight. Instead he simply acted, firing when it made sense, ducking when it was necessary, rolling out of the way and using muscles he had learned existed in Starfleet training, and had since forgotten about. The point came at which the Banes were sufficiently drawn away from his area. It was the same area where Sanok, O'Neill, and Matrix were. And the same area that led to the Voice's control console. He heard Soma's suggestion that they take out the command console. And though part of him wanted to hand the puck off to someone else and skate away, he pushed that part aside and advanced forward with the other three closely following him. (reply any there...to be continued) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1032) Jessica took a moment to survey her wounds, she had suffered worse but that didn't mean that they still didn't hurt. There was an loud series of explosions as several barrels blow up filling the command center with deafening noise and blinding light. "We move." Jessica/ Lily told the security officers that had pulled her from the broken catwalk. "Are you sure Ma'am." One asked concerned about her wounds she had already suffered. "We need to move now and flank them," Her voice softened. "Don't worry about me." There was a moments quite after the explosion. That's when Jessica and her two security officers made there move. The slight pause in the battle was all that was needed to gain to outer ring of consoles. Coming over the top of the console Jessica/ Lily fired two quick blast into the Bane below, has the two security officers took there positions. Now secure behind the heavy computer system the fighting started anew. The first of the security officers fired on the Bane hiding behind the computer across for them. They were to busy still recovering from the explosion to realize that the aliens had managed to so close, and fell to the well trained concentration of fire from the Rose's security forces. They were now in a position to force a flanking maneuver, Jessica and Lily knew that if the kept close to the right wall of the command center they could force the Bane to either expose themselves to fire from the catwalk or fire from Jessica's small advancing force. The second security officer , kept clear the small gap that separated wall and computer. He fire as a Bane tried to overtake there position, another broke the from his console to moving to intercept the Jessica and her small team. Only to earn himself being taken down from on high. Jessica and her team moved forward slowly. She understood her role in this military gamble. To take the pressure of the element on the Catwalk so they could use the higher ground to better advantage. By Jessica and her small team just being with in the enemy perimeter they had to focus fire on her and her team. The fact they could use the wall and the consoles to actually press forward slightly made the situation worse for Bane. Keeping themselves low, they broke into another ring of computer consoles. This one heavily guarded with Bane. several turned and engaged Jessica's small force. The air was filled with pulse fire from Bane weapons and angry red beams from federation phasers. Several of the Bane fell, but more came to take there place. Jessica saw one of the Bane take aim on the Security officer next to her. The Bane fired, Jessica reacted there was no thought behind her movements she just reacted. Lunging her forced the officer out of the line of fire, saving his life. The blast however scarred a line across Jessica's unprotected back, blood flowed from the wound has her small team were pushed back to the first set of consoles. It was there they made their stand. (reply none needed but welcome) (posted by Matthew Locke) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - Lieutenant Sanok - Day 12 - 1033) Firefights. No matter how many of them you were involved in, no matter how much training you had, you were never truly prepared for them. Instincts were honed. Experience taught many lessons. Skills improved. With all of that, even when knowing one was coming, there was always something that happened that one could never have expected or foreseen. Each one was a unique experience unto itself. When Sanok beamed to the command center with Ben and Signos, they had materialized on a catwalk, a good firing position on higher ground. Unfortunately, the more people that arrived, the more crowded the catwalk became, and the more fire it attracted from the Banes. Moving quickly, he and Ben made their way across the catwalk, down the steps, and to the floor below, while Signos remained above in a sniper position. The air was thick with beams of energy, explosions as they struck something, and shouts from both sides of the battle. It was utter chaos, yet in the midst of that, a plan was beginning to form. Fire continued from the damaged catwalk that had partially collapsed. Signos was leading a small team in a flanking maneuver. Counselor Davis, the last person Sanok would have expected, was at the head of a charge towards the main console that fired the ground-based weapon firing at the Starfleet vessels above. Waving to Matrix and O'Neill to follow, the small group fought through a group of Banes standing guard. They had reached their target, and they needed to work quickly to put the weapon out of commission. Studying the console, Sanok was certain it was a tactical system. Though there was a large man dressed in fine robes frantically working at another console about ten meters from them, he was certain he and the engineers with him, would be able to deactivate the weapon. They just needed to do it before it charged again. "Matrix! O'Neill!" Sanok dispensed with the formalities of rank. The three men began to work.... (reply Davis, Matrix, O'Neill, any) (posted by Bob B.) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - aCMO Lieutenant jg Tayla Fraiser - Day 12 - 1034) "Lt. find yourself a nice solid thing to hide behind and fire from there. You are not trained in combat and I would rather see you safe than sorry." Tayla looked to Josh and said, "Yes Maam." Not wanting to anger the woman any more than she was obviously already. Tayla nodded and promptly found them a small hideout behind a rather large console. Watching the battle that ensued was terrifying but she was more concerned for Parker more than anything else. There was something about their relationship that had changed, like he was mad at her for something but she didn't know what. She knew that she was happy beyond belief to see him again and that she wanted to just be near him and have him hold her, tell her that everything was okay but something was different. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she focused on the battle ahead. Suddenly a Bane appeared close to them. With no time to raise her phaser, she crept behind him and threw a punch at his mid section. Doubling over in pain and suprise, he managed to land a quick punch to her head. Stars began to swim into view as she staggered back crashing into the console where Mayrud was hiding. Swearing loudly, she said, "Now you've done it." She raised her phaser and fired. Smiling widely, she watched as he fell to the floor. (Reply any) (Posted by Jackie Smith) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO Lieutenant Commander Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 1035.5) Matrix watched more team members materialize onto the catwalk. The area was filled with smoke, sparks, falling and exploring debris, punctuated with the sounds of shrieking energy weapons. There were Banes everywhere Matrix looked. In the chaos Matrix noticed Ensign Signos waving them over. Matrix tapped O'Neill and made a hand gesture to move out. Matrix took the lead, firing as he made his way toward a small group of Banes guarding one end of the catwalk. Matrix fired center mass at the first Bane and watched the alien fall. The other three turned toward Matrix and moved quickly toward him. Too close for another weapon discharge Matrix lowered his center of mass several feet from the first Bane, clasping his hands around the energy weapon he brought it up quickly and straight hitting the Bane just under the chin. The energy from the blow took the Bane off his feet rendering him unconscious before he fell back to the ground. The other two Bane split directions, one moving away from Matrix the other closer. Matrix was somewhat out of position when the Bane swung a large bladed weapon in a downward force as he lunged forward. Matrix rolled opposite to the direction of the Bane's motion and rolled out of the path of the weapon's arc. The Bane's momentum bought Matrix a few moments allowing him to gain some distance from the adversary. As the Bane recovered from his near miss, Matrix had already moved directly behind the guard. The broken catwalk was directly in front of the Bane who was nearly off balance from his maneuver. Matrix took advantage of the Bane's momentum, jumping up a few feet in the air and placing both feet on the lower back of the guard, accelerating him off the catwalk. "Matrix! O'Neill!" Sanok shouted something he didn't understand verbally, but understood the intent and began to work on destroying the weapon. (Reply Signos, O'Neill, any) (Posted by Steve) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma - 1036) After fighting their way off the catwalk Ben and Sanok had made it to the consoles, Sanok called Matrix and O'Neill over to get to work figuring out how the system worked and if they could disable the weapon before they lost a shuttle, the Rose or the rogue. As the set to work Ben made himself busy moving some of the crates around to set up a perimeter while keeping an eye out against attack. They were fortunate, so far there hadn't been an advance on their position. He contributed that to the marksmanship of those still holding position on the catwalk. After he had his perimeter set he concentrated on defending the position against attack. All around them weapons were firing from the floor and the catwalk, he thought about all the firefights he had been in previously. One thing he came to expect from a firefight, the senseless loss of life. It may not be an intended result but there are always people that die. War was one thing but this firefight was completely unnecessary, it was the result of ignorance and fear. The Asrai didn't understand what was going on, only a select few had any idea what was happening and they wanted to prevent it at any cost. Ben caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned in that direction expecting an attack, it came but not from where he thought it would come from. A blast struck a crate to his left showering him in hot debris again, he shielded his face as best he could but his neck sustained a couple new burns just the same. He fired a couple quick shots in the direction the blast came from and then fired one in the direction he saw the movement just in case the first blast had been a diversion. Turning back for a second he yelled out over the weapons fire. "How's it coming back there? We have incoming on multiple vectors." (reply Sanok, Matrix, O'Neill) He tapped his combadge. "Soma to Signos." He said. "There's a group of Bane advancing on our position, see if you can even the odds a little." (reply Signos) Another blast struck a crate beside him, he returned fire hitting one one the advancing Bane dropping him to the floor. Another broke cover and dove across behind another crate, Ben fired at him but just missed hitting a pipe instead sending up a shower of sparks and steam. Somehow one of the Bane was able to get around to Ben's position and rushed him, probably hoping his pain belt and the element of surprise would work to his favor. Ben saw the look of confusion on his face as he side stepped and stuck his arm out to clothes line the Bane taking him off his feet and then shot him as he hit the floor. ~Guess someone forgot to tell them their belts are ineffective now.~ (reply as above, any) (posted by Milo Young) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - 1037.5) Matrix began to disassemble the console in case they simply needed to start pulling components out of the alien system. Their language and system displays while alien were eerily familiar. The power conduit and feed displays were not all the different from the standard Star Fleet consoles. Still miss interpreting a feed conduit with a power junction could prove hazardous. "Okay Eian…lets see if we can't render this damn thing useless before it charges again." said Matrix (Reply O'Neill) After a few moments feverish consultation between the two engineers they had worked out the command sequence and were fairly confident that they could disable the weapon. "Punch up that display and see if you can't access the power feed cut off routine" said Matrix. (Reply O'Neill) "Do you think that's the firing sequence or input information?" asked Matrix. (Reply O'Neill) "Okay…I'll see if I can't access the sequencing routine from this display. If I'm right you should see some sort of signal that the charging routing has been paused." said Matrix. For what felt like an eternity Matrix worked to enter the correct charging sequence in the hopes of learning the weapons secrets and thereby the knowledge to disable the thing. "There…do you see anything on your display?" asked Matrix. (Reply O'Neill) "Okay Eian see what you can do." replied Matrix. Ben shouted, "How's it coming back there? We have incoming on multiple vectors." Matrix looked at Ben, "Nearly there…I think…just a few minutes more." shouted Matrix. (Reply Soma, O'Neill) (Posted by Steve) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1038) Parker knew he had to get the Voice away from that command station, or Sanok, Eian, and Matrix wouldn't be able to access it. But with the forcefield in place, there was really nothing he could do to make the man want to engage them at all. Then he realized where he was. Psychology is a powerful instrument, one that, like most sciences, can be used for good or evil. The Voice had to *choose* to leave the forcefield and engage him in a fight. With the Banes occupied elsewhere, Parker had an advantage. He quickly analyzed who this man was and what was most important to him, and executed a plan he hoped he didn't regret later on. "Hey!" he yelled at the religious leader, and promptly phasered an artifact. The Voice was visibly outraged, but forced himself to keep working at the console. "You're just going to stand there?" Parker challenged him in a condescending tone, and phasered another artifact. The gold-plated, ornate sculpture shattered into pieces on the floor. "What's wrong, don't think you can stop me?" After the third artifact was destroyed, Sagri could take no more. "YOU WILL CEASE YOUR SACRILEGE!" he bellowed, and left the console, not seeing Matrix, O'Neill, and Sanok working on the force field from behind cover. Parker ran away from them and crashed his phaser rifle into more irreplaceable items. "Or what?" he challenged, and with his heart beating violently against his chest, he turned and faced the Voice as the man approached. He raised his phaser rifle and fired a stun blast. Unfortunately, the Voice seemed to have the same kind of personal shield that the Banes did. ~Shit,~ Parker thought, and ducked behind a column. The Voice wasn't armed, for whatever reason, and the pain belts were neutralized because of the boobie trapping they had done, but the man was considerably larger than Parker and the counselor knew he had little chance in a hand-to-hand battle. He jumped out from behind the column and surprised the Voice by swinging his phaser rifle into the man's neck. The only trouble was, he estimated incorrectly exactly where that would be, and caught his shoulder instead. It caused the religious leader to stumble slightly, but then Sagri, who was not used to such repulsive, evil behavior, struck out against Parker. The counselor nimbly jumped back and swung his phaser rifle again, but connected only with air. Sagri used his own momentum against him and managed to grab the phaser rifle from him. Stumbling behind cover, Parker was very glad that the Voice didn't know how to use the weapon. The learning curve gave him time to get out his combat knife, which he had expertly thrown into one of the Banes earlier on. It still had that man's blood on it. He hurled it at Sagri, but the heat of the battle had his aim a little off, and he succeeded only in stabbing the man in the hand. The knife then fell out, not embedding itself deep enough, and Sagri dropped the phaser rifle as he howled in rage and pain. A man who was very much not used to pain, he stumbled away from Parker. The Starfleet Officer dived for his knife, succeeded in retrieving it, and then scrambled up and kicked the phaser rifle away from their area. "You..." Sagri said to Parker with unrepentant rage in his eyes, "...will suffer in the pits of--" "Oh, shut up," Parker replied, out of breath. Sagri's jaw clenched and he seemed to boil with anger. "You want to kill me?" the counselor challenged, backing up past a column, "Come and get me," he finished, trying to use the moment's rest to catch his breath and plot his next move. He held the knife in a position he believed would result in the best aim if Sagri were to come around the corner. But there was one thing Parker wasn't counting on. Home field advantage. Sagri knew this place much better than the Starfleet Officer, and the area where Parker was had another entrance to it. The Voice managed to stumble toward that entrance before Parker was aware he wasn't making his way over to him, and the counselor suffered the consequences of losing track of his opponent. He was hit hard in the back of the head with some heavy object, and he fell like a brick onto the ornate floor. Cringing, he managed to spin around just in time to roll away from the Voice's blow. The man had acquired an object that resembled an axe, and had swung it with his good hand directly down to where Parker was. The counselor exhaled in surprised, terrified awe, and then dodged the next swing. "YOU MUST BE TERMINATED!" Sagri screamed. "YOU DEMON MUST LEAVE THIS SACRED HALL!" Parker ran away, trying to find a better position from which he could throw his knife again. He unfortunately turned in the wrong direction, and the Voice saw the team engaging the command panel. "NOOO!" Sagri screamed with even more rage behind his voice, if that was at all possible. He charged the console, which gave Parker the perfect opportunity to execute his original plan. He threw the knife into the man's back, and it was quite fortunate that Sagri was a large man, because Parker's aim after that blow to his head was quite off. It impacted at an angle and toward the man's shoulder blade, but he fell nonetheless onto his stomach. Parker approached carefully, not sure whether he was truly dead. (reply any there) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma - 1038.5) Ben shouted, "How's it coming back there? We have incoming on multiple vectors." Matrix looked at Ben, "Nearly there…I think…just a few minutes more." shouted Matrix. "We're gonna be cutting this one close." Ben responded as he returned the incoming fire. The Bane were persistent in their attack but not very organized, one or two would try to make a run for the command center while the others held back only offering covering fire when they felt like it. He wondered why they acted in such a manner, if he had been behind cover and one of his comrades was rushing a position he'd be firing more frequently offering as much suppression fire as possible. There were times the Bane seemed like they were fighting themselves as much as they were fight crew, something was off and he couldn't put his finger on it. He noticed similar behavior back in the catacombs. (no reply necessary) (posted by Milo Young) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ACEO Lt Eian O'Neill - Day 12 - 1039) He was in yet another firefight. It seemed to Eian that, for a mission that was supposed to be relatively peaceful and low profile, that this mission was ending up more confrontational than anything else. They crossed the catwalk and then went down into the area with the command center close by. He continued to fire and then take cover, repeating this sequence until Sanok called him and Matrix over. He ran to his position and saw why--the Voice was at the console and a phaser shot from Parker confirmed that there was a personal forcefield around the man. He paid them no mind as he worked furiously at his console. Then, to his amazement, Parker began to destroy artifacts in order to draw the Voice away. And it worked. "Come on," he beckoned, and they moved in. They had to decode the console, and quickly, or the weapon would fire again. He turned to Matrix as a Borg memory flashed in the back of his mind. "I think it's a parallel sequence with an encryption key at each step--I've seen this before," he said. "I don't know how to decode it, but I've seen it before, and the answer has to be in the middle step--the processes will center in the middle step for final decoding before the firing sequence. If we can decode that middle step we can disrupt the process," he said. (reply Matrix) "I know, but what if there's a Taylor Series involved? Math should be universal, and that would make the most sense for this kind of application, right?" (reply Matrix) Soma asked, "How's it coming back there? We have incoming on multiple vectors." Eian glanced at Matrix. "Five minutes?" he asked. (reply Matrix) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Command Center Asrai Prime LT. Tom Jackson COPS Day 12 1043) Chance and Tom materialized just as a roving security tram rounded a corner. Luckily they both fired and dropped the pair. That set off what Tom thought be an Intruder Alert system. Tom swore loudly in Ferengi. They had been forced to tip their hand before entering the center. Stealth had just been tossed out the window. Speed mattered now. Knowing they'd never skip in the front door they tried going up and over. Xim fortunately had enough of a chance to defined the center. The pair raced up a stairway to was to prove an elevated catwalk. Tom raced toward the far end Chance guarded the entrance. Tom had been noticed and missed being hit by weapons fire by the skin of his teeth. Jackson returned fire and seemingly hit a Asrai manning a control console. "Chance, sure hope the calvary arrives soon" he hollered. (Reply: Chance) (Posted by:Bill W) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COPS Lt Tom Jackson - Day 12 - 1044) Tom left Chance on the catwalk to cover and report on the movements of the bad guys. Tom carefully entered the main floor supplying covering fire for the others assaulting the console. Firing was slowing down. Tom popped up and grabbed a quick look at the destroyed center. ~Damn ~ Tom swore. What was at the onset a rescue mission turned into more fighting. Again Jackson was let down by fate. Firing, Tom moved to some better cover. The others were closer to the console operator and Tom hung back providing suppressive fire. (Reply: Any Present) (Posted By: Bill W. ) --------------- (Asrai Prime- ODSCR, The Voice, Day 12, 1045) The sudden appearance of the demons into the command center had proven to be a terrible hinderance to his task. The aliens had managed to take up a strong position on a catwalk that afforded them a good firing position, while his own Banes had been forced to take cover between and behind consoles and other things that offered some shred of protection. He had been forced to huddle behind one of the main control consoles, as the angry red beams of light and the alternating blue pulses of the firefight raged all around him. The main weapon was nearly charged and he had only to activate it to achieve his victory. The computer voice announced that the weapon was charged and so Sagri, determined to carry out his mission screamed, "Covering fire!" to the Banes as he rushed towards the primary firing console. The heavy concentration of weapons fire seemed to grant him a thin layer of protection as individual attackers sought cover from the onslaught. he reached the console and quickly looked at the display. The automatic targeting system had been destroyed in the firefight and so he'd have to aim it manually. He quickly activated the manual targeting and began to traverse the massive weapons emitters towards their target, as he neared the colony planet, a blast of energy struck the console near him, sending a blast of heat and semi-molten plastics into his cheek. In his surprise he inadvertently hit the fire control and discharged the massive beam. It took him only a moment to recover and look at the results of his handiwork. The planet was still there, looming large in the viewer. He had missed his target. He told the system to quickly start to recharge, he knew that it would take nearly twenty minutes to be ready to fire again. He had to make certain that he didn't miss his target this time. Under fire, Sagri shuffled back behind some of the consoles and attempted to stay out of sight until the weapon was ready to be fired again. (reply all) Daniel Greene --------------- (USS Rosenante – Bridge – FO – Commander T’Larah Sullivan - 1047 ) ~ We’re making better time than I thought. We will have to check stellar cartography at a later time and look for an uncharted energy current.~ T’Larah’s train of thought was interrupted by an alert from OPS, “Sir I’m getting readings of weapons fire from the colony,” the OPS called out. “Weapons fire? It must be directed energy if you can get it from this distance. Are there Starfleet phasers being fired? A mixture of other weapons?” She asked for clarification. “It’s unclear at this range, sir.” OPS answered. “Very well, open a channel to the away team.” She ordered. “…but sir, the communication silence?” “Communication silence be damned, that was before when the prime directive applied, now we have proof that our people are in trouble.” She answered sternly. “Secure channel.” “Channel open.” OPS answered. “Channel secure.” “This is Commander Sullivan of the USS Rosenante to any member of the away team, are you in any trouble or in need of assistance? Our sensors are showing quite a large volume of weapons fire.” (Reply away team) (posted by Todd) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco – COPS– LT Tom Jackson - Day 12 1049 ) Tom was busily firing on the batteries on the planet when a familiar voice came through the speakers. =^= This is Commander Sullivan of the USS Rosenante to any member of the away team, are you in any trouble or in need of assistance? Our sensors are showing quite a large volume of weapons fire =^= "This is Lt. Jackson on the DeMarco. We've entered the Asrai world's atmosphere. Ground defenses are firing on us. We've sustained minor damage to our aft shields" Jackson reported. (Reply : T'Larah) Tom continued fleshing out their status "Ground batteries have been silenced. We are attempting to locate the command center and control center. The away teams are trying to secure the skipper release ". (Reply : T'Larah, Away Teams) (Posted by:Bill w ) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1050) The shuttlecraft had been keeping station around the mountain now for a good 15 minutes, dodging smaller weapons bursts that were obviously designed to combat moving aircraft. They had suffered some impacts, but overall the design of the runabout seemed to be very resilient and it was handling the punishment well. Ahmed, sitting behind the console for the pilot had been too busy just trying to keep from being blown out of the sky to even try to micromanage the conflict taking place below in the command center. He had to assume that his people were doing well and that they would win the day, as they always managed to do. "Sir, I'm detecting a massive power surge. deep below us. I think they are getting ready to fire the main weapon." Xim reported. The console in front of him chirped, letting him know that there was an incoming communication. He reached up and activated the comm, shifting the image on the other end into one of the upper corners so that he would not be obscuring the viewer as he was flying. =^=This is Commander Sullivan of the USS Rosenante to any member of the away team, are you in any trouble or in need of assistance? Our sensors are showing quite a large volume of weapons fire.=^= "Good to see you commander." Ahmed replied as he banked the shuttle hard to avoid another cluster of weapons fire. "We have reason to believe that there is a massive weapon of some sort here that is going to fire on the colony ship or the Rosenante. I have the rest of the away team in a conflict trying to seize the command center, since it is located below ground too far for our weapons to penetrate. Prepare some of our security teams to beam down to support the command center initiative and to take control of the central government building of this city. Transport them down as soon as you are in range." "Captain!" Xim suddenly shouted. Ahead of them a massive beam of white-hot energy erupted from the ground. The shuttle was forced to dodge the massive sustained blast of energy as it fired. The EM pulse from the weapons discharged suddenly sent half the shuttles systems into a spasm. Xim was already in motion, rebooting and reinitializing those systems that had been affected. Amazingly the shuttlecraft didn't fall out of the sky like so much lead weight. "Commander they've fired the primary weapon." He reported. (reply Sullivan) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - OSDR - COPS- Lt. Tom Jackson Day 12 - 1051) More personnel materialized and grabbed weapons. Tom was concerned the assault seemed dis-jointed and that bothered him. He had issued some orders to Ensign Signs. He hoped she had followed through. Their flanks were unprotected as far as he could tell. "Chance I am going below and see what's going on" Tom shouted above the clamor of battle. (Reply: Chance) (Posted : Bill W ) --------------- (USS Rosenante – Bridge – FO – Commander T’Larah Sullivan – 1056) =^=Good to see you commander.=^= The Captain replied, for once he was on the other side of the view screen, and obviously very busy. ~ Is he Piloting?~ T’Larah thought, while the Captain was very obviously capable and competent, it had been a while since she had seen his hand directly piloting. =^= We have reason to believe that there is a massive weapon of some sort here that is going to fire on the colony ship or the Rosenante. I have the rest of the away team in a conflict trying to seize the command center, since it is located below ground too far for our weapons to penetrate. Prepare some of our security teams to beam down to support the command center initiative and to take control of the central government building of this city. Transport them down as soon as you are in range.=^= “Massive energy readings coming from vicinity their location.” The OPS confirmed. “Warn the Rogue Planet.” She ordered. “Evasive maneuvers Mister Masters.” The Rose banked away just in time. The white-hot beam was so massive that even with a complete miss the heat skimmed power off the shields. The deck shuddered almost inperceptively. “Status on the planet?” T’Larah asked, her console already told her what the status of the vessel was as the information came in by report. ~Shields at 93%~ “They report the shot missed them as well. It appears that we were not the main target, but just in the way.” “Captain, we will go ahead of the planet to give you the security teams. Send the coordinates and I will forward directly to the transporter room.” She responded. She nodded to security officer on the bridge and he got to work arranging what was required. (Reply Salid) “Understood we’ll be there shortly. Sullivan out. Doug, I need a quick warp burst to cut three fourths of the distance between us and the colony, once we’re out of warp I need you to punch it to .75C until we reach orbit. Once there we will dispatch two security squads to the pre-determined coordinates.” She explained. “Got it.” Doug responded. “Tactical, prepare stratospheric torpedoes, and lateral phaser banks. Once we’ve deposited the security teams, you are weapons free to disable or destroy any weapons banks one kilometer or greater from building of deposit that are purely automated and free of life forms. That is, so much as a household pet and the buildings have to be cleared by security.” She ordered. “Understood sir.” Came tactical’s response. “Now Mister Masters.” She ordered. As Masters pushed the button the Mighty Federation Vessel jumped to warp 2.5 for the briefest of instants. The Asrai colony went from a small blue pinpoint to the size of half the screen. “Anti-planet weapon charging. It will be ready to fire a second time in nineteen minutes.” OPS reported. “Punch it.” T’Larah ordered. The Rose lurched forward as the inertial dampers struggled to compensate with all the inertia. “OPS Inertial dampers to 200% power.” She ordered. The ride smoothed out as the Rose thrusted toward the planet. They covered the remaining distance in mere moments. “Assuming standard orbit.” Doug announced. “Transporter Chief, that’s your cue.” She said opening a channel to the transporter room. =^= Aye, sir the teams just arrived, transporting now. =^= (reply Salid, any who want to be security) (Posted by Todd) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1058) Sullivan true to her training and form immediately sprung into action ordering the Rosenante to evasive maneuvers. The fact that they hadn't lost communications confirmed for the captain that his command was still intact. =^=Captain, we will go ahead of the planet to give you the security teams. Send the coordinates and I will forward directly to the transporter room.=^= She continued once their situation had stabilized. "Transmitting the coordinates to you now. Be aware the Asrai use some sort of pain belt that works on proximity as well as some sort of energy weapons, whose capabilities I am unfamiliar with." =^=Understood we’ll be there shortly. Sullivan out.=^= The captain couldn't help but smile, even as another impact slammed into the port side of the shuttlecraft. All the consoles in the back exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke. Ahmed took a moment to look over his shoulder at Mayrud, who was curled up in his seat. "Are you injured mister Mayrud?" he asked, shouting over the din of the impacts that were pounding the shuttlecraft. "No...No I'm unharmed." he replied. "Good, please do your best to stay that way." Ahmed replied as he turned back to the console. "Mister Xim, I think it's time we changed things up a bit," he replied as a evil smile crossed his lips. He tapped out the commands that banked the shuttlecraft back towards the main government building. He'd detected energy sources there that were not consistent with the rest of the planet and so he figured the leaders were there, somewhere. "Take the Conn." Xim took command of the flight controls and Ahmed shifted his way backwards through the small ship placing his hands on the bulkhead to avoid being jostled into them during an unlucky weapons impact. He reached and actuated the Runabout's weapons locker. He reached inside and pulled out two hand phasers and a phaser rifle. "Captain what are you doing?" Xim asked him. "I'm going to pay the bloodthirsty leader of this planet a little visit." Ahmed replied, "get me to within transporter range of the palace." he ordered as he added a tricorder to his belt. "Captain, I..." Xim began but salid cut him off, now was not the time to argue. "Not now mister Xim, just do it and then stay on station to aid the away team." "I was going to say that I wish you luck, Captain." Xim finished. Ahmed nodded as he set the transporter for automatic and stepped onto the platform. "I'll be seeing you again soon, lieutenant." He said as the transporter disassembled him and cast him out into space. (reply None) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime- Golden Temple- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1100) Ahmed materialized in a crouched position, his weapon at his hip ready to swing into action. The moment that he was free of the annular confinement beam, he did just that. At the far end of the narrow corridor, there were three Banes, who immediately charged forward raising weapons as they charged him. The captain dropped to one knee, raised the weapon into the proper firing position and squeezed off two shots. The phaser rifle sent out two bursts, one striking the lead Bane, the other his companion to the left. Both of the guards collapsed as the stun beam overloaded their nervous systems. The third bane returned fire, but had fired wide. HIs beam cracked the stone wall just behind and to one side of Salid. A few fragments of broken stone bounced from Ahmed's back. Ahmed released his breath and then re-acquired his aim. He held his breath a second time, lined up his shot, careful not to lead the target, and dropped the third bane in mid step. A quick glance told him that he had arrived just inside the main corridor, past the primary entrance. The hallway was long and narrow, comprised of a golden color stone and columned to either side of the main avenue. There were gold accents on he columns, a fact that probably went a long way to giving the place it's name. At the far end of the corridor were a set of large black lacquered double doors, they would lead into the interior sanctum. Behind him a set of identical doors led outside into the central courtyard. Ahmed turned to face those outer doors and adjusted the setting on his phaser. He set it for thermal energy and then with all the precision of an engineer, used the beam to weld the gold edging of the door together. It wouldn't stop them, but it would certainly slow them down. Ahmed rushed forward, careful to give each of the Bane a wide berth in case they were wearing pain belts. He reached the inner door and slung the rifle over his shoulder as he placed one hand on each door and pushed. For a brief moment he felt like the biblical Sampson, only instead of columns it was a set of doors that the strongman was attempting to shift. As the doors parted, all hell broke loose. Suddenly a half-dozen or more energy blasts tore through the air. One struck the door at such an angle that it swung open with massive force, shearing it from the hinges that had held it upright. A few others passed close but missed Ahmed as he ducked and scrambled into the chamber. This room was a single large compartment, there were banisters to divide up areas, statues and other religious artifacts on pedestals scattered around the room. A guard of columns stood in line along both the left and right walls, apparently more ornamental than weight bearing. parallel line of columns formed a negative space walkway that led to the doors of an inner sanctum. This inner sanctum was a miniature building, nestled within the larger building that Ahmed had just entered. There had to be at least twenty Banes in this immediate area. Ahmed twisted himself and slammed, back-first, into one of the columns as an untold number of energy blasts pounded portions of the column on the far side into powder. The captain slid down the column, to lower his profile and after a three count, he leaned out, phaser rifle coming to bear quickly. Three short bursts, dropped two Banes and missed a third. The entire conflict was beginning to remind him of his assault on the telepathic research facilities on Ferasa. It had been his first away mission as a team commander, and in this case as an assault team leader. They had become pinned down in very much the same sort of way, and they had almost failed their mission as a result. He'd had fire support then, he was on his own now. ~Well Ahmed you only die once.~ he reminded himself, then chuckled at his following thought, ~unless you're T'Larah, then it seems that twice is the rule.~ He could hear the Banes moving closer as they fired, trying to outflank him. He wasn't about to let that happen. He twisted his body and fired into the chest of a Bane that had managed to get too close. The bane dropped almost next to Salid and he was glad that this particular bane wasn't wearing a pain belt. He just had to hold their attention long enough for the Rosenante security team to arrive, and then they'd be fine. He pushed himself to his feet preparing to displace his position when a Bane rounded his column and attempted to bash his skull in with his weapon. Ahmed ducked, twisting as he went so that the weapon just barely missed him. The butt of the device slammed into the column with enough force to crack the weapon's housing. Ahmed in the meantime had shifted his footing and launched a brutal right hook into the bane's upper cheekbone. His head snapped sideways as his face absorbed the impact and he staggered out from behind the column. His companions hit him with a burst of weapon's fire. His body was physically thrown backwards and slammed against the back wall of the chamber with a sickening crunch. Ahmed grabbed his rifle, brought it up and dropped two more Bane as they tried to maneuver themselves into better firing positions. (reply Rosenante Security) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ACEO Lt Eian O'Neill - Day 12 - 1101) When the weapon was disarmed, Eian couldn't help but pump a triumphant fist in the air and report, "The weapon's down, Sir!" He looked up and grinned, seeing that it appeared there were no more Bane or that they had been contained to another area, or perhaps they had inexplicably froze as he, Sanok, and Rosenbauer had observed earlier. Eian's gaze then fell upon the panel again, where he was getting several readings that made some sense to him, and a thought entered his mind. He looked between Sanok and Parker. "This place has a centrally controlled power system, and a basic overload could shut it down permanently. The weapon is already permanently destroyed, but the rest of this place could be completely obliterated by activating this command sequence--it's already built into the computer system, so my guess is that it's an auto-destruct." Davis was the first to speak. "Are you absolutely certain that the weapon is destroyed, and that there's no way it can come back online?" Eian nodded. "The power core is dead, and we've severed all of the connections to the main grid. Plus, in the process of doing that, we've already deleted all of the firing sequences from the computer, and there's no manual control." (reply Matrix iyw) The counselor seemed to consider what he had just been told. "What about their computer systems? Are they still functional?" "The computer systems have a core memory but because of the overload we've already used to destroy the weapon, they don't have enough power to access them for very long." "If they even knew how..." Parker murmured, and then shook his head. "I think we've done enough damage to this planet's history and its culture. I realize the Prime Directive technically doesn't apply, but if there's no chance of these people powering up the weapon gain, then I'm unwilling to destroy this archive. I do think we should bury it, so they advance to a greater level of technology before they discover it again. Does anyone have any objections to that plan?" (reply any) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 1103) Matrix and O'Neill worked feverishly trying to disable the weapon. O'Neill was working at a phenomenal pace and with extraordinary skill. In amazement, Matrix watched Eian reversed engineer the systems primary firing subroutines and program it to disengage and sever its power sources within a matter of moments. Then it happened. An amber glow filled the display screens the two were working at. Eian celebrated with a fist pump "The weapon's down, Sir!" "Nicely done Eian, nicely done." replied Matrix. He looked up and grinned, seeing that it appeared there were no more Bane or that they had been contained to another area, or perhaps they had inexplicably froze as he, Sanok, and Rosenbauer had observed earlier. Eian's gaze then fell upon the panel again, where he was getting several readings that made some sense to him, and a thought entered his mind. He looked between Sanok and Parker. "This place has a centrally controlled power system, and a basic overload could shut it down permanently. The weapon is already permanently destroyed, but the rest of this place could be completely obliterated by activating this command sequence--it's already built into the computer system, so my guess is that it's an auto-destruct." "Mr. O'Neill did a fantastic job. I would agree that the weapon is useless." said Matrix Parker murmured, and then shook his head. "I think we've done enough damage to this planet's history and its culture. I realize the Prime Directive technically doesn't apply, but if there's no chance of these people powering up the weapon gain, then I'm unwilling to destroy this archive. I do think we should bury it, so they advance to a greater level of technology before they discover it again. Does anyone have any objections to that plan?" Matrix spoke, "I agree, but if we are to render their technology useless by burying it, why don't we simply destroy it completely?" (Reply any) (Posted by Steve) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1104) In response to Parker's suggestion that they bury the technology, Matrix spoke, "I agree, but if we are to render their technology useless by burying it, why don't we simply destroy it completely?" "History," the counselor answered. "At some point these people are going to develop technology. They may have rejected it before but in doing so, they put themselves in a Dark Age where people forgot their technology and are now coming up with new inventions, new ideas. They're progressing almost as a new race. If we were to destroy this technology, they'll have no connection with their past. And unless we have to, I'm not willing to take it from them." His short monologue over, Davis looked around to see if anyone's expressions indicated that they didn't agree. He was new at this, and newly freed from Tayla's anxiety as well, as she was now rescued. With her mind at ease, he found it was much easier to lead, much easier to bring up his own opinions and defend them instead of simply deferring to someone else's judgment. (reply any) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma-1105) With the command center shut down and no longer a threat it was time to move on, the Voice had been neutralized and without him the remainder of the Bane didn't put up much of a fight. Ben had taken his share of bumps, bruises and burns, and looking around at the others he saw they all did as well. They made it through the fight without losing anyone, he wasn't sure if any of the Bane had been killed or not. He turned to the rest of the group, now assembled at the what was left of the command center. "I don't know about the rest of you but I won't be sorry to see this place dissolve in transporter energy." He said. "Once we're back on the runabout the good Doctor here has her work cut out for her, I've got a few burns that need some attention." (reply any present) "Too bad it came to this." He said. "This wasn't why we came here, this didn't have to happen. We came here to help save these people and we ended up fighting them, I'll all for a good fight but this wasn't a good fight. Fear and ignorance drove them to fight, fear of us and ignorance of what Solyon really was. They had no idea they were about to kill their own people, the Voice has his own little paradise here and he wanted to keep it that way." (reply any present) Turning to Davis he said. "What say we get out of here?" (reply any present, Davis) (posted by Milo Young) --------------- (Asrai Prime- Golden Temple- CO, Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid - Day 12 - 1106) Another energy blast slammed into the column that Ahmed had decided to use for cover. The Banes were beginning to concentrate their fire now, blowing pieces of the column into fine powder as blast-after-blast struck home. He sincerely hoped that the command center was under their control now, as without it, the Rosenante and all her 800+ personnel would be at risk, not to mention the hundreds of thousands aboard the Asrai colony ship. The death toll if they failed would be staggering, so failure was not an option. The familiar buzz of a transporter sounded in the corridor behind him and the sound was exactly what he needed to displace position and do some damage. As the two security teams from the Rosenante materialized, Ahmed rolled out from behind the column and let out a scream that his Arabic Ancestors would have been proud of. The sudden arrival of more troops had shocked the Banes enough to cause them to hesitate. Within moments, Ahmed was on his feet, firing from the hip as he charged his way forward towards the doors of the inner sanctum. The security team outside fully materialized and the firefight went into extra innings. "Secure this compartment" Ahmed screamed as he charged up the steps of the Inner sanctum and blasted a hole through the front doors large enough for him to duck through. The room beyond was smoke-filled and mostly dark. Rubble for the doors littered the floor and behind him the sounds of the firefight waged with ferocity. Ahmed took a few steps forward, and suddenly the room illuminated. A deep blue pulsing light filled the chamber, perhaps an attempt to frighten him. But the captain of the Rosenante had stood toe-to-toe with the Borg. If they didn't frighten him, then this cheap parlor trick didn't have much of a change of doing so. [Query: Why are you here?] The voice came from some sort of cylindrical tank centered in the room. It was filled with boiling or perhaps oxygenated liquid. The bubbles made it difficult to see what may be held within its confines. "Who is asking?" Ahmed asked as he moved slowly towards the chamber. [Statement: I am the Oracle. I rule here. You are a trespasser.] "In that case I'm here to see you. Show yourself." The bubbling in the cylinder suddenly stopped and the interior became visible as a series of small lights illuminated the compartment. "Stop this conflict now and we'll discuss the future for your people." Ahmed stated, his phaser rifle leveled at the cylinder." [Statement: You possess no authority here. I will see Solyon destroyed. Your technology will be confiscated and destroyed. your people will be destroyed. No one shall dictate to me, the Oracle, what actions I shall take here. I am a god among these people, they will obey me.] "You will stop or I will stop you." There was a sudden hum that filled the room and out of instinct Ahmed threw himself to one side as an automated laser traced a path of brilliant energy through the place he had just occupied a moment before. He raised his phaser and fired twice into the weapon's emitter, destroying it, and then turned it towards the tank. That's when he realized that there was another laser embedded there. The hum returned, and again Ahmed tried to dodge the beam. He was only partially successful. The beam cut his phaser rifle in half, breaching the weapons power supply. molten polycarbonates splattered on his chest and neck, burning through the clothing he wore without delay. He dropped the weapon, dodged a second laser blast and pulled his hand phaser. He quickly raised up the power setting, and fired. The beam struck the emitter, which exploded with a great deal of force. The material that comprised the cylinder shattered, flooding the compartment with a great deal of relatively slick slimy blue mucus like material. No longer supported by the liquid. The Oracle collapsed, carried along by the deluge. The cybernetic connections to the cylinder ripped free from his body. Plates, brackets, connectors and similar devices tore out of weaker flesh. Within moments the oracle was thrashing wildly on the floor of the compartment as his body went into shock. Knocked to his feet, Ahmed tried to move through the sludge towards the being to render some sort of aid, but by the time he arrived, he had already expired. a sizeable portion of his upper brain was exposed and there was a great deal of trauma there. The sound of footsteps filled the room as Ahmed pulled himself to his feet. Within moments Soma, Sanok and Jackson were coming into the room. It seemed that the battle was won after all. Outside the banes were surrendering to the Starfleet security officers. They'd done it. Their mission had been to save these people from certain death, and they'd succeeded. "Let's go home." Ahmed said to his officers. (reply none needed) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - Cmdr Josh Caskie - Day 12 -1107) Josh had stayed up on the catwalk. To be honest it was her best firing position and whilst the rest of the away team began to make their way down to the floor in an effort to take over what they needed to do, Josh, surveying the situation knew that they would need backup and backup at present from above was the best idea. Finally once everything was over Soma started to wrap everything up. "I don't know about the rest of you but I won't be sorry to see this place dissolve in transporter energy." He said. "Once we're back on the runabout the good Doctor here has her work cut out for her, I've got a few burns that need some attention." Josh turned and grinned at him. "You and a few other people to be honest. Not to mention that most folk will probably want to get out of their Asrai persona, however that will possibly have to wait depending on how many casualties we have and how busy we are. Turning to Lt Frasier Josh simply nodded. "I'll take clockwise you take anti clockwise. Find everyone who is the worst injured and have them beamed aboard. Doesn't matter who they are. If they need treated they need treated. Beam them up, fix them up and then liase with Ops to have them sent as and where Ops decides necessary. Our normal triage system should apply but make sure that our personell are treated first. I'm heading back to Sickbay. Once you have finished here join me there, ok. (No reply necessary) Posted by Marilyn --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - Lieutenant JG Tayla Fraiser - Day 12 -1109) "I'll take clockwise you take anti clockwise. Find everyone who is the worst injured and have them beamed aboard. Doesn't matter who they are. If they need treated they need treated. Beam them up, fix them up and then liase with Ops to have them sent as and where Ops decides necessary. Our normal triage system should apply but make sure that our personell are treated first. I'm heading back to Sickbay. Once you have finished here join me there, ok. Tayla nodded and turned to Soma and said, "Right, let's see those burns." (Reply Soma) Tayla, pretense now over, pulled out a medical Tricorder and scanned them, "Nothing too serious. I'll give you some painkillers and antibiotics so you can continue working down here but i would advise Sickbay as soon as you can." (Reply Soma) Smiling, she said, "Sir, it's the best we can do at the moment unless you want me to order you to sickbay?" (Reply Soma) Nodding, she replied, "Didn't think so." Pressing a hypospray into his neck, she said, "There you go." Turning away, she made her way towards the other crew when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found herself face to face with Parker and nothing would come out of her mouth. (Reply Parker) Sighing, she gestured to the bruises and scrapes on her face and said, "As well as i can be. I'm pretty sure i have a couple of broken ribs but nothing that Josh can't handle, i'm sure." (Reply Parker) "I should get back to work." she said, simply and walked away from him. Looking around for the next person to help, she could see that they were all busy. Sitting quietly by herself for a moment, she thought over all that had happened and probably was about to happen and knew that this was not going to be a fun few days. (Reply Soma, Parker, Any) (Posted by Jackie Smith) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CTAC Lt. sg Ben Soma -1111) Tayla nodded and turned to Soma and said, "Right, let's see those burns." Ben turned around so Tayla could inspect the back and side of his neck, the burns weren't life threatening but the discomfort they caused was getting more distracting. Tayla, pretense now over, pulled out a medical Tricorder and scanned them, "Nothing too serious. I'll give you some painkillers and antibiotics so you can continue working down here but i would advise Sickbay as soon as you can." Ben jokingly replied. "That's it, no dermal regeneration." Smiling, she said, "Sir, it's the best we can do at the moment unless you want me to order you to sickbay?" "That won't be necessary as long as I'm still able to stand." He replied with a grin. Nodding, she replied, "Didn't think so." Pressing a hypospray into his neck, she said, "There you go." "Feels better already." He said as she turned to treat the next patient. After everyone had been treated they began to beam up to the runabout, he was surprised to find the Captain wasn't there. "Where's the Captain?" He asked Xim. (reply Xim) "Get a lock on his coordinates and beam me down there." He instructed. (reply Xim) "Get me as close as you can." He said. He headed aft to the transporter and turned to Sanok and Tom. "Care to join me on a little excursion?" He asked as he stopped by the weapons locker and pulled a fresh phaser rifle. (reply Sanok, Jackson) Turning back to Matrix, O'Neill and Signos he said. "Consider yourselves on standby." He said. "We'll beam down and assess the situation and call for you if need be." (reply Matrix, O'Neill, Signos) "Good job taking out that weapon by the way." He added before stepping on the transporter platform. The runabout disolved around him and when he was released by the transporter he was standing in a corridor, there were Bane lying on the floor unconscious but a couple may have been dead but he didn't stop to check. He pulled his tricorder and and flipped it open and began to scan for Salid. A couple seconds passed before the tricorder picked up the Captain's bio sign. "Fifty meters ahead." He said. "I'm also picking up some kind of energy reading, it's not like anything we've encountered so far." Ben closed his tricorder and turned to Tom and Sanok. "Standard flanking procedure, you two take the walls and I'll go through the center." (reply Sanok, Jackson) (reply as above, any) (posted by Milo Young) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COUNS Parker Davis - Day 12 - 1112) When Parker finally managed to pull himself away from everyone else and get business in order, he found Tayla and approached her. He hesitated, not sure if he should engage in fraternization with her given what they had already done, and given the connection they were dealing with. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she turned. He was surprised to see the bruises and cuts. He had briefly seen her but she had barely registered in his mind, since he was focused on the mission and trying *not* to think about her because of their connection. "Are you okay?" he asked finally. Sighing, she gestured to the bruises and scrapes on her face and said, "As well as I can be. I'm pretty sure I have a couple of broken ribs but nothing that Josh can't handle, I'm sure." He nodded slowly, and withdrew his hand. "I'm glad you're alright," he said quietly. "I should get back to work," she said simply, and approached the Captain. Parker hung around until she was finished with him, and then walked up to him. "Sir, I'm glad to see you again." He felt like he had failed the Captain. He had been a terrible mission commander and had initially jeopardized the mission by failing to recognize that he and Tayla's connection to each other was more than simple romance, which should have been reported anyway, but a telepathic connection that decreased his effectiveness as a leader and put everyone's lives at risk. As a counselor, of all people, he should have seen it coming. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't see another command position for quite a while, if ever. (reply Salid) (posted by Morgan G) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - COPS Lt. Tom -1113) Things had finally ended. The planet destroying weapon was disabled. Tom slumped against a near by bulkhead and surveyed the destruction around him. Shaking his head and sighing - fate was constantly placing him in combat. Jackson thought of his mirror universe self. He had not met him but heard from the mirror universe Captain Solid. As time passed he was becoming more like his twin and this worried Tom Jackson's revelry was interrupted by a call from his old friend Ben Soma. "Care to join me on a little excursion?" He asked as he stopped by the weapons locker and pulled a fresh phaser rifle. Jackson gave his old friend thumbs up and grabbed a rifle and energy pack for his hand phaser. Tom walked over to his friend and joined Ben and Sanok on the transporter pad. (Reply:Any Present ) (Posted by:Bill W ) --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - CEO LCDR Steven Matrix - Day 12 - 1114) Matrix wondered if everyone was a tired as he was. As he watched Soma get medial treatment he realized he was lucky on this mission. No real injuries. Something of a first for him given his history with away missions of late. Turning back to Matrix, O'Neill and Signos he said. "Consider yourselves on standby." Ben said. "We'll beam down and assess the situation and call for you if need be." "Understood. Ben, we'll be here if you need anything." replied Matrix. "Good job taking out that weapon by the way." He added before stepping on the transporter platform. Matrix smiled, looked at Eian and gave him a thumbs up. "Nicely done Eian. That was some fantastic work under pressure too." said Matrix. Matrix took the time to decompress and removed the equipment and back he was carrying with him and found a portion of a wall to sit against and take in some water and rest. Eian's work over the past day impressed him deeply. The young engineer was poised, confident and proven to be very capable. As Matrix took a sip of water he couldn't wait to get back to the Rose. This mission was difficult and out of the ordinary to say the least. This was the first time he wasn't in charge of the away team, but he enjoyed playing a supportive role. Everyone did their part in bring the hostages back and surmounting a very difficult series of circumstances. (Reply O'Neill, IYW) (Posted by Steve) --------------- (Shuttle DeMarco- GSL- Lt Xim- Day- 12 -1115) "Where's the captain?" Soma asked Xim as he materialized. "The captain is attempting to capture the leader of the government." Xim replied. "He beamed down a short while ago." "Get a lock on his coordinates and beam me down there." He instructed. "There is a scattering field of some sort blocking transport to the inner chambers." "Get me as close as you can." He said. "Very well, standing by to transport." Xim replied as Soma rounded up Jackson and Sanok to make their attempt to aid the captain. When Soma ordered him to transport them, Xim complied. The then turned the shuttlecraft towards the capital to be able to lend more aid if called upon. (reply none) Daniel Greene --------------- (Asrai Prime - Command Center - ATAC/SC - Ensign(sg) Jessica Signos - Day 12 - 1116) Jessica and her small team had been in the heaviest of the fighting taking the brunt of the Bane's attack to allow the rest of the Rose's personnel to out flank the embedded Bane. For Jessica and her small team they did what they could to fire back. She was thankful when the fire from the enemy Bane's slowed then stopped. Her phase rifle had long since exhausted it's supply of energy, and her hand phaser was all but spent. It was clear the fighting ended at just the right time because Jessica and her team would not of held there position to much longer. Jessica tried to move but the burning sensation that lanced though out her back, told her she wasn't doing anywhere. The pain her wounds caused her coursed though her body. Has she came to rest against what remained of a charred black console. "Don't move to much." One of the security officers told Jessica. "Doc's coming around she'll take care of you." Jessica nodded and tried not to concentrate on the pain. Time passed far to much time Jessica feared, has she glanced out from behind the console. It seemed most of the away team, along with whatever security was sent from the Rose was gathered around the main weapon console. Again Jessica tried to move to no avail. It wasn't until the two security officers helped to support her small frame that she was able to make her way to the gathered away team. "Consider yourselves on standby." Soma spoke, has Jessica came up to the group. "We'll beam down and assess the situation and call for you if need be." "I'll do what I can when the call arrives." Jessica replied simply, knowing full and well she would be of little use in another firefight, and that she needed medical attention. But if needed she would continue to fight, the way she fought on Dovek II, the way she fought against the Borg especially Volus, and the way she fought against every person that told her that she couldn't do or accomplish a task do to who and what she was. Finding a place to sit and wait for the call either to return to the Rose or to go wherever was needed. Jessica was past the point of caring which. She was relieved when the call came though that would send her back to the rose, and another trip to medical. (posted by Matthew Locke) (reply none) =============== Compiled by Milo Young ===============