Away Team - Escape

Posted on Thu May 30th, 2013 @ 7:29am by Captain Benjamin Byrne & Lieutenant Horatio Hawke & Lieutenant Rose Cooper & Lieutenant JG Nessa Jenarian

Mission: Klingons on the Starboard Bow
Location: Firaxa Gamma IV

As Benjamin's consciousness returned to him, he became aware that he was propped up on his knees, his hands fastened tightly behind his back. As he groggily opened his eyes to look around, he saw that his uniform outer jacket had been removed, along with his combadge, tricorder and weapons, and his other officers were either side of him, each similarly de-armed and bound.

"Benjamin!" the voice was chillingly familiar but equally as hard to place. Ben turned to look at the speaker, and was instantly reminded of one of the worst times of his life, years earlier. "Captain Kurth told me that another Starfleet ship was likely to have discovered our presence here, but I had no idea it would be you. A captain! My my, haven't we moved up in the world?"

"T'Marl," Benjamin almost growled the name. T'Marl had been undercover as Diana Crix on the Pacific when Byrne had been a lieutenant, and the two had been intimately involved - until her cover was blown and he was left unconscious in their quarters whilst she made her escape. Ben had learnt that she had been using her connection to him to siphon data to the Romulan Empire for years. "What are you doing here?"

"Now now, Benjamin. Don't be rude. I'm your host here; and I get to ask the questions." T'Marl's face curled into a cruel smirk as she looked down at the helpless Starfleet officers. "This isn't Federation space, and you and your ship are crashing the party that my friends and I are going to be having. That's very imperialistic of you, isn't it?"

"We're trying to stop a war!" Biggs said, calling out from the end of the line of officers. T'Marl didn't even look at him as she drew her weapon and fired it, hitting him square in the centre of his yellow tunic-clad chest. The burn mark and the dull thud as he hit the floor was all the other officers needed to know that the security officer was dead.

Ever since Rose had regained consciousness and recognized the Romulan she had to work really hard to keep herself in check, but she snapped when one of them was killed by her. "Are you insane?! Not only are you now holding Starfleet Officers hostage, you also killed one." Some people said the Romulan side of her came out more when she was angry and this woman really pissed her off. Ending a life with no respect for it whatsoever. As a doctor, that hurt. "You'll be in big trouble," she snarled.

"Trouble?" T'Marl laughed haughtily. "I believe that I can handle myself quite sufficiently, lieutenant," she said, looking directly at Cooper for the first time. "It's not like I haven't handled Starfleet officers before, is it Benjamin?"

Nessa regained consciousness with a start, her eyes darting around the room they were being held and her first reaction was to try and move, though quickly realizing that it wouldn't be of much use with her arms bound behind her back. Her features curled into a slight snarl, paying little attention to the one holding them. The smell of burnt flesh told her all she needed to know about their situation. Someone had obviously been shot, so her gaze trailed over the other officers and a growl rose in her throat the moment she noticed that lieutenant Biggs was dead. While she didn't know the man, it didn't mean that she wouldn't be unhappy to see him killed in obvious cold blood.

Byrne did his best to ignore the jibes from the woman, and instead try to focus on finding out information. "What do you want, T'Marl?" he asked, as plainly and simply as he could.

T'Marl sighed, as if it was a huge effort to put up with her 'guests'. "I'm sure you've already figured it out for yourself, Benjamin. Either way though, that's not your main concern at the moment." she sat on the edge of a weapons crate right behind her, folding her free arm across the chest whilst tapping the edge of her disruptor on her lips and chin with the other, as though trying to think. "Your main concern should be what I am going to do with you. You are trespassing afterall. I'm trying to decide whether or not to make you and your friends like your security officer over there."

Benjamin thought that he knew her well enough even after the deception and the years that had passed to know that it was going to be pointless trying to excise a confession from her, but he knew that he needed to stall her somehow. The away team had had subcutaneous transponders implanted beneath their skin before leaving the ship, in order to allow their signals to be locked on to in an emergency. He only hoped that Lieutenant Hawke or Commander Ra-Xialli would be able to rescue them before T'Marl followed through on her threats.

The science officer closed her eyes momentarily before glancing back up to look at the Romulan, her voice as cold as ice as she spoke, "I wouldn't be so hasty about murdering more of us. After all, who's to say the ship we arrived in on won't turn this place and its surroundings into molten glass the moment they realize we're all dead. As it stands, the fact that we're alive is the only thing keeping you alive. Now, I'd strongly recommend releasing us before they decide that seeing how we haven't checked in for some time, we're already dead."

T'Marl turned towards the science officer and considered her for a moment. "Were your ship a Romulan vessel," she told her after a moment. "Then that may be just what they would do. But I know Starfleet. Your ship won't risk killing you or your dear captain if there is any chance that you still live."

Before she could carry on with what she was saying, a figure shimmered in the air as it approached her, resolving itself into the form of a Romulan wearing what looked like a cross between Federation holographic isolation suits for use on primitive worlds and a sparse set of armour. That explains how they were able to surprise us once we were in, Ben thought. The Romulan moved directly to T'Marl and spoke quietly in her ear, but the low ambient noise in the room meant that their prisoners could just about hear the words.

"The rin'Tang has entered the system - it's cloak is damaged and the Klingons are demanding that we assist with repairs," he relayed.

"So? Have one of the techs fix it!" T'Marl snapped, clearly not pleased to have been disturbed.

"There's more," the man said. "Harrison is missing. He was sent to search the woods for a shuttlecraft when we didn't detect a transporter signature."

So Horatio had managed to get to the Vancouver in time, Ben thought, making sure to keep his face neutral and pretend he hadn't heard a word. Let's hope he can pick up the signatures from our transponders through the facility.

"There is another Starfleet officer here," T'Marl said, snapping her attention back to the Federation officers; her tone now far less tormenting and carrying the edge of danger on it. "Where is he?" she demanded.

Ben simply looked the woman square in the eyes and remained silent. "What were his orders if you were to be captured?" Ben's only response was to smile at her, as he felt the grip of the transporter's confinement beam taking hold, and he watched her face rapidly disappear.

"No!" T'Marl almost screamed as her captives disappaeared in a blue haze - even the corpse of the officer she had killed. She only allowed herself a few seconds to indulge in her emotions, however, before turning back to her people. "Get my ship ready to leave. We're done here," she said. She knew that there was no way she could survive if she stayed now.

Horatio breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he saw the away team coalesce onto the shuttle's transporter pad. It wasn't the easiest of transports to execute, and he hadn't operated a transporter in ... well, a long time. Three of the team were kneeling on the pad when the transport was complete and the fourth - Biggs, Horatio realised - was laying down looking terrifyingly still.

"Sorry it took a while, Captain," Horatio said, rushing to help the away team up and relieve them of their restraints. "I wasn't alone out here."

"You're here Lieutenant, that is the important thing," the captain answered, standing as his bonds were removed and the lieutenant moved to untie the other two. He moved directly over to the tactical station in the shuttle, instantly raising their shields before opening a channel to the ship. "Byrne to Endeavour. Lock quantum torpedoes on the facility and fire. Level that place Commander, and prepare to receive us. Lieutenant," he said, turning as Hawke finished untying the others. "Get us clear of the planet."

"With pleasure, sir," Hawke replied, rushing forward to the pilot's seat. As he went, he continued reporting, "Oh, and I have prisoner in the back. Human. Should still be unconscious, but somebody might want to take a look at his nose."

The captain moved back to the transporter pad, kneeling down on the opposite side of Biggs' body to Cooper. He knew as well as she did that the shot had been fatal and that there was nothing the doctor could do for him, but he felt it was his responsibility to show the officer some respect for the service that had cost him his life. "See to him, will you doctor?" he said, looking down at him. It was hardly the first time he had lost someone under his command, but it was the first in a long time, and it was even longer since he had lost a member of his senior staff. The wound was made even worse by the fact that it had been T'Marl who had ended him.

"I will." There was almost a growl in Rose's voice. She tried to contain her emotions, but anger, fear and betrayal were getting the the beat of her. With trembling hands she closed the poor man's eyes and then looked for a medical scanner to confirm his death. "Exact time of death 15.12, confirmed at 15.22," she said, with the emotions audible in her voice.

"Doctor," the science officer whispered, lowering her voice as she moved closer to the woman in question so there wouldn't be other to hear them. "You shouldn't let his death haunt you. We are Starfleet officers, death can be just around the corner. Grieve, but get yourself together before we end up in a situation where we might need you and you'd be distracted." She pretended to examine the tricorder scan results for a moment before glancing back to the Captain. "Sir, I think we need to have another chat with the Klingons. Sitting on the fence like they're doing just cost a good man his life, and it could have ended up even worse. I say they need to take a stance with the situation and someone needs to explain to them how dishonourable the situation they've put themselves in actually is."

"Lifting off!" Hawke called as he slid the elevator control up, bringing the shuttle up off the ground and into a momentary hover before he pushed the throttle. Within a few seconds, the shuttle was at escape velocity and punching out of the atmosphere en route to rendezvous with the Endeavour.