The Fall of Caleb Xeod (Part II)
Posted on Tue Oct 6, 2020 @ 2:03am by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Commander Caleb Ryan & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Civilian Jason Haines
1,583 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Asteroid field near Xi'cadian Space
Timeline: MD08
Previously in The Fall of Caleb Xeod
Caleb breathed with relief. “Thank God,” he murmured. “We need ta take down internal sensors,” he said. “At least in this area, so they can’t get a lock on us. There should be an EPS junction just up ahead. We can knock out the power ta this subsection there.”
The sound of something bouncing along the corridor alerted them to people ahead. A few seconds later a pair of cylinders rolled around the corner, a ring of blue lights around their centers blinking out one by one.
And now the continuation
“Grenade!” Caleb yelled in warning, and the team scrambled back down the corridor to take cover behind the deck pylons. Caleb managed to activate their sensor scramblers so the beam out trick wouldn’t work a second time. He averted his eyes and closed them as the grenades went off, the loud explosion still deafening him, but his eyes unharmed as they peered through the chaos of smoke. He waited until he could see the shadows before opening fire, the red beams of their phasers lancing through the smoke.
There was a scream as the first went down and muffled yells behind that, then more phasers lanced out, this time cutting low, aiming for knees and calves.
“Cover!” Caleb yelled to his team, stacking up behind the bulkhead supports. He grabbed for one of the stun grenades on his own vest and pressed the button. He tossed it up the corridor at the opposing security forces. He had to keep telling himself these people were Starfleet in name only. They were rogue.
There was a shout of warning, and then the soft thuds of bodies hitting the deck.
Caleb motioned with his hand, and cautiously his team moved forward. They found the bodies on the deck and checked them, removing their weapons, taking a moment to eject and pocket their power cells and then disable them. Engineering was just ahead, and the bulkheads hadn’t lowered.
Caleb pulled out a smoke grenade this time, nodding to another of the boarding team who did the same. After a silent countdown, they depressed the activators and tossed them into Engineering. After a few seconds, they ducked into Engineering, the billowing smoke providing cover from phaser fire.
“Round everyone up. Ensign, seal off this section. Lieutenant, lock out bridge command. We’ll take the ship from here, if we can, until Tessaro takes the bridge.”
Out of a nearby jeffries tube, red lit cylinders dropped, rattling where they landed at the feet of Annora's team, the lights winking out until there were just six left, five, four...
The telltale sound of grenade cylinders hitting the deck alerted the team to the danger that lay ahead. They moved back around the corridor. It would slow their progress but was preferable to getting knocked out of action less than five minutes after beam in.
Once they were clear, Annora gave updated orders. "All right, just like we practiced. Leapfrog our way down the corridor. Two groups of three. Pavoncello, your team will provide cover first."
The first group made their way around the corner, stopping short of the offending jeffries tube. Once they were in place, Annora took her group further down the corridor. After a brief pause, the rear team moved forward while the others provided cover for any hostiles that may be approaching.
The corridors were strangely deserted, and five meters ahead the corridor was crossed by three red light beams, spaced across the hall, one at head height, one at chest height and one at knee height
The advance team stopped at the sight of three beams stretched across the corridor. Annora held up a fist to indicate the second team should not move forward. They had trained for several different contingencies, but this particular obstacle did not come up.
"Thoughts?" she asked the others.
Tricorders were quickly consulted before Tihr spoke up. "If we weren't under a ticking clock, I'd try to disarm them. However, time is not on our side this afternoon."
The Andorian pulled a photon grenade from his belt. "Throw one of these at a higher yield and it should take care of whatever is in our way."
This was exactly why Annora had insisted on the boarding teams going in with a heavier load out. "Let's do it."
The team moved back a few paces before Tihr lobbed the grenade down the corridor. There was the metallic clang-clang as it bounced, there were shouts of panic and surprise, and then a white light that burnt their eyes even from around a corner burst out. And then there was silence and the smell of burning.
While the outcome was a bit unexpected, the immediate problem seemed to be resolved. Once the light subsided, orders were given for the group to continue their push forward.
"We don't have time to properly deal with any prisoners. If you find anyone, secure their wrists with zip ties and grab any weapons. We'll gather them up once control is established.”
There was a fair amount of debris strewn across the corridor as the team moved through. Any weapons pulled off the downed defenders were stashed in the team's pack. As they neared the jefferies tube leading to the command deck, the team was met by a few crew members impeding their progress. Rifles were raised and pointed at them as directions were shouted.
"Starfleet security! Weapon on the ground now!"
The crew complied, but they had very evil grins on their faces.
"Attention, boarders," Xeod said on ship-wide comms. "It won't take long before we get through your jamming. I have no issues with you. I have two people I want, and once I get them, you can go back to your day jobs. So just turn them over and you will walk away. Keep this up, and you will all die."
“Yer rogue shenanigans are over now, Xeod,” Caleb replied. “Give yourselves up now, an’ it’ll go better for ya’ll at the courts martial.”
There was a laugh, and Xeod replied, "Clever catch on the man overboard. I'm not sure why you want to protect a deserter like you are. So, we are going to play a game. Tell me how you want your next crew member killed or severely maimed. You have five seconds to reply or I pick."
Annora heard the challenge from Xeod but chose to ignore it.
Jason materialised in the centre of a runabout. A second later the Andorian had shoved him forcefully into a chair. The Andorian tossed him a set of handcuffs. "Put those on please, then we can watch the main event."
"This should be enlightening," Jason said, putting the cuffs on, arranging them so if he got a chance they would be easier to try and unlock. "So, do I get popcorn with the show?"
He wondered if their plan had been fully discovered, or if Xeod was flying in with a plan that was unrelated to a discovery.
The Andorian laughed. "Alas, no. But if any of your friends survive the boarding attempt, maybe we'll make them a big bucket to share whilst Caleb carves you into so much jerky."
"I am sure they will watch with pleasure," Jason said, mostly joking. "They don't like me all that much. This is assuming you get me there. What's your captain’s big deal with me? I seem like such small fish."
Jason wanted to keep him distracted and talking.
"You are." The Andorian sat down a few feet away, disruptor held loosely in his hand. "But daddy dearest is a big deal to the boss. And he'll either come for you, and Caleb gets what he wants. Or he doesn't, and Caleb carves you up and Daddy gets to suffer knowing he could have saved you; win-win."
"Ah, I see", Jason replied nodding his head, noticing the loose grip on the disruptor. "So, I have a question, how do either of those scenarios work out to be a win-win? It seems to be a more lose-win, and we lose."
“Caleb wants revenge. And he's feeling the noose closing. This way he gets at least a little vengeance, and he gets to find out who's organizing the latest attempt to hobble him. These ones are good." The Andorian looked over the asteroid field to the point of light that was the Akira class. "They've hurt us. I don't suppose you want to tell us who they are? I could talk Caleb into just shooting you, rather than cutting you into little chunks feet first."
"You would do that for me?" Jason replied. "I don't care what your buddy there says, you aren't even half the asshole he said you were." He then stared at the Andorian intently, his tone got very serious, and then he spoke to the man in Andorii. "Listen here, you slimy worm. Unlike you, I won't betray my friends." He wasn't sure if the Andorian would recognize the old Earth gesture, but he flipped up both his middle fingers.
The Andorian chuckled, confident that he had all the cards. "Patch us into the ship. Let's see if we can watch all your mates die."
To be Continued…
Jason Haines
Bait Extraordinaire
Deep Space 5
Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer
Deep Space 5
Caleb Ryan
Executive Officer
Deep Space 5
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