It Begins (Part II of VII)
Posted on Sat Feb 13, 2021 @ 10:59pm by Second Lieutenant Sh'Zera & Civilian 'Arrival' Geral Lasuma & Master Sergeant Miranda Schultz & Gunnery Sergeant Terry Henderson & Civilian Hydel Turvan
1,755 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Portal Complex
Timeline: MD04 0430
Tags: Xi'Cadian Fleet, Invasion,
Previously in
"Attention!" Hydel said firmly to the gathering. "As a people, we currently face one of the greatest threats to our way of life since we began this long climb from the swamps of Cardassia Prime all the way to the stars. This battle that we are about to pursue is not just for this planet, but instead it is a battle for our way of freedom!
"If we merely give up and submit to the directions and boundaries imposed by the Federation, then we shall lose so much of who we are as a people, and in so doing history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening!" Hydel said with a raised fist.
"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of Cardassia, or else we will have sentenced them to a thousand years of darkness," Hydel said, his voice rising with passion. "The martyrs of our history were not fools. Today we honor our dead with our actions to seize our future!" he said as he turned to his communications officer.
"Signal Gul Denat and tell him that he and his troops are to go forward and seize the portals from Federation control, ousighukum!" he ordered.
And now the continuation
Portal Complex, Pangaea
The dawn was still over an hour away, and dew was starting to form in the chilliest part of the night. At the gate house, Corporal Anna Kaiser was listening to the calls of the night birds, and keeping half an eye on the perimeter patrols that were working their way slowly around the inside of the force fields that enveloped the entrance to the cave complex. There were more Marines on patrol than there had been recently. With Lieutenant Colonel Means arrival they'd had reinforcements, and now the new CO was asleep not so far away, everyone was being extra attentive to their duties.
A movement at the edge of her vision caught her eye, but sitting in the light of the gatehouse, she couldn't see much. She turned back to check the monitors, but all she saw was static. It was all she needed to slam her hand down on the alarm buttons.
"Fire!" shouted the Cardassian voice in the darkness. From over forty yards away, a concussive plasma ordinance was fired from a shoulder-mounted weapon directly at the gatehouse, subsequently engulfing it in searing hot plasma discharge and obliterating the structure.
"First and Fourth Platoons, engage the force field generators!" Glinn Maldun shouted into his communicator. "Second Platoon, continue artillery fire support!" The Cardassian troops had converged on the outer perimeter of the marine outpost and were opening fire in an attempt to overpower their defenses and gain access to the inner perimeter.
It always took Terry a day or two to get used to the environment on the planet, as the station had a much different rhythm about it. Terry had only gotten to sleep two hours ago when the alarm went off.
Damn, a drill, he thought, his head pounding as he jumped into his pants and grabbed his phaser and field kit. Bleary eyed, he moved to his check in spot.
As he stepped outside, the phaser fire and explosion quickly dismissed the idea that this was a drill from Terry's mind. He hadn't seen live action in over four years. He hoped that he hadn't gotten rusty. Shooting targets in simulations was one thing, shooting in a real firefight, that was significantly different. The light from the weapon fire revealed that the attackers were Cardassians, so Terry increased his phaser's power level to just below fatal level for the race. He didn't want to kill anyone if he didn't have to, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let them wake up anytime soon.
Catching sight of a Cardassian moving in closer, Terry started to shoot and brought the soldier down. His attention was quickly drawn to a nearby Marine on the ground who had been shot. Terry moved to check on him. Unfortunately the Cardassians didn't seem to have any compunction about using lethal force. Terry frowned, shook his head, and fired as more Cardassians came into range.
Miranda woke to the alarms. "Computer, what's going on?"
The report was long and detailed. She was dressed before it was complete. What mattered was that the portal complex was under attack. Fortunately, the added security measures were in place, and whoever was out there would find themselves transported elsewhere if they got too close to the inner force field, thanks to the special security features. But that only gave them a little extra time. If what the computer reported was accurate, they had a fight on their hands. She ran to get her weapons and join her unit at the interior force field.
They were the second line of defense. As a sniper, she found a protected position where she could see beyond the second perimeter through her HUD and began to pick off any combatants that didn't get close enough to be transported away from the complex.
The sound of the explosion woke Nicholas immediately. Knowing the upcoming days agenda, he knew it was either an accident or something worse. He headed straight to the mobile command station that they had set up for the week's training, and what he saw confirmed the latter of his assumptions. Both the portal complex and colony were under attack and his people were facing heavy forces.
Means shouted to the nearest marine, "Get the Strykers and Bandit hot and lay down some suppressing fire! We have got to take some pressure off those on the line!"
"Yes, sir!"
Looking at the sensor data coming in, they would soon be outnumbered..by a lot. In addition to the marine manning the complex, he had another three companies, a single fighter squadron, and three transport squadrons all bivouacked on the other side of the ridge for their training op. He had tried to raise them, but communications were jammed, and he slammed his fist into the console.
The whole area was suddenly bathed in blue light as the shield took a blast from the Cardassian long guns, trying to break through. Sh'zera ran in. "They've brought up heavy artillery and are aiming for the generator. It should stop pretty much anything short of orbital bombardment. But only for a bit."
Her next words were drowned out by the roar of the Stryker coming to life, a handful of Bandits, lighter armed vehicles buzzing a long with it.
"Okay, Calvary's here," Sh'zera said. "Primary targets sir?" she asked as she turned towards the Stryker, meaning to take the larger, Heavier vehicle, with its larger, heavier gun.
Marine Training Op encampment.
Corporal J'ran banged on the captain’s hatch with the field shelter before bursting in. "Sir, we have lost all communications with the colony, the portal complex, and Deep Space 5, and patrols reported seeing flashing from the other side of the ridge:"
The captain got to his feet, he moved to his field uniform and began pulling it on as he gave his orders. "Sound the alert and get the fighters in the air! I want every Wyvern loaded and ready to go now!"
"This is part of the training, right?"
"I'm afraid not, Corporal. This is the real thing. The only reason we haven't been hit is that we weren't supposed to be here. And we're not going to wait around till they find us. NOW MOVE!"
Pangaea Colony
Gul Denat and his subordinate commanders poured over the maps of the colony districts. His orders were direct and simple: his regiment was to seize control of the portal complex and to secure the Pangaea Colony district. He had already dispatched the 118th Battalion consisting of three artillery batteries and two infantry companies to capture the portals from Starfleet control. The portals were over five hundred kilometers away from the colony. The unit had been dispatched several days prior under the guise of a training exercise. As he watched the initial reports coming back to him, he realized that his assumption was correct: the entrenched marines would not simply surrender.
"Sir! Glinn Aryel's unit has secured the two independent districts," an aide reported to the commanding gul. "Gul Rishku is standing by to engage the Klingon District. Their defenses should provide some difficulty, but Gul Rishku is confident they can be overwhelmed," the aide added.
Stol, chief assayist and leader of the small Ferengi detachment in the colony, was woken by the sounds of shouting and running. Scrambling from his bed in pyjamas and slippers, he threw open the doors of the assay office. Seeing armed Cardassians filling the small streets shook him for a moment. But he rallied. "What's goin on?" he demanded of the nearest.
"Get back inside of your facility, Ferengi!" the Cardassian trooper shouted as a small squad made their way down the street and moved to take up positions. They had raised their weapons and appeared to be aiming at a target several meters away. The shouting trooper continued to focus his attention on Stol.
"Get back inside of your room, we are securing the area," he repeated, this time shoving the Ferengi backwards.
Stol staggered back. "The Nagus will hear about this. So will Starfleet!"
"Look around. Do you think Starfleet has any control over this planet any longer, Ferengi?" the Cardassian trooper said excitedly. "This planet is now under the control of the Cardassian Empire," he said as he raised his weapon to Stol. "And if you want to be alive to complain to anyone, I suggest you go back to your quarters." He shoved the muzzle closer to Stol's chest.
The Ferengi glanced down to the phaser rifle and swallowed. "Well, yes," he stammered. "I'm sure we can come to a profitable arrangement with your commanders, when you're not so busy."
"Figures," the Cardassian trooper scoffed as he pulled back the muzzle. Another Cardassian further up ahead was shouting commands for the other troopers in his group to fall in on him and follow him to the next location. The Cardassian trooper in front of the Ferengi turned on his heels and headed toward the others.
To be Continued…
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