Left Behind - Marines

Posted on Fri Jul 9, 2021 @ 9:19pm by Second Lieutenant Sh'Zera & Master Sergeant Jian Zhao & Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Means III & Civilian Jason Haines & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & Second Lieutenant Emily Ransom & Master Sergeant Miranda Schultz & Gunnery Sergeant Terry Henderson

2,188 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Planet's surface
Timeline: MD 04 - 0630

[ON]

Portals

By the time the explosives fired, the Marines had crowded through the first transition, and were packed into a granite cave threaded with what looked like silver. The pylons marking the portal here were slender limestone obelisks, capped with silver. Its sentinel stood there, at attention, spear upright, otherwise impassive. Spray painted on one wall was the number 135. "Alright, Henderson," Zhao began "Start triage, I want a casualty report. Ransom, check with everyone, inventory our weapons, take Parhtz and get him to cover equipment and supplies." He turned around to Means. "Sir, If I remember rightly, 135 puts us fourteen fifty meters north east, and seven hundred fifty meters down from the entrance. It’s the farthest cave from the entrance, and the second deepest, based on the latest map."

"Yes, sir," Terry said as he joined the other medics in getting a tally of injuries for the colonel.

Miranda helped Pete over to Terry. The private was limping badly. She helped him sit down, then turned to Terry. "Another one for you."

Means had returned from surveying the entrance. The Marines that had laid the charges had done a perfect job; he just hoped they had survived. He listened intently to the report while he knelt to examine and reassure several of the wounded. Standing, a bit of gravel rained down onto his shoulder from above.

"Send two to check 135. I also want the areas within our reality examined for any changes the explosion might have collapsed or revealed. Everyone else, let's get gear and supplies packed and staged and the wounded ready to travel.". He brushed the grit from his shoulder. "We can't stay here."

Emily nodded to Parhtz. “Come one.” She pulled out her field padd and headed around the unit to inventory weapons and ammunition. Most of the Marines still had their equipment, but there were no spares. Most had at least one spare power pack, though the ones in the rifles were low from the battle.

Parhtz was still waiting to be treated. "Can't. Bad foot."

"I'll help," Miranda said, moving over to Emily. She wasn't sure how safe the portals would be right now.

Sgt. Hines had just gotten patched up and limped his way over to the pair. "Count me in."

In the meantime, Terry was trying to do his best working on the wounded. Even with flood lights, it was hard working on the wounded with the lighting how it was. A number of times he had to start his work over, only causing slight discomfort in his patients.

As the search of the caverns commenced, Means surveyed the immediate area. Working his way through the wounded, offering encouragement and thanks for the fight they had put up in the defense of the portals. Finally, he worked his way to where their Corps was still at work and he added his own wrist beacon to help shed a little more light on things.

"Thank you, sir," Terry said, finishing up with his dermal regenerator, and patted the woman on the shoulder. "Get some rest, Corporal."

She smiled weakly and said, "Sure thing, doc."

Terry stood up and looked at Means and said, "I know you are busy, but can I speak to you privately a moment sir?"

Means nodded at the corporal as he stood with their corpsman. "What's on your mind, Gunny?"

Terry led the Colonel away from the wounded a bit.

"I just wanted to let you know that although we have most people patched up," Terry began quietly, "we don't have a lot of supplies left, and the underground conditions are going to make it difficult to prevent infections on some of the wounds, which are pretty nasty. Also, movement for some of the unit is going to be problematic at best. We'll have to go with old school medicine, but the supplies for that are limited too. We've gotten a few back to where they are at about fifty percent combat capable, but the rest need a sickbay."

Means listened intently; he knew they were not in the best of conditions, but they were still better off than if they had surrendered to the Cardassians. He only hoped that things were going better for those on the station and help was on the way, but he couldn't count on that. "Well, there is a team looking over the passages now. I've never known anyone to build a complex underground that didn't have some kind of secondary exit. Hopefully those searching now can find it. Once we get out of here, there is no guarantee we will be evac'd immediately. How are you at natural remedies?"

"I can do a splint and do stitches, sir," Terry said. "But identifying what can be used in nature to help, not so much, sir. Plus, I know next to diddly about what the planet has for resources in that fashion. I've only been in advanced medical training for about six months."

"Well, with luck we won't be on the surface long enough to have to resort to nature's remedies. I'll see who has been through advanced survival training and send them your way."

"Yes, sir," Terry replied with a nod. "I'll do my best to keep everyone in one piece."

Means clasped a hand on the doc's shoulder. "I can't ask any more than that."

Emily came up with the supplies report. “Only about half the unit has their survival supplies,” she reported. “We were pretty well settled out there, no one expected to be driven out of camp, so they just weren’t going to bother carrying the extra weight,” she explained. “Other gear, about everyone has their assigned allotment, but no extras. Ammunition is okay, for now. Just about everyone has a spare, and their backup piece,” she touched the Type II at her hip, “but most of the power packs in the rifles are low from the battle, sitting at thirty percent or less. We’re limited on fusion batteries to recharge. Again, most didn’t expect to have to bug out, and so didn’t grab them.”

Means looked in the direction of the now collapsed entrance. He had set up camp here for the exercise and had had some of the very supplies they needed. Unfortunately, his things were now buried under kilotons of rock. "Okay. Let's get as much recharging done as we can, continue the search for another way out of the complex. No doubt the main camp site was hit, but if we make our way there we may find some supplies.

"Once we get out of here we will need to assess the Cardassian forces in the area, set up a base of operations so we can begin to undermine their activities until they get driven out or we get extracted. Do we have any functional long-range comm gear?"

“Yes, sir,” Emily said. “We have three between all the units. Only two are charged, though. If we use them, though, won’t the Cardassians track us down?”

Means grinned. "Yes, they will. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Before we can plan the baiting of traps for the Cardassians, we need to get out of here."

“Yes, sir,” Emily said with a matching grin.

"Take whomever you need to survey the caverns. Check to see if the portals are still operational and if any will take us to another location on this planet, in our reality. Or possibly for any alternative routes that may have been exposed by the detonation. I have yet to see a cave system that was constructed without a secondary way out. We just need to find it."

Schultz came up with an armful of supplies. "Found these, but they're not much," she said, setting them down by Means and Emily. "Morale is mixed."

Means nodded and smiled at the announced discovery. "Excellent. Add it to your other store. As for morale, let's get everyone off their ass and doing something. I want those with advanced survival training to report to me for assignment. Those not searching the caverns are to either help the Doc with the sound and get them ready to move, or get our supplies inventoried and packed for movement. What can't be stuffed in a pack is going to have to be carried, so we need to get litters fashioned. Let's get people busy and prove Marines can still adapt and overcome!"

"Aye, sir!" Schultz replied smartly.


Portal Search

Sgt. Hines finished the sweep of his assigned area and was heading back to report. The senior NCOs were grouped around a makeshift table discussing something as they handed various padds back and forth. Approaching the group, he caught the attention of MSgt Schultz and shook his head. "Top, I didn't find anything. The blast may have collapsed the entrance, but it didn't seem to impact the portals themselves, at least not that I could find. Did anyone else have better luck?"

"Not yet," Schultz replied. "Thanks for the report."

One by one the others sent out to check out the complex reported the same situation. The portals and the caverns around them seemed unscathed by the detonation.

It wasn't long and Means was standing with the other senior Marines and listening to the report on the portals’ overall status, but the debate that followed.

Zhao raised his hand. "Blast through. This cave is about as close as we get. If that scan is still good, we've only got to get through eight meters of rock. The Portals may be fritzed, but the transitions are behaving. We can all go hide out in ninety-two while the charges go off."

"I think we should check out that river," Miranda said. "Does it come out on the surface somewhere? If so, rebreathers might get us out easier than trying to blast our way."

The debate was not getting them anywhere. Means brought it to a halt. "Okay, I could care less about the portals themselves. I want to know about the mountain itself. As a rule of thumb, systems are either formed by," counting off with his thumb and fingers, "volcanic activity, water, or they are carved. How were these caverns created? Are there lava tubes we can get to? Any underground rivers?"

Emily came up with a PADD. “I found the geological survey we were using when we first set up here,” she told Means, handing over the computer. “Looks like there might be an underground river, but it wasn’t fully mapped out to the end.”

Taking the padd he reviewed the data. The direction of flow was right, and, if correct, it looked like it should meet up with a surface river. The area was well into a summer dry period, so the underground river would not be running at capacity, finally something in their favor. He had little choice. They stay here and eventually get captured or starve,or risk the river.

"Cut a hole to that river. I will take a team through."

“Yes, sir,” Emily said, going off to find a couple of the demolition specialists.

It took them fifteen minutes to drill and then pack the charges. Then the detonator was passed to Means. If it worked the blast should cut straight down into an empty cave below.

The hole blasted in the cave cut a perfectly sized hole into the cavern below and access to the underground river. According to the survey map the river flowed to the southwest to come out of the ground before feeding into a diamond shaped lake.

His three volunteers were already below, having reported waist to above waist deep water for the immediate area, and were waiting for him to arrive as he passed instructions to those remaining. "Set a tricorder on the south wall. If we make it we will find a rock outcropping and detonate a grenade. The tricorder should detect the shockwaves passing through the rock."

“I want everyone to partner up. Send twenty, then the wounded, with two able bodies per. Once the wounded are through, send the next fifty with any loose supplies. After that wait thirty minutes then start sending crated supplies. Once the supplies are sent, everyone else."

He took a breath looking at Zhao. "Zhao, if you don't detect our grenade, you will consider my team lost and will have to find another way out. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." The Master Sergeant gave him a nod.

Terry nodded to the orders and went off to prepare the wounded for movement. Most would be able to get out with minimal assistance, but there were a few that would definitely need help.

Schultz elected to go with the wounded and give any assistance necessary. Means had a good team with him, and there were far more wounded than the medics could deal with alone.

[OFF]

Lt. Colonel Nicholas Means
MCO

2LT Emily Ransom
Marine sniper
NPC Caleb Ryan

Mst Sgt Jian Zhao
Marine MCO
NPC by Soran

Staff Sergeant Miranda Schultz
Marine Sniper
NPC by Alanna Wells

Private Peter Parhtz
Marine

 

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