Chaotic Reunion (Part VII)

Posted on Fri Apr 30, 2021 @ 1:45am by Lieutenant Jason Haines & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Captain Tam "Demon" Haican & R'gelis Stadi & Tannis Tarkelion

1,591 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Timeline: MD04 0800

[PREVIOUSLY]

Alanna turned to Tam. "I'm sorry, but if that's your goal, you can't stay here. This place needs to stay hidden and going on a rampage is the best way to be found. But if you want to help with some covert activities later, we could use you." He could feel that she was angry and worried about the portal complex, but she was determined to do what she could.

[CONTINUED]


R'gelis came out of his room.. "I could not help overhearing." Not with the microphone that hit the wall. "We will help. Perhaps one of us could go back to the Romulan Quarter to learn more?"

Tam felt Alanna's discomfort towards his outburst. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he transmitted to her, I'm sorry. You're right. This place must stay secret. You have my word that I won't jeopardize your sanctuary. "But once we start fighting back, I will not be taking any prisoners." He said the last part aloud, to show his determination to to group. "If you all will excuse me, I need to rest and meditate." He was suddenly looking quite haggard. His uniform was dirty and torn in places, his hair was mussed and his eyes were extremely blood shot. Looking to Alanna, he asked quietly, "Which room may I use?"

"Please", Jason said. "try to be patient. Two things, first, surrendered or not, Captain Soran isn't going to let the Cardassians sit in her office for too long before she kicks them where it hurts the most. The thought of Turvan sitting in her chair will drive her nuts. Second, I swear on my family's name that we will take things back and we will get everyone reunited with their families. Go get some rest."

Although there was definite concern coming from Jason, Alanna had never felt him be so calm and confident before.

Jason's calm gave Alanna an added boost of confidence. "Trust Jason. And trust Captain Soran. She won't rest until she has the station and the planet back. Even with the evacuation, there will be people left behind who need our help. And we have to protect this place and several ancient spots on the planet from the Cardassians." She was thinking primarily of the map, but she couldn't think of that now because she didn't want Tam to pick up on it. That was information that had to remain classified.

Tam could feel the honesty of the words from both Alanna and Jason. Finally, he seemed to deflate some. "Okay. I'm sorry for my outbursts. I need to rest and meditate." He looked to Alanna. "Which room may I use again?"

"Whichever one the other three aren't using." She turned to R'gelis.

"The one closest to the stairs is vacant," the Romulan said.

"Then that one's yours," Alanna said.

"Thank you," the Betazoid said quietly. He then moved to the indicated room and closed the door. Slowly, he lowered himself down into his meditative position and closed his eyes. Slowly, he started to steard his breathing, still his mind and insides. Once her felt ready, he began to pray to both his ancestors and his Goddesses. Once he had finished his prayers, he began to meditate deeply. Soon, his troubled mind had gone quiet and peacful. Soon thereafter, he fell into a deep sleep.

Jason went to the window and looked out. How long would it take for Starfleet to get back with a better force? He knew there weren't too many ships in the area, so it would probably be at least a week before Starfleet pulled its head out of its backside to get a group together. So, that was his target for getting civilians safe, because once the fight to retake DS5 began, no civilian would be safe. The fight would determine Cardassia's place in the galaxy and would most likely bring them to brink of ruin, win or lose.

"It'll take a couple of days to evacuate, then time to decide what to do." She sighed. "I'm hoping they won't elect to wait. Taking over a Starbase and Federation colony is an act of war. At best, two weeks to gather enough forces. That'll give us time to set up some camps far enough away from the fighting. We can look at the map and choose a place that has the right topography." An idea came to her and she chuckled. "Too bad I can't send them all up a beanstalk."

"We try to need to find more of the caves", Jason replied with a sigh. "I know they are out there. If we just have regular camp sites, it will be easy to see people and evidence of their coming and going. There is not enough gadgetry on the planet to setup enough cloak stations to hide everyone and not leave visual evidence of movement. Heat signatures will be impossible to hide. We probably have two weeks or so before Starfleet can do anything, although a week could be done if they really wanted to push it. So, we have a week to get everyone corralled and focused."

"Deep woods, with no fires or caves, yes," Alanna said, agreeing with Jason. "But having people in multiple places should help us find more survivors." At least she hoped so. But Jason had a point, if they were out in the open, the Cardassians would find them.

Alanna turned to Jason. "How can I help?"

"We need to find hiding places and do recon", Jason replied. "Where are we compared to the colony and the portals?"

"We're a good distance away," Alanna said. "I rarely see any shuttles and no one comes this far by accident." She led him to the nearest console and entered her secure files. "Most of it's only available in my rooms, but I can show you the map."

She indicated that he should put his palm on the screen. When the computer registered him, she pulled up the map. "You can now access this from any computer here." She stepped back so he could see where they were in comparison to the colony, the portal complex, the underground emergency shelters, and the archaeological sites.

"I know there are some cave systems", Jason said, pointing over by the coast, south-east of the colony. "But the only entrance I know of is under water. I imagine there are others. We are definitely going to need to use your shuttle to find people and safe areas."

"Is that where you found the...other thing?" she asked, letting him know she meant the map. "Under water? Yes, we could get them to the caves, but how easy would it be to get them food and water? I'm pretty sure there will be Federation ships to take the refugees to safety. Are we going to take them to the other settlements to evacuate, or find a way to keep them here? Or let them decide?" She was going to stay. There were too many things she wanted to protect, starting with her research station. She should really settle on a name. Bag End? That might work.

"What other thing?", Jason asked innocently. "The way I found is not suitable for most, unless they are good scuba divers. We will just have to be mindful to keep an eye out for cave entrances."

"I haven't scanned for caves, but I should be able to do that when we're looking for survivors tonight," she said. "I'll stay low and cloaked. Hopefully it'll keep me from the Cardassian's notice."

"That will be good", Jason replied. "Now we have to think about food and water. Even with a relatively small handful of people your replicator would be hard pressed to keep up."

He folded his arms thinking about the issue.

"I suppose that is putting the cart before the horse", Jason continued. "We can't be certain anyone is going to want to hole up."

"No. We need to consider food and water. We can't let them fend for themselves if there isn't readily-available food." She considered for a moment. "The water would be the easiest place. Plenty of fish. You said there are caves nearby? Ones that are easily accessible without scuba gear?"

"Yes, that would be the easiest place at least to get fish", Jason said. "But, it is very exposed. And the only entrance I know to the cave I found is about fifty feet underwater and one has to swim quite a distance to get to the actual cave. There are natives that I came across who live underwater. I'd prefer that they didn't get caught in any cross-fire."

"No, we don't want anyone near that cave. Although at one point I'd like to learn more about those natives." She'd heard about merpeople, but never actually met them, or seen evidence of their existence. "We can't let the Cardassians find them, either. So, we'll have to find somewhere else after dark."

R'gelis had gone back to his room some time during the conversation, leaving Jason and Alanna alone. It felt...quiet. "Later," Alanna said. She kissed Jason on the cheek. "You need more rest. It's going to be a long night. Come on, I promise to be good."

"Where's the fun in that", Jason said with a chuckle and he followed her.


____
OFF

Captain Tam "Demon" Haican
CAG
DS5

R'gelis Stadi
Romulan Scientist

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer and Resident Archaeologist
DS5

Jason Haines
Resident Beach Bum
DS5

 

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