Misdirection (part I of III)

Posted on Thu Jun 24, 2021 @ 9:54pm by Captain Maritza Soran & Civilian 'Arrival' Geral Lasuma & Civilian Sha'rae Astare & Civilian Dorian Torel

2,041 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: DS5
Timeline: MD04 0600~1100

[ON]

Officer's Quarters

Dorian had managed to get to the Captain's quarters and got out just as a group of Cardaians burst in looking for her. "They said her combadge had her here...Find her! Glinn Varok wants her found before they start evacuating!"

There was no doubt they were tracking her combadge and he needed to buy himself, and the Captain wherever she was some time. Moving quickly he reentered the Captain's room he found himself between two startled Cardassians. Slitting the throat of the one to his right, the man fell back, dropping his weapon, as he tried to stop the blood pouring from the deep cut. The other moved to his side to try and get a line on Dorian. However Dorian had spun, dropping to his knee and came up with his blade. In one fluid motion Dorian had opened the artery in the man's leg followed by two stabs to his neck.

A third and a forth came back into the main room from opposite sides. They had obviously not found what they had been searching for but what they did find was their own death. Dorian slipped in behind the closer of the two, using his weapon to dispatch his comrade before snapping the Cardassians neck and letting him fall to the floor. Relieving him of his rifle as he fell Dorian stepped over the body.

Jefferies Tubes

Making his way through the endless kilometers of jefferies tube Dorian ran into a Marine. It had taken some doing, but after explaining what had taken place she had given him another combadge that he immediately deactivated. Together they back tracked her course to find the Captain.


Moving through the station

Deactivating the combadge he had appropriated earlier he headed back out, returning to the jefferies tubes. Using the turbo lifts from time to time and only when his scanner told him it was clear to do so. Eventually he found his way back to the far side of the promenade, where the fighting had been heaviest.

Stealthily he made his way along the corridor stepping over the bodies of the fallen. He had made his way nearly 100 meters when he looked down to see a Trill in science department colors. An idea came to him, one that he had unusually used before. She was taller than the Captain was and the hair was wrong but that wouldn't matter, and hopefully they wouldn't notice the height when they found her. Taking up her body he risked the turolift. Instead of risking a trip up from the promenade and into the heart of the enemies forces Dorian went further down into the lower decks and the minor docking and shuttle maintenance bays.

As the lift headed its destination he took bloody soot from the uniform of the woman he had found and smeared it on his face to cover his features before putting her over his shoulder and readying his weapon. The lift opened to the corridor with several people fleeing to escape themselves. Ignoring them he made his way to the maintenance bay and locked the door behind him.


Lower Decks

Dropping the body in the middle of the bay he turned to the various shuttles being worked on. Most were still in various stages of repair by there was a klingon shuttle that, after a brief examination, was able to fly. Powering it up he activated the forcefield and opened the bay before he returned to body.

He staged her body so she was on her knees, her ankles crossed, with her torso arched back. It was a distorted balancing act but it would only add to the effect. Reaching into his pocket he replace the woman's combadge with that of the Captain's. Before he stood he brushed a few stends of hairs from her face whispering, "I'm sorry..."

Taking several steps back he adjusted the setting on the Cardassian rifle to prevent vaporization and took aim. The beam of energy lanced out and enveloped the body, burning it beyond recognition. He knew that once the badge housing was destroyed a beacon would activate and that's exactly what he wanted. Unlocking the bay he opened the doors he shouted out into the corridor. "Cardassians have killed the Captain!"

Quickly Dorian vanished into another jefferies tube to find the real Captain...and he had a hunch where to find her.


Deck 525

As she approached the middle decks, Martiza began to feel twitchier and twitchier. Here were smaller shuttle bays, for small traders and runabouts, as well as the large cargo transporters. From the annoucements that went out periodically she knew there would be more people here as the Cardassians herded her people off the station.

And if more of her people were here, there would be Cardassians here too. She had to be careful. She had to get off the station, get to a federation ship capable of defending itself. And it had to be sooner, rather than later. There might be enough Trill on the station to make her hard to spot if they got the sensors back on line now. She had to get off station, so she could come back and kick the Cardassians off with extreme prejudice.

And at some point, she'd have to come out of the jeffires tubes to look for a suitable shuttle. She wished she'd thought to bring a tricorder. She waited until she was sure she couldn't hear anything, and then moved the panel. She was in one of the administration offices that served the small docking bays, and one desk had a terminal sitting on it. She quickly moved to it and accessed the manifest. There were hundreds of small vessels docked at DS5. One of them must be leaving soon enough and with less scrutiny than Starfleet vessels, she might be able to persuade the captain to smuggle her off.

Dorian, having emerged form an access panel near the bay Dorian had mixed with a crowd of people waiting to be evacuated he had found a place to watch and see if his bunch played out. When he saw a patrol break away from crowd he followed.

She was absorbed wtih skimming the data, and so reacted to the door opening a hair of a second too late, and despite dropping down to hide under the desk, she heard a crisp cardassian voice say, "Someone's in here."

Her heart sank. She heard one, two three, sets of feet enter. The game was up. One she would have had a reasonable chance against. Two was less certain. But three. There was no getting out of it.

"I'd come out if I were you," said another voice. "We'll make sure you get off station without any fuss."

Maritza looked around for anything that might be used as a weapon, rueing the fact she'd never thought to pick up a phaser. She was out of options. She'd have too play for time and then make her escape once she was clear of the room. She got to her feet, hands held up in surrender, and turned to face the cardassians.

For a moment they gaped at her, not believing their good fortune, "Captain Soran?"

"And you are?"

"I am Glin Hedren. You are now a prisoner of the Cardassian Union."

"I thought you were going to escort me off the station?" She replied archly.

Hedren smirked. "Oh we probably will, but I believe Legate Turvan would like a word first." He reached for his commbadge to let Gul Huceen know the situation.

Dorian had kept within earshot to see if his bunch was right and once he heard her voice be immediately dropped into attack mode. He plotted position and distance of each Cardassian and where the Captain was in relation; weighting each option and the risk. It wouldn't do any good if the Spray was killed while trying to free her. However when the Cardi mentioned reporting in his time can out.

In a flash of movement Dorian shot between the two lead Cardassians, driving his dagger into the base of the Glin's skull. The hand that had been reaching for his communicator fell limply to his side as he fell forward towards the Captain. Spinning rapidly to his right he came down hard on the guard's rifle, ripping it from his grasp only to come up under his chin, sending him flipping backwards.

The remaining Cardassian charged Dorian, but his target side stepped his attachk and pivoted around him. Before he could do anything the man's arm was around his neck. There was a pop and everything went black.

Dorian released the Cardassian and he unceremoniously fell to the floor. They wouldn't have much time and Dorian took one of the Cardassian disruptor rifles and vaporized the bodies. "Captain. Time to go!" Opening a hatch to a jeffries tube, "The Cardaassians think you're dead already and we need to keep it that way."

The sudden flurry of neat, efficient violence stunned her. She'd never seen Torel in action and it was slightly terrifying. "Mr Torel?" it took a moment for her to register the question. "Why am I dead?"

"I will explain on the way." He placed a small device on her shoulder, "This will scramble your biosigns in case they get internal sensors back up."

That was a smart move. "Where are we going?"

"Out of public areas to start". Opening an access panel be gestured for her to enter. Before followed be turned and vaporizer the three bodies. Closing the hatch behind him he made his way the the jefferies tube junction where Soran was waiting. As he stood be reached into his pocket and pulled out a combadge. "This belongs to person and the reason the Cardassians think you are dead."

He quickly told her about how he had gone to be quarters to get her combative and play cat and mouse games. But when he came across the body of a dead Trill woman he decided to use her body and the Soran's combadge to trick the Cardassians into ending their search to take the pressure off and allow them to get her off the station. Placing the combadge in the Captain's hand, "She had died defending the station and her body has made it possible to get you of the station. Not to mention that the timing of the emergency beacon from destroying your combadge going out puts the Cards asians in the defensive politically.

"Right now we need to get you off the station...before the Cardassians figure out what's going on".

"That's going to be easier said than done." She allowed as she crawled along behind him. "If the Cardassians have a shred of sense, they'll have all the docking bays locked down and the shields up to prevent beaming." That's what she'd do. "stowing away might be tricky. And If they're not watching Geral like a hawk, then they're stupid. And this whole debacle has demonstrated that they are not quite as stupid as we hoped."

He shrugged. "Obviously they were underestimated or they would never have gotten as far as they did. BUT...if I know Geral he's already put them on their heels and his trade relations with several of the Cardassian leadership givens home a level of protection. Fortunately there is one constant with most Cardassians...they are power hungry and greedy. Something easily exploited. If we make our way to Geral he may already have a way to get you out, if nothing else we can get some information".

"Friends on Cardassia won't protect him form the cardassians here. Not if they think he thwarted them." A cold fear gripped her. Not for herself, but for Geral. "Don't let him do anything reckless. If he won't leave with me, then promise me you'll get him out of here afterwards."

Dorian tilted his head and smirkd at her comment as they made their way through the bowels of the station. "Will do my best but you know...his is my boss."


To be Continued…

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Capt Martiza Soran
CO
Deep Space Five

 

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