Rear Guard (part 1 of 2)

Posted on Wed Dec 21, 2022 @ 6:25pm by Second Lieutenant Sh'Zera & Master Sergeant Jian Zhao & Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Means III & Master Sergeant Miranda Schultz & Civilian Melvyn Raddon

1,783 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: DS5, various locations
Timeline: BACKPOST (During Evac)

[ON]

Hearing Commander Ryan send out the order to stand down and surrender the station to the Cardassians, Mot growled in anger. While it went against his training as an officer and a Marine, he wasn't about to disobey a direct order from a commanding officer. Looking back at his assembled team, which had fought with him to eliminate the enemy down in the Dilithium Chamber, he shook his head in disgust as he spoke. "Kletoradanna," he swore in his native tongue. "Alright, Marines, eyes front!" He waited a beat for his group to look at him. "As you just heard, the station's X-O just declared surrender to those damn spoonheads. Now, I'm not going to question his decision, as I don't have all the facts. You shouldn't either. What I am going to do, however, is completely disobey his lawful order to evac. This is my home now. I sure as shit am not going to simply walk away and hand it willingly to those zapatas. Now, any of you who wish to go, feel free. You have my word that I won't think less of you. But go now."

Master Gunnery Sergeant Velez took a step forward. "Sir, as you know most of the MEU is planet side and we have no word on their status. But given the attack here, I can't believe they didn't hit the colony and hit it hard. Unless the XO is a complete idiot -- the station's XO, that is -- he should have disabled internal sensors. If he has, we need to keep them offline. If he hasn't, and we can't take them out, any resistance we want to mount will be short lived.”

Mot nodded as he listened. "You have a good point, Gunny." He paused as he thought of a plan, then he said, "Take a team of three with you and make your way to the main internal sensor control terminal. Your orders are to keep it out of enemy hands. Even if it means setting explosives and destroying the whole apparatus. We know this station, the enemy doesn't. We will use that to our advantage! Also," he added after a beat, "if you come across any other station personnel who are doing the same thing we are, and they can help you complete your mission, absorb them into your group, under my authority. Understood?"

"Roger that. But I wouldn't underestimate these Cardassians. They had an embassy here for some time, and could have easily gathered intel during that time. Plus I can't believe they were as successful as they were without help. We should limit contact with those that remain on the station. Especially those that remain and benefit from the Cardies."

Mot nodded. "Yes, good point, Gunny." He inhaled deeply, then sighed, knowing that the job was going to be difficult for his people. "Okay, avoid all contact, unless you feel the situation is safe enough for contact. Avoid direct contact with the enemy, for now. Unless, of course, you have no choice. However, if you do eliminate any threats, hide or dispose of their remains, gathering any intel on their persons as you do so. Now go."

"Understood." Velez turned to the group, raising his weapon, "Who's coming with me?"

There was a clatter in the ceiling above the Marines, and an air ventilation grate fell with a loud clang, followed closely by a body as a young woman hit the floor with a thump. For a long moment, she just lay still, before she finally got a shuddering breath and said, “Ow…”

Late twenties or early thirties, the woman had dark skin and eyes and her dark hair was in tight, small braids pulled back in a ponytail with colored beads on the end. She wore the dirty Starfleet greys of the Intelligence department. She looked up at the heavily armed marines as she struggled to catch her breath.

As soon as Mot heard the clatter, he drew his pistol from his holster and aimed it upwards. The rest of his Marines also aimed their weapons up towards the sudden noise. To their credit, none of them even flinched when either the grate fell, or when the woman fell afterwards. For a few tense beats, the unknown woman had a dozen weapons trained at her head. "Identify yourself!" the Bolian barked.

"Petty Officer C.J. Langston." she said, hands up. "Signals intelligence Unit. I decided to decline the Spoonies invitation to leave! Don't shoot!"

Raising his weapon Velez reached down pulling her up. "On your feet Langston"

She got to her feet, and dusted down the jacket of her uniform with her hands. "How can I help, Major? I'm more of an analyst than a field operative."

"Signals Intel?" Mot asked, suddenly feeling a spark of hope. "How good are you at fixing disabled comms or breaking through enemy interference to allow us to get a coded signal out to friendly units?"

"Good enough, if they're not using anything fancy," she admitted. "Though we didn't see this coming, so I'm not sure that stands anymore."

Looking from Langston to the Major and back. "How about setting up a comm channel that we can use here on the station that the spoons won't detect?"

Mot looked over at Master Gunnery Sergeant Velez. "Gunny, carry out your orders. We need those sensors if any kind of rebellion is going to take place. Go." He then looked over at Langston, he nodded. "You and I are going to work on that comm channel, Petty Officer." Pulling out his PADD, he activated the station's schematics. "We are here," a dot appeared deep in the upper superstructure. "Where do you need to go?"

The interruption of the duct crawling fleeter settled, and the Major insistent, Velez nodded sharply and grabbed two others; no longer waiting for volunteers. "You and you...with me. Sir." The trio accessed the nearest jefferies hatch and began making their way to sabotage the internal sensors.

Mot nodded to the senior NCO as he left on his mission. Once they were gone, that left Mot, two other Marines, and Petty Officer Langston. "Well, Petty Officer?" he asked again, starting to get a bit frustrated at her reluctance to speak quickly.

"Main communications array, deck two." Langston said promptly, "hide us in with all the incoming chatter and gives us the option of trying to broadcast out too."

Looking over the station blue prints, Mot came to a sad realization. "With only one lift access to it, which would be locked down, we will need to get to it via the out side. How are you rated on EVA?"

Sensor Team

Velez and his team emerged from the horizontal crawl space and into the junction where Velez began to open the hatch above him and started the climb.

Looking to his fellow victim of being voluntold he slung his weapon and grabbed the rung. "Master guns, where's the sensors controls we get to trash?"

"Deck 14."

"14!"

"Yes 14, so quit your griping and start climbing."

Mumbling under his breath..."Oh yeah, it's only 60 decks"



OUTSIDE

Mot and Langston were making their way across the outer hull of the station. Their destination, the main communications array, located directly above Ops. "How you doing back there, Langston?"

"Enjoying the view, sir. You almost couldn't tell we got our arses handed to us."

"Yeah," Mot replied as he glanced around. "Seems alot more peaceful out here. Except for that fleet of Cardi ships, that is."

Langston pushed off and glided slowly for the last two hundred meters, carefully staying away from the windows of the highest decks until she snuggled up against the base of the comms array, and activated her mag goots. Then she started unbolting an external access panel. They worked in silence for ten minutes as Langston wired in one tap, squeezing it back inside the panel. "Now we get inside and wire that tap to the internal comms system. And hope we don't get caught."

Nodding, Mot turned then froze. "Get down, turn off your lights!" He hissed as he did the same.

Langston pressed herself deep into the shadow made by the antenna housing, and held her breath, more out of instinct than effectiveness. After a minute, she risked talking. "Did they see us?"

A few beats later, her question was answered as a trio of Hideki starfighters soared overhead, clearly on a security patrol. They swooped down trying to get as close to the surface of the station as they dared.

Fate was on their side. The fighters had to pull back up to avoid the antenna arrays, and the glare from Pangaea's sun blinded them physically, and feedback from the receiving arrays hid them from sensors, and after a second pass, they moved on.

Langstone let out a sigh of relief. "Too close." she muttered. "Lets get inside and get this finished."

Mot nodded. "Yes. We are about out of luck out here." He offered her his hand and they started to move. Thankfully, they got back into the station without any more difficulty. "How long will the tap take you?"

"Five minutes tops," the analyst assured him. "Lets get going."

Mot nodded and ushered her on. They had to get back to the relative safety of the jeffries tubes.


[Deck 14 - Sensor Maintenance]

Velez and his team finally reached deck 14. It had definitely been one hell of a climb and though their arms and legs had been burning that all faded away as they prepared to act on their mission. After a quick scan of room before then he grouped his team together and prepared them for the task at hand.

"Ok, there are five Cardassians in there. I picked up Betazoid and Bolian life signs. Hopefully the Betazoid is in a postion to hear our thoughts and create a distraction when we make our move but don't count on it."

Pointing to the door panel. "I'm going to over load the door servos and we go in hard and fast. I'm on point and will take center. You next and sweep left, you right. Once inside we secure the area and get to work on the sensor controls. Understood?"

"Roger that."

"Top, what about the Fleeters?"

"Well for starters, don't shoot them. If they can help we put them to use and extract them when wepull out."

"Ready."

The other two Marines took up a position behind Velez as he ripped offen the door access panel and keyed in a set of commands that would send the door crashing into its housing.

to be continued...

 

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