Left Behind - Non-Marines (Part II)

Posted on Thu Oct 28, 2021 @ 3:09am by Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & R'gelis Stadi & Tannis Tarkelion & Captain Tam "Demon" Haican & Civilian Jason Haines

2,031 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Pangaea
Timeline: MD04 0700 hours

[PART II]

[PREVIOUSLY]

Looking around the group, Tam felt the time had come. "We should probably leave in staggered times. Less of a chance of getting detected." Glancing to Alanna, he added, "Unless you are offering your cloaked taxi service to deposit us where needed?"

"There's one problem with that," Alanna said. "If you walk, you won't get there until morning. We'll need to take the shuttle. The problem will be not being noticed as we drop people off."

[CONTINUED]

Tam nodded, realizing her meaning. Well, I, for one, will do what I can to find our civies and blend in with them." He then realized something. "As comms will undoubtedly be monitored, we need a low-tech way of getting messages around. Now, as you and I can communicate telepathically, that's no problem for us; however, for this to work, we need more. If each group can't have at least one telepath in it, then the relay points need one, minimum."

"Bri can talk with other telepaths," Alanna said. "That's one here. We'll have to see if we can find others as we go."

Tam looked over at the lovely Brianthe. He owed her a debt for keeping his Sabina safe. There was also something about her that drew him to her. A small voice in the back of his head started to suggest that perhaps it was time to open his heart back up to someone. He gave her a smile and a slight nod.

"That will work for now," Jason said. "I know of a way to communicate otherwise, but it would take more power than we have. Plus, the telepathy is a little quieter."

"There is that." Alanna grinned. "Too bad we don't all speak an ancient language. We could really mess with the Cardassians. But telepathy will do. My range on Pangaea is pretty good." She didn't admit that she'd been exercising it by keeping tabs on Jason, Tannis, and R'gelis. With Jason she could send messages and tell how he was doing. For her Romulan friends, she had to get closer to read anything more than if they were there. She turned to Jason. "I'll do a recon of the area north of the colony. What else do you want me to do?"

"I think that is a good start. We need to find out just what has gone on and how bad things are locally," Jason replied. "We can't worry about the station, just here. We just need to move about methodically and quietly. If you see Cardassians, retreat. There will be time for fighting, but now isn't it, unless absolutely necessary."

Alanna nodded. "Except for those who will go back to the colony, I suggest we regroup in four hours. We can go back out after that if necessary.

"I'll keep this place locked up until I get a telepathic message from one of you," Brianthe added. "Or a loud mental shout directed at me or Sabina." She glanced at the girl for confirmation. Bri was more an empath, so she hoped the young Betazoid could fill the gap, if necessary.

Alanna nodded. "Okay." She turned to the two Romulans. "I'll take you as close as I can."

R'gelis nodded. "That will do." He hugged his cousin. "Be well."

Tannis hugged him back. "Keep safe."

"Okay, everyone going to the shuttle, let's go." Alanna headed to the hidden entrance to the shuttle.

Jason smiled and said, "Keep your heads down out there" and then followed Alanna onto the shuttle.

She led them carefully through the tunnel, avoiding any openings that might get them noticed. Once inside the tiny bay, she opened the shuttle door and indicated everyone should get inside. Under normal conditions, the path to the shuttle would be safe, but she had no idea if any Cardassians or Xi'Cadians were looking this far north, or if TI had its ears focused here. So, she was being extra cautious.

The two Romulans held their packs and took seats at the back.

Alanna once again took the circuitous route from Bag End--her name for her little science shack. She kept an eye out for anyone, humanoid, Cardassian, or Romulan, not knowing who was friend or foe at this point. She landed several kilometers from the colony. "Good luck," she told R'gelis and his friend. "Send word if you get in trouble."

"Tannis will be informed," he said. "Be safe, Alanna." With a nod to the others, he and his friend left the shuttle.

Alanna waited for several minutes, monitoring them on the sensors. Then, when she was sure they'd be okay, she turned to Jason and Tam. "Where do you need to go?"

Tam spoke up first. "Drop me as close to the southeastern section of the Federation section. I'll make my way in that way."

"Into the bunkers?" Alanna asked. "I'll have to drop you five clicks away. If I get closer, I risk detection."

"As long as we don't make too much noise or come too close to the tree lines, we should be good," Jason said, looking at sensor readings. "Right now, most of the Cardassians are clustered either near the portals or near the colony. I don't think they will have been able to calibrate sensors for cloaked vessels, especially those of the shuttle variety, but we can't take that for granted.

He looked at Tam and said, "If you get in a bind, there is a Ferengi, Torvan, who works at the entertainment center. Tell him the 'Fish-mon' sent you and that he will get compensated for helping you out."

Tam nodded. "Torvan, Fish-mon. Got it." He then readied himself to be dropped off. There was much work to do, and very little time to do it in.

Alanna was more concerned with the ships in orbit than the Cardassians on the planet, but she trusted Jason, so found a good place to land and let Tam off. At least the darkness would be a good cover.

Once Tam had exited the shuttle, he found some cover and waited until well after the shuttle's departure, ensuring that no one had noticed his sudden drop off. Once things were quiet, he took a few more moments dirtying his clothes to make it look like he had been out in the woods.

When he was gone, Alanna turned to Jason. "Where to now? We could do a quick search for caves and then go check out your beach." She was curious about the home he'd created for himself, and she was curious about the merpeople in the ocean.

"I think looking for caves will be a good idea," Jason said. "Let's leave the beach until after we boot the Cardassians off the planet. It will be safer that way, and more enjoyable too. It's hard to sunbathe when you have to keep an eye out for the Cardies."

"Good point. They use all the sunscreen," she teased. She programmed in a course to scan the nearby mountains where the geology was conducive to caves. They needed to stay low and avoid any places where they might encounter Cardassians or Xi'Cadians.

Jason looked at the sensors and said, "The area seems to have a number of under-ground waterways, which probably lead somewhere out to the ocean. See if you can find any water sources that we might be able to follow to see if they move underground."

Alanna nodded, focusing the sensors on the water. "There are three that come out of the nearby hills. "Those look promising. There looks to be a cave, too. We'll need to land and have a look. Sensors can't penetrate very far." If there were caves, the minerals blocking sensors would be a good thing.

"Alright", Jason said. "Let's go take a peek and see what we got here and see if it is safe."

She found a good place where the shuttle should be protected. Even with the cloak she didn't want to take any chances. When it was secured, she grabbed her pack and followed Jason to the caves.

Jason replicated some rope and then said with a smile, "Let's take a tour."

Alanna grinned, her eyes bright with anticipation. She made sure she had a light and followed. She'd only been in the caverns of the portal complex and hoped these caves would be worth exploring.

Jason led them to the first cave. He did a scan with the older tricorder he had.

"Looks like it has a decent sized opening cave", Jason said. "We probably won't be bumping our heads."

"Good. It feels dry, too. That will help." She shone her light at the ceiling and nodded. "Yep. High enough. You know, after we kick the Cardassians off, we could put some bio-luminescent fungus in here. And maybe some tables around the perimeter? Make it nice and homey."

"I would prefer not", Jason said as he looked about, shining his light about as he stepped in further. "I'm not claustrophobic or afraid of dark places, but I don't like having tons of rock above my head that could come crashing down."

Jason's tricorder beeped briefly and Jason quickly pivoted and pointed his light to a small group of rocks. There was a clattering of stone.

"Don't know who you are, but come out slowly, hands up", Jason said.

After a moment a young human male, maybe six years old, stood out from behind the rocks.

"Trace?", Jason said questioningly.

"How do you know my name?", the kid asked, putting his arm up to shield his eyes.

"It's me, Jas...", Jason started to say and the boy blurted out "Fish-man" and charged over to Jason and wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his face into his leg, shaking with fear.

"I take it he's a friend of yours," she said, keeping her tone light. "Hi there. Trace? You can stay with Fish-Mon. Just answer me, is anyone else around?" She used her tricorder to scan. There were several chambers farther back, but no sign of anyone else. She met Jason's eyes and shook her head to indicate there was no sign.

Trace looked up to Alanna and said, "Nope."

"What are you doing way out here?", Jason asked, kneeling down and looking at him.

"Mom got mad at me last night, so I ran away", Trace said. "I was going to go back, but I got lost. I found this place last night. I was going to go back but I saw all the ships and the smoke. Are my mom and dad and Kevin, ok?"

"I don't know", Jason replied. "There was some fighting with Cardassians and they are controlling things right now. We have a friend who is trying to find out some information, but that will take some time. You are going to need to be brave until we find out though. Can you do that for them?"

The boy slowly nodded his head.

"Ok", Jason said. "Now, this lady is Lieutenant Alanna Wells. She works with the Science team."

Trace looked and at Alanna and said, "Hi ma'am."

"Hi. Please, call me Alanna."

"Well, Lieutenant Wells and I are exploring caves to see if we can make shelters out of them as we are sure that there are people who won't be able to go back to their homes until the Cardassians leave", Jason said. "Would you like to help us?"

Trace nodded.

"What do you say Lieutenant", Jason said. "I think we have a new recruit who could help us."

"Definitely." Alanna smiled at Trace. "We can use all the help we can get. Also, I have some friends in the Romulan Quarter. I'll ask them to keep an eye out for your family. Who knows, maybe they'll be some of the ones who come to live here for a while."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer & Rabble Rouser
Deep Space 5 & Pangaea

Jason Haines
DS5's Resident Beach Bum

Tannis Tarkelion
Romulan Scientist
Pangaea

R'gelis Stadi
Romulan Scientist
Pangaea

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist
Deep Space 5

Captain Tam Haican
CAG
327th Starfighter Group
The Guardians

Trace
Child on Pangaea
NPC by Jason Haines

 

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