Strike One - Supply Run

Posted on Sun Aug 21st, 2022 @ 1:41pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Rozia & Lieutenant Commander Jason Myers & Linza (Lin) Esni & Lieutenant Commander William Rogers
Edited on on Sun Aug 21st, 2022 @ 1:42pm

Mission: The Koldaran Encounter
Location: Odraclite

Ensign Stayvec was one of the last officers to arrive on the planet's surface, he was also one of the newest Ensigns aboard the ship, but because of his Vulcan longevity he wasn't the youngest. Stayvec surveyed the team he was assigned to as logically as possible as he wondered how they planned on conducting this mission.

Lieutenant Commander Rogers finished the last of the checks on the additional Koldaran weapons the team had been issued. He had just placed the weapon back with the rest of their gear when he noticed the Vulcan staring at the group. If they weren’t already under time pressure to get their mission launched he might have been tempted to see how long it would take before the new arrival introduced himself. As it was, a direct inquiry as to if the ensign was their new team member had to surfice. “Ensign Stayvec?”

"Affirmative, Commander," Stayvec replied. "Are you leading this mission?"

“Yep.” A hand was extended. “Bill Rogers.”

Linza glanced over to Rogers and then Stayvec. “I’d trust him with everything, though still not sure I like the idea of what we’re doing.” She gave Stayvec a smile. “Linza Esni. No rank technically, so you outrank me, Ensign.”

“We don’t have to like what we’re doing all the time, Miss Esni.” Hailey remarked from the corner where she was re-checking her own gear, having restocked her backpack with the munitions she’d expended in the first foray out of the camp. She was heavily armed, almost as if ready for some sort of alien invasion as a one-woman army. “We just have to do what needs doing. Don’t worry about the squeamish parts, we’ll handle those as we get to them.”

“Major Weston would do this all by herself if Captain Bartlett would let her.” Rogers laughed, giving the marine CO a good natured ribbing.

“Since when does she need Captain Bartlett’s permission? Major Weston is a force unto herself,” Shaille added, checking her weapon again.

Hailey just smirked at Shaille and Rogers, “Oh, I do try to behave… Here and there.” She winked at Rogers, “But only when I can’t get away with something else.”

Jason laughed a bit. “I might have to meet this Captain Bartlett…” he added. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Myers. Nice to meet you.”

“Okay,” Rogers spoke up. “ Before we go any further I want to get something out in the open. For those of you not from the Astraea: I’m genetically engineered. Have been since before Earth’s Eugenics War. IF anyone has a problem with that go talk to your CO for reassignment.”

Shaille gave a shrug. “Makes no difference to me. It’s actually kinda reassuring, means you’re less likely to wuss out on us and leave us holding the short end of the stick.”

“Right, let’s bring Mr Stayvec up to speed.” Rogers placed a PADD on the table, it displayed a map of a large section of the local area. “This is a Koldaran base located in the ruins of the settlement of Tor’nabad about 30 miles north east of the temple. Intel indicates it’s where the forces operating against us have been getting their supplies. Command wants us to destroy it.” He tapped the PaDD and the map zoomed in on Tor’Nabad. The town sat on the flat top of a large hill which rose from the surrounding forest. Its steep sides were ringed by what, in the past, would have amounted to a series of earthwork defences. “We’re heavily outnumbered so we’ll go in quiet. Major Weston, Commander Levine and Ms. Esni will infiltrate the camp posing as a returning patrol. The rest of us will bring up the explosives to the base of the hill and wait for Major Weston’s signal to begin our ascent. The Pennsylvania has kindly provided us with the location of where the Koldaran’s are keeping their munitions so we’ll plant our charges there. Exfil will be through the route which the second team entered the base.”

‘Posing as a returning patrol’

The thought made Shaille grimace. She still hadn’t fully managed to remove the vile smell of the Koldaran goo from their retrieval run. “Do I really have to put that thing on my head?” she sighed. “I’ll never get that stench out of my hair.”

“Won’t be a very convincing disguise if you don’t.” Rogers gave an apologetic shrug. “Grab your gear everyone; we’re wasting light.”

“Look at it this way… At least if you want to left alone, the stench from the goo will aid with that.” Jason said.

—--Some time later—-

Rogers checked his tricorder. Satisfied the readings corresponded with what he saw he tapped his combadge. “The gate’s as quiet as it’ll get. Time to make your approach.”

“Roger that.” Hailey replied quietly from behind her helmet. She did NOT like walking up in the middle of the road, but orders were orders and this was what the… Starship people had decided, and she was a team player. “Just don’t lose my gear, we may need it in there.” She began to imitate the walk that she’d observed some of the Koldaren troops used when they walked.

Stayvec mimicked Hailey’s walk as they advanced closer, he wasn’t nervous, that would indicate an emotion; but he was cautious as the gate loomed closer. “Affirmative” he responded to Rogers.

Shaille lingered toward the rear of the group, the Koldaran weapon held firmly across her chest. On her back a standard federation rifle was slung, and her phaser was holstered at her side. With her hair pinned carefully into place, the Koldaran helmet was on her head. It most definitely was not a comfortable fit. It felt awkward, it smelled disgusting and it definitely was not shaped to fit a humanoid head. It almost felt as if it were a mould and whatever it covered adapted to the shape of the helmet rather than the other way around. Though, all that aside, perhaps the most irritating part of the Koldaran helmet was the small nub that was designed to fit inside the Koldaran aural cavity and instead dug painfully into her temple, and provided a constant stream of background Koldaran as she listened to everything being transmitted across their local communications. Not knowing if they would be able to hear her or not, or if there was some kind of trick to using their technology she opted to remain silent, weapon held to the ready as she followed behind the rest of the team.

Rogers hefted the marine’s pack over one shoulder. “Let’s move out, Myers. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

“Aye, sir!” Jason replied.

At the gate two Koldarans watched the approaching team. No patrols were expected back at this time, but there was more than one overdue by this point. One of them stepped forward barking a question in the team's direction.

Stayvec turned to the Major, to see what her reaction would be. He watched tense and ready to spring into action if necessary.

Shaille could hear the Koldaran communications from the communications device near her ear. The sounds were giving her a headache and making it hard to concentrate on what was going around her, but removing the helmet was not an option at this stage. She glanced around at the group, trying to gauge reactions of others through hampered vision from the helmet. “Just keep moving,” she urged, striding forward. “Don’t raise weapons until necessary.”

Hailey knew how to be an arrogant asshole, she’d known far too many of them in her own time. She kept moving forward, gesturing to the Koldaren who had challenged them with a peremptory motion to move off the road. A second motion a few moments later invited no argument to the soldier. If they were heierarchical within the military, either they’d let them pass, or they’d open fire.

New chatter flooded the Koldaran’s comm network. The same voices, overlapping and urgent. In the distance the sound of Koldaran weapons fire could be heard. A flock of local birds took flight.

The weapons fire was close, too close. That alone made the hairs on the back of Shaille’s neck rise up, a cold chill running down her spine as.

“Be ready to open fire.” Hailey stated from within the helmet. If anyone so much as twitched wrong, she was ready to snap her weapon up and use the trigger to maximum effect.

At the base of the hill Rogers stopped and glanced over in the direction of the sounds. “Ah crap.” He pulled his tricorder and headed into the tree canopy. His enhanced strength and agility made for an easy climb. He squinted in the moons light up at the Koldaran camp and then back his tricorder. The firefight had come from the other side of the hill, the infiltration team were still undiscovered. “Myers' ' He called down through the canopy. “There’s another group out here. We might have a problem.”

Jason felt a chill run down his spine. “Another what? Guess we’d best find something to do about it then. And fast.”

================

Lieutenant Commander Will Rogers
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Astraea

Major Hailey Weston
Marine Commanding Officer
USS Wellington

Lieutenant Commander Jason Myers
Chief Security Officer
USS Astraea

Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine
Chief Security Officer
USS Wellington

Linza Esni
Security Officer
USS Astraea

Ensign Stayvec
USS Pennsylvania