LtCmdr. Dakora - Opposing Forces
Travis
((Crew Quarters - Deck 05 - USS Artemis))
The team of boarders from the USS Berlin had officially struck the first blow, even if it was a relatively minor one. They’d managed to capture a security team sent to investigate their arrival and then, thanks to Hiro’s medical/technical wizardry, they’d been able to spoof the computer into reading them as the captives.
oO So far, so good.Oo
But Talos knew they’d have to do a bit more than give Ensign Yiddik a hard time if they were going to have any kind of meaningful effect on the battle.
The clock was ticking.
Dakora: Outstanding. ::He crossed to the door.:: We’ll make for the upper section of the computer core and try and destroy it. Secondary objective will be the primary power distribution node if for some reason the computer is a no-go. Jones, Osuna, Kliss'lai– You’re with me.
Jones: Let's do it.
As they made egress from the room, phasers up, heads on a swivel, Talos heard Gabe give some final advice to the pair being left behind.’.
Osuna: Oh, and don’t think we’re above holding ‘hostages’, fellas. Keep Savel busy as long as you can.
It was a good suggestion. They were supposed to be acting as though this situation was real, so anything that might give their adversaries pause was a valid strategy.
He frowned as he considered if he would’ve left the almost-certainly-doomed pair behind like he had if this was a real-life situation. In the moment he’d made some hand-wavey justifications like “It’s a Federation vessel, so they’ll be taken prisoner, not killed.” and “We’ll free them after we successfully neutralize the Artemis.”
But the truth was, if this was a real-world scenario, he probably wouldn’t have risked it.
oO That’s one strike against First Officer Talos Dakora. Oo
As the group moved down the corridor with their weapons at low ready, he breathed a sigh of relief as the outer maintenance hatch opened for their stolen identities.
Osuna: What do we think the odds are that they left it open for us?
Talos glanced in Gabe’s direction.
Dakora: For us? Not great. ::He smirked.:: I’d have locked the Berlin team out immediately after they beamed over. And I don’t think Ensign Yiddik’s clearance is going to get us past the computer core access point.
Jones: Doubtful at best, but we won't know until we check, right?
Osuna: Yeah, of course. No such luck. ::Nodding:: That almost would have been too easy. Time for Plan ‘B’, then.
Talos shot Gabe a knowing nod. One way or another, things were about to get messy.
Osuna: Pass me a couple of those, will you?
Talos holstered his training phaser, pulling the tactical pack off his back and rummaging through it for a moment. He produced two of the half-dome-shaped objects and handed them to Osuna.
Dakora: Once these go off, the game changes. They’ll send the cavalry after us. ::His brow furrowed.:: Let’s make it count.
Osuna: Forget the hippocratic oath for the next few minutes, will you, Doctor? ::Gesturing down the corridor:: If you see anyone – anyone at all – shoot ‘em, alright?
Gabe handed Hiro his second bluezer– one of the ones they’d taken from their captives– and spoke some words of encouragement to the now heavily armed Doc.
Jones: Hippocrates mentioned not using the knife. ::Checking the charge on the weapon, generating a soft whine as it proved ready for service:: He didn't say anything about phasers.
Without any good way to get into the chamber proper, they’d just have to try and carefully position the explosives outside the chamber to cause as much damage as possible. Fortunately, the computer was an extremely sophisticated piece of equipment. That meant a single piece of simulated shrapnel or explosive concussion to the right (or wrong, depending on how you looked at it) spot could have sweeping, ship-wide effects.
Osuna: The first explosive is primed… Moving to the second. Let’s hope we don’t get stuck here in a firefight, hmm?
Talos grunted in affirmation around the hand-torch in his mouth as he stuck the universal-adhesive side of the shaped charge on the computer core enclosure. This one was aimed to hopefully fire a jet of molten duranium slag into the area responsible for routing sensor inputs from the sensor feed, or it would have been, if this was real.
Dakora: Yeah. ::He glanced around the room.:: That would be bad.
Jones: Gentlemen, I think our ruse has been discovered. There's a group headed this way, but they're trying to look like they're just ambling this way. Problem is, they're not backtracking in the slightest.
Osuna: @#$%... This would be a good place for them to spring an ambush too…
Feeling the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up at Gabe’s realization, Talos paused and listened for a moment. A subtle, but audible clank from one of the gangways overhead caused a flurry of movement as their respective tactical training took over. Talos transitioned to his holstered phaser smoothly, letting his rucksack fall to the ground as he scanned the darkened room for unwanted company.
Dakora: Holy strokes. ::Quietly.:: Anyone have eyes?
He felt himself falling back on his training, letting it take over more as his anxiousness increased.
Jones: ::whispering:: I don't see anything.
Osuna: … I don’t know. Maybe it was just the ship creaking in the nebula? ::Re-holstering his phaser, grabbing the bomb:: Let’s get these set and get the hell out of here.
Feeling especially jumpy now, Talos didn’t re-holster his phaser as he grabbed yet another shaped charge and began to affix it to the core containment housing.
Dakora: Agreed. ::He twisted the control on the device to arm it on a thirty-second fuse and stepped back.:: All set over here. If you’re good to go, let’s get the &%$# out of here.
Jones: No arguments from me.
As they policed up their gear and moved towards the exit, Talos glanced up toward the mysterious clanking gangway once more, straining his eyes to see in the dim conditions that the computer system probably preferred for some reason he didn’t really care to find out.
Holding the detonator in one hand and his phaser in the other, they stacked up at the door that led back out to the corridor.
Dakora: They’re gonna be on us soon. Once we step through that door, I’m starting the 30-second countdown so don’t lollygag.
Osuna: Response?
Jones: About ready? We should keep moving.
Dakora: They’re gonna be on us soon. Once we step through that door, I’m starting the 30-second countdown so don’t lollygag.
He triggered the door panel and darted out into the corridor in the opposite direction Hiro had detected the incoming hostiles, flipping the cover and depressing the big red detonator button as he did.
It was all going absolutely swimmingly, as they sprinted down the corridor away from the imminent explosion. Right up until the first jet of phaser fire arced past Talos’ face and struck a bulkhead.
Dakora: Sket! ::He slid behind the meager cover of a corridor rib.:: Contact front!
Osuna/Jones: Response?
As the others dropped into equally precarious cover, Talos blind-fired in the general direction of their attackers as his mind processed their situation as the final seconds ticked down until the explosion.
Were they at a safe distance? Maybe. Hastily applied demo charges weren’t an exact science. Under ideal conditions, he’d have put another fifty meters of distance between them, but now they’d have to fight for every inch.
Either way, time was up.
Dakora: Brace!
It didn’t sound like a real explosion, but the ship shook convincingly and the corridor lighting switched to the much dimmer emergency egress lighting. Alarm klaxons blared all across the deck as the computer-simulated damage to itself, which was a little strange to think about.
Dakora: Push up!
Using the sudden darkness and cacophony as cover, Talos darted forward lining his muzzle up with one confused-looking gold-clad crewman and tagging him right in the chest with the training phaser as he slid into cover a few sections ahead of where he was. Streams of phaser fire chased him into cover as the rest of his team followed suit.
Osuna/Jones: Response?
A higher-pitched grunt of frustration emanated from someone behind him.
Kliss'lai: Zztan! ::She cursed:: I’m hit.
Talos risked a glance back in the typically quiet Andorian’s direction. She’d dropped to a seated position, her badge glowing a bright yellow in the dim emergency lighting.
They were in trouble. No doubt about it. Talos just had to hope that they’d done enough damage to give the Berlin an edge, if they were about to get taken down.
Dakora: We’ll get to you Kliss, just hang on. ::His body began to drift away from the floor.:: Whoaa!
Osuna/Jones: Response?
It seemed they’d managed to mess up the gravity control systems, at least on this deck, ideally on the whole ship. Streams of phaser fire leaped from their now floating enemies as they all tried to adjust to the changing combat environment.
Another shout came from the opposite direction, followed by more phaser shots as Talos and company tried to drift into what little cover they could. Fortunately, everyone was having a hard time aiming on the float and every time you fired a phaser Newtonian physics sent you gliding backward.
Talos’s settled on the red-uniformed silhouette of Yogan drifting down the corridor, with Savel nearby. Now was the time for a tactical retreat.
Floating up near the ceiling, he managed to grab the corner of an access panel and pop it free.
Dakora: Let’s go! Through here!
Osuna/Jones: Response?
He provided cover fire for the other two as they glided toward their new exit, though his normal weapons proficiency was markedly worse in zero-g.
As soon as Osuna and Jones were clear and grabbed Kliss’lai by her uniform jacket and brought her to the hatch as well, firing with one hand in both directions as the phaser bolts zeroed in on him every passing moment.
Finally, it was his turn and he pushed off hard toward the ceiling panel propelling himself up and through the hatch.
He felt a sting on his calf muscle just as it cleared the opening. Not terribly painful, but certainly noticeable. He glanced down at his badge and saw they yellow-light-of-bad-news.
Dakora: Damn it. I’m hit too!
Osuna/Jones: Response?
TAG/TBC
LtCmdr. Talos Dakora
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Artemis-A
O238811CD0