PNPC Lt JG Ozdin Sambur - Not Surrender, A Delayed Evasion
Chris Taylor
(( Outside Transport Hub, Eastern Ice Shelf – Andoria ))
Antares: ::softly, to nobody:: No looser… or the wind will poke through.
Thus far in this interaction, Antares moved and spoke like someone trying to maintain a sense of control in a situation where he had none.
Jaran: Response
Silveira moved to Kona’s side and gestured for Sambur to close the remaining distance. He did so, putting myself on the other side of Antares. An escort position. He slid a hand down to the sheath of his blade, to ensure that the safety latch was still secure. He dared to hope that the weapon would not be needed.
They didn’t restrain him, as promised, but their positions achieved nearly the same result. Kona stood between them with his hands visible.
Silveira: I am sorry it has reached this point, but thank you Kona. ::Turning to Sambur:: I want registered that Mr. Antares was cooperative.
Antares: ::distractedly:: Thank you.
Sambur: Aye, Commander.
Typing those words into the padd could wait though, until after everyone was well out of the area. Now, there was weather at least to contend with.
Jaran: Response
Storm lifted Cassie, who wrapped herself around her mother.
Storm: Keep your face pressed into my coat to keep you warm, okay?
She closed her face shield. Cassie obeyed, turning inward until the fur of her hood surrounded little more than a patch of black curls.
They began descending the stairs. Kona between Silveira and Sambur. H’aal ahead. Alexandra carried Cassie behind the rest of the party.
Silveira: For what it’s worth, I know how hard it is to be far from your child…
Alexandra’s answer came from behind him before he could form a reply.
Storm: So do I.
Kona missed a step, and Ozdin’s hand moved to keep him from falling.
The Betazoid lifted one palm, declining the assistance without looking at his would-be rescuer, then continued downward.
Storm: Jira, can you guide us back to the transport hub? My arms are full of precious cargo.
Cassie: I’m not cargo, Mommy!
H’aal: ::whispers for himself:: Enjoy your mama, little one. You will never know when you will miss it…
Odzin smiled at the girl’s protest. And wondered to himself what mysteries lay behind H’aal’s response to it.
Jaran: Response
The group reached the bottom of the stairs. No one issued an order. They didn’t need to. Anyone who came across this party could see that the man in the middle of it was being kept there.
Antares looked back. Sambur looked at him. Antares looked away.
Storm: Cassie, we’re heading outside now. Remember what I said about your face, okay?
Cassie: Mmmhmm
Jaran/Silveira: Response
The exterior door went through the motions of preparing to open. Preparing others for the horrid cold that would soon rush in to assault them all.
Antares stood in silence. His gaze focused inward. Or perhaps outward through means which the R’ongovian did not share.
The door opened fully. The cold came clutching for everyone’s throats and noses.
Storm: We shouldn’t be outside for more than five or ten minutes, Munchkin.
Antares: Where will she sleep?
Sambur considered himself to be on escort duty, and entering into such, getting into a discussion of the finer details of this reunion would be a distraction he couldn’t afford. He let others do the talking on this matter.
Jaran/Silveira: Response
Antares: Please, no.
He stopped. The group bunched to a halt around him. Ozdin’s hand lingered over the pocket that he had placed the padd into. The one that would surround the area with Andrian Guards.
Sambur: .oO(Please don’t make me. Not in front of that girl.)Oo.
A girl who had already shown so much courage. And so much compassion in saying it was her mother’s turn to be with her. Though he would do it, Ozdin did not want to be responsible for the memory of seeing her father restrained and hauled away.
Antares: She can’t go aboard that ship. Please.
Antares looked behind him toward Cassie. Alexandra held her tightly against her chest, one hand beneath her and the other spread across the back of the blue coat. Cassie’s face remained hidden against her shoulder.
Antares: A starship is not a home for a child. Alexandra, she’s four. She cannot consent to living beside an… an antimatter reactor.
Kona’s breathing grew louder.
Antares: Wolf 359. Sector 001. The Dominion War. Frontier Day. ::sharply:: No– listen to me! On and on and on. And after every one, Starfleet holds a memorial. It reads the names. It promises lessons were learned.
His eyes moved wildly from one figure to another, searching for some indication that the words had penetrated.
They had in Ozdin, to an extent. The concerned father had raised valid points about life on a starship, and he was far from the only one to have ever done so. But out here in the ruthless cold was not exactly the safest place to debate them.
Antares: ::quietly:: Then it builds another ship. ::bitterly:: Another hull. Another crew willing to be sucked into space while they sleep. Another group of people who trusted that the shields would always hold.
He was shaking now. From fear, not cold.
Antares: And when those shields fail, you hold another service. You place another plaque on another wall and call the loss the price of exploration. ::pointing at Cassie:: She will not become another name on one of your walls!
Cassie stared at him.
She didn’t reach for him.
Kona took one step, and now Ozdin was obliged to act. He stepped over to block Kona from moving to reclaim Cassie. But it wasn’t his hand that grabbed the man’s arm or closed around the back of his hood. Kona kicked out and wrenched his body away. A seam tore beneath his shoulder, widened into a gap.
Storm: Sil!? What’s going on?
Ozdin did not join the fray. Back on the Artemis on the day they’d met, he had told Lt. Storm that his job was to help her fight for her daughter. And that was what he did in this moment. By moving to place himself between Antares and Storm. To make of himself a wall that Antares would not get through.
Sambur: He’s trying to run! Keep behind me!
Jaran/Silveira: Response
Kona twisted again. His arm came free of one sleeve, then the other. For an instant, the empty coat remained suspended between the people holding it, retaining the shape of the man who had occupied it.
Antares forced himself through the opening between them. He slipped on the ice, struck one hand against the pavement and scrambled upright, his glove flying free.
Whether he intended to or not, he was headed for a sharp drop in the terrain.
Sambur: Kona! Watch out!
Antares reached the edge of the embankment, half jumped and half fell over it, then vanished into the driving storm.
H’aal: Silveira? Doctor? Alex? What’s happening?
Ozdin didn't waste time answering. He pressed a hand into his communicator. He had to shout over the wind to be sure he was heard.
Sambur: =/\= This is Lt. Sambur of the USS Artemis on an emergency hail! We have a civilian lost over the embankment at my position! Betazoid male! Name, Kona Antares! He’s not wearing any communicative gear that I’m aware of! And he doesn’t have any coat or gloves! Repeat, no coat no gloves! We need aid at all speed to this position! =/\=
Andorian Operator: =/\= Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Your location has been logged and a Search And Rescue team alerted. We’ll take it from here. Clear the area. Get to secure ground or housing. Do not attempt to involve yourself in the search effort. Our people know their work. Any assistive efforts on your part can only slow them down. =/\=
Brusque as the words were, they were only meant to convey the importance of not getting involved further. Not taking the very high risk of giving the Andorians someone else to rescue.
Sambur: =/\= Understood. Thank you for your efforts. Sambur out. =/\=
Jaran/Silveira/ Storm/H’all: response
Whatever justice Kona Antares deserved for inflicting the years-long distance between mother and daughter, the icy hell below wasn't it.
Ozdin reached into his gear satchel and retrieved the thermal blanket packs he had brought with him. He tossed them over the embankment after Antares. One of them might reach him. They might all blow too far away, or slide too far down the incline. It might already be too late.
At any rate, Ozdin had at least tried to do something to help the man survive.
Jaran/Silveira/ Storm/ H’all: response
TAGS/END SCENE FOR SAMBUR
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PNPC Lt JG Ozdin Sambur
As written by
Lieutenant Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12