Lieutenant Commander Riley Delar: Never According To Plan
Zeph
Nis: ::whispering:: We’ve got to help her!
Riley’s jaw tightened.
Another muffled cry.
Richards: ::hushed:: I have to go. I have to help her.
That decided it.
Riley: ::low, controlled:: Not unless we must.
He gauged distance. Positioning. Torch angle. Two guards. Close quarters. Overconfident.
Riley: Richards — diversion. Opposite side. Make them turn.
A glance to Katsim.
Riley: If she breaks, you move. Fast.
A steady breath.
Riley: On my mark.
Katsim: Wait!
Richards: What? We can’t just let them take her. Who knows what their idea of punishment even is!
Katsim: The Prime Directive.
Nis: :: nodding :: Starfleet will not hold it against us that we were shanghaied and forced to carry out some machine’s wild orders. But -we as people- cannot allow a young woman who helped us to suffer because of us. :: freezing and straightening :: Uh. In our opinion, of course, sirs.
Riley understood where they were coming from. The Bajoran knew full well the principle by which they were bound, and they had made little progress toward solving the famine issue. However, with the knowledge that the cycle was repairable instead of actually broken, the question then became how to convey that without getting killed.
Riley: We’re already exposed. Standing here doesn’t reverse that.
Richards: She didn’t seem to hesitate when we needed help, and we wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for our silly AI friend. This is probably all part of the “grand scheme” or something.
Riley: We do this carefully — minimal force, minimal visibility. We extract her and we’re gone.
He knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but at the same time he didn’t know how he was supposed to react. He’d saved people before, using his body as a shield to protect his squad mates back during the Dominion War, and hated every minute of it. Training he hoped never to revisit rose to the forefront of his mind, and he was going to bare-fist it all with no phasers. He knew he wasn’t in charge. Thankfully, Richards seemed okay with this plan.
Katsim: All right.
Richards: Like Riley said, I’ll wrap around and cause a distraction. Ideally, they’ll come to me.
Nis: What should we do?
Riley: Stay low. Use the rock line for cover. If Richards pulls them off balance, we close and remove her from the equation. Quick. Quiet.
Richards: Alright, sounds good. On Three.
His countdown was interrupted by more shouting from K’ylaria. This time, it sounded less like stubborn resistance and more like pain.
Richards: Three!
The Bajoran nodded and moved forward into the shadows, a bit closer to the group of Valarians as Anton moved to the left flank, grabbed a handful of pebbles and threw them to no effect.
Richards: ::Whistle::
Nis: Uh … should we-- What are we doing?
That was a good question. Their extraction plans probably weren’t going to work after all. At least, not the way Riley had envisioned it.
Riley: Maybe this won’t go as well as I’d thought. Extracting K’ylaria was initially the plan, but it may no longer be that simple.
Katsim: Response
Having not received the dramatic and instantaneous reaction that he had hoped for, Anton reached down grabbing another handful of stones.
Richards: Hey there! Over here! Did you guys not hear those rocks? Come investigate!
The guards turned and looked at each other for a moment, moving a bit closer to where Riley and Jania were hidden in the bush.
Richards: What are you investigating over there for? This way!
After a deep breath, Jania, too, stood and threw a stone toward the attackers, this time no pebble but a good-sized rock. One of the guards pulled out a small crossbow-like device and aimed it at Jania. The noblewoman turned and looked at them, words filled with venom and fury.
Noblewoman: You! You heretics! I thought you were the -guild-. I thought you would crystalize my -brother!-
Crystalizing didn’t seem relevant to whatever this discussion was, but the Butler wasn’t in range, and Riley just kept quiet and edged closer toward the group, hoping he could do something to set K’ylaria free.
Nis: Ow!
K'ylaria / Katsim / Richards: Response
There was some commotion behind him as the noblewoman and Jania went over the cliff, the sound of rocks giving way made Riley shift his attention for a moment. He was still far enough away from them that he could catch a glimpse of the cliff they fell from.
K'ylaria / Katsim / Richards / Nis: Response
Noblewoman: Help!
Riley moved closer, bracing himself on the muddy slope. He reached a hand toward Jania, stabilizing her and trying to create a barrier between her and the noblewoman. Mud and sap coated his hands, but he kept his focus on positioning, cover, and timing.
K'ylaria Katsim / Richards / Nis: Response
The Bajoran leaned forward, testing the blackened soil with his foot. It held — just enough. Mud clung to his boots, but he could cross. A glance at the struggling Jania and the noblewoman confirmed the situation: immediate intervention was necessary.
He edged closer, low to the ground, moving around loose rocks and patches of slippery sap. With one hand, he grabbed a protruding root for leverage; with the other, he reached toward Jania, ready to push the noblewoman off her or stabilize her if the muck shifted.
K'ylaria /Katsim / Richards / Nis: Response