Ensign Maezel Fenn – A Lesson Remembered
Maezel Fenn
(( Central Chamber, Mysterious Structure, Gateside Dimension ))
The officers were taking some time to better understand the technology which had kept the entity locked up. Knowledge was power and in cases where you had to fight a murderous, non-corporeal being information was something you needed. Maezel had stepped into the entity’s cell and taken some scans. She’d found an energy signature but didn’t fully understand the engineering behind it so she'd taken it to Kovar and Marshall to seek their opinions.
Fenn: ::showing Kovar and Marshall the tricorder data:: There seems to be an energy signature behind the walls of the cell. What do you both think? Can we use it somehow? If this system runs through the entire structure then perhaps we can keep this thing locked up in the structure while we make our escape with the Kobliads?
Maezel stood silently and waited patiently for Commander Marshall’s orders. She watched as the Commander’s eyes flicked between datapoints on the tricorder scan. The look of understanding across her face made Maezel relax with relief slightly though she appreciated that Commander Marshall may not have time to explain every detail right now. She clutched her phaser rifle tightly and prepared to move.
Marshall: Right. We know what we need, and we know where they are, and one of those things is more urgent than the other. The mechanism isn't going anywhere. The Kobliads might be. Grab the generator and let's get moving.
Fenn: Aye, Commander!
Kovar: Response
Maezel glanced back to make sure Kovar was with them as Commander Marshall moved at pace towards the turbolift. Following her at a jog she’d let Kovar grab the subspace generator. She was already holding the phaser rifle and didn’t want to overload herself and end up slowing the group down. Glancing back to Commander Marshall she noticed her checking her weapon. Maezel did the same, deciding that her weapon failing during a fight was not perhaps the most convenient thing. Luckily, everything seemed to be in good working order.
Marshall: We go up, we get them out, and on the way back down we work out how to close the lid on this thing and make sure it stays closed. ::It sounded easy, it felt far from it.:: Stay together. If something moves that isn't one of us, don't wait. Use it.
Fenn: Aye, Commander.
Kovar: Response
A second after they stepped onto the turbolift it glided silently upwards. It was a stark contrast to the doors they’d passed through originally which had screamed their metallic cries at the audacity at being opened after centuries. The officers were silent as the turbolift moved so Maezel took the time to focus her mind. Whatever trauma she’d inherited from this experience she’d deal with later. Right now, people needed saving and a murderer needed containing.
They quickly passed another floor full of cells. Taking a passing glance down the hallway, Maezel could see that it was just like the ground floor - dimly lit chambers, laser grids and the faint, musty smell of a facility in disrepair. Maezel’s eyes caught Commander Marshall’s as their team leader glanced behind her at the two Ensigns. Maezel gave her a quick nod to let her know she was ok. Ok was perhaps too strong an adjective at this point but she was at least functional and that would have to be good enough for now.
Upon their arrival at the second floor the doors opened with a creak not unlike the sound of Commander Finch’s joints after a long shift. They were met with a wide but somewhat short room. It was as before, the same black material the tricorder couldn’t identify and a similar dimly lit chamber.
The key difference between this room and the last was the presence of the Kobliads. Maezel’s eyes found the male first. He was motionless. His face was blank with a stare that seemed focused on nothing at all but at the same time seemed to pierce straight through her. His deathly tableau sent a shiver down her spine.
It was the Kobliad female that made Maezel raise her phaser rifle mere seconds later. She gasped sharply but faintly as the woman’s head turned slowly towards the group. She seemed to be gazing at Kovar prompting Maezel to glance at her friend quickly before Commander Marshall's voice shot sharply through the EVA suit’s comm.
Marshall: Subspace, now!
Kovar: Response
Maezel said nothing. Her body just reacted. As the bubble of subspace went up around them her finger squeezed the trigger of her phaser rifle. Three shots streaked across the room making the Kobliad woman react with a level of agility not normally associated with her species. The shots impacted the wall ahead of them, sending sparks flying in all directions as the woman came to a halt at the edge of the subspace field.
Maezel was breathing rapidly again and her heart had resumed its previous high-paced rhythm as the reminder of her recent experience stood less than 5 meters away. The woman’s frothing mouth was open slightly and her shoulders jumped rapidly in silent laughter. Maezel’s finger twitched as it rested tensely on the trigger.
Fenn: ::voice shaking:: Commander, permission to shoot?
Kovar / Marshall: Response
The possessed Kobliad pressed a hand into the field. Satisfied she could now withstand the same dimensional environment as the trio, she surged aggressively forward towards Kovar. Maezel didn’t think, she just moved. She shoved Kovar to the side, stepping in the entity’s path. Her mind instantly travelled back in time to the Suus Mahna lesson she’d shared with Spelvan and Crauw during the last shore leave. Just like in the holodeck, her hip made bruising contact with her opponent’s. The woman seemed to take flight as she rolled smoothly over Maezel’s hip and slightly outstretched leg.
oO I definitely need to thank Spelvan again for showing me that… Oo
The woman hit the ground with a force that knocked her out cold, sending echoes through the chamber. Maezel raised her rifle, flicked it to heavy stun and sent two shots straight into the woman’s chest…just for good measure of course.
Fenn: ::checking the woman’s pulse:: She’s still alive Commander. What do we do?