Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek: Five Lives Left
Lael Rosek
((Corridor, SS Belfast))
::She and Lily stood around the corner to the primary cargo bay’s entrance where Lily indicated the others were being held. There weren’t many guards, though Lael suspected that had to do with Lenik’s plan to board the Montreal. He clearly had no idea that she’d gotten loose and had assumed that she wasn’t a danger to his plans. She’d likely pissed him off pretty good with her projection. If she could do that kind of damage when she was at her weakest, it scared her to think what the full measure of her psychic strength could do.::
L. Braddock: ::whispers:: That’s a lot of guards. How are you going to get in there?
Rosek: ::shakes her head:: I’ve faced worse odds.
::She paused, using one of the portable communication devices she’d found in the communications room to contact the Montreal.::
Mei’konda: =/\= Go ahead, Commander. Please tell me you haave good news. =/\=
Rosek: =/\=I’ve located the freighter crew. With General Eth’ek’s approval, we can begin transporting. We don’t have much time, though. Colonel Rilaw is going to detonate the explosives in the main engine room before the freighter can reach the planet’s surface.=/\=
Galven: =/\= You must hurry because once we hit the 5 minute mark before impact, there might not be enough time and the transporters are barely functioning as it is. I can’t bring them back online with how much damage we’re sustaining. =/\=
::Lael frowned. It didn’t sound too good for the Montreal and she was worried for German. Though she knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself, it didn’t stop her from being concerned for his well being. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. These people needed her.::
Galven: =/\= The combined forces of both ships is tearing us apart. I don’t even understand how the communications are still working. =/\=
Mei’konda: =/\= Commander Rosek, set the Belfast’s transporters to beam the freighter’s crew to General Eth’ek’s bird of prey, not the Montreal. You’ll see her coming alongside shortly. When you’re done, beam yourself there. Don’t come back to the Montreal. =/\=
Rosek: =/\= Aye, sir. =/\=:: pauses :: =/\= Rilaw...t’s a long story, sir. I’ll explain it fully in my report. =/\=
Mei’konda: =/\= You heard Lieutenant Galven, Lael. Get to work. And good job. =/\=
Rosek: =/\=Understood, sir. Rosek out. =/\= ::to Lily:: This is going to be dangerous. I need you to stay here.
L. Braddock: ::frowns:: But--
Rosek: ::shakes her head:: No arguments. I need to know you’ll be safe.
L. Braddock: ::exhales shakily:: But my brother--
::Lael pocketed the communication device and grasped Lily by the shoulders, her gaze meeting the little girl’s. She smiled slightly as a pair of blue eyes stared back at her. Lily was so much like Maddy...just as brave and just as selfless.::
Rosek: Hey, I’ve got this. But I can’t focus on what I need to do if I’m worried about you. I’ll find him and everything will be okay. I promise.
::She’d said that to Maddy just before Zeram had taken the little girl away from her. For so long, she’d hated those words...had refused to make any promises, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to keep them. She was still afraid. A part of her rebelled, terrified at the thought of breaking her promise. She could only control so much. There was a chance, no matter how remote that it wouldn’t be okay. This was where she had to have faith and trust that God would do the rest. Whatever was meant to happen would happen.::
L. Braddock: ::nods:: I’ll stay.
Rosek: ::smiles slightly and offers her pinky:: Pinky promise?
::After a moment, the little girl wrapped her pinky finger around Lael’s and met her gaze.::
L. Braddock: Pinky promise.
::She hugged the little girl before rising to her feet and peaking around the corner. There were four pretty tough looking guards standing outside and who knew what was inside. She was going to need to stay alert and take this one step at a time. Exhaling a heavy sigh, she rounded the corner with the knife in her hand, confronting the first guard with a sharp punch to the jaw.::
::She swept the first guard’s feet out from under him with a sweep of her leg, delivering a second more controlled punch to his jaw. He fell limp to the deck, clearly unconscious.::
Salar: ::quietly:: No.
::She turned to another man, wiping the blood from her lip as she went at him with the knife. He was able to block a few of her blows before she drove the knife into his side, enough to debilitate him, but not enough to kill. There would be none of that today by her hands. If he died, it would be because of his own foolishness. This was child’s play for her, having faced more dangerous opponents in her holodeck programs. It was almost frustrating how easy it was. Where had Lenik picked these guys up anyway?::
::Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rilaw moving toward her. The man she was fighting took advantage of her momentary distraction to deliver a right hook to the side of her face that had her eye feeling like it was going to pop out of its socket. It sure stung like a mother, too. His gaze narrowed to slits as she went at him, growling in anger. It wasn’t long before he was on the floor curled up in the fetal position, blood pouring from his nose.::
Rilaw: Couldn’t find anything, but Lily’s brother. ::grabs the third guard and throws him towards Rosek::
::This one was dropped to the floor with a single punch, though he had a harder head that the others. She winced as she shook her hand, trying to drive away the sharp pain. Of course it was the same hand she’d broken years ago punching Jansen in the nose when she’d thought he was breaking of their engagement. There was a good chance she’d broken it again just now.::
Rosek: oO If Chythar gets wind of this, I’ll never hear the end of it. Oo
::She saw a fourth guard scrambling away as fast as his legs could carry him. Her gaze flickered to Lily for a moment before a resolute expression crossed her face. She made to go after him, but Rilaw stopped her.::
Rilaw: Don’t worry. I’ll get him!
::She watched Rilaw bolt off after the man before entering the cargo bay, the knife ready in case she encountered more guards.::
((Cargo Hold))
::Lael entered the cargo hold, scanning the room and when she saw the terrified expressions of the men, women and children in front of her, allowed the knife to drop to the ground with a clatter. God, how she must look right now. Her uniform jacket had ripped somewhere along the way and one sleeve was completely torn away, the rest of it hanging open to reveal the command red tunic underneath.::
::She removed the shredded remains, tossing it aside, before removing the tunic as well. All that remained was the Starfleet issue sleeveless undershirt. She was fever-hot and she’d be damned if she was wearing that heavy garment a moment longer. It would be easy enough to replace when she got back.::
::Moving cautiously, she approached the man who appeared to be in charge.::
Rosek: ::softly:: Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. This ship is on a collision course for Karraka. We have to get everyone out of here. There’s a Klingon ship that can take us aboard.
Man: ::eyes her suspiciously:: What about your ship? You’re Starfleet, aren’t you? Surely you have a ship.
Rosek: ::shakes her head:: It’s too badly damaged. My crew will likely have to abandon ship.
Man: ::pauses and nods, then turns to the others:: You heard her. Emergency evacuation. Head for the transporter room.
::As the crowd began to move out, she saw Rilaw making her way through the crowd. Offering one final direction to the man, she moved to meet the Klingon woman.::
Rilaw: He’s dead.
Rosek: ::nods:: Good.
Rilaw: They weren’t where I thought they were. We need to leave, but I found Lily’s brother. They’re safe together where you left Lily at.
Rosek: ::nods again:: We don’t have much time.
Rilaw: Response
Rosek: ::brow furrows:: Those bombs still need to be detonated. ::glances toward the door and then back to Rilaw:: Get Lily, her brother, and the others off the ship. I’ll detonate them.
Rilaw: Response
Rosek: ::smirks wanly:: I’m like a cat, Colonel. Still have five lives left. ::claps her on the shoulder:: Go. I’ve got this.
Rilaw: Response
::Without waiting for the other woman to protest, Lael exited the cargo bay, grabbing some sort of scanner that was similar in ways to a tricorder to locate the bombs.::
TBC...