Tito/Zorkal/Zumagi/Aristren - Path of the Prophets - Plan of Attack
Arys
((Shuttle Shimazu, Bajor))
Nestira Aristren wasn’t an amazing pilot, but she was a decent one - and unlike Tito, she didn’t have a recent history of crashed shuttles. At the speed they were going, itt took a little over twenty minutes for them to arrive near the location of Ferri’s badge.
The Shimazu hovered just above the lowest layer of clouds at approximately 8,000 feet, hidden from view but able to see the forest stretching out beneath them.
Aristren: We have two options. One is to remain hidden within the clouds and get a broad overview and rely on sensors, or go lower and get a *better* view, but might be seen.
Tito: It might be worth the risk. The more information we have the better.
Zorkal: I disagree. Surprise will give us an advantage. Regardless, we need to move quickly.
If they were seen, it was possible they might try to move Geleth and Ferri.
Zorkal: It could also endanger Ferri and Geleth. They might try to hurt or kill them if they know someone is on to them and they aren’t prepared.
Zumagi: I am more inclined to the element of surprise. It worked during the Occupation. ::looked at Lukin:: No offence…
Lukin inclined his head toward Zumagi. There was no offence taken - the Bajorans had fought for their people as they felt it was necessary.
Aristren: At the moment, I am reading the forested area and a lake further ahead. I can drop a little lower and see if I can scan for lifesigns.
Tito nodded and gave the phaser rifle one last check before holstering it over his back.
Zorkal: Keep to the shadows, do the scan.
Tito was ready, as was Lukin. The Cardassian cast a glance toward the doctor. In truth, he was surprised the man had come along, but evidently he had been involved in the military. Lukin would admit that he had learned looks could be deceiving, and there was value in listening and learning from those older.
Zorkal: I am happy to listen to suggestions.
Ivin checked over his rifle, opting to hold it as opposed to Tito who slung his over his back. He looked up and glanced between the two other males with a grim determination.
Zumagi: I am unsure of both of your combat experiences. I don’t want to endanger you two. Either way is fully risky and could mean harm for them if someone turns on them. Because there is a child and a woman, I am anticipating they expect us to be overly cautious.
Aristren: I am not so sure about that. ::she explained:: I know little about what motives they could possibly have, and how aware they are of Starfleet affiliation.
Tito narrowed his eyes. There were alot of possible factors to consider. Could they be targeting Lukin? Arys? Could it just be they were after young girls?
Tito: There would be plenty of those in my opinion.
Lukin nodded gravely. Plenty indeed. On Bajor, there were many reasons to hate the Cardassians, which could be reason enough, even if the child was half Bajoran. The fact that Ferri was his aid and Geleth his soon to be daughter was another reason. Perhaps their association with Starfleet through Arys might be one, though he suspected that was least likely of all. Then there could be a reason that wasn’t related to anything other than the fact they had been an attractive target and were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Zorkal: There are indeed.
Zumagi: My honest to the Prophet's best advice? Drop us off to go on foot, send our shuttle more ahead to act as a decoy. If they are looking up, they aren’t looking down. This is just my opinion and thoughts.
Tito nodded.
Tito: I concur
It was actually a good plan and Lukin’s gaze swept over to land upon the doctor. They hovered there a moment before he nodded.
Zorkal: As do I.
Aristren: We’ve arrived, the location of the badge is beneath us. Scanning for lifesigns.
There were a few moments of silence in which the scan was initiated, then repeated. Lukin waited, expression tight and stoic.
Aristren: No life signs at this location.
Tito felt a bitterness reaching his throat. If something happened to Geleth…He let that anger boil inside to give him the proper motivation. He recalled what his friend always said, “if there is hope, there is drive. Besides, the Opera isn’t over until the Fat Lady sings, so go on and find a Fat Lady before you lose hope.”
Tito: Won’t mean much, most likely they ditched her combadge.
Zorkal: But is possible they could be near.
It didn’t make sense to take her out of some sort of vehicle, get rid of the badge, only to load her up again, did it? Why not simply destroy it? If it was there, perhaps it fell out of her pocket and they were closer than it seemed.
Zumagi: She may have dropped it on purpose to give a clue or something.
Aristren: My suggestion is to beam you down to investigate and… see if the source of the signal can be found.
She had wanted to say “see if remains can be recovered”, but decided against it. If the two girls had been killed, they would know soon enough.
Tito straightened himself. The last time he was on a rescue mission it actually went well and they saved the hostage. He hoped this time wouldn’t be different.
Only it was, back then they knew there were hostages. Now…
Lukin’s jaw tightened further, perhaps because he knew what Aristren meant, but he merely nodded.
Tito: That was my initial thought as well. ::He picked a tricorder and holstered it on his belt.:: I say we leave the Shimazu in orbit. All of us have training. ::He glanced at Lukin and Zumagi:: Unorthodox as it might have been. Let’s beam down and find them.
Aristren: I will remain here and remain on standby. Good luck.
Unorthodox training, and they were, to some, an unorthodox team. Going down there, however, might provide insight, and might give a clue as to where they could find the girls.
Zorkal: Initiate.
Tito nodded to Aristren making himself ready for the beam out.
Ivin gave one last pat down and checked his gear. Everything was in place. He rolled his shoulders back and looked over with a nod.
Zumagi: I’m ready.
Tito looked around as they rematerialized on the surface. They were inside the forest. He kneeled down, and took his tricorder from the belt, setting it on a scan of Ferri’s combadge.
When he got it he gestured to Lukin and Zumagi, using his hand to signal the direction they should follow.
The cover of the night made it a bit hard to navigate, but it did grant them better protection.
Moving quietly they made it to the location, but there appeared to be nothing there. Tito closed his eyes, as he thought for a minute the combadge was buried. He looked again at the tricorder, and following the signal he narrowed his eyes, trying to see better.
Ivin brought up the rear of the group as Tito brought out his tricorder and started to look around. The doctor had his rifle at the ready. He was on high alert and constantly scanning the area with his eyes.
Zumagi: ::whispered:: Found anything?
Zorkal: No.
Tito: It’s supposed to be here.
Tito resisted the urge to slam the tricorder when they found it.
Zumagi: Found it, I take it?
Ivin stepped over towards Tito, still keeping a watch over their backs. Lukin did likewise, his gaze settling upon the device. Tito leaned closer and he confirmed it was a Starfleet combadge. Whoever got Ferri tried to destroy it, probably realising they would track her. Luckily they weren’t efficient.
Tito: It’s Ferri’s. ::He belted the tricorder and took the phaser rifle.:: Someone really took them, otherwise they would not try and smash her combadge.
Zumagi: They knew we’d try to track them.
Lukin’s gaze slid over to Tito. Someone really took them. That was already obvious, wasn’t? Such behaviour was completely unlike Ferri that the Cardassian had known right away this wasn’t normal. The fact that TIto was just catching on to kidnapping was rather ridiculous. Was the man that dense? He elected to keep his snarky commentary to himself.
Zorkal: That being said, they are not as skilled as they would like to believe.
If they had been, they would have made sure to do a thorough job with that commbadge.
Tito: We have to look around, there are buildings on that clearing there. ::Tito pointed in the opposite direction.:: We didn’t pick anything else on the sensors.
Zumagi: ::points at the building near the lake:: That one? Don’t recall that.
Lukin nodded grimly as the doctor indicated a building that, as he had said, had not been detected. Which was exactly why they should make that their first target.
Zorkal: Then that’s where we should start.
Tito raised an eyebrow and turned. He was right, there was a building near the lake.
But he could have sworn there wasn’t anything in the sensor reading.
Tito: I have no idea where that came from. I don’t recall seeing it
Zumagi: Must’ve jammed the sensors or… Something. Can’t be a ‘cloak’, we can see it clearly. Means they are hiding something. Likely why we couldn’t detect lifesigns. I think that’s our best bet
Zorkal: I agree.
Tito nodded quietly.
Zumagi: Let’s go then?
Lukin’s grip tightened on his weapon.
Zorkal: We go in silent. We approach off to the right, aim for those windows, try to get a visual.
Lukin raised his rifle and aimed the barrel to the side of the building, then lowered it .
Zorkal: Any questions?
Tito: No, I will cover the rear.
Zumagi: Understood.
Lukin moved forward then, keeping to the cover of the trees. Surprisingly, he made little noise as he trekked through the forest. Although they did not see any living being, he couldn’t trust that there wasn’t someone out there - better to remain as quiet as possible.
Moving forward, the building came into closer view. The building itself wasn’t massive, easily hidden deep in the woods visually and, thanks to some sort of jamming device, from sensors. It was a perfect spot to drag two victims and keep them captive. In truth, it was more like a house, or a small lodge of some sort, large enough to house several people, perhaps with some sort of basement or attic that might assist in isolating their prizes. It was modern enough that Lukin knew it had been built either toward the latter days of or after the Dominion war, though beyond that he had no guess at the age. Perhaps it was someone’s get away, a sanctuary at one time. Or perhaps it had been built for just such a purpose.
Angling away from the door, Lukin crept around til they came to the right and drew to the corner where the back and the side met, creating a blind spot to anyone who might peer out one of those windows. Drawing closer, he pressed against the side and eased to one of the clear panels that might allow a peek within, glancing at his companions and motioning for them to look through while he kept watch for anyone trying to sneak up on them.
Ivn was quiet and kept his figure low. Stealth and sneaking in without being spotted was his area of expertise. As a resistance fighter, if he got caught and spotted, he would be dead either instantly or being put on trial. The doctor approached with Lukin while Tito covered them.
Tito covered Lukin and Zumagi on their approach, letting himself behind, but not too far that they would be separated. When they all were glued to the wall Tito raised his head slowly to check the inside.
His first thought was to a camping lodge, or something similar. The window he was peeking led to a big room, with a centre table and chairs all around. The quick count he made gave a total of at least nine chairs, but the place looked big enough to serve much more.
There were no signs of life, at least at first sight. He whispered.
Tito: I am unable to see anything.
Zorkal: Nothing? And no one?
Lukin had expected something more. Or maybe he had just hoped for something more. Something like Ferri and Geleth safe and sound, or at least safe and in a position where they could be rescued easily. But such things were reams, and while he had hoped, he also knew it rarely, if ever, turned out that way.
Zumagi: No and nope. Nothing.
Tito returned to his covered position.
Tito: I think I should go inside.
Zorkal: If no one is there, perhaps there will be something to tell us whether Ferri and Geleth were brought here.
Of course they were brought there - or at least brought by there. The badge indicated that much, and the very fact that the place was invisible to scanners indicated more.
Zumagi: We. We should, Tito
Tito: Someone has to. It better be me.
Part of Lukin wanted to ask the man ‘why you’? Was he so much better? Yet, another part of him also recognised that by doing so, Tito would place himself in the most precarious position of all of them, and he was not unwilling to let the man take that risk.
Ivin let out a sigh. While he understood that Tito has the least to lose out of all of them, he still didn’t want anyone to be a martyr. He would rather not have to be a medic for anyone.
Zorkal: By all means. Remain quiet, let’s move around to the door.
It didn’t need to be said that they should continue to move slowly and keep their eyes open. Lukin led the way, hugging against the wall of the cabin. They came to the corner that led to the other side, the view of which had been blocked by the structure itself. He paused and peered around to be sure no one was there, then froze. Instead of moving forward he pulled back, frowning.
Tito hoped that Lukin understood why he wanted to go first. He was the one with less to lose if he was hurt. But he understood why Lukin was taking charge. So he let him with a nod.
He noticed that he had seen something when he peered around.
Tito: Have you seen something?
Ivin stayed quiet, watching Lukin’s body language. He clearly saw something.
Zorkal: There’s a small lake on the other side of this building and down a slope.
Tito narrowed his eyes. There must have been something more.
Zumagi: What do you see?
Lukin turned his gaze to the two other men, his expression hard.
Zorkal: There are people off a dock that extends out into the water. They have Ferri and Geleth
Tito tightened the grip on the phaser rifle. His own expression, stone carved but his voice determined.
Tito: Let’s get them back.
Ivin could only guess what that meant. And he didn’t want to. He tightened his jaw and lifted his head with a determined gaze, adjusting the grip on his rifle. His voice was a stone cold growl.
Zumagi: Let’s do this.
****************
Dalin Lukin Zorkal
Cardassian Ambassador
Starbase 118 Ops
M239008AD0
and
Lt. JG Nestira Aristren
Mediocre Pilot
Starbase 118 Ops
J239809TA4
and
Lt. JG Vitor R.S.Tito
Intelligence Officer
Starbase 118
O238907VS0
and
Doctor Ivin Zumagi
Trauma Surgeon & Doctor
Bajoran Militia
O239905ER3