Lt. Aine Sherlock - The Descent

[Aine Sherlock]

((Grove of Trees above Glyrshar Canyon, Bajor))

The crash site of the Gamma Glider gave them little more to go on than what they already assumed. The assailants clearly indicated this was no accident. And the evidence showed a foot chase. And given that they'd already been attacked, tracking them and possibly running into more resistance could make for a long day and night.

Sherlock: Tracks. Lots of them. Which tells me there was a quick pursuit.

Promontory: Can we use any of the systems still? Maybe cut through the comms interference?

Herrick: We could reroute power from what’s available and try to push the comms past max. It would only hold for half a minute, but if it works, it’s better than where we’re at.

Sherlock: It's all we've got to go on right now.

Aine continued keeping a lookout as Herrick worked his magic. She hoped it would work and they could get some idea of where the Commanders were.

Herrick: Sirs, it’s now or never.

Promontory: =/\= Promontory to ‘Oumuamua. Request immediate support at these locations. (beat) Please send the Nichols. =/\=

Just after the call that Promontory sent, Aine heard the console in the shuttle short out. Now it was just a waiting game for their ride.

Sherlock: I really hope they got that.

((A short time later, Shuttlecraft Nichols, above a crash site on Bajor))

It wasn't a long wait, but it still felt long. Aine tried not to think of the worst, but it was hard not to. Whoever these people were, they had the advantage. They had to have the numbers too. And they were likely familiar with the area. Once they were transported up to the Nichols, Herrick immediately went to work.

Herrick: We should be able to overclock the comms system more safely, given the redundancies are online.

Whatever he was doing seemed to work as a faint signal came through.

Katsim: =/\=Katsim to…to…someone. Please…=/\=

Promontory: =/\=Katsim! We read you! =/\=

Sherlock: =/\= Can you give us your location, Commander? =/\=

Katsim: =/\=I’m in Glyrshar Canyon, on Bajor. The flyer crashed, and we were pursued. Etan headed East, toward the monastery. I headed West and…=/\=

Herrick: The commander…? ::looking between the three officers on the shuttle:: =/\= We found the glider… are you nearby? =/\=

Aine's face curiously scrunched up for a second. She wasn't sure if the information about finding the shuttle was really relevant to Peri or if Herrick was showing that weird attachment she'd noticed earlier.

Sherlock: =/\= Can you give us an exact location? =/\=

Katsim: =/\=I’m not sure how far from the crash site. =/\=

Promontory: (off-coms, to the others) I’m running scans on that now, but I’m not getting much.

Aine nodded to Promontory. She was glad he didn't say that over the comms as there was no need to worry the Commander further.

Sherlock: =/\= We'll be to your position shortly, Commander. =/\=

Katsim: =/\=Have you been able to locate Commander Etan? Is he safe?=/\=

Promontory: =/\=Working on it, but there’s a significant amount of interference somewhere around here.=/\=

Sherlock: =/\= One problem at a time, Commander. Let's just... =/\=

Katsim: =/\=I need to get to Etan, and we both need to get to the monastery.=/\=

Peri wasn't sounding so good, her focus seemed to be on the wrong thing. Of course Aine was concern about her friend, but they had no way of splitting their search, they needed to focus.

Herrick: =/\= I think we’ve got her location. ::tapping the panel:: and I can use the thermal lock to beam her… and maybe our first officer aboard, if that’s who’s near you Commander Katsim? =/\=

Promontory: =/\= No, he went east, right? =/\=

Sherlock/Katsim: =/\= Right, so that's not him. =/\=

Promontory: =/\= Well let’s get the Commander now then! =/\=

Sherlock: ::to Herrick and off comms:: Energize now. ::to the Ensign piloting:: Get us as low as you can.

Herrick/Katsim: =/\=Response=/\=

Aine's assumption was confirmed as the Commander was transported aboard the shuttle. She looked rough, very rough. But at least she was safe now.

Promontory: I think I’ve identified the source of the interference. There is a monastery located to the east of us, and for some reason they are generating an interdiction field from there. (beat) If Commander Etan went towards that, we wouldn’t be able to read him on the scanners unless we were right on top of him!

Katsim/Herrick: Response

Sherlock: If we're not picking him up anywhere along the route, then he's got to be there. So we go there.

Promontory gave her a nod and Aine looked to their pilot.

Sherlock: Take us in.

Promontory/Herrick/Katsim: response

Sherlock: Keep scanning for other heat signatures. I don't know if these people will want to fight at the monastery, and if I remember correctly, this shuttle is unarmed. So we may have to deal with them.

Promontory/Herrick/Katsim: response

Sherlock: Not you, Commander. You're staying in here until it's all clear.

Promontory/Herrick/Katsim: response

tags/TBC

Lt. Aine Sherlock

Security Officer

U.S.S. 'Oumuamua

R239712AS0