LCDR Nolen Hobart — A Minute too Early
Nolen Hobart
((Storeroom 1-E, Deck 1, Deep Space 33))
Hobart: Alright, you heard her. There’s a team of Tholians trying to breach the airlock to send us all to space. ::to Talina:: Close-quarters combat training still fresh?
Talina: ::smirking:: Aye, sir.
In the dark, Nolen raised an eyebrow. From the fresh Ensign, he sensed a tantalizing, almost dangerous blend of eagerness and vengefulness. And even if he hadn’t, he heard the words that next came out of her mouth.
Talina: Let's show these guys what they're really up against.
Matthews: Response
Hobart looked to the storeroom doors. He assumed they were jammed. He assumed that Ensign Talina wasn’t hanging out here out of fear or fun. But he was perfectly willing to let one of the Ensigns around him test those assumptions.
El’Heem: Yea so, just because I’m the biggest one here doesn’t mean….okay fine but Matthews you’ve got the next one.
Hobart: We should be so lucky to have a “next one,” Doc.
He didn’t mean to be grim. But he was grim before this battle started, and the battle itself wasn’t helping. Between the bodies they’d seen through the station, and the victims who’d come to them for evac, with their singed skin and missing limbs, it wasn’t the kind of experience that tended to make a man more light-hearted.
Talina / Matthews: Response
Ensign El’Heem began to pull on one of the main doors of the storeroom, and when that didn’t work, he did it again. When it didn’t work again, he looked back to them. Nolen’s eyes were beginning to adjust to the little light given off by the handful of standalone equipment interfaces.
El’Heem: Oh come on, it’s harder than it looks.
Nolen shook his head, and gestured at Ensign Talina.
Hobart: Seems exactly as difficult, from here, Ensign. We can either try to burn through the door with phasers, or find another way out, but either way it’s got to be quick. They’re counting on us, out there.
Talina / Matthews: Response
They split up and began feeling and searching for another door, access hatch, or ventilation duct. Between them it wasn’t long until someone found something, and it was Ensign El’Heem who stumbled upon a hatch. Hobart saw what he assumed was a wave, but in the dark he couldn’t be sure.
El’Heem: Over here!
Hobart: What’ve you got?
Talina / Matthews: Response
As the others came to confirm the Kressari’s discovery, Nolen helped the doctor try to find a way to open it. El’Heem got his fingers underneath a notch in the top of the panel, and gave it a good tug. As with the door, when that didn’t work, he tried it again. This time, the second time was the charm. There was far too much noise for Nolen’s liking, though in hindsight if they couldn’t get out through the main doors, it was unlikely that anyone outside would have been able to get in through them, either.
El’Heem: ::Clearing his throat:: I’m not going first.
Hobart couldn’t help but chuckle.
Hobart: Jones, how’s your rifle?
There was a pause as the marine checked. The light from the interface on the weapon added a red glow to his face, and a little more light to the room.
Jones: Thirty-one percent charge, sir.
With a grunt of approval, Nolen gestured at the door.
Talina / Matthews: Response
Ensign El’Heem stepped back to make room for the marine, who wasted little time. They stood in silence, listening. The rifle was meant for when he got out on the other side, but truth be told, it wasn’t any guarantee that there would be another side. The station had taken such a beating, there was no telling how many collapsed access tunnels and Jefferies tubes there were.
Eventually, the noise became too quiet to hear, and Nolen took this to mean that the marine had crawled far enough away that the sound dissipated. There was no loud crash, and he felt no sudden surprise or fear from the small hole.
El’Heem: Who’s next?
Hobart: I’m next. Ensign Talina, I assume you want to get out of this room more than anyone, so you come after me. Matthews, after her. Doc, you’re last. If there’s a firefight on the other side, best if you spend the least amount of time in it, so as you have the least risk.
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
With a nod that no one could see, Nolen crouched down, got his hand phaser ready, and began to crawl inside.
((Brief Timeskip))
Echoing up ahead, the sound of weapons fire sounded only marginally closer, which suggested to him that the battle lines hadn’t shifted very much. When he caught up to Private Jones, he found the marine fumbling with the inside of the access hatch on the other side. It hadn’t been an overly unpleasant crawl, but Nolen was grateful he didn’t suffer from any claustrophobia. The tunnel was smaller than a Jefferies tube, and wasn’t intended for human transit. It was meant to carry power and data conduits, and maybe some ventilated atmosphere.
Which presented the next problem: they’d only be able to exit the tube single file, and at a crawling pace. Having gone through training on this, they could crawl relatively fast, but if they were exiting under fire, it wouldn’t be fast enough.
Jones: I’ve been listening, it sounds clear.
Hobart: ::grunting:: Well, we only get one shot, so I hope you’re right.
Jones: Yeah, me, too.
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
There wasn't anything Jones could do, except push on the hatch and hope it didn't draw too much attention. With bated breath, Nolen watched as he gave it the final push, and it fell forward to the floor in the corridor.
He couldn't see what Jones could see, but the young marine evidently felt it was clear enough, and thrust himself out of the tunnel by his arms, pulling against the wall at its mouth. Nolen made his best speed to catch up, and gladly took Jones’s hand when it was offered.
Hobart: Let's be quick, we have an objective to get to.
Jones nodded, and Hobart helped him pull the others out, one by one, always keeping an eye on the nearest corner, the one they would soon round.
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
With everyone out, they checked their gear again and headed toward the airlock, always staying behind their marine. They didn't have far to go, and they didn't get far before they met the enemy.
They'd only done this once before together, but this time it felt less scary. Not just for himself, but in the others around him. There was less apprehension. They were fighting for their lives. Jones tossed a stun grenade around the corner and then, quick and smooth, Hobart and he followed it, hopefully with the Ensigns behind him. But he didn't stop to look. Three enemies lay straight ahead, a Tholian and two Sheliak, trying to override the airlock doors.
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
Nolen saw flashes of orange light arc out from behind him, so he knew then the Ensigns were there. He fired, and connected with one of the Sheliak. The Tholian returned fire, amidst a panicked squealing, but eventually they took down the two remaining foes.
Hobart: Clear! Everybody—
He felt pain, and fear. Not his, though.
Hobart: Doc! It's Jones!
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
The private laid on the deck, and Nolen held an arm out to keep the other two Ensigns at bay, while El’Heem set to work valiantly. There was a horrible sucking and gurgling, as Jones struggled to breathe through a throat that had been almost completely melted shut by a disruptor blast.
And then the pain and the fear were gone.
Hobart: Doc…
Before the Ensign could respond, a familiar voice broke in over stationwide comms.
Stergis: =/\= Attention Lattice Alliance Forces, this is Commander Agatha Stergis, the commanding officer of this station. Your fleet has abandoned you and is currently in full retreat. You have no reinforcements or means of escape. No one else has to die here today. You are ordered to surrender and lay down your weapons. Surrender and you will not be harmed. Attack any of our positions or offer resistance of any kind and I promise you will be. This is our station. Thirty-Three Stands. You have two minutes to decide. Stergis out. =/\=
Nolen laughed. He couldn't do anything but. The absurdity of it, standing over the body of a marine who'd survived the entire battle, only to catch it moments before it was officially over. The most vile curses in his vocabulary fought each other for which would be the first uttered, and all were caught in his throat as a result. He felt a rage building inside him, he wanted to stomp over to the bodies of the enemy and do unspeakable harm to them, but he simply gripped his phaser. The Ensigns surely didn't.
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
Composing himself, Nolen looked back to Jones’s body.
Hobart: Leave him for now, we’ll come back once the station is secure. Let's get to Ops.
Talina / Matthews / El’Heem: Response
Tags/TBC
———
Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3