From: Jamie LeBlanc (plainsimplegarak_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Jan 20 2008 - 21:14:36 PST
“Hook, Line and Sinker” (Continued from “Into the
Darkness”)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: NOCTURIA
Stardate: 2.80121.0015
Scene: Bogozh: Underground tunnels
~*~*~*~*~*~
The perpetual gloom of NOCTURIA did not improve
underground. A small hazy string of lamps lit but
some sort of phosphorescent fungus growing inside tiny
globes provided a weak, sickly greenish glow that
bathed the tunnel corridor in just enough light to
have all the shadows appear to loom out and stare back
at them.
The walk had been cold and silent, with puffs of
steam lingering on each breath that punctuated the
heavy stillness. No one was willing to break it.
Phia followed closely behind Izshlana, watching
the smaller woman keenly. Her shoulders had sagged
downwards, and her skin had changed to a dark grayish
tone, so much that it was becoming difficult to pick
her out from the rest of the shadows in the tunnel.
Slowly the Bolian hybrid edged closer, words escaping
her lips like a murmur. “Are you alright?”
Ensign Vort turned momentarily; fixing Phia with
a stare that could only be called cold. Had they been
safely onboard the ship the counselor would have been
highly amused at the almost complete reversal of
attitudes, but in the near darkness her words sounded
terrifyingly hollow. “I told you I was ready for
anything. I meant it.” There was an underlying
current of stress in her words, something that
insinuated she was willing to tough it out until she
got back to the ship.
Phia said nothing in return, simply following and
watching evenly. Behind her Peter and Kiros followed
at a slight distance, the XO checking to make sure the
cadet kept up and didn’t get caught up in inspecting
the alien technology or searching for another control
room.
All in all, Kiros Karn found he didn’t have to
search very hard. As the group turned around a
corner, the glow enhanced to an actual patch of dim
light streaming through an open doorway. Beyond it
was what looked to be a small control room. Rharn
stopped, pinning heriself back against the wall,
motioning for everyone else to stop.
“What is it?” Kiros whispered, straining to see.
Peter turned and put a finger to his lips,
waiting as Bast and Fest snuck forward, the two tiny
critters peering in through the doorway as Rharn
closed heris eyes to listen. After several very long,
tense seconds, the Captain opened heris eyes again.
“It is clear for now… we should move quickly.”
The group surged forward, every eye peeled as
they walked into the lit room. Vaguely circular, the
control panels were set into the rock formations in a
very sleek, organic way. The engineers in the group
seemed almost magnetically attracted to the display
screens as Izzy followed hot on the heels of her
Captain and Phia lingered closely behind her Alterian
friend.
“Do you think these are the energy readouts from
the rocks?” Kiros murmured, looking up to the XO.
“I’m not sure. I think some of these panels are
sensor or perhaps security readings on the plain.”
Peter lingered his hand over one of the controls, not
touching it. “I wonder if we could shut them down
with being noticed.” He shook his head slightly,
pulling his hand back.
“I was studying their technology while trying to
create a defense system against the meteor with
Lieutenant Varn,” Kiros started, leaning down to read
one of the lower displays. “I think we might be able
to…” He trailed off, listening to a distinctive hiss
and thunk of something shutting.
Peter snapped his head up, eyes widening as he watched
the silver-grey door snap solidly closed behind Phia’s
back. “Oh, no…” he hissed through his teeth, running
up to the sleek barrier and pounding a fist against
it. “Captain?!” he called sharply.
“Sir, perhaps we should leave before we’re locked
in…” Kiros suggested in a thin voice, turning to make
sure the door they had entered from was still open.
Peter turned, searching for a control mechanism.
“We can’t lose the Captain. We don’t know what these
Pleo will do to herim.” Peter circled back to the
front of the control room; while Kiros broke off from
the panel he was at, heading to the back to see if the
door could be opened manually.
“Do you think someone closed the door on
purpose?” Cadet Karn asked, searching the wall for an
opening.
“I didn’t activate a door panel… did you?” the XO
asked back, brushed a shag of hair from his eyes as he
searched.
The young trill shook his head. “no… but the
others?”
“I doubt they touched anything either.”
Overcoming his trepidation of playing with the alien
controls, Peter started to punch in commands. The
lights flared, ad the back door opened and closed, but
the forward door stayed stubbornly stuck. Giving a
growl like grumble the Brit pounded a hand on the
control panel top. “This is starting to feel like a
trap.”
“That’s because it *is* a trap.” The voice that
came through the door was smooth and arrogant. Peter
whirled around, pulling his phaser in just enough time
for a dark green hand to pin his arm to the sidewall.
In the back of the room Kiros Karn hit the deck,
rolling into the shadows. “So nice of you to bring
Rharn Alcedo to us.”
A second Nocturian owned the voice; an emerald
skinned elder who entered the room calmly. The
younger alien struggled to pin the Brit to the
console. “Why do you want the captain?” Peter
Aspinall’s voice can out in strangled gasps as he
pushed the Nocturian in the chest. The dark green
creature responded by punching the XO in the gut.
“Shut up, offworlder!” He/she spat. “Our
business is not concern of yours.”
“It is every concern of mine where my Captain is
concerned!” Peter yelled back, the last words escaping
his mouth with a gasp as the wind was knocked out of
him.
In the doorway, the elder Pleo drew out a small
weapon, waving it lazily. “Concerns like that are
what get offworlders killed.” He punctuated that
statement with an arrogant grin.
In the back of the room Kiros wrapped his fingers
around his phaser, and drew himself to his feet.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Location: the other side of the door
Time Index: Concurrent
Phia whirled about the instant she heard the door
slide closed, and ended up nearly getting her fingers
cut off trying to get out of the way. “What the
hell?” the hybrid hissed, slamming a fist into the
sleek silver surface. She had planned on trying to
open it, but something pulled the back of her uniform.
“Get down!” Izzie hissed, nearly manhandling the
taller woman into a covered position as Rharn dropped
to all fours. Less than a second later a sonic burst
rippled through the corridor, sending a shower of rock
and dust onto the officers.
//Come out, come out wherever you are…// Can the
sing-song voice of one of the younger Nocturians, and
Rharn slitted heris dark eyes in frustration.
“How far ahead are they?” Izzie asked, edging
closer to the Captain.
Rharn’s voice was barely a whisper. “Just around
the curve of the tunnel, I believe.”
As another round of shots was fired, Izzie rolled
to the other side of the corridor, unheeding Phia’s
protest that her move was ‘crazy.’ Dust filled the
air, glimmering like a grey fog in the blackness, and
the young Alterian sucked in a breath. Slowly her
skin darkened to a color so deep that she seemed to
fade away.
Meanwhile, Phia had edged closer to take Izzie’s
spot. Squinting in the sickly green haze, she
muttered towards her Captain, “Are these people all
crazy?”
Rharn shook heris head slightly. “No, just
fanatical.”
Ahead in the corridor the small group of Pleo
advanced, two moving forward on all fours while the
eldest stayed back with the weapons. Phia gritted her
teeth, pulled her phaser and flicked it to heavy stun.
“I don’t react too well to fanatics, Captain.”
The Bolian hybrid popped up from her hiding
place, her aim unerring. She caught the first of the
quadruped Nocturians directly in the chest, dropping
him as he/she leapt up. The second, seeing an opening
reared back on hiser haunches and leapt directly into
Phia’s chest, pummeling the Bolian hybrid back into
the subterranean wall. Small white stars flashed in
front of the counselor’s face as she sucked breath
back into her lungs.
A second later her assailant was no longer on her
chest. Rharn grabbed the green skinned Pleo, and the
two went rolling off to one side. Phia wrapped an arm
around her abused ribs and waited until she could
catch a full breath, trying to get a pin on where the
third Nocturian had gone.
“Dishonoered swine!” The young Pleo hissed,
trying to rake hiser claws across Rharn’s face, but
the Captain was faster. He/she was tossed off to the
side, and Rharn landed on top of himer. As the
younger Pleo struggled to stand, Rharn guided himer
off balance. There was a short sharp crack as hiser
temple connected with the side of the wall, and he/she
slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Rharn Alcedo didn’t have much time to breathe
easy. Thick hands grabbed herim from behind and
dragged herim to her feet. The older Pleo waved the
sonic weapon menacingly, casting a short glance
towards Phia. “If you value you Captain’s life, you
won’t move.”
“You have taken a lot of trouble to simply kill
me.” Rharn spoke, anger heavy in heris voice.
“Well, the choice is now in the hands of your
companion.” The older Pleo replied snarling slightly
towards Phia as she moved.
“You people are megalomaniac freaks.” The
counselor snapped back, edging her phaser closer to
her with her toe.
The dark green skinned alien shook hiser head
slightly. “You’re taking an awful chance there,
offworlder…” He/she started forming hiser threat in
the back of hiser throat, but it died as quickly as it
came. His voice died into a strangled murmur as
he/she was dragged backwards by the throat. The sonic
weapon fell lightly to the floor as hiser face turned
from deep green to purple. Hiser eyes fluttered and
finally rolled upwards.
Rharn and Phia both turned, tense for a second
until the form of the assistant security chief faded
into view, her skin color lightening as she dropped
the unconscious alien to the floor. “No one lays a
hand on my Captain and gets away with it,” she snarled
towards the green form.
Rharn rubbed heris throat slightly and looked to
heris officers. “Is everyone alright?” When she got
two nods, she looked back towards the closed door.
“Are we going back for the guys?” Phia asked,
frowning.
Rharn sucked in a dry breath. “We are very close
to the Pleo citadel, and they seem to have this well
planned. I don’t think we can linger back here trying
to get the door open. If the Pleo find them, they
will almost surely take them to the citadel.”
Izzie looked over at them both. Her voice was
dry and weary. “I hate leaving people behind.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
NRPG: I though a little action might spice things up!
Tags for anyone who can get the guys out of trouble!
Joy: I wrote a bit with Izzie, thinking she might be
pretty rattled after what happened to Llandwyn, let me
know if it’s ok
Aaron: you doing ok?
Notes: I don’t have plans, so please run with this. I
was going to write more with Cade or Aerdan, but a new
roommate just moved into the company-provided housing
I live in, and she brought her dog with her. The dog
barks, growls, chases and bites at me and my other
roommate. So I had a pretty stressful night and
didn’t get much more written. If you wanna write for
those guys too, feel free.
~*~*~*~*~
Jamie LeBlanc
Lieutenant Aerdan Jos
Chief Medical Officer
USS STONEHENGE
"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"
~Julian Beck
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