Surefoot 52: ...This Means War Pt. 02

Her muzzle creased as she ran her hands over her controls. "Detecting nothing..." She looked up at him. "But I didn't detect them in the Shuttlebay either-"

"Contact all Security units! I want reports!"

*

USS Surefoot, Deck 3 Mid -- Sickbay 1:

"All Hands! Intruder Alert! Condition Four! Clear the corridors of all non-essential personnel, effective immediately! We're raising force fields at critical junctures!"

Those not immediately focused on the wounded on the biobeds looked upwards at the announcement, as if Captain Hrelle had appeared like a furry god overhead to make his proclamation.

Standing over an open gut wound on a Zaldan male, feeling the heat from within as she tried to fight the anticoagulant effects of the polaron beam that had struck him, Eydiir listened without making any comment or reaction. She focused on passing the autosuture over the ilium and the ascending colon, even as she saw her earlier work on the braccas colubrum unravel from anticoagulant contamination. She could only move so quickly, and sealing him up now to put him in stasis for later treatment would take almost as much time as repairing the damage, not to mention that there might be worthier patients for the limited number of stasis units onboard.

A sound made her glance up, seeing Doctor Masterson summoned into his office, receiving a private message. His face creased, before he stepped back out, caught her eye and gestured to her to come over.

She cursed under her breath. "Computer: Activate the EMH."

She felt heads turn in her direction, and ignored them. Despite assurances from Masterson that there was no shame in asking for help from the annoying program, there had been an unofficial bet among the three Sickbay Teams that the first team to call upon the Emergency Medical Hologram would be buying the drinks for the other two when all this was done and they were next on shore leave. Eydiir considered such puerile aspirations beneath her... but that didn't mean she wanted to be the one who gave in first.

Then the image of a gaunt, bald human male hologram appeared beside her. "Please state the nature of the medical-"

"Take a guess, fool," she snapped, handing him her instruments and stepping back from the table.

The EMH made a sound and took her place. "That's Doctor Fool to you."

She ignored him and approached the CMO. "Doctor?"

He kept his voice low. "You heard the announcement before from the Captain. It ain't a bucket of hot air; the Shuttlebay's been attacked. Dr Belaxi, most of his crew and Security are either dead or wounded. I want you down there helping out some of your old Alpha Squad folk."

"Alpha Squad?" She nodded, going for her medical tricorder... and her bandoleer of Capellan kleegat throwing blades. You never know...

*

Deck 4 Aft -- Main Engineering:

Grev knelt by the opened Manifold Relay Station, his hooves trying to replace the damaged isolinear chips within, before harrumphing, his Tellarite snout wrinkling as he glanced behind him. "Emoto! Get those soft pudgy digits you call fingers over here and make yourself useful for once!"

Tori Emoto was standing beside Nancy Yeager at the warp core, assisting in increasing the power flow from the warp engines to the supplementary systems, when she rushed over, the young human cadet kneeling beside him. "I'm on it, Chief! You can go now. Away. Seriously, your pelt stench could choke a Gorn."

Grev chuckled and rose. She was a talented, hard-working pup, with a good sense of Banter. He moved around quickly, watching his crew hard at work-

He bumped into a tall wall of grey flesh, cursing.

The huge pachydermoid figure in the modified Starfleet uniform with gold departmental colours denoting his Security role took a step back. "Sorry, Comrade Chief."

Grev's beady black eyes peered up at him, recognising the Security cadet, whose name escaped him. "What are you doing here? You should be at the doorway, with the other Bruisers!"

The young behemoth stepped back further, looking somewhat abashed, belying his formidable size. "Forgive me, Sir! I- I did not mean to be in the way-"

How can you not manage to be in the way anywhere you are? Grev thought to himself, keeping quiet, in case the Behemoth took offence.

Then the young Orion female cadet, whose name had also fled somewhere in the back of Grev's mind, drew up quickly to them, her olive face darkening with embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Chief." She smacked her crewmate on his arm, which looked thicker than both of her thighs put together. "What did I tell you before, you big galoot? Tori doesn't need to be in your eyeline all the time! She's perfectly fine here!"

"Sorry, Zir," he replied meekly, following his Squad leader back to the entrance.

The Chief Engineer watched the display with amusement. Was the big... whatever he was... sweet on the young pup Tori? It seemed bizarre, but then, in his decades out here, he had seen stranger couplings. Not that romance ever interested him. Work was good. Teaching talented pups like Tori, Yeager, Jonas Ostrow and others over the years -- the decades -- had been satisfying.

Maybe when he eventually retired, he'd find some smooth-pelted female to settle down and argue with-

A sound, and the rise of his fur as it always did when he was near a transporter carrier wave, made him turn, dodging behind an auxiliary support column as he caught a glimpse of six huge Jem'Hadar soldiers, and an equal number of Cardassians, appearing, immediately beginning to fire around them!

He took a breath, then launched himself towards a shallow work alcove- not to hide, but to take action. Perhaps his final action.

Ever since he'd been a Squab on the Intrepid, three or four thousand years ago it seemed, he remembered all the lessons from his first mentor, a human named Sergey Rozhenko, the most important lesson being: 'When the rats come, lock your larder'. His hooves tapped onto the display, quickly entering his authorisation codes-

"You! Get away from that!"

Grev ignored the warning, even as he knew the probable consequences of ignoring it. No one tells me what to do in my own Engine Room, you malodorous, cold-blooded bast-

He never finished his thought, never even felt the bolt of energy strike the back of his skull, instantly boiling the contents within as the Tellarite's body dropped where it stood.

*

Moments before, Zir had been ushering Urad back to the doorway. "I can't believe you were back there! I'm trying to make a good impression doing this!"

"Sorry, Zir! I thought Tori might need some help- you know, carrying something-"

"Like what, the warp core? They've somehow managed without you so far."

At the doorway, the other members of their team, the Miradorn twins, stood and sneered, their bulbous, bisected heads reflected the overhead lights. The male, Rei-Taan nodded with petty satisfaction. "Told you he had been mooning over the little human again."

His sister, Ree-Taan, glared at her twin. "Simpering tattletale."

The siblings faced each other, silently exchanging intense glowers; Zir had come to recognise this as their being engaged what was yet another of their arguments, exchanged via the telepathic link that Miradorn twins apparently possessed with each other... which she assumed allowed them to vent without risking censure or disciplinary action.

Zir grunted to herself. Miradorns were quarrelsome by nature, apparently, and there was some bad talk about how their people had signed a non-aggression pact with the Dominion at the start of War. But then Zir knew worse talk was said about Orions-

Suddenly, Captain Hrelle's voice hailed the ship. "All Hands! Intruder Alert! Condition Four! Clear the corridors of all non-essential personnel, effective immediately! We're raising force fields at critical junctures!"

Zir snapped to attention, her hand moving to the phaser in her holster and her eyes darting about. The Twins snapped out of their silent fight, their weapons already drawn, Ree-Taan demanding, "Where are they? Let me at them!"

Zir's immediately focused on her training, nodding to the Miradorn female. "Get to the portside access corridor near the Fabricator Labs, cover and report! Stay linked with your brother in case we have problems with communications!"

"I want to go, too!" Rei-Taan demanded.

"No, you're staying here with us."

He leaned closer to Zir, trying to use his height advantage to intimidate her. "I said-"

But then Urad drew, pointing a thick finger in the Miradorn male's face. "I believe our team leader has made herself clear, Comrade. This is no exercise. Behave."

Miradorns were generally huge and strong. But not that huge and strong. Rei-Taan backed off.

Ree-Taan departed, chuckling, "Little pussy."

Zir ignored them as she tapped her combadge. "Squad Three-Alpha reporting: one team member being stationed at Junction Port 4-7, others remain at Junction Cent-" She stopped, frowning, touching her combadge again, and once more. "There's something wrong with communica-"

There was the sound of weapons fire within Engineering.

She stepped back behind one side of the open doorway for cover, waving at Urad and Rei-Taan to do the same at the other side. She checked the Stun setting on her phaser, picturing in her mind the layout of Main Engineering, and where she last saw Chief Grev, Tori and the others. She tried her badge again with no success, and looked across at the other two. "Set to Level 5."

They complied, Urad's own custom-designed phaser looking more like a small rifle, his round eyes wide with concern. "Zir- Tori-"

She shushed him, listening, hearing unfamiliar voices -- and then another weapons shot. She should just hold out until Lt Shall or someone else contacts them, or comes down- no. No, that wasn't part of her training: Secure the perimeter, assess the situation, gain intelligence. She steeled herself as she called out, "This is Security! The area is surrounded, there's no escape! Drop your weapons and surrender!"

Almost immediately she heard, and then saw, a pair of reptilian figures emerge from around a corner, firing disruptor bolts, the bolts striking the corridor wall behind her. She dropped and fired back, driving them out of view again. Across from her, Urad and Rei-Taan followed suit -- but the Miradorn cadet's phaser beam was stronger, creating burns and sparks where it struck. "I said Level 5, Cadet!"

He glared at her. "Why are you so concerned about only stunning the enemy, Orion?"

"I'm not -- I'm concerned about our people getting caught in the crossfire and receiving a lethal shot!"

"Don't be so pitiful, woman! This is War! If they die, they die!"

Before Zir could argue further, however, Urad, standing behind Rei-Taan, clamped a massive hand around the other cadet's weapon arm and tightened, his voice low and with an icy threat to it. "If any of our people die because of your actions, Comrade... I swear in the name of my God you'll join them."

The Miradorn froze, looking up in disbelief... before acquiescing, just as the Jem'Hadar returned, firing once more, and the Security team responded again. Zir's whole body was as taut as a wire, and not just from Urad's unprecedented threatening words. This shouldn't be happening. They were cadets, they were only meant to be offering support.

But then she had thought something very similar, the day they had supported the Counselor during her qualifying mission as Captain... and ended up fighting an ancient, child-consuming evil. They had triumphed then.

They would triumph again today.

*

USS Ajax, Deck 2 Aft -- Main Engineering:

Chief Maryk stuck her head into the conduit and cursed. "Proklyani eti grebanyye mashiny!"

Outside, Sasha was rerunning her diagnostics. "Less swearing, more thought, Chief."

Her head still inside the machinery, the older woman informed her, "When I have answers, I have answers, Lieutenant, Ma'am. When I have nothing, I have swearing, okay?"

Sasha nodded to herself absently. "Fair enough, Chief." This wasn't right. The Defiant-class design had always had its share of problems with power management, but she had been led to believe the bugs had been worked out long before now. She had some technical expertise, but what they really needed-

"Lieutenant Hrelle?"

She turned, swallowing, having expected this but hoping that she might be too busy elsewhere. She turned to him, determined to stay in control. "Jim-"

Madison strode up, his expression, his body language, suffused with hostility. "That's 'Lieutenant', Ma'am-"

She raised a hand, cutting him off. "We don't have time for your petulance, so let me speak: Shanek was the spy, he used you, he's been taken care of, I'm sorry, I've been a complete jerk, I'll make it up to you after the battle, now help us get the fakakta warp drive back online before we all get blown to shit." She waved him towards the Master Systems Display.

The big man stared at her in abject disbelief, either from the multiple revelations or from her chutzpah at her attitude. Then he shook his head and moved to the Display.

Sasha looked back down on her PADD display, thankful for his ultimate response-

"Security to Lt Hrelle," came a young male voice over her combadge. "We're in the Science Lab to pick up Ensign Shanek as ordered, but he's not here-"

Immediately she cut in through the announcement. "Hrelle to All Hands: Security Alert! Detain Ensign Shanek, he's-"

A sound behind her cut her off, and she turned to see Shanek race into Engineering, dodging or knocking over crewmen as he headed towards a control station.

She drew her phaser and fired. It struck the Vulcan's left arm... and the energy somehow seemed to be absorbed by some sort of hidden mechanism that became briefly visible beneath his uniform. She set her phaser to a higher level and aimed-

But before she could fire again, Madison drew up, trying to tackle him. "Jim, no! Get out of the way-"

The big human was almost upon him, but Shanek was quicker, more skilled, driving a kick to Madison's left tibia that made a sickening cracking sound and sent Madison down crying out in pain.

Shanek reached the station, keying in commands. Sasha fired at his back, and then the back of his head, keeping a sustained beam that overwhelmed whatever mechanism he secretly wore that somehow absorbed phaser energy. He collapsed, spasming, and then... he vanished, as if vaporised, but definitely not by her. A suicide device? What the Seven Hells kind of people were Section 31 anyway?

As Red Alerts sounded throughout Engineering. "Structural Failure in Main Deuterium Tankage! Plasma Leak, Deck 2 Aft! Containment Fields Failure! Evacuate Decks 2, 3, 4-"

Nearby, Maryk emerged from her alcove and checked the nearest station. "The Tankage was inspected an hour ago, it suffered no damage in the battle!"

Sasha was moving towards Madison, but calling behind her, "Shanek took care of that! Get it locked down again!" She knelt beside Madison, checking his leg. "Broken?"

His broad face was crimson and twisted in pain. "What do you think, Genius?"

"Stay still, I'll get a medikit-"

"Lieutenant Hrelle!" Maryk cried out, looking in their direction. "Shanek's activated hidden lockdown commands! We're losing Life Support throughout the ship!"

Sasha glowered; Shanek probably had orders to cripple or destroy them in battle, and leave no witnesses. "Divert controls to the Bridge! We don't have time to undo the damage here!"

"Agreed." She looked over her shoulder at the remaining Engineering crew. "Get to Shuttlebay 1, follow protocol, suit up and be ready to assist in the purge! GO!" She glanced over at Madison. "We haven't forgotten you, Lieutenant."

"Oh, so glad to hear it, Chief!"

Just then, Kohanim's voice cut through the alarms. "Bridge to Engineering, what's happening down there?"

Sasha stopped re-routing system controls enough to smack her combadge. "Sabotage! We're evacuating Engineering, begin an immediate systems reboot of the Warp Drive and Environmental Control from up there!"

The ship rocked under weapons fire. Overhead, deuterium gas began flooding in, as the doors to the mid section shut.

Sasha thought ahead. They wouldn't be able to follow the rest of the crew out that way, and they wouldn't be able to crawl through the Jefferies Tubes with Madison in his present condition. "Come on, let's get to the cargo lift."

The two women returned to Madison, helping him with some difficulty back onto one foot, as he cursed in pain. "Where the hell are you taking me?"

"Shuttlebay 2's directly below. We're taking the Telamon out."

As the lift descended, Madison looked to each of them in disbelief. "What? We can't go out there in a shuttle, we'll get killed out there!"

"No, we might get killed out there," Sasha corrected, acutely aware of the gas filling up the space they had just left. "We'll definitely get killed in here."

He winced again. "Terrific. False imprisonment, broken limbs, risk of death from deuterium exposure, life support failure or Dominion fire. I'm so glad I signed up to this damn ship."

Maryk grunted. "I don't know what you ever saw in this guy, he does nothing but complain."

*

On the Bridge, Kohanim reported, "Captain, Lt Hrelle reports Lt Madison is injured, and with that and the deuterium leak she's been forced to depart in the Telamon with him and Chief Maryk."

"Sure," Weynik muttered to himself, plotting the tactical situation just ahead. "It's not like we need our Second Officer, Chief Engineer and Second Engineer." Louder now, he ordered, "Tell her to get to the Surefoot and stay with Papa Cat, while we buy them time to get away with the wounded.

And if any of the enemy want to die for their cause... well then, let's be obliging."

*

USS Surefoot, Deck 4 Fore -- Shuttlebay:

Jonas crouched by the edge of the hole looking down onto the lower deck. "You think that'll work, Kit?"

The Qarari Science Officer was finishing pouring the oatmeal-coloured foam over the injured Horta, completely covering it, and most of the surrounding bulkhead, and hardening quickly. "Indeed, Respected Lieutenant! The emergency Securifoam sealant will protect our injured cadet until he regains consciousness."

"He, uh, he won't suffocate in there, will he?"

"Unlikely, Respected Sir, given the Horta's anaerobic respiratory system."

"Then climb back up the ladder, we've got bulkhead panels ready to cover this hole until permanent repairs can be made-"

"Lieutenant!"

Jonas rose to his feet and moved to join his wife. Neraxis had moved among the survivors, mobilising those uninjured who could act as backup Security, but now stopped, acting formally with him in public. "Sir, we have a problem: the deceased. They're, uh, stacking up, and presently we can't get them moved to the Surefoot's Morgue, and I'd rather not leave them out in front of the others, people who knew them-"

He nodded, pointing to one of the Surefoot's Type-10 cargo shuttlecraft stacked along the side of the Bay. "We'll get them in there, lower the internal temperature to refrigeration levels." With a grimace, he indicated the remains of the Jem'Hadar that the Horta had left behind. "Those, too. People don't need to be reminded of them, either-"

"Lieutenant!"

Jonas turned, drawing up to the collection of those who arrived wounded, and were since wounded in the Jem'Hadar attack; personnel were moving around, assessing and treating, led by a female dark-skinned Capellan female, who rose and addressed him formally. "Sir, we've stabilised Cadet Boone and the others with anticoagulants and portable stasis clamps, most will survive and recover, but four of them need more treatment than we can give them here, as soon as possible."