Surefoot 52: ...This Means War Pt. 03

He thought of all those who relied on him for protection from such fates. All those he failed.

He thought of his family, still under threat, their fates uncertain.

"You came to learn," he growled, claws extended as his right hand gripped the black handle of the Jem'Hadar blade in Orogg's chest. "Well, you came to the right place. The Surefoot is as much a teaching vessel as an ambulance.

And I like to deliver lessons.

So here are your lessons for today:

He dislodged the blade from the body. "One: I take the injury, the loss of every single member of my crew very, very personally."

He turned in place, judging the weight and balance of the blade in his grip, quickly understanding the best way to wield it in a fight against multiple targets. "Two: as a Caitian, I can hear and smell you four cowardly kussiks around me, despite your pitiful little camouflage tricks."

He felt the air around him stir in response as he continued. "Three: with the quantum torpedoes nearby, none of us can use our energy weapons in here, so we're gonna have to settle accounts hand to hand. Assuming you have the courage for something like that, of course.

Oh, and Four: none of you will leave here alive to share what you've learned today. You'll be too busy begging for mercy before you die."

A gruff male voice declared from the shadows, "Jem'Hadar do not beg for mercy."

Hrelle smiled as he bared his teeth. "Well then, I guess that's gonna have to be Lesson Five..."

He swung out his weapon hand, catching one of the rapidly-approaching Jem'Hadar as they emerged from their camouflaged states, wielding blades identical to the one they used on Orogg.

Hrelle blocked the attack to his right -- and grabbed Orogg' body and flung it towards those coming at him on the left. Sorry, Glenqom. He charged at the two on his right, remembering the old combat adage: what you might lack in numbers or weapons, you can make up for with ferocity.

Hrelle knew how to be ferocious.

The metal clanged together with an ugly sound, as he managed to deflect two blades at once, grabbing and twisting the hand of Jem'Hadar until he broke the wrist, before kicking him backwards.

It had been a while since he faced multiple targets with bladed weapons, and most of the memories he had of similar experiences as a gladiator in the Orion Deathmatches was lost to him now. But he thought he could still handle himself.

He slashed out at the other Jem'Hadar, cutting deeply across his mottled olive face and making ugly blood spurt -- there were shallow arteries near the eye sockets, he noted to himself -- and allowed himself to turn and face the other two, blocking blows and striking back with kicks to their obvious vulnerable points like their knees and groin -- or not in the case of the latter, making him wonder if they had genitals at all -- and he saw how quickly they could be temporarily overwhelmed by the intensity of an attacker, making mistakes-

With a roar he swung down his blade on the fourth Jem'Hadar's head, cracking the skull and penetrating halfway into his brain, killing him instantly... but leaving the blade buried too deep for him to remove in time to-

The two Jem'Hadar now behind him grabbed him, one of them trying to bring their blade across Hrelle's throat. Hrelle feinted, instantly recovering to drive their own heads together with a sickening cracking sound... only then noting the blade cut into the left sleeve of his jacket. The padding had helped keep it from penetrating too deeply, but he could feel the blood pour down his arm, as the pain fought to eclipse his adrenaline and rage.

The other two attacked, having now attached their blades to pike-like staffs to extend their reach. But they were... clumsy? Hrelle noted this, even as he blocked their attempts to stick him like a forest shuris. You kussiks really have little experience, have you? Grown in your test tubes, trained from birth to fight and nothing else... but maybe that birth was only a few weeks ago? You rely on your size and your weapons and your numbers and your fearsome reputation, but you're not invincible.

As if in demonstration, he grasped the staff of one of his attackers, broke it completely, retrieved the half closest to him, and launched himself forward, impaling the third Jem'Hadar. He doubled over, gurgling as blood spat out from his mouth.

The last one stuck Hrelle in the size, twisting the blade and making Hrelle roar in pain. Hrelle pulled the blade from his gut and swung out, claws bared as he leapt upon his attacker, feeling the blood pumping from him as he continued his counter-assault, driving his thumbs deep into the Jem'Hadar's deep-set, beady eyes, pulping them completely and making him cry out in agony.

Then Hrelle clamped his muzzle around the throat and ripped away, spitting out the foul flesh as he staggered back, and the Jem'Hadar twisted about on the floor, blood pumping out from between his fingers despite his attempts to stem the fatal flow.

He was reaching for his pistol.

Hrelle reached for his phaser, stopping him. Hrelle's voice was hoarse, his lungs heaving to draw in more air than they were doing. "By... the way... I lied... lied about using energy weapons in here, so I could have a chance against you. Lesson Six: Never Trust the Enemy." He fired a lethal shot at the Jem'Hadar, and then the others, just to be certain.

Now the adrenaline was wearing off, and the pain in his arm and gut overwhelmed him. He managed to slip out of his jacket and clutch his left side, while clumsily readjusting the setting on his phaser to Burn, roughly cauterising his wounds before he passed out. He almost bit his tongue in the process, but managed to temporarily deal with his wounds, if not the overall aches and exhaustion that came with being old and fat and having to act like someone half his age and weight.

He moved to the Auxiliary Control Station, and rerouted the subsystems away from the bioneural gel pack network and back to the ODN, hoping that Tori's suggestion and his own instincts were correct-

The subsystems came online! He forced down his pain to raise the Bridge. "T'Varik! Check your boards, everything should be up and running again!"

There was no immediate answer, something which confused and chilled huim, until he heard the voice of Cadet Squad Leader Jexa-Naku. "Captain! Sir, we- we had, uh-"

"What's happened, Cadet? Report!"

Then T'Varik's voice responded. "Forgive me for not replying, Sir. Three Jem'Hadar attacked the Bridge, Lt Neheru has been critically injured, I am attempting to keep him alive, Lt Velkovsky is on her way to Sickbay 1 to obtain assistance-"

He nodded to himself. Another one fallen... "Scan for any remaining Jem'Hadar!"

"Captain, the Jem'Hadar appear to possess masking technology to deceive our sensors-"

"I know, that's why you're going to cross-check with Environmental Monitoring to see where oxygen is being used in areas that seem to have no lifesigns! They can't mask the need to breathe!"

"Acknowledged... Captain, approximately six Jem'Hadar remain onboard, detected together in Deck 3 Mid -- outside the Science Lab!"

His heart stopped... he smacked his combadge. "Kami! Talk to me! Are you okay?"

His wife's voice, and the panic within it, carried to him as if in the same room. "Esek! They're outside the door, trying to break in! Help us!"

"T'Varik, can you beam them out?"

"Negative, Sir, transporter inhibitors in proximity-"

"All available personnel, converge at the Science Lab! I'm on my way, Kami!"

*

The pounding outside the blast door grew louder.

Kami finally handed a crying Sreen to Travers. "Get her to safety, Pamela."

The young Security guard accepted the bundle in shocked disbelief. "What? Where are you going to be?"

Kami nodded to the last of the civilians entering the hatch to climb to the upper deck. "I'll follow once everyone is uptop." She turned to an anxious-looking Misha, who was staring at the blast doors. "Sweetheart, go up with Pamela, mind your sister and keep everyone up there safe until I arrive, okay?"

"No! I stay! I protect you!"

"And you will, once you get up there and wait for me up there."

"No! I stay-"

"MISHA!" she snapped at him angrily. "Do as you're told!" She hugged him fiercely. "Please." Then she returned to her feet, looking at Travers again. "You too. Hold her carefully as you climb, the way I showed you." She swallowed. "Go. Keep my cubs safe. Now."

Travers stared at her in horror. She knew. But wordlessly she complied, disappearing through the hatch after Misha.

Then Kami began moving crates closer to the blast door, hoping to impede the invaders as much as possible. Esek, please get here. Please...

*

Sasha was in the corridor junction near the Shuttlebay, arranging for the people in the Survivor Stations on this deck to be checked, when a voice came over the shipwide intercom, "Security Alert! Jem'Hadar outside Science Lab, Deck 3 Mid!"

Sasha was on the move to the nearest vertical hatch.

*

On the Bridge, Jexa-Naku's hands moved swiftly over the Ops station controls, her voice alternating between delivering reports and Intercom announcements. "Commander, Sickbay 1 reports they're sending an Emergency Medical Team to the Bridge for Lt Neheru... Damage Control reports explosive decompression in Deck 3 Starboard Maintenance Corridor, safety fields in place- Commander! Emergency medical signals from the combadges for Lt Shall and Dr Furore in the Maintenance Corridor! I'm sending a medical team there!"

Still focused primarily on keeping Neheru alive until medical assistance arrived, T'Varik managed a curt, "Acknowledged." Inwardly, however, she was awash with an illogical, irrational, unsubstantiated and utterly selfish hope, for the first time in this damned day. You will live, my Beloved... you are far too stubborn to leave this life now...

*

Misha peered down the hatch. "Mama! Where are you? You come up, now!"

Travers stood nearby, trying to comfort both the crying bundle in her arms and the adults around her in the overcrowded room. "She's coming Misha, just get away from that hatch, it's not safe-"

Everyone cried out and ducked as a loud concussive bang travelled up to them from the Science Lab, followed by a torpedo of air that knocked Misha backwards.

Travers turned instinctively to protect Sreen, before looking back to call for- "MISHA!"

He was gone.

*

Kami had been fortunate enough to have dropped behind a crate as the concussive blast brought down the last of the forcefields and slid the blast door open, though her head rang and she had lost her phaser somewhere on the floor.

Smoke poured in from the corridor outside. As did Jem'Hadar.

She bared her teeth and claws, leaping over the crate and sending down one invader with a kick to his midsection, and then another with a kick to the head that sent him reeling. Her claws met painful resistance against their body armour and most of their thick hides, but she managed to avoid their pistol fire. She moved to a third-

But there were too many. They grabbed her limbs, her tail, her mane, their individual strength matching hers, their numbers and weight exceeding hers.

They pushed her down on all fours, head tugged roughly back to make her look up.

She saw on Jem'Hadar, his bearing and posture obviously that of a leader, quickly move about the interior of the room, at the overturned crates and scientific equipment, before returning to glare at her. "What is this place?"

She gasped, seeking her voice, hoping to keep them all occupied... and not notice the open hatch door in the far corner. "Sci- Science Lab-"

"You lie! There were multiple doors, defences, force fields! But all we find in here is a worthless animal! It makes no sense!" He drew closer. "Where is the Armoury?"

They tightened their grip on her until she cried out in pain. "Listen- please- you're cut off from your people- but you can negotiate a truce- no more have to die-"

"Jem'Hadar do not negotiate," he informed her. "We conquer. Tell me where the Armoury is."

Her final thoughts returned to Esek, her darling husband, her rock and her better half... don't let what happens to me stain the rest of your life... you have to take care of our cubs-

He drew out his pistol and pressed the tip of it against her forehead. "Tell me where the Armoury is."

She looked up along the barrel of the pistol and the length of his arm to his face, seeing no mercy, no hope. No future. "No."

He tightened his grip-

As a brown-furred blur leapt onto the back of the lead Jem'Hadar, one arm wrapped around the Jem'Hadar's head to impede his vision, the other baring tiny claws to rake at the exposed reptilian skin as best he could. The lead Jem'Hadar drew back, spinning in confusion, trying to extricate his attacker, while his fellows raised, then lowered their weapons, unable to shoot without hitting their leader, unable to even identify his attacker.

Kami knew. "Misha! No! Get away!"

Finally the leader grabbed Misha by the back of the cub's jacket and threw him into the corner of the room. The cub hit the wall hard, tumbled, but quickly righted himself, facing the six Jem'Hadar in a Caitian combat stance he had seem his father and cousin adopt many times in exercises, his arms spread wide, his claws and teeth bared and his eyes filled with righteous fury as he roared at them, "FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME!"

The Jem'Hadar glanced at each other, and then at the four-year-old in the miniature uniform, in utter confusion, before their leader asked, "You... are Starfleet?"

"No," Kami answered for him pleadingly, "He's my cub, don't hurt him, please don't-"

Misha just roared again at them in response. "I said fight me, you poopheads!"

They raised their pistols to him.

Shots rang out.

And Jem'Hadar fell, as Sasha Hrelle raced up the smoke-filed corridor, firing her .666 Magnum, before the rest of them turned to face her, firing back. Sasha continued onward, cursing when a disruptor bolt made contact with her vest, but she drove them away from the doorway until she emptied her pistol.

Then she ducked to one side. "NOW, DAD! TAKE 'EM!"

And Esek Hrelle emerged from the smoke behind her, roaring at the top of his lungs as he barrelled into the group, bringing several down and giving Sasha a chance to draw her Kaetini sword and enter the room.

The fight spread out through the interior, and the sudden appearance of father and daughter startled the Jem'Hadar that were restraining Kami, giving her the chance to break free... and break jaws and wrists, as she looked up at Misha, drawing closer as if to join the fight. "Sasha! Your brother!"

As if on cue, one Jem'Hadar went after Misha now- until he was stopped in his tracks by Sasha impaling him with a sword to his back, before she drew it out and pulled her little brother close to her, keeping him safe behind her sword while his mother and father went to work, both of them suppressing their compassion, their mercy and gentility, in place of a raw fury to protect each other, and their families. Misha tried to watch, but Sasha covered his eyes and ignored his protests.

And then, just like that, it was over.

Hrelle was staggering from multiple wounds, but was helping Kami back to her feet, gasping, "S-Sreen-"

She couldn't speak, but nodded and pointed to the open hatch, until he nodded back in understanding.

"Mama! Papa!" Misha cried out, wriggling from his sister's embrace to rush to them. "I protect!"

Hrelle knelt and hugged both his wife and son. "You did, My Warrior Prince. You surely did."

Sasha knelt there, touching her combadge, feeling herself smile for what seemed like the first time in ages. "Lieutenant Hrelle to... to Bridge: Science Lab secure, Jem'Hadar downed... family safe..."

THE ADVENTURES OF THE SUREFOOT WILL CONTINUE IN... DEEP SIX