Convergence
Posted on Thu Apr 26th, 2018 @ 12:21pm by Captain Mrazak & Lieutenant Commander Kiril Nevin & Lieutenant Nevada McKay M.D. & Gunnery Sergeant Roderik Kos
Edited on on Thu Apr 26th, 2018 @ 12:39pm
2,308 words; about a 12 minute read
Mission:
S1E1: Bynars Be Bygones
Location: USS Phantom
Timeline: MD 6; 2100
As the shuttlepod scurried away from the Federation embassy landing pad, Lieutenant "Roger Wilco" turned his eyes away from the sprawling urban decay that suddenly felt like a sick metaphor for his Starfleet career. He shook his head, angry that somehow even he had began thinking of himself with that heinous nickname. His thoughts instead turned toward the Phantom and whatever objective the dynamic duo behind him had in mind.
"I can dock inside the shuttle bay, but I don't know what you plan to do after that," the pilot said to Kowitz. "Crazy as it sounds, Commander Mrazak left a shackled AI in command. Two seconds after bio-scan, it will know you don't belong, and then we'll be on lock down."
Personally, he didn't care. His turncoat gesture was an act of defiance toward Mrazak first and foremost. If Section 31 kept its promises, then all's the better, but at this point, that came second to reclaiming his downtrodden dignity and self-respect.
"Shut up," Kowitz said. Almost as an afterthought, he added, "and transmit this into the automated transponder code."
The pilot took the proffered data chit from Kowitz, though he had to give an extra tug for it. It might have just been his imagination, but it almost zapped him at the touch. He quickly installed it into the conn interface. Turning his eyes to the snarky medical officer and the package she held in hand, he asked, "And what is that?"
Nevada Grinned, her white teeth flashing brightly as she wagged her finger at him slowly trying to act confident. "Spoilers….you wouldn't want to Spoil the surprise Now would you?" she chuckled, her fingers still rapidly dancing over Her Compact Tricorders Screen. Her gaze fell across the Defiant class ship, as she added. "Though A little hint is its Our Meal Ticket, if all goes as planned."
Kowitz ignored the chatter of the two pawns while he set to work. The viral blockchain added to the transponder codes should keep the Defiant-class's cyberwarfare countermeasures busy long enough for them to get in, plant the suicide doctor's payload, and extract before anyone detected them.
Above the shuttle bay where the infiltrators were docking, the infirmary received its first patient.
"Shit, what happened?" Nevin said, his eyes going wide as he saw the man's arm. It was clearly bent at an improper angle and there was a sizeable bump that indicated the broken bone was pushing out towards his skin.
"Physical conflict resolution," Rodi grunted. "Can you fix it? Can't do this one myself." He hoisted himself on the bed.
Nevin flipped open a tricorder and closely passed it over the protrusion. "Looks to me like you lost the fight," he said, his voice sounding slightly distant as he focused on the readout.
"I shot the other guy." Rodi said, as if that was the end all of the conversation.
The comms chimed into the room with Mrazak's angry voice followed behind. =/\= "Mrazak to Nevin. Tell me it wasn't you who recalled the shuttlepod to the Phantom just now. Because I have plans for that Roger Wilco, and it would be best if they did not involve you. I want--" =/\=
Cut off mid-rant, Mrazak's last words hung in the air. Lights flickered for an instant, though auxiliary power returned them to their normal brightness.
"Trust me, nobody will be in there."
Reno's muffled voice from outside argued with a much deeper baritone that failed to penetrate the door.
"We're in a non-combat zone. The chances of anyone finding the payload in here is next to--"
The doors opened for a confident helmsman leading two other individuals. Reno felt his tongue dry up and swell inside his mouth. As he looked back and forth between Nevin, Rodi, Kowitz, and Nevada, he found absolutely no compelling defense or explanation.
"You damn idiot." Kowitz snarled at the two distractions. He was tempted to use his knife as he preferred, but time was of the essence. A phaser would have to do. He had it charged and leveled on Nevin and Rodi in an instant. "This is on you, Renogade."
"Seems like your Intel was Wrong major," Nevada said taking a step to the side, her hands raising slowly, showing that she'd comply with which ever side won. "I'm Just a Consultant here…Fight your own fights."
With a lurch, Rodi shifted his weight forward and pulled Nevin down to the ground with him. The hiss of a phaser blast diffusing against the bulkhead they were in front of sounded like a angry snake. Rodi landed heavily on his broken arm, eliciting another grunt as the broken bones scraped against each other. "Stay down." The marine ordered in a hushed tone. He pushed himself up with his injured arm as he took the phaser from inside his jacket. He darted up and looked at the door.
Nevin, with his tricorder still in hand, started to scan the Marine, "You need to watch that arm or you'll have permanent repercussions," he said, his voice sounded the warning, but he knew the Marine wouldn't listen.
Kowitz had turned to flank Rodi and Nevin. He fired at Rodi again, the shot barely missing the marine's head. Behind Kowitz Reno had followed, his own phaser out but pointed down. Rodi fired at Kowitz, missing as well, but stopping him in his tracks. Rodi got up and shot again, missing this time as well. But it wasn't about the hit, but about the distraction. His phaser clattered on the floor, and extending his backhand toss, he slid a collapsible baton out of his sleeve, and extended it.
At Rodi's last step, Kowitz tried taking aim again. But Rodi had closed the distance,and wound up his swing at Kowitz's arm. The duranium-titanium composite baton connected in the middle of the upper arm. Kowitz loss immediate sensation in his left arm and backed away from the pain. The distance allowed the merc Marine to clear his combat knife from his boot. A small smile of satisfaction appeared on Rodi's face, but was equally quickly gone again. Rodi advanced on Kowitz, winding up his arm again, and aiming at the left leg.
Reno had stepped more to Kowitz' side, and used his own weapon to aim at the Rodi. The problem was that Kowitz' backing up had left them side by side. Rodi changed his target, dodged Kowitz's knife, and took a half step towards Reno, moving within the firing arm in the blink of an eye. The baton came down on both Kowitz' right leg, and Reno's left, strafing them both. Both grunted in pain. Rodi's follow up was an elbow to Kowitz' face. It lead to, in Rodi's ears, the beautiful sound of a nose breaking.
The combat knife clattered to the floor.
The backside of the baton then connected with Reno's right temple. The pilot collapsed in a heap. Kowitz had stepped back again, backing into the wall. His right hand, holding the phaser covered his nose, his left arm still dangling uselessly. Rodi took another half step forward and lashed out with the baton at the attacker's right leg, just above the knee. The man lost balance and collapsed. For good measure Rodi stomped on the phaser-holding hand. The weapon slid out and was kicked away. He then approached on Nevada, his baton in striking position again.
"Need any help?" Nevin called out from behind the biobed. His arm barely stuck out from the safety space, waving the tricorder around to try and get a reading on the Marine. Sadly, he wasn't close enough.
Nevada had her hands raised still A look of passive indifference on her face as she took a submissive step back, trying to have her body language broadcast how little of a threat she was. "I surrender, That asshat had me here against my will anyway," she said taking every opportunity to throw the marine under the proverbial bus.
"Stay down." Rodi barked at Nevin before locking eyes with Nevada. "On your knees, hands on your head." He approached the woman, looking to cuff her and realizing that he didn't have any on him. He grunted in annoyance and in pain, as the adrenaline slowly lessened and he felt his left arm throbbing again.
"Sure No Problem," she said Cheerfully. "Oh and…do be carful with my Tricorder," she added as she got to her knee's. "Its set up to cause quite the mess," she chuckled as she put her instrument down, her hands Resting atop her head. "I fully intend on Cooperating with who ever you are." she said rapidly her eyes darting between the two men.
A tinkling sound came from the door. Kowitz had managed to crawl away while Rodi had been distracted with Nevada, and he'd left a farewell gift of a photon grenade near the closing door.
"See you in hell!"
"Janus! Get that thing out of here!" Rodi bellowed as he looked at the photon grenade
"Already on it!" Nevin yelled out from behind the biobed. He leaned against the side panel and began to tap at the console. It took less than a few moments for him to pull up the medical transporter and lock onto the grenade.
But when he went to initialize, the transporter gave an unhappy chirp instead of a follow through.
Nevin frowned. "Apparently 'space' isn't a valid target location," he called out behind him, his brow furrowed.
Rather than Janus' holographic projection, there was the stock voice of Starfleet's isometric ship computer. "The upgraded artificial intelligence is unable to comply with requested actions. Warning: explosive ordnance detected, detonation imminent."
"I'm working on it, I'm working on it!" Nevin yelled, annoyed by the distraction. "Apparently the medical transporter has special requirements."
The beeping on the grenade quickened in pace, indicating that it was getting close to detonating.
"Shit, alright here!" Nevin smacked the console, pressing multiple buttons at the same time.
The sound of the transporter hummed as the object disappeared. A pensive silence fell over the room as the people stood there for a few moments, looking at each other. Suddenly, a distant explosion could be heard as the ship rocked to one side.
Nevin's eyes went wide. "Oops."
Once Kowitz got moving again, he managed to get a foot beneath him. His right knee was bent at an odd angle, but he could hobble on that leg by steadying himself against the bulkhead wall. Pain flared with every step, but it also fueled his rage. He would not die on this ship. He would make it. He would report back to the Wallace-class vessel still in orbit, tell Commodore Hightower that his new pets had betrayed them all, and then he would assemble the most bloodthirsty fire-team this side of hell to come back and murder this damned Theta team. If the commodore didn't like it, then he damn him too. Nobody maimed Kowitz and lived. Nobody.
Huffing and groaning, the last of his adrenaline dwindling if not his determination, Kowitz finally made it back to the shuttlepod. It had only been 2 decks, but each moment was agonizing. He punched the shuttlepod's access panel and fell against the hatch door. When it opened, he sank to the floor and gave himself a moment to catch his breath. They would see him flying away, so he couldn't afford to pass out once he made it to the helm.
Another deep grunt bellowed from his lips, and he managed to get himself to all fours. The pain in his knee and elbow flared again, sending him back to the floor. His throat choked back a cry of pain. He would make it. Crawling with his one good arm and leg, he reached the base of the helmsman's chair and forced himself up into it. As he collapsed into the chair, he began the ignition sequence one slap at a time.
The impulse engines came online, giving him access to the thrusters. Kowitz set a course directly to orbit and sent an emergency broadcast to the friendly vessel. The shuttlepod bay doors were behind him with only an open twilight sky ahead. With the course laid in, Kowitz threw himself back into the chair and began laughing. Only softly at first, but laughter deep from his belly flowed as relief washed over him.
"I made it." He chuckled again at his own triumph.
A whirring sound slowly rose in pitch until it interrupted his laughing. Kowitz jerked his head to the side, wondering what it was. It took but an instant to recognize it. One of those doctor's nanite payloads--he'd handed them off to her back at the embassy before they boarded. A flurry of lights emanated from the central core as the two polar ends hissed their release and expanded. The last thing Kowitz saw was a flash of light.
"Lieutenant Kiril to the Bridge," said a voice through the comms. "One of our shuttlepods just exploded!"
Nevada Smirked. "Oh dear…it seems he found my trap," she laughed and rolled her shoulders. "Thats the last Uncooperative Trace of his mission, So, Before you cart me off to what ever Prison the Federation is going to slap me in this time….Can I at least Get a decent nights sleep for saving what ever your organization is from a public Viewing By Section 31?"
"Get up." Rodi grunted, the adrenaline soaring through him again. "Do anything stupid and I'll kill you." Rodi informed her calmly. "Brig is through there." He nodded to the corridor.
"There will be no killing," Nevin stated, as he walked towards the doors of Sickbay. "And be careful with that arm. I'm going to have a hell of a time fixing it as it is," he said, disappearing from the room.
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