Bugging Out – No more running.
by HoD Ro' Matlh & Lieutenant JG Linx Moonshadow & Ensign Israna Haan & Sogh Germite Ephilom & Ne' Michelle "Mike" Young & Ne' Mariaa'n Si'van & Soghla' Marie St. Helene & Soghla' Jared & Soghla' Terri (Tell) Hope & Soghla' HIchop Matlh

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Title   No more running.
Mission   Bugging Out
Author(s)   HoD Ro' Matlh & Lieutenant JG Linx Moonshadow & Ensign Israna Haan & Sogh Germite Ephilom & Ne' Michelle "Mike" Young & Ne' Mariaa'n Si'van & Soghla' Marie St. Helene & Soghla' Jared & Soghla' Terri (Tell) Hope & Soghla' HIchop Matlh
Posted   Tue Dec 16, 2014 @ 10:15am
Location   Main Docking bay
Timeline   After planting the explosives
HIchop was the first into the airlock but he had to wait for the rest to be inside before he could close the inner door. Marie was the last one through, supporting her screaming ribs with one hand and being half carried/dragged by Tell and Israna.

The solid inner door closed, and as he wound the wheel to seal it he saw movement through the small reinforced window. Creatures were pouring into the control room, creatures he had seen on the monitor and, perhaps, in his nightmares. They were part lizard part darkness, and all teeth and claws. They ignored the two figures working the controls, seeing them as little more than mobile furniture. but they quickly found the airlock door. With an scream they began throwing themselves at it.

Michelle hit the cycle button and the outer door swung open. The troop moved quickly out, with HIchop at the rear, disruptor drawn, eyes on the slowly bending inner door.

The docking bay was empty except for HIchop's abandoned battle suit. The hangar doors at the far end were sealed shut. There was no sign of the FHew.

Behind them, from the airlock, the sound of metal tearing could just be heard.

"Where the hell is the ship when you need it?" snapped Tell. "Did someone forget where to park it?"

Israna moved towards Marie's position, looked around for supplies as she did. "So we need first aid. Marie is in a lot pain here! Either I get painkillers or something similar or I knock her out myself!"

"I doubt she's going to need painkillers, shortly," May'Bel commented flatly. "Looks like we might be making a last stand!"

Marie tried to push Israna aside. The woman was starting to get on her nerves with her constant fussing. Marie’s ribs hurt but she’d been through worse. She hauled herself to her feet. That relieved the pressure somewhat; better that than lying down, anyway.

The ankle was another matter. She would have to be careful with that. Right now though adrenaline was pumping through her and dulling the pain. She knew she would pay for this later but that had to be better than Israna tending her again. The thought made Marie’s stomach turn.

Marie hobbled forwards. She had barely taken three steps when she noticed her ankle was moving smoothly. She checked her ribs; no pain. She stopped, flabbergasted. This wasn’t adrenaline, this was something.... Damn! she thought. Those Borg nanites or whatever they were that I got injected with are repairing the damage. What else are they doing?

There was no time to concern herself with that question. She cast around the room they were in for something she could use against...whatever it was on the other side of the airlock.

Nothing.

This was a landing field, and they are notoriously wide and empty. In this case, she thought ruefully, most notably empty of a B'rel.

A computer voice intoned, "Warning: Level 2 cleansing of Main Hangar Bay imminent."

Tell raced up to Marie. "I was wondering where the hell you had got to, you ok?" she asked in concern. "You look like hell otherwise."

Marie was reluctant to answer. Last time these nanite things had been activated she started making advances towards Tell; advances which were clearly not reciprocated.

“I look like I feel,” she forced out through gritted teeth.

"Mind if I take a picture of you then. Picked up this sonic thing when no one was looking. Would be great in engineering and it takes photos too. I'm dying to try it out"

“If you must.” Marie did her best to smile but a grimace was all she could manage. “Now, I think there are more important things you should be attending to. Like those monsters on the other side of the airlock!”

As if in response to Marie there was a loud banging on the door to the airlock and it began to bend from the inside.

Marie cast around for some kind of weapon. The best she could see was a hefty looking iron bar, probably used for.... She decided she didn’t care what it was used for. In a corner was a toolbox. I doubt it will contain anything useful but I might as well look, she thought.

Inside was a collection of old fashioned screwdrivers. She picked up the box, surprised at how well her muscles responded to the load. She placed herself behind a bulkhead to the left of the airlock with the box at her feet. The screwdrivers might make a useful substitute for throwing knives. She doubted they would cause much damage but they might slow the creature down and give someone else a chance to get a few decent blows in. And, you never know, I might just get lucky.

Tell thought that the blades sheathed to her wrist would hold them off for a while but what good were just a few of them. She would need a lot more than the ones she was carrying. She toyed with the sonic engineering tool she had in her hands, she had only just discovered it was a camera as well. What else was it supposed to do?

There was a flash included in it and some other things attached to it, Tell didn't have time to pick up the instructions so she thought she would figure it out as she went along. If she adjusted the flash it might stun them for a while or keep them at bay. What the hell did it do?

One thing she was sure about that its battery life might not last long enough and Tell couldn't afford to waste its power. Knives first and then this sonic tool? Sonic tool first and then the knives? Didn't make much difference anyway as once again they appeared to face the end. Damned Cap'n, she thought when I get out of this scrape I'm going on leave.

Tell picked up a fine screwdriver from the tool box that Marie had found and began fiddling around with the sonic something in her hand whilst cursing under her breath.

Germite looked around. There was no way out. The only choice was to fight. He pulled a laser scalpel from his bag. He adjusted the settings to give himself the largest beam possible. It would have to do. Now he would wait.

Haven't been in a fight with an unknown opponent for a while, could be interesting. Mike pulled out her blade in her right hand, leaving it un-activated for the time being, and a small pistol in her left. Now all she could do was wait.

May'Bel deposited Jared on the deck, with his backpack next to him. Then he grabbed the little TiQ by the shirtfront, and slapped him awake.

"Wake up Jared. Time to die."

"What?" The little man said blearily, in obvious confusion. "You mean you changed your mind about..."

His eyes suddenly seemed to focus on May'Bel, "Oh... it's you."

He started suddenly, looking around. Leaping to his feet, he began to head back towards the door, "THE COUNTER-AGENT!"

May'Bel caught him with one hand, and lifted him off his feet.

"Gone," the Klingon told him. "Destroyed. Almost everything in there is gone. Everything else will be gone in a couple of minutes. It looks like it's last stand time."

It wasn't EXACTLY a lie.

Jared looked back at the facility and heard the screeches and sounds of rending metal. Swallowing, he dropped to his knees and began to rummage in his backpack.

"Maybe I can rig up something that'll give us some sort of protection. A field or something. There was a power-source in here I could have used, but it seems to have fallen out..."

May'Bel ignored him as he fiddled, and drew his Tajtiqs. He twirled them expertly, and flexed his muscles. Then he re-sheathed them and drew his disruptor pistols, coolly checking the charge levels and the sighting as the metal of the station bulkhead began to give way - showing glimpses of gleaming claws, shining teeth, and slick chitin through the rents in the metal.

Finally, he took one disruptor in each hand, dropped to one knee and sighted up on where the enemy were about to emerge.

He breathed deep, feeling the thrill of the May'Bel wash over him.

Hichop stood in front of his suit contemplating what it feels like to be in it. He could feel its pull. The situation was useless but at least he would be whole in the suit. ‘We are all going to die’ he thought to himself. If he could use the suit to blow a hole in the back and perhaps save a few by expanding shields around them. Perhaps at least save Jared or maybe Tell. But it would not work as he knew the walls of this station would simply disperse the weapons fire. Every idea seems to end in the away teams death. He sighed a long sigh. Since death was inevitable and there was no way out it was logical to bring about the away teams death. It would be a kindness. Hichop resolved to turn off the safeties in the suit and as he took out as many of the creatures as he could he would shoot through the away team. Their death would be instant and without pain.

As he got in his suit he could almost smell the return of his Soul. He smiled, forgetting all about shooting his own people.

Death, honour and glory awaited us all. Either we would die in battle together or we would live and have stories to tell.

He pointed his weapons directly through his away team and at the buckling doors waiting for the inevitable. The excitement was exhilarating.

The doors burst from their mountings an were pushed aside like tin foil as a black sea foamed into the room. The beasts were part chainsaw, part insect, parts beast and all nightmare.

Marriaa'n just stared as the horror over took here. Here was a thing uninterested in bargains or politics. It existed on instinct alone. May'bel's disruptors fired into the fray but even at maximum setting they did little more than give one or two beasts cause to pause. Marie threw a screwdriver at the melee of bodies, with no effect. She hefted her impromptu club at the closest form but it was ripped form her grasp. She and Tell, still waving her new device in her hand, disappeared into the black sea for a moment.

Then there was a roar as HIchop's suit kicked into life. Twin rotary cannons poured deadly hail and actually forced the tide back from the two women. The automated friendly fire systems on the suit had been adjusted by Jeeves to accept the FHew crew as non-targets and so, while 500rounds a second screamed past their face and bodies, not so much as a scratch marked them from his guns.

A path was open and the women retreated back to where Mike and Germite were standing, blades out. May'bel, disruptors empty, threw the pistols away and drew his own blades.

Hichop glanced down at the controls. A gun at 15%, B gun right behind it.

Jared kept babbling to himself, "Transporter? Not enough power. Phase shift? Not enough power. Shields? Not enough power. Not enough power!"

Then there was a horrible clicking noise as HIchop's right arm ran out of bullets. A moment later the second went dry. Suddenly, the dark sea which he had held at bay washed forward and consumed them.

Marie let one of the creatures past then jumped on its back. The chitin was slick but she managed to grab hold around its neck. She reached forward and tried to force a screwdriver into an eye socket. She’d heard it worked on crocodiles and the like on Earth so maybe here....

With an effortless shrug, Marie was thrown off. She landed on her back and bounced then lay still, waiting for the inevitable. When it did not immediately happen, she roused herself to return to the fray. She had not a single clue what she was going to do but she was determined she was going to go out on her feet.

For each it was a desperate time of stabbing blindly at the darkness as bodies flashed past them, every instant expecting too feel the claw or tooth that would be death. Above the screaming and hissing and movement could be heard the sound of metal tearing and then...

... the sea passed.

The crew found them selves slashing at empty air as the monsters swarmed past them to the far end of the hangar bay where the first of the number had torn a hole. The creatures were swarming past the away team to fling themselves into the vacuum of space. In a matter of moments they were in an empty Hangar again, panting and buffeted but unharmed.

A computer voice intoned, "Warning, Level One decontamination in D-3 minutes."

"Now what?" asked the engineer still feeling exhilarated after the fight. "Haven't they got tired of us yet? "

“My guess,” Marie said between gasps of breath, “whatever this ‘Decontamination Process’ is, they were fleeing it. If monsters like that are afraid, I vote we don’t hang around long.”

There was a clang on the outer hull near where the creatures had torn a way out. Then the sound of metal on metal and finally Jaqwi's head and disruptor rifle appeared at the opening. Seeing the team and the empty hangar he dropped through carrying a tether line on his waist.

"Waw'e boghoS!" he barked, "Hurry!"

The team moved quickly to him to find the tether was attached to the FHew, which was hanging outside the station. JaqwI' gestured to the rope indicating they should make for the ship.

"Warning, Level One decontamination in D-2 minutes."