Target Practice, Part 2

Posted on Thu 20th Jun, 2019 @ 6:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Dallas Briggs
Edited on on Sun 11th Aug, 2019 @ 12:36am

983 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Asteroid Field
Timeline: Backstory

Previously ... Not being in control of the fighter, there was only one thing Victoria could do to try to avoid their fate. She sent out a lot of chaff, hoping to mis-direct the incoming rounds, and it worked ... almost. "One is through!" she exclaimed, pushing the button again, but there was nothing else to send. A hit was inevitable, unless Dallas pulled off a miracle.

And now, destruction awaits ....

The missile impacted the back end of the fuselage and exploded, depleting all shielding and knocking all systems offline. The fighter spun out of control as it passed by a smaller asteroid, one of the wings making solid contact and shearing off. The fighter continued to spin out of control wildly as the crew began to feel the effects. Dallas began to pass out and before he did, he heard the computer in his Flight Suit, "Ship structural integrity at ten percent and falling, activating emergency transport to target destination." Just as soon at the two aboard had been transported, the ship exploded.

Victoria's first awareness was a headache. She tried to touch her head, but she couldn't coordinate the motion. It was only after she heard the groan that she realized she had made it. Where was she? What had happened? "Dallas!" she called in a panic. "Dallas, where are you?"

Moments went by, her heart pounding. You're breathing, girl, she reminded herself. You're alive. Dallas is probably still out, but not far away. Sure that her eyes were open, she still couldn't see a thing. Was it night? Was she underground? Before the questions could be answered, Victoria blacked out.

Dallas had materialized on the surface of the Asteroid, but he his head had hit the helmet and cracked it, luckily there was no leak or he would probably be dead. A long streak of his blood was smeared over the cracked polymer material and some blood had dried on his head and face. He lay there against a rock and tried to remember what happened. He was in a fighter with Victoria....Victoria. He looked around frantically for her and called out her name. "Victoria! Victoria, where are you!" Slowly, he stood and and began to look for her. A couple of times he nearly blacked out and fell over, but he fought the darkness. He had to find her. He pulled out his tricorder and began to scan for her life signs.

The next time Victoria became conscious, the world was still black. It took several moments for her to go back through remembering some of what had happened. She tried to move a hand to her head, which was pounding in pain, but neither hand would move. She could feel her fingers wiggle, but there was pressure on both arms, and she thought she must be trapped under something. If Dallas had hit the transporter, why was she trapped? If he hadn't, she wouldn't even be alive, which was some comfort, but not much help. Meanwhile, do the Breen think they destroyed us, or is the lab now on high alert, making the job even harder? As she pondered that, her headache increased and she faded out again.

Dallas scanned for Victoria, but the life signs were weak and the tricorder was wrong. "How the hell could she be inside the lab? She should be right here with me.." Dallas spoke out loud to himself. He walked to the door that was seemed to be the only way in. The door lock was a numeric pad that was less than 'Highly Secure'. He retrieved tools out of his pack and began to remove the pad from the wall so he could bypass it.

Once the pad was removed and bypassed, the door opened and Dallas was able to gain entry. He took off his helmet and dropped it on the floor when it was safe to do so and pulled his disruptor before carefully moving down the rock tunnel.

Inside the security office, a buzzer droned. The Breen guard on duty glanced over at the spy screens as he smacked the button to turn it off. This better not be another one of those scientists trying to sneak out, he fumed. Flipping through the screens, he halted at one near a door on the backside of the lab building, top floor. He watched the suited humanoid figure creeping away from the door and then removing its top. A Human! How did that get here?

The guard reached for the com to the barracks. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a rotation, and there were only three guards on the asteroid, other than him, for the next several hours. Fortunately, it was only one human they had to deal with.

In a language mostly incomprehensible to others, even with a universal translator, the security room watch ordered the three guards out to the top floor of the almost entirely underground complex with orders to kill the intruder. Then it leaned back to watch the mayhem that was about to fall on the unsuspecting human.

But the Human was big and he was motivated. He had to find his wife and get her out of here. He held the disruptor in one hand and the tricorder in the other as he tried to pinpoint Victoria’s location. The tricorder started emitting a warning alarm that something was approaching. Dallas stopped and hugged the wall near a corner in the tunnel and waited for the sounds of foot steps to approach.

Even though the Breen was alert and actively searching for the Human, he was surprised. He rounded the curve of the tunnel and was greeted by a disruptor across the back of the neck, cutting right through his suit. He fell to the floor dead.

To be continued ...

 

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