The Unlikely Savior, Part 4

Posted on Sat 7th May, 2022 @ 10:27pm by Captain Jason Harrington & Exo-Comp EXQT

1,625 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Antero
Timeline: MD 2, 0345

Previously ...

Miarau was spared the worst of it, but the harmonic vibrations of the ships hull transmitted the siren wail nonetheless, albeit muffled. Sparks flew inthe maintenance bay bulkheads as the cutting beams finally pierced the Tritanium cortenide.

Peggy and Nessy came through small holes just larger than they were, Nessy had a generic robot voice, devoid of programming. "Miarau Merel are you injured?"

{Suv'Wi}

His body burst with noise but the chill of de-materialization took over swiftly. Even as a matter stream he felt vibration. The plan was to take the emergency shuttle in the bay, play the odds. The sonic assault has taken his composure and discipline away. Panic forced him to stab at the controls blindly. When he re-materialized he was four feet off the deck and sideways. Gravity took over fast and the drop was unforgiving onto cold steel grating.

He tried to stand but the recent traumas to his person made it impossible. He managed a decent roll and solid grunt, now staring at the Klingon sigil etched into the rook of the Cargo bay he was in. Laughter creeped up from the well of his stomach, dark and lacking humor. The laughter was from his joined one, a captive to Anslo's bloodlust to stay alive. It was the laughter of a symbiont who had long ago wished for death, and was certain it had arrived, and it used Anslo's own mouth to sound it.

Anslo spoke back to the Symbiont, "Well Tol, you know how I love to prove you wrong."

Taking stock of his weapons, defensive profile, and tried to create a tactical plan of action. There was nothing to come to mind. Alone, on a ship he was no longer in charge of, his time was limited. All of his weapons had been lost on the Antero, his armor shattered. He did however know a Vulcan martial art which took little energy to employ. That and a surprise ambush would have to be enough.

A scanning padd on the wall blinked at him. It had limited usage but it could detect heat through containers, so it could do it through walls. The beginnings of a plan trickled into being. The room was a hardpoint against invasion, if the bay doors sealed they could airlock the whole room. He had to get an answer to this problem and fast.

A blessing came to him over the speakers, "Intruder detected, Cargo Bay...' "Warriors, G'cha!" J'ala sounded the alarm but H'tek yelled from his seat. The old man was alive. J'ala was on the wire as much as he was, and he bet she didnt have time to discredit or disavow. She was keeping his seat warm, the lie of "Anslo is dead..." was solidly disproved the moment H'tek laid eyes on him.

Anslo ran before the doors closed, a shank of metal and his manifest scanner the only tokens of war that would carry him to the bridge. The Bay doors closed with inches to spare but lithe little Anslo could fit through much more cramped spaces. Cave diving had been a passion before Tol had prevented any risk taking like that. Anslo could run on the razors edge if he needed to, being daring and keeping far away from home had kept him alive, but this ship was something he had earned.

{Suv'Wi- Bridge}

J'ala tried to make sense of the reports, but to her eyes systems were going dark and internal feeds masking an intruder of immense skill moving outward the bridge with rapidity. She dared to guess, but had no proof other than the inexplicable ease they had defying computer systems, it was Anslo. He wasn't on the Antero, this was bad for her.

"Gods Damn them, I want a report, when will our prey be suckle roast?!" H'tek stomped, alerting his Targ to the displeasure of his master. The Targ growled at the air in menace, warning the displeasure to go away, then went back to sleep, the din of battle as a soothing lullaby.

J'ala had less experience than she cared to admit with ships systems, with battle damage and re-routing the time timings were different, it was hard to estimate. She tried to sound confident but H'tek was already growing keen with his ears she noticed.

"Primary Disruptor was discharged under capacitors, recharging in thirty...two seconds. Secondaries are still offline to power primary. I'm re-acquiring a target lock but Antero is using the field debris to scatter-"

"Torpedoes girl! Scattershot at low yield, we'll turn the ejecta into ballistics, key up plasma to 34%, we'll melt them!

J'ala barely understood, it made sense if she stretched her imagination but these were not terms she trained with. The intruder was almost to the bridge but this was taking her focus away! She armed the torpedo and set a path to detonate behind a rock with a plasma wave propelling the pieces as molten slag. It would have worked against the K'tinga or D7's H'tek was likely thinking about but even the Antero had more modern regenerative shields.

She added four more torpedoes to the dozen in the volley, maxing out the launchers. Hoping it was the right call to maim but not destroy, her finger hovered over the firing stud. Uncertainty washed over, the gamble was based on estimation of shield strength but the variables caused hesitation. When she dropped her finger on the stud, nothing happened. She pressed again, holding for diagnostic on failure, seeing the route to the secondary command consoles at the rear of the bridge.

Her eyes darted to Anslo, a body at his feet and hunched over the controls. He would doom her if he spoke, but clearly he didn't realize H'tek was blind. She screamed as he began to talk and leapt at him with D'ktahg drawn, and with all of her speed paying off, his disruptor blast went wide. She caught him in a flying tackle, pressing her knife to his throat.

H'tek was looking around blindly, hearing this but not able to comprehend it, ""J'ala ,what was that, who is here!"

J'ala whispered into Anslo's ear, "I'll cut the worm out of you and eat it while you bleed and die, say one word."

To H'tek she said, "My lord, I have subdued our intruder. I will take him to holding for interrogation!"

H'tek drew his disruptor, still blind, and aimed at her voice, "Hold him up, I'll get the information we need you take this chair and finish off these P'taqs!"

J'alas blade pressed deeply into his neck, but she was taken aback by a lurching in the ship. Someone on Antero was returning fire, Anslo had a breath, and just one chance,

He screamed, "Anslo Lives!"

H'tek dropped the disruptor, a confused old man feeling caught with his pants down. With a muttering tone he asked, "Anslo?"

J'ala had cut into his throat at this point but Anslo took the chance she was smart enough not to kill him so dishonorably right in front of the captain. the ship lurched again and H'tek growled, short term memory almost slipping away, Anslo hoped he could self-heal a deeply cut neck.

"I'm here sire-"

She cut his throat before he could say anything else. Anslo counted the seconds as he shot and twisted free, the damage was done. He tried not to pass out as the blood pressure dropped and his senses dulled. There was a rudimentary blood and suture kit on the bridge, his mind had planned this moments ago. Moments ago it had seemed possible, now... His hands grasped the medkit before Tof pulled him away. The Captains bodyguard had always had it out for Anslo, hating the tiny Trill's station above him. His consciousness faded, the sound of H'tek screaming and the sweet blessing of a 'lagh at sensor control proclaiming one single sentence before Anslo closed his eyes.

"Federation cruiser detected, inbound in four minutes!"

Anslo's eyes fluttered but a shot to his neck revived him. Tof, the bodyguard to the captain had seen enough. His disdain for Anslo was not so great he wished them all to be captured by the Federation. The shot bolstered his bio-signs and a crude patch slapped on the cut performed temporary mending aids, it was the height of Klingon medicine. He lifted Anslo off the ground and off his feet, pulling the Trill's lolling head close.

"Get us out of this mess. You and Jala will make this right, and explain to H'tek later. Now... do your duty or I will keep cutting where she left off."

For the moment, it was a plan that Anslo agreed with. Nodding was painful, so he tried to simply say, "Yes." That was even more painful, but duty compelled his actions now. Rasping in a growl he managed to bark orders, seeing how H'tek grimaced. After hearing the injury to his second officer, The captain assumed the Antero had been a hard fight, his cognitive ability tagged this for later review but his battle sense was focused on the present crisis.

Shields compromised, weapons weak, engines fading, Anslo made the only sensible call, "Cloak, fall back, hide in the rocks."

Htek bellowed, "RETREAT? From a Cargo ship, we will fall on them like a wave."

Anslo spoke as firmly as he could, "The damage is done. We must live to fight another day, And We Will."

H'tek blindly threw his goblet, resting on the arm in a socket. It clattered in the dimly lit recesses of the smoke filled bridge, signaling defeat on its own accord.

Anslo didnt wait, time was up.

"Get us out of here, cloak and take us into the field."

 

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