Rescue Rangers Arrival Part 2

Posted on Sat Oct 25th, 2014 @ 3:28pm by Lieutenant JG Rhett Beaumont & Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Stanson & Commander Angelica Fairchild & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi & Aewia Larani

Mission: Something Amiss

Goals
-infiltrate the prison
-get into the mine/prisoner area
-retrieve operative
-escape

-=USS Selune=-

They couldn't actually land without setting off the facility's sensors, so she'd had Beaumont put the Selune into a hover near their prospective entry point. In a moment they would breach the mine, but first Angelica wanted to be sure they were ready. A quick look showed weapons armed, so - satisfied - Angelica gave the agreed upon signal to disembark... quietly.

Ensign Rhett Beaumont attempted to be as gentle as he could. He had to hover the damn thing so that the facility's sensors did not alert everyone and cause this mission to be a complete failure. With the craft successfully hovering, Rhett looked at Lieutenant Fairchild.

"Uh... does this mean I get to stay here and wait for y'all?" asked Rhett with a shrug.

"Probably best that way. We might need to leave in a hurry. Keep the engines warm, Ensign." With that, Angelica jumped the short distance to the ground, waiting for Stanson and Nexi there.

Nexi was quick to follow, activating her personal cloak before her feet even touched the ground. She tapped the translator/comm device embedded in her ear to leave a comm-line open with the team as she moved ahead, her feet ghosting over the ground without a sound.

"Damn it, Nexi," Angelica muttered almost silently. How the hell was she supposed to keep an eye on that woman if she ran off invisible like that? "Move it, Stanson," she hissed at Jennifer, no longer bothering with ranks. They had to move fast, and she couldn't afford the time to be polite about it.

Jennifer had quickly gone and picked up a Starfleet Intelligence modified compression phaser rifle. She then jumped down from the shuttle and quickly held up her rifle to get a look around. She then began jogging towards the facility with her rifle still raised.

Angelica shook her head at Jennifer's posture as the other woman ran ahead. Holding the rifle so high limited her view and made tripping a real hazard, but Angelica wasn't going to correct her now. Maybe later she might care more, but for now she just followed at a slightly slower pace, watching for hazards Jennifer might not see.

Nexi took point, serving as look out as they moved through the facility since she was cloaked. Something was... off about this place. The design was definitely Romulan, but the actual construction was way inferior! Not to mention... "Remans," Nexi cautioned quietly over the comms when she spotted a patrol. That made a lot of things make a lot more sense all of sudden. Romulan installation, built and staffed by Reman! But with a prison with such a reputation as being inescapable? Something still wasn't adding up. "Stanson, Fairchild, you've got a patrol coming your way," she warned the group over the comm.

Taking no heed of rank, Angelica caught up to Jennifer and dragged her into an empty room they'd just passed, narrowly avoiding the patrol. "Thanks for the heads up," she whispered over the comm. "Once they pass, we'll come find you."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Nexi commented with a snicker. She eventually came across a set of heavy doors that opened and an automated anti-grav lift exited, carrying a bin full of what looked to be some kind of ore. Probably magnecite. Glancing back inside the doors before they closed revealed a now empty room. It seemed she had found lift access to the mines below. No need to go down just yet. She wanted to find some sort of confirmation of where their target was before moving on to some place new. "I found a lift," Nexi informed her team quietly. "I'm gonna keep looking around. Let me know if you find anything useful."

So going to strangle that woman. The footsteps of the passing patrol faded, and Angelica turned to Jennifer, a smoldering look in her eyes. "Get your head in the game, Stanson. Quit running around with your rifle at high ready and pay attention. You get caught, and I will leave your ass here. Now let's go." She didn't wait for Jennifer, just went to the door and peeked out before slipping into the corridor and going forward again.

"Now now, play nice, children," Nexi whispered over the commline. "Hey, I think I found a security office." Nexi gave them a few directions, then slipped through the glass doors when the room's occupant slipped out. Checking a few consoles, she was able to confirm that this was indeed a security office, and she checked the security feeds for any obstacles that might hinder the rest of the team. "Looks like you've got a clear shot, so hurry up."

I am so done playing nice, Angelica thought crossly, heading in that direction without waiting for Jennifer.

As soon as she was joined by Jennifer and Angelica, Nexi sealed the doors and lowered her cloak. "Hmm, I wonder what this button does..." she said with mock curiosity as she released Anesthetine throughout the complex. All over the Security screens they could see patrol guards dropping left and right. "Hey, check the prison manifest, see if we can't find out where our target is," she said to Angelica and Jennifer.

"Nice work. Told you we'd find you." Angelica grinned a little, using one of the screens to pull up the manifest. "Level four, cell 14. Let's go."

"One of us should stay behind here, to keep an eye on things," Nexi suggested. "I mean, we have access to the security office now. We might as well use it to our advantage."

"I'm going with you," Angelica said with no hesitation. "Stanson, you camp out here. We'll cone back this way and pick you up."

"Whatever makes you two happy," Nexi said as she followed Angelica. "The lift's this way," she said pointing in the right direction.

"Fine." Jennifer told the two as she sat down at the security console to begin to infiltrate their security systems. She had done something similar to romulan technology a mission or two ago so the interface was still fresh in her mind. "Alright, I have the security system. I'll let you both know if there is something headed your way." she told them.

"Please do." Checking the corridor for approaching guard, Angelica slipped out of the room and headed toward the lift. She didn't think they'd run into anyone just yet since Nexi had knocked them all out, but it didn't hurt to be expecting trouble.

Jennifer switched through the security channels listening to see if they had been spotted yet. "Okay, you have a patrol coming up ahead. I can jam their communications if you want to take them out." she told them.

"Do it. We're running out of time." Nexi could cloak, but Angelica couldn't. Instead, she slipped easily into a shadow, waiting to hear that Jennifer had knocked out this patrol's communications. She was cutious as to how they'd avoided the gas.

"Communications are gone. It seems they where concealed in an airtight room until the time of their patrol. They seem to be the only ones who are still conscious." Jennifer reported. "Hang on." she said, "The security protocols are beginning to kick in place, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to stay in the system."

"Get creative." Angelica could hear the patrol now, so she fell quiet, waiting for them to get close enough to take out quietly.

Nexi drew a blade from her jacket. It looked to be a sort of short sword, but with a flick of her wrist the handle extended into a pole to give her weapon greater reach. When the patrol got close enough, Nexi emerged from around a corner to attack one of the patrolmen, trusting the Angelica would take out the other guy. She didn't use the blade but rather the pole end of her weapon to crack the guy in the neck. He fell with a choked gasp, but another crack to the head silenced him.

Angelica struck at the same time, whipping a length of fiber wire out of her pocket and around the other patrolman's neck, cutting off his air just long enough to knock him out then easing him to the floor and tucking the weapon away again. "Gas masks. Guess they thought they were clever."

"Asshats," Nexi grumped as she retracted the pole of her weapon and tucked it back into its sheath. "Lets keep moving before the other levels are alerted."

"My thoughts exactly." Nimbly stepping over the two fallen guards, Angelica continued forward, looking for a path that would lead them to their target.

"Lift's this way," Nexi said, pointing the way. They found the lift and took it to the fourth sub-level and found the corridor where their target was being held. "I'll keep watch, you go get her," she said.

"Back in a minute." Watching for approaching guards, Angelica darted down the corridor, finding Aewia Larani's cell and starting to enter the unlock code they'd been given. "Aewia. We're getting you out of here." She didn't know if Aewia could hear her, but she continued in a low whisper anyway. "We have a shuttle waiting."

Aewia was in pretty bad shape and a bit delirious. She thought she heard voices again. Perhaps if she talked to them this time, they would hurry her off to sleep quicker. The beatings today were rougher than usual and she needed her rest, what little they afforded her. "What is it you want? I told you, the cake is real."

"What?" Entering the last part of the code, Angelica yanked the door open, leaving it ajar so it wouldn't lock again. "Can you walk?"

"Walk?" That didn't sound like torture to Aewia, though in her state... Either way, the person was speaking English and that was something she hadn't heard in several years. barely able to raise her head, she didn't believe what she was seeing. Was she being rescued? "If it's to get out of this hell hole, I think I can walk."

"I'm getting you out of this hellhole," Angelica confirmed, stepping into the cell and offering Aewia her hand. "But we have to move fast."

Making her way to her feet, Aewia took the offered hand. "Lead the way. Just please promise me you're real."

"I'm real." Angelica carefully guided Aewia out of the cell, leading her back to where Nexi waited.

As soon as Nexi saw Angelica, she turned to lead them back to the lift, careful to not let Aewia see her face.

"That's not a shuttle," Aewia said matter of factly. "That's a person. They're on our side, I hope. And real."

Angelica laughed a little. "She's going to get us to the shuttle. Come on... just the lift and a bit of a walk... then we'll be there."

Nexi couldn't help but smirk at the declaration that she wasn't a shuttle, but it made her a little sad. She wasn't accustomed to feeling such sadness, but knowing that this woman who was family had been through so much that she was making such declarations like she was a toddler... well, it hurt Nexi. But she couldn't think about that now, she needed to remain focused on getting them out of here, making sure the way to the lift was clear.

Aewia had a moment of lucidity just then as she caught sight of the lift. "This is a Reman trick to make me think I'm being rescued, isn't it? You're trying to kill me using the baryon sweep in the lift again." Aewia could only believe they were trying to trick her like that, muttering something about Reman shuttles as she turned to go back to her room.

"Wait, what!" Nexi spun around, not caring if either woman took notice of the facial similarities between her and Aewia. Really, she hadn't cared if Angelica noticed, she just didn't wanted Aewia to find out. No helping that now. "Baryon sweep?!" In the lift? She looked at Angelica. Oh man, they were fucked!

"Whoa, hold on, Aewia." Angelica blocked Aewia's retreat, gently steering her back toward Nexi. "We'll find another way out. We don't want to be fried either, trust me." She paused, hoping to hear some input from Jennifer. "Stanson? Other exits?"

Aewia patted Angelica's head softly. "It's ok, I hear voices too sometimes. Are the voices shuttles too?"

"Of course you hear voices, you're a telepath," Nexi reminded Aewia sharply. "And we really do have a shuttle, if that idiot Rhett ain't got himself caught."

"Ah yeah, telepathy. I think they broke that part." Aewia started sinking against a wall towards the floor, repeating "All the parts are broken," like a mantra.

"Sorry, I am trying to keep myself in the system for as long as possible. There are few maintenance hatches that run throughout the complex. They should lead you right to the same floor as we came in, however they have security locks that will take forever for you to override. I can do it, but I'll have to be here in the security office to do it." she told them.

"Too slow. Can't you turn off the sweep?" Dragging Aewia through the maintenance tunnels wasn't an appealing option, and Angelica didn't want to take the chance on being discovered unless they had to.

"Probably not..." Jennifer said going through the specifications of the base for a moment, "Wait. There may be something I can do to override the security in one of the auxiliary lifts that are used to transport food and materials." she said making sure that she wasn't locked out of those systems. "Alright, I can do it. Just give me a minute or two, start heading there and I'll disable those precautions then I'll meet you there its fairly close to my location." she said.

"That'll work. Be careful." Remembering that they'd passed those lifts, Angelica peeked down the corridor then shepherded Aewia in the right direction. "See? We're getting out."

"Out? There is no out." Aewia said as she was moved along the corridor. "I don't want to be late for mining duty tomorrow. Is the shuttle made of cake?"

"We'll get you a piece of cake on the shuttle," Nexi said to Aewia. She couldn't believe this was the person she was risking everything to save. How long had she been down here to crack so bad?

"No, it's not made of cake. It has a machine that can make cake though. And you don't have mining duty tomorrow. You get to sleep in." Angelica crossed her fingers, hoping that the idea of extra sleep would convince Aewia to come with them.

Aewia thought that over the best she could. "The cake is real, which means the shuttle will be real... And if the shuttle is real, I can sleep with the cake and save everyone from it."

All Nexi could do was face-palm and try not to comment on just how wrong that was...

"Uh... sure. If that's what you want." Angelica maintained her poker face, if only barely. "We're almost to the safe lift. Just around this corner."

"Yes, a safe lift for all the sisters. That's what it'll be. A good shuttle to blast off in." A look of serene calm came over Aewia's features.

Jennifer appeared around the corner and walked fast towards the turolift. She spotted the three women close to the turbolift. She had her rifle in her hand, un raised but armed in case there was any more trouble. "I've scrubbed most of the evidence of us being here." she said as she approached the lift, which was on standby as she entered the key to open the door.

"Good. Start praying Beaumont hasn't gotten himself captured." Angelica went into the lift first, pulling Aewia in behind her and gently restraining the cloud cuckoo-lander away from the controls. Last thing they needed was for Aewia to start asking the lift for cake.

"This was supposed to be a straightforward gig," Nexi grumbled under her breath as they entered the lift. "You better be worth all this effort," she said to Aewia, but immediately felt bad for saying it. Dammit, the girl was family, of course she was worth it!

"Of course I'm worth it. Is 'it' the shuttle? Can we save people? They can't eat the cake yet, you know." Aewia grinned loopily as she rubbed the scars on the back of her head hidden in her hair.

"Let's focus on saving you right now, okay?" Angelica punched in their destination, hoping this lift moved quickly.

"Any of you know how long anesthetine lasts?" Nexi asked as they rode the lift up. If the guards on the upper level were still knocked out, then they would have a clear way to the shuttle.

"They should be out for another ten minutes or so. If we hurry, that's time to make it back to the shuttle without being caught." Angelica hoped that her math estimates were correct; dragging Aewia through a fire fight would be disastrous.

"That's enough time to sleep through their naps. Plenty of shuttle cake for them." Aewia nodded sagely at her own words.

As the lift came to a stop and let them out, Nexi tapped at her ear to open a comm line with the shuttle. "Beaumont, have the shuttle ready, we're on our way out."

Before Rhett could reply to Nexi, Aewia had to freak out as soon as she realized where she was - at the top of a lift being let out. In her mind she was supposed to be dead but she never felt the baryon sweep. "I'm dead. When did I die? Did you feel the death?" Grabbing Nexi's arm tightly, she clung to her, shaking and wild eyed. "We're all dead. The lift killed us. We're all dead."

Nexi pinched Aewia on the arm, hard. "Did that hurt?" she asked, though she knew it should.

Aewia actually didn't feel it, the throbbing in her head was too much. "No pain, no more pain, it's all gone now." Slumping to the floor, a few tears escaped her eyes. "Head feels full, too much pain, no more pain."

"Shit..." Nexi knelt down next to the sobbing woman and whispered something in her ear.

Aewia was quiet for a moment before nodding and doing her best to compose herself. Standing, she had a hint of her old self back in her eyes, though she still moved jerkily. She knew the import of what Nexi had said. She didn't have the faculties to process it properly, but she knew it was important and that it meant she was really getting out of here alive.

Not sure what had happened, Angelica gave them a curious look but said nothing. Instead, she turned to look for the shuttle, hoping Rhett was still hovering where they'd left him.

Rhett had been doing just about anything he could to keep himself from falling asleep in the shuttle all by himself. They could have at least left me something pretty to play with thought the young ensign Chief Engineer as the call came in from the team. Taking his feet off the console, he shot forward and took action "10-4, little darlin', I'll be droppin' the hammer and swooping in to save your asses in a minute or two...stand by" replied Rhet with a smirk on his face as he readied the shuttle for a quick evacuation.

Taking the shuttle down was easy, it was the avoiding getting shot down that was hard. "Y'all better be ready, I'm comin' in hot and takin' some light fire" added Rhett as he sat the the shuttle down and activated the lowering of the hatch. "Come on, move your asses!" he shouted with a sigh.

Nexi ran towards the shuttle loading bay, practically dragging Aewia along with her. They could hear footsteps down the corridor behind them. Either the guards on this level had woken up or guards from the lower levels had come up to investigate. Either way, it meant trouble!

"We're almost there!" Nexi called out to Rhett over the comm line.

"Not to rush you, Sweetheart, but we do not have all day. Try not to move like a Denebian slime devil" replied Rhett.

"Can it, Ensign," Angelica cut in sharply, grabbing Aewia's other arm to help Nexi pull her along faster. "We're coming as fast as we can, just keep the engines hot!"

"So long as I'm in this damn shuttle... You know it's hot, babe" said Rhett as he waited for the others to reach the shuttle.

They made it to the shuttle bay and Nexi let Angelica pull Aewia onto the shuttle. Nexi stood on guard as she waited for Jennifer to board the shuttle, then quickly followed and closed the ramp. "We're here, get us out of here!" Nexi called to Rhett.

Rhett 'floored' it and shot off with the shuttle like a projectile from an old weapon. He wasted no time at all. Safety was not a concern for him at the moment. "Yeeeeeehaaaw!" he shouted loudly and with enthusiasm as he brought the shuttle up to speed much quicker than regulations dictated.

TAG