Audience With A Goddess

Posted on Wed Oct 24th, 2018 @ 2:57pm by Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Asa Dael & Ahreva Malana & Hera
Edited on on Fri Sep 6th, 2019 @ 4:43pm

Mission: Hera v Hera
Location: Meroset 347, Temple of Hera
Timeline: 2395. Battle of Hera's Planet

When the tram had docked, Rita Paris had expected heavy resistance, but there was none. Checking her ammo feed, she insured everything was in working order. Keeping the visor HUD interface in place, her helmet remained retracted so that her all-too human face and head could be seen. The helmet might provide some protection against the amazons or head injury should some great brute send her sprawling. But the gold-clad commander felt it more important for her features to be seen by her landing party, as well as the pending diplomatic negotiations.

The fact that she hadn’t felt any explosions from deep within the mountain did not reassure her. While she had confidence that the other half of the away team had accomplished their mission at the spaceport, the infiltration team had yet to blow the generators, so that meant that Rita, Doc Dael and Ms. Malana were up here in a very vulnerable position. While the locals were rioting and not feeding the goddess power, Hera could still draw from her generators, and likely produce some horrific effects.

In the temple now. Those generators better blow very soon, Sam, or your favorite first officer and ship’s surgeon are liable to suffer a fate worse than death. Paris tapped out on her wrist comm. Here’s hoping Clemens is just working some dramatic timing with those charges and he’s not hung up. He'd better blow those generators.

There was a moment of debate when Paris considered slinging her rifle onto her back, but if there was an ambush of the forces Hera had pulled back to her throneroom, Rita was the only armed combatant, and she needed to be prepared. Cowboy diplomacy was often talk of peace with a phaser in the hand, so in this case she chose to move to ready arms, holding the rifle in her right hand while supporting it with the left, which had grown considerably weaker since she had been injured by a harpy, then fired the big slugthrower at Leda with that hand.

“Get some scans, people. No sense in walking in blind,” Paris ordered, stalling for time. Hera would know they were here, and she wasn’t exactly known for her patience. But stalling with scans would give them much needed intel as well as holding off a little longer to give the rest of the crew a chance to catch up.

Whirring commenced as Asa scanned the area with their tricorder. The results had the young person frowning, eyebrows furrowed, as they moved their unoccupied right hand to fidget nervously with the various items on their belt. “I’m reading about 100 life forms in the main chamber, ma’am. They are producing a considerable amount of psionic energy too, and I think we know what that is feeding into. If we see a psionic power-transformer, shoot it. I would also be suspicious of a throne- we know others used that in the past.”

After the sound of the doctors last sentence a chorus of Minotaur screams echoed from somewhere deep in the mountain.

“There is that too,” was all Asa said in response, instinctively moving to stand closer to Paris in order to seek comfort.

Malana was scanning as well, with one of her three tricorders. "I'm detecting nearly two hundred stone based life forms inside the temple and below it. I'm also picking up the counselor's life signs in what I assume to be the dungeon."

I'll be damned. Here's to Jurot- she might not have talked Hera down, but she managed to not get killed. Good on ya, Counselor.

“You two stay behind me- I’m the ranking officer.” So if something awful is going to happen to someone, maybe she’ll be content to just off the mouthy one Paris added silently to herself, hoping that she sounded more confident than she actually was in truth. This was not a time for the faint at heart, but to be bold. Which she very much did not feel, and was now hoping against hope for those explosions down below. No inspirational speech this time, no confidence builder for the young doctor. If Clemens and his team didn't come through soon, all three of them were going to suffer awful fates. if that was the case, Rita Paris refused to sugar coat it.

“Now into the lioness den we go.”

High white marbled columns shot through with veins of lapis lazuli, gold and silver towered 30 meters above them, upholding a buttressed roof whose principles were still in use across the galaxy. Advancing past the outer columns which lined the outer patea of the temple, walls plated in copper which had been polished and shined to near-reflective quality greeted the would-be liberators.

As they entered, a pair of great double doors that swung in easily at their approach, the mountain itself seemed to shake, and in more ways than explosively. In fact, it seemed that the very land itself was upset. Malana had another of her tricorders out and scanning immediately. "I'm detecting a significant drop in ambient poly-dimensional energy levels."

"Pretend the last science class I took was 140 years ago Miss Malana. What does that mean?" Paris asked as she scanned about visually and using the suit's scanners in healthy paranoia. Tabbing the controls on the TRC116C2 through her Heads Up Display in her visor, the outtatime officer prepped the transporter and the range finder, while loading a plasma grenade. Weaponizing transporters was Sonak's idea that she had rejected. But desperate times might call for an ace in the hole.

About halfway through the double doors, Asa stopped to fully remove their helmet and cover their ears with their hands. They took a tricorder out and completed a quick scan of themself. "The psionic energy in here is...deafening, for lack of a better word. My people lost most of their empathic abilities long ago, but it's loud enough in here for me to feel it." With that said, the young doctor screwed their face in determination and replaced the helmet on their head.

"Only way out is through though, so might as well get this over with," they concluded.

"Sometimes 'only human' seems to be a blessing in this universe," Paris observed to the functionally immortal El Aurian and the living granite Ashravena shipmates beside her. "Stay close, but be ready to scatter on my command."

The main hall had been almost completely cleared of Hera's followers and only one of her generals and two marble men remained at her side. Unfortunately, this general was a heavily armored minotaur that made the others look like children. Standing at just over three meters tall, he stood taller than even Hera's over inflated ego of herself, if her gold and jewel encrusted throne was any indication of things. Setting the lock on the attached system of her TRC116C2, Rita paris hoped she wouldn't have to use it.

Open hand of diplomacy versus business end of a phaser, and here you come with both, Rita Paris. C'mon, make this work.

Stepping out at that military marching pace of hers, the ancient astronaut of the far-flung future addressed the goddess as she approached, projecting her voice through the comm unit on her wrist. "Hera. I'm Lieutenant Commander Rita Paris, of the starship USS Hera. You've declared war on most of the civilized galaxy and slaughtered our diplomats, so we thought we'd try to parley one more time. Speaking in a language you understand. Prevalent wisdom is that you're too dangerous to live, and should be slain. But I'm wanting to give talking it over just ooooone more chance." Paris stopped, a good 20 meters from the throne, rifle at the ready but not pointed at anyone yet.

"What do you say, Hera? Parley?"

The goddess Hera was staring at her hands as she sat in her throne. "I thought you all weak and nothing but talk. But here now, you stand before me, truly the conquerors of old. You offer me a laurel or a sword, and have torn my kingdom asunder before the choice may be made, just as your ancestors did."

Looking up, Hera had a glint of happiness in her eyes. "And yet, it is women that were strongest in this endeavor at every turn. This you have done without hubris or pride. Knowingly or not, you have done me a great honor."

She then turned grim and offered a warning. "Whatever fate you decide is best fitting for me though, there is a far greater threat that lurks on the horizon. Those that gave birth to my people are coming back. I see now that they are behind our return as well as other disturbances I've sensed."

Standing and posing dramatically, sparks danced at Hera's fingertips. "So shall we dance for the honor of my people? Or will you shackle me and sentence me to a slow death? I have enough left in me to put up a worthy fight, I think."

Gave birth to her people- what, the titans? Cronus? Uranus? Later, Paris- make the call here and now.

The woman clearly wanted a fight, and Rita had the sneaky suspicion that she wasn't going to be very happy without one. She wouldn't be swayed by words or reason- that rage had been palpable, and all of this was, after all, about a woman scorned. Oddly, the woman reminded her just a bit of the Captain, which gave Rita a clue as to what might work. Maybe a combination of both scenarios.

"A slow death isn't what we had in mind," the supercentenarian space explorer explained as she began pacing a circle toward Hera, but giving the goddess room to circle as well if she wished to square off. "You're going to cooperate with us, because we need allies in this conflict. And one doesn't live as long as you have without the guts to rebuild again after a defeat. You're not fooling me, you still want to live."

"Every being wants to live." Hera started a slow circle with Rita, leaving just enough distance for a sword fight, if it came to it. "Even the immortal fear death. As for helping you, if you had worshiped me... But I see now that that is no longer in your nature. your kind has grown well past lambs in need of shepherds."

Forming a platinum gladius from seemingly thin air, Hera brandished it at Rita. "A duel then. If you defeat me, I'll rebuild this world to the way it was before and help you on your terms. If I defeat you, your ship and crew are mine to do with as I please."

The eyes of the ancient astronaut narrowed. That did sound like precisely the sort of heroics that appealed to her, it was true. Which probably meant that Hera was setting her up. Bringing the rifle barrel up, though still at the hip, Rita watched her scanners to keep an eye on her 'back' as it were. "I'm afraid I don't trust that deal, ma'am. I've got three parties of dead diplomats who jumped at the first chance, too. Stand down. As a philosopher of Earth once observed, I don't wanna kill you and you don't wanna be dead."

The corners of Hera's mouth twitched just the slightest as one of the statue men fired their stone beam from their eyes straight at Rita.

It was definitely a trap.

Thankfully, Rita's last orders were followed to the letter and Malana and Asa were right next to her. Malana was able to interpose herself in the path of the beam just as it went off, preventing Rita from being turned into stone. Shaking off the resulting layer of stone dust that the beam caused her granite body to form, Malana turned to glare at the now wide eyed marble men.

That's when the minotaur attacked, swinging his giant double sided axe down on top of the stone-faced woman. Malana withstood it as well, though this time not without injury. She was able to go into a pillarbox stance, but the force of the blow, which would have cleaved any normal person in half, drove her into the marble floor several inches, and chipped at her hands, severing several of her fingers. The minotaur pressed down on the mighty weapon, keeping Malana pinned.

Hera, for her part, seeing this feat of strength, lowered her sword and stood there aghast. "Holy ambrosia... Who carved you, woman?"

In over her head with a trick or two up her sleeve, an outclassed underdog who wasn't even supposed to be here, Rita Paris realized that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

"Stand down!" she shouted at the enormous roaring behemoth of a minotaur, with fists the size of her torso. Glaring at her, he snorted, raised his fist and pounded onto Ahreva Malana, driving her a bit deeper into the temple floor as crumbles fell from her durable hide.

"Don't make me kill you!" Paris shouted as beams of one of the stone men tracked her, closing in on her.

The minotaur general who stood by the side of Hera, the most glorious beast in her menageries, roared at Rita Paris in challenge. A great and terrible sound that very clearly marked the great beast as an alpha predator who was informing his next victim of their impending demise.

Firing from the hip, the presets on the complex TRV116C2 rifle would do the rest as the round fired, then beamed itself into the skull of the massive Minotaur. While she had been loathe to do quite a few things today, the massive beast pounding on the woman who'd saved her life made crossing this particular rubicon easy for the transporter-phobic Paris. The great general Minotaur likely had considerable external defenses, but Rita surmised correctly that bypassing them with the particularly horrific capacity of this weapon would achieve devastating results. The transporter lock she'd set when they had walked in now paid off as an alloy round, which simulated the legendary metals which could affect the invulnerable beasts did its job, as the back of the roaring behemoth's skull exploded outward in a fine mist.

Dum dum rounds were a new innovation to the weapon, but Rita was glad she'd asked for the simple modification.

"Doc, move! Scatter and don't let the marble men tag you!" Rita called out and she herself went into motion, skirting the combat arena to try to draw a bead on the stone statues that sought to convert others to that form. After all, she suspected she might have one more shot before the angry goddess closed with her and made her rifle a moot element of this combat.

The doctor dropped to the ground and kept rolling, staying low and out of sight until they reached a row of columns. Dael disappeared behind a column and began climbing up to get out of the way of any earth bound creatures. Thankful for the strength the suit and the stim shot provided, Asa lept between column to column like a flying squirrel, never staying the same place for too long.

Hera was even more dumbfounded as her prized beast gave one strangled gurgling roar as it's eyes rolled up into what was left of its head, and it fell over, now quite dead. On top of that, Malana's feet were now so embedded in the floor that she was unable to move as it fell on top of her. With a squeal, she was pinned, having given her first exclamatory noise in her life.

The underslung grenade launcher came into play now as Rita launched a concussion grenade at the living statues, having no desire to join them. In theory this would knock them over, possibly incapacitating them, perhaps even without shattering them. But given that they had already tried to petrify her, she wasn't in the mood to have to explain to the captain how the ship's surgeon had become immobile and stony. Strategically speaking, the Starfleet siren turned amateur commando perhaps should have stayed more focused on the primary antagonist, rather than trying to cover her shipmates.

Asa sensed they were far enough out of the line of sight that no one saw as they shimmied down the column they were on and ducked low to the ground. Covering the red crosses with some dirt from the ground, and rubbing more dirt across the whitest parts of their suit, the doctor made their way around the outskirts of the temple, sneaking up behind where Hera stood.

They watched as Rita and Malana took on their attackers, frustration leaking through every pore that they could not do more to aid. The doctor saw Hera's throne, sitting large and imposing, and very much unguarded.

The doctor drew their phaser, firing it full blast directly at the base of the throne.

Here's hoping this is where the power transformer is, or I'm going to be about as dead as I can be. the doctor thought to themself, and braced for a concussive blast or a quick death.

Two things happened simultaneously.

Hera's throne exploded into molten shards of gold, gems, and electronics.

Both marble men were turned into gravel by the concussion grenade that landed between them.

The resounding explosion that rung throughout the entire great hall was almost deafening and made even Hera's ears ring as she dropped her gladius and covered her ears in a silent scream. Or it seemed to be silent as she dropped to her knees and fell to her side. Her powers had definitely been broken and she looked... Less... Than she was as she now lay still on the ground, either in emotional or physical shock.

The ringing in her ears was definitely precluding any sense of hearing. But the cracked visor was still intact on Paris' face, and though there were bursts of static from the damaged interface, she sent out the command- REPORT.

From Doc Dael amongst some rubble of columns behind her, a thumbs up icon appeared. Malana did the same, though she was still trapped underneath the corpse of the Minotaur. Rolling over to get onto one knee, Paris fell over the first time she tried. Snapping her helmet shut, she flooded her suit with 40% oxygen and breathed deeply for ten seconds before snapping the helmet back open. Rising to one knee, she stood, though unsteadily at first. Taking a moment to orient herself, the adventurous astronaut picked her way carefully to the dead general she'd murdered before he could beat the stone-bodied scientist to rubble.

While Paris regretted the loss of the minotaur, she had traded his life for Malana's. In that choice she had no cause to regret her decision, although weaponizing transporters was a moral conundrum she was going to have to examine later. Stepping up next to the corpse, she maneuvered under one arm and put her legs to work, hauling the dead bovine off the traumatized civilian. Tossing the body unceremoniously to the side of the stone scientist, Rita could hear him hit the ground, which meant her hearing was slowly returning. Patting Malana on the shoulder, Paris offered her a thumbs up and waited for one in return.

Malana blinked slowly, focusing on Rita. She would need at least a week of sleep after this. Raising one hand, some dust and granite chips fell from her as she flexed her remaining fingers. As she gave a thumbs up sign, her hand cracked a bit more and her thumb popped off and fell right on her face, causing her to wince. She was still fine enough though - it's not like she bled.

After checking in with Paris, Doc Dael allowed themself 10 seconds to recover before deciding it was time to get up and face the destruction they had wrought. Their armor was covered in melted gold spots and craters caused by falling debris. The HUD read that it was at 47 percent efficiency and falling fast.

First things first, stand up. Then go be a doctor.

The doctor sat up with a bit of difficulty, and saw one leg was pinned under what used to be a support column. Even with the enhanced strength from the suit, that leg was just not budging. Asa wiggled their toes a bit, relieved to feel an aching sensation that indicated that although bruised, movement in their leg did not appear to be completely compromised. They scooted around for a moment, and ascertained it wasn't their leg that was stuck...it was the leg of the armor. In a few awkward movements, Asa managed to reach around a detach the legs from their armor and wiggle out from underneath the pillar.

The med bag was thrown to the other side of the room, but appeared to still be intact. Asa took a quick scan to make sure no more life forms were incoming, and then limped over to the med bag. Sitting next to it on a nearby chunk of rock, the young physician took a thorough scan of their vitals and grimaced slightly.

I've got about 12 hours before this is going to catch up with me...no point in burdening anyone else with the knowledge that I'm slowly bleeding out through a collapsed ventricle and spleen injury. If I can just keep going...well the EMH can patch me up as soon as we get home. And it's not like the other two can do anything for me, but I can for them

Decision made Asa, took a stim booster shot to give themself enough energy to see things through to the end and stood up. What was left of the armor was falling apart, the loss of the legs seemed to have cause the rest of it to decide to give up too. Keeping only the visor on, the doctor discarded the body plates in careful, deliberate movements; Asa was not willing to part with all defensive and offensive options though, and made sure their phaser and medical tricorder were at hand, and picked up the med bag and hypos, emptying the contents of their belt pouches into the now-overflowing med bag. They made their way to the two crew members and fallen goddess. Without thinking, the doctor stopped at the fallen form of Hera and asked levelly, "Do I have to stun you, or will you be a good prisoner?"

Their posture indicated they were hoping Hera would move, so they could have the satisfaction of stunning this being that would presume to claim deity.

Hera, for her part, was suffering a massive psionic energy feedback shock and was in no condition to even respond, let alone continue fighting. She didn't even hear the Doctor pose the question, she was so out of it. The most resistance she could put up right now was drooling on the floor.

"Hey, hey, easy Doc," Paris stepped over to put her hand on the physician's phaser hand, lowering the weapon. Yawning to try to pop her ears, Paris came around to kneel down next to the fallen goddess. "The mark of a civilized society is the quality of their mercy, particularly to a defeated foe. She's down- now she's your patient. I'll keep an eye on her, you see what you can do for Malana, then come treat Hera. Understood?" Those big blue eyes searched those of the young doctor, seeking understanding in them.

A shuddering breath racked the doctors entire form. The day started with almost losing Paris in a transporter accident, then viewing the horrors section 31 inflicted on civilians in order to best this monster, then viewing firsthand what Hera did to her own people, and finally the doctor had been forced to both kill and face their own mortality.

In short, today sucked. And it was threatening to catch up to the doctor.

Asa turned so no one would see the tears streaming down their face. After wiping them away hurriedly, Asa turned to face Paris.

"Understood maam. But I'm checking you first since you are already here. "

Their tricorder whirred at a slightly higher pitch than usual. Possibly not the best sign for the longevity remaining the battle beleaguered device.

"You are made of some strong stuff, Commander Paris. Burst left ear drum, some scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious. Do you need a booster?"

In truth, Rita felt like her entire body was a bruise with a few pulled muscles, her shoulder was still killing her where that harpy had hauled her into the sky and the doc sounded like they were down a well with that ringing still going strong. But the all-too human heroine offered a lopsided smile to the young immortal, and placed her hand on their shoulder.

"You did a lot of good out there today, Doc, and you saved a lot of lives. Try to take solace in that." Patting the ship's surgeon's shoulder, Paris tapped at the wrist comm she'd added to her armor that she'd been quite pleased with, sending a message to the other away teams.

--Mission accomplished, Hera down. Report--

As she waited for the reply, Paris opened a channel. "Lieutenant Commander Paris to Hera, do you copy?"

=/\= "Hera here, go ahead," came the voice of one Captain Enalia Telvan through the comms.

"The revolution is well underway, and I have one very unconscious goddess in custody, Captain. Waiting for the spaceport team to report..." Paris paused as eruptions of explosions going off one after the other in a stacatto beat as the numerous charges planted at the spaceport began exploding like firecrackers in the distance. "Correction, spaceport team seems to have succeeded as well as Team Selune. Details as they report in- meanwhile, what are your orders, Captain?"

You could almost hear the sigh of relief coming from Enalia at that report. "It seems the Merosians had several colonies that Hera tried to wipe out as well when she drove them back to the bronze age. We've made contact with representatives with one of them and will be helping them reunite with their homeworld. As for Hera, she's to be taken into custody. Her forces will be detained by the Merosians that will be arriving soon. Once the area is secured, come home."

"Aye aye, Captain. Paris out." Kneeling down beside the unconscious goddess, Paris refrained from touching the entity which still registered some intense energies on various wavelengths whose patterns were beyond the throwback's training to interpret. But as she knelt using the combat rifle that had saved their lives so often today as a cane, Paris spoke to the sleeping goddess.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way, ma'am, but I'm glad you're still with us. Maybe now you'll see the value of cooperation instead of destruction. At least I hope so." Sitting down, cradling the rifle across her lap, Paris studied the reports as they came in, and smiled.

Two hours. They had been given two hours to save a world, and neutralize a goddess. They had done so with minimal loss of life, and the goddess in question was soon to be a captive, not a corpse. No Starfleet personnel had been lost. It hadn't been bloodless, but the crew of the USS Hera had empowered a world to throw off the shackles of tyranny.

For the crew of the USS Hera, it was a pretty good day.