Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 3, 2018 14:55:25 GMT
(Joint Log - Soule and Isabelle Douglas -- Takes place just after Take My Hand Part 2 - Summer 2397)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Soule stood bloodied, looking worse for wear, his fists raised in defence. "This isn't good." He thought to himself. "That last crunch was at least two of my ribs, probably more. I have to stop this guy... but I've got maybe ten minutes until I pass out, and about two until he kills me." "Come on now Mr. Douglas; so many people seem to hold you in such high regard, despite your pitiful failings; and I haven't even seen you use that sword of yours in all the time you've been here. You've plenty used your little knives on my colleagues, and pretty much everything else that isn't welded down. Where's this 'master swordsman' I've heard so much about..." The sound of cold metal rang out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 72 Hours Earlier - In the Office of Admiral Mendosa, Starfleet Headquarters.
"Jesus Christ, Soule. You embedded a Trojan program into Starfleet Subspace Network, if this were to go South, you could be had up on charges." Barbara barked at him in worry, as much as anger and outrage. "Babs, its..." Soule attempted to reply before being cut off. "Don't you Babs me right now, mister. This is serious!" "Now, now, Barbara, let’s hear the lad out." Chimed in Commodore Chesterbottom, from behind his bushy mustache. "Thanks, Reg." The Commodore wagged his finger. "Not, now, Soule. How does this Trojan of yours work?" "That's the thing... the wrong things are being blown out of proportion. The program is basically a search engine... except it's looking for one thing ie. Vitro. When it found him, it basically activated a simple call home protocol." Soule spoke quick and concisely. "It just had to borrow the subspace network to bounce around and make the search through... everything." "Everything?" "Everything; every data network it could get close to. Being a trojan, it smuggled it's way around. But the program, the way I made it, can't do anything nefarious; it’s a lock, looking for its key. After it searched a place it made a note in the cloud, highjacked its way to every network in comm range, and removed the instance of itself from the affected system." Soule took a breath. "It took over a year, but it found him. And now I need a team to go get him." The two flag officers looked to each other, exchanging a conversation with just their eyes. "Your lucky your colleagues at Daystrom are able to corroborate that, Soule." Chesterbottom finally spoke. "After everything Starfleet's dealt with from Section 31 this last year... it wouldn't look good having individual Starfleet officers spying on the entire quadrant!" "Do you have any idea about the facility he's being held in?" Barbara asked, her concern growing. "Not much. Its way off from anything, hidden in a black cluster. Subspace images I managed to get from the Argus array, showed a ground facility of at least a dozen large buildings and defences, on an L-class planet. I sent a couple of inquiries to SI, and got blown off." "Its called The Forge." A voice came from the doorway, followed by a man walking straight into the room. Soule recognised the voice immediately, sending a shudder through him. The individual was strikingly handsome, tall and slender yet athletically built, black hair that shimmered in the light like the wings of a raven, but it was his eyes; those mysterious pink irises, that Soule remembered the most. Within the blink of an eye, Soule had his hand around the man's throat and his back against the wall. "Lynch..." "You've always been able to call Issac." Lynch smiled, nodding at the phaser firmly pressed to the back of Soule's head. "Do you think you could break my neck fast enough?" "Gentlemen. That's enough." Chesterbottom insisted. Soule reluctantly relinquished his hold on Lynch's neck. "What the hell is he even doing here." "Starfleet Intelligence are the best of the best, Soule, and I'm the best of them." Lynch grinned coyly. "And you're going to need me to infiltrate that facility." "Mum!" Soule looked to Barbara. "This guy is a saboteur, a kidnapper... an assassin. I wouldn't be shocked if he's working for Section 31." "I have never once said I don’t work for Section 31, Admiral. Perhaps I do, and I have a grand plan for Soule at this time... or I'm the best spy that ever was and have infiltrated the most clandestine organisation in human history." Compared to the smugness of his words, his expression was cheerful. "Have I ever failed you Admiral? I'm sure Captain laihr will still vouch for me." "Assemble a team together, you two." Barbara replied cautiously. "The ninth fleet is already en route to the facility, you'll have to move quickly. I assume you have your ship Issac?" "Hot damn, this is gonna be awesome. Annie's gonna be so happy we have guests. You and I are gonna fuck shit up Soule, like we were destined to do." Lynch became infused with childlike excitement, and skipped off out of the room to get ready. Soule just looked sort of distraught at the realisation of what just happened. "How the hell can my life go so well, then he shows up." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Isabelle’s hand flopped over onto the cold sheets of Soule’s empty side of the bed, waking her from a sound sleep. She sighed and opened her eyes, glancing at the chronometer. It was the middle of the night, and he still wasn’t home? She realised he’d been called up to Daystrom for an emergency, but it had been several hours and he still hadn’t gotten back to her. Whatever was going on, it must be serious. She sat up and pulled a dressing gown over herself, and went off to check the comm unit again. Still no reply. A cold feeling of worry gripped her stomach. What if it was section 31…? But, what had he meant by, “This could be good…?” It didn’t make sense. Something strange was going on. She stepped out of the bedroom into the living room, on the off chance that he’d come home and hadn’t wanted to wake her. But the room was empty, looking the same way it did when she’d finally quit pacing and gone to bed to fall into an exhausted sleep. And then she heard it. A clunking sound coming from the direction of their storage room. She froze, and listened more intently. Another clunk, followed by the sound of boxes being moved. "Soule?" She called out, edging herself over to the storage room door. "Is that you?" The rustling stopped, ominously. The door slowly creaked open. She gulped, slowly reaching over to the wall for a bat’leth that was hanging there, her heart pounding in her ears. She gripped it in both hands and pressed herself against the wall next to the doorframe, peering into the room. A figure entirely clad in black, tip-toed backwards, carrying Soule's trunk; containing all of his knives and the other weapons he had often made in the past. With all their concentration on making sure the heavy contents didn't rattle around, that didn't notice Izzy at the ready with the bat'leth. At the sight of the figure, her heart leapt into her throat. But she had the advantage; with his hands busy with the trunk, he clearly hadn’t noticed her yet. She screwed up her courage, creeping stealthily forward, and went into a crouch, hiding herself behind a set of shelves. She waited there silently until the retreating figure got closer. Then, just at the right moment, she stuck out a foot behind the black-clad man’s heels. The figure hit the deck with an almighty crash, only amplified by the sound of the trunk landing on their chest, and its contents rattling about on the floor. "Euuuuugh...." They groaned. Isabelle placed a foot on the intruder’s chest and pointed the bat’leth at his throat. “Don’t move..” she snarled.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 3, 2018 21:17:03 GMT
"Iz..." The black clad man groaned some more. "Its me...." He slowly reached for the balaclava he was wearing, and pulled it off, revealing Soule. "Hey Honey." He gave a reluctant smile.
Her jaw fell open and she nearly dropped the bat’leth. “Oh shit.. Soule?!? You scared the crap out of me! But.. What are you doing??” Her brow lowered in a confused furrow. The hours of waiting and worry caught up to her in a flood of emotion, the questions coming at him like a freight train. “What’s with the black suit.. and the weapons? And the sneaking around? And…why haven’t I heard from you for hours and hours even when I asked you to get back to me??” She lowered the bat’leth, but left her foot on his chest, waiting for answers. She wasn’t about to let him go without an explanation.
"At a more appropriate time, we have to readdress this side of you." He smirked, foolishly. At that, an amused look glimmered in her eyes for a brief second before her eyes narrowed. He quickly felt the daggers in her eyes and her foot push down a bit more. "I've... been in meetings all day?" He then stared at the crate on top of him, and his clothes. "And I'm having an emotional breakdown, and was planning on murdering some people until you stopped me?"
Without even saying anything, he could tell she was getting angrier; perhaps it was the bat'leth now resting slightly higher again, or maybe the steam he thought he saw coming from her ears. "Ok... I have a mission." He gulped. "And I was sneaking in to get all of my best... killing equipment... because I didn't want to worry you or wake you... I'm... I'm not making this better am I?"
“What?!? A Mission?? I thought you were done with those..” She paused, looking at him incredulously. “I.. I don’t even know what to say right now...” The feeling of relief at seeing him back home had given way to an angry flush at his ‘explanation’, and her voice rose higher in volume.. “The last time you did that…”
She had to pause to gather her words, her hands gripping the bat’leth’s hilt tighter. “The last time you did that, I swore that I wouldn’t get left behind again not knowing where you were for weeks on end, or whether you were alive or dead. I..” Her hand trembled, and she tried to bite back hot tears.
“I.. I don’t want to go through that again.” Her voice softened and she finally took her foot of his chest, and set down the weapon, sitting down on a nearby box. “I.. I can’t. And no, you’re not making this better.” She sniffed back more tears. “Trying to protect me by not letting me know what’s going on.. Is even worse, because.. if you don’t come back.. How would I even know why you left?”
"I..." He regained his footing, looking at her sadly. He hadn't thought, and she was crying because of it. "I'm sorry." He crept over to her, kneeling down before her. "It's Vitro... I found him... and now I've gotta go bring him home."
“Vee?..” She sniffed, looking at him in astonishment, her anger evaporating rapidly in favor of surprise. “Did you say you found Vee? How? Where?" His reaction before he left was beginning to make sense now. "Is that what you meant when you said whatever was going on earlier could be a good thing?"
He nodded, gently taking her hands. "But Section 31 have him, and there isn't much time; a fleet has already been dispatched to raze the facility to the ground." He squeezed her hands. "Wheels are up in a little over an hour, then we have two, maybe three days to outrun it, and get Vee out... and that’s assuming he isn't evacuated before we get there."
"I'm really sorry..." He croaked again. "I just didn't think... but I have to go, and bring him home, Izzy. I can't let him be held by them for another day"
“You’re forgiven.” She squeezed his hands back, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips. “But you’re right, we have to hurry. And..” she looked down at her dressing gown, a plan forming in her head. “I still have to get dressed. You’ll probably want a doctor along, judging by how many weapons you’re taking. That is... if you’ll let me come along?” She finally smiled again, looking at him hopefully.
“And.. um, I’m sorry, for tripping you. You really shouldn’t sneak around the house in the middle of the night. I thought you were a burglar...”
"This is the belly of the beast... this might be the the most dangerous place I've ever gone... and I don't necessarily trust the company..." He suddenly felt nervous. He knew she'd want to go with him, but the idea terrified him, and he didn't want her to come. It was different to being aboard a ship together; trouble always comes to your front door, but this was more akin to them kicking in the front door, and the front being attached to a military base.
"Are... are you sure want to come? I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you." He asked, almost praying she'd say no... but knowing she wouldn't.
“Soule..” She gazed at him with serious eyes, considering the alternative. The watching and waiting from afar, feeling powerless and helpless if something went awry. “I know it’s dangerous. But, I couldn’t live with myself if you went into that beast’s belly and I stayed behind, and you didn’t come back. Even if I just ran medical support from whatever ship you’re taking, I’d feel more useful than I would sitting back here. And... Vee’s my family too. So yes, I’m sure I want to come.”
Soule tried to hide his feelings on the matter, but it was written all across his face, and he couldn't hide that. He knew he couldn't tell her no, no matter how much he wanted to; which just left him to suck it up. "Ok..." He sighed. "We don't have long." He kissed her on the forehead, and lifted the pair of them to their feet. "Don't wanna keep Lynch waiting."
“Alright.” She nodded. “I’d better go get ready then.” She glanced down at the bat’leth as she stood. “So..” she cleared her throat nervously,“How many weapons should I take? This and my mek’leth, or just this?”
Soule gave his trunk a tactical boot to one of it's corners, causing it to fly open, and the many shelves and subdivisions to fold out. There were knives a plenty of course, but there were throwing stars and needles, chain weapons, telescopic batons, and even couple of grenade looking devices. "Bring your mek'leth if you want... But I've got us covered. Not to mention what equipment that'll be on the ship when we get there, from whatever departments Lynch has borrowed or stole from."
Her eyes widened as she surveyed the contents of the trunk. “Well, that is... an impressive amount of weapons.” Aside from a few minutes ago, she hadn’t see inside that particular trunk before, though she’d known of its existence and what was supposedly inside. “Looks like I won’t have to worry about it…”
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 4, 2018 14:29:27 GMT
After getting ready, and making the journey to headquarters, Soule and Izzy entered a hangar located at one of the Engineering Corps' facilities. The area was strangely quiet for the Engies; normally their labs and hangars were a bustle with hyperactive officers, always on to the next thing, but it was dead silent. Up ahead was a cordoned off area, it's contents hidden by a number of field holographic emitters.
Soule sighed sardonically. "Always with the mystique..."
He pushed his hand against and through the holographic barrier, and gestured for Izzy to join him through as he stepped inside. As they entered, their vision couldn't help but be taken up by a ship that was very much larger than a shuttle, and while it had the same nacelle colouration it was distinctly not a Starfleet vessel with the rest of the ship being black. It was shaped much more like a traditional aircraft than a starship; with wings, and fins and a sleek aerodynamic design. With the cockpit clearly visible at one end, the only description Soule could think of, was it was an extreme long-range scout ship oriented for long-term stealth operations.
"Looks like we're in the right place." He gasped in clear awe at the ship, which he hated himself for.
Isabelle nodded, also looking in awe at the ship. It was certainly not a type that she was used to seeing in Starfleet. “It reminds me of one of those section 31 black ships that we’ve been seeing in the past year.” A shiver of excitement ran through her, yet at the same time, the gravity of what they were doing was beginning to settle in. She gripped Soule’s hand to quell the flutter of nerves that rose up as they moved towards the entrance hatch.
The hatch began to descend. "I taw, I taw an Englishman." A voice came from within, slowly being revealed as Lynch. "I did, I did taw an Englishman... and his beautiful French wife." He shrugged. "Well, we'll probably need a doctor... more the merrier."
Soule squeezed Izzy's hand, glaring at Lynch. "Izzy, this is Agent Issac Lynch, Lynch..."
"Oh you don’t need to introduce her. She looked very lovely on your wedding, I mean, I was two miles away on a hill... but I thought that you chose the right dress. And you looked rather dashing yourself Soule."
Soule's neck cricked in barely contained anger.
“Two.. miles away?” Isabelle gave an inward shudder, clenching Soule’s hand further. “Soule, do I even want to know?...” She eyed the strange man in distrust. “The only reason you should have been doing that is...if you were part of Ilaihr’s security team.”
"Sweetheart... I was Ilaihr's security team." He gave a smug chuckle. "Y'know, you take down a few hostile governments, remove some difficult players from the board, and keep watch of the most dangerous criminal and terrorist organisations in quadrant... it's such a natural progression supplying security for a wedding. A real test of my particular skill set."
"Did he pay you?" Soule asked cynically, baring his teeth at Lynch calling Izzy 'Sweetheart'; squeezing her hand back. "Of course he paid me." Lynch shrugged. "Then shut the fuck up, Issac.... Fucking mercenary." "I will have you know, I am a highly decorated Starfleet officer." "You don't have a rank, you don't officially exist, and you barter murder for currency." "A girl's gotta make a living. I sell myself, and I enjoy what I do; and in the process of doing it I often obtain actionable intel that can be used to safeguard the Federation. So your attempts at shaming me are for naught; I have an oversight committee and everything, and with it, the ability to do anything I deem necessary short of genocide." The two men puffed their chests at each other for a while, glaring at one another; Soule growling under his breath.
"Is that Soule I hear out there?" Came a delicate sounding voice from the ship, shortly followed by a petite and peculiar looking Vulcan woman. She had a literal skip in her step, multicoloured hair, and a number of elaborate looking ear piercings. "It is you!" She beamed a smile at Soule, which grew bigger seeing Izzy. "Oh my god! This is Isabelle!"
The Vulcan continued her skip down the ramp, throwing a scowl Lynch's way. "Why didn't you tell me they were here?" "I was just..." "I don't care for your excuses. You were probably being a dick. Get back on the ship." "I was just..." "GET ON THE SHIP!" "Okay... Jesus..." He murmured as he stomped back up the ramp "Bledy woman."
"I'm Annie." The Vulcan smiled, holding a hand out to Izzy, before foregoing the handshake and going for the hug instead. "I am so happy to meet you!"
Isabelle visibly relaxed, warmly returning Annie’s welcoming smile. ”Hello, Annie. It’s lovely to meet you too.” she replied, her mood brightening.“This is quite a ship you’ve got here.. And I see you’ve got him well under control..” she smirked at the retreating figure.
"Somebody has to, Captain Ilaihr isn't here to do it." Annie squeezed Izzy gently at the shoulders in a warm hug. "Guys like them, need gals like us to keep them in line... I'll show you some tricks later." She winked before turning and punching Soule clean in the shoulder. "Why dont write me anymore?"
"Ow..." He whined. "Hey Annie." "Well... why don't you write me anymore?" "I'm not at the academy anymore. I'm a little bit busy all the time." "You still write to Arthur." "I work with Arthur. I even got him reassigned to Daystrom, because living on a comm satellite in the middle of nowhere, is a waste of his highly evolved brain." "Hmph." She turned her back and nose up to him.
"Izzy, help."
Annie whispered to Izzy. "Don’t help him. He doesn't know how to deal with women who are angry at him. Let him squirm for a bit." She winked.
“Yes.. Soule, you really should keep up with your friends.“ She tsk’ed Soule and winked back at Annie, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “Did you know he tried to flirt with me when I caught him trying to sneak out earlier?” she whispered to Annie. “The nerve..” she huffed in mock indignation, glancing back at Soule as she whispered. “And that was after I had him on the ground with a bat’leth..”
She grinned cheerfully back at Soule, her voice returning to normal volume. “Why have you never introduced me to her before? I like her..”
Annie shook her head, continuing to whisper. "That sounds like him. Even when he's been defeated, he'll keep talking."
"But Lynch rescued him from some shaky situation." She began explaining a loud. "But that’s all a bit depressing... so we'll skip some steps, Issac got banished to the Embassy on Ferengenar for a while, and Ilaihr finished rescuing Soule from a slightly less bad place than he was before Issac and I found him." "He propositioned me a job as the shady prick he is, and thought I'd be perfect for Starfleet Intelligence... I told him to go fuck himself because I was shady and I didn't trust him, so he dropped me off on a shit planet, with Gorn and Nausicaans and Letheans."
Soule glared up along the ramp and up to the ship. "I fucking hate Letheans." "Gerble gerble, gruff gruff... so brooding, and sulking." Annie flicked her hair dramatically in mockery, and smiled again at Izzy. "I told on Lynch, and my mum fixed it, sending Ilaihr to the rescue... hooray!" "Wow, you must be in a good mood Annie... you never call her mum." "Just because you call her it now, I hear." She poked her tongue out at him. "Has she shown you the picture of him cuddling the Sehlat?" Annie looked to Izzy.
“Yes.. as a matter of fact she has shown it to me.. I love that picture.” Izzy gave Annie a broad smile. “He was sooo cute at that age..” She winked at Soule, nuzzling him.At the same time, she was still trying to sort out Annie’s dizzying explanation, but they did seem to behave like siblings, even though they obviously weren’t. “So, you two are a lot like brother and sister.. Babs adopted you..?”
"No... I'm actually her daughter." Annie shrugged. "Mum doesn't like to talk about it; I grew up on Vulcan with my dad, because he wanted her to leave Starfleet and be a good wife. That didn't go down well. Aunty Kimberly broke his nose" "And she doesn't agree with my life choices. I went into Intel, and she wanted me to go into the Diplomatic Corps." She continued.
"She doesn't care that you went into Intel, it’s working with Lynch that pisses her off."
"So we don't talk much these days." Annie sighed. "But Soule and I were like pen pals, and I used to visit him and Arthur at the academy."
“Ah, I see..” Isabelle gave Annie a sympathetic nod of understanding as she took in the details of her story. “I can see the resemblance now; you’ve both got a certain fire. Which is how you can handle him so well..” she pointed up the ramp.
"Oh my God... would you women stop gossiping and catching up, and get on the goddamn ship!" Lynch's voice came over the comm. "Being tortured by the Andorians is less painful than listening to you three."
“Speaking of..." Izzy rolled her eyes in that direction, grinning. "He’s right though. We should get on the ship. Vee needs us.”
"Yeah I suppose so. He has to be right at least once." Annie chuckled, pointing down a corridor. "But there's one set of small quarters down that way for you two, so you guys get settled in, and I'll get us off the ground. We're all meeting in the common room, in an hour to go over the plan. The twins are here." She smiled.
"What are they doing here?" Soule asked curiously. "They aren't exactly Starfleet Intelligence." "Dan'el owed Issac a favour, and everyone borrows the Twins... it's not like they mind, they're Breen Warriors. Wherever the action is. I mean, all I told them was 'Section 31', and I'm certain they were frothing at the mouth in joy." "I don’t think Breen froth." Annie smirked. "See you in an hour, you two." She then skipped down the central corridor, and out of sight.
"It's gonna be an interesting couple of days, Iz..."
“Most definitely.” She put her things down on a table and pulled him into an embrace.“We’ll be ready. They won’t know what hit ‘em..”
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 4, 2018 18:02:56 GMT
Annie jauntily passed through the doors to the rather minuscule bridge; somewhere between a shuttle cockpit and the bridge of a light cruiser, with all the essential stations crammed in the usual Starfleet orientation, only lacking a command chair. Groll was sat in her seat at the NAV console, his speech unit garbling to the sound of Breen nursery rhymes.
“$@#&¿% ¡€¥®%?" He turned to her and asked, tilting his head. "No that's ok Groll, I"ll take number two." She took up the co-NAV console, and signed in. "What are you doing anyway?" "¥|£¢^ ¢©#$€." "Your race hasn't even developed Quantum Slipstream yet... How can you say my calculations are off?"
The Breen pointed at his console, nodding his head as rapidly as the garbles came from him, becoming more frantic as he progressed in his explanation, finally ending by shrugging his hands.
"You Breen are weird. Terrified of death in every way, except when it comes violently; where you take it lovingly by the hand." "¥¢®£ %¢€©&!!!!!" Annie wobbled her head in thought for a moment, before nodding in agreement. "I suppose exiting inside a supergiant, would put a damper on things.... an INERTIAL DAMPER!" She giggled hysterically.
Groll just stared at her shaking his head, and turned back to his console.
Annie activated the ships internal comm. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. The Argonaut will be lifting off momentarily. Please, keep all of your extremities within the ship and do not attempt to drink any of my Slug-o Cola, because it's mine."
The reverberation of the core powering up, could be felt across the ship. Annie did her final system checks, getting a green across the board. With the holographic walls deactivating, the Argonaut shot out of the hangar like a ship half its size, and went straight up. As they blazed through the stratosphere, the nacelles on the wings elongated and flickered, and upon reaching the mesosphere, the ship jumped to warp.
Groll turned back to Annie, handng her a PADD. "$%¥ £€¢¿ @#&$." After looking it over, she smiled, leaning over a kissing the Breen on what would be his cheek. "That'll definitely keep us from being fuel for solar fusion. Thank you, Groll."
~~~~~
Soule laid down on the surprisingly comfy bed, taking the few minutes before the meeting to rest a while. His eyes were heavy and he felt exhausted, it'd been a long day, and it wasn’t over yet.
Isabelle followed suit, settling in next to Soule; even though she’d managed to sleep a little bit earlier in the evening, it hadn’t been enough, and it was catching up to her now. She laid her head on his shoulder, drowsily arranging the blankets over the two of them for their hour-long nap.
He wrapped his arm around her, nuzzling in; it didn't take long for him to start drifting off. He mumbled a few things under his breath, trailing off as he said them, settling for kissing a top her head. Within a few minutes he was sleep sighing, holding Izzy tight.
She smiled, snuggling against him, feeling safe in his arms. She managed to murmur, “Sleep well, chéri”, before she too, drifted off.
~~~~~
They managed to some winks in, but they weren't nearly enough for the rude awakening received over the intercomm; Lynch being in a perpetual state of petulance. "Every fucker on my ship, get to the common room. I'm not in a patient mood today, so if you're meditating, pissed as a rat or having tantric sex... don't keep me waiting..." He was cut off by the sound of a loud thudding sound, being replaced by at least, a calmly spoken garble. "¥»«|\ |¢^¥ %¡¡€£$&."
Soule groaned. "Thank you, Groll." He sleepily turned to Izzy, almost certain he didn’t need to say it, but was going to anyway. "It's time to get up."
She peeked an eye out of the blankets, making a face at Lynch’s wake-up call. “I gathered that..” she smirked, then chuckled. “Lynch shouldn’t be allowed near an intercom..” She slid reluctantly out of the warm bed and got to her feet, shaking the last of the fog from her head, and extended a hand to Soule.
Soule was himself reluctant, but eventually he took Izzy's hand and got to his feet. "He shouldn't be allowed anywhere..." He replied grumpily, before relenting a smile. "At least if he tries anything traitorous, like stab us in the back, the Twins will shoot him in the back."
He squeezed Izzy's hand, laughing at his own joke, no matter how serious it actually was, before leading her down the short corridor. "The ship's different to what I remember... it's smaller."
She smiled at him. “Maybe you were smaller then?” she guessed, as they proceeded down the hallway and entered a room that contained a large table and chairs, and everyone sitting waiting for them.
"Hey guys!" Annie waved enthusiastically. "You two look tired. You should get some sleep after the briefing." "Thanks Annie." Soule glared at her with his still tired expression. "So Issac will be here in a sec, so introductions... before he ruins everything." She smiled. "So everyone knows the Twins." The pair looked on expressionlessly, sporting a black version of their usual suit. "Everyone this is Soule and Izzy Douglas, of Daystrom and Starfleet Medical respectively."
There were another three members at the table; a Risan, a Rigellian and a Human. The Risan was typically pretty and athletically built like most Risan females, with dark brunette hair, scrunched up into a bun. "This is Klara. I mean Captain Klara Herald of the MACO's." "Hey besty." She replied with a sultry sounding voice. "That is Kimpor Jalon of Starfleet Security." Annie then pointed to the Rigellian. "'Sup." He waved halfheartedly. "He's a man of short words." She giggled. "Eugh." He groaned back.
"And Soule, you remember Zigzy." "I don't think I do." "Yeah ya do... Ventura's? The Orion girl...?" "Ooooh... hey Zigzy. I see you regained your free will." "I see you lost your's..." He looked to Izzy. "I didn't lose it... I gave it to her voluntarily." Soule then saw the look on Izzy's face, who gave him a chagrined smirk. "I mean... fuck you Zig."
"Augustus Zigellmen of Starfleet Intelligence everyone. Got so drunk, he married an Orion girl he'd met that night in a bar, who then kidnapped him." "Hey... I'll have you know... we eventually got married a second time for real..." "After being her prisoner for sixteen months." "Then we got a divorce!"
"Why do I know these people Annie?" Soule asked curiously. "Because for this line of work, you don’t just get assigned, you usually volunteer. And the ring of trustworthy people we know is very small Soule." "Annie asked, and I can't be turning down my girlfriend, can I?" Klara added. "Ceclel is going through a heightened pheromonal state... and my supple flesh is sore." Zigzy spoke up. "Sounded like fun." Kimpor shrugged.
“Hello everyone.” Isabelle gave a wave to the group, greeting them with a smile and a nod. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” “So.. what’s the plan?” She asked curiously, looking to Soule.
"I'm glad you asked, Doctor." Like a shade looming from the shadows, Lynch appeared. "It is quite the facility we're breaking into."
Zizgzy and Kimpor glanced at each other, then to Lynch, glaring. "We heard it's the Forge." "It is." Soule replied. "Shit..." Kimpor croaked. "I know the Commodore always wanted us to be like Red Squad 'n' all, but when did you upgrade to full on lunacy?"
Klara began waving her hand. "For those of us without brown-nose syndrome, who aren't close flag officers? What the hell is the Forge, why do I just picture a giant anvil?" " She look at Izzy and smiled, seeing her wondering as well.
"Well, now that you mention it, that is on their insignia." Lynch interjected. "®¥€%>£ %©¥¡ Lynch." Tholl garbled at him angrily. "Why does everyone have such a goddamn hard on for Soule?" "Because, he's not you; you're a morally degenerate asshole." Klara grinned. "Now, let him explain, or either me or the Breen or going to shoot you." Both the Twins nodded in conjunction with her statement.
"Thank you, Klara." Soule turned and smiled at everyone, but Lynch, before standing up and looking like he was about to do a presentation. "To be fair, he actually is the guy to explain the Forge, but I'll do my best." He moved over to the blank wall, taking a controller from Annie as he did so.
With the push of a button, a holoprojector in the ceiling began overlaying images on wall. "Hidden inside of a black cluster, well beyond Federation space even before the schism, and according to the multiple briefings I had from SI; it is one of Section 31's premiere research facilities."
"Argh... You're not explaining it right! Where's the verve? Where's the exposition?" Lynch again interjected, his skin seeming to crawl.
"Now Forge is just codename, but its supposedly the Advance Solutions Laboratory. And if the rumours are right, it has it's hands in Biogenic Armaments, Borg Nanotechnology, Genetic Augmentation... they could have isolytic subspace weapons down there... and anything in between."
The room went silent for a moment, before Zigzy finally spoke up. "And we're going there why? Isn't it going to be levelled by a fleet?"
Isabelle had been listening quietly to the explanation of the Section 31 facility, her mind going back to the long nights that Soule had spent looking for Vitro, realising that his long search was finally over. But the most dangerous part still lay ahead and now she was beginning to realise just how dangerous.
“There’s a good reason we’re going there.” Isabelle stepped forward, answering Zigzy’s question. “There’s a... member of our family there that we need to rescue. He’s been held prisoner there for more than a year, and Soule has searched nearly every day for him. And yesterday, he finally found him. His name is Vitro. And we can’t leave him to those wolves.” She squeezed Soule’s hand in support, stepping back to the audience.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 5, 2018 14:46:50 GMT
"Hang on, hang on..." Zizgy paused. "I've read Soule's intel dossier... We're going after a goddamn hologram?"
"Is that a problem for you Zig?" Soule responded sourly. "Its a fucking hologram. We're gonna risk our lives to rescue a hologram! Why not just program another one?” "Ah, August... It's better than babysitting ambassadors." Kimpor stepped in, seeing the growing growly face on Soule. "At least it's different. Must be one hell of a hologram?"
“He is.” Isabelle nodded at Kimpor. “Vitro is unique. Even if Soule wanted to, he couldn’t reprogram a new hologram exactly like him. Vitro has his own unique personality, memories, and experiences. He’s capable of learning and growing on his own. He’s sentient. And he’s worth rescuing just as much as anyone else would be.”
"See... interesting." Kimpor shook his head at Zigzy, before putting his arms behind his head and reclining in his chair.
"It still sounds like you two needa get a pet... or start making babies." Zigzy rattled off, earning him intense stares from the women in the room. "What?" "You're such a pig, Zig." Klara growled. "Ya sure you aren't Issac's bit o' stuff?"
"The Plan!" Issac shouted. "The fucking plan! On track..." He clapped the back of his hand in frustration.
Soule pushed for the next few slides. "So lots of bad shit inside... and then we have the outside. As you can see, we have about a dozen weapons emplacements on the surface... about the same in orbit, with at least one ship, that long range scans could pick up, floating around the area... but there could be more."
"Holy shit, can we seriously revisit the baby making plan?" Outburst Zigzy again.
Isabelle sucked in her breath to retain her composure, staring at the ceiling briefly before shaking her head with a smirk at Zigzy. “I’ll add you to the the baby shower invite list,” she retorted sarcastically. “I’m sure you’ll have fun picking out baby clothes. Meanwhile. We’ve got a job to do. Soule, how are we getting in there?”
Zigzy was quickly shut up by Izzy, now left floundering in his seat. The sound of short rapid garbles came from the twins and it appeared that they were laughing; slapping their knee, or adjusting their visor.
"The Argonaut has top of the line ordinance and equipment." Annie explained. "We have a Gen 2 Quantum Slipstream, which won't be in fleet operation for another 6 months, maybe. Bioneural gel packs like an Intrepid, two quad-pulse phaser cannons like a Defiant, and two micro-photon torpedo launchers from the new Spitfire fighters... and we jacked a phaser array from a Sovereign. We also have a modded down version of an Aquila's stealth drive, and a Breen cloaking device."
"¥€%©® $@£¿%." (It wasn’t easy to obtain'".) Tholl added.
"We also borrowed, So... Much... Stuff." Soule finally responded. "The Twins have their own equipment, such Type-2 Disruptors... But we made a shopping trip to the STAR armoury; Fullerene Body Armor, Type II Hand Phasers, Type IV Phased Compression and Standard Rifles, Mark V Photon Charges, Mark II Antimatter Cutting Charges and a couple of Type IX Isomagnetic Disintegrators and TR-116 Ballistic Rifles. Oh... and a Werple."
It made Isabelle feel slightly better about the whole thing to hear that they had decent armor and weapons as well as stealth tech. “It sounds like you have everything you need.” She was trying to stay positive and pushed down the tight feeling of worry she still had in her stomach. They were going up against Section 31, after all.
“Even a Werple. Which is… ?” she cocked her head curiously.
"Oh, well, Annie should know, she’s playing with it right now." Soule threw Annie an accusing glare. "No I'm not..." Annie replied innocently, hiding something behind her back. Moments later, a strange buglike robot, held aloft by what seemed to be soup bowls, flew into the common room, past everyone, and into a wall.
"That." Soule pointed sarcastically. "That is a Werple." He smiled at Izzy.
“Awww.. he’s cute. Not very graceful.. But cute.” Izzy picked the Werple gently off of the floor and set it on the table, where Annie took it back into her hands.
"Don’t forget about the payload." Issac added coldly. "We managed to secure a new Mark I..." He paused. "...Quantum-Tricobalt Torpedo." He cleared his throat as everyone either wondered what it was, or was shocked by it. "It’s a full optimisation of the device Professor Hamlet built during the Tzenkethi war; a quantum matrix around a high yield tricobalt warhead. These are not, and will never be in full service, and Starfleet has only stockpiled a handful of them, simply because they are essentially weapons of mass destruction; ergo last resort."
"How powerful are they?" Klara and Kimpor asked. "I reckon we could take out a Borg Sphere with a single shot..." "I suddenly don’t want to think of the reasons we'd need that." Zigzy spluttered.
"Everyone, get some rest. We have two days until we get there, and to think about the intricacies. You'll need to get familiar with the gear in that time, and prepare for what is to come."
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 5, 2018 19:34:23 GMT
Isabelle lay awake, staring at the ceiling. They were set to arrive at the Forge very soon, and all of the nightmarish battle scenarios from the past year of fighting section 31 had managed to come out of the dark places in her mind where they had been hiding. A series of ‘What If’s' rang in her mind like church bells.. What if one of them got captured, what if they weren’t able to stealth in like they had planned, what if someone.. Or all of them.. did not make it out.....
But. They were well prepared. And they had weathered such storms during their time on the Hyperion; fighting the battle between the two federations, driving out Section 31. They would weather the one to come.
She turned to Soule, kissing him awake. “It’s time, Imzadi.”
Soule awoke instantly and without the usual morning fuss. He'd slept better ever since Izzy and he had got married, but he'd barely been able to sleep a wink these last few days, pondering all the ways that this could go south. He wrapped his arm around her and nuzzled in, deflating as he let go of the weight for a moment, just savouring the silence.
"Let's go bring him home." He kissed her forehead, before promptly sitting up to get ready. The glimmer of the mirror across the diminutive room caught his eye, shining their reflection at them. "Remember when we started off as explorers?" He sighed.
“I do.” she smiled with nostalgia, remembering the eager young cadets they both once were. She also sighed, the seriousness of the situation taking hold again. “We’ll get through this.” The couple in the mirror, though they had expressions of worry on their faces, also wore expressions of determination and resolve. She returned his embrace from behind, leaving a kiss on his cheek to strengthen him for the coming hours.
They were quick to get dressed and ready, meeting the others in the common room, as they had theses last few days. The tone of the room belied the nature of their mission, with joviality, they all ate breakfast together; like a dysfunctional family. The Twins were the quiet and well behaved ones, passing what looked like jelly through openings in their helmets, enjoying the company around them. Kimpor and Zigzy bickered like children, slap fighting each other for a waffle, instead of simply replicating another; Klara stealing it from under their nose. Annie guzzled down a bowl of plomeek soup, gossiping with Klara and Izzy, laughing at the pair of idiots. Even Soule and Issac expertly brooded in the corner, eating toast, swapping intense gazes at each other.
"They aren't exactly Elite Special Forces, are they?" Issac expressed his usual disdain. "They are the best at the things they do, though..." Soule replied, looking at the team. "The Veteran Warriors... The Grenadier... The Spy... The Markswoman... The Hacker... The Doctor..." "The Swordsman..." Issac stared at Soule mockingly. "The Assassin..." Soule returned the look.
"So, what does he look like when he's not brooding?" Klara nudged Izzy's shoulder and winked, cheekily. “Well.. I think he’s handsome even if he is brooding..”, Izzy replied, spreading apricot jam on a freshly toasted tartine. “But, he does have a really nice smile. Which he lets people see more often than you’d think, especially these past few months...” She grinned at Klara.
The sound of a shipwide klaxon interrupted their conversation. The Werple came flying into the room, then straight into Annie, bouncing off and falling on the table, narrowly missing her soup bowl. “We’re here, we’re here, we’re here!” It chirped metallically, literally buzzing with excitement.
Issac had already gone by the time everyone had had time to look up from their meals, like some kind of wisp. Darting glances were shared by all, before they dropped what they were doing and quickly followed along behind Annie to the bridge. The werple buzzed back into the air, spinning around in the spot trying to orientate itself, then excitedly chased the crew.
Issac stood in the centre of the bridge watching the viewscreen, arms folded, as the others entered and took up spots at the empty consoles. Annie and Groll took the pilot seats, Klara and Kimpor the Tactical, Zigzy had the science station, and Tholl engineering, there was even a dedicated medical console for Izzy.
Soule squeezed Izzy's hand, taking a position next to Lynch, matching his stance and posture. At the flip of a button by Annie, two barebones seats rose out of the centre. It took a while before Soule really acknowledged it, but he and Lynch eventually sat.
"Pulling out of Slipstream in 3... 2...1..."
The slipstream corridor opened in a flash of light, like a candle against the pitch darkness of the black cluster. Clouds of desiccated and soot coloured matter pulsated outward, like tentacles grasping at them, ominously baying for them to enter.
"What are your orders, sir?" Annie asked, a smile briefly cracking across her face, as she struggled not to be slightly afraid. "I think she's talking to you, kid..." Lynch mumbled. "She'd never call me sir." Soule paused, unable to think for a moment. Being sat in the chair he was, the image of the abyss before them, and that they were now waiting on him. "Activate cloaking device and stealth systems... take us in."
Isabelle sat at her console, pushing down her nerves. She wouldn’t be any use to anyone if she let fear take over. She brought the medical sensors online, putting everyone’s vitals up on the screen and patched the feed into the Argonaut's sickbay. “Medical’s all set. And ready for anything…”
The Argonaut jumped to low warp, fading into the ether, as they went on the final leg of their journey. The silent murkiness was disconcerting to everyone, no stars to light their way, but with Annie at the helm and Groll guiding a path with his knowledge of black clusters, they forged on through the fog. The longer they were ploughed on though, the more tense they became, as they waited for an opening to appear before them.
Suddenly, a faint red glimmer came into view, getting slowly brighter as they continued. But then it began to stop getting brighter, only bigger on the screen, with the clouds still thickly wisping passed them. At last though they began to dissipate, and they finally entered the clearing. A red dwarf guzzling on streams of soot and gas, with a trio of mismatched worlds; A Demonic Y-class orbiting alongside a radiation spewing T-class gas giant, and the little P-class world that was the centre of their focus.
Dropping out of warp once in range, and magnifying the viewscreen showed them things they did not expect. "Soule..." Zigzy croaked. "That is not one ship..."
The viewscreen showed the visage of two Galaxy classes, supported by over a dozen Steamrunners, Akiras and Defiants, along with the orbital defences they were expecting.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 5, 2018 21:46:19 GMT
"Shit..."
“That’s alot of ships.” whispered Izzy, finishing Zigzy’s thought for him. She gulped, a pit forming in her stomach. "How effective are these stealth systems, exactly?" Klara asked the room, suddenly feeling curious to know more technical information.
The view of the fleet even spooked The Twins, who turned to each other across the bridge, and either started arguing or having a lively discussion. The moment was so important that they both turned off their modulators. "The market is saturated with Romulan cloaking devices since the Star Empire crumbled into the ashes." Tholl explained, his voice still garbled. "Ours are different, they will not be looking."
"I never heard a Breen speak English before..." Zizgy said. "It sounds over confident... I don't like it." "Zigzy, shut up. Tholl, how is it different?" Soule ordered, which it felt strange to do. "Same principle, different emissions." Tholl seemed to pause, but had actually finished talking entirely. Groll shook his head, before adding to the explanation. "Romulans can be seen with tachyons, we cannot; but there are other ways. Luckily your Starfleet stealth systems adequately cover the drawbacks of the cloak; in fact it works well with our cryogenic technology as well."
"Got it, don't let the Breen get hold of Starfleet stealth tech." Zigzy added. "Klara..." Soule said with a smile, before there was a loud slapping sound. "Ow..." Zigzy cried. "...Bitch."
"Try to give them a wide berth, Annie... and go slow." Soule promptly moved on. "How does this thing handle atmospheric entry?" "What the hell do you think it's designed for?" Issac barked. "It doesn't look like a aeroplane just because it looks cool. I mean it does look cool, and the modifications cost alot of latinum, but this is a purpose built infiltration vessel. It's my fucking baby!"
"Ooookaay then..." Soule paused. "Then you know what to do, Annie."
Isabelle braced for the descent, doing her best to trust Annie’s capabilities to land them safely. Still, she found herself gripping the armrests of her seat with her nails as the Argonaut entered the planet’s atmosphere.
As the atmosphere began to tug, Annie went into full reverse momentarily then deactivated the engines; a suicide burn. Now using only the ship's aerodynamics for re-entry, numerous ailerons and stabilising fins deployed, gripping the thin air tighter, causing the ship to buffet violently. Annie and Groll's hands worked away, maintaining the ship's stability, fighting it's urge to flat spin into the airflow. As their horizontal speed rapidly decreased, their vertical speed increased steadily. The pair of pilots stared at each other for a moment.
"Ok guys... we may have made a slight miscalculation on the suicide burn.... namely the lower atmosphere is... thinner than anticipated." Annie cleared her throat. "We're gonna have to perform a sliiiiiight lithobreaking maneuver." "A lithobraking maneuver? That's a.... that's a fucking crash, Annie." Kimpor animatedly stated; Groll shrugging in response. "You ready the thrusters... and I'll pitch hard." She stated, reading herself as the altimeter ticked down.
“It’s… more of a controlled fall,” Izzy replied back to Kimpor. She'd learnt at least that much about piloting at the academy. Her stomach went into her throat and she closed her eyes as the Argonaut sped towards the planet’s surface at a sickening pace. Flashbacks of the Hyperion’s demise ran through her head.. She somehow managed, through the shaking, to find the seatbelt button on her console. A five-point belt automatically latched itself around her.
Kimpor, Klara and Zigzy all quickly followed suit, their belts fastening around them. Klara and Kimpor even grabbed each other's hand and closed their eyes, seeming to pray. Zigzy simply whispering "Oh shit", repeatedly. The twins stayed their usual stonefaced selves, not bracing or fastening themselves in; either having great faith or no fear.
Soule and Issac however, locked intense stares; with the planet rushing towards them, they were going to see which of them blinked first. "If you two are gonna make out, that's hot, but can you wait for a moment when I can fully appreciate it." Annie demanded. "I'm trying to concentrate." The machismo of the pair shattered by their mutual disgust, both fastened in and held on tight.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 6, 2018 14:40:36 GMT
The Argonaut carved through a valley, a visual indicator of how low they now were, the ground now hurtling towards them. With a glance from Annie, Groll activated the manoeuvring thrusters, and the various fins entered full airbrake mode. With a sudden crash that rocked the bridge, and from the viewscreen, they seemed like they were climbing again. After a few more commands to Annie's console, the ship gently glided to the ground, landing with a small thud.
"Jesus Christ." Annie shouted, turning in her chair to see the others holding on for dear life. "It wasn't that bad..."
Isabelle’s eyes were scrunched up tight, her fingers digging into the armrests when they finally came to a stop. “Soule?” She finally opened one eye to peer around the bridge, then both, and unclenched her hands, which now ached. Her eyes rested on her husband, looking him over to make sure he was in one piece, then did the same for everyone else. “Did everyone make it through ok? I.. um, I take it we’re here?”
"I think we're ok, Imzadi." Soule smiled. "Speak for your fuckin' self..." Zigzy groaned. "I think I weigh less..." Klara glared at Zigzy in disgust. "We're fine Isabelle, this isn't the first I've had to deal with Annie's piloting." "Seriously.... starting to feel real hurt, with all this shit-talk about my piloting." Annie complained. "And we're about three kilometers from the Forge."
"It's time to suit up, everyone." Issac stated, unbuckling his belt and standing up. "We've got a nice pleasant stroll ahead of us. Annie will be staying here, to act as our overwatch." He turned to Izzy, sneering slightly. "So Doctor, are you coming or staying? Annie doesn't normally have company on our missions, but I'm sure she'll welcome it."
Isabelle also unfastened her belt and got to her feet. She hesitated for a few seconds, her stomach clenching. She knew Soule wanted to protect her, she knew he didn’t want her to go into the Forge..That it was too dangerous. But, she’d come this far already. To stay behind now, as Issac seemed to expect her to…
..She couldn’t. She sidestepped Issac and his sneer, and turned to Soule. “Do you remember when I told you that I would go into Stovo’kor to find you if I had to?” Her heart pounded in her throat, but she pressed on, looking into his eyes. “Well, this is as close to Stovo’kor as I can think of on this plane of existence. I will go with you the rest of the way, Imzadi.”
Soule had rehearsed this conversation in his head, at least a dozen times over the last couple of days. As secure as Annie's comm signal is, the same cannot be said for a transporter signal, and an emergency transport during the mission would effectively end the mission. As much as it pained him to have Izzy here behind enemy lines, he needed her... they all did. "Then it’s time to suit up, my love... we don't wanna be late for our hosts." He stroked her cheek, and smiled back at her lovingly.
Klara leant over Annie as they watched on at the loving couple, both of them sighing mildly envious, counting Izzy's blessing. "So sweet." "Mother Fucker... are you just trying make us all look bad?" Zigzy exclaimed, nodding to Lynch for confirmation. "Maybe if you two didn't talk to women like shit..." Kimpor chimed in, as he plodded on off the bridge, his arm casually folded behind his head. "First rule to women..." Groll laughed. "The Rigellian gets it..." Tholl added, as they both followed on behind Kimpor. "Are they going to be speaking English from now on?" Zizgy queried. "Its kinda creepy..."
Lynch huffed, before patting Zig on the back. "If you keep talking shit about them, they're gonna execute you..." He nodded at the door, and continued walking. "Annie don't break anything." She smirked, placing a cortical implant on her temple. "I won’t..." She winked at Klara. "Now, you kids have fun..."
As Klara and Zigzy rushed off to get ready, Annie turned to Soule and Izzy. "I'll be with you, every step of the way, you guys." She gave a more genuine smile. "Oh, and try not to murder Issac... I know it's hard..." "Well, I can't speak for Izzy... but I'll try." Soule smirked, taking Izzy's hand for what could be the last time. "Let's go get our friend back."
Isabelle took both of Soule’s hands in hers, then lifted herself up to kiss him on the lips. “I love you.” She smiled at him, then squeezed his hands one final time for courage before they followed the others off of the Bridge.She grinned back at Annie as they were leaving. “There are other ways to deal with Issac that don’t involve murder. I am a doctor after all. But I’ll try to be good..”
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 6, 2018 17:34:21 GMT
The crew were well underway equipping their personalised gear when Izzy and Soule joined them; Klara and Kimpor had their fullerene armour augmented with heavier plating, whilst Zizgy and Issac had lighter plating. Klara's weapon of choice was a TR-116 modified for long range, a phaser and a litany of knives around her belt. Kimpor helped himself to a majority of the explosive charges, as well one of the isomagnetic disintegrator and a phaser. Zigzy had a standard loadout; compression rifle, phaser and a handful of charges. Isaac, however, didn't seem to take any of the equipment, just donned his armour.
"Where are the twins?" Soule asked, curiously.
"Taking advantage of the fresh air, outside, apparently." Zigzy shrugged.
"We best hurry up and get ready and join them, then." Soule replied, hastily starting to throw on his own armour.
Isabelle chose a fullerene armour with lighter plating and a cloaking feature. She grabbed a phaser rifle off of the wall and slung her medkit across her back. Her mek'leth, which Soule had given to her long ago and had stayed with her through the Tzenkethi war and now the war against the True Federation and Section 31, was now strapped to her boot. “I’m ready.”
Soule, always being the odd one out, had a hybridised armour; primarily light plating, the left arm was heavily reinforced, being reminiscent of his old prosthetic, and there were specialised slots for extra compliments of knives and ammo. He had been working on the design since Sigma Rho. As to be expected, he grabbed his personal TR-116, threw on his bandolier of more knives and ammo, and of course his sword.
With a collective nod, Lynch hit the door release. As the door opened and the ramp slowly descended into the frozen abyss outside, the Twins could be seen quickly securing their helmets back on. Each armed with a Designator, any of the charges Kimpor didn't get to first, and their own Breen weapons; two Type-2 Disruptors and a truncheon each.
"What's the weather like, guys?" Soule asked rhetorically.
"Cloudy... with a chance of massacring our enemies." Tholl replied in an almost excited tone. "Also, cold... for you fleshy bloodsacks." Groll added. "Fifteen minutes of exposure at most, and you'll probably freeze to death." "They're like Tholians in this temperature. I wager the thermal shock kills them in five." "Deal. We'll decide the stakes later." "Agreed."
"Oh my god, can we seriously go back to them being incoherent." Zigzy cried. "I don't like knowing how they talk about us." "We feel the same way about you." Klara replied glibly.
"Gentlemen." Soule nodded at the Twins, and they turned about and began leading the way. "Follow the Icy White Road..." One of them seemed to sing, as they charged on jauntily, in their native environment.
"For once I agree with Zigzy.." Isabelle was surprised to hear herself say. Tholl and Groll’s speech was.. unsettling. She fell into step beside Soule, glad that her armour also doubled as an environmental suit, like everyone else's. It was so cold, her footsteps sounded like styrofoam as they squeaked on the ice and snow.
As the door of the Argonaut began to close and the team head off, the Werple shot out of the ship, quickly catching up with them; although swaying in the wind. It flew up to Issac, hovering for a moment, before folding it's rotors away, and latching onto a specialised mount in the back of his suit.
Soule nudged Izzy's shoulder, nodding to Lynch, laughing inside his helmet. "It's like a baby bug-bot, and Issac's his mum." “Issac would make a great mum..” she smirked at Lynch’s back, sticking her tongue out of the side of her mouth.
The walk to the base was almost pleasantly uneventful, although that didn't stop most of them being on edge, and it being the exact opposite of pleasant. The hostile terrain and the inclement weather was proving difficult for some more than others; even in their suits Kimpor and Klara, being from more tropical climates could practically taste the cold.
“How far to go?” Isabelle peered ahead into the swirling fine snow that was blowing everywhere, making it difficult to see more than a few meters ahead. Like Kimpor and Klara, she was beginning to feel the cold seep into her toes and fingers.
Tholl raised his arm and clenched his fist, signalling everyone to halt; the green light of his visor shimmying side to side as he gazed through the diamond dust and frozen fog. A cloud of ice flowed around them, swirling overhead into a vortex; signs all Breen children were taught to read from an early age. "We are here."
As they walked forward a few more yards, a darkened silhouette came into focus, and weapons were removed from their holsters. Izzy’s rifle went to her shoulder almost immediately. She trained her weapon on the silhouette, waiting for a signal, or for it to make a threatening move.. whichever came first.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 7, 2018 12:13:35 GMT
The silhouette grew in size, as the vortex above lashed against it like a wave; and before long the crew were gazing up at a tall, wedge shaped structure before them. Klara and Soule scanned the area through the scope of their rifles, searching for hostile targets; the top was too obscure still to see, but the front of the structure was clear.
Isabelle’s fingers were still gripped around her rifle, but she’d lowered it once the shadowy shape had revealed itself to be a wall, clearly making no threatening moves. She kept her weapon at a defensive position, ready to raise it again quickly if needed.
"Why does that thing look like a giant snow plough?" Klara asked, her sights still searching the vicinity for movement. "It covers the rest of the facility from the wind that the valley channels... possibly has turbines harnessing the high wind speeds... almost certainly has an orbital weapon a top... and the cloud formation it creates above, it can mask visuals on the area." Groll replied. "Why's it so friggin' big?" Kimpor followed up.
"Ego..." Lynch answered. He twirled his fingers, and made complex hand gestures as they ventured ever closer, before splitting up and taking either flank around it; Lynch leading one group, and Soule the other.
Beyond the wall, the air was much clearer, and it became clear that this wasn't a small facility like they thought. Ignoring a few hangars, and a number of other weapons emplacements, everyone's gaze was drawn down, to cavernous maw that wasn't in the intel.
"Guys..." Soule croaked... I don't think the Forge is on the surface..."
Stepping up beside Soule, Izzy peered down into the yawning hole, then just as quickly stepped back a few inches where it was safer. “That’s a really long way down..”
The Werple powered up and launched, floating into the hole where it began scanning and mapping the area. "What are we looking at Annie?" Soule asked. "It's about a kilometer or two deep; and that's the end of good news." She replied in her usual quirky manner, although tempered by what she was seeing. "It is a giant elevator shaft. I reckon you could fit an Intrepid in that thing." "No guesses as to what they're doing down there then... and the doors are open..." Soule sighed, trying to remain optimistic. "Fuck."
"How are we gonna get down there?" Zigzy moaned. "These suits ain't exactly built for climbing." "We could always jump?" Lynched smiled, looking down into the abyss. "Could we call the lift?" Kimpor interjected. "You may have dulled your hearing with explosives, but we couldn't really stay stealthy and move a chunk of metal the size of a small city, up a shaft the height of a small mountain." Annie finally answered. "There's gotta be a ladder in the shaft, for emergencies... or a service elevator."
"Or we could see if there's a turbolift behind that door." Soule stated, pointing at the centre of the wind wedge. "Or we could do that." Lynch replied.
The door was heavy and thickly plated, with a security pad on the wall for access. With a nod from Soule, the Twins grabbed either side of the pad, wrenching it from the wall, before Lynch stepped in; moving it's isolinear circuits around, to short it open.The group focused their weapons as the door began to open, before they tactically filed in and cleared the area, with the twins taking point.
"I'll see you guys down there, the werple and I will see what we can find down the main shaft." Annie called, as the werple flew deeper into the belly of the forge. "Try to map out the area as best I can."
"Don't get spotted." Soule replied seriously. "What? Like eight heavily armed soldiers spotted? I'll be fine. Find me some systems to hack." "Let’s not keep her... or Section 31 waiting." Lynch stepped into the double-sized turbolift.
Isabelle filed in with the others, relieved that they didn’t have to climb the two kilometers into the hole, and grateful for Annie’s surveillance. Once they were all in, the turbolift doors thudded closed with a certain finality, and the lift began it’s long journey downwards.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 7, 2018 12:37:11 GMT
It was eerily quiet; considering where they were and what it represented, it felt unnatural, and there was a thick tension in the air. The only sound was the gentle hum and clunk as the turbolift descended into the bowels of the planet.
"I feel like I should start smoking." Kimpor spluttered out, trying to hold up the laid back attitude against growing adversity, shattering the painful silence. "What?" Soule asked confusedly. "Why?" "All the badasses do it in all those old Earth movies, right before they fuck shit up, and... take some names." Kimpor replied, hoping to get the idiom right. "It looks cool in a self-detrimental way, and it's no worse than getting shot or blown up. So this seems like the best time to take it up." "That's the best logic, I've ever heard. Zigzy laughed. "It would certainly help with the stress." "I'm sure the Doctor would have something to say about that..."
“Well, since you asked..” Izzy smirked at Kimpor. “Ignoring the the fact that you’re wearing an EV suit... I think I wouldn’t be the only one in this lift who prefers not to be asphyxiated inside of an enclosed space. I’ll leave the health lecture till later…if we survive this.”
"He used to smoke..." Kimpor replied, pointing at Soule. "No I didn't. Shut up." Soule replied irascibly. "Sure you did, at the academy." "Dunno what you’re talking about..." Soule shook his head at the notion, whilst Kimpor nodded emphatically at Izzy.
"Ladies... please." Issac growled. "We've still got a kilometer to go before people start shooting at us... and I would really like to not have to kill both of you before we get there. Cool? Cool..." He sighed and began mumbling under his breath. "Making us look bad in front of the Breen…”
“And besides, it’s irrelevant. Even if Soule did at one time, no one is smoking in here right now..” Izzy threw Kimpor an exasperated look. Issac was right. It was a long way down to the bottom…
"Grass." Soule whispered. "Hypocrite." Kimpor whispered back.
Issac turned around, pistol in hand, raised to Kimpor's head. "I will shoot the fucking both of you, in the head..." His comments were met by the Twins, raising their weapons to his head.
"Are you certain you want to take that course of action, Issac Lynch?" Groll asked, tilting his head. "I just want them to shut up." He replied, his eyes sliding Groll into view.
There was a long, awkward silence, with intense stares from all; but weapons were holstered and the mood returned to normal, Issac turning his back on the Breen again. "Why did I rent you two off of Dan'el, if you're just gonna shoot me when I make a simple request?"
"We like Douglas more than you." "We attended his wedding." "Our loyalty lies with Captain Ilaihr." "And... because we needed easy access to the Confederacy." "You guys suck." Lynch pouted. "And shut up! Don't be talking about work."
Klara rolled her eyes, gently headbutting the elevator wall. "Are we there yet?! Are we already dead?!" She growled. "It's too quiet, where are the badguys?!"
The turbolift seemed to ignore them, and continued its monotonous interminable descent without even any music to lighten the mood. Izzy settled into a quiet state of just staring at the wall, mostly to block out the arguing from the boys, and to marshal her emotions so that Lynch didn’t end up in a sedated drooling heap on the floor from one of her hyposprays. They did somehow need the guy after all..
Which made her remember. Issac and Annie were supposed to be in charge of the Werple. Which was supposed to be showing Annie what was up ahead. “Annie, what’s going on with the Werple?” she asked through her suit's comms. “Did it find anything yet?”
Annie took a while to respond, a hiss of static coming over the comm at first.
"S... T... C..." "C... L... BR... TNG..."
"HEY...Hey can you hear me. There was some weird interference, I had to recaliibrate the comms frequency. Honestly I'd kill for a telepresence unit, then we could just do this telepathically." "They rot your brain, Annie." Lynch replied. "But, anyway..." She paused in response to Izzy. "I've got it doing multi-spectral and multi-phasic scans as it descends, and it should be entering the chamber at the bottom....now." She looked over at the Werple's telemetry, and went quiet again.
"Oh, dear... this... this is not a small complex... it is a big complex. They gotta ship down here... not sure what class yet, need to take a better look. But I'm seeing... a hundred personnel, maybe more. There's half a dozen or so passages leading away from the lift and hanger, and what I assume are labs and quarters... but there's a couple of shielded areas that I can't get readings on."
"What about Vitro?" Soule asked. "Are you getting his holographic signature."
"No... wait... no, that's not right... where the hell are they getting that kind of power?" She trailed off.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 7, 2018 20:28:38 GMT
Isabelle traded a worried look with Soule and frowned. “Annie, can you clarify? Power for what?” At the same time, the lift slowed and clunked to a halt. She gripped her weapon and waited tensely for the door to slide open.
"Mining tunnels, refinery areas... the EPS junctions going into some of those labs are huge... and there's holo-emitters throughout the entire base; and they have some jacked up output.." The tapping of her fingers could be heard over the comm. " And I can't detect the power source... but according to my scans, it's all being powered by the same thing. It's coming from from of those sensor deadzones."
The doors slid open, with everyone in the team raising their weapons to meet whatever was on the other side. It was a typical looking Starfleet decor, but darker, with bare rock jutting out of the walls, opening out onto an overlook of the hangar. Lynch and Soule took point, stepping out first, covering left and right of the door respectively, scoping it out, then ducking down to get a look at the hangar and that ship. It was about the size of an Intrepid class, but shaped like a shovel or a shark fin, with it's nacelles underneath it and tucked away; overall it had the image of some kind of squid, but with Starfleet colours. The hangar around it, was filled with numerous personnel... the obvious armed guards, but they watching over other people with an eagle's gaze.
"I think we know what they need the power for..." Lynch whispered. "They have a holographic workforce... Soule replied. "To build that ship, and conduct whatever experiments they're doing."
With a hand signal from Lynch, the Breen ducked down, and made their way to cover a corridor at the end of the balcony, and set up the group advance. Kimpor and Zigzy moved up next, with Klara staying back to go with Izzy.
"I can see you." Annie said to everyone; the werple hovering up above. "You guys needa move out of there quickly, I see some guards on the move."
"We gotta get to one of the labs, see what the hell they're doing here." Soule whispered over the comm. “A holographic workforce. No wonder they wanted Vee.. ” Izzy whispered back. She quickly moved off of the lift with Klara into the corridor with the others, where they were less likely to be seen by the workers below. “If we could find and shut down that power source, that could eliminate alot of the personnel in this complex. But it would risk Vitro also, if he's connected to it.”
"I like the way your woman thinks. Kill the problems as quickly as possible." Lynch quipped.
"Zigzy, you're the intelligence operative; find us a console to splice into." Soule ordered as he and Lynch rejoined the group; choosing to ignore Lynch. "Annie, what do you think?"
"There's a lab, or storage bay or something... two hundred metres ahead of you and to the left. Power source is, about three fiddy then to the right, and of course behind shielding and christ knows what else." "We'll be splitting up then." Lynch stated, almost smugly. "I'll go after that power source."
“Good luck.” Izzy nodded to Lynch and peered down the corridor. “They must have sensors and cameras everywhere. Can we disable any of them from the console?”
Zigzy made his way down the corridor, his path being watched like hawks, by the Twins who flanked ten pace behind him, either side. As he went to cross a junction, he pushed himself backwards then into the cover of the wall. "Found one... and some bogies.... Count 'em.... three, to the left."
"Shit..." Soule whispered under his breath. "I am not letting you out of my fucking sight Lynch..." He twirled his fingers in the air to the others, informing them to take positions, and push up. "Hold up Zig... any cameras like Izzy asked?"
Zigzy went silent for a moment, as the visor of a Breen leaned passed him, peaking around the corners. "One, either side of the corridor. The officers are carrying small arms, leaning against the wall... chatting." Tholl stated over the comm, as quietly as he could.
"Do these rifle's have built in supressors, Soule?" Klara asked. "You know it... girl!" He replied almost excitedly, as they both poked around the corner, quickly and silently taking out the cameras. Then just as the officers jumped to raise their weapons, the pair did the same to them; two bullets centre mass, dropping them instantly.
"We really are on the clock now people. Zig do your magic." Soule ordered. "What about the..." Lynch tried to say before being cut off. "We will get to the power source once we know where we are, what this place is, and what the hell is going on."
Once the first two guards were down, Izzy swept the area with her tricorder, looking for others.
Several more dots showed in a cluster on the screen. “Guys..” Izzy whispered. “There's more coming!” Even as she spoke, a figure became visible at the end of the corridor, and the sound of more booted feet followed behind.
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Babs
Lore Committee
Posts: 210
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Post by Babs on Mar 8, 2018 14:19:43 GMT
The Twins were the first to respond; instantly raising weapons, and laying down covering fire.
"Zig!" Soule shouted, as he raised up weapons to join them. "I'm working on it... This ain't no box social." He furiously typed away at the console. "I can't gain access to any of the restricted files or systems from here." "Then find somewhere we can." Lynch iterated.
The first target was dealt with quickly, only to be followed by half a dozen more, and another half a dozen coming from the other direction. Lynch, Klara and Kimpor all turned to cover their flank.
Pulses of phaser fire lit up the corridor; one streaked passed Izzy’s visor, narrowly missing her helmet. She quickly ducked down, sheltering behind the front line. It took her a moment to orient herself, then she gritted her teeth and took aim at the nearest target, and squeezed the trigger. Aimed, and shot again. A flash of light burst onto the guard’s chestplate, throwing him backwards; the second shot went wild, bursting above his head on the wall behind.
The downed guard was quickly replaced by another, and a returning phaser pulse flashed towards Izzy, slamming into her shoulder and knocking her against the wall with a pained grunt.
The sound of Izzy had Soule instantly seeing red; time seemed to slow down, and he managed to look to her cradling her shoulder, then back to the approaching enemy, his thumb flicking the switch of his rifle to full-auto. Time sped up again, and he stepped forward; seemingly indifferent to the phaser bolts flying past him, as he laid waste to them without hesitation. The Twins both reached out, planting their hands on his shoulders, to literally anchor him to the moment.
"Oh, fuck this..." Lynch called out, tapping a command into his phaser, firing a beam as wide as the corridor at the other targets. The wide beam didn't have the intensity at that range to disintegrate them, but it caused severe burns, igniting their uniforms. "Klara put 'em out of their, and my, misery."
In the pause in the wave, Soule immediately returned to Izzy, cupping her armourclad hand in his, slowly easing her to her feet, a concerned wurble easily heard in his voice. "Izzy... are you alright...?"
"She's fine. She's a big girl, now." Lynch quipped. "Zigzy... d'ya got anything... at all...?"
Isabelle winced, testing her shoulder and examined the scorch mark on her suit. “I.. I think the armor caught the worst of it. It’s probably bruised, maybe burned, but I don’t think it’s much worse than that. I’m gonna be fine.” she reassured Soule, squeezing his hand in hers. “I’ll deal with it if we find a quieter place to stop. But for now, we need to keep moving.” Isabelle looked anxiously to Zigzy, who was still frantically tapping away at the console.
Klara growled at herself, as she unceremoniously finished off their assailants. "The Doc's right. Tell us you have something, Zig."
"Thingy to the left is advanced weapons research... thingy to the right is...fuck knows." Zizgy replied hastily. "This console just isn't a part of the main secure network, for this very reason, but whatever it is, Annie's right, it's producing a fuckton of power. But I can tell you; there is a quantum dynamics lab, biomedical research bay, some kind of arboretum... and..."
"And what?" Soule asked curiously. "I'm no holographic expert. But I could swear to god there are three separate hologrids." "Tertiary redundancy?" "Yeah, that's what I woulda guessed, but they are all fully powered and operational. Like, there are three separate holographic systems layered over each other. Why would they do that?"
At the mention of the biomedical research bay, a feeling of dread formed in the pit of Isabelle's stomach. She didn't want to know what evil experiments might be going on in there. “I take it anything connected with Vee's gonna be part of the secure network also...” Izzy surmised. “And three holosystems? What if they’re developing more photonics like Vitro?”
"Think about it in a minute, assholes." Lynch grumbled, his head tilted to the side, as he focused his hearing on the corridor around then. "Now... what is the fucking plan, because guaranteed at this rate, we'll only learn of their plans as they monologue whilst torturing us... to death."
Soule gave Izzy's hand one last squeeze, before pulling himself together. "Well, I'd like to know what kind of weapons they're making. And it should be connected to the secure network." He looked around at the squad, as Annie's voice came over the comm.
"Guys... I just saw about fifty guys just rush off that ship..." She shouted. "And the holo... slaves, are... wigging out!" "Double time, then." Soule ordered, as he raised his weapon and took point.
At Annie's alert, Izzy crouched behind Soule and the twins and took her cue from them, raising her weapon to her shoulder, ignoring the pain as she did so. “How close are they, Annie?”
"You guys have to move... NOW!" Annie shouted in response. "RUN!"
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Post by aoibheni on Mar 17, 2018 20:01:26 GMT
"A slight lithobraking maneuver" is my new favourite thing.
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Post by Einar on Mar 28, 2018 11:27:40 GMT
whoa, that took a while but I did it! Nicely done guys!
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