Re: Chapter 06: No Cosmic Justice
Reply #25 –
[ Lt Cmdr. Leon Marquez | Security Center | Holding Cell | Starbase 84 ] Attn: All
Marquez had been frustrated by the debriefing. The explosion from earlier had rattled the Resolve's XO, whose tone was suddenly one of preoccupation and concern as he had answered his debriefers.
"We didn't violate any treaty regulations, Commander. We were just trying to get home under General Orders. You might as well trial half of the Enterprise's collective captains for what we did. So can we just get on with it?"
That exchange seemed like an eternity ago. Armageddon itself could have been raging outside, and the USS Resolve's XO could have been out of the loop until his combadge was returned to him.
"What is 'Theurgy' to you?" The Security debriefer asked. Marquez wondered if someone had involved spiritual release, or referring to the Rogue vessel USS Theurgy. "It's an ancient art of spiritual evocation, if I can recall. The Aztecs practiced forms of it over the centuries. To me, it's doesn't mean much. If you mean the ship, The News Service mentioned a rogue Federation warship, but then again, they called "Project Eagle" a hoax. I don't know anything about them, aside from what I've read lately. Theurgy itself means more to me personally than the name of a rogue crew." The ways of the world never permitted fair and unbiased truth in the media since Jaresh-Inyo anyway, in Marquez's point of view.
Marquez reflexively trained his ear to listen in on the distance, but was reminded by the debriefing officer "There are still more questions."
"I've got one, for a change: Where's the head on this deck? I have my rights, you know." By now, Marquez was genuinely annoyed, and showed that he wasn't in a cooperative mood at this particular moment by folding his arms and remaining silent. The men in the shadows murmored, even the interrogator was recalled.
All Marquez heard was a door open, and he was restrained by two security officers as the Resolve XO was blinded by an opaque black bag blinded the Resolve's XO, who bellowed a taunt as he attempted to fight himself loose, leaping from his seat enough to bicycle-kick one security officer along the temple, though he would only know the effect of his success when he woke up in a holding cell, coming to consciousness with at least one cracked rib, most likely a revenge kick for his own. From Marquez's point of view, the world existed in hues of red and spots. He tasted blood, and summoned up all his instincts to wake up. During moments of seeing black, he subliminally thought about ever seeing Cloi, Earth, or even another blade of grass ever again. Grass. The scent, the memory of earth flooded his senses. Muscle memory. It was an internal reserve of strength coming back to him. He was now glad he saved his strength during that-- how long ago had it been? Briefing. Explosion...
Coming slowly out of the shock after what must have been a few moments, Marquez assumed he was being watched and scrutinized by some inept jailor. At least he hoped the jailor was inept.
The explosion, the indifference of the debrief team. The dots. Connect the dots. Find more. Get answers. This wasn't a WWII Holonovel, and these men weren't Gestapo henchmen, but they were certainly acting like ones. Marquez shifted his weight about, hoping his hidden pocket wasn't discovered... it wasn't. Marquez sighed internally. All he had to do was pull the pin and tackle someone at its point of impact, and he was out of this bird cage. The image of an eagle ready to pounce, Leon Marquez took the posture of a martial artist and began to heel kick the forcefield. Sooner or later someone would come in and beat him.
Feigning outrage, Marquez yelled primally "LET ME OUT!!!" He panted, "NOW!!!" He cursed a stream of Spanish insults that echoed his shouts in English, before ultimately charging into the forcefield, bouncing off it and apparently hitting his head and twitched involuntarily. Though the injury was mild, his reflexes were convincing enough to get the alert of a security officer, who charged in frantically, lowering the forcefield to enter. Before he could even check his heartrate, Marquez sprung to life.
In an unexpected move, he kicked out the kneecap of the guard, stranding his crumpled body in front of the forcefield emitters, the bio safety protocols preventhing the field from reemerging, harming the jailor. Meanwhile, Marquez jammed the stunner into the jailor's wrist. In under three seconds, Marquez rolled away from this security man, snagged his combadge and pocketed his baton and made sure he was properly subdued.
It was a close shave, Marquez only hoped no one looked twice at him in the chaos of the battle. Unaware of the map layout, he timed his route through the Security Center and wound up in a private study. Closing himself in, marquez fiddled with the combadge he'd secured.
[ Lt Cmdr. Leon Marquez | Security Center | Komial's Office | Starbase 84 ] Attn: All
To no avail, he had just managed to prepare some sort of message in a bottle, when he overheard something in the next room.
MARQUEZ TO RESOLVE. COME IN RESOLVE. URGEN...
"Half light, half light!" came a woman's voice. From his hiding spot, Marquez was privately glad his night vision was still sharp, but the door soon opened as the female occupant granted them entry. Marquez remained hidden.
"Lt. Hi'Jak happened. Him and some bit-"
Marquez didn't move as he heard the woman give her report. He prayed no one here could hear his breathing-- or smell him, even if one would have to have been an augment to do so from this distance, from here, he had a convenient view of what ensued.
"A civilian accomplice, the pilot for the vessel Sabine...she helped Hi'Jak escape. We couldn't bring the ship down before it started unleashing micro torpedoes in the shuttle bay. Those they didn't outright kill were spaced as a result....except me. My...." Gods, this was embarrassing, and she hissed as the suture began its work, "my uniform got snagged. It was all that saved me. Kept me in the bay long enough before it...well." she didn't say it, "The doors slammed shut and the atmosphere returned. I was all that was left. Triox, please."
Unable to shut his eyes, but also unwilling to see any Trill spots after losing Cloi, Marquez enjoyed what he saw for what it was, any man's fantasy: A beautiful, naked woman. He jokingly hoped his 'phaser' give him away. As it was, he still wondered when someone would notice a missing jailor's security club. Or the officer in general. If it was, this Security chief would search the entire floor, possibly even this one. Marquez continued to hide his breathing. He was glad to have practiced techniques like these from the 'Our Man...' Series of spy novels. Sneaking around simulated guards was one thing. Unwittingly spying on the station security chief and seeing spots was its own challenge-reward. No Time for love, Striker, listen up. The lights wouldn't last, and neither would the show, so Marquez got himself out of there while the lights were still dim and the clothes were still off. He hid through the rafters over the CSO's office and listened in.
"We believe we have one boarding party in the building, previously moving towards the command center at the top floor, but they have been halted at the lounge. Reinforcements are on the way there already. We have also one team that hijacked a turbolift and ascended to the communication towers. The transporter inhibitors are still online, so we are sending staff up there in pursuit. Lastly, I am afraid that a third team has seized the reactor control room, and the only thing stopping them from powering down shields, communications, everything is that we are beaming more forces into the area - not letting them do anything unopposed. Our staff at the auxillary reactor is trying to wrest system controls back to their stations as we speak. It is only a matter of time until the doors are breached and the twenty guards outside will pour into the room, and they won't be able to do anything further. The duty stations are too exposed, with nowhere for them to hide."
I've got to get ahold of these people, whoever they are. Marquez was through with any official story bullshit at this point, so his ears were as attentive as his eyes had been.
"I got a report that the Captain's ex-wife docked with the station today, so when the Theurgy arrived, I wanted to pinpoint where she was, since I figured that she could be made a hostage. But the guards that were supposed to find her can't, and internal sensors won't pinpoint her anywhere on the station either. It might be that Captain Ives already has her..."
Maybe she knew something. Marquez thought. Ives and the Theurgy probably knew something. Then came Hawthorne's voice:
[Reinforcements have arrived, and the Chester has managed to manually release her docking clams, joining the battle outside, but it would seem none of the boarding teams are dealt with. Your top priority is the primary reactor room. Stop them from lowering our shields at any cost. Hawthorne out.]
The Trill named Komial had soon left, along with her closest officer. Coming out from his hiding place, Marquez made his way to the next section of the Security Center, peering in on the chaotic scene below. Only now did someone ask about the missing security guard. Striker halted in his tracks, produced the stunner he'd smuggled in and hotwired his commlink using a low setting at the corner of the stunner's rectangular tip. A microspark was all it took to avoid detection.
[Security to Mitch, come in. Mitch, respond.]
[Smythe here. I'll locate him.] Marquez recognized this voice and smirked. No you won't. It was the same guard he must've sent to sickbay earlier when he was first arrested. Time to strike back.
[Okay, Smythe, carry on.] Marquez arrived in the section just outside of the lift, and upon hearing the chime, made his move.
"Excuse me? Marquez stood in front of officer Smythe before the lift even opened, and immediately headbutted and stunned the guard, then moved into the lift, ready to combat anyone else in there, friend or foe. Luckily, Smythe was alone and the lift closed behind them. Marquez secured Smythe's rifle and sent the lift on its way to the Command Center.
"You never did tell me where the head was. How about we ask your Captain?" Marquez made sure the man who he'd incapacitated twice now was knocked out, taking a particular point of stopping just short of 'excessive force', per the regulations. Which were now the last thing on his mind as he set the nearby viewscreen to get up to speed on what he'd missed and was shocked by what he saw, particularly when the Resolve herself was devastated and summarily rescued by the so-called 'rogue' Starship Theurgy.
Marquez set his phaser rifle setting to stun at compression fire; he wanted to take aim before each shot. And Marquez hoped to take particular aim on the shot meant for the man who ordered the USS Resolve fired upon, no matter what regulations Striker had to break: He knew once he opened that door, he'd be stepping into a new world of trouble... so he took cover, Rifle ready to open fire on Starbase personnel, and one Base Captain in particular.
Striker Marquez's normally gravelly voice now had a vengeful purr to it. "I'm going to carve 'resolve' into that man's skull for this treachery." Marquez placed Smythe in a position appearing to have been blindsided. Marquez hid in the corner, ready to use Smythe as a human shield if he had to.