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EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

[Jaeih T’haelaa | Corridor | Deck 6 | The Helmet] Attn: @RyeTanker @Ellen Fitz @Brutus

The former sentinel avoided the distractions of the battle raging beyond the viewports; there were elements in motion now that required her attention. Even as she walked at full stride, Jaeih’s mind churned at the implications and consequences of the few choices she had left, given the circumstances at hand.

Time, it seems, has run its course, the Romulan admitted to herself, pulling the hood free from her head to reveal the stark white drape of hair. In the next stride, the outer robes fell from muscled shoulders to the carpeted floor while she pulled the sword concealed from the scabbard between her shoulder blades with effortless grace – the steel, no longer than her arm, held a recurved edge and gleamed in the red-tinted gloom of combat lighting. The blade had a name, like all weapons should; it was etched into blood channels along its length – V’ale, in the nearly forgotten tongue of Jaeih’s ancestors – a name her more ‘modern’ kin would misinterpret as simply Truth.

Nothing is ever simple, Jaeih allowed herself a rare smile, only the barest curl of her lips. Word had finally reached her of the Praetor’s demise. Phase one, it seemed, had been accomplished, now the final act dawned: for the benefit of all Romulans, they could not trade one dictator for another – certainly not one as power hungry and arrogant as the upstart ‘Empress’ Donatra.

And now, the masks slip free, the sentinel exhaled quietly, features set in determination. By her own actions, Jaeih had aided Donatra in neutering the internal sensors and sowing confusion during the various incursion attempts by the Empress' and the Praetor's agents thus far; a necessary evil to assure the would-be monarch’s trust and confidence, as well as a means to an end, to see where the chips would fall. Now, we enter the endgame.

She turned a corner and the blade in her hand slashed the empty air in a flurry of blurred motion; emerald blood sprayed in an arc, jetted from seemingly nothing, painting the wall and viewport in gore. The hidden Tal’Shiar agent’s cloak-suit failed as it slumped with a wet gurgle, collapsing to his knees. Jaeih took a second to impale her blade into the wall as the man died, then casually lifted the disruptor pistol from his body, and loosed three shots into the wall behind her. Cold eyes returned to the body; this one had been one of Donatra's, and thus, one of Jaeih's. She had tracked his progress meticulously, and applauded his skillful execution; now he would serve a new purpose in death.

Surely that will bring someone along, the Sentinel nodded, tossing the weapon to the floor.

[PO2 Kino Jeen | Moving between decks 5/6 | The Helmet]

They’d materialized moments earlier and hit the deck running, as the saying went; Kino on point, followed close by Hirek, while Falvar and Agans fanned out on either side. The ship was taking a beating around them as they moved – if the constant rumble and shakes meant anything, not to mention the power fluctuations, or the fact that every time Kino glanced outside there seemed to be a constant lightshow on display. Not the nice ones either, like the one I planned for Red’s birthday, Jeen frowned to herself at the insanity taking place outside. Win or lose, whatever happens today will go down in history as a very bad day.

A ping on her wrist-PADD prompted a data feed spike into her helm display, as SecOps uploaded sensor data. Kino blink-clicked an acknowledgment. “Contact, weapons fire ahead, next junction,” she alerted her team and lengthened her stride in the same instant. “Eyes up."

Kino’s rifle moved in perfect synchronicity with her eye as they moved to intercept; at the corner junction she paused, checked her corners, pivoted, and locked in on a lone figure at the end of the hall. A female, tall, white hair: she stood with her back to Kino, next to a prone body on the deck. Damn, that’s a big bitch, Jeen’s brow twitched.

“Security – hands spread in the air, now,” Kino commanded.

The figure complied, slow and deliberate.

“Slowly turn,” Kino commanded, taking equally slow steps towards the woman. "Take three steps towards me."

The figure complied, revealing a surprisingly dark skinned, green eyed Romulan, dressed in form fitting leather attire of unremarkable quality. Jeen saw no visible weapons, other than the length of a blade impaled into the wall and the side arm near her feet. The Romulan seemed almost…bored.

“You took your time,” the Romulan spoke in oddly accented Federation standard, then gestured to the body with a twitch of her hand. “As you can see, you have a serious problem. One I am obliged to assist with, for the greater good of my people.”

“Is that a fact,” Kino snorted, clamping her rifle to her chest as her team closed in. “I’m sure they’ll wanna hear all about it in the brig, lady,” the Trill smirked behind her helm as she fished out a set of binders.

The Romulans eyes flicked between the four of them, then settled back on Kino. “You may call me Jaeih, and if you wish to prevent more bloodshed, you will listen. Right now, there is an effort underway to neutralize your greatest asset – that abomination you name Thea,” her white hair swayed as the Romulan shook her head. “This is a ruse.”

Kino’s head tilted as the Trill shrugged her armored shoulders. “Okay biggums, color me curious: you can talk while we walk.”

The Romulan opened her mouth to speak, but the entire ship shook under one of the worst barrages yet; sparks flew from the walls and ceiling as EPS conduits shorted or overloaded – lights flickered, failed. Everything tumbled into chaos, as the world tumbled. Pressure flared and died as Jeen was tossed from deck to wall back to deck, then something was pulling her backwards at an insane velocity.

Hull breach, she knew, instinctively.

The next second, Kino was pulling herself up to a knee, trying to shake the disorientation away as she called out for her team and visually checked for everyone. The corridor behind them ended in a jagged gash of twisted metal, folded in melted composite metal. Behind a shimmer of a force field, the battle raged on in the void. Fuck, Kino blinked, then prepped to hail SecOps to report the situation, watching as Hirek moved to assist the other Romulan to her feet while Agans and Falvar recovered.

“New plan, start talking,” Jeen told her.

Jaeih grunted something between a laugh and a snort as she regained her feet. “A multi-pronged assault is underway. Without, within,” she nodded to the void, then to the deck. “To sow confusion, to distract. Even I don’t know where all our people are, or where they intend to strike, but I assure you this: Thea would already be dealt with if it were possible.”

Kino stood, giving Agans a hand up with a grunt then gestured to Hirek. “Yall certainly are full of yourselves, I’ll give you that,” she snipped, then addressed Jaeih with a jab of her finger. “Nice story lady, but that’s nothing we don’t already know. C’mon, we got a nice hole for you to sit in for awhile.”

The sentinel moved in a blur of motion, and before Kino could react, Hirek’s bulk was colliding with her in a crash of armored limbs. The momentum carried them both to the deck in a heap, while Jeen cursed and struggled to push him off of her. Too little, too late; Jaeih, the former sentinel, stood above them both, blade angled down at their heads while the disruptor pistol was raised to cover Agans and Falvar.

“I need you to pay attention, Starfleet. I am not your enemy. Your enemy is moving to strike at the head and heart of this ship as we speak. Do you understand me?”

OOC - have fun, sow chaos. (dont kill Jaeih, pls - im saving her for some fun later, lol)

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #1 –
[Lt Ida zh'Wann | Deck 5 | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy] @Dumedion @Ellen Fitz @Brutus

The hulking yet svelte armored suits moved down the corridor pensively as they kept a watch out for potential ambushes.  It was the nature of the business, but it was also one that Ida silently cursed in her mind as her team stalked the alloy hallways.  There were two sets of infiltrators on the ship.  The never be sufficient damned House Mo'kai had gotten their people in and loose on the ship.  The other was the thrice damned Tal'Shiar.  At least she thought they were.  Professional, stealthy, and deadly.  Even with Thea, it was proving difficult to reconstruct who had actually killed the Chief of Security since both species were technically stronger than the human and he's been taken unawares. 

The ship was shaking under multiple impacts as the team advanced and crew members moved to and fro dealing with their battle station responsibilities.  This made the situation hectic for the group monitoring their surroundings while lines of fire were constantly being blocked.  There was a chirp in the Deputy's ear.  "Lt. zh'Wann."  Thea began, though much less intoned, cold even. "There are anomalous heat signatures moving on decks 6.  They're not going too quickly and seem to be sticking to the Jefferies tubes."  That seemed to track and Zark's voice chimed in. "Makes sense. Big Klingons, small access ways.  I think they're going to try to storm engineering and breach the core.  They could also wreack havoc against the engineers in there."  Ida nodded minutley. "I concur. I'm headed there now and will be in place to fend them off in two minutes.  Alert the security team there and give them a likely exit locus."

"Acknowledged."  Zark came back quickly.  There was a pause where Lt. zh'wann expected the medic to close the comm frequency, but instead the line stayed open.  "Hold on, we just got a solid confirm on Romulan life signs nearby.  One of them is fluctuating wildly.  Looks like a trauma response. Kino is on her way to investigate.  Will update when I have more information."

Lt. zh'Wann could feel her antennae try to shoot up at the unexpected news.  What was going on, who had gotten the infiltrator?  Was it a trap?  The Deputy considered comming the Petty Officer to tell her to be careful, but she shook away the notion knowing the experienced NCO would do that automatically.  This was not a time to micromanage.   Instead, the Andorian opened a comm frequency to her team "Full speed to engineering. Hopefully we can get the Klingons to surrender before they exit and do damage."  It was possibly wishful thinking about getting them to surrender, but the Deputy knew she had to try.

[Shohlogh G'gedh | Deck 6 | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy]

He was by no means small, and that made their current situation worse as he trailed behind his three other comrades snaking their way through the cramped maintenance tubes on board the grethor damned Starfleet vessel.  Still, he didn't complain.  He would take his vengeance against the interlopers that had brought shame down upon his house.  If they hadn't interfered, then Mo'kai would have been victorious and House G'gedh would have been elevated in their fued against House Mnath.  Never mind they were both very minor houses, the fued had gone back over a millennia and Mnath had sided with the existing regime under Martok. 

Unfortunatley G'gedh had been crushed and their holdings absorbed into Mnath, and as much as it disgusted the third son of G'gedh to be slinking in the shadows instead of facing his enemies face to face, eye to eye with cold steel; this was a necessary part of his vengeance.  Still, there would be enough alien blood to be spilled soon when they got to the engineering section of the ship.  There had been that one blonde woman they thought was a human, but had turned out to be a Bajoran.  She'd been taken unawares and he's savoured her subdued meep of surprise when his burly arms had encircled her neck and head.  Not a sound had escaped as he massive hands had covered her mouth.  She'd barely even struggled and he's only gotten a whiff of the terror that had over taken the woman before he'd felt her neck satisfyingly snap.  It would have been better if he'd been able to plunge his dagger into her body and watch the life bleed out of her, but the group had larger goals.

Thoughts of vengeance stopped for a moment and the Klingon gagged as the stench of someone venting noxious silent flatulence in a confined space and a chorus of silent filthy curses followed, though the offender instead hissed then chuckled at the misfortune of his fellows. It took some more crawling and they were past the hideous fumes to the point where thoughts of vengeance could reassert themselves.  Soon.  Soon, the shame of house extinction would be wiped away in a glorious fireball that would signal to the universe that he had taken vengeance and he could recount his tale in the halls of Sto-Vo-Kor.  He was certain of it.

[IRS Vas'deletham | The battle in the Triangle....]

The lumbering carrier manoeuvred far more smartly than her size and bulk would give credit for as Commander Borroso ordered the large ship into an evasive pattern.  The ship shook under a few hits, but it was less than what could have been in store as most of the plasma torpedoes flew harmlessly passed.  One squadron of fighters formed up on each flank, fending off other attackers, or engaging some of the slower moving torpedoes. The Commander looked at the tactical display, looking to discern a pattern in the battle.  Too many ships were moving too and fro, but there had to be a key to the whole battle.  Something that would cause mass confusion in the ranks.

Then his mind saw it.  It was a small thing, but very easy to miss given the colour codes used to denote friend and foe.  There was one symbol that stood out.  The Federation starship.  There appeared to be a bubble around the ship that made any attacks difficult.  Maybe other ships were protecting it, but the amount of firepower it was putting out was impressive.  The Klingons were Federation allies the Commander mused.  Maybe destroying that ship would cease the reason for the Klingons to be here.  That didn't matter though, it was a threat that needed to be dealt with. 

Commander Borroso acted.  "Comm! Get me the Raalar wing! I want those Valdores to punch us a hole towards the Starfleet vessel."  The commander next turned to the tactical station. "Launch the reserve squadron and have them form up behind Raalar.  They'll lead the strike in and we'll follow them.  Standby to focus all forward batteries on the eneny."  The tactical officer nodded and moved to turn the Commander's intentions into action.  Commander Borroso then turned towards his marine commander. "Centurion, when we have knocked down their shields, standby to board and seize the Federation vessel."  The Centurion gave a predatory smile and gave a salute then turned to leave the ridge to organize his forces.

The carrier commander turned his attention back to the tactical display to watch his plan unfold and make any more adjustments.  His eye caught the first change to his plans too late and the ship rocked as a quartet of Klingon Birds of Prey swooped in from the aft quarter and unleashed a withering barrage of disruptors and torpedoes in a high speed pass.  The bridge shook violently as the shields did their best to weather the storm, but bleed through was inevitable and sparks exploded as several conduits vented their abuse.  "Four Klingon Warbirds coming in from 263 mark negative 85.  Hull damage to the port aft and port impulse engines!"  It would seem Commander Borroso's master plan would need some time before it would come to fruition.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #2 –
Cmdr. (3rd) Hassar al-Zaheer | Corridor Outside the AI Core | Deck 2 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Brutus @Dumedion @RyeTanker @Ellen Fitz
[Show/Hide]

The battle had been going on for some time now, an hour at least if Hassar’s chronometer was working properly, and other than a bunch of heavy jostling and the occasional power flicker it was quiet by the AI core. Around the ship though things were in chaos and Hassar knew he had already lost at least one Marine and another wounded from those attached to the Starfleet security teams. While his job was to defend his current position he couldn’t help but feel impotent, he wasn’t in charge of the ship’s internal defense, having only just arrived the day before, and had to leave the fates of his Marines in the hands of a people who eschewed direct combat in favor of diplomacy. He trusted the Spirits though and if it was their time to go hopefully they would find comfort in the afterlife; yet his frustration still lingered. Rather than think on that topic more he instead returned to the thoughts of defense of this vital part of the ship, the AI core, a miraculous piece of technology, so miraculous to Hassar it seemed like magic, however that could apply to so much Starfleet technology. He spoke with the AI, Thea, it called itself and took the guise of a human woman using holographics, it seemed pleasant and like a real person, nothing like the crude AI systems that the Vaharrans had brought with them from the old world. Thea’s realness was perhaps what solidified the importance of the mission to defend her for Hassar and his Marines, beforehand it just felt like any number of standard system defense protocols, defend the reactor, guard the armory, and so on.

There was a sudden shock that sent the entire security team tumbling to the steel deck. The lights flickered and then were extinguished to be replaced with emergency lighting. Hassar rose to his feet and helped up one of the Starfleet security officers that were with him while another broke out her tricorder device and started to scan the area. Even without the scan Hassar and the others could sense something was wrong, the communications equipment, both his own and the Starfleet issued combadges, were spotty and filled with static and the air felt heavy as the scents that accompanied broken equipment wafted down the now dimly lit corridor. Finally the security officer with the tricorder reported in, “there’s been a major hit on our deck, a hull breach, decompression of a section, the turbolift is down, shields are down in this area but are reassembling.”

“Are we going to lose oxygen?”, Hassar inquired.

“No we should be fine, the emergency force fields have sealed the damaged section.”

“Very well, let’s get some respirators on han-”

“Wait!”, he was suddenly cut off by the security officer, “I’m detecting transporter signals and Romulan life-signs, they’ve beamed a boarding party onto our deck!”

No sooner did she report this a metallic sphere was tossed by someone down the corridor in their direction, the defense team did not waste time as everyone made another acquaintance with the steel deck as the sphere bounced a couple times before rolling to a stop near the barricades to almost immediately detonate with a ear splitting noise and a blinding flash of light. Hassar was partially caught by this stunning device which left his ears ringing and temporarily unable to see in his right eye as he had not covered it in time. Most of the rest of the team were in not much better shape except for the two Marines by the portable barricades who scrambled back into a fighting position just in time for four Romulans in combat gear to round the corner intent on rushing the position while everyone was stunned. The lead two attackers were killed almost immediately before they could get a shot off, the first was hit in the neck and chest and slumped to the ground dead while the other was hit square on the right side of their forehead spraying their comrades in green blood and brains. The two following behind immediately took as much cover as they could and opened up with their disruptors but by now the rest of the combination Vaharran and Starfleet alien security force had recovered sufficiently to engage as well.

Hassar, still partially deaf, gestured for Al-Ahnad to get firing with the KP-100 while he himself crawled to the barricade. The heavy machine gun opened up as more Romulans down the corridor joined in the escalating fire fight, its deep pow pow pow was thunderous in the confined space of the ship as it sent its twenty millimeter rounds down range; its tracers and massive muzzle blast lit the corridor as did the sparks of its rounds slamming into various wall panel, shredding them to pieces. The two Romulans part of the initial assault tried to flee but were gruesomely mowed down. The Marines at the barricades along with Hassar contributed to the cacophony of noise and bullets as they kept the Romulans, probably taken aback by the destructive weaponry being used against them rather than a more civilized Starfleet phaser, took their own shots but with the level of bullets heading their way it was difficult to get a clear shot as disruptor beams struck bulkheads and barricades but were unable to hit any of the defenders directly. Sensing that the Romulans were sufficiently warded off from making another rush on their position Hassar ordered the firing slackened to conserve ammunition for another big push and with his hearing recovered enough to actually hear himself talk he attempted to reach out to his other Marines via their radios but could not get through and so switched to the Starfleet communicator.

[Security teams, this is Commander Al-Zaheer, we are under attack at the AI Core on Deck 2 by a large Romulan boarding party, numbers unknown possibly a dozen, we’ve got them held in place for now, be aware that the lift for this deck is non-functional, Al-Zaheer out], he reported to whoever was on the channel; he didn’t need reinforcements yet, but it was best to let those around know the situation. With that taken care of he popped out over the top of the barricade and sprayed a few rounds down at the Romulans to rattle them a little.


OOC NOTES-

-Hassar will for the moment be defending Thea's AI core during the battle but that may change based on events. Feel free to add a Vaharran NPC to your security squads if you like, just let me know if you have any questions about what gear they are carrying and how they fight.

-Refer to this post that details Hassar's arrival to Vector 1 with his Marines.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #3 –
[Hirek tr’Aimne | Corridor | Deck 6 | The Helmet] Attn: @Brutus  @RyeTanker  @Dumedion @joshs1000

There were many things Hirek tr’Aimne excelled at—manipulation, seduction, subterfuge. Moving with grace in an over-engineered Starfleet exo-suit? Not among them. The damned thing made him feel like a battle-scarred mollusk dragging a torpedo casing.

Still, he adapted.

He stood now, boots braced on the angled deck, the scent of scorched conduit biting through the filters. One arm still cradled the pale-haired Romulan—Jaeih, apparently—whom he'd helped to her feet after the sudden decompression and containment seal locked them into this corridor of chaos. Whatever he’d expected from their mission today, being body-checked into Kino Jeen mid-stride certainly wasn’t on the list.

A smirk tugged at his lips. “If I’d known you wanted me on top of you, Lieutenant, I’d have arranged more flattering lighting.” Although he'd known Jaeih had been the one to use his bulk as a weapon against Kino, Hirek couldn't resist the opportunity to make her squirm in annoyance.

Pushing himself up with a grunt, just in time to see Jaeih draw her blade and level both it and a disruptor at their teammates. What a surprise...or rather, not. Hirek narrowed his eyes. He didn’t trust her. No right-minded Romulan would, not yet. But he understood her. Anyone playing a long game inside the Tal’Shiar’s snake pit that was Romulas earned a certain measure of wary respect. And, even more, she'd been working directly with the so-called Empress. That took great skill to survive.

Still, they had no time to debate philosophies.

And predictably, their argument was interrupted by the universe attempting to kill them again. The deck exploded in heat and light as Klingons burst from the adjoining corridor with bloodlust in their eyes and bat’leths high. Weapons fire blazed. Agans and Falvar moved to intercept, but one Klingon broke through fast—

Falvar stumbled—then screamed.

Jaeih spun in, her blade a whisper of motion. The Klingon’s roar became a gurgle as her blade slipped through his midsection, then twisted savagely. She shoved the body aside without a word, already scanning for the next threat.

Another Klingon crashed toward Hirek. He lifted his weapon—but not fast enough. A shot cracked. The warrior’s head snapped sideways, armor splitting. He dropped like a sack of wet meat. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught Kino's eyes just as she moved the end of her rifle away, already scanning for her next contact.

A third Klingon suddenly leapt from cover, barreling toward Agans. The human tripped as he sought to evade, phaser scrambling uselessly from his grip.

Hirek charged. No time for grace—just brutal instinct. He ducked the swing and drove his fist into the Klingon’s throat. Cartilage crunched. The enemy fell clutching at the crushed mess that had been his windpipe.

The last Klingon made to retreat—but not fast enough. Falvar, still bleeding but mobile, let out a bark and fired. The heavy stun dropped the warrior mid-step. At Hirek's questioning glance, Falvar gave a half-shrug.

“Alive,” Falvar muttered. “We’ve got questions.”

Jaeih wiped her blade clean on the last body and glanced toward the bulkhead. Her earlier warning still hung in the air: the true threat was already moving. As if called forth by the very thought, a Commander Al-Zaheer spoke through the comm system. Knowing he'd not met everyone onboard, Hirek didn't pay much attention to the man's name, just took note of the location of the thread and sighed. He doubted it was going to be an easy approach.

Hirek looked at Falvar. The injury wasn't fatal, but he'd slow them down if he continued. Presuming on behalf of Kino, Hirek gave the man a half-smile before moving past him in the corridor. "Don’t let our new friend pass out before he spills everything.”

Agans moved to help Falvar, dragging the limp Klingon into a secured niche. Above, the lights flickered as the ship trembled again.

Jaeih met Hirek’s gaze before turning her attention back to Kino. “Do you believe me now? Or do we need to risk more before your inferior mind sees the truth?”

Hirek doubted Kino was going to take kindly to name-calling, especially not after one of her men was injured. “Ladies,” Hirek drawled, casting a glance at both women beside him. “Try not to fight over me while we save the ship.” Better they both be annoyed with him than at each other's throats.

And with that, he turned and ran, stumbled, recovered with a grunting chuckle, and resumed course towards engineering.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #4 –
[IRS Vas'deletham | A few moments earlier.....] @Brutus @Dumedion @Ellen Fitz @joshs1000

It had taken longer to setup than Commander Borroso had hoped to set up the attack, but the Romulan ship master was a pragmatic man and he'd done what necessary bring his plan to fruition.  The carrier had taken some more damage and was trailing a small amount of plasma from one of the impulse engines, but the plan had worked as the lumbering ship sped away from the Starfleet ship while the more nimble Valdores brought themselves about for another run on the ship identified as Theurgy.  She was trailing smoke and atmosphere now, and like hunters going after a wounded prey, they were going to pounce. 

The only aspect of the plan that upset the carrier commander was the fearsome losses the fighter group had taken and his lips had to give a begrudging grin since the target had put out an incredible amount of firepower that had smashed fighters left and right in the attack run. It had all been worth it though as the gap he needed in the ship's defences had been created.  "Commander Borroso to boarding party, remember, I want that ship as a prize. Good luck.  Transport and launch Shuttles." The Commander solemnly intoned as 40 Romulan Marines beamed over to the Federation ship and shuttles carrying another 80 launched themselves into the maelstrom.

[Shohlogh G'gedh | Deck 6 | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy | In the present....]

The maintenance tube shook and the sound of weapons fire impacting vibrated through the very structure of the cursed ship as the team of Klingons shimmied their way through towards what the schematics were calling an auxiliary engineering room. At least that was the guess of the team leader since the most amount of energy being output was in that direction.  The timing was too good and any discomfort the infiltrator felt was a minor inconvenience.  The crew would be distracted in trying to keep the metal skin around them intact.  Nobody would notice.  Soon.  Soon, vengeance would be his and the thought tasted sweet in his mouth.  The group just needed to get through the junction up ahead and then there was a small access hatch into the engineering deck.  "I look forward to this day brothers.  We should savour this moment when we burst amongst the cowardly voles.  Starfleet. Hah!"  Shohlogh laughed derisively.  "Nothing but a bunch of prettied up technicians."  He concluded. 

"Quiet!"  The leader called back as he took a moment to turn back and deliver a deadly glare.  "Give away our position, and you'll never get a chance to sink metal into the enemies flesh.  They may be cowardly, but a phaser blast will kill just as surely as a blade."  The team leader turned back to crawling and keeping somewhat steady as the ship shook while Shohlogh cursed derision under his breath.  While there was wisdom in the team leaders words, it seemed too gutless.  Maybe he'd keep an eye on his 'leader' and if presented the opportunity, give him a coward's death.  It would be a vindication of his abilities before he went to Sto-Vo-Kor.  Shohlogh's canines became visible as he smiled at the potential of the situation.

The team lead stopped to take a moment and sit up in the cramped tunnel as he listened and watched to make sure their exit wasn't trapped.  His hand came up suddenly, stopping the other Klingons as the sign of impending danger arose.  Hurried boot steps could be heard coming down a ladder.  The clunking got closer for another 3 or 4 steps when the leader leapt out of the tunnel with a snarl and grabbed an alien by the back and flung him onto the deck.  The human screamed for a second then yelled as he landed hard and clearly in pain.  The Klingon was on top of the stunned witless human and drove a powerful palm strike at his quarry's face.  The human grunted as his head was smashed into deck, sending blood flying as he was dazed.  Another man yelped in surprise and scrambled to ascend the ladder with haste.  The leader silently cursed as he pulled his disruptor and fired at the fleeing human.  The first shot missed and scored the bulkhead with an ugly black splotch.  The second shot caused the engineer's foot to shatter in a cascade of leather, bone, and flesh.  The man screamed first as the pain smashed through his nervous system, then as he lost his footing and fell to the deck.  The leader brought his pistol to bear on the gap the engineers had emerged from checking for any more interlopers. 

This was his chance.  Shohlogh quickly exited the maintenance tunnel and put the stunned engineer in a headlock with a thrill.  The rush of power over his helpless for was intoxicating as the human began to struggle for air, hands clawing at his face for any sort of purchase and release from the massive arm that was choking the life out of him.  It was not an even to be enjoyed for too long as the team leaders words came through quickly and harshly.  "End it, we have a mission to complete."  The infiltrator quietly sighed as he pulled his d'k tahg and held it aloft, long enough that he was sure the human saw the implement of his own end before driving it with all his might into the human's chest.  The human screamed and Shohlogh moved to cover his mouth as he twisted the metal inside the human's body.  "Quickly now, the humans could have heard us, we need to go to maintain out advantage." He finished before diving headlong into the final tunnel before their objective.  Another infiltrator sliced open the other engineer's throat.  "At you will had a quick death instead of life as a cripple."  He finished before following the leader.  Shohlogh sneered as he regarded the two fallen before him and spat thick globules at each of their bodies.  "Far better since your deaths were at least honorable."  With that final indignity, dove in after everyone else to glory.

[Lieutenant Ida zh'Wann | Deck 6 | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy]

Fights was breaking out all over Vector 1 and the situation was definitely becoming hectic as Lieutenant Zark's voice became shorter and more clipped while she managed the battle from the Security Centre on Vector 2.  The secure comms flowed with information as the chaos flowed in. "Hull breaches dorsal Vector 1.  Fires and plasma leaks on decks 2 through 5.   Vector 1 transport inhibitor is non responsive.  Repeat, Vector 1 transport inhibitor is non responsive.  System shows destroyed. Romulans beaming in decks 1, 2, 6, and 10.  They're going for the bridge, main computers, engineering, and shuttle bay.  Automatic defences on the bridge are responding.  Friendly forces on decks 2 and 10 are engaged. Ida, hostile Romulan forces are coming up from behind you and we have Klingon weapon fire near engineering.  Kino, finish your situations and head to the shuttle bay to repel boarders.  Hirek, head to deck 6 to reinforce engineering."

Shelat. Lt. zh'Wann thought to herself as she made her way towards engineering, going from a steady clip to a full out run, armoured boots thundering on the deck.   "Zark, do you have an exit locus for the Klingons?"  The pause was tense as the other security officer's mind worked.  The tension didn't last long though. "Port side, either the storage room or the power relays." Ida mentally nodded. "Understood."

Lieutenant zh'Wann reached engineering and noticed the two guards posted outside the door were missing as they headed in. She hoped they would be enough and she could move on to other trouble spots, but hope was not a plan and she heard a pair of loud bangs inside the compartment followed by disruptor fire and screaming.  The door whooshed open at The Deputy's approach and her face went hard as chaos greeted her. Smoke and sparks mingled with engineers scrambling to find cover as one of the two guard's was screaming and writhing on the deck, grabbing his smoking abdomen. The other one was covering behind a support beam and firing back with her rifle. This was a lot less effective than it looked since she was also trying not to shoot her crewmates.

The Klingons had no such constraints and one of was using the body of an engineer as a shield against return fire while blasting away practically indiscriminately. Another engineer tried to get away and screamed as a mek'leth slashed his back and spun him towards his assailant. His suffering became much worse as the wicked blade came back up with practised ease and plunged into his belly, eviscerating him. Another member of the engineering staff tried to tackle the sword holder and a quick flick of the Klingon's shoulder sent her flying into the railing surrounding the warp core with an audible thump. The Klingon smiled as he raised the short sword and prepared to plunge it into the defenceless woman.

Ida was faster as her phaser rifle snapped up to her shoulder and the sight picture in her exosuit helmet aligned with the target's back. A quick flick of her thumb raised the power setting from 3 to 6 and she pulled the firing stud. Three orange energy bolts sped across the engineering compartment, barely missing someone trying get away from the fighting. The sword holder had no such luck as his body arched from the impacts for a moment and he let out a silent death scream as his innards were fried. It was his last act standing as his legs gave way and he fell on the woman he'd tossed earlier, pinning her to the deck.

The hostage holder roared hatred as his comrade went down and he turned the pistol towards the Andorian.  Ida grunted as she a disruptor bolt hit her pouldron and spun her around while she fell.  Damage codes flashed on her HUD, and she didn't know where her rifle was, but all indications showed her armour was still in once piece and she rolled over as she pulled her pulse pistol from its holster.  Pulling herself back up against he master system control, the Zhen leaned up against the console and turned towards the other security guard who was pinned behind a bulkhead.  The ship shook from a hit and the console behind the guard exploded sending her sprawling to the deck, back filled with shrapnel. Clearly the situation was spiralling out of control.  They didn't have time for this and The Deputy took a breath before shuffling to the edge and taking a quick look around the corner of the control station.  The corner sparked as a shot came in her direction and she pulled back just in time.  Taking one more quick breath, the Andorian turned around knelt. She made a quick check on the power level of her sidearm before springing up and spraying phaser fire at the Klingon and his hostage.  The hapless engineer yelped as he was clipped in the shoulder by a level one phaser bolt and went limp.  The Klingon was also hit and the sudden loss of sensation forced him to drop his weapon.  He was so intent on holding on to his body shield that the suddenly unconscious engineer dragged him towards the deck.

Lieutenant zh'Wann quickly exited cover and moved towards the Klingons.  She covered the distance in a few strides and set the phaser to maximum stun.  Another Klingon was exiting and she fired at him, hitting him in the shoulder and head, bowling him back into the storage room.  She took one moment to pause and fired a burst of stun bolts into the downed infiltrator, sending into sleepy land for a long time.  Still, there was the rest of the room to clear and she moved quickly towards the storage room.  Her sensors told her there were a few more infiltrators inside and she fired at the door to cover her advance.  The left hand dropped to her stored grenades and she activated a stun grenade before tossing it into the room.  A whine burst through the room followed quickly by the sound of a couple of bodies falling.  Incredibly, someone was still inside and The Deputy charged in looking to take advantage of her momentum.  It was not to be as her quarry had been well hidden behind a crate and he practically threw it at her.  Ida grunted as she was knocked backwards and her pistil went flying.  Her instincts took over and she rolled then leapt up in case the Klingon tried to jump on her.  Instead, she found herself facing a grinning opponent who had pulled a d'k tahg.  "Finally, a real opponent, not these cowardly rats." Shohlogh challenged.  Ida didn't have time for this, but her pistol was no where to be found.  With choices running out fast, she pulled her combat knife and reversed the grip as her legs settled into a ready stance.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #5 –
[PO2 Kino Jeen | between decks 5/6 | The Helmet] Attn: @joshs1000 @Ellen Fitz @RyeTanker @Griff

Once the area was secure, Kino raised her middle finger to Hirek as she moved to Falvar's side. “Swivel,” she grunted at the armor-clad scientist before she helped her teammate to a knee, rifle mag-locked behind one shoulder. The ambush – such as it was – had been mildly effective in shock value, but the main reason they were still alive was because the Klingons had chosen to bring knives to a gunfight. Still, Jeen was't thrilled with the fact that so many had managed to get aboard, and knew that every moment there were likely crewmates fighting and dying elsewhere. A steady trickle of crimson fluid dripped down Falvar’s flank, staining the deck in a growing pool of blood where he knelt. Kino snatched and ripped open his first aid kit with a grumbled curse.

The ship rocked around them, sending the lights into a flickering spasm. The Helmet was taking a beating.

“Post out, let me check,” the Trill ordered with a gesture, making sure the wounded man faced out to cover their rear, then snapped a second gesture to Agans; he followed close behind Kino, keeping his weapon trained in the opposite direction, on both the unconscious Klingon as well as the sword-bearing Romulan.

“Do your thing, I got ‘em,” Agans murmured.

Jeen's earpiece decided to crackle to life then, as Zark relayed traffic and orders. The Trill nodded as her hands worked a spray of anti-bacterial cleansing solution into the bleeding flesh under rent armor, then added a healthy pass of synth-flesh sealant into Falvar’s wound; which wasn’t too deep, but had bled profusely – a jagged line ran from the man’s shoulder to his hip – but the armor had saved his life.

“Jeen, acknowledged,” she replied over coms, then snapped her head over to her shoulder to call after Hirek. “Get to engineering, asshat,” her voice boomed, amplified through the helm’s audio processor with a machine-rasp. Whether the Romulan listened or not was his choice to make. She’d warned him before: she wasn’t his babysitter.

Once Falvar’s wound was treated, Kino stowed the meager first aid supplies back upon his person and nodded to sleeping beauty on the deck. “Right,” she breathed, then tapped Falvar’s shoulder with the back of her fist. “Get our guest to confinement, then get yourself to Sickbay. That patch job isnt gonna hold up for long – don’t argue,” she preempted, “just get it done and rally with us at the shuttle bay.”

“And her?" Agans grunted with a nod to the dark-skinned Romulan.

“If you are quite done playing nurse,” the woman in question replied; all smiles, condescension, and impatience. “We have urgent matters to attend to – such as defending this idiotic temple to hypocrisy and ignorance.”

“Riiight,” Kino droned, still kneeling beside Falvar, one arm rested over her knee, the left side of her body hidden from Jaeih’s view. The Trill cocked her helm to the side. “Sorry, who are you again?”

Speed had always been Kino’s strongest asset; in the split second it took for Jaeih to inhale the sigh that would escape her lips, the Romulan’s eyes closed in an impatient, arrogant blink: in that instant, Jeen moved – her side arm snapped up, full stun. At that range, she really didn’t need to aim the blast of blue-white energy, but she went for the upper torso anyway out of habit. To her credit, the Romulan was fast too – her blade rose almost in instinct the very same moment Kino fired – but wasn’t fast enough. The Trill’s stun-bolt hit Jaeih square in the face, which toppled the white-haired, dark skinned amazon like fresh-cut timber.

“Nevermind, I don’t give a shit,” Kino continued as if she hadn’t just shot the woman, then holstered her sidearm with effortless ease as she stood.

“Dude,” Agans protested, but stopped short as Kino turned her attention to him.

“Don’t dude me, we’re working – be professional,” Jeen chastised, then grumbled a curse under her breath as she approached Jaeih’s prone form on the deck. “Get her a suite too, bindings and all. This ones a handful,” she helped herself to the Romulan’s weapons, then nudged the body with a boot. Out like a light.

Another barrage sent the three of them stumbling into the walls with various shouts and curses. Falvar gripped his side with an audible hiss of pain, trying to get to his feet.

“Okay…while you, what, go on alone?” Agans spoke as he hauled Falvar up in his clipped, slightly elevated tone that he always used when speaking rhetorically. It never failed to grate on Kino’s nerves.

“Yeah genius, until you clowns show up - then I won’t be alone will I,” Kino answered back in a slow drawl, like she was explaining something obvious to a child. “So, y'know, let’s hurry the fuck up now, eh kids?”

Falvar grunted as he stood, with a silent shake of his head. They could hear him chuckling though, and Agans couldn’t quite keep the smirk out of his voice either.

“You’re such a dick. Stay alive.”

“Pfft, and miss the chance of getting laid on the regular? Fat chance. Now move out – I’ll see ya soon,” Kino nodded to them, then turned and headed for the nearest lift, rifle up and ready, then relayed to command that they would have two prisoners secured soon, plus one wounded, and that she was moving to her assigned objective. “Recommend the shuttle bay deck gets cleared, asap,” Kino added, in case it already hadn’t been. “Things are gonna get sporty over here.”

After Kino left, Agans shook his head at his wounded companion. “We always get the shit details, bro.”

“Yeah,” Falvar sighed in agreement. “But did you see her tits jiggle when she got shot though? Was amazing.”

“Dude.”

[Moments later, Deck 11, Vector 01 Lower Shuttle Bay]

Kino crouched near the edge of the ventral access port (Jeffries tube access 011-delta) and waited, straining to hear; with the ship under nearly constant attack, that was next to hopeless – gas was venting from a conduit above her, EPS relays were shorting out…it was a mess, and getting worse by the minute. She needed intel before storming into a potential engagement, so a quick energy hack was in order; the damaged gas line was rerouted as well, while she was at it. Patching in via her suit’s wrist mounted PADDs provided access to the bay’s interior sensors soon after.

“Zark, I’m at the bay. Stand by for update,” Jeen reported between breaths. It hadn’t been an easy stroll to get there; power fluctuations had hit the turbolifts, and emergency force fields were all that were holding some sections together. Her eye narrowed at the display, which caused the lump of scar tissue where her bionic eye used to be to stretch and itch terribly.

“They’ve already landed, LT – at least three birds, times ten on tangos,” her voice trailed off, “and one human? Vitals are low, they might be hit already. I’m going in after them.”

A tap on her wrist PADD opened the access hatch, and Kino peeked around the corner, rifle up. Beyond the rows of neatly stored shuttles, near the far end of the bay, two bright green void craft squatted next to a runabout, with a third hovering its way down to land. Beyond them, the stars were occluded by the savage exchange of weapons fire from the battle, sending bright arcs of multi-colored light flashing across the scene.

Ah, shit, Jeen frowned. She counted at least three squads already disembarked, holding positions near their birds; no doubt more had already left to screen and secure the area. “Zark, I got a whole lot of company here. Some back-up would be nice,” Kino hissed as she crept up as quietly as she could. “I’ll do what I can, mean time.”

The lone human life-sign she’d read from the sensor sweep had been located near Bay Ops, up on the top deck – but to reach it required reaching the stairs on either side of the bay. Kino hooked left, away from the squads she could see, grimacing at every hum her armor made. She made it about halfway to the nearest shuttle when the shouting started, followed immediately by weapons fire.

“Fuck it, new plan,” Kino hissed, firing from the hip as she ran and dove under the nearest shuttle, skidding along the deck.  Once her back, she aimed with one hand for feet, knees, anything that moved, while her free hand scrambled for the deuterium fuel access panel. “Ugh, this is a really bad idea,” Jeen grunted, yanking the panel clear, then slammed a grenade onto the main tank as weapons fire pinged and burned in from her flanks. “Zark, I’m engaged, heavy enemy presence, gonna need that back-up, asap!”

Once the timer was set, Kino scrambled out from under the shuttle, bounding to cover behind a support pillar for the upper deck to take a knee and return fire. Two squads were trying to pin her in place; she had no visual on the third. With opposition mounting, Jeen dropped three and wounded a forth before she abandoned her position, bolting for the stairs. Just as her feet hit the second flight, the grenade blew: the shuttle, a type-11, popped vertical like a rocket, then smashed into the ceiling, before falling back to the deck – the concussion hit instantly – filled with shrapnel in an expanding cloud of white-hot gas and debris. Anyone within ten meters was shredded outright.

Kino was hurled up the stairs and flung into the wall, sparks spraying as her armor screeched across the deck. Fire suppression systems kicked in, dousing the bay in vents of hyper-pressurized retardant chemicals.

Jeen groaned as she straitened herself out, hands patting for wounds but came back clean. Her rifle was gone, though, pierced by a jagged hunk of smoking metal. “Fucking figures,” she croaked, then started crawling towards Shuttle Ops. “Gotta…stop…playing with…grenades.” She couldn’t keep her eye open through, couldn’t get to where she needed to be.

It felt like she was stuck in quicksand…

And everything – got – dark.

She woke to voices, as someone or something pulled her helm off. A brilliant blue eye snapped open; she was on her back, surrounded by Romulan soldiers.

Kino reacted on instinct.

An armored boot snapped out. A knee fractured, the joint cracked like wet wood. Her left hand found her sidearm, aimed and fired; her left, a bionic knife edge, swept out and shattered an ankle. Then she was on her feet, pumping phaser blasts into a chest point blank, spinning the corpse as a shield. A blade cracked into her shoulder, shaving armor and black fluid. Disruptor fire split the air, panicked and at random. Jeen weaved aside the second blade strike; two phaser burns ended the threat, one to the abdomen, the other to the base of the neck. A hand gripped the body – she spun – threw it into the last of them – then drew Jaeih’s disruptor and let fly with both pistols: head, head, chest chest, shoulder and neck.

In the muted calm that followed, Kino fell to a knee, exhausted,  as the sounds of more Romulans regrouping down below drew her attention. Even over the sound of her own ragged breath, her ears picked up the tell-tale clicks of weapons readying, and boots. Lots of boots. Suddenly, a shuffle from behind forced her to whirl, guns up, faster than a blink.

Kino glared one-eyed and splattered with emerald gore at a sweat-streaked human male, his uniform stained with scorch marks. He looked scared and furious all at once, but he was alive. She didn’t lower her weapons, only tilted her head slightly.

“I’m Kino,” she explained quickly, her voice hoarse. “You the guy that was napping in Ops before the shit hit the fan?”

ooc - welcome to the party ;)

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #6 –
Cmdr. (3rd) Hassar al-Zaheer | Corridor Outside the AI Core | Deck 2 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Dumedion @RyeTanker @Ellen Fitz @Griff @Tae
[Show/Hide]

The Romulans did not seem in a great hurry to rush the core again, but rather took their own time to fire off a few pot shots at Hassar’s team as they hunkered down and would fire a few shots of their own. The ship continued to shake and groan under endless attack and the communicators that Starfleet had provided were abuzz with activity and by the sounds of it nothing good. Reports from Hassar’s Marines embedded with other security teams made clear the number of enemy combatants aboard, far more than had been predicted during the pre-battle briefing.

We are going to have to make a move here, Hassar concluded.

Huddling down behind the barricade a little more he gestured over for the security officer who had been helping him, Petty Officer Starrett, to come over. Keeping low she awkwardly stumbled over, two bolts of disruptor blasts striking the door to the AI Core behind her, this was responded to in kind by a couple phaser shots by Starrett’s comrade.

“We can’t just sit here, they are amassing another attack and I want to hit them before it goes off or ideally while it's going off”, he explained in a low voice so that the Romulans would hopefully not hear. “Do you know a way around those people?”

Starrett thought for a moment, she wasn’t exactly the most familiar with the ship’s jefferies tubes, not like some of the engineers, but she knew enough.

“Yeah, we can take the jefferies tube two sections over, there is a narrow access shaft that runs the length of the escape pod cluster.”

“Good, you are going to guide us down there.”

He made another gesture to two of his Marines that were waiting behind corners of the wall, “Aked, Faraq, you’re with me, grab some spare magazines.”

The two nodded and popped open one of the several dozen metal cases they had brought containing magazines for their rifles and side arms. Meanwhile Starrett quietly removed a wall panel to reveal the entrance to a jefferies tube and opened it. Her phaser jammed into the opening, ready to annihilate anybody who might be there, but it was empty.

Hassar, also re-upped on magazines, squatted down and looked at the tight space with a little apprehension. He was a big muscular guy, only made bigger by his bulky armor and equipment, but the alternative, charging down the corridor themselves, was even less pleasant so he slung his rifle over his back and unholstered his pistol. Gingerly he climbed in head first. Once fully in he signaled for the other three to follow, Starrett behind him followed by Faraq then Aked.

Another heavy hit from somewhere outside the ship shook the tight tube and what little illumination inside dimmed, but the group carefully made their way forward. Occasionally the distant sound of phasers and gunfire echoed sharply down the confined space, but it only steeled the groups resolve as they did not wish to leave their comrades alone longer than they had to. At least they have the KP-100, Hassar thought to himself, the weapon was designed for light armored vehicles not so much anti-personnel, so long as it functioned it gave the group defending the core an edge. That is unless the Romulans got crafty or used some sort of technology that Hassar knew nothing about.

About halfway to their destination there was a sound of something shuffling and several clinks and clunks then in the dim light Hassar spotted a pair of booted feet sticking out a junction just ahead.

A Romulan saboteur?

Hassar turned and put a gloved finger up to his lips to silence the group then his pistol raised slowly and quietly he stalked closer to the possible interloper. He needed to be quick in dispatching the enemy, his size meant that he was at a disadvantage in the tight quarters of the tube. Once he was within an arm's reach away Hassar grabbed one of the person’s ankles and dragged them out of the other tube to eat a twelve millimeter round, but before he squeezed the trigger his eyes caught the sight of gold and gray, they were Starfleet!

He exhaled in relief and let go of the ankle though the weapon was still aimed at the wide-eyed man’s face.

“It’s just a Starfleet crewman”, Hassar called back in a lowered voice.

“Valerii, what are you doing in here”, interjected Starrett in an annoyed whisper.

“We don’t have time for this”, the vaharran Commander interrupted, “look, crewman…Valerii…you can follow us or head back the way we came to the core.”

Without waiting for a response he pushed past the man and further down the jefferies tube. Starrett shrugged and followed but made sure to leave a little room in case Valerii chose to come with while the two other Arosan Marines followed up behind with amused smirks on their faces.

The group proceeded a little further until they emerged in the narrow corridor that Starrett had mentioned, lined with similar narrow doors that lead to the escape pods. Hopefully we won’t have to use these. Hassar climbed out of the jefferies tube then shimmied his way along the corridor until he along with Starrett and the others found the access hatch that led into an equipment storage room. The ship shook as they entered the small compartment, whatever equipment that hadn’t been stowed properly was now strewn across the floor in a shattered mess.

Starrett took the lead momentarily to disable the automatic door opener so she could crack it open enough to get a view down the hall. Hassar was right, the Romulans were amassing for another attack, over a dozen, but there was something else, Klingons, four or so, waiting near what appeared to be the leader of the Romulan group. They were arguing about something but neither Starrett or Hassar could make out what it was. The Commander had worked out a plan, he used hand gestures to signal the other two marines to ready grenades while he himself pulled a pair from his pouches.

Once he had unslung his rifle, Hassar nodded to Starrett, her breathing hiking up along with his own, there was always fear no matter how many times one did this.

Hassar pulled the grenade pins and Starrett pulled the doors open. The vaharran leapt out and tossed the pair of black orbs into the crowd, a distinctive ping of the spoons flying away announced their presence. A lot happened in just a few moments, Hassar dove down behind a crate, the enemies realizing he was there started to turn to engage, the grenades landed.

Time felt as if it froze for Hassar as the seconds seemed to take forever, but he was rewarded by two distinct blasts and a shower of debris and green blood. He wasted no time, rising over the crate, he aimed his rifle and squeezed the trigger. The weapon roared to life, bullets ripped through the crowd of confused Romulans, cutting several down immediately and wounding others, one poor bastard had been sitting against the wall and hadn’t even had a chance to stand before a pair of bullets splattered his heart and lungs across the bulkhead, he slumped pathetically without a word. Hassar held down the trigger, spraying the corridor, until the weapon clicked as the last shell was ejected. Only then did he take cover once more.

By this point though his comrades had joined him, Starrett had taken cover around a corner behind him and was now unleashing her phaser rifle on any exposed Romulans. The other Marines tossed their grenades, more blasts, more screams, then opened up from the doorway.

Hands shaking somewhat from the adrenaline rush, Hassar ejected his spent magazine and fished another out from the pouches across his torso. Starrett took her time with steady aim, despite the disruptor bolts that sizzled the steel of the wall mere centimeters from her; Faraq and Aked, per their training, took turns firing out the doorway they were taking cover in, having non-verbally worked out with their Starfleet comrade that they should provide suppressing fire with their more primitive but loud weaponry.

Hassar, now reloaded, rose back up and assisted in the grim task of dispatching the enemies before him. Why don't they just surrender, he couldn't help but wonder to himself even as one of his shots found home on a Romulan combatant poking out from the cover of a bulkhead pillar. The remaining Klingons on the other hand he knew perfectly well they would go down fighting as part of their warrior code, but for the moment they remained thoroughly entrenched behind what cover they could find. Noting that the enemy was sufficiently pinned down and paying attention to his group, Hassar tapped the Starfleet communicator.

[Commander al-Zaheer to Specialist al-Ahnad, what's it look like in front of you, over.]

[Not much Commander, you guys got them kooka their pants right now, over], responded the always upbeat Specialist.

[Very well, I want you to hit them in the rear and flush them out so we can finish this, out!]

[I always do Commander, out.]

It didn't take long for Al-Ahnad launch his own attack, the barking of the twenty millimeter was audible even over the din of his team's gunfire. Within minutes the effects were felt and the Romulans started to panic and leave cover as they attempted to retreat to somewhere that wasn't here; a couple escaped down a  jefferies tube but the rest were caught in the open and gunned down. The Klingons, perhaps sensing their death was imminent or perhaps thinking they could fight their way out, suddenly leapt from cover and rushed down the corridor towards Hassar and his team, their bat'leth's in hand. The leader fell almost immediately, riddled with bullets and phaser blasts. Two others made it further but met the same fate, but the final one, a particularly large mean looking one with a gnarly scar running from his chin to the top of his ridged forehead pressed one despite the number of hits he had taken.

He charged on, roaring like a lion, bat'leth raised, ready to strike Hassar as soon as he reached him, even if it was his last act on the Material World before he proceeded to whatever Klingons called the Spirit World. Hassar's rifle was empty, but he wasn't going to tangle with this roaring behemoth. In a smooth practiced motion he dropped his rifle and rose up while extracting his pistol from its holster. He aimed the weapon, eye locked with his attacker's, and fired just as the Klingon was about to strike. The bullet, designed to shatter vaharran cranial armor, struck the forehead of the warrior before blasting out the back in a spray of purple blood and brain. It had all happened in a few seconds.

The Klingon fell back with a loud crashing thud to the deck. Hassar took a moment to catch his breath and with a shaking hand return the pistol to its holster.

The area was quiet now, almost eerily so, apart from the rumbling the ship made as the fight outside the hull was still raging. Hassar picked up and reloaded his rifle then slowly walked forward into the mass of Romulan and Klingon dead, the decks covered in pools of green and purple blood. If there were any survivors they were on the verge of death. The gruesome deed was done, but Hassar didn't feel pride in it, and as he walked he uttered words of prayer silently to himself to ask the spirits to guide those slain by his hand to a place of peace.

The day was not over, not yet, there was still more grim work to be done. He looked back up to see Specialist al-Ahnad inspecting the gruesome scene with mild interest.

"Specialist, I'm leaving you and your team here to guard the AI Core and to clear and secure this deck, I'll be taking my up to Deck 1 to clear it out. Alright, let's move out!"


OOC:

-Kooka translates to shit or shitting.

-Hassar will be making his way to Deck 1 to fight off any boarders there.

-Since Hassar is moving to Deck 1 to take part in the bridge action he will be out of this post order and is now in Heavy is the Head

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #7 –
[Lieutenant Ida zh'Wann | Deck 6 | Auxiliary Engineering 1 | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy] @Ellen Fitz @Tae @Dumedion @Tae @rae @Brutus

THe ship shook from another set of hits, but the two opponents inside the storage room didn't have time for that.  Shohlogh G'gedh gave an arrogant sneer at the prospect of a good old fashioned knife fight, the true Klingon way.  Ida's mouth curled into a frown as she sized up her opponent.  Each understood that only one of them would be walking out of this engagement.  She was measuring his height, breathing pattern, the way he held his knife, how he stood.  Anything that would give her any insight into he weaknesses he had.  The battle zone was terrible, cases were on the floor, smaller debris littered the area.  Very little open space to work with.  It was arguably a worse location for the 'female' Andorian since she usually depended on speed versus brute strength that the Klingon could call on.  She had to do what she could to avoid getting grappled or pinned by the Infiltrator, or she would be in a tight spot.

So she studied him, and her mind went over possibilities, weak points.  Good thing at least they were both bipedal, no morphing or extra limbs to have to fight.  The two swayed back and forth for a bit, the stopped in unison. Both deciding the fight could commence.  It was hard to tell who decided to move first, it could have been Shohlogh G'gedh when his mouth took on the extra sneer.  It could have been when Ida's hands loosened ever so slightly before gripping her knife again.  If asked, neither one could say what the signal to start was, only that action suddenly followed.  The two took jabbing their knives at each other, testing defences, and seeing if there were any gaps in the form the other used.  Each stab could have ended in tragedy for the other, but neither could penetrate in a straight up duel.  It would always finish in the chaos of close quarters.

Shohlogh G'gedh lunged with his blade, and rather than waste the energy in blocking, Ida backed up for a miss.  The Klingon lunged again, higher this time, and the Andorian's head snapped back to keep the metal from penetrating the soft material of her neck armour.  She couldn't keep playing defensive though and the long Starfleet blade flashed in a short arc at his chest.  The Klingon was no fool as he backed up, but Ida had never meant to connect with the blade and the spin carried her momentum as she spun around and sent a kick at her opponent.  Shohlogh G'gedh scrambled to block the hit and Ida grunted as her leg was deflected away from its target and hit his meaty thigh instead.  The infiltrator grunted as his leg temporarily weakened, but his  mind recognized the opportunity as the security officer had been throw off balance and he moved to bring down his elbow on her leg.  It was not to be though as responses kicked in and the lithe Zhen used the platform her foot was on to jump off the ground and swing her other leg in an acrobatic aerial roundhouse kick.  That strike could have done significant damage to even a Klingon, but the arm that was going to be used to break her leg was in a good blocking position and the Klingon grunted as the exosuit armoured leg smashed into his arm and forced Shohlogh G'gedh to punch himself in the head.

Ida's landing was less than perfect since she was reacting and she landed prone on the deck with a grunt.  Shohlogh G'gedh was less lucky as he went sideways over a crate and fell to the ground in a heap.  The fall was more of a surprise than actually painful for the tough alien, and he scrambled to his feet and jumped at the prone Andorian as he raised his knife.  Ida abandoned her attempt to get up and rolled away instead and she desperately moved to turn her legs toward the charging Klingon.  She barely made it and kicked at his ankles.  Shohlogh G'gedh grunted and yelped as he fell and then let out a cut off cry of pain as the sound of metal slicing through material and flesh grated through the room overpowered the sound of Ida being crushed by someone who outmassed her by a factor of two. The Klingon gave a look of confusion as he stared through the armoured helm at the alien beauty that had managed to harm him.  Obviously she was a much better opponent than he'd given credit for.

Ida was breathing hard as her body struggled to suck in oxygen with a massive weight on top of her.  She was holding onto the blade close to her body and felt it shift only minutely as it struggled against the armour and sinew it was stuck on.  She continued looking at the Klingon and hoped that was the end of it, he had to be mortally injured, maybe enough for him to be incapacitated so she could just shove him off.  Her vision disappeared as Shohlogh G'gedh coughed up blood and and it splattered across her visor.  As far as these fights went, that was a good sign.  Then the Andorian's eyes widened as she could barely make the outline of her opponent slowly pulling back.  The onboard computer quickly determined her vision was impaired and put up a red wire frame of the Klingon.  She began to wriggle from under him, trying to get out from under his weight, the she felt something grab her collar and she bashed at it with her free arm.  Ida fell back temporarily free, but the arm grabbed at her again and found purchase, she hit the grappling arm again, but the grip was fuelled by rage and wouldn't let go.  She swore she heard a laugh before something smashed into her head  and she bounced off the back of the helmet, her vision spangling for just a moment.  Before she could recover, the sound of alloy smashing the deck mixed with her own grunts as she felt her helmet get smashed again, and again, stunning the Deputy.

Her knee barely had room, but the exosuit helped the leg to move and Ida felt her thigh connect somewhere between the Klingon's legs and he roared in pain.  She couldn't take advantage of it though as she tried to back up and get away, but strong hands grabbed her and hauled her up.  There was a brief pause and her mind recognized what was coming next as she tried to bring her arms up, but her thoughts felt more syrupy as the meaty fist slammed into her mid section.  Ida grunted hard as she felt herself get lifted off the ground while her armour and exoskeleton tried to absorb the impact to her gut, then another followed, knocking more air out of the Deputy.  Her body flailed as Shohlogh G'gedh bent her over and rammed his knee into her torso once, then twice, then three times.  The Deputy knew this was going to bruise if nothing else, and then it stopped as the Klingon seemed to have impossible levels of pain immunity and energy as he picked her up and laughed maniacally in triumph.  With a groan of effort, the Klingon bodily tossed his tormentor at a pile of crates.

Ida lay there for a moment as she fought to catch her breath and turned her head to see the Infiltrator bent over to pick up his lost dagger before giving a victory smile over the Andorian.  With an audible groan, Ida rolled over and lifted herself onto her arms.  Shohlogh G'gedh laughed.  "Ha! you've fought well honoured enemy, but now it is time for you to die." got on her knees, and took the time to wipe the blood from her visor as she glared at Shohlogh G'gedh.  This made the Klingon's amusement change to an expression of derision as he closed on his apparently beaten enemy, ready to die.  Stopping just short of the Andorian he took a moment to savour his victory, then let out a roar as his arm swung in an arc to bury itself in his quarry's neck. Except she refused to die and both her arms flashed up pushing the blade to the side as Ida forced her body out of the way.  The blade rang as it scraped against the security officer's shoulder.  With both hands free, the armoured gloved hands grabbed the exosuit knife that was still sticking in the Klingon.  Shohlogh G'gedh grunted as the knife was yanked out spraying blood from a valve connected to something pulsing and dying inside.  It couldn't be! She was beaten! A piercing pain flared in his leg as the Andorian twirled around him and sliced at the back of his knee, causing the shocked Klingon to collapse.  He screamed impotent rage then gurgled as the sound of metal sliced the flesh of his neck and tore blood vessels and organs in his chest.

The once arrogant infiltrator felt his life melt away as Ida pulled the blade free, spraying arterial blood into the air, then plunged it into his back where his second heart would be.  It didn't even hurt anymore as his body involuntarily arched to the pressure.  His body was in too much shock. Looking down, he saw knife sticking out of his chest, then withdraw.  His head came up once more, and he laughed.  So, this was how it ended and he laughed.  "You may have won now. But this day will not be yours."  Ida grimaced at this final insult and kicked the dead Klingon to the ground. "Fuck."  A simple curse to end it all.  There was no time as yelling and screaming penetrated the door.  Ida head looked up at the exit and took that fraction of second to get ready to charge back into battle, then stopped as she recognized a shape from a barrel that had rolled aside.  A grin formed on her face.  Maybe things weren't so bad as she quickly moved to the barrel and scooped up her pistol. Now she was properly armed.  The Deputy swiftly moved to the door frame and took a moment to position herself and leaned out, seeing a couple of Romulans, her pistol lined up and she pulled the trigger.  Orange energy bursts knocked both intruders off their feet where they landed with a crunch.  The return fire though was savage and Ida flinched slightly as the Romulans tried to turn her cover into swiss cheese.  With the boarders now distracted by effective fire, several engineers took aim with their own weapons and laced the air with screeching energy.  A cold and strained calm voice followed as Ida fed information into the chaotic chatter of combat. "Klingon infiltrators eliminated in engineering.  Am engaging Romulans."

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #8 –
[Ehfva Feynri & Hirek tr'Aimne | Deck 6 | Auxiliary Engineering 1 | Vector 01 |  The Helmet] @RyeTanker @Dumedion  @Tae  @rae @Brutus @joshs1000

The acrid stench of burned conduits and spilled blood filled the corridor as Ehfva moved through the smoke-hazed passages of deck six, her tortured form a grotesque amalgamation that defied natural law. The Savi's "corrections" had left her trapped between all her forms—neither fully Vulpinian nor Vulcine, neither feral nor humanoid, but a painful fusion of all states that ached with every movement. Her partially anthropomorphic body bore patches of timber wolf fur alongside exposed humanoid skin, while her jaw was elongated enough to reveal predatory fangs but not fully transformed. It was agony made manifest, but it also granted her capabilities that went far beyond any single form's limitations.

Behind her, the Romulan she now knew to be Hirek struggled with the bulky Starfleet EV suit that had been hastily issued to him, the unfamiliar garment hampering his usually fluid movements. "Whoever designed these suits clearly never considered Romulan physiology," he muttered under his breath, his clipped accent carrying a note of sardonic humor despite their circumstances. "Though I suppose 'comfort for defecting enemy species' wasn't high on their design priorities."

They'd been responding to reports of trouble along the deck, following the sounds of weapons fire and screams without knowing exactly what they'd find. The Klingon boarding party they'd encountered first had provided brief but necessary violence—Ehfva's tortured hybrid form allowing her to tear through them while Hirek picked off survivors from range with ruthless precision. Now they'd stumbled upon this tense standoff, and before anyone could fully assess the situation, three more Romulan boarders emerged from a side corridor, their disruptors raised and targeting the clustered Starfleet personnel.

Ehfva didn't hesitate, though her heart clenched at what she knew she had to do. Though she was more than merely competent at dealing out mortal blows, she'd never enjoyed it. Her twisted form moved with unnatural speed, the fusion of her various states granting her abilities no single transformation should have allowed. She launched herself at the nearest Romulan boarder, her partially extended claws—caught somewhere between human nails and feral talons—tearing through his throat in a spray of emerald blood. The arterial spray painted the corridor walls as she completed the kill with ruthless efficiency.

The second boarder turned his weapon toward her, but Ehfva was already moving. Her partially elongated jaw, stuck in a painful middle ground between forms, clamped down on his weapon arm. The sickening crunch of bone and wet tearing of flesh accompanied his scream as she literally ripped his arm from his body. Emerald blood fountained from the traumatic amputation as she spat out the severed limb, her expression one of professional necessity rather than bloodthirst.

"Well," Hirek said dryly, watching the blood dripping from her muzzle, "I suppose that's one way to disarm the situation."

Before Ehfva could comment, Hirek spotted the flanking movement and raised his phaser rifle. Despite the suit's restrictions, his aim remained true—years of spearfishing in the crystal waters around the Uluma Islands serving him well. His first shot dropped a Romulan attempting to circle behind the security team's position, the beam catching the man center mass. His second shot winged another boarder who had emerged from an adjacent corridor, but then disaster struck. In the chaos and poor lighting, a panicked Starfleet security officer caught sight of Hirek's pointed ears and Romulan features.

"Romulan!" the man shouted, his phaser beam lancing toward Hirek's position.

The phaser beam caught him in the shoulder, spinning him around and sending him crashing into the bulkhead. Pain flared through his body as the stun setting disrupted his nervous system, though his Romulan constitution kept him conscious. He was damned lucky the phaser had been merely set to stun in the midst of this battle otherwise Talia or Kino would have something to say about killing Hirek before they could.

Ehfva's enhanced hearing caught the officer's shout and the whine of the phaser discharge. Her head snapped around to see Hirek falling, and something protective and primal surged through her tortured physiology. With a snarl that was more animal than humanoid, she abandoned her current prey and launched herself at the trigger-happy security officer. She moved like liquid death, her hybrid form covering the distance in heartbeats. The officer had time to register shock before her claws opened the throat of an actual enemy, just about to attack the officer from behind, in a diagonal slash.

"Panic is not an acceptable excuse for poor target identification," she said coldly as the Romulan collapsed on top of the Starfleet officer. Her cold gaze caught sight of the Andorian officer who'd previously been pinned down. "Ehfva Feynri and Hirek tr'Aimne to assist you, ma'am."


Hirek struggled to his feet, one arm hanging uselessly as he surveyed the carnage.

Hirek tapped his combadge with his good arm, his voice carrying that characteristic Uluma Islands lilt despite his exhaustion. "Hirek to Petty Officer Jeen," he called, adding with typical irreverence, "I didn't die, if that's what you were hoping. Now that my wolfie friend and I have finished removing several unwanted visitors from the engineering area, do you require additional pest control services, or should we relocate our particular brand of hospitality to another venue?"

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #9 –
[ CPO Mickayla MacGregor | Corridor | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @RyeTanker @Dumedion @Ellen Fitz @Tae @rae @Brutus @joshs1000
[Show/Hide]

Green blood pulsed out of the wound in the Romulan’s chest that Mickayla’s D’k tagh had left behind when she withdrew it. She looked down at the pointy-eared intruder, her face blank as she watched the life leave his eyes before falling backwards onto the deck at her feet. She lent down and wiped the blade clean on the corpse’s clothing before retrieving her dropped phaser pistol. Straightening up, she looked around at the remains of her security detail as she sheathed and holstered her weapons.

“Report,” she directed, already knowing the result wouldn’t be to her liking.

“Zakay is dead and Menzies took a disruptor bolt to the bicep,” her second responded, holding out her discarded phaser rifle.

“Have him head to sickbay,” Mickayla said, taking the weapon and checking the charge on it out of habit. She moved a little way off as he breathing began to settle from the firefight. “Thea, please log the location Zakay’s body for later funeral rites and could you put me through to Lieutenant T’Less.”

“Understood,” Thea answered curtly. There was the sound of a channel opening.

“T’Less here,” the Vulcan’s voice sounded out. “What is it Chief?”

“We just took out a group of Romulans that were guarding a hatch between Decks 13 and 14,” Mickayla explained evenly. “Permission to advance onto 14?”

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #10 –
[Lieutenant Ida zh'Wann | Deck 6 | Auxiliary Engineering 1 | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy] @Ellen Fitz @Tae @Dumedion @Tae @rae @Brutus @TWilkins

As with any situation involving relatively untrained personnel, they tended to get in the way as Ida fired her pulse phaser pistol and barely missed a struggling engineer. The Romulan boarder seemed to grunt and he was hit centre of mass and collapsed to the ground.  She flinched and ducked back just in time to have a shower of sparks blast her position as energy fire screamed at the Deputy.  A quick breath and Ida dropped down to her control PADD.  A button stroke and blue eyes flicked to the layout, mind absorbing all the details.  Her lips curled in disgust.  Ida poked back out and pointed at what the map said should be an enemy concentration.   She was somewhat rewarded as she saw two Romulans in the open and she focused the crosshair on the outline. The phaser snarled in one burst sending her target flying.  A slight shift and her finger pulled the stud again, sending energy flying across the engineering deck.  The target spun around to crash to the ground. 

More sparks exploded around Ida as she ducked back into cover and involuntarily flinched away.  The situation was getting too hot.  "Zark, if there's help on the way, I would really appreciate it if they moved faster."  Ida shouted into her comm.  A pair of spherical devices sailed through the door and the Andorian's eyes widened as she vaulted out of the room and leapt out into an environment live with disruptor and phaser fire.  The storage room roared in a conflagration as the grenades exploded, but Ida had not time for that as she got to her feet and fired as she went.  It was second nature as the sight on the phaser pistol lined up with a target and she sent streams of phaser energy at her attackers. One more twisted and collapsed as he was hit, but his partner fired and and someone screamed as they were hit by the miss.  The Andorian crawled behind the console and checked the charge on her pistol.  It was still in the green, plenty for the fight.  Then she looked up and saw the the carnage that was being wreaked as disruptor bolts slammed into the forcefield surrounding the core.  "The protective shield is starting to fluctuate" someone yelled.

Lieutenant zh'wann didn't even really notice as a venting noise came from the burning room as the fire suppression system kicked in.  Maybe things were getting out of control and the Deputy consulted her map once more.  It was hard to see, but there was a line forming between the Starfleet crew and the Romulans.  Thus, it was generally a safe idea when she grabbed a grenade off her belt and tossed it at the door.  The result was not what she expected as the remaining Romulan marines looked at the explosive and charged out of cover in a do or die effort to take the engine room before they were overwhelmed.  One engineer grunted as he was knocked over by a disruptor bolt, then another screamed as she took a shot to the chest and flopped onto her back.  It was too much as she saw another gear head's eyes widen and he turned to run.  "No!"  The Andorian screamed as she moved to tackle the running man and he grunted as the armoured suit collided with him.  Ida felt hammer blows and heat radiate over her back and she yelled as the back of her armour was hammered as she fell on top of the engineer.

The Andorian gritted her teeth and the grinding of her teeth mixed with the groan of effort while the HUD flashed warnings all across her back.  Microfractures flared on the display all across her back.  Dangerous chinks in the armour that she had to cover if she was going to live.  Her will drove her to push off the engineer as she gripped her pistol and prepared to engage the Romulans at point blank range.  This won't be it.  I refuse to die to die this way.   Her mind screamed as she rolled around and managed to force her pistol into a two handed grip.

That's when the sound hit her.  More phaser fire and screams as something hit the intruders in the back.  It was a mix of high tech and blood curdling as pain resonated through the room while muscle and bone were torn apart.  Whatever had hit the remaining boarders had definitley changed their focus and Ida pushed her  aching body forward onto its knees and an abbatoir greeted her.  The sight of Starfleet crew members and Romulans with various weapons burns was tame compared to the sight of an arm here, some other bit there, all leaking green blood and other multi coloured ichor. Ida was grateful she hadn't lost her helmet as the environmental systems filtered out the stench.  Some of the engineering staff were much less lucky and a few donated the contents of their stomachs to growing pools of green blood. Never mind the smoke that hung in the air and she was willing to bet the air wreaked of ozone and other unpleasant smells.

Ida lowered her pistol but kept it pointed generally in the direction of Ehfva Feynri and eyed the unknown warily.  The Andorian didn't know who or what the being was.  She was obviously dangerous, but seemed to be on her side, or at least an enemy of her enemy and that was probably as good as it got under the circumstances.  To the Romulan known as Hirek, she mainly gave a cold glance, but gave a shallow nod in his direction. "Thank you Mr. Hirek."   That was all the gratitude she could muster at the moment and diplomacy had never been her strong suit anyway, so that was all he as going to get.

Turning away, she took in the sight around her and hit the comm button on her control panel.  "Thea What's the status on V1?"  The reply Ida got back wasn't what she expected. An image of the AI appeared in the exosuit HUD.  "There are more boarders an decks 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 14; but most of them are contained at the moment.  Chief Jeen is engaging boarders around the shuttle bay. The main bridge is secure at the moment as is my AI core.  Most of the remaining boarders appear to be holed up in the Spearhead Lounge.  It appears they are trying to make the location a base of operations or a place to make a last stand."  Ida absorbed this and mentally nodded. "And the status of vectors 2 and 3?"  The pause was very brief. "There are multiple boarders on those vectors and they have a major bridge head around deck 19.  Lieutenant Zark has dispatched teams to engage enemy units around the battle bridge, Main Engineering, the security centre, and the FAB."

Lieutenant zh'Wann grimaced at this.  The situation was getting very complicated and she was stuck on Vector 1 while they still had boarders to deal with.  The engineers moved frantically too and fro as others put out calls for medical aid and more personnel entered the compartment.  A few of the medically trained soon followed and began triaging the living and dying.  Ida frowned as she saw a medic run a scan over one of the engineers who had been shot next to her and shook his head.  The medic unclipped the dead man's combadge and stuffed it in his mouth, the delta pointed out like a mini tombstone.  The Andorian guessed the dead had nothing to care about as the medic moved to the woman next and ran another scan.  It looked like this one was worth saving as the aid bag opened and a pair of cortical stimulators were added to her head before her jacket was ripped open and first aid began.

The Deputy tore her eyes away from the scene and looked over Hirek and his.....companion.  Several security personnel entered the area and seeing the Andorian, made a beeline for her while she issued commands as they approached. "Secure all the Romulans, make sure to bind them securely.  Help the others get the injured to sickbay, then keep secure the compartment."  An engineer ran past with an extinguisher and began spraying a conduit that was ejecting flame.  Ida eyed the Romulan and the unknown.  Whatever had happened to her or him, it had clearly been traumatic, but they looked like they were ready to come to the crew's aid, and that was the best she could hope for at the moment.    "Thea, inform Commander Stark that V1 engineering is secure.  Are the Romulans on the remaining hostile Romulans on the ship near any other Theurgy crew members?"  The ones on decks 3 and 4 are not.  The ones on deck 5, 10, 11 , and 14 are currently engaging Starfleet personnel.  Ida thought quickly.  "Thea, activate forcefields around the ones on decks 3 and 4.  Bring life support down to minimal levels, then dump CS gas.  Keep them unconscious.  Have the ones on deck 5 broken into the Intel suite?"

"Negative."

"Do the same for the area outside deck 5, then tell the personnel there to don breathing gear and secure the Romulans.  Tell them to be careful." 

There was a momentary pause.  "Affirmative, forcefields active, activating CS gas dispensers."  Ida nodded minutely as she waited to hear what the results were then looked at the Romulan and the blood coated Vulpinian.  "It seems we still have work to do Mister Hirek.  I'm headed to the shuttle bay.  Do you think you and your partner will be able to liberate the Spearhead Lounge?"  Lieutnenat zh'Wann asked in a tone that was more of an order.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #11 –
OOC – continued directly from previous post
[PO2 Kino Jeen |Deck 11, Vector 01 Lower Shuttle Bay] @Ellen Fitz @Griff @RyeTanker @rae @Tae @joshs1000 @Stegro88 @anyone else
[Show/Hide]

“Just being a smartass. Lets get you out of here – are you hit?”

Momentarily distracted while she waited for the LT to respond, Kino eased her weapons down; everything hurt, now that the adrenaline rush had subsided, but she managed to haul herself upright with only a grimace. The ship heaved as power fluctuated wildly, plunging the upper level of the shuttle bay in crimson-strobed darkness; something rolled across the deck at her feet – Jeen’s eyes flicked down and quickly dropped a pistol to grab and secure her helm. Unfortunately, in the same second, disruptor fire erupted all around them, blasted into the deck, the walls, while a few punched into the glass windows of shuttle ops - blowing them out with percussive snaps of energy-laced shards.

With nowhere to go, Kino threw herself into the human with enough force to knock them both into cover behind a plasteel support pillar. Both scrambled to untangle themselves before peeking out to return fire; Kino held herself low, phaser and disruptor angled, while the LT fired high with steady lances from his own sidearm. The Romulans, wiser now, remained in cover near the stairs, but held superior numbers; sustained suppressive fire forced both Kino and her would-be charge back into cover within seconds.

“They’re gonna flank us if we don’t move,” Kino shouted as she holstered the disruptor and primed a flash-bang. “Push to the stairs,” she added with a quick jab of her pistol, “on three!”

Finally, the dazed lieutenant seemed to focus, returning a quick nod. At "three!", after the flashbang blew, he duly pushed on to the stairs through the concealing smoke. Unfortunately, one of the Romulans, having noticed the flashbang, and protected themselves, did the only that she could: a wild charge, disruptor blazing randomly. By the time she and the human spotted each other, there was no time to shoot. She simply speared him, slamming the man against a bulkhead, making him cry out in pain. The Romulan desperately twisted away, raising her disruptor, but was too late.

The phaser that hit her head was only a heavy stun, but it was enough. She fell onto the deck, dead in an instant. The human hesitated, horrified by what he had just done, and only just snapped himself awake in time as emerald bolts blazed around him. On impulse, he grabbed the dead Romulan's disruptor, set it to its highest setting, and began firing at the Romulans with both weapons, the disruptor blasting away their cover. The weapon wouldn't last long, but it didn't need to. The lieutenant, his bald scalp sweating profusely, clearly had no idea how to shoot in such a manner, but it was enough.

"Move!" he shouted amidst the bedlam of battle.

The armored Trill grit her teeth and fired a suppressive burst before she bounded to the LT’s side, firing on the move. She didn’t break stride once she reached him, only barely sparing the dead Romulan at his feet a glance, before the pair of them headed down the stairs, ducking incoming fire hot on their heels. At the lower platform junction, Kino suddenly froze mid-step at the sound of two high pitched whines. It was a sound she’d only heard once before – but it was unmistakably Romulan – and unmistakably deadly; sure enough, the little bastards rolled into view just as she started backpedaling: plasma grenades.

“Cover!” Kino screamed, firing at one in panic, which managed to blast the thing back around the corner while her elbow shoved the man back behind her. Only one of them was armored, and she wasn’t sure how much help that would give regardless – still – her body twisted and wrapped around his, trying to offer as much protection as she could as they both fell onto the stairs. There were two consecutive blasts, followed by heat and light and a crash of thunderous air pressure. Kino tasted blood in her mouth and smelled the worst kind of smoke: burnt hair, fried electronics, hot metal – strong enough to force her to cough. She looked at the LT, dazed, trying to shake it off.

“You okay,” Jeen wheezed, trying to pick herself up, armor charred and still smoking. The back and side of her head felt like it was on fire, no doubt a shade darker now – but she’d deal with that later.

“I…I’m not sure,” Leavitt answered in a hesitant, confused stammer, trying to gather himself, get to his feet, and help the security officer all at once. Jeen’s comms crackled to life as emerald bolts once again filled the air around them, which added even more stress to the situation, as he recognized the speaker almost instantly. Zark sounded more serious than he’d ever heard the Andorian: all business, even curt. Before he could really even process what was happening to her or worry about it, a hand gripped him by the forearm and he was running again, following the white-haired Trill deeper into the shuttle storage area, firing blindly over their shoulders.

“Copy,” Kino yelled as they ran, then killed the channel. They both slid into cover behind an unpowered warp naccell of one of the shuttles, low crawling under the craft’s belly to pop up on the other side by the vessel’s nose. “We’re in a corner, but at least we can see every approach now,” she panted, then jerked her head to the other side. “Scope that side – we hold here till the calvary comes,” she asked, “unless you have a better idea?”

“Is there a calvary coming,” Alistair half asked, half wondered aloud; he’d hoped to get out as soon as his security protocols had been implemented to fortify the bay’s automated launch systems against enemy intrusion, but hadn’t been fast enough before the Helmet’s shields fluctuated enough for the enemy to board the ship. By the time the evac order came, the Romulans had pinned him in place, which is where is new-found friend had found him.

“There better fuckin’ be,” Kino grunted as she returned fire, dropping two Romulans brave enough to try to charge their position out in the open, while their friends stayed in cover. “I’m out of grenades and we have nowhere to maneuver.”

“I can try to power up the shuttle – get us some shields, at least,” Alistair blinked, thinking rapidly. “I’m no pilot, but it shouldn’t be –“

A rapid, hammering chorus of weapons fire interrupted him; a literal storm of it, aimed down from the upper level they’d just ran from – chewing into bay behind the wrecked, smoking hull of the runabout Kino had destroyed moments earlier. Emerald blood and viscera splattered into the air as bodies fell in bursts – followed by another chirp of Jeen’s badge.

[“Better late than never, but we’re here,”] Agans’ voice greeted her, [“brought you a present, too – grabbed one of the Accipator’s from the armory while Falvar got patched up.]

[“Right shitstorm you stirred up here Jeen,”] Falvar added, grunting over the percussive bark of his rifle.
 
“You beautiful bastards, about time,” Kino laughed in reply, the nodded to the LT as she readied herself to move. “Gimme a sitrep – how many can you see up there?”

[“Maybe forty,”] Agans answered, followed by another four second discharge of concussive thunder. [“Maybe a few less – three strike elements, one falling back to their birds, two in flanking columns.”]

“Hit the flanks. I’ll push up the middle,” Kino nodded, then glanced at the LT. “Hunker down here – if they push past my guys up top they’ll come right at you – keep them off my six.”

Alistair let a slow breath out, then nodded and readied himself. “I don’t like this plan,” he added quietly, to no one and everyone, even himself.

Jeen’s coms crackled to life then, filled with Hirek’s honeyed voice: sounding equal parts amused and sarcastic. Jeen listened as her mind churned, trying to do too many things at once; in that moment, she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him or what he meant by ‘wolfie’ friend – nor did she have the time to dwell on it. “Grats on not getting dead – keep up the great work. Love to chat more, but we’re a little busy at the moment,” the Trill replied curtly. “Link up with someone and keep going I’ll call you later!”

[“Uh, boss – “] Falvar started, only for Agans to interrupt with a drawn out [“Ohhhh, shiiiiit.”]

Kino peaked around the hull of the shuttle to see what fresh hell had arrived, and froze; one of the Theurgy’s own fighters was suddenly drifting into the bay, its hull halfway delineated by the neon bright line of the force-field. It pivoted in place, as the Helmet continued evasive maneuvers – tilting and rotating in place like a gyro-ball to maintain orientation. Kino didn’t know much about the Wolves or how they did what they did, but the sight of it was impressive enough for her to momentarily forget about the dozens of Romulans trying to kill them.

Disruptor fire reminded her of that fact quickly enough.“The fuck are they doing?!” Jeen shouted after ducking back into cover.

Twin whines, loud enough to set her teeth on edge, suddenly provided an answer.

Jeen’s eye widened. “Cover, now,” she screamed, over Falvar and Agans' repeated cries of “oh shit – shit – shit.” Kinothrew herself over Alistair again, locking them both on the ground and as tight against the bulkhead as she could – as the entire shuttle bay erupted in a roar of percussive sound. The fighter angled itself downward mid-bay, its underslung turrets unleashing a deafening barrage of fire in a strafing run that ate up anything and everything in its path: deck plates shredded – shuttles were chewed up in explosive shards of detonations – Romulans simply burst apart into explosive mini-clouds of green meat and blood. The fighter drifted horizontally to one side of the bay, it’s shields lit to life in a crackle of energy as it drug itself along the wall; the cacophony of mass-railgun fire never ceased – every Romulan shuttle burst apart where it laid – filling the bay with even more destruction as the craft’s power cores were punctured and ruptured out in emerald arcs of high-static discharge. Debris and shrapnel filled the air, ripped into the fighter’s shields to bound off into the walls, the deck, and other shuttles. The fighter pivoted again, angling up to the higher level, chain-linked rail-gun fire peppering up the far set of stairs to eradicate the line of Romulans attempting to flee its wrath. Its engine wash super-heated the railing, blasting both Falvar and Agans off their feet where they hid, sending their armored forms tumbling back into the far wall with grunts of surprise and fury.

The shuttle-bay was a wrecked ruin by the time the onslaught ended; silent but for the crackle of flames drowned out by the throaty hum of the loitering craft’s engines.

“We gotta go,” Jeen shouted at Alistar, almost completely deaf to her own voice. At any other time, she would have found the look of sheer agreement and enthusiasm he gave her amusing, but it clearly wasn’t the time. She crawled off and stood, helped him up, then ran out into the open to look for a clear exit. Smoke was filling the bay, but her eyes caught the fighter’s ident just as its nose swung around back towards the void – already boosting forwards to rejoin the fight: Wolf-16.

Alistair stumbled to her side, coughing and wafting the smoke from his face. “We need to go – we have to purge the bay, to get these fires out,” he hacked.

Jeen nodded, wiping blood from a gash on her head she didn’t remember earning, then tapped her badge. “Rally up boys, we’re leaving,” she wheezed, then followed the LT through the growing fog of dense, death-saturated smog to the exit. “Jeen to SecOps – vector one shuttle bay is secure, but inop. We’re purging atmo to contain the area and setting fields in place. Requesting new tasking.”

As they left, the LT turned to the console just beyond the exit to work his magic. Jeen doubled over without preamble, coughing to clear her lungs; bloodied spit hacked up, as every wound in her body stung. Hate to be that pilot when this is over, she thought sardonically – knowing there’d be hell to pay for saving their lives.

“Holy shit,” Agans laughed around his own coughing fit, “that was the craziest shit I’ve ever seen!”

“Wolves are insane bro,” Falvar agreed.

Kino laughed too, despite everything. “Yeah, we should buy them a drink when they get outta the brig.” When she looked up, her amusement died promptly as the lithe and deadly sight of Deputy Ida strode into view as the human finished tapping out a series of commands across the console behind her; there was a muted thump of air pressure, followed by the tumbling vibrations of objects bouncing and grinding across the deck as wrecked shuttles and debris were ejected into space.

“Well,” he breathed, “what now?”

Jeen grimaced as she stood upright and met the Deputy’s eyes with a nod. “Something tells me we’re about to find out.”

OOC - special thanks to @Griff for Alistair's input and participation.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #12 –
[Ehfva Feynri & Hirek tr'Aimne | Deck 6 | Auxiliary Engineering 1 | Vector 01 |  The Helmet] @RyeTanker  @Dumedion   @Tae   @rae  @Brutus  @joshs1000 

Ehfva met the Andorian’s wary stare with level calm. She did not flinch from it, nor shy from the pistol’s lingering point. If anything, she seemed to lean into the scrutiny, standing straighter despite the uneven contours of her form.

“I am Ehfva Feynri,” she said quickly, her voice stripped of flourish, tone clipped with the efficiency of a soldier reporting in. “I was with the Cayuga, with my mate—he is fallen. Your crewmates pulled me from my alien captors, though not before their ‘scientists’ reshaped me,” she gestured with a half-curl of her hand down her misshapen frame, “But I have fought before, and I can fight again. Whatever comes next, you may count me as an asset.”

From beside her, Hirek’s lips tugged upward, a silent amusement flickering in his gaze. For once, the suspicion did not fall solely on him. He felt almost light under it, though the irony was not lost: his dubious reputation briefly eclipsed by someone else’s scars. Still, he wasn’t particularly pleased with the prospect of more fighting—yet better to be moving, striking, than stewing and griping about the pace of others.

Ida’s clipped words landed like an order disguised as a question. Hirek inclined his head with a half-smile. “As you wish.”

He turned, gesturing Ehfva to follow, and together they stepped into the corridor’s harsher light. As they waited for Ida and the others to join them, Hirek glanced at the ceiling.

“Thea,” Hirek called, his voice carrying down the steel throat of the passage, “where is the Spearhead Lounge?”

“Located in the primary hull on Deck Fourteen,” came the AI’s calm reply.

Ehfva’s head tilted, eyes narrowing as she studied him.

“Still unpacking my bags,” Hirek explained dryly, a smirk ghosting across his lips. “I’ve yet to wander every corridor.”

Eventually, the group moved. Silence stretched, heavy with the sounds of distant alarms and the echo of their boots. Then Hirek broke it, his tone deliberately careless.

“Tell me, does everyone from your world look like you, or are you simply… unique?”

Her mouth quirked, not offended in the least. “None. This is the alien’s handiwork. But tell me, Romulan—why do you willingly shoot your own kind?”

Hirek exhaled, the sound bordering on a sigh. “Because if the Tal’Shiar endure, then no Romulan will ever be free. For that, I would shoot my grandmother. On stun maybe, but I’d shoot her.”

Ehfva considered him with the same matter-of-factness she had offered Ida. “And if your family fights among them? Are you not afraid?”

His step slowed for just a breath. A shadow of regret passed through him. “Only if they were pressed into service. In these times…” His eyes hardened again. “Anything is possible.”

They reached the turbolift, and both stepped inside. Weapons were drawn, checked, their movements practiced.

“Deck Fourteen,” Hirek ordered.

The doors slid shut, sealing them in the hum of the lift.

“Why didn’t you shoot me when you first saw me?” Ehfva asked suddenly, her tone as steady as before.

Hirek gave her a sidelong glance. “Because if the boarders were Romulan or Klingon, why would they bring along someone who looks like you? No reason to waste a shot on the one thing that clearly did not belong.”

Ehfva absorbed this without expression, offering no reply.

It was Hirek, instead, who pressed. “Were the same aliens who did this to you also the ones who killed your mate?”

She nodded once. “He died in the initial firefight, before they took our ship. He was fortunate.”

Hirek inclined his head at that, an echo of acknowledgment passing between them.

Then Ehfva shifted her gaze. “Do you have a mate?”

Hirek nearly choked on his laughter, the sound sharp and unexpected. “No.” The word rang effusive, far too bright for the moment.

Ehfva frowned, confusion flickering across her mismatched features.

Sobering, Hirek added, “My wife has been dead for some time now. A favor, truly, to the universe.”

The bluntness only deepened her confusion, and she studied him with silent questions. But before she could give them voice, the turbolift chimed and the doors parted.

They fell silent in unison, weapons ready, braced to face whatever waited beyond.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #13 –
PO 3 Valerii Anhel Arkhipiv | Deck 6 | Auxiliary Engineering 1 | Vector 01 |  The Helmet] @Ellen Fitz @RyeTanker @Dumedion @rae @Brutus @joshs1000

   The closeness and claustrophobia of the Jeffries tube was the only thing that had kept Valerii largely intact with the Theurgy getting shaken like ice in a cocktail mixer. The pounding of battle rang in his head, and Valerii was on the Eastern front again, with the scream of the Stuka's overhead, the ground shook around him, and Valerii could smell the aroma of freshly churned earth and explosives frying the soil of the airstrip to a dry and smoking ruin. Hearing the sounds of fighting outside his tent, that probably meant that the Stuka's had been cover for an advance, and that meant he'd have to find his trusty Tokarev.

   Valerii's hand went to his waist, only to find the phaser at his hip. The squarish handle of the weapon so different from that terrible pistol that he had to use. And yet apart of him missed the steel grip with the splintered wood  panels on it. The comforting nature of the poorly made pistol was gone, that was his, this phaser... The cool composite surface of the weapon brought him back to himself. 

   “That's right, I'm not outside of Stalingrad, and those aren't the Hitlerites.” The words spoken softly, and in English, “That isn't German, it's Romulan.” After another hard Jolt, Valerii took up his phaser in one hand, and grabbed the 5 cm spanner wrench form the tool box he'd been using to  fix the pipes in the tube.  He didn't want to go outside, he didn't want to leave his bubble of safety, even if it was a cramped access corridor. So he didn't training his phaser on the hatch he stayed like that, shaking with the memories of Stalingrad and the new nightmare fuel that this battle was creating.

   He couldn't say how long he'd been there, but it sounded like the battle had finally moved on, and his job was finished, so Valerii put the tools back in the box and made to leave the Jeffries tube. The tube opened up adjacent to an engineering console, providing a block in line of sight, a safety feature that ensure no one would trip on anyone emerging from the tube. It also made a decent hiding space,a nd he could pretend he'd been there all along if anyone saw.

    As the  hatch doors slid open, he spotted what could only be a Romulan uniform. Which was of course containing a Romulan. Valerii and the Romulan locked eyes. Time stood still for a moment, a pair of fearful eyes meeting, and both men began to bring up their weapons, and he pulled the trigger of his “Tokarev”, nothing, not even a click. With reflexes trained in desperation on the eastern front, her threw the phaser believing that it's magazine was empty at the Romulan hitting him squarely in the face with the actual phaser. This was followed up by Valerii lunging out of the jeffries tube with the tool box, crashing into him.

   With desperation and fear Valerii smashed the 20 kilo toolbox into the romulan again and again, capitalizing on the lunge. The maneuver was violent and bloody. Wild eyed, the mad Cosmonaut bashed the Romulan to death painting himself with emerald blood spatter in the process. With an ache in his arms after the first two swings, he heard the Romulan's skull cave in with a sickening crunch. He stared at the beaten Romulan for a moment before finally looking around, noting Ida and others. He gave a sheepish wave, and he shrugged, doing his best to play it cool. “I found another, and I made a mess it seems.”

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #14 –
[Decurion Vorshom | Deck 11 | Around the NCO quarters | Vector 01 | The Helmet | USS Theurgy] @Ellen Fitz @Tae @Dumedion @Tae @rae @Brutus @TWilkins

The Romulan ducked his head slightly as an orange beam sliced the air and is mind mentally chuckled and snarled at the same time.  The shot hadn't even been close.  His rifle snapped up and he pulled the firing stud.  Green energy bolts flailed the space ahead of him; and a man with a red collar flew forward as if he tripped over his own feet while a woman with a blue collar spun around from a hit to the shoulder and slammed into the deck. The targets were neutralized and he simply moved forward.  The woman seemed to still be moving and he ignored her.  Someone behind him took care of the potential hazard as a three more shots rang out.

Efficient.  He thought as the squad continued on.

The Decurion had to wonder where they were headed.  Someone had made a mistake when they'd been sent over, and it looked like this deck held nothing of importance to the ship's ability to fight.  From the translations he was seeing, there was nothing but crew quarters.  No wonder these humans were like chattel.  Who needed this much space to sleep?  Obviously those who were weak with no discipline. 

The rumination was cut short as he threw himself against a wall as an orange beam lanced out.  It missed him, but the trooper behind him grunted as he was knocked off his feet.  The squad leader ignored the pain that lanced through his knee and fired at his attackers.  Another Starfleeter leaned out and fired.  His aim was too good as someone behind him screamed and the sound of a body bouncing off solid objects echoed.  The Decurion adjusted his aim and his target gave a a recipricol scream as his shoulder took a hit and spun his body mostly into cover.  Some black legs were sticking out and the Romulan felt nothing as he fired at the leg.

The shots suddenly stopped as an energy barrier materialized in front of him and weapons fire tapered off as the forcefield puddled with the energy absorption. "A cheap trick." The Romulan muttered as he took aim at the emitter frame and prepared to blast it into oblivion.  His rifle scored the deck as he began coughing.  The air had begin to burn and felt toxic.  "Gas!"  His strangled voice called out.  He continued to cough and tried to reach for the universal neutralizer on his belt.  His vision swam and thoughts became syrupy.  Touch was starting to go as his vision began to black out.  He felt something. That had to be it!  With all his remaining will, he pulled the item and pushed it into his leg.  And nothing. 

He fell to the deck and his body went limp.  Everything was so heavy. It took a huge amount of effort to move his head down and as he black out, he couldn't even muster the energy to curse as his mind recognized the edges of a rifle power cell that fell out of his hand.

[Lieutenant Ida zh'Wann | Deck 14 | Vector 1 | USS Theurgy ]

The dark alloy armoured figure stood up after applying the binders to the prone Romulan.  Ida felt herself starting to get tired as fatigue of combat operations in close quarters took their toll.  At least it was easier for her since she was on friendly ground and had an AI supporting her.  Still, someone had to get in close and dig out the opposition.  She gave the binders a tug to make sure they were secured and watched as several others did the same to several more Romulans.  The ship shook under her feet from several more hits and she shook her head to clear the distraction from her mind.  That was not her battle.

Her eyes made their way to the pistol in her hand and she checked the charge setting.  She frowned. 40% Not bad, but also not good either.  Her head twisted around as she looked and saw one of the armoured suits that had followed her was laid out flat on the ground.  Her helmet was off and a blue shirt shirt was hitting the armour releases where a smoking hole was found.  A few others were holding the security person down as she rolled around in pain while the fibre bundles lent additional strength to her movements.  The Deputy made her way over to the down suit and grabbed an arm and pried it off.  Her fingers manipulated the LCARS pad and the suit stopped moving as she shut down the artificial muscle systems.  Another series of buttons released the chest plate with a click and a hiss as the mechanical magnetic seal was deactivated.  Ida ignored the looks of those around her as she pulled the plate off and tossed it aside then gave an expressionless gaze to the medic.  "Get her patched up, then to sickbay."  The medic nodded and went to work with a hypospray.  Ida shifted her attention to the equipment section and silently thank Zark for her obsessive need to be prepared and fully armed as she grabbed power cells and grenades out of various pouches.  A press of a stud and the partially depleted cell was dropped from her pistol in a clatter and a new one installed.

Grabbing the abandoned rifle, she got up and looked to Hirek ,Ehfva, and a few more crew members that had been pressed into the security roll or volunteered to come along.  "We're almost at the Spearhead Lounge." Ida started over her suits speaker system to get everyone's attention.  "The security updates say these are the last organized holdouts on the Helmet. Here's the plan.  We've got the doors sealed, but a few of the crew are trapped as prisoners inside.  It looks like they're being used for hostages.  Ida had the group follow her to a wall screen and tapped on several button bringing up a layout of the deck surrounding the lounge.  Unfortunately, the situation looked grim as about a dozen in green circles of Romulans were mixed in with several white circles for Federation personnel. 

"It's not going to be pretty.  The plan is to kill the lights outside the lounge so they won't see us approaching.  Thea, on the next hit. Vent something that looks like smoke outside the lounge for a few seconds, then strobe the lights in the corridor and the lounge. That should make it look like something damaged power in that area."  Ida was also hoping it would disorient the Romulans inside. 

Her fingers moved towards the schematic and indicated the doors leading into the lounge. "When we're within 25 meters of the door, we kill the lights altogether.  If the doors open, we'll open them and toss in stun grenades and flash bangs.  If they've sealed the doors, use your phaser to blast the door out of the way."  Several crew members winced at the thought since the Deputy was piling on more damage that the engineers were going to have to fix.  The Andorian didn't flinch externally, but sighed internally. Chief Arnold and I will most certainly be having a chat in that case.

Then came the next part that she was sure everyone was going to have issues with. "Set your phasers to level 2. Many of you are not trained in hostage rescue, so just shoot everything.  An asleep hostage is better than you or a hostage being killed.  We'll be able to clean up the situation afterwards.  Understood?"  The Lieutenant ordered as she looked around to see if anybody was going to waver in this.  A few of the crew looked unsure of what they had been asked to do and she locked eyes on them and her antennae tried to aim at their faces.  Those that were unsure felt her eyes on them and their resolve solidified as they nodded.  The Deputy outlined the rest of the plan that essentially amounted to they would flood in after the grenades went off and which way they would generally aim.  Security would take the lead, but others would follow.  Her team would go in through the port entrance, while the other team would go through the starboard door. She cautioned to be careful who they were shooting at.  Seeing understanding in everyone, Ida hefted her rifle.  "Lock and load people."  Lieutenant zh'Wann ordered as the group headed towards the lounge.

It didn't take long for the group to make it the lounge and the corridor was dark.  Lights flickered at random intervals, but mostly stayed off.  Despite the sounds of battle, Ida could hear the yelling ahead.  The universal translator couldn't quite make out what was being said in real time, but Ida's HUD was delivering a transcript.  If she was someone who was more prone to showing her emotions, she would have smirked.  The situation looked quite hopeless and there was dissension in the ranks.  Some wanted to massacre the prisoners, while others were looking to use them as bargaining chips.  Whatever was going on, there wasn't time let them settle on a decision.  Her arm signaled everyone to move to the wall so they would stay out the field of view. The double stack became a single file of people. "Thea. Are the doors still closed?"

AFFIRMATIVE.

Ida mentally nodded as she switched channels.  "Starboard team.  We're almost at the entry point.  Status?"  There was a pause like she'd been talking into nothing.  She repeated her question, but with more authority. "Starboard team.  We're almost at the entry point.  Status?" The reply she got back was confusing.  "Uhh.  We have a problem."  The Deputy's eyebrows furrowed, then tried to jump into her hair as the other officer shunted his camera feed to her.  "What do you mean?..." THe Deputy's voice died off as she saw disaster unfold infront of her eyes.

"Hey! Wait! What are you..." The speaker's voice called as a Klingon with a rifle smirked then fired a shot at the door and it exploded in fire and shrapnel. 

Ida wanted to stop in shock and and gape at what she'd just witnessed, but almost a dozen throats screaming war cry galvanized her into action.  "Starboard team, stand fast!  The rest with me.  Thea, open the doors!"  She ordered as her leg applied pressure to the ground to get her going into a run.  The door obediently slid open and Ida dropped her rifle as she grabbed one grenade and tossed it on, followed by a second.  Pandemonium had just started as a pair of Klingons were sprawled on the deck clearly having been blasted by the Romulans.  It wasn't enough as the third Klingon had made it past the bodies and his powerful muscles had pushed the bat'leth with massive force and decapitated a Romulan marine in a fountain of green blood.  Any more battle took a pause as the flash bangs went off and a brief pause in thought seemed to take over the final battle.

Momentum carried another Klingon warrior forward and he crashed into a Romulan he'd been intending to impale, but instead the two collided in yells and curses, then began wailing on one another.  Ida didn't have time for this as she scanned the room and time seemed to slow as her mind worked to separate out the carnage to try to prioritize threats.  There!  Her mind screamed and the pistol came up as a Romulan with some rank pulled on a brown skin human that her mind recognized as Kamila Patel, the ships lead entertainer, bar matron of the Spearhead Lounge and if the rumours were to be believed, Chiefs Arnold's lover or girlfriend.  It was still being worked out, but there was a high possibility they were having sex.  That was all a side not and good scuttlebutt, but mattered not one bit as the Deputy's pistol lined up with the Romulan as the human struggled to get away and she managed to twist the Romulan just enough for a clear shot.  Ida pressed the firing stud and an orange bolt slammed into the Romulans head and knocked him to the ground, carrying bar tender with her.  There wasn't even time to scan for the next target as the rest of her team flooded into the room and the struggle to subdue the boarders reached new heights while she moved to grab Kamila and get her out of the way.

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #15 –
[PO2 Kino Jeen | Deck 11 | Vector 1] Attn: @All
[Show/Hide]

Somethings wrong, Kino thought as she watched the Deputy approach; the suspicion was less of a thought and more of a feeling, a voice in her gut that couldn’t be ignored, but she couldn’t quite justify it. Something about Ida seemed…off – even though the Andorian and Kino hardly ever interacted. Unable to put her thumb on the issue, Jeen simply nodded as the LT passed her to peer at the wreckage of the shuttlebay.

“I assume, given the wreckage therein, that the boarders have all been neutralized and the area secured,” the Andorian spoke with an air of impatience and haughtiness, without so much as a glance in anyone’s direction. When no reply was forthcoming, she turned her steel blue eyes to the bald, sweat streaked face of LT Leavitt with a predatory stare. To his credit, the man didn’t flinch, only blinked several times then nodded rapidly.

“It’s secure,” Jeen spoke up, eye narrowed at the unusual and uncalled for display of intimidation. They were all on the same side, and the objective was taken. The fuck is her problem, Kino wondered.

“Acceptable,” the Andorian lifted an armored shoulder, but her attention remained fixed on the human. “I’m sure you have duties elsewhere, LT. You two, escort him wherever he needs to go,” a blue hand gestured to Kino’s teammates, then turned into a knife edge at the Trill. “You remain.”

Falvar and Agans turned to look to Kino.

“You heard her,” Jeen nodded, then held up a hand at Agans. “Nah, gimme,” she added quickly, gesturing for the Accipator rifle. “Mine got busted. I need it more than you,” she smirked.

“Fine,” Agans mumbled, handing the rifle over along with its spare power packs of munitions, then shouldered his standard rifle.

“That was terrifying, but thanks anyway,” LT Leavitt offered as he walked past Kino, who simply nodded again.

“Watch yourself boys,” Jeen called after them, but kept her eyes on the Deputy. “Report in when your done.” Another few seconds, they were gone around the corner. Kino grit her teeth on instinct - unable to shake the uneasy feeling in her gut.

The Andorian didn’t seem to react to the Trill’s scrutinizing gaze, other than a slight tilt of her head, almost in challenge. Then it finally made sense: Kino realized what was wrong – the Deputy had no weapons. Nothing on her person, not a sidearm or blade, nothing. Her armor was pristine, like it had never been worn.

What the fuck, Kino nearly frowned in confusion. Why isn’t she armed?

“The weapons you confiscated – hand them over,” the Deputy demanded, apropos of nothing, which snapped Jeen’s attention back into the moment.

“What,” Kino tilted her head, utterly confused by the suddenness of the demand as Ida moved to stand directly in front of the Trill, her expression cold as the grave.

“The Romulan’s blade and disruptor. You will surrender them to me, now.”

They were only arms length apart, but Kino’ brain finally kicked in. There was something else wrong with the Deputy – something perhaps only someone with intimate knowledge of Andorian physiology would notice – but once again, after seeing it, Kino couldn’t ignore the facts. Something was definitely wrong: Ida's antennae were immobile - frozen stiff - lacking even a shred of expression. Jeen's eye twitched as her grip tightened around her rifle. She'd have to be smart - and fast - if this went south.

“Sure thing LT, just gimme the code of the day and they’re yours.”

It was standard procedure: a combination of four alphanumeric keys posted daily for secure access and verification of all manner of day to day business conducted aboard the ship. Any member of security would have known it, instantly, without a shred of hesitation.

The "Deputy" merely blinked, slow and deliberate – like an aquatic predator biding its time.

That’s when Kino knew, and she moved in the same heartbeat: The Accipator rose in a snap, hard enough to crack into Jeen’s shoulder-plate in a blur of motion, but she wasn’t fast enough – not even close. A heavy force knocked the weapon aside, completely out of her grip; then the next thing Kino realized was the crushing force of something iron-hard around her throat, lifting her clear off the deck.

“How delightfully perceptive of you,” Ida purred through a lopsided smile, but it wasn’t the Deputy at all – Kino watched through red-tinted vision as the Andorian faded in a glimmering light-show of multi-hued holographic projection, melting away to reveal the white-haired, dark skinned Romulan she'd encountered before. “You are quick, in body and in mind – I respect that, truly,” the Romulan, Jaeih, continued, then drew Kino’s face closer to hers. “That respect, along with the fact that I need to remain in the good graces of those who actually matter on this ship, are the only reasons your neck isnt broken into a parody of vertebrate structures.”

Kino struggled, but it was futile. She couldn’t breathe, could barely see, and the only noises she managed to make were weak clicks of desperation as her body fought to live. Barely conscious, her lungs on fire and body numb, Kino still found the strength to draw her combat blade, but dropped it from nerveless fingers almost instantly.

“Tsk-tsk. Hardly a worthy effort,” Jaeih smiled, helping herself to the weapons that the Trill had taken from her – weapons that she had paid for in blood sacrifice a hundred fold. Once that was done, the Romulan slackened the crushing grip around the spotted alien's throat, just enough to prevent loss of consciousness – but kept her raised up off the ground all the same. “Now, you have a choice my dear – you can die now, an insignificant actor of a great drama several decades in the making, or you can aid me in pursuit of its conclusion, one that just might be beneficial to all of us, even ignorant, useless little nothings like yourself. I leave the choice to you,” Jaeih nodded, then dropped the Trill like a piece of detritus, something utterly beneath the Romulan’s concern.

“Decide,” the Romulan shrugged, then idly paced in place as Kino struggled to recover, coughing and hacking, barely able to get up to her hands and knees. “Do hurry up my dear, time is not our ally,” Jaeih chided over the fit, completely without mercy or empathy. As if to punctuate the point - the ship rocked under a renewed assault form without.

“W-when…this is…over…,” Jeen wheezed, finally managing to meet the Romulan’s glowing green eyes with her own bloodshot, tear streaked gaze. “You die for that.”

The Romulan sucked her teeth, utterly unfazed. She was already turning away with a shrug of indifference. “Yes, yes, of course. That’s your prerogative, my dear. Shall we get on with it?” Jaeih stooped and gracefully hefted the Accipator she’d knocked from the Trill’s hands, then tossed it back to her. “You will escort me to your Chief diplomat – one Lieutenant Enyd Madsen I believe.”

Kino caught the rifle with a grunt, still coughing, but able to at least stand and walk. She shook her head at the Romulan. “Why,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“She is more than she seems, that’s why. Take me to her, or I’ll find someone who will,” Jaeih smiled again, all knives and threat.

“Threaten me again and Ill cut your goddamn throat open, cunt,” Kino growled through bloody spittle, meaning every word as a promise.
 
The Romulan’s playful expression soured instantly. “Temper, temper,” she tutted, “have you forgotten yourself so soon? Need I remind you of the stakes at play? Your ship – your crew – your precious Federation? If we fail here, all falls away into nothingness – and no one will ever know the hardships you all endured. Is that what you wish? Is there no one you care for aboard or beyond this accursed vessel?” The Romulan paused, watching Kino intently, knowing what she saw in the Trill’s eye. “Ah, of course there is. Will you trade vengeance for –“

“Enough,” Kino barked – then shook her head. Images and feelings of Reika flooded her mind, unbidden, too painful to hold. She couldn’t think about her. Couldn’t let her be used as a weapon. “Shut it. Just shut – the fuck – up.”

Kino pulled a set of binders from her belt and threw them at the Romulan’s booted feet, which prompted an instantaneous expression of skepticism.

“Really?”

“You wanna see Madsen? That’s the price of admission.”

After a haughty sigh, the Romulan complied, even went so far as to wiggle her bound wrists up for the Trill to see they were in fact, secured.

“Satisfied?”

Kino spit a wad of blood to the deck before answering. Her voice sounded like gravel spilling down a mountain, her throat raw and bruised and painfully swollen – she had to cough again just to manage a harsh whisper. “Not even a little,” she growled, then tapped her badge. “Jeen to LT Madsen, I’m escorting a prisoner to the diplo suite. A Romulan, wants to talk – sounds like she’s got some intel for you. Be there in five, get your whetstone out,” Jeen killed the channel abruptly, hoping the LT understood her warning, then jerked her head back down the hall. “Turbolift. Let’s go, bigfoot."

[Minutes later, Deck 2, Diplomatic Suite]

The Romulan, Jaieh, idled briefly before the sealed entrance to the Suite as Jeen inputted the security codes needed for entry. Neither spoke, for good reason – they were literally one wrong look away from tearing each other’s throats out. When the door swished open, the Romulan strode in confidently, a smile on her lips – entirely without warmth, only inflated superiority.

“Lieutenant, such a pleasure to see you again,” the Romulan nodded to Madsen, but her eyes searched everywhere else. “How quaint, to at last be where one intended all along, only to find such…disappointment. I suppose I expected too much of you,” Jaeih mused, as if she were simply speaking aloud. “Ah, forgive me, I speak out of turn,” the Romulan smiled again, then turned to gesture her bound hands to Kino; the Trill, her armor scorched and scratched, stood leaning against the bulkhead, rifle tracking the Romulan’s every move. “I thank you for the escort, dear officer. I believe we can remove these now, yes? After all, you have me in a room with at least – what – four automated phaser turrets? Maybe five? Surely the restraints are unnecessary?”

“They stay. Get on with it,” Jeen answered without hesitation, or even a glance in Madsen’s direction.

“So be it,” Jaeih shrugged, then turned to the Diplomat she hoped to entice. “I come before you seeking aid and offering it in kind,” the Romulan bowed slightly. “But time is short –“ she paused, rocking briefly as the ship endured another attack. “I alone have the intimate knowledge of the Empress’ flagship, and the weapon she will ultimately use against you – if she hasn’t begun to already – if you are willing, I will lead you aboard her ship to a direct confrontation, or...negotiation, if you will. All I ask in return is certain…assurances…regarding the future of my people.”

“Bullshit,” Kino coughed, weapon still trained on the Romulan, then shrugged as if in apology.

“Such pettiness is beneath you, officer,” Jaeih sighed. “It erodes my respect for you, truly.”

“Fuck you,” Kino coughed again. “Sorry, throats been acting up,” she half smirked in Madsen’s direction.

The Romulan remained stoic, still adorned with that arrogant, remorseless smile. “I offer aid towards a swift resolution to this conflict, for all involved, Lieutenant. That is no deception.”

“You offer a fucking trap - like always. Say the word LT, and I’ll throw biggums here in a cell or out the fucking airlock where she belongs,” Kino snorted, but waited and listened for what Madsen would say.

ooc - again, apologies for delay.
 

Re: EP 2 S: [D3 | 0015hrs] If You Want Blood, You Got It

Reply #16 –
[ Hirek tr'Aimne & Ehfva Feynri | V. 1 | D. 14 | The Helmet ] @RyeTanker  @Tae  @Dumedion  @rae  @Brutus  @TWilkins @Stegro88

The corridor lights flickered and died as Hirek tr'Aimne pressed his back against the cool bulkhead, his phaser rifle held loosely in experienced hands. The Andorian Deputy's voice crackled through his helmet's comm system, outlining the plan with military precision. Hirek's lips curved into a sardonic smile beneath his borrowed armor. *Hostage rescue with amateurs. How delightfully straightforward.*

"Set your phasers to level 2. Many of you are not trained in hostage rescue, so just shoot everything."

Now *that* was a plan he could appreciate. Brutally honest and delightfully pragmatic. Hirek checked his weapon's settings with practiced efficiency, noting the nervous shuffling of the engineers-turned-security around him. Poor creatures, pulled from their comfortable consoles to play soldier. In his experience, this sort of direct confrontation was best left to those who enjoyed it—or at the very least, those who'd been properly trained for it. He much preferred a well-placed sabotage or a carefully timed distraction. But when one found oneself pressed into service aboard a renegade Federation vessel, one adapted.

Beside him, the Vulpinian shifted her weight. Her ears twitched as she tracked sounds from ahead. The way she'd moved suggested real combat experience, not the fumbling uncertainty of the engineers.

"Thea. Are the doors still closed?"

The AI's affirmative response echoed through their systems just as chaos erupted from the starboard team's position.

"What do you mean?..." Lieutenant zh'Wann's voice died mid-question.

Then came the explosion—a brilliant flash of fire and shrapnel that painted the corridor in orange and white. Through his helmet's display, Hirek saw the feed from the starboard team's perspective: a Klingon warrior, grinning with predatory satisfaction as he blasted the door open.

"*Qa'pla!*" The war cry split the air like thunder.

"Of course," Hirek muttered under his breath. "Because subtlety is clearly overrated." He'd worked with Klingons before during his intelligence days. They were effective warriors, yes, but about as subtle as a supernova.

"Starboard team, stand fast! The rest with me. Thea, open the doors!"

Hirek moved with the others as zh'Wann's team charged toward the port entrance, though he kept to the middle of the pack. Let the actual security personnel take point—they were trained for this sort of direct confrontation.

The Deputy dropped her rifle and grabbed grenades. Hirek approved—flash-bangs first, violence second. Well, *additional* violence second, given the Klingons had already commenced the slaughter portion of the evening.

Through the opening door, Hirek caught glimpses of the carnage: two Klingons sprawled on the deck, their armor scorched, but a third had made it through, his bat'leth separating a Romulan marine's head from his shoulders in a fountain of emerald blood.

Then the flash-bangs detonated.

Hirek squeezed his eyes shut, his helmet's filters barely compensating for the sensory assault. When his vision cleared, the lounge had become a painting of controlled chaos. Klingons and Romulans grappled in the center, all pretense of civilized warfare abandoned for brutal close-quarters combat.

An engineer nearby raised his phaser, hands shaking. "I... I don't know which ones to—"

"The ones not wearing Theurgy uniforms," Hirek offered dryly, bringing his own rifle up. "Deputy said shoot everything. I believe she was quite clear."

The engineer squeezed his eyes shut and fired. The orange stun bolt sailed wide, striking a decorative pillar instead of the Romulan marine it had been vaguely aimed at.

Hirek sighed quietly. He scanned the chaos with the analytical eye of a scientist observing an experiment. Three Romulans, left side. One of them was trying to flank toward the hostages. Hirek lined up the shot, compensated for the bodies between them, and fired. The Romulan dropped like a marionette with cut strings. While he didn't LIKE this kind of confrontation, that didn't mean he wasn't adequate at it.

Movement to his right. Another Romulan, this one armed with a disruptor. Hirek pivoted and fired again. Another clean hit. The Romulan crumpled.

The same engineer was now firing indiscriminately, his eyes open but his aim no better for it. "Sorry! Sorry! Oh gods, I'm so sorry!" he wailed as he fired shot after shot, hitting furniture, walls, and occasionally—*very* occasionally—a target. One of his wild shots caught a Klingon warrior in the back. The Klingon staggered forward, more surprised than hurt by the stun bolt.

"*Petaq!*" The Klingon whirled, murder in his eyes.

"I said sorry!" the engineer squeaked, backing up so fast he tripped over his own feet.

Hirek shot the Romulan the Klingon had been fighting. The warrior grunted something that might have been gratitude but sounded more like indigestion and turned back to find another opponent. On Hirek's left, another Klingon and Romulan had abandoned their weapons entirely, rolling on the ground in a tangle of limbs, fists, and creative invective in both languages. A second engineer approached them, phaser raised, clearly trying to follow zh'Wann's orders.

"Shoot... shoot them both?" he asked uncertainly.

The engineer fired twice. Both combatants went limp, still tangled together in what would have been a compromising position if either had been conscious.

Across the lounge, Ehfva had moved with the fluid grace of a predator, her twisted form ducking behind the bar with practiced efficiency. She'd found a perfect sniper's nest, her body dropping into a familiar stance as she brought her rifle up.

*Interesting,* Hirek thought, filing the observation away.

*There.* A Romulan centurion, trying to rally his scattered troops. Ehfva's rifle hummed once, and the centurion folded. Another Romulan. Another precise shot. The marine stumbled and fell, his disruptor clattering across the deck.

Hirek caught movement in his peripheral vision—a Romulan sub-commander, using the chaos as cover, circling around toward Ehfva's position.

"Ehfva!" he called out.

But it was too late. The Romulan had already closed the distance, his hand lashing out to grab Ehfva's rifle. They struggled for a moment, the Romulan's superior leverage beginning to win out as he wrenched the weapon from her grip. Ehfva didn't hesitate, didn't try to retrieve her weapon. Instead, her lips peeled back to expose sharp canines mixed in with her humanoid teeth as a low, rumbling growl emanated from deep in her chest.

The Romulan's triumphant expression faltered as Ehfva's clawed hand struck like a serpent, raking across his face. He screamed, stumbling back, and Ehfva pressed her advantage with primal efficiency. A slash to the wrist made him drop his disruptor. A strike to the throat cut off his cry. When his guard dropped, her jaws found his shoulder, and she bit down. The Romulan's scream became a gurgle. Emerald blood splattered across Ehfva's muzzle as she released him. The body hit the floor with a wet thump.

For a moment, Ehfva stood there, chest heaving, blood on her teeth. Then she calmly retrieved her phaser rifle, wiped her muzzle with the back of her hand, and resumed her sniping position as if the last ten seconds had been nothing more than a minor interruption.

To Hirek's right, one of the engineers had frozen, staring at Ehfva with wide eyes. "Did she just—"

The engineer jumped and resumed firing, though with noticeably more enthusiasm now. Fear, Hirek noted, was indeed an excellent motivator.

Another engineer's voice crackled across the comm. "I shot a Klingon again! He's not happy!"

"None of them are happy," Hirek murmured to himself, firing three rapid shots to clear a cluster of Romulans from behind an overturned table. "That's their natural state."

"I'm trying! They keep *moving*!"

*As combatants generally do, yes,* Hirek thought but didn't say. He was technically a civilian volunteer—or possibly a defector under provisional acceptance—and therefore not in a position to bark orders at actual Starfleet personnel, no matter how incompetent they might be at combat.

Through it all, the Klingons fought with the savage joy of warriors born. One had acquired a Romulan's blade and was using it with his bat'leth in a deadly dual-wielding display that was probably inefficient but undeniably impressive. Another had lifted a Romulan bodily and thrown him into two of his compatriots, sending all three sprawling.

A flash of movement caught his eye. A Romulan marine, young—barely past his mandatory service years by the look of him. The marine was down on one knee, stunned but not unconscious, his face a mask of green blood and determination as he reached for a dropped disruptor.

Hirek's rifle came up automatically, his finger on the trigger. Then he paused.

The marine's face, even bloodied and contorted with pain, was familiar. The nose, the shape of the brow ridges, even the particular angle of the jaw. Hirek knew that face, or rather, knew the family it came from. His second cousin's third son had gotten engaged some years back to a woman from one of the minor houses near the Uluma Islands. Hirek had even attended the ceremony, though he'd spent most of it cataloging the various ways the family politics could be exploited for future work.

This marine... could it be the fiancé's younger brother? The resemblance was uncanny. Same house, same features, same stubborn set to the shoulders that he remembered from the ceremony.

The marine's fingers closed around the disruptor's grip.

Hirek fired.

The orange bolt caught the marine square in the chest, and he toppled sideways, unconscious before he hit the deck. The disruptor skittered away, harmless.

*If that is who I think it is,* Hirek mused, *the family reunion is going to be spectacularly awkward. Though perhaps I should send a note: 'Apologies for the stunning. Nothing personal..'*

The sounds of combat were beginning to die down. Most of the Romulans were either unconscious or too injured to continue fighting. The Klingons were still looking for opponents, their bloodlust not yet satisfied, but they were running out of targets.

Then, from the center of the chaos, a voice rang out. "Enough!"

The tallest Romulan marine Hirek had ever seen—easily matching the Klingons for sheer size—stood with his hands raised, his disruptor on the ground at his feet. "We surrender! By the stars, we *surrender*!"

Around him, the remaining conscious Romulans began lowering their weapons, hands rising in surrender. Some looked relieved. Others looked disgusted with themselves. All looked exhausted.

The Klingons, predictably, were having none of it.

"*Qapla'be'!*" one roared, his bat'leth still raised. "No honor in surrender! Fight!"

The tall Romulan marine shook his head slowly, blood trickling from a cut above his eye. "We have lost. There is no shame in recognizing this truth. We will face judgment as prisoners."

"*Verengan Ha'DIbaH!*" Another Klingon kicked a disruptor toward a downed Romulan. "Pick up your weapon! Fight like a warrior!"

The Romulan, conscious but clearly in pain, just shook his head and kept his hands visible and empty.

"This is pathetic!" A third Klingon was practically dancing with frustration, his bat'leth weaving patterns in the air. "Where is the honor? Where is the glory? You surrender like *Ferengi*!"

"We surrender like soldiers who know when they are defeated," the tall Romulan said with quiet dignity. "If that lacks honor in your eyes, Klingon, then so be it."

Hirek lowered his rifle, watching the standoff with bemusement. *Klingons attempting to goad Romulans into suicide-by-combat. At least some things are predictable in this universe.*

An engineer nearby was still firing sporadic shots at nothing in particular, his targeting discipline having completely evaporated in the chaos. "Should I shoot them? Should I shoot the Klingons? Should I—"

Another engineer grabbed his arm. "Stop! Combat's over!"

Across the lounge, Ehfva rose from her position, her rifle held loosely but ready. She caught Hirek's eye and nodded once—a simple acknowledgment between two people who had just survived combat together. She wiped the remaining blood from her muzzle with a methodical precision that somehow made the gesture more disturbing than if she'd left it.

Hirek looked down at the unconscious marine at his feet—possibly his distant relative, possibly a stranger who just happened to share familiar features. Either way, the young fool would wake up in a holding cell with nothing worse than a pounding headache and a bruised ego.

An engineer stumbled past, looking shell-shocked. "I shot so many people. I kept saying I was sorry!"

"Yes," another crewman replied wearily. "We all heard you."

As he moved toward the door, he nearly collided with Ehfva, who had descended from her sniper's perch.

"You called the warning," she said quietly. "Thank you."

Hirek inclined his head slightly. "You're welcome. Though I see you had the situation... handled." He paused. "That was quite effective. Unconventional by Federation standards, but effective."

Ehfva's ears flicked in what might have been amusement or embarrassment—he didn't know her well enough to read the gesture. "Old training. From before."

"Ah." Hirek understood that. Everyone had a 'before'—the person they'd been before circumstances reshaped them.

Behind them, a Klingon was still trying to convince a Romulan prisoner to pick up a weapon. The Romulan was pointedly ignoring him.

Somewhere, an engineer was apologizing to an unconscious body.

[ Lt. Enyd Isolde Madsen | V. 1 | D. 2 | Diplomatic Suite ]

Enyd's green eyes tracked the exchange between Kino and Jaeih with the analytical precision she'd honed over years of diplomatic negotiations—though only a few of those negotiations involved quite so much creative profanity. The ship shuddered again under another barrage, and she felt that familiar burn of controlled fury in her chest, the same fire that had kept her alive through Cardassia, through torture, through watching Javec bleed out in her arms.

*Damn it, Donatra.*

But this wasn't about Donatra. Not yet. This was about Jaeih—arrogant, manipulative, and currently offering exactly what Enyd needed, even if the Romulan's motivations were as transparent as transparisteel.

She moved forward, her movements deliberate and controlled despite the adrenaline singing through her veins. Her grandmother would have called what she was about to do "Montana pragmatism"—doing what needed to be done, regardless of how messy it got.

"Jaeih," Enyd began, her Mid-Atlantic accent crisp and clear as she folded her arms across her chest. "Your timing is impeccable, I'll give you that. Almost as if you were waiting for precisely the right moment of desperation to make your grand entrance." She paused, letting a sardonic smile curve her lips. "Though I suppose that's rather the point of good intelligence work, isn't it?"

The ship shook again, and Enyd's smile faded, replaced by the steel-hard determination that had earned her both commendations and censure throughout her career.

"Here's what you need to understand before we go any further with this little arrangement." Enyd took a step closer to Jaeih, close enough that the Romulan would have no doubt about the sincerity of her words. "Commander Stark has already given me clearance to lead a team aboard Donatra's flagship. Not to negotiate a ceasefire—that ship, pardon the expression, has sailed the moment she went dark on all our hails and started shooting."

Enyd's voice dropped, taking on the matter-of-fact tone she'd used countless times when explaining harsh political realities to idealistic junior diplomats. "I'm going over there to confront Donatra directly, to demand her surrender while another team deals with her thalaron weapon. We've already been given the green light."

She let that information settle for a moment, watching Jaeih's expression for any flicker of surprise or recalculation. Diplomacy was, at its core, the art of managing information—when to reveal it, when to withhold it, and how to use it to maximum advantage.

"So yes, Jaeih, I will absolutely accept your offer of assistance." Enyd's tone remained pleasant, almost conversational, as if they were discussing trade agreements rather than a potentially suicidal mission. "Your intimate knowledge of the flagship's layout could prove invaluable. But let's be crystal clear about the stakes here."

Enyd ticked off points on her fingers. "First: If you're leading us into a trap—which, let's be honest, is absolutely what Kino thinks you're doing—you will die. Probably by Donatra's hand when she realizes you've betrayed her. Possibly by Kino's hand when she realizes you've betrayed *us*. Either way, I'm not authorizing anyone to stop either woman from killing you."

"Second:" Enyd continued, her green eyes hardening as she held Jaeih's gaze. "If you're genuinely interested in those 'assurances regarding the future of your people' that you mentioned, you might want to take a good look at the tactical display. There's a new Romulan-Reman faction that has announced its presence on the outskirts of this battlefield. Perfectly capable of wiping us all out—Donatra's forces, the Klingons, the Theurgy, everyone—but they're hanging back. Watching. Waiting to see how this plays out before they make their move."

She let that sink in, watching for any reaction. This was the gambit—the information that would either solidify Jaeih's cooperation or expose her true allegiances.

"So ask yourself, Jaeih," Enyd said, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper despite the noise of battle around them. "Which faction do you want to place your bets on? Donatra, who's already demonstrated she's willing to fire on allies the moment they don't comply with her every demand? Us, who've been trying desperately to maintain this alliance despite every reason to abandon it? Or that new faction out there, the one that could reshape the entire political landscape of the Romulan Star Empire?"

Enyd straightened, her diplomatic mask slipping back into place as she addressed both Jaeih and Kino. "The way I see it, you have three options. Die with Donatra when her ship is destroyed or she executes you for treachery. Die with us if you betray us and Kino makes good on her very colorful threats. Or help us end this engagement quickly, survive, and actually have a voice in whatever comes next for your people when that new faction makes their move."

Enyd's expression softened slightly as she looked at Kino—the Trill who'd become a friend through shared chaos and the kind of dark humor that only came from surviving multiple near-death experiences. "I'm asking you to trust my judgment here. Keep your rifle trained on her every step of the way if it makes you feel better—and frankly, it makes *me* feel better too. But we're going to use what she's offering, because right now, it's the best chance we have to end this without everyone dying."

She turned back to Jaeih, and the warmth drained from her expression, replaced by the cold calculation of someone who'd learned the hard way that diplomacy sometimes required dancing with vipers.

"So here's the deal, Jaeih. You get us onto that flagship. You help us reach Donatra. If your intelligence proves accurate and you don't betray us, I'll personally advocate for whatever 'assurances' you need when this is over. I may be a Federation diplomat, but I've got contacts—" she thought briefly of Anderson, of V'Lani, of all the strings that had been pulled throughout her life "—and I keep my promises."

"But if you fuck us," Enyd added, her Montana roots showing through in the blunt profanity, "you won't live long enough to regret it. Kino will make sure of that. And if by some miracle you survive her, I'll make it my personal mission to ensure the rest of your very short life is spectacularly unpleasant."

The threat hung in the air, and Enyd knew it was genuine. The diplomat who'd once naively believed in justice and truth had died in a secret holding on Cardassia. The woman who stood here now was harder, sharper, willing to do whatever was necessary to protect her crew and complete her mission.

"So," Enyd said, her tone shifting back to something approaching professional courtesy. "Are we doing this, or do I need to find another way onto that flagship? Because one way or another, I'm going. The only question is whether you're coming with us or going into a holding cell."

She glanced at Kino, then back at Jaeih, waiting for the Romulan's response. Behind her diplomatic composure, Enyd's mind was already racing through contingencies. Plan A: Use Jaeih's knowledge to infiltrate the flagship. Plan B: Improvise something equally insane if Jaeih proved unreliable. Plan C: Well, Plan C usually involved a lot of running and hoping someone had a better idea.

The ship shuddered again, a reminder that time was running out.

"What's it going to be?" Enyd asked. "Because we need to move. Now."

Her green eyes never left Jaeih's face, reading every micro-expression, every subtle shift in body language. This was what she'd been trained for—not just negotiating treaties in comfortable conference rooms, but making life-or-death calls in the middle of chaos, with incomplete information and impossible odds.

*Cowboy diplomacy,* she thought with dark humor. *Anderson always said it would either get me promoted or killed.*

Given their current situation, she figured it was about fifty-fifty which one it would be.
 
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