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Parallel Universes - "What if?" / Re: [2376] Entanglement of Chaos
Last post by RyeTanker -Ensign Zark tried to not groan under the pressure of her ascent back to relative safety as the sound of massed energy fire screamed behind her. It was hard though despite the effects of the pain killer running through her veins and an occasional whimper would escape if her exhaled breath couldn't hold back the pain. Her head was sort of swimming, but not enough to induce nausea as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other while the motorized clamp assisted pulled her up the high tensile polymer rope.
The battered Andorian also didn't mind when she reached the lip at the top and was pulled over the side onto nice safe flat ground. A pat on her shoulder instinctually told her it was Enyd, and she gave the hand a solid grip as she reached it. Her mind wondered at the feeling of just lying there for a bit, but she had to roll over to relieve the pressure from her abused front. Lying there for a moment, she breathed of a moment, enjoying the few seconds of tranquility she had, then set to painfully coughing as smoke and dust hung in the air. This was soon lost a crying rogue tech was carried up and unceremoniously dumped on the ground. "This would go a lot faster if you untied me and let me walk." Trooper Eset snorted his disdain of this idea. "And give you some tools to escape, hardly." The chubby looking soldier gripped the back of the alien's shirt and picked her up. "That's enough relaxation, time to go." He took a moment to look at the laid out Andorian. "Sorry sir, but that goes for you too. No time to waste." Ensign Zark nodded at this and summoned her strength to get moving as more Cardassian commandos made their way up the lift shaft. The sound of fighting was definitely getting closer, so Ghin Tolran's counter attack hadn't quite broken the will of the enemy into a full retreat. Said officer soon came up, and looked back down. "Come on Sevet!! I'll cover you!" He unsung his rifle to get ready. Zark took off with everyone else, but there was a muted scream from the bottom of the shaft and the Ghin let out a stream of invective. "You can still make it!" Zark didn't hear the reply, but a short while afterwards, a loud pair of explosions reverberated from the direction of the lift, and Zark said a silent prayer for the man who'd blown himself up to cover their withdrawal.
The group quickly made their way out of the building, being delayed briefly as they discovered their original exit route had been collapsed from a hit that got close enough. It was still a relief then they reached the exit and were treated to the sight of a wrecked base that was once again smoking and burning. Several had collapsed and new craters dotted the moonscape with some smoking while others had set other bits of detritus on fire. "Enough gawking, let's go!" Ghin Torlan commanded and the group rushed out. Ensign Zark was unsure if artillery was still going to fall on the base, but she needn't have worried as a bright lance of fire descended from the sky and smashed a location not too far off in the forest. Whatever fireball would have erupted from the target was lost in the space grade explosion over the tops of the trees that signalled the annihilation of their tormentor that had set the entire fiasco in motion. A massive pressure wave roared over the forest, shaking leaves to the ground in great sheets while animals bolted in every direction in terror. Zark felt herself get buffeted by the blast and her body complained eliciting a grunt of protest a she held up one arm in front of her face and gritted her teeth waiting for the pressure wave to pass. Lowering her arm for a moment, she saw the rising fireball turn itself into a mushroom cloud and her lips twisted into a grimace at whatever had been on the receiving end.
Shaking her head, the group ran into the tree line as fast as their legs could carry them. This was not that easy since they now had a couple of reluctant prisoners, one of which who was actively trying to free himself from the two big troopers dragging him bodily, letting his feet create tracks in the ground. The Ompayan was mostly trying, but it was hard with her hands tied behind her back. Ensign Zark was trying, but having gone through the equivalent of a one sided boxing round versus male heavy weights left her panting and coughing. About three quarters of the way, she could feel the pain killer and stim start to wear off and she collided with a tree in an attempt to catch her breath. Her body wretched a few times as her head swam for moment, and the sound of her being violently ill followed. She was on her knees, hanging onto the wood, breathing putrid bile, a string of mucous stubbornly clung to her before she snorted a bloddy glob and spat it off. Wiping her mouth, someone helped her up, and she groaned as her torso and neck sent throbs of pain through her nervous system. Thus it was a relief when they reached the vehicles and she threw herself into the seat and buckled the safety harness. Zark gritted her teeth when the straps pressed against her body and she tried to steel herself one more time for the bumpy ride ahead.