Retaking Engineering

Posted on 12 May 2015 @ 4:15pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Commander C. Kos & Lieutenant Hictus Dicon

2,986 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Boarded
Location: Main Engineering

Helen struggled with her arm, it did not fit quite right and the wired connections were not lined up properly and occasionally it caused her fingers to not grip as they should but it was better then none. A doctor's visit would be necessary after this excursion but she could live with it for now. Yates paused as she listened for sounds on the other side of the panel, hearing none. She said "I'm going to open it now, ready." It was more of a statement then a question but it could be taken as either. She pushed at the panel until it released and she grabbed it before it fell and moved it and slid out the tube.

Harvey was right behind her with his stolen Syndicate weapon in hand. They had found a weapons locker on Deck Four, which is why a Starfleet phaser was also attached to his waist. The rest of the team had also been able to arm themselves. Otherwise, storming Engineering with only one armed person would have been suicide.

He gestured to the rest of the team that coming out of the Jefferies tube to stay put. Harvey moved to the edge of the junction and carefully peered around the bend. He didn't see anyone, but if they were patrolling, that could change at any moment. The Captain then gestured for someone to check their rear to be sure no one was coming.

Dicon clambered out of the tube, rifle sliding smoothly into his hands, the faint hum it made as he had pressed the symbol he know to mean "kill" was the only noise he made. Moving softly to the opposing bulkhead he scanned the walk way to the way they had entered Engineering. All was clear but... "Aaaahhaaa" Dicon reached and tugging on Geisler's uniform, pointed. Four mines had been placed on the decking, and two more on the ceiling "Dominon leaping mines." Dicon whispered. "Five meter kill radius, fifteen meter injury radius."

What the hell is a Dominion leaping mine? Mac asked herself. She had graduated the Academy the only a few months before the war ended. She had spent several weeks of her Cadet Cruise engaged on the front line. But all of that time was onboard the Agincourt; she hadn't been involved in any ground battles. I'm going to have to look those up when this is all over, she noted.

"I don't suppose you can disable them quietly and quickly?" Harvey asked with narrowed eyes. He didn't anticipate walking right into Engineering, but mining the corridor was shy of being ridiculous.

Dicon grinned "What do take me for Captain? Just give me two minutes with them" Dicon slide forward, moving softly and in a half crouch as to not alert the mines. Quickly he worked constantly having to change his setting as the mines algorithms moved to change. Finally he turned and gave the Captain a thumbs up, before moving slowly to the other side of the corridor to cover the other side.

"All right," Harvey said softly, looking back at his crew, taking a quick inventory. Him. Kos. Yates. Moore. "No telling how many are in there. Set for stun, and whatever you do, don't shoot at the warp core. Kos and I will go around. Wait for my signal."

Pointing at Yates and Moore, he gestured for them to join Dicon while he and Kos went the opposite way to a different junction from which to storm Engineering.

Yates followed Dicon and prepared to do what she needed to do. She doubled or was it tripled checked her phaser setting once more.

Dicon lead the others down a side passage, his legs moving onto places he knew would make no noise. He motioned for the others to follow him, he wanted to get to his station. Unfortunately this meant ether climbing to the third level of Engineering or another crawl through Jeffrey's tubs.

Harvey and Kos made their way towards Engineering, intending to walk in the front door. Hiding in a gangway near the main entrance, Harvey peered out to see two guards standing outside. He ducked back into the gangway and checked the charge (at least what he thought was the charge) on the Syndicate weapon. "You know," Harvey said, smiling at Kos. "I could just walk right up to them. They took me alive before." He might've been delaying their entry period, but he had to give the rest of the team time to get into position.

"That is one option. But give me a second," Mac said, pulling out her tricorder. She had been operating her tricorder in stand-alone mode since the Black Hawk's computer was locked out. She touched a series of controls on the handheld sensing device. "I'm tying my tricorder into one of the shuttlecraft. I'll be able to utilize the shuttle's sensors and computer processors and memory." She turned to look Geisler in the eyes, smiling. "And the Syndicate won't even know."

"You can do that?" Harvey asked looking down at the tricorder. Of course she could do that... he mused. "What're we looking at in there? And I don't suppose you could get some form of communications going from that shuttle, either?"

"The sensors on the shuttle are much better than the tricorder's. We can get a full picture of where everyone is in Engineering. Helps with forming a tactical plan. Hopefully you know more about that than I do," she responded. "We can route our comm badges through the shuttle too. The issue, however, is that each communication would add to the amount of background subspace activity. The more activity, the more likely we'll be noticed."

Harvey had been though enough battles to know about tactics. He just hoped he could adjust enough for full effect and not leave the rest of the team in the dark. No. He couldn't leave the rest in the dark, not when the heart of the ship was at stake. "Let's hope they're too busy to notice," he said. "Wait for the comms until we know for sure what's in there."

She nodded as she got to work scanning Main Engineering using the shuttle's sensors. She had to utilize a lower frequency passive sensor systems to keep things covert. This also meant that it took several passes of the scans to provide a full picture. The life sign readings indicated 6 people, representing various species, were presently in Engineering. With the 2 guards, that meant 8 people to deal with. Mac turned the tricorder so Harvey could see the screen. "Normally, I'd just say we beam the intruders out. But since we're confined to the use of a shuttlecraft, we don't have enough capacity to grab everyone at once. And after we grabbed the first two, the gig would be up."

Harvey studied the screen for a few moments. They were spread throughout the room in a way that there was no way the team, even in its divided fashion, could safely retake Engineering. There had to be another way. "What if you and I beamed in?"

Kos smiled broadly. "You are a sneaky man Harvey. I like that." She turned the tricorder back towards herself and ran a couple more scans. "There are a couple of beam in sites we could use. Take your pick."

"Here," Harvey said, pointing behind the warp core. "We should be able to get the drop on them here. Since they're acting like they want to take the ship, they won't risk shooting the warp core. Dicon and the rest of the team can come in through the forward Jefferies tubes and surround them while the guns are pointed at us."

Mackenzie nodded, and began working the controls on her tricorder.

"If you can't raise the comms, how about sending a text message to Dicon's tricorder?"

"It's not that I can't raise the comms, but rather that it increases our risk of being noticed." She flashed Harvey a smile. "Don't doubt my abilities. I'm amazing." She then tapped out a message to the Chief Engineer and relayed it to his tricorder.

Harvey stood up, prompting Kos to do the same. They'd have to be ready for anything the moment they beamed in. "Whenever you're ready, Commander," he said to the red headed woman, "Energize."

Kos nodded and keyed in the sequence.


:: Jefferies Tube Access ::

The message on the screen read: "Standby on forward Jefferies Tubes. Wait for my signal. HG."

Dicon glanced at his tricorder and glowered. Great, an ambush. How lovely . He whispered to the others "Alright, Geisler wants us to wait here, set your weapons for bear." Dicon grunted. "I just hope he gets it right"

Eric tightened the grip he had on his phaser rifle. If only he'd had some way to gather some of his security force. Who knew how many were alive or otherwise indisposed?

Helen Yates nodded and checked her weapon once more. "Ready" she whispered


:: Engineering ::

Materializing behind the warp core, exactly where Harvey had wanted, afford Mac the opportunity to perform a quick scan before holstering her tricorder. "Roughly the same positions as before," she informed Geisler at a whisper while pulling her phaser from its place on her hip. Luckily, the ambient sounds of Main Engineering helped to cover her voice. "How do you want to do this?"

If Harvey's memory served him correctly (and now was not the time to fail him), all six members of the Syndicate were on the main floor. At least something was working into their favor. He glanced upward, seeing a dead crewman dangling over the edge of a catwalk. "The easy way, I hope," Harvey replied, readying his weapon. "Stick close to the core. I just hope they won't shoot it."

"Would this be a bad time to quote regulations?"

Harvey didn't answer, knowing full well Kos would let him have it once this was over. He slipped out from behind the core and aimed at the closest member of the Syndicate. No one had noticed him yet, and no one was even looking. That changed the moment he'd pulled the trigger.

Mac sighed, frustrated that Harvey had rushed to action. She had been really close to kissing him, and his hastiness had just cost them of that particular intimacy. Mac also felt immense relief at the situation. She was always afraid of rejection, and had a history of getting the signs wrong from men. Oh well, she thought, mirroring Geisler's movements, slipping around the opposite side of the core and firing off a shot at a Syndicate goon. Her shot went a little wide, reminding Kos that she needed to spend more time in the holodeck practicing her marksmanship. Ducking back behind the core, she took a deep breath and then edged back out and fired her phaser again. This time, the beam hit the intruder squarely in the midsection, dropping him instantly. He hit the deck with a hefty thud.

In the Jeffries Tube, Eric heard the phaser discharge. "That's the signal!" Phaser rifle at the ready, he emerged from the Jeffries Tube and fired at the first Syndicate member he saw. As the alien fell to the floor, the two guards who were standing outside Engineering turned into the room, both of them firing at Lieutenant Moore. The lieutenant hadn't a moment to react before the two blasts met his torso, prompting him to stagger backwards before falling to the floor.

Yates took a deep breath and followed, Helen readied her phaser looked briefly and fired at the enemy. She watched as they were hit and staggered, they fired back and she dodged to the left. Paused turned and fired again. "Go down dammit" she muttered as they staggered again.

The disruptor rifles recoil thumped the stock into Dicon's shoulder as he kept firing short precise bursts at any Syndicate goons he could see, remembering to change his setting from "Kill" to "stun". Captains orders and all but still these men deserve no mercy for damaging my ship. He vaulted out of his firing position to oversee the action better.

Dicon grinned humorless. we are discharging weapons to what is to all intents and purposes a massive anti matter tank. I am going to make sure that the Captain hears about this after we take the ship back from these grubbers. A sound made him spin, a goon was rushing him with a wickedly long knife. Dicon swung his rifle up to catch the desending blade, knocking it from the goons grasp. He was knocked backwards from the weight, and also rolled off the gantry if he had not had the presence of mind to lean forward. They rolled around, the rifle between them. Dicon and the goon tried to hit him with the rifles stock. Dicon yanked it upwards and planting his foot with care he kicked the goon off him. Knowing that he had lost he removed what very much looked like a grenade. Dicon shot him three times, the shock threw the man backwards. Gasping but managing to move to a kneeling position he fired speculative shots at the other Syndicate members but they were too well hidden. Dicon looked around and grinned again.

Harvey ducked behind the inactive warp core as a couple phaser blasts flew past where his head would have been. Glancing over to Kos, he saw her peeking in the open firing her own weapon. With a deep breath, Harvey stepped out from behind the core, firing off a couple rapid shots where he knew a Syndicate member was hiding. Using this tactic, Harvey advanced to crouch behind a nearby console in order to get a better firing position on some of the other goons.

That was when he saw Lieutenant Moore fall from Syndicate fire. He couldn't focus on that end of Engineering, that was for Dicon and Yates. Instead, he fired at a henchman who stuck his head out from behind a different console, landing the shot square in his chest.

Four down. Four to go. At least the odds now were even.

Yates continued to move and fire each time she struck someone but it only staggered them briefly. Finally Helen found a place to stand her ground behind the corner of a console. She glanced up once, as the Syndicate fired over her head she ducked back and took a deep breath came out and fired once more. She held onto the button and watched as they crumpled. "Gotcha, now stay down."

Harvey continued to fire from his position. Seeing Yates and Dicon bottlenecked by the Jeffries Tube, he leaned out and fired several shots in the direction of the remaining Dosi, providing cover fire to give time for Yates and Dicon to settle in. Only three Syndicate henchmen were still standing. He saw one reaching for his radio. Harvey instantly adjusted his aim and fired at the Dosi, striking the radio. The device exploded immediately. Harvey's second shot caught the poor individual in his chest, causing him to fall.

Two henchmen remained.

A quick peak from her firing position behind the warp core allowed Mac to locate one of the remaining Syndicate goons. This one was tall and muscular. Though his species was unknown to Mac, she decided he looked a bit like a Nausicaan. She snapped off two quick shots, both of which struck the target. He crumbled into a rather large heap on the deck plating.

"I can't see the last one Harvey. How about you?"

Harvey peeked out from his console to survey the room. Seven bodies were on the floor, and it suddenly became very quiet in the lifeless room. "Everyone pair up!" he ordered, rising to his feet with his phaser still drawn. Keeping his eyes on where the action was, he crossed the room to stand near Kos, thinking that if the lone survivor tried to shoot at anyone, they'd be that much quicker in taking him or her out.

The man crumpled up, and as he fell it was apparent that he had done so because Hictus had shot him in the back from a very high gantry. "Walk that off you BiHnuch!" He called down.

Harvey counted the number of bodies on the floor, and relieved to see that all of the targets were accounted for. "Clear!" he called out, lowering his weapon and surveying the room once more, thankful that there was no major visible damage.

Suddenly, all of the radios declared at once, "Initiate retreat evac!" Harvey recognized the voice as the one in charge who had been barking numerous orders over the radios when he was first imprisoned.

As Paradan and others disappeared throughout the ship he yelled a guttural curse thrown out in some language the universal translator could not translate at Harvey and the others.

Mac's ears perked up at the voice. She couldn't place it, but the voice triggered something in her brain.

Before anyone could do anything more, the few active consoles began to flicker, their controls and appearance slowly disappearing into a lifeless black screen. "Kos?" Harvey asked, knowing exactly what he was seeing, but needed confirmation.

"Dammit!" Mac shouted. "The computer is going down," she stated, pulling out her tricorder. She tried to access the Black Hawk's computer. In her hurry, she fumbled her tricorder, though she managed to recover quickly, catching the handheld sensing device before it hit the ground. The tricorder sounded a tone informing the First Officer that a connection with the Black Hawk's mainframe.

"Not good. Not good at all," she said as she watched the ship's system files purge themselves. "We've got a big problem Harvey."

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