Taming the Beast
Posted on 26 Jul 2016 @ 9:20pm by Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Commodore Harvey Geisler
3,488 words; about a 17 minute read
Mission:
Risky Business
Location: USS Chimera
Timeline: MD 6 || 1110 Hours
There was no turning back now. Joey was officially on board the enemy ship, and the nerves she'd felt earlier were gone. Now they were replaced by anger. Anger so deep rooted she had to fight back the red bleeding into her vision. She needed to keep a level head, and though it didn't seem possible, she somehow managed to calm herself. Maybe it was what was waiting for her back on the Black Hawk, or maybe it was sheer will. Whatever it was, though... did the trick.
She surveyed her surroundings as she activated the FM transmitter in her mouth. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea considering whoever was on the other side monitoring things, would now hear everything she did, but it was necessary.
Based on the hours of studying up on the Intrepid class deck listings, she was currently on Deck eight near Cargo Bay two. She had a couple decks to go to get down to Engineering... her preferred area of action. The use of a turbolift was off limits to her. Those would surely be shut down the second she was spotted by the enemy crew in hopes of preventing her from accessing other parts of the ship. That meant, the best option presented to her was a nearby hatch that led to the Jeffries tube.
Joey quickly reached into one of her thigh packs to produce one of the extra combadges she decided to bring with her. Thankfully, she'd thought to link them directly to her own. She found a good spot to attach it to the bulkhead and grinned. If they decided to search for her when they finally realized she was there, they'd see her in multiple places at once, which would buy her a little time. Unless they looked for life signs, and that was a much better possibility. Though, the extra combadges would serve another purpose, too
With another deep breath, she moved to the hatch and opened it. So much for not wanting to be caught in a tight space, she muttered, closing the hatch behind her once she was inside. Her current plan was to get down to deck ten where there was direct access to the second level of Engineering if she needed it. The quicker she could get out of the Jeffries tube, the better off she'd be. She wasn't claustrophobic by any means, but being stuck somewhere like this on an enemy ship wasn't on her list of favorite places to be.
Lieutenant Junior Grade sh'Rhan, along with a pair of security officers, entered Cargo Bay 2 just as the ship shuddered from another hit. The Andorian thought this whole thing was insane, fighting a Consortium ship. Of course, they'd been preparing for this event for the last two days, the moment they'd found that probe from the USS Black Hawk. And, of course they'd suspected that the traitors would use a page out of their own playbook by beaming aboard a security team.
Still, when the computer detected the unauthorized intrusion, he'd been ready. And, naturally, the cargo bay was quiet. Not a soul besides his three would be seen. "Split up," he'd told them as they entered. "Shoot on sight." Though the bay was quite large and fully stocked, the team made quick work of searching the area. It was the Andorian who found a combadge slapped to a bulkhead. He smiled, knowing that the number of intruders was certainly a small number, and that this individual meant business.
"Computer," sh'Rhan called out as the ship shuddered again. "How many lifesigns are in Jefferies tube Oh-Eight-Foxtrot?"
"Warning. Internal sensors have been damaged," came the computer's immediate reply. "Accuracy is estimated at forty percent. Confirm request for scan."
The Andorian shook his head. Anything less than one hundred percent he deemed absolutely unacceptable. "sh'Rhan to Environmental. Flood Jefferies Tube Oh-Eight-Foxtrot with Anesthizine."
Joey stopped moving when the hissing of gas begin to filter in and muttered a curse. It was official. They knew her exact location, and planned to try to flush her out. Nope... this just couldn't be easy, she mused, wrapping an arm around the ladder she was climbing down to keep herself secure while she used her free hand to access one of her packs. It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for, either, and for that... she was grateful.
With the gas mask in hand, the annoyed woman secured it into place and turned it on. This was definitely not on her list of fun things to do. In fact, if she made it out... which she planned... she was never going into another Jeffries tube as long as she lived.
She looked up to see how far down she'd managed to make it and muttered a curse. Joey still had a ways to go, and the second they realized she was still alive, something even nastier would be coming her way. There was no time to mess around anymore, and the fact the fighters were firing on the ship... She knew it was necessary even if it was very inconvenient for her.
"If this is the best you've got, then you're all in a lot more trouble than you realize," Corwin muttered as she secured the exographic targeting sensor back in place. Now, was hustle time. Her need to get to deck ten was still great, but she had to get out before something else could happen. The hatch leading to deck nine was within reach, but instead of opening it, she used the sensor to see what she was going to be dealing with... or rather... who.
sh'Rhan waisted no time in mobilizing security. If his suspicions were correct and there was one intruder, he couldn't be sure where the individual was going. Options included the Bridge, Engineering, even the computer core. Despite the battle that raged outside the ship, sh'Rhan sent every available person to guard the critical areas, leaving teams of two to approach Oh-Eight-Foxtrot from Decks Seven and Nine.
Through sh'Rhan wasn't in this team (he had moved to a control point on Deck Ten to access forcefield controls), two armed personnel began to run down the hall, wearing gas masks, as they approached the entry point to the Jeffries tube. Hopefully by now the intruder had been knocked out and this would be over quickly.
Well... this just got interesting, Joey thought as she saw two bodies approach. Her gut told her they were going to come in after her with the hope the gas did the trick and knocked her out. Well... today just wasn't going to be their day. She climbed just a touch more and turned her gaze down to the hatch that was just beneath her booted feet, then held on with one hand while the other trained her phaser straight down. With her thumb, she quickly changed the beam setting to narrow and waited.
The team arrived at the junction hatch. One pulled out a tricorder to scan inside the tube. "There's enough gas in there to knock out a Nausicaan," he remarked. Still, with his phaser at the ready, he entered a command in the nearby panel and opened the hatch.
"Except... I'm a lot more awesome, and so much prettier than a Nausicaan," Joey said, sliding down the ladder when the hatch opened. She leveled her phaser, on wide beam, and pointed it through the open hatch, firing on her two adversaries.
Both fell as the deck lurched, likely from weapons fire from the fighters. Nearby, an explosion tore through a bulkhead, igniting a plasma fire. The computer reacted momentarily, raising forcefields around the corridor sections, securing the plasma fire. One of Joey's assailants became trapped behind this forcefield as the computer tried to vacuum out the air to extinguish the fire.
Joey continued sliding down the ladder, but caught herself halfway between decks nine and ten just as the explosion ripped through the bulkhead. Thankfully, she wasn't around to see the poor bastard get cooked by the plasma fire he was trapped with. She slammed against the ladder when her body jerked from catching herself and muttered a curse. That was going to leave a mark. Sadly, there was no time to focus on it. She continued her way down, looking to see what was waiting for her on deck ten.
Elsewhere, sh'Rhan slapped his combadge. "Peters! Gomez! Report!" This was the third time he'd tried to contact them, and by this point, he could only assume the worst. Either the intruder was still on Deck Nine or was on his or her way down further. "I don't have time for this," he muttered. He activated forcefields in the Jeffries tubes, separating Oh-Eight Foxtrot from Decks Ten and Eleven, as well as a perimeter ten meters in either direction from any access port. He left the substation, phaser in hand. This intruder wasn't going far.
"Oh, this gets better and better. I hope whoever survives this has nightmares about me for the rest of their natural lives," Joey muttered, changing the level on her phaser to level sixteen. Since she couldn't get to any of the access ports the conventional way, she was going to make one of her own, and that's exactly what she did. She switched her phaser out for a new one, tucking the spent one inside one of her thigh packs. The second she was able to get through, she did, dropping down onto whatever deck was closest to her.
Lieutenant sh'Rhan arrived with a partner to the barricaded Jeffries Tube. He'd already directed all available officers to that location, even drafting some unlikely blue-collared individuals in the process. As far as he was concerned, when it came to protecting the ship in an ultimate crisis, everyone was security. For now, though, all he could do was wait.
Ensigns T'Proll and Surok were patrolling Deck Eleven near Oh-Eight-Foxtrot when T'Proll's Vulcan hearing picked up an unexpected thud behind a bulkhead. She quickly pulled out her tricorder and scanned beyond the bulkhead, picking up the lifesign of the intruder. She nodded to her Vulcan companion and gestured at the nearby hatch. They'd rehearsed this scenario many times before, a common exercise during drills. Surok quickly knelt in front of the hatch while T'Proll moved to open it. As soon as the hatch cover cracked open, Surok began to fire with his compression rifle short bursts down the horizontal tube.
T'Proll, meanwhile, tapped her combadge. "T'Proll to sh'Rhan. The intruder is on Deck Eleven."
Joey wasn't sure which deck she was near, but there would be a few very short seconds to figure it out the second she was able to get out. Using the exographic targeting sensor to lock on to the two individuals by the hatch, Corwin closed her eyes and took a deep breath, staying just off to the side of the compression rifle bursts that were meant to take her out. She didn't want to kill anyone, but when it came down to it, it had to be them... or her. There was no question who she would choose.
Setting the second phaser in her hand on level sixteen, she leveled it at the hatch and fired.
Despite the barrage he was laying down, Surok saw movement he didn't anticipate. His mind quickly calculated the odds, and he immediately determined there was no chance he'd survive a direct hit from what could be a stun blast. What he didn't expect as he moved out of the way was such a highly concentrated blast to pierce the space he'd just vacated, nor the gaping hole it left in the multiple bulkheads behind him.
Though the blast shook him, T'Proll came to his aid, laying suppressive fire down the Jeffries Tube with her hand phaser.
Corwin reached into one of her thigh packs and produced one of the anethizine grenades she brought with her. If she didn't have to kill anyone else, she wasn't going to, and the pain radiating from her shoulder was starting to get worse. She pulled the pin and tossed it through the opened hatch once the gas inside began to seep out, thanking the fates she still had her gas mask on. Now all she needed to do was wait.
The canister hit the floor with a clank and rolled towards the Vulcan female. She knew instantly what it was, and she quickly felt the effects of it. Still, she reached down to throw it back and did so just before she slumped unconscious to the deck. Her fellow ensign next to her suffered the same fate.
On the far end of the deck, a good distance away from the intruder and certainly out of sight, the turbolift opened, depositing sh'Rhan and two officers, all now carrying Phaser Rifles. "Computer!" He called out. "Seal off Deck Eleven. Forcefields at every junction. Authorization sh'Rhan Nine-Six-Six-Tango-Foxtrot." He was tired of chasing this intruder, and if he had to manually shut down every forcefield on the way to the intruder, that's exactly what he would do.
Joey took a deep breath and let it out slowly, surveying what was going on with the exographic targeting sensor. If there was anyone coming, she wanted to know about them before she finally made her way out into the corridor. She couldn't believe the majority of this was done from the confined space of a Jeffries tube. Camila was certainly going to have a field day with that when she found out about it.
She reached into the second thigh pack and produced a stun grenade, though she didn't pull the pin. The plan was to wait until she knew the enemy was close enough before tossing it. Once she got out of this, she was going to toss back a few shots, then sleep for a couple of days.
Lieutenant sh'Rhan continued to move forward, having his guards stand watch as they slowly moved along the corridor. The Andorian had routed forcefield control to his tricorder, enabling him to quickly deactivate and reactivate forcefields as he passed. Surely, he'd hear about this from the engineers as these fields would likely hinder their efforts to affect repairs while the Chimera fought her external attackers.
As if that thought was a magical cue, the ship's floor lurched greatly. Somewhere, a lucky shot had careened the Chimera into a different direction and the dampeners were struggling to compensate. The power on the deck fluctuated, and sh'Rhan watched in anger as several of the forcefields dropped. A glance at his tricorder informed him that the generators were cycling, and they'd be back online in five... four...
Joey hung on when the ship lurched, muttering another curse. She managed to hang on to the grenade, but decided she was going to save it. She reached for the LRAD that was strapped to her back and pulled it toward the front, activating it. They wanted a showdown, they were going to get a showdown. She climbed through the hatch and into the corridor, thumbing the trigger without actually pulling it. The second they came around the corner, they'd have a beyond deafening surprise waiting for them.
...One. The forcefields returned in full force, and sh'Rhan and his men steadied their footing. They'd advanced down the corridor during the crisis, and the Andorian could see a hand on the floor beyond the next junction. It was a small handful of meters away, and hopefully this meant that the intruder was nearby. He gestured orders to his compatriots and readied his tricorder to take down the next two forcefields in order for them to approach the junction in question.
Satisfied that they were ready, sh'Rhan thumbed the necessary button on the tricorder. He then single-handedly closed it, holstered it, and raised his rifle, ready to shoot the intruder on sight.
Joey moved forward, forcefields or not, sound would still travel through them even if she couldn't. She went as far as she could and pulled the trigger, emitting 140 decibels worth of pain straight out in front of her. Anyone caught at its widest point down the corridor would face immediate anguish. She was done playing cat and mouse. Now she was going to bring the pain.
sh'Rhan's antennae twitched, sensing movement at the end of the corridor, something confirmed by the sudden appearance of a shadow of a person. A figure--a woman--appeared, but before anyone could fire a phaser, the Andorian and his team were caught in an ocean of sound. Painful was not an apt description of what they felt as no human or Andorian word could describe it. Instantly, three pairs of hands rose in vain attempts to protect earlobes and three phaser rifles clattered to the floor. sh'Rhan himself stumbled and fell to his knees, unable to hear the screams of those around him. His vision began to blur as he looked up at the well-endowed woman in front of him, still separated by a lone forcefield.
"You..." he muttered, the sound unable to rise above the mighty flood. The pain became too great. He collapsed, keeping his eyes closed as his hands frantically tried to protect his overwhelmed ears. Even his antennae began to twitch under the pressure.
Along with Jeffries tubes, forcefields were going to be on her list of things to stay away from for a while. She lowered the LRAD and reached for another phaser. There were still two left with her three additional power cells. Hopefully, she wouldn't need to use them after this.
Muttering under her breath, she took aim at the emitter keeping the forcefield in place and fired on it with a steady beam on setting nine. The second the forcefield fell, Joey looked toward the three fallen bodies not that far away. This was almost over, and with a little more pep in her step and a lot of pain radiating from her shoulder, she began to make her way toward them.
sh'Rhan, like his companions, were helpless to do anything. The two new officers who just arrived from the turbolift, however, were perfectly armed and ready to take on the intruder.
Joey spotted them thanks to the sensor she still wore. She reached into her thigh pack to produce the last of her two Anesthizine grenades, but didn't stop. It was time for this to be over, and she planned to do that without the loss of anymore life, though her track record for number of deaths on this mission was only one. Not a bad day in the office as far as she was concerned.
Cracking her neck, she pulled the pin when she got close enough and tossed it toward the turbolift where the two people were waiting for her. Of course, it'd take a few seconds for the gas to take effect, and she continued moving, stopping at the three unconscious bodies. Her gaze turned to the two officers standing by the lift and smiled. With her gas mask on, her lips couldn't be seen, but it was clear through her eyes alone that was exactly what she was doing.
One of the ensigns spotted the grenade and shouted at the other to drive for cover. He disappeared inside the turbolift, but the other was unable to avoid the sudden expelling of gas. As he fought to maintain consciousness, he aimed and fired at the woman. He wouldn't know whether or not he struck her as he all too quickly lost that battle.
With a curse, Joey barely dodged the shot fired her way. In fact, it had been so close that the shoulder of her uniform now had a burn just through the top of it. That was just too close a call for her. This was done now. She moved to the Andorian and tapped his combadge with her booted foot to open the shipwide link. "I hope I get to be there when you wake up." With that, she triggered the LRAD and sent the soundwaves throughout the ship.
As the intrepid security officer had planned, the soundwaves were broadcast through every combadge. Men and women on every deck unleashed unbearable screams of anguish and fell one by one. The Chimera had been executing a manuever at that every moment, so she began to roll out of control as there was not a conscious helmsman to stop the spin.
"Corwin to Black Hawk!" Joey said, bracing herself against the bulkhead. "The Chimera has been taken. I need Flight Control and a Security team over here. Now!"
Geisler's reply came after a moment of silence: =/\= "Standby, Lieutenant. See if you can get to the bridge and stabilize her. I'll get a team over there as soon as I can." =/\=
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