The Island

Posted on Thu Jan 27th, 2022 @ 3:20am by Lieutenant Rrawran & Minister Zehoi D'ian & Captain Ryan Walsh & Captain Nathan Bishop & Commander Nathan Hawkins & Commander Jasmine Haynes & Lieutenant Commander Patton O'Sullivan & Lieutenant Dylan Blake & Lieutenant Bissiv th'Zaanaq & Lieutenant Cyrus Marner & Warrant Officer Harris Zim

3,604 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: When They Come for Me
Location: Svian II
Timeline: 0000-00-63, 20:15

Zehoi was furious. Bringing her to Svian was a tactical error and the Captain had clearly lost his mind by ordering her with the landing party. Being an Orion woman she was going to attract a lot of unwanted attention and they could not afford any negative focus. Being Starfleet Officers on an Emerald Chain outpost world they could be igniting war by even being here, and surely the jailbreak they had planned would be just as damning. This was a mistake. She knew that and they'd probably all die because of it.

Sighing, she felt the vibrations as they touched down inside the docking bay of the Zletha Colony. The colony was a massive city that floated atop the worldwide ocean. Zletha was saucer-shaped, with its base sloping beneath the surface and deep into the water. Hangars and other landing bays circled island with massive isolation doors separating the bays from the population. Armed guards - some Emerald Chain and some from the native Svians - patrolled the outpost. There were no Starfleet or Federation officials on the planet to their knowledge and even the Federation Embassy had long since closed.

Zehoi glanced out the viewport at their surroundings. The docking bay doors were open to the planet beyond and the beautiful sun shimmered off the waters. Around the Kumari there were what seemed like a dozen technicians and various cargo technicians working to load the various vessels. They already knew that they'd have to pay a fee to enter the colony itself, Admiral Luzol authorizing them to trade recrystalized dilithium for it. Essentially, but trading the dilithium though they were funding the Chain. It was messing with her head. She really wondered what the others were thinking.

They started to beam off the ship and to the docking port.

When the transporter effect had finished Zim thrust his phaser out and swept it from side to side. It was a reflex action, one that he did each and every time he was on a mission. A quick moment later the phaser was holstered as he realized there was no immediate threat. Harris looked around and got the lay of the land, he took notice of those that were loading the various vessels. Everything at the moment just stuck him to the core as wrong... "Things seems too peaceful. I don't like it. I think we should get moving, get what we came for, and get out." He said to no one in particular.

"I vote with my tall friend," the Orion said sarcastically, not wanting to be on the surface for any longer than they had to be.

"We're be fine," Lieutenant Blake said softly in attempt to assure them and himself. This was the biggest away mission of his career and he was terrified. They were in completely over their heads, this plan had too many holes for his liking, so much depended upon their ability to blend in. Right now, through suitably dressed for the occasion the young man felt deeply uncomfortable as if they were flying a massive banner overhead warning of their intentions.

Cyrus once he rematerialized, he glanced over towards Zehoi, "Yes it does seem to be too quiet. However, best thing we can do is be calm in this situation, even if it isn't an ideal one. I will state right now, I feel that the decision to go after the admiral was a wise choice. And even if you are not happy with the situation we need to do what we can."

Rrawran was on all fours as he walked around the Docking Bay, the Rorwoor Officer looking somewhat out of place as he maneuvered himself around the alien colony world. The white furred soldier tried not to gain too much attention as he walked, but knew that many would be taken aback by an alien canine. As the other crew made their way into the bay, he set off toward the exit looking around and studying.

After the door slid open the alien saw two people - an Orion and a native Svian - in a bit of a war of words with one another. Neither seemed to care that the Rorwoor had entered the chamber, they were more interested in trying to one up the other. A few seconds later though the Orion, laughing as he walked away, seemed to get the better of the native. Realizing that he wasn't alone, the aquatic alien approached.

"Welcome," the native greeted, "I am sorry that you had to see that. The Emerald Chain Representatives have been a bit overzealous these last few days since they decided to use our colony as a waypoint to transport a high profile prisoner. I'm sorry if our discussion put your off. Are you Couriers? Only Couriers are allowed to use the Exchange and the fee is 100 credits."

Bishop smiled at the man, "Oh, I'm sure we can come to more equitable terms than 100 credits." He finished as his hand fished into his pant pocket and withdrew a dilithium crystal. "Now, I'm sure tis more than covers our admittance to the exchange. Wouldn't you agree?"

Cyrus was all agog as he left off his commentary to Zehoi and noted the mechanical island plus the newcomer that had arrived. He wondered how long this had been around.

Biss glanced around his surroundings, he had never seen a place like this before. Where his family's moon was, this would be amazing and could have saved his family years of hard work mining.

"We're out of our element we should definitely proceed with caution." Jasmine softly spoke out to make sure she didn't cause any unnecessary attention. If you looked around she was impressed by the sheer magnitude of this place and how technically advanced it was.

Blake clenched his jaw as Haynes spoke softly potentially giving away their hand. This wasn't the place to state the obvious or speak out of term - they'd already gone over this on the ship. If he'd been close enough Dylan would have stamped on the Commander's toes to silence her while Bishop showed the Exchange guard the crystal as payment

Zim looked around and for a moment was in awe of how massive the installation was. He worried that the technical advancements would overwhelm them if it came to a fight. However, he stayed on his toes and evaluated everyone as they came. The newcomer at the moment seemed to be friendly. But it was the Emerald Chain that he worried about more.

The Svian noticed the members of the party as they disembarked, noting too the large crystal that had been given as the fee. "Do not get in the way of the Chain while you are here. Things are not rosy between the local government and the Chain. Even a tiny spark could lead to trouble. Be vigilant." He input a code into the wall panel and the doors slid open, revealing the large courtyard beyond. "Welcome."

Patton took the welcome with a grain of salt and kept his eyes on his surroundings as well as the team. They had a job to do and he was determined to have it be successful.

Soon after passing through the doorway, the away team was face to face with a large fountain amidst an artificial wooded courtyard. Emerald Chain Regulators, Svians, and others meandered through the open air with the oceans of the world beyond. DOT robots hovered and maneuvered through the space too, each assigned their own tasks to ensure the colony remained stable. An Orion man walked through the area, looking cautiously at the away team.

Zehoi lifted her hood on her civilian clothes, wishing to be anywhere but here.

Observing how Zehoi concealed herself deepened Hawkins' concern level around her loyalty to the crew, though she'd sworn her alliance to Starfleet openly on the bridge earlier the Commander wasn't convinced. The thought was fleeting however as they were lead further into the colony - it was both enormous and pretty neither of which Nathan had been expecting.

Jasmine noticed the beauty of this place. She had a brief glimpse of a smile on her face. She did her best to keep a straight and sterile face. She had no doubt, they were being tracked and monitored. Looking for weakness or ways to exploit them. She had never dealt with the emerald chain before, but she had dealt with the Orion Syndicate before.

Patton thought it was a pleasing place, gave him a sense of peace but it felt misleading and he shook it off mentally. No one was to be trusted but their team.

Noting how Zehoi earned herself a piercing stare from a stranger Blake stepped past the others to be at her side: "Why do you dislike it here so much, what happened?" he asked gently not expecting her to give him a straight reply.

"All our evidence suggests that the Emerald Chain is led by the Orions, my people, and that is something that scares me to no end," the Orion answered. "I'm afraid that I'm drawing undue attention to us, especially since I am not in a 'leadership role' on this away mission. Plus, seeing my people descend back to their base instincts is harder than I imagined. I descend from a race of slavers, we had overcome those challenges through a lot of struggle and strife, now we're right back where we started from. It messes with your head."

"I know how you feel," the young Lieutenant nodded. "Finding ourselves in this century wasn't exactly fun, learning everything you knew and everyone that mattered to you outside in the crew are beardly nothing more than a footnote in the history pages was a sucker punch. Still," he sighed. "We can't change that right now, but we can find the Admiral - where do we start?"

She approached one of the Directory workstations. Bringing up the controls, the Engineer studied what was being displayed. "We're here in the Central Courtyard. Over here is the East Center, which houses the salvage yard, and over there is the West Compound that houses the Emerald Chain Embassy." She whispered, "Logically, the Admiral would be housed in the City Stockade here in the Central Compound - but they won't go that route. The Admiral's being held here," she pointed at the Emerald Chain Embassy, "It's the most logical choice."

"Also the most secure and defendable..." Zim added. "It is going to be damn near impossible to get in and out of there without being detected." Harris was amazed at the intricacies of the Emerald Chain's defenses. They had everything he would have planned for and then some. It was very hard to impress a Capellan and here they were.

Biss had heard that the Andorian people had joined with the Orions in the chain but hoped he wouldn't be seen as one of them. His family had had nothing to do with the Chain operating independently since the burn.

"So what's our plan?" Blake asked. "As Zim said the Embassy isn't likely to be soft target."

Rrawran looked at their leaders, "We have limited options as far as I can see. The Orions are heavily fortified and are more than capable of defending themselves from aggression. We can't do a frontal assault, we talked about doing a diversionary explosion but the building's defenses are quite strong. We could always try to blow something in the salvage. We could use the dilithium to gain entry to it."

"If we don't hurry and keep staring at this holo someone's bound to notice," their Orion Engineer complained.

"Is there a way to enter from beneath the structure? Sometimes they concentrate on exterior defenses but leave themselves open from beneath." Biss suggested. He wasn't an expert but he had a little bit of experience of breaking and entering.

"Mess with their holographic network maybe?" Cyrus offered up. "just where are we to find the access point to that. Or you rather, our next part is to find our target and see if they are okay. And is there way to find a map to navigate this area."

"Any type of diversion may turn them onto our team." Patton spoke up. "I doubt they will be fooled and if so, not for long. We show up and trouble starts. It would have to be a diversion that would not be out of the ordinary, I would think."

"What about civil unrest? I'm sure the locals get fed up with being treated so poorly?" The Andorian suggested.

Or we could cut our losses and return to the ship. Consider the hostage an acceptable loss. Zim thought. Despite his thoughts he kept mouth shut and listened as the officers discussed their plan. He agreed with Zehoi. If they didn't do something soon and close the holo the whole thing would be a bust anyway.

"That is a good plan." Patton nodded after a moment of thought. "A whispered word here and there and they will have their eyes elsewhere." He smiled then. "All we'd have to do is get it started and it will spread through them."

Jasmine shook her head no, then she went on to say. "A civil unrest could potential get some people hurt. We need a more stealth approach to this. We do not want to draw un necessary attention to us." She pointed out to her team.

"We need to collect the hostage." Patton spoke up. "That is our mission. Perhaps the plan from going from underneath is the best option and hope we can get in and out without being detected." He understood the commander's opinion but they needed to stop talking and have a plan of action.

"What's the option then? Having Biss and I go to the door of the Embassy and ask to be let in?" Zehoi said with a haughty laugh. As soon as she said it she regretted it. The Orions and Andorians led the Emerald Chain. It actually could allow them to get a feel for the terrain and if they could get to the Admiral herself.

The discussion that had been going on made Zim a little queasy. This all should have been done before their lives were in danger. He was biting his tounge so hard it may bleed. He hoped the ship kept a transport lock on them because if they discussed this any longer they would need to get out in a hurry. Right now Harris Zim wished one of these officers, would take charge and do something, anything.

Feeling exasperated also Blake looked around them feeling increasingly uncomfortable - they needed to put something together quickly before they were rumbled. Like Zim he felt powerless as they others continued to talk among themselves.

Cyrus decided to start somewhere and the best way he could think of was, find where medical was then go from there. "Well I do have a suggestion." he said in his southern drawl, "Get in touch with their medical, and get into the records that way." he sort of harrumphed. "Then find where the admiral is at." with that he headed towards someone who might be able to give information on where medical was. The nearest person.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find medical?" Cyrus asked with a pleasant smile.

The Svian pointed, "It's in that building there."

Cyrus gave a nod, "Thank you." then he turned to look back at the rest of the team.

Patton would have preferred a plan of action ahead of time. “Let’s see what happens.” He said to the others, keeping his eyes on Cyrus. “I would rather do this with no injuries but it is important to save the hostage. We will follow our orders.”

Near to them an older, Human woman stood looking at a holoPADD busily trying to connect to the communications network of the island. Her focus was intense on the screen as her fingers probed through the hovering displays, her focus to break through and connect to the civilian network. It was a front. Instead she was very intently studying the courtyard and using the PADD to make it look like she wasn't. To those who passed by she looked like a grandmother fumbling with technology, but she was really looking for someone.

Perhaps she had found them. Approaching the away team she fumbled with the displays on her PADD. Her cheerful disposition flooding through from every pore of her body, "Can you help me with this thing? I've been trying for almost an hour to connect to the city network. My daughter keeps telling me that it's a great way for me to connect with old friends, but at my age I think a Ouija board may be a better choice."

She instead typed out a message, using old Morse Code, and hoped that they picked up on it. It read: Admiral being moved.

Cyrus deciding that he had better get back with the group, walked over in time to hear the woman talk about an Ouija board. "I've not dealt with one in quite sometime." he remarked, an eyebrow raised as he heard the code, he'd not heard that used since he had been a boyscout. "Let me have a look at it." he examining it, and typed back: When and where? "I've been having the same trouble as well" he answered the woman.

Hearing the Doctor speaking to stranger Hawkins stepped away from the group, lightly caressing his phaser in the process should this stranger become bothersome. The elderly woman fumbling could be a façade she could in fact be a spy from the Chain. However, their interaction quickly caught his attention - was that morse code? - Nathan questioned. Had they been contracted by some resistance person, a like minded individual that wanted to save the Admiral from execution? But how did she know? As much as he wanted this woman to be an ally she could easily be the opposite and leading them into a trap. Cautiously he moved closer.

She typed on the panel as she spoke, hoping that they could keep up with her, "I'm just waiting to see how much mail I got. I think that I get a lot of mail, but I have got by this far without answering so what's the point? I probably wouldn't sleep at night wondering what was stored on this computer. I'm a technological spaz," she typed the message in morse code: tonight at midnight.

"Ma'am, I know the feeling of wondering just what I might find the next day. Or if the mail doesn't get through with important files." Cyrus typed back: Where? His eyes glanced around to see who might be around then looked back at the woman. "I think I've just about got it connected." he remarked.

Hawkins eyes widened having heard the message clearly. "Took me a time earlier too," he joined them both. "Cyrus has a way with technology."

Patton kept his eyes roving around them looking for any sign of trouble. He knew there mission but the safety of the crew was his priority.

"Well thank you for all of your help with this," the older woman said with a friendly smile. "I can finally get rid of my Ouija board and join the 32nd Century." She closed the holoPADD, "I hope that you all find what you're looking for. I know I will if I can find the Docking Bay. My shuttle leaves tonight. Don't want to miss it."

Their Orion Engineer watched as the old woman walked away, annoyed that they had spent time trying to help her. "I hope that was worth it," she critiqued as she looked at the city directory.

"What was that all about?" Patton tried not to let his impatience show. The longer they stood around the better there was for a chance they might have trouble.

Cyrus watched as the woman left then turned to the others, "We've got the place and the time. How about we make ourselves just a bit less conspicuous. I've been told that medical is not too far from here. Shall we move in that direction, as a possible destination?" deciding to hopefully help move those that are there to another location. Quietly he added, " Docking bay, midnight is when things will happen."

“It sounds like a solid plan to me.” Patton replied. “And I think we should start moving we are starting to attract attention.”

"There are plenty of taverns and restaurants. Let's all split up and come back together later. That way we can stay out of their way," the Rorworr Security Officer proposed.

Cyrus felt slightly uneasy when a tavern was mentioned, he wasn't certain why but he was. A restaurant sounded much better, and so he spoke up.

"I am feeling a little bit peckish, going to get something to eat sounds like a marvelous idea. Anyone care to join me?" Cyrus giving an affable smile.

Zim could not believe what was going on here. There was a mission to complete and yet people wanted to go have lunch. He simply cocked an eyebrow in disbelief and followed orders.

Jasmine looked over to Patton, "I'm with you." She said as she went on. "We know each other, so we should be able to blend in." She suggested to him. She wanted to follow Bishop's order.

“Agreed.” Patton nodded. They wouldn’t have any problem seeming to belong and not raise suspicion.

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