Shuttle Rescue - Part 3

Posted on Wed Feb 16th, 2022 @ 10:03pm by Lieutenant Commander Danon Prel & Ensign Andrew Gervais & Major Hailey Weston & Lieutenant Cor Cordale & Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine & Staff Sergeant Andromeda Dreik

Mission: Recovery

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Shuttle
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After another round of cards and some general chitchat - Andrew's wait was interrupted by a beep. "The hell?" he said, turning back to the station for a moment. "Ummm... I think we have a problem. Sensors are detecting Starfleet fighters entering the planet's atmosphere."

The twin forms perked up at the beep as well, though she seemed to grumble a bit at the realization, "Great, that means someone either screwed the gun or jumped the pooch. See what you can find out on the quiet like, though we should also expect trouble on..."

"... our side at least. Time to trade the cards for sidearms, and hold the fort." she advised.

"Should we hail them?" Gervais asked.

Rostra considered for a moment. "No, we don't know who else is listening, or if they were ordered radio silent. Besides, if they open fire somewhere, we'll have our answer anyway."

"Acknowledged." Gervais replied, continuing with Rostra's order. "You don't think the ship would actually attack unless provoked do you?" he asked, now a bit concerned.

"I know for a fact they wouldn't." she stated. "But, if they were provoked, the last thing we need is to give away our position. There's almost no way they don't know..."

"... where we are, so if there's trouble then they're running quiet." she assured. "I don't know what it is, but I'm not taking any chances. I got plenty of birthdays left..."

"... in me to attend."

"If only we could reach the ship." Gervais replied as he noticed. "The fighters are charging weapons. I think they intend to attack something nearby."

"Yeah, and lucky us, we weren't notified. Alright, if things get too hot raise the shuttle's shields." Rostra was almost mentally pacing, "C'mon, c'mon, where are they?" one of her was looking out the front view, while the other was fidgeting not too far from the front half of the craft.

"Okay, so assuming they don't change course, what's in their line of travel?"

=/\= "Delta Foxtrot, Delta Foxtrot. Romeo Tango. We need a pickup on our beacon, ETA ten minutes. We are compromised, no danger, repeat, no danger." =/\= The voice of Hailey came over the comm.

"Well, so much for peace and quiet. Start her up quiet and make the way to the beacon." Rostra requested, putting her sidearm on her hip for the moment. Each sidearm, each hip. "Try to keep a low profile, last thing we need..."

"... is to become a target. What's that quaint human saying? Run silent, run deep."

"Aye, ma'am." Andrew said, firing up the shuttle's engines. "Acknowledged, Major. Stand by." he said. "Line of travel appears to be.... Oh this isn't good." he paused. "They're heading for the reported co-ordinates of the insurgent base." he added. "This is Delta Foxtrot. We are on our way. ETA unknown. Sensors detect the craft heading towards the last known location of the insurgents' base of operation."

Frak.

"Call the away team, the gig is up." Rostra's grasp of Earth sayings was *almost* on point. "Get us up off the ground on the way and have them advise on where they want us. Is this a..."

"... pickup or not. We can't act as an interception for those fighters." Rostra was already positioning herself in the co-pilot chair to run sensors and engineering.

"Aye." he said, setting course. "Away team, this is the shuttle. Transmit coordinates and prepare for extraction. This has gone bad. Can you confirm that Trapdoor is retrieved?"

"Confirmed, Delta Foxtrot, asset is in hand. Coordinates incoming." Hailey cut the comm and sent the beacon, then turned to Andi, who'd joined them, "Blow the fighter, Andi, sorry, Cor, we just ran out of time and personnel. We'll detonate it after we're in the air."

"Wallet sharks." He cursed, slamming a panel down. "Stop it from exploding, make it explode. Source, I need a union." He said with a snicker as he stepped away. "Free and clear."

"Coming in range, extraction in 3, 2, 1...." he added as he energized the transporters, still monitoring the fighters... "Commander, the fighters are charging their weapons, and.... Wait... that's odd." he paused a moment. "They're now powering down and holding course."

One of Rostra's bodies almost did a facepalm. "Why do i feel like we just got, what's the term? Played?" She asked, while her other form now turned her attention to the new arrivals. "Same plan, still. Get us out and..."

"... watch our tails." Before she addressed the newly transported crew, "What happened down there?"

Hailey patted Trapdoor on the shoulder as he was laid down on the floor, whispering something in his ear, her rifle slung over back now, "Blow it." She said to Andi as she made her way to the cockpit, "We got there, everything well and good, had to leave a local stunned on the ground, we were probably just a few minutes from having the fighter repaired when your call came in.. We weren't compromised until they came into the atmosphere. If Prel doesn't have a good reason why they came in?" She shook her head.

"Wellington's comms are down at the moment. I'm not even sure they know what's going on..." Andrew said. "I'm seeing weapons are charging again. Oh no...." he paused. "They're opening fire on the outpost and we're being hailed."

"Open the hail but keep our end mute for the moment. I want to hear what they have to say." she replied. It was a delay, at best.

"This is Planetary Defence. We were assured there was to be no hostile activity from the Federation. Explain yourselves and prepare to be taken into custody."

Andrew sat back, looking for Rostra as the senior officer to respond... What the hell was the Wellington doing??

"Comms are down with Wellington, so I don't know either." she paused, "Open the comms for the Planetary Defense force. They've waited long enough." she composed herself, herselves, and then turned to address the officer.

"This is Rostra Tang. The Federation has performed no hostile activities, we are strictly on a fact finding mission. We are not here to provoke hostilities." she paused, her twin taking over the conversation, "We are departing the region. We are not interfering with you or your duties." Stress was always a negative factor towards keeping her focus on a form for a comfortable amount of time. After that short conversation she cut the comm and turned to Andrew. "Get us out of here." the pair said in unison.

"Setting course." Andrew said. "They're not going to like this." he added. "Taking us to full speed... I can blow the fighter up on your command." he added, engaging weapons.

"Get ready and... wait, wait, you said there was a local in the area? How close are they to the fighter?" Frak, this changed everything, "Alright, if they're too close, we'll have to beam them..."

"... aboard, then put them back someplace safe after we pop the fighter. Dia's knees what a chain of events." Rostra wasn't one to complain, but this turn of events would need TWO cups of coffee to remedy when she got back.

"Within range. I can beam them aboard and then place them aboard the locals' ship. That might be enough to get them to realize we aren't hostiles. I can engage transport, store him in the buffer and then get just outside transporter range. That should be enough to save him."

"Do it." Rostra said in unison with herself. It was a powerful feeling indeed when both a Dalacari's forms spoke up. Added weight to the moment, added authority to the notion.

"Engaging transporter. Confirming location lock." he added as they got within range. "The local is in the buffer." he said "Setting course towards the Planetary Defence ships, 3/4 impulse." he added as he frantically headed in their direction. "Buffer integrity holding... I just hope they dont fire on us."

The shuttle made its way close to the ship. "And they're dropped off. Ready to blow the other craft up when you are."

"Boom." Hailey stated as she tapped a button to send a signal to the explosives planted on the fighter. A bright flash was visible for a moment in the distance, then a thin, brief trail of smoke that ended within a few seconds, "And that, as they say, is that."

"Wellington has informed us to return to the ship and they will deal with the local authorities. Getting us out of here and hoping these guys on our tails get the message in time." Gervais stated. "What the hell is going on back there? they could have gotten us killed!"

"I don't know, but I damn well intend to find out," Shaille responded sharply as she moved through the back of the shuttle and took a seat. "Get us the hell out of here."

"Setting course!" Gervais said. Paul was not going to let him live this one down.