The Boys In Gold

Posted on Mon May 16th, 2022 @ 11:18am by Lieutenant Kevan Dash & Ensign Hok & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone & Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry Washington

Mission: Ares Ascending
Location: Rondac Orbital Base
Timeline: MD:02 1240hrs
2387 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

"Dash, take your men and investigate, take Washington with you," Zora said looking at the pale human. "They may need your expertise. The four of us will stay here and continue trying to restore systems and find out what the hell has been happening here."

Henry gave a curt nod as he grabbed his tool kit and joined the three security officers. He didn't relish the idea of heading towards the sound of the mystery noise but orders were orders and he had three of Starfleet's finest with him; at least he hoped they were. Dash and Hok were the first through the door, phasers and wrist lights prepped for anything that came their way. Mason waited for Henry to catch up before he took up the rear, being in the centre of the pack made the human feel as safe as one could on an abandoned Cardassian station. He pulled out his tricorder and started scanning for any kind of bio-signs that should be there, nothing. "Nothing on sensors," he said in a loud whisper so that they all could hear him.

"This is supposedly abandoned, are we expecting anything?" Mason asked in equal whisper as he moved a little closer to Henry. "Anything walking around, I mean," he added in afterthought, his hand unconsciously tightening around the handle of his phaser, just in case.

"Ugh. Can't see a damned thing in here," Kevan growled in annoyance. Getting power up would probably take a little while, if the computers were locked down. "Hey, Hok - do you hear anything?"

Hok was so focused on their task, it didn't initially register in his mind that someone asked him a question.

"I hear the same rumbling we heard in the control room," said Hok. "It sounds mechanical...' He pointed. "...and it's coming from that direction."

As if Kevan had wished it into being, the emergency lighting kicked in. It was still darker than usual on the station but at least now the group had more visibility. They walked a few more metres, heading in the direction that Hok had indicated until they came to a pair of sliding doors. Henry pulled up the station schematic and found that they were just outside one of the smaller storage bays. He scanned the area behind the door with his tricorder but the readings were still coming up negative. "It should be empty inside," he said to the group.

As the door slid open the security officers piled into the room first, Henry waiting for the all-clear before he entered, the only sound the bleeps and chirps from his open scanner. The room was dark except for the few emergency lights that lined the top level of the walls. Crates and storage containers lined the shelves but according to the tricorder, they were only mechanical parts, nothing out of the ordinary on an abandoned station. There was a faint pulsing sound, as though something was powering up and then an orange beam struck one of the shelves, right in-between the four officers were. Henry knew that beam all too well, it was phaser fire. He darted behind one of the shelves, eager to take cover until he could assess the situation, or at the least stay out of the way of the three security officers. "I'm still not registering any life signs," he said above the noise of phaser fire.

"Down," Mason hissed, yanking Henry down while holding his phaser out towards the source of the weapons fire. "That we don't read anything, doesn't mean nothing's there." He fired a single shot towards the source, as he crawled forward as he'd been taught during his marine training. Staying low was generally best, as close to the floor as possible especially in this half darkness. As he did, he tried to locate his fellow security officers, feeling a twinge of concern when he wasn't able to spot them.

"Well of course something is there," Henry replied as a phaser sound crackled in-between the two, as though emphasises his point. He fumbled to put his tricorder back in its holster as he pulled out his phaser, trying to take deep, calming, breaths. Keep calm, firm grip on the handle, arm straight, don't tense up, he thought to himself as he tried to remember his basic training. Following Mason's lead, he tried to stay as low as possible, without getting in anyone's way.

"Fire's coming from multiple angles. It's not a fixed emplacement," Kevan grunted, ducking down low himself. "Could be a drone?" he suggested. "Flank right. We'll draw fire," he called out, taking a couple of blind shots.

"We.. who..." Mason hissed as he tried to spot whoever was firing at them. "Drones isn't impossible," he added as he moved right as ordered, staying low to the ground and using whatever he could find as possible cover. "Tricorder isn't reading anything though... reckon they're cloaked?"

At the first second of weapons fire, Hok dived for cover. Assessing the situation, he listened, trying to determine where the enemy was and how many there were. While phaser beams were flying past the team, something gnawed at his mind.

Hok wasn't hearing the normal sounds he should hear. No grunts or breathing enhanced by adrenaline. No one was issuing orders. Were the attackers alive?

"Holograms!" shouted Hok. "They're holograms!"

Henry's eyes lit up as he glanced at the Ferengi from the other side of the room. "Bless those brilliant ears of yours," he muttered to himself doubtful that anyone would hear over the commotion of the fight, though thinking about it, he would guess that Hok might have done. He pulled out his tricorder whilst trying to keep a hold of his phaser and not accidentally shoot someone on his side. Pressing a few buttons he changed the sensor bandwidth to scan for any evidence their counterparts were indeed holograms. "I think Ensign Hok is correct," he shouted above the noise. "My tricorder is detecting photonic energy, that's why we haven't hit any of them yet. I'm struggling to find a power source though," he added as another volley of phaser fire caused the crate above his head to explode in a shower of sparks.

"If you can...find one soon, that would be a great help!" Kevan fired back verbally in between firing back at their attackers literally. "We don't stand a chance against holograms wielding particle weapons!"

Mason cringed as they were showered with debris, then hissed as one of the shots just barely missed him. Barely enough for him to feel the heat of it. "Can't shoot a hologram," he muttered, "perhaps we should stop firing so we don't give away our positions, while we look for that power source. There's got to be an off-switch somewhere?" He looked to Henry. "Once you know what to look for let me know and I'll cover you."

Two things entered Hok's mind. Why didn't some tech person invent a phaser setting designed to disrupt a hologram? Something like that should be easy. The more urgent thought was, if they couldn't shoot holograms, how could they cover a person running in the open?

"On it," Henry said back, as he furiously pressed buttons on his tricorder. Thinking it would be much easier now he knew what he was looking for, he quickly realised that the task was still a daunting one. He couldn't find a stable power source near their location which meant the holograms were most likely powered by the station's EPS systems, which was going to make it much harder to disable them. Think Henry, he forced himself to take a few calming breaths and allowed the solution to rise to the surface, just like any of the puzzles that he loved so much. The answer crashed over like a calming wave of pure serenity.

"Holo-emitters," he shouted to the group. "Aim for the ceiling and floors, I bet they're hidden in the deck plating."

"You scan and point out to me where they are, I'll fire," Mason told his companion, "it's pretty hard to see in this dratted darkness as it is."

"Hok - wide angle setting. Let's keep drawing them to us, let Mason and Washington take out their emitters. Giving them a better shot is better than all of us being pinned down!" Kevan said.

As Washington pointed out the locations, Mason took careful aim at the emitters that were located towards the ceiling. The ones on the floor were a tad more difficult to aim at as he'd need to find either higher ground, or get closer to them. "I'll need cover fire to get closer to them," he told his companion. "Or I can cover you..."

Neither of those ideas made Henry very happy, but there was a high possibility that he would end up shooting Malone if he was the one to provide cover fire, and a court-martial wasn't on the cards for today. "Keep me alive and I'll get the task done," he replied, sounding a lot more confident than he was feeling. He memorised the location of the emitters and placed his tricorder back in its holster. He pulled out his phaser and set it to the highest, widest setting. Henry turned to the human, waiting for the all-clear.

Mason nodded slowly. "Go," he said as he fired at random, having thumbed down his phaser to stun just in case. He needed to provide cover fire, but accidents were always a possibility and he didn't want his partner's death on his conscience.

Kevan winced as the fire seemed to intensify. Holograms like these, though incorporeal, could probably shift around the room at random. Though as they were carrying live weapons it made sense that they couldn't for now. "Any time, Washington!" he barked.

"Okay," Henry said as he drew in a deep breath. Don't think, just go- He darted from behind the crates before his brain had a chance to comprehend the situations in front of him. Adrenaline coursed through his body, but he was also filled with the familiar sensations of panic and anxiety; two old friends that walked with him his entire life, until Charlie. He had something, someone to live for now and he wasn't going to die today, not if he could help it.

Henry reached one of the corners and was close enough to fire his phaser, right on target. There was a shower of sparks and he heard the usual noise that accompanied a hologram phasing out of existence. He quickly ducked behind another crate, giving him time to catch his breath and check his tricorder again, just to be sure. From his position he had a straight run for the next target, he made eye contact with Kevan, who gave him the briefest of nods. Once again, without hesitation, he made his way and fired a shot at it. He was slightly off this time, his palms were sweaty, and he had to tighten his grip on his phaser. The second shot was more successful but he had to verve quickly to the right as a phaser shot nearly caught him in the face.

"It's working," Henry said to the other men in the room.

"Good job!" Mason called out, trying to focus his firing and keep the drones away from Henry as best as possible.

"Keep firing!" Kevan responded, not wanting them to get overconfident. He looked up as a shadow shifted around the right hand side; the opposite angle to where he and Hok were covering the other two. It was almost a crossfire. Before he could react, Hok had charged at Henry and bundled him over as a phaser blast rang out. A burn mark appeared on the back of the small Ferengi officer, who wasn't moving. Kevan hoped the weapons weren't set to kill.

"Mason - right side!" he called, coordinating their fire on the flanking hologram. They needed to buy a few more seconds for Washington to kill the last holoemitter.

"Acknowledged," Mason answered curtly, redirecting his fire as ordered. Only a small part of him registered that he'd been called by his first name. Unlike Kevan, he didn't see the Ferengi go down, he was too concentrated on covering for Henry. At long last, the holographic drones seemed to zip out of existence but Mason found no cause to relax. "Now what?" He wondered out loud.

Henry saw the Ferengi drop in front of him as he stumbled back and fell over his own feet. He was out in the open, nothing to use as cover, either he destroyed the last emitter or he would be dropped just like his comrade. He fired his phaser, somewhat wildly, until he hit his target, not a moment too soon. The holographic Cardassian that was closing in on him, and bringing his rifle to fire disappeared and Henry allowed himself to breathe a huge sign of relief. But then he remembered Hok and scrambled toward him to see if he was okay, fearing the worst. Henry was close enough to see that the orange man was breathing, but his breaths were sharp and staggered, as though he were struggling. "He's alive," he said out loud, feeling relief wash over him.

Now that the cross fire stopped, Mason quickly scooted over to Henry and Hok, only now taking notice of their fallen comrade. He crawled over to the Ferengi's side, using his field training to quickly examine him. "Alive," he confirmed, "but definitely in need of more medical attention than we can provide." What he had in his field kit, was only going to provide so much relief, and only for so long. He injected the small man anyway, lowering the dosage a fraction as he really had no idea how much a Ferengi would need. Mason turned his head towards Kevan. "Lieutenant, we'll need to return him to the ship," he reported, "he's dead weight if we're to continue our investigation."

Kevan nodded sadly. The Ensign's first away mission and this happened? Not the best start to a career. "Athena, we have a medical emergency here. Requesting immediate beam-out, our location!"

It took less than five seconds for the ship to acknowledge, and immediately the quartet dissolved into a sparkle of transporter beams.