Four Pirates Walk Into A Mason...

Posted on Tue Jul 18th, 2023 @ 1:29am by Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Alpha Section :: Deck 2
Timeline: After "Alpha Section Mission"
1595 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

"That last volley damaged the shield emitters," Bharani said as she pushed her hair from her eyes. "Auxillary power and the ablative hull armour are compensating but..." Before she could finish her sentence a new sound filled the bridge, a sound they all knew only too well from the weekly drills they had been forced to endure. "Captain! Intruder alert, decks seven, four, and two."

At the sound of the intruder alert, Zade's hand instinctively went to the phaser at her hip, her eyes scanning the bridge for any signs of their unwanted guests transporting in. She waited a couple seconds then, once there was no sign that pirates were going to show up on the bridge, turned her attention to Mason. "Malone, go help clear the decks, top-down. I'll take over and coordinate from here." Internal sensors were working for now, so she could monitor their progress while ensuring that the bridge crew stayed safe. Due to the commotion, she missed Lance's near-silent order. "There's four on deck two. Recruit who you need. Be safe."

"Ma'am," the young security officer acknowledged, before quickly disappearing into a hatch. Taking the turbo lift was too dangerous, he figured. Armed only with the dagger he always carried, no matter what, he knew he needed to acquire something with a bit more range as soon as possible.

Within seconds, he emerged on deck two and made his way to a nearby weapons locker, retrieving a single phaser which he thumbed up to heavy stun. Now, decently armed he moved towards his first targets.

Down the corridor of deck two, a group of four pirates were standing over two uniformed officers, victims of unfortunate timing when the intruders beamed aboard. It was easy to take out the two unaware Starfleet officers, and they were bickering over how to take over the deck. Coming to an agreement, the group split into two, with two going one way and two deciding on what to do with the officers on the ground.

"We can use 'em as bait."

"That will take too long. If boss wants a ship, we get a ship."

"We're ahead of schedule. Let's make our work easy."

Mason inched along the wall after quietly emerging from the hatch. Voices echoed through the empty corridor and they drew him forward. He had the element of surprise as he approached the pair and quickly stunned them. With two of them now down, he quickly checked the downed officers, switching his phaser temporarily to his right hand. He rose as he heard more voices, and he held his breath for a moment.

At the sound of phaser fire, the two pirates who went off down the corridor stopped in their tracks. With a jerk of the head, one pirate raised his energy weapon while the other snuck off. Backtracking, the one pirate opened fire the second he saw a standing yellow uniform. He took partial cover in an adjacent corridor but laid down aggressive cover fire, a second energy weapon slung across his back just in case.

While his comrade kept the uniformed officer occupied, an Andorian quietly navigated the corridors and eventually poked his head around a corner, spotting the Starfleet officer's back to him. Perfect. He had left his energy weapon with the other pirate, so he drew his dagger, the metal quietly sliding against the sheath. It was his turn to gain the element of surprise. Flipping the dagger around, he tightened his grip before lunging forward, a snarl escaping his lips.

The first shot singed the skin on his cheek and Mason instinctively ducked. The phaser fire coming his way was so random however that he didn't know where to duck. A few more shots singed his uniform and painfully burned his skin as they miraculously missed him enough to stun him but were close enough to painfully burn him. Faith had it that he ducked right towards the second pirate, the glint of the blade catching his eye just in time.

Mason pivoted out of the way, almost tripping over the unconscious officers in the process. Key was now to keep the second attacker between himself and the one with the rifle. He hissed as the blade grazed his hand , making him drop the phaser. He drew his own blade, making it a fairer fight and lunched at his attacker, trying to remember everything he'd been taught about close combat. "Surrender, and I'll let you live," he offered, eyes never leaving his ever moving opponent.

The Andorian growled, his antenna twitching in anger, as he blocked the little human's attacks. Their knives clanged together, and the pirate briefly leaned in and growled, "I'd rather die than live as a coward, Starfleet." Pushing the man back, he slashed forward with his knife, the tip just barely catching the front of the officer's uniform and leaving a line of torn fabric in its wake. The human was quick, and it annoyed him. He hissed when phaser fire grazed his side, remembering that the other pirate was trying to shoot down this officer. Trying again, he swung the dagger, pleased when it made solid contact with the human's arm.

High on adrenaline, Mason didn't notice the deep gash on his arm as he danced away yet again. This had to end, and quick. Mason turned, still keeping the Andorian between himself and the other pirate. He spotted his phaser on the deck and made a dive for it quickly turning to stun his opponent. "Sorry no killing today," he muttered, rolling away to try and get a shot out towards the pirate with the rifle. He had no time for proper aiming, thumbing the weapon to wide beam instead.

The fool of a human willingly went to the floor, making him vulnerable. The Andorian smirked, pleased that he was on the verge of winning, before the sight of a weapon pointed in his direction made his victorious smile falter. The phaser was not pointed directly at him, yet the blast hit him in the gut and he doubled over. The pirate lost consciousness shortly after the blast hit him, but it took a moment for his body to lean forward and crumple to the ground, his antenna making a poor attempt to catch him as he thumped onto the ground.

The last of the four ducked behind the safety of the adjacent corridor while muttering some swears. The Andorian got too full of himself, and now he was on the floor. He debated if he should retreat to another deck or attempt to fight this officer, given that most of his team now laid at the human's feet.

Crawling to his feet, Mason shed his jacket and undershirt as they were ripped and burned, leaving on his tank top despite it being damage too. It was less cumbersome than the shredded top layers. He presses himself against the wall, knowing the fourth pirate was still nearby. He switched his blade to his less dominant right hand, leveling the phaser as he made his way forward. His orders had been to clear the deck...so that was what he'd do.

The fourth pirate waited too long. The human had surely recovered from the Andorian's surprise attack by now and knew where the pirate's weapons fire came from, so he likely knew where the final one was. Listening intently, the last pirate waited until he thought the human was close enough, then rounded the corner, weapon raised.

"Woah!" Mason had expected to be on the fourth's heels but not this close! In reflex, he slapped the weapon aside with his own, then swung out with his bladed right hand. He was panting for breath, but clearly in good fighting shape despite his injuries. "Don't you guys ever learn?" He growled, trying to follow through by punching the pirate in the face. Firing his phaser at this close range was just too dangerous.

The slap jerked the weapon out of the pirate's hands, triggering his reflexes to catch it. It proved to be a sufficient distraction when the knife sliced his hand, and his momentum was stopped by the human's fist making contact with his cheek. Stumbling back a step, the pirate shook his head to try and ease the pain of the impact before throwing some punches in return.

Mason gasped as one wildly thrown punch caught him right on his chest and another across one of the severe phaser burns. His hand gripped his knife tightly as if afraid to lose it in battle. Still he couldn't afford a pause to catch his breath, not when he had a job to do. He swung out with his phaser hand, hoping to use enough force to render his opponent unconscious. He didn't want to end up killing him, but he knew he would if he had to. "Just stay down," he growled under his breath.

The force of the phaser smashing against the pirate's temple stunned the intruder. For a brief moment, his movements stopped, like his body short-circuited and he forgot how to move. It took a couple seconds for the pirate to reorient himself, but it was a couple seconds too long.

"Stay. Down!" Mason grunted, slamming the phaser against his opponent's temple a second time. When the pirate finally remained down, he tore his already shredded jacket and shirt to strips and used it to secure the four pirates so they couldn't escape. Panting for breath, he started running, making his way to deck 3.