Reunited and it feels So Good

Posted on Tue Jul 30th, 2019 @ 9:57am by Captain Garrett Lovejoy [ Taylor] & Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Lieutenant Commander Aurelia Taylor

Mission: Episode 1: Hell is a four letter word
Location: Prison Planet
Timeline: After Away team 1
1925 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Garrett led the team through the woods after successfully avoiding the Houdinis. Reaching the designated spot , he looked for the missing Commanders Holmes and Qwyyn. "Alright fan out. Holmes and Qwyyn are supposed to be here or at least in this general area. Lets find them. Shout out when you do."

Just a few meters farther, within cellblock-C, Lia and Qwyyn were struggling to secure the freedom of the child prisoners indicated to them by fellow prisoner Tana Moonpool. They had nearly secured the children's escape to the shuttle, when somehow prison security managed to erect a field capable of disrupting their ability to transport.

Lia looked at her phaser, "Elle, we need help. This thing is about finished, get the kids to the back wall. Place your phaser on overload and leave it by the front wall, with luck it'll blow a hole so we can get the hell out".

Liselle looked down at her weapon. Lia's plan would certainly work to make them exit, but it would also leave them with one fewer weapon to use. If they met resistance outside, it was going to be awfully difficult to put up a meaningful resistance. But they had a better chance of making a mad dash through a surprise exit than they did staying here and waiting for more guards to come pouring in. "I'm on it," she promised. She turned to the gathered children. "Everyone! Back against the wall! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Once she was satisfied that everyone was clear she set her phaser for overload and placed it against the wall. "Brace yourselves!" she called as she ran to join the children. The ground shook as the phaser exploded, filling the room with burning white light.

When the light faded, Qwyyn saw exactly what Lia had hoped for: a jagged hole in the wall revealing the surrounding woods beyond. Now, it was just a question of whether they could beat the odds and avoid the guards that their noisy exit was bound to have attracted.

"Did you hear that?" Mona asked, consulting her tricorder. "Phaser overload, that way. Roughly two hundred metres." It wasn't a huge distance but with so many trees in the way - or rather between them and the source of the noise, as trees were always good to have around and they could never truly be 'in the way' - it wasn't as loud as the close proximity would have made them expect.

"I did." Garrett replied. "Lets move people! Our missing crew members may be in trouble!"

As the dust settled around her, Lia kept watch for any movement from the Romulans. "Elle, get those kids on the move. Find Tana and Sarilla, and get them the hell out. I'll stay hear and guard the rear, its about all I can do for now".

Garrett led the away team in the direction of the explosion. Arriving they found smoke and swirling about, obscuring vision. However there were no Romulans to be seen. "Anyone have a bio reading on Commanders Holmes and Qwyyn?"

"I've got one distinct Trill lifesign", Anya said, "and we're approaching it. There are several others around as well." There were probably ways to distinguish Lia's life sign from the others, but for Anya, only the characteristic double life sign of a joined Trill stood out. She was no science officer, after all.

And that double life sign was approaching. Quickly.

Having reached the largest of the trees ahead, Liselle turned and gestured frantically for Tana to follow. With her young child in her arms, the woman ran for Liselle, eyes darting to either side as she made her way to the tree.

"What now?" Tana whispered, her panic clear.

Qwyyn shook her head. "Get as far away from the prison as possible and hope that we can get outside the range of whatever is disrupting the transporters. Let's go."

They were only a few steps to the next large tree when a branch snapped, and then a Romulan called out behind them. "Do not move our I will shoot you."

Qwyyn and Tana -- child still cradled in her arms -- turned. Liselle closed her eyes, and whispered a prayer for a miracle.

Even though it would probably leave Liselle with a false positive as far as the efficacy of prayer was concerned, that was the moment when a phaser blast struck the Romulan in the side of the head. "Got one!" Mona grinned.

Liselle's wide eyes belied her confusion. Slowly, arms still raised, she turned her head toward the source of the phaser blast. "What? Who...?"

"Your relief force, Commander", Mona called. She'd ask for an update, but figured that was something Lovejoy would have to do. He hadn't been quite so bad at this, for a desk jockey. Not that Mona would ever say any of that out loud.

So deftly saved from despair, Qwyyn felt tears welling up in her eyes. Hardly the appropriate reaction for a senior officer, but their stay on this planet hadn't exactly fit the mold of the day-to-day routine for flight control.

An animal of some sort gave a call from off in the distance and reality came crashing back down on top of Liselle once more. "Lia," she gasped. "She's that way. About a hundred meters. She was covering our escape! God's there were so many guards coming for us! She needs help!"

The rest of the away team came rushing up. Garrett heard the last of Liselle's statement. "Lott. you stay herw with the Commander and the kid. The rest of you this way!"

"Aye, sir", was Mona's automatic response, before looking around briefly, and then scaling a tree with some low-hanging branches. "I'll give you some fire support from up there."

Back in the prison, Lia kept her eye's forwards. She now knew that Elle and everyone else had got out, with luck they'd made it. All she had to do was wait, wait for the Romulans to storm forwards. A strange calm had settled on her, somewhere in the back of her mind she felt that this was it. This was her last day on this godforsaken planet, she wondered how it would feel getting shot as the Romulans attacked her. Movement caught her eye, so she checked her phaser. Little over two or three shots if she was lucky, oh well at least she'd done her duty and got everyone else out what ever that meant. A sound now caught her attention, they had got behind her. Shadows from outside moved across the wall where she sat, *Shit, talk about a rock and a hard place* she thought. Lia now felt even attempting to resist would be pointless, so slowly she pointed her own phaser towards herself. The first Romulan to see her would be the last person to see her alive.

Garrett and the team moved closer to the spot Commander Qwyyn said Commander Holmes was, all while keeping an eye out for Romulans. He tapped his combadge. "Lovejoy to Lott. We're approaching Commander Holmes location. See anything?"

"A building with a hole in the side", Mona reported. "Can't look inside. "Commander Qwyyn says that Commander Holmes is holed up inside." And unlike some less bold people, Mona intended her pun.

"What about Romulans?" Lovejoy asked as the team moved towards the building in question.

"I recommend we storm the place", Anya said. "I'm willing to lead. I don't think we can afford to wait."

Garrett made a decision. "Right. That's what we'll do." He spoke to Mona next. "Lott give us covering fire you can. We're going in to find Commander Holmes." He looked at the team. "Neeze, take point everyone weapons hot and lets go!"

Anya approached the hole in the wall, she took final readings on her tricorder to get positions of anyone inside. Since it wasn't a regular doorway, she couldn't exactly roll inside to minimise being a target. Thus, she had to climb in over the rubble left by the explosion, which she knew exposed her for a few precious seconds to anyone who would be taking pot-shots at her. She aimed her rifle at the doorway the Romulans would be coming out of and fired off unaimed shots, suppressing fire, while moving through the doorway and off to the side. "Commander Holmes?!"

Lovejoy was a lot of things but one of them was not a coward. He was right behind Anya, lending his voice in calling out "Commander Holmes?!"

Voices, Human voices. Lia shook her head and glanced at the blasted wall, a female head appeared. "Twinkle? What the hell are you doing here? Quick get over here before some bloody Romulan takes your head from your shoulders". She used the last of her phaser power to cover Anya, then in utter desperation threw it down towards the Romulan positions. A male Lia didn't know now appeared, "Oi nummty, get yer arse over here. Before you loose it to the Romulans". She now resorted to throwing bricks and other heavy objects down towards the Romulans, "Does anyone have a spare phaser? Before I revert to using a bloody club?" She now looked squarely at the woman, "Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else. I was other wise engaged, who are you?"

Something was wrong, Anya knew that now. "Anya Neeze", she said, wondering why her department head didn't recognise her. "Toasty Buns."

Lovejoy looked at Lia, handed her his phaser as he unslung the phaser rifle from his back. "Commander Garrett Lovejoy. We're to bring you back to the Elysium. We found Commander Qwyyn and a child."

"What about the rest of the kids? There should be a bunch of them, we freed everyone we could." Lia accepted the phaser, "Roger that, but getting out of here is a bit more difficult than getting in." Just to underline her point, the three Starfleet personnel now came under fire. "The locals are a little pissed off with us, any ideas on how we convince them to let us go?" Lia fired back at the Romulans, cursing under her breath.

"Easy Commander. We didn't come unprepared. Elysium's fighters are strafing the prison as we speak and the rest of my team will catch the Romulans in a cross fire. They will be on the run shortly. As for the rest of the kids. They're all safe and sound."

Jason was second from last who had entered the room, he watched as the Commander talked to his Commander. Hoping to speed the progress along he decided to throw his name in to get her moving. Walking forward towards the Commanders he lowered his rifle."Commander Holmes, Its Lieutenant Morris, we need to get moving Commander, we are on a tight schedule and we need to get you to safety and medical help." He said getting within five feet of her so she could see him but not be threatened.

Anya took out a photon grenade, pressed the button and threw it through the doorway. That should give everyone enough time to start moving back out through the hole in the wall.

"Alright everyone that's our clue!" Lovejoy yelled. "We ARE LEAVING!" As he pushed Holmes through the hole. "Move it Commander!" He urged, We have a ship to catch."

The away team made it back to the shuttle staying ahead of the Romulans. They boarded and quickly took off to rendezvous with the Elysium and get Commanders Holmes and Qwyyn along with the children to medical.