Distress Call

Posted on May 26, 2014 @ 8:43pm by Lieutenant Commander Aerdan Jos
Edited on on May 26, 2014 @ 8:55pm

Mission: http://thefrpg.com/sim/missions/id/7
Location: Various
Tags: Thomas, Aerdan, Phia, ARMSTRONG

"Distress Call" (Continued from "Secrets and Lies")

Location: Nimbus III
Stardate: 21.40511.2145
Scene: Desert plateau

~*~

Aerdan Jos shielded his eyes as they were blasted by a sudden wash of midday desert sun. Blinking to clear the white flash was bad enough, going from the darkened refugee camp under the dome to this… whatever this was… was relentless.

It was bright, hot, and blisteringly dry. Aerdan’s brain tried to click into gear, wondering where the hell he was as sweat immediately started to pour down his temples. Eyes adjusting, his antennae twitched upwards.

Whipcrack.

Why the hell was there a whipcrack in the middle of a desert?

A strangled cry pierced the stagnant air and Aerdan whirled around to catch a single white feather floating upwards in the heat. Feather? His sapphire eyes narrowed and tried to focus.

Another whipcrack, and a familiar voice rose up from the rocks below.

“See, you shouldn’t struggle. Things would be so much easier if you just admitted that we are superior and gave in.” Sweet, honeyed. The Terran Empire commander.

“Go to hell.” From the sound of it, Thomas was spitting something out of his mouth – sand, perhaps blood. Aerdan didn’t like either one of those options.

The sound of something mechanical being fiddled with followed. “You know this planet exists in my universe, too.” There was a smile in her voice, vicious and bloodthirsty. “The so called planet of intergalactic peace. What a crock of shit.”

“Doesn’t mean anything.” Lt. Commander Varn coughed a wracking cough.

Aerdan hunkered down on the rocks above, quietly as possible. The Terran leader seemed oblivious, captivated with her new catch. Check that, catches – he noted bodies scattered around. One was unmistakable Karmaq, the other… Aerdan steeled his will not to make a sound. That was Aaron Williams.

“You want to bet?” the commander grinned, holding his tight with one whip, while shifting the circuitry inside the handle of the second with a deft hand as her remaining lackey looked on. “Energy dampening fields are pretty common in my universe. As are ways to get around them.”

“Fat chance.” Thomas hissed back, clenching his teeth. It sounded convincing, but Aerdan knew that tone better than the Empiricist commander. Varn was rattled.

Creeping carefully forward the Andorian noted the positions of the commander, Varn, and the commander’s lackey. Two against one wasn’t very fair; especially when one of the two had whips at her disposal. “You want to bet?” she purred, testing her modifications with a cold flick of her wrist. Electricity crackled down the length of the whip, sending a shiver down Aerdan’s spine. It didn’t improve Thomas’ demeanor either. The commander gave an upnod to her lackey. “Hold him.”

Thomas rolled forwards, struggling against the whip that held his fast as the beefy guard grabbed the tender joint in between the wing and his shoulder blade, wrenching the feathered appendage backwards until all Thomas could do was clench his teeth to keep from screaming in agony. He could hear the electrical crackle of the whip as she pulled it back, feel the static in the air stinging at his skin. He winced as the sunlight hit his eyes in a harsh glare and waited for the inevitable lance of pain.

Which, somehow, didn’t happen…

Thomas Varn thought he heard a lisping whisper, a hint of a phrase he had heard before. ‘Not on my watch…’

He forced his eyes open, just in time to see a thin blue form launch itself from the ledge above in an insane (and most likely ill considered) leap, using the Terran commander as a crashpad. She shrieked; tumbling back into the sandy rocks as the whip slipped out of her hand. Thomas gasped and made a grab for it, only to be held back, his wings wrenched backwards again with a wave of pain.

Aerdan rolled to his feet, ignoring the twinge in his injured shoulder. Cade could yell at him for that later. The Terran commander snapped up slightly slower, a satisfying line of red running down her face from an ugly cut on her forehead.

“I hate you.” She growled, trying to edge towards her whip.

“Funny enough, I hate you too.” Aerdan gave a mirthless smile, heading for the weapon himself.

~*~

Location: Nestis VII
Scene: Refugee Camp

A blinding flash of white light flared up from the temple below, prompting Cade Foster to snap his head towards the doorway. “What the hell is going on down there?” He grumbled, prompting the small blue toddler who was hovering beside him to skitter back. Cade sighed, his brows knitting in distress. Aerdan was right when he said this was a mess, dead or dying civilians littered the place, including the mother of the boy who was hovering nearby. He wanted to tell the kid that his mother was gone, to rattle him with the truth, but how could someone do that to a child barely old enough to talk?

He may be an arrogant bastard, but he wasn’t heartless.

Izshlana lingered back, as Sylvie Warren and Zabrielle Liden moved cautiously forward to see if they could catch of glimpse of what was going on down there. “What do you think…” Sylvie started, cut off as she saw the wizened figure of the Keeper ascending the steps.

“The doorway is open for the last time in many years.” He spoke in a wheezing, enigmatic tone. “Should you wish to step through, come.”

“What does he mean step through?” Lieutenant Warren started, watching as a few of the civilians dashed forward. Her brows knit, jumping ahead to catch one, and finding herself caught in a brilliant flash of white light…

~*~

Scene: Nimbus III
Location: Desert

This fight was not going well.

Thomas Varn was a strong individual, but he found that months of keeping his wings restrained and hidden had taken its toll on his body. The soreness he felt from moving translated into a faint sluggishness that the burly Terran guardsman was quick to exploit. Every time he was near to getting free he found the only plavce he could move to was directly over a cliff face and that was really not the top move on his list of plans. Gritting his teeth he looked up to see how Aerdan was faring.

Not so well, either.

Aerdan was stronger than he looked and reasonably trained in the basics of combat. He had the advantage of the first surprise strike. But his opponent was a trained warrior who was a weapon up on him. The game of cat and mouse was slowly turning, the cat becoming the mouse and the mouse rising up to become the cat.

Struggling, he felt meaty fingers dig into his shoulder in a way that cause pain to course down his left side. Thomas bit his lip to keep from screaming and kicked viciously backwards to no avail. Scrambling for purchase, he slipped and his head was pitched back as both combatants struggled to keep their feet. Taking in a lungful of air, Thomas blinked as a white glare flashed above them. For a moment he prayed it was not Terran reinforcements, before wondering exactly how many times that artifact could work…

~*~

Upon the upper plateau Cade Foster shielded his eyes. “What in the hell…” He stood, taking stock of the situation. Suvek. Warren. Arjan. Sef. Zabrielle… and a half a dozen civilians on some godforsaken rock. “Brilliant.”

Well, at least everyone looked all right and in one piece, still Cade didn’t relish the idea of babysitting a whole bunch of civilians in a hostile environment. And there was no sign of Aerdan… or Thomas… or Captain Williams for that matter. He pursed his lips together and sat down to listen.

The sounds that he caught he didn’t like one bit. Grunts and yelps of pain were never good, especially when they were coupled with the crackle of an energy weapon. “Z, stay here and tend the civilians, ok?”

The Trill nodded an assent as Cade looked over to the others. Sef was already mobilized, checking on the civilians, and Arjan was curiously taught, staring at the horizon as if he had been stung by something and he was trying to catch it before the poison seeped into his veins. “What’s wrong, tall blue and handsome?” Doctor Foster quipped.

Ensign Jos didn’t reply, he simply stalked forward towards the edge of the plateau. Gritting his teeth, Cade disentangled himself from the child who kept hanging on him and he jogged to catch up. What he saw as he came to the edge of the ridge didn’t make his day one bit better.

“I thought I heard voices…” The Terran commander looked up, her voice a smooth purr which directly contrasted her bruised, bloodied features. Still, she clearly had the upper hand no matter how good the fight was. She had a whip tendril wrapped around Aerdan Jos’ throat, pulling the slim blue man’s head backwards as the second whip crackled with sickening pulses of energy. Nearby a beefy Terran guardsman looked like he was about three seconds away from tearing Thomas Varn’s wings straight off.

“Phase pulse.” Arjan muttered, his eyes narrowing. He balled his fists in the pockets of his coat.

Cade nodded a grim understanding before raising his voice so the person below could hear him. “And so you do.” He paused, perking his head above the ridge so she could see him, too. “Who the hell are you?”

“Charming, aren’t you?” She smiled sweetly. “I am the one making the terms. Do you value the lives here?” she gestured around, towards Varn and Jos, as well as Williams and Karmaq who still lay still on the sand.

“Why does that matter?” Cade asked cattily.

“Because I will make a deal. Your co-operation for their lives.”

Foster took in a slow breath, bringing all of his jaded arrogance to the forefront. He instinctually knew it would do no good to let on the concern he had for his companions – friends. Hell, people who were the closest thing to family in his life. Instead he gave a disinterested sigh and considered the figure before him. “What sort of co-operation?”

“Relinquish all weapons to me. You will all submit to my will or I will kill you one by one.” Her eyes narrowed, sizing up her opponent.

Cade weighed the odds. On one hand she had four lives in the palm of her hand. On the other hand, there was no way she could effectively control a dozen of them with only herself and one guard. She had to know this was a game she would clearly lose. Still, how to keep a crazy person from doing serious damage to people he cared about. “I’m a doctor… I don’t have any weapons.”

“Equipment. Medical cases. Anything. Drop it.” Her voice was tense and fraying. She knew her own backup was extremely limited, even with the best of luck, while these Starfleet do-gooders seemed to keep multiplying. All she could do was play her hostage.

And her hostage was in no mood to play back. Aerdan Jos, for his part, was waiting quietly, testing the grip she had on the whip as he fought to keep it from crushing his airway. He was hoping Cade would be sufficiently distracting…

~*~

There was a sharp ‘tink’ sound as Cade tosses a few empty vials of painkiller over the edge. He didn’t believe this megalomanical wench any more than he could throw her, he was just hoping that he could keep her occupied long enough to let someone with a phaser get off a clean shot. Actually, now that he thought about it he was wondering why Warren hadn’t already taken a shot…

“That can’t be it…” She glared up at the plateau above, sending another pulse of energy down the length of her whip.

“I travel lightly, sweetheart.” Cade returned, giving her a saccharine smile.

She grimaced and beckoned to him with one hand. “Come down here.”

“Why? Can’t get enough of my sexy body from up here?” Cade edged forward, moving downwards slowly.

Aerdan grimaced, finding himself rolling his eyes, even as he slipped the bonds around his throat a little looser. Only Cade could manage to sound like a sexist asshole in a situation like this.

“Are you alone?” The commander barked back.

“Do you want to be alone with me?” Cade waggled his eyebrows.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” She snipped back, giving him a pouty expression. Flicking the whip out in front of her, she watched as he picked his way down the rockface.

“Well, then… baby… I’m all yours.” Cade turned towards her, grinning the most lascivious grin he could manage

~*~

Behind him, hidden behind the ridge Sylvia Warren had a bead on the commander, all she needed was Cade to get the woman just a little more off balance and she could have a clean shot, a one two punch on the woman and her bodyguard. Just a little more, get her turned around…

Perfect.

As Cade made a lewd comment, Sylvie popped up, her aim was true, and she pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

With a grimace, she took in a breath and pulled the trigger a second time.

Nothing.

“Shit.” Warren intoned, snapped back down under cover.

“Is this an *ambush*?!” The Empiricist commander shrieked.

“Shit.” Warren intoned again. Her cover gone, her phaser useless and two close friends in immediate danger… she snapped her head back up just in time to witness things fall into utter chaos.

With a streak of pure insanity in her eyes, the Terran commander looked towards her beefy bodyguard and yelled “Kill them! Kill them all!”

She just barely got the words out when a solid foot impacted with her gut, and Aerdan Jos twisted out of the whip that was holding him. At the same time Thomas let out an unholy scream of pain as the man pinning him tried to tear his wings off. Sylvie felt her heart leap into her throat and she grabbed a flux coupler from her tool kit and took off at a dead sprint down the hill.

“Why the hell didn’t you do that sooner?” Cade grumbled, backpedaling while trying to grab Aerdan’s arm as he stumbled forward.

“Good to see you, too, Cade.” The Andorian gritted his teeth, wary of the electrical crackle of the whip as it snaked around behind him. Aerdan was keenly aware that old fashioned weapons did nasty things with most physiologies. Doctor Foster had a malfunctioning artificial heart… there was no way he was going to let him stay in the combat zone. He whirled and headed back towards the Terran commander even as Cade tried to pull him back.

“Are you insane?” Cade coughed scrambling to follow. “Get out of here!”

Aerdan didn’t look at him, trying to circle around her before she fully regained her balance. “Our weapons don’t work, Cade. If I can’t take her down, she’ll kill Thomas.”

“That makes no logical sense.” Cade muttered, dodging in between the whips and the bodyguard. Gritting his teeth he rammed the bodyguard from behind. “Hey you, I did pull that asshole out of a Jeffries tube just so you could try to kill him. You big stupid coward, you…” His eyes widened as the beefy man dropped Thomas in a crumpled heap and turned towards him. “Oh shit.”

Cade was tall, and reasonably broad in the chest and shoulders. He was not, however, 280 pounds of pure muscle, with the vigor of youth, the stamina of stupidity and the conviction of a trained bodyguard. Sizing up his chances, he decided the best option he could think of would be to… run. Maybe if he could get this guy to chase him? Warren and Suvek had to be coming, if he could just hold out…

WHAM! A beefy fist connected with his chest, knocking the air out of him. The world flashed white for a few seconds, and behind him he could hear the feminine squeal of rage as the Terran Commander fought back against one very stubborn Andorian. Cade stumbled, struggling to regain his balance, listening to the pounding of footsteps against the rock and sand. Another fist flew towards him and he snapped an arm up, letting the blow glance painfully off his forearm. A colorful stream of curses flew out of his mouth as he gave a blind punch back and stumbled sideways in a dodge. His vision cleared just enough to see another fist sailing towards his face. Cade snapped his head backwards, catching the blow on his shoulder and blinked. There was someone else there…

Sylvia Warren’s halo of curls appeared around one meaty half of the beefcake bodyguard’s chest, her expression was one of pure, vicious retribution. It was an expression Cade hoped to never see directed towards himself. The bodyguard, wholly unaware of any backup Cade might have swung a vicious blow towards Cade’s throat, one which caught Cade in the jaw. Doctor Foster sucked in a sharp breath and winced, clenching his jaw as the impact hit. He was expected the radiating pain of feeling his entire jaw shatter… but instead the blow landed limply, a bruising tap.

His eyes flew open, watching as the bodyguard swung around in fury and Sylvia skittered backwards. What…? Cade’s eyes widened as the trajectory slowly revealed the cause of the glancing blow. The handle of a flux coupler stuck out where the kidneys resided in his back, accompanied by a fast growing red slick of blood that soaked through his clothing. Cade found himself wondering, clinically, how an engineer had such uncanny aim. Taking in a breath, he focused on the here and now, moving himself into a better defensible position as Sylvia moved backwards yet again and a third form appeared. Suvek. Finally Cade allowed himself a breath of relief…
~*~

Arjan Jos knew he needed to move. His brother, his very own baby brother was facing down a dangerously psychopathic, combat trained, armed criminal… and yet he was frozen in fear.

Deep down he knew it would come to this. It was why he couldn’t pass his beam weapons proficiency exam. It was why he avoided counselors, and why he always wondered about accepting the Starfleet commission. He knew full well he should move. He should help, he should do something, and yet here he was, a much of a coward now as he ever was.

His eyes were riveted to the fight, stumbling forward a step or two every time things got worse, and still unable to really move. His entire body was shaking, hoping the tide would turn. Maybe once they got the bodyguard down…

No.

The whip cracked, catching Aerdan across his injured shoulder as he snaked forward to wrench the second whip from her grasp. His breath caught in his throat and his muscles locked for a second. Just enough time for her to bring the second whip back and charge it.

Blue electricity crackled across his blue skin as the whip wrapped across his chest. Aerdan let out a hissing cry of agony, and crumpled in one fell swoop. The Terran commander threw her head back and gave a barking laugh.

Arjan’s jaw dropped, and suddenly something in his brain broke. His vision narrowed to a pinpoint of rage, focused only on her, and the fear that his gripped his body snapped into a red-hot fury. He clenched the only thing that served as a weapon that was on his person and drew it out of his pocket, launching himself off the plateau. Leaping over the fallen body of his baby brother he slammed into the woman’s chest before she could finish her chortle of victory and grabbed her by the throat, pressing the tip of something metallic against the skin of her neck.

“Well, you Andorians are awfully hard to get rid of…” She purred, trying to struggle free.

“You hurt my brother, now I will hurt you.” Arjan replied in a low dark tone.

“Oh, he’s your brother, is he?” She laughed. “Miserable excuse for family. He’s better off dead.”

“I’m warning you…” Arjan jammed the point harder against her flesh.

The Terran commander rolled her eyes. “Phasers don’t work here, sweet cheeks.” She twisted down and against him, loosening his grip, her eyes shining dangerously. “You shouldn’t play with what you don’t understand.” She fingered the whip, trying to reach the electrical controls as she worked to break free.

Arjan’s eyes narrowed, sensing the movement and reading her intentions all too clearly. “It’s not a phaser. It’s a laser scalpel.” Feeling curiously numb, he flicked the control for the device on with one hand, while letting her throat go with the other.

She turned away, the movement which would have set her free… had the scalpel not be pressed against her throat. In a flash the tiny cutting beam sliced through vein and artery alike, sending a thick dark spray of blood across the sand. She let out a pitiful gurgle and hit the ground, leaving a thick dark smear across Ensign Jos’ uniform.

He could hear footsteps behind him. The cavalry, several seconds too late. Cade’s voice hit his ears.

“Holy fuck… what did you do?”

“Check on Aerdan.” The elder Jos brother demanded, switching the scalpel off, feeling his hands – his entire body start to shake.

“Did you just…?”

“Check. On. Aerdan.” Arjan spat through his teeth.

He couldn’t turn; his eyes were locked on the black stain spreading across the sand. He simply waited for one word from Cade.

“He’s alive…”

Arjan Jos took in a breath and let himself sink to his knees, wondering for himself ‘what have I done?’

~*~

Location: USS ARMSTRONG
Scene: Bridge

“What do you mean there are more lifeforms now?” Captain Harcourt felt her brow furrow in frustration as her science officer scrambled to get clearer information. Knowing the risks of this mission, this didn’t sit well with her at all.

Ensign Sandring tensed, her dark eyes filled with curiosity and worry. “There are over a dozen new lifeforms, captain. Human… Andorian… Vulcan… And sensors show signs of weapon activity.”

“I thought weapons were banned on the planet of galactic peace!” Lt. Commander Bomba remarked, his eyes full of naiveté.

Phia resisted the urge to groan at him, but indulged in a disgusted roll of her eyes. She was waiting for the information to come in from the scanners before she gave her own input to the situation.

“I believe…” Sandring started before she snapped her head up. “Captain… we’re being hailed! It’s a Starfleet communications signature!”

Rose Harcourt perked a brow before she took in a deep breath. “Put it on audio.”

[[This is Lt. Commander Cade Foster, Medical Officer on the USS PENDRAGON, I need immediate medical assistance. I have critically injured officers and civilians…]]

Phia’s head snapped up at the painfully familiar voice, and she put no hold on her tongue. “Cade, what the hell are you doing on that planet?”

[[Stopping people from dying you psychotic twit…]] he replied in perfect timing, just like all their banter on the STONEHENGE.

Phia perked a brow, turning towards Harcourt who was staring at her with open curiosity. The Counselor shrugged. “Beam them up. I’ll meet them in sickbay.”

~*~
NRPG – Sooo, this took much longer than I thought it would… and ended up much longer than I thought it would! Hope y’all like!
~*~

Jamie LeBlanc
Lt. Commander Aerdan Jos
Executive Officer
USS PENDRAGON


"Why do we fly? Because we have dreamt of it for so long that we must"


~Julian Beck