The Return

Posted on Fri Jun 26th, 2009 @ 1:00am by Commander Acle Walex

Mission: Dark Discoveries
Location: SSS Mosh'Tar
Timeline: MD9 1540hrs

Acle Walex put his arm through the sling of the phaser rifle and secured it to his body. He wore his uniform, immaculate as always, without visible rank. Over his torso, he wore a black vest with a multitude of pockets where various objects fit. A phaser was holstered on his side while a long bladed combat knife was sheathed on the outside of his boot.

If one were to look at Acle's face, one would notice a faint difference then there normally existed. His expression was harder, more akin to granite then that of a human being. His eyes were flinty, showing an inner fire.

Acle shook his head once, to clear his thoughts, then turned to the men assembled behind him. All of the men assembled before him were professionals. As the Iapetus was expected to be on mission for long periods at a time, and was bereft marines, the security personal assigned to her were highly rated. All of them were garbed similarly to Acle.

One of the men stepped forward, bringing himself to attention then saying "Sir! The Squad is ready when you are."

Acle smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring smile. While this would not be his first boarding mission (by far), Acle generally worked alone, or with only one companion. It would be slightly odd for him to have nine others with him. An entire squad of men would beam over to this vessel, each a highly trained professional. The Squad was further divided up into two Fireteams, Fireteam Alpha and Fireteam Bravo.

"Very good Chief." Acle said to the Chief Petty Officer. Acle himself would lead the first fireteam while the Chief Petty Officer would lead the second. "Fireteam Alpha will insert directly to the bridge. Fireteam Bravo will insert directly to the cargo bay. Once Fireteam Alpha has secured the Bridge, another security complement of two men will beam onto the bridge to guard it. Fireteam Alpha will then make its way to the cargo bay, incapacitating any crew along the way in support of fireteam bravo. ROE are this: Use stun whenever possible. Some of these crew members are citizens of the Federation. However, each member of this team is authorized to use lethal force if necessary."

Acle paused for a moment, allowing his words to soak in. He quickly looked for the reactions of the team. As he expected, each member was radiating confidence and calm.

"These people are armed and extremely dangerous. Intel is scarce and is to be considered to be unreliable. While most of the crew will simply be playing the game and will likely surrender without much fight, there are key elements who can be considered fanatics. At all costs, the cargo container must not be destroyed. Primary Objectives: Fireteam Alpha, Secure bridge to prevent self-destruction of the freighter. Once it has been secured, I will lock-out all controls. Fireteam Bravo, secure the cargo container. Secondary Objectives: Fireteam Alpha, support Fireteam Bravo in securing the cargo container. Squad, capture a member of the terrorist group 'The guarded'. Captain Lekrit is not to be touched... The captain wants to speak to him. Any questions?"

As expected, the group stayed silent. Acle nodded once then made a circular motion with his hand, signaling the group to move out. He suited his motion to his actions and stepped onto the transporter pad.

Once the first fireteam was settled, Acle looked at the transporter chief and said "Energize."

--SSS Mosh'Tar---Fireteam Alpha

Acle materialized, his rifle held in the upright position, his finger lightly resting on the trigger guard. It seemed that before he was fully materialized, his finger went from the trigger guard to the trigger stud itself and squeezed lightly. The beam shot out from the rifle and hit the surprised communications women squarely in the torso. More shots sounded as the rest of the fireteam quickly engaged, stunning the entire bridge complement. One member of the terrorist group managed to draw a disruptor and even point it at the fireteam before he too was hit.

Acle looked down the room and then lowered his rifle. The bridge was quiet, crew members slumped over consoles, not even having the time to draw weapons or resist. The entire attack had been in operation for less then thirty seconds.

=/=Walex to Iapetus. Beam over the holding team.==

=/=Iapetus to Walex. Aye Aye. Fireteam Bravo is beaming now, holding team will follow ASAP.==

=/=Walex to Iapetus. I'll be looking forward to see them. Walex out.==

Acle swung his rifle onto his shoulder then looked around. While he had contacted the Iapetus, the fireteam had spread out, covering the hatches to and from the bridge. Acle filed the information away in his head, then moved towards Captain Lekrit, or more importantly, his console.

He ignored the stunned body of the captain and looked at the console screen, finding himself pleased. He would not even have to hack the console, as the good captain had left it open to his access. Acle quickly entered into the command sequence and connected the padd attached to his hip. He entered in the sequence to lock-out all command functions in the ship and then started the program located on his padd to encrypt the lock-out order. It would take far longer then anyone would rightly have to be able to by-pass that encryption to send any type of order to the main computer or any of the stations.

Acle looked up again at the sound of a transporter beam again. Two more security personnel appeared. Although slightly less trained then the fireteam, they displayed the same confidence and professionalism.

"Sir, reporting as ordered." The senior most crew member said.

"Excellent PO. Secure this bridge. Apply transporter tags to the good captain and the communications officer. Have them beamed over immediately. Secure the rest and then hold the bridge." Acle ordered.

"Aye Aye!" the Petty Officer said, then withdrew two tags and began to execute his orders.

Acle turned to his fireteam, who still remained in position to cover the hatches leading to and from the bridge. "PO, take point, then proceed to the cargo bay. Remember, stun anyone who we encounter. We stop for nothing. We move whenever you are ready PO."

The fireteam quickly moved to obey, forming a line with Acle in the rear and the petty officer in the front. Acle himself disliked the formation. Starfleet Regulations prohibited the commanding officer of the away team to needlessly put himself in danger, and Acle was well aware of how easy it was to violate them.

With a hushed "Go!" from the petty officer, the fireteam tore into the hallway, stunning a surprised crew member and moving quickly down the corridor.

---SSS Mosh'Tar---Fireteam Bravo

Chief Petty Officer Ranoke materialized with his rifle held in a ready position, the barrel pointed towards the center of the massive bay. He felt more then saw or heard the other members of his team appear behind him, each member appearing with his rifle ready and facing another direction.

A startled form managed to utter an oath before the beam of Ranoke's phaser rifle hit him square in the chest, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Ranoke lifted his left hand, taking care to keep his right hand on the grip of the rifle and his index finger ready to depress the firing stud of the rifle, and moved to fingers forward. Waiting only a moment, he began to advance, hearing the quiet foot steps of his men following behind.

They made it half-way to the container before they began to meet resistance. Two shadowy figures appeared around a massive square container. Upon seeing the intruders, one shouted while the other raised his disruptor.

Ranoke's team quickly took them both down, but, not before the alarm was raised. Suppressive disruptor bolts began to tear in from all angles, pinning his team down. A hoarse cry sounded from one of his men and the ring of starfleet personnel drew tighter, closing to protect their fallen comrade. Ranoke saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. He spun and brought his rifle to bear, using his years of training and sheer instinct to guide the beam onto the target. The hostile dropped from the container that he had just climbed on and landed with a sickening thud to the deck below.

More concentrated firepower appeared from somewhere, blasting into the opponents from a different angle. Ranoke felt hope soar as he realized the other fireteam must have reached them. His hope quickly died, however, as with a sudden sense of danger, he looked up.

There, above his head on a catwalk, was a man. A man with a specialized disruptor rifle, aiming at him. Although he realized the futility of such an action, Ranoke began to bring his rifle to bear. He did not even feel pain as the high-powered disruptor bolt hit the crown of his head.

Rejox dropped his rifle, smiling slightly, then almost casually dropped the plasma grenade in the midst of the fireteam.

The members of the fireteam realized their fate when they heard the clank of the grenade fall amidst their defense circle. None of them had a chance to react, to save their fellows. None of them were able to cry out. A boiling cauldron of flame and heat consumed the space where the fireteam had existed.

------Fireteam Alpha----

Acle ran onward, dropping his aimed target with one swift beam, the rest of his team following behind him. The petty officer who had been acting point had been dropped by a piece of shrapnel to the leg and had already been transported back to the Iapetus. So, against regulations, Acle had led the team.

Acle rounded a container, finally coming within sight of his other fireteam. He prepared to shout to them when he noticed a spherical object descend through the air. Time seemed to slow as the object hit the ground, bounced once, then disappeared. Where it had once existed, there was now an expanding sphere of fire and hatred. A moment later, Acle felt the heat blast him. His body ignored it.

Acle looked up to see a figure on the catwalk above, almost lazily bringing his rifle to bear on the remaining intruders. Acle did not change expression as his thumb flicked the selector switch on his phaser rifle, changing the beam settings. Acle brought his rifle to bear quickly, only having to move it upwards slightly to target the other man. Their eyes seemed to lock for a moment before Acle depressed the stud of his rifle.

The beam shot out from the barrel of the phaser. Where the other man once existed, there now only was the remains of one.

"Fireteam! Switch to Kill!" Acle barked, swinging his weapon about at another target before eliminating him. "Surrender now! You have no option. You will be killed!" Acle shouted to the cargo bay.

They had to end this fight. Any moment one of the terrorist members could be arming an explosive or some other device to make the mission a failure. Acle would not allow that. He would not allow those deaths to be in vain.

The disruptor fire cut off abruptly as the crew saw the effects of the phaser beams. One or two more targets dared to come out of cover and bring their respective weapon to bear before they to were vaporized. Soon, all fire ceased.

"You two" Acle said, pointing to two of his fireteam. "Switch to stun and began to secure those that we herd here." The two men nodded and took up covered positions to either side of the small clearing in the cargo bay. They carefully avoided the blackened mark near one side.

"Throw down your weapons and make your way to this area! You hands, appendages, whatever, visible at all times. Failure to comply will result in immediate retaliation!" Acle bellowed.

Acle then moved to one side, the remaining members of his fireteam following him. He passed quickly to a corridor in the containers and encountered two crew members, their arms high in the air as they made their way to the clearing, their weapons discarded behind them. Acle moved past the two crew members, keeping his weapon on target until he was past them, then trusted in his team mates to secure his rear. He targeted the discarded weapons and destroyed them with his phaser's beam, effectively securing them.

That accomplished, Acle moved down the corridor and rounded yet another turn, coming across a kneeling man and the original container that Lt. Reynolds had almost opened. The kneeling man turned, a disruptor held and fired. The bolt whizzed past Acle's head, scorching one side with its heat. Three Phaser beams hit the man simultaneously, leaving nothing of the man left.

Acle moved to the side of the container and watched as his remaining men moved to secure the rest of the bay. In another minute, the cargo bay was secured. The mission had been accomplished.

=/=Walex to Iapetus. Mission Accomplished. Request reinforcements to be beamed down to my location as well as investigation team. Cargo Bay is secure.=\=

=/=Iapetus to Walex. We confirm mission success. Transporting away teams now. Once hand-over of mission is complete, prepare to be beamed back over for mission debrief.=\=

=/-Walex to Iapetus. Roger that Iapetus. We will stand by. Walex Out.=\=

Walex lowered his hand from his combadge then settled back to wait, his rifle still held at the ready. Soon, however, more men of the security detachment moved over, followed by a scientific team. The team went about its business of preparing the container for transport back to the Iapetus while the security members secured the area.

After a brief word with the security officer assigned to the detail, Acle gathered his remaining men together and shouldered his rifle.

=/=Walex to Iapetus. Ready for beam up.=\=

The transporter officer did not bother to respond. The fireteam began to dematerialize and fade.

---------------------USS Iapetus------------------

Acle materialized on the transporter pad, a slight arid smell arising from one side of his face where the tip of his ear had been burned. All of the men looked weary, Acle includded, but, he was the first to step off.

"Excellent Job. All of you are to be commended." Acle said to the men. "Report to sickbay for after-action review then to your quarters. Debriefing will be at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed."

After Acle spoke, the men dispersed, moving to sickbay so that they could rid themselves of their armor and weapons and go to their quarters. To rest and deal with the pain that they would soon be feeling.

Acle waited till the last man exited, then turned to leave as well. His destination was not sickbay, however, and he would have to deal with the consequences of his orders. He would meet his fate with the professionalism that his career dictated.

-----------

Lieutenant Commander Acle Walex
Acting Executive Officer
Chief Intelligence Officer