The Fates Series 03 Veil of Innocence

by Alys Landale

  He disengaged the link. “Okay the way I see it, they won’t know anything’s up for at least fifteen minutes. The generators are at two different locations. Danag and I will take out the first. Aria and Satira the second.”

  He led them out into the corridors. They waited until the guards had finally passed by, and then stepped out into the hall.

  Waiting until they reached a fork in their path, Paris spoke again. “Okay we meet back here in fifteen minutes. Keep your communicators on but don’t open a frequency unless it’s completely necessary. Understood. Now move out.”

  They separated at that moment. Now came the action.

  Danag held his breath as he and Paris took out another set of guards. That made four. He couldn’t help but think that there should be more around. *Oh well,* he thought. *I suppose I should be praising the Fates for this string of luck.*

  Tom motioned for him to hurry up. Paris rounded the next corner. They were at the doors to the Power generator. He broke through the lock and scanned the room for more guards. No one was there. *Something’s up* he thought to himself.

  But there was no time to think of such things. He quickly deposited his share of explosives. They were ready. He signaled for Danag to get clear before he detonated.

  Now all he had to do was contact Aria.

  Aria and Satira slipped through the halls quietly. They too noticed that there weren’t as many guards as should be. Aria paid no heed to this at the moment though. Instead, she deposited her explosives and exited the room.

  Tom’s voice broke through her thoughts. *Are you done.*

  *Yes* she replied.

  *Set the timer for twenty minutes, then meet us at the rendezvous point.*

  She turned to Satira. “Okay we’re out of here.”

  The two teams met back up where they had started. Tom checked their time. Twelve minutes until the explosives detonated.

  He turned to Aria. “Somehow I expected a little more of a challenge.” he said.

  “I don’t understand this; there should be more guards out.” She replied.

  “Well, I for one am just grateful we haven’t got caught yet. Come on let’s get going.” Danag said.

  Paris complied. The virus he had installed within the computer system seemed to be working, otherwise the security cameras would have picked them up by now. From the information, he had attained from the terminal he determined the prisoner holding cells to be just below them.

  “Okay,” he said. “There are three levels to this complex. We’re on level two now. If we go down the next level should be dedicated solely to prisoner confinement. Let’s go.”

  The team headed out. In a matter of minutes, they had gotten to the lower level. There was also a relatively small number of guards on this level as well. Paris looked around. He wanted answers. He decided to scan the rest of the area for guards.

  Reaching out with his mind, he searched for any more guards. He could only pick up three on that entire level.

  “I need to get to a terminal,” he said.

  Danag looked at him puzzled. “We don’t have any time. Besides we might get caught.”

  “For once in your life act with courage.” scolded Satira.

  Tom interrupted the two before they got to arguing. “There are only three guards on this level. I want to know why.”

  He found a wall terminal and quickly linked up to it. The cells were just beyond this wall, but he had to make sure first of all that they weren’t walking into a trap. It took a few seconds, but he finally managed to break through the security codes encrypted in the computer. There he found the answer. All the guards had been posted around shuttlebay two. Inside was some new ship. He couldn’t find much information on it, but he knew enough to realize what a risk such a vessel might be.

  He broke his link with the computer. “All the guards have been posted around shuttlebay two. There’s some kind of advanced ship inside there that they are guarding. From what I can tell, this thing is powerful enough that if the Empire learns to use this technology the Resistance is in big trouble.”

  “We have to get it away from them then.” said Aria.

  Tom nodded. “After we get these prisoners safely out of here, we’ll go after the ship.”

  He then walked up to the door. “Ready” he said. Despite the fact that the rest of the deck had been barren of guards, he had felt three inside the Cell area. With one quick move, he opened the door and aimed his phaser at the first guard.

  Sargon rose from where he had sat next to Meylin. They had been trying to formulate a plan for the longest but were still no closer to a solution. The sound of gunfire turned his attention on red alert.

  *What the Hell* he wondered.

  One guard lay dead on the floor. Before the other two could turn around, they were shot to the ground as well.

  A blond haired man was the first to step through the doorway. Following closely behind was the one person Sargon had never figured on seeing again.

  “Commander Brandwin?!” Sargon shouted.

  It was probably not the wisest thing to do, for after he had said these words the rest of the prisoners all came to life. The prospect of a rescue had sent them all into a frenzy. Sargon rushed to get Meylin before she was crushed.

  She protested at this. “I’m not a child I can...”

  Sargon just stared her down. He silenced her with only three words. “Just shut up.”

  Paris struggled to hear over the clamor of the cell’s inhabitants. This was sure to bring some attention.

  “Quiet! Quiet!” he yelled.

  After a while, the din turned to only a muffled roar.

  “We’re going to get everyone out of here but you have to remain calm,” he shouted.

  Checking the time, he realized that there were only a few more minutes until the generators would be gone. It was time to check in with Raken.

  Captain Raken tapped his fingers on the console. Rune was keeping him waiting too long. Something was up. He was about to pull his ship out of orbit when his Ops officer stated, “Sir, the away team is hailing us.”

  “Put it through,” he barked.

  Paris’s voice sounded over the bridge. “Raken we’re about ready here. When the shields come down, leave your cover and start beaming these people away. Rune out.”

  Raken took in the man’s words. Now was the time he would know for sure whether or not he was a spy.

  One of his officers then reported that the shields were offline.

  Raken ordered the conn officer to pull them out of orbit.

  He would have to play along for now, and then he could expose Rune for what he was. All he needed now was proof.

  An explosion rocked the entire complex. As all the prisoners ran out of the cells, no one noticed the little girl still huddled in the corner. She didn’t dare move unless she wished to get trampled by scared feet.

  She sat there huddled in a little ball. Everything was happening so fast and she had no idea of what was going on.

  She watched as people began to disappear. She wondered if she should say something or not.

  “Okay that’s the last of them.” Danag said.

  The cells were completely barren except for four members of the away team along with Sargon and Meylin. Once hearing the others’ plans of taking the alien ship, the two prisoners had refused to be beamed out.

  Paris then addressed Raken. “Alright, that’s all of them.”

  “What about you?” Raken asked.

  Paris informed the captain of the situation.

  “Okay, I’ll stay in transporting distance until you’re done down there. Raken out.”

  Tom turned to the others in his group. Sargon and Meylin had already acquiesced a phaser from each of the dead guards.

  Sargon was the first to speak. “Well, let’s get going. I’m sure there are more Imperial soldiers who would be glad to share the same fate as those over there.” he nodded toward the dead bodies.

  Tom turned
to Aria. “I want you to lead them towards the upper level. Once you get to the turbo lift, stop and wait on me.

  I’m going to set some more explosives down here before we leave.”

  The others left as Paris set about to do his work.

  The explosion shook the entire complex. Including the guards outside shuttlebay two.

  “What was that,” asked one.

  “I don’t know but I want five of you down in the prisoner’s block immediately. Make sure everything’s alright,” said their commanding officer.

  They left to carry out their orders. They had no idea what they expected to find there, but they could never have prepared themselves for the reality.

  *

  The Bonthos approached its destination. What Takma found nearly made her fall out of her chair. She couldn’t raise the camp on the Comm line hovering just outside the facility was a Resistance vessel. What was most disturbing was the lack of shielding around the Concentration camp.

  “Evasive maneuvers,” she ordered. “Destroy that Resistance vessel and hail Voyager.”

  “We’re being hailed Captain,” said Ensign Kim from his position at Ops.

  “Put it through,” ordered Janeway.

  On the screen appeared a very distraught Takma. “Captain Janeway, we have just detected a Resistance vessel in the area. It’s attacking our research facility on the planet below. We might require your assistance.”

  Janeway nodded. “You can count on us.”

  The screen then went blank. Chakotay sent a questioning glance in Janeway’s direction. Usually they would attempt to try and stay out of different government’s politics.

  Janeway just rubbed her temples and replied. “Don’t take us in just yet Mr. Baytart. I don’t want to get involved unless utterly necessary.”

  Chakotay looked a bit relieved. For some reason he had wondered if her thinking was impaired. But now he knew she was fine.

  *

  Paris only had one charge left to set. He entered the last cell area and attached the explosive to a back wall. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a small squeak come from behind him, then a sob come from the corner of the cell. He turned around to see a young child huddled in the corner. He cautiously approached the little girl.

  He gently put a hand on her back. “Hey,” he said in a quiet tone. “What are you still doing here?”

  The girl turned a tear stricken face to Paris. She wiped away a tear and then said. “Everybody was running around so fast, I didn’t know what was going on. Now I’m all alone.”

  He tenderly pushed back a strand of pink hair. “You’re not alone now. I’m here. So why don’t you come with me and I’ll get you out of here.”

  She gave a couple of more sniffs before asking. “Who are you?”

  He flashed her his trademark smile. “My name is Rune. And what by chance is yours fair lady?”

  She turned to her side, making the covers squeak against the floor again. “I’mm ...Xara,” she said between sobs.

  He took her hand. “Well, Xara, do you want to leave with me?”

  She nodded. As he pulled her into his arms, her movement caused the floor to squeak once again.

  “Are you sure your name isn’t Squeaker?” he asked. “Cause that’s what the floor keeps calling you.”

  He thought he picked up the slightest hint of a laugh as he stood up. Her hands gripped his coat tightly as he carried her out of the cell area. He had just exited the Prisoners’ area when five guards appeared around the corner.

  *Things just got a lot more complicated.*

  *Things just got a lot more complicated* thought Raken as he saw the Imperial ship coming towards them. Remaining just behind it was an alien vessel he hadn’t seen before.

  It seemed that he had been right about Rune after all, otherwise how would the Empire know about them being here. He could just picture the traitor giving away their position to Takma.

  “All hands to battle stations,” he barked out.

  *Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to be right.*

  Removing one hand from his hold on Xara, Paris reached for his gun. Due to the shock of the guards to seeing one of their prisoners out of his cell, Tom was able to get two of his assailants before the others began shooting at him as well. He used his own body to guard Xara from the shots. The first shot hit its mark in Paris’s shoulder. Blood flowed out from the gash created in his left side. After that, his body had adapted to the weapons and they no longer held any effect on him.

  Xara sobbed quietly into his chest. Keeping himself between her and the guards, he still managed to pull off a few more shots, which quickly disabled all the others.

  He picked Xara back up in his arms.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yes I’m fine. How about you?”

  She nodded weakly as she spoke. “I’m alright.”

  He sent her a reassuring smile. “Now how about let’s get out of here. Okay.”

  She nodded again.

  He held her a bit more closely and scanned the rest of the area for guards. Nothing. Running down the corridor he stopped once he came to the turbolift. He thought he was safe until a gun appeared from nowhere.

  “It’s me Sargon,” he said.

  Sargon stepped out and put his gun down. “What’s she doing here?” he asked.

  The rest of the group appeared as well. Aria sent him a questioning glare.

  “She got left behind,” he said. Xara stole a gaze at the group from where her head was nestled in his chest.

  Satira was the next to speak. “By the Spirit, you’ve been shot.”

  Tom disregarded it. “It’s nothing. Come on we don’t have time to waste talking.”

  He walked past them with Xara still in his arms. Next stop, shuttlebay two.

  Raken cursed under his breath. Their weapons were nothing compared to the Empire’s and right now, the Bonthos was nearing victory over them.

  “Prepare three more torpedoes!” he yelled. “Target their primary systems. Weapons, Tacticianal, anything you can get a clear mark on.”

  He didn’t even receive a reply before the ship rocked to its side once more.

  *Some rescue.* he thought bitterly. He swore for the thousandth time that Rune would pay for his deceit. All Raken had to do was live long enough to confront him.

  Janeway stared off towards the battle. Takma’s ship was slaughtering the Resistance vessel. Two fighters then appeared to the side. They fired weapons on the Bonthos but were never able to penetrate the shielding. Baytart looked to the captain for confirmation. He needed to know whether or not they would join in this battle.

  “Don’t go in just yet Mr. Baytart. Wait until they require our assistance.”

  Deep down the Captain hoped that wouldn’t be the case.

  Tom ordered his men to hold back while he surveyed their position. Handing Xara to Aria, he went foreword for a closer look. By his count, there were at least eight guards outside shuttlebay. He scanned the interior and found twelve more waiting inside.

  There wasn’t anytime to sit and formulate the best course of action so he decided to follow his gut on this one.

  *Hold your position until I tell you to come out.* He told Aria.

  She nodded to him from where she and the others lay hidden. He could barely hear her informing those around her of his orders.

  *Well, it’s now or never* he told himself.

  Standing up, he walked out into the open and up to the guards. Most of them were too surprised to do anything except point their weapons at him.

  He got in just one sentence before they began shooting. “So nice place you got here.”

  Aria told the others his orders. She didn’t know what he was up to until she watched Paris stroll up to the guards like they were some old acquaintance. Danag was about to ask if the man really was a spy when all his doubts were blown away as gunfire roared through the corridor.

  Aria watched as Paris just stood there and began
picking the guards off with his own weapon. He had killed three before Sargon ran from their cover and into the battle as well.

  Tom felt only a slight tingle as the shots hit his body. The guards looked bewildered as they realized they were causing him no damage. Their phasers practically ricocheted off him.

  All was going well until he realized that someone was firing from behind him. Two more guards fell down along with Paris’s three as Sargon ran up beside Paris and shot down yet another.

  The look on Sargon’s face was that of an experienced killer. *He’s really getting into this* thought Tom.

  Tom shot down another guard as the final one trained his aim on Sargon. Pushing his compatriot down, Tom let himself take the brunt of the phaser’s power as he aimed his man on the security officer and shot him as well.

  Aria finally allowed the others to disembark their position once the battle had ended. Meylin rushed over to Sargon.

  “You have to be the stupidest man I have ever met,” she spat at him while looking for wounds at the same time.

  Aria took a good visual estimate of Paris. “So you’ve already adapted to their weapons,” she said.

  He just turned to her and said. “I guess I’m just a fast learner.” He then turned to Sargon. “Either you’re the most stupid man or the most reckless I’ve ever met.”

  The man returned Tom’s stare from where he lay on the floor. “You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun now did you?”

  Paris’s face broke into a satiric grin. “I suppose not. Mind telling me just what it is you do in the Resistance?”

  Brushing off his clothes, Sargon replied in an almighty tone. “Chief Engineer.”

  Tom just raised an eyebrow.

  Aria then stepped in. “They’re going to be here any second,” she said, referring to the guards on the other side of the wall. “And they have stronger weapons than these out here. It would probably take at least a shot or two before you could adapt to them.”