by J Palliser
Without warning, a metal object swooped out of the haze and Sonya ducked instinctively. There was a loud "thunk" as the blade of a Drac throw-dagger buried itself in the wall. Her instincts took over, and Sonya rushed forward, catching the Drac in the stomach with her shoulder. She pushed forward with all her strength, driving the Drac back and into the door to Main Engineering. They hit the door with a crunch, and Sonya felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.
She reached to the Drac's hip and felt a handle. Sonya pulled the dagger from its sheath and drew it back before burying it in his side. She pulled the blade back, and sunk into the Drac's flank again. Feeling his body go limp, she fell back, letting the body of the Drac to slide down the door and slump to one side. Sonya stared at him for a moment, her mind totally blank. Finally, her body relaxed. "Holy shit," she muttered to herself.
"Ma'am! Ma'am, are you alright?" asked Becker.
"I'm fine. Let's get this door open," she answered, her body shaking. Dejah walked past her, but she took no notice. As Sonya sat, staring at the Drac, Dejah pounded on the door.
"Who goes?" said a voice on the other side.
"Ensigns Dejah, Olan, and Mueller, and Crewman Becker."
"Hang on, it's going to take a minute to get the door open." Sonya heard none of this. She simply sat, staring at the body in front of her. He's dead, she thought. He's dead, and I killed him. I killed. The thought continued to repeat in her head. Sonya had trained for this, practicing combat endlessly at the Academy. She had killed simulated targets thousands of times. But now, it was real. He was real. And she had killed him. Sonya looked down at her bloody hands. Sonya started to panic at the sight of it and tried to wipe her hands on the floor. Her pulse raced and her breathing became ragged again as she frantically tried to remove the warm, wet liquid from her hands.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, but Sonya ignored it, continuing to try and clean her hands on the floor. "Sonya, are you okay? Sonya?" The voice echoed meaninglessly in her mind. Sonya only stopped when hands grabbed her wrists, holding them tightly. Sonya's breathing slowed, and her hands were released. The visor was pulled from her head, and she looked up into beautiful, bright gray eyes. "Hey, you in there, Harry?" Casana's voice snapped Sonya back to reality.
"Don't call me Harry," she smiled. Casana looked at her suspiciously, then shrugged her shoulders and stood.
"Come on, door's open," Casana said, handing Sonya her pistol. "Right. Let's take a look." Sonya followed Casana into Main Engineering. Debris was scattered around the entrance, as well as a few bodies, both Drac and Reich. The anteroom was small and rectangular, the walls lined with consoles. In the middle of the room was a large table displaying a schematic of the ship. Many of the consoles still had power, and the room was well lit.
On the far side, the room opened up into a large, semicircular room with two floors. Sonya could see consoles around the walls of the bottom floor. Both areas were crowded, with more than twenty people in all, and Sonya didn't recognize any of them. At the center was the core, a tall, ribbed pillar, towering above her, now totally dark. The reaction chamber itself was on the bottom floor, encased in a large metal box through which the dark cylinder ran. An access panel was visible on the chamber housing, and two large tubes ran back at 45 degree angles from aft. They were dark now, but normally carried warp plasma to the nacelles. Sonya stepped next to the core and looked down. The core sat in an enclosed, hollow tube, extending several decks up and down, open only on these two decks.
"Ensign Mueller," said someone behind her. She turned, and found herself facing Lt. Toyama. "Ensign, what are you doing here?"
"Sir, Becker and I were in the turbo-lift when we lost power. We climbed down the shaft to this deck, ensured the Armory was secure, then came here."
"Well, it's a good thing you did. We're going to need everyone we can get for this."
"For what, sir?" Sonya asked.
"Speak to Commander Lange. I still need to prepare my team," Toyama said and walked away. "Aye, sir." Sonya said, mostly to herself. It occurred to her that she didn't know who Lange was. "Which one's Lange?" she asked Dejah.
"This way," she answered. Dejah led them over to a tall, thin man with scraggly grey hair and a short beard. He was hunched over the ship display table in the anteroom, one hand behind his head, while the other moved over the display. He saw them approaching and stood to face them, greeting Dejah.
"Ensign Dejah, glad to see you're alright," Lange said. "Report." "Sir, Drac boarding parties appear to be scattered around the ship. The Armory is secure, but the status of the rest of the ship is unknown."
"Who's with you?" "Ensign Olan, Exobiology, and Ensign Mueller and Crewman Becker, both Security" Dejah said gesturing to each in turn.
"Good, we're going to need Security personnel for what we are planning."
"What ARE you planning, sir?" Sonya asked. Lange gestured to the schematic of the ship. "We have figured out how the Dracs shut down the warp core. They have taken up positions here and here," he said, pointing to sections several decks above and below Main Engineering. "These sections contain the Matter and Antimatter Fuel Injectors, which feed matter and antimatter into holding compartments before injection into the reaction chamber. The Dracs have sealed both ports. We are going to open them."
"You are going to retake those sections?" Dejah asked.
"Yes."
"What do we know about their forces and disposition?" Sonya spoke up.
"Basically nothing." Sonya just nodded, looking at the schematic.
"Wait, how many trained security personnel do you have?" Becker asked.
"Including the two of you and Lt Toyama's team, six," Lange answered.
"Six? You are going to attack a Drac position of unknown strength with six men?" "No, Crewman. We are going to hit them with three security officers each, leading more, non-security personnel in two simultaneous attacks on the Drac positions."
"I think we can make it four," Sonya said evenly.
"Really? How?" Lange asked. "Wait," Becker said before Sonya could answer. "We are going to divide our force for this? We can't take three security officers and a handful of engineers and attack a fortified position held by experienced Drac soldiers!"
"Crewman!" Lange yelled, but was cut off by Sonya. "Sir, please," she said softly as she raised her hand. "Jacob, we are going to do this for one reason: we don't have a choice. If we do nothing, they can secure the key areas of the ship, then hunt us all down at their leisure. If we attack only one at a time, they warn the others, and allowing them to destroy the fuel ports, or the ship."
"So, we attack both at the same time. But we have a couple of advantages. First, they will not expect us to attack. They think they have us confused and disorganized. Kriegsmarine's standard reaction to a situation like this is to retreat and gather more information for a full counterattack. So, we are going to do no such thing. Second, they are in a fixed position that they cannot abandon, so we can attack how and when we choose."
Becker was quiet for a few moments. "Okay," he said softly. "Let's do it." "Commander," Sonya said, turning to Lange. "The rest of my team is stationed at the Main Torpedo Bay on deck 15. If we can link up with them, we can send four security officers to each port."
"Have you had any contact with them?"
"Not since the attack." Lange looked at her for a moment, weighing his options. "Alright, Ensign. You and Crewman Becker will take a small team up to deck 15 and meet up with the rest of your team. Then, proceed to deck 12 and retake the Matter Injector Port."
"When?" "Leave as soon as you are ready. Begin your attack at exactly 1200 hours."
"And who is coming with us?" Becker asked.
"Take Ensigns Dejah and Olan, as well as Crewman Hill, Crewman Falkirk and Crewman Taylor."
"Aye, sir," Sonya said.
***
Deck 16, Maintenance Tube, 1045 hours Sonya paused looked down at the chronometer on her wrist. 1045. Got to pick up the pace, she thou
ght. "Double time it," she called down the tube before she started climbing again. Sonya and her team were climbing up a maintenance tube, passing deck 16. They hurried up the tube, reaching deck 15 quickly. They reached a junction room, and crawled down another tube to an access hatch. Sonya opened the hatch and poked her head out. Looking around, she didn't see any movement and crawled out the hatch. Sonya was quickly joined by the others.
"All right, we need this position held," she said. "Casana, you, Becker, Hill, Falkirk and Taylor will stay here. Dejah and I will find Zira and Schultz. Go back into the junction room and seal the hatch. When we're back, I'll knock twice on the hatch."
"Got it, Harry," Casana said.
"Goddammit, Casana, stop calling me 'Harry'!" she snarled. Casana snickered at her.
"Okay, fine. But only 'cause Dracs are trying to kill us," she smiled. Sonya smiled despite herself.
"Thank you," she said. Sonya then turned to Becker. "Keep them safe, Crewman," she said pointedly.
"Aye, ma'am," he said, glancing at Casana. "Good," Sonya responded, glad that he understood what she meant. "Dejah, let's go." Sonya and Sonya headed for the Main Torpedo Bay. They moved as quickly as possible without making much noise, and reached their destination in a few minutes.
"Slow down, we need to be careful here," Sonya ordered as they closed in on the torpedo bay. She stopped at a corner, peeking around it. Seeing no one, she signaled Dejah and continued on down the corridor. Just one more corner. She came up to it slowly, stopping next to the corner. Sonya looked back at Dejah, and then peeked around the corner.
Sonya found herself looking directly into the barrel of a plasma pistol. Looking past it, she saw Zira. "Chief, please lower your weapon," she said calmly.
When Zira realized who it was she lowered her pistol. "Good to see you alive, ma'am," she said.
"You, too, Chief. Report. Where's Schultz?" "He's down the corridor, ma'am. We were waiting for you to show up with Becker when we lost power. We heard weapon's fire, but stayed at our posts," Zira said. "What the hell is going on?"
"Dracs have boarded the ship. They took the Matter and Antimatter Injector Ports and shit down the warp core. I am taking a small team to retake the matter injectors. I came to get you two before the attack."
"How many men do we have?"
"Counting you two, nine." "Alright, I'll get Schultz."
12
Eleven
Deck 12, 1140 hours Lying on her stomach, Sonya poked her head around a corner. A few meters away, two Dracs stood in front of the door to the Matter Injection Room. She quickly pulled back, slowly crawling backwards down the corridor. After about 10 meters, she stood and backed the rest of the way down the corridor to the rest of her team.
"The door is closed with two guards," she said as soon as Dejah and Zira returned. "What did you find?" "The maintenance tubes that connect to the Matter Injection Room have been welded shut. I cannot find any alternative access point," Dejah said.
"I didn't see any other Dracs in the area," Zira reported. Sonya thought for a few minutes as the others sat, waiting for her to decide on a plan of attack. "Okay, here's the plan," she said. "Team Alpha, consisting of Zira, Becker, Schultz, and myself, will take the Dracs at the door. As soon as we fire, Team Beta, Dejah, Hill, and Falkirk, move up and place the actuators on the door while Alpha stacks up to clear the room. When we are ready, Beta will crack the door about 10 centimeters. Casana and Taylor will roll two grenades at minimum power into the room. The moment the grenades go off, yank to door open and Alpha will enter and clear the room, with Beta following in for support. When the room is clear, Alpha will secure the entrance, Beta will assess the status of the injectors, and Casana and Taylor will search the Dracs," she paused, looking at each person in turn. "Any questions?"
"How many do we expect inside the room?" Schultz asked.
"No idea," Sonya answered.
"Given the size of the room, no more than a dozen," Dejah added.
"Will they hear the attack on the guards?" asked Becker.
"There's a good chance, which is why we need to be fast." "Hey, Har... Sonya, I have an idea," Casana spoke up. "We plant grenades on the sealed access hatches, and detonate them after we take the guards down."
" Communications are jammed. We have no way to detonate the charges remotely," Dejah pointed out. "We set them on a timer to detonate exactly at 1200 hours. Then, we can bring down the guards without the Dracs inside realizing were the attack is coming from."
"Dejah?" Sonya asked.
"Assuming the grenades detonate on time, I see no flaws in the plan."
"Very well. Chief, I wa-" Casana cut her off.
"I'll set the grenades!" she chirped.
"Okay, you got way too excited about that," Schultz said. "Give your night vision to Schultz and set the charges," Sonya ordered, checking the time. "Dejah, give yours to Zira. We have 10 minutes."
Casana left, and the rest of the team moved into position. Sonya, Zira, Becker, and Schultz waited around the corner from the Dracs, pistols in hand. The others waited farther back down the corridor. Finally, Casana returned, nodding to Sonya, who checked the time again. 1158. "Get ready," she whispered to Zira.
Seconds crept by in total silence. Sonya check her chronometer again. 15 seconds... 10 seconds. She raised her hand, counting down silently with her fingers. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. As Sonya reached zero, she turned the corner, raising her weapon. As she fired, the deck was rocked by an explosion. Zira, Becker, and Schultz fired at the same moment she did, and the sound was drowned out by the blast of the grenades.
Dejah rushed by, followed by her team. She ran up to the door, placing an actuator on it. Hill and Falkirk each placed one on the other side as Sonya and Alpha moved next to the door. Sonya could hear the Dracs barking at each other on the other side of the door. Casana came up next to her, and Sonya felt a hand on her right shoulder. "Ready, ma'am," Zira whispered.
"Go," Sonya said, and Dejah's team cracked the door open, allowing Casana and Taylor to toss their grenades into the room. A bright, blue flash lit the corridor through the crack in the door, followed by darkness. Dejah, Hill, and Falkirk pulled, and the door crashed open. Before it had a chance to completely open, Sonya pushed her way through, into the room.
When she came through the door, she saw two Dracs a few feet in front of her and fired. The first fell to the ground, and the other raised his weapon, but was hit by Zira before he could fire. Sonya turned and followed the wall left from the door to a corner, taking down another Drac as she went. She heard pistol fire behind her, but kept her eyes forward. At the corner, she turned towards the center of the room and continued to follow the wall. Another Drac entered her field of view, and she fired again.
Sonya reached another corner and stopped, scanning the room. Zira, Becker, and Schultz were each in one corner of the room, facing inward. Seven Dracs lay on the floor, motionless. "Clear!" she shouted as Dejah's team came through the door. Casana and Taylor followed, and Sonya returned to the door. She and Zira removed the actuators from the door and placed them on the inside of the door. They pushed it partly closed and moved back, positioning themselves so that they could each see one of the corners in the corridor through the small opening.
"The Matter Injector is undamaged. I am re-initializing the injection sequence," Dejah called from the back of the room. "Done. Deuterium is now flowing into the core. It will take some time for the reaction to be restarted and power to be restored."
"How long?" Sonya called back.
"Unknown. Several minutes, assuming the Antimatter Injector is also online." "Contact!" yelled Zira, firing her pistol through the door. Sonya pulled one of the grenades from her waist and armed it before throwing it through the door and down the corridor. As she moved back to her position, a Drac came around the corner, his M200 pulse rifle raised. A plasma tracer shot passed over her shoulder, and the Drac was thrown to the ground. Sonya looked back to see Casana holding her pistol up, aiming p
ast Sonya. As she turned back around, a blaster appeared around the corner and fired, impacting the door.
"How long, Dejah?" Sonya yelled over the noise of more pulse rifle and pistol fire.
"The core is coming online." As Dejah said this, Sonya felt the ship begin to vibrate, and she was blinded by the night vision overloading as the main lights came on. "Red Alert!" said the First Officer over the intercom.
"Yeah, no shit," Schultz yelled. Sonya heard series of high-pitched hums as the aft torpedo launchers fired. The ship lurched, nearly throwing Sonya to the ground, and the forward launchers fired. Sonya looked up through the doorway to see a M200 pulse rifle pointed directly at her. An instant before it fired, a force field crackled to life in to doorway, blocking the blast and sealing them safely inside the room.
***
Deck 5, Officer's Quarters, 1800 hours Sonya rang the door to Lt. Commander Faulkner quarters. "Enter." She walked through the door, still wearing her armor, and stood at attention in front of his desk.
"Ensign Mueller, reporting, sir," she said.
"At ease, Ensign." Sonya relaxed slightly. "Quite an eventful day," Fuller said, leaning back in his chair. "Yes, sir."
"Do you know what my first assignment was out of the Academy?"
"No, Sir."
"I was stationed on the Triptiz. In 2285."
"Arcturians?" Fuller nodded. "That was my first tour of duty in the Kriegsmarines. I remember entering the Helix Nebula. Scariest damned experience of my life. We were basically crippled, in an obsolete ship, up against one of the most advanced warships in the quadrant. But, we came out alive, and they didn't. Those are the times when you discover what you are really made of. Today was one of those days, Ensign."
"Yes, sir." Faulkner stood and walked around the desk until he was face to face with Sonya. "Ensign, your performance today was exemplary. You demonstrated exceptional leadership, and maintained your composure in an extremely difficult situation. As such, I have recommended to the Captain that be promoted Lieutenant, Junior Grade."