An Unwelcome Memory Part 1
Posted on Wed May 20th, 2020 @ 9:55pm by
Mission:
Cruel Meridian
Location: USS Majestic Deck 4 Junior Officers Quarters
Timeline: MD 6 - During Events of 'Ring Around The Roses'
1181 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure
During a somewhat turbulent slumber...
The night was brisk, to say the least. That bitter feeling you get when the cold air gips the exposed flesh at the tips of your fingers and turns them so cold that the slightest sharp edge or blunt force causes a dull aching pain that lasts for hours. Danny's goggles were doing him no good, they kept fogging up because of the vapor from his breath licking the glass as he was laid prone observing the mission target, so he removed them and suffered the agony of the frigid air begin to leech every last degree of heat from his face.
Above him, it was a clear night. The molten volcanic moon above him cast a dull red glow, but not enough to be able to see clearly. Nor did it radiate any heat to the planet below. The terrain was rocky and tough to traverse on foot, it had taken him and his fire team 3 days to reach this position, traveling only by night to avoid detection.
Danny was in command of four marines, including his brother who had shadowed his career from day one. He trusted all of them with his life, and they trusted him to make the tough decisions.
He peered through his binoculars and observed the enemy; a group of Nausican raiders who had been pillaging the local colonies for the past 6 months. So far they had gone unchallenged due to their association with the Klingons and the political tensions between them and the federation. But the negotiations were not as effective as a phased pulse rifle and a handful of commandos to settle the score.
It had taken them months to track down the ones responsible, now they finally had them where they wanted them,
"So what's the plan Cap?" 2nd Lt Piers whispered as he silently shuffled aside Danny. His face, concealed by a thick layer of black camouflaging paint, only the whites of his eyes stood out against the dark background of the forest.
"I count six in total, including the two sentries." Danny breathed.
"six? that's only two each....we can take them easily!" the young lieutenant excitedly chirped, almost breaking the silence.
"Shhhhh, we are gonna play this nice and quiet. Remember! we were never here, and they need not know that we ever here either!" Danny purred as he packed away his binoculars and turned to the rest of his fire team.
"Okay J'tel, take Piers and circle around the ridge and come at them from the flank. keep it quiet and tap your com-badge when you're in position. Zach, you're with me. Keep it quiet marines, when I give the signal.....I want bodies going down but no louder than the flap of a butterfly's wings got it? any questions?" Danny hushed.
A hand raised from the Vulcan, as did an eyebrow.
Danny nodded in the direction of J'tel - "What is a...Butter...Fly?" she softly spoke. "An earth animal, it makes little to no sound" Danny replied holding his face in the palm of his hand as he did.
The team proceeded to their objective and one by one the Nausican raiders were eliminated silently as if they never existed. The most noise made during the whole attack was by a sleeping Nausican as he quietly slipped away gurgling with a blade inserted into his throat. In a matter of minutes, the camp had been sterilized and attention could turn towards maintaining secrecy.
The team assembled next to the magazine, containing amongst other things several stolen quantum torpedo warheads from plundered federation vessels. "It's a shame we can't just return these to the fleet!" said Piers as he assisted Zach in removing the maintenance panel.
"I get you, but we were never here remember. We can't risk the Klingons getting wind of our black ops. It could push us over the edge into a war if they taught that the federation was prepared to go behind their backs and take out one of their allies. Even if they are criminal scum!" Zach replied as he began to tinker inside the warhead casing. "As far as anyone will be concerned, the warheads we're improperly handled, which vaporized them in their sleep.....Nausicans are famously heavy-handed."
Meanwhile, Danny and J'tel set up a grid of pattern enhancers to aid their extraction. "Timer is set for 45 seconds! Zach, report!" Danny growled as he finished setting up the grid.
"I'm having a little trouble..."
'ZZZCHHHCT!' the maintenance panel overloaded in front of Piers, who pushed away from the warhead making it unsteady.
Piers was now lying unconscious with serious burns, whilst Zach became pinned by the warhead now sat on top of him. As J'tel rushed to drag Piers to the pattern enhancers Danny rushed to the aid of his brother. He tried in vain to lift the warhead from his brother's legs as he screamed in pain, masking the subtle warning queue of the warhead counting down to detonation.
"GO!, LEAVE ME, IT'S ACTIVE!" He yelled as he watched his brother desperately try to free him.
"MARINES DONT LEAVE EACHOTHER BEHIND!" Danny screamed in response, now aware of the seconds counting down "8....7....6.....5.....4.....3....2.....1...."
Danny shielded his eyes... not that that would protect him form a two hundred iso-ton detonation.
A few more seconds passed, and Danny started to wonder if the warhead had even gone off. He opened his eyes to discover he was looking at the bulkhead at the side of his bunk on the Majestic.
He sat up and gave his face a good massage, "Computer What time is it?" he queried.
"Errr Cap..." A familiar voice groaned from behind.
Danny whipped his head around having been startled by the unexpected response there sat against a tree with the rain beating off his face was Piers looking very confused. "You okay Cap?" he said softly.
Danny looked around once more, confused himself "Wait...this isn't right," he said to himself before his mind became consumed once again by his dream state.
The warmth of his blanket slowly faded away and he felt the bitter cold of the planet in his fingers. His boots felt sodden and his uniform waterlogged as he looked up at the dark rain clouds above him.
His mind cleared and his brief moment of panic faded into the background.
"Yeah, I'm fine lieutenant...It will be night soon, best get ready to move out!" he whispered.
Meanwhile..... Back in Reality, Junior Officers Quarters USS Majestic
The officers in the bunk room all awoke startled with the jolt from the ship coming to an abrupt stop. Assuming some sort of an emergency they all rushed from their bunks and frantically got dressed before rushing for the door.
That is, except for LT Daniel Lawless, still unwoken and looking far from serene as he remained trapped in his nightmare.
To Be Continued...
LT (JG) Daniel J Lawless
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
