Revelation

Posted on Sun Nov 8th, 2020 @ 7:56pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard

Mission: Sabotage

Lt Fredrickson looked over the damaged systems. She reviewed what the tricorder was telling her and then looked at it up close and personal. Their was no doubt, this damage was not from natural wear and tear. This was battle damage, and based on what she could tell the damage was caused by Cardassian weapons.

She hit her comm badge, =^=Fredrickson to Grayson. Commander, we may have a serious problem here. I think these people have neglected to inform us about a recent Cardassian attack. Several of these systems have been damaged recently by Cardassian weapons fire. =^=

On the bridge of the Washington, Jon heard Fredrickson's report, heard the certainty of her observation. "Alright Lieutenant, I'm beaming down to your location, stay where you are." He finished and turned Celes, "The bridge is yours, going to see first hand what Fredrickson is talking about. Let the Captain know." With that he headed for the lift, next stop the transporter room.

Celes nodded and moved to the command position. She hit her comm badge, =^=Celes to Shran. Jon is heading to transporter room to return to the planet. Lt Fredrickson has reported that damage done on the planet is from recent Cardassian weapons fire and he wishes to confirm on site. =^=

Shran placed the large PaDD down he was reviewing in his quarters and sat up from the lounge chair, a look of concern on his face. =^=Cardassians? Very good lieutenant. I'll be on the bridge shortly. Shran out. =^=

The Andorian stood up and moved to his closet to get his uniform. He hit his comm badge once more, =^=Shran to Grayson. Celes relayed the message to me. Keep me apprised of the situation on the surface. Press the governor for answers regarding this potential Cardassian weapons fire. I suspect something amiss. =^=

Still in the hospital Sam kept her eyes peeled for anything that was out of the ordinary. There was an unusual number of blunt forced trauma and energy weapon injuries currently being treated, something that seemed odd considering the peaceful nurture of the planet they were currently on. With Fredrickson also finding damage inconsistent with the usual wear and tear you would expect Sam was a little on edge.

She pulled out her medical tricorder and approached one of the patients in the guise of looking over the medical equipment.

"I'm just taking some readings and comparing them to our standard treatment protocols" she said warmly as the patient opened his eyes. An energy discharge injury was being treated on his shoulder.

" For my research purposes could you please let me know how you were injured" she asked, taking a seat next to the bed and keeping a keen eye out for anyone who may interfere. So far she was alone.

Jon beamed down, his arrival was unexpected and as such there was no one there to meet him. "All the better." He whispered as he went in search of Fredrickson. he found the engineer a short time later, working on the damaged systems but confusion was on her face. "Okay Lieutenant, show me what you've found." He asked. He trusted his specialists and their expertise. This was no different he would listened to what the engineer had to say,

Fredrickson looked up as the Commander approached, crawling out from underneath a damaged control panel.

"Oh, Hey Commander" She said by way of greeting, attempting to rub the soot off her face with her sleeve and failing miserably. " This is the weirdest thing. It looks like a direct energy blast, but the surface has been hastily repair leaving the guts of it still a fried mess. " She started, giving up on wiping the soot from her face. " I can't tell for certain what kind of weapon it was, but it was something with a similar power level of a standard Starfleet phaser. Whoever got in here, they wanted to damage the power grid." She pointed to several scorch marks on the walls and various panels. Most had been hastily concealed with paint or badly repaired.

Up on the Washington, Shran entered the bridge. As he did, Ayana called out, "I have a Cardassian vessel on attack vector. It just dropped out of warp. Keldon class."

"Red alert!" exclaimed Shran as he took his position and Celes scrambled to Ops. "What is the Cardassian doing?"

"Cardassian has raised shields and powered weapons. I am also detecting 2 Hideki class vessels moving on our flank" said Ayana.

"We're vulnerable in our current situation. Break orbit. Set course 158.55, half impulse" ordered Shran. "Notify Cmdr Grayson on the surface that we have Cardassian marauders inbound and for him to take command of the defense on the planet."

On the planet Jon was still in conversation with Fredrickson when word came from the Washington about the Cardassian warships. "Carolyn, your with me. We need to find Sam and set up the colony's defense as Cardassians are inbound."

" Erp!" The young engineer squeaked as she quickly shoved her tools back in the toolbox and slung it over her shoulder. " Last I saw she was in the hospital..." she offered, hoping that by some extraordinary means that the Commander would know exactly where Sam was.

Howard meanwhile was still chatting with the patient she had been building a dialogue with. It was slow work, earning the trust of a stranger to tell what they'd obviously been instructed to conceal. But she felt she was making progress. Tricorder in hand she took numerous readings and began to draw her own conclusions. Something was very much afoot.

Jon looked around saw the hospital not far from their location. "Okay, lets get over and get Sam. I want us all together."

" How the heck are we gonna defend ourselves against Cardassians?" Fredrickson was beginning to feel the effects of fear as it flooded through her body. She had the distinct impression the cause of those scorch marks on the control panels she was working on previously was about to return and cause more damage.

"You have a phaser, just like I do and Sam does. The colony has weapons and some sort of defensive grid. We'll use what we have and adapt to what we don't."

" But half the weapons array was damaged in whatever attack happened last time" Fredrickson blurted, feeling pretty certain that she was gonna die soon. They continued their spring towards the nearby hospital.

Inside the hospital an alarm sounded, shattering the busy but quiet atmosphere that had purveyed it previously. Sam looked up, not knowing what the alarm was but seeing fear in the patient's eyes. Something was about to go down.

" Howard to Grayson... where are you guys? Something's happening but I'm not sure what" She started, tapping her combadge to establish communications with her team.

"We're on our way to your location Sam. Where in the hospital are you?"

" Second floor, main trauma ward. There's an alarm sounding, I'll try and get out before the lock the doors" Howard replied, whispering an apology to the patient and bolting for the heavy doors designed to keep the patients safe from outward threats. She could hear the doors being closed further alone the wards, heavy thumps as they sealed echoing along the sterile hallways.

"Get a move on, we're almost there and I don't want the team split up." Jon answered as he and Fredrickson reached the hospital and pushed through the main doors. "We're in the lobby Sam."

The sound of running boots on polished floors could be heard through the open link with the ominous thumping of closing doors behind. She skittered around the corner, medkit in hand and made a beeline for the elaborate foyer where she could see Jon and Carolyn waiting. One more door to get through, she ran a little faster. There was an ornate staircase leading from the ground floor up several levels and it appeared to Sam to be the safest option rather than taking a lift. Much better to be out in the open. Taking the stairs 3 and 4 at a time she tried to stay on her feet and not faceplant in her haste.

Jon saw her Sam's mad dash towards them and he nudged Carolyn, "There she is! Lets go and meet her and then we can get out of here and set up some sort of defensive perimeter. My other concern is why didn't the Governor tell us about this? Something fishy going on here."

Carolyn tried to keep up with the long lope of Commander Grayson, her short legs struggling a little with the pace. Howard skidded to a stop before the ship's XO, her face flushed with exertion from her flight.

" What the heck is going on?" The Doctor puffed once she finally reached her companions. She had a gut feeling things were about to go pear shaped.

"Cardassians are inbound. "Got word from the Washington. One Keldon class and two Hideki class confronting the Washington. I'm to take command of the colony's defensive. Like I asked Carolyn, why didn't anyone mention Cardassians when we beamed down?"

" Maybe they're embarrassed, maybe they're scared, maybe they wanted us to come here and save their collective asses." Howard retorted, looking around the hospital. " We're not safe here, it's been overrun before."

"You may be right Sam. We can find out later if there is a later. Right now, lets get out of here and find a defensible position we can secure."

Sam looked around as they left the hospital. The options were somewhat limited for defensibly positions.

" Carolyn, what were you working on?" Sam huffed as they jogged into the town square. People were panicked and trying to find cover creating a chaotic feel all around them.

" Planetary defensive grid - it's over by the Town Hall" The young engineer pointed to the large imposing stone building to their left.

"That's our destination." Jon spoke, "Let's get there and get it online or whatever needs to be done. before we have unwelcomed company."