Broken Arrow

Posted on Sun Apr 13th, 2025 @ 11:04am by Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Lieutenant Imik S'Niohun & Lieutenant Inara Senn & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix

2,598 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Genetic Purity
Location: Neues Deutschland

Aboard the Washington, things were in a panic. The ship rocked as the shields were impacted multiple times. "What the hell?" questioned Shran, his antennae raised and his face coming flush in anger.

"Low yield photon torpedoes" Lt Ibarra said from Ops. "They have multiple launchers on the surface that were camouflaged somehow, possibly cloaked.

"Are we in danger?" questioned Shran.

"As long as the shields remain up, the torpedoes aren't powerful enough to harm us. They have a striking resemblance to Klingon photon torpedoes from the 22nd century" Ibarra replied. "I would note sir, that while the shields are up, we can't transport the away team from the surface. I am also detecting some sort of high energy shield coming up over the colony. It is reflecting our communications signals."

Shran was beyond annoyed or even angry at this point. Somehow these people had managed to blitzkrieg and force him to retreat or risk losing the ship. "Take us out of orbit, but only as far as is necessary to get out of range of their weapons. Imik, keep us at red alert. I want to have a meeting with you and a few others in the conference room in 5 minutes. Ibarra, you have the bridge" he said as he angrily left the bridge and went into his Ready Room.

As the situation became painfully clear, Imik checked her instruments. "As you command Sinkahue, but we need to think outside of the normal parameters to defeat this opponent."

Colony

In the square where the away team remained, the sky seemed to turn a shade of hazy red as some sort of energy shield seemed to come into place. "You'll note Commander that your communications devices no longer work as far as your ship is concerned, and you might also like to know that your vessel is being forced out of orbit. It seems your captain is wise enough to retreat rather than risk his ship in a direct conflict" the Chancellor stated flatly. "Now, shall we go have those conversations?"

Kate woke up shaking. Her ears rang and she felt like she was going to pass back out again. The skin between her shoulder blades burned where she got stunned and shock was quickly transferring to pain at a level where her teeth clicked rapidly. Her dark eyes looked down at the pavement as a tear streamed down her cheek and she she sucked in air sharply. Her body began to shake more as she got to her knees so she could breathe better without wheezing. The disorientation was so severe that she couldn't even pay attention to the men around her as she traced the lines between the brick square they had been assaulted on. Her arms hung loosely at her sides because her back felt like it was on fire again when she tried to cross them in front of her chest. The young girl was only reacting to the transition between unconsciousness and lucidity with the understanding of anything beyond the immense pain on hold.

Jon looked at Kate and Ayana as they regained consciousness then went to Callie and the others before he turned on the Chancellor. "And this how hosts treat guests? By assaulting them? You speak of conversation, yet your actions speak differently. I will say that if you continue on this course of action, you will be making a dangerous enemy. One you do not wish to provoke." His voice cold and filled with barely controlled anger.

"Please, Commander, spare me your faux outrage. Your people arrived at our colony and killed our people. Yes, we are fully aware of you destroying our vessel that was in orbit. And your mouthy little friend there has made it clear that our genetic augmentation makes us clear candidates for the same treatment. Now, you can come quietly, or you can be stunned and dragged."

"You think genetic alteration makes one superior? Oh you simple fools." Inara Senn noted. "You are stumbling in a universe, and a reality you cannot understand, and allow me to clarify if you lack the ability to understand. It is an array of strengths and weaknesses that defines us, for if you cannot understand your shortcomings, you cannot understand your strengths." Inara Senn mentioned. "You will learn this soon."

"Your people? You mean genetic experiments don't you Chancellor? And my rage is real. We haven't attacked your people on the colony, and we could have laid waste to it if we wanted to. However, all your talk of not harming anyone is just talk. You attacked two of my people and I'm sure more physical harm will come our way if we decide not to carry on conversations with you." Jon fired back.

Kate stumbled to her feet despite her eyes still trying to roll into the back of her head. Her slender frame swayed until she found that semi-kneeling with her forearms against her knees seemed to make the world not spin. She wiped some of the spit from her mouth and continued to wheeze while stifling a whimper. Still, she said nothing. She didn't think she could handle being stunned again and didn't understand how other officers could handle it so well when it felt like concentrated hell. She could feel the breeze on her back which soothed the patch of exposed scorched skin just underneath the small hole in the back of her uniform just below her neck. She found that if she leaned at just the right angle, more air could get in which created a natural relief for her while her mind finally collated the information around her; the guards, the distance between each person, the people speaking, the fact that they are all standing in-between where shots could be fired and where their targets (they) were. Kate realized they wouldn't likely fire at her again if she moved herself within the foreground of their leaders as they talked to Jon. They wouldn't risk shooting their boss.

Kate made that move and hobbled closer to Jon so that they couldn't get a shot off without changing their background reference. Being stunned once was enough.

Inara drew her phaser and immediately took cover behind a wall from a nearby building. She targeted and fired on the chancellor which served as a distraction for whatever guards happened to be around there. It would distract their attention just long enough not to keep on shooting at them, but to regroup. "Move dammit, back to the shuttlecraft, and don't let them catch you!!!" Suffice to say, the Dominion War Inara Senn kicked in, and this was a furious, ruthless bitch.

"Fools" the General stated before signaling his men. Suddenly the Augments moved with lightning speed as the blitzkrieg commenced, in capacitating the entire away team in mere moments.

"You should've read more German philosophy. Nietzsche would've been a perfect guidebook to know what to expect. We are der Übermensch" the Chancellor noted as they gather everyone and separated them into two groups. "We are stronger, faster, and more intelligent than all of you. And that is just the beginning of our superiority. Look at you, with your puny inferiors like this Japanese female. Ever the good Dr. Goebbels could snap her in two with relative ease."

"All in good time" Goebbels stated, her voice dripping with venom.

With everyone now bound, they marched the two groups to different locales: Ayana, Callie, Kate, and Inara to the dark mysterious building, and Jon, Seth, and Phoenix to the Thule Society complex. The feeling now was completely different. The facades both sides were fronting were gone, completely broken and tossed aside. Now they were going to discover the truth of both sides.

"Nietzche? Seriously, this is all these people read?" Inara noted as she was moved along. "he man who believed that 'God is dead' and that the superman was the next logical evolutionary step. How delightfully edgy for his time. And by 'edgy,' I mean the intellectual equivalent of a child scribbling 'I hate my parents' on the wall of a fancy gallery."

Kate didn't have the spare energy after being stunned to do so but she mustered up what she could to bump her bony shoulder against Inara.

"Inara," Kate whispered. "Getting stunned isn't a bunch of fun. I don't mind if they stun you but if they stun me again, I'm going to hack your holodeck next time you go on vacation on the beach. Whether it be a speedboat Titanic, or a -- serenade by Justin Bieber, I swear I'll do it... I'll so do it," Kate managed through a whimper as she trudged along in her bindings toward the big scary building.

"Now why would I want a speedboat Titanic, Kate. Granted we might be quite dead soon. Thanks to the wonderful idea our Captain had to shoot first as ask questions later." Inara mentioned.

"The two of you quit your bitching. We have a situation we have to deal with here. We've travelled back to the worst nightmares of the 20th century" Ayana stated firmly, her voice a bit labored as she recovered from being stunned. "Based on the feel of that disruptor blast, I'd say they have adapted Klingon technology and mixed it with Vulcan. Probably when they found whomever they experimented on to create that monstrosity up on that ship."

A soldier walked up behind Inara, "Get moving. Schnell!" and slammed a fist into the small of her back, the sound of her body being severely damaged ringing out.

Goebbels looked back at Inara and the solider, "Beschädigen Sie sie noch nicht." She looked at Inara and then back at the soldier, "Naja, den kann man schon ein bisschen beschädigen." Looking at Callie, "Behandeln Sie dieses mit Sorgfalt."

The soldier smiled as he looked at the pained expression on Inara's face and then locked hard in the ribs. "Beweg dich schnell, du Schwein."

Inara swallowed the pain. "Oh yes Deanna. I am going to survive this, then I am going to kill you for pissing them off."

Goebbels walked up to Inara and took her face into her left hand, placing it under her chin tightly. "You are a talker, but you are a complainer, one that seeks to shift blame to others for the inequities of life. That's good. You'll break easy, and then you will make for a good specimen for radical nonverbal communication. That is when I remove your tongue and vocal cords" she said with a smile.

Letting Inara go, she walked over to Kate. She looked at the frail tiny female. She looked at her with disdain, even disgust. "How could someone like you be allowed to survive. You appear to be a child that the Spartans would've discarded at birth. My ancestors would've left you to die as well. I'm not sure what use you might be, but I'm sure we'll find something for you."

Still stifling a sob, the young Asian girl looked up at the German despite shaking from the shock of the pain she had received from being stunned, her dark brows furrowed at Goebbels as a tear streaked down her cheek.

"I had good parents, I have twenty-ten vision, a kind heart, specialized training, and good aim," Kate finished that last like through clenched teeth. She wasn't scared, she was locked on target, and it was clear she didn't have much else to say and whatever she said, she meant with all her heart. "I'll aim lower so all your friends can find that out the hard way just as soon as my shipmates get me to a rifle. I'm done with you."

Kate clenched her mouth shut and looked through her like she was nothing. She just wanted to fight through the pain and have enough energy left to make good on her promise.

Inara could sense what Goebbels was going to do and moved with thought itself. Shielding Kate from another punch. "All your misconceptions about me, you bitch. You think I just place my problems on others?!?" Inara held her chest. "And you think I'm going to let you hurt one of my few friends. You think you're giving me pain? Dear miss... I've been given pain by things you cannot imagine, you in your superiority... I say this. I've met things that make all of us look like fighting chimpanzees, compared to that, you don't impress me."

Goebbels looked at Kate. "Pathetic. So weak that you need others to defend you." She then turned and looked at Inara. "You have spirit, I will grant you that. Perhaps I might have use for you after all. I look forward of hearing you regale of these powerful beings that you speak of and are on your mind." She offered a vile smile.

Meanwhile the men were taken in and sat down in a dimly lit cell with several soldiers guarding them. The General spoke with a man outside the cell, Sergeant Schultz, beobachten Sie diese Männer."

"Ja, mein General" Schultz responded, saluting his superior.

Jon sat quietly, thinking on their current situation as well as the women and their plight. "Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas gentleman?"

James slid over to Jon and spoke quietly. "I'm under the assumption that if they wanted us dead, they would have killed us already. I'm thinking that the soldiers guarding us are under orders to keep us alive. Maybe we could use that to our advantage?"

"That thought had crossed my mind as well as dead we make poor bargaining chips." Jon admitted.

Seth spoke up. "While you are both undoubtedly correct in that the soldiers are under orders to keep us alive. I feel I should point out the condition we are returned in was not specified. The soldiers don't have to shoot to kill, they can shoot to wound or maim. Same if they use hand to hand fighting style. We've already seen how fast they are."

Schultz looked back at the trio. "You three scheming? Perhaps we should separate you. I would seriously consider behaving and telling them what they want. They have your shuttle, you cannot escape."

Jon just offered a cryptic smile as way of a reply.

James snorted. "Fraternizing with the enemy, are we Sergeant?" The Lieutenant quipped, knowing damn well of the potential consequences. But it was borderline intentional. "I don't think that the General would be pleased."

"Should the general ask, I will tell him truthfully, I know nothing" Schultz offered with a slight smile. "In truth, you should know that not all who live here agree with how the ruling body go about things. Your arrival here has caused a stirring. The disillusionment of why we came here, what has been done, it has faded. But we must keep that secret, which is not easy to do from certain people here."

Captain's Ready Room

As she entered the ready room Imik noted Shran sitting with a black look on his face, the actions of the colony and the threat to the away team clearly had annoyed him. "You have a plan Sinkahue? Or are we to presume the away team are simply to be deserted to their fate?"

Shran looked up at Imik, "I do not abandon my people, and I don't lose. I certainly will not allow either of those things to happen here. We'll confer with some of the others, and then we will show these relics of a bygone era that they are superior to no one."

TBC

 

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