Not so Superior

Posted on Wed Apr 23rd, 2025 @ 1:30pm by Lieutenant Ayana Hillis & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Lieutenant Inara Senn & Lieutenant Wyatt Steele & Lieutenant JG Vienna Steele & Commander John Smith

2,286 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Genetic Purity
Location: Neues Deutschland

Breaking into the building hadn't been too hard for Smith and his team. They had encountered light resistance initially, but with the panic from the Washington bombarding from orbit, it seemed most personnel that were meant to be in place for defenses had fled. Breaking into the local computer database to get a layout of the building had been easy. The team were making their way up to a lab complex. According to the tricorder readings, two female hostages were up here, which based on intel from the ship meant that they were looking for Lt Hillis and Lt Senn.

In the lab, Bismarck was readying his surgical equipment. Unlike most, the attack on the colony didn't frighten him. He was of a singular mind it seemed, driven to complete whatever task he was undertaking. At the moment, he seemed intent on opening up Ayana, though he seemed inclined to do so in a different way than he had with Kate.

Inara wanted to make the son-of-a-bitch scream, but she did not have the time. She gently opened the door as he was facing away from the door and began. She moved silently, and holding up her finger at Ayana to keep her quiet. She then raised her rifle at his head and put a disruptor bolt into Bismarck's cranium.

As he fell over, Inara stared at his surprised face. "That was for Kate."

Ayana looked at Inara, "Nice, but what about them?"

"Settle down lieutenant. We're here to rescue you. You looked like you needed to deal with that and had things in hand, so we let you tend to it. Now, if you don't mind, I believe we have just enough time to go looking for this Chancellor fellow before the captain turns this place into an archeological site.

Ayana sighed. "At least I get out of here. " She got off the table once unstrapped and grabbed a phaser from the holster of Lt Peck. She set it to her desired setting and fired it at a large group of machines along the wall, vaporizing them. "No more experiments for these people."

"Nice" Smith said with a smile. "Shall we go now ladies?" he asked rhetorically.

"C'mon, everyone. Let's go find Commander Grayson and get out here. Damned colony is a bag of cats." Inara mentioned. "Someone get me a good phaser and a tricorder cuz it looks like we're doing this the hard way."


**********

Oberth led the group down into the sublevels of the facility and into the reinforced bunker. The Chancellor followed inside, followed by Jon, Hess, and then a quartet of guards. Oberth closed and the sealed the doors. "We will be safe in here Chancellor" he said confidently.

Wyatt, Vi and the rest of the team had first found the shuttle surprisingly unguarded, and it had been decided to blow it up to create a diversion. Charges had been set to completely destroy the shuttle so nothing would remain. Moving quickly away, the team waited until a resounding explosion shook the building. Only then did they resume their search for the missing away team members, going deeper into the building in their search.

In the bunker, Jon heard the explosion even through the bunker's thick walls. "That would be the shuttle blowing up. You fellas picked the wrong people to fight. They are coming for you and there is nothing you can do to stop them."

“Let’s hope our people aren’t in as bad a condition as those already brought up” Vienna looked at Wyatt concernedly.

"I agree Vi." Wyatt replied as the team made their way deeper into the bunker, looking for the missing away team members.

"Do not worry Chancellor. Even if they were to locate this bunker, it can take multiple direct hits from photon torpedoes and not even show a scratch. We are safe and secure here" Hess said confidently.

"Boy, I thought you guys would have learned to think before making asinine comments that end up being dead wrong. In your cases, the operative word is dead." Jon replied confident that Hess and the others were going to be proven wrong very soon.

Vienna checked her readouts as they ventured further, stopping to motion which way to go as her tricorder picked up on life signs. “I’ve got Commander Grayson, he’s this way.”

"Good job Vi. Keep a lock on him." Wyatt replied as the team drew closer to Jon's location.

“This way…” Vi lead the way until they came to the location. “Behind this wall, but he’s not alone.”

"How many others are in there with him Vi?Can you get an accurate reading?" Wyatt asked.

"Good god." Inara used her tricorder. "We might as well have beamed down to a planet full of Romulans. They want to use the Commander as a hostage. Do they understand we don't do standoffs?" Inara mentioned. "Bureaucrats never surprise me. When they get in too deep, it's time to grab hostages, seal themselves away in some bunker, and hope they get out of the situation they've created for themselves."

"Seems these Augments haven't quite perfected the human genome after all" Ayana noted.

**********

Inara looked at the Bunker Entrance. She tossed the tricorder into mid-air and grabbed it and flipped it open. "Concrete, some primitive form of tritanium, reinforced by titanium. And very German Engineered. I've got good news, bad news, and terrible news." She told the team alongside her. "Good news is our weapons can penetrate this thing."

"No need to give the rest of the news. Obvious what it is. What we need it to pull a rabbit out of our hat" Cmdr Smith noted, looking at Wyatt and his team.

"Transporters sir" Murdoch noted.

"Is that an option?" Ayana inquired.

"Absolutely. The colony shields have been down for a couple minutes now" Murdoch replied.

Smith offered a wry grin. "I love it when a plan comes together. Have the ship transport us up along with the Commander. That'll leave things here open for the captain to do as he wishes, be it diplomacy or burning down this recreation of a horrible era."

"I say we crater only this bunker, as I made a promise to some poor fool here, I'd try to convince the captain not to take it out on the rest of the colony, make no mistake. The assholes in this bunker deserve it." Inara mentioned.

"I can certainly do that to these fools" Chief Baracus noted.

"That isn't my call. While I get the sentiment, that ultimately is a decision for the captain. You'll need to take your case to him" Smith replied to Inara. "Now then, let's ruin somebody's day with a brilliant use of technology."

Inside the bunker the Chancellor looked on nervously as Oberth and Hess worked the various computers, trying to get a handle on everything going on. They had noted that a contingent had converged outside their position but assured the Chancellor that they were safe, that nobody was getting in, and they were trying to get the colony weapons back online, as well as the shields. It was a futile task, as the weapons platforms had been destroyed, and the shield batteries were all overloaded.

Suddenly, before the Chancellor's eyes, Jon began to dematerialize in a blue hue. The three Augments could do nothing about it as Jon disappeared completely, leaving them alone in the bunker. Suddenly the sound of impacts could be heard from outside.

The Chancellor looked to Oberth and Hess, "Was passiert?"

"Wir werden aus der Umlaufbahn bombardiert" Oberth replied. "Sie werden uns bombardieren und diesen Bunker in ein Grab verwandeln."

The Chancellor panicked, "Ihr Idioten! Meldet euch bei ihnen und sagt ihnen, dass wir uns ergeben, bevor es zu spät ist."


************

On the Washington, the rescue teams materialized with the remaining away team members. Tarja began to scan them to check for injuries. "Welcome back. Now hold still" she said in that gentle yet stern Andorian manner of hers.

“No need for scans, I’m good” Vienna smiled as she stood aside to let the injured be treated.

"Fine, scan me; then I need to go talk to the captain." Inara mentioned.

"I would prefer the three of you come to sickbay. I don't read any serious injuries, but Dr. Howard will want to do a more thorough checkup" Tarja replied.

“I’ll accompany everybody there, if only to satisfy the fact that I’m fine.” Vienna offered a smile.

Wyatt grinned at his wife. "Now Vi, I know you are fine, and you know you are fine but let the doctor do her job and find out for herself."

Jon listened to Wyatt and Vienna; they reminded him of Callie and himself. Their love and affection for each other was obvious.

"I'm personally fine with leaving the fate of these people to the captain. I was lucky they didn't start into me before rescue arrived. I don't know what happened to everyone else, but poor Kate was seriously mutilated. I hope Sam was able to save her" Ayana noted.

"Dr. Howard is working on her right now. All of the away team we managed to beam up were in stable condition, though both Kono and Phoenix were critical" Tarja mentioned, hoping to put people at ease.

"Doc, Commander. Listen to me." Inara sighed. "There's people down there that do not have anything to do with the Chancellor's scheme. Goebbels tried to burrow into my mind and goddess damn it hurt, and the link worked both ways. But for the common person down there, they're not Augments. Genetically enhanced yes, and unfortunately, they were born this way. It's the Chancellor and his minions that were behind all of this." Inara mentioned. "Goebbels was not too enthusiastic about us being turned over to the 'mercies of Bismarck, Oberth, and Hess.' She wanted another solution that would not blow up in their face. So yes, if you're looking for people to blame, they're all in that bunker. Just tell this to dh'Klar, maybe he'll make better decisions this time around." Inara mentioned. "But if he wants to add genocide to his resume, it's none of my concern, as I'm beginning to abandon all concept of idealism these days."

"I'm not certain you got the whole picture" Ayana interjected. "You may be correct that they are not technically Augments, at least not as we might normally define them, but they most certainly are people that go against the rules and regulations of what is permissible under Federation guidelines, particularly for humans. They didn't just go the normal Augment route and create a colony full of Khan's, they went beyond that, making themselves into literally the Supermen their ideology told them to be, unnatural powers included. Now maybe a few of them went out of their way to hatch some sinister plan, but that isn't for you to decide. The captain has to make the call on this."

Jon listened to Inara and then Ayana as they argued over the colony and its leader's actions. "I will brief the captain on this fully. I think the colony shouldn't be destroyed but severely crippled. Leave dwellings, hospitals, education buildings, power sources. But phaser batteries destroyed, photon torpedo launchers destroyed, colony shield destroyed. Their leaders should be taken and judged before the Federation court. The colonists have to know, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This has to hurt them. Make them stop and think."

Tarja didn't know what to think at this point. "Alright, rescue personnel are free to go. I think it best for the rest of you to come to sickbay. Commander, I suppose I should let you speak with the captain, but after that I want you down in sickbay. Dr. Howard will have me launched out the nearest torpedo tube if she finds out I didn't have you brought straight to her for a complete checkup."

Jon nodded, "Sure thing Tarja. No worries." He replied but it was clear he was thinking on what had just transpired on the planet below them.

"I at least kept my promise to Goebbels, and that is enough Commander. She let me go when I promised I would do what I could to convince our captain to be merciful. That is done." Inara mentioned. "And also, the man that hurt Kate and Callie. I would have done worse to him, as he certainly deserved it. Regardless, Commander, I made sure he is dead." Inara noted. "Anyway, I am going to sickbay just to prove to them that I am not injured, physically. Mentally... it's just more pain to add to the rest."

Vienna looked towards Wyatt. “So do we need to bother reporting to Sickbay? We’re not injured, we’ll just end up wasting time they could be sorting out someone else.”

Wyatt shook his head slightly, "No, come on, well just sneak away, hopefully unnoticed."

"Hey Doc. You have two Lieutenants over here that are trying to duck out. You should do them first; they may have some kind of Ceti Eel in their brains." Inara smirks.

"No need. They are free to go" Tarja replied.

"And we get to avoid sickbay as well. All the better. Not a big fan of doctors" Murdoch mentioned.

"Don't mind him, doctor. He had a bad experience with a doctor once, never been quite the same since" Lt Peck quickly said.

"Go on and get out of here before I change my mind" Tarja said, slight irritation in her voice. "Lieutenants, come with me" she said to Inara and Ayana. "We'll expect you shortly in sickbay Commander."

 

RSS Feed