Ingress

Posted on Thu Jul 10th, 2025 @ 1:06pm by Lieutenant Aidan O'Connor & Lieutenant Ánderijá "Rija" Rautajärvi & Senior Chief Petty Officer Cassius "Cash" Cullers

2,233 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Wounds From the Mirror
Location: Main Engineering

The cargo hold was quiet but for the hiss of environmental processors and the low buzz of concealed weaponry being checked and re-checked. Six figures moved in a tight rhythm: sliding charge packs into rifles, strapping gauntlets, fastening mirrored rank pips that caught the weak light bending it across their collars.

At the center, Rija stood still. He did not check his blade. He did not speak. His gaze shifted slowly, once, across the others--like a shark considering each small fish in a nearby school. His breath was so shallow his chest barely moved beneath the matte-black combat weave.

A final glance at the mission slate in his hand. The text scrolled by in terse, bloodless lines: Primary: Secure counterparts alive. Secondary: Take engineering control. Tertiary: Hostage acquisition as needed. Collateral discouraged.

Discouraged. Not forbidden.

He felt the faint itch of annoyance at the word. Sloppy killing wasted resources. Wasted leverage. Made fools of the killers. He would have them in an agony booth if they disobeyed. Pain taught more than shouting ever could.

He flexed his right hand once, slow, then slung the coil whip at his side into its catch. He didn't believe in final checks. One either was ready, or one was dead.

A nod. One by one, the team stepped onto the transporter pads. The shimmer caught in his eyes like stainless steel under water. He did not blink.


* * *


Main Engineering aboard the Washington felt almost peaceful. The warp core pulsed in its cathedral-blue glow. For the first time in two days, the console alerts were all green, diagnostic loops trailing off into quiet.

Rija stood at the main diagnostic hub, wiping his hands on a cloth already dark with insulation dust. He looked up at the warp matrix, let his shoulders drop a fraction. A breath, the first real one in hours. To his right, Aidan O'Connor had unzipped his uniform jacket halfway, and leaned against a console. To his left, Cash Cullers was seated with his feet up on systems console. A few engineers laughed at something--a joke about plasma injectors and wedding rings.

It was then that the klaxon shrieked. Red alert strobed across every console. A sense of urgency had invaded.

Rija's eyes narrowed. He slapped his comm badge. "Rautajärvi to Bridge. Report."

Silence.

He tried again. Nothing.

His eyes followed Cash's toward a display above the console the bald former marine was seated at. A series of systems were quickly and efficiently having control transferred. It appeared as though someone on the Bridge had issued commands to perform emergency lock-outs on the remaining systems but were struggling.

If someone were attempting to gain control of Washington's critical systems, that could only mean they were soon to be boarded or the ship captured entirely.

"Secure all critical relays! Aidan, lock down those access hatches now!"

"Already ahead of you lad," Aidan replied as he completed the task. He looked over at a trio of engineers that had been joking only a few moments ago, "Do you not see the and hear the status change? Get to your emergency posts now!" He mumbled something about having newly minted graduates being wet behind the ears as he began working on a new task.

"Looks like somebody is knows the codes to take things over, but they weren't prepared for Cmdr Celes and her unnatural speed on the computer lockouts. We've got to isolate our systems from those tampering bastards. I will focus on the warpcore and keeping power to the ship, you focus on all subsystems. Got to believe something bad will be happening soon, so we have to be quick. Encrypt the controls, use security protocol Iota 2. They'll need to know Ojnas to get through it or be able to break three senior officer codes" he replied to Rija as they both worked quickly.

"Multiple transport signatures detected throughout the ship," reported Cash, immediately drawing his sidearm.

Several engineers began immediately opening the weapons lockers and handing-out phasers. One was passed to Rija while he struggled to add another layer of encryption around the main computer.

Then, there was a crackle of transporter beams.

Six silhouettes formed out of the shimmer--black-clad, mirrored insignias, eyes that were far too still. A phaser bolt split the air. Someone screamed. Another engineer slammed into the floor, phaser rolling from limp fingers.

Rija moved first. He launched himself at the closest intruder, a lean woman with a cranial implant gleaming at her temple. His left palm snapped forward in a Baji Quan opening strike, knocking her arm high. He pivoted, elbow crushed into her throat, twisting her wrist until the weapon dropped. He slammed her head against the console edge, twice. She folded without a sound.

Two more invaders ducked behind power relays, rerouting main grid controls, using interface overlays they'd transported in with. Another mirror officer fired into the melee, catching an ensign in the thigh. Blood arced up against the warp core casing.

The intruders entrance caught everyone by surprise, but Aidan wasn't about to leave Engineering, not the ship, at the mercy of these people. While others fought, he focused his attention to locking down the controls, activating encryption protocols. A disruptor bolt flew through the air, striking Cash in the left shoulder, just as Aidan activated the encryption lockdown. He looked up and then charged at the firing intruder.

His bullrush caught the intruder flatfooted as he smashed him into the railing around the warpcore. He immediately followed with an uppercut, connecting firmly with the jaw of the intruder and sending blood and a tooth flying from his mouth. "We don't fire particle weapons around the warpcore!" he exclaimed in an angry voice as he began a flurry of jabs and crosses to the intruder's head, finishing him with one hell of a haymaker that dropped the intruder to the ground like a pound of wet limp spaghetti. He rushed over to check on Cash, pulling out his clean rag from his back pocket and placing it to the wound to stop the bleeding. He quickly used his free hand to hit his comm badge, =^= Intruder alert. Intruders in Engineering. =^=

Rija spun from his first target; hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. He lunged at another intruder, catching the phaser arm, twisting it up and back until the elbow gave way under his grip. The man shrieked, dropping to his knees. Rija caught the phaser, stunned him point-blank, eyes never wavering.

And then--

A stillness.

Across the deck, standing by the warp core controls, a figure loomed. Same height. Same hair, swept carelessly. Same build under the dark weave uniform. But the eyes--there was no light there. No warmth. No quirk of the brow. Just a bloodless calm like a shark.

Mirror-Rija stepped forward, boot heels striking like a languid drumbeat. The coil whip at his hip twitched faintly, as though it were alive.

Rija held the phaser, breathing hard. Blood on his sleeve, his cheek. He felt his own heart hammering, heard it echoing against the core pulse.

You," he said, voice hoarse.

Mirror-Rija tilted his head a fraction. His mouth twitched at the corner--it wasn't a smile. More like the flicker of a blade.

"I need you alive," the other Rija said at last. His voice was low, each word spaced as if selecting them carefully, tasting them. "But if you insist on this... theater... I can revise."

Rija shifted his stance, dropping low, phaser trained at his mirror's chest. He glanced at the surviving engineers--Aidan, Cash, two others hunched behind consoles for cover.

"Get out if you can," Rija snapped over his shoulder. "Fall back to--"

The other Rija lunged forward, faster than seemed possibly, palming slicing the phaser aside. The weapon clattered away. They collided, forearm to forearm, force driving them back against the console edge.

Their eyes locked.

Rija pushed up into a rising palm strike, but his counterpart parried, trapping the elbow, turning the momentum. Rija felt the crack of the console edge against his spine, air exploding from his lungs.

The other Rija leaned in close, his breath cold and fetid.

"You're a craftsman," he whispered. "I can see it in your hands. In your pulse." His grip shifted, controlling Rija's wrist as though it were a delicate instrument. "I won't break you. Yet."

Rija snarled, bucked his weight, managed to slam a knee into the mirror's side. A grunt--just barely. Mirror-Rija's free hand snapped up, knuckles cutting across Rija's temple. White burst behind his eyes.

He staggered, caught a glimpse of Aidan pulling one of the mirror invaders away from the warp core. Cash was bleeding, but fighting, head down like an old bull.

Rija turned back, half-dazed. His counterpart straightened, fixing his hair as though he'd only been adjusting something and not disarming his twin.

"You're coming with me," Mirror-Rija said, stepping forward again. "Or I can start collecting pieces. Your choice."

Rija's chest rose and fell, hands curling, slipping in sweat and blood. His vision doubled, then steadied.

"Go to hell," he rasped.

The other Rija's mouth twitched again--an approval.

"Perhaps," he said softly, "but not today."

They closed the space in a single breath, two reflections--one blurred with exhaustion and fury, the other sharp as a sword, cold as a ice. The warp core pulsed behind them, lighting their faces in flashes.

Rija hit the deck hard enough to knock the wind from him. His head slammed against the cold plating, stars bursting behind his eyelids. Before he could pull air back into his lungs, the other Rija dropped a knee into his chest, pinning him.

There was a crack somewhere deep--ribs. Possibly two.

He tried to twist free, but a fist crashed into his cheek, splitting skin open along the brow. Blood spilled into his eyes, hot and salty. Another blow caught his jaw, rattling his teeth. The deck swam beneath him, red pulses in rhythm with his heart.

Cash roared from somewhere behind, but it ended with a wet thud, and then silence.

Rija's hands clawed at his counterpart's forearm, slick with sweat and his own blood. The real Rija's breath turned into ragged, shallow wheezes. He spit blood onto his double's sleeve, teeth flecked crimson.

Mirror-Rija leaned in close, pale eyes flat and dead as frost.

"Easy now," he murmured, almost kind. "Stay still."

He flexed his hand once, weighing it like a delicate tool. Then his fingers drifted up to Rija's ear, thumb brushing along the lobe.

"This would make a fine trophy," he said softly, as though discussing a piece of driftwood. "A reminder of this moment."

Rija's vision narrowed into a tunnel. The distant hum of the warp core seemed to become louder, as if telling him to get up and fight.

A thin blade suddenly appeared in the other Rija's hand. He brought it close--close enough that Rija could feel the kiss of metal against the torn skin of his face.

Then--

"Stop."

The voice, sharp as a whip crack, sliced through the air.

Mirror-Rija froze. The blade paused, trembling less than an inch above Rija's ear. Slowly, he turned his head to look over his shoulder.

She stepped into view like a ghost slipping out of a dream--leather clinging to her frame, dark and smooth as oil. Her hair fell in coiled ringlets, tighter, crueler than softness. It was Clemmie.

Two guards followed in her wake--massive, stone-faced, each with a disruptor slung low and a blade at the hip. They flanked her like noble hunting hounds.

Clemmie's gaze swept across the room--bodies sprawled and consoles broken. Finally, her eyes landed on Rija.

She smirked at him and stepped forward, her boots clicking sharply.

"No good to us damaged," she said, her English accent laced with dark amusement. "Besides--" She cocked her head slightly, appraising Rija as if he were some half-finished sculpture. "I look forward to his interrogation. Would be a shame to ruin that face before we start."

Mirror-Rija shifted his weight, straightening slowly. The blade vanished into his wrist sheath with a tiny snap. His body language morphed from predator to obedient dog in an instant.

He pressed a fist to his chest in salute. "Inquisitor," he said, tone stripped entirely of warmth.

Clemmie nodded once, lazy and dismissive. Her gaze lingered on Rija, as though she could already taste the questions she'd peel from him.

A ragged breath shuddered through Rija's chest. His head lolled to the side, vision doubling. The warp core's glow pulsed. Blood pooled in the corner of his mouth, dripped along his jaw. His fingers twitching helplessly at his side.

Over the other Rija's shoulder, he saw a blur of motion--Aidan, maybe. Or a ghost. Then gone.

Mirror-Rija snapped to attention again, stepping away from the battered body at his feet. His voice, cold and clipped, cut through the haze as he barked orders:

"Secure Engineering! Seal all access points. Any survivors--bind them. No stray fire near the core."

Rija felt the weight of unconsciousness pressing down on him. His eyelids fluttered a couple of times. He tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out, palms smearing red across the deck.

As his head dropped, his last clear image was of Mirror-Clemmie and the other Rija conversing while the remaining invaders set to their orders.

Then nothing.


TBC

 

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