Forty-Two Gamma

Posted on Sun Mar 8th, 2015 @ 7:53am by Lieutenant Augustus Deakin & Commander Jordan Gunning & Valia

Mission: Sins of Lives Past
Location: Deck 707

Augustus Deakin was not much of a fisherman, but he suddenly felt a strange sympathy for the worm writhing on the end of a hook. Though he very much doubted the worm knew what it was getting into and went headfirst onto that hook anyway.

Gus knew what was waiting for him down the end of corridor forty-two gamma on Deck 707 and he was about to head down there anyway. What kind of madness is this? Dangling at the end of his own hook, vulnerable, exposed. All to catch a dangerous ghost from his past.

He dismissed Ensign Saal, his usual assistant on this inspection run, and headed for forty-two gamma on his own. Telan’s people probably weren’t stupid and if they were half as smart as he gave them credit for they would have known he was dropping breadcrumbs for them. They would have seen that the corridor was an obvious trap, but also their best chance at successfully grabbing him. They would know that Starfleet security personnel were waiting to spring that trap and they would prepare accordingly. That meant violence. That meant people were going to be hurt. Gus saw no sense in dragging his Saurian subordinate into that crossfire.

Now walking alone, carrying only a PADD, he headed for forty-two gamma. His mouth was dry and his heart thumped in his chest as adrenaline coursed through his veins. This was either going to work, or it wasn’t. Whatever the outcome, he would know in just a few minutes. He steeled himself, walked with a purpose and kept his old marine sergeant steely composure. One last breath, one last pump of the heart and he rounded the corner.

Valia hugged the side of the corridor tightly, staying out of sight of the passageway to her left. In her left hand was her tricorder, silently scanning and watching for sign of Deakin. In her other hand was her disruptor, ready to be trained on anyone stupid enough to get in their way. With the sensors confirming that Deakin was on his way, she put the device away and sent a hand signal across the way to Telan. The plan was simple: grab Deakin, shoot any security teams that tried to ambush him, and beam out. The ship had already been cleared from its berth and set on autopilot to leave the station. Everything had to be carefully timed. If Deakin didn't arrive soon, their small ship may fly out of transporter range. They could easily reroute the ship's flight plan, but that would become immediately suspicious, and make their escape that much more difficult. It had been her plan, so she hoped for her sake that it worked. Telan was not known for taking failure lightly.

"You ready?" Zezz'a hissed across the tight corridor at his colleague. He gripped his phaser tightly and double checked its beam setting. It was set to a heavy stun and would do the trick perfectly if he needed it.

"Ready as I'm going to be," Valia whispered back. "Remember, Deakin is the target. Just grab him and beam back to the ship."

Telan moved into the corridor ahead of the target. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He was so close now, so near to achieving the one goal he had remaining. He was boiling with excitement and had to concentrate to keep calm. He didn't want to screw this up.

Darby followed Telan into the corridor, more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. She wanted to get away, but Bothek had been on her hip the entire time; maybe he suspected something. Even so, she kept looking around. Hoping that some opportunity to escape would present itself.

When Deakin turned into corridor forty-two gamma, he saw the three figures standing three quarters of the way down its length. Two of them - a human female and a Ferengi male - he didn't recognise. But the stunted stature of the Tellarite was unmistakable. He didn't miss a step and kept walking straight down towards them.

As soon as Deakin passed them, Valia motioned for Zezz'a to follow her. With her disruptor gripped tightly in her hand, she fell in step a few meters behind the officer.

"Surprised to see me alive, Augustus," Telan sneered as Deakin approached. The tall human coming to a halt only a few metres from him.

Deakin sized Telan's companions up; they looked like they would barely hold their own in a fight. The Ferengi was, well, a Ferengi, and the human's face had gone a shade of white usually reserved for paint. But it wasn't those two he was concerned about, or Telan for that matter. No, the real worries were the two who followed him into the corridor. He hadn't seen them yet, but heard them. From their footfalls on the deck, one was big.

"Not at all," he shot back in a cheerful voice. He turned and looked back at the followers, sizing them up quickly and realising which one was the muscle. "I was wondering when you and your friends were going to say hello."

The casual tone of Deakin's voice infuriated Telan and he took a step forward. "We're not here to say hello!" he hissed, spittle flying from his mouth and peppering his beard. "You left me for dead back on Hesperia! You betrayed me to the Red Dogs and now I've lost everything! And now you'll pay. You'll pay for what you've done."

Deakin maintained the smile and pleasant tone of his voice. "I don't think so, Telan," he said and calmly tapped his commbadge. "Now!" he said.

"What?" Telan cried as the door behind him slid open and phaser fire buzzed through the corridor.

The Tellarite threw himself to the deck at Deakin's feet as Bothek was felled by a blast to his back. Darby turned and screamed just before she too went down.

The Romulan spun over to the side of the corridor, returning fire against the security team. She was right to trust her instincts; Deakin was too cunning to think that he wouldn't have a plan. "Zezz'a, the target!" Valia shouted at the Reman over the sound of phaser fire. The green beam from her pistol streaked down the corridor, past Deakin and over Telan's head. The guards tried taking cover, but her shot still found at least one of her targets, who fell into a crumpled heap.

The Reman lunged out and managed to trip Deakin as he took to his heels. He shouted something which was barely audible above the din of phaser fire. He pushed his pistol into the neck of the Lieutenant as they grappled. "Stop struggling!"

Struggling against the strength of the Reman goliath, Deakin was hardly able to land a half strike before he felt the cold nozzle of the pistol on his neck. He glared into those ghoulish eyes and thought about how satisfying it would be to gouge them, but he stopped resisting. Being killed by a Reman thug in a corridor was not part of his plan.

Valia fired a few more shots at the attacking Starfleet security officers to give Telan a chance to regroup with them. She may not have been connecting with every shot, but at the very least she hoped to keep their heads down. "Zezz'a if he's secured, get us out of here. Forget the runts, just get us to the ship!" The Romulan wasn't concerned about Bothek or Darby. They'd just have to deal with Starfleet as punishment for getting themselves shot. Besides, it wasn't like either of them was competent enough to know any real details of their plan anyway.

"Get us out, get us out!" Zezz'a bellowed into his communicator as he dragged Deakin behind him. He looked back to Darby and Bothek and allowed himself a wry smile as the transporter began to scramble his atoms.

The security team watched helplessly as their protectee and his abductors vanished in the transporter beams. Their leader lowered his phaser rifle and his shoulders sunk as he realised they had failed.

"For Christ's sake!" Gunning's voice berated the team over the comm. "You had one job!"

---

Lieutenant Augustus Deakin
Chief Operations Officer

Oleran Telan
Vengeful Entrepreneur

Valia
Romulan Exile

Zezz'a
Reman Goliath

Bothek
Ferengi Supernumerary

Amelia Darby
SFI Informant

&

Commander Jordan Gunning
First Officer