=/\= IRW-Endless Sky =/\=
Gunnery Sergant Walker nodded as he watched their Lieutenant move away with the Captain and a few of the marines. He was off doing what he had to do, and in the end that was what mattered. None of them should have been here based on Starfleet regs. However the time for caring about regs was long over. He looked over at their new leader, a full Colonel even. "Orders Colonel?" he asked her looking at her.
Aria rolled her jaw in thought, mulling over the situation in her head. There were a lot of bodies on that warbird. Living, breathing, shooting bodies. "We'll need to smash the weapon, then give us a way out by taking down the warbirds shield generator." Her carbine found its way into her hands once more and she motioned with a nod for the nco to follow.
"We'll be out numbered so I want maximum firepower brought with us. We'll hit them with more power than they expect us to bring, and do what we need to do before the confusion wears off." She stopped, seconds spared to examine some of the new faces. "Sergeant, are you familiar with the warbirds shield systems? That's what I'm really concerned about here."
"There really isn't one generator on these big birds ma'am. They segregate them into four major sections on the ship. It helps them maintain strength, and show a stronger side when they take damage on one side. However if we can hit the major energy transfer points, we can knock out two of the shield sides and we can get out then. Also open up a hole big enough for a team of horses to come in and blow the hell out of this bird," the Sergeant said.
He frowned looking around. "Chances are we'll be near one of them when we're close to the weapon systems we have orders to take down. Less room to run once we really piss them off. That'd be my choice ma'am," he said, double checking his kinetic rifle, nodding at his men as they did the same thing.
She nodded, enjoying the good news while it lasted. Things would be a lot easier if Objective Two was close to the first. "Wonderful, then we'll hope that the Captain will make for a sufficient destruction that they don't realize what we're going for right away. How many battle-ready marines do we have right now?" She had most of the twelve that she brought, but had no idea how the Charons marines had faired during the occupation.
"One and a half squad's ma'am. Captain and the Lieutenant took the other six away to help them bust into the bridge here," he said looking back at the others near him. "I'm the senior NCO here. With the Lieutenant gone, we have two other Sergeants here and myself for leadership," he said. "We have twenty-one total here for you."
Aria wasn't sure how she felt about the number. She had become accustomed to larger troop numbers, but the marines had always done more with less - it was tradition. "Very good, Sergeant. Are we ready to go then?"
"Ready and willing ma'am. Give the order we'll execute. We need some payback on these green blooded sons of a bitch," he said as his Marines appeared behind him in two tactical columns. "We'll follow you up or take point, whichever you prefer."
She shook her head dismissively. She always lead from the front; she wasn't sure why. It wasn't out of feelings of heroism or courage, it was just what she was inclined to do. She should probably get that checked out. "No, its fine. If everyone is ready then lets move this along." She was tired of waiting, but also just tired. "If the Captain is ready to head over then lets do this. I want to get there at the sa
Walker nodded, and fell in behind the Colonel. The advance was tight with no real resistance for a little while. Apparently the Romulan's were too busy with this death plague or whatever they had planned to actually care about an intruder alert. That all changed after a few corridors when the few side corridors opened unexpectedly. Into a few Gai'Shian on patrol. "Contact right!" the Gunnery Sergant called out. Before the Romulan's could respond two of the Marine's immediately opened fire with their kinetic rounds, shredding the first few Romulan Marines before the rest fell back to defensive positions to try and return fire.
Before the Romulan's could respond two of the Marine's immediately opened fire with their kinetic rounds, shredding the first few Romulan Marines before the rest fell back to defensive positions to try and return fire.
"Well that took them longer than I had expected." Aria fell to a knee to lower her target profile, steadying the weapon against her shoulder and squeezing off a burst of kientic fury, the munitions boring through a Romulan soldier. "Micro Apocalypse, Savant?" It was a low-spoken phrase, barely audible over the sounds of gunfire.
"Support Gunners, pour some tungsten down their way!" Her hand signal demanded a swift response. "Pin them so we can keep moving." A moments glance was spared to peer down at her wrist-console, detailing a map of the immediate area. Loading bay straight ahead, fabrication bays to the right.
Tossing the tricorder detailing the plans to Vel, the warrior woman gave the signal to move as the support weapons were brought to bare against the enemy. Load weapons. She could feel loud boom from their muzzles in her teeth. "Zazz get the charges for the loading bay ready. Whether its here or not, scuttle the machinery just in case. Sergeant Walker, can you handle the green horde while we break things?"
The offending Romulans were quickly cut down inside the side corridor. When none of them were left, Walker responded to the Colonel with a cool regard. "We can hold them back ma'am," he said as he ordered six of his men to search for ways to fortify their positions. Side rooms were searched. Romulan's were killed in their quarters. None were spared, as they had been shown no quarter when the Charon was boarded, Walker and his Marines felt no reason to show any quarter here. Desks, and other items were brought out and barricades were erected at the major entryways to the manufacturing centers. Fortunately the main entryway to the virus was a one way shot. Farther beyond that was another dead end, which lead to the major power distribution here.
"Ma'am we have us a Gettysburg style line here here that we could hold against ten times our number. My high IQ boys have set up some anti-transporter equipment here and were dug in tight. We'd still ask that you do not delay in your efforts. We need to get this done and get the hell out of here before they start throwing twenty times our number at us down these narrow corridors and simply overwhelm us with waves," Walked called out, sending a few more shots into a few patrols that wandered into the makeshift barricades that the Charon Marine's had set up.
Aria knew that song and dance all too well. Zazz gave her the thumbs up that the explosives were rigged in the loading bay. "Good, now proceed to the fabrication rooms. I want this entire section to look like the surface of the fucking moon!"
Vel's voice filled the com-net. "Weapon components found in fabrication room three. Zazz is laying the charges now."
"Walker," Aria looked back over her shoulder, her voice a tidal wave of feminine viciousness, "bleed them dry. We're ghosts in two."
The Gunnery Sergeant grunted. By that time the enemy had set up a large attack and was beginning to press hard against the barricade. He had three wounded men, but so far they had been holding their own. When another squad jumped out they were met by a volley of kinetic shells, tearing at the corridor as well as their intended targets. The Romulans were forced back, but Walker knew that was only temporary. He made a few hand signals, and after a few moments another Romulan attack appeared, only to be greeted with four plasma grenades, wrecking more havoc on the ship itself and on the attacks.
"Couldn't come any sooner ma'am. They're starting to get antsy out here and are coming in bigger and bigger waves. We're gonna run out of HE here in a few more attempts like that. Good news is we're tearing the hell out of the ship it self. Hope you didn't want to go back that way ma'am.
"Fabrication room charges are set and primed."
Aria nodded to her explosives tech, and waved everyone away from the area. "Ok boys and girls, back to the line. Get ready for the push. Sergeant, when these things go off the whole deck will shake. See if it gives you an opening to charge!" A curt nod was given to Zazz.
"And...KABOOM." Zazz pressed the detonator without pause or hesitation.
Aria could have sworn she felt the floor shudder before she had heard anything. Metal tore away from its fixed position, bulkheads whined in protest against the force of the explosion as the sudden crack of the detonation gave way to the low rumble of flame and after blasts; a symphony of malfunction.
The floors might have shuddered. Walker and his Marine's however took the order very seriously, and as the next group of Gai'Shian turned the corner they were met with several primed grenades. These grenades were followed by a hail of kinetic weapon fire... And then the charge of the Marines themselves. The Marines knew that the stun of being charged after attacking a defensive position would only last for a few moments.
But those moments were all that the Marine's needed. While they took substantial casualties in doing it, the Marines drove the Gai'Shian away, pushing them back to the turbolift. "Walker to Colonel Falcon. We have cleared the deck. Recommend we call for immediate evac ma'am. That trick will only work once."
A small part of her brain always worried when large amounts of explosives were detonated within confined walls intimately related to the floor she stood on, but Romulans were not known for making shoddy starships. When the tremors ceased, she still had deck plating to stand on, which is what happened every time, but didn't make it any better.
"Beautiful work, Sergeant, this is truly an art for you, but at the risk of my sweet voice giving us all diabetes, lets get the fuck out of here!" Her eyes darted downward to the wrist console, the screen indicating that the weapon was indeed dead. "Captain, weapon disabled, repeat, the weapon is disabled."
"Captain's been hit Colonel," a static voice replied over the communication link they had barely managed to acquire. "XO is down too. Captain told us to get out of here before she began to fade in and out ma'am. Recommend we do just that before reinforcements appear for the both of us," the excited private replied.
The wrist console blinked, indicating what she had hoped would happen. The explosives they had brought had damaged the hardware between the shield generators and the emitters, effectively neutralizing them. "Then lets get the hell out of here before we're overwhelmed. I am not about to be brought down by a swarm of locus!"
"Everyone to me!" Her carbine thrust into the air, bringing everyone in close. Wonderfully reassuring white light consumed the soldiers, reflecting against the clouds of pollutant that thickened from the explosions fires. In seconds they were gone, away from the zone of blood and destruction they had caused, safely delivered back to the Charon.
______________________________________________________
Colonel Aria Falcon
Marine Commander
USS-Quantum Fury
&
Gunnery Sergeant Walker (apb 1LT Brent Warren)
NCO Marine
USS-Charon
