. Patterson took a slow, deep breath and loaded a fresh battery for his WAR rifle. "All right," he said, "Nothing makes it into this room. Nothing."
. Hines looked at the Colonel, gave a grim nod and loaded his WAR shotgun. "Best be getting' some shore-leave on Risa when we get back," he quipped.
. At the noises, T'Lin snapped her head towards the tunnel, her own warrior instincts flaring, but she turned back to the console, frantically trying to translate the language.
. Tabby also flinched towards the sounds of approaching enemies, his Klingon blood starting to heat up. "T'Lin," he said, "I have to help with the defense, you good here?"
. T'Lin grunted, "Yes, I will be fine. Check on the others on your way." She gave a chin-point specifically at Carshel, who seemed oblivious staring at the console. He couldn't hear the growls and scrapes of the rushing Kyrathians coming up behind them. He'd been terrified earlier, then grew calm, as if zoning out.
. "Understood," Tabby said, then gestured at one of the displays, "Hey, that power conduit is generating a heck of a lot more power, by the way."
. "Thank you, Tabeshk," T'Lin said, "I will look into it." She turned to Carshel and said, "Carshel, I need you to think like a scientist and not as a scared child!" But ... he didn't hear her and still stared at the monitor, oblivious.
Defenders:
. At the barricade, Den spoke to Patterson. "I've got the back-end ones, if you all can take care of the front runners, which I'm sure know they are cannon fodder."
. As Tabby started to move up to the barricade, Khal'Gon turned and barked at him, "You're not a soldier. We'll fight. You do whatever it is you do with wires."
. Before Tabby could respond, T'Lin said, "Khal'Gon, he is just as much a soldier as you are. Same as me. We fight until the last breath, together. No exceptions."
. Tabby growled at Khal'Gon, "Try me, Khal'Gon! I'll show you a soldier."