USS Penumbra Sim Narrative, SD 202107.09
Introduction:
. The Penumbra was deep behind enemy lines in the Breen Confederacy, seeking to update their intelligence on the Breen that was well over two decades old. They first encountered the Breen presence in the Lampros star system where they were now located.
. The Lampros system has four rocky planets, two of which are inhabited. The first planet from the sun is a scorched cinder with no moon, the second is baking under thick clouds and also has no moon. The third planet, Lampros Three is a rural green world with a small moon showing a few domed bases. After that is a thin asteroid belt, and then, the fourth planet, Lampros Four, is a densely inhabited urban world with a moderate-sized moon also densely inhabited with domed cities. Far beyond the rural world the system has two larger gas giants that are mostly ignored. There are dozens of ships that fly between the two inhabited worlds and the various mines and colonies in the asteroid belt between them.
. The Penumbra had sent a covert Away Team disguised in typical Breen biosuits to the more rural of the two planets using the Canteen of Sparkles as their transport, since that vessel was an unaffiliated freighter that shouldn't draw too much attention. The Away Team consisted of Col. Travis Patterson (Team Lead), LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry (Engineer), LtCmdr. T'Lin (Sciences & Security), LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris (Operations & Security), Lt. Katarina Hawke (Medic), and SSgt. Will Davies (Recon & Security), Miss Misty Mane piloted her ship for them.
. After some interaction with the local flight controllers, and the arrival of a Breen Heavy Cruiser in the system looking to restock its food supplies at the rural planet, as well as being fired on by an over-zealous farmer who Davies was forced to take out with his wrist-mounted Type 3 Disruptor, the Team had to perform a high-jump-and-roll landing into a field of tall grass-like grain crop. Misty with the Canteen was sent to try to rendezvous with the Penumbra.
. Misty had remembered the "FRAGO" code from their trip on the pirate station, the code that indicated a mission had "gone sideways" and they were having to adapt on the fly, so she sent a signal to the Penumbra. Upon receiving it, the Penumbra left their high orbit of the rural planet in order to retrieve the Canteen of Sparkles from her hiding spot in the asteroid belt. The Canteen was now safely stored in the Hangar Bay and the Penumbra was returning to the planet.
. On the planet, the Away Team had encountered (and then carried off) a Klingon slave, who was not in the best physical condition, who directed them to a cave in a hill on the far shore of a nearby lake. The Away Team had just reached the near shore of the lake.
. Of the Away Team, Patterson lost his helmet (meaning he lost his disguise) and wrist-mounted disruptor (though he recovered the farmer's rifle), and had a slightly sprained ankle (but his nanites quickly repaired that damage, leaving him with only a slight limp). Davies suffered a dislocated left shoulder but Kat reset it, leaving the arm useful if still a bit sore. T'Lin twisted her ankle on landing, but ignored it, and had carried the Klingon some hundred yards or more across rough terrain before they heard a pop and she fell to one knee. Bevin and Tabby suffered only minor bruises and scuffs from their jump and roll.
. The original mission of the Away Team was to infiltrate the local small village and listen in on any gossip. It was presumed that local farmers might complain about their military overlords and let slip keywords like major star systems and cities, names of higher-placed individuals, schedules of recurring ships seeking to restock, the size and type and maybe crew complement of those ships, at this point nearly anything could be useful intelligence.
. But that mission went sideways the moment the farmer shot at the Canteen and Davies returned fire. They are now several kilometers from the original target village at a small farm site with no air or ground transportation. The owner of the farm is dead and a patrol that passed by spent several long seconds hovering over the smudge where his disintegrated body had been.
* (Note: For this sim, the focus was on the Away Team. The Penumbra's part of the story was deliberately minimal.) *
The Penumbra, at the Asteroid Field:
. At the helm, LtCmdr. Jason Carter reported, "Commodore, the Canteen is aboard. Returning to orbit over the Away Team at impulse speeds? " He turned his chair to confirm the order with the Commodore.
. "Sounds good, Carter," Cdre. Zak Taylor responded.
. Carter gave a nod and spun his chair back forward. "Aye, sir, impulse velocity."
. Zak turned slightly and addressed the big Marine at the Recon Station, "Hines, we need to re-establish comms with the Away Team as well without giving away their position."
. SgtMaj. Derek Hines moved back and forth between various consoles as he answered, "Working on that now, Commodore."
. Zak then spoke to the Chief of Security and Tactical Operations, who stood between Zak and Hines at the Tactical Station, "And, Den, I'm worried about that Cruiser hanging around here."
. LtCmdr. Denovan Hawke gave a nod. "I'm watching them, sir."
. There were a few moments of tense silence and then Hines announced, "We're too far out, but I'm picking up a subspace frequency from the planet that isn't on any known Breen channels."
. Carter said through gritted teeth, "The Away Team might be calling for us. I'll have us back in orbit in 3 minutes."
. LtJG. Jackson Carshel, working at the Primary Science Console, said, "It seems logical they are, Carter."
. Cmdr. Relok, the Chief of Sciences, now acting as First Officer while Patterson was on the planet, stood and moved over to Hines' station, peering at the signal showing on one of the monitors. "Certainly not any known channel. Could it be Patterson? He contacted us earlier."
. Carshel glanced behind him at Hines and Relok, then his fingers flew over his console as he said, "Let me see if it's the Colonel. I may be able to decipher it."
. Hines frowned as he pulled up frequency modulators on the larger screen in the Recon area. He said, "It's lower bandwidth, but the damn signal is bouncing in and out."
. Zak still sat in the command seat, turned slightly to watch Hines, Relok, and Carshel behind Den. He said, "He had Misty send a ... what was it? FRAGO code? That means their situation isn't what was expected, and with the Canteen back here, they have no way back up here." He paused then turned back to the front and said, "Carter, call Sandy and have him keep the Cerberus ready for emergency launch."
. Carter, who's official post title was "Chief of Flight Operations", was more than just the Helmsman. He was in charge of all the auxiliary craft as well. He answered, "Aye, sir," and then called the Hangar Deck, "Bridge to Cerberus. Alert One, maintain full startup and standby for possible emergency launch."
. The voice of CfWrnt. Sandy Sandoval came back through the comm system, "Aye, Commander, Alert One."
. Carshel commented, "FRAGO? Oh, no! Carter, they may have taken damage to comms, hence the bad signal. What's the plan of action?"
. Carter grumbled under his breath, pushing the impulse engines to their limits. He reported, "Forty-five seconds ...."
. Hines cursed, "Damnit! I can't get their position."
. Carshel said, "Let me try. I'm not good at this, but ... I know how the Colonel sends messages, from ... personal aspects." He was still hesitant to discuss his personal connection to Patterson, the relationship between himself, his mother, and Patterson, and the reasons why Carshel had grown up "on the run" with his mother for most of his life.
. Then, Dr. Shadow K'Trevala, the Chief Medical Officer, who also held the rank of LtCmdr., and who had come up to the Bridge while Sickbay was empty in order to personally observe and monitor the situation, said, "Let me try." He was a powerful telepath and sent his mind out searching for one of the ship's other telepaths, LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry, who was on the Away Team.
. Relok glanced at his subordinate and said, "Carshel, overlay our topographic survey map." He was watching a live feed from their sensors on one of the Recon monitors next to Hines. As the overlay applied to the feed he said, "That's it, there's the target village, and that is a small farm next to a lake." He paused, then pointed at the screen, "There looks to be some activity there. Hines, what are those? Patrol craft?"
. But it was Carshel who answered first, viewing the same feed on his own monitor at the Science Station, "It think so, Relok. Logically speaking, the Away Team may be avoiding the patrol. It's what I'd do."
. Shadow spoke up. "Probably. And it seems the AT is on the path by the lake, headed to a small cave." He'd made some mental contact with Bevin apparently.
. Hines confirmed with a scan of the craft. "Aye, one patrol craft, one transport."
. Relok asked, "If they're headed to that cave to hide out, it'll make it that much harder to get a signal lock, won't it?"
. "Not for me, or Den," Shadow said, pointing to the Tactical Officer. Den was a recovered former Borg, as was his sister Lt. Katarina Hawke, who was on the Away Team. The two of them still had a few residual Borg implants that could not be removed, and among them was a Borg interlink that the two of them shared. That link had been disconnected from the Borg Collective, but it still connected their minds with something resembling a telepathic bond.
. Hines said, "Hopefully we can get them up and out before they get buried deep ... otherwise a transporter isn't gonna work."
. Finally, Carter announced, "Synchronous orbit over the Away Team's last known position. This is as close as we can get without losing MIRAGE."
The Away Team, on the Lakeshore:
. Meanwhile, down on the planet, the Away Team had reached the shore of the lake. As they stopped to catch their breath and regroup, Col. Travis Patterson, the senior Marine and Executive Officer of the Penumbra, and leader of the Away Team, grumbled under his breath at the need to stop, his eyes flicking back behind them where a Breen patrol craft had hovered over where they'd vaporized the poor farmer earlier.
. They'd covered a couple hundred meters from their drop zone back at the farm, moving quickly along the rows of some kind of high grain crop. The grains gave them reasonable cover, so long as they didn't draw too much attention.
. While they were stopped, LtCmdr. Bevin MacArdry, Chief Engineer for the Penumbra, scouted the nearby area for any kind of wood or other dense-grained foliage. She had in mind some kind of makeshift prosthetic for the Klingon slave they'd picked up. He was missing both of his big toes, a situation that severely handicapped his ability to move quickly, especially over the rough terrain of fields and lakeshore.
. Beside her was her fiancée, LtCmdr. Tabeshk Tibris, a half-Klingon, half-Romulan albino who was the Chief of Operations for the Penumbra. He was on high alert, guarding his fiancée as well as the other members of the Away Team.
. At the edge of the lake, LtCmdr. T'Lin had dropped the Klingon she'd been carrying when her ankle had given out. She hobbled over to a nearby tree and removed the Breen-style boot from her biosuit disguise and checked her foot.
. Lt. Katarina Hawke, the Chief Nurse of the Penumbra* and medic for the Away Team, followed T'Lin over to the tree and inspected T'Lin's foot. She reached in her medkit and produced a roll of cloth bandage and handed to T'Lin without a word.
. T'Lin smiled weakly at her and muttered, "I knew it would not be long before it gave way, but ... we needed to move." She accepted the bandage from Kat.
. Behind them, SSgt. Will Davies scanned the area, both in front of them and behind them, as well as above them, noticing that the patrol craft had returned with a second and were coming in for a landing back at the farm a few hundred meters away.
. Tabby saw the landing patrol as well. He glanced around nervously and said, "We need to move, like now!"
. Bevin found a few likely pieces of wood for her project and stowed them for later use. She spoke to T'Lin in her strong Scottish Brogue, "T'Lin, whain we gait tae tha caiv, I'll say aiboot makin ye a splaint fer tha ainkil." She offered to make a splint for T'Lin's ankle, once they'd reached the safety of the cave.
. Patterson glanced at Bevin, then to T'Lin, then back to Bevin, "We don't have time to do it here."
. T'Lin nodded at Bevin and said to Tabby, "They will focus on the area surrounding the farm first." She'd noticed Tabby, Patterson, and Davies watching the patrol.
. The Klingon slave, who still had not given his name, or been asked for it, spoke from his position on the ground, "There," he pointed across the lake, "See that hump? That's the hill with the cave. We can go around this side of the lake," he gestured to his left and then continued, "We can probably make it before it gets too dark."
. The lake was something like 200 meters across to the hill the Klingon had indicated. It could possibly be swum across, but it might be difficult for those who were injured. The Klingon himself was missing a couple of toes and wasn't in good physical condition. Davies still flinched if he moved his shoulder too far, and T'Lin had just wrapped her ankle which was likely fractured. The alternative path along the lakeshore was possibly three times as long, and some of the terrain would be rather tough.
. Patterson reviewed his team and their injuries then said, "Tabby, get him up," he pointed at the Klingon then added, "he knows the route, so you're in front. Davies, keep the rear. No shooting unless we're spotted."
. "Understood, sir," Davies gave a quick nod.
. Patterson moved to kneel next to T'Lin. Knowing the cultural taboo that Vulcans didn't like to be touched (due mostly to their touch telepathy) he paused but then took one of T'Lin's arms and threw it over his shoulder, pulling her to her feet.
. T'Lin nodded at him, "Thanks." She waved at the lake, "The real question is ... hike or swim?"
. Kat didn't say it out loud, but she didn't think they should try swimming. With T'Lin's ankle, Davies' shoulder, the Klingon's maimed feet, and even though he hid it well, Kat knew Patterson well enough to see his ankle still pained him a little too.
. Bevin moved to help with T'Lin as Patterson looked to the maimed Klingon, then to the others. "Davies and I can make the swim even with a wounded soldier, but Davies has an arm injury ... I wouldn't want him having to drag someone else with only one arm."
. Behind them in the distance, Davies watched as four Breen in full outfits walked from their crafts towards the main farmhouse. They were walking with an air of authority. Unfortunately, Davies couldn't hear anything from that distance. He responded to Patterson, "I'm alright to swim, it's just not one hundred percent, sir."
. Bevin reminded him, "I'm staill praitty guid tae gae iffin ye naid haelp."
. Tabby reminded them all, "T'Lin has an ankle injury. Swimming may not be an option. She may need to be carried if the hike is too much for her body." He turned back to the Klingon, picking him up.
. But the man snapped, "Don't carry me like a sack of potatoes! I can walk! Can't run worth a damn, but ... I can walk."
. Tabby snapped back at him, "That's the problem! We may need to run, and I am not leaving you. Shut up and let me carry you, damnit."
. Bevin left T'Lin with Patterson and moved over by Tabby, in case he needed "help" with the Klingon. But the Klingon just grumbled several choice Klingon curses and allowed himself to be slung in a fireman's carry over Tabby's shoulders. As he got the Klingon settled, Tabby said, "If there is a chance to save you and return your honor, no matter the costs, would you take it? If you could fight another battle would you want to? If we can get in contact with our ship and take that thing off," he indicated the booby-trapped slave collar around the Klingon's neck, "Would you allow us? Ask yourself those questions while we all try to make it out of here alive."
. But the Klingon didn't respond to any of those questions. T'Lin considered the choice between swimming and hiking and said, "The swim would be easier. I know I can swim as long as I get a few minutes to ... adjust ... my ankle."
. Then the Klingon, now slung over Tabby's shoulder, commented, "I've heard stories of big predatory fish in that lake. Never seen 'em, though. Could just be stories."
. T'Lin said, "Let us see," and hobbled off from Patterson to grab a large stick, tying some string to one end of it.
. Tabby said, "Stories or not, if there's a risk of predators in the lake, I'd rather hike."
. Then the Klingon raised his head again. "Hey, I never considered it for myself, but ... in the other direction, I think the farm owner had a little boathouse ... wonder if there could be a boat there? Might be guarded though, or occupied, or ... well ... you know."
. "Hmm," Tabby mused, "Boathouses tend to have radios, right? Perhaps we can contact the ship from there? It'll be rough, but that's my job, to communicate."
. Patterson's eyebrow went up at the mention of a boat. "A boat would make the journey across easier. But, then again ... we'd have even more suspicions following us. We already have enough attention on us as it is."
. T'Lin glanced in the direction the Klingon had indicated to the boathouse then said, "The boathouse is quite close to the farm, it may be swarming with Breen, and a boat on a lake would be quite noticeable."
. Davies added, "With the fly-bys it'll certainly be seen."
. Though she didn't say anything, Kat agreed, the boat wasn't really an option, though it would've been nice. As she turned her head from the direction of the boathouse to the direction of the hike, Patterson pulled out the communication device he'd taken from Davies. It was damaged from the jump and roll, but still operable. "Fly to Nest, come in," he called.
. Kat waited tensely for a reply to Patterson's call, but when there was no immediate response it worried her. Tabby also watched Patterson fiddle with the comm. He said, "Pat, do you think it might be broken from the rough landing we all took?"
. "Damaged," Patterson answered, "but not broken. Hines will get to us." He made a decision. "Get up and get moving. We're hiking it."
. Tabby nodded, "Understood, sir. Come on, everyone, let's move out. Any injured may need to be carried."
. Behind them at the farm, several people had come out of the farmhouse. They milled around with the Breen patrol back where the farmer had been killed. Several of them gestured widely. Davies said, "I think they just found the farmer."
. Tabby grunted, "Not good."
. Patterson also grunted, adjusting T'Lin's arm back over his shoulder. "Move!"
. T'Lin grunted at Patterson, "I can hike it myself, Patterson, but I appreciate it." She lowered her voice and mumbled, "I have done much worse journeys in much worse conditions."
. Patterson acquiesced, but said, "If you can't keep up, T'Lin, I'm carrying you whether you like it or not."
. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she grumbled, waving a hand dismissively as she hobbled after Tabby.
. They set off along the lakeshore, Tabby carrying the Klingon, T'Lin behind him with Patterson at her side if she needed support, with Davies and Bevin at the rear, Davies watching behind and to the sides while Bevin worked to hide their trail as they moved.
The Penumbra, Back in Orbit:
. Carter had just announced, "Synchronous orbit over the Away Team's last known position. This is as close as we can get without losing MIRAGE."
. Zak said, "If we sent the Cerberus down there, cloaked, we could get much better scans, and maybe be able to beam the Team out." He glanced around and said, "Shadow, Den, head down to the Hangar Deck and get on the Cerberus, it's time to evacuate our Team."
. "Aye, sir," Shadow said, then added, "Letting Bevin know." He contacted the other telepath, ~We're coming in for you with the Cerberus, be ready.~
. He received a reply, though no-one else could hear it. Strangely, Bevin's mental voice had none of her accent, ~Understood we have one more with us too, a Klingon that needs medical attention.~
. Relok reminded Zak, "Commodore, the Cerberus has limited personnel space .... it only comfortably holds 8 people. Three of us leaves only room for 5 of them, and ... we have more than that down there, don't we?"
. Carshel counted on his fingers, "Bevin, T'Lin, Patterson, Davies, Tabby, Kat."
. Zak did a quick count too, mumbling out loud as he did, "Patterson, Bevin, T'Lin, Tabby, Kat, Davies. Yeah, it'd be tight."
. Den signaled Lt. Re'Libel Standin, the Vulcan relief Tactical Officer, then said, "We might have to be uncomfortable I would think." He headed for the Turbolift with Shadow following behind him.
. Carshel quipped, "Well, I guess they may have to lay in a pile on the Cerberus' floor."
. Shadow replied just before the Turbolift doors slid shut, "A 'Puppy' pile, Carshel?" Several folks on the ship had begun to refer to the Cerberus as the "Hound" or the "Pup", a reference to the mythical creature for which the ship was named, the multi-headed dog that guarded the gates of Hades.
. Carshel laughed, "Yeah! Just add a few straps to them like cargo it'll be fine."
. Zak turned and called to Hines, "Hines, get a signal to Patterson: 'Nest sending Hound with Flypaper.'"
. Carshel gave him a confused look. "Some strange terms we have there."
. Hines sent the signal but then said, "I've got thermal signals on the Away Team! I'm counting ... 7 persons. One appears to be wounded." He could tell that one heat signature was being carried by another.
. The Commodore said, "Carter, signal Sandy to launch as soon as Den and Shadow are aboard. Let's get our people back then we'll regroup and figure out what to do next."
. Hines flinched suddenly, a new signal coming in on that low-bandwidth frequency. "MAX!" he called for the AI's help.
. MAX filtered and boosted the signal and relayed the message. "Fly to Nest, do you copy?"
The Away Team, In the Reeds:
. Not long after turning to follow the lakeshore, the fields that had turned to low-land forest near the lake, began turning into a wooded swamp. As the firm soil with small trees gave way to mud, the trees turned to tall reeds.
. Tabby, trudging along with the Klingon slave over his shoulders, said, "Well, this smells and feels like home ... swampy." Even though the place he called home was Vulcan, known for its blazing sun and dry deserts, the planet also sported other types of terrain, including steamy swamps where Tabby had lived, mountainous cloud forests like the region Relok had grown up, and vast plains and jungle-covered mountains like where T'Lin had lived.
. Bevin commented, "Waitch aut fer skaitirs. Thay mait waint tae kairry ye awff fer dainnir!"
. Tabby chuckled at that and the Klingon bouncing on his shoulders raised an arm and pointed, "There's sort of a game trail over to your left a ways. I think something like targ run through there." He was referring to a creature native to Q'onos, the Klingon homeworld, that was similar to a wild boar from Earth. He continued, "It should give us a good path for much of the way, but I wouldn't want to run into a pack of those things."
. "Staill," Bevin said, grinning, "Thay're guid aitin, iffin ye aisk me."
. Tabby paused, turning towards the game trail and saying, "I say follow that path half way, to avoid trouble with the targ." He glanced at the trail and asked, "Can any of you tell how many have been here at one time?"
. T'Lin said, "Targ tend to stick to their dens in this kind of weather, so we should be pretty okay for the most part ...if they are targs." Since she hadn't seen the actual animals the Klingon was comparing to targs, she couldn't know their behavior.
. Kat wasn't too sure about the game trail idea. In her mind it looked "too good to be true". She figured that if anyone did try to follow them, they'd look to the obvious trail first, right? But ... she didn't say anything, just chewed her bottom lip as was her habit.
. Off in the distance, Davies and Patterson noticed two more patrol craft approaching the farm. One was larger than the other, possible some kind of troop carrier or transport vessel. Patterson shook his head and gestured at the craft. "Missions a dud with this amount of activity."
. Davies shrugged, "A troop carrier, perhaps? Thats not good. Not completely a dud, though, we do have the Klingon. He's got intel on places, numbers." Then he gestured towards the game trail through the reeds, "Up the targ path we go, I presume?"
. Patterson looked towards the game trail and said, "If there's targs, we've got disruptors. Press on, fast as you can."
. They hurried along, making relatively good speed in spite of the mud and reeds. Suddenly, the Away Team all could hear rustling and grunting up ahead of them.
. T'Lin stopped quickly and whispered, "Wait! Movement ahead." They all came to a stop and Patterson crept forward, lifting the farmer's rifle he'd stolen.
. Bevin felt the touch of another telepath as Dr. Shadow K'Trevala called to her, ~We're coming in for you with the Cerberus, be ready.~
. She responded over the mental link, ~Understood. We have one more with us too, a Klingon that needs medical attention.~
. Patterson heard some kind of static on his commlink. "Wait," he said, holding up a hand. He tried the comm again, "Fly to Nest, do you copy?"
. But he didn't get a chance to follow up as a squealing pig-like creature rushed out of the reeds towards Tabby!
. Tabby flinched, "Yikes!" nearly dropping the Klingon on his shoulders. Bevin snatched her sgian dubh, the traditional Scottish dagger tucked into her boot, and slashed at the targ's neck!
. Davies had been scanning the brush and had his wrist-mounted weapon ready. He whirled and fired, just missing it as the beast lurched from Bevin's slash. Several feet of reeds were instantly disintegrated behind it.
. Kat, too, reflexively fired her own wrist-mounted weapon, but she wasn't exactly a trained marksman and the shot went wide, clearing even more reeds.
. Bevin's slash had seriously wounded the pig-like creature but now it was mad with pain and lashed out, slashing at Bevin's thighs with razor-sharp tusks. Bevin danced gracefully out of the way of the pig's wild charge and raised one leg to stomp on the back of the thing's neck, even while brandishing her sgian dubh for another slice.
. T'Lin snatched her telescoping spear from her thigh pocket and with a flick extended it to its full length and jabbed at the enraged beast. The tip slashed it's side in a deep gash but slid down it to jab into the soil underneath.
. Patterson had already raised the farmer's rifle before he'd even seen the thing, and now let off a shot at point-blank range, but the thing thrashed wildly now and Patterson's shot only grazed one fat ham. That quarter of the pig disintegrated instantly and with many loud squeals and thrashes it finally succumbed to its many wounds.
. With the pig-like creature finally dead, Kat slumped, turning and closing her eyes in an effort to compose herself.
. Patterson slapped the broadcast button on the damaged comm again, "Nest, if you can hear this, SOS, 20 meter spread!"
. The reeds rattled as two more pig creatures, drawn by the noise and the smell of blood, came crashing from each side of the game trail at the Away Team!
. "Crap!" Tabby cursed.
. T'Lin spun around on her good foot, yanking her spear from the ground and waving it at one of the other pigs.
. Bevin shook the blood off her knife and braced herself to go again with another one.
. Kat's eyes flicked open, but she was frozen, unable to react for a moment.
. Davies snapped off another shot from his wrist disruptor, taking out a third pig that no-one else had noticed!
The Penumbra, In Orbit:
. Hines flinched suddenly, a new signal coming in on that low-bandwidth frequency. He called for the AI's help and MAX filtered and boosted the signal and relayed the message. "Fly to Nest, do you copy?"
. A moment or two later, another signal came through. Hines worked at it and then stiffened and reported, "Commodore, I've got Patterson's SOS signal! He said 20 meter spread." His fingers flew across his console then announced, "Weapons fire at their location! But ... I've got a lock!"
. "Damn!" the Commodore cursed. "Has the Cerberus launched? Either the Cerberus or us need to beam them out, now!"
. Hines barked out, "Filler, maximum power to transporters, NOW!"
. Though Ens. Proximus Filler, holding the Operations console in Tabby's absence, was an officer and technically outranked the senior non-commissioned officer of the Marines, he didn't hesitate to comply to the sound of command in the older Marine's voice and transferred all available auxiliary power to the transporters.
. MAX announced, "Coordinates established. Identify 7 humanoid lifeforms and 2 unknowns in the designated area."
. A call came over the comm system. It was Den calling from the Cerberus, "Ready to go."
. But before anyone could respond to Den, MAX had auto-engaged the Penumbra's transporters and beamed the team from the planet to Transporter Room One, all 7 humanoids ... and two angry pigs.
The Away Team, Transporter Room One:
. As the Away Team prepared themselves to engage with two more of the wild pigs from the reeds, they were all engulfed in the shimmer of a transporter beam. Seconds later, they all appeared in a jumbled mess on the transporter pad in Transporter Room One.
. "Ack!" Tabby cried out, seeing the pigs had also beamed up. "Loose pigs! LOOSE PIGS!" He still had the Klingon slave over his shoulders and mud on his trousers up to his knees.
. Bevin shouted at the Security Officer standing idly near the door, "Stan thaim!"
. The man blinked a moment, deciphering the strong Brogue, then snatched out his sidearm, a standard-issue Type 2 hand phaser, and fired two quick shots, stunning both pigs. Quite obviously, this particular officer was a well-trained marksman with his sidearm, and lucky for the Away Team that he was!
. One could almost smell the relief as it washed over the Away Team. Or, maybe that was the swamp mud ... or the pigs.