Eli had her tricorder out, scanning. "That took longer than the usual cycle. The Romulans have a massive dampening field up. It will be very difficult to contact the Helicon again. The beacon's just over there."
"No sign of any life forms." Maki stated
"I am registering residue from an explosion."
"J'kins, cover me." Yazawa crouched down, reaching back for her mek'leth, scrambling quickly and quietly in the direction of Maki's discovery, the rest of the team following; J'kins with a phaser rifle ready.
No sign of Honoka or the diplomatic team. "Good job, Lieutenant," Nico whispered, "now where did you go?"
"What happened?" Maki was examining a Romulan soldier.
"I issued Lieutenant Kosaka modified photon grenades. She must have used them to cover the diplomatic team's escape."
"Lieutenant Commander Yazawa, do you test these modifications before issuing them for use in the field?" Eli inquired sharply.
"We have a process in Tactical, Commander, that everything goes through."
Nico did not mention that process involved Nico and the Chief Engineer sitting down at dinner a couple of times a week, looking at weapon specs and saying, "ooohh, I bet if we altered the rate of energy cycling, that would make a bigger blast."
"All Romulans." Maki announced. She'd stepped away from the group, examining a rock, "There's some human blood here."
Nico examined the ground, "You can still see some traces of boots. One person very heavy, boots sinking deep into the ground. Might have been carrying wounded. Some care was taken that they wouldn't be followed."
"We can scan for blood traces." Eli obviously frustrated by the extra weight of the case, snapped an order, "Ensign J'kins, take this case."
"Yes, sir, Commander." J'kins slung the phaser rifle over his back, and hefted the weight of the sub space transmitter.
Nico frowned, but after a moment, continued her visual examination of the ground. Only one security officer would not have been her choice and then using him to carry luggage, but the Executive Officer had emphasized the need for stealth and quickness, denying Nico's request for three experienced Security operatives.
"My tricorder has picked up more traces." Maki pointed in the same direction Nico had found bootprint remnants.
"My readings indicate dilithium, which means there's probably a Romulan outpost with shuttles."
"Could it be the runabout?" Nico asked.
Eli shook her head, "Not our signatures."
"If we can find you cover, J'kins and I can do a recon."
"We stay together, Lieutenant Commander."
That was it, Nico snapped, between the two of them, doctor and scientist, their actual field experience probably ended at the Academy. She strode up to Eli, grip tight on her mek'leth.
"That's a bad choice. Nico will be quick. You and the Doc can stay out of trouble."
"It is my choice, Lieutenant Commander Yazawa. Do you have a problem with that?"
Nico's glance flickered to Maki, who had turned perpendicular to their 'heated' discussion, eyes on her tricorder, finger twirling a curl. J'kins was sitting on the subspace transmitter.
"On your feet, J'Kins." Nico ordered, then nodded at Eli, "We all go, Commander."
"Lead the way."
###
"Can you even walk?" Kotori fussed at Honoka.
"Leg's splinted. Give me something to lean on and we'll get out of here." Honoka glanced around the warehouse, "We need some space between us and the Romulans."
Hanayo let Honoka slip an arm over her shoulders and with Kotori's help, leveraged the pilot to her feet, "Where will we go?"
"Honoka?" Kotori asked.
Honoka let out one groan of pain, then stiffened her resolve. The message would get to the Helicon. Umi would be back. Umi would need her to get Kotori to a place where the Helicon could pick them up. "Back to the beacon. Or find the runabout. We might be able to use the sensors to communicate, if Hanayo can work some more magic."
"I'll do my best." Hanayo bowed her head slightly.
"Hanayo, you take point, and see if the tricorder can find any traces of the runabout." Meeting Kotori's golden glance, Honoka managed a wry smile, "If I can keep leaning on you, Kotori-chan, we might get out of here."
Kotori closed her eyes, concentrating, while Honoka debated whether she could actually burden Kotori with her full weight.
Kotori blinked, her arm around Honoka's waist. "We have a clear path. Let's hurry."
"Yes, ma'am." Hanayo squeaked.
"We can go faster, Kotori. I'm all right."
"Good. We have to."
Honoka still couldn't get used to the simple power Kotori wielded in her voice when she needed to. From the demure, placid child Honoka grew up knowing to this savvy, unflappable woman was a leap Honoka was still getting used to.
"Race you." Kotori giggled.
But Honoka still had her occasionally silly friend, however much responsibility had matured them both. And Umi was coming. Honoka pushed through the pain, letting Kotori's silliness lead them to a faster pace.
###
Nico heard the sound and spun into a worst case scenario. Romulan disruptor fire, Maki frozen, and J'kins already disappearing, the echo of a fading scream from his contorted mouth, the disruptor beams eating patches of void across his torso. Nico heard Eli behind her, firing a phaser as she moved. One of the Romulans dropped, the other three scattered. Nico leapt, pushing Maki out of the way, rolling forward to pick up J'kins rifle, firing with desperate accuracy at the remaining Romulans, who were retreating out of range, heading for cover. Eli's quick response had disheartened them.
"RUN!" Nico shouted to her teammates. She was damn glad she'd kept some of the photon grenades, reaching into her sling bag, hurling a grenade behind the Romulans, then sprinting toward where phaser in hand, Eli was cutting through fencing.
Explosion behind Nico, no disruptor fire. Don't look back. Maki and Eli were disappearing into a warehouse and Nico kept her eyes target locked on them, her legs pumping at top sprint speed. About ten seconds after the door closed behind them, Nico pulled it open, pausing to check behind her. No pursuit. But the fight would certainly draw Romulan attention. Too bad Eli had run for the closest structure to where she'd cut through. Nico would have to convince them to move. Waiting until after dark would be better, but Nico didn't think they had that luxury. A whimper caught her ear as the door closed, sealing the room in pitch black. Nico reached for her dark goggles.
"Maki? Eli?"
A hand reached out and pulled Nico into something warm. Then Maki jumped back, releasing Nico. "Sorry."
The whimper continued.
"What's that?"
"Commander Ayase."
"Is she hurt?"
Maki shook her head, then carefully led Nico to the left. Eli was in a corner, on the ground, Nico could hear how rapid her breathing was, hear the frantic whines about the darkness. Panic. Maki knelt down next to Eli, her voice gentle, "Commander Ayase? Eli? Can you just sit up and breathe with me? Light a beacon, Yazawa. We weren't carrying any."
"No can do."
"What do you mean?"
"Security's going to be in here after us. Soon. Can you give her a sedative?"
"Do you want her punch drunk or passed out?"
Biting her lip, considering the options, Nico slid off the dark goggles and handed them to Maki, "You'll have to find a better place to hide her. And keep her quiet."
"What are you going to do?"
Nico pointed up as Maki fixed the goggles over her eyes, "Take the high ground, there's only one entry point."
"What do I do?"
"Get the Commander to a better hiding spot, take her phaser, stay still, shoot anything that isn't Nico."
"I'm not a killer." Maki's tone was flat.
Nico grabbed Eli's phaser, choosing maximum stun, presenting it to Maki. "This won't kill anyone, but it might save you."
Maki's hand lingered as Nico handed over the phaser, "What will you do?"
Nico started climbing, the difficulty of the task ahead making her bold, "Save the day."
