Chapter 17
The Rescue
" Rommie " Beka said simply, and the Avatar vanished into the jungle undergrowth, instantly out of sight with. The rest followed at a slower pace, with Worf and Tyr bringing up the rear,
"The Avatar will maintain a distance in front of us, she will warn us of any traps, and find the best vantage point of the base. " Tyr explained quietly. " If we need a distraction at any point, it will also provide one "
The first hour of the walk towards the base was made in almost total quiet. Beka, who was leading the small group was suddenly knocked over as a Jem Hadar burst through a near by tree line, she hit the ground hard, knocked senseless. Dax, who was next in line, raised her phaser but by the time she trained it the Jem Hadar had shrouded.
They quickly formed a defensive circle around the fallen women, weapons raised. Harper knelt by Beka's side quickly examining her, and let out a sigh of relief as he realised that Beka was only stunned from her encounter with the Dominion solider
Rommie then reappears at one side of the clearing with one force lance deployed, without slowling takes three strides in to the area and swings the lance in a powerful arc. Suddenly, about ¾ through the swing the lance made contact with the Jem Hadar's head sending it through the air while the body fell to the ground.
Beka had managed, with Harper's help, to regain her feet by the time Rommie reached the group.
" Look in your packs, you will find a pair of glasses. Once you are wearing them, you will be able to see through the Jem Hadar shrouds " Rommie quickly instructed.
Quickly the rescue party rummage through their packs, looking for the glasses. As she put them on Dax realised that they were much more than just glasses, they were virtual reality goggles, but with a visual clarity that amazed her.
They encountered one more patrol before reaching the compound. This time they could see the patrolling Jem Hadar and made short work of the enemy soldiers.
Rommie had selected a vantage point that allowed an excellent view of the base without revealing their position. The actual base was split into two main sections, a hanger and the main building. It was surrounded by a wire fence and had four guard towers. From their vantage point they could see two Jem Hadar attack ships in the Hanger, one undergoing repairs.
" I'm not detecting any intruder trip wires or beams, which means that the only surveillance equipment they have is the energy weapon detection alarm and the guards eyes " Rommie's voice comes through the comm link. " I recommend that we wait until dark and then breach the fence "
" Do you have a estimate on the size of the garrison ? " Dax asks Rommie
" From the scans we were able to make from orbit there are at least 200 Jem Hadar soliders plus ship crews, one fighter has 18 on board, the other 55 and I am also detecting three Vorta. "
" Only 18 on board the fighter ? The average complement of Jem Hadar on a attack fighter is anywhere between 60 – 85 " Geordie said quietly.
Harper glanced at the engineer and realised that something was bothering him. As he went back to watching the base he quietly asked
" What's wrong ? "
" This must be a cloning facility " Geordie said, " that would explain a lot, like why that fighter came here so under crewed, the lack of Vorta's versus the number of Jem Hadar, why its only crewed by Jam Hadar "
" Agreed " Said Worf, " The ship that the shuttle carrying Captain Hunt rendezvoused with was probably damaged in the battle and had to come here for repairs, then they would take him to whatever prisoner of war camp "
After another few minutes of watching the base Beka told the group to head back into the cover of denser undergrowth, Rommie stayed to maintain surveillance of the base. Once it was dusk, they would breach the base.
Harper sat in the foliage, watching the rest of the party as they tried to get comfortable for the wait until dusk. It had been a while since he had trekked such a distance and was about to doze off when inspiration struck him
" The tracker " He said.
The rest of the party just looked at him blankly, waiting for him to elaborate
" It has a self detonate feature, just in case an enemy ever found it, they couldn't find out which ship was tracking them " He paused "When we are leaving the building, we could detonate it. "
Geordie then adds " With all of the explosive elements that should be found in a hanger would more than likely result in the entire hanger going up in one blaze of fire "
Dax interupts " I have noticed another problem. We can gain entry to the base, but when we exit, the alarm will of been sounded and two of the watch tower turrets will be able to bear on the exit to the main building"
Beka ponders the problem.
" Right, the assault team will be Tyr, Worf, Rommie, Dax and Mr La Forge. Harper, you will remain here, I need you to provide cover fire when they leave the building, also once the base alarm is sounded, detonate the tracker and signal me. I'm going to head back to the slip fighters now, once Harper has signalled me, I'll get airborne and take care of the towers. Any questions ? "
" Just one thing. If the opportunity presents itself, and the tactical positions allows, lets try and download any information about ship movements, etc " Worf suggests
" If we can, yes " Tyr answers " But I suspect that we are going to way to busy with Jem Hadar "
Beka leaves the group moments later and heads back the way they came. The rest of the party settle down to await dusk.
**************************************************************************** *************
Worf cut the fence with quick efficiency. Once a slit had been cut in the wire big enough for him to shuffle through, he entered the compound on his stomach. He waited until all the raiding party were through.
As they had all half expected, the watch towers had activated a search light which slowly swept the compound. For that reason they had selected to cut the fense opposite that door to the base. Rommie estimated they had a 30 second window in which to cover the distance and gain entry before they were spotted.
" NOW " Rommie ordered.
They all jumped up and began running. Rommie led the charge, followed by Tyr and Worf, with La Forge and Dax falling slightly behind. As Rommie reached the door it swung open and three Jem Hadar emerged. Without slowing the Avatar drew both her lances and shot the first two in the head, the remaining solider tried to attack, but Rommie literally crashed into him, forcing both of them into the building. By the time Dax and La Forge reached the door, Tyr and Worf had dragged the bodies inside, the third solider lay on the floor, his neck at a angle. The door slammed shut just as the search light reached it.
They moved down the corridor carefully. Dylan's trackers had him located on the lowest level. They came to a lift, which they entered, but a quick examination of the lift's control panel revealed it only accepted verbal commands to make it move. Dax order the lift to descent to the bottom level, but the lift refused to move.
" This could be a problem, I don't know the native language of either the Jem Hadar soldiers or Vorta's "
It was then that Worf realised he had never heard the Jem Hadar speak in their native tongue. As he started to ponder this latest development, very aware of the passing of time Rommie simply put her hand on the small display and after a few moments the lift started moving
" I have programmed the lift not to stop on any floor until we get to the bottom and not to ascend again for 15 minutes " Rommie informed the others. " However, the room we emerge in will contain a number of soldiers. "
No sooner were the words out of her mouth when the lift opened.
Jem Hadar soldiers filled the room. Worse for the raiders, it appeared to be an armoury. Being the nearest to the door Tyr swung his rifle to bear and started firing. The Jem Hadar went diving for cover. The group quickly exited the lift, forcing the Jem Hadar to retreat to the opposite end of the room. Worf and Dax found cover to the left of the lift, while Tyr remained in the lift itself. La Forge and Rommie dived to the right. A fierce fire fight ensued, and in the background the bases alarm could be heard.
Rommie had pulled a cupboard on its side and they ducked behind it La Forge ducked again as a shot narrowly missed his head.. Rommie replied by shooting the solider, but then had to duck herself to avoid being hit. Geordie was about to return fire again, when he noticed that the wall behind were the cupboard had been was not very thick. He quickly drew his phaser, figuring now that the alarm had been raised, they could use federation energy weapons, and began firing at the wall, creating a new doorway.
Rommie realised what he was doing, and tried to provide as much covering fire as possible.
" What about the others ? " La Forge had to shout above the weapon fire to be heard.
" They will have to manage " Rommie answers " We have to get to Dylan "
From his vantage point in the lift Tyr realised what La Forge was trying to do. Rommie was providing covering fire, but as a result was taking hurried shots, not intending to kill, just to keep the Jem Hadar behind their own hastily formed cover. He kept his own rate of fire up, taking out three soldier's in one burst. Worf and Dax were being forced to keep behind their cover, a hastily moved bench and cupboard door. Where Worf had got that from Tyr had no idea.
Deciding that the lift was no longer offering the best protection, Tyr dived out from the lift and landed behind Rommie. As he dived he fired as many bursts as possible, killing 1 Jem Hadar, but being nicked on the arm by the same soldier's last action.
Rommie notices the wound but after seeing the determined look on Tyrs face, decided not to mention it. La Forge stop firing, and turns to his companions
" It just needs a knock, and the wall will give way into the passage beyond "
Tyr just grunts and launches himself at the wall. True to his word, La Forge's handiwork gives way and Tyr and the wall landed in the passageway. La Forge quickly follows him through.
" Dylan is down there " Rommie calls indicating to La Forge's right. As he starts to head down the passageway Tyr heads the opposite way, after reloading his massive rifle.
" Where are you going ? " La Forge demands, not happy at the prospect of marching round a Jem Hadar based alone.
" I'm going to surprise the Jem Hadar from behind before they overwhelm the others"
Without a word the large man runs down the corridor. La Forge picks himself up and heads the other way. The sounds of gunfire soon are lost as he moves further down the dimly lit corridor. As he reaches a corner, La Forge peers round The corridor stretched ahead for another 10 meters, at the end there were two doors, facing each other.
La Forge noticed that the bases alarm could not be heard here, which meant, hopefully, any guards inside would not be alerted.
"Rommie " La Forge spoke into his comm link " Which door is it ? "
Over the link he could hear more gunfire then before he left
" The right one "
La Forge crept forward, he holstered his phaser and drew the force lance. The door had a simple padd on the wall to open it. Taking a deep breath he pressed the button and charged into the room.
**************************************************************************** *************
Rommie closed the channel to La Forge and surveyed the situation. There were only 5 Jem Hadar soldier's left, but they were in the most defenseable positions. The remainders also displayed a lot more skill than the rest, indicating to Rommie that they were probably some of the bases trainers. Rommie decided that they must have been fighting the replacements for one of the damaged fighters in the hanger, but they were still un-trained. She was about to take a shot, the solider on the left was not ducking down very quickly, when suddenly the ceiling above the soldier's was hit in rapid succession by Tyr's gauss rifle.
The resulting cave in killed all of the Jem Hadar instantly. Rommie stood from behind her barricade, as did Worf and Dax. There were Jem Hadar bodies littering the entire room. Tyr stepped into the room through the door that the designers intended people to use. Suddenly, he swung his rifle up again and fired into the lift, killing a Jem Hadar who was about to shoot Worf in the back.
" More will come down the lift shaft. " Worf stated, now aware of the new threat " We will hold them, you go get your Captain "
Without saying a word, Dax moved to on side of the lift, Worf the other. If any Jem Hadar dropped through the lift ceiling again, then one of the two officers had them in their sights. Rommie and Tyr were not out the room when Worf started firing.
The Rescue
" Rommie " Beka said simply, and the Avatar vanished into the jungle undergrowth, instantly out of sight with. The rest followed at a slower pace, with Worf and Tyr bringing up the rear,
"The Avatar will maintain a distance in front of us, she will warn us of any traps, and find the best vantage point of the base. " Tyr explained quietly. " If we need a distraction at any point, it will also provide one "
The first hour of the walk towards the base was made in almost total quiet. Beka, who was leading the small group was suddenly knocked over as a Jem Hadar burst through a near by tree line, she hit the ground hard, knocked senseless. Dax, who was next in line, raised her phaser but by the time she trained it the Jem Hadar had shrouded.
They quickly formed a defensive circle around the fallen women, weapons raised. Harper knelt by Beka's side quickly examining her, and let out a sigh of relief as he realised that Beka was only stunned from her encounter with the Dominion solider
Rommie then reappears at one side of the clearing with one force lance deployed, without slowling takes three strides in to the area and swings the lance in a powerful arc. Suddenly, about ¾ through the swing the lance made contact with the Jem Hadar's head sending it through the air while the body fell to the ground.
Beka had managed, with Harper's help, to regain her feet by the time Rommie reached the group.
" Look in your packs, you will find a pair of glasses. Once you are wearing them, you will be able to see through the Jem Hadar shrouds " Rommie quickly instructed.
Quickly the rescue party rummage through their packs, looking for the glasses. As she put them on Dax realised that they were much more than just glasses, they were virtual reality goggles, but with a visual clarity that amazed her.
They encountered one more patrol before reaching the compound. This time they could see the patrolling Jem Hadar and made short work of the enemy soldiers.
Rommie had selected a vantage point that allowed an excellent view of the base without revealing their position. The actual base was split into two main sections, a hanger and the main building. It was surrounded by a wire fence and had four guard towers. From their vantage point they could see two Jem Hadar attack ships in the Hanger, one undergoing repairs.
" I'm not detecting any intruder trip wires or beams, which means that the only surveillance equipment they have is the energy weapon detection alarm and the guards eyes " Rommie's voice comes through the comm link. " I recommend that we wait until dark and then breach the fence "
" Do you have a estimate on the size of the garrison ? " Dax asks Rommie
" From the scans we were able to make from orbit there are at least 200 Jem Hadar soliders plus ship crews, one fighter has 18 on board, the other 55 and I am also detecting three Vorta. "
" Only 18 on board the fighter ? The average complement of Jem Hadar on a attack fighter is anywhere between 60 – 85 " Geordie said quietly.
Harper glanced at the engineer and realised that something was bothering him. As he went back to watching the base he quietly asked
" What's wrong ? "
" This must be a cloning facility " Geordie said, " that would explain a lot, like why that fighter came here so under crewed, the lack of Vorta's versus the number of Jem Hadar, why its only crewed by Jam Hadar "
" Agreed " Said Worf, " The ship that the shuttle carrying Captain Hunt rendezvoused with was probably damaged in the battle and had to come here for repairs, then they would take him to whatever prisoner of war camp "
After another few minutes of watching the base Beka told the group to head back into the cover of denser undergrowth, Rommie stayed to maintain surveillance of the base. Once it was dusk, they would breach the base.
Harper sat in the foliage, watching the rest of the party as they tried to get comfortable for the wait until dusk. It had been a while since he had trekked such a distance and was about to doze off when inspiration struck him
" The tracker " He said.
The rest of the party just looked at him blankly, waiting for him to elaborate
" It has a self detonate feature, just in case an enemy ever found it, they couldn't find out which ship was tracking them " He paused "When we are leaving the building, we could detonate it. "
Geordie then adds " With all of the explosive elements that should be found in a hanger would more than likely result in the entire hanger going up in one blaze of fire "
Dax interupts " I have noticed another problem. We can gain entry to the base, but when we exit, the alarm will of been sounded and two of the watch tower turrets will be able to bear on the exit to the main building"
Beka ponders the problem.
" Right, the assault team will be Tyr, Worf, Rommie, Dax and Mr La Forge. Harper, you will remain here, I need you to provide cover fire when they leave the building, also once the base alarm is sounded, detonate the tracker and signal me. I'm going to head back to the slip fighters now, once Harper has signalled me, I'll get airborne and take care of the towers. Any questions ? "
" Just one thing. If the opportunity presents itself, and the tactical positions allows, lets try and download any information about ship movements, etc " Worf suggests
" If we can, yes " Tyr answers " But I suspect that we are going to way to busy with Jem Hadar "
Beka leaves the group moments later and heads back the way they came. The rest of the party settle down to await dusk.
**************************************************************************** *************
Worf cut the fence with quick efficiency. Once a slit had been cut in the wire big enough for him to shuffle through, he entered the compound on his stomach. He waited until all the raiding party were through.
As they had all half expected, the watch towers had activated a search light which slowly swept the compound. For that reason they had selected to cut the fense opposite that door to the base. Rommie estimated they had a 30 second window in which to cover the distance and gain entry before they were spotted.
" NOW " Rommie ordered.
They all jumped up and began running. Rommie led the charge, followed by Tyr and Worf, with La Forge and Dax falling slightly behind. As Rommie reached the door it swung open and three Jem Hadar emerged. Without slowing the Avatar drew both her lances and shot the first two in the head, the remaining solider tried to attack, but Rommie literally crashed into him, forcing both of them into the building. By the time Dax and La Forge reached the door, Tyr and Worf had dragged the bodies inside, the third solider lay on the floor, his neck at a angle. The door slammed shut just as the search light reached it.
They moved down the corridor carefully. Dylan's trackers had him located on the lowest level. They came to a lift, which they entered, but a quick examination of the lift's control panel revealed it only accepted verbal commands to make it move. Dax order the lift to descent to the bottom level, but the lift refused to move.
" This could be a problem, I don't know the native language of either the Jem Hadar soldiers or Vorta's "
It was then that Worf realised he had never heard the Jem Hadar speak in their native tongue. As he started to ponder this latest development, very aware of the passing of time Rommie simply put her hand on the small display and after a few moments the lift started moving
" I have programmed the lift not to stop on any floor until we get to the bottom and not to ascend again for 15 minutes " Rommie informed the others. " However, the room we emerge in will contain a number of soldiers. "
No sooner were the words out of her mouth when the lift opened.
Jem Hadar soldiers filled the room. Worse for the raiders, it appeared to be an armoury. Being the nearest to the door Tyr swung his rifle to bear and started firing. The Jem Hadar went diving for cover. The group quickly exited the lift, forcing the Jem Hadar to retreat to the opposite end of the room. Worf and Dax found cover to the left of the lift, while Tyr remained in the lift itself. La Forge and Rommie dived to the right. A fierce fire fight ensued, and in the background the bases alarm could be heard.
Rommie had pulled a cupboard on its side and they ducked behind it La Forge ducked again as a shot narrowly missed his head.. Rommie replied by shooting the solider, but then had to duck herself to avoid being hit. Geordie was about to return fire again, when he noticed that the wall behind were the cupboard had been was not very thick. He quickly drew his phaser, figuring now that the alarm had been raised, they could use federation energy weapons, and began firing at the wall, creating a new doorway.
Rommie realised what he was doing, and tried to provide as much covering fire as possible.
" What about the others ? " La Forge had to shout above the weapon fire to be heard.
" They will have to manage " Rommie answers " We have to get to Dylan "
From his vantage point in the lift Tyr realised what La Forge was trying to do. Rommie was providing covering fire, but as a result was taking hurried shots, not intending to kill, just to keep the Jem Hadar behind their own hastily formed cover. He kept his own rate of fire up, taking out three soldier's in one burst. Worf and Dax were being forced to keep behind their cover, a hastily moved bench and cupboard door. Where Worf had got that from Tyr had no idea.
Deciding that the lift was no longer offering the best protection, Tyr dived out from the lift and landed behind Rommie. As he dived he fired as many bursts as possible, killing 1 Jem Hadar, but being nicked on the arm by the same soldier's last action.
Rommie notices the wound but after seeing the determined look on Tyrs face, decided not to mention it. La Forge stop firing, and turns to his companions
" It just needs a knock, and the wall will give way into the passage beyond "
Tyr just grunts and launches himself at the wall. True to his word, La Forge's handiwork gives way and Tyr and the wall landed in the passageway. La Forge quickly follows him through.
" Dylan is down there " Rommie calls indicating to La Forge's right. As he starts to head down the passageway Tyr heads the opposite way, after reloading his massive rifle.
" Where are you going ? " La Forge demands, not happy at the prospect of marching round a Jem Hadar based alone.
" I'm going to surprise the Jem Hadar from behind before they overwhelm the others"
Without a word the large man runs down the corridor. La Forge picks himself up and heads the other way. The sounds of gunfire soon are lost as he moves further down the dimly lit corridor. As he reaches a corner, La Forge peers round The corridor stretched ahead for another 10 meters, at the end there were two doors, facing each other.
La Forge noticed that the bases alarm could not be heard here, which meant, hopefully, any guards inside would not be alerted.
"Rommie " La Forge spoke into his comm link " Which door is it ? "
Over the link he could hear more gunfire then before he left
" The right one "
La Forge crept forward, he holstered his phaser and drew the force lance. The door had a simple padd on the wall to open it. Taking a deep breath he pressed the button and charged into the room.
**************************************************************************** *************
Rommie closed the channel to La Forge and surveyed the situation. There were only 5 Jem Hadar soldier's left, but they were in the most defenseable positions. The remainders also displayed a lot more skill than the rest, indicating to Rommie that they were probably some of the bases trainers. Rommie decided that they must have been fighting the replacements for one of the damaged fighters in the hanger, but they were still un-trained. She was about to take a shot, the solider on the left was not ducking down very quickly, when suddenly the ceiling above the soldier's was hit in rapid succession by Tyr's gauss rifle.
The resulting cave in killed all of the Jem Hadar instantly. Rommie stood from behind her barricade, as did Worf and Dax. There were Jem Hadar bodies littering the entire room. Tyr stepped into the room through the door that the designers intended people to use. Suddenly, he swung his rifle up again and fired into the lift, killing a Jem Hadar who was about to shoot Worf in the back.
" More will come down the lift shaft. " Worf stated, now aware of the new threat " We will hold them, you go get your Captain "
Without saying a word, Dax moved to on side of the lift, Worf the other. If any Jem Hadar dropped through the lift ceiling again, then one of the two officers had them in their sights. Rommie and Tyr were not out the room when Worf started firing.
