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Table of Contents
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Chekov and Sulu followed their escorts for what seemed to be an eternity. The civil war was a lot worse than either had imagined. The palace was proof of the severity and savagery of the fighting. All along the way, there was evidence of battles, both small and large.
As they changed levels and moved through the various sections, large pieces of walls, floors and ceilings were either missing or had simply been blasted into rubble.
Sulu shook his head at the destruction. 'What a waste,' he thought. The beautifully intricate and ornate designs of stone and wood were now so much clutter and rubble. Most disturbing though, were the occasional bodies they found amongst the wreckage; palace guards, civilians, military, young and old alike. The sight sickened Hikaru and judging by Chekov's reaction, the Russian was having similar thoughts.
The Starfleet officers were still trying to figure out what to do or say during the next encounter with hostile forces. For that matter, they still had no plan for what to do if and when they located the stasis chambers. Chekov reminded his friend of the two axioms of subterfuge. First, never speak unless it was necessary. Second, never volunteer more information than you needed to. Wisdom derived from the old KISS principle, 'Keep it Simple, Stupid.'
Laughing at his friend, Sulu countered with another view. Give the opponent so much information that you confuse them. The more impossible the story, the more believable it will be. His motto was bewilder, bedazzle and befuddle.
Right now, however, Sulu was the confused one. Considering the amount of time they had spent walking the palace corridors, they were experiencing incredibly few encounters. Maybe the opposing forces were just trying to remain out of harm's way.
Whatever the reasons, the issue became academic as the two escorts stopped abruptly and saluted. They stood at the juncture of a smaller corridor. Behind the Romulans was a faint bluish glow and the hum of hyper-voltage circuits.
When Chekov and Sulu approached the guards, they noticed a small alcove at the end of the side hall. Before them was a security barrier and beyond were eight stasis chambers!
Returning the salute from the palace guards, Chekov thanked them for their assistance. Then, after the Romulans moved to a defensive position, Chekov joined Sulu in assessing the security equipment.
Hikaru had just checked his chrono for the next comm point when all hell broke loose. Shouting, coupled with the sounds of running, was becoming louder and louder by the moment.
The two escorts motioned for their charges to take up defensive positions within the alcove. All four were prepared in a moment for the, as yet, unseen danger.
Suddenly a captain of the Imperial Guards and the remainder of the original squad appeared. Each of the Romulan faces were etched with anger and determination. More importantly, the captain was pointing his weapon at Sulu and Chekov and the rest of the group followed suit.
As the weapons began to discharge, Chekov grabbed his friend and shoved him further into the relative safety of the alcove and out of the line of fire from their escorts.
Large chunks of plaster and stonework showered the Federation men. Chekov cursed loudly in Russian, then turned to his companion and mouthed the words, 'burn phasers,' over the bedlam. Sulu looked at his low energy stun weapon and began wishing for considerably more firepower. He got what he wanted, sort of.
The sounds of battle changed slightly and the shouting increased. But more importantly, no more shots were coming at Sulu or Chekov.
Pavel could not resist a peek and, against his commanding officer's advice, he took a tentative look down the hallway. What he saw puzzled him. The Romulans had turned on another, unseen foe.
Forgetting Sulu and Chekov for the moment, the squad of palace guards had focused their attention and firepower further back down the main corridor.
The Chief of Security for the Enterprise seized the opportunity to assist the unknown benefactors. But first he had to neutralize the more immediate problem, their escorts. Rolling on the floor, he assumed a prone position and fired his stun weapon squarely into one of the closest guards. Before the other guard had time to react, Chekov dropped him as well. The Russian rolled back into a position next to Sulu and smiled with deep satisfaction. "Vonce a security officer, alvays a security officer," he explained simply.
Shaking his head with disapproval, Sulu spoke. "You're supposed to stay out of any altercations, Pavel!"
"Vat if it's the cavalry coming over the hill?"
Sulu just stared in disbelief.
Soon, it was quiet and the sounds of high energy weapons had been replaced by soft foot falls. The occasional crunch of broken stone alerted the Starfleet officers to a nearby presence.
It turned out to be another group of Romulans. If the first group had been loyalists, then these must have been revisionists. Or was it the other way around? Spock had speculated that the revisionists wanted all the aliens dead. In any case, what all that meant to Sulu and Chekov wasn't exactly known, but the rescue was appreciated.
The new group acted happy to see that all was well, but their celebration was premature.
One of the many stray shots fired during the brief battle had impacted on a stasis unit, destroying it completely. Sulu was sickened by the discovery and realized that besides the one destroyed unit, two more were already unoccupied.
Chekov was even more upset by another discovery. The security field was failing, due to another stray energy bolt. Unfortunately, the security system was tied into the stasis power source. Evidently it was part of a failsafe system, designed to destroy the captives should an unauthorized entry or rescue be attempted.
Both scrambled into action, eliciting the assistance of the new Romulan contingency in the process. Chekov explained that he had been sent by the preator to personally see to the safety of the captives.
The Romulans laughed at the mention of the preator and explained about wanting the aliens for hostages or as a bargaining tool for their own purposes. Whatever the reasons, their help was welcomed, at least for the moment.
Not really wanting to look at the stasis units for fear of what he might see, Sulu nevertheless made a quick assessment of the situation. He examined each of the units individually.
Meanwhile, Chekov busied himself trying to repair the failsafe unit, or rather what remained of it. He had hoped to find the link to the stasis units and disconnect it, thereby saving the captives. Unfortunately, the effort proved futile. One by one the stasis units began to flicker from the lack of required power levels.
Chekov was ready to scream in frustration and Sulu was just about to cry. Before them were some of Starfleet's finest officers and little could be done to save them.
Sulu moved quickly to the unit most likely to fail and with the speed of desperation, he set about releasing its occupant. Any hope of beaming up the units intact was gone. In a few brief moments, the stasis field was down and Sulu looked up to see Admiral Kirk staring, if somewhat groggy and disoriented, at a somewhat familiar face, disguised or not.
Before Kirk attempted to speak, Sulu placed his index finger over his lips and pointed towards the group of Romulans, working on the nearby stasis unit.
Nodding slowly in understanding, Kirk was still confused but understood the implications.
The Romulans soon had Admiral Shaya-tar safely out of stasis. He seemed to be in better shape than Kirk, but still disoriented nonetheless.
By this time, Chekov had abandoned his repair efforts and had begun work on the next unit at warp speed.
Admiral Rya was next to be set free, but by now, the two remaining units were failing fast. Sulu reluctantly left Kirk for a moment and jumped to the closest one and released Captain Rameriz.
The Romulans then attempted to save the person in the next unit, but the effort proved futile as the unit failed abruptly. Not that it mattered much, for in the next instant it was seared by a hit from a burn phaser.
Everyone had been so intent on the stasis units and saving the captives, that no one noticed the new arrivals. These were regular fleet personnel, intent on killing everybody in the area whether alien or Romulan!
Within a split second, the air was thick with energy bolts and curses in both Romulan and Federation Standard. Evidently someone's universal translator wasn't working up to spec!
The group helping Sulu and Chekov was pared down to six by the first volley and, standing in the open hallway, were reduced in numbers even further. Their sole accomplishment had been to draw the incoming fire and thereby, spare the small group of Starfleet officers.
As the oncoming assault intensified, Sulu and Chekov tried desperately to shield the recently freed captives, but Rya was hit before Chekov could get to him.
The burn phaser ripped through the surprised man like butter in the Vulcan sun. Sulu almost became ill. So damn close to freedom, then this.
Kirk and Shaya-tar lay flat on the floor side-by-side, helpless and frustrated . At one time, both officers had been excellent fighters, but now, unarmed and still recovering from prolonged stasis and long term abuses, there was little they could do.
Chekov made a quick assessment and crawled to the two senior officers. On his way, he got off two shots but hit little, other than previously damaged architecture. Then he saw a Romulan get hit right in front of him. The wound was on the upper thigh, but fatal regardless and a large spurt of the dead man's blood soaked Pavel's robes and the surrounding area.
At this point, the Starfleet contingency became organized and emboldened. They saw very little return fire coming from the group of Romulans that had been helping them. Therefore, the time was right for a full scale attack from the regular fleet personnel.
Sulu and Chekov sensed that this was about to happen at the same time and both prepared for the worst. They adjusted their weapons for wide dispersal. It would reduce the effectiveness and the range but broaden the width of field, thereby increasing the chances of hitting many, if not all the targets.
The remaining nearby Romulan cut down two more fleet personnel before he, too, became overwhelmed. Then, sensing blood and easy victory, the remaining attackers charged blindly up the corridor. Sulu and Chekov waited until the last possible moment, firing in unison for a maximum effect. It worked perfectly. All the attackers dropped in their tracks and the area was
quiet once again.
The silence was broken by a familiar voice. "Just what the hell is going on here?"
Turning their attention from the recently dispatched attackers, Sulu and Chekov found themselves staring at James T. Kirk. Holding on to Shaya-tar as if his life depended on it, Kirk's face was still determined, as if he was ready for a fight.
Once Spock and Saavik were free, their first task was to retrieve the hidden communicators and weapons. Unfortunately, getting back to the hiding place took a lot longer than anticipated. As Spock pointed out, moving by stealth and caution is inherently time consuming.
In the end, they recovered their equipment about twenty minutes past comm point. Saavik suggested they attempt to contact the ship anyway, but the palace shield would have severely restricted the range and effectiveness. Increasing the levels necessary to establish a link would have given their position, and possibly their intent, away. Therefore Spock vetoed the idea.
He was confident that Sulu would keep the Enterprise in orbit until he and Saavik were recovered or confirmed as lost. However, he knew that the next orbit would probably be the last. Still, they should have sufficient time to drop the shield and get to the captives' location.
Regardless, there wasn't an abundance of time to waste. So he and Saavik made their way as quickly as possible to the shield controls.
If all went well, he would soon be talking to his old friend, James T. Kirk.
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© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
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