round 4 Alistair Hastings & Ch'Kehla - Insurance

[Tonya Lang]

(( Bridge, the White Canary ))

::There had been a petty officer tracking them, by all accounts. A reptilian thing, one of the engineers outside the holodeck. However he had been doing it, they'd shaken him off -- he'd lost their trail after one of their turbolift rides and they had made it to their transport vessel unhindered. Already they were a fair distance from the station, but they hadn't escaped. Not yet.::

::Ch'kehla, Alistair's Klingon companion, was leaning over one of the bridge consoles, and at the sound of a quiet alarm, she straightened to her full and considerable height, looking over at him.::

CH'KEHLA: They're outside the cargo bay. The ones from the holodeck.

HASTINGS: Is the captain with them?

CH'KEHLA: No. She's at the Cardassian Embassy.

::Alistair flashed a grin at that, chortling away to himself.::

HASTINGS: Oh, she's not going to like what she finds *there*. Not at all. ::He grinned.:: Put the feed on the viewscreen?

::She brushed her fingertips against the console, and the dark cargo bay appeared on the small vessel's screen. Another time, and she applied a filter, a pale green veil over the image that let them see through the blackness. The audio feed was even sensitive enough to pick up the blond Lieutenant Commander's low mutter.::

SKYFIRE: =/\= I got a bad feeling about this =/\=

EERIE: =/\= Agreed. =/\= ::The Brikar pulled out a tricorder and attempted a scan. Alistair just grinned, smug and superior at the attempt at something so utterly pointless.:: =/\= Must be a dispersal field in place. Not getting anything but some odd chaff on the tricorder. =/\=

::Alistair watched as the security chief swept the dark cargo bay with his phaser rifle.::

SHAPIRO: =/\= Someone must be inside the cargo bay and waiting for us to surprise us. =/\=

::Ch'kehla snorted at that, and Alistair chuckled to himself again. They had no idea. He watched as the Brikar stepped out into the darkness, the rest of the team following the echoes of his footsteps.::

EERIE: =/\=Lights. =/\=

SHARPE: =/\= I am with you there Ensign, I am not liking this one iota. =/\=

HASTINGS: He's almost adorable, isn't he? For a talking rock, that is. Ch'kehla, be a dear and active the phaser turrets.

::She muttered something under her breath, probably something about traps and honour, but he paid no mind. Honour was a fool's game, and it was no one's fault but her own if she clung to outdated cultural ideals.::

::And despite her complaints, she still did as she was asked. Phaser beams lanced out from the turrets strategically placed around the 'bay.::

EERIE: =/\=Get down! =/\=

::Alistair watched as the team scattered, throwing themselves to the side and to the floor, trying to avoid the coordinated fire. Though the turrets missed the man, it did hit the security chief's phaser rifle, disintegrating it in his hands and throwing him to the floor. He had the luck of the devil, that one.::

SHARPE: =/\= You okay Commander? =/\=

::One of the security chief's men checked on the status of their superior. Bless. It was all so sweet and caring. If only Starfleet had tried so hard to save others at Ohmallera.::

SKYFIRE/EERIE/ROSEK/SHAPIRO/LANG:

SHARPE: =/\= Okay where is that fire coming from, I need to find me a computer interface. =/\=

::A few of the phaser turrets had been hit by the team's weapons fire, and the barrage was already beginning to slow. Despite this, Alistair continued watching the display with an ever-growing grin on his face.::

EERIE: =/\= Fine except for my weapon and uniform. =/\=

::In the midst of ongoing phaser fire, the human security officer passed his phaser rifle to his chief.::

SHARPE: =/\= Take mine Commander and cover me, I am going to see if I can get us some lights in here. =/\=

EERIE: =/\= Good idea. ::Taking the weapon.:: =/\=

::As the firefight continued, the security officer kept frantically tapping at PADD. What a curious individual -- Alistair had not anticipated this tactic.::

SHARPE: =/\= EUREKA! =/\=

::The lights came back on, which was unexpected, and revealed that the Starfleet team's opponents were entirely automated phaser turrets. Still, no matter. There was more to the cargo bay than an ambush.::

SHARPE: =/\= I could only get us the lights Sir. =/\=

::Finally. Alistair leaned over and pressed a button on the arm of his seat, opening a comm channel. A panel in the cargo bay lit up in front of the Starfleet officers, and much like a bridge viewscreen.::

HASTINGS: You survived! Well done. I wasn't sure you'd survive. Disappointed that you *did*, but that's by the by.

::He beamed at them, unabashedly smug. The Starfleet team who had been hunting them down were there, and he was elsewhere. And it looked like their escape might actually work! Hitting Astrofori One had always been a huge risk, what with the station's standing fleet, Peaceforce Five nearby to deal with any troublemakers.::

::And of course, the Gorkon herself, with some of the biggest guns Starfleet had to offer and a quantum slipstream drive to boot.::

SKYFIRE: =/\= In this case, glad to disappoint. =/\=

::The Gorkon's XO motioned for his team to let him take the lead in the discussion. A pity, really -- Alistair had been hoping to hear some spit and fire from the obviously aggrieved men and women. The Brikar looked as though he'd happily shoot first and worry about the consequences later.::

SHARPE: ::Laying a friendly hand on his shoulder:: It's okay Commander he will get his. ::Sharpe said to Eerie.::

::All eyes were on Alistair, and he could see fury burning behind so many of them. Good. He hoped how they felt today stayed with them for a long, long time.::

HASTINGS: Well, you're obviously hot on our little tails and that won't do at all. So you have a choice. Us, or your own people.

SKYFIRE: =/\= Meaning what, exactly? =/\=

HASTINGS: Remember those forty-nine people who are missing? I bet at least one of you does. ::His eyes wandered over to Lang, and he flashed her a wicked grin.::

SKYFIRE: =/\= Meaning? =/\=

::Heavens above, the man was dense. Alistair rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. A little bit melodramatic, but he was having fun now.::

HASTINGS: Do you want them back safe or sound, or not? I mean, without the transporter coordinates, they could be anywhere in a three light-year radius and I'm fairly sure they don't have enough oxygen for you to conduct a proper search...

SKYFIRE: =/\= I presume at the cost of letting you go. ::He stared, unblinking for several moments. Alistair rolled his eyes again as he waited.:: Give us the coordinates. =/\=

::*Finally*, he had caught on.::

HASTINGS: Without any guarantees? You must have mistaken me for an idiot. ::In the blink of an eye, the cheer and arrogant charm was gone, and his voice dropped dangerously low.:: I am not an idiot.

SKYFIRE: =/\= You have my word. =/\=

HASTINGS: That's very good of you, Commander. But your word carries about as much weight as my pet chihuahua. You're neither in command of the Gorkon, or the rest of Astrofori One's fleet.

SKYFIRE: =/\= That much is true. I'm here, and they aren't. So my word will have to suffice. :: then whispered to Eerie :: No need to blast a hole in him, Eerie. =/\=

EERIE: =/\= Yes, Sir. ::Eerie lowered the weapon to the ready position.:: =/\=

HASTINGS: Fine, I will give you some coordinates. At these ones, you'll find a probe. It will give you the coordinates to your people -- once my ship is clear of Astrofori One's space. If I am intercepted at any point, the probe self-destructs. If you tamper with the probe, it self-destructs. Basically, if you try any funny business, the probe explodes. If I *think* you're trying any funny business, the probe explodes.

SKYFIRE: =/\= Thank you. =/\=

HASTINGS: Who's a good boy. ::He nodded to Ch'kehla. She tapped a button on the console, and a set of coordinates flashed up on the screen.:: Off you go, bye bye now.

::He beamed and gave the sour-looking team a merry wave, and flicked off the screen. He glanced at Ch'kehla, and she glowered back at him. The question was, did he blow up the probe anyway, once they had got away? It would serve them all right, but could make life difficult for his Reborn brothers and sisters in the future. And Ch'kehla would have a fit -- she was already sour and breaking a promise, not to mention the mass murder of the defenceless, might just tip her to breaking point.::

::Decisions, decisions::

--

Alistair Hastings & Ch'Kehla

Terrorists

Maquis Reborn

simmed by

Captain Quinn Reynolds

Commanding Officer

USS Gorkon