Making A Run
Posted on Wed Feb 12th, 2020 @ 9:32pm by 1st Lieutenant Leo 'Sundown' Steves
Edited on on Thu Feb 13th, 2020 @ 1:24am
1,165 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
The Drumhead (Empok Nor Premier)
Location: The Wardroom - Empok Nor
Timeline: MD020 1930 Hours
The Wardroom was packed full with people of all walks of life , it seems. There were four times as many people as there were chairs; Humans, Vulcans, Nausicaans, and even the odd Vulcan graced the ranks. Some people spoke amongst themselves while others sat in silence. They were a room full of strangers for the most part.
As if the room could fit another person, the door opened again and in walked the young Trill woman, her blonde ponytail bobbing behind her. She looked far too young to be leading a gathering and no one could be blamed for thinking she was empty headed, but she had several lifetimes on these people and she acted like it. She walked to the center of the table where a someone chubby Klingon was sitting. She hovered over him for a second wordlessly, and then spoke.
"You're in my seat." She said matter-of-factly, not without kindness.
The Klingon looked over his shoulder slowly and made an agitated expression.
"So find another, little girl." He said, and then turned back to his brooding.
Tam had certainly dealt with Klingons before, but the last time she had been a pretty strong-looking man. Now, there was no way a Klingon would fear her, not that she was in the mood for fighting anyway. No, force wouldn't work, she knew, but she had to deal with this well because everyone in the room was now watching the exchange. If she blew this, she doubted any of these people would follow her to their potential deaths.
Just then it came to her. If she couldn't beat him at his game, she would have to beat him at her own.
"You must be quite the warrior to take a seat from a little girl." She said, offering a disingenuous smile as several of the people around them laughed uncomfortably. "I'm sure they'll sing songs about this day."
Leo had just made it back to the station in the nick of time. He was still kicking himself that they entire flight was sent on a wild goose chase. However, when he got the message that the station was going to evacuate he decided to hightail it bake. The didn't call him Sundown for nothing. Leo hoped out of his transport and took his flight helmet off when he noticed a young woman having words with a Klingon.
He glanced over his shoulder at the Klingon. "Hegh qab SuvwI' 'ej Ha' So' puq. SuvwI' puq pagh?" (A warrior faces death and lets children hide. Are you a warrior or child?)
The Klingon looked at them angrily, but said nothing. It seemed his primary motivation was apathy and he didn't even care to respond. Instead, he simply turned with a superior scowl and exited the room.
Nazia looked at her rescuer and flashed a measured grin, thanking him silently, before taking the seat and looking up at him. "What's your name, soldier? "
"I am 1st Lieutenant Leo Steves Ma'am but my friends call me Sundown. You seem to have me at a loss both as to your name and to what in sam hill is going on here." He tossed his flight helmet into the cockpit of his transport. The lettering FLT Sundown stenciled on the side. "It seems you have your hands full." He said with a flirtatious smile.
"It seems I do," she said, looking at him steadily. "But I'm not alone it seems."
She turned to the room full of people then, her soft blue eyes dancing between the faces. "We have a problem on our hands, folks. The Cardassians are coming in-mass with an intent to retake this station. Captain Hood has every intention of holding the line, but there are many lives in danger. He has asked me to find every pilot I can an organize the evacuation."
She spoke with ease, authority, and comfort beyond her years; this was the benefit of joining.
"I know alot of you are eager to get away from situations like this, but I want you to understand the stakes before you make your decision. If you leave, women and children will die in the takeover, but if you stay and join me, we can clear this station and give all those people a chance to keep on living." She paused for a moment, her heart starting to race. "So, who's with me?"
Steves looked at her with a smirk. "Ma'am I am a Marine transport pilot. I can transport anything, especially people. So just fill that there transport up with anyone you like and point me in the right direction." His American mid-western accent was heavy as he spoke. The smirk left his face quickly as it all came together in his head. His unit was purposely dragged away from the station. This is going to be a slaughter he thought. How could anyone have fallen for that trap. He looked around the room and saw the faces of the tired of the expectant.
Other people immediately perked up, volunteering for the act, while a small number of them remained silent and slowly moved toward the exit.
Smiling, Nazia spoke quickly. "I'm glad so many of you are willing to give your skills and effort willingly. For those of you who aren't you'll have to do it anyway. I have your names and am officially pressing you into temporary service with Starfleet. I'm sure you'll be brought up on charges if you don't comply."
With this, she stood up, her firm body moving easily despite her shortness. Looking around again and the sea of faces, she gave a serious nod. "Go to your ships and stand by for my instructions. The evacuation begins immediately. "
Leo saw that the other pilots, most of them civilians were not sure what was going on. He also thought that Nazia could use a little help. So in his best Marine Drill Sergeant voice he shouted over the din. "You heard the lady. That wasn't a request it was an order. We got butts to save, move it move it." He gave Nazia a wink and started to direct some of the civilians to the auxiliary craft. As for himself Leo headed back to what he did best, flying.
Nazia felt a pang of annoyance in her belly as the man confirmed her orders. Several lifetimes hadn't yet compensated for the smallness of her current form. Tarkon never needed help getting his orders across; then again, he had been solid and stern. She watched as people cleared the room and headed for their various craft and pushed her insecurities aside. She'd be needed on fly deck to figure out logistics.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Nazia Tam
Transport Pilot, Empok Nor
1st Lieutenant Leo 'Sundown' Steves
Commanding Officer, 5845th Marine Transport Squadron
Empok Nor
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