The Relentless Hazard Team pushed forward through intense phaser and blaster fire, not blinking as the intensity of the weapons fire didn’t slow. Lieutenant Commander Beatrice Estrada sheltered behind cover as they worked, directing the additional security team support from the squadron.
The Hazard Team leader’s voice came over her earpiece. “Resistance is heavier than expected. Working to dislodge the group at the turbolift. We’re going to need extra hands.”
Estrada motioned to the security team to move up. The chaos felt heavier than normal, and reports from the squadron ships about the resistance they encountered amplified her worries that the situation was something more. The value of Commander T’saath was undeniable. Director level at Montana Station reported directly to the station commanding officer. A moment later, “All clear”, was called, and she walked around the corner and down the corridor. Bodies littered the floor, and she finished counting at fifty as she approached the turbolift. Her tricorder told the tale. All dead. The leader had removed his helmet, and the sheen of sweat shone across his face. “We tried stunning them.” A grimace filled his face, eyes furious. “They wouldn’t stay down or surrender. No matter how high the stun we applied, they just kept coming for us.” He motioned her over to a body, squatting down, pointing out the multiple horrifying burn marks from the stun settings. “Pain didn’t slow them down. We hit arms, legs, and center mass. Everything we could. Nothing fazed them, Commander. Nothing.”
A cold sweat developed down Beatrice’s back, her eyes moving to the other bodies. The burns were unnerving. That death was the only way to stop them was more so. Fifty lives sacrificed, and for who? What was so important beyond T’saath that this much blood had to be spilled? She asked, “What’s downstairs?”
He showed her the scans they’d run on his PADD. “We confirmed they are holding Commander T’saath in the brig. There is one other signal, but it is indeterminate. Nobody else down there. It looks like they threw everything up here, thinking they could hold us.”
Lieutenant Charlotte Pelletier ambled up, PADD in hand. “Squadron is holding. Damage to ships is minimal. They’ve disabled three of the small ships and five attackers remain.” She had been in the thick of it with the Hazard Team, and a small, satisfied smile remained on her lips. “I would recommend leaving a team on this deck to repel any boarders.” Pelletier’s eyes sparkled with desire. She was in her element.
Beatrice replied, “You take the lead in securing this deck. Search the bodies; see what intel you can gather. I’ll take the hazard team with me.” The team followed her in, and the lift dropped. Creaking open, the door revealed a short corridor leading to a large door. The brig. Moving quickly and quietly, the hazard team cleared the room and stacked up to the side of the door, giving a thumbs-up to Estrada. She muttered, tapping the wall console, “Here we go.”
The brig was just one big room with a small security desk off to the left. Cells lined the walls, but all of them were empty. A lone body lay in the middle of the room, tied up tightly. Estrada yielded to the Hazard Team as they did one final clearance. Walking forward, she pulled out a tricorder and knelt beside the prone body. The pointed ears gave her the only clue as the scanner went to work. The uniform was unrecognizable in its tattered and jade blood-soaked shape. Cuts covered every inch of her exposed skin, some wounds still seeping green. Beatrice tapped her badge, calling for the medical team to report downstairs. A quiet groan escaped the lips as the tricorder confirmed with a beep. It was Commander T’saath. Swollen bruises littered the Vulcan’s face and neck; her eyes forced shut from the injuries. The turbolift returned, and the medical team slid into action, and Beatrice stepped back. Tapping her badge, she reported the good news. They’d found T’saath.
Estrada walked over to the Hazard Team, her face showing her concern. “You said there were other signals here.”
The lead officer nodded, his face equally concerned. “We’re scanning the deck. The schematics show nothing out of the ordinary, but something’s still here.” The medical team had strapped T’saath to a mobile transport bed and signaled they were ready to go. Estrada gave them the go head and a few moments later they were gone in a transporter beam. The leader ordered his team to spread out and find the anomaly.
Beatrice walked in the opposite direction, tricorder out. The squadron ships had the upper hand, and it was giving the station-side team the much-needed gift of time. The hair on the back of her neck remained at attention the longer she walked around, the ambient humming of the station the only comfort. She scanned the walls and floor of her section twice. Nothing.
“Commander!” the lead officer called her over to a short section of a wall in the far corner of the brig. “It took us two scans and a deeper setting. There’s something behind this.”
“Take it,” she ordered and stepped back while the high whine of phasers broke the relative silence. The wall exploded in a shower of flames and debris, and the hazard team carefully stepped through, clearing as they went.
They shouted, “It’s clear”, and Beatrice walked through the destroyed wall and down a short staircase and into a room that took her breath away. Four desk stations occupied the room, with a large holo-display in the center. Large screens covered the walls. There was no dust.
Estrada grumbled. “Dump all the computer data. I’ll coordinate with the squadron about what to do with this place.”
The leader directed his team to get to work, but remained next to her. “You think this was Tougun’s operation center? Doesn’t seem like it’s big enough.”
She surveyed the room. “Maybe that was the point. They couldn’t find him because he doesn’t have a home base. He’s probably got places like this all over the rimward, ready for him to plug in.” The thought bothered her. “Trying to get him to come to us just got harder.”
