Breen Base

The piercing siren rang through the corridors, screeching around corners and through bulkheads it sliced through the gloom of the Breen base. The high pitched tone pursued the small squad through the dim, green alleyways and gulley’s as they attempted to evade the security forces now hunting them. Slowing their pace as they reached a junction that would lead to the base’s main artery, a wave from Maine signalled the coast was clear to cross the relatively brightly lit highway through the centre of the base. One-by-one the group dashed across the deck plates, desperately hoping to evade any surveillant eyes. Hermira slipped across into the darkness of the opposing corridor, gliding across the deck without a sound, quickly followed by Ole who took the corridor in two enormous steps. As Bib cast a final look down the corridor the siren stopped abruptly. 

“(%$&&$^”(£)!(“$~:@>>{}¬” announced the incomprehensible voice, the heavy Breen vocoder making the announcement unintelligible to anyone who wasn’t fitted with their own translator. 

Casting a glance between one another they awaited the resuming of the siren or the echo of Jem’Hadar and Breen boots to overwhelm them. But only silence hovered in the air, the tense absence of any noise, save for the ragged breaths of the team as they attempted to settle their panicked gulps of air. Crossing to join the rest of the team Maine and Bib quickly leapt across the corridor, their boots landing with dull thuds against the metal surface, terrifyingly loud in the acute silence following the overwhelming scream of the siren.

“Tell me again, that wasn’t about us?” Maine whispered. 

“I don’t think so, there was no indication of a security alert whilst I was working.” Hermira responded. They had been attempting to access data on the bases new version of the dampening weapon when the siren had sounded. Fearing they were detected Maine had instructed the team to flee. “I had only just got my head around the architecture. I hadn’t even started probing, let alone trying to breach anything.” she said, offering a defence. 

“If we were detected, this place would be busier, not empty.” Ole noted, his eyes moving systematically up and down the long corridor they had just crossed. Taking a position at the corner he pressed his huge frame up against the wall, attempting to blend his dark blue skin into the omnipresent shadows. 

“How far are we away from the labs?” Bib interrupted, his antenna slick to his head, twitching intermittently against the overwhelming EM radiation only just blocked out by the base’s deflectors. 

“Just down there.” Hermira pointed round the corner to a large set of blast doors. “Probably only 25m at most. But I’ll need to override the door to get us through and that’ll take me a few minutes.”

“There are a couple crates down there for cover but we’re very exposed.” Ole muttered, his surveillance of the corridor continuing. 

“It’s the only way?” Maine asked, turning towards Hemira.

“Unless you wanna go outside.” she replied, offering a grim smile. “We can’t even try beaming in. Between the stellar radiation and the additional shielding around the section we’d never get in.”

“Massively exposed door it is. I’ll move down with Hermira first, you two follow.” Maine instructed, nodding towards the team members. “Ole, clear?” Maine asked the impressively stealthy Bolian. 

“Worryingly, there’s been no passing patrols, no wandering scientists.” said the man, his phaser rifle pressed close to his chest. “I would’ve thought we’d see or hear someone by now.”

Maine waved the team forward as he took the lead rounding the corner and dashed down the central highway, quickly followed by Hermira. Left alone in their quiet hidey hole, Bib reached a hand onto Ole’s shoulder. “As my mother said, don’t insult the thick ice. Maybe everyone is focused on something else.”

Nestus Bridge

“I’m detecting a massive build-up of energy in the smaller sun.” Mitchell offered from his small station on the bridge. “I think it’s some sort of stellar eruption.”

Seated at the curved conn console Zaya had been left in de-facto command of the small vessel. Though not a Starfleet officer, her time with Central Command had given her a great deal more experience than the two young ensign’s who had also remained on the ship. “Are we in danger?” she asked, her eyes fixed on the large view screen where the Breen base loomed, blocking out the vibrant orange sun behind it. 

“I don’t think so.” Mitchell replied, the young officer’s hands shaking as he attempted consolidate the data on his console. “The base is a much more likely target, its an EM lightning rod. We should be safe here in its shadow if it does erupt.” 

“From the eruption at least.” Zaya noted. Hovering so close to the base’s hull any sudden shift or change in position could cause a deadly collision. “Any sign of the team?” If they could get the team out and escape before the eruption even better. 

“Nothing since we confirmed they had successfully transported over. Though it does appear that the base has moved to a heightened state of readiness. I’m reading additional shielding being raised around core systems and what looks like modulations in the SI & static deflector systems to increase hull integrity.” Mitchell responded. “I don’t think I can see anything more concrete without giving our position away.”

“Will the shielding interfere with transporting the team out?” Zaya asked, finally drawing her eyes away from the glowing orange orb on the screen. Swinging the chair round to face the young Tellerite seated on the other side of the small bridge. His furrowed brow locked in position as he attempted to keep the energy signature of Nestus as low as possible to avoid detection. 

“Almost definitely, we managed the slip them in last time because we were inside the base’s shield bubble. The new shielding seems to be local to the sections and I can’t even start trying to think about messing around with frequencies whilst I’m keeping us running silent.” Log responded, choreographing his own ballet across the engineering console. 

“Then we need to get them a window. Prepare to adjust our position.” Zaya announced, her own fingers beginning a dance upon the sweeping helm console; a discordant symphony of beeps began filling the bridge.