Fight! war! fire! violence! death! police! TV! #$@! you!Start the riot! start the riot! start the riot! start the riot now!

• Atari Teenage Riot, “Start The Riot”

[Arlila]

Lieutenant Junior Grade William Hume had found it surprisingly easy to grow his crowd from a few dozen people to a mass of hundreds. Inequality and resentment against the government was at all time highs, and it had been simple once the ball had started rolling to keep it going. Inertia had lead to this revolution, more than a fully considered plan. It was perhaps not the non-interference that Starfleet had pledged to, but then against they had found themselves well beyond that point by the time they had arrived, just once the Cardassians had been discovered and captured. Adding two humans to that from the away team had not been part of the plan either.

Hume fell back to gather up with Lieutenant Kolem and the newly minted Ensign Vanessa Constable. Constable was working on her improvied Electro Megnetic Pulse bomb as they walked along inside the crowd. They were not quite the angry villagers with burning torches and pitch forks that you got in holonovels about Frankenstein’s monster or something but the energy was similar was similar. When they ran into the first organized resistance in the form of police officers the three Starfleet officers peeled off and headed towards the main government complex where as far as they could tell the Cardassians and their fellow Starfleet members were being held.

”The police and military will be focused on the crowd, so we need to get in and out quickly,” Hume said. Though Kolem was the higher ranking officer his being a security officer, had lead him to take charge of the mission with the capture of Commander Cruz. Kolem, knowing her own limitations, and lack of experience as an away team officer had ceded control without a fight.

Constable set the bomb up on the easy side of the complex and set a five minute timer. This late at night the security was minimal anyway and with a riot happening about a mile away at the legislature security had been called away. But as soon as the bomb went off, and power was lost, all hell would break out. Gripping his phaser, but Hume crouched near the side door on the west side of the building that they had identified to use, given their need to get in quickly. It was hard not to be nervous, to feel the tension in his palms which were slick with sweat. He glanced at Kolem, who was also nervous, this had better work.

Right at five minutes the power went out as the EMP exploded in a dramatic manner, enough to draw more security to it and away from where they were trying to enter. Constable took the lead as the engineering officer, and was able to easily by-pass the security now that the power was out.

Commander Adriana Cruz and Lieutenant Claudia Jara were seated on the floor when suddenly the room was plunged into darkness. A second later battery operated emergency lights clicked on and they saw the Cardassians trying the force field that had previously held them in place. In was deactivated, potentially when the power had gone off. Tentatively the Cardassians were exiting their cell, and the two Starfleet officer quickly rose to their feet and followed suit.

Suddenly Lieutenant Junior Grade Hume and the rest of the away team burst into the room with Hume holding a phaser. 

‘Lieutenant, we should get going,” Cruz said.

He nodded, “We have a riot going on about a mile away, it’s drawing off security but I can’t imagine it will be long before they send someone to check on you.”

Cruz nodded and turned to the Cardassians, “As soon as we get outside we’ll radio for a beam up, your ship should get you as well once we’re not shielded by all this concrete.“

They nodded, but kept quiet, not wanting to admit the Starfleet officers had actually succeeded in their rescue attempt. The group quickly backtracked from where Hume’s party had come, and as soon as they were outside he was calling up to the Seattle to arrange their beam out. The Cardassians were taken first and Cruz could see the riot that her team had started from her position as the world around her dissolved and she was beamed up.

[USS Seattle – Bridge]

Captain Nathan Hawthorne was dealing with a second Cardassian ship that had dropped out of orbit. A Galor Class this one was here to problem solve which apparently meant threatening to bomb the planet before sending in a full regiment of troops. The Gul in charge saw himself as too important to deal with the Starfleet Captain, so for the time being Hawthorne was still dealing with the original Cardassian commander of the original ship.

Thankfully they had agreed to stick to their original time line, at least for now. When the science officer on the bridge detected an EMP pulse on the planet’s surface he hoped that it was a prelude to something happening because he was not sure how long he could keep the Cardiassians happy with sitting on the sidelines. When they detected both human and Cardassian life signs and his full team he silently rejoiced and gave the order to beam them up now.

It took about twenty minutes before they were hailed again by the original Cardassian ship. The cardassian captain nodded, “We have secured our people. Thank your team for us. It would have been more, dangerous if we had sent an armed team down to secure them Captain.”

Hawthorne smiled, “And thank you for your patience, I’m glad we managed to get everyone back safely.”

The Commander nodded, and then ended the transmission. Before both Cardassian ships left orbit and then the system. 

Tired, even though he hadn’t beamed down, he went to his ready room to review the reports from his team as they came in. He knew that Hume’s solution was imperfect, and if this mission was examined closely it might raise a few eyebrows at Starfleet headquarters, but then again things had gone side ways even before his team had arrived. Starfleet had just been trying to keep the Cadassians from a masacre.

He would be standing behind Hume’s decision if it was ever called into question. It was more important to secure the Cardassians than to wait for a more subtle option.

[USS Seattle – 9 Forward]

LIeutenant Claudia Jara was drinking to numb the emotional pain, even if sythahol was not the same as real liqour. A Vulcan, or as Jara knew a Romulan officer sat at the table next to her. Assistant Chief Medical Officer T’Rala nodded, “Long day and a bit?”

”Yeah,” Jara said, taking a sip of her third drink.

”Tough mission?” T’Rala asked.

“Tough mission,” Jara agreed.

”You should probably talk to the counselor or something huh?” T’Rala said.

”She was there,“ Jara said. She was not comfortable with being captured, and while neither was Commander Cruz being helpless reminded her too much of her own past, a past she was determine not to think about or talk about. The USS Seattle was her home, and where she was from or where she had been in the past had no bearing on it in her own mind. But of course it did.

”You should get some sleep,” T’Rala said.

”Probably,” Jara agreed, taking another sip, “but I don’t want to be alone at this point.”

T’Rala nodded, “You could get some sleep, with someone.”

Jara nodded, “Don’t know anyone really it’s a new crew still.”

”Well as a medical professional I could offer my services. I am a doctor,” T’Rala said.

Jara studied the Romulan for a second, “Okay, that’s a good idea.”

T’Rala smiled, “I know.”