A wolf in sheep's clothing Pt 5

Posted on Tue Apr 30th, 2024 @ 6:00pm by Commodore Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Commander Shr'Nesh Karadis & Lieutenant Commander Wyatt Steele & Lieutenant Evelyn Steele & Captain Kevin, Lord Kilbane of Sanquhar

Mission: The missions never over.
Location: The City, Sestus One
Timeline: Current.

Arriving at the outskirts of the city Eve motioned to Wyatt to take cover, her senses picking up on company close by. She practically held her breath as a Klingon patrol passed within close range of where they were hiding, looking to Wyatt she waited until they were well gone before speaking. “That was too close! We’re going to need to keep our guard up from here on in. I’ll message team two and let them know we’re here.”

As arranged Eve used her comm badge to tap out a message in morse code, letting Finchley and the rest of the team know they’d arrived.

Wyatt looked at the Klingons as they passed by Eve's and his hiding spot. When they were out of sight he spoke in a low tone. "Agreed, eyes and ears wide open. Good idea, message the other team that we've arrived."

“Already on it” Eve smiled as she tapped out her message. “Now we wait.”

Wyatt nodded, "Wish I had brought a deck of cards to pass the time." He replied, grinning at Eve.

Eve grinned. “Just wait until we get back.”

Finchley paced back and forth, suddenly, his COMM badge started to sound off, it was a morse code message!

"They've made it!!" Finchley said, turning to Kilbane and Karadis.

"About bloody time..." Karadis replied, unimpressed.

Finchley ignored the jibe, took his COMM badge off, removed the front and began sending a message back, "Glad...you...decided...to...join...us. Make...your...way...to...city...centre...once...there...signal...arrival."

"Right, let's get going, bring Jara as she'll know the best wasy to the city centre" he said to Kilbane. Kilbane nodded, spoke to Jara and the four of them started to make their way carefully through the backstreets. After a short while they made it, luckily, there were no Klingon patrols to be seen. Karadis found this strange, she thought there would be roving patrols, but there were none.

"Something's not right Bird, where's the patrols?" Karadis asked.

"Yes, I was thinking that too" Finchley replied, "Let's keep our wits about us."

The city centre was basically a large square with two story buildings on three sides and what looked like a shrine on the fourth. The four of them crouched down at the corner of one of the nearest building next to the shrine and awaited the signal from Eve and Wyatt.

Having relayed the message to Wyatt, the two had cautiously set off for the city centre. Eve looked at Wyatt concernedly. “Where are all the Klingons? I was expecting this place to be crawling with them?”

"Wyatt nodded, "Be careful what you wish for Eve." He whispered as the pair slowly but steadily moved along. "Though this is unusual." He admitted.

Eve nodded as they proceeded the rest of the way in silence, once in position she signalled Finchley again to say they’d made it to the rendezvous.

Finchley answered the signal to tell Eve and Wyatt where they were and to make their way to them.

Eve motioned to Wyatt the way they needed to go. “Not far now they should be pretty close by.”

"Then let's not keep your uncle and the others waiting." Wyatt answered as his eyes swept the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Eve nodded, it didn’t take them long to find their way to the rendezvous. Looking around Eve let her senses reach out for the familiar sense of her uncle.

Karadis saw movement as she looked from the corner of the building, nudging Finchley she motioned over to where she'd seen it. Nodding, Finchley once again sent a short morse code message via his COMM badge, "Two o'clock from your twenty."

Eve looked around motioning silently to Wyatt where Finchley and the others were.

Wyat nodded and silently followed Eve to the other team's location.t

Once they'd safely made it to them Kilbane said "Nice of you to finally decide to show up and join us, we've been here for a day."

Wyatt wore a surprise look at Finchley but said nothing.

“A day!?” Eve frowned. “How did you get here so fast?”

"Long story short, we stole a land hopper from the Klingon's" Finchley replied/

He then looked at Jara and asked "Where's the administrative buildings?"

"We don't have any of those, everything to with the decisions of the Eldership takes place in the shrine" Jara answered.

"The shrine?" Karadis asked, somewhat perplexed.

"Yes, the Eldership must get affirmation from our forebears before any decisions are made, and the shrine is our holy place where they do that!" Jara replied haughtily.

"Did the Klingon's take all of the Eldership to work in the mines?" Finchley asked.

"No, a couple of them managed to escape capture and are in the catacombs below the shrine" Jara answered, "If you wish, I can take you to them" she offered.

Finchley considered the idea, "Yes...yes, meeting with them could be helpful."

"Or disastrous" Kilbane said, "What if they refuse to see us or worse, refuse to help us?"

"Listen, their planet has been taken over by the Klingon's and their people enslaved to work in the mines, why would they do either of those things?" Finchley asked.

Neither Karadis or Kilbane answered.

Wyatt could think of a couple of reasons but being a junior officer he wasn't asked so his opinion remained his own and unspoken.

"Lieutenant Steele...and Lieutenant Steele, care to weigh in?" Finchley asked.

Wyatt replied without hesitation. "Sir, I can think of reasons why the people wouldn't help us. First, they are being forced by the Klingon's with family members being held hostage. Second, they are collaborators working with the Klingon's and have something to gain from their actions."

“It doesn’t make sense, since when do the Klingon's make people slaves?” Eve looked at the others. “Correct me if I’m wrong here...” she looked at Karadis. “Klingon's are more focused on their honour, what honour is there in being slave masters?”

"Ah, I see, place the onus of blame for what those Klingon's have done to the nearest one at hand" Karadis replied in anger to Eve.

"The honour comes from the first task at hand, the directive given. In this instance, I would say that the directive was to conquer Sestus One 'for the good of the Empire'. Once that task was achieved, honour was satisfied, what happened after that was most likely a decision made to best achieve the goal of extracting the dilithium ore" she ended, her eyes widening.

"Karadis, Lieutenant Steele wasn’t blaming you" Finchley said, "She most likely was trying to get an understanding of the reason behind making the citizens of this planet into a forced labour force."

"Then get her to ask the ones who did this, because it wasn't me!" Karadis shouted.

"Stand to Commander, that's an order!!!" Finchley shouted back, squaring up to Karadis.

Karadis, for a moment, looked like she was about to deck the Captain, her fists opening and closing several times. In the end, she slowly stood to attention, eyes staring straight ahead, saying, "Aye...Sir."

Finchley stood directly in front of her, "I personally don't give a fuck you're Klingon, you're the closest we have to getting into their mindset, so get that big bastarding chip off your shoulder. We're different species in this team, so from time time we'll come across aspects of a mission that one of us specifically can answer. They're not accusations, they're queries or questions."

Karadis said nothing, simply stared ahead.

Wyatt stood silently as the captain chewed out Karadis. In his opinion the Klingon had a huge chip on her shoulder and the dressing down was a long time coming. He wondered if she was always so touchy about her heritage.

"Stand down Commander" Finchley said, turning and walking back to the group. Karadis relaxed, but kept her distance from everyone, she just looked at the shrine.

"Right, Jara, go into the shrine, find the Eldership members and ask if we can meet with them" Finchley said.

Jara nodded and got up, moved carefully out from the end of the building, and crept along the wall line then into the shrine. A few minutes later, she appeared at the entrance to the shrine and beckoned the group to come to her.

Eve gave her uncle a concerned look. “I don’t know, something doesn’t feel right, I just wish I could put my finger on exactly what I’m feeling.”

Wyatt didn't dismiss Eve's feelings. If she felt something was off, it probably was. :Sir." He spoke up. "Perhaps it would be wise for one of us to say behind in case Eve is correct in her feeling."

"If you wish to volunteer to stay here Lieutenant, by all means, you do that" Finchley replied, "Meanwhile, everyone else, follow me" he added, standing up and moving along the wall.

Wyatt nodded; he wasn't put off by the captain's dismissive remark. "Yes sir, I believe I will." He answered as the away team moved to follow Finchley. As they moved away, Wyatt looked for a spot he could use for cover.

Eve offered Wyatt a professional nod of her head, knowing anything more would most likely be thrown back in her face by Karadis later on. With that she joined the others.

Wyatt answered Eve's nod with one of his own but added a wink. Screw what Karadis thought. Eve was his wife not some stranger and he wouldn't put his feelings on hold. However, he would be professional as was required.

Eve couldn’t help but smile, Wyatt always made her smile. “I’ll keep my senses alert, maybe I’ll get a better sense once we’re inside.”

Finchley saw the looks, smiles and wink between Eve and Wyatt, and as he passed Eve he whispered "If I have to mention staying professional between you two again whilst we're on a mission, there's going to be hell to pay..." and kept going.

Making it to the shrine entrance, Finchley looked at Jara and asked "What did the Eldership say?"

"They're scared, obviously, but if there's a chance you and your team can help in our situation, they'll listen to what you have to say, but won't make any decisions straight away" Jara replied.

"Fair enough" Finchley answered, "I'm just happy they're looking to talk with us."

"Then follow me and I'll take you to them" Jara said.

She led them inside and to the back of the shrine. Pulling aside a drape, it revealed an archway, and she walked through.

"Keep your wits about you everyone" Finchley said.

Once through the archway, it led to a corridor with rooms off to each side. Jara moved ahead and when she got fifteen meters in, she stopped by a door and pointed down at the floor. Finchley looked at where she was pointing and saw only dirt, so looked at Jara and asked, "What?"

Jara knelt down and swept some dirt off to the side, revealing a straight edge, "It's a hatch."

Finchley immediately began removing the dirt himself, and soon they had the full edges of the hatch uncovered. Jara reached to the side of the edge nearest her and a piece of rope appeared, pulling it, the hatch began to open and Finchley looked down into darkness.

"A hidden hatch leading to the catacombs?" he asked.

Jara nodded, "Exactly, yes" she answered.

"You first" Finchley said, offering Jara to go down.

She lowered her feet over the edge, and as she went in she said "Be careful, it a narrow rope ladder, take your time."

It took a few minutes,but eventually everyone was down the rope ladder and into the catacombs. Jara took a torch from the wall, opened a small pouch she had with her and struck a couple of small rocks together, causing them to spark and light the torch itself. Holding it up, she began walking down the underground passage. Like the corridor above, there were rooms off to each side but they were dark and nothing could be seen. Eventually, Jara stopped at a set of wooden doors.

"The Eldership are in there" she said pointing to the doors.

"Then show us inside so we can meet them" Finchley replied.

"I'm just a novice" Jara said, "I can briefly meet the Eldership, but I'm not allowed to be at any formal meeting they have, I'mnot Senior enough."

Finchley sighed, even now, in the midst of was a horrendous situation on their planet, the people of Sestus One still stuck to their code of ehtics...or was it religion?

"Very well, but what do I say to them?" Finchley asked.

"Be honest, tell them who you are and why you're here" Jara replied, "I'll be right here waiting for you once you're done."

A knot was forming in Finchley's stomach, but he tried to remain calm and focus on the job at hand.

"Very well" he said to Jara, then reached out and pushed the door, which opened easily enough. Leading the team inside, he looked around the darkened room to try and make out if anyone was there.

"Hello...I'm Captain Finchley Kerr of the USS Thall, and this is my crew. We're here on behalf of Starfleet Intelligence to find out why you've stopped transmitting messages back to Earth. The last one had a disturbing message saying you thought Klingon's were about to attack your planet.

There was silence for a few moments, then a voice answered, "Welcome Captain and crew of the USS Thall...my name's General T'kLar of the Klingon Empire."

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light...and the crew found themselves surrounded by thirty armed Klingon's, "Drop any weapons you have, you won't be asked a second time!"

*Outside*

Outside the temple, Wyatt patiently waited in his hiding spot for the away team's return.

*Inside*

Eve gave Finchley a wide eyed look, “Why didn’t I sense this was a trap?” She had little choice but to drop her weapon they were vastly outnumbered.

"Yes, I'd like to know why you didn't sense this as well!" Kibane said through gritted teeth, throwing his phaser on the ground.

*Outside*

About the same time Eve expressed her shock and surprise to Kerr, Wyatt felt her shock and fear and the undeniable fact that the away team had been captured by Klingons!

[Inside]

"How did you know we'd be coming in here, General?" Finchley asked.

"Oh, we've known about you and your crew ever since you 'borrowed' my men's land hopper" T'kLar answered, "I had them set up this little charade ever since your ship came down onto the planet surface. We weren't sure exactly where you'd landed, but Jara here volunteered to help us find you and bring you in. It's worked pretty well, don't you think?"

Finchley looked at Jara, "YOU BETRAYED US???"

"Yes, and for good reason, one's you wouldn't understand, so just live with it...Captain!" Jara answered.

At the back, Karadis began to make low growling noises.

"I wouldn't do anything you'd regret Commander" T'kLar said to her, "You'll be dead before you hit the ground."

"Do these people actually know who you are T'kLar, I mean actually know who you really are?" Finchley asked.

"Yes, I'm their General, Captain Kerr" T'kLar replied, "but if you wish to say something to the contrary, they haven't heard anything amusing for a long time, so please, go ahead."

Finchley opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again,this wasn't the time or place, he'd sound like a desperate drowning madman, clutching at a passing straw trying to save himself.

"So what now?" he asked instead.

"You'll be tortured for information on Starfleet Intelligence operations in this, and every other, sector...and once we're done with that, I'll have you tortured just for fun, then you'll all die" T'kLar replied.

He waved to a section of his men, "Take them away, tie them up and make sure they can't escape."

A number of Klingon's surrounded the crew and grabbed them, removing them from the room.

T'kLar looked at Jara and said, "You'll be looking to have your reward now?"

"As agreed" Jara replied, "I bring them to you, you give me control of the mine operations."

T'kLar looked in disgust at her, "Petty, self serving, greedy...you'd make an excellent Klingon..."

Eve was dragged along with everyone else, the thought of quitting the ship and moving away with Wyatt running through her head, no more Karadis exploding at her every two minutes, and no more uncle Finchley accusing her of being unprofessional.

*Outside*

Eve's desperate thought galvanized Wyatt. He moved stealthily from his hiding place, while he thought of a plan to rescue his wife and the rest of the away team.

[Inside]

Pushed along by uncaring hands, Finchley was thinking fast. He needed a distraction, something that would allow him a few seconds to do what he wanted to do.

"Karadis, do you remember Lomus Prime?" Finchley said.

Karadis looked at him, "Are you being serious?"

"Uh huh..." Finchley replied.

"There were five of them then, there's about thirty here!" Karadis whispered harshly.

A Klingon slapped the back of her head, "No talking!" he said gruffly.

Karadis looked at Kerr again, and nodded, to which Finchley smiled back weakly, because he knew what was coming.

Suddenly Karadis grabbed the Klingon that had slapped her, whirled him around, grabbed his head and yanked it back, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. As the one next to her began to react, she grabbed his D'k tagh and slammed it up through his lower jaw, removed it and cut his throat from ear to ear. Blood spurted on her but she didn't care, blood lust now took over and she whirled round to the next one. He was quicker to react though, drawing his phaser and attempting to bring it to bear on Karadis. Seeing his movement, she kicked his shin, breaking it and as he screamed in pain and bent down, she drove the D'k tagh through the back of his skull. To late, she tried to back hand the one of the two Klingon's she instinctively knew were trying to grab her,but it was to late, a phaser butt came down on her head stunning her and making her drop to one knee. Five Klingon's were instantly on her, kicking and punching her till she was on the ground. They stamped on her, kicked her and punched her till she was unconscious and even then they didn't stop.

As Karadis had made her move, and the Klingon's were momentarily distracted, Finchley had removed his COMM badge and quickly sent one word to Wyatt "TRAP."

Now, seeing Karadis being pummeled, Finchley threw himself across he prone body and yelled "ENOUGH, SHE'S HAD ENOUGH!"

He himself now bore the brunt of the the continued kicks and punches, but a second later a phaser shot stopped everyone in their tracks. T'kLar walked slowly down the corridor to where Finchley still lay across Karadis' inert body. The Klingon General looked at them both, then at the three dead Klingon's around them.

"If she'snot dead already Captain Kerr, your Commander there has got some really bad beatings and torture coming her way and it will be slow...and very painful" he said.

Finchley looked at him, anger and hatred in his eyes, "And if we get out of this T'kLar, you can look forward to exactly the same thing, only I'll be letting Karadis here do the work...the death of a thousand cuts will seem like child's play because she'll keep you alive for weeks and weeks till you're begging for death."

T'kLar laughed, "I admire your optimism Captain, if we get out of this...yes, very amusing."

He looked at the rest of his men, get them to their cell, NOW!" he ordered.

Eve had little option but to watch Karadis take a beating, there were just too many Klingons. Pushed along roughly she kept going hoping Wyatt managed to stay free.

*Outside*

Wyatt had received Finchley's one word message of trap. Now knowing the away team had been captured, Wyatt thought of a way to free them. First thing was to get the Klingons or the majority of them away from the away team so, even if he couldn't get to them, they could free themselves. A grim smile came to his face as he began mapping out a plan to bring hell to the Klingons.

TBC...