SubAccount: Mondo'li Nari

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

USS Challenger - Bridge

Mondo smiled as the Captain seemed to approve of his plan.  He began to make preparations, adding the Captain's second probe to the mix.  When Lahr offered to help, Mondo was quite grateful.

"I could definitely use assistance, both from Ops and Flight personnel in the bays to facilitate clandestine launch, and to program the behavior of the probes in-flight.  At the distances and complex trajectories these probes will be operating, their behavior is less like a torpedo and more like a shuttle.  My flight training is... rudimentary.  And my programming also leaves something to be desired."

He glanced with some embarrassment towards the Captain, being forced to openly admit the limitations of his skillset.

But things soon escalated, with shuttles coming inbound and the Challenger readying a response.

That's when Mondo noticed something new on sensors.

"Sir... increased energy levels in their weapon systems are enhancing sensor resolution.  I think their phasers can best be compared to Type VIII rather that type IX.  But their phaser coils are massively oversized and overbuilt.  Perhaps for beam duration enhancement.

And I'm reading a massive magnetic flux buildup suggestive of a kinetic-kill weapon.  Like a coilgun.  It's hard to know how dangerous that will be.  It will depend on whether they intend to send a solid projectile or one containing a photon warhead.  Sir, these magnetic flux readings are coming from what I'd earlier assumed to be torpedo tubes.  They may, in fact, be magnetic acceleration cannons."

When the order came, he nodded, "Aye, Captain.  Red Alert."

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

USS Challenger - Bridge

Mondo brought up the long-range sensor hit on his own console.  Not much about the ship could be read at this range.  But he could see that it was a three-nacelled design.  Starfleet had, from time-to-time, toyed with three-nacelled configurations.  Usually, they employed that configuration on proposed heavy cruiser designs.  The idea was that such a ship could sustain high-warp for longer periods of time.  That had been the idea.

In reality, the configuration lacked stability at high warp, and was inefficient.  Not only did the ships employing three nacelles tend to shake beyond Warp 5, forcing the installation of upgraded inertial dampeners and structural-integrity fields, they required a larger than normal warp core, using a larger than normal amount of fuel.  The burden of the larger warp core did have ancillary benefits, however.  It meant that the ship could carry heavier weapons and sustain fire for longer periods of time.

Ultimately, Starfleet had largely abandoned the concept of the triple-nacelle design, preferring to pursue nacelle pairs.  But one could look at history and see that most three-nacelled ships had been veritable battleships in all but name.  It was for this reason that the abandoned Starfleet 'Dreadnaughts' were known to Mondo as a topic related to his tactical training.  If such a ship arrived at their position, it was not likely to go well.

"Sir.  We may be able to convince the new vessel to delay its progress.  We could configure a Class V clandestine Reconnaisance probe with a false sensor beacon.  As you know, such probes are crafted with low-observability hull materials and coatings.

If we fire such a probe towards the approaching vessel, it will not be likely to see it coming with decades-old sensor technology.  When the probe gets near to the vessel, the sensor beacon could be activated in such a way as to spoof a cruiser-sized sensor return.  Then it could veer away.  We can expect the approaching vessel to pursue this false sensor return, delaying its arrival at our position."

Mondo gestured to the viewscreen, "We could issue a sensor pulse from our main deflector towards the nearby dimensional anomaly, in an apparent attempt to scan it.  This would conceal the moment of probe launch from the nearer vessel.  Thus allowing our ruse to succeed."

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

USS Challenger - Bridge

Mondo was shocked to learn that they were actually in some kind of alternate dimension.  He was further embarrassed to learn that he had missed connections between the current situation and a period of warfare in Earth's 20th century.  He did his best to incorporate these revelations into his tactical assessment of the situation.

"Is there any chance these people may have reformed their ways in the centuries since that deplorable era," Mondo asked.  Although he was a Security officer with Tactical training, and although his entire role revolved around conflict, he did not like to think that a human political party would have remained in a hostile state for so long.

He'd always believed that human beings represented the best potential of sentients in the galaxy.  People like Leyton were meant to be an anomaly.  Not the standard of an entire interstellar nation, presumably spanning many star systems.

When Ruth asked about the weapons of their potential adversary, Mondo clarified, "Sir, their weapons are similar to Federation and Klingon models from half a century ago.  The problem isn't their quality, but rather their quantity.  We can adjust shield frequencies for ideal effect, but at the end of the day, energy is energy.  You can brute-force your way to success even with aged systems.

My main suggestion in battle would be to maneuver behind them.  Most of their weapons cover the forward arc and flanks.  They have only half as much ordinance covering the rear."

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

USS Challenger - Bridge

With his superior officer out of the action, Mondo found himself taking over as primary tactical officer on the bridge.  The ship was mostly repaired, but unfortunately they had not regained warp drive or contact with Starfleet assets.  Now there was a strange human Captain on the viewscreen indicating that the Challenger had violated sovereign space.  Mondo didn't recognize the symbols on the man or his ship, but a quick database search suggested that they corresponded with several obscure Earth religions still practiced by a few humans on Earth and certain colonies in the 24th century.  Janaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism chief among them.

Mondo cross-referenced the religions and found that they were mostly peaceful, which was a relief.

"Sir.  I have identified the symbol on the Graf Spee as being a religious icon belonging to mostly peaceful Earth religions.  This may suggest the vessel belongs to a benign Federation colony or even a non-Federation human colony network somewhere on the fringes of Federation space... though this design of ship is not in the database.  'Germanic' may refer to a region on Earth, suggesting that the colonies in question may strongly derive from humans whose ancestors occupied that place."

There were two additional notations in the reference entry.  One was marked 'Earth - Mid-20th Century.'  A cross-reference link to four-century old information hardly seemed likely to be relevant.  Another entry was marked 'Ekosian - Mid-23rd Century.'  Again, this century-old reference was unlikely to be pertinent.

Pulling up the sensor scans on his tactical display, he quickly assessed the ship's strength.

"Captain, I'm reading systems similar to those found on early-to-mid 24th century Starfleet designs.  However, this ship seems much more heavily armed than ships of that era.  Type IX equivalent phaser arrays.  Triple-layered shield grids.  Eight forward-facing and four rear-facing photon torpedo tube launchers.  And it seems they also have Type-5 planetary defense grade disruptor cannons of... Klingon design?  Very similar, at least.  Such weapons are not typically installed on starships, but might be useful for starbase sieges and planetary bombardment.

Sir, although I gauge the ship to have technology at least fifty years out-of-date, its offensive and defensive systems are exceedingly overpowered for a ship of that era.  So much so, they may rival or even exceed our own.

I'm not sure why a colonial nation would need such a powerful tactical suite."

[Innominatum Outpost - The Battle of Deck 12 - Day Two]

Innominatum Outpost - The Battle of Deck 12 - Day Two

Pitt was laying in the hall, looking like he'd stepped through a time-portal, only to be shot in the chest in some long-forgotten war.

They'd all had to change uniforms.  That had become apparent after the first day, when Leyton's forces had come about on their flank during a firefight and pretended to be reinforcements.  In the chaos of battle, no one had questioned the help.

And then half the team had been cut down.

So, now they were in the 2390's, wearing uniforms from the early 2370's, and fighting Leyton's traitors like it was 2372.  Hundreds had died already in this conflict.  Whenever the enemy didn't think they could easily capture a position, they used kill settings.  Stunned officers could be returned to service.  Those who'd been burned through to their marrow were usually put out of action for good.

Mondo glanced down at his arm, laying in the hall not far from where Pitt had fallen.  Opto-neuro fibers splayed out just below his shoulder, glowing like a spray of bright-white firework sparks that had been frozen in time.  Fortunately, the phaser beam had caught him just below the biosynthetic interface.  None of his remaining living body had been harmed.  The pain limiters had cut off the agony after only a moment.

But there was no horror limiter.  There was no filter to protect him from this moment.  Or the next.  Or the hundred that would follow.  This engagement was a slog through hell.

Phaser fire flashed in the hall.  Orange-red from Mondo's team.  Green from Leyton's.  The rogue admiral had changed the wavelength on his force's weapons so that he could differentiate friendly fire from unfriendly fire.

Until the time came that Leyton wanted to fool them, again, changing something else about his methods.  Leyton was a brilliant strategist with a talent for unconventional warfare.  Every stretch of corridor brought a new tactic, a new trick.

Something changed.  The progress of moments seemed to slow.  Mondo's team seemed to be swimming through invisible molasses, their limbs barely moving.  Even their weapons were caught in some strange miasma of time.

In the midst of this mysterious effect, Pitt's dead body sat upright.  His pale face turned towards Mondo.

"It's hard, Mondo," Pitt said.  He chuckled, "Believe me. I know.  I felt my blood boil in my chest.  Not how I wanted to go."

Mondo stared at Pitt, and slowly his mind began to claw at the truth.  A truth that seemed to slip away with each new time, each new place.

This was not real.

None of this was real.

"It's real to you," Pitt said, "And I know it hurts.  But you can't stay here.  And you can't drown in guilt about what you did here.  What you're about to do.  Overloading that phaser was a good tactic.  You're outnumbered.  It was them or you.  And you'll be using that technique more than a few more times before you're done breathing."

Pitt stood, his dead body jerking oddly as it traversed the space between them.   He walked through a phaser beam, but it didn't burn him.  He placed a cold hand on Mondo's shoulder.

"You don't have to feel guilty about surviving.  Nor about killing to survive.  There's nothing wrong with being the last man standing.  None of us begrudge you that.

But what was it for, Mondo?

Did you survive this, just to wallow in pity and shame?"

Pitt shook his head.  "You lived, Mondo.

So... live.

It's time to go."

USS Challenger - Bridge

"R-report!"

Mondo blinked, and picked himself up off of the deck.  His legs were a bit wobbly.  His hands somewhat unsteady.  The intensity of his mental voyage- his trip into the past- began to fade.

But he remembered.

He remembered everything.

He took in his surroundings, and saw that the Tactical Chief was still laid out on the deck... but breathing.

Medical was called.  Mondo turned his attention to his console as the Captain called for the time.

They'd lost a quarter of a day.

"Limited information coming in from sensors, Captain," he said, "Primary and secondary short range sensor pallets have lost power.  Long range sensors are also impacted.  But we have some tertiary lateral arrays still online.  Spectral analysis sensors used by stellar cartography to study distant stars.  I can feed their input through the tactical overlays..."

As he spoke, he worked his console.

"I can't tell if we are still near the expanse from these readings.  I don't see it.  But I can tell we are on the drift.  And... there is an object putting out Infrared about two-hundred billion kilometers away... it could be the Breen cruiser.  If so, it's fared little better than we have.  Our secondary subspace flux sensors are coming online... and indicate the vessel is moving at low warp.  Doubtless much less warp power than what they'd use if they were at full capability.  What do you humans say, Sir?  Hoisted by their own Pitons?"

It was something like that.

"Whether it is the Breen, or some other ship, it is approaching our position and will reach us in about an hour."

Hopefully, that would give the Challenger adequate time to make repairs.

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

USS Challenger - Bridge

Mondo seized his console in an iron grip as the universe exploded in light, and then pain, and finally... darkness.

USS Challenger - Officer's Mess

"Thanks for joining us Nari.  Glad to have you back with us and not on our prayer list.  Okay...  Sorry to hurry this but I don't want to be late for my shift on the bridge.  Can we get a moment of reflection for all those that we have lost?"

Mondo set down his tray and nodded solemnly, bowing his head.

Then he lifted his head again, a look of confusion on his face.

This was familiar.  Too familiar.  What did the humans call it?  Deejay view?

USS Fiji - Enroute to the Garfeni homeworld

Normally, a Miranda class ship variant, like the Soyuz class USS Fiji, would not feature the luxury of water-filled bathtubs within mere enlisted quarters.  Fortunately, the Fiji had been outfitted for diplomatic duty, and the amenities were at a higher standard than was usual.  Mondo knelt in the tub, pouring water over his close-shaven scalp, letting it run down his body.  It was a ritual cleansing.

Mondo had graduated from the Academy.  He had taken his Starfleet oath in the Starfleet way.  But now he was performing the Hupyrian ritual in the Hupyrian fashion.  His grandfather had sent him the traditional robes.  The custom was to cleanse the body, to swear the oath, and then to don the servant's garment.  The traditional cleansing and vestments represented the shedding of one life, and the adoption of a new one.

Finishing his bath, Mondo dried his body and exited the head, kneeling in the central space of his quarters.  He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

The specifics of the oath varied, being negotiated between master and servant.  Often, a vow of silence was included.  That would not work in Starfleet, of course.  But Starfleet had its own Oath, which he'd recited once already at the Mars orbital training facility.  Now, as he knelt nude in front of his neatly folded robes, he spoke that oath again.

"I, Mondo'li Nari, hereby swear that I shall abide by the laws of the United Federation of Planets.  As a member of Starfleet, I shall defend its security.  I shall obey all lawful orders, and fulfill all responsibilities given to me.  I shall uphold its principles, including the principle of non-interference, securing those principles with my very life if necessary.  I vow to seek out life-"

His solemn oathtaking was interrupted as Tracy McTaggert, a young female human crewman, bounded into the room.  She immediately went wide-eyed and exclaimed, "Jaysus, Mondo!  Warn a girl, why don'tcha?!"

Mondo, who had been kneeling in the buff while facing the opposite direction, now rose up and turned towards her.  "My apologies, Miss McTaggert, I did not mean to monopolize the floor.  I was swearing a solemn-"

Tracy covered her eyes with one hand, "Whoa!  I'm abou' te make some solemn swears mi own self.  I'm goin' outside.  Let me know when yer done."

Mondo hesitated, and lifted a hand.  "Wait.  This... this has happened before... this is a memory."

Tracy removed her hand from her face.  "Is it, now?"

Mondo began to turn, looking around the room.  "Yes... I remember, the USS Fiji.  My first assignment out of the Academy.  A special diplomatic assignment.  This is just a memory."

"Just a memory?  Mondo, a memory is a whole different world."

Nari Family Compound - Hupyria

"It's a whole different world!"  Mondo nearly shouted the words, his gaze fixed upon the Shellbug cooking in the fire.  He could not bring himself to look at his aunt.

Dagas'ti, nodded.  "It is, isn't it?  Well, that's what life is, Mondo'li:  Moving from one world to another.  One experience to another.  One life to another."

Mondo looked up at her, his eyes brimming with tears.  "Have you ever been to Ferenginar?"

She shook her head, "No.  But it is a wet world, like ours.  And your grandfather will be able to teach you things that I cannot.  He has been in the galaxy.  He knows what Service is, outside of this small sphere."

Mondo looked down at himself, noticing for the first time that he was fully grown.

"Wait... this isn't real."  He held up his biosynthetic arm, "Look.  This happened much later, after I grew up.  I am not a child."

Dagas'ti laughed.  "Oh, Mondo... you are very much a child."

An explosion sounded in the distance.  Followed by the sound of phaser fire.

Mondo looked towards the trees at the perimeter of the compound.

"I don't want to go there."

Dagas'ti folded her arms, "Yes.  Yes, you do.  You are the one piloting this shuttle, Mondo.  Nothing can be here, if you do not bring it here."

Mondo gazed at the treeline.  He could hear shouting.

"No.  I don't want to go there," he protested.

But he knew it was already too late.

[USS Challenger - Mess Hall - Earlier]

USS Challenger - Mess Hall - Earlier

Mondo shuffled his meal tray to one side as the call came in.  He smiled, tapping his own badge in response.  He had missed sharing meals with his compatriots during his convalescence.  It was nice to be invited back again.  The only boon of trials and tragedy was that it brought people together.

This is Mondo.  I'll be right there.

Hesitating for a moment, he decided not to recycle his tray and replicate a new one in the other mess.  It was easy enough to carry it over.

Sargasso Expanse - USS Challenger - Bridge - Later

The Breen ship loomed large on the auxiliary tactical display as it unloaded weapons and then turned away.

To Mondo, it was an oddity that he often found himself reporting for a tactical rotation at the exact moment that something went awry.  It sometimes seemed to him that the universe preferred him to sit a console than to carry a phaser into battle.  Perhaps chewing at his body was destiny's way of making its plan for him clear.

If so, Mondo would have preferred a kindlier messenger than a spread of hostile torpedoes.

At least he wasn't primary on tactical, today.  He was sitting an auxiliary station, shadowing Lieutenant T'Kel and providing assistance rather than taking action himself.  The goal was to sharpen his tactical prowess for those cases when he would be called upon to fill in on the bridge or man the tactical systems of a shuttle.

"Our shields remain at 97% effectiveness," Mondo reported.  "I suspect the nature of the expanse may be attenuating weapon effectiveness.  Likely ours as well as theirs."

Then the Breen deposited an oblong object that approached the Challenger's position.  Mondo checked the tactical readout, which filtered sensor results for tactically relevant information.

"Tactical scans show the presence of cobalt and trilithium.  It's difficult to tell if this is a power source or a warhead.  If it is a warhead, we may be dealing with a subspace weapon."   Such a weapon could be catastrophic in the current environment.  "Science can probably make a firmer analysis."

[USS Challenger - Deck 4 - Crew's Mess]

USS Challenger - Deck 4 - Crew's Mess

The encounter with the Tzenkethi was now behind them.  Mondo's pummeling at the hands of the Tzenkethi warriors had resulted in broken bones, severe bruising, and internal bleeding.  It had not been a good showing.  The injuries of the incident had long-since been repaired.  The medical staff on the Challenger were top-notch.

Unfortunately, the intangible injuries were not as quick to heal.  Most nights, he woke in a cold sweat with visions of a power-suited Tzenkethi officer pounding him into the deck.  It was the second time in his career that he'd been bested by a threat force.  He'd had his successes, of course.  Successes which had left their own scars on his psyche.

Mondo liked to think of himself as someone who could be counted on in a crisis.  He had a self-image of being a bulwark who could stand between any danger and the crew.  It was difficult to be mauled by a foe.   But it was more difficult to fail in his duty.  He had vowed to himself that he would redouble his training and be ready to meet whatever challenge came for them next.

Fortunately, this mission was unlikely to test that vow.  They were on a research and rescue mission, seeking lost ships in a mysterious area of space... along with the reason for their disappearance.  The culprit seemed more likely to be a scientific anomaly rather than a hostile force.

Of course, it could be pirates.

He glanced down at his left shoulder.  Pirates had been among the first to cut scars into his body and mind.

Putting that out of his thoughts, he moved to the replicator alcove.  Mondo ordered himself some Glomper steak with a side of fried Reet skins.  Then he cast his gaze over the room, checking for a friendly face who might welcome his company during the meal.

Character(s) affected: Mondo'li Nari
Assigned ship(s): USS Challenger
Period of time absent: 30 days
Date of last period of activity: 7/14/2020
Date returning:8/14/2020

Any relevant comments: None

[Away Team 1]

Away Team 1

"Challenger to Nari. Acknowledged regarding the freighter crew.  Arranging for beam out to Challenger during next pick up cycle.   Tragnar is on hold - waiting for the medics to deal with Freeman. Proceed to your target location. I'll have transporters send Helga your way - once she's available."

Mondo frowned slightly, but orders were orders.  He tapped his badge, Acknowledged. Proceeding to target.

Then he looked at his remaining team members, "It seems we are to take the bridge with what we have.  Reinforcements will be along shortly, but we are not to wait for them."  He looked to the civilians and added, "Wait around the corner, there.  The Challenger will beam you out as soon as a transporter cycle becomes available."

"This is Brokah Dung," Gunt nearly spat the complaint.

"Perhaps it is, Gunt," Mondo allowed, "But we are of the service, to be expended as the service demands."

Blackfeather unholstered his Type II, "Another overloaded phaser should clear the bridge."

Mondo nodded, "It should, but we need to be sure it is empty of civilians.  Gunt, can you tap into the sensors on the bridge?"

The Tellarite snorted, but shuffled over to the door panel.  As he did so, further orders came from the Challenger.

Among other orders came this:  ...Teams one through four, you have the bridge...

"Wait," Gunt paused, "Shouldn't we wait for the other teams?"

Mondo shook his head, "We were ordered to proceed to our objective.  No more stalling.  Let's get this done."

Gunt sighed, and then began trying to wire his PADD into the door control's ODN lines.  He wasn't as skilled with the technology as either Chisst or Jorzon.  It was slow going.  Somewhere behind Mondo, he heard the civilians being transported away.  He looked over his shoulder to be sure the sound he heard hadn't been more forces being beamed to his position.

Not yet.

Gunt grunted, "I don't think I can get it."

Mondo whipped out his tricorder and performed a scan.  "Something in there is jamming my scans.  We can't throw an explosive in without intelligence about the occupants of the bridge.  We'll have to use our phasers as their designers intended."

Blackfeather lifted his chin, "If they didn't want them to be overloaded, they'd be overload-proof."

"Be that as it may," Mondo said, "We're doing this the hard way.  Give your hand phaser to Gunt.  Gunt, give me your rifle."

The men traded weapons.  Mondo gripped a rifle in each hand.  Gunt had two hand phasers.  Blackfeather had his rifle.  They all made sure to thumb the phasers up to level 16.

"Can you open the door," Mondo asked.

Gunt nodded, "That I can do.  I'm putting the final activation on a timer.  Three seconds from... now!"

Gunt released his PADD, and the device hung from the door control interface by its attached ODN lines.   Gunt readied his Type II phasers.  Mondo lifted his two Type III rifles.  Blackfeather shouldered his weapon.

The door opened.

Inside the bridge was a huge Tzenkethi warrior.  His harness seemed to be more sophisticated than the others, no doubt a benefit accorded to those of high rank.  Civilians could be seen, tied to seats on the bridge.  They hadn't been slaughtered yet.  The Tzenkethi must have some use for them, still.  Possibly as hostages.

Mondo exerted his strength to bring both rifles to bear on the Tzenkethi, depressing their firing actuators.  Two beams lanced out from his weapons, impacting the Tzenkethi.  Their energy seemed to become absorbed into his tech harness.

Gunt followed suit, but his beams were also consumed by the strange tech harness.

Blackfeather brought his rifle to bear.  His final beam seemed to also be the final straw, reaching an energy-level catalyst for what the harness did next:  An energy wave burst forth from the Tzenkethi, sending Gunt and Blackfeather flying to the deck.  Mondo resisted the wave without falling over, but the rifles he was carrying were torn from his grasp and clattered behind him, up the corridor.

Instead of firing directed energy weapons at Mondo or his team, the Tzenkethi warrior charged the Hupyrian like a wild beast.

The Tzenkethi was massive, and the impact was shocking.  Mondo went down hard, and the Tzenkethi began pummeling him with power-assisted fists.  Mondo tried to exert his strength to the utmost, hoping to dislodge his attacker.

It wasn't enough.  Even without the tech harness tilting the scales against him, Mondo wasn't sure he could overpower such a powerful individual.  With the harness providing extra physical potency, his enemy was even more unassailable.

Mondo reached up, clutching at the glowing bits of the Tzenkethi's armor harness, tearing at modules with his fingers.  He actually managed to dislodge a component.  Something that must have been important.  The glow on the harness faded away.

Unfortunately, the Tzenkethi hardly seemed to notice.  He kept raining fists down on Mondo, and the Petty Officer felt his consciousness slipping away...

[Away Team 1]

Away Team 1

There was motion up the hall, and Blackfeather and Gunt immediately swiveled their rifles towards the sound.

But as it turned out, the source of the sound was not Tzenkethi warriors.  Instead, two merchant crewmen had kicked out a maintenance cover and emerged from a utility crawlspace.

"Don't shoot," the woman said, "I'm Rebecca Stein, this is Isaac Ido.  We are maintenance crewmen.  We hid in the utility access corridors when the Tzenkethi boarded.  Thank the stars, you're Starfleet, aren't you?"

Blackfeather stepped forward, "Yes, ma'am.  Stand by, we'll get you evacuated."

Mondo tapped his badge, Sir, we'd definitely welcome those spare shield generators.  I was thinking we should consolidate with lingering elements from Team 2 before taking the bridge.  I would suggest that Engineering is likely to be another hotspot, as well as the cargo bay.

And Sir, we just made contact with two maintenance crewmen who were hiding in a utility crawlspace.  I'd like to evacuate them as soon as possible.

[Away Team 1]

Away Team 1

Mondo knelt with Chisst and Jorzon while Blackfeather and Gunt kept watch.  His hands went to the emergency medkit Jorzon carried, quickly retrieving a hypospray.  The Hupyrian was no medical expert, but he'd had basic First Aid training at the Technical Services Academy, and he had been trained further by Doctor McGellen a year later.  He would never be much of a medic, but he knew enough to ease Jorzon's pain and reduce his bleeding.  When he pressed the hypo to Jorzon's thigh, the man's screams reduced in volume.

Chisst's biology was fundamentally different from that of most humanoids.  She was not in danger of bleeding to death, nor was she subject to the effects of shock.  A blessing.

Mondo had been here.

He had endured having his limb blasted away.

He wished he had been cleverer, or faster, or better.  He wished these crew-persons didn't have to suffer through what he had.

"They'll fix you," he assured them both, "They fix everything."

Soon enough, the annular confinement beams took hold of the two injured crewpersons and spirited them away.

Mondo tapped his badge, Petty Officer Nari, confirming successful beamout of Chisst and Jorzon.  We are just outside of the bridge.  I suggest that we consolidate strength with Crewman Tragnar of Team Two before advancing further.

With two people gone, Mondo's team was nearly reduced to half strength.  There was no telling what kind of resistance waited for them.  He would very much welcome Helga's assistance before storming the bridge.   

[Boarding Team 1]

Boarding Team 1

"Otherwise unharmed?" Gunt remarked as he peeled his portable shield generator unit off of his singed uniform, "speak for yourself!"

The other two front-line team members were also removing and discarding their overloaded units.  The devices were nothing more than hunks of partially melted metal, now.  As the devices came off, it became clear that everyone had suffered at least minor burns when they'd overloaded.

"Given your indomitable nature," Mondo replied wryly, "I knew you would not want minor skin burns to be mentioned in my report."

"Minor?!" The Tellarite grunted in displeasure, "I expect a Purple Heart!"

The team chuckled, letting off some tension from the deadly exchange they had just participated in.  Jorzon had some field medical experience, and quickly moved to Gunt's side to administer a dermal regenerator.

"Some second-degree burns, but we'll have you salty as the sea again in no time," Jorzon assured the Tellarite.  When he was done with Gunt, he moved on to Chisst, adjusting the setting for the Insectoid's chitinous exoskeleton.

When this minor mending was complete, Mondo motioned for Chisst to head towards the door while he and the rest of the team kept watch for anyone encroaching on their position.  "That's the corridor that leads to the bridge, Chisst.  See if you can use that console to tap into the ship's internal sensors.  I'd like to see what awaits us."

The Insectoid moved quickly to the panel, popping it off and connecting her PADD to its innards.  It wasn't long before she was able to pull up an image on the display.

"The corridor is dark.  Switching to multispectral mode... there."

"Three Tzenkethi warriors stand ready just outside the door.  I believe they know we are here, and hope to ambush us as we enter the central corridor."

Mondo nodded, shouldering his rifle's sling strap and un-holstering his Type II hand phaser.  "Can you open the door for just a moment, and quickly shut it again?"

Chist chirped a firm, "That will not be a problem."

"Deploy on either side of the door," Mondo advised the team, and they immediately moved to comply.  He set his phaser to overload.  A whine began to emanate from the weapon, increasing steadily in pitch.

When it neared its crescendo, Mondo shouted, "Now!"

The door slid open, and Mondo tossed his hand phaser through the opening.  Before the phaser could even hit the deck, Chisst already had the door closing again.  Almost as soon as the door finished sealing shut, a tremble shook the deck.  Mondo paused for a second, and then asked, "Sensors?"

Chisst checked her PADD.  "The blast damaged internal sensors within the hall.  Checking tricorder..."  She consulted her portable sensor device, but then chittered a disappointed, "Interference is too great in the hallway to get a positive reading."

Mondo nodded, and motioned for Blackfeather to join him at the door as he checked his personal shield.  "We are the only two with working shield generators.  We have point."

Blackfeather stepped up beside him, slightly ahead and staggered so that they could walk through the opening in quick succession once the door opened.  "Try to keep up," he said with a grin.

Mondo nodded to Chisst, "We go, then the rest of you follow... Now!"

Chisst activated the door, and it slid open to reveal carnage.  The hall was filled with partially disintegrated Tzenkethi body parts.  But it also contained a single intact Tzenkethi who roared and fired upon them as soon as they advanced.

The Tzenkethi warrior unleashed a shot from his double-barreled arm cannon.  The Energy pulses from the weapon managed to strike both Blackfeather and Mondo, instantly overloading and frying their personal shields.  Now it was Mondo's turn to wince as the device sparked and burned.  Fortunately, the cutoff threshold was soon reached in his biosynthetic arm, and the pain vanished as quickly as it had manifested.  A small recompense for having lost his original limb in combat with Gamma quadrant pirates.

Mondo and Blackfeather quickly shuffled to the left and right, firing their phaser rifles at the Tzenkethi.  The brute's shield brightened but did not overload, either being a more powerful unit than those of his dead friends, or having been better adjusted to resist rapid-nadion discharges.

Chisst, Gunt, and Jorzon quickly followed the Petty Officers into the main corridor, adding their phaser beams to the mix.  The Tzenkethi's shield finally overloaded and allowed the phaser beams to penetrate the field.  The beams began to disintegrate him, but he fired once more as he evaporated into the next world.

The final vengeful bolts from the Tzenkethi's arm cannon intersected with Jorzon's and Chisst's legs, searing right through the limbs at the knees.  Both crewpersons went down hard, their roasted flesh and steamed circulatory-fluids mingling with the burnt smell of Tzenkethi remains, scenting the air horrifically as the corridor filled with Jorzon's screams.

Mondo tapped his badge, Petty Officer Nari requesting emergency medevac transport of Crewmen Chisst and Jorzon!  They have been dismembered at the knee-joints by a Tzenkethi energy weapon!

[Beaming over...]

Beaming over...

The annular confinement beam took hold of the boarding team as the transporter shredded them at the quantum level, sending their subatomic particles across the void and reassembling them on the deck of the target vessel.  These boarding actions were always harrowing.  A lot of faith was put into the transporter operator, as he needed to put them far enough from enemy units to avoid being instantly fired upon, but close enough so that they could quickly get into action.

The team materialized into a large corridor, and Mondo glanced around to establish they weren't yet under fire before nodding to Chisst.  The Insectoid quickly consulted his tricorder, as the universal translator in the team's com badges converted her chitters and chirps into something they could all understand.

"Two Tzenkethi, One humanoid ten meters ahead, just around the corner."

Mondo nodded and motioned to the team, but before they could move on ahead, there was the sound of an energy discharge followed by a pained scream.

"...Two Tzenkethi, No more humanoid."

Mondo and the others charged ahead quickly, coming to the corner before they paused.  Mondo deployed his shield and peeked around the corner.

Two hulking figures stood in the hall around the corner.  Mondo had never seen Tzenkethi outside of a datafile on a computer screen.  They were even taller than he was, and nearly twice as wide.  Their upper arms were monstrous, muscular appendages festooned with massive energy cannons.  The cannons were part of a powered equipment frame which included portable forcefield generators, sensor apparatus, and body armor.  They had a second set of normal-sized arms under the first set.  Their legs were like the trunks of trees.

One had a helm with a horn shape upon it.  The other did not.  Mondo wondered if one was male and the other was female.  Overall, the Tzenkethi reminded him of a creature he'd seen on Earth during an excursion there from the Technical Services Academy.  A Rhinocerous.

At the feet of the brutes was carbon scoring in the shape of a humanoid:  The only remains of their disintegrated victim.

Mondo pulled back from peeking around the corner and motioned for a full-on attack.  The next instant, the whole team came around the corner.  Chisst, Gunt, and Jorzon knelt shoulder-to-shoulder across the breadth of the hall.

"Drop your weapons and surrender!" Mondo shouted the order, but was not sure if their harness would even allow them to drop their portable cannons.  In any event, their only response was to begin to raise their weapons.

All three personnel kneeling in the front deployed their personal shields and fired phasers above the field effect.

Blackfeather and Mondo took positions behind the deployed shield wall, standing behind their comrades, and unleashed phaser beams from their rifles as well.

The Tzenkethi seemed to have been caught unawares... but it was of little benefit.  Their portable shield generators were fully engaged.

The phaser beams from the team crashed against the Tzenkethi portable force fields, dissipating harmlessly.

"Increase to level sixteen," Mondo ordered, thumbing the setting on his own rifle.

The Tzenkethi quickly finished raising their massive arm cannons and fired.   Thick bolts of destructive energy splashed across the personal shields of the kneeling officers.  Although the energy weapons did not penetrate the combined shield wall, they did overload the shield generators of all of the kneeling personnel.  The devices sparked and smoked, causing the Bolian and Tellarite to wince and make pained sounds.  The Insectoid Chisst merely ignored the pain, demonstrating the stoic determination of her kind.

Having adjusted their phasers, the team fired a second time.  This time, at maximum setting, their weapons overpowered the Tzenkethi shields and penetrated the protective envelope.  Five beams impacted the Tzenkethi, their bodies glowing as they transitioned out of the material continuum.

In a moment, there were three spots of carbon scoring in the otherwise vacant hallway.

Mondo tapped his badge, Boarding Team One to Challenger.  Petty Officer Nari speaking.  We encountered two heavily armed and armored Tzenkethi who had murdered an occupant of the freighter.  Stun settings proved insufficient to penetrate their personal shields.  We were forced to disintegrate them.  Three members of our team have lost personal shields, but are otherwise unharmed.  We are proceeding further into the vessel.

[USS Challenger - Transporter Room - Deck 10]

USS Challenger - Transporter Room - Deck 10

The word came in that the Challenger was preparing to conduct a boarding action.  Mondo and the others who had assembled in the Phaser Range quickly trotted up the hall to the transporter room, assuming positions on the pads.  Transport could technically be conducted from anywhere, and to anywhere within range.  However, by being on the transporter pads, the security teams would shorten the amount of time it took to dematerialize and rematerialize.

In a boarding action, every second counted.

Word was that two teams were going.  Elsewhere on the ship, the other squad would be assembling at Deck 18.   The opportunity to beam-over would almost certainly be brief.  Both transporter rooms would doubtless be sending their teams simultaneously.  Such a maneuver was an incredible drain on power and computer capacity.  It also left the ship vulnerable for precious moments of time during a fight.  As such, these sorts of boarding actions were not performed lightly.

Mondo glanced over at Blackfeather. Then to his right, at Jorzon, Gunt, and Chisst.   In a moment, they'd be in the proverbial soup.

And it would probably be very, very hot.