Parents On The Lam

Posted on Sun Oct 4th, 2015 @ 2:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Nicolao & Jackson Banning V & Vic & Lieutenant Eric Edwards
Edited on on Tue Nov 10th, 2015 @ 12:03am

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Enara Prime

* Enara Prime *

“Blackbird, you are cleared for docking, section 32, berth 12.”

“Acknowledged,” Nico answered, then shut off the comm. “We’ll be ready to dock in ten, folks.” He looked to Eric in the co-pilot’s seat, his expression focused. “Let’s hope this is short and relatively sweet.

“Agreed,” Eric gave a nod as he confirmed their approach vector. Six days of practice on top of Norval’s lessons had turned him into quite the competent pilot. “Though if we run into Eli’s brother, I may not be as reserved as the last time.” The incident with Loran still left a bitter taste in his mouth. If rescuing Chance hadn’t been a greater concern at the time, Eric wasn’t sure he would have stopped at stunning the man.

“If his brother is there, I’ll help you,” Nico stated. “I certainly know what it’s like to have an evil twin.”

Back at the sensor station, Jackson leaned in by Vic. “How’s the scan of that cave area coming? Irina wasn’t too specific but she said it would be somewhere within about a mile of the coordinates, depending on how often they had to move.”

"Scans aren't showing much. There are deposits of ferrite down there. It scrambles and bounces the signal back to us. I'll compensate for it. Give me a minute here."

“Sure.” Behind Vic, Jackson paced. The call from Leto regarding Eli had him on a slow boil. He was three days away and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do for Eli out here. He wondered, not for the first time, if the long arm of Enara hadn’t reached the station and if it had, someone would pay for it the minute he was on the ground. He growled aloud and slammed his fist into the bulkhead.

"Don't damage the merchandise, please," Vic said distractedly. "We need this in one piece to get back to 900, m'kay? Besides, Eli's strong and he has the best docs in this Quadrant working on him. He'll be okay." His console beeped. "Okay... the scans are showing a party with several biosigns. The sensors can't parse out whether it's one or a dozen. So either that's our parents or a kegger out in the middle of nowhere."

“Alright, take her in Eric.” Nico turned in his seat so he had a view of all three. “I can be of some help here since I was part of their secret service for some time. However, the group the cadets described are some that work underground, to handle things the official government can’t touch. Niro was part of them for a while so I may have to pretend to be him if it will get us past whoever might be watching or if there’s trouble.”

"Boots on the ground in five," the Lieutenant advised as he guided the ship towards the spaceport. "Looks like we may need to hoof it a bit. Those ferrite deposits are going to interfere with the transporter just as much as they do with the sensors.”

“Good thing I maintain my boyish figure.” Jackson smiled and patted his flat belly. He looked over the quartet, all in native-style clothing. “Vic, take the point and get us there. Then, we’ll see what we’re up against. Thank god for telepaths. Let’s go.”

The group assembled their gear and stepped to the rear. Nico set the controls and in a hum of energy, the four of them vanished from the ship and reappeared on the ground.

"I dunno," Eric said to Jackson’s comment on telepaths as he took a look around the region they had materialized in. He was checking his phaser setting before setting it in the holster at his hip and hiding it beneath a fold in his clothing. "This is a whole planet full of them, and I'm not sure I have the mental fortitude to not broadcast what I plan to do to anyone who gets in our way."

“We could knock you out and leave you here if you think that’d be better somehow?” Vic followed Eric then stepped around him and took point, checking his direction and heading as he went. “This won’t be an easy or quick hike - not with the elevation changes along the way. We’d better get going though.” He didn’t look back; he was confident the team would follow him.

“Oh, is that an option?” Eric laughed as he fell in step behind the Nexus bartender. “I’d be happy to stay here and take a nap, Vic. Maybe polish off one of those bottles Jackson brought. A nice little Enaran vacation.” He sighed contentedly. “And I wouldn’t even have to spend a single day of shore leave.”

“I can broadcast a little interference for you if you’d like,” Nico said to Eric as they began to move. “If we’re lucky, they’ll be too wrapped up in whatever they’re doing to be scanning too widely.”

“We can hope,” Jackson answered. He patted his pockets, making sure his weapons were secure and got moving along with the rest.

* * *

They arrived finally at the area of the caves, just as the sun was setting. The area was quiet and empty as they stopped in a stand of trees.

“There are several entrances around here,” Nico informed them. "The caverns are about a hundred meters in and branch off along the main path. Some are closed in and others open into other paths, but it all goes in one big semi-circle. What are your readings showing now Vic?”

"Nothing good. Two hundred meters east, there's a cluster of five lifesigns. There are single lifesigns posted around those. Sentries, I'd say." Vic sighed. "Split up and take em out?"

Nico nodded. “Vic, take Eric and I’ll take Jackson so they each have a telepath.” Nico described two routes for them to take. “Once inside, let’s take out the sentries outside that cavern. Then hold and I’ll see how far Niro can get us.”

"Come on, Eric," Vic gestured. "Nic, we'll take the far sentry. Wouldn't want Jackson wearing himself out jogging around this terrain." He winked at Jackson and laughed as he headed out.

“Smartass,” Jackson muttered, then began to laugh as well. “Let’s get going.”

Edwards chuckled for a moment, but then had to focus on keeping pace with Vic even as he was unconsciously patting the phaser at his side just to ensure it was still there. “I don’t suppose we’re entertaining the idea that these could just be sensor echoes?” he wondered as they went. “The ferrite could be messing with the tricorders.”

"They could be. But if Eli's parents have been caught, what better way to snare any rescuing parties? If these are echoes, then we'll just move on to the cave," Vic huffed as they jogged along a gully and scrambled up a levee of exposed rocks. "You met his parents. Sensible people?"

“Sure,” Eric affirmed, breathing heavy already. The terrain here was unforgiving. “Nice enough, unassuming, probably a little thrown for having one son try to capture and potentially kill the other… but sensible enough. They were amenable enough to the idea that they weren’t safe here, and willing to contact Jackson when things got hairy.” The Security officer shook his head regretfully. “I hate that they have to get caught up in this for no reason beyond Eli wanting to live an authentic life.”

"That's not on Eli. It's on this other son," Vic replied. They didn't talk for a bit as they moved along. Vc paused and ran a quick scan. "There, twenty-four meters east. Can you see him? Can you hit him from here?" Vic peered over a pile of rocks. "Hopefully Jackson and Nico are good with the other sentry."

The current situation, sure, Eric had to agree with Vic, but ultimately it all stemmed from Eli’s political rumblings. He didn’t give the thought voice, though, moving in silence until they reached their vantage point. Eric withdrew a pair of small binoculars, making the target easily. “I think so,” he answered, going for his phaser. “It’d be easier with a rifle,” he admitted, steadying the weapon on a solid rock to aid his targeting. Just in case, he widened the beam setting.

“Ready?” he asked. After a nod from Vic and a few tense seconds, the screaming heat of the phaser beam scorched the air, and twenty-four meters east a body hit the ground. Eric had a pretty self-satisfied smile on his face as he crested the ridge and made his way forward.

"Nice shot," Vic could tell Eric was pleased. He tapped his commbadge to contact Jackson. "We're good on this side, J," he told him. He and Eric moved forward again, carefully to avoid drawing attention.

* * *

After taking out the sentry on the closer side, Nico and Jackson had inched forward until they had a view of the people gathered in the center of the cavern. They could see the older couple, along with a younger man who was obviously related to Eli and another, who seemed to be in charge. Nico could see Vic and Eric hidden close by and sent out a mental message to the rest.

I’m going in. I’ll deal with the one in charge and leave Loran to you.

He hid his phaser away and rose. A moment later, he stepped into the cavern and moved towards Reed, who jumped to his feet.

“Niro? I wasn’t aware you were back here,” Reed stammered. “They didn’t tell me.”

“Pity that,” Nico answered. “Apparently, letting these two escape was a bad move. So, I was called in to clean up the mess. All of it.” He glanced back to Loran, who was watching him warily. “You, away from the wall and over there.” He pointed to an opening in the wall just by Vic and Eric.

Glancing at Reed, Loran hesitated then moved once Reed nodded at him. He stood by the opening, watching Niro.

“Good. Now then Reed, you two. Over there,” Nico ordered. “I’m not in the mood to waste time here.” He pulled out his phaser and pointed it at Reed. “I have stuff to get done that is far more interesting than this.”

Reed’s eyes widened, but he decided not to argue with a weapon and moved to stand beside Loran.

Loran took a step back. He'd heard about Niro and how effective he could be. Glancing back, he gasped to shout, but Vic used the butt of his rifle to knock the kid senseless.

When Loran fell to the ground, Reed turned. Spotting two men, he raised his weapon, leveling it on Eric and pressed the button.

Eric cursed audibly, barely managing to spin back behind a protective rock face to avoid the attack. At least Nico's interference seemed to be working. Loran had appeared blissfully unaware of the less-than-savory methods Eric was considering taking him out. Vic had been far kinder than he would have been.

Reed’s shot went wide and he cursed as well. Nico’s shout didn’t stop him and he dove over the rock at Eric, intending to get at point blank range. “You’re one of those who got Eli off the planet and got me in an ass-load of trouble! Time to pay for that!” He brought up his phaser once more, aimed at Eric’s face.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that," Eric grunted as he engaged Reed hand-to-hand, grabbing the man's wrist and trying to force the phaser away. He went for the sucker punch with his off-hand. "Get Irina and Maran out of here!" he shouted to the others.

“I’m on it!” Jackson shouted back.

The punch doubled Reed over and he fell into Eric, unable to breathe. Eric’s hold on his wrist twisted his hand and the sound of a phaser firing sounded, though somewhat muffled. Reed stopped moving.

Vic, who'd been about to shoot Reed, pulled up and yelled, "Eric!" He grabbed Reed's shoulder and hauled him backwards, revealing a large phaser wound in his stomach.

Eric grimaced, imagining how that could easily have been his face. "Good riddance," he managed under his breath before giving Vic a nod that he was all right. "We should go after Jackson. What about the brother?" The Lieutenant tapped Loran's still body with his boot, making sure he was still out.

Vic debated for half a second. "Let's take him with us. Here, he's just a dead man." He reached down and hauled on Loran's arms. "Damned ferrite. We'll need to carry him out. Grab his arm." Eric did and together, he and Vic hauled Loran out of the cave to the ship.

Nico and Jackson emerged behind them with Maran and Irina and soon, they had everyone settled into the ship.

“They’ll find Reed eventually,” Nico commented as he sat down in the pilot’s seat. “We have Loran and that means we have most of their secrets. I’m curious to see what their next move is.” He fired up the engines and began prep for departure.

“If they have any brain cells at all, they will cut their losses and forget Eli. We’ll know more as soon as Loran’s up and around but somethin’ tells me it’s gonna be an interestin’ story.” Jackson finished securing Loran and then took a seat nearby. “All good. Let’s get the hell outta here.”

Eric settled into the pilot's seat, requesting their departure clearance. It felt good to sit down after the rocky trek to the transport site, Loran's limp body in tow.

"Still, it worries me that they showed such deference to your brother," he said to Nico, "especially considering someone targeted Eli on 900 already. We'll need to watch him."

“Niro always needs watching,” Nico agreed. “I know he’s worked with the government before but this was something of a gamble - and it got some interesting results. I’m sure Oz will be interested in your report on this.” The clearance came in and soon, they were moving out of Enara’s atmosphere. “To quote Jackson, let’s get the hell out of here.”

As Eric pushed the ship into warp, Vic grinned. "A job well-done! Who's up for a drink?"

“I got us covered.” Jackson waved from the back. “We got the parents and we got Enara in the rear-view mirror. It’s all good.”

****************
Vic
Lt. Commander Nicolao
Jackson Banning V
Lt. Eric Edwards
Reed
Loran