Cave Of Waste

Posted on Sat Aug 27th, 2011 @ 7:29am by

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: outskirts Of Divitian Capital

MARINE COMMAND POST
DIVITIA PRIME

Captain Lorenz felt better after his talk with the surly old Klingon, secure in the knowledge that Commander qeraQ' had his back and wouldn't knowingly step on his weenie. He had a mission to do and he was gonna do it.

"Shelton!" Lorenz bellowed

"Aye sir!" the young chief warrant officer bellowed.

"Thanks for volunteering! There's a series of caves west-northwest of the CP that Command wants cleared. Get a Recon team together and check 'em out!" Lorenz ordered.

"I'll make it happen, cap'n!" Shelton smiled, his dark skin contrasting with his white teeth. "Rixx, Collins, and Terik, get your gear together for a recon sweep! Assemble on the vehicle pad!" The younger man grabbed his own rifle and gear and trotted from the room. Lorenz nodded his head in approval at the warrant officer's hustle.

VEHICLE ASSEMBLY AREA

The 3-man Argo ground vehicle was crowded with the bulk of the team so Darius Shelton checked out a two-track ATV and mounted up. After making sure his troops were properly equipped for the mission at hand, Darius advanced forward on the ATV, followed by the transport. The distance was relatively short for a recon, but it made sense to have a means of escape in what was looking like hostile territory. Man, these people are scared outta their minds! Darius thought to himself. The captain and a few others have had minor bureaucrats crying foul, which isn't normal

Darius brought the ATV to a halt near the cave entrance. The cave had a large opening composed of old metamorphic granite that had been recently exposed to an explosive, Shelton noticed, taking a scan with his tricorder. tri-cyclotrimethylene, not a common explosive. Native to the planet, used in industrial demolition, blast was produced six months ago., Darius studied the tricorder reading, noting the last tidbit of information. "Unsling 'em, Marines," Shelton ordered quietly. "Let's go in, cover-two formation"

Darius unslung his own weapon and quickly activated the light-sight. So far the interior of the cave was just what it should have been, composed of the granite and a healthy dose of igneous rock addition from lower strata. The rest of the team moved in, Private Rixx taking more detailed tricorder readings. "Chief, I have a strange reading fifty meters down the tunnel. A large, rectangular metal slab is directly in our way."

Shelton nodded. "Any other life form readings?"

"No, sir, but I am detecting traces of toxic chemicals on the opposite surface of the slab along with some form of unidentifiable corrosion."

Shelton nodded, the waved the team forward. Soon all four Marines were standing in front of a large metal door that was recessed into the rocky ground. Shelton aimed his combat tricorder at the door. "10 meters thick and composed of an element that closely resembles duranium. Getting a lot of confused element residue from the opposite side. Rixx, open the door please."

Rixx, the Bolian shooter in the team, was an expert lockpick. He calmly went over to the access panel and attached a small rectangular box to the controls and tapped out a multi-key combination. A deep, rumbling click reverberated from the ground and the giant door slid to the left, admitting a foul stench into the cave. The team immediately donned respirators. "Oh my God, this is worse than my son's sock drawer!" Terik Selona, a Bajorran, moaned.

Shelton went into the chamber and drew breath: the place was huge. The ceiling of the chamber was several stories high, and the bottom of the chasm looked to be several hundred feet down. Several terraced off areas were closed off by gates that showed barrels of leaking liquids, other containers that were fully ruptured due to age and mishandling.

Shelton snapped his fingers and the team immediately grabbed their gravity harness controls. A gravity harness allowed a Marine to ascend or descend limited heights in increments of a few kilometers at a time before requiring periodic recharging. The harness was an integral part of a Recon troopers web gear. "Terik, go back in the clear and tell Captain Lorenz we found what looks to be a waste storage facility!"

"Aha!" a new voice said from inside the chamber. "What have we here? Starfleet spies? Drop your weapons and submit to custody!" The 4-man team hit their bellies and instantly drew a bead on the source of the voice. It looked to be a Divitian constable, heavily armed, angry-looking constable.

Lorenz nodded and the Marines lowered their rifles. "I'm Chief Darius Shelton, recon team leader. My boss, Captain Lorenz sent us here to check this facility out....."

"This facility is no longer your concern, Shelton. You will be taken back to the city and detained."

"Not gonna happen!" Shelton nodded, and the entire Starfleet team grabbed their rifles and jumped over the side of the facility. Shelton used anti-grav thrust to steer himself towards a storage shelf that didn't have very many barrels on it and landed hard on the ground. He immediately rolled forward and was followed by his team.

"All present, sir!" Matt Collins, a corporal said, looking up at the surface from which they had jumped.

"Boy, we are in deep shit now!" Shelton sighed.

TO BE CONTINUED