Meeting Some Resistance, Part 2

Posted on Sun Nov 15th, 2015 @ 1:27pm by Lieutenant Bajun Julisa & Lieutenant Commander Michael Darwin & Admiral Lucius Hawke & Ensign Six of Ten & Niro

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Bajor 2360

* Resistance Camp *

“What the hell is taking those two so long?” Niro asked Six. He didn’t really care, but it was a good opening for talking to the woman.

“They should have been back by now.” They were strolling through the camp, passing the time until Darwin and Julisa returned. “It’s not more than five minutes’ walk to the ship. How long have they been gone do you think?” She looked up at Niro, obviously worried.

He put a hand on her back and concentrated for a moment before he answered, “Thirty minutes? Maybe they’re taking a break before coming back? Or replicating a few things for you and Julisa. The Korenna didn’t really have many things for women like you. Mostly some dresses Reva left behind, but those are a bit revealing for circumstances like these,” he looked around the camp. “Maybe we should go find them?”

“I think so. If there’s anything dangerous out there, I can deal with them.” She paused and looked up at Niro, her expression more relaxed. She reached out to take his hand. “Let’s tell them we’re going. But we should hurry.”

“Of course, Six. Anything you say,” he agreed and pointed out Tora near a small fire. They walked over and he told the woman, “Darwin and Jules should be back by now. We’re going to go look for them.”

Tora looked from him to Six and shook her head. “No. You two cannot go out there. I’ve already sent a team; they should be back in a few minutes.”

“It’s been more than half an hour. I can tell you’re worried. Trust me when I say that if there’s trouble, I can handle it. We’ll bring them back, don’t worry,” Six assured her.

Tora was about to answer Six but running footsteps made her pause. A young Bajoran, panting hard, skidded to a stop and caught hold of Tora’s arm. “Vedek! We... we were too late. Cardies got them. The woman is gone; the man was shot,” he said.

“No...,” Tora shook her head then broke away from the young man and headed for Lucius’ tent, yelling, “Lucius! Lucius!”

“Shot? Where is he?” Six demanded. “Is he alive?” She let go of Niro’s hand and turned in the direction of the forest. “I can catch them!”

“Whoa!” Niro caught her and held her back. “No, no, Six! We don’t know these woods or what’s going on here. At least, I don’t. These people are fighting a war and we’re not part of it.” He turned her towards him. “And I don’t mean that as in we’re of different species; I mean that we’re not of this time. We can’t do anything that might cause a disruption in time.”

“Where is Darwin?” she yelled at the young man. “Where did they take Julisa??” She struggled in Niro’s grasp, hoping to slip free without hurting him.

The runner shook his head, “I left the others at the scene. They were collecting items from the ship and the human to bring them back here. The Cardies hold the city of Daltak, so they’ll have taken the woman there. She’ll likely be put to work in the mines under the city or, if she doesn’t fight too much, a bed in the comfort house.” He considered that then revised his comment, “Then again, she’s pretty. Even if she does fight, some of them like that.”

“NO! I need to go find her once Darwin is back here and I know he’s going to be alright.” She swatted at Niro’s hands. “Let go!”

“Okay, okay,” he let her go so quickly that he was afraid she might stumble and fall.

“Wait for Tora and Lucius. They’ll know what to do,” the runner said.

“I want to see Darwin. How soon will he be here?” Six asked.

He shook his head, “The others should be back in a few minutes.”

“Come on, Six,” Niro urged her back towards the fire. “Let’s go where Tora went and talk to her.”

Six turned in time to see Tora dashing into a tent. “There,” she pointed.

“Lucius!” Tora flung the tent’s flap open and entered her living space. “They took her! The Cardies took Julisa! We have to go get her.”

Lucius looked up from the padd in his hand and his expression froze. “It’s almost morning, Tora. It kills me to say this but we’ll have to wait till dusk. You know this.” He rose and crossed to take her in his arms. “But the second the sun sets, we’ll go. We’ll get her back, I promise.”

“You know what they’ll do to her!” She wanted to protest even more, but knew he was right. As he put his arms around her, she started crying. She lives through this but... comes back and is taken? What plan do the Prophets have for her?

That I cannot explain, my darling. Lucius gently stroked her back as he whispered in her thoughts. We will have to fix this and never speak of it to her when she is older.

Out by the main fire, the shout of voices reached them. “They have returned with the Human. Let’s go.”

Tora looked over at her young daughter, sleeping peacefully despite the noise, then turned and went with Lucius towards the main fire. She could see four men carrying a litter with a prone male on it. “Let’s hurry,” she said.

The men carried the litter past the fire and into the medical tent. Just outside of it, Niro held Six, one hand on her back, and watched as a doctor ran into the tent.

They began to work rapidly over Darwin and Six realized she was holding her breath as she watched. She forced herself to relax and now realized that Niro was holding her close against his chest. Despite the fact it was him, she was grateful for the comfort for now.

Tora strode past Niro and Six into the tent and demanded, “Well? Is he going to make it?”

One of the doctors looked up and griped, “He was hit at close range with a Cardassian disruptor. The damage is significant but he’ll survive. He won’t be happy for a while, but he’ll live.”

“Good,” she nodded then turned to address the unknown humanoid and the Halanan, “You heard that. He’ll be okay. We leave at dusk to recover your friend.”

“Good. We will be there,” Niro answered. “Is there somewhere specific we should go to get some sleep? Six may want to sit with Darwin for a bit but it’s been a very long night.”

A man handed Six and Niro several items from the ship. “These were laying beside him. Looks like they finished getting stuff when they were surprised by spoonheads, likely a hunting party looking for a snake-cat. The hatch on your ship has been sealed with a Cardie lock. You’ll have to get it off before you can get back in. We can help you with that.”

Tora nodded. “I’ll show you to a sleeping tent. Six, you may come back. For now, the doctors need to work on your companion.” She started off towards the woods on the far side of the camp.

“Thank you for everything.” Six flashed a brief smile and set out behind Tora. Soon they arrived at a tent just way from the main area in the trees. Tora had opened the flap and Six stopped, looking up at Niro.

“We find that securing a sleeping tent is easier than making sure separate tents are covered,” Tora explained. “Pick any bunk, unless someone’s in it already.”

Niro nodded and slipped past Six. “Here, Six, take this one and I’ll take the one under it. That way, if anyone hassles you, I’ll be right here.”

“Thank you Tora.” Six followed Niro inside the tent, which was empty at the moment. She put the small bundle she carried up on the foot of the upper bunk, then turned slowly, surveying the tent. Now that they were out of sight, and alone, the worry and fear and stress overcame her. A sob slipped out before she could stop it and she turned away from Niro, trying to pull herself together. This would solve nothing.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Six,” Niro comforted her, putting his arms around her and turning her so she could cry on his shoulder. It also let him put his hand on her back. “Shh. They said Darwin would be fine. And Jules, we’ll get her tonight.” He fell silent, reveling in holding her so closely. He concentrated slightly, covering over yet another of her memories.

“I’m worried about Julisa and Darwin and I just want to get home. I didn’t even leave word I was going to Julisa’s office and when I don’t show up at home….” She stopped, losing her train of thought. She had been about to say something but it didn’t make sense. She was thinking that Suresh would be worried….but it must be Reva she was thinking of.

“Yes, Reva will be worried that you missed dinner with her,” Niro murmured. “We’ll get back and everything will be okay. And then we’ll go away like we planned. Do you want to go back and check on Darwin? Or shall we nap for a bit first?”

“I’d like to check on him but I suspect he’ll be out for a little while once they’ve finished patching him up,” she answered. She puzzled over his words for a moment. Go away? They had plans? The image of a house on Archadia flashed through her mind and with it came a wave of confusion. Vic came to mind, in a room in Intel. She tried to recall why she’d been there and could not. Finally she shook her head. “I must be drained. My memory is beginning to fail me even. I need to get into the ship. I can’t regenerate on it but I can at least get a power charge before we go out to find Julisa tonight.”

“Will sleep help you at all? You heard that guy, there’s a lock on the hatch that we’ll need to defeat,” Niro said.

“I can get past that. You really have no idea how strong I am do you?” She smiled up at him finally. “Sleep won’t help the power drain but it will help me tremendously I think. What about you?”

“I’m beat,” he said, “I need some sleep.” He rubbed her upper arm. “Maybe by the time we’re awake, Darwin will be up and around. Climb up and I’ll settle in down here.”

She sat on his bunk and bent down to remove her shoes, then pushed them under the bed. “He’s going to be worried sick,” she murmured.

“He’ll probably insist on going along to track down Julisa. If he’s not up to it, one of us might need to sit on him to make him stay here. I nominate you, since you’re stronger,” he chuckled.

“I didn’t mean Darwin.” She looked up at Niro, who still stood before her.

“Heh,” he laughed slightly. “No? Who?”

She opened her mouth and what she had been about to say didn’t come. A face rose in her mind and it puzzled her. “Vic, for one.” Another face popped up and she frowned a little. “Suresh will be angry.” She wasn’t sure why she felt that way but she was sure of it.

“There are plenty of others who will be worried, too. Reva, your friend Desta,” he shrugged. “Sorry, babe, but maybe Reva will turn her engineering skills towards getting us back.”

“What will they do to you when we return?” she wondered. “You did transport us off the station against our will.”

He sat beside her and again put his hand on her back as if comforting her. “I’m not going back to SB900. And I was hoping you’d go with me.”

She looked up into his eyes, uncertain how to answer that. “I….I don’t know. Darwin will take you back and Suresh…..he will….” Her eyes widened suddenly as the memory of Suresh and Xerena surfaced. “Oh. He was with…..” she stopped and wiped her eyes. That explained the room in Intel, but everything was getting more confused by the second. “I have to shut down.”

“Of course,” he stood and helped her into the upper bunk. “Wake me if you wake before I do,” he said, then laid on the bottom bunk.

“You’ll likely be up before me, so you can wake me up. Deal?” She looked down at him from the upper bunk.

“Deal. Sleep well, Six,” he smiled up at her, knowing that the sleep cycle would - or should - solidify his mental muckery.

***************************
Lt. Michael Darwin
Lt. Bajun Julisa
Ensign Six of Ten
Niro
Lucius Hawke
Vedek Bajun Tora