Away Team Launching

Posted on 18 Mar 2025 @ 3:08pm by Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Lieutenant Lamia ‘Mia’ Kildare & Lieutenant Matthew Thompson & Lieutenant JG Faith Benson & 2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Mathews & Chief Warrant Officer Glenn Stone Mr & Master Sergeant Thomas Zang & 2nd Lieutenant Jennifer Goodwin & Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Nelson

4,800 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: S04 Episode 01 Captive State Part 2 (Main)
Location: Various
Timeline: Present

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The ship finally arrived in the high orbit of Arth. Dodd was happy to finally be ready to get the main part underway.

=/\= Now Here This. This mission is about to start but has been modified to only be an Extraction Mission. The Away Team will be going down to extract Lt. Lee and the members of her team. We need to be out of this system as soon as we can be.

All Members of the extraction team, please report to Shuttle Bay One, for departure to the surface. Shuttle pilots complete their prelaunch checklists and final test of the cloaking devices on the shuttles. Medical team, please monitor the embedded sensors of the away team for health issues. Engineering please have the engines on the ready to warp us out as soon as the away team in back on board. Tactical Officers please be on the ready for any enemy vessels or such, The Orion Syndicate have claimed this space and are expected in the region sooner than later. The rest of the crew not on the medical staff or on the away team, please be prepared to complete surveillance of Arth in every detail. The away team will depend upon the crew on the ship to have their backs should the need arise.

I have faith in this crew and I know we can pull this off. May the Great Bird of the Galaxy watch over all of us. =/\= Dodd, then felt a knot in his stomach as he knew this mission was not going to be the easiest for any of the crew, especially the away team.

Dodd wished he could be going to the surface and in on the major action. However, Somers put him in charge of this one and he had to prove himself. He felt comfortable going into the mission before the departure of Falk who would have been his acting XO. However, he was a little more nervous with Captain Somers basically swapping the roles on him. However, he has faith in his captain and thus knows the away team will be a great leader on the surface.

Looking a little too happy "I better go get into Local attire and dye my hair another colour as it is somewhat distinctive" she said

"Well, Somers, you have a green light to get the team to the surface. Remember to keep the team's actions as simple as possible and once the rogue is in custody we need to get her to the ship as soon as possible. Nelson will be focused on un-engineering the tech you come across and planting signal beacons for us to beam up what we can. The rest of the science teams on the ship will be scanning for all federation tech that can be located and work on dampening those units if we can covertly beam the tech up to the ship we will. I authorize the use of phasers to vaporize any tech that can't be removed as long as you can do it out of the general population. I have a strong feeling the known survivors of the first observation team may not want to leave and I am genuinely fine with letting them remain as they have made lives for themselves here and adapted. They are to be encouraged to return to the federation but I am willing to respect their wishes. I know we were ordered to bring them home but Arth is now their home more or less." Dodd stated firmly and with as much purpose as he had within himself.

- Shuttle bay -

Matt Thompson grabbed his gear and reported to shuttle bay one, he took his assigned seat and waited for the launch.

Lamia had been surprised she was even considered for the away team given her pregnancy, but she was also grateful for the opportunity to go. Arriving at the shuttle bay prepared and ready to go, she took a seat and waited for the other arrivals.

Goodwin arrived at the shuttle and stowed her gear so compactly that there was space to spare. Then she took her seat. "I understand this is to be a quick in and out. I understand why they assigned you to this mix, so I am very glad you are able to be part of this team." Goodwin stated to Lamia.

Lamia offered a warm smile. “To be honest I was surprised to be assigned, thought it’d be tied to the ship.” She grinned. “Let’s just hope all goes to plan.”

"Yes, let's hope all goes well," Goodwin replied. "I know you will be more of an asset on this mission than some might expect. Dodd knows you will do your best to make this mission more successful for this team." Jennifer added as she knew Dodd was fond of Lamia for her skills as a counselor not just for what they have shared in the past.

Lamia smiled and nodded. “I’ll do my utmost, being a Betazoid has it’s plus points.”

"I bet it does in more ways than one might expect," Goodwin replied with a playful grin attempting to keep it in good fun.

Thomas entered in the local guard. He had stashed a few blades under his clothes but had made sure that they were easily accessible should the need arise. "Zang reporting as ordered and ready to go. Just let me know what I need to do." He said as he took a seat.

Cassandra arrived with her deployment gear. "Second lieutenant Mathews reporting in." She said with a salute to the officers. She then took and busied herself with stowing her gear before looking for her own seat.

"See! This is why my experimental suit would come in way handy." Said just loud enough to make her "point" about it. Not that the majority of them there had any idea what she was talking about. Faith had made sure to bring with her an old earth ballistics handgun, a Sig Sauer P226 9mm. Three extra magazines. All hidden well enough. She was stepping up to the others in light armor. She wanted the mobility. Which, she just happened to be wearing a duster over said armour. The duster, there was another reason for that.

Stone walks into the shuttle, ducking a little as he enters. He gives everyone a nod. He is dressed in the normal fashion for one who may be an enforcer or security for some rich Orion Syndicate person or even a mercenary: cargo pants, shirt, tactical vest, and boots. He has a nice few holsters with a 2 Klingon disruptor pistol in it. It was nice-looking but nothing flashy. The handle of a Mek'leth could also be seen. Leather Sling Bag Crossbody Backpack Chest Bag he placed next to him. He took a seat near a door if he could and said nothing.

In her old-style Marine form-fitting combat suit hair in a tight bun, Jasmine arrived in the shuttle bay and saw her team, she was surprised to see Lamia there, making sure her comm badge was hidden she entered the shuttle putting down a heavy bag of weapons on the floor. "Greetings people, it is I know you are not dreaming, now strap in, I am not my cousin where shuttle flying is concerned" she said moving to the pilot's seat "Lamia, how did you get picked for this?" she asked the Chief Counselor.

“Good question” Lamia offered Jasmine a smile. “I believe my experience as Counselor, and my being an empath is why I’m here. I don’t plan on getting into any trouble, or putting myself at risk.”

Jasmine Hurrumphed "Well our mission has just become an extraction, it seems the planet Arth is now Orion Syndicate territory and they are starting to clamp down hard, so we are to go in, extract Lieutenant Lee and get out of there, you will all need weapons, in that bag, I brought onboard with me you will find enough weapons and ammo for this mission," she said and falling silent to concentrate on pre-flight checks and to see if there were any questions.
"A snatch and grab, Eh Captain?' Matt asked.

Lamia nodded as she listened carefully, it seemed the whole risk factor had just stepped up a gear. She could only imagine what Chris would say about her heading into danger.

Faith hadn't bothered to sit down, moving to the front of the Venture-Class Scout Ship Giving a look to Jasmine, "Would you rather I take over? You could take over the co-pilot. I mean hey, I'm ancient, I better know how to fly."

*Gives Benson a Somers Patented look* "You can be Co-pilot Lieutenant Benson, now sit your butt down and do systems double-check for me" As Benson got to work she looked back "Are there any questions about the extraction mission before we leave?" She asked loudly to a noisy aft compartment.

Faith caught the look and gave one back, "Your powers do not work on me." Smirking a little bit, sitting down. "Someone want to call out what's in the bag?" As her attention was more focused on the systems. "Systems ready, Warp, shields, weapons, stealth mode all nominal."

Cassandra grabbed what she needed from Jasmine's bag. She was in n the disguise provided to her by the mission coordinator. The armour was different, but designed for stealth. Even though it was now an extraction the team would need to blend in as much as possible, she made her way over to Thomas and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey bright eyes, don't be obvious about it but I need you to keep an eye on Lamia." She whispered into his ear so her voice didn't carry. "I know she doesn't intend to get into trouble, but knowing our luck trouble clings like stink on shit. Keep her safe the best you can while still getting the job done."

Thomas nodded and moved closer to Lamia. "Aye Ma'am." He said with a serious look on his face. He was all business as he settled in the seat next to her, his gear at his feet.

"All our tricorders are on par for the mission, While each of you has one that has been modified to look like objects in the reports from the last mission, they are also biocoded only to allow the assigned user to use it like a tricorder," Nelson added as he felt it was the time to add that in.

"Great, Nelson. I am glad you are getting out of engineering on this one." Goodwin replied. "I am looking forward to working with all of you." She added. She was always more polite than a normal marine appeared to be or acted as if that was just part of who she is.

"Well, thank you," Nelson replied. "I come to the Tomcat crew when Dodd came to the ship as I transferred with him as he was a mentor, then he got promoted and now I seldom see him. But I know he referred me for this mission and I am hoping to do him proud."

"I am sure he will be proud of you for doing your best. That is all we can do." Goodwin added.

Watching everyone carefully, Stone looked like he was evaluating everyone there. looking everyone over and studying their movements. it was not in a creepy way more on the professional and evaluation type of thing. and did not watch any one individual for too long at a time.

Cassandra kept herself busy double-checking her gear. She tried not to think about Falk's sudden absence. How for some reason her friend hadn't even said goodbye or left a note. She'd simply vanished like a ghost. It unnerved Cassie. This however was not the time nor the place to linger on that. After the mission, she would try to find out where Mazal had gone. Until then she'd need to stay focused on the task at hand.

"All controls in the green" Jasmine said =/\= Extraction Team to Themistocles flight control, permission to depart =/\= Somers asked.

=/\= Clearance granted, fly safe flight control out =/\= came the reply.

With that Jasmine engaged the repulsor lifts and moved the shuttle forward until it was facing the open shuttle bay, she applied forward momentum to their craft via repulsor lifts and then engaged impulse engines and the Venture class scout shot out of the shuttlebay. Jasmine flew up and around the ship's nacelles and then orientated the ship towards Arth.

"Mr Benson, activate electronic countermeasures, make us invisible to any sensors on the planet, and then locate us in a quiet area near the city that is far enough out but close enough," Somers instructed.

"They are...." Faith paused a little bit and then finished tapping along the console. Make sure the ECMs are set and active, as well as the ECC is on standby. "Up and running. There's a small wooded grove about 3 km from the city."

"Excellent, Mr Benson. *pauses.* Okay, people, hold onto your britches!" Somers said as the Venture Class scout ship lifted off and shot out of the shuttle bay faster than the Intertial Dampners could cope with. Thus, they were slow to engage, but when they did, the flight became normal. As the ship came up and around the ship's nacelles, Jasmine took the ship straight for the planet Arth.

Stone smiled at the g forces he was feeling. "Show off," he said. He wondered if they took into account the reentry to the planet. "I hope you found a way to hide our signature as we enter the planet Apaspher," Stone said, knowing that they could be detected as they entered.

"Okay, Faith, plot our landing destination and activate sensor countermeasures. The people of Arth may not have sensor probes in orbit, but you can be sure the Syndicate or perhaps some other unlawful agency has the planet under observation from a distance," Somers added.

She raised her eyebrows as the G-forces. She was used to it. Giving a long glance back down to the console in front of her Faith focused a moment. "ECCs are now active," quickly tapping and then putting in the flight path.

Lamia was holding on trying not to show that she wasn’t enjoying the G-forces, the last thing she wanted to do was end up feeling sick.

When the ship entered the atmosphere properly the hull quickly cooled down and Jasmine headed for the secluded spot. The moment they reached it she quickly landed and powered the ship down, making sure to leave the ECCs active as a security precaution.

"Okay, sorry if that was a tad rough entry, but we are down now, so gather what you need "Lieutenant Kildare, Master Sergeant Zang, I want you both to remain here to make sure we have a getaway ship after rescuing Lieutenant Lee," Jasmine said she looked at Lamia "do not argue Counsellor, by rights, you should be on the ship doing duties up there not in a potential combat zone while pregnant, this and the fact having a guard here is logical, you have Mr Zang to keep you company, with luck it will be quick "also having a female gearing the ship along with a male will be good should the locals discover us, I hope your improv skills are good Lamia?" Jasmine said.

Lamia offered a nod of her head. “I’m sure I can come up with something, last time I was here I helped deliver a baby so improvising something should be easy compared to that.” She paused. “With due respect though Captain, I was brought along so my senses could be used. I’m not going to be able to do much sitting here.”

Thomas looked at Somers and did a quick salute. "Aye Ma'am. I will protect the shuttle and the Lieutenant with my life." He pulled an archaic looking rifle from his bag and loaded it with primitive looking cartridges. He looked to Lamia with a nod as he took position next to the exit.

"I know, but I do not want to be the one to tell your husband that I took his wife on an away mission which contributed to issues with your child and we may have to move fast, your senses can be of use here too, hopefully, they should be enough to tell if there any natives or others is less than nice intent" Somers responded.

Stone was standing and getting his gear ready. Hearing the conversation about Lamia, he shook his head side to side slowly with a grin. "Lieutenant Kildare, I am not one to tell an officer what to do normally, and I admire your commitment to the mission. But how would you feel if one of the team gets killed because you could not keep up or have that blessing in the middle of a firefight?" Stone pointed out, who showed no emotion, was very focused. Stone hoped he did not overstep his position on the team, but that was a liability he did not want on this type of mission.

Captain Somers looked at Stone and slightly tilted her head to the left with a raised eyebrow then looked at Lamia.

Lamia nodded as she looked towards Stone. “I understand what you’re saying, I wouldn’t want anyone harmed looking out for me.” She looked towards Somers. “I’ll remain onboard and monitor as best as I can from a distance.”

He smiled back at her. "Now that we have that understanding and the right mindset, if you are that mission-essential and you have come all this way, I promise to do my best. I can guard you if it is necessary for you to go. Under the guise of husband and wife, we stay near the team but not with the team." He paused to let The team think about what he said. "Most would not think of us as a threat that gives us an advantage, " he suggested. Stone had been on many special operations assignments even ones like this two would be best, but even a pregnant woman can be dangerous.

Wouldn't it be better to split up and converge on the target asymmetrically? Mr Thompson asked.

Lamia thought both ideas had merit; she wasn’t averse to the husband-and-wife cover. “Last time we were here, I delivered the baby of a young woman. It seems that the natives here think of procreation in a highly spiritual sense. I don’t think a pregnant woman would not be seen as a threat.”

Somers looked at Lamia. "At least you have an actual husband on the Tomcat. While the cover is a good idea, if anyone comes here, they are going to see a Starfleet shuttle, so Try to maintain the Prime Directive," the Captain responded.

“Of course, Captain” Lamia nodded. “It’s a shame we can’t camouflage the shuttle, but there’s no time for that now.”

"Actually, there should be a way to camouflage the shuttle. This is one we moved over from the Tomcat that Dodd once had a cloaking cover program installed on. That program should be in the computer, and the hull plating still has the system in place as it was never removed. I know I installed it," Nelson replied.

"Yes, Mr. Nelson. I used the Stealth abilities to approach the planet, but without an actual cloaking device, no shuttle or ship can cloak. This is why the shuttle will be in standby mode. Mr. Stone, you and Lieutenant Kildare are still qualified to fly a Venture Class scout. As we may need a fast getaway," Somers asked.

"I can get us off the ground and in the air, but I am no fighter pilot. I am more of a weapons systems guy, Captain, " Stone replied in a respectful tone.

"The added camouflage system should be more of a cloak to the area as it is a technology level that is more advanced than what Arth offers. So it should be enough to keep us covered for this mission?" Nelson replied.

"One can but hope people, let's move out quietly and extract our officer," Somers said looking up as an Orion Syndicate Frigate came into land "dammit they are early Lamia and Stone prep the ship as much as you can without starting her up, the Syndicate have just arrived," Somers said.

"Roger, Captain." Goodwin then checked her gear and stood up and moved to the exit to cover the rest of the team to offer protection as she knew that time was of the essence.

Nelson then got a feeling that he was going to hinder the mission more than assist now that time was of concern. "Understood, captain. I will give you only my best now that this mission seems to be changing as we disembark."

“The ship will be prepped and ready to go as soon as you need it” Lamia offered a respectful nod of her head as she moved up front.

Cassandra gave Thomas one last reassuring smile. She was glad he'd be here to look after Lamia. It put her more at ease and she was able to focus better for it. Grabbing her gear and giving her weapons a final check over she followed the team leader out into the world waiting beyond.

Thomas caught Cassandra's arm as she moved to depart. "You stay safe as well Ma'am. We'll be here when you get back." He offered her a fleeting smile before becoming serious again.

Matt stepped out of the shuttle and onto dry ground and ran a tricorder scan of the area. The oxygen content was about 5 percent higher than normal, so He took a deep breath enjoying the extra surge of energy. There was a lot of flora and fauna in the area of his scan but other than the landing party no higher life forms were indicated.

"This is going to be an invigorating hike. Where do you think our people are Commander?" Matt Asked.

"Did I just hear that right? If there's Syndicate Orions, I think I can talk us out of this." Faith gave a glance for a moment. She was pretty sure she heard that right and that she could deal with that part.

Cassandra nodded. Shifting her gear she looked to her friend Benson. "Yeah you heard em right. No worries though we should be long gone before that party kicks off they say. So long as we're quick about this."

Just outside the shuttle, there was a clearing with tall wild flowers and several pods of flying insects that resembled dragonflies from Earth. These dragonflies were more iridescent than Terran dragonflies. There were some that reflected green light while others had bluish tones to them however the majority were flashing silver or copperish tones.

"Hold up team, I am picking minuscule mechanical readings." Nelson stated as he was looking at his tricorder and realized where the signal was originating. He pointed towards the dragonflies. "Captain, I believe those are spy drones that have been made to look and act like native insects to collect data or relay visuals to someone remotely."

"Can you jam them?" the Captain simply asked.

"Yes, I can jam them. But want to do it safely for all of us to not be detected." Nelson replied.

Stone also checked his gear, walked out, and stood waiting on Lieutenant Kildare. "I think this is where Lieutenant Kildare and I can possibly help. They are looking for someone. Let them find us struggling a little. They may be heartless bastards, but even cold-hearted people seem to patten to a struggling woman. I will try to get them to force on us and you a hole to move through." suggested Stone. He has seen this in play with terrorists lots of times, and it was effective most of the time.

"I have an idea and it may involve Nelson's engineering abilities." Goodwin chimed in as she was still standing near the hatch to exit. "If Nelson could pinpoint the frequency of the drones, maybe he could disrupt them enough to not notice us depart the shuttle as it appears they can't sense the shuttle in its stealth covering. As long as the generation of the stealth covering is maintained we should be good to go." Goodwin added. "Then after we are just beyond the clearing, Nelson could restore the frequency and all should be none the wiser."

"I think I could make that happen, but I will need about ten minutes to get that all in place. I will get right on that, I am surprised I did not think of that." Nelson replied and got to work calculating the interference that would be needed for the mild disruption.

"No, Mr Stone. Your skills can benefit the Lieutenant if she requires them. This planet is Matriarchal, so men are considered 2nd Class here, but with the Syndicate here, that will change quickly," the Captain said.

Stone nodded in reply to the Captain. "I missed that in the report." OK, that changes a few things for me and my role with the Lieutenant," said Stone, still waiting on the Lieutenant.

Lamia stepped out of the shuttle just long enough to give Jasmine an update. “The shuttle is prepped and ready Captain, we’ll be good to go when you need us.” She glanced at Stone. “I’m afraid my orders are to remain onboard Chief.”

Jasmine looked and nodded then tapped her Commbadge. =/\= Somers to Themistocles, did we see right a Syndicate vessel arriving? =/\= Jasmine asked.

=/\= Captain, you saw that correctly, we will do our best to monitor the team but get the mission accomplished and get back to us. I would like to get all of you out of here sooner than later. =/\= Dodd replied. =/\= Go to alternate frequencies in communications to keep it harder for any Orion from pinpointing your locations and limit contact with the ship if possible. Dodd out. =/\=

Matt was on the sensor, "Affirmative a class 8 freighter, looks to be fairly well armed and armoured for a freighter. They have not scanned us, Sir."

Cassandra grimaced at the words. "Well, I guess the Orion's don't believe in being fashionably late. We better get a Hussle in our step if we are still planning to pull this off." Cassandra stated looking at the rest of the group.

Faith gave a glance to Somers a moment. "I should probably get on the phone and start talking to them like I said."

=/\= Affirmative Somers out =/\= the Captain said and closed the link she looked at Benson "Keep track of their movements but let's get going and locate Lee. Mr Thompson, you have the DNA and skeletal record of Lieutenant Lee, start scanning for her, we need to know where she is. Lieutenant Matthews scout ahead to see if you can spot any potential dangers, but stay out of sight" the Captain intoned.

Faith nodded a little bit, tagging them to keep them notified of their movements.

Cassandra nodded in affirmation and headed off ahead as directed. Stealthily blending cat-like into the world around them disappearing from immediate view.

"How does she do that?, Thompson said to no one in particular.


To be continued in "Out and About..."

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