PLOT - JDL | Com Ivanova, Cmdr Archer, Ens Barnes, MCPO Caine - "You Got To Give The Other Fellow Hell"

Posted on Fri Mar 27th, 2015 @ 4:16am by Ensign & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander James Archer & Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine

1,543 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Spot To Kill

The sound of a crash roared over the wind. Lifting her head, Rochelle couldn't see the source through all of the snow, but she was certain something was coming. A big something, she could feel it, and it was most definitely a large something. What could only be described as anxiety and fear prickled along her spine and down her frost reddened arms. The horse beneath her flinched as if picking up on her trepidation and reacted to the next screeching sound of metal on metal, his black tipped ears even swiveled atop his skull in confirmation – though still he loped obediently across the snow covered palace lawn.

Then it appeared.

From the corner of her eye Rochelle caught sight of the hover car bursting, in a maelstrom of sparks, over the palace wall. “STOP!” She screamed at the top of her nearly frozen lungs. Her voice was raw and raspy from the bitter cold – but it was too late. The car crashed, sliding down the embankment and spraying snow like a plow as it raced headlong towards them at breakneck speed. Beneath her, she could feel the horse tense and her fingers tried in vain to gather up her reins as best she could. Nothing could have prepared her body for the way the massive beast’s frame begged for the gift of flight as it leaped skywards and twisted roughly to the right in his attempt to avoid the clutches of gravity. Her cold numbed legs refused to grip any tighter, or even at all if honesty was being invoked, and her big blue eyes went wide as she realized she was falling. Time felt like it had slowed down as she drifted through the air in a wrinkle of fabric and hair and fathoms away she could hear the stallion’s hollow cry of surprise and his hooves as they met the frozen ground, spraying a combination of dirt and ice as he tore off and away from the encroaching vehicle. She touched down a second or so later, though it felt like minutes, with a grunt as the air in her lungs for forced out of her body and a thud as her hips, back, and head met the snow packed loam. The car crashed into an out building a few meters away as the Commodore lay dazed and watching the snow fall from the white-gray sky above, trying to remember how to breathe.

The giant clydesdale, James and Catalina were on, spooked and there wasn't anything that that could be done. Archer gave Barnes a shove off the back of the horse before the beast took off bucking and screaming. He would have jumped himself, but his glove was snagged on the saddle. The only thing he could do now is hold on and hope for the best. "Easy, girl. Easy," James said pulling the reigns hard to the left.

At first she thought she was going to be splattered by the hovercar, then the beast her and Archer were on started to spook. She started to reach for her phaser rifle, but didn't the get the chance when Archer suddenly pushed off the beast. Rocky did her best to roll with the landing and still ended up in a sprawled heap with her head buried in a drift of snow. Sputtering, she pulled back in time to see Archer still on the beast and Ivanova's horse taking off without the Commodore on it. Looking around, she spotted the Type III phaser half buried in the snow and lunged for it, hoping it was still functional. "Fun speed ahead," She muttered as she did a quick check on it and dislodged some snow. Bringing it up to her shoulders, she crouched and flipped the setting up to ten. "Come out of the vehicle now!"

Pushing herself up from the snow, Rochelle winced at the all too familiar ache and sting that came with a broken collarbone. What the universe had against her clavicle was complete and totally beyond her, but it was there... Some sort of cosmic joke that rendered the delicate little bone useless just about each and every time there was any kind of trauma to be had. The Commodore cursed under her breath and cradled her arm to her chest, working to get to her feet, sword and all, right around the same time Archer circled his horse to a stop. "Barnes!" She rasped in a puff of steam. Her hip screamed, her head spun, but work was work and she forced herself to half limp and half jog across the snow on unsteady legs. She half recognized who sat on the driver's side, his disheveled face becoming more and more familiar through the snow as she approached. "Barnes! Stop!" She called again over the crunch of ice beneath each foot fall. It was a less dramatic Notura all over again. Gods she hated snow. "It's Caine! It's Caine!" The redhead panted.

"Who is Caine?" Rocky asked, lowering the rifle a bit, but still tense and ready for action. She flicked a glance at the Commodore and saw that she was in pain and stepped over towards her. "Do you need medical assistance, Commodore?" She asked, looking between her and the hovercar to see who came out.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine." The redhead replied as she came to a stop, "He's one of us." She explained, reaching to tip the rifle down completely and her head gingerly shook, "Not right now. We need to end this once and for all and then we can worry about the small shit."

Rocky nodded and switched the phaser to safe mode. "What a way to make an entrance." She swung the strap of the Type III over her shoulder and offered the Commodore a hand without laying it on the woman.

"No shit." Rochelle replied with a breathy half chuckle, taking the Ensigns hand for added stability. "C'mon out Mr. Caine... Who..." She squinted, trying to see through the frosting glass, "Who is that with you?"

Eventually, the battered car and two men arrived at the palace. Carrying each other, they staggered to the final showdown and their eventual fate. Rik pulled out his commbadge and tapped "Amelia, Calhoun… it's…" there was an audible groan, "it's done. I have him". Then he heard it, a familiar voice. Things were still a little blurry, his head a little fuzzy. Groaning, he turned to see the Commodore, Archer and Barnes standing behind him. He nodded slowly in recognition that they'd found her and looked at the man he was balanced against and who, in turn, leaned on him. They'd been through the ringer and looked that way. "This is Imrol Kessek, political dissident and legal scholar... He's here to help prove Kyym is a no-good hood."


"Oh." Rochelle replied with a ginger nod of her head, "Well... The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We don't have a lot of time." she panted into the frigid air, gesturing to the palace doors. "Just follow my lead and everyone stay close." The one thing the injured Phoenix didn't do was give them a chance to argue with her as she forged ahead through the snow and shoved doors open. A quick appraisal of the gum-shoe's condition and the tear reddened cheeks of the old man told her that they, like her, were running on borrowed time. Rotek was going to have his work cut out for them when they returned to the ship. She and Caine just needed to stay upright until this was all said and done.

Staying close by Ivanova in case she needed assistance, Rocky kept a wary eye out for any Atlanteans that might want to cause trouble. Of course, the trouble was likely to be for the Atlanteans, but she was grateful to have the Type III phaser rifle slung over her shoulder. Master Chief Caine didn't look in much better shape and the elder Atlantean with him seemed highly distracted and agitated and Caine's words promised to put an end to the bull that was flying everywhere.

Rik grimaced and adjusted his shoulder trying to get some relief from the burning pain of the disruptor wound, patched up from some improvisation with the phaser. He coughed and spat up more blood as he winced and took a sharp intake of breath. He assumed he'd broken, or at the very least cracked, several ribs. Coughing again he nodded. "Let's give her hell," he managed to say as he and Kessek followed behind Rochelle and Barnes. He grinned at Barnes as the two men caught up, "you should have seen the other guys," he quipped noticing the intelligence officer observing the state he and Kessek were in.

Archer sighed watching the procession of injured bodies as they began to file through the doors and deep into the pit of the palace. "Show time." He grinned, following close behind.

---

Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Commander James Archer
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Master Chief Petty Officer Rik Caine
Security Investigator/Chief of the Boat
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

Ensign Catalina "Rocky" Barnes
Encryption Specialist
USS Vindicator, NCC-78213-E

 

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