Securing the Planet (Part II)

Posted on Mon May 20th, 2024 @ 10:43pm by Lieutenant Scion & Lieutenant Bryan Mundy

1,381 words; about a 7 minute read

Scion headed for the transporter room to beam down, hoping she had everything she'd need. However, she'd learned long ago that preparation was vital, but you always had to be ready for the unexpected, and there were far too many variables that could affect how this assignment went.

When he was ready, Mundy headed down to the transporter room to beam. He included a breather mask in case they came across some of the aftereffects of the asteroid.

Mundy walked into the transporter room, fully expecting Scion to be there.

"All set?" Scion asked, having arrived a minute before. She noticed the power packs and weapons he brought with him and frowned. "I've picked a good place to beam down where we won't be noticed."

"Very good." Mundy stepped up on the transporter platform and looked at the transporter chief. "Energize."

Mundy walked into the transporter room, fully expecting Scion to be there.

"All set?" Scion asked, having arrived a minute before. She noticed the power packs and weapons he brought with him and frowned. "I've picked a good place to beam down where we won't be noticed."

"Very good." Mundy stepped up on the transporter platform and looked at the transporter chief. "Energize."

They materialized on a deserted side street that had significant damage, yet was close enough to the business area to make it a good place to start. Plus, according to scans just before they beamed down, there was no one in visual range. Even so, Scion took several steps away from Mundy. "While we're here to round up any criminals we see, we also need to be covert enough that they won't spot us a klick away and leave before we even notice them. You look and act like a cop, even without all your weaponry. Because of that, I don't want us to be too close to each other."

She wanted to find some of the kids who lived on the street and see what she could learn from them. She wouldn't get that chance if Mundy was nearby. But she also recognized the need for them to stay close enough to help if one of them got in trouble.

Mundy started walking towards a group of stores that seem to being looted.

Scion watched the activity for a moment, then notified the local police. "Backup is coming," she informed Mundy. "Try to keep them distracted and alive until they get here. I'm going to slip around back." If any of them were going to run, they'd either split off in different directions, or go out the back. She was as interested in who they were working with as what they were doing and hoped to be able to talk to one of them and get information in exchange for leniency. But she wasn't going to do anything foolish. If they looked like they'd rather fight than talk, she'd back off and let the local authorities deal with them.

Mundy snuck up behind one of the looters, who was carrying various items he had stolen. He grabbed him from behind in a head lock, cut off the blood supply to his brain, and the looter was unconscious in seconds. He put down the first looter, then did the same to two others. "Lieutenant Scion. I have 3 willing subjects who are very willing to talk."

"Hold them for the local authorities who are on their way. I'll be there shortly." He worked fast, but Scion wasn't sure they were the only ones here, or even the leaders. She watched from behind the corner of the building as a man and a woman slipped out the back. They were clearly in a hurry, but not moving fast enough to draw attention--except for her. She pulled out a small blowgun and dart and shot both of them in the calf with a micro transponder. The woman stopped and looked around, but Scion was already out of sight. She waited a bit longer, but no one else came out.

On the other side of the building, two men quickly approached Mundy. "I'm Friday, this is Gannon," one of the men said, showing his ID. I take it you're with Starfleet?"

"Yes I am. Lieutenant Mundy. And those are the facts, and just the facts."

The two men looked at each other, then at the three on the ground and back at Mundy. "Can you tell us what happened here" Gannon asked.

"They were looting. I subdued them and wait for you to take them into custody." Mundy relied.

Friday nodded. "Will do. What did you see when you first arrived and how did you subdue them, if I may ask?" While he spoke, he entered information into a small tablet.

"An air car is two minutes away," Gannon said.

"I saw them enter a store and leave carrying large cases of a liquid. I came up behind the second person, applied a choke hold for 10 seconds and they passed out due to no blood to the brain. Did the same thing to the second individual." Mundy answered.

Scion watched her tricorder to make sure she had a solid signal and that no one else left the building. Then she slipped inside, looking for any clues. She found an office and looked through the papers on the desk, careful not to leave any prints. Finding nothing to indicate that this building was targeted specifically, she continued through to the front, then went out the back and around the building to not get shot as one of the looters.

She came around the building in time to see the two air cars leave. She paused just long enough not to be noticed, then went to join Mundy. "I tagged two people going out the back of the building. They weren't carrying anything and appeared to be the leaders. I'll track them back to their base of operations and report them then." Although whether she reported them to the local authorities or to the captain would depend on what she learned. "Ready to continue?"

"How far are they away from us?" Mundy asked.

She checked her PADD. "Two klicks and moving away. It looks like they're using some form of transportation. I want to see where they go and how long they stay there." She put the PADD back in her thigh bag. "Should we continue down the street?"

"I'll take point, commander." He ordered his team to stay behind the commander as they moved stealthily down the street, hugging the buildings as they went.

Scion was happy to stay behind. A good five meters behind. While he was hugging the buildings, she was pretending she didn't know him. It wasn't that she had a problem with the way he was moving. It was that she didn't want to be seen as having anything to do with Starfleet security. She did her best work when she didn't stand out. She would gladly let him catch the looters and vandals while she found the ones who weren't so obvious. The two-pronged attack should work well.

Many have said, that for a human, Mundy had remarkable speed. He covered the 5 meters quickly. Along the way, he had neutralized 3 looters, and 4 vandals. When he reached the 5 meter mark, he stopped and allowed Scion to catch up.

Scion didn't mind Mundy moving ahead. She was more interested in learning what was going on behind the scenes than just catching looters. And to be honest, Mundy was better at that, anyway. She kept close enough to help, if needed, but far enough away to not be noticed. She also tagged three suspicious people with a tiny tracking dart that would leave a trace even if it fell off, and two kids that looked and acted like they were part of a street gang. She wanted to talk to them about what was going on in the colony, but she couldn't do that with Mundy around. She'd also need permission from the captain.

"Ready to go back to the ship?" she asked when she caught up with him.

"I guess we did all that we can...at the moment. Let's go." Mundy answered.

OFF

Lieutenant Bryan Mundy
Chief Security Officer
USS Athena

Lieutenant Scion
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Athena

RSS Feed