Armageddon Game

Posted on Thu Jan 19th, 2023 @ 11:34pm by Lieutenant JG Rrawran & Ensign Vijraoth sh'Kovrirr & Captain Wilkan Targaryen & Commander Galatea & Lieutenant JG Leannali Abraaxil

2,270 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Short Treks
Location: Classified
Timeline: 2430-12-30, 20:47

Security Chief's Log, Supplemental Entry:

It's been roughly an hour since Admiral Targaryen ordered myself and the other Security Chiefs to meet him aboard the Uhura for a special assignment and we still know little more than we did an hour ago. As soon as we were all aboard the Uhura completed a Slipstream Jump to an undisclosed location and we were escorted to a conference room where we were given a briefing not by the Admiral, but but Galatea. Galatea, the Enterprise's Artificial Intelligence, had sent us the Admiral's regrets and informed us that he had been called away by Starfleet Command on a second priority mission.

According to Galatea we are to travel to an alien world where we will beam to the surface in order to recover classified Federation computer technology that had been acquired by a prewarp society in a cultural observation gone bad. The technology has incredible applications, but in the hands of this society it is a genuine threat to their future. Little else was shared other than we would have a short window to recover the technology and that Starfleet Intelligence would be monitoring.

I wish I was more optimistic. This mission is relatively straightforward on paper, but I have a feeling that there's more to this than we are ready for.

---

As the Security Team materialized on the surface of of the classified world it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the death and destruction that surrounded them. The sky was full of black, grainy clouds that blocked out most of the moonlight above them. In the distance along the horizon the remains of a skyline of buildings is shattered by some unimaginable force leaving behind the skeletal remains of some and other buildings looking like kicked-down sandcastles. Vehicles were lined in rusted rows, locked in an ageless bumper to bumper gridlock that would live forever in the desolation. A rough wind tore through the destruction, sending ashes into the air as the cries of ten million dead souls echo among the ruins.

Galatea tapped her communicator, "Uhura, we've arrived at insertion point. Proceeding to recover the asset."

Rrawran activated his tricorder, but didn't need the scanner to explain to him the death and destruction that surrounded them. As he looked at one of the burnt out vehicles he saw the fire-blackened bones that were all that remained of the driver. Walking alongside the vehicle, the Rorworr soldier saw a vast field of more charred bodies and broken buildings. He wanted to throw up.

The holographic mission commander closed the channel to the ship. She pointed in the distance at one of the last freestanding buildings, "Our target is in that structure. This way."

They moved quickly through the rubble, seeking their prey. Their course took them through a playground from Hell where the firestorm that had destroyed the city had left no prisoners behind. The joys of youth were warped and broken, the intense heat having half-melted the jungle gym into an unrecognizable shape, the blast having warped the swing set, and the merry-go-round a shadow of its former glory. The echoes of children's voices, playing and laughing in the sun, whispered on the winds like the traces of a dream.

"I hear something," Rrawran alerted the others as they approached the remnants of a pavilion that had fallen in on itself. Peering over the corner, the alien Security Officer saw something unimaginable.

Among the scorched hieroglyphs of hopscotch lines were the remains of a melted tricycle and the skeletal remains of its owner looked at them accusingly. It would not be like that for long. A large, metal leg slammed through the middle of the remains, crushing them into thousands of tiny shards. The killer was cold, remorseless at the desecration it had caused as it continued its patrol. The weapon's red eyes studied the horizon as it clutched a weapon from nightmares in its hands. The barrel of its weapon passed along the horizon steadily as it searched.

It wasn't alone.

Seconds later the melodic winds were replaced by the thunderous roar of turbines as a trio of flying patrol craft passed overhead. Searchlights traveled over the terrain as the vehicles searched, looking for any traces of the living still alive on the planet. The skeletal machine walked with the searchlights as the charred remains in the distance erupted in flame. Flashes of explosions, some small and some large, dotted the distance as phaser pulses could be seen lancing back and forth between unseen enemies. It was a vision from a nightmare.

"We must complete our mission and prevent further contamination," Galatea ordered. "Options?"

Patton was trying to get past all they had seen on their way and was still doing his best not to empty the contents of his stomach. He had seen death and destruction but nothing prepared a person for something like this.

“The obvious is that we have to find a way to get past them without being seen and retrieve our object and back out.” He paused. “A diversion by some of us might work but we’d have to do it without being identified.”

Zoey heard Patton's suggestion. She wanted to build off his answer. He had a good idea, now they needed to wrinkle out the kinks. "Best way to infiltrate is to hide in plain sight. Do they have any scheduled demonstrations or public gatherings that Starfleet Intelligence is aware of?" Zoey looked over to Galatea, she knew the AI could access the files.

"Doubtful," the AI informed as they looked to the carnage behind them. The alien army behind them were locked in a losing battle against the machines for control of the dead world. The ragtag force was outnumbered by the machine's army consisting of large, tank like gun platforms, flying death machines, autonomous mobile gun turrets, and the humanoid machines like the one they just avoided. Explosions erupted like volcanoes behind the lines. "I suppose you can't get a bigger distraction than that."

"This means that they're going to be on their game," the Rorworr Security Officer informed. "If this machine army is advancing, taking this world, they're going to be ahead of the curve compared to the rest of us. Surprise may not work."

"Then we need to find a way to go undercover." Patton said. "Some way where they won't pick up our signatures or they will believe we are one of them." He didn't have a plan at the moment but they were a group and they worked together. Throwing out ideas was how a plan was formed.

In the distance antiquated pulse weapons fired their searing payload, the glow a mystical strobe light upon the terrain. One of the earlier aerial craft exploded as a group of soldiers in a vehicle fired upon it with a missile, the debris raining down upon the ground and the craft like a fiery rain. "Whatever happens I think we need to do it fast. The living on this world seem to be losing to these machines. Why does the Admiral always send us to clean up Starfleet's mistakes anyway?" Rrawran protested as he watched for one of the metal men.

“Maybe because we are so good at getting the job done.” Patton spoke up. They were a good team and worked well together. This looked like a difficult one but he believed they would succeed.

The vehicle that had fired the missile erupted in flame from the shots of the flyer's counterpart. As it crashed into a mound of debris at the base of a decrepit building, the craft flipped on its side and slid forward to a stop. The sounds of their cries were haunting as the scene was not over yet. From behind the devastated wall a massive tank like machine broke through, rolling over the overturned vehicle with a grinding sound.

"I think this is enough," grumbled Andorian Lieutenant sh'Kovrirr. He tapped at the controls of his phaser, setting the setting higher and to pulse mode, before joining the fight against the machines. Firing several well placed shots, the alien Security Officer was able to secure several decisive hits even at distance, but it was too late. His actions garnered the very attention they were trying to avoid.

"What the hell?" Patton yelled. They were now going to be in for the fight of their lives. "No element of surprise. While we keep them busy some of you work your way around and get the job done."

"That is a court martial waiting to happen." Zoey called out, as she looked to Patton and Galatea. She was surprised the Andorian was willing to through away his career, so hastily.

"We have a mission to complete." Patton said to Jasmine. "The plan is to distract them while the others complete the mission."

"We'll deal with him later," Galatea announced as she checked her tricorder. The AI sighed, "Alright, we're going to try divide and conquer to overcome this one." She activated the holographic projector of her wrist strapped Tricorder, "We have to get to the primary objective here. Sensor scans from the Uhura suggest that there are two possible routes," they appeared on the screen, "the only thing is that both take us right through the front line."

The Andorian was gone behind them, having joined the resistance fighters as they fought their bloodthirsty war. As Galatea continued detailing the plan, the Andorian was ambushed in his fight. He had joined a team of refugees in an intense firefight with the humanoid machines near the ruins of one of the buildings. Their shots smashed through one and brought it to the ground, the synthetic flesh ripped asunder, but it still struggled to fight. Broken, the battle unit searched for its weapon as its three brothers continued their march toward the others.

"Reeves and Abraaxil," Galatea called. "You are both with me. We'll take this route," the hologram showed the path that took them through the remains of the park. The other, which went through the destroyed vehicles, was less troublesome, but closer to the action, "O'Sullivan, Parker, and Rrawran you're going to head that way. We don't rest until we reach the positronic processor that was left behind." She checked her phaser, "Let's move."

“Let’s go!” Patton said and started down their path. “Weapons drawn and fire at anything that wants to prevent us from our objective. This was going to be tricky. O’Sullivan knew they were going to face a battle. They had started out well, not being seen as of yet but it was a matter of time before one of those machines picked them up on their radar. “Take cover!” He called out and dived behind a burned out car.

Zoey dashed over to the car, and took a defensive position. She could hear the volley of weapons fire, and she prepared to fire back. She wanted to make sure the others made it over, before she started to fire, she did not want to accidentally hit them in the process. Patton and she made it over to the burned-out car, she waited on Rrawran to join them.

Rrawran followed behind closely, phaser in hand as he read the holographic display on his arm. Suddenly, before they could react, a large metal monster rose from amidst the debris that they were passing. The enemy looked like a mechanical spider with massive gun emplacements along the sides of its metal torso. The automated guns trilled and spun, locking on and firing upon the team. Rrawran and the others fired upon it, but it was too late. The enemy guns fired upon them, obliterating them in a second.

Leannali ran with everyone else trying to find whatever they were looking for, after she beamed with others, she ran with other security Officers, to help them out , and hoping nothing is too serious, and to find what the others are looking for, she had her Security tricorder with her and scanned the area while walking faster...

As quickly as it began it was over. Immediately the lights rose to full illumination as Admiral Willian Targaryen stepped out of the debris. Galatea immediately moved alongside the Commanding Officer of Deep Space 12, holding a PADD in hand.

"Congratulations," the Admiral called out, "You're all dead."

Rrawran growled in frustration, "What do you mean? What was this?"

"A training exercise, Mister Rrawran. I wanted to see how you worked together in a team like environment and I'm sorry to say that it didn't work out as planned. The objective was simple: infiltrate the enemy base and recover a positronic chip that was left behind and used to create these metal monstrosities," he lifted the remnants of one of the destroyed soldier's robotic skull. "Let's just say the final results left much to be desired."

"How could we have won?" The Andorian asked for the others. "We were outnumbered, outgunned..."

The Admiral answered fiercely, "And you acted brazenly, without thought for the repercussions of your actions. They had no idea that you were coming, they had no reason to anticipate an enemy on par with their abilities. You had stealth, you had the advantage, you let it all go and you let me down. One soldier with a sharp stick and nothing left to lose can win any battle, instead you were picked apart."

"Computer, discontinue program and exit," Willian ordered as he looked at the two most Senior Officers and the Strategist, "We'll discuss this later. The rest of you are dismissed."

 

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