Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Commanding Officer) in Side Sim: Shuttlecraft

Posted by Captain Molly Wright (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Side Sim: Shuttlecraft

Posted by Colonel Calvin Harris (Commanding Officer) in Side Sim: Shuttlecraft
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<SNIP>
For the less than 15 seconds it lasted, it was by far the most intense 15 seconds of Molly’s life. The Jem’Hadar bearing down on them, Cal dropped his trooper… who was slightly behind Molly’s. At almost the same moment, Molly’s trooper blasted her CPR from her hand and charged… a large, sharp blade over a foot long tied to the barrel. It was happening so fast, Molly would find herself in a “flash before her eyes” moment when suddenly. CRACK!

Molly jumped when she felt the CPR blasting out of her hands. She saw the blade the Jem’Hadar charged towards her, her eyes widened in panic as she tried to move backwards and she realized there was nowhere to go. Her hands balled into fists as she prepared herself for impact…

With both hands firmly around the barrel of his discharged CPR, Calvin bashed the unobservant charging Jem’Hadar over the head with the rifle. It was clear from the way the trooper collapsed to the floor that he was very dead. With his energy exhausted, Cal collapsed to the deck clutching his left shoulder.

Condor/Harris

But the impact never came. Without warning, the soldier collapsed as Cal’s weapon violently came into contact with its head.

Running towards Cal, Molly kneeled beside him, her hands on his left shoulder, trying to help him. “Calvin…” She looked around. Two Jem’Hadar. They seemed to be the ones she had seen in the schematics. “Come on. We’re almost there. Just a little more and we’ll be in the shuttle on our way out of here.” Molly’s priority was in taking Cal back to the Dresden so that the doctor could see him. But they needed to find the rest of the away team. They couldn’t just leave them in the planet’s surface. All Wright could hope for was that they weren’t caught by the Jem’Hadar either. Her plan was to take the shuttle back down and look for the away team once Cal was back in safety. But that, she didn’t plan on telling him, or he would never allow her back down.

Capt. Wright, CIO

Cal clambered to his feet, pain wrenched across his face. “Move!” He said in a harsh tone. As they moved down the corridor, they passed a blast door behind which they could hear the other Jem’Hadar. Cal & Molly were about 20 meters past it and about five meters from the shuttle bay when they both heard the door behind them being manually jacked open. The angry voices filled the hall. Molly knew they were seconds away from being in the corridor with them when they reached the bay.

As the sound of the door opening reached Molly’s ears, Wright rushed her step and tried to hurry Cal with her. Not that she needed to.

The blast hit the door frame over their heads as they passed through, Cal immediately shoving Molly through and a second later the blast doors crashed shut… leaving the Jem’Hadar locked on the other side. With a violent strike of his one good hand, Calvin smashed the controls… disabling the door and shattering his fist in the same move.

Trying not to stumble in her own feet as Cal pushed her into the shuttle bay, Molly watched as the Marine smashed the door controls and locked the remaining Jem’Hadar outside. She breathed out. They were safe.

Through gritted teeth, he pointed his blood soaked and glass wounded hand toward the shuttle. “You… gotta… fly Babe.” With that, Harris stumbled into the small shuttle and settled in the back chair.

Condor/Harris

Not that she liked the idea, but Molly knew she had to pilot the shuttle all along. She hated piloting. She really really hated piloting. But right now it wasn’t about what she liked or didn’t like to do. It was about survival, and the fact that both Molly and Cal enjoyed being alive.

Walking into the shuttle behind Cal, Molly made sure he had his seatbelt on without placing pressure in the wounds he already had, and then she sat down on the pilot’s seat. The shuttle was a standard Intelligence one. Most likely the one Tomas had used to land on the planet. She tapped the console and inputed her Intelligence credentials, and the engine revved beneath them. Wright could only hope that the Jem’Hadar didn’t follow behind them.

Taking the shuttle out was not the easiest maneuver, nor flying it up the atmosphere for that matter. Not for Molly anyway… flying never came easy and the journey through the planet’s atmosphere was turbulent. Not because something was wrong, but mostly because of Wright’s quality as a pilot. Shuttles got on her nerves… she never seemed to do anything right with them. Her instructors both at the Academy and later during her Intelligence training had told her she lacked sensitivity, that she couldn’t feel the shuttle’s subtleties in order to fly it smoothly. But right now, getting away from the planet was all that mattered.

Looking at the planet’s surface as it got farther away from the shuttle, Molly felt bad for leaving the rest of the away team behind, but she was coming back for them.

Capt. Wright, CIO

As Wright piloted the small, sub-light Federation shuttle clear of the planet’s atmosphere, she would see the Dresden moving away from them… venting into space and half her lights off. Breaking the gravity well of the planet, Wright moved to full power and set in a pursuit course for the Dres’. It was at that very moment the first shots came from behind them as the same Warbird that had sent them crashing to the planet’s surface the last time, decloaked bore down on them from a little over 10,000 meters away. Immediately, the shuttle’s comm system lit up with a hail and the cabin of the shuttlecraft filled with an angry, booming voice.

=//= You are to stop immediately! We will destroy you! Stop now!=//=

Condor

As the shuttle made it’s turbulent way upwards, Molly could feel the gravity pull of the planet and the air resistance of the atmosphere subsiding. They were finally out. They were free. They had escaped. With a sigh of relief, Wright’s eyes teared up slightly as they caught sight of the Dresden. It was badly beaten and venting plasma into space, but if they made it there they would be safe and Cal could be looked over.

Looking over her shoulder to share the good news with Cal, Molly saw he had passed out. It didn’t came as a surprise to her. If she could, she would pass out too. Not to mention, Harris had been treated way worse than she had…

As she switched to full power and set a course towards the dreadnaught, the console beeped. Wright didn’t have to look at it to know why. The large Romulan vessel that had first caused their shuttle to crash was decloaking a few thousand meters behind them. Only now, Molly knew it had carried no Romulans. It carried Jem’Hadar.

The message that filled the shuttle’s cabin, made Molly’s blood freeze. Wright knew the shuttle didn’t hold enough power to fight off the Warbird. She also knew that stopping wasn’t an option. She’d rather blow their shuttle up than hand herself and Cal back into Jem’Hadar hands. There was also no way she would guide them back to the Dresden.

The shuttlecraft’s sensors detected the Dresden coming about and on a intercept course, at three quarters Impulse but it appeared that might be the best she had at the time. Her shields were up, weak but holding.

Molly looked worriedly at the readings coming from the Dresden. With Cal sat behind her, Wright could only hope that the young inexperienced XO knew what she was doing. If worse came to worst, Manning had a hell of a crew to lean on. Right now, Molly had bigger issues on her hands.

The shuttle was much more maneuverable than the Warbird, and Molly was well aware of this fact. Maybe if she tried to lure them back into the planet’s atmosphere, she would be able to let its the gravity pull do the rest. Sharply steering the shuttle out of the Dresden’s path, she dove back in the direction of the planet.

Capt. Wright, CIO

The Warbird angled her path to try and put herself between the shuttle and the Dresden, however, Wright’s handling of the craft was making that attempt difficult. Already starting it’s attack, the Warbird fired on the shuttle in multi-round bursts, striking the little craft over a half dozen time in less than a minute. Shaking violently from the on slot, it was becoming clear that the shuttle would not handle a full decent into the atmosphere once more due to the structural damage the craft had already taken. Sensors indicated Hull Integrity at 40% and shields were starting to fail… making it painfully obvious how much this shuttle was never meant for combat.

Condor

As the fire from the Warbird struck the shuttle, the small vessel jolted and shook as it got closer and closer to Beta Prime. Once again, the console beeped frantically as the shuttlecraft veered towards the planet. Suddenly, Molly was back in the runabout as it crash landed on the surface. Pain erupted from her leg as her thigh was impaled by the tactical console in front of her. Then the Jem’Hadar took her and Cal. And Tomas… Her breathing got shallower and she could feel her heart racing. She could not let him torture Cal. Not again… No… She couldn’t… He was hurt… Too hurt…

Wright’s sight darkened, as her peripheral vision blurred. Tunnel vision… Molly remembered what her flight instructor at the Farm had said about rookie pilots in combat situations. She needed to clear her mind. To focus, she needed to bring Cal back to safety…

As she looked at the planet surface, Molly realized her mistake. She needed to turn back and move towards the Dresden. Hopefully, they would be able to beam them out.

With her vision severely impaired, Wright looked at the information the shuttle’s panels displayed. And then, as fast as she could, even though it was slower than normal, she turned the vessel around and punched it, flying off towards the Dresden.

Capt. Wright, CIO

As the shuttle shot towards the Dresden, their situation was becoming more risky by the second. Suddenly, a loud klaxon sounded and a emotionless female voice spoke into the small shuttle. =A= Warning… Structural Integrity is failing… Internal atmosphere at 80%… 70%… 60%… =A= Molly would see the darkness coming before she would feel it as her vision began to fail in the slowly depressurizing craft. Then, the sickening sound of decompression as the shuttle began its final moments. The Dresden could be seen clearly now through the shuttle’s main viewport.

As she forced the shuttle to speed towards the Dresden, Molly hoped that they would realize who she was, what she was doing, that they needed out and they needed it now. And most of all, hoping against all hope that she would make it to the Dresden’s transporter range before it was too late.

And then, the warning sounded, and Wright knew time was almost up. Counting the seconds between warnings, she kept her eyes on the viewscreen, where the Dresden was clearly distinguishable, so close, yet so far away. As her eyes gave in to the pressure shift inside the cabin, Molly could feel the shuttle rumbling underneath her as the outer plating fell victim of the failing hull integrity.

Even then, she kept her course, unwavering, towards the awaiting dreadnaught, trying her best to see their destination through her failing eyes.

It was then Molly saw it. The crack… just off centerline… at the edge of the viewport glass. This was how it was going to end. From her training, Molly would know she had but seconds to live. The last thing is would see was the Dresden… just out of reach.

Condor

And then she saw it. At first Wright thought her vision was playing tricks on her. It couldn’t be. It was way too soon. They were still out of transporter range… But then, as the crack slowly became more and more pronounced, Molly realized the undeniable truth growing before her eyes. The shuttle wouldn’t make it. This was it. End of line.

In her mind, pictures, moments, faces appeared, one after the other. Faint at first, and then stronger. Her mother, reading a book… her dad, slipping her the Starfleet leaflet that would later would make her enroll in the Academy… her sister, laughing happily as she showed Molly around UCLA the first time she had visited her on campus… Ashton, a loving smile on his lips, eating a sandwich on their picnic nook on the holodeck… Cal, laying beside her at Scissortail Park, pride and love in his eyes… Cal…

Molly turned in her chair, looking at the Marine. He sat peacefully with his eyes closed, oblivious to everything happening around them. Molly looked at his broken face… his broken body… all because of her. His life was over, because she hadn’t been fast enough.

All she wanted was to take him to safety… and she had failed. And now… they would die together without even the chance to say goodbye… She thought about all the people from whom Harris would be taken from just because she hadn’t done her job. Jersey would be devastated… And his daughter would now be left without both her parents…

In tears, Wright spoke. “I’m sorry.” In the depressurizing cabin it was becoming harder and harder to hear. “I’m so sorry!” As the consequences of her actions further dawned on Molly, a wave of despair washed over her, breaking everything on its way, every strength Wright had ever known, and she wailed. She could not believe the man she loved, the man that had gone through so much pain in his life but deserved all the happiness in the world, was going to die. All because of her. If she could, she would give her life in a blink in exchange for his. If she could, she would ask the universe to take her away but keep him alive. But in the end, Molly hadn’t been able to do for him what he had done for her. Saving him.

Right before the shuttle’s last moments, right before the viewscreen shattered and the small vessel turned to nothing but floating debris, Molly did something she had never done before. With a last blurry glance at the Dresden, she closed her eyes and prayed.

Capt. Wright, CIO