Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 07:06 hours | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

(Die Rolls:
Ensign Goodhart: Awareness/Notice [16]; Hide & Evade [9]
)

Everyone was in agreement. They were to abandon their defensive position and make for the coordinates that Lt. Kavk had indicated before his death. There was not much else they could do. Ensign Shral’s contraption wouldn’t protect them for long, and that fighter might not be the only thing to begin a scan of the shuttle crash site. So, with Ensign Goodhart taking point, the surviving members of the away team made their way through the canyons while trying to maintain a northerly route the best they could.

Ensign Goodhart kept his phaser rifle at ready, pausing every so often when coming to a new rise, the edge of a rock column, or the mouth of a cave in order to check for possible threats. Each time he did this, he would raise his left hand in a closed fist and bring the column to a stop. Approximately fifteen feet behind him Ensign Ral followed, then Ensigns Pierce and Shral. Ensign Malton brought up the rear, checking their six for pursuit, and sometimes hanging back at a strategic point to wait for a few minutes in case they were being followed in the hopes of catching sight of possible trackers. He’d read many reports on the effectiveness of the Jem’Hadar, and he wasn’t about to put anything past them.

The enemy that they were to eventually face had modulating personal shields, and due to the drug they injected themselves with constantly, they were tireless. They were as skilled as any Starfleet personnel, as tough as a Klingon, and as cold as a Vulcan. They were outfitted better than any enemy that the Federation had ever faced short of the Borg, and with the tactical minds behind the Dominion’s movements, the Jem’Hadar were a feared fighting force. These were possibly the dominating thoughts of the away team as they marched and climbed their way closer to what was sure to be a Jem’Hadar outpost.

Two hours into their effort, Drake caught the muffled sound of tumbling rock and immediately brought the team to a halt, holding his fist high to keep those behind him as silent as possible. There was a small outcropping of rock up ahead that offered a bit of shelter from the direction Ensign Goodhart heard the rock fall emanating from, and about fifty meters from there, across a bit of rough terrain that sloped gently down, there emerged a patrol of Cardassian soldiers wearing their dark gray and black environmental suits, and carrying Cardassian disruptor rifles. There were eight of them, and they were currently engaged in slipping down the hillside to the ravine that separated their side of the hill from that which housed the away team. It was apparent that the Cardassians had yet to spot the Starfleet personnel (who had managed to turn their normally white suits a nice shade of the planet’s reddish earth tone while climbing about the canyons), but there wasn’t much time before this would change. From his perch, Ensign Goodhart was the only one of the team currently in jeopardy of being spotted, and the only one who had seen the patrol.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 09:14 hours (6 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 07:06 hours | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.


Everyone was in agreement with Ral, so Drake volunteered to take lead while Malton took the rear. They headed towards one of the Federation’s most feared enemy’s base, if that wasn’t dangerous Drake didn’t know what was. They also had just about six hours of air left.


Every rise, column and cave Drake stopped and peeked around corners and make sure that there wasn’t a threat. It was very lucky that he did that too, because when he peeked over one ledge he saw a patrol of eight Cardassian soldiers walking toward them, but it appeared that they hadn’t seen him just yet.

So Drake dropped down over the ledge again as quietly as he could and held up a fist to make sure everyone stopped and then made the quiet motion with his hand.

(occ: assuming everyone stays quiet)

"Ok," Ral began then took a breath and continued, "We are on our own. The L.T. is dead, we have less then eight hours of life support left. We can't contact the Guardian. We have to find shelter.” Ral looked to Pierce, "Doc, the L.T. said something about a facility to the north east. I think we need to head out and now before Curzon's device fails and that fighter finishes us off."

The doctor nodded his head, “He said that there has to be a Dominion facility nearby. Shuttle sensors detected a large energy signatures five or so kilometres north east of our position. He suggested this was the only way we could contact Guardian. Unless Ensign Shral here can whip up a communicator out of phaser parts as well?”

Everyone was in agreement. They were to abandon their defensive position and make for the coordinates that Lt. Kavk had indicated before his death. There was not much else they could do, but it didn’t sit well with the doctor. “One does not simply walk into Dominion outposts. Its airlocks are guarded by more than just sensors. There are the Jem’Hadar there that do not sleep and they are ever watchful.” He said quietly as they prepared to leave. “We have to try but a direct assault would be folly.”

For two hours they moved across the terrain, lead by Ensign Goodhart who was willing to take point. Then there was the signal to stop and they all waited, holding breath to hear if something approached. Pierce stopped and waited, wondering what it was that the Ensign saw but to fearful of calling out to him.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 07:06 hours | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Everyone agreed to leave the position and head for the coordinates, with Zackerys friend Drake Goodhart up front leading the way and Ensign Malton in back, guarding the rear.


They had been walking for 2 hours when Ensign Shral stopped in front of him, What is going on? He wondered, he crept up to ensign Shral and said very quietly “What is going on? Why did we stop?”


Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 07:06 hours | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 09:14 hours (6 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Rolls:
Goodhart: Stealth [16] Awareness/Notice [17]
Malton: Stealth [20] Awareness/Notice [21]
Shral: Awareness/Notice [10] Tricorder [28]
Ral: Awareness/Notice [12] Intuition [1]
Pierce: Awareness/Notice [24]

Ensign Goodhart crept deliberately from the ridge back towards his waiting companions. His every movement was calculated, drawn out into impossible lengths of time crowding the seconds it took him to lower himself to a crouch providing him with just enough of a vantage to watch the enemy troops descend into the slide.

A mere three meters away and two meters lower in proximity Ensign Ral held his position tense about the shoulders, his phaser rifle at ready. Whatever Goodhart had seen it was obvious to him that they were about to find themselves in a heap of trouble. Ensigns Pierce and Shral had also come to a contemplative stop, watching the point man’s body language, his crouched perch on the rock, and the readiness of his weapon for a signal of how to respond. Ensign Malton was the only one who didn’t heed his counterpart’s directive, creeping forward with hunched shoulders to bring himself right up to Drake’s thigh.

“What is going on? Why did we stop?” Zackery’s voice was low, but it carried well enough across the transmitters in their helmets.

(OOC: However Goodhart wishes to respond…)

The lead Cardassian was a hulking individual, and though Drake couldn’t see the man’s face through his mirrored visor, he could tell by the way the man held his hand out in front of him that he was holding the Cardassian equivalent of a tricorder in hand, most likely scanning the area ahead of them for life signs, indications of debris, or any possible threat that the planet might offer up. The Cardassian apparently called a halt over their intercom as the troop behind him settled into watchful stances. He held up his device and twisted about at the waist for a second, twice passing over the general position of the Federation personnel before lowering it again and motioning the others into activity once more. The path that they took was again down the wash, crossing to approximately thirty meters away from Goodhart’s hiding place before turning to the south once more and trudging further away. For whatever reason, the Cardassian’s sensors hadn’t picked the team up, and Goodhart’s quick eye, and decisive movement had drawn the away team into a secretive seclusion until the Cardassians had wound themselves out of sight to the south.

(OOC: assuming you continue…)

With the immediate threat averted, Ensign Goodhart once again led them out as point, crossing over that same wash, and hiking up the rather treacherous path that the Cardassian patrol had just descended. It was hot inside their suits, despite the environmental controls, and sweat poured down each man’s face without impunity. Three hours later found the team nearing a precipice beyond which sat a ravine nearly two hundred meters across, and at least three times that in depth. Nearly thirty meters ahead of them, and about ten meters down the cliff, there jutted out another precipice with a fairly smooth surface marred only by a significant number of stalagmites that gave it the impression of the lower jaw of some carnivore. The face of the cliff on the opposite side of the canyon was barren except for a couple of columns of steam rising from rifts in the stone. The trail they had been following since the encounter with the Cardassians led here, unless they’d missed something along the way, and it ended on that stony outcrop.

Ensign Shral immediately produced his tricorder, having readjusted it during their hike to its normal properties he activated the scan feature. Ensign Ral maintained a careful watch with his rifle at ready, awaiting the decision of the others as he was out of his element.

“There’s an energy signature there,” Curzon Shral pointed with his right hand while he maintained the device in his left, his rifle shouldered for the moment. The area he was pointing to was right at the lip of the lower outcropping where a number of the stalagmites were clustered. “It’s not very strong, but it is enough power to take notice, and it is constant.”

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 12:20 hours (3 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 09:14 hours (6 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.
“What is going on? Why did we stop?” Zackery’s voice was low, but it carried well enough across the transmitters in their helmets.

Looking at Zackery with an expression that said ‘Shut up’ Drake replied in a voice so low that it barely passed off as a whisper, “Shhhh, I’ll tell you later.” Drake sat there and watched the as Cardassians passed by. Then he continued onward.

The face of the cliff on the opposite side of the canyon was barren except for a couple of columns of steam rising from rifts in the stone.

Ensign Shral immediately produced his tricorder, having readjusted it during their hike to its normal properties he activated the scan feature. Ensign Ral maintained a careful watch with his rifle at ready, awaiting the decision of the others as he was out of his element.

“There’s an energy signature there,” Curzon Shral pointed with his right hand while he maintained the device in his left, his rifle shouldered for the moment. The area he was pointing to was right at the lip of the lower outcropping where a number of the stalagmites were clustered. “It’s not very strong, but it is enough power to take notice, and it is constant.”

“Alright,” Drake replied. “I’ll check it out.”

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 09:14 hours (6 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.
“What is going on? Why did we stop?” Zackery whispered. The response of “Shhh, I’ll tell you later!” was not very informative, yet he obeyed and sat still after rolling his eyes.

Finally Ensign Goodhart started to slowly continue onward. Zackery shouldered his rifle and took position at the rear again. They walked for a little longer before coming to a stop at a face of a cliff with nothing to see except for a couple of columns of steam rising from rifts in the stone.

Shral quickly drew his tricorder, “There’s an energy signature there, it’s not very strong, but it is enough power to take notice, and it is constant.”

“Alright,” Drake replied. “I’ll check it out.”

“Ummm, why don’t we all go? Then we can keep track of each other and we can support each other.”

(OOC: Assuming everyone else agrees, Zackery will start towards the energy signature.)

“There’s an energy signature there,” Curzon Shral pointed with his right hand. “It’s not very strong, but it is enough power to take notice, and it is constant.”

“Alright,” Drake replied. “I’ll check it out.”

“Ummm, why don’t we all go? Then we can keep track of each other and we can support each other.” Zachery asked.

“No.” Pierce said quickly and dismissively, “ If we keep traipsing around as a group, we increase our chases of discovery. One person has a better chance to scout. Meanwhile. We should be considering what we should do once we get there. How are we going to get in? A straight attack is folly. We’re going to need a diversion – something to draw them away from the outpost.”

“No.” Pierce said quickly and dismissively, “ If we keep traipsing around as a group, we increase our chases of discovery. One person has a better chance to scout. Meanwhile. We should be considering what we should do once we get there. How are we going to get in? A straight attack is folly. We’re going to need a diversion – something to draw them away from the outpost.”


“Well, just because the tricorder say’s there is an energy signature down there doesn’t mean that the Cardassians, or whatever, are there. What I think would be a good idea is if one of us gets close enough to find out what it is before we do anything rash. If everyone agrees then we’ll need to find some one stealthy, some one not easily detected… Well, no offense, but I think either Drake or I should be the one to go, we have had some training in this stuff.” Zackery said quietly.


Zackery glanced at Peirce and Shral, then Goodhart, “I’ll go, if that is okay with everyone, or if anyone else has any ideas, please share, but we have to act quickly, we have only a hour of air left.”


(OOC: If everyone agrees with Zackery, he will quietly climb down to the plateau and investigate.)

“Well, just because the tricorder say’s there is an energy signature down there doesn’t mean that the Cardassians, or whatever, are there. What I think would be a good idea is if one of us gets close enough to find out what it is before we do anything rash. If everyone agrees then we’ll need to find some one stealthy, some one not easily detected… Well, no offense, but I think either Drake or I should be the one to go, we have had some training in this stuff.” Zackery said quietly.

“Yes, I agree with Zachery,” said Drake. “We’re more qualified, and there’s no need to apologize to them it’s just a simple fact. They trained for other stuff, now Malton you can go I’ll stay.”

[If everyone agrees with him and Malton, Drake will stay, otherwise he will quietly climb down to the plateau and investigate.]

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 12:22 hours (3 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Die Rolls:
Ensign Malton (Athletics [18]; Awareness/Notice [7])
Ensign Goodhart (Awareness/Notice [13])
Ensign Shral (Awareness/Notice Tricorder [23])
Ensign Pierce (Awareness/Notice [14])
Ensign Ral (Awareness/Notice [16]; Phaser Rifle [20])

There wasn’t any argument from Ensign Shral or Ensign Ral. Both men hunkered down behind the stalagmite-like columns that protected them from the wide open expanse of the ravine, their weapons at ready, but a look of trepidation on their faces. Ral Tarwin was a pilot, and though he’d been trained in such mission requirements as were required during a time of war, and those that being on board a ship requiring away missions would require, he knew he wasn’t nearly as prepared for such encounters as this presented as those from TAC and Security would be.

As Ensign Malton crept slowly forward, Curzon looked up and spoke through the comm. unit built into the suits. “The readings are stable. I believe they are emanating from the two foremost pinnacles at the edge of the precipice.”

That left Zackery Malton with the first challenge: descending the ten meters to the jutting plateau below. Slinging his rifle, Ensign Malton turned and lowered himself over the edge. Straining to position his suit so that he could peer down past his feet, he saw that there were two small boulders at the foot of the grade that could offer him some initial cover. It was a painstaking climb down, but one that he made without slipping, or faltering. By the time the ensign reached the bottom, his shoulder muscles burned from the exertion.

Positioned at the foot behind the two boulders, Zack took his phaser rifle in hand once more and checked its setting to make sure it was on the highest deliverable power rating, and the modulation was set to random (a little trick that Star Fleet had learned when dealing with the frequency-shifting personal shields of the Jem’Hadar). From his position, Zack could see straight out to the rocks Shral was referring to as emanating the energy signature. He could also see to the left (which was pretty much a few meters and then some of those teeth-like rocks before the plummeting edge of the precipice. To the right, however, Zack’s vision was blocked by a series of larger boulders some seven to eight meters away and about four to five meters high.

“Still no modulation,” Ensign Shral reported over the comm. link.

Those still atop the cliff peering down also had a fairly open view of the plateau, and despite the tension, they could find no reason as to why Zack shouldn’t proceed.

At a half crouch, Ensign Malton leveled his rifle and proceeded from behind the boulders, creeping out into the open, and sweeping the area with his weapon. He was about fifteen meters away from the cliff’s edge when Ensign Shral suddenly broke the silence.

“A new energy reading! To the east!”

Ensign Goodhart shifted his gaze past the boulders that had originally blocked Malton’s view of the east, and through the sights of his rifle, he spotted two gray-garbed Cardassian soldiers apparently having emerged from thin air. The positioning of the away team left Malton out in the open with no cover, Ensign Goodhart in the easternmost point, and it a prime position to open fire, Shral slightly to the southwest of him, Pierce further to the west, and Ensign Ral furthest to the west with no shot. Without moving, three of the four perched atop the cliff would have no shot. A quick—nearly subconscious—assessment of their position told Ensign Goodhart that those atop the cliff would still retain half to three-quarter cover, even if the other three shifted to his southeast, and manned the ridge.

For his part, Ensign Malton swiveled at the warning from Shral and spotted not one, but two, Cardassians creeping forward, leveling their weapons at him. He could run back to the cover of the boulders at the base while firing at the enemy, just full on sprint back to cover without returning fire, or not worry about finding cover and drop to one knee while opening fire.

Ensign Ral was quick to respond. Perhaps it had been due to his heightened sense of dread, or perhaps it was his pilot reflexes kicking in. Whatever the case, the man rolled on his heel and came up swiftly in a full run that took him around his companions and into position with his rifle leveled downward between two small columns atop a rather bulbous formation. The high-pitched whine of his rifle sounded and a flash of yellow phaser fire leapt from its mouth to strike the closest target in the leg. The Cardassian’s center of gravity shifted with the impact, and he toppled to the left, his legs swept out from underneath him. Though the body bounced once when it hit the hard surface of the rock, it lay still afterwards.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 12:32 hours (2 hours and 50 minutes of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

Inorlia (a Class B Planet), North Pole | Stardate 51717.9 (09-07-2374) 12:22 hours (3 hours of air remaining) | The Guardian remains in orbit around Inorlia a Class B Planet within two light years of Koralis within the Bajor Sector, The Alpha Quadrant.

There wasn’t any argument from Ensign Shral or Ensign Ral. Both men hunkered down behind the stalagmite-like columns that protected them from the wide-open expanse of the ravine, their weapons at ready, but a look of trepidation on their faces. Ral Tarwin was a pilot, and though he’d been trained in such mission requirements as were required during a time of war, and those that being on board a ship requiring away missions would require, he knew he wasn’t nearly as prepared for such encounters as this presented as those from TAC and Security would be.

As Ensign Malton crept slowly forward, Curzon looked up and spoke through the comm. unit built into the suits. “The readings are stable. I believe they are emanating from the two foremost pinnacles at the edge of the precipice.”


Malton slowly climbed down over the edge. “Still no modulation,” Ensign Shral reported over the comm. link. Then Malton grabbed his phaser and un-slung it from his back, then he went in to a half-crouch and went out into the open. Drake watched all this with a weary eye trying to make sure that his friend didn’t get shot. He was about fifteen feet away from the cliff’s edge when Ensign Shral suddenly said, “A new energy reading! To the east!”

Drake immediately shifted his gaze past the boulders and spotted two Cardassians. Drake’s conscience flipped as he thought of killing two life forms, but then he thought of Malton who was out in the open with no cover. He opened fire.

Drake heard Ral open fire as well and smiled grimly. “Say goodbye, Cardassians.” Drake whispered softly.