Operation Toe Dip: 4th MSOT CallSign Hillary - Comm Tower Pt. 2

Posted on 12 Jun 2019 @ 12:43pm by Captain Edward Bolingbroke (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Lieutenant Jinn Tevran (Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Lieutenant Junior Grade Steven Bernard, Ph.D. & First Lieutenant Eleanor Hargreaves (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War)

Mission: Hahai i na pilikua nui - Hunting Monsters
Location: 5 K East of Onidon
Timeline: T+1 15.00 Zulu

[ON]

[Wrecked Gorn Phalanx Raider Craft & Comm Tower vicinity]

There was a hiss, another pop and everything shut off. Including the audible alerts. Thin wispy tendrils of gray smoke drifted out of holes in the ruined panels.

A few moments later, there was a mechanical click! A brief static crackle and some of the panels began coming alive again. Something had reset...

Hargreaves had lurked near the door when everything had been going wrong, shooting Seeley a suspicious look, though the sergeant had looked about as nonplussed as her. As the displays came alive, she slid forward. "I'm not exactly fluent in Gorn," she said guardedly, but realised that as a veteran of the last war, she stood a good chance of being one of the few remotely familiar with their basic language or technology. If only to be figure out what was what.

She hoped, sorely, Tevran had some further training, and looked down at the displays to try to figure them out - or more pressingly, to make sure nothing was about to explode or transmit their location.

Jinn moved to one of the displays. "When you've spent time in a being's mind, there is a transfer of some linguistics. I'm not fluent but I can hopefully manage."

He read over what he saw before him and furrowed his brow.

"It seems like there was a system reset of some sort," he stated. "I can't be certain what occurred just prior to the reset, but for now I can confirm that there are no transponders transmitting. Whether a signal went out in the brief moments prior to the shutdown is another matter."

He looked up at Hargreaves. "My advice remains the same. We should probably grab what we can and get moving. They won't know who or what sent a signal, but if one was sent, you can be sure the Gorn are going to investigate."

"Agreed. And we don't know what sort of security sensor array is on that comms tower, to possibly pick up a power surge like this..." Hargreaves disliked jumping at negative possibilities, but she couldn't risk it. "If the shuttle remains unattended later, we can come back and see what we can get. With the haul back there, this is far from a waste."

She stepped back, keying her comms. "Hargreaves to Red Element; we've got a haul of supplies in the back of this Gorn ship, little present they left for us. Get in and split it among your packs. Baranel, T'Kalla, couple of mortars for you to lug," she added for the two strongest. "Knorr, Gold - eyes out, not in. We don't know if anyone noticed us switching this thing on. We grab what we can use and then we haul ass to higher ground."

Hargreaves looked back at Seeley, Tevran and Bernard. "You've got as long as it takes to grab everything to loot the sensor records of the immediate area. If it can't be done, just... keep an eye on the controls here to make sure nothing goes suspiciously ping." She knew this made her sound like the dumb Marine but honestly didn't care by now.

"Aye ma'am," the black and white man said. He checked the status of the download on his field tricorder: there was not one folder, but two. An incomplete file that started before the reset, and now a new one reported to be only half the size. He thought back on his actions: it was reckless to try to start the ships systems without being able to speak Gorn. But, it had worked. Mostly. And they weren't dead. After the download completed, he planned to stash the battery. It could come in handy to patch another Gorn system later.

He walked over to the pallet and took what looked like an MRE. He scanned it: meat, plant matieral, salt. Tons of salt. Score! the thought. He put it in his pack and put his pack back on. He walked to Hargreaves.

"Lt. Hargeaves," he asked, "There are two files that came through, well one is coming through, but I suspect it is a basic version of the ships system. The first, before everything turned off is incomplete but should have logs or maps--something, anything."

Hargreaves had returned to the back, piling up on energy packs. They could work on rigging them to suit the needs of Federation weaponry later. "Grab them both if you can," she said brusquely. "We'll take a look later." Around her, the others of 4MSOT were loading up their packs with what seemed useful of the various supplies left aboard by the Gorn.

By the time the team was done clearing out the shuttle, heavy clouds had closed in, the light was gray and dreary and the rain had worsened, it was now falling steadily, blown northwards by a fresh breeze coming off the lake.

The breeze dissipated the last of the mist leaving the low ground open now. To the east the valley ran down towards the lake, some two kilometers south. The stream the Gorn craft was in meandered it’s way along the valley floor, which was mostly tall grass with a few scattered copses of scrub trees. The stream went around the nearest hill and then on pass the one with the communications tower, in the distance it had cut into that hillside, exposing some low rocky cliffs.

Above the cliffs rose a steep scrubby hillside, dotted with rocky outcrops and a few trees clinging to the rocks. The slope led up to the tower on the summit. The hilltop and the base of the tower were not visible from the team’s current position on the valley floor.

To the west the valley wound around the base of the nearby hill, opening up onto farmland and Onidon, some four and a half kilometers away, like the southern side it was predominately open grassland. The hill side here was not as steep, looked quicker and easier to climb but was mostly open, with less cover, a north-south ridge appeared to link the two hilltops high above.

It was after three in the afternoon, with the heavy rain, low clouds and light levels it would be dark within a few hours.

Hargreaves took all of this in with a weary reluctance. Cold. Wet. Damp. And still no indication on if they were here for a short, violent assault, or a long sojourn deep behind enemy lines - a gamble that had been her damned idea in the briefing room, no less. If this went wrong, she just hoped she was too dead to feel guilty about it.

However, these weren't feelings to show the team. As a sergeant she could have remained stony-faced and silent. As an officer she had to be - well, she'd still be stony-faced, as she lowered her face-mask and regarded the assembled team. "Good news," she told them, making her voice the wry, airy tone that was the closest to gushing she came. "We have more supplies, so we won't have to go back up the mountain so soon." If our supplies are even there.

"Meanwhile, we've had a long day. It's not over. We're making for one of the sheltered bits of woodland, east in this valley. Get a rotation down for rest. Send a few two-person teams up to the high points for eyes on the comms tower, see what we can see if we need to light it up like a Christmas tree."

She clapped her hands together. "You want a comfy roll-mat, complete with twigs? Dry out under rain-rattling canvas? Fill your belly with Gorn food? Then you're on the right holiday tour, boys and girls; let's move."

As they started to head out, she turned towards Tevran and pulled out the transceiver she'd taken from the shuttle. "This anything you can work on, Lieutenant, or is this going to be more Seeley's field?"

Jinn took a look at the transceiver and shook his head. "My area of expertise is being shown how to use something once and then being able to use it again afterward. I could probably take a crack at it, but blindly attempting to use alien technology is usually a good way for your cover to be blown."

"I'd expect nobody's going to fiddle blindly with anything," Hargreaves said with uncharacteristic optimism. "Staff Sergeant Shikar and Sergeant Seeley can take a look. And at worst, we leave it alone and it can be examined on the ship."

The unit fell out, the long hike for a decent patch of cover under encroaching darkness undertaken with the best possible blend of speed and discretion. Corporals Palacio and Baranel took point, the scout and the Tellarite with his better night-vision, and on the way Hargreaves let herself fall back in the marching order to stay in-step with the Intelligence Officer.

"I intend to stay put in the area for a time; conduct recon and get some rest. Once we've made camp I'd appreciate your thoughts on our next move," she said, focusing her gaze on the path ahead.

"Of course," Jinn replied. " This may be your show, but I'm here to support you in any way I can."

It took another hour before they found a spot Hargreaves deemed fit for 4MSOT to use for a camp site. She didn't want them too close to the fallen Gorn shuttle, in case that drew attention, but they still needed to be shelter and in relative proximity to the comms tower itself if they were going to easily dispatch surveillance teams.

By the looks of the area, Hargreaves judged she could send out three pairs, and let Red and HQ Element stand down after having conducted the bulk of the work of the day, and not having had even an interrupted rest rotation at their last campsite. They could alternate keeping watch on the camp and getting some shut-eye. So it was Gold Element that Hargreaves sent out, briefing Sergeant Thrane before she approached Bernard.

"Ensign; we're going to be here a while, but we'll have to do something about that Comms Tower," was all she said by way of greeting. Around them 4MSOT set up their bivouacs and shelters, Sergeant Otero giving instructions on a basic watch rota, and even his voice barely carried over the sound of drizzling rain rattling against leaves overhead. "I'm sending three pairs, so Gold need a sixth. You've done plenty today; if you want to get some shut-eye and go out later, I'll send Shikar for now. Up to you; everyone will do their turn out there and I want the freshest faces on the job."

Bernard was glad for the opportunity. "I'll go with Gold, ma'am. But I need someone who speaks Gorn to help translate the files we received. The graphics on the corrupted file suggest a relationship to the tower. Even a way to listen into their channels might help us."

She nodded gratefully at the reminder; unit security had been her first concern, but she couldn't let the other things slip. "Leave it with me, and I'll see what Tevran, Shikar and I can muddle through of it while you're out there. We've got a transceiver to work on that might help us as well. Alright, report to Sergeant Thrane, she'll sort you out." Hargreaves gestured across the camp to where Gold Element were gathering.

"Aye Ma'am," Bernard said, and crossed the camp to Gold Element.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]