Operation Toe Dip: 4th MSOT CallSign Hillary - Interlude

Posted on 27 Jul 2019 @ 5:52am by Commander S’chqenr T’Jedf Tolkath (Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Captain Edward Bolingbroke (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Lieutenant Jinn Tevran (Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & First Lieutenant Eleanor Hargreaves (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War)

Mission: Hahai i na pilikua nui - Hunting Monsters
Location: Valley east of Comm Tower Hill
Timeline: T+1 16:40hrs Zulu

[ON]

[Second Lay Up Point]

Hargreaves had sat with her back to a fallen log as Gold Element got ready to go. The next thing she knew, they were gone, and she was jerking upright, eyes heavier than they had any right to be for the time of day. But it was still light, she was still in a soggy copse, and rain still pitter-pattered off the leaves ahead and dripped down on her.

That wasn't what had jerked her from near-sleep, though. T'Kalla stood over her, brandishing a steaming canteen cup. "No beauty sleep for you, L-T. Coming down here was your idea." One hand came down to help haul Hargreaves to her feet, then the searing hot coffee was pushed into her grasp. "You sleep when I'm dead, and no moment later."

"You mean when we're dead."

"Nah. You're the officer. We die first."

Hargreaves was sickeningly reminded that she hadn't known T'Kalla all that long. While the tall, sardonic half-Vulcan looked mostly like she was joshing, it hadn't been her habit to draw too much attention to Hargreaves' commission until now. Now, T'Kalla was reminding her whose idea these landing parties were - and reminding her of the price.

On the other hand, T'Kalla didn't have to bring her coffee. "Thanks," Hargreaves grunted. "Get some shut-eye. We don't know when we'll get more."

She padded across the copse. Their lay-up point felt empty, with almost half their number off for surveillance. Baranel and Palacio stood watch, while everyone else did what they needed to recharge, from food to relaxation to napping.

When she found Tevran, she grabbed a tree stump near him and sat down. "Coffee?" There was plenty in the canteen cup to share.

Jinn smiled and shook his head. "You're probably going to find this insufferable, but I'm one of those naturally energetic people. I only tend to drink the stuff off-mission or if my cover calls for it."

"Caffeine doesn't make the difference for me out in the field," said Hargreaves, having a swig. "But a hot drink in a damp camp is one of the few pleasures we get out here. All the more for me."

Jinn chuckled softly at the reply. The temperature was so abysmally cold to bother him overmuch as of yet, but he supposed she had a point if it did get much worse. He'd survived worse conditions before, but didn't exactly look back on those moments with find memories.

"So what do you make of our situation, Lieutenant?" he asked, looking out at their surroundings. "We've been remarkably fortunate thus far to remain undetected, but out here more or less in the open, that won't continue."

"I know." She sighed, pushing back a lock of wet hair. "My expectation is that by morning, we'll have some indication of the space battle's success. If they won in orbit, we get ready to pave the way for the landing parties, hopefully starting with the Comms Tower. If not, we're bugging out of this area and getting ready to hunker down for the long term. Far away, at first, from their search parties. Speaking of..."

Hargreaves rifled in her pack to pull out the transceiver she'd looted from the shuttle, and gave a low whistle across the camp. "Shikar? Take a look at this with Seeley. See if you can get it working without transmitting our location or something else that'll get us all killed."

The Staff Sergeant looked like he'd been enjoying five whole minutes of sitting down, but came over to obligingly accept the piece of tech, settling a few logs away with Seeley's company soon enough.

"Being able to listen in to the enemy would be quite useful, to say the least," Jinn acknowledged. "My suggestion is perhaps not making ourselves too comfortable here. If Gold Element comes back with favorable intelligence about that tower, I recommend action rather than patience. As miserable as we are out here, the Gorn despise the cold more than we do. They're a cold-blooded species. Unless they've shipped in a large load of space heaters, whatever troops they have stationed in the tower may be vulnerable by daybreak, having spent a cold night in there."

He shrugged, offering up a grin. "I may not have the military expertise that you do, but knowing my targets is an important facet of my job."

"If the battle group's been driven out of orbit, attacking the Comms Tower is an unnecessary risk," Hargreaves said. "Aside from the dangers of an assault itself, it advertises our presence and disposition even more. We'd draw heat and have to stay hidden for longer, and I don't know what we'd gain if we're not disrupting Gorn communications ahead of ground landings. But." She swigged coffee. "If we're going ahead, yes. Dawn. We have ample time to gather intel, plan, and rest."

Jinn nodded. "Eventually, we have to make a move, whether that's to pull back or press forward. Without comms, that decision rests with you."

"I'm aware," said Hargreaves, and grimaced when that came out more sharply than intended. With a cautious glance in the direction of Seeley and Shikar, making sure they were out of earshot, she gave herself a moment to swig her coffee and gather herself. "I know what our move is, either way," she said tightly. "Unless you have further insights. Marine operations don't fall apart the moment Fleet officers give their opinions."

Jinn shook his head and offered Hargreaves a smile. "Not at this time, Lieutenant. I'll let you know if I can think of something, but for now we should see if that transceiver can tell us anything useful."

She relaxed an iota, though it was begrudging. A glance in the direction of Seeley and Shikar suggested the Marines were making some progress, or at least hadn't immediately given up in frustration. She looked back at Tevran. "Are you going to again do something like run at a Gorn shuttle?"

"My dear Lieutenant, to quote an old Earth politician: I am a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside of an enigma," Jinn replied with a wink. "Everything I do has my own best interests in mind, which the quote further elaborates on. So as an easy answer: Probably."

"I know you think you're being mysterious, or adding levity," said Hargreaves tartly, "but I've been on missions with spooks alongside me before. And sometimes it's fine. And sometimes you know things we don't, and reveal it at your discretion rather than when it might help my decision-making. And sometimes you're marching to the beat of a completely different drum, and the people who pay for you being out of time are usually in green."

Jinn's smile faded and he looked Hargreaves in the eyes. His usual affable nature faded and was replaced with a cold, almost impassive glare. "I'm not an Intelligence attachment to your mission, Lieutenant. I'm a member of the Hawaii's crew, same as you. While the mission is my focus, losing lives is... Distasteful and a waste. Trust me when I say that I will not endanger your squad needlessly."

Hargreaves' flicker of a smile did nothing to assuage her tension. Instead, she just seemed more comfortable being tense. "I'm glad to hear it, Lieutenant. I know it'll take more than just Marines to complete this mission. I'll look after the team - the whole team, and we look after each other."

"Lieutenant!" Shikar had risen from where he and Seeley were working on the transceiver, and his ears twitched as he noted, too late, the strain in the air. In true Marine fashion, the Staff Sergeant seemed to choose to merely Endure it, and headed over to them, brandishing his prize. "I think we've cracked the receiver on this, sirs. Which is the thing - we're actually picking up transmissions." His clawed paw turned the device up towards them, and as he modulated the frequency, the low-volume static shifted for voices.

"It's not very clear, and it's still in Gorn, of course," Shikar said apologetically. "It'd take more work for me to properly clear it up."

"But it's coming through," Hargreaves pointed with surprise. "What about their jamming?"

"Shortwave transmissions." Shikar gave a smile that was all teeth and triumph. "I don't know if Gorn normally prefer a retro flair, but I think that's what they're using while blocking our usual comms."

Jinn rose to his feet quickly and approached the group. "If that transmitter is strong enough to pierce the atmosphere, we could restore comms to the Battle Group and figure out what the situation is above Canterra."

Hargreaves looked suspiciously at the transceiver. "There's no risk of this giving away our location, is there?"

Shikar slung her an affronted look. "Only if I do my job very badly, Lieutenant. There are enough transmission arrays this can link to for me to bounce a signal around before attempting to contact any Federation ships in orbit."

She gave him the sort of nod of an officer who wasn't entirely sure how all of this was going to happen, but had no choice but to trust a specialist to get the job done without getting anyone killed - immediately or down the line. Shikar's pawed hand manipulated the transceiver controls, the display at last lighting up with signals and transmission data that Hargreaves knew she'd never understand when it was on an alien interface.

But Shikar was a former Communications Specialist, and did have the technical know-how in this case to overcome the language barrier. As the display stopped changing, he again stuck out the transceiver towards her. "Transmitting."

Hargreaves let out a slow breath. "Hillary to Battlegroup Hawaii. Come in," she said, voice low as if that would help them keep discreet, tight-fisted with words as if they cost her replicator credits or added risk.


[USS Hawaii Bridge]

"Show me" Tolkath asked the Ensign currently at the Science station as he crossed to join her.

"I was doing a full spectrum scan as you instructed sir" She explained "While that was running I began checking radio and communication frequencies, most of our usual range is being jammed by the Gorn but I decided to check all bandwidths and that's when I found where the Gorn are! They are using shortwave radio waves on the planet, in the Ultra High Frequency range, above four hundred megahertz."

She continued "I was scanning a couple of their channels, they seem to be using some kind of Gorn verbal code talk, but then I found this-" She turned on a speaker on her panel.

=/\= -egroup Hawaii. Come in. Hillary to Battlegroup Hawaii. Come in =/\=

"Very good Ensign" Tolkath commended her. There had been no previous communication with either of the Marine reconnaissance teams since they left the ship in the early hours prior to the space battle. It had been uncertain whether that was due to the Gorn jamming or if the Hilo had survived the journey.

"Route that transmission through to Marine operations and establish a secure channel for them to respond. I will inform the Captain we have made contact" Tolkath replied


[USS Hawaii Marine Operations]

"Captain Bolingbroke, looks like we're getting a message from Forth Team!" The Operations Corporal called Bolingbroke into the command room. "The Bridge Science Officer heard them, but they are not on our channels, they are on shortwave UHF!"

"UHF? Really? Huh, put them on!" Bolingbroke replied, relived to hear at least one of the teams appeared to have survived.

=/\= -in. Hillary to Battlegroup Hawaii. Come in =/\=

"That sounds like Hargreaves!" He agreed and tapped the comm button
=/\= Hillary, this is MotherGoose! Raider Black Six=/\= Bolingbroke gave the Unit and his own callsign, so Hargreaves would know who was there. =/\= Good to hear from you! What's your Sit Rep? Over =/\=

Hargreaves allowed herself a moment to close her eyes and let out a deep breath. Just a moment. But when she spoke it was with no inflection, no hint of the wave of relief that had threatened to overwhelm her. =/\=MotherGoose, we've evaded enemy contact so far. Possibility our supplies are compromised, but we've acquired enemy equipment. Conducting recon on a comms tower overlooking Onidon. If you're here to pick this up, I assume we have orbital superiority?=/\=

“Bring up a map of Onidon” Bolingbroke ordered, turning to look at the ops room main screen “Find me this communications tower location”

A moment later an ariel view of the central colony site appeared.

“I believe it would be here sir” The Corporal indicated a hilltop East of the colony. “That is Onidon’s main planetary communications facility, about four point six kilometers East of the colony.”

The image zoomed in “Looks like just an automated relay station, probably unmanned, with one equipment building and a small landing pad, Sir. They’d have a very good view from up there, especially for Forward Observation and fire control missions”

Bolingbroke nodded “Yes they would” He agreed. “Assuming the Gorn have not moved in themselves”

He went back to his conversation with Hargreaves. =/\= Mothergoose to Hillary. Battle went well, minimal casualties to Battlegroup. Two Hegemony vessels destroyed and the rest driven off. We currently control the orbit and nearby space. =/\=

He gave them only information the Gorn would already know, then threw in a test to check Hargreaves was not under duress.

=/\= How was the march from Mont Blanc Two? =/\=

=/\=Wouldn't know, sir. We didn't get that lost on the way down from Eiger Two,=/\= came Hargreaves' dry reply. =/\=But I'm glad to hear you're still up there. Didn't much fancy sticking around here for the long haul. Got scouts in the field presently assessing the comms tower and whatever they can see of Onidon. Is lighting that tower up like a Christmas tree in the next twelve hours going to be any use to you?=/\=

The when, rather than the if, was what weighed on Hargreaves; disrupting comms at a pivotal moment could turn the tide of whatever was being planned by the team in orbit. Doing so too early meant nothing more than an inconvenience for the Gorn as they took other measures to communicate.

=/\= Copy that on Eiger Two =/\= Bolingbroke was relieved the team was still operational and had not been captured by the Gorn.

=/\= Standby on actions against the tower, we will advise =/\= Bolingbroke replied.

“You said that tower is part of the colony infrastructure?“ He asked the Corporal

“Yes sir, so would be set up for Federation comm systems. Not sure if it would be much use to the Gorn if they are using UHF frequencies, they might need it.” He replied.

“Good point and no need to cause more damage to than we have to” Bolingbroke nodded. “Well let’s have Hillary find out for us.”

He went back to the communicator =/\= Hillary, a question, how did you manage to communicate through their jamming? =/\=

=/\=Found a downed Gorn shuttle, Mothergoose; looted it for resupply and found a transceiver on board. We repurposed it and found they're using shortwave transmissions. I'd patch in and listen but my Gorn's a bit too rusty,=/\= came Hargreaves' answer.

A Gorn transceiver? That was a very valuable find! Bolingbroke realized, it could enable them to eavesdrop on the entre Gorn communication network.

=/\= Acknowledged Hillary, good work! Couple of other things, first, have you had contact with Fawcett or the Hilo? Second, be advised, at the moment we are unable to recover you, transporters are not yet online due to the Gorn jamming. Engineering and Science are making adjustments and tell me they should be operational within ten to fifteen hours =/\=

Bolingbroke did not labor the point, but for now Hargreaves and her team were on their own. They could send another Arrow for them, but that close to Onidon it was sure to be detected and intercepted.

=/\=Negative on communication,=/\= said Hargreaves. =/\=We can try to patch through to the Hilo from down here, but for all we knew you'd got blown up in orbit. Acknowledged on the transporters. We expected to be down here for a while yet anyway. Plenty recon to do in this time.=/\=

=/\= Hillary we have tasking for you, we need more intel on that communication tower. Find out if they are using it as part of their network. Then we can make a decision on whether or not to take it down. We also need information on the situation in Onidon, the more detail the better but do not take chances =/\=

=/\=Understood, Mothergoose. Recon is in the field now. Should have some answers to those queries within a matter of hours.=/\=

"Well that went surprisingly well, I'd say," Jinn commented. "As long as our scouts return with some good news, I'd say things are looking up for our plucky little group."

"Plucky." Hargreaves gave a tight sigh, eyes going skyward. "That's never a word I want to associate with a Marine Operation. I'll go check in with Gold Element." And without another word she rose, heading towards her bivouac.

Staff Sergeant Shikar watched her go, and shrugged as he tucked the transceiver away. "I will take 'plucky' over 'dead' any day. She will, too," he assured Jinn calmly. "Our luck is turning. We just need wits enough to seize it. But - we will." And the big Caitian gave another one of his fanged, happy grins.

"Why Staff Sargeant, wit is one of my specialities, you need only ask," Jinn replied with a wink.

OFF:

Eleanor Hargreaves, 1LT, SFMC
4MSOT/TL

Jinn Tevran, LT, SF
INT

Edward Bolingbroke, CAPT, SFMC
BMSOC/CC

Tolkath, CMDR, SF
2XO/CSO