Team Fleet Part II

Posted on Fri Aug 29th, 2025 @ 5:00am by Lieutenant Junior Grade Michael Harris & Master Sergeant Flarn & Staff Sergeant Shayla Kunadt & Lieutenant Commander Brianne Redstone & Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Lieutenant Ja'sol H'ros & Lieutenant Kolok & Lieutenant Junior Grade Rachel Sinclair & Ensign Hoa Nhi Nguyen & 1st Lieutenant Edward O'Rourke & Staff Warrant Officer Rommie & Sergeant Major Lachlan Barr & Sergeant Adélaïde Moreau & Sergeant Rairror Thoran
Edited on on Fri Aug 29th, 2025 @ 11:33am

4,673 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Surface of Wren IX
Timeline: MD010 0900 hrs

Last Time On Team Fleet Part I...
Ja'sol was the last one down and looked about. Everyone accounted for? If so let's saddle up. Science team in the center and guide us in. Security team, half in the front and half in the back Phasers aimed fore and aft, call out if we have any contact with the bugs." Ja'sol softened his tone. " I want to see each and every one of you come back to the ship in one piece. Yes the mission is important, but so is each and every one of you as well. Let's do this and go home."

Brianne was lost in thought. Why was she here? Why did they need an engineer for this, portal, on an uninhabited planet? And the bugs, why didn't we just tune a quantum torpedo to the resonant frequency of this thing, detonate inside the event horizon, and turn them all to squishy exotic particles? Topping it off, this 'Malificus' thing, she knew Latin, Greek 'mal' anything was never a good thing, well, Mal Reynolds, but he was long gone. She was second guessing herself about taking this job, she could have waited two weeks, taken the leave on Risa, the Kendoni geothermal springs would have been nice this time of year, but oh no, get started straight away, bad mistake.

Kolok took up a position at the very front of the group, his eyes straining for every detail and his weapon at the ready.

And Now The Conclusion...

For what seemed like five minutes, Michael had led the group down the tunnel. The Security personnel had created a perimeter of sorts around the scientists and engineers. All of a sudden Michael stopped and turned to Alyssa. "Actually, in accordance with quantum theory there is no such thing as luck. Now, if someone would be so kind as to open this wall we will be able to do what we came here to do and get the hell out of here."

Alyssa looked around. "Lieutenant Sinclair, I believe you've earned the right. We need a hole in that wall," she said, indicating the spot.

"Yes sir" Rachel said as she stepped forward from her position in the perimeter. Slinging her phaser rifle over her shoulder, she took out her hand phaser, set it to level 8, took careful aim at the indicated spot and fired a few short, controlled bursts.

The walls crawled, or at least they seemed like they crawled. The sound of skittering could be heard coming from all directions. Additionally, there seemed to be some deep clicking noises. The air was thick and acrid, with a strange odor almost like fresh dirt after a storm stung the team's nostrils.

Alyssa scanned the air to find out what was causing the odors and to find out if they were harmful. The last thing they needed was to fail because they didn't take the proper precautions. Cave mushrooms, algae, rotting carapaces. That, combined with whatever filtered down from the surface, was enough to make the odor... uncomfortable. At least it wasn't harmful in the short term.

Harris peeked through the opening that Sinclair had made. He saw the large circular portal that swirled with energy. He did not even have to look at his tricorder to know that portal oozed chronitons. Then his head darted from side to side as he noticed all of the bugs that crawled through the chamber. "Well, that is what we came for..." He began as he indicated the portal. "However, that is not something I came for." He added as he tumbled toward the back of the group. A benefit of his stature is that he could get between people's legs and out of the way in a hurry.

"That's why you don't get cocky, kid, Alyssa thought, but she said nothing, as Harris wouldn't listen anyway. "Let Colonel Tremble know we found the portal, but the way is crawling with bugs. Too bad we can't just burn them all with giant magnifying glasses."

Edward placed down two of the phaser emplacements and activated them. He then began firing his own phaser rifle. The portal was a little outside his skill set.

Ja'sol looked about and saw that everything was moving and in all directions. "Ok, I want a few people keeping a watch on the ceiling above us and try to keep it clear so we don't have bugs dropping in on our heads. We also need to keep a pocket around us clear so we don't get overrun. If that happens, we'll be lunch for them. And if you feel anything with your feet, call out because they might be trying to burrow up from under us. " Ja'sol called out to the group.

After a few minutes of firing, thousands of new dead bugs littered the ground in front of them as they advanced slowly towards the portal. "Gods!! We've wiped out wave after wave of these things, and they still come. It doesn't even look like we've put a dent in their numbers! Ok, boys and girls, I hope you all brought extra power packs for your phasers and a clean pair of underwear, because it looks like it's getting ready to hit the fan. " Yelled Ja'sol.

“They seem to be throwing themselves at us. No tactics other than just swarming.” Rachel observed, a tremor in her voice as she continued to pick off any bugs got through the phaser fire of the rest of the team.

Nhi checked her equipment a brief moment. Before phasering another bug away. "They are bugs, Lieutenant, most bugs I know usually don't have a tactical mind. They operate on instinct. And I would suggest if these were ants, then these are just the foot soldiers, the fodder. Most likely their protecting something., like eggs, larva or their queen." She sighed as she shot another bug away. "That, or something has disturbed them." She looked to Rachel a moment.

Rachel nodded, “yea, that’s right something would be us. Or this entity. There has to be an end to them eventually, just keep firing”

Meanwhile, the science team continued to push forward. They couldn't focus on the bugs. They had to trust the Marines to keep them safe. But until they could take care of the portal, they would be sitting ducks. Alyssa began to scan the portal and the area around it, looking for anything to help them. That's when she noticed some sort of control. "Harris, check the right side of the portal."

Michael had managed to duck and weave through the bugs as he made his way across the cavernous room. Rather quickly and surprisingly, with little resistance, he arrived at the portal. Times like this, he thanked whoever for his size. Upon Alyssa's command, he darted his head back and forth and saw what she wanted him to see. A control console of sorts stuck out of the stone next to the portal. He dived next to it and initiated scans.

For now, Alyssa kept out of the way and scanned the portal while she waited for Michael to check the control device.

"This thing is oozing chronitons, and tachyons. It is not just a portal in space, but between dimensions. If we can interrupt the power supply at just the right moment, I can initiate a quantum cascade failure, and that would close the thing permanently. Of course, we need to get whoever, or whatever, in there first. Wait... I am getting ahead of myself." Michael rattled off to himself as he looked at the portal and his scans. Then all at once he shouted over the din of battle. "Lieutenant Kolok, Commander Redstone. I could use your help here."

Kolok had been picking off bugs methodically, moving his rifle, firing, and moving on to the next one. It wasn't challenging, but he knew that his job was to keep the scientists safe. His head came up as he heard Lieutenant Harris call his name. He took one last shot, clearing his area of bugs for the moment, and move to where Harris stood.

"How may I be of assistance, Lieutenant Harris," Kolok said.

Brianne was cowering behind Kolok, trying to shoot anything that came close, but only hit about one in three. She thought maybe it was time to just fire a photon torpedo from orbit and call it done, when Harris shouted. Staying as Kolok's shadow , she moved with him, seeing the portal,beyond the bugs, and finally realising why they brought her.

Michael Harris still had his head buried in the console as he made heads and tails of the readouts when the Chief of Operations and Chief Engineer arrived. "This portal is sending out chronitons and tachyons. Judging by the constant flow of power, and the fact that the tachyons are using this as a two way street. That is to say that they are coming here and leaving through this portal. This is a doorway to not only another dimension, but another level of space entirely. The question is how do we close it?"

Kolok listened as Lieutenant Harris explained the situation. He switched from tactical mode to operations mode as he considered the question. "If the tachyons are contributing to the stability of the portal, we need to disrupt them. I think that if we create and inverse tachyon pulse, and it is of sufficient strength, it will be enough to shut the portal down."

Alyssa glanced over to Harris, pleased to see Kolok and Redstone heading in his direction. "Just remember," she said over her comms, "we have to keep that open long enough for the Marines to drive the entity through. Then seal it in." But she knew it was easier said than done. Then she went back to scanning the portal to see if there was anything else they could do to counter its effect.

"Has anyone got any magnetic charges ?" Brianne asked "If we switch the magnets on, and place them near enough the event horizon, should interfere enough to stop it closing, then blow the charges when we want to leave."

Michael stared at the readouts on the small terminal as he listened to what Redstone and Kolok had stated. He turned to the Klingon. "Lieutenant, I owe you a tankard of blood wine. I should have thought of that. Let's get the charges set to keep this thing open for as long as possible. Once we get this, whatever it is, through the portal, we blow the charges and then fire the inverse tachyons for good measure. Commander, would you mind assisting Redstone? Kolok, you and I will take the tachyons." Michael decided that he would take point on this thing so long as no one told him otherwise.

"Yes, I can help with that," Alyssa said. It was a solid plan--as long as they could get the entity to come after them before the bugs took everyone out.

Kolok nodded. He looked around, making sure that they were not in immediate danger of being overrun, and then slung his rifle over his shoulder. He took some of the charges and began placing them in a pattern that would produce the greatest amount of destruction.

The tunnel thrummed with weapons fire and the echo of chittering claws. Lachlan moved low and fast, rifle tight against his shoulder, boots kicking up dust as he led his team down the narrowing passage. Behind him, Staff Sergeant Flarn’s boots pounded the rock in rhythm, the Tellarite’s gruff breath audible even over the din. Moreau followed like a ghost—fluid and lethal—while Thoran anchored the rear, eyes sharp and weapon sweeping.

They didn’t need words. The Cure moved like they were stitched from the same fabric—quick signals, minimal chatter. The noise ahead grew louder: weapons fire, shouted orders, and the unmistakable shriek of the swarm. Barr clenched a fist, brought the team to a brief halt, then pointed forward with two fingers.

Time to move.

Three plasma grenades sailed into the chamber ahead—perfect arcs. They detonated with a sharp, layered crack and sent chitin and smoke into the air. A split second later, the Cure poured through the breach like liquid fury—phaser fire lighting up the chamber from the right flank. The advancing swarm shrieked and recoiled, caught in a withering crossfire.

Lachlan stepped through the haze first, rifle sweeping, eyes landing on the familiar flash of Starfleet combadges and the science team's frantic motion near the glowing portal. “Nice of you lot to leave the welcome mat out,” he called, his voice calm despite the chaos. “Bit of a bug problem, yeah?”

Without waiting for a reply, he moved toward Ja’sol and Commander Redstone, nodding toward Moreau and Flarn, who peeled off to reinforce gaps in the Fleet's perimeter. “You’ve got a hell of a situation here,” Lachlan said, dropping beside them with the smooth familiarity of someone who'd done this too many times. “Tell me where you need us.”

Behind him, Flarn let out a grunt, already raking fire through the closest cluster of creatures. “Starfleet’s idea of a field trip gets worse every bloody year,” he snarled.

Lachlan tapped his comm. “Colonel, Cure’s on station. Fleet team’s engaged—bugs everywhere. We’ve got a working perimeter, science team’s near the portal. Holding, for now.”

He let the channel close, then looked toward the swirling energy ahead. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end—chroniton radiation thick enough to taste.

He shifted his rifle back into firing stance and muttered under his breath, “Let’s make some space before we all get eaten or displaced in time…”

Edward approached. "I brought some mines, I was going to use them as a back up, if we couldn't close down the portal, but instead we could use them to thin the herd." He said.

Ja'sol had the security team in a perimeter around the science team and doing everything they could to keep the area clear while the science team worked on a solution for their current problem, He paused firing for a moment as he heard three quick explosions go off one after the other as bug parts came raining down on and around them.

Ja'sol grinned and continued to fire. "All right boys and girls, company has arrived. The marines have landed!" Ja'sol Tapped his combadge and continued to fire. "Welcome Marines!! You're a sight for sore eyes and your timing is impeccable. As a thank you I have a couple bottles of Jack Daniels waiting on the ship for you, The real stuff, not the synth. We seem to have a little pest problem, You wouldn't mind giving us a hand I hope."

Lachlan barked a low laugh as he dropped into cover beside Ja’sol, his rifle already swinging back toward the swarm. The scent of scorched insect meat hung in the air like a curse.

“Jack Daniels, is it?” he called over the din, voice dry. “You can keep your Tennessee syrup—I’ll take a proper Highland malt when this is done. Preferably one I’m still alive to enjoy.”

He caught Edward’s approach, eyes narrowing at the mention of mines. “Good thinking. Let’s not wait until they’re crawling over our boots.”

He keyed his comm. “Moreau, Flarn—form on O’Rourke. Get those mines placed tight at the pinch points. Give us some teeth.”

A clipped “On it,” came from Moreau as she pivoted from her firing position, ducking beneath a streaking bug and falling in beside Edward with practiced grace. Her eyes, sharp beneath her helmet, flicked to the Tellarite with a knowing look. “Let’s make some fireworks, eh, Flarn?”

"I prefer to look my kills in the eyes." Flarn said with a snarl as he waded into a sea of bugs. He shouted over his shoulder toward Lachlan. "I am on fifty already." Green slime erupted everywhere around the Tellarite.

Lachlan gave a grunt of satisfaction as the trio moved. Then he turned back to Ja’sol, tone steady but grim.

“Let’s hold the line, Lieutenant. Science lot can figure out the portal—we’ll make damn sure they live long enough to close it.”

He shouldered his rifle again and fired into the advancing mass. “No better motivator than a dram and a deadline.”

Alyssa moved closer to the fleet team to check on their progress. "I've got the scans on the portal itself." There was...something...that was like a telepathic buzz in her head. She wasn't sure if was her connection to the Silence, the sheer number of giant insects attacking them, or something else. She tried to strengthen her mental shields to block some of the noise, grateful that others were working on the portal controls.

Changing out her phasers last energy pack, Rachel looked around at the seemingly endless mass of bugs around them. She was starting to feel that they wouldn’t make it out of this. Looking over to Ja’sol, she called out to him, “Lieutenant Ja’sol. We’re running low on power cells!”

Edward arranged the mines in a strategic pattern, while the other Marines kept him from harm.

Once the job was done, he re-joined the fighting.

Rairror ran forward, picking up a discarded insectoid leg and used it to impale a bug that reared up to attack him. He then punched a couple of plasma grenades into it's carapace, before lifting it from the cave floor and heaving it into a mass of approaching bugs. "Fire in the hole!" He called moments before the grenades exploded, painting the cavern walls in bug blood and guts.

Lachlan ducked as the blast from Rairror’s bug-body bomb rocked the chamber. He didn't blink at the gore that splattered across his vest — just spat once and muttered, “That’s one way to send a message.”

He scanned the line. Phasers were dimming, shoulders sagging. Sinclair’s shout caught his ear.

“We hear you!” he barked. “Rotate your packs and call for manual cycling if needed. Don’t let those rifles go cold. Keep your arcs tight.”

Lachlan keyed his comm. “Flarn, Thoran—pivot to Sinclair’s flank, reinforce her line. O’Rourke—make those mines count. Force the swarm back toward center mass. I want that path open.”

His boots pounded the rock as he moved closer to Ja’sol and Redstone, voice pitched low but urgent. “Whatever plan you’ve got to shut that thing down—start movin’ it. We’re past holdin’. These bugs don’t care how many we drop. They’re just buyin’ time.”

He glanced toward the swirling portal. The chroniton buzz was like pressure in his skull.

“I’m not one for technobabble, Commander, but that rift’s our bloody stormfront. If we don’t seal it soon, we’re going to be fighting them 'til the core goes cold.”

He raised his rifle again, firing two sharp bursts. “You tell me where to buy you time, and I’ll hold it. But don’t ask for more than five minutes — we don’t have it.”

"With all due respect Sergeant Major..." Michael Harris began to speak and then a volley of explosions, followed by a surge of insects interrupted him. When the din died down he continued. "...But if you and your friends can keep their friends off our back we can try to make heads or tails of this thing. I may drink and know things but I am not a damned magician." Fact was all of this technology was unknown to Harris, hell it would have been unknown to everyone.

Alyssa turned her attention to Michael and the Marine. 'This will take as long as it takes. I wish we could work to a timetable, but we don't know what we're facing. All we know is we have to seal that portal after we get that entity to go through it. If we seal it too soon, we trap it here with the rest of us and that would be disastrous. Do we even have an idea where it is or how to get it here?" She tried to focus on the thoughts of the Silence to get an idea of where it was, but there was so much fear and despair she felt overwhelmed. She wasn't sure how long she could keep the cascading emotions from swallowing her. "I'm almost to the point of just calling it out." But that, too, would be a bad idea.

Lachlan didn’t flinch at the burst of explosions—just adjusted his stance and raised his voice over the chaos.

“Aye, Lieutenant,” he called back to Harris, eyes flicking toward the shimmering portal and the cluster of Fleet personnel at its base. “Not askin’ for miracles. Just buyin’ you the seconds to make one.”

He tapped his comm, voice clipped and direct. “Flarn, tighten left—cover that science team. Thoran, Moreau, pivot to the rear, seal that flank. No gaps. No bleed-through. We hold this line like it’s a goddamn bulkhead breach.”

Moreau was already moving, her phaser spitting fire with precise control.

Lachlan turned toward Alyssa briefly, catching the strain behind her calm exterior. “You get that thing shut, Commander. Whatever it takes, however long it takes—we’ll keep the roof from caving in.”

Alyssa nodded her thanks and turned back to the portal. There had to be some way to lure that creature to them.

He brought his rifle back up and stepped forward into the fray, barking a sharp “Move! Shift fire right!” as another wave of chittering bodies surged toward them.

And quieter, just for himself, “Long as we’re breathin’, they’re not gettin’ past.”

A bug came in contact with one of the mines. It exploded vaporising all bugs within its blast range and damaging those on its edge.

Ja'sol was hit by a bug's flying leg from the last explosion from the mine. He stopped and stared at it for a moment and then grabbed his forehead, That damned buzzing was building up pressure behind his eyes. Ja'sol looked up and saw the endless stream of bugs swarming towards them and felt afraid. " They just keep coming, there's no end to them! " He checked the charge level for his phaser rifle, it was his last power pack for his rifle and only a few left for his hand phaser.

Ja'sol heard Rachel call out to him. " Lieutenant Ja'sol. We're running low on power cells! " Something in him snapped as he felt a surge of fear flow through him. He made some adjustments to his phaser rifle as it started to make a high pitch whine. He grabbed it by the barrel and hammer tossed it into the oncoming swarm of bugs away from any of his people. " I don't want to become bug food." He cried out as the overloaded phaser rifle exploded in the midst of the bugs. The pressure released as he sunk to a knee. He tossed a power cell to Rachel. " For.. Hand Phaser.. One of my last... Make them count. "

Alyssa looked at the team around the control panel. She couldn't see Harris, but she knew he was probably up front. With Kolok and Redstone with him, they would soon figure out how to close the portal. She wasn't convinced there wasn't some other way to overload it and shut it down. But they would also have to keep the entity from reopening it from the other side.

A wall of pain and terror from the Silence dropped her to her knees. Each time she thought her mental shields were up, another wave would take them down. It took her several moments before she felt like she could breathe again. Slowly, she got to her feet. "It's killing them," she said over the comms. "We have to draw its attention." She wasn't sure if it would work, but she sent the Silence a mental image of the Marines fighting near the portal, hoping the entity would notice.

The next mine went off with a deafening crack, a wash of heat and insect gore spraying through the haze. Lachlan ducked behind a rocky outcrop, body coiled tight, before rising to fire another controlled burst toward the oncoming wave.

He caught sight of Ja’sol out of the corner of his eye—wounded, kneeling, still fighting. Rachel wasn’t far behind, and from the stutter in their return fire, ammo was becoming a critical issue.

“Moreau! Shift to center! Hold the breach!” he bellowed, swinging his rifle around. “Flarn, reinforce the left—we’ve got wounded! Thoran, on me!”

The bugs weren’t slowing. If anything, the swarm was thickening. And the psychic weight in the air—whatever the hell this “Silence” was—pressed in like a vice. Lachlan felt it, even if he couldn't name it: despair radiating from the Fleet officers, fatigue setting into the line. The Cure were holding—but they wouldn’t forever.

He slapped his comm, voice iron-clad.

=/\=“Barr to Tremble. Requesting reinforcements at the portal site, immediate. We're holding, but it won’t last without support. Science team’s still engaged. Priority is keeping them breathing. Repeat—get us bodies, or we start losing them.”=/\=

He cut the channel, ducked a spray of acidic ichor, and fired again. Then, quieter, gritted between his teeth:

“Right then... bring the rest. I’m not done yet.”

Rairror had moved to Barr's side and was alternating between shooting the bugs and tearing apart those that got too close. His suit was stained with blood and guts of the insectoids. As her fought, the occasional roar passed his lips.

A Joint Post By

Sergeant Major Lachlan Barr
Chief of The Boat, USS Pioneer
First Sergeant, The Cure