Holy Terror
Posted on Mon Aug 3rd, 2026 @ 3:14am by Captain Calypso Skyie & Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade & Lieutenant Mark Valleroy & Lieutenant Kally Kellerman & Lieutenant Rebecca McMillen & Ensign Fiona McCarthy
3,978 words; about a 20 minute read
Mission:
Die Hard: Chimera Edition (main)
Location: {Orgrann skyhook station}
Previously....
Mark nodded, giving up looking for Rala at the moment. "Yes, something is very wrong here. Everyone stay together, and keep an eye out for Lt. Rala and Lt. Jade." Mark started moving in the direction he'd seen the captain going. She'd gone through a set of doors with the individual who was the leader of the environmental group, and Mark was really starting to get nervous here.
Kally walked up to the doors and let out a cry of surprise as she walked into them. She pulled at them, trying to pry them open, then turned back to Mark with a worried look. "They're locked!"
And now the continuation.
“The problem that is going to keep coming up is that retooling everything here will take some time.” Calypso felt like she was hitting a brick wall with this guy. He wasn’t budging form his hardline stance at all, demanding instant compliance with any terms he might, out of the goodness of his heart of course, agree to. “Yes, with Federation assistance, we can bring in some industrial replicators to assist with the transition, which is technically against our own code.”
“So it’s your code to allow corporations and people to poison planets?” He asked sharply, “To kill innocent children with the byproducts of industrialization and not care at all? Such a high and mighty worldview, Captain, from what presupposes to be an enlightened society.”
It took everything in Cally’s willpower not to roll her eyes and strangle him, “Our Prime Directive is to not interfere in the internal political structure of even member worlds of the Federation, sir, of which Orgrann is still just a provisional applicant. The only reason I’m here is because your world has applied for membership and requested mediation from us. Otherwise, it would be considered a faux pas for us to even be involved.”
“And if I and my party asked you to leave?” He asked the question, his tone of voice changing.
“I can’t.” Cally replied, “I have been given my own instructions to come up with a compromise between you and your government in order to prevent a conflict. If need be, I’m authorized to suspend negotiations and put together one that is fair to all of Orgrann.”
“Good.” He spun on her, “Then you will put in your agreement everything I have instructed you to do.”
“No, that’s not how this works.” Calypso desperately wished there had been a diplomatic officer aboard her ship: They were trained for these sorts of things, she was just a pilot and she wanted to get back to the mental safety net of Kally at this point. It wasn’t as if this session couldn’t continue again later. “Negotiation is a give and take.”
“Yes, right now, it’s the planet gives and the government takes. No more.” His hands went into his jacket pockets to signal he had his point. “It’s time for the people to give back to Orgrann, to rescue him from the evils of people who think they know better than he does.” One hand came out with a box, the other with a weapon, pointed at her, “And you’re going to help.”
Cally took a step back, but no farther. Her heart beat faster, but he wouldn’t shoot her, she was his ticket. “You’re going to want to put that down.” She said calmly, as calmly as she could, “It’s not going to get you anywhere, threatening me.”
“Oh, isn’t it?” He asked with a smile, “This is a trigger for a shaped charge my people will have already attached to your ship’s warp core by now. I press it, it blows, then your ship explodes, taking this station and the elevator with it. You have graciously brought all of the senior government up here for your talks, my people below can handle it from there.”
“You’ll kill yourself right along with us.” Cally pointed out, “It won’t change anything, only hurt your people.”
“Not at all. The Federation will send in additional ships, use them to more humanely bring us back into the galaxy using resources not from Holy Orgrann and with our cause in charge of the planet, he will be saved. We just won’t be around to see it.”
"I think you overestimate the federation's generosity. Ever since the attack of our Fleet yards a few years back, Starfleet decided to reallocate resources. The captain's right - you're not going to get what you want." Fiona said, expecting to get a phaser in her face or a strike across her head for speaking out. She silently prepared for the captors next response.
On the one hand, Kally wasn't a tactician, but on the other hand, she also wasn't a strategist. Therefore, both her firm grasp of the painfully obvious, and her pointless attempts to bang on the door, demand they open, and trying to use the communications system could be forgiven. As a senior officer, however, she had to keep herself together. At that moment, however, she was supremely glad the ship's Second Officer was with them.
Mark looked over the control panel next to the door. With a few quick steps, he'd moved over to the buffet, grabbed one of the knives there, and returned to the door. Prying the control panel open, be began looking over the circuitry and began working a bit on it.
"Huh... hey.. ummm..." the voice of Rebecca came from behind the curled curtain, "Think you can get me to that vent? Best case, i can see about getting these doors unlocked. Or just avoid capture and work on a plan."
Mark looked at the vent in question. He found that he was able to quickly remove the covering to it and managed to glance a bit inside of it. "All right, Lieutenant," he said to Becca, "I have a hunch there may be a sort of release mechanism right about here," and he pointed at one spot near the vent, "that you may be able to get to. Get it to move - and don't get yourself squished in the process! - and we might be in business. Now, ready for a lift?"
Rebecca gave a nod, "Navigate the vent, find the lock power relay or an emergency release mechanism, don't get squished. Sounds like a proper plan." she gave a nod again, "I'm ready."
"All right," Mark said, bending down so that he could pick up Becca. "Up you go." He picked her up and moved her up to the vent.
Rebecca weighed next to nothing in Mark's palm, brought up to the vent. As small as it was to everyone else, it was very spacious to her. Which made infiltrating the duct easier. "I'm in. starting the op." she announced softly, and then proceeded. She vanished from view, and soon was hard to hear as she carefully infiltrated the airway, following internal documentation concerning what lay behind each panel. Proper documentation was important, and she was relying on it to get the job done.
The doors opened again and Jenna glanced up from the government official she'd been talking to near it. It wasn't one of the ministers, one of their aides in fact, because she didn't feel like she had the justification to be talking to one of the high and mighty. Of course, the three-way conversation that had been happening with one of the environmentalist functionaries had ended when they had all vanished out the door. The aide had waved that off, telling her that it was something that had happened several times in negotiations. They'd be back.
And now they were, but there was something different in their demeanor. First came one of the senior delegates who glanced around as if to survey the room, then he made a gesture and the rest rushed in. There wasn't even time to shout an alarm as the Orgranni took the two steps over towards her and backhanded the government aide and grabbed Jenna by the back of the neck. Concerned voices began to rise, then one of the ministers shouted, "They have guns!" And pandemonium ensued.
No longer constrained to try to hide the weapons, the dozen, no, there were more like twenty of them, pulled out their weapons in the open now, loudly ordering everyone to the center of the room, government officials being shoved openly. It was when three of them approached the Starfleet delegation of Mark and Kally and one of them gestured to the center with the muzzle of the weapon, "Move, you two. Center of the room, now."
Kally went pale, flashbacks to their last hostage situation running through her mind. She swallowed and put her hands up in surrender, taking her cue from Mark.
"All right, we're moving," Mark said, keeping his hands partially raised.
The one with Jenna by the back of the neck marched her forward but didn't release her, "Where is the purple one?" He demanded of the two Lieutenants.
Kally's eyes inadvertently glanced at one of the exit doors, but she held her tongue.
"Admittedly, I wouldn't know," Mark said in a casual voice.
He gestured at two of his subordinates and pointed to the door, "Go find her. Bring her back. If she resists? Kill her."
"You really don't want to anger her," Kally said. "People are going to get hurt."
The raised voices and general shuffle that leaked through the door had subsided and the environmentalist leader grinned wildly at Calypso, "And now the real negotiations can begin." He gestured with his gun towards the door, but when she didn't move immediately, raised his button-box and she finally grudgingly started to walk. They exited the side room to where the government delegation was huddled in a group, the Governor himself in the front.
"Glory be to Orgrann, brothers and sisters!" The leader pronounced, to the whoops of the other environmentalists, "For life is going to be restored to the Father."
The Governor stepped forward, "This is not the way, Salven, all you will do is-" There was the report of the gun in the leader's hand and the Governor fell over, a new hole spouting blood from his head.
"There is only one way."
Kally's overwhelming relief at seeing Cally alive quickly gave way to her shock and fear at the gunshot. She moved to rush towards the Governor, but stopped as Mark grabbed her arm and held her against him. She looked at him, then back at the body and could clearly see the wound was fatal. Another death right front of her and nothing she could do to stop it. She hated feeling helpless and she hated that she was starting to cry and tremble, grateful Mark was holding her upright but wishing Cally would as well.
Get a grip, Kalliope, she said to herself. She closed her eyes and counted to five as Salven ranted, taking two deep breaths and finally controlling her heartrate.
Rebecca blinked, crawling through the crawlspace following power leads to open up any locked doors she had come across. W.... was that a firearm? Oh please, don't let anyone on the crew be hurt!! She doubled her hidden efforts, finding another nearby relay to disable the locking mechanism on. At this point, it wasn't a matter of precision, if it took overloading the security system to unlock everything, then so be it.
The box had vanished into his pocket once they had entered the room and now, under the watchful eye of the others, including the handful with rifles, Salven reloaded his pistol, revealing it to be a single shot pistol, "Now, Captain, why don't you tell all of us what you have decided to do for the people of Orgrann." He said it as if it were casual.
"I didn't say that I'd do anything at all." Calypso replied evenly, standing a few feet away from him. If there were an opening, she'd probably have to take it to try to get the box without giving him the chance to push the button, but it wasn't time yet. There were too many people with guns here.
"Captain Skyie, I don't need to remind you of what we discussed in there, do I? In front of everyone?"
"No, you don't, but I also shouldn't need to tell you that the United Federation of Planets, of which Starfleet is the sworn protector of, does not negotiate with terrorists." Cally's eyes blazed at him, "Nor will I."
"I'm not asking you to negotiate, there are no negotiations required and you told me that." Salven stated, "This woman told me that she can instruct us as to what the solution. Will. Be!" He announced to everyone in the room, getting a grunt of approval from his followers and the shocked looks on the governmental sides faces, "If negotiations between us and the illegal government of Orgrann disagree." He made a gesture to the body on the floor, "There has been no agreement. Lieutenant Governor Valtra, step forward."
There was a rustle of fabric and then a couple of objections as a woman was pushed out from the crowd in the robes of the Lieutenant Governor, "Salven, you don't need to do this. We can come to a compromise." Her face was white.
"There is no compromise. You and your party of 'compromise' have poisoned Orgrann long enough." Salven stated and spat in her face, "If you refuse to bow down to our demands, ALL of our demands, then there can be no negotiated outcome in these talks."
"We can't, I don't have the authority to-" She got cut off with a gesture from him, "The senate has to vote on it." She finished weakly.
"When has the senate not done what was demanded of it?" Salven shot back, then pushed her back into the group where she was surrounded again by the security personnel that were present. "You see Captain Skyie, there is no agreement, it's your turn."
"When my people are free, when the government officials are free to leave, then I will look over all of the data and alternatives." Calypso stated simply, "Leave in peace, that is. We cannot negotiate with hostages and people at risk."
"And what if it's one of your people in danger? What if it's you? If I kill you, Captain, what will your next important officer do?" He raised his reloaded gun and pointed it at her forehead and Cally closed her eyes as he did, accepting what may be happening. She was a Marine, always would be, she took the risks and understood them.
Kally opened her mouth to shout but was stymied as she felt Mark grab her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her back safe. She struggled, but he held her firmly and she sagged against him, blue eyes wide with terror.
It was her calm that Salven noted, "No... You wouldn't learn the lesson that you need to." He smiled in satisfaction as her eyes flew open once more, his aim changing towards the group of officers clumped together, "That's your security officer?" He asked, moving a couple steps towards him, "No, he's too easy, what about her?" His aim shifted to Kally and Cally froze, "No..." His smile grew wider as he turned towards the only other Starfleet officer in the room.
The man with his hand on the nape of Jenna's neck pushed her forward and down, sending the junior grade Lieutenant to her hands and knees and she looked up at Salven, eyes opening wide as his gun was pointed at her face. She started to shudder as it held steady, tears having already been coming before just flowing more freely now. "This young one. What will happen when she..." His finger started to squeeze the trigger.
It wasn't time, but Cally had followed him, always a step behind. She couldn't do anything, but she couldn't let him just murder another person in front of her, not one of HER crew. As she saw his finger slowly squeezing the trigger, she moved, pushing his arm down until the barrel pointed down at the ground and the weapon went off, drilling a hole in the floor in front of the engineer.
There would be a price to be paid and she knew it and paid it almost instantly. Another of the natives had stepped up next to her and tore her hand away, then used the butt of his rifle to slam into her midriff, folding Calypso over with the blow and sending her to the floor. Salven only laughed as he first watched the shuddering Jenna before then staring down at Calypso, "So, you WILL negotiate with me, then."
Fiona was furious, the audacity of this trigger-happy captor. Threatening a Starfleet captain, and a young Starfleet officer. She had not really gotten a chance to meet the crew. She was introduced to everyone, then practically thrown into this situation. She thought this man was a coward, trying to bully them through fear, since he was afraid. He practically reeked of fear and desperation, which made him very dangerous. "Captain, how do we know he will negotiate in good faith?" she completely ignored the fool known as Salven, as she sat down on the ground near Cally.
A rifle was put to the young security officer's head for a moment before Salven shoved it away with a growl. There was no threat from this one and he knew it. Cally fought for her breath and shook her head, "We... Don't." She glared up at Salven, who gave a laugh of derision. Calypso dry-heaved as her stomach revolted from the rifle butt again, "He won't." She pushed herself to a kneeling position and tried, but failed, to get to her feet again, staying on her knees.
"All you have to do is dictate the terms I gave you, Captain, and all of this will be over. You and your people can get back on your ship and be on your way." The grin he gave was filled with confidence, "It's easy. No one else needs to get hurt." A guard walked over and whispered in Salven's ear, "Then send MORE people after that thing!" He barked at him, "We cannot have her running around out there!"
Kally took the moment of confusion to slip away from Mark and kneel by Jenna, holding the shaking girl and taking her pulse. "You're okay," she said, quietly. "Breath...slow and steady." The last thing she needed was Jenna's already strained system being overloaded. She kissed the other woman's temple and held her tightly, looking up at Cally, terrified.
It looks good kill, Fiona would have destroyed the man who dared put a rifle up against her head. Her Irish temper was starting to grow inside of her, for the moment though she needed to keep herself calm and collected. Despite the fact she didn't have a good feeling about this whole situation and her Captain was a pain in the ass, she had a duty to protect her captain. She was hopeful that Jenna could pull enough of their attention away.
She was tactically plotting in her mind, the best way to take advantage of the situation. Right now the guard seems slightly distracted. But a couple more still planning their phasers on them. She wasn't confident that she could disarm all of them before the others realize what was going on. She needed to make contact with her captain and right now her captain's eyes were focused on their captors.
As more of the guards left the room to go after Rala, Mark glanced at the vent in the room, and thought he spotted movement behind the grate. Realizing that no one seemed to be looking at him at the moment, and taking a chance, he moved so that his right hand would be visible to the grate, then discretely pointed up towards the light fixtures before making a slight kill gesture, hoping the meaning wouldn't be lost and that it would actually be possible for Becca to pull it off from where she was.
Turning to Salven in order to create time for Becca (and everyone else, with the way things were going), Mark said, "You might want to consider surrendering now. Our friend out there is on the loose, and I don't think you'll want to find out what will happen to your men when she gets her claws on them. Or maybe you think you'd do better hitting me instead of a bunch of women? Because we're not going to give in to your demands."
Fiona listened, being a little on edge, hearing the words of Mark really soothed her nerves. She was grateful that Starfleet wasn't going to give into the demands, not even the crew of the USS Chimera. Starfleet should never negotiate with terrorists, to do so with open up Pandora's box. And that could be devastating to the Federation and to Starfleet as a whole. She just smiled, and she waited for the captain's cue, she hated being a yeoman. She would prefer to be functioning in her security duties. But her Captain had a sick sense of humor, and made her a yeoman. Even though that was the case, still couldn't take the security training out of her. And she was looking for a tactical advantage.
Cally slowly got to her feet again, straightening her back as she grimaced. This was surely going to bruise. Then she’d need Kally for some TLC to get it to go away.
Salven patted the pocket gently where Ken kept his box with a button, “One wrong step and your ship explodes, Lieutenant. It’ll take everyone here with it, but that’s a price we’re willing to pay: What about you? If your friend gets too far, I just press the button.”
Fiona ceased for a moment, and said with a smirk, "you can't chase down a little girl, what kind of captors are you?" Fiona said, trying to get under his skin. Hoping that her distraction would allow somebody else in the room to make their move. Or to other people outside to make their move, if she could to get all the attention focused on her, it should allow an opportunity. She might have been moved into the yeoman position, but the security officer and her was still going on strong. She knew security needed a moment, the captain was doing her part, and now she was going to help. He expected to get hit with the rifle, or at least have the rifle pointed at her again.
Rebecca found the junction box, completely non-standard placement compared to Federation construction. Uugh, if it was one thing she HATED it was inconsistency. She pried off the casing on one of the smaller (to a larger person's perspective) relay assemblies, and followed the power feeds. She was running out of time on her self-imposed stopwatch. She didn't have time for a proper power flow check, so she grabbed the first few power control monitor chips and pulled them out of their housing directly. The hot, active electronics burned her hands as she grabbed and pulled, one isolinear chip after the other. At first nothing, then the second, then the effects of the first chip hit. In her haste to unlock the doors, she succeeded. She heard doorframe magnetic clamps disengaging one after the other, after the other, after the other. It worked! Then everything went dark.
"Fuck." she muttered in the dark.
To Be Continued
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