Getting to the Bottom of Things
Posted on Wed Sep 2nd, 2026 @ 5:23am by Lieutenant JG Katie Kellerman & Captain Calypso Skyie & Commander Alexander Espersen & Major Clay McEntyre III & Lieutenant JG Raven Windancer & Senior Chief Petty Officer Jadizon Enor & Petty Officer 3rd Class Fulvia Benvenuto & Crewman Apprentice T'Vel
2,289 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Die Hard: Chimera Edition (main)
Location: Elevator Base Station
“Corridors are clear and unlocked between you and the main terminal,” T’Vel reported from her control room.
“We’re having trouble detecting the number of hostiles though,” Fulvia added.
The makeshift assault team had weapons at the ready and were proceeding down toward the main docking station where the cars to the space elevator were loaded and unloaded. Some number of bad actors were there, ready to defend those on the station.
“Options?” Alex asked.
"There are two entrances to the docking station, one on the North side, one on the South," Katie said. "Divide and conquer? One set distracts, the other moves in and takes them down?"
"I can be quite distracting when I wanna be." Raven purred, leaning against the wall in a not so subtle way.
Katie looked her up and down and shrugged. "Nothing Kally or I wouldn't try," she said, finally. "Think you two can take the north entrance to the docking station and the Commander and I will take the south?" she said, looking at Raven and Clay. "Whoever gets in first distracts, the other group attacks?"
"Sure...I can do that." Raven pouted slightly, then slapped herself at just how CRAZY she was acting!
[Good flipping night, Raven! Get your acts together!] Raven thought, shaking her head to get the fire re-ignited!
“I agree,” Alex said. “Whatever gets attention, loud enough so the other team knows they can act.” He checked over his sidearm. “Let’s go.”
Jadizon moved through the museum’s side corridors with the disruptor held low, checking storage rooms, staff passages, and darkened exhibits as he worked his way toward the service wing.
Near what looked like a curator’s records office, he heard the faint sound of movement behind a half-closed door. He eased it open and found a small group of ensigns tucked between filing cabinets, display crates, and archival storage containers. They were assigned to the Chimera, young officers still getting their feet under them, and right now they looked scared, shaken, and far too quiet for Starfleet personnel.
One of them looked up, eyes widening with relief.
“Chief Enor?” Jadizon lowered the disruptor slightly and gave them a firm nod.
“There it is,” he said quietly. “Recognition and panic. At least one of those is useful.”
The ensigns started to move, but Jadizon lifted one hand, stopping them before nerves made anyone reckless.
“Easy. You are safe for the next ten seconds. After that, I need you useful.”
A few of them exchanged looks, still frozen. Jadizon’s expression softened, but only a little. “You are Starfleet officers. Hiding is a temporary plan, not a career path. The ground team is somewhere in this building, and we are going to find them. Stay low, stay together, and do exactly what I tell you.”
He looked over the group, letting his voice settle. “Breathe. Stand up. You wear the same uniform I do. Start acting like it.”
One by one, the ensigns pulled themselves together and got to their feet. Jadizon moved them to the door, pointing to each of them in order.
“You, rear watch. You, keep count of doors and intersections. You, eyes forward with me. Nobody runs, nobody bunches up, and nobody tries to be a hero. I have the weapon. Your job is to keep your eyes open and keep moving.”
The ensigns nodded, still nervous, but steadier now.
Jadizon stepped into the corridor first, disruptor angled down but ready. The others followed one by one, spaced a few steps apart, keeping close to the wall as they moved past closed exhibit doors and shadowed display alcoves. Every few meters, Jadizon paused, listened, then motioned them forward.
The distant sounds of the gala faded behind them, replaced by the hum of the museum’s environmental systems and the occasional echo of hurried voices somewhere ahead.
Jadizon lifted a fist, stopping the group at an intersection. He leaned just enough to check the next corridor, then glanced back at the ensigns.
“The ground team should be somewhere between here and the annex,” he whispered. “We find them, we regroup, and then we make sure nobody else in this museum has to learn what a bad plan looks like up close.”
He gave them one final nod, then moved forward again.
“Stay sharp.”
Jadizon moved through the service corridor with three Chimera ensigns stacked behind him, the single phaser held low in his hand. Ensign Mara Venn, a sharp-eyed Bajoran with a split lip and more nerves than she wanted to admit, stayed close to his left. Ensign Corin Hale, tall, human, and pale from the shock of the attack, watched their rear. Ensign T’Ril, a young Vulcan operations officer, kept between them, trying very hard to look composed and failing just enough to prove she was still alive. None of them were armed. That made Jadizon the shield, the point, and the only thing standing between them and whoever might be waiting around the next corner.
“Stay tight,” Jadizon said quietly. “One at a time through open spaces. No hero moves. We get to the ground team, we regroup, and we breathe after.”
They were almost to the sound of the others when it hit him. Not a memory. Not exactly. A pull. Hard and sudden, like something had reached through the back of his skull and hooked its fingers behind his eyes. The corridor stretched long, then snapped sideways. The museum lights became stars. The walls became black. Her voice came from everywhere at once. Jadizon...
He stopped dead, one hand flying to his head. The phaser dipped. “No,” he breathed. “Not now.”
The entity pulled harder. This time it felt physical. Cold fingers around his wrist, his throat, his thoughts. His body jerked like someone had yanked him backward by the spine. Mara grabbed for him, but Jadizon staggered past her, eyes open and unfocused, seeing something none of them could see. The voice came again, softer now, crueler because of it. Come back to me.
His knees gave out. The disruptor clattered across the floor as Jadizon hit hard, his body locking for one violent second before going limp.
“Chief!” Hale shouted.
Mara and T’Ril dropped beside him and hooked their arms under his shoulders, dragging him back with everything they had. Hale dove for the disruptor, scooped it up with shaking hands, and turned toward the corridor as movement appeared behind them. He fired once, too high, then corrected himself and fired again, forcing the shape back into cover.
“Move!” Hale yelled, his voice cracking but holding. “I’ve got them!”
Mara gritted her teeth, pulling Jadizon’s dead weight beside T’Ril as they hauled him toward the room where the rest of the team had gathered. Jadizon’s head rolled against his shoulder, unconscious, his face pale and slick with sweat. As they reached the doorway, Hale backed in last with the phaser raised, then saw the familiar uniforms ahead.
Given how quiet it was beyond the South entrance, Alex and Katie could tell they’d reached their position first. “So,” he said. “Distraction. Any ideas?”
Katie bent over the lock by the side of the door and started poking at the controls. "Kick open the door, be really loud, I go left, you go right, make them hesitate trying to decide who's the prime target?" She took an earring off and pulled off the backing, using the pin side to push into a small hole on the side of the lock while holding a button. The lock beeped and turned green and she grinned, putting her earring back on. "Gotta love old-style factory resets," she said.
“Good work,” he said, nodding.
"Okay, you've got the bigger foot, you do the kick," she said.
He stood steady on his feet, checked his phaser one last time, and gave the door a firm kick.
It swung open hard and loud, exactly as desired, and once Alex had his balance back, he dashed in, veering right and yelling a battle cry. He couldn’t see any targets quite yet, and couldn’t confirm that there were no innocents present, so he fired his phaser high, purposely over anyone’s head. His goal was just to be a distraction and line up the enemies for Clay and Raven to take them down.
Katie bolted in after him and ran to the left, shouting, "I'll take the computer station!" but veered towards one of the cargo pods that was near the elevator entrances, hoping she'd get at least one armed assailant to aim for the wrong spot.
The opposing force reacted as expected, firing as best as they could toward where they thought assailants were coming from. One targeted the vicinity of the computer station, but then saw where Katie actually was. He didn’t have a clean shot but he yelled out to another one who did.
There wasn’t time to call out. Alex didn’t have a shot on the assailant. So he got out of position and ran for her.
He knocked her away just in time to feel a disruptor bolt hit him in the left shoulder. He cried out in pain and dropped to the deck, using his one good arm to crawl behind a barrier. “Heh. Any time now, team,” he said quietly.
Katie hit the deck and felt the air forced out of her lungs. She gasped for air and rolled over, throwing herself over Alex as the shooter took aim again.
Raven checked her weapons, adjusted her clothing so she wouldn't trip or get tangled, put her hair up, and got ready to crump some gits.
"Let's light 'em up!" Raven whooped, bolting through the door she'd picked, and firing wildly.
Two of the terrorists fell immediately. Two others, including Charlie dove for cover. They fired back, but couldn't keep track of their new adversaries, while still watching for the first blonde who rushed in.
Clay, being taller, fired over Raven as they both went in. He took his time, picking his shots and aiming with intent. He took several down in quick succession before checking the room again.
"CLEAR!"
Raven lined up a shot, then, on a whim, aimed at the barrels above him, shot, and that was, as they say, "all she wrote".
"Clear on my end as well!" Raven called, then realized she'd caught a few stray shots as she swiped at her face and found blood.
"Ah, these'll make nice souvenirs later." Raven snickered softly, shredding some random fabric into makeshift bandages.
From his spot on the ground, leaning on a console in the middle of the room, Alex could tell that all opponents were down and that his people, while some were injured, were all alive.
“Good work,” he said to those within earshot, breathing heavily. He tapped his commbadge. “Espersen to Benvenuto.”
“Benvenuto here.”
“Unlock the last few doors to the elevator,” he ordered. “Power it on. Then you and T’Vel get down here ASAP.”
“Aye sir.” The channel closed.
“Major McEntyre, when this elevator is online, get up to the station and find the Captain,” Alex ordered.
"Aye, Sir!" Clay nods, readying his phaser rifle.
A door on the far side opened, prompting those present to raise their weapons.
“Friendlies!” Hale shouted, nearly tripping over himself as he lowered the weapon. “Chimera friendlies! Hold your fire!”
“We found Chief Enor,” Hale said, breathless.
Mara and T’Ril dragged Jadizon fully into the room and eased him down as best they could. Hale swallowed hard, glancing back toward the corridor.
“But something found him first.”
Alex tried to shift his position to get a better look at the injured Chief, wincing as he did. “Lieutenant Kellerman…”
Katie groaned and picked herself up a bit from the ground. "Still here," she said.
“Katie,” he said, “kindly get medical attention for me, Jadizon, Raven, and T’Vel.” And then he passed out.
"Ohhhhh shiitt oh shit oh shit ohshit ohshitohshitohshit," Katie said, panic rising as she saw Alex wounded, blood spreading through his burned shirt. She scrambled to get her legs back under her and get over to him.
Fulvia and T’Vel entered the room just as the space elevator doors all came online and opened. “Oh shit.” Fulvia said.
"Yeah covered that already!" Katie shouted. She put her hands on the wound and put pressure on it, looking around. "All right...we need to get everyone on that elevator and get to the station so we can beam to the ship!"
"Crap on steroids!" Raven hissed, then yelped as she tried to find a smaller spot to be in...and her burns got stretched.
Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic, DO NOT PANIC THEY NEED YOU! Katie shouted at herself. Just do what Kally would do...no wait not that....what would she do in in a medical crisis? "Fulvia," Katie said, her voice getting steadier as she looked over the group, "take charge of T'Vel and Raven. You two!" she looked at the two ensigns who brought Jadizon in, "grab the chief and get him in the elevator next." She looked at Jadizon and bit back another panic attack. "Major? I need help moving the Commander."
As the others got into the elevator, Katie did her best to keep a hand on Alex's wound while she and McEntyre dragged him into the elevator. As the doors closed around all of them, she said a silent prayer it was a fast ride. The sooner they were out of the ionosphere, the better.
END
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