Star Trek: The Shadowdancer [IC | Closed]

[Mincaldenteans]

THE SHADOWDANCER

OOC

Soltok VI
Osterdaag

Gul Remec despised rain. Not a single fiber in his being could appreciate the benefits of the current torrential downpour. It had a way of drenching the bottom of his uniform pants despite his best efforts to stay dry, it turned his boots a sickly brown that only squished with every footfall - not to mention leave a cracked and caked layer afterwards when drying. And the ground was a hazardous minefield that he’d sooner deal with a ship under fire any day rather than trudge through the filth with precarious balance. The worst of it all, Remec groused, was the cold.

And Cardassians hated the cold.

It was more insidious than anything the Gul could imagine. It was everywhere, it blanketed itself almost immediately following the downpour. It stayed and spread itself across the town, through ground, walls, and clothes. It slithered itself into his skin, tendrils cooling his otherwise warm Cardassian blood. But unlike the humans who seemed unfazed by it and some even looked as though they relished the weather, the cold stayed as an affront to their Cardassian oppressors. It was a reminder, an affirmation, why Cardassians did not favor the cold; and it served to stew the anger and hatred from within, one that the cold was slowly testing his the resolve of his men, including himself. He longed for Cardassia, hoping - almost wishing - reinforcements would arrive by the next morning’s sun and be relieved from this place.

But Remec knew better than to easily give in once Hadar and the reinforcements arrived. This planet was his and it would be his duty to oversee whatever Command saw fit. His status, and that of his family, would rise. If all went accordingly, and the humans were dealt with, Remec envisioned himself as Gul of his own station, or even Prefect. His hopes and ambition were the only things keeping the cold from consuming him.

“Gul Remec!” Glinn Pjarr’s voice came crashing as hard as the rain outside the Gul’s office.

“What is it?” The Cardassian barked, the cold did little to hide his contempt for the interruption, much less his mood over all.

“Of the six patrols we sent, two have not reported in. I’ve ordered a small search party to their last known position.” Pjarr, despite the cold, sounded oddly proud of himself.

Remec could only glare at the Glinn, whose new found pride was eroding with every millisecond past. “The Maquis?”

The Glinn hesitated, “We are not certain.”

“Who else would it be?! Certainly not these sheep roaming around here!” Remec shouted, the chair he sat on fell backwards as he got to his feet. The Glinn took a step back, fear had taken over. “You would lose more of our men on some futile search? Our patrols units were fully armed; it stands to reason the Maquis would have killed them and procured the weapons for themselves. Get the search team back and reorganize the perimeter. No one is to leave this compound without my explicit orders.”

“Yes, Gul!”

“Get out of my sight. Send for our illustrious mayor. He and I have much to discuss.”

Pjarr left without a word and only a salute, scurrying out of the office as fast as his cold leaden legs could go. The door shut quietly, leaving Remec to his thoughts once more.

The Gul moved over to the office, watching the town he had annexed and no sooner, Pjarr, who had come out, barking orders as though a Gul himself. Weasel, Remec thought with disdain.

---

Shadowdancer

Normally the rain would put Nathan at ease. He loved the rain, didn’t see too much of it given his spacefaring ways, but the handful of times he did, Nathan found it peaceful. Even now, on Soltok VI helping a desperate band of backward villagers against their Cardassian rulers, the pitter-patter of the rain dancing across his ships hull was a stress reliever, a calmness that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

The only one to really put a dampener on that was Dan, having been on board since their departure from Ajilon and now seated across the table. Although the two had done their best to keep their distance, the ship was small, and working together was a necessity rather than an option. It also helped that the rest of the crew were here in their large dining area.

“The Cardassians haven’t said anything,” ‘Dancer informed them. A Maquis unit had intercepted a patrol and taken them captive. Their weapons and communication devices were seized. Where they were held was unknown, Dan insisted it was better that way and Nathan didn’t argue about that.

“And the rest of your men?” Nathan asked.

Dan shrugged, eyeing the captain who in turn kept his own stare fixed on anything but him. “They’re around. A few of them have met with the other town locals some 10-20 miles from here, but don’t expect them to assist - overtly anyway.”

Nathan only nodded, glancing over to Arelle, “Any luck with the sensor array?”

Whatever the Cardassians were up to, it was playing hell upon ‘Dancer’s own sensors and they needed to know if - when - more Cardassians suddenly popped in orbit of Soltok VI. They’d need a quick getaway rather than being bombarded from high up. There were other challenges about that, but Nathan couldn’t recall all that Arelle had listed.

“What of our power reserves?” He asked immediately after, eyeing Suval and Samantha. A litany of issues on that one; or else this job would have been a simple sweep with the transporter and they’d be on the way. Nothing was ever as simple as that; the transporter took an inordinate amount of power, a dampening field was erected around Osterdaag, and the power was mainly kept to conceal ‘Dancer from enemy sensors.

The captain eyed his newest crewmember next. A young pale waif who looked about as out of place with them as they did to the rest of the galaxy. Well, she was technically home now, but for entirely different reasons - once Nathan’s crew had a common goal towards if they wanted to see payment. “Have you managed to draw up a map of Osterdaag, Hadassah? We can input that into our database and use the sensors - once its properly fixed - to determine the best way to tackle the Cardassians.”

[Tiltjuice]

Arelle hated the rain. All the gray and dull threatened to put her to sleep, even in mid-conference. Her head jerked back upright from its dip toward the table as she heard Nathan mention sensors.

Nathan. Now there was another thing that made her want to get off the planet and into space as soon as possible. The tension that a gearhead like herself could have bounced a self-sealing stem bolt off of. She wasn't totally blind to anything social anymore, not since the Institute fiasco that had made her name mud to be cleaned off of the university's ivory towers. And having to scratch a place for herself to live in, between now and signing onto 'Dancer's crew.

She glanced down, grimaced. Started to raise her hand, caught herself, and then went ahead and plopped it down, her left atop Nathan's right. Wide, thin scars forming an X and all.

"The Cardassians are throwing out a ton of raw data - they're definitely hiding something out here. Must be really paranoid about the Maquis using Fed sensor tech, which in turn is giving us trouble. I ran a level 3 diagnostic, too, it's flagging some fine-tuning of the isolinear subprocessors that might help 'Dancer a little. Let's call it 15 to 17 percent higher sensor resolution...?"

She desperately wanted to get out of the meeting, either for drugs, sleep, or a chance at that fine-tuning.

[Grenartia]

“What of our power reserves?” He asked immediately after, eyeing Suval and Samantha.

"Well, Cap, by my readings..." Samantha paused, as she glanced at the PADD containing the relevant data. "We have about 1/2 power left in reserve. Since we're in low power mode, that should last us a while, and we have enough to liftoff if we need to, but not much else. I could augment that by transferring EPS power from the shuttle, but there's undoubtedly some contaminants in the plasma that would have to be dealt with before it would be compatible with the ship's systems, and I can't tell you how much additional power we'd have until I get a closer look at the shuttle." she finished. In the silence that followed, she listened to the gentle pattering of the rain against the 'Dancer's hull. It was almost as enjoyable as being out in the rain itself. She didn't know why, but she always enjoyed the sound of the rain, in all its forms. She enjoyed rain itself, honestly.

[Holy Lykos]

Hadassah
Osterdaag

This had been a stressful time for the Amish girl. With her plain, long dress she stood out among the crew's much more modern dress. Hadassah looked almost like something out of a folkloric storybook. She had lost her hat though, leaving her long red hair laying braided over her right shoulder. She had tuned herself out listening to the rain, reflecting on all the days since she had fled the world with an alien to escape the subjugation her nonviolent brethren now found themselves under. She had refused offers to change into other clothing, leaving the one pair she had left with turning just a bit ratty already. There were significantly more things to catch the dress on on a spaceship than she had expected. But the rain calmed her. The sounds of her home, muffled by walls of metal and wire. So calming and lovely.

It took the Captain's voice to rouse her from the reverie. Hadassah glanced up at Nathan, before giving a small nod and smile. "A rough one, jah sir," she replied in that respectful tone she took with elders back home. Her accent was thick, but still understandable, an odd one with elongated vowels and voiceless obstruents (those sounds formed by constricting the airways such as t's and k's and f's). A very rustic sounding accent to english-speakers. "I'fe been working on the map awhile your briefing. I made sure to use your tongue rather than my people's. T'may be bit archaic, still. No' many English speakers this far in space."

She nodded again from where she sat, pushing the map over to the captain. "Again: I do appreciate the help, sirs and ma'ams. My folk ain't fighters. It's against our religion, jah? Having others aid is about all we may do."

[Tiltjuice]

The scene was very quiet now. Dan looked back and forth, from one member of the crew, to the next. Whatever new developments there might have been in the years between - that wasn't his to bring up.

When no one on the other side spoke, he sighed. "Fine, no problem. We can get you all of that - but there's a catch. Something you'll need to do for us. Something else, let's say - because supplies are short on our end. If we give you some to make your repairs, you'll have to help us out with a way to get more. How you do it is entirely on you" - Nathan - "but I have an easier way in mind. A bit of publicity, let's call it. This can be done before, or after. Show of good faith and all that."

Dan rose. "And now I'll leave you all to your planning. Talk to anyone of my people here, they'll com me with whatever you decide to do first. If you decide to take my idea."

As he left the room, Arelle began vibrating visibly, her desire to trample his heels unmistakable - but not for any reason of loyalty. Or not much, anyway.

"Well?" she bit off, intensity and high-stringiness giving off enough nervous energy to deflect a disruptor beam. "What'd'we do now?"

[Brusia]

Suval

Suval had started attempting to conjure up a few potentially viable tactical plans when he suddenly found himself distracted by the sound of rain impacting the Shadowdancer's hull. Normally such noise would mean little to the Vulcan, apart from how adverse weather conditions might impact the outcome of an engagement, but today as he dwelled on fighting the Cardassians for the first time since the War, he couldn't help but find himself thinking back to the conflict on Camor V. Specifically, he was reminded of one of the final battles on that world; the same battle that would earn him his Star Cross. He recalled taking cover in a building with a metal roof just outside the capital during a thunderstorm, the pitter-patter of the rain overhead sounded much the same then as it did now aboard the small ship. Fortunately however the rain he heard now was not accompanied by bursts of thunder which terrified all who heard it for fear that the sound was being produced by Cardassian artillery.

As Samantha fielded Nathan's question about the ship's power reserves, Suval stared off into space; his memories effectively returning his entire person back to that well-bloodied battlefield. As his mind departed the Shadowdancer, he led his strike team out of their temporary shelter and back towards the fortified position he'd been ordered to take. The Vulcan stepped over the muddied corpses of countless civilians and the Starfleet officers who had failed to protect them as though they were mere logs or rocks obstructing his path, until he and his team reached the area he had calculated would provide the optimal probability of successfully capturing the Cardassian position based upon the intel he had been given. That intel had been wrong. There were more than double the predicted number of Cardassians hunkered down in the position than anticipated, and when Suval attempted to contact Starfleet Command to inform of the situation, he discovered the enemy had also apparently set up a communications jammer in the area.

One of the officers in Suval's team recommended aborting the mission, but the Vulcan coldly pointed out that such would be a violation of their orders, and as he calculated they still had a 53.4 percent chance of successfully defeating the Cardassians, he ordered his team to proceed with the attack; with the odds still in their favor it was, after all, only logical. The ensuing fight was brutal, and though the element of surprise initially gave the Starfleet force the upper hand, the tide of battle began to turn the deeper the strike team pushed into the Cardassian position. By the end, the fighting devolved into a hand-to-hand melee as the power packs in both the phasers and disruptors had all been exhausted; though Suval was able to utilize his martial arts training to great effect the rest of the surviving strike team members were not so lucky, and as Suval killed the last of the Cardassian defenders he looked around to find that of the nearly three dozen men and women in his strike team he was the only one still breathing. After shutting down the Cardassians' comm jammer, the Vulcan reported the success of the mission to Command, and as he gazed upon the horrid sight in front of him, he felt nothing.

Now however, as he thought back on those events without the benefit of his meditation he felt everything. Sadness for the countless civilians and officers who had died, guilt for the loss of his team, pride in having completed his mission, but mostly he felt anger, simmering into hatred as he thought of the Cardassians responsible for it all. As his mind returned him to the Shadowdancer, he found himself now longing for the coming fight with the spoon-headed bastards; he wanted to kill them, to make them pay for deaths of his friends and for every atrocity their species had committed. He looked down to see his fists had instinctively clenched with rage, and fearing the others might notice, briefly closed his eyes and mentally recited a short chant he'd learned from a Vulcan Master in his youth to help regain some modicum of emotional control. As his anger partially subsided, he returned his focus back to the matter at hand, and as Arelle asked what they should do now, he only hoped that the answer would involve a recap...

[Tiltjuice]

The small group of Maquis who'd come in as Dan left exchanged glances as the strange human woman continued bouncing her legs hard enough to threaten to shiver her stool to pieces, the Vulcan appeared to be having a momentary fit, and everyone else didn't react at all. Well, it was sure as shit unusual for a Vulcan to show any kind of emotion, but if none of his shipmates had seen fit to speak up, even that hyper lunatic to his left, it was probably par for the course for him. Hands began to drift away from holsters and comms by tentative ones and twos, then more and more as Suval continued sitting. Most of them filed out, leaving only a pair behind.

"Well. We don't know anything about what other job they might want for us, or what they can actually give us in return," Arelle chattered. "I say we just do this one, run whatever they want run to Ajilon and back, simple and straightforward. Well, for us, anyway. Easy to plan, easy to get our pay and go. That's just me, though. If y'all want to call Dan back in to hear more about whatever additional job he was hinting at, I hope you just don't get us cats killed.

As for that massive data blasting the Cardassians are doing to blind our sensors, we can try to tap into the colony's comm system to hear what the natives are saying and doing. Conditions being more primitive here, it's likely their tech won't pick up on any of the signals the Cardies are throwing out on more advanced transceivers. Might even be possible the Cardies don't even recognize it because it's so old."

[Holy Lykos]

"Aye, our technology is old." Hadassah nodded in affirmation. "Most of the technology we still have is holdovers from the original colony ship. Such as the message array in town. We maintain it, get parts for it, tough to do sometimes. I'm not sure how it works, was never the job of women to maintain it.

"Beyond that, though, We avoid as much electrical technology as possible. Distance communication is mostly done with the written word, letters. There's small settlements across the planet. These Cardassans might not know about others. Osterdaag is the most important and largest, though.

"I can answer questions about the town and wider world, perhaps. To better prepare whatever the plan might be. Would that be helpful?" As always, she held her helpful, bright outlook as much as possible. There was no use for gloom in such a bad situation, anyway.

[Grenartia]

"Aye, our technology is old." Hadassah nodded in affirmation. "Most of the technology we still have is holdovers from the original colony ship. Such as the message array in town. We maintain it, get parts for it, tough to do sometimes. I'm not sure how it works, was never the job of women to maintain it.

"Beyond that, though, We avoid as much electrical technology as possible. Distance communication is mostly done with the written word, letters. There's small settlements across the planet. These Cardassans might not know about others. Osterdaag is the most important and largest, though.

"I can answer questions about the town and wider world, perhaps. To better prepare whatever the plan might be. Would that be helpful?" As always, she held her helpful, bright outlook as much as possible. There was no use for gloom in such a bad situation, anyway.

Sam couldn't help but express shock at the idea that there were humans that segregated jobs based on gender. Of course, she knew that other societies did that, like the Ferengi, but she never expected to hear that humans would revert back to that level. She found it even more shocking than the fact that the people here chose to reject electricity in general. If it were any other occasion, she'd have commented on it, but it wouldn't exactly be appropriate to do so right now. Regardless of her opinion on the backwardness of the colony, there was a larger evil to focus on.

"If the colony avoids technology so much, then what is the Cardassian interest here?" she inquired.

[Tiltjuice]

Tovteq loathed the rain. Every droplet sneaking its way past his armor and into his clothes brought the winter chill with it. It was altogether... Unpleasant. A rumbling, mocking chuckle filled the air as he took stock of his fellow Maquis. Each and every one looked just as miserable as he did, and just as bad at hiding it. It didn't matter, of course, because the Cardassians would be feeling that pain far worse than they themselves were. And because the reptiles were here to oppress, and were in turn being oppressed by a force far more primal than even the Maquis could muster.

Even so, the guerrillas had already disposed of two Guard patrols and disappeared back into the hills before the others could converge in a counter-ambush. The next thing the reptiles would do, if he knew Cardassians faced by cold rain and an uncounted enemy, would be to hunker down in the township. He snorted to himself. A mercenary retired from the Klingon Defense Force had more honor than the Guard commander, hiding as he was behind the old, feeble human mayor.

---

Stoltzfus' thoughts were his own, as a pair of Cardassians flanked him, escorting him to the building Remec had taken over as his headquarters. Worrying about the townspeople the Cardassians had taken off to interrogate was just one thing on his mind. Events were changing far too quickly for him to keep up, and another was making its way in-system at that very moment.

---

If not for the space battle, the Maquis would have been the first to know about the latest arrival to Soltok VI. The yellow, wedge-shaped form of a Cardassian supply ship and its escort lumbered slowly toward the planet, and 'Dancer's sensors picked the two starships up immediately. Part of the capabilities that Dan had coveted so much.

The pocket of Arelle's tunic vibrated. Without lifting her head off the table, she tugged the PADD out, grimacing at the ground as the handheld computer caught briefly before being freed. The words on the screen, however, launched her out of the chair and to the floor, and at that 'Dancer felt free to talk.

"That's recorded for all eternity, right there. Anyway, boys and girls, talking time is up, time to make a decision. Jamming on the ground is still bad and whatever the Cardassians are doing on the ground here is still unknown. So is whatever Dan and his Maquis are up to, last I heard was that he wanted Nathan and the rest of you good people to find some friends. Probably a rescue mission, given the conditions in these parts. That might change now that the Cardassians have reinforcements incoming: one (1) Galor-class cruiser and one (1) freighter. All of which means one of you's gotta make up everyone's minds and sign for them, or we all find ourselves in the Galor's brig. Except me, because I'm special."

From the deck, Arelle suddenly remembered the one thing she didn't have in her collection of stimulants and other drugs was painkillers, and resolved to go snooping through Dr. Keibal's stash in the infirmary. She pinched the bridge of her nose and glanced at Nathan, wondering if Dan would make another appearance or if they'd just cut and run on the Maquis. She didn't know, of course, that the Maquis didn't know.

Nathan set his palms flat on the table. "The easiest thing to do is run for it, but I'd personally rather not do that. As far as I know, the rescue is going forward. It'll probably have to be faster now, before the Cardassian reinforcements get organized. And we're definitely going to have to make a run-and-gun escape. I'll go talk with Dan about it. But whoever doesn't feel up to a bit of action should stay behind and get things ready for that escape. Hadassah, I think we're going to need that map. Why don't you stay here with Arelle and work on it? Suval and Samantha, you know what to do."

He stood and left quickly, and Arelle stared after him, then shrugged to herself and turned to Hadassah. "Ready when you are."

[Mincaldenteans]

Gul Remec

The portly man finally entered his office. Well, technically, it was Stoltzfus' office, but ever since Remec and his men annexed the village, it was only fitting the Gul take the office and project his will. The feeble old man was pushed forward, jostled by the impatient Glinn on the left that sent the former-leader to his knees. Remec could sympathize with the young solder, but brute force was needed only when necessary. Coupled with the rain, it could make his men... irritable, something Remec needed to keep in check.

"Enough! Help him to his seat and get out!" Remec barked as he rose from his chair, forcing the young glinns to flinch and quickly obey. They grabbed Stoltzfus tightly on the arms, nearly wrenching the man's sockets as they pulled him up and dropped him on the chair like a sack of wet rokat.

Remec glared at his men and shifted his head sharply to indicate their dismissal. They both nodded and left without a word while Stoltzfus clasped his hands together, fingers intertwined tightly and concentrating rather hard on the surface of what used to be his desk. Remec eyed him for a second, rather curious to know what was going on in that simpleton's mind, but quickly tossed the curiosity aside and took his own seat.

"Mayor," Remec began, purposely using the title, the underlying mocking tone wasn't amiss, "I'd like to know what your relationship is like with the other villages from here. Do you have communications that go off-planet? What technology you might have around here? I can't imagine humans living as backward as you all could have gotten here on your own - much less eek an existence on this planet without some kind of advance tool at your disposal."

Stoltzfus eyes shifted nervously, even his breathing became a little hitched. Remec almost laughed, the poor fool would hardly survive the first few minutes of an actual interrogation, and he wondered if the old man's constitution was even up to this light questioning. Of course, the human could be buying time, even pretending, Remec reminded himself and his gazed fixed upon Stoltzfus that unequivocally caught the man's attention and froze him in his seat. "I assure you, Mayor," Remec emphasized the title, "all information you can provide will greatly improve our relationship and continued... partnership."

[Holy Lykos]

Hadassah

Hadassah shrugged to Sam. "I'm not' very sure, ma'am, why the Cardassians care for Soltok. Perhaps they know of resources our society lacks use of on the planet. Maybe they need an agricultural planet. Or maybe here to start something bigger, or just to oppress my people. Musing on it may or may not help." Hadassah said before Arelle's notification interrupted the planning session.

The news, as bad as it was, pulled her expression into a long one of despair. Reinforcements? More Cardassians? Oh by the merciful Lord how could things get worse. She barely understodd why they had interest in her home planet to begin with! But she nodded at Nathan's suggestion anyway, half distracted by thoughts running through her head. How could she even be a help, aside from her knowledge of the planet? She was weak, uneducated, backwards, an honest liability for the starfolk around her. But she could still try to help the best she could and refuse to give up.

"If they have reinforcements..." She thought aloud, "We should save who we can. The Mayor, my mom, families, there's all sorts in town, but just as many spread across the hills and the farms to the south. There's also plenty of family cottages on the outskirts of town you folk could save, and my mother and the more well off townsfolk live near the market square and center of town. More Cardassians would be there than on the outskirts, perhaps? But more important folk, not farmers and laborers. The latter could go missing without retribution or notice if you hurry. Many might not even be aware of the Cardassians in town center yet.

"I drew up the map as it was, but I cannot account for any changes the Cardassians wrought. They may have used our lumber and wagons for basic defenses, or already damaged some buildings." She retrieved the parchment from the table she'd been working on, looking for all the world like a lost puppy as she stepped up to Arelle uncertainly. "

---

Stoltzfus

While it was impossible for the former Mayor Stoltzfus to hide the fear for his people from his face, he had begun adopting a more grim mask than previous times Gul Remec had seen him. While still obviously a front, it showed more spine than he'd had previously. Maybe the experience with Cardassians was already toughening up he and his people? Or maybe the surprise of the invasion was wearing off.

"Well, Remec. To answer for how we got here, the lack of technology, I'll need to tell you a bit about my people.

"We are a folk who follow traditionalist ways. always have, and are usually called the Amish by outsiders. We believe a simpler, more primitive life brings us closer to God and His glory. Living peacefully, honestly, and virtuously. We of course allow our youth to see society outside of our homes, give them a chance to decide for themselves, but most have chosen to stay. We sometimes need to spread, and most of the other communities are satellites of this one here, Osterdaag. We trade for respective resources, and help each other, as the Lord God intended humans to live. For example, down the mountain live more pastoral communities we trade with for wool and leather, up here we found the land better suited for agriculture so we trade grains and lumber back down. We have yet to explore or settle a good majority of the planet, but that will come in time, yessir.

"Back home, on Earth, we were increasingly crowded by growing cities and towns. Found it less comfortable to live our own lives apart from the rest of civilization. So, eventually we petitioned the authorities for the rights to our own world, on the outskirts of human space. Soltok is what we were granted. We were brought here on ships, as you were, let off along with plenty of supplies and the help to build our first settlements. We also were given a communications array to keep in contact, in case any local emergency required outside aid. But since we colonized this world we have simply learned and used the skills of our forebears to settle and live with God. Simply, without sin, and in his Love. Sometimes it gets lean, but the occasional visitor is always happy to trade for quality goods we produce. We have simply lived off the land to the best of our ability.

"So no, aside from the communications, we have nothing save what you would consider so primitive as to be laughable. Steel, yes, but nothing automated, nothing electrical, nothing modern." He gave a single nod at the end to signify he was done speaking, his face still that even-tempered but concerned face.

[Grenartia]

Hadassah shrugged to Sam. "I'm not' very sure, ma'am, why the Cardassians care for Soltok. Perhaps they know of resources our society lacks use of on the planet. Maybe they need an agricultural planet. Or maybe here to start something bigger, or just to oppress my people. Musing on it may or may not help." Hadassah said before Arelle's notification interrupted the planning session.

Sam continued to consider any one of a dozen reasons the Spoonheads would want to annex this rock, but the only viable explanation she could come up with is mining. The Cardies probably already had all the agricultural worlds they needed in their own space, and besides, Soltok definitely wasn't suited to Cardassian climate expectations, so it likely wouldn't be good for growing their crops and livestock. 'Starting something bigger' was a bit more plausible, but they were already in over their heads and they knew it, between the struggles against the Maquis and the war with the Klingons. 'Oppressing the people' was another one that would fit the Cardie MO, but didn't really apply here. Sure, they seemed to enjoy oppressing locals, but it was generally always secondary to some other goal on the planet. Like with Bajor. They did more than their fair share of oppressing the Bajorans, but Bajor was also heavily strip mined for resources. However, while she was pondering the reasons, Nathan spoke up.

Suval and Samantha, you know what to do."

"Fuuuuuuck." she thought to herself. She allowed herself to get distracted, and had no idea what to do. Quickly, she tapped Suval's arm to get his attention. "Hey, I kinda blanked out there. What are we supposed to be doing?" she whispered.

[Brusia]

Suval

With his mental chanting having had its desired effect, Suval was fortunately able to stay focused for the rest of the meeting, and resolved to keep his emotions suppressed as best he could for the duration of the mission: he'd witnessed no small number of former comrades meet their end when they let their emotions get the better of them during the war, and he had no intention of following in their footsteps. When the Captain made the decision to go forward with the rescue and told Suval and Samantha that they knew what to do, the Vulcan nodded and partially drew his phaser from its holster, hidden beneath his coat, to double-check its power levels. After confirming the power pack was fully charged, Suval was about to stand up and make his way to the armory to grab a couple of extra packs just in case things didn't go according to plan, when he felt a tap on his arm.

It seemed he was not the only one who had trouble remaining completely focused during the briefing, as he turned to hear Samantha ask what it was they were supposed to be doing. Hoping he hadn't missed any details during his own period of blanking out, Suval replied: "It seems the Captain has decided to proceed with a rescue mission immediately, in the hopes of completing the mission before the Cardassian reinforcements are able to organize. As it is highly probable the mission will necessitate combat, we were given the option of remaining behind to assist in making preparations for our escape." Having answered Samantha's question, Suval stood up from the table, then continued: "I estimate that my abilities will be of most use on the mission, and so intend to join the Captain. If you wish, you are welcome to accompany me to the armory if you intend to join the mission as well."

[Tiltjuice]

Arelle huffed a sigh upward and brushed sweat-sticking strands of hair back, doing her best to straight out the stragglers and tie them back. It didn't matter, after all, what the Cardassians were doing - only what they had to do.

"Right, well, here's as much of a plan as I can pull together in 23 and a half seconds. Most of us go with the Maquis and free...whoever it is they want us to free in the town." She shot an apologetic look at Hadassah for how dismissive that sounded, under the time pressure. "Either Sam or me should stay here to get 'Dancer ready so we can all jet out of here between the Cardies on the ground getting their nose bloodied, and the ones coming into orbit learning about it. How's that sound?"

There didn't seem to be much of a sign of obvious objection from anyone - Suval excluded, given his nature - and so four of 'Dancer's crew materialized in the place the Maquis had indicated, appropriately geared up with whatever weapons and equipment they'd chosen or not.

[Holy Lykos]

Hadassah took a moment to adjust to the sudden shift in environment; it was her first time being materialized somewhere else! Being a pacifist by culture and nature she had refused any weapons. She could always find cover to let the rest deal with any issues that arose. She just wouldn't feel right harming, well, anyone! It simply wasn't christian, or good. They were here to save souls, not end them!

The group meanwhile had materialized in an alleyway between a pair of houses, hopefully to help them get the advantage on any roaming Cardassians. Both houses were stone and wood, of exceedingly primitive (to all but Hadassah) but undoubtedly quality construction reminiscent of old earth housing dating back to the 1800s or earlier. Some of rougher, almost log-cabin like, buildings were behind them, but in front was an open area of grasses and trees and benches, a park. The gravel road between them and the park was wide enough for carriages and cards , but mostly was suited for foot traffic as most roads in Oosterdaag were. For now, the sun cast shadow down the alley that made it decent enough place to hide in until they decided which direction to go.

"Well," Hadassah started, "I can guide 'round town, but I have no idea where might the people be. Would Cardassians gather them like cattle, or let them simply stay in homes?"