Posted on Tue Jan 8th, 2019 @ 2:27pm by Karrun North & Commander Martin Sorenson
Mission:
A Misguiding Hand
Location: Braxa, militia camp near crash site
1114 words - 2.2 OF Standard Post Measure
The militiaman leaned over the radio, listening intently.
"...Aliens!"
"The 'respectable' platforms say the RMCP has sent out confirm their identities. But what have they sent? Names, address, pictures ....or blood. That's right, Blood! The one sure way to confirm if they are Braxian ....or something else. How do we know they aren't being held because their blood wasn't a good Braxian yellow?"
His eyes widened, hand tightening around the knife in his hand at the thought...
"Frod! Stop listening to that felderkarb!"
"But, Sarge, what if -"
"Shut it off NOW or you'll be assigned to peeling tubers PERMANENTLY," the Sergeant barked.
Frod clicked off the radio. "Understood," he replied unhappily.
The Sergeant nodded firmly. "Good. Now take the 'aliens' some grub and try not to faint at the sight of two middle aged farmers," he ordered acerbically.
Ducking his head in what he hoped passed for an obedient nod, Frod gathered a couple trays. Despite Sarge's dismissal of the idea, he couldn't help thinking about it as he headed toward the tent where the strangers were being held. What if it was true? What if they really were aliens, weird hideous beings from outer space, disguised to look like normal yellow-blooded Braxans..?
By the time he passed the guards and entered the tent his heart was pounding. Inside he saw just what Sarge had said: two harmless middle aged country folk... but invading alien scouts would chose a harmless looking disguise, wouldn't they...?
"I, uh," he cleared his throat. "I brought you food."
"Thank you," Martin replied with a smile as he lifted a hand for the tray.
Frod was trying to suppress a nervous tremble, but his hand jerked just as the man grasped the tray.
"ow." It clattered to the table, as Martin pulled his hand back at a rough edge unexpectedly slicing the edge of his palm.
...and leaving a thin line of blood. RED blood.
Frod gasped.
The doctor realized the problem immediately. ~Frak!~
He grabbed the tray up just as Frod opened his mouth to scream and smacked it across his head. The young militiaman dropped like a felled tree. Martin stared in horror, at the unconscious boy and then at the tray in his hand. "Sorry," he whispered as he dropped to his knees to check the damage.
Karrun swore, "You've seen too many movies if that was your first reaction." The El-Aurian jumped up from her spot in the chair and moved toward the fallen solider, grabbing at his ankles and pulling him back towards the back of the tent. "You're a doctor for gods sake."
"I know... Sorry..." Martin stammered, hardly believing what he'd just done. But shocked as he might be by his own response, he couldn't let an injured man, particularly one he'd injured, get dragged like that. "Hold up," he objected, holding onto the man with one hand and reaching up to retrieve his medkit with the other. "I need to make sure he's okay."
Rustling came from outside the tent flap. "How long does it take to drop off a meal?" a guard called back.
"God damn it.." Karrun muttered as she dropped the feet of the soldier and moved swiftly to the side of the flap. It moved to the side, the guard walking into the room and stopping short as he saw Martin over top of the downed man. He moved to shoulder his rifle as Karrun stepped up behind him and swept his leg. The rifle flew out of his hands at the sudden unexpected fact he was now staring at the roof. He moved to yell but a booted foot nailed him straight in the temple knocking his head to the ground and him out. "That will only give us another 15 max. Report schedules and all that."
"Maybe less," Martin remarked as he decided the man he'd downed would be okay and moved to check the one Karrun had just kicked in the head. "If anyone notices this one missing from his post."
"We're seculded enough, they still think we might be aliens so they dont want people happening upon us." Karrun reasoned as she moved to the table and began to rustle through the games of items they had taken from the pair. "I still dont understand why species always leave you with the stuff they take from you. It's like they dont think you can do anything." She grabbed one of the tricorders and tossed it at the doctor.
"Or they figure if you try something with it they'll catch you," he said, trying to muffle the whir of the tricorder with his jacket. "...like now. There are two people headed toward the tent. No one behind it though," he added, his grabbing gear from the table on his way toward the back.
"You know there's a silent function on those things right?" Karrun asked as she threw her jacket on and pulled her knife out of the pocket. She moved to the back and crouched down flipping the knife open and cutting the ties keeping it flush with the ground off. Pulling it up, she laid on the ground and rolled out under the gap, "Lets go doc!"
"Sorry. I'm used to medical ones." He quickly found the setting on the tricorder and rolled through the gap after her. Checking it as he came up, he pointed in the direction with the fewest life signs.
Karrun glanced around taking a moment to see if she could see anyone looking their way. With no one around she crept forwards in the direction of the makeshift fence. "You've never been on a mission like this have you." She stated more matter of fact then questioning.
"I've been on plenty of search and rescues," Martin replied quietly as he crept along besides her. "But an undercover search and rescue trying to skirt a paranoid pre-warp society? Yeah, this would be my first."
"First time for everything." Karrun replied, "I should tell you about the time my cloak field generator broke when I was watching a pseudo-mayan society on Jolia IV sometime. You think your scalpel could cut through the fence?"
Martin suppressed a chuckle at Karrun's apparent immunity to sarcasm. "As long as the chain link here isn't duranium,' he remarked, slicing a set of wires with surgical precision, "it shouldn't be a problem," he finished and pushed the gap open, gesturing for her to go through.
"Ladies first." Karrun said as she navigated the hole carefully avoiding the sharp edges of metal. They had precious time to get far enough away now and they needed to make the most of it.