#44 Beating the Incredible Hulk

Posted on Thu Mar 28th, 2024 @ 5:40pm by Lieutenant JG Marcus Resch {Meji}

Mission: Hijacked
Location: Starbase Danvers
Timeline: current

OOC: Intermittent harsh language

ON:

Lieutenant Bella Crow had led the way as point for Lieutenant Marcus Resch. They checked every corner, every niche. Up, down, and side-to-side. Where their weapons pointed is where their gaze went using urban warfare tactics. As time went on, and they moved cautiously and slowly, Bella had led them around to the Promenade. The two of them went to a knee and hunkered down for a brief conference over what they had seen thus far.

"Nothing," Resch said. "No bad guys, no patrols of bad guys. How did this happen if they don't even have the numbers to maintain it?"

"Stupidity," Crow stated. It was a statement of fact, and by the tone, something she believed to be absolute truth.

Resch had to nod at that. Just as he went to say something else he caught movement in his peripheral vision and moved his gaze that way. It was the Security office for Danvers, and within there were six people milling about, all dressed in various outfits that were not Starfleet. Plus, a few of them had green skin. It was not unheard of for Orions to join Starfleet even if it was uncommon. Usually, Orions who joined Starfleet were female. The males were the slaves to the females in Orion society even if they fooled the galaxy by making it appear to be the other way around. A perfect ruse to entrap those with a proclivity for sexual iniquity, to get them dumbed down due to the pheromones the females could exude naturally. As time went on the pheromones would elevate testosterone levels, or the levels of other chemicals in various species that did the same thing for their males as testosterone did for Human men. So, being more free and able to leave their clans, the women who really did not care for the Orion culture as a whole could leave and pursue other avenues in their lives. "Your job site seems to be of interest, Bell."

"I see that," she said. Crow's eyes continued to watch those within the Security department's main office. They seemed to not have a care in the world as they moved around and tried to open up Security files and access to the internal sensors. "Damn," Bella said in a low tone even as she let go of her rifle and let it hang from her web gear. "God hates a coward." Crow said this more to herself than to Marcus as she removed a stun grenade and a concussion grenade from her gear, setting them on the deck.

"What are you doing?" Resch asked.

"We're going to get my office back," Crow explained. From one of her belt pouches she produced a small role of adhesion tape and taped the two grenades together, their tops both standing in the same direction. The red activation buttons were covered by the plastic protectors, which she could flick off with her thumbs to press the activators immediately after. Checking both grenades she looked to their time, and both were set for a ten second explosion. Using the dial provided on each device she changed that time to five seconds. In her mind Crow knew she would have to have her poop in a group and act accordingly and with precision to not allow the timers to run out before she could toss them away from herself. "There." She hooked the taped together explosives back on her webgear so she could move and use both hands, leaving them easily accessible on the front of her torso.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Resch asked with a bit of frustration. She obviously had a plan and would implement it when she was ready. However, that left Marcus to wonder how they would do that and still work in concert with one another.

Looking back out to the Promenade, scanning with her eyes and looking at sight lines, she raised her left hand enough to point with two fingers towards the central portion/aisle here on the Promenade proper. "See that planter and the reader boards between us and the Security office?"

"Yeah," Marcus answered, his eyes following what she was referring to.

"You need to low crawl your ass across the Promenade and get in behind that planter. With all of the kiosks and what not between us and them, you should be able to do so without being seen." Crow looked over at her companion and saw that his eyes were full of doubt about this plan.

"If they spot me I'll be in the open, more or less." Resch said. It was not that he was afraid to be seen, or afraid to engage the enemy. This was a fear that once spotted he would not be able to secure the facility and that everyone aboard would die. Failure was not an option here. If they failed thousands would die.

Crow gave him a stern look, her tone one of determination. "Then that's what will happen. You'll be prone, meters away from where they are. On top of that, they are bottlenecked in the Security foyer with a doorway that might allow two at a time to exit. They will be crowded and shoved together if they went through it two at a time..."

"Ah hah!" This pronounced cry came from behind them and Resch turned his body to look up and back over his right shoulder. The first thought that entered Resch's mind was that he was now being confronted by the Incredible Hulk. The largest Orion male he had ever seen stood just behind them, accompanied by another Orion who was female and holding a particle pistol in her hand pointed right at them both. With all the old holofilms he had ever seen Resch likened this big sumbitch to the Orion Arnold Schwarzenegger, and as all this passed through his mind in a split second, the big fella reached down and grabbed Marcus by the webgear on the back of his shoulders. Getting lifted like a rag doll the Orion then spun around to get momentum as he tossed Marcus headlong into the bulkhead that was behind the two.

As Resch was being used as a medicine ball, with the seven feet tall Orion spinning and throwing him into the wall, his legs had swung out as a consequnce of momentum and gravity. This small mistake in the action of the Orion caused Resch's feet to smack into the Orion female, knocking her off balance and disrupting her aim at Crow. The moment her weapon was not trained on Bella, the Starfleet Security officer quickly grabbed her own rifle and unhooked it as she grabbed the barrel with both hands. Standing up and spinning she swung the rifle/bat with all her might and connected with the side of the green woman's head. This caused her to tilt and stumble even faster in the direction she had been going, and ended up bouncing her face off of a structural brace. The blow incapacitated the woman but Crow took no chances, bending over the woman's body as she was face down, grabbing the woman by the chin and the hair at the back of her head. Hands secure and in place she twisted violently and snapped the neck.

While Crow was busy with the woman Resch smacked into the wall like an old friend trying to give a hug, impacting with the front of his body and sliding to the deck. The sudden stop jarred him but he had been both lucky enough, and skilled enough, to not let his favorite face get bashed into the unforgiving duranium. Placing his hands on the walla nd getting to his feet he spun about just in time to receive a backhand blow to the right side of his face. Of course, this sent him reeling to his left, once again on his hands and knees as he shook his head to recover. The big green monster stepped in a pace to once again grab this puny human and toss him about. But, as he bent slightly to do so he was suddenly acosted from behind. The thin female had jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, trying with all her might to choke him out.

With the fight happening in a side corridor, and no shots fired, the Security foyer had no idea what was going on. This provided the opportunity Crow would need, but dealing with this gargantuan needed to come first. Realizing that his neck was far more muscular than she had anticipated and therefore provided no easy way to choke this guy. So, instead, she reached around his head and hooked two fingers in his mouth and pulled with all her strength, twisting the man's face around to the right in the ole hook maneuver. Even as she did this, the side of his head now presented to her, she could not help but pop off at him, "Fuck you," just before she bit down on his ear and tore a chunk of it off with her teeth.

The big bastard shrieked in pain and due to his size had the length of arms to reach up over his own head and grab an arm hole on Crow's gear. Ignoring his own pain he pulled with his might and peeled her off his back, with Bella having to let go as her own strength was no match for it. He had his back to Resch even as he tossed Crow off his back, forward and away from himself. And then, it happened again. Marcus had gathered himself and got back to his feet, his split lip and the abrasions bleeding down his face, as he leaped upon the back of the big man. Pulling his combat knife free he had it held for stabbing, and stab he did. He brought the knife up and over, plunging it into the chest several times. But, like themselves, this man wore his own style of combat gear made from leather. The knife was effective in stabbing an inch or two with each blow, but not deep enough to cause any instant change in status. In fact, not surprisingly, the very act of being stabbed seemed to anger the guy more than it hurt him. In this corridor there were back entrances to various businesses that had fronts on the Promenade, and this man slapped a panel and opened the door into one. It was a curio shop with dozens of glass door curio cabinets, and shelves full of curio items made from various materials; crystal, glass, pyrex.

As the big fella stumbled into the door he charged towards a wall og cabinets and turned his right shoulder/back towards them. Doing so angled Resch in that direction since it was the man's right shoulder he was looking over. Thankfully, Resch and Crow both still wore their tactical goggles. The big Orion hit the first cabinet like a linbacker, using Resch as his battering ram as best he could. Shards and particles of glass and pyrex were sent in all directions as he was pushed through the first cabinet, then the second. As the Orion regrouped for another run Marcus could feel that he was getting weaker. Like an engine of old. Without the oil to keep the parts moving it will burn up and close down. As difficult as it was to do so, Resch had not stopped trying to stab into the man, and in doing so he was causing the blood loss to cause its issues. Then, without warning, the large man gave a weak grunting growl of pain as he stumbled to his right even as his right leg collapsed. From behind, while he had hesitated for those few moments, Crow had come in and jammed her own knife into his right knee, cutting through the joint like she would a deer during hunting season, slicing tendons and muscle that held it all together. No matter how strong a person was, once those critical areas were damaged the leg would not function.

Resch had felt like he was on a tower asit teetered and fell, crashing on his right side while still holding onto the large Orion. He pulled his right arm free as it was under a portion of the Orion's, and in doing so it came out with particles and chunks of glass sticking out of his flesh which caused blood to seep and smear along the flesh. Seeing Crow on a knee breathing heavily after the engagement, he stayed on a knee to face her. He reached out with his right arm to touch her shoulder, not even seeing all the debris he had sticking to the blood on his arm, or even those portions sticking from his flesh. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing. "You good?" He shook his head and used his glove covered hands to finger combs and brush away glass from his hair, face, and shoulder/neck.

"Yeah," Crow answered, getting to her feet slowly as he matched her, still breathing heavily from the exertion. Out of the corner of her left eye, the side of her facing the main entrance to this shop, she could see three Orion males standing with rifles in hand and looking at the two of them. One of them reached to his belt, unhooked a grenade and then stepped back a few paces as he nodded/chin pointed at the plate glass window at the front entrance. The other two gave evil grins and opened fire enough to shatter the window, with their crew leader hitting the grenade activation and tossing it within.

Without thinking, without hesitation, Lieutenant Resch went forward towards Crow, grabbed her like he was going to tackle her at the waist. But, that was how he could do this quickly, scooping Bella up over his shoulder in one smooth move, and then plunging forward with her and jumping over the main counter. They both tumbled and crashed to the floor on the other side of cover, both of them curling up on their sides and plugging their ears against the explosion to come. The explosive went off and proved itself to be a concussion grenade, causing a hurricane whirlwind of debris to be destroyed and then flung about in a perfect circle. Thankfully, the main counter for the proprietor was a solid design, placed in such a way as to be permanent and therefore able to withstand more damage than one that was temporary. It did not stop the things on the inside of the counter from being tossed about by the seismic event, sending even more items to be flung on and around the two of them.

Neither of them had their rifles anymore so they pulled their pistols free. Bella looked into her part-time lover's eyes and could see a wrath behind them that she had never seen before. It actually caused her a moment of anxiety to see such feral hatred in the eyes of a man she believed to be incapable of such emotions. "Ohhhh, I'm pissed!" He growled out. "REALLY fuckin' pissed, now!" That's when they heard a crunching of boots on broken glass.

Bella raised her head up to look over the counter, and despite the power of the explosions there were still items that had landed on the counter top, providing small openings where she could see the door but they couldn't see her eyes/head come up. The two minions had been ordered to come in and check, both of them focused on their injured comrade who was still moaning and groaning in pain, and in need of medical attention. "When you feel that strongly the counselors say you should let it out. Shall we?"

Looking through his eyebrows at her he gave her a one word response. "Yeah!"

Bella stood up quickly, a two handed stance on her pistol as she opened up. Resch came up next to her as he had got off his ass and back to his feet to back her up. Crow's shots filled the torso of the guy on the left with seven wounds before his body could even hit the floor. Seeing his mate take the shots, the other guy swung her way and began to fire from the hip. That was when Resch came up and did a back roll over the top of the counter and came back to his feet like a cat on HIS side of the obstruction. Marcus grabbed the barrel of the rifle as it tried to swing his way. With him now preoccupied Crow moved around the counter and began to fire at the crew chief out on the Promenade. That thug scrambled for cover.

Resch, a firm grip on the barrel of the enemy rifle, pushed it upwards as it fired. he then kept his right hand tucked close to his side, the hand with his pistol in it, and fired a bolt into the man's gut. The thug let go of the rifle and clutched his belly as he stumbled backwards. Gripping his sidearm in two hands, Resch quickly unleashed two bolts into his chest and one in his forehead, effectively ending the man's career as a criminal-or anything else, for that matter. With Crow facing off against the one scrambling for cover, Marcus ran over to the planter they had discussed earlier before all this other crap came down on them. It was no secret now that the base was under attack. Pulling a concussion grenade free, Resch popped the cap and pressed the button, then hurled the item as hard as he could at the foyer entrance to the Security department. Something akin to an act of God had aided his aim. The grenade sailed through the air, but at the last moment, lightly clipped the upper portion of a reader board. It began the grenade spinning over and over and looking to slow its momentum to not get within range of the doorway.

But, just as it looked to hit the carpeting and lose inertia, the item bounced off of a small square section of deck plating with no cushiony carpet, bouncing metal on metal. The grenade had impacted the deck plate almost lengthwise flat, and due to the physics of inertia and spin, it caused the grenade to slightly change course and went right down the middle of the doorway, hitting the internal curving wall and sending itself further into Security as it slid around the bend. The explosion was rather dramatic, with cries of pain and fear being heard as it went off. Marcus began to move forward after glancing back to see that Crow had her man down and was binding his wrists and ankles.

Moving as quickly as he could tactically, Resch ran forward. He could see the flickering amber light of flames inside security, from around the bend he could not. Two thugs, human, came stumbling out clutching themselves in pain. They had rifles on their bodies but they were dangling by their slings as they were injured enough to be more concerned about their own demise than fighting back. Marcus did not care. Both of them got two shots to the chest and one to the face, dropping them and ending any threat. He got up to the wall just outside the doorway, his left shoulder bumping up to it. He shouted into the opening, weapon at the ready. "This is Starfleet! Surrender now or we will kill you! This is your only warning!"

"Alright, alright!" Came from within, the man's voice hacking and coughing with the smoke as he tried to respond. "We give!"

Crow came in alongside Resch, spinning around a couple of times as she came in, making sure there were no surprises to shoot them in the ass while they were waiting on these nuggets to come out.

Resch responded to the voice. "Drop all weapons and equipment belts! Any and all equipment dropped! Once done, make your way SLOWLY to the entrance. Anyone without their hands in the air will be shot with extreme prejudice. Respond!"

"We have wounded, some with their arms shredded! They can't raise their hands, Mister!"

"Then they get shot! Don't play games, Pal, I am not in the fucking mood!" Resch shouted back.

"This is Lieutenant Crow, Starfleet Security for Danvers!" She had to get a handle on this or Marcus was going to shoot everyone not able to raise an arm. That would not go over very well with their superiors, no matter what the circumstances were. "All those unable to raise their hands, disarm them and toss their equipment far from them. If we enter and get even one shot fired our way we will respond with lethal force! Respond!"

"Give us a minute to do as you ask!"

Sidearm still angled down the corridor/bend, Resch looked over at Crow with a sarcastic look in his eye. "You're way too nice. Give 'em thirty seconds or I will end it." Still aiming his pistol with his right hand he reached out with his left and took the taped together grenades from her webgear. He did not give damn about the stun grenade. That time, for him, had passed. He was a firm believer in the ideal that people reaped what they sewed.

Bella gave him an incredulous look. "Who are you?" Without waiting to hear an answer, and not sure she wanted to, Bella angled her voice down the bend. "One minute! Any longer and I send the other guy in! Believe me, you don't want that! He's not as understanding as I am!"

The minute ticked by, seeming like it took an hour, and then the thug's voice came at them. "We're ready! Please, don't shoot!"

Marcus did not let Crow respond this time, he did. "No promises! Out here! NOW!"

Three men came around the safety bend in the entrance, hands held up at shoulder height and far from their bodies. As soon as Resch's eyes met the first man's eyes he aimed directly at the man's face, his arms straight and his aim true. If he even so much as farted sideways then Resch would blast him in the head with the hope that being at point blank range would send his bolt into the guy behind him. As soon as the third man in line came out of the doorway Marcus got in behind him and grabbed the scruff of his shirt, kicking his legs out from under him so he crashed to the floor on his side. He cried out in pain and tried to curl into the fetal position which was not allowed to happen. Resch holstered his weapon and used his foot to roll the man on his belly before he placed his knee into the man's spine at the shoulder blades. The man continued to cry out in pain but Resch ignored it until he had the man's hands secured in zip ties. As Crow covered him, with the other two taking a hint and getting to the floor their way instead of his way, he bound them, too. With these bound and injured the two of them entered Security and found the injured within, and a couple of dead.

One man was leaning back against the base of a console, clutching his neck as his life's blood was slowly draining from his body. Kneeling, looking the man in the eye, Resch spoke. "Look at that. Dying for nothing. That pressure you feel in your chest, that's your blood pressure crashing, your heart beating to pump what is missing, and it will eventually shut down. And, yes, it will be painful." The younger man took a few swallows, trying to speak around the blood now filling his throat and lungs from the critical wound.

Crow had made sure that no one was near to the weapons and equipment tossed into the corner. After seeing to that she stood as still as a statue, behind Resch, listening to what he had to say. In the days she had gotten to know him, this side of him had never showed itself. It was disconcerting and disturbing how easily he had slipped from one persona to another, how he went from a caring, laughing soul to this dark thing. It seemed to her that he was watching this man slowly expire out of sheer interest, and as a form of torment. He was gloating in his own way and making sure that the man before him knew exactly why he would not receive medical care, and why Resch would not save his life. The final breath gurgled forth and then the body slid a little further down into a heap as any life it had left expired.

Resch, once the man expired, began to blink his eyes quickly, as if he was coming out of a dream or a deep memory. He stood up and half turned to look back at Crow. "He didn't make it."

"Ya think?" Crow asked, that incredulous look in her eyes again as she saw the man she knew, but not the guy inside. He was coming back, she could see that in his eyes, but that feral part of him was still present.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, his eyes now back to the pleasant, friendly orbs she had come to enjoy looking into. "They pissed me off."

"I gathered that," Bella said, coming in closer. She was hesitant to touch him, fearing that feral Marcus may not like that and strike her. But, she was not a coward and the risk was worth it. Reaching out she gripped his bicep in a friendly manner. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her eyes went up and down his body. He had blood coming from everywhere you could see skin. His arms, his face, along his neck where the glass dust had irritated it. The right arm had actual pebbles of glass burrowed into his flesh, the rivulets of blood having slowed their flow as it began to coagulate. His split lip looked like chapped lips that had been walking in the Sahara for weeks on end without water. There were cuts and abrasions on his face which had also bled and smeared, and his right eye was black and blue where the big fella had backhanded him. The odd thing was he did not seem to notice any of it. He looked confused, dazed, as if his mind was still trying to catch up with all it had just done.

"I'm fine," Resch responded. "Is there a sonic shower in here?"

Bella pointed at another small corridor. "Through there. Security locker room with showers and a head (bathroom/toilet)."

"Give me ten minutes." Marcus said, starting that way.

"Hey." Crow called out. He stopped to look back. "We need to get the glass out of your flesh."

"After the sonic does its job and alleviates all the glass dust from my person. Then, we'll head for Sickbay and see how many assholes we need to kill there." His part said, Resch moved along into the locker room. Crow began to lock away the weapons and gear from the enemy. If nothing else it would reduce their resources.

OFF: