ORIGINS: USS Hood Story Only Post Archives

Last Updated: 2260.175

2260

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: And Then It All Went To Hell.

Scene: Planet Monil IV, Capital City.
SD 2260.102

Lieutenant Commander Sean Merrick shifted uneasily in the limousine's shotgun
seat. He tried hard to ignore the loudmouth behind him and enjoy the view of
Monil IV's captial city. He sighed and turned to watch the capital's intricate
marble edifices blur by.

Merrick, about two dozen Starfleet crew, and several planetary officials were
convoying from their hotel up to the Grand Council Hall. Their job was
straightforward: negotiate for the Federation a treaty to mine the planet's
dilithium reserves.

Simple enough, Merrick thought. He rolled his eyes and wondered when the
councilman behind him would ever shut up about it. The chunky politician had
the XO, Commander Jack Steele, well and truly trapped in the rear cabin.

"I'm telling you that the Enric provincials won't like it!" Councilman Litro
argued. "They won't stand for it! Have you ever met one of them? In their
minds, it is the Prasaans' fault that the sun rises and that the sun sets."

Merrick harumphed. Hatfields and McCoys evidently had extended family on Monil.
As the chief engineer, Merrick had briefed the planetary council on which
dilithium deposits they wanted to tap first. It had gone over like a fart in
church. The majority of the mines lay in, of all places, the Prasaan province's
western border. It was land that the not so wealthy, but very irritable Enric
had historically disputed ownership of.

Litro carried on. "The Federation contracts will give the Prasaan overwhelming
economic and political power. Protests against these treaty talks have already
begun. Why, this morning, 5 people were hopitalized after a full out riot!"

"We're not about to tell you how to run your politics, councilman," Steele
calmly countered. "But the Federation considers that dilithium to be of the
utmost strategic importance. Disruption to its production won't be accepted. 
What will your government do to mitigate relations between the Prasaan and
Enric?"

"Perhaps you haven't been listening Commander Steele!" Litro scowled. "The
Enric don't do compromise. They won't ..."

Merrick yawned. It had been like this with the honorable Litro yesterday and
the day before. He was checking his communicator's chrono again...when it
happened.

All of the sudden it seemed like there were explosions everywhere. The lead car
erupted in a mushrooming fireball. Glass snapped across Merrick's face even as
he was thrown hard against his harness. In an instant, the whole convoy
crashed to a halt.

Shaking his head, he looked up in shock. He felt as if he had ear muffs on and
his vision was blurry. He glanced around. The Captain's limo, along with half
the HOOD's senior staff, was a blazing hulk. His own car's driver had slumped,
unconscious or dead. Merrick looked forward again. There was a line of smoke
leading right up to the first limo's burning wreckage. The image stirred
something in Merrick...an urgent little voice began to rise. "OH SH...!"

"Out! Out! Get out!" he yelled. "Rockets inbound!"

Then he noticed for the first time a frightful pinging sound. Whizzing and
ricocheting bullets filled the car. Panicked now, Merrick unhitched his belt
and dove for the slightly less exposed rear cabin. Wave after wave of shots
thudded around him. He heard a short, very small cry. He peered up and beheld
with gut wrenching horror the darling little asian officer from communications. 
She had taken two rounds to the chest. Her terror stricken eyes held his for a
moment, then lost their light forever.

Coming back to himself, Merrick realized that the intensity of the shots had
lessened. He saw commander Steele next to him laying on top of the councilman
and shouting vainly into a communicator.

"Jammed!" he spat. The fire seemed to have come from their right, so Steele
gestured left.

"Go! Go! Go!" Steele shouted as Merrick kicked the door out and they crawled
into the street. But as Steele dragged out the sobbing councilman, Merrick
realized that there was no real cover nearby. Their caravan had been hit in an
open field. The only nearby structure, a tiny convenience store he guessed, had
been taken out by a rocket that must have just missed their limo.

As shots started to patter close again, Litro began crying hysterically. 
"They're going to kill us! They're going to kill us!" Steele gave the
incontinent man a swift slap to the cheek.

"Control yourself councilman!" Steele ordered, even as a bullet tore a
respectable hole inches above his own head.

Merrick took heart at this spectacle and started thinking again. A glimmer of
hope made him creep forward. Their driver had been a security guard. His
pistol might not have much range, but it was better than nothing.

With some difficulty, he got the driver-side door open and pried the gun out of
its holster. No sooner did he have it in hand than Steele thumped him on the
shoulder.

"The car behind us is still in one piece. It will have one too," the commander
said urgently. "Cover me in three ... two ..."

Merrick quickly fumbled off the safety and chambered a round. He heard Steele
count "one" and popped his head over the hood of the limo. Luck was on his
side. A band of six or seven was hoofing it across the open field towards them.
He opened fire.

The shots caught the attackers completely by surprise. He nailed one Monillian
dissident in the leg and two others hit the dirt. Immediately a volley of
projectiles whizzed centimeters from his bare skull. Ducking back, he glanced
left in time to see three figures outflanking his absurdly exposed position. He
squeezed off six rapid shots that miraculously downed two. The third braced
against a street pole, and then made the spectacularly bad mistake of trying to
look around it for a target. Merrick all but cheered as his slug splattered the
man's brains across the pavement.

He heard shouts and more fire behind him. Steele had made it to the other car's
weapon and was now pumping a danger close assailant full of bullets. Sirens in
the distance became audible. More shouts followed and a whistle call went up.

By the time Merrick had pulled another clip from his dead driver's belt, the
attackers were retreating. He watched them run full tilt towards a couple of
air vans off in the distance.

Bastards!" he screamed. "Get back here you bastards!" He let off a few more
rounds. He wanted to run after them and make them pay for this unmitigated
atrocity.

But his training overrode that instinct. Some of the attackers he and Steele
had downed might still have fight in them. Grimly, he moved toward the nearest
and kicked him in the head for good measure.

NRPG: Welcome Aboard the HOOD! This part of a prelaunch series Andy and I have
been creating to get things fired up. He'll have a few follow-ons to post
shortly after mine. Feel free to add on to them! Just reiterating what Andy's
already said in his e-mails, we want to make posting aboard the HOOD as fun as
possible. If you don't have time for a few pages, a 5-10 paragraph postlet
would be just fine. If you're looking for ideas to get the creative juices
flowing, just drop us a message. I always return e-mails within 48 hours and
usually within 24. I'm always eager to JP, edit drafts, or just talk if you
need.

Respectfully Submitted,
Brian V. Mansur
LCDR Sean Merrick
FO, USS HOOD NCC-1703

[ORIGINS] USS HOOD: Captain Down

Scene: Planet Monil IV, Capital City. 
SD 2260.102

            Damn! Damn! Damn! Steele cursed as he ran a zig zag course 
towards the relative cover of a partial wall which moments before had been 
some sort of store.  Had been until the rocket that had been meant for his 
car had missed and taken it out.  He had told the captain that, given the 
tensions and the recent skirmishes between the factions that this had been 
a BAD idea.  Captain Sinclair had known it too, but it was a calculated risk.  
The government of Montil were aware of the Federation’s technical 
superiority but wanted to be treated as equals..equals that had something 
the Federation needed.  Badly.  So the decision was made to accept their 
security assurances.  And Steele had grudgingly accepted the logic.  He 
should have pushed harder.

            He flipped open his communicator as his hand groped for the 
phaser that wasn’t there.  Another concession to Montil’s sensibilities.  
“Steele to HOOD.”

            [HOOD here.  Its good to hear you commander! Sensors are picking 
up explosions and weapons fire near your location.  We can’t raise the 
captain.]  There was mild panic in the comm officer’s voice as if he knew 
the answer to the unasked question.

            “The captain is dead along with the majority of the caravan.”  
Steele replied flatly.  “We have multiple hostilies inbound and I don’t 
think there are enough of the security forces left to hold them off.  Set 
ship’s phasers to stun and target a 2 block radius.  Fire when ready.”  

            The order given he spun around to find Merrick.  He saw by one 
of the transports frantically administering CPR to someone in a blue tunic.  
The doctor?  He couldn’t tell with all the smoke.  “Merrick!  Sean!”  The 
engineer looked up in anguish in time to see Steele point towards the 
heavens.  “Incoming!”  They both dove to the ground as the wail of the 
phasers surrounded them.

<<<NRPG>>>
As Brian said, some brief backstory that we started.  My next two posts 
will bring us to the 'present'

Respectfully,
Andy
CDR Jack Steele
Acting CO 
USS HOOD NCC 1703
ASR ORIGINS