Post 531: Instinct

Stardate:71030.0229
Title: Instinct
Author: TC Blane
Scene: Deck 8, Independence
Time: Following "Saved" and Prior to “Without a Fuss”

TC stood under the scalding hot water of the shower letting the water flow over his head and down his shoulders in an attempt to shake off the bone chilling cold of Yensul V. The water was so hot that his skin began to take on a healthy shade of pink.

Still he felt cold on his skin. It seemed to have seeped into the marrow of his bones and taken up residence there.

Or was it something more, something darker.

He turned in the shower and allowed the water to hit his back for a while as he tilted his head back and side to side in an attempt to loosen his taut muscles. It was not helping. He was still on edge, still amped up.

It was not hot enough. He adjusted the water to make it hotter. His skin burned in protest. The pain pulled away his mind from his sore muscles but it did little from stopping him from getting by the memories of Yensul V.

- Flashback -

TC passed over the wreckage of the Alchemy at a low altitude and was satisfied that the Indy had persuaded the military vessels to back off. He could see the tracks in the snow around the ship, evidence of the comings and goings of her stranded crew and their newfound friends.

The planet had a sort of untapped beauty to it. Raw and untamed. If it was not for the events surround it TC would had liked to explore it.

His console beeped it confirmation of the coordinates of where February and Reece where suspected of being trapped in the collapsed tunnel.

“Indy this is Blane I have the coordinates and am on my way. I will update in a bit.”

[Very well Mr. Blane.] Came the captains voice. [Good luck]

TC turned the shuttle into a tight arch and sped off toward the caverns. As he neared the transmitted coordinates he began scanning for a safe place to set down. There was a relatively flat area just above the area of the cave in that he maneuvered towards.

He started the landing cycle and the shuttle softly lowered onto the small ledge causing a virtual white out from the loose snow that was blown into the air from the shuttles maneuvering thrusters.

TC powered off the shuttles systems, leaving only the life support running to keep the cabin warm, he suspected that it would be needed. He turned and donned the extreme cold weather outfit he had brought with him. If offered warmth and protection from the environment of this hostile world and also stealth. Made of materials that mimic the surrounding landscaped and were ultra quiet.

He gathered up the gear he suspected he would need stuffing the collection into a white backpack along with a modest compliment of weapons. Satisfied that he was a prepared as he was going to be he made his way back into the cockpit area to make one more check that the systems were as they needed to be.

He noticed that the snow had settled once again outside the shuttle. He also noticed that he was not the only one who had chosen this spot to park. There was a small vehicle further along on the same ledge. From what he could tell is was some sort of land craft. It was powered off and had been hidden under a white camouflage net until being exposed by the shuttles self made windstorm.

“Interesting.” Blane mused to himself.

He also noticed several mounds of rocks that were piled in neat rows all along the ledge. Each was about a meter thick and two meters long. He heart sank as he realized exactly what they were. . . graves.

- End Flashback -

TC stood in front of the mirror. It was clouded over from the steam of the shower so he swiped his hand along its smooth and cool surface to reveal his reflection. He knew the man who stared back at his but he wondered if he still recognized him. He wondered if he was truly who he was supposed to be, if he was where he was meant to be.

He shook away the musings and checked his cheeks by rubbing his hand along the skin. The tell tale sandpaper sound clearly revealed his need to shave before his next duty shift.

He grabbed his razor from his shave kit and turned on the water in the sink. He lathered up his cheeks, chin and neck with shave cream. Satisfied that he had achieved his desired level of frothiness he picked up his razor and made the first pass along his cheek.

He noticed that the blade in the razor did not cut smoothly and probably needed to be replaced. With a sigh he popped open the razor and discarded the old blade and drew a new one from his kit. He paused at the sight of the sharp blade as his mind focused once again on the recent past.

- Flashback -

TC made his way to the ship that occupied the ledge with his shuttle. He made his way carefully, not only to avoid being detected, but also not to disturb any of the burial mounds that dotted the area. He had been relived to find out that the shuttle had luckily not landed on any of the graves.

As he neared the other craft he found that the pilot had not been so luck, or careful, to have avoided the mounds as several had been toppled.

He approached the craft and found it to be empty. It was cold to the touch but no frost had settled onto the main hatch. That told TC that it had only been here for two or so hours. He made his was to the edge of the landing area and saw that it sloped away towards the coordinates of the cave in. He also noticed a series of clear tracks leading away from the craft and into that direction.

He pulled out a set of electo-binocs and looked toward his destination following the tracks in the snow.

- A short time later -

TC skirted along a low lying gully as quickly and quietly as he could. He knew the men from the Yensuli craft were not more then ten meters from him, he could here them talking.

“Come on what is taking so long.” He heard one ask.

“Relax, I don’t want to blow us up along with the tunnel.” The other replied. “Besides I don’t know why we are going through all of this trouble anyways.”

“Because I am still getting life signs in that tunnel, if you had placed the first charge right the first time we would not have to be still here.” The first scolded. “I told you it would not be strong enough to collapse the whole thing.”

* The Yensuli did this! * TC suddenly realized.

Suddenly there was a third voice. “Both of you shut up and get this job done. We are running out of time. Starfleet will be here shortly and we need to finish this, NOW!” There was a pause. “Unless you would like to explain to the Proconsul why we were not able to save his honor. It is bad enough that some got out of the cave to begin with.”

* They were trying to cover everything up. They must not know that we have already uncovered it all. * TC’s anger had been stewing to begin with at this whole situation, but now it had gone to a whole new level. The Yensuli government was not only willing to kill their own women and children for a misguided religious belief but now they were planning to kill Starfleet personnel as well to cover it up.

They were going to kill Grace and Reece.

“OK. All set.”

He was out of time.

What happened next was blurred in TC mind and the events that unfolded are not clear even to himself. What he did know was that instinct had taken over. The realization that his shipmates, his friends, were moments from being ruthlessly exterminated pushed him into action. Action with out any real conscious thought.

It was over in moments. In those short seconds TC Blane had protected his friends with precise and decisive action. Those short seconds are a complete blank to him, the exact method forgotten to the adrenalin surge of the fight or flight instinct.

The Yensuli never realized what had happened, never made a sound as they were dispatched with the cold efficiency of the boot knife he had carried.

The next clear thought he remembered was wiping off the blood that coated his blade onto the jacket sleeve of the Yensul officer. He resheathed the blade with only a side glance at the officers dead and staring eyes. He turned to dismantle the seismic charge, it would come in handy to rescue his shipmates trapped below the surface.

- End Flashback -

He checked his image in the mirror once more before departing to make his way to the bridge. Assured that his uniform was in order he made his way toward the closest turbo lift.

He thought about stopping in to visit February and Reece. He wanted to make sure that his “little sister” was doing alright, Reece too. He had not slept well-- his mind not releasing him from the images of the ice planet below and the events surrounding his trip.

So caught up in his thoughts, he walked into Captain Zanh.

"Captain!" Blane remarked, stepping back. "Are you all right? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"I'm sorry, neither was I."

She frowned at him as if she was pondering something. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Without even a pause of thought he responded. “I’m fine.” He answered in a definitive tone.

"Hmm. If there's anything on your mind, you know where to find me."

He nodded. Wondering just what was bothering him, the fact that he had to kill to protect his friends, or how easy it had been to do it.

“Thank you.” He held open the lift.

"Oh, yes, thank you." She stepped in, and the doors closed. "Bridge." She turned to him, and started to say something, then stopped.

He questioned her with another glance, then they repeated this procedure of starting to speak, stopping and staring twice more, and finally she just reached into the bag, and pulled out the black pip.

"Hold still, please."

"What?"

"Hold still, Lt. Commander." Zanh replied, and without any more of an announcement or fuss than that, she pinned the black pip up next to his two gold ones, and smiled at him.

"Congratulations, Thomas. You're a credit to this ship, and this crew."

TC was quiet for a moment and touched the new pip. “Thank you, Captain.” He then turned to face the lift doors and said nothing more.

Lt. Commander TC Blane
Operations Chief
USS Independence NCC-90791