Those Below Continued

Posted on Wed Mar 12th, 2025 @ 10:27am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Remal Kajun & Patin

1,670 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: Ramant

"Let's go" Rhenora agreed as they turned to their rescuers. "Where do we go from here? What's the best path to get off this ship?" She asked, realizing that they really had no idea of where to go next without further aid. She didn't want to risk asking Bonnie to hack a map out of the computer system and risk getting further caught.

The door opened and the intern waved them outside. "Quickly, we can get lost in the chaos. Patients outnumber our people, you have that as an advantage." When he woke that morning he never expected his day to be one of revolution with an alien race, but here he was, smashing it.

The young Intern hesitated momentarily catching the eye of the Tech who stopped and took her hand. "Are you okay?" There was, for a yet unknown reason, something within him that was being driven to protect her and the life she was growing within. The noise in the ship grew louder with not only commotion but the sound of the ship landing on the surface and the engines firing. They had arrived.

"We need to help these people get off the ship, we can do that. And these here can help. They seem to be in some position of authority." The Intern whispered as she pulled him forward. "I have an idea."

It was a simple plan, the Children of Ramant and the 3 Sunfire crew already rescued would lead the rest of them to an emergency hatch in the bowels of the ship that they could use to escape. She feared the transporters would be locked down so a physical exit seemed the option of most logic.

"Come, quickly" she surged forward, Rhenora, Remal and Bonnie hot on her heals, followed by the Technician and the orderly.

Chaos and mass confusion rippled through the ship like someone had tossed a boulder into a shallow pond. Star Fleet personnel were trying to group up and help one another, while the Ramant, overwhelmed by the mass breakout, scrambled to organize a suitable course of detainment. Several decks below, the halls were quiet save for four Ramant and three Humanoid specimen, trying to escape.

The hatch popped open, revealing the 5 meter drop to the landing pad below. There were people milling around and engineering working to secure the landing struts, having no idea of the pandemonium going on within.

Rhenora hesitated at the drop, it would hurt badly if they didn't absorb the energy by dropping and rolling with it. She looked around to see if there was a rope or anything else that could ease the descent. The crew couldn't use this as an escape, the drop would injure too many and the small hatch could only accommodate one at a time.

"Can you release the cargo hold doors from here?' She asked the Orderly? My crew would have a chance to escape and fend for themselves."

He watched as she pondered the opening and the drop to the ground below. "I could, but, I take it your people have never utilized a trans-portal before?" He then stepped forward past Rhenora and right into the open hatch. Instead of dropping with gravity, his body disappeared in a flash of light only to reappear on the ground below.

He then looked up and performed a gesture at the portal before disappearing and reappearing inside the ship standing next to Rhenora. "Would you still like me to attempt to open the cargo doors?" He asked simply.

Rhenora was stunned, a most impressive technology unlike that which she had even dreamt of. Even trying to figure it out blew her already overloaded mind.

"Fitting a hundred and 50 odd people through here could be interesting. If your cargo bay doors work on the same principle, then it would be much more convenient for a high volume of people." The mind of the matter of what they would do once on the tarmac was left unspoken.

The orderly was suddenly questioning his place in this scheme as he looked at the Doctor and the ensemble that was gathered, waiting. "The cargo doors, the hangar is two decks above us, at the rear." He held out a hand, "But I must protest this course of action. I volunteered to help the Tech and his Intern after hearing she was with child. To go forth with setting loose an alien species on my homeworld doesn't sit right. You'd be discovered the moment you walk into the cargo-hold."

He didn't out right say it but his gut told him they would all be destroyed if they tried to leave the ship as a security protocol to keep the planet safe and hidden from outsiders. The original plan was to relocate the viable hosts to a local breeding farm and destroy the others. Now he was involved in a growing mess.

"You don't have to continue to help us. I can see the conflict written all over your face" Rhenora ventured, seeing the hesitation. "We can take our chances from here. Get your own people to safety"

She was conflicted now herself, hearing the potential ambush that could be waiting for the crew.

Remal pushed gently past the Ramant, Bonnie following right behind. There was a clear contrast now between the Star Fleet personnel an the Ramant as they hung back. Trepidation hung on the Ramant briefly until the Doctor spoke up, "Hold on, there may be another way." He looked back and forth between the groups before addressing his fellow Ramant. "We've gone this far, we are responsible. If we are to grow as a species, we cannot continue along this path."

"I agree, but what are we to do?" The orderly responded.

"We show them there is another way." The Tech responded.

They looked at the Intern for her thoughts.

"You mean we reveal our secret and bring the logic and serenity our species has enjoyed for so long to its knees?" The Intern's jaw dropped. "I'm all for working on the fringes but that has to be the biggest bombshell this planet has ever seen"

"All you have to do is show an image of your unborn child, within your womb. You don't even need to show your face. They just need to know that they don't NEED us to bear your children" Rhenora explained, filling in the missing pieces.

The Tech took the shoulders of the Intern in his hands so they were seeing eye to eye. "Logic and Serenity mean nothing if our eyes are closed. Once they see there is another way, one that goes beyond coercing another race, and beyond the confines of the lottery for the wealthy, their logic will change. If we are to survive, it must change."

The Doctor, nodding, walked up to Remal and held out his hand. "Take your people and get to safety. I will take care of these two and their child. As Ramant-azgul is my witness we will put a face on the atrocities that have happened here this day."

Remal reached out and shook the man's hand with a simple nod of his head, to show respect.

Rhenora watched the interaction and smiled, thankful they would be the last race the Ramant would force into this role. The Cargo Bays were two decks up and an alarm began intoning. Without their communicators they couldn't understand the booming announcement that accompanied it. She looked at the Tech with a question in her eyes.

"All personnel have been called to stop the uprising and regain order. Weapons have been authorised." He said solemnly through his own communication device.

"We need to get up there and diffuse this somehow" Rhenora thought aloud. There were over one hundred and fifty of her people against who knows how many Ramant.

The Ramant doctor and his fellow Ramant turned and moved with haste back up the tube they had crawled down. Their destination was a broadcast station where they would showcase the Intern and her pregnancy to as many as they could. If all went well, their actions would flip the script on everything the Ramant people knew about reproduction. And might just save the Sunfire crew in the process.

Bonnie was looking at the trans-portal and the informational screen next to it. She started toying with the keypad and a minute later she turned to Rhenora, "Captain. I think we can use this to transport us right into the bay. I've targeted a spot behind the line of Ramant putting us between them and what appears to be a raised shield. It will throw them off guard."

"Do it" Rhenora ordered without hesitation, ready to seize the opportunity to protect her crew. Bonnie set about redirecting the portal and whilst she did so, the Captain took the moment to address their rescuers.

"Odds are we're walking into a standoff. My crew will be trying to escape and yours trying to stop them. This is an opportunity for you to make it known that there's another way. For everyone. It will most likely save lives, many lives from both sides."

The Doctor responded for the group, "We will do our part. Stay safe, stay alive." With that he turned and ushered the rest of his group back into the ship to find a transmit station. They would have to broadcast out not only to the surrounding ship, but as far as they could reach with their message. And quickly, before they were shut down or found out.

"Ready Captain." Bonnie announced. "Just step through." She stepped back and gestured at the hole in the floor, which weirdly still showed the ground beneath the ship, 5 meters down. "Simple." Bonnie added, making the nerve racking sight that much more intimidating.

"This is messing with my head" Rhenora retorted as she stepped forward and into the hole, knowing they were either going to appear in the cargo bay or break their legs when they hit the ground.

TBC

 

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