The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 49
Arthur's head hurt. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't see. Only for a moment. Then his vision came back. He was not on the station. He was somewhere else. In a desert. There was a lot of noise which he could not imediately identify. Wait a minute. That noise were weapons firing. Arthur noticed he was in somekind of trench. Next to him was a Starfleet marine looking over the edge, firing his phaser.
"Ha, did you see that !", shouted the marine. "Sometimes the Cardies are so stupid.", the marine looked down. "Major are you hurt ? Major !"
Arthur looked in the eyes of his best friend. Jan Theys a Starfleet marine captain. This wasn't happening. He looked at his own uniform. Starfleet marine major. What the hell had happened ? The Giloppen. They could have done something to the timeline where he was in and now he was in another timeline. Arthur remembered this planet. It was a year before the peace treaty beween Cardassians and the Federation. The fights were hard and everything which could win a battle was used in battle. Arthur remembered that his entire unit was killed except for Jan, himself and sergeant Crappy, who had been able to save himself because of his experience. He was very badly wounded though and Jan and Arthur were defending their position. The Cardassians had them surrounded and Arthur remembered that there had been no way out. Comforted of the idea that the mission had been a success and that they were only on their way to extract point alpha-2, the sergeant's face of pain brought both officers back to reality. Crappy needed medical attention and fast. Major Arthur remembered that Crappy had died during the Cardassian siege of the marine's position. Whatever the consequences, not this time.
"Captain Jan, you will hold the Cardassians off for at least one hour. You will do it alone, while I see to it that we get out of here."
"Sir ! Yes sir !"
Arthur knew that the Cardies would not attack until reinforcements had arrived. That would be in at least two hours. He used his knowledge of years of advancement to construct a explosive device with the equipment they still had. The explosion of the device would bring devestation among the Cardassians. At exactly that moment they had to run for it. Crappy couldn't walk so not run either. Jan fired his phaser.
"Don't take to long Arthur, They are closing."
"Five more minutes."
"I think we have two."
Jan fired again. Arthur seemed a bit surprised. This was not the way he remembered it. He remembered that the Cardassians didn't close in two hours after Crappy had died. Things got even worse when a Cardassian craft aproached through the air and stopped right above their position. This was totally wrong. Arthur didn't recall a Cardassian ship at all. According his memory there was a secret tunnel right behind them and a Cardassian Starfleet operative had helped them escape. The tunnel !
A moment later Jan and Arthur grabbed Crappy and dissapeared into the tunnel. They only were two hundred meters in the tunnel when the ship above their heads started firing. The Cardassian attack resulted in the colapsing of the tunnel. There was no way back. At the other end of the tunnel was a light. It was closing. Onward. That had to be the help the major had expected. Only a minute later the three Starfleet marines stopped and looked at the Cardassian female, who had been running towards them.
"Follow me."
"Wait a minute.", protested Jan. "Who are you ?"
Arthur's hand was on his friend's shoulder. He explained that it was all right. He asked the Cardassian woman for some medical supplies to treat Crappies injuries. Thirty minutes later the sergeant was doing much better. Although Jan objected, the Cardassian woman treated Crappies injuries very sufficient.
"She is a nurse,", Arthur explaned to Jan. "and her name is Nadine."
"She is Cardassian. The enemy. How do you know that ?"
"She is a Starfleet operative."
Arthur looked down on the sergeant who was treated by Nadine. Jan looked at Arthur. What was going on here ? Even Nadine looked up, with a strange look in her eyes, as if she wanted to ask how this Starfleet major knew all this. There was no time. The ground was shaking and some parts of the ceiling of the tunnel were comming down dangerously. The sensors of that Cardassian ship surely had detected them. Nadine urged the marines to follow her. Arthur remembered that there was a Starfleet shuttle type 6 at the end of this corridor. He helped Jan carry the sergeant. It wasn't much farther. The ground trembled. It seemed like a small earthquake.