The Fall Of Lucis V - Part One

Posted on Sun Dec 8th, 2024 @ 3:14pm by Captain Nycolas Temple

Recap: Lieutenant Nycolas Temple had been appointed as Chief of Security to a developing Federation Colony on a remote planet called Lucis V, in a system near the Cardassian border. Nycolas had also been working for Commodore Cameron Thurston as part of Starfleet Intelligence's Project Angel, which aimed to help protect the Lucis system and surrounding region from a rogue Cardassian named Tomar Gammit. The rogues had been responsible for attacks on other remote planets, as well as attempting to build a military base on the moon of Lucis VI and were responsible for a terrorist attack on a trade planet called Gaspar. Having been on-assignment on Gaspar, Nycolas had been badly injured in the attack, resulting in months of recuperation. Following, Commodore Thurston announced his departure from Project Angel and Lucis V, allegedly at the behest of Starfleet Intelligence. However, Temple would soon find out that Thurston had not been working for Intelligence at all, raising questions about his command.

Meanwhile, as Nycolas attempted to ingratiate himself on Lucis V, he met and had quickly fell in love with a civilian, Emilie Fleuret. Emilie happened to be the daughter of the colony's Governor. The two had gotten together in secret, with both initially having different plans for their lives. Emilie didn't want to be a Starfleet spouse, and Nycolas didn't want to remain on Lucis V forever. However, after the events on Gaspar, the young couple had admitted their feelings for each other were stronger than they realized. With Nycolas no longer working on Project Angel, he was free to spend more time on Lucis and with Emilie, which helped to strengthen their relationship towards marriage.

However, their time together on Lucis V would prove to be short-lived. The planetary colony would find themselves targeted by Tomar Gammit and the rogue Cardassians, out of revenge for Project Angel's attempts to stop them. They attacked once in the winter of 2384, before succeeding in destroying the city and forcing its abandonment in a second attack in the spring of 2385.

This is the story of the fall of Lucis V.

[Lucis V - 2384]

Nycolas grabbed Emilie's hand as they climbed over a fallen tree.

"Not much further." Nycolas promised as he helped her leap over the obstacle.

"You said that half an hour ago." Emilie complained as she regained her footing.

The young couple were reaching the top of a mountain deep in the jungles of Lucis V. For Nycolas, this was part of his regular routine. He often took his team out for training or survival courses in the lush forests of the garden planet. He felt a connection to nature and a quiet peacefulness whenever he was out there. Emilie had preferred to stay closer to the city and its comforts. She agreed to go on this hike with Nycolas and at the time had seemed excited about doing so. Now that she was an hour up the mountain side, she wasn't so sure.

But Nycolas' promise turned out to be true. They came out onto a clearing by a cliff, where they could see the city of Lucis down below and the vast jungles surrounding it for as far as their eyes could see.

"Oh, it's beautiful." Emilie gasped as she took in the view.

"It's my favorite spot in the jungle." Nycolas said as he removed a rucksack from his back and placed it on the ground. He took out two water canisters and held one out to Emilie. "Coming here gives me real clarity."

Emilie gulped down her water and she nodded, "I see why." She looked to Nycolas and smiled, "Thank you for bringing me here."

Temple smiled back, "My pleasure. I brought some food to eat if you like."

Emilie turned to look at the view once more, "Yes please." She spoke contently.

Nycolas continued to look through the bag, but he peaked up curiously to see if Emilie was still looking ahead. Seeing that she was, he started to grin. He slowly opened up a zipped pouch at the front of the bag and reached inside. He pulled out a small black box from the bag and held it up. "Here, hold this for me." He asked.

Emilie was looking ahead at the beautiful planet views. She became aware of the sound of a shuttle craft in the distance and was trying to look in the clouds to see who was arriving to the planet. So distracted by her search, she only absentmindedly reached back without really looking. Nycolas placed the box in her open palm and Emilie furrowed her brow. She had expected Nycolas to place a food container in her hand, but this was smaller and made of leather. Finally, she looked down and took it in. It was a ring box.

"Oh." She whispered.

Nycolas moved to bend down onto one knee, placing his hand underneath hers. "Open it." He asked.

Emilie nodded as she opened the box and, as expected, found a silver diamond ring inside. "Nyk..." She grinned through welling tears. She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest, she drowned out the noise of the jungle and that shuttle craft getting closer overhead.

"For the longest time, I only ever had my brother as my family," Nycolas spoke softly, "That was until I met you. This past year on Lucis, being with you, has made me so happy. I love your honesty, your humor, your intelligence, your warmth." Emilie was smiling but the tears were forming. "And I just can't wait any longer."

Emilie laughed a little, "Me either."

He took a breath and cleared his throat, ready to say the words he had been practicing in his head this entire hike. "Emilie," Nycolas started with a smile, "Will you - "

=/\= Security to Temple =/\= Came a voice through Temple's comm badge, breaking the moment. =/\= We are at Red Alert. Unidentified craft inbound. =/\=

At that very moment, the jungle trees swayed and split as a heavy vessel zoomed over their heads. Nycolas stood and took hold of Emilie as the force from the craft's engines threatened to knock them both over. Emilie screamed a little as she was surprised by the ship's booming appearance above them. Nycolas looked through the moving trees to catch a glimpse of the craft.

He grabbed his comm badge out of his pocket, =/\= "Old Cardassian craft. Northbound from 90 degrees". =/\= He reported back. =/\= "Initiate Alpha Defense Protocol." =/\=

"Oh my god." Emilie gasped as they watched the vessel approach the city, and she gripped her hands into his arm.

Nycolas felt the cold sting of familiarity. Months prior, he had been in the busy marketplace of Gaspar when a similar craft descended upon the city and started dropping plasma grenades onto the unexpecting crowds below. An act of pure terrorism. Many were immediately killed or injured, then came the stampede of people trying to escape with their lives while bombs continued to detonate around them. The chaos, the bloodshed, the horror. Himself badly injured, he had only just made it out of the carnage and back to his craft before collapsing.

Lucis V, however, was no Gaspar. It was a Federation colony defended by Starfleet. At his command, the city's shields were raised, protecting the colony from the inbound craft. A signal would be sent to the nearby USS Wellington to render aid. They had weapons at the ready, but those were within the Starfleet Compound, not deep into the jungle.

Nycolas turned to Emilie, his face dropping into the cold seriousness of duty. "Emilie, I will need to transport back to the city. Stay here and stay hidden."

"No!" She cried, "I can't just wait here. What about our people, my father?!"

Nycolas pulled her closer to him, "If I know you are safe, I can do my job. I will protect them. Please."

Emilie reluctantly nodded. "Fine." She whispered solemnly.

After giving the command, Nycolas was transported back to the Starfleet Compound in a flash of blue lights. Emilie held the ring box in her hands as she turned to look back at the city in the distance, the Cardassian craft closing in.

As the vessel approached the city, a compartment opened up on the underside of the craft. A line of plasma grenades descended from within, each one exploding as it struck the city's shield, sending violent bursts of blue lights across the dome. Civilians ran for shelter as the grenades hit the shielding and exploded overhead. They were protected by the dome, but the explosions were still strong and reverberated throughout the city. A klaxon alert began sounding on every street, advising everyone to get inside immediately.

In the Starfleet Compound, Nycolas had materialized and took command of the situation. "Status?" He asked as he walked into the Operations Center.

Several officers appeared in the room, each taking their place at their respective stations.

"Shields holding at 82 percent." Ops shouted out.

"Diverting non-essential power to shields." City Engineering reported.

"Civilian protection measures in place." Comms said. "Beta Squad are clearing the city streets. No casualties."

"Identity of craft?" Nycolas asked as he watched the viewscreen, which showed the vessel slowly passing over head. There was a loud rumbling as another volley of grenades hit the shields.

"Cardassian Ravinok class transport." Tactical read the details of her screen, "Decommissioned, apparently."

"It's the same one that hit Gaspar." Nycolas replied, his tone heavy. "How far is the Wellington?"

"An hour away." Comms answered, "It appears they were pulled off their patrol by two rogue Cardassian scout ships."

"Deliberately diverted, most likely." Temple shook his head, "To give the attack vessel more time."

The Ravinok began to start hitting the shields with a phaser canon, in conjunction with the grenade bombings.

"Shields at 65 percent." Ops stated. "We don't have an hour, sir."

"Understood." Nycolas nodded, "Prepare the Dogs for a run."

On top of the Starfleet Compound, the flat roof slid open. From within, a group of 6 drones ascended from the building and began to fly towards the peak of the city's shield dome, just ahead of the attacking Ravinok vessel. A small circular hole appeared in the shields, just wide enough for the drones to fly through one at a time, before closing again.

The drones then headed directly towards the Ravinok, swarming around it like a pack of angry mechanical dogs, each one firing a phaser at the Cardassian ship. The Ravinok attempted to counter-defend, aiming their own phaser canon at the drones - but the dogs were too quick, ducking and weaving around the ship and avoiding its fire. The drones continued to press their attack, aiming for the ship's cockpit with repeated hits.

The Ravinok peeled away from their bombing run on the city, disturbed by the drones. The ship began to ascend back into the atmosphere, heading quickly up into the clouds. The drones tried to follow but soon reached the limit of their engines, forced to abandon the pursuit and begin their return to base.

Inside the Command center, the Starfleet crew rejoiced. Nycolas just stared quietly at the view screen, his face still concentrating.

"Maintain perimeter scan." He ordered coldly, "They've not gone yet."

"We have the vessel at eight thousand kilometers." Tactical reported. "They appear to be - wait. Torpedo in bound!"

The Ops center lit up with alerts as the photon torpedo dropped onto the city from above. The resulting explosion destroyed the drones still in the air and caused the city itself to shake. The civilians sheltering in their homes cried out from the sudden bombardment, scared that their city was under such an intense attack. Nycolas squinted as the viewscreen showed the bright light from the explosion before it was forced to switch to a different view.

"Shields at twenty six percent." Ops shouted. "We can't stand much more of that."

"Where the hell did they learn that?!" Nycolas growled, even though he knew the answer. The Dominion's attack on Cardassia Prime had been as educational as it had been horrifying for the Cardassians.

"They are returning to their bombing run." Tactical called out, as the Ravinok descended again upon the city, dropping more grenades as it swooped over the top of the shield dome.

"Ready the anti-air torps." Nycolas commanded.

"They're already online, sir." Tactical stated, "But the Cardassians are too close to the city. Further strikes could knock out our shields."

Nycolas moved to the command console and began tapping on the screen, "We're going to give them a taste of their own medicine. Target this area above their ship." He placed the co-ordinates in the targeting system. "Fire!"

From a small silo on the edge of the city, a photon torpedo launched into the air. The Ravinok peeled off from their attack and attempted evasive maneuvers, but the torpedo sailed over the top of them. The Cardassians must have thought the colony had missed because they stopped their vessel and turned back. However, the torpedo quickly lost altitude and dropped down on the Cardassian craft from above, just as they had been dropping bombs on the city. The Ravinok attempted a last-minute diversion, but the torpedo was timed to explode before it hit them.

The Ravinok was pushed violently by the explosion, causing them to crash into the city's shielding. They rebounded off and began spiraling in the air, smoke and fire billowing from the craft as it wildly spun out of control, scattering parts of itself as it did. The Starfleet team watched from the Ops Center as the craft hurtled away from the city and crashed in the vast jungle. A mighty roar could be heard as the craft exploded upon impact.

Inside, the crew once again celebrated. Nycolas, however, wasn't so sure.

"Scan the jungle for life signs." He insisted. "They would have ejected out before the crash."

Ops gave a curt nod and tapped at his screen, "It's difficult to get a reading but we have six life signs. Cardassian. Maybe seven?"

Nycolas took in a deep breath, "Alpha Team with me, we're going in to detain the survivors. Work to get the shields back up to full power, we don't know if there are more ships coming."

"Aye, sir!" The team responded.

[Later]

Ten minutes later, geared up and prepped, Nycolas and his team of officers were armed and heading into the jungle, phasers drawn. Nycolas could hear the crackling fire as the Cardassian ship continued to burn not far ahead, the animals that usually gathered here had long scattered. The team hunched down low as they made their way through the thick vegetation. They came across a body of a Cardassian, his limbs twisted and broken. One of the officers checked for life, before giving a quiet shake of his head.

Moving forward, as they approached the crash site, Nycolas signaled for quiet. They were about thirty meters from where the Cardassians should have been, surrounded by thick vegetations. Ahead of them was an area with large rocks, blocking their view ahead to the Ravinok. With his tricorder, he scanned the area looking for survivors. Suddenly, a shot from a phaser blitzed past them, sending the team crouching for cover. Nycolas looked to see where the shot came from, seeing nothing but green trees and plants.

'They think they can hide in my jungle.' He thought to himself with a half-laugh. He gave a series of hand gestures to the officers. Three silently moved through the plants until they came to a particularly thick tree. They knew that this type of tree was deeply rooted with a sturdy trunk, but also that at the top it had very thick and long-reaching branches. Perfect for climbing on and gaining an aerial advantage, unseen from the ground below. The three retrieved climbing gear from their supply packs and quickly began ascending up the tree. In a matter of seconds, they had disappeared into the canopies of the trees. There was only a faint rustling to be heard as they silently made their way across the top of the forest.

"Two targets, behind large rock north-north-east." One reported back through the comm badge.

"I'll divert, you drop in." Temple ordered.

After a breath, Nycolas raised up his phaser rifle and peered around the tree. He began firing towards the rocks, wildly. The Cardassians peaked and began firing phasers in return. Nycolas continued shooting as he ran through the forest, ducking and diving past trees and rocks as he did. Suddenly, from above, the three officers abseiled down from the tree-tops, hitting the surprised Cardassians with phaser bursts as they did. The attackers were knocked out cold. Two of the officers began to secure the prisoners while the third kept coverage.

"Good work." Nycolas insisted. "Let's get the others."

"STARFLEET!" Came a booming, Cardassian voice, echoing through the jungles. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!"

Temple looked to his scanner. The jungles were hard to read but he definitely did not feel that they had been surrounded. The crash site was ahead of them, slightly up the mountain side still. He gave a hand signal, and all of his officers dropped to the ground. Two of the officers began to silently fall back the way that they had come, checking if it was clear.

"YOU CANNOT HIDE!" The Cardassian called out.

Temple saw a hollow log near his head and he decided to use this to echo his own voice. "You have violated the Treaty of Bajor. You have committed hostile action against the United Federation of Planets. Surrender yourselves!"

"I DID NOT SIGN THE TREATY OF DISGRACE!" The Cardassian shouted. "I DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR FEDERATION HERE! I CLAIM THIS PLANET IN THE SAME OF TOMAR!"

There was a slight rustling as one of his officers managed to abseil up one of the trees again while the Cardassian was yelling. Nycolas recognized the name - the same Tomar Gammit that was responsible for the attack on Gaspar, the base on Lucis VI, and other hostile attacks on Federation colonies since the end of the Dominion War.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Tomar." Nycolas responded. "Your ship is down and we have your crew. Surrender now while you still can."

"Temple, I see four targets. Near the crash site." His officer reported through comms. "Can't get a clear shot."

Suddenly there was phaser fire up into the trees, as the Cardassians fired upon the officer. The branches broke under the heavy attack, and he was sent hurtling to the ground. Nycolas could only wince as he heard the officer fall, landing with a thud on the forest ground.

"ONE DOWN!" Tomar taunted and laughed.

"Damnit." Temple growled. He tapped his comm badge to reach the Ops center. =/\= "Can you get a lock on Oxley to beam him out?" =/\=

=/\= "Working on it." Ops replied. "Can you get others to him, that will help pinpoint the signal?" =/\=

=/\= "We'll try." Temple said, looking around the forest. Three officers were still ahead at the rocks, two had fallen back towards the city. He was by himself. "Tactical. Target the crash site with a photon torpedo." =/\=

=/\= "Sir, you're too close." Tactical warned. "The resulting explosion would kill you." =/\=

=/\= "We'll fall back. I'll keep him talking." Temple insisted. =/\=

=/\= "Sir, there's another life sign in the jungle." Comms suddenly broke in. "Human. Female." =/\=

"Emilie!" Nycolas gasped. He realized she must have been making her way down to the city. He hoped she had not been injured in the crash, or worse - taken by the Cardassians. With her in danger, he would have to change tact.

"STARFLEET!" Tomar called out. "HAVE YOU RETREATED YET? HEAD BACK TO YOUR CITY SO I MAY BURN YOU ALIVE INSIDE OF IT!"

Temple's face scowled. "Enough talk." He tapped his badge. =/\= "Team, converge on Oxley's location, and cover yourselves." =/\=

The three officers from the rocks began scrambling through the jungle, heading to where the officer had fallen from the trees. Immediately the Cardassians began firing upon them from up the mountain. His team engaged in a fire fight, four against three. Temple meanwhile used the moment to dart around the side of the jungle as quietly as he could. He knew which plants would break and made a sound, and which ones were soft enough for him to step on and remain silent. The fire fight continued as he rounded upon the side of the crash site.

As he approached the crashed Ravinok from the side, the burning wreckage filled the area with a thick smoke, making visibility difficult. Nycolas relied upon his tricorder to pick up the life signs from the Cardassians. He could see they were spread across a single line, hiding behind trees as they continued to fire upon his own team down below. In the wreckage, he could see one of the Ravinok's engines plasma conduits on the ground was still sparking, indicating it had some residual energy within.

He raised his phaser with one hand and pressed his comm badge with the other. =/\= "Ready to transport the team?" =/\=

=/\= "Aye, sir." Ops replied. "We have a strong enough signal now." =/\=

=/\= "Do it." =/\= Temple commanded. As his team disappeared in a shroud of blue lights, Temple stepped out from the jungle and fired upon the plasma conduit. The engine part exploded in a hail of white-hot energy burst. One of the Cardassians was consumed by plasma fire, while the others were blown forwards, hitting themselves on the trees and rocks as they did.

Tomar Gammit felt the impact as he slammed into a rock, immediately feeling something pierce through his body armor in his abdomen. He looked down to see a piece of shrapnel sticking out from the side of his body. Dazed and confused he looked to see what had happened. From within the smoke a Starfleet Officer appeared, weapon drawn.

"Now you know how it feels." Temple hissed.

"This... is not... your planet." Tomar growled through gritted teeth.

"It is now." Nycolas insisted. He tapped his badge, =/\= "I have the commander. Prepare medical and extraction." =/\=

=/\= "Sir," Tactical came through, "Planetary sensors have detected a large Cardassian ship. It's a warship." =/\=

Without missing a beat, Temple pointed his gun directly at Tomar's head, "Tell them to leave or you are dead."

"Bak'rikan." Tomar spat back.

=/\= "Target the ship with photons." Temple snapped into his comm badge. "Hail the vessel and tell them we will fire if they continue their approach." =/\=

Tomar gave a sneer but said nothing more, the burning wreckage was the only thing they could hear for those few moments while they waited.

=/\= "They are stopping." Ops replied. "But they're in transport range." =/\=

"They take you and your crew and they leave." Temple insisted to the fallen Cardassian, pressing the tip of the rifle in between Tomar's eyes. "Or I will destroy them."

Tomar coughed, eyes filled with hatred. He moved to tap his wrist communicator. Tomar barked some words angrily in his own language. He received some harshly spoken words in return.

"We will meet again." Tomar hissed, before he disappeared in an orange transport light.

Nycolas sighed as he looked up to the sky. =/\= Are they leaving? =/\= He asked.

=/\= "Yes, sir." Tactical responded. "And quickly." =/\=

Finally, Temple could feel relieved. He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to process the events that had just occurred. However, his peace was soon interrupted by the rustling of trees nearby. Nycolas stood up again and raised his weapon.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" He commanded.

Emilie sheepishly walked out from the bushes; arms raised in surrender. "It's me." She called out, her voice trembling.

Seeing her, Nycolas dropped his weapon and ran towards her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Are you okay? Are you injured?" He pulled back, assessing her over. She had mud and dirt on her clothes and face.

"I tried to stay hidden, like you said." Emilie explained, "But the smoke from the crash got too strong, it was coming up the mountain. I tried staying on the outskirts and hiding as I came down. But then I heard them, Nyk, the Cardassians! There was one nearby me, he survived the crash and was trying to find his other crew. I had to hide under a rock and be so quiet."

"Good instincts." Nycolas replied, kissing her forehead, "You did the right thing."

"I was so scared." Emilie admitted quietly. "But I held onto this." Emilie lifted her arm to reveal the ring box still held tightly in her grip.

Nycolas gave a smile as he saw the box, but then he saw a large cut running down her arm. "Your arm, is it okay?" Nycolas asked urgently, looking at the half-dried blood. He started to look into his pack for a medical patch. "I can fix it."

"It's fine, really, but are you?" Emilie looked at his face, she had never seen him like this before. His eyes had been wild with excitement, his body amped up on adrenaline. The only thing breaking his energy was his concern for her well-being. She reached out and held onto his hand to stop him looking in his pack. "Nyk? Are you okay?"

Nycolas stopped and looked back at her, "I am now." He spoke quietly. He grabbed hold of her and pulled her in for a kiss. Though they were both sweaty and dirty, neither of them cared. They kissed for the longest time, the wreckage of the Ravinok still burning behind them.

"Oh my." Emilie gasped as they pulled apart. Whatever this energy was, she didn't hate it.

"Will you marry me?" Nycolas asked. He placed his hand over hers, the one holding the ring box.

"Yes." She whispered, a smile forming on her lips.

[One Week Later]

It seemed all of the city had gathered outside of Lucis' government building, a large glass spire in the heart of the colony, for the commemorative ceremony. On stage, Governor Fleuret was in the middle of a speech. Nycolas was standing there with the members of the Security team that had gone into the jungle to defend against the Cardassian invasion. Nycolas was awkwardly on the side at the end of the line, unused to getting such attention.

"In recognition of their valiant efforts to defend the city, putting their lives at risk to protect us from those rogues," The Governor was saying, "I hereby recognize Starfleet Alpha Team as the Guardians of Lucis."

The crowd erupted into cheers as the Governor revealed a circular silver badge, which was adorned with the city's official emblem over a shield. The words "Guardians of Lucis" were etched around the outside. Nycolas and the team watched as the crowd applauded them enthusiastically. Though he had insisted they had just been doing their job, the Governor still wanted to show his gratitude to the team for their actions. Nycolas quickly and humbly received his badge, giving the Governor a quick shake of his hand, hoping to return to the back of the stage just as quickly.

"Speech!" Emilie called out from the sidelines. The crowd agreed, echoing her call for Nycolas to make a speech.

"Speech! Speech! Speech!" They shouted.

Nycolas shook his head, but the Governor slapped him on the back and put the floating microphone closer to him, giving him no choice. Nycolas cleared his throat, "I.. um, speak for all of us when I say that we are honored by your... honoring of us. I am truly... uh, honored."

There was a smattering of applause and Emilie tried to contain her laughter. Embarrassed, Nycolas tried to move back away from the stage.

"One more thing there, Lieutenant." Governor Fleuret called out, signaling off the side. A staffer approached with an item wrapped in a red drape. "In recognition of my future son-in-law's leadership, I have something else to give him."

Nycolas looked bamboozled for a moment, eyes darting to an equally curious Emilie and back to the Governor. The older man was beaming proudly, indicating for Nycolas to step forward once more and claim his reward. Reluctantly, Nycolas lifted open the red cloth and revealed inside was a traditional Lucian jacket - but different to ones he had seen before. It was dark grey with a line of silver buttons down the front. On the lapels was the cultural tropical leaf pattern in white stitching. On Lucis, traditional garments are usually reserved for high-ranking city government, or couples on their wedding day. This military-style jacket was a new form of cultural attire, one designed especially for Nycolas in recognition of his protection of the city.

"You can put your Guardian badge on this," The Governor was elatedly smiling, "And, maybe, to wear on your wedding day, perhaps?"

"Thank you," Nycolas returned gratefully, giving the Governor a proper hug this time. He actually loved the look of the jacket, the formality of it. He held it up so that the crowd could see, and they applauded in kind. The Governor helped him place the jacket over his shoulders. Nycolas looked down at it and smiled.

"The buttons are also etched." The Governor pointed out, "Unfortunately, there was only room for three letters. So, we shortened your name to just N Y X."

"Nyx?" Nycolas raised his eyebrows, "Hmm. I like it."

Emilie appeared by his side, placing her arm through his, "Me too." She smiled.

The couple and the Governor stood and waved at the crowd as they applauded, happy to have averted the Cardassian rogue attack and saved the day.

OFF