1st LT Vale - Barisa Prime - Counterattack

Posted on 05/01/2024 @ 10:11pm by 1st Lieutenant Jeksyne Vale

993 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Once Upon a Time...
Location: Barisa Prime
Timeline: 2397

Barisa Prime
2398
Tzenkethi Raid - MARSOC counter attack
- - - - -

Another explosion echoed through the Galon River Valley on Barisa Prime. It had been a constant battle since the Tzenkethi Imperial Guard landed a week ago. It’d taken a week to fight to a stalemate with the Tzenkethi behind one set of trench lines and the men of the Starfleet Marine Corps MARSOC Raiders on the other.

In command of a trench line, Jeksyne Vale, an experienced Combat Officer, a hulk of an officer, built like a linebacker but described by others as a stack of books on feet, much like one legendary Starfleet Captain in his prime.

He raises his phaser rifle, aims and shoots at a group of Tzenkethi who think they could charge the trench line that he was positioned behind. Bolts of blue soar through the air and make contact with one, knocking the Tzenkethi into the dirt, the other two scrambling to take cover. He pants, taking cover again, as the Tzenkethi return fire with their heavy plasma rifles. Even with his Mark III Patterned Body Armor, they could do serious damage to him. The dirt went flying over him as the bolts hit against the heavy dirt wall of the entrenchment fortifications.

A week ago, the Tzenkethi raided the colony of Barisa Prime. This would seem odd but the regions bordering the Federation-Tzenkethi border had destabilized much in the wake of the Romulan Collapse and the turmoil facing the Federation in recent years. It was a test, to see if the Federation would respond in force if they attacked. Starfleet had answered the call with the Raiders.

Jeksyne was broken from his thoughts at the yell of one of his Staff Sergeants crossing the trenches.

“THEY’RE MAKING ANOTHER PUSH!”

Jeksyne pokes his head up, seeing the column of Tzenkethi Warriors now charging the line. Jeksyne assumes a prepared position of fire, shouldering his phaser rifle once more as he calls out to his men.


“STAND READY!”

His fellow Marine Raiders did the same, assuming a firing line along the trench walls, ready for the order to fire. Some were shaky, mostly those young men who only just joined, fresh from recruit training or freshly graduated from Annapolis and seeing action for the very first time in their lives.

Jeksyne steeled himself, breathing steadily before he gave the order.

“FIRE!”

Bolts and streams of orange then filled the air as a line of phaser rifles and hand phasers lashed out in anger. Several Tzenkethis went down in the opening volley, but many more kept coming, bolts glancing off their durable armor, a war cry on their lips. Green bolts of disruptor energy followed with the howls and yells of men on the line going down. Jeksyne kept shooting until the first Tzenkethi stupid enough to get into the trench, dropped into the line, taking a swing at him with a heavy longsword of jagged edges and vibration core. Jeksyne weaved and dodged, rolling away from him and allowing Jeksyne to draw his most prized possession, A MACO stun baton gifted from his brother who was a Starfleet History Professor at the Academy, from their home at Memory Alpha.

Jeksyne swung at the Tzenkethi, both making contact with their respective melee weapons. They clashed for several seconds until Jeksyne saw an opening when the Tzenkethi went wide. A clean ‘SMACK’ across the Tzenkethi’s head, sent the warrior slamming into the dirt.

Jeksyne's eyes filled with anger, bringing the baton down hard again and again. Coming back covered in gray-green blood.

Whack, Whack, Whack

Until the warrior stopped twitching, dead on the ground. Jeksyne drew his hand phaser and fired on two more Tzenkethis who were approaching one of his corporals who had huddled against the trench walls. Both went down with holes in their chest, the young man who'd been descending on, looking at Jeksyne with fear and appreciation in his eyes.

Jeksyne just nodded.

“Day ain’t over yet, Corporal! Get up! Move down the line and drive them bastards from the line!”

The corporal nodded nervously, gripping his rifle close to his chest.

“Aye…Aye Sir!”

He finally yelled and ran down the line, while Jeksyne went the opposite direction.

The Battle continues until the Raiders drive back this push by the Tzenkethi. Returning to the command post, Jeksyne puts down his rifle and combat pack. Stretching his neck, he takes a moment to finally breathe. It was a momentary respite, his desk terminal beeps. This annoyed him to no end. No rest for the wicked as he walks over and presses the accept button and the face of Lieutenant General T’shan appears. The stoic Vulcan was himself descended from the MACOs, by way of a Sub-Commander in the Vulcan Argosy who served on an Earth Starfleet Battleship during the Earth-Romulan War.

“Mr. Vale.” He greeted in a calm tone.

“General, good evening. I can report that we got the Tzenkethi on the run sir. A couple more days…”

Jeksyne was stopped when T’shan puts his hand up.

“I have to pull you, a priority assignment. Starbase 50, our main base in the Gamma Quadrent frontier, has requested additional personnel. Specifically a Special Operations officer and I have put you forward as our preferred choice. You’ll ship out immediately, Captain Jina’tis can take command of the Barisa situation until 5th Marines can arrive.”

Jeksyne nods understandingly.

“Understood sir.”

The Vulcan nods.

“T’shan out”

Stoic and professional, always was T’shan as he closed the channel.

“Semper Fi”

Jeksyne thought as he gathered his things.

A week later Jeksyne finds himself stepping aboard SB-50, rucksack over his shoulder, orders in hand as he ducked coming off the shuttle and onto the hanger deck, heading for his future and what awaited him aboard this massive station serving as the gateway to the Aquil Sector and the Gamma Quadrant Frontier.

RSS Feed