The Chase

Posted on Thu Jan 25th, 2024 @ 9:12pm by Commander Kevin Lance
Edited on on Thu Jan 25th, 2024 @ 9:13pm

Mission: Deep Space Nine
Location: Talbort III
Timeline: Before Going Home

on:
{Talbort III}

Kevin clung to the roof of the slaver’s truck as it weaved its way through traffic. The driver did not speak a language that Kevin understood but apparently was able to understand his commands. Kevin wasn’t certain how this was possible by he was too preoccupied with finding the second truck to give it more than a passing thought.

The truck rounded a corner and the other vehicle came into vehicle. Kevin leaned over the side of the truck and shouted to the driver, “Get us closer!” The driver nodded her acknowledgement and the vehicle accelerated. Kevin carefully put a foot down on the hood of the truck and pushed himself gently off the top of the cab. As he balanced, knees bent with the rifle in his hand, he felt a little like the pictures of surfers in Hawai’i that Mira had shared as enticement to join her on shore leave when they were last at Earth.

As the distance between the trucks closed, Kevin considered his intention to jump from one vehicle to the other. He had performed similar maneuvers in parkour training exercises on holodecks but this time was for real and without the benefits of safety interlocks. He poised himself to leap when the truck was close enough.

The truck that they were chasing suddenly slowed and their own vehicle can close to colliding with the other. The driver slammed on the brakes causing Kevin to tumble forward. For an instant he was terrified that he was going to fall off completely and get rolled over by his own vehicle but he was able to grab onto the grill of the truck to arrest his fall. He dropped the rifle, however and the weapon disappeared under the truck.

Kevin sensed the truck slowing down as he fought to climb back onto the hood. Looking over his shoulder he caught the second truck pulling away out of the corner of his eye. Turning back to his own driver, he shouted “Go! Go! Go!” as he clamber up the hood and on top of the cab. The driver accelerated again.

Kevin was vaguely aware of pain radiating from his right leg like a fire spreading. The leg was able to support his weigh and he pushed back again the pain. As the truck closed the distance, he once again positioned himself for the leap but this time he had no intention of waiting.

As the truck closed to within two meters, Kevin made a powerful leap for a ladder mounted on the rear of the second truck. He landed hard, the left side of his face striking the door, but was able to successfully grip the ladder with both hands. He paused a moment to regain his balance, then climbed to the top of the vehicle.

He crawled along the top of the vehicle ignoring his leg and the new pain on the left side of his face. The vehicle continued forward in a generally straight line, ignorant to Kevin’s presence. When he reached the front of the covering of the prisoners area, he peered over the edge. The guard on the passenger side of the vehicle was resting his arm on the door.

In one swift move, he swung down to the truck’s running board. Before the guard had time to reaction, Kevin punched his fist through the open window into the startled face. The man recoiled from the sudden attack, shielding his face by dropping his weapon. Taking advantage of the distraction, Kevin opened the passenger door then with the same hand grabbed the guard’s uniform and with a might yank, he pulled the guard from the vehicle. Fortunately, the guard was not secured in any sort of restraint and was sent flying from the vehicle to the roadway below.

Kevin climbed into the passenger seat of the cab. The driver stared at his with a mixture of shock and horror, noted the speckling of blood across his body and slammed down hard on the brakes to stop the truck. Kevin was thrown forward against the vehicle’s dashboard and window, hitting his head a second time and nearly blacking out. When his vision cleared, the driver’s seat was empty, the door open. Leaning forward, Kevin could just see the driver running for his life, away from the truck.

The first truck pulled up to Kevin as he climbed down from the vehicle’s cab and walked back towards the rear of the vehicle. Sehket jumped out of the truck and joined Kevin as he opened the rear doors. There was, again, the surprised exclamation of the female prisoners but not the head long rush of earlier as they cautiously shied way from the hulking, bruised and bloodied berserker that stood before them.

“Sehket?” Mika called in disbelief.

“Mika!”

“Sheket!” she shouted with joyious relief, “You saved me!” She threw herself into the Cardassian boy’s arms, nearly bowling them both over.

Kevin rolled his eyes. I nearly kill myself and he gets the credit, Kevin thought bitterly. It’s so typical.

:off

Lieutenant Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris