Timefall

Posted on 02 Sep 2024 @ 2:56pm by Lieutenant Commander Dresden Cage

Mission: M4 - Falling Out
Location: The Cultist Compound, Deep in the Mendocino Woodlands, North of San Francisco
Timeline: Seven Days Prior to Joining Obsidian Command
2192 words - 4.4 OF Standard Post Measure

As the marines surged into the compound, Dresden and Burns led a smaller team deeper into the labyrinth of corridors, their weapons at the ready. The initial sense of urgency and anticipation quickly gave way to an eerie silence as they ventured further into the facility. The compound, which should have been bustling with activity, felt disturbingly empty.
 
Burns glanced at Dresden; his eyes narrowed. “Where the hell is everyone?”
 
Dresden shook his head, his senses on high alert. “Something’s not right. Stay sharp.”
 
They pressed on, two marines right behind them. The only sounds in the immediate area were their boots clanking against the cold, hard floor, and the occasional distant echo of phaser fire—likely other marine squads mopping up the last remnants of the cultists. The absence of resistance was unsettling, and every step they took seemed to heighten the tension in the air.
 
As they moved deeper into the compound, Dresden noticed something strange on the walls. He stopped, squinted at the markings that had started to appear. They weren’t just random scrawls; they looked like sequences of numbers and symbols arranged in logical patterns. 
 
“Burns, take a look at this,” Dresden said as he stopped and pointed to the symbols. The two other marines with them took up both ends of the corridor for security.
 
Burns approached; his brow furrowed. “These look like… equations or maybe puzzles. But why?”
 
Dresden didn’t have an immediate answer. He took out his tricorder and scanned the symbols. The tricorder came back with nothing. “Nothing,” Dresden said, his frustration growing. “And I wasn’t exactly a fan of logic puzzles, so I couldn’t tell ya.”
 
There was something deeply unsettling about the place.
 
“We need to keep moving,” Dresden said as he teared his eyes away from the symbols.
 
They continued down the corridor; the puzzles became more frequent and the air much heavier. The further they went, the more the compound felt like it was transforming into something more dangerous.
 
Finally, they reached a large, heavy door, partially ajar and covered in the same cryptic symbols. Dresden and Burns exchanged a glance, knowing this had to be where Lake, Cortes, and Ansol were hiding. Unless they weren’t here at all.
 
One of the marines stood guard at the door while the other three were ready to go in. 
 
“Ready?” Burns asked, his voice low and tense.
 
Dresden nodded. Together, the three of them pushed the door open.
 
What they found on the other side was a massive, cavernous room. The ceiling stretched high above them, which disappeared into darkness, and the walls were lined with more of the strange symbols. But what dominated the room was a large, round metal device in the center. At the center of the device was a small console and a chair. 
 
“What is this?” Dresden said. 
 
As Dresden stepped further into the room, the floor shifted slightly under his weight, and suddenly, the device sprang to life. Gears began to turn, lights flickered on, and a low hum filled the chamber and grew in intensity with each passing second.
 
“What did you do?” Burns asked, his voice tinged with alarm.
 
A holographic display flickered to life above the device, projecting a series of numbers and shapes, a riddle that required logic reasoning.
 
The ground beneath them began to tremble violently as the floor shifted and broke apart. The solid stone they stood on separated into large, floating blocks that detached from one another and left gaping voids between them. The floor had transformed into a precarious platform, hovered above an endless abyss. One wrong step, and they would fall into the darkness below.
 
"Stay on the blocks!" Dresden shouted, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. He jumped to a nearby block that was still close enough to reach. Burns and the other marine quickly followed suit, each finding their own platforms.
 
Before they could fully understand the danger, the entrance to the room burst inward, and in came Commander Lake, flanked by Ensign Cortes. Just as the door closed behind them, Dresden made out Ensign Ansol and the other marine who stood guard on the ground. They both lay motionless. Lake's face twisted into a sneer. "Looks like we have more company."
 
The last marine raised his rifle and pressed the trigger. But nothing happened. For unknown reasons, their weapons were useless in this room. Cortes, eyes cold and focused, didn’t hesitate. Before anyone could react, he jumped forward onto one of the moving blocks. Then, with a swift and brutal motion, he leaped onto the block the marine stood and shoved him off. The marine flailed desperately, but there was nothing to grab onto.
 
"No!" Burns shouted as he lunged forward and tackled Cortes. The force sent both him and Cortes tumbling onto another block, teetering on the edge.
 
Amid the chaos, Lake had already begun studying the holographic puzzles floating above the device. She quickly realized what needed to be done.
 
Lake started to solve the puzzles, each one demanding her focus and logic. With each correct answer, the block she stood on shifted closer to the device in the center of the room. The puzzles ranged from completing sequences of numbers, where the missing number had to be deduced based on the pattern, to matching shapes that followed a particular logic. As Lake solved each puzzle, her block inched closer to the device, narrowing the gap.
 
Dresden, saw what she was doing and knew he had to act fast. He turned his attention to another set of puzzles projected in front of him. These were simpler, more straightforward patterns of symbols, sequences, and colors. He began to solve them, his block slowly moved toward the device as well.
 
Burns and Cortes had ended up on two separate blocks but each of them were ready in case the other charged. For now, they were at a stalemate. 
 
As Dresden solved more puzzles, his block moved closer, but the gaps between the floating platforms were still wide. He could see the determination in Lake’s eyes—she was willing to do whatever it took to reach the device first.
 
The room became a tense battleground of intellect and strategy, with Dresden and Lake racing against each other to reach the device. Dresden’s heart pounded as he completed puzzle after puzzle, each correct answer brought him closer to the center.
 
Finally, Dresden’s and Lake’s block were nearly side by side, just a few feet away from the device. They locked eyes, both understood that this was the final stretch.
 
Both Dresden and Lake made the final leap onto the central platform at the same time. A fierce struggle ensued, their bodies colliding as they fought for control. They traded blows, each tried to gain the upper hand, but they were evenly matched. Dresden not trying to put forth all his effort and Lake not completely able to match Cage’s stature and training. 
 
Lake, who lacked the physical abilities of Cage, made up for it with sheer cunning. As they grappled, she suddenly cried out in pain and clutched her side. Dresden, hesitated then instinctively concerned, tried to help. But it was all the time Lake needed. She used the momentary distraction to drive her knee into Dresden’s gut which knocked the wind out of him. His breathing uncontrollable and sent him sprawling onto the edge of the platform.
 
Dresden gasped for air, tried to recover, but Lake was already at the controls. She began to input a sequence into the device. The gears and lights on the machine spun faster, and the entire room seemed to resonate with the energy of whatever Lake had activated.
 
“No!” Dresden shouted as he struggled to his feet. 
 
The device emitted a blinding flash of light, and in the next instant, Lake and the machine was gone. The platform he stood was empty save some smoke and debris that was kicked up in the air and the hum of some strange, ominous energy.
 
Dresden stood there, breathless and stared at the spot where Lake and the machine had just been. Sweat flowed down his cheek. A defeat in his eyes like never before. 
 
On the other side of the room, having seen the device disappear, Burns took a gamble, aimed his side arm at Cortes and fired. The blast knocked him off and into the void below. 
 
Suddenly, the floating blocks jolted and moved back toward each other. It began to reassembly and once it was completed, it was now for safe travel around the room. 
 
Burns walked over to Dresden, “What happened? Where is she?”
 
“I’m not sure,” Dresden replied, his voice with a heavy sigh, frustration, and anger.
 
Before they could process and discuss what had just happened, the sound of approaching reinforcements echoed through the corridors. The heavy footsteps and distant chatter of marines filled the air, a stark contrast to the eerie silence that had pervaded the compound earlier.
 
Within moments, a squad of marines stormed into the chamber, weapons drawn and secured the room. A second lieutenant walked over to Burns. 
 
“Sir, are you alright?”
 
“We’re fine,” Burns responded, though his voice was laced with tension. “But the situation just got a lot more complicated.”
 
Dresden took a deep breath, his mind raced with the implications of what had just happened.
 
A few moments later Dresden and Burns were escorted back to the entrance of the compound then to the landing area. Dresden felt the exhaustion weighing him down, both physically and mentally, as they made their way toward the landing area. 
 
Dresden found an empty transport shuttle ready to lift off, walked inside, and sat on the passenger bench. He was the only one there. The pilot at the ready when he was. 
 
“Hey, Cage” Burns said as he stopped right before the ramp. Dresden looked at him. “I gotta clean up here but I’m sure we’ll see each other again real soon.” 
 
“Yes, we will.” Dresden said with a smile as if a great adventure was on the horizon. Dresden added, “Thanks for everything.”
 
“Yup.” Burns replied with a smile almost hidden as he turned and walked away to command the scene. 
 
The shuttle’s ramp started to rise as another shuttle landed behind them with the Starfleet intelligence insignia postered on the side. Dresden just sat alone. His gaze distant as the hum of the shuttle’s engines started to climb. It lifted up and over the trees and turned south toward the city. Dresden requested he be taken back to the academy. 
 
As the city lights of San Francisco began to twinkle on the horizon, Dresden reached for his data pad and began to record a personal log:
 
"Personal Log, Dresden Cage.
 
Today’s mission was successful in many ways—we secured the compound, neutralized most of the cult’s leadership, and recovered vital intelligence on their operations. But the mission was also a failure in one crucial aspect: Commander Lake. She got away, and not just in any ordinary sense. She used a device—something that is far more advanced than anything we’ve encountered. A time machine, maybe. That’s what a source told me. I’m not sure, and that’s what scares me.
 
I don’t know how I’m going to explain all this to my superiors. Starfleet Intelligence or even Section 31 will have a field day with me on this one. I’m sending them every piece of data we collected, every scan, every log, and I hope to hell they can make sense of it.
 
But what I’ve determined, what I fear, is that we have no idea what she plans to do. That’s whats going to keep me awake now.
 
If Lake has access to a time machine, there’s no telling what she could do. Change the past, influence the future… the possibilities are terrifying. And strangely, I don’t think we truly understand all this time travel stuff either. How or if it does affect anything. We shall see.
 
Computer, end log.”
 
Dresden ended the log and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes to get a few moments rest but was interrupted by the pilot. 
 
“Lieutenant” the pilot interrupted. “Sir, just wanted to inform you that a couple of agents from Starfleet Intelligence await you on the landing pad when we arrive.”
 
“Thanks.” Dresden replied as he turned away from the pilot and closed his eyes. He opened them up quickly as something came to mind. “Oh, what time is it?” 
 
“1900 hours (7PM)” the pilot replied. 
 
Dresden remembered the note found inside the victim earlier. It read: “Tonight. 7PM.”
 
Dresden’s mind was racing. He had so many questions. He knew this was far from over.

Somewhere, in an unknown time and place, Commander Lake materialized, the time machine hummed softly as it completed its cycle. She stepped out, her eyes adjusted to the new surroundings—an era long past, or perhaps a future yet to be written.