SWORD Mission Log 3: Blood In The Water

Posted on Sat Apr 15th, 2017 @ 12:12pm by Commander Alexander "Alex" Knight & Lieutenant John "Pitbull" Mackey

1,201 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Caught in the Cracks
Location: On The Prowler

ON:

The doors to Alex's Quarters opened as the soft muttering from deep within the Prowler could be heard. As the doors closed, Alex walked over to the bathroom and placed his bloody hands under the faucet, triggering the water flow. He stood there silently, eyes focused on the blood stained hands, watching the red hit the water and run down the drain causing red swirls against the sinks surface. When he was finished, and his hands were clean, he stared off into the mirror as he began to dry off his hands with the towel. There was a slight pause as he looked down to the now blood stained towel, staring at it and remembering the days events before tossing it into the waste bin.

Alex stepped out of the bathroom and headed to his desk, tapping on the console to unlock it, before sitting down in his chair. He let out a deep breath before tapping on his console again and beginning his log. "Begin SWORD Mission Log." He said as the computer toned in response.

"We had him. We had him!" Alex shouted as he grabbed a PADD from his desk and threw it across the room. He quickly stood up and placed his hands on his hips, taking a few steps before he continued. "He was right there. Dylan was right there in front of us. Pitbull and Lem had the back exit. Viva and Dutch had the front. Jazz and I were inside. It was a soundproof plan, but somehow he knew we were there and caught us off guard. Dammit!" He shouted again as he moved his hands from his hips to across his chest. "Because of that, Viva is lying on a bio bed in critical condition. He used her for a hostage, and then, took it upon himself to try and kill her to get away. He knew we had everyone on the planet. He knew we wouldn't have enough time to make it back to the Prowler and give chase. He took advantage of that." Alex paused, placing his hand on the console and closing his eyes. He repeated the moments in his mind again, clenching his hands to fists as he did so. Suddenly, upon hearing Viva scream in his memory, his eyes shot opened. "I won't let him get away this time. He won't get the chance to hurt someone else again. Next time its either him, or me."

The doors opened again, prompting Alex to tapped the console to pause the log. He turned to face the entrant and put on a stern look. It was John. No doubt here to give him a report. "I got some news." John said softly before looking around. "It looks like you could use it."

"How is she?" Alex asked, leaning back against the table.

"Viva is gonna make it. Sirel has her stablized." John said softly as he walked over to the table and placed a PADD down on it. "I got to admit, its good having Grim back with the team, kind of distracting to have him a her." He added a slight chuckle, looking over to Alex who didn't seem to want to share in the laugh. Quickly, He cleared his throat and put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "We'll get him, Boss."

"It shouldn't have been like this, John. This was supposed to be where it ended, but it only made things worse." Alex said as he put his head down, letting out a deep sigh. He paused in a moment of reflection before looking up and toward his loyal friend and second in command. "Viva is on that table because I pulled her off the ship and onto the field. I did that to her."

John stood back up and turned to face Alex, the look on his face now stern and angry. "You didn't put her there. That Psycho did. She signed up to be on this team and having spent such little time with us, I can tell you for a fact that she doesn't regret going out on the field to do this job. Viva knew we needed her and she was willing to step up to the plate. She didn't hesitate. We are going to get him, and down there might not have been the place where it ended, but here is." He picked up the PADD he bought in and handed it to Alex.

"What is this?" Alex said as he took the PADD and looked at it.

"A warp trail. More specifically? Your brothers." John said firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked slightly. "He was in too much of a rush and didn't take precautions to hide it. If we follow it, we can get him."

Alex looked to the PADD again and thought about the idea for a moment. "No." He said softly before looking back to John. "I'm going alone."

"No." John responded quickly.

"Yes, I am." Alex said, raising his voice a bit. "No one else is going to get hurt because of me. This is my fight."

"Wrong. This is our fight." John said firmly, shoving Alex slightly. "If it involves one of us, it involves all of us. We're a team. A Family. We watch out for each other. If the rest of us weren't there, Viva would have been a lot worse. Maybe even dead, but we all reacted quickly. Our priority went to her, and because of that, we didn't lose her."

"I put her in that position. It was my decision that almost got her killed. I'm better off going the rest of the way on my own." Alex replied loudly. "I won't risk losing the rest of you."

"We're willing to take the risk. That's what we do, Boss." John countered, raising his voice. "We've been at this for a long time, Alex and we've never stopped watching out for each other, so there is no reason to stop now. Alex? You aren't risking our lives, because we are doing this of our free will. You're not risking our lives." He let out a deep sigh before concluding. "And what makes you think we are going to let you go without us?"

Alex looked John in the eyes before smiling a bit, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what I would do without you, John."

"Let's hope you never have to find out, Boss?" John replied. "Orders?"

"Follow the warp trail. Tell everyone else to suit up. Either we get him or we die trying." Alex replied before nodding.

John smirked slightly before nodding back. "Today is a good day for it." He slapped Alex's shoulder before walking out of the office.

Alex turned around, tapping on the console to finish his log. "SWORD Mission Log Update. One way or another, this ends. Dylan is coming in and we are going to get my alternate back. Why? Because there is no alternative."

OFF:

Lieutenant Commander Alexander 'Alex' Knight
SWORD Team Leader

Lieutenant John 'Pitbull' Mackey
SWORD Team Second

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