The crew followed Dathasa towards the back of the building, and out into the alley behind. They moved quietly around the side, stopping at the edge of the wall where Scott had instructed them with silent hand signals to stop and wait. He peeked his head around the corner and took in the scene around him. His combat trained eyes immediately took notice of the ships weapons, which looked like two forward facing polaron burst emitters, and a forward torpedo launcher. Formidable, for a craft so small, he thought to himself. He also saw there were two sentries now flanking the front door, carrying rather impressive looking rifles. Their helmets obscured their eyes, so he couldn’t tell for sure which direction they were looking, but, considering they hadn’t started firing yet, it was not this one. 

He took a deep breath. Staying low, he pulled his rifle off his shoulder, switched it to its maximum setting, and sprinted across the alley. The ship blocked the view from the front door for most of the way, but there was a short period where Scott could clearly see the sentries, between the ship and the side of the gang’s hideout. Stopping once he passed into the darkness of the building’s shadow, he pressed his body against the wall, and moved back into view of the others. He gestured for the rest of the team to join him. Bema went next, waiting for a minute before sprinting across to join his Captain. Vail went next, then Tom, and finally Dathasa brought up the rear, moving almost casually across the street. 

Once they were all on the other side, Scott motioned for Tom and Vail to check around the back of the building, hoping to find a more clandestine way in than the front door. The pair left, hugging the wall as they disappeared around the corner. Bema, Dathasa and Scott waited in tense silence, straining to hear sounds of a possible struggle, but none came. Minutes later, Vail and Tom reappeared around the corner to regroup. 

“There is a door back there” Tom whispered, “Locked, but unguarded.” 

“Okay, suggestions?” Scott replied quietly. 

“I think we split.” Bema said. “Tom and Vail go back through the back door, us three go in the front. We can take care of the guards and distract them while they break in and flank.” 

“We can also make sure no one escapes that way.” Vail said with an icy resolve in her voice. 

“Dathasa, any thoughts?” Scott asked, looking at the hard face of the Fenris Ranger who had brought them here. 

“Sounds like you have done this before.” She said with a smirk, “No notes from me.” 

“ Alright, then that’s the plan.” Scott confirmed, nodding his head. “Tom, Vail, you wait for our signal to break in.”

“Affirmative, Captain.” Tom said, readying his rifle. “May you die before you are captured.” 

“Thanks Tom.” Scott replied with a wry smile, “That always makes me feel better.” Tom and Vail disappeared back around the corner, and the remaining three made ready. 

“Is it a good day to die, Scott?” Bema asked with a smirk. 

“As good a day as any, old friend.” Scott replied. 

Dathasa remained silent, but was amazed at the resilience and maturity of these Starfleet officers. Most of the time, Starfleet favored diplomacy and non-violence, but this crew seemed hardened and battle ready, a cohesive team that could only have been formed through intense conflict. They were ready to lay down their lives for a city of people who at least did not like Starfleet, and who at worst hated them completely. She respected these officers, that was for sure. 

Scott, Bema and Dathasa rounded the corner, rifles pointed towards the guards outside the door. Scott fired first, his phaser bolt slamming into the side of the first guard, whose body turned to ash as it fell. The second guard turned towards them in surprise as Bema fired the second round, which hit the second guard in the shoulder, knocking them off their feet. The team moved to the front door, and Dathasa opened the bag to reveal several plasma grenades. She armed one and gave Scott a nod. He grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, and Dathasa tossed the grenade inside. Scott slammed the door closed again, throwing his shoulder behind it. Even through the door, the blast rattled their teeth when it went off, sending shattered glass from the large front window hurtling into the street. Scott opened the door again, following Bema and Dathasa inside. They heard the back door crash open as Vail and Tom came in that way, followed by phaser fire. 

The scene inside the door was utter chaos. There were only a few Vaadwaur inside, mingled with the dozen or so Emerald Razor members, who were all firing wildly towards Scott and his team. Dathasa broke off into an adjacent room, Bema and Scott took up places behind the door frame, returning fire. Scott leaned out, hitting one of the Vaadwaur in the helmet, and a gang member in the leg. Bema dropped two more gang members with a volley of his own. From the other room they heard Dathasa shout angrily, and a hail of phaser fire. She must be handling herself. Scott thought to himself as his latest burst missed its target and burned a black hole in the wall behind his target. 

Vail and Tom had crashed through the door into a crowd of six gang members, and had their hands full dodging disruptor fire. Vail skidded across the floor and overturned a table, spilling food and drink while disruptor bolts hammered the table’s face. “I think we picked the wrong door!” she shouted to Tom, who had dispatched one of the gang members with his rifle, and plunged his knife into the neck of another, shouting wildly. He kicked the body off the blade, snarling wildly as he sprayed the rest of the room.

“Get down, you big idiot!” Vail shouted again, standing from behind the table and killing another gang member. “Ahh, Fuck!” Vail wheeled around from the force of the disruptor bolt that hit her in the side, and dropped back to the floor reflexively. Her back against the table, she winced and covered the wound with her hand, breathing deeply. Tom let out a howl of anger, and charged the man who had shot Vail, his knife finding purchase in the gangster’s stomach. Both he and Tom slammed into the wall behind them, and Tom picked the man up from the floor, still snarling wildly. Tossing him aside like a ragdoll, Tom pointed his phaser rifle at the man without looking, and fired two shots. The other two gangsters in the room had stopped fighting, instead standing frozen in terror as the half Klingon man stared back at them, his eyes burning with murderous rage. Dropping their weapons, they thrust their hands into the air, almost in unison. Flipping the switch to stun, Tom hit them both with a shot, and they slumped to the ground. 

“Vail has been hit!” Tom shouted to the others as he made his way behind the table to where she was sitting on the ground. “Let me look.” he growled, and Vail moved her arm to let Tom inspect the damage. “It’s not fatal.” He said, pulling a field dressing from his pack and wrapping it tightly. 

Vail winced as he tied the final knot. “Damn.” she said, laughing through labored breathing, “now I’ve got to listen to the Doctor.”

A playful glint came to Tom’s eyes. “I can always finish the job.” He said with a smile, “Save you the trouble.”

Vail laughed out loud, but stopped suddenly as sharp pain caught her breathless. “Ahh, shit,” she panted, “No, because then you’ll have to hear it.” The phaser fire from the other room ceased, and an eerie calm fell over the decimated building. Scott, Bema and Dathasa came into the room, escorting one Vaadwaur prisoner, and an Orion woman. He was clearly the one they had seen entering just a short while ago. She was wearing a long, shiny black jacket, and her jet black hair was tied into intricate braids, bound at the back of her head. 

“Can you stand?” Tom asked Vail, offering her a hand. 

“Yea, I think so.” She replied, taking his hand and getting slowly to her feet. She winced in pain, leaning heavily on Tom’s large form as they hobbled slowly out from behind the table to join their comrades in front of their captives. 

“Alright.” Scott said, stepping forward, his cold steely eyes resting first on the Orion woman, then on the Vaadwaur. He reached out to pull off the Vaadwaur’s helmet, revealing the ridged, reptilian-like visage. “There we go, Now we know what you look like. Now, you see what we’ve done to the rest of your compatriots, perhaps you’ll be willing to co-operate.” The Vaadwaur said something in his alien language, and spat on the floor at Scott’s feet.

Before anyone could react, the Orion woman leapt to her feet and bolted for the door. Dathasa fired a few rounds from her disruptor, but they missed, hitting the door frame as the woman ran off. Dathasa was about to chase her, but Scott called her back. “There’s no need right now. He is the one we need information from.” 

“We can’t stay here.” Dathasa replied, rejoining the group. “All this noise will surely have alerted someone. We need to get back to the safe house.” The crew prepared to move out, Bema took Tom’s spot helping Vail walk, while Tom stood the Vaadwaur up and marched with him out the front door.  “I know a spot that isn’t far from here,” Dathasa said, glancing at Vail, “That won’t require dropping her down a ladder.” 

“Take us there, please.” Scott said, slinging his rifle over his shoulder again. Dathasa nodded, but stopped just outside the door. She bolted across the street, opened up the bag of plasma grenades, armed one and threw the whole bag through the window of the building they emerged from. The crew ran around the corner, as the bag detonated, effectively demolishing the building. 

“There, now anyone searching for where we’ve gone won’t find that trap door we came through.” Dathasa said, huffing from the effort of the run. The crew started walking, following Dathasa through the deserted city streets, headed for a safe house where they could properly interrogate their prisoner.