Running to The Rescue

Logan, Rahel and the rest of Echo team pushed along the edge of the forest towards the position of Alpha team. Below them was the beach, which was a fifty to sixty foot drop, with occasional dips where someone could climb up.

It took them nearly ten minutes to reach Alpha team's position. By then Beta team had also arrived and had provided cover for what remained of Alpha team. Unfortunately they had come out of the forest on a low bank and the Jem'Hadar had easily been able to climb up towards the forest.

It looked like a battlefield and Beta team was still firing when Logan and Echo arrived. The beach was littered with the corpses of about a dozen Jem'Hadar and a couple of Marines. Logan looked around the Marines.

"Where's Floten ?" He asked.

"Dead sir." One of the Marines announced, it was Private Gibs who had been leading Beta team.

"Gibs, what's our situation ?" Logan asked.

"We've got three dead and six wounded." Gibs reported. "Floten and Janson are the two dead Marines, plus one of the colonists. Two of Alpha team are wounded, both pretty bad, the rest are colonists pretty minor."

"Rahel, see what you can do ?" Logan suggested.

Rahel took the medi-kit one of the colonists was carrying and opened it up, attending to the wounded.

"What about the Jem'Hadar ?" Logan asked.

"Fourteen dead, six escaped." Gibs announced. "But at least four were hit and injured."

"Any idea where they landed ?" Logan asked.

"About six kilometres from here, due east." Lieutenant J'ross announced, arriving at the area. She looked around at carnage and the sight of dead bodies sickened her for a moment. "We noticed six Jem'Hadar retreating from the treeline as we passed by. One of the shuttles crashed into the sea, but the second managed to reach the beach."

"We need to get these casualties to a medical centre, now." Rahel announced, rising from the injured.

"Can any of them walk ?" Logan asked.

"The colonists should be OK with a few pain killers, but Jackson and Steer really do need medical attention, I can't do anything else here." Rahel replied.

"Lieutenant Jones." Logan stated. "How much light do we have left ?"

Jones looked at the sky and the fading sun. "About an hour, maybe an hour fifteen."

"Lieutenant, I want you to take the colonists back to the base." Logan suggested. "This has got serious and I don't want any more civilian casualties. You'll take the injured with you. Gibs, Waynewright see if you can make a couple of stretchers. Hendricks, stay here I'll talk to you in a second. The rest of you Marines go find our dead and place them in body bags. Leave the Jem'Hadar on the beach, we'll deal with them later."

"Yes Sir." The Marines all answered in unison. They had lost their leader, but they were still following orders.

As the other Marines dispersed, Delta team arrived on the scene. Logan noticed them looking for Floten.

"Marines, Floten and Janson are dead. We have six wounded, two seriously. For the time being, you will take orders from me." Logan ordered.

The Marines looked at each other, but realised that Logan was in command and in control.

"What can we do sir ?" The Marines asked.

"Prepare a camp site, break out the emergency shelters, leave two behind." Logan ordered. "But not fires and nothing to give our position away. Let's set-up the camp up on the ridge there, we'll assign two groups of snipers to keep an eye on the Jem'Hadar."

"Yes Sir." The Marines replied as they left with the small packs that contained the lightweight shelters.

"What about me Lieutenant ?" Hendricks enquired.

"Time for you to do your stuff." Logan replied. "I want this slope secured in case the Jem'Hadar came back."

"Some Claymores should do it. "Hendricks suggested. "A couple of Houdini's wouldn't go a miss either. I'll place them on the beach, close to the Jem'Hadar."

"Houdini's !" Logan remarked. "I thought they were banned by the Federation. Where did you get them from ?"

Houdini's were what Starfleet and the Marines had called the anti-matter mines the Jem'Hadar had used during the Dominion war. Totally undetectable until you were right on top of them, they were the most deadly weapons the Dominion used in battlefield attacks.

"I've had a couple of Houdini's 'stored' for sometime now." Hendricks announced. "Got them off a Ferengi merchant many years ago. I never had any intention of using them, I just wanted to study them, but when I saw what happened on Juno III I decided if I had the chance, I'd use them."

"I never heard you say that." Logan remarked. "All I know is that you're booby-trapping the beach and the bank."

"Understood Lieutenant." Hendricks replied, picking up is pack and stepping down onto the beach.

"What were you talking to Hendricks about ?" Rahel asked.

"Nothing." Logan lied. "He was just telling me how he was going to secure the beach from further attack. How are the injured ?"

"Surviving." Rahel announced, she could tell he was lying to her, but she let it go because she also felt the trouble he was having dealing with the death.

Ten minutes later, three black bags were placed in the forest away from the camp site, Delta team had set-up. From the camp they could make out the beach and see anyone coming from either direction. Just to make sure, Logan had sent four of the Marines, the best snipers to either side of the camp to act as scouts. Gibs and Waynewright were to the east, about fifteen hundred metres away and Bing and Flax were just over a kilometre to the west.

Lieutenant Jones and the colonists had headed back to the base, taking the wounded with them If they were lucky, they'd reach the base before the night came down on them fully.

The Marines, Logan, Rahel and M'eko sat down and looked over the tricorder scans Lieutenant J'ross had taken before she'd arrived to meet up with the rest of the group. From the scans, there was only one shuttle, the other was lost in the depths of the ocean. There were still nearly forty Jem'Hadar, probably fully armed now and preparing to fight.

"I'd guess they'd try and find our position, then jam our comms and sensors." Logan suggested. "That's what I'd do."

"We're already jamming theirs." Hendricks replied. "I planted a couple of sensor dampeners on the beach when I lay the chargers."

"Good." Logan replied. "So all we have to do now is wait."

"An attack a dawn is the most likely scenario." Hendricks announced. "The Jem'Hadar do have good eyesight and can fight in the dark, but the temperature is dropping and from their exposed position, they're not going to move until it warms up. Jem'Hadar hate the cold."

"We keep alert." Logan suggested. "We'll take it in turns to keep watch, Rahel you're with me for the first two hours, Hendricks, Marshal you'll be next, so get some sleep. Lieutenant J'ross, Booth, you'll take the next and Jenkins and Patterson will take the last watch."

Logan and Rahel rose from the camp and headed to the treeline. Once they were out of sight, Logan reached for Rahel's hand.

"We'll get through this." Rahel said. "