/\ Jefferies Tube - Right outside the bridge /\ "What the hell am I doing here" muttered Aidan and listened carefully at the screamings and screechings behind the hatch. Behind him, his part of the ODA team was waiting patiently for him to give the order to move in, and Aidan wished he would be able to stay as calm as they appeared to be. He had never been a frontline man, and he was most certainly out of place leading a team, but with the Blind Man gone, he was the highest ranking officer, and the General had chosen him to lead the ever thinning ODA team to assault the bridge. "Ok,... errr... guys, they're probably more than we are, and they are bigger and stronger and faster. If you think we have a chance, that's good for you. Just make sure, you take as many of them down before they reach us..." he addressed them, noticing with every word how lame he sounded. Ens. Deux, Cwm. Cinco and Cwm1. Vier just nodded and continued looking at the hatch. "Just do your stuff" he ended and turned back to the hatch He crouched against the hatch and tried to listen to what was going in inside, getting more and more nervous. "Ok Petty officer Lynch. We are in positon. Give that gadget of yours a spray and lets see if the X'chi were waiting for us here." erupted his commbadge, startling him. "What gadget?" he asked disoriented, then it hit him. Bretam probably thought he had the Bugzapper, when in fact, Scott had taken it to rescue the survivors. "Shit" he muttered and started to think frantically. Bretam was expecting him to set the bugs on fire, but without the flamethrower... unless... Aidan jumped back to the end of the tube and ripped out a panel. Behind it, a small console was hidden, placed there for the engineering crew to perform their repairs if needed. Feverishly, he accessed the ships environmental systems through the same way he had before and jetted over the air composition. Methane! he thought triumphantly. "Ok folks, listen up, this is the plan." he spoke hastily. "Deux, when I tell you, blow the hatch and step aside. Vier, do you think you can hit the oxygen valve right above the Main Screen? Good." he continued without waiting for an answer. "Hit it with a maximum blast and jump aside. Tonight we gonna eat fried Bugs for dinner." he grinned nervously and finished tapping on the console. The Valve was now emitting doses of highly concentrated methane gas into the room. Aidan hoped it would be enough to create the effect he wanted, and not to much to blow the bridge into pieces. He left the console and jumped back into position. "Use your masks, it's gonna be hot and difficult to breathe in there" he warned them and put on his own oxygen mask with nervous fingers. Then he lifted his fist and let it fall. Deux shot the hatch, which blasted into the bridge with a loud Boom. Vier dove to the floor and shot his phaser into the room. Almost immediately, a fiery tongue erupted out of the hatch, catching Vier in midair, as he jumped out of its way. Aidan looked panickily at Vier, as he covered his burning hair with his uniform, making the flames vanish. "I'm... I'm sorry" Aidan muttered trembling, but Vier just waved him off and joined the other two, as they had opened fire into the room, where an earpiercing screaming and screeching was threatening to leave Aidan deaf on both ears. Sweating and shaking, he pressed himself against the wall, realizing there was no space for him to join the firing. "They're fighting back!" shouted Cinco stepping back and firing into the hatch. Aidan risked a quick glance and threw himself against the wall again, almost frozen with panic. In front of the hatch, a deadly mixture of claws and beaks, burning insectoid flesh and wild, multifaceted eyes were screeching horribly, scraping and tearing metal, trying to gain access to their attackers to kill and maim. Aidan used a little opening to shoot over the other ODAs heads and tried to control his stomach at the noise, the sight and the smell. "ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy" he repeated and shot repeated and blindly into the bridge. "Fall back" shouted Vier, when suddenly, the head of one of the front X'Chi was severed by a phaser shot and fell into the tube. It bounced on the wall, and the sharp beak bore into Aidans shoulder. Aidan threw himself aside with a scream and tore the head out, feeling the warmth of his blood soaking his uniform. "It's the General" shouted Cinco with fierce delight and continued his shooting. "What the hell am I doing here" Aidan muttered again, now genuinly scared. That very moment, the three ODAs moved in. "We're clear, Lynch" shouted Vier and dissappeared through the hatch. Aidan cleared his throat, grabbed tightly his phaser and followed his team. <tbc> --------------------------------------------- PO3 Aidan Lynch ODA Eng Spc USS Chimera