Star Trek: Pytheas - 106 - The Art of War

[CeJay]

A decisive victory for the good guys but at a very high cost. The Cha'lav have clearly overextended themselves and their smug arrogance is not helping. Now they're down another command behemonth, greatly incresing Starfleet's chances to hold off this invasion attempt.

I'm suprised to see Astar is still on her feet after all she's gone through. She won't be able to keep this up for much longer, I fear.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Chapter Seventeen

USS Pytheas
New Tokyo system
Stardate 55438.2 (June 9, 2378)

'Talen, what is the ship's status?'

'All systems are fully operational,' the Andorian replied. 'The Everest is now holding position one hundred kilometres off our starboard bow.'

'Gonzales, weapons status?'

'Good to go. The Cha'lav cruisers are now approaching the planet.'

'On screen.'

Astar watched as the two vessels disappeared into the atmosphere. 'Can they land?'

'The only person you can ask isn't here,' the tactical officer replied wryly.

The captain grimaced at the reminder. 'Get Madden on the comm.'

'Aye sir, channel is open.'

'Martin, what's your status?'

Madden appeared on the viewscreen. 'I've got full shields and weapons. We might not be going anywhere in a hurry but we can fight.'

'Good, I'm taking the Pytheas into the atmosphere to take out those Cha'lav cruisers. Follow us and maintain a high orbit. Be my eyes and ears.'

Madden nodded. 'You got it, Captain.'

Astar glanced at Larson. 'Ensign, let's go atmospheric.'

Gonzales tapped her combadge. 'All hands, go to blue alert and prepare for atmospheric flight. Repeat, secure all stations for atmospheric flight.'

The Pytheas surged forward at full impulse and within minutes had eaten up the distance between the edge of the system and the planet. The ship plunged into the atmosphere on a shallow glide trajectory.

'Hold us steady, Ensign. I want to take those ships out with a surgical strike and pick up our people at the same time.'

'Aye sir,' the helmsman replied.

'Transporter room is standing ready, Captain,' Gonzales added.

'Where are those ships? Give me a tactical plot.'

The main image shrank to the bottom left corner and a tactical overlay where all the ships were within the planetary atmosphere took up the view. The Cha'lav cruisers were flying low over the landscape, firing at the main buildings of the colony before turning to head towards their damaged ship.

'Take out that lead ship,' Astar ordered, pointing to the one firing.

'Aye sir,' Gonzales replied and fired a phaser barrage at the vessel's engines.

Without shields, the engines had no protection and the vessel exploded five hundred metres off the ground, sending debris in every direction. Unfortunately for the other cruiser, it was flying in close formation to its partner and some of the debris hit the unprotected hull.

'Fire again!' Astar ordered.

'...to Pytheas, come...Parker to....in, urgent...respond...' the comm stuttered before Gonzales fired.

'Go ahead, Parker. We read you,' Astar replied. 'Repeat your last message. You're breaking up.'

'Do not fire on that last ship, Captain. They have picked up a nuclear cargo from the wreck. If you destroy that vessel, you'll be condemning this planet and its people to death.'

Astar considered her options for a very brief moment. 'I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I must think of the bigger picture.'

'Acknowledged,' Parker replied. 'It's been an honour serving with you, Captain.'

'Transporter room one is standing by. She has a lock on all away team members.'

'Energise. As soon as they're aboard, fire at the remaining cruiser.'

'Aye sir, it's heading to the wreck and charging weapons.'

'Radiation at the wreck?'

'Minimal now that the nuclear material has been removed. I've never seen anything like it. The wreck should still be completely irradiated...We have them.'

'Fire!'

Gonzales did as she was asked and a second mushroom cloud was created as the cruiser was destroyed by a direct hit from the Pytheas' phaser banks. As the Starfleet ship headed through the clouds and returned to orbit, Parker emerged from the turbolift followed by her away team as they tried to hold her back. She marched up to the centre chair as Astar stood up and before the captain could say a word, Parker made to backhand her, but the captain grabbed her hand.

'Do you want to be removed from duty and put through a court-martial?'

'You didn't give those people a chance.'

'I have to think of the rest of the galaxy, Lieutenant. Destroying that ship and possibly dooming those people to death may have saved hundreds of thousands or millions of others.'

Parker withdrew her hand. 'We'll see about that. Request permission to return to the surface?'

'Denied, we need to return to the starbase.'

'I'll be filing a formal protest with Starfleet Command about this,' Parker replied. 'You made the wrong decision.'

'Be that as it may, the decision was made and acted upon. Your objections have been noted.'

Parker snorted in disgust and headed back to the turbolift, muttering to herself. 'Won't need the Cha'lav to kill us, we're doing it ourselves.'

Astar refused to comment, believing that she had made the right decision.

'Sir, we're receiving a coded message from Starbase 535,' Gonzales said and looked up. 'Six Cha'lav cruisers of a design not seen before have been spotted by the Resoto heading toward the Kursican system. They'll be there in approximately five days.'

'Get the Everest in tow and then engage at maximum warp. It's time we ended this. They're going to keep coming at us until we're done.'

'How can we stop them?'

'I need to talk to Parker alone,' Astar said. 'You have the bridge.'

'Aye sir.'

Astar found the angry security chief in a corner of the galley, sitting alone at a table.

'We need to stop this next wave of six ships. How do you suggest we do it?'

'Cruisers?'

'Something we haven't seen before.'

Parker sighed. 'Dreadnoughts. Only way to stop them is to whittle down the shields and ram them. The hull can withstand a number of quantum torpedo hits before it even gets dented.'

'We won't have enough ships.'

'Then I don't know what to suggest.'

'Is there no other way?'

'Not that I know of. Though I am surprised that they have brought the Dreadnoughts in so soon. They're the second largest vessel in the Cha'lav fleet, second only to the avian control ships and there aren't many of them around. The fact that there are six of them means that the Cha'lav are worried about losing this galaxy and have called in reinforcements. I don't know how many ships they have in this galaxy any more, they seem to be pulling them off other fronts.'

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I wonder, for taking out those dreadnoughts--the name for them reminds me of an idea.

Why not ask the friendly neighborhood Cardassians for some of those unmanned ship-missiles they tried to use on the Maquis? That way you can ram the ship and not have to sacrifice people to do it.

Or come up with something bigger, on that same principle?

And this is twice now Astar has either failed to prevent or been directly involved in a genocide or other mass casualty event. AND I believe she's still wanted for what she did in the Mirror Universe. Now even I am beginning to think she may not be fit for command.

 

[BrotherBenny]

You'll have to wait until her court-martial in 1x08 to know what Command thinks of her actions

----------------------------------------------

Chapter Eighteen

Cha'lav Cruiser
Delta Quadrant
Stardate 55440.1 (June 10, 2378)

Andraprani zh'Malashan stalked the control centre of her personal cruiser, mindful not to kill any of the crew. The remaining vessels in the Milky Way galaxy were presently engaged in a conflict with the Borg which was displacing hundreds of thousands of people, scattering them across the galaxy. What had her worked up was the fact that six Dreadnoughts had broken from the Andromeda galaxy fleet and gone back to the Kursican sector to finish off the battle that the previous contingent had started with no success. Every vessel had been destroyed and the Cha'lav Hegemony were now pulling ships off other fronts to combat Starfleet and their allies, but it was to the detriment of the other wars they were fighting. Since their attacks on this galaxy had commenced, more than a million other worlds across their nearly three hundred thousand galaxies had started to fight back with resources they shouldn't have had.

Her mission to cement the Cha'lav hold on the Milky Way was not going well and her Starfleet contacts had provided the troubling information that there was a Code Black warrant out for her. Clearly they were taking no chances with her and her death was a top priority amongst the intelligence community. Two consoles started to chirp with new information coming in and she strode over to them as the technicians retrieved the data. It was not good news. The Eeroth had joined the Ynelavii Cooperative and Starfleet were rallying their forces for a final showdown which would end with the Cha'lav ships taking Kursica and the orbiting starbase or the ships being destroyed and the Cha'lav needing to find another access point.

'My Lady, Lord Fetar wishes to speak with you,' a Primate communications officer told her.

'Put him through.'

'Andorian, you have failed again. I will not spare any further ships for the Milcha Wae campaign.'

Prani stepped closer to the screen. 'Your own incompetence has cost you this galaxy, my Lord. I warned you that your tactics would be unsuccessful because Starfleet know how to improvise. You must adapt and counter their innovation with your own or this galaxy will never fall under your feathers.'

'You are the warrior leading the people in the Milcha Wae, therefore it falls to you to make the decisions.'

'Perhaps you should have informed the late Lord Linta of that fact,' she replied. 'He used one your vessels and it was later destroyed, with all the remaining vessels dedicated to the battle still inside. All I have is the remainder of the fleet in what this galaxy calls the Delta Quadrant.'

'The war with the Borg is going well?'

'The fluidic vessels are eager to get revenge on the Borg and are making our job much easier. I have lost a few ships to the Borg's nanite weapon that Voyager provided them but the cubes are being destroyed and thousands of vessels are fleeing the area, toward the Alpha Quadrant.'

'We will wait until those vessels arrive and the local political players are busy dealing with them before we attack again.'

'Exactly as I suggested to Lord Linta, which I assume he took the credit for.'

'So it would seem,' Fetar agreed. 'You will continue the fight?'

'Of course, though I fully expect the Dreadnoughts to be destroyed and Starfleet to be successful in defending the sector.'

'What will happen then?'

'Starfleet will lay claim to the region, set up a new starbase and assign more ships, making it more heavily defended. It is unlikely that you will be able to make another attempt in that area.'

'We don't need to. While you have been doing what we asked, I have been assigning infiltrators to soften up the local political entities. By the time the refugees arrive, everyone will be so busy that we'll be able to attack and overwhelm their fleets, forcing a surrender.'

'They won't surrender.'

'Then they'll die.'

'That will be the end result. You will end up with a galaxy full of corpses.'

'Once enough of them have died, they will surrender. It is the way of the universe.'

'Then you have met your match in this galaxy. Every race will fight until the last man.'

'Is that what usually happens when an invading force has overwhelming numbers?'

'Yes, it happened three years ago and they successfully fought the invaders off.'

'I see, I want all the information you have on Starfleet and they're allies. It is time I took a more active interest in this galaxy.'

'Of course, my Lord. The information will be sent through with the next crewmembers.'

'I want it immediately. There is much to learn about these Starfleet people.'

'As you wish, beginning transmission.'

'When do you reach your next objective?'

'I will reach the Byzari homeworld in approximately one standard month.'

'Excellent. I want the population enslaved, not killed. They are strong people and their engineering knowledge is urgently needed to further the Hegemony. We are currently building new ships with superior technology to end the rebellion before it can spread further.'

Prani felt no need to mention that the rebellion had already spread too far to control and would soon be a civil war between the Cha'lav races. It was only a matter of time before the Council was disbanded and the avians would be left in ultimate control of the Hegemony with the aquatics.

'I will inform you of the result of the battle with Starfleet and when the Byzari will be available to you.'

'I look forward to hearing from you, Andorian; Fetar out.'

'Birdbrain,' Prani muttered once the channel was closed. 'Contact the Dreadnoughts and have them submit their battle plan. I want to make some changes to it.'

'As you command, my Lady.'

She took the command chair and looked around her. They were scared of her, and she knew that at least one of them would kill her in her sleep if they had the opportunity. She needed loyal soldiers if she was to pull off her escape from these barbarians and run deeper into the Delta Quadrant. It would only be a matter of time before Parker managed to extricate herself from Starfleet and come after her.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Well, now...this Prani is even MORE deserving of death now if she is actually LEADING the Cha'lav assault!

One question. Is the humanoid model standard in the other galaxies the Cha'lav rule, or is that just a quirk of the Milky Way that could explain some of the differences that they're running into in dealing with the Federation and the many other races of the Milky Way?

 

[BrotherBenny]

I haven't given it much thought. One would presume quite different unless the Progenitors or some race like them visited other galaxies.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I haven't given it much thought. One would presume quite different unless the Progenitors or some race like them visited other galaxies.

What I was trying to figure out is this...what should I picture the Cha'lav as looking like? Are they all variations of humanoid, like with most of the Xindi, or is the base template something else? If we're encountering humanoids, are they engineered specifically for this galaxy?

If other galaxies didn't have Progenitors, who spread one form around the entire galaxy, this could be a BIG problem for the Cha'lav. I mean, humans, Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians might seem to have a lot of differences to people used to living where most races are humanoid, but what you point out about the Dominion War is key--because they have so much in COMMON, they were able to unite. Have the Cha'lav ever faced political blocs of THAT many species with the same form who could relate well to each other (well by the standards of galaxies without Progenitors!) almost all can live in each other's environments, most have languages based on one basic model (speech--and even those who don't tend to have the same form, allowing for the gap to be bridged by common means like sign language...I mean, five fingers, same arm and face structure!), spanning two quadrants (Alpha/Beta) that were NOT Borg-like, and had the capacity to innovate?

 

[BrotherBenny]

The Cha'lav species are all basically humanoid, except the avians who are truly avian.

The Hegemony is facing united resistance in every galaxy they control and every defeat at the hands of Starfleet is being communicated to the resistance, galvanising more and more races in the subjugated galaxies.

I'm postulating that most species in most galaxies are approximately humanoid and corporeal, otherwise the Cha'lav would not have been able to conquer them.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Chapter Nineteen

Starbase 535
Kursican system
Stardate 55442.8 (June 11, 2378)

There were fewer vessels than last time but all had been repaired and had their weapons replenished. Parker had spent the last two days overseeing the retrofit and refit of every ship in the fleet, over subspace and then in person, making sure that everything was working properly. She had gone to the Vault to look at what was left from the Cha'lav removal beams and saw that as McNamara had earlier said, Captain Drummond's stasis tube and every other piece of technology was gone. All they had left was the database which they were still translating.

'Do you have any suggestions?' Madden asked the Pytheas' security chief.

'None. I have no idea how we can combat the Dreadnoughts. Even in my time they were almost impossible to destroy.'

'But not completely impossible. How did you do it?'

'By whittling down their shields and then sacrificing dozens of ships by ramming the Dreadnoughts and self-destructing the warp cores. If we don't find another way of doing it, then we're not going to survive this.'

'Astar to Parker.'

'Go ahead, Captain.'

'Will the Eeroth satellite weapon work on the Dreadnoughts?'

'They might if they were sufficiently powerful enough. But we would need hundreds of them.'

'Every ship capable of industrial replication has been given the specifications. We'll deploy them throughout the inner system, orbiting every moon and planet, and then bring them online.'

'What if they get here first?'

'Then someone will have to hold them off while we complete the task.'

Parker considered what that would mean. 'We'd be sitting ducks. We'll need half a dozen ships to cover for us, while the remaining ships work on bringing down the Dreadnoughts' shields.'

'And the starbase can provide a provide extra cover if needed.'

'Great idea, Captain. I'll have a tactical plan on your desk before the end of shift.'

'Excellent, Astar out.'

'Commander, we have a battle plan to work out.'

'Do you think it'll work?'

'It's the best plan we have.'

Parker returned to the ship and watched as the satellites were replicated, put together, programmed and stored in the cargo bays ready for deployment. She completed her battle plan and submitted it to Astar two hours before the end of her shift. Astar looked at it and then glanced up at her security chief.

'Why have you split the fleet like this?'

'Each race knows how to fight alongside others of their race. The Ynelavii Cooperative has almost twenty ships remaining among their number and the Kursicans another five, two of which are still undergoing final shakedowns. They'll split in half to go after the Dreadnoughts while the Eeroth will be mining the system with the satellites, as will we. The Resoto will be left to swarm one Dreadnought at a time while covering us as best they can.'

'And the starbase?'

'I think at least one of the Dreadnoughts will try to destroy the starbase and/or Kursica itself. The starbase will be out of the fight.'

'I don't like the look of your estimated losses.'

'Neither do I, Captain, but they are realistic based on how difficult the Dreadnoughts are to destroy and the capabilities and battle damage of the available ships.'

'Still, sixty-five percent is rather high.'

'Yes sir, it is. The odds will significantly improve if the Mandela and de Keyser are able to reach us in time.'

'When did we get two Sovereign-class ships?'

'Captain Logan was able to convince Command that this sector would fall unless we got some additional firepower. The only problem is that they still have their current missions to complete beforehand. Hopefully they'll arrive in time to make a difference.'

'How long before the Dreadnoughts get here?'

'A little over two days,' Parker replied. 'We've currently got ninety-three satellites ready to be deployed. I suggest we begin deployment immediately and replicate the others as we go along.'

'How are the Eeroth doing?'

'They don't have the capability to replicate the satellites. We do, as do the Romulans and Klingons. They're both working flat out but they estimate that they'll be able to replicate seventy before their raw material is exhausted. The Eeroth are supplying the power cells for the satellites.'

'What type of power do they use?'

'It is some kind of zero point energy device, but they've refused to let us study the technology.'

'We'll take what scans we can of it.'

'Every zero point energy power cell they've given us is shielded from our sensors with an unusual metallic alloy. I'll keep working on a way to get through it.'

'Keep me apprised of your progress. This zero point energy may be the key to ending the Cha'lav's machinations in our galaxy.'

'I'll need Xeris and Malling to assist me.'

'Take whoever you need, but remember that our priority is to stop the Cha'lav by deploying the satellite field.'

'We're ready to begin deployment, Captain. The Klingons and Romulans are deploying their satellites in orbit of the fourth and fifth planets, and their moons. Our job is to deploy the remainder around the first, second and third planets and their respective moons.'

'All right, I'll order the ship ready for departure. Have Gonzales coordinate with the other ships.'

'Aye sir,' Parker replied and left the ready room.

She did not immediately return to her office as she had some unfinished business to take care of with the starbase's resident intelligence operative.

Lieutenant Paul Marshall had been reassigned at the Everest's chief of security while Admiral Nechayev sorted through his reports on the Ocampa girl, Murdoch and his own actions over the last few weeks. He was enjoying a raktajino in the starbase's recreation lounge when she approached him.

'What do you want?' he asked sourly.

'Missing your boyfriend?'

'What's it to you?'

'I think that Ocampa girl told him something and he went off to find out if she was telling the truth. It would explain why no one has heard from them in weeks.'

'Such as?'

'A way to defeat the Cha'lav. I want you to go and look for them.'

'On what grounds? And where would I start?'

'You're the Intelligence guy, figure it out,' she replied and walked away.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Chapter Twenty

USS Pytheas
Kursica III orbit
Stardate 55448.1 (June 13, 2378)

Captain Leza Astar felt the ship slow as the next satellite was dropped into a high orbit of the third planet in the system. If her calculations were right, it was the last one for this planet and they could move on to the first of its three moons. She watched the viewscreen as the satellite moved into position with its thrusters and then aligned itself to the others already in orbit. From what she'd been told, the satellites would be able to operate independently or as a group, both in planetary groups or as a whole, capable of destroying an entire planet if necessary. From the tactical console behind her and to the right, Gonzales confirmed her theory.

'That was the last one, now moving into position to drop five satellites in orbit of the first moon.'

'How long until the Dreadnoughts reach the system?'

'Less than an hour. We need at least twice that long to finish dropping the satellites.'

'We won't have it. I suspect we'll have fifteen minutes once the Dreadnoughts arrive,' Astar replied. 'Tell Xeris to calibrate faster. We can move faster if we need to.'

'We should not exceed one tenth impulse or the satellites already dropped will consider us a target. Only when when the entire array has been dropped can they be uploaded with the Cha'lav targets. It's a major flaw in the Eeroth design and we didn't have time to correct it before we started the deployment.'

'Have the Ditagh and Gilded Talon finished their drops?'

'They have and they cloaked immediately afterwards. I don't have them on sensors.'

'We'll have to make do without them.'

'Sir, incoming from Captain Logan.'

'Put him on.'

'Leza, they're entering the system now. How are you doing?'

'We need another ninety minutes. How long till they're in weapons range?'

'Thirty-one minutes, work faster. Logan out.'

'How inspiring,' Talen muttered.

'Captain, the fleet is in position,' Gonzales said. 'Still no sign of the Klingons or Romulans. Xeris believes he's found a way to decrease drop time and is requesting permission to try it.'

'Negative, continue at present speed until we're out of options. I don't want to damage the network.'

'Aye sir.'

Astar continued to watch the viewscreen as the ship entered high orbit of the Kursica III's first moon. She saw one satellite move into position and then felt the ship shudder and the lights dim. 'What the hell was that?'

'Gonzales to cargo bay two.'

'Get down there, Commander.'

Before Gonzales made it to the turbolift, Xeris responded. 'One of the satellites fired prematurely, Commander. It took out power to half the deck and melted the cargo bay door. There's no way of getting back in there. The forcefield is down.'

'Damn,' Astar cursed. 'Is there any way to remote drop the satellites?'

'They are programmed to be controlled remotely,' Xeris acknowledged. 'Stand by.'

As Larson guided the ship into position for the next drop, three satellites emerged from the ship and moved to their pre-determined coordinates. Astar sighed in relief. At least they would be able to get them in position before the Cha'lav attacked with an all out assault.

'Take us to the next moon, Ensign.'

'Aye sir, Kursica IIIb is our next stop.'

'Captain, there's a ship approaching from the outer system. Intercept in thirteen minutes.'

'Can you identify it?'

'It's a Dreadnought. The other five are still on trajectory for the starbase.'

Parker entered the bridge as Astar ordered, 'on screen.' The Dreadnought was a large arrow-wedge-shaped vessel with gun ports along every side. 'Weaponry?'

'Sixteen torpedo launchers and over thirty disruptor turrets. Once they have a firing solution on us we're dead in the water.'

'Ensign, I'm going to need your piloting skills on this one, but do not exceed one tenth impulse until the last satellite is dropped.'

'Aye sir,' Larson replied as he glanced up at the viewscreen and the massive ship approaching their position. 'Now approaching Kursica IIIb.'

'Xeris is remotely dropping the satellites.'

'The Dreadnought will be in firing range in seven minutes.'

'How long until the last satellite has been dropped?'

'Eighteen minutes. We still have one more moon to seed.'

'Red alert, ready phasers and quantum torpedoes.'

'All systems ready.'

'Shields?'

'Ninety-seven percent, but we can't raise them while we're dropping the satellites.'

Astar watched the large vessel move ever closer and her experienced eye caught something. 'Gonzales, magnify the lower left quadrant, and enhance.'

'Sir?'

'What do you see?'

'It looks like an jagged breach in the hull. Have they been in a battle?'

'If they haven't been fully repaired, then we could have the upper hand. Parker, what do you think?'

'I think you're right, Captain. They were obviously rushed out here without completing their repairs. This may give us the upper hand, but these vessels are still immensely powerful.'

'Two minutes to firing range,' Gonzales called out.

'Bridge to Xeris, how's it coming?'

'I'm calibrating the last of them now, Captain. I'll drop them all at once and then we can get out of here.'

'Excellent, keep me informed. Astar out.'

A blue beam suddenly erupted from the Dreadnought and Larson slewed the ship down the z-axis to avoid it, but the weapon still impacted the shields, albeit with a glancing blow.

'Shields down to eighty percent. We cannot take full on shots from that weapon, whatever it is,' Gonzales said. 'It blew out a bunch of power relays on two decks. Recommend we avoid that ship.'

'I'm trying,' Larson replied through gritted teeth as three torpedoes began their inexorable flight toward the Pytheas.

Gonzales used the phasers to good effect and took out one of the torpedoes but the Dreadnought chose that moment to fire it's beam weapon again and the Pytheas was in the wrong position to avoid it. 'Shields are gone,' Gonzales said as the ship shook violently, throwing Astar from her chair. 'I've lost the lock on the last torpedo.'

Astar scrambled back to her chair as the ship flew through the expanding debris cloud from the satellite and the two torpedoes, to see the last one coming straight for them. 'Incoming, all hands, brace for impact.'

 

[BrotherBenny]

Chapter Twenty-One

USS Pytheas
Kursican system
Stardate 55448.2 (June 13, 2378)

Astar watched in horror as the torpedo slammed into the unprotected hull and blew apart the secondary deflector on the primary hull. She saw explosive decompression ripple across every forward section of the primary hull, and then the chair restraints snapped into place as the viewscreen was completely blown into space along with the helm console, Ensign Larson and two other crewmen before the forcefield initialised. Larson turned to her as he was sucked out of the ship and she knew that she was never going to be able to forget the look on his face. She would remember the look of terror and helplessness as long as she and the symbiont lived.

Quickly realising that the Dreadnought would now come around for another pass, she threw the restraints off and turned to face what remained of the stunned bridge crew. 'Evacuate this deck, now!' she ordered. 'Gonzales re-establish bridge control in main engineering and have Ensign Jatarn take over helm duties for now.'

'Aye sir,' the tactical officer replied, sending the order, and then glanced at her console as it chirped for her attention. 'The Ditagh and the Gilded Talon have arrived, Captain. They're distracting the Dreadnought.'

'Thank the Gods for small mercies,' she said as the remaining crew entered the turbolift and tapped her combadge. 'Jatarn, get us out of the fighting for now. We need to take stock of our damage.'

'Aye sir, withdrawing. Damage to the primary hull is extensive, Captain,' the beta shift helm officer replied. 'We've lost sections one to six on decks one through eight and the main deflector has taken a minor hit. Shields, torpedoes and aft phasers are gone, forward phasers operational at sixty percent.'

'Thank you, Ensign, continue to monitor the situation. We'll join you momentarily.'

'Aye sir, Jatarn out.'

'Are we out of the fight, Captain?' Gonzales asked.

'Not a chance. Once we get back online in engineering, we'll mine the Dreadnought's path with proximity-armed torpedoes and then we'll finish dropping the satellites.'

'That won't be possible, sir,' Xeris told her as they arrived in engineering. 'The cargo bay doors are fused shut. We won't be dropping any more satellites. I've had to disarm the remainder.'

'How many?'

'Eight,' the chief engineer replied. 'But although there will be a gap in the field, what there is should be ample for the task of disabling or destroying the Dreadnoughts.'

Astar considered her options. 'Contact the Eeroth and have them activate the network as soon as they are able. I want you to take a team and mount the remaining satellites on our hull. We'll be a mobile planet. Work out where to place them and get started. We'll activate them once they're all in place and slave our mobile network to the Eeroth.'

'I'm not happy with our not being in control of the ship, Captain,' Gonzales interrupted.

'Neither am I, Commander, but we've suffered extensive damage to the point of it not being safe to go to warp. We're stuck here for now and I'm damned if I'm going to let the Cha'lav win. We've already lost a lot of ships. Now, what is the situation with the rest of the fleet?'

'Captain Logan is fending off one Dreadnought, as are we with the Gilded Talon and Ditagh. The Resoto are close to disabling a third, while the Cooperative fleet have split into three groups and taking pot shots at the remaining three vessels. The Eeroth have just finished dropping the last of their satellites and accept our delay in completing our section of the system. They'll be ready to activate the network as soon as we're ready.'

'Xeris, how long will you need?'

'If I can pull everyone with engineering expertise off regular duty, I can have all eight in place in twenty minutes.'

'Do it.'

The chief engineer nodded and hurried off.

'How many people have we lost?' Astar asked the tactical officer.

'In the last five days we've lost twenty people, and almost the same again are seriously injured. Maxx and the EMH are both performing surgery on the most critically injured, but I don't know how many more we're going to lose before this day is over.'

Astar squeezed the Betazoid's shoulder. 'Before this day is over, every Cha'lav ship in this sector will have been destroyed or sent home. That's a promise.'

'Aye sir,' Gonzales replied without much enthusiasm.

'Captain, we're receiving a message from Captain Logan,' Talen called out. 'He's requesting assistance from any available ship. The Dreadnought has broken through his defences and is making a run at Kursica.'

'Damn,' Astar muttered, adding some choice Trill profanities. 'Tell him we're involved at the moment. Have the Everest lend a hand.'

'Everest and Independence have broken from the Cooperative ships and gone to assist him.'

'We need a miracle to stop them.'

'Xeris to Astar, you may signal the Eeroth that the satellite field is now complete,' the engineer called from the hull. 'I'm slaving the last one now.'

'Excellent work, Commander. Get back in here, before we start moving.'

'Aye sir, Xeris out.'

'The Eeroth are initialising the network,' Gonzales said. 'The satellites are confirming activation and power levels. Estimated time to full charge, ten minutes.'

'Sir, the Gilded Talon has been destroyed,' Talen interrupted. 'The Ditagh has taken damage but is continuing to pursue. The Resoto have disabled one Dreadnought and are coming to our assistance.'

'Gonzales, use whatever phaser power we have and hammer the Dreadnought's shields. The more we can disable before those satellites are charged, the better.'

'Aye sir, acquiring target lock, firing.'

'Someone give me a screen,' the captain yelled, annoyed that she was unable to see anything.

The transparent aluminium partition that served as a barrier between the warp core and the secondary engineering stations, and now serving as the secondary bridge, came alive as a viewscreen. The Dreadnought was unable to avoid the continual battering launched against it by the Klingon warship, the seven Resoto vessels and the Pytheas itself, damaged though it was. The alien ship's shields flared through the colours of the rainbow before flickering out completely.

'Sir, the Eeroth are ready!' Gonzales yelled.

Astar turned to her. 'Then by all means, fire!'

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I hope some dreadnoughts will get blown to bits now that those satellites are online! Seems like our beleaguered Starfleet crews could use just about any respite...

Oh, and I like the transparent aluminum viewscreen--is that a nod to Trek XI by any chance?

 

[BrotherBenny]

Oh, and I like the transparent aluminum viewscreen--is that a nod to Trek XI by any chance?

Not that I'm aware of, but I liked the idea of including something like that.

----------------------------------------------------

Chapter Twenty-Two

Starbase 535
Kursican system
Stardate 55448.3 (June 13, 2378)

Captain Lionel Logan held on to the Core for dear life as the Dreadnought's powerful beam hammered at the starbase's shields. McNamara was targeting the beam emitter but he needed to get through the shields first and although he was using the complement of quantum torpedoes at their disposal, he didn't seem to be making a dent in the Cha'lav shields. They flared occasionally but didn't fail. The Dreadnought turned as the starbase shook again and headed for the planet.

'Our shields are down and the Dreadnought is on course for Kursica,' McNamara said glumly. 'I've just lobbed the last of the quantum torpedoes at them. We're down to photon torpedoes now.'

'Keep firing at the those shields and request backup. I've got to protect the Kursicans.'

'Aye sir, the Everest and the Independence are on their way, though both are damaged.'

'What about the Pytheas?'

'Dropping the last of the satellites, sir.'

'How long before they're online?'

'Ten minutes,' McNamara replied. 'The Dreadnought is entering low orbit and realigning. I think they're going to bombard the surface.'

The captain mumbled a profanity and then stabbed a control on the Core. 'This is Logan. Do whatever you have to do, but stop that ship firing on the surface!'

'This is Madden. I'm in the middle of something to help, sir, but it will disable us completely. Recommend you beam us aboard once we're done. We'll be a prime target.'

'We'll be ready, Martin, just get on with it.'

'Aye sir, Madden out.'

'Sir, Commander Madden has activated the Everest's warhead module.'

'That's the fore section, right?'

'Yes sir, he's firing now.'

Logan watched the large screens above him as the small starship's warhead module was shot in the direction of the Dreadnought. It had the power of six photon torpedoes, though those had been replaced with quantum torpedoes for this run. The warhead hit the Dreadnought amidships and there was a flash brighter than a warp core explosion. When the screens adjusted for the brightness, he saw the Dreadnought turn and fire its beam at the Everest.

'Beam them up and fire everything we have at that thing,' Logan ordered.

'Aye sir, we have everyone from the Everest. The Dreadnought's shields are down, firing at the emitter.'

'Did we get them?' Madden asked as he emerged breathless from the turbolift.

'You knocked out their shields, good job. We're trying to take out the beam emitter.'

The Dreadnought returned to its previous position and fired its beam at the surface. 'I can't get through. There appears to be a secondary shield around the emitter. The Independence has been damaged, sir. The Dreadnought caught it with a torpedo.'

'Fire tachyon bursts and when they reset their shields fire again. Do it quickly. Tell the Independence to back off and lick their wounds. They've done what they can.'

'Aye sir, firing tachyon bursts. It's not having any effect.'

'The capital city has almost been completely destroyed,' Madden said from another console. 'Luckily we had them evacuated two days ago.'

'The Eeroth say they're ready. Astar's given the order to fire.'

'And?'

'Our Dreadnought is the first target, Captain. The Eeroth beams are firing.'

'I have eyes, Ryan,' Logan retorted as he saw the orange-hued beams from dozens of satellites converge on the unprotected hull of the Dreadnought.

Just as the reports from the Pytheas had said, the ship began to collapse in on itself. The ship turned and fired its beam at the starbase. The lights dimmed and consoles sparked and popped as the electrics failed. The Dreadnought's hull crumpled like a piece of paper in an iron fist and before long it was nothing more than a lump of metal burning up in the atmosphere.'

'It worked,' McNamara and Madden both sounded surprised.

'Thank the Eeroth and ask them to continue firing on the remaining ships,' Logan replied. 'And get me a damage report.'

'The next two targets are the Dreadnoughts attacking the Pytheas and the one that the Resoto disabled. Our main power is offline, auxiliary power at sixty percent. Fusion generators one, three and four are disabled, two and five are completely destroyed and six is building up to an overload.'

'Can they attack more than one?'

'They are, sir,' McNamara answered as two more Dreadnoughts crumpled.

'Hail the lead Dreadnought.'

'On screen, sir.'

'What do you want, human?'

Logan bristled. 'This is Captain Logan of the United Federation of Planets. You have seen the weapons we now have at our disposal and we will not hesitate to use them on any Cha'lav vessel that enters our territory or that of our allies. Withdraw or you will all be destroyed.'

'You will see us again.'

'Take a message back to your people. This galaxy knows you are here, and we will fight back.'

The screen blanked and within moments the three remaining Dreadnoughts vanished into a spatial rift.

'They're gone, Captain.'

'Signal our people to stand down. We need to take stock of our losses and start getting the Kursicans back into their homes.'

'Sir, we've lost forty percent of our ships and the capital city is completely gone. Kursica will need major infrastructure work,' Madden said. 'It's not a simple thing.'

'Captain, we need to eject the fusion core.'

'We'll be without power.'

'It can't be repaired before it goes critical, sir,' McNamara replied in a harassed tone.

'Computer, eject the fusion core. Authorisation Logan-3-5-6-Yosemite.'

'Authorisation confirmed, core ejection in progress.'

'Can you get the shields back up?' Madden asked.

'Not in time,' McNamara said. 'We're going to take heavy damage. I've already evacuated the lower half of the starbase. Core's been ejected.'

'Captain, two starships coming in. It's the Mandela and the de Keyser.'

'Tell them to hang back,' McNamara overrode Logan's response. 'Detonation in five seconds. Hang on.'

Logan cursed his run of bad luck as the fusion core overloaded, sending a compressed shockwave in the direction of the starbase and anything else in range. Whatever worked before immediately stopped as the electromagnetic pulse fried everything. The starbase shook violently as the rest of the shockwave hit. Bulkheads groaned and buckled, hull plates were sent spinning into the void or down toward the atmosphere of the planet below.

'Hull breaches on all decks,' McNamara said as something hit Logan and he blacked out.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Here's the last part. I'm still working on the next story and won't start posting it until it's complete, so it'll be a while before you see the crew again. I'll also be moving to the US soon so there will be much upheaval.

--------------------------------------------------

Epilogue

USS Independence
Kursican system
Stardate 55451.7 (June 14, 2378)

Captain Sintina Aurelia glanced at her counterpart and smiled grimly. 'He deserves this, even in the midst of all the tragedy. What were our total losses?'

'Twenty-seven ships and over six thousand people, plus another ten thousand Kursicans,' Captain Leza Astar answered. 'Starfleet is considering whether to rebuild the starbase or just replace it with a modern one.'

'So this sector falls under Federation jurisdiction now?'

'President Satie feels that it's our fault that this happened and although she'd like nothing better than to leave the sector to rebuild itself, the Federation Council and Starfleet urged her to take a more pro-active role.'

Aurelia snorted. 'It shouldn't have even been up for discussion. Who will be assigned to the sector?'

'Captain Logan's not sure. He thinks that it'll be handed off to the Border Service, but Starfleet hasn't decided what to do yet. It could be months before a final decision is made.'

'Typical bureaucracy.' The door chimed and the two captains shared a glance with one another. 'Come.'

Ensign Bradley Weston walked in, looking unsure of himself. He stopped short when he saw Astar and then glanced at Aurelia. 'Is there a problem, ma'am?'

Aurelia smiled and picked up a brush-finished cedar-wood box from her desk, handing it to the young man. 'Ensign Bradley Weston, as of stardate 55451, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Lieutenant junior grade, with all the rights and privileges granted therein. You are also requested and required to report to Captain Leza Astar of the USS Pytheas in order to undertake duties as chief of flight operations and alpha shift helm officer.'

'Thank you, Captain,' he said to Aurelia and turned to Astar. 'Captain Astar, Lieutenant Bradley Weston, reporting for duty.'

Astar shook his hand. 'Go get your stuff, Lieutenant. I'll meet you in transporter room one.'

'Aye sir,' he replied and ran off, light on his heels.

Astar turned to Aurelia. 'I'm not leaving you in the lurch am I?'
'I spoke to Starfleet a few hours ago. I need to make another promotion.'

'In that case, I will leave you to it and get back to my ship.'

'Where are you going?'

'We're heading to Starbase 185 and we'll get some repairs before heading back to Earth for a refit.'

Aurelia sighed knowingly. 'The de Keyser's giving us a tow to Starbase 185.'

'The Mandela will remain on station until Starfleet decides what to do with Starbase 535 and Captain Logan and his staff will be heading back to Earth on the de Keyser to be debriefed by Admiral Ranar.'

'This has been a total mess,' Aurelia agreed. 'Good luck to you, Captain.'

'To you as well.'

Once Astar left, Aurelia picked up the other box and decided to make this one in person. She headed down to the crew quarters and pressed the chime. The door slid open and the two occupants were in the middle of a heated debate about the state of their quarters. They were obviously expecting another visitor and not their commanding officer.

'Captain,' they stood at attention.

'Is there a problem?'

'Nothing we can't sort out ourselves, Captain,' Cadet Trevix answered, shooting a glare at his companion.

'Whose clothes are these?'

'Mine, ma'am,' the ensign replied.

'You can tidy it up later, and I'll be round to make sure it's done. For now, go and find something to do.'

'Yes, ma'am,' he almost ran through the wall in his haste to leave, and shot Trevix a “you're in trouble now” look.

'Captain, I'd like to apologise for our display,' Trevix said.

'Forget about it. What happens in your quarters has no bearing on what happens anywhere else on board, including the bridge.'

'Ma'am?' the Denobulan looked confused.

Aurelia handed him the cedar-wood box. 'Cadet Trevix, as of stardate 55451, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Ensign, with all the rights and privileges granted therein. You are also requested and required to report to the bridge in order to undertake duties as chief of flight operations and alpha shift helm officer.'

'Thank you, Captain. You don't know what this means.'

'I spoke with the Academy Commandant and he agreed that your jacket and conduct was exemplary. Consider yourself graduated. You might need a new uniform,' she replied with a smirk before leaving.

'Ah, there you are, Captain,' Lieutenant Commander bin Nadal said as he caught up to her. 'Have you made the rounds?'

'I have, what's our status?'

'Warp drive is still inoperable, and Windslow doesn't think he can do anything. The plasma injectors have been fused, half the warp coils are shot and the antimatter flow regulators have melted. Whatever it was that hit us did a damn good job of disabling us.'

Aurelia bit back a curse. 'Fine, signal the de Keyser that we're ready to depart. Have Windslow make whatever repairs he can en route to Starbase 185. They'll give us a quick once over and do what they can. Hopefully we'll be able to limp to the nearest shipyard and get a refit. I know a few systems that could use overhauls.'

'At least we have our bridge. I hear the Pytheas doesn't even have that.'

'I spoke with Astar a little while ago. A Dreadnought torpedo took out the bridge and they've set up an auxiliary bridge in engineering. She said she would ask for a battle bridge like the Galaxy-class ships have got. It's a good idea on larger ships, especially considering the bridge's location at the top of the primary hull.'

'Have we got new orders yet?'

'Came in about an hour ago. Once we're repaired, we've been ordered to Kessok Prime, on the far side of Cardassian space. And we'll have a few other ships tagging along.'

'Who's in command of this little fleet?'

'I will be.'

Bin Nadal smiled. 'Hopefully another string in your bow and maybe we'll get explore that region of space. Doesn't sound like it's been explored all that much.'

'That's what I was hoping,' Aurelia replied, thinking that she was finally getting to do what a Captain was supposed to do, explore uncharted space.

But life was never that simple.



END


The crew of the Pytheas will return in Broken Bridges.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Wow...glad THAT battle is over!

If I were the Federation, I'd be looking into unmanned craft to send after those Dreadnoughts if they should come again--something that can make a BIG boom, but not endanger any Federation lives in the process. Like I mentioned before, something like that giant Cardassian missile might be a good idea.

But right now I'd say the first order of business is fixing up these ships. And Astar's definitely due for a reckoning--zhian'tara and court martial both.

 

[CeJay]

That certainly was a battle for the ages. The good guys prevailed but at what cost? And the Cha'lav will certainly try again.

When that day comes, Starfleet better be prepared.

 

[Dnoth]

I finally got around to read this. Good battle. Tough ships, those dreadnoughts. And nice segway into my yet totally unplanned story about the Kessok!

 

[BrotherBenny]

I finally got around to read this. Good battle. Tough ships, those dreadnoughts. And nice segway into my yet totally unplanned story about the Kessok!

I hope I wasn't being too forward in doing so.