With apologies to Bruce Fierstein... Adapted from Tomorrow Never Dies
2368
The Orion Borderland
The Orion Borderland
The small shuttleport was surrounded by snow, the temperatures hovered near freezing, but the main landing pads had been cleared and were now home to several vehicles, a few shuttles, and a handful of attack fighters.
Several metres away from the landing pads and the activity, a small lump of snow shifted slightly as a camera lens zoomed in.
The camera swivelled on its mount, showing groups of Orions, Nausicaans and other ne'er-do-wells looking at the various armed vehicles and weapons scattered about this arms market.
In a different part of the port, another camera was zooming in on a vehicle armed with large multi-barrel energy cannon.
“Our man’s in position on the centre camera. It’s like a mercenary’s supermarket. Orion pulse rifles, Jag’hatel AS-556 attack craft, Romulan disrupters. The crates look like Cardassian rifles. Tzenkethi mines. Gorn mortars. Fun for the whole family.” The lieutenant commander watched the screens before looking up at Admiral Roebuck and Commodore M’nen. Roebuck looked appalled
“I.D.s,” M’nen ordered as she looked at the screens. The Caitian was a senior officer in Starfleet Intelligence, experienced and very pragmatic.
"White Rook to White Knight, show us the pawns."
"You see, Admiral, she did get through.” M’nen remarked. She turned to look at the young human officer. “Start with that chap in the middle."
The small starship was lurking on the edge of the system near its Oort Cloud.
"Checking the databases. We’ve got our first match. R’ken H’aml wanted by the Talarians for a nerve gas attack. Currently working for an insurgent force in Talarian space. Hasad Jashir. Human. Started out as a student radical at Mecca. Now sells his politics for cash."
"Zoom in on that can you?” M’nen said, indicating the device Jashir carried.
“It’s a Klingon navigation module. They use it to guide starships,” the lieutenant commander explained.
"I wonder which will annoy Imperial Intel more, that they lost it or that we found it."
The junior officer smiled.
“Excuse me, Admiral?” M’nen asked noticing Roebuck walking away with the Orion security officer sent to liase on this operation.
"Thank you, M’nen. This is now an operations matter."
Abruptly, he turned away to the green-skinned alien.
"You saw the pulse disrupters? Are your troops prepared for that kind of firepower?"
"We’ve got an election coming up on Orion I. The President said any loss of life is unacceptable."
Roebuck nodded. “We’ll take the other option. One strike and we wipe out half the quadrant’s mercenaries."
He turned toward the weapons officer.
"Admiral Roebuck I must protest, my man isn’t finished."
“Let’s not waste time. Launch the strike.” Roebuck turned to M’nen. “Get your man out of there."
The tactical officer keyed his controls. “Torpedoes away. Six minutes to impact.”
The starship’s launchers hummed as two torpedoes flashed out and streaked towards the planet so far away.
"White Knight, get out of there…Yes, I know what it is, I can see it in front of me, it’s a hopper in front of an attack craft. Now get the hell out of there!” The lieutenant commander looked annoyed as he spoke into his headset.
"What’s your man doing?” Roebuck demanded.
“No, you will not wait!” the lieutenant commander snarled. “Get out of there."
The hopper suddenly powered up and moved away from the attack fighter.
"Oh my god!” the young man exclaimed. “Those are biogenic torpedoes!” he said as he saw the small pods under the fighter’s wings.
"Abort the torpedoes!” M’nen snapped.
"Unable to comply, Commodore. Torpedoes are out of range of the fail safes.”
"White Knight, come in!” snapped the lieutenant commander. There was no response.
M’nen watched the small bridge monitor tensely as the countdown timer ran.
On the Orion planet, Bobbi March exploded out of the snow bank that had concealed her and grabbed a passing Orion. She choked him as she snatched his rifle from his hands. Wasting no time, she punched him in the face, knocking him out. She then sprinted across the open ground toward the large vehicle armed with the multi-barrel cannon. She liberally sprayed energy bolts at anyone and everyone as she ran. A small attack vehicle exploded as she ran. Several of the mercenaries grabbed weapons and opened fire, but Bobbi ran so fast that they were shooting each other.
She grabbed a small Breen explosive from a nearby crate, armed it and tossed it at the vehicle. Seconds later, as the vehicle exploded into a massive fireball, Bobbi was sprinting toward the attack fighter.
Bobbi shot one of the guards, clubbed another in the head and scrambled into the fighter’s cockpit.
Working swiftly, she activated the anti-gravs, brought the small warp-core online and armed the wing-mounted pulse cannon. As the fighter lifted a few feet off the ground, she triggered the pulse cannon, destroying another attack vehicle.
Bobbi quickly sealed the cockpit.
Back aboard the starship, M’nen and Roebuck watched the carnage unfold on the bridge monitors.
“What the hell’s she doing?” demanded Roebuck.
"Her job!” M’nen snapped.
The attack fighter lifted clear of the flames and smoke, then raced into the sky.
Seconds later, another attack fighter lifted clear of the shuttleport.
Moments later, the photon torpedoes launched by the U.S.S. Chester slammed into the shuttleport and detonated.
Bobbi was concentrating on deciphering the settings of the Orion fighter as she tried to work out the navigation system. Then an alert tone sounded. She looked at the small tactical display.
The second Orion fighter was closing on her tail.
Hastily, she raised shields, shoved her throttle forward and accelerated for space.
The second craft followed hot on her heels.
Once the two fighters were in open space, Bobbi executed an Immelman turn and flew back at her pursuer.
The Orion fighter’s cannon locked on and she fired, blasting it into scrap.
"White Knight to White Rook. Ask the admiral where he’d like his biogenic weapons delivered to.”
On the bridge of the Chester, M’nen smiled a small smile as her aide gave a huge grin.
Bobbi March will return...
