Tales of the USS Bluefin – “The Reluctant Lieutenant”
(Note: This story takes place during the first Cardassian War, when Joseph Akinola was a Master Chief Petty Officer on the USS Bluefin under Captain Darby Reninger.)
Stardate 33350.7 (May 8, 2356)
USS Bluefin
En route to Minos Korva, warp 6
Captain Darby Reninger hesitated briefly outside of the ship’s armory. He urgently needed to speak with Master Chief Akinola, yet he was loath to do so at the moment. Only two days earlier, Akinola received notification of his ex-wife’s death. Reninger’s sense of duty coupled with the urgency of their current mission prevailed, however. He entered the armory, made his way to Akinola’s office, and pressed the enunciator.
“Come!”
Captain Reninger absently tugged the burgundy uniform jacket over his portly frame and stepped through the door.
MCPO Akinola quickly rose from behind his small desk. Surprise flickered briefly on his face, for officers seldom ventured into NCO country. Reninger gestured for him to retake his seat.
“At ease, Master Chief. I hate to intrude, especially now, but we’re about six hours out from Minos Korva and the news is pretty grim.”
“How bad, sir?”
Reninger eased into the single chair opposite Akinola’s desk, his knees popping audibly. “I just spoke with Captain Jellico on the Cairo. The Cardassians have begun orbital bombardment of the main settlement. No doubt, they are preparing to send down troops.” The Captain wiped a hand across his brow, brushing back strands of wavy white hair. “Of course, the colonists have almost no defenses, save a small constabulary armed with hand phasers. It’s likely to be a slaughter.”
Akinola looked grim. “What do you need me to do, sir?”
Reninger offered a wry grin. “Always able to anticipate me, eh, Master Chief? Hell, I imagine you could run this boat better than me, given the chance.”
The Nigerian non-com snorted. “I seriously doubt that, sir.”
Reninger sighed, “Sorry to get off-subject. I need you to prep your SAR teams to go planet-side when we reach Minos Korva IV. The Cairo, Potempkin and Mayport will engage the Cardie ships while the Albacore hangs back with the hospital ships Solace and Serenity. We’ll make a fast orbital insertion, beam your teams down, then break orbit for three hours. We'll lay-low until time to extract the teams.”
Akinola nodded. “Aye, sir - I’ve got four teams on stand-by. I’ll lead team one myself.”
Captain Reninger grimaced. “Joseph . . .”
Akinola’s eyebrows rose in surprise at Reninger’s use of his first name.
“Look,” continued the Captain. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. It might be better for you to sit this one out and . . .”
Akinola’s face was set in stone. “I appreciate that, Skipper, but Kalinda and I have been divorced for eight years. I’m no longer considered ‘next of kin.’” Akinola’s brittle tone belied his words.
Reninger sighed. “Master Chief, I know all about divorce. My own marriage went to hell twenty years ago. But if my ex-wife had been killed in action, I’d have been devastated! Cut yourself some slack, son, and take some time to get your head together. You’ve got capable team leaders – let them do their jobs. Just get them geared up and run them through the mission brief.”
Akinola looked down at the battered surface of his old desk. “I do have good team leaders, sir, but respectfully - I should be in on the action. Chief Krella is a good leader, but he hasn’t seen much combat. Cho hasn’t fully recovered from his wounds and Brin is still learning the ropes. This is too important for me to sit out, Skipper. I’ll take some time – later. But for now . . . I really want to lead my team.”
Reninger couldn’t miss the imploring note in Akinola’s voice. “What about your daughter? Don’t you want to go see her?” He left unsaid the poor odds that the Border Dogs faced against the Cardassian troops, who outnumbered them 10 to 1.
“Tanya is with my sister, Melody, on Earth. She’s fine there – they get along great.”
“Uh-huh,” replied Reninger, not truly convinced. Still, he had to admit the selfish part of him wanted Akinola leading this mission. And who the hell was he to give advice on family matters?
“Alright, Master Chief, we’ll do it your way. Be ready to go in six hours.”
“Aye, aye, sir. And thank you.”
* * *
Stardate 33350.9 (May 8, 2356)
USS Bluefin
Minos Korva System
“Now entering system outer boundary,” announced Lt. Helena Ortiz from the helm.
“Red alert,” ordered Reninger, adjusting his bulk in the command chair. “Notify the SAR Teams to stand-by for beam down. Maintain spiral course at full impulse, helm. Prepare for warp jump to orbit on my mark.”
Red battle lights swathed the bridge. Reninger knew it helped their vision but the red hue always reminded him of blood.
“Aye sir,” replied Ortiz. She took a calming breath to focus on the upcoming maneuver. A warp jump into a gravity well was extremely dangerous under the best of circumstances and borderline suicidal with a brace of Galor-class warships orbiting the same planet.”
“Tactical, stand-by on phasers and torpedoes. Be ready for a snap shot from forward and stern tubes is any vessels are in range. Don’t wait on a firing solution – I just want to distract them long enough for us to clear orbit once we’ve beamed down our SAR teams.”
The Trill petty officer at tactical acknowledged the order and brought the Bluefin’s weapons on-line. The cutter streaked in-system on a wildly gyrating course designed to confuse enemy sensors and targeting systems.
Reninger absently wiped a bead of perspiration from his upper lip as he concentrated on the tactical display that overlay the main viewscreen.
Where are they? He wondered, his anxiety level increasing exponentially. Without the heavy-hitters taking on the Cardassian ships . . .
As if in answer to his silent question, three icons suddenly appeared on the screen. The Cairo, Potempkin and Mayport had dropped out of warp close to Minos Korva IV – a move almost as dangerous as the one Reninger was about to order for his own ship. The three starships spread out as they moved to engage the Cardassian warships.
“Task Force Hammer has engaged the Cardassians,” announced Commander Stanek, the Vulcan XO. His voice was calm - as if he had just made a passing observation about the weather. “Three Galors have broken orbit to intercept our ships.”
Reninger grunted. The plan had been only partially successful. One Cardassian warship remained in geo-stationary orbit over the colony – its weapons more than a match for the defenses of Bluefin.
He swallowed to regain some moisture in his dry mouth. “Helm, bring us in astern of that remaining Galor. Tactical, fire at will once we enter orbit – unload everything we have at the bastards!”
Reninger brought his hand down on the intercom switch. “All hands, prepare for warp jump!”
* * *
Master Chief Akinola stood waiting on the dais in transporter room one. His team was armed with phaser rifles and photon grenades. Corpsman Kurtz cradled a wicked looking ARC as he shifted the weight of his medi-kit on his back. Akinola shifted his gaze around – making eye contact with his seven person squad. They were a diverse bunch, from the petite Human female, Crewman Tatalia Bonderenko to the burly Red Orion male, Petty Officer Solly Brin.
It was past time for pep-talks or revisiting the mission parameters. No battle plan survived the first encounter with the enemy. The time for talk was past.
It was time to engage the enemy.
Though this was technically a search-and-rescue mission to evacuate surviving colonists, Akinola was under no illusion that they could do so without fierce opposition by the Cardassians. He had faced them in battle before and knew they were both cunning and fierce in battle. Their only hope was to locate the survivors quickly and limit engagement with the Cardies.
“All hands, prepare for warp jump,” came the voice of Captain Reninger over the ship’s comm. system. Akinola pulled down the visor of his helmet.
“Lock and load,” he said, gruffly. Each team member activated his or her weapon, primer capacitors whining a deadly warning chorus.
The ship suddenly shook violently and the lights in the transporter room dimmed momentarily. Apparently the Cardie ship had opened up on Bluefin. Time was short.
“Energize,” ordered Akinola.
* * *
Team One materialized less than a kilometer from the largest Federation settlement. They coalesced into a defensive circle – weapons pointed outward for any possible threats. Akinola’s heart sank.
The strong smell of ozone mixed with the tang of smoke and dust. Black plumes of smoke billowed skyward as orange tendrils of flame danced about like demons in a frenzy. It was evident that the Cardassians orbital bombardment had been all too accurate. The size of the conflagration left no doubt that the settlement was little more than a blackened crater.
Akinola flipped open his communicator. “Team One to Bluefin.”
His only response was a squeal of static. Frowning, he flipped the communicator closed. Evidently, the Cardassians were jamming their signals. Time to go with plan B.
“Alright people, we’ve got three hours until the ship returns. This will be our extraction point, so do not be late! And remember – avoid contact with the Cardies if at all possible. Our job is to locate survivors and to get them out of here – you got that, Solly?”
He cast his steely gaze on the Orion non-com who replied with a “Who? Me?” grin. Akinola had grown to like Solly but knew that when battle-fever overtook the Orion he could be hard to reign in. Brin noted the look on Akinola’s face and his smile faded.
“Understood, Master Chief,” he replied.
Akinola nodded. “Okay – move out in pairs. Watch out for booby traps. If you come across a Cardie patrol, try to take them out quietly.”
The Master Chief noted how Brin fingered the knife strapped to his thigh. At least the big guy knew how to kill silently.
* * *
Stardate 33350.9 (May 8, 2356)
USS Bluefin
Four light years from Minos Korva
“Helm, hold position,” rasped Captain Reninger. He winced as the corpsman held a bandage against the wound on his forehead.
“Aye sir,” replied Ensign Grayhawk. The junior helm officer tried not to look at the blood spattered across the controls, nor at the form of Lt. Ortiz who still lay on the deck, her eyes fixed on some distant point no one else could see.
“Stanek – status report.” Reninger coughed abruptly and spat a wad of clotted blood on the deck. His vision was blurry and the buzz in his head was incessant.
“Fourteen dead, eighteen wounded according to Dr. Whitney,” the Vulcan XO replied in a somber tone. “Lt. Commander Mukara did not survive,” he continued.
Captain Reninger moaned – partly over the news of the death of the second officer and the others, partly due to the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him.
“Major damage to the bow – sections A-4 through A-6 are open to space,” continued Stanek. “Structural integrity fields are holding and damage control parties are at work. Impulse and warp drive are operational, though we will not be able to exceed warp factor 4. Shields are down to 14%, but Engineer Richelieu believes he can restore the grid enough to give us 75% efficiency.”
“Damage to the Cardassian ship?” whispered Reninger.
An eyebrow ticked upward on Stanek’s face. “We did not remain on station long enough to access the efficiency of our attack,” he said, dryly. “Considering the proximity of our engagement, it is likely we struck their shields multiple times. However, based on the yield of our torpedoes and phaser strength against the known regenerative capacity of their shields, I calculate no more than a 23.17% chance that their vessel suffered reduced combat capability.”
“Damn . . .” breathed the Captain as darkness overtook him.
* * *
(Note: This story takes place during the first Cardassian War, when Joseph Akinola was a Master Chief Petty Officer on the USS Bluefin under Captain Darby Reninger.)
Stardate 33350.7 (May 8, 2356)
USS Bluefin
En route to Minos Korva, warp 6
Captain Darby Reninger hesitated briefly outside of the ship’s armory. He urgently needed to speak with Master Chief Akinola, yet he was loath to do so at the moment. Only two days earlier, Akinola received notification of his ex-wife’s death. Reninger’s sense of duty coupled with the urgency of their current mission prevailed, however. He entered the armory, made his way to Akinola’s office, and pressed the enunciator.
“Come!”
Captain Reninger absently tugged the burgundy uniform jacket over his portly frame and stepped through the door.
MCPO Akinola quickly rose from behind his small desk. Surprise flickered briefly on his face, for officers seldom ventured into NCO country. Reninger gestured for him to retake his seat.
“At ease, Master Chief. I hate to intrude, especially now, but we’re about six hours out from Minos Korva and the news is pretty grim.”
“How bad, sir?”
Reninger eased into the single chair opposite Akinola’s desk, his knees popping audibly. “I just spoke with Captain Jellico on the Cairo. The Cardassians have begun orbital bombardment of the main settlement. No doubt, they are preparing to send down troops.” The Captain wiped a hand across his brow, brushing back strands of wavy white hair. “Of course, the colonists have almost no defenses, save a small constabulary armed with hand phasers. It’s likely to be a slaughter.”
Akinola looked grim. “What do you need me to do, sir?”
Reninger offered a wry grin. “Always able to anticipate me, eh, Master Chief? Hell, I imagine you could run this boat better than me, given the chance.”
The Nigerian non-com snorted. “I seriously doubt that, sir.”
Reninger sighed, “Sorry to get off-subject. I need you to prep your SAR teams to go planet-side when we reach Minos Korva IV. The Cairo, Potempkin and Mayport will engage the Cardie ships while the Albacore hangs back with the hospital ships Solace and Serenity. We’ll make a fast orbital insertion, beam your teams down, then break orbit for three hours. We'll lay-low until time to extract the teams.”
Akinola nodded. “Aye, sir - I’ve got four teams on stand-by. I’ll lead team one myself.”
Captain Reninger grimaced. “Joseph . . .”
Akinola’s eyebrows rose in surprise at Reninger’s use of his first name.
“Look,” continued the Captain. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. It might be better for you to sit this one out and . . .”
Akinola’s face was set in stone. “I appreciate that, Skipper, but Kalinda and I have been divorced for eight years. I’m no longer considered ‘next of kin.’” Akinola’s brittle tone belied his words.
Reninger sighed. “Master Chief, I know all about divorce. My own marriage went to hell twenty years ago. But if my ex-wife had been killed in action, I’d have been devastated! Cut yourself some slack, son, and take some time to get your head together. You’ve got capable team leaders – let them do their jobs. Just get them geared up and run them through the mission brief.”
Akinola looked down at the battered surface of his old desk. “I do have good team leaders, sir, but respectfully - I should be in on the action. Chief Krella is a good leader, but he hasn’t seen much combat. Cho hasn’t fully recovered from his wounds and Brin is still learning the ropes. This is too important for me to sit out, Skipper. I’ll take some time – later. But for now . . . I really want to lead my team.”
Reninger couldn’t miss the imploring note in Akinola’s voice. “What about your daughter? Don’t you want to go see her?” He left unsaid the poor odds that the Border Dogs faced against the Cardassian troops, who outnumbered them 10 to 1.
“Tanya is with my sister, Melody, on Earth. She’s fine there – they get along great.”
“Uh-huh,” replied Reninger, not truly convinced. Still, he had to admit the selfish part of him wanted Akinola leading this mission. And who the hell was he to give advice on family matters?
“Alright, Master Chief, we’ll do it your way. Be ready to go in six hours.”
“Aye, aye, sir. And thank you.”
* * *
Stardate 33350.9 (May 8, 2356)
USS Bluefin
Minos Korva System
“Now entering system outer boundary,” announced Lt. Helena Ortiz from the helm.
“Red alert,” ordered Reninger, adjusting his bulk in the command chair. “Notify the SAR Teams to stand-by for beam down. Maintain spiral course at full impulse, helm. Prepare for warp jump to orbit on my mark.”
Red battle lights swathed the bridge. Reninger knew it helped their vision but the red hue always reminded him of blood.
“Aye sir,” replied Ortiz. She took a calming breath to focus on the upcoming maneuver. A warp jump into a gravity well was extremely dangerous under the best of circumstances and borderline suicidal with a brace of Galor-class warships orbiting the same planet.”
“Tactical, stand-by on phasers and torpedoes. Be ready for a snap shot from forward and stern tubes is any vessels are in range. Don’t wait on a firing solution – I just want to distract them long enough for us to clear orbit once we’ve beamed down our SAR teams.”
The Trill petty officer at tactical acknowledged the order and brought the Bluefin’s weapons on-line. The cutter streaked in-system on a wildly gyrating course designed to confuse enemy sensors and targeting systems.
Reninger absently wiped a bead of perspiration from his upper lip as he concentrated on the tactical display that overlay the main viewscreen.
Where are they? He wondered, his anxiety level increasing exponentially. Without the heavy-hitters taking on the Cardassian ships . . .
As if in answer to his silent question, three icons suddenly appeared on the screen. The Cairo, Potempkin and Mayport had dropped out of warp close to Minos Korva IV – a move almost as dangerous as the one Reninger was about to order for his own ship. The three starships spread out as they moved to engage the Cardassian warships.
“Task Force Hammer has engaged the Cardassians,” announced Commander Stanek, the Vulcan XO. His voice was calm - as if he had just made a passing observation about the weather. “Three Galors have broken orbit to intercept our ships.”
Reninger grunted. The plan had been only partially successful. One Cardassian warship remained in geo-stationary orbit over the colony – its weapons more than a match for the defenses of Bluefin.
He swallowed to regain some moisture in his dry mouth. “Helm, bring us in astern of that remaining Galor. Tactical, fire at will once we enter orbit – unload everything we have at the bastards!”
Reninger brought his hand down on the intercom switch. “All hands, prepare for warp jump!”
* * *
Master Chief Akinola stood waiting on the dais in transporter room one. His team was armed with phaser rifles and photon grenades. Corpsman Kurtz cradled a wicked looking ARC as he shifted the weight of his medi-kit on his back. Akinola shifted his gaze around – making eye contact with his seven person squad. They were a diverse bunch, from the petite Human female, Crewman Tatalia Bonderenko to the burly Red Orion male, Petty Officer Solly Brin.
It was past time for pep-talks or revisiting the mission parameters. No battle plan survived the first encounter with the enemy. The time for talk was past.
It was time to engage the enemy.
Though this was technically a search-and-rescue mission to evacuate surviving colonists, Akinola was under no illusion that they could do so without fierce opposition by the Cardassians. He had faced them in battle before and knew they were both cunning and fierce in battle. Their only hope was to locate the survivors quickly and limit engagement with the Cardies.
“All hands, prepare for warp jump,” came the voice of Captain Reninger over the ship’s comm. system. Akinola pulled down the visor of his helmet.
“Lock and load,” he said, gruffly. Each team member activated his or her weapon, primer capacitors whining a deadly warning chorus.
The ship suddenly shook violently and the lights in the transporter room dimmed momentarily. Apparently the Cardie ship had opened up on Bluefin. Time was short.
“Energize,” ordered Akinola.
* * *
Team One materialized less than a kilometer from the largest Federation settlement. They coalesced into a defensive circle – weapons pointed outward for any possible threats. Akinola’s heart sank.
The strong smell of ozone mixed with the tang of smoke and dust. Black plumes of smoke billowed skyward as orange tendrils of flame danced about like demons in a frenzy. It was evident that the Cardassians orbital bombardment had been all too accurate. The size of the conflagration left no doubt that the settlement was little more than a blackened crater.
Akinola flipped open his communicator. “Team One to Bluefin.”
His only response was a squeal of static. Frowning, he flipped the communicator closed. Evidently, the Cardassians were jamming their signals. Time to go with plan B.
“Alright people, we’ve got three hours until the ship returns. This will be our extraction point, so do not be late! And remember – avoid contact with the Cardies if at all possible. Our job is to locate survivors and to get them out of here – you got that, Solly?”
He cast his steely gaze on the Orion non-com who replied with a “Who? Me?” grin. Akinola had grown to like Solly but knew that when battle-fever overtook the Orion he could be hard to reign in. Brin noted the look on Akinola’s face and his smile faded.
“Understood, Master Chief,” he replied.
Akinola nodded. “Okay – move out in pairs. Watch out for booby traps. If you come across a Cardie patrol, try to take them out quietly.”
The Master Chief noted how Brin fingered the knife strapped to his thigh. At least the big guy knew how to kill silently.
* * *
Stardate 33350.9 (May 8, 2356)
USS Bluefin
Four light years from Minos Korva
“Helm, hold position,” rasped Captain Reninger. He winced as the corpsman held a bandage against the wound on his forehead.
“Aye sir,” replied Ensign Grayhawk. The junior helm officer tried not to look at the blood spattered across the controls, nor at the form of Lt. Ortiz who still lay on the deck, her eyes fixed on some distant point no one else could see.
“Stanek – status report.” Reninger coughed abruptly and spat a wad of clotted blood on the deck. His vision was blurry and the buzz in his head was incessant.
“Fourteen dead, eighteen wounded according to Dr. Whitney,” the Vulcan XO replied in a somber tone. “Lt. Commander Mukara did not survive,” he continued.
Captain Reninger moaned – partly over the news of the death of the second officer and the others, partly due to the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him.
“Major damage to the bow – sections A-4 through A-6 are open to space,” continued Stanek. “Structural integrity fields are holding and damage control parties are at work. Impulse and warp drive are operational, though we will not be able to exceed warp factor 4. Shields are down to 14%, but Engineer Richelieu believes he can restore the grid enough to give us 75% efficiency.”
“Damage to the Cardassian ship?” whispered Reninger.
An eyebrow ticked upward on Stanek’s face. “We did not remain on station long enough to access the efficiency of our attack,” he said, dryly. “Considering the proximity of our engagement, it is likely we struck their shields multiple times. However, based on the yield of our torpedoes and phaser strength against the known regenerative capacity of their shields, I calculate no more than a 23.17% chance that their vessel suffered reduced combat capability.”
“Damn . . .” breathed the Captain as darkness overtook him.
* * *
