Repost: Star Trek: Fighter Command

[Whtstr314]

Star Trek: Fighter Command

Commander Jake Janeway (Executive and Tactical Officer of*
the USS Musashi, SCH-221, Ronin Class Heavy Star Cruiser)

Lieutenant Evan McKnight (Helm Officer of the USS Musashi)

Fleet Captain Sovak (Captain of the USS Musashi)

Original Timeline

2378: Kathryn Janeway promoted to Vice Admiral; USS Titan begins shakedown

2379: Shinzon assassinates Romulan Senate; Shinzon assumes office of Praetor; USS Enterprise dispatched on mission of peace; Battle of Bassen Rift, Scimitar is destroyed by Lt. Cmdr. Data and killed, USS Titan officially commissioned under Captain William T. Riker, Section 31 recovers the Scimitar’s cloaking device and the Thelaron Weapon

2381: Section 31 (S31) begins to coordinate with secret elements of the Romulan military and Tal Shiar known as The Brethren to make a Time Ship equipped with the Scimitar’s cloaking device to stop the assassination of the Romulan Senate in 2379, codenamed Operation: Time Bandit; Ambassador Spock comes out of hiding after Section 31 operatives attempt to recruit Spock for Operation: Time Bandit

2386: Time Ship Epoch is launched under joint Brethren-Section 31 control, undergoes shakedown for a year

2387: Epoch attempts time travel and succeeds, but accidentally creates a temporal distortion that accelerates Hobus to end of its stellar life; Ambassador Spock goes to Hobus and discovers Hobus star is about to go supernova and attempts to warn Romulus of the danger it represents; The Jellyfish, designed by Geordi LaForge, launched; Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard and Ambassador Spock collaborate to stop the supernova; Hobus goes supernova destroying Romulus and Remus; LaForge brings the Jellyfish to Vulcan; Spock attempts to stop the supernova, but is attacked by the Narada under Captain Nero; Spock succeeds in launching the Red Matter into the supernova, both the Jellyfish and Narada appear to be destroyed by the resulting black hole, but are sent back to 2258 and 2233 respectively

Altered Timeline

2379: Shinzon assassinates Romulan Senate; Epoch arrives and discovers the situation; Shinzon assumes office of Praetor; Epoch secretly assists at the Battle of Bassen Rift, the Scimitar is destroyed, but Lt. Cmdr. Data lives; Lt. Cmdr. Data is promoted to Captain and assigned to the Daystrom Institute, where he meets Calvin Raytheon, CEO of Swift Military Technologies; USS Titan Launched

2380: Data introduces Calvin Raytheon to Admiral Janeway; Raytheon proposes to Janeway, and Janeway becomes pregnant; Calvin Raytheon is killed protecting Admiral Janeway from assassination; Trailblazer Transwarp Project begins; Trial over the Doctor’s Rights goes to the Federation Supreme Court; Bajor joins the Federation; Jacob Calvin Janeway is born

2381: USS Trailblazer destroyed by sabotage; USS Pioneer successfully tests transwarp drive; Federation Security Council orders all front line vessels to be equipped with transwarp drives by 2388; Colossus Class Heavy Dreadnought Project begins; Borg attempt invasion of Romulan space, which is stopped by a combined Starfleet/Romulan task force, improving Federation-Romulan relations; 1st assassination attempt on Jake Janeway by unknown forces; Romulan Senate approaches Ambassador Spock with Tri-Power Alliance talks; The Doctor is given full rights under the Federation Charter

2382: Federation Security Council Emergency Session approves plan and relays the plan to Chancellor Martok; Chancellor Martok, despite advice to the contrary, agrees to talks; Odo reforms the Dominion into the Protectorate; Tri-Power Alliance talks begin on Cardassia, where the Tal Shiar and the Kor’Vath attempt to assassinate Ambassador Spock and Chancellor Martok; Talks end successfully on Cardassia, forming the Tri-Power Alliance and eliminating the Romulan Neutral Zone; Federation-Cardassian Alliance formed; With permission from the Protectorate, Starfleet exploration of the Gamma Quadrant resumes

2383: Daystrom Institute discovers a way to do large scale replication of starship components; First contact with the Velora Aggregate in the Beta Quadrant; USS Titan is destroyed Beta Quadrant by Velora forces and all hands assumed lost; Jean-Luc Picard retires from Starfleet and is given ambassadorship to Protectorate; Titan crew are captured by Velora; Velora ship captured by Titan crew; First contact with Trios Imperium; Attack on combined Protectorate/Starfleet task force by Trios forces; Terrorist attack on Paris by Triosian commandos; War declared on Trios Imperium; Joint Cardassian/Starfleet fleet captures Trion Prime; Obsidian Order troops massacre Trios civilians; Trios Liberation Force (TLF) formed; Elim Garak elected Detapa Chairman of Cardassian Union

2384: Trios Insurgency continues; Holographic crew of the USS Warspite seeks asylum with the Federation Marshalls Bureau from Section 31; Starfleet Intelligence begins file on Section 31; USS Colossus launched after a year-long shakedown cruise

2385: 2nd attempt on Jake Janeway’s life; The Brethren attempt a coup with the help of S31 and the Epoch, and fail; The Epoch is hunted down and captured by joint Federation/Tal Shiar fleet; Epoch crew turned over to the Tal Shiar; TLF approaches Starfleet Intelligence with a peace deal; Peace brokered by Ambassador Worf between TLF and Protectorate/Federation/Cardassian Union; Trios Republic formed and elections set for 2386; Section 31 attempts to rig the Federation Presidential elections after peace accord; Fascist coup topples Garak government, Garak exiled to Federation; S31 attempts hostile takeover of Federation Council but stopped by Marshalls Bureau; S311st Fleet and 31st Army Corps invades Earth and kills President Pollwu S’lay and installs S31 Director Ghodan Makar as President of the Federation; Vulcan, Bajor, Andoria, Betazed, Risa, Rigel IV, and Arcadia II secede from Federation and form the United Coalition of Planets; Ghodan Makar declares martial law and deploys fleet groups throughout Federation and bombards Rigel IV back to the stone age as a lesson; Admiral Janeway and most Starfleet, Marine, and Army officers resign their commissions and join the UCP forces, taking their ships and equipment with them; The UCS Colossus is destroyed while defending Vulcan from S31 2nd Flotilla, destroying a 1/3rd of the Flotilla; Federation Civil War begins

2386: S31 3rd and 4th Fleets attack the UCP; Admiral Janeway promoted to CINCStarfleet; Captain Kwame’s Task Force Indigo holds the line at Bajor until Deep Space Nine commander Luke Walton decides to defect and devastates the S31 6th Fleet Group; Benjamin Sisko returns from the wormhole; Admiral Leyton is given command of the entirety of the Section 31 fleet; Admiral Leyton begins renewed offensive on the UCP, capturing Betazed and destroying the 2nd UCP Fleet Group; UCP Intelligence discovers the S31 shipyards hidden on Io; Ben Sisko promoted to Admiral; 3rd attempt on Jake Janeway’s life

2387: S31 Forces under Admiral Leyton continue offensive; Resistance groups in Bolarus, Grazerite, Coridan, Betelgeuse, Zakdorn, and Evora systems attack and disable holographic crews of 51st, 22nd, 659th, 12th, and 97th S31 Fleet Groups; UCP Fleet Groups dispatched to defend Bolarus IX, Grazer II, Coridan, Betelgeuse II, Zakdor, and Evora Prime; Admiral Sisko assumes command of the 4th UCP Fleet and begins offensive, taking both Betazed and Bynaus; Bynars create holographic matrix disruption torpedo for deployment with fleet; The Doctor protests the building of the weapon, but is persuaded by Data to delay his objections until after the war; Cardassian Union joins war on the S31 side; Klingons persuaded by Captains Riker, Data, and Worf to join the UCP forces; Combined S31/Cardassian Fleet attacks and destroys DS9; 6th S31 Armored Corps takes Bajor, while Obsidian Order team assassinates Kai Odenta and Shaakar Edon; S31 destroys the UCP Colony of Valos III using red matter

2388: Garak organizes Cardassian resistance movement; Elaysian resistance forces disable and destroy the S31 Task Force responsible for Valos III, destroying the red matter in the process; Sisko takes command of Task Force 141, a special operations unit dedicated to destroying S31 shipyard facilities and eliminating/capturing S31 leadership; President Makar fakes a massacre by UCP forces on Tiburon carried out by Obsidian Order troops; Task Forces Indigo and Aegis under Captains Kwame and Thr’ar uncover the plot; Trill, Edos, Tyrellia, and 30 more member worlds defect, forcing UCP task forces to defend them; USS Juggernaut is launched under command of Admiral Leyton, and is the largest ship yet built; Juggernaut engages and destroys the 5th and 10th UCP Fleet Groups at Delta Vega VII; UCS Colossus-A captures the Juggernaut at Trill, though Admiral Leyton escapes; UCS Challenger, UCS Colossus-A, UCS Titan-A, UCS Valiant-A, and UCS Aventine aka TF 141 launch assault on Io and capture 2/3rds of the facilities; Cardassian Armada dispatched to help defend Sol system; Cardassian dissident forces capture the Central Command and broadcast special recall code with the help of Bajoran resistance, allowing TF 141 to withdraw to Bajor and support the Bajoran resistance effort to disable and destroy the Section 31 fleet using transphasic torpedoes, the technology’s first use since 2378; ; Final assault on Earth by joint Cardassian/Bajoran/Vulcan/Andorian/Starfleet/Klingon fleet; TF 141 and Enterprise-E Hazard Teams sent down to arrest Ghodon Makar, where they discover he is the mother creature for a unknown alien force similar to the Starfleet Conspiracy of 2364 and Commander Munro kills it; Admiral Leyton surrenders almost all fleet units after the creature is killed, claiming no memory since early 2371; Section 31 forces in the Sol System surrender, ending the Federation Civil War, Jean-Luc Picard elected temporary President of the Federation, pending elections in 2389

2389: Federation Army Command (FAC) is given full autonomy and begins constructing and recruiting a standing army; Special Operations Command formed by Commander Munro of Starfleet, Captain Logan of Starfleet Marine Corps, and Lt. Col. Ch’Thane of FAC; Commodore Tuvok given command of SOC; Captain Data is given command of the USS Agammenon, an Achilles class Tactical Battleship; Admiral Janeway promoted to Fleet Admiral as well as CINCStarfleet and given command of the refitted Enterprise-E; Jean-Luc Picard wins Presidential Election by a landslide against Councilor Shrarlan of Andoria

2390: Shrarlan murdered by renegade changeling; The Doctor brings up the rights of the crew of the Warspite to President Picard, who have been detained since 2386, Picard promises to fix the issue; Picard signs Executive Order 4589 giving all sentient holograms rights and privileges under Federation law; Sentient Holograms colonize Karvis Delta III; The Nanon, the sentient nanites created by Wesley Crusher, request to join the Federation, application process begins; Deep Space Nine rebuilt; Quantum Slipstream Project begins

2395: The Nanon become part of the Federation; The Holos join the Federation; Jake Janeway graduates from S’lay High School and enlists in the Starfleet Marine Corps, graduates at the top of his class, and is recommended for NCO training; Janeway graduates 2nd in his class and is assigned to 2nd “Raider” Force Recon Company; Border conflict with the Tholians breaks out and the Tholians take Polyx II; “Raiders” ordered to scout ahead of planetary invasion, and make a HALO infiltration of Polyx; 1st Platoon’s Captain is captured and killed in the infiltration and Janeway takes command; Janeway organizes the company against the Tholian counter attack and saving the invasion; Janeway recruited by Captain Munro to join SpecOps Delta Detachment; Bajoran New Circle kill Councilor Shaakar Meron and several thousand Bajoran citizens on DS9; Captain Riker promoted to Commodore; Quantum Slipstream successfully tested

2396: SpecOps Delta given mission to infiltrate Vulcan separatists with Federation Marshalls; Janeway succeeds in winning over the separatists and stops them before their attempts to assassinate Ambassador Spock succeed; SpecOps Delta given assignment to eliminate a band of Bajoran isolationists responsible for DS9 Attacks; SpecOps Delta succeeds in capturing Li Edon, leader of the New Circle, and successfully stop the plan to destroy the Federation-Cardassian Alliance renewal talks; Li Edon revealed to be Section 31 agent; SpecOps Delta and Admiral Janeway are implicated in plot to assassinate President Picard; While on the run, Delta manages to clear their name and they destroy the Titan-A to prevent it from being used as a S31 suicide ship against Starfleet One; Jake Janeway applies to Starfleet Academy and is accepted

2397: Borg Confederation makes contact with Federation, and requests help from the Federation, which is denied despite Admiral Janeway’s objections

2398: Jake Janeway graduates from Starfleet Academy; Borg Confederation joins with Hugh’s Borg and forms the Borg Alliance

2399: Borg Alliance attacked by 14 tactical cubes; The Federation issues an ultimatum to the Collective, stating that if the Collective refuses to withdraw, it will eliminate them once and for all; Borg refuse and attempt to assimilate Cardassia Prime; Federation 2nd Fleet arrive and destroys 7 tactical cubes, before the Borg withdraw; Borg Wars begin; Galactic Union talks begin and Galactic Union formed and the founding members: UFP, Klingon Empire, Borg Alliance, Cardassian Union, Romulan Star Empire, Protectorate, and the Breen; Breen/Cardassian forces launch Dreadnought missiles at transwarp to attack key Borg installations and destroy vinculums on several planets; Borg attack with Flotilla of cubes and tactical cubes, with 10,000 support ships; Federation/Klingon forces respond by using Quantum Warp(formerly quantum slipstream) to attack the Unimatrix and kill the last remaining Borg Queen; Lt. Cmdr. Janeway promoted to Commander

2400: Borg go on rampage and begin referring to themselves as the Remnant; Siege of Trion Prime begins; Galactic Union (GU) forces sent to relieve them

Prologue: Resistance

“Battleaxe Leader, this is Convoy Alpha-Delta-1238, requesting escort to Trion Prime, repeat, requesting escort to Trion Prime,” the comm. crackled, startling Commander Jake Janeway, the ship’s tactical and executive officer, from his meditation.

“Convoy-Alpha-Delta-1238, please clarify,” said Lt. Cmdr. Evan McKnight, the ship’s helm officer, as he rubbed his tired eyes.

“Battleaxe Leader, this is Captain Afyon of the USS Courageous-A, we’ve lost ¾ of our escort and are about to arrive in the Trion system, assistance is required,” replied Captain Afyon over the comm.

“Acknowledged, standby,” McKnight said into the comm., looking over at Fleet Captain Sovak for her decision. She looked over at Janeway, who just shrugged.

“You’re the captain, not me, ma’am,” Janeway replied, “I don't believe that there are any other groups close enough to assist, but we're extremely depleted, ma'am.” Janeway reached out with his Betazoid empathic senses to see what the others thought about this decision, and he could sense is apprehension and fear; there was also determination beginning to grow within them, emanating from Sovak, though she didn’t show it.

“Tell them we are on our way, order the fleet to Condition Red and to rendezvous at Point Alpha-2-3-7-Sierra,” Sovak said, brushing her hair out of the way.

“So ordered, launching defense drones and activating shields and ablative armor...,” Janeway began before seeing two Remnant Pyramids decloak on his sensors. Janeway scrambled to find his balance as he felt the bridge crew’s terror when the ships appeared on screen. He quickly tried to lock on with phasers, but the twin pyramids were faster. The Pyramids launched a volley of torpedoes, almost three dozen per Pyramid, and they were targeted on the biggest threat to the Pyramids; which, unfortunately, was the Musashi. The defensive drones were quickly depleted of their micro torpedoes; the drones then defaulted to their backup programming, slamming into the incoming torpedoes. Though the drones managed to eliminate 2/3rds of the incoming, that still left twenty three incoming projectiles hurtling through space toward the Musashi. “Brace for impact!!!” shouted Janeway as he activated the ships comm. and attempted to reinforce the forward shields before impact. He failed. The first fifteen or so smashed into the powerful shields of the Musashi, then as the shields failed, the remainder plowed into the hull. Janeway and the rest of the bridge crew were thrown from their stations and suddenly all Janeway saw was darkness...

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When Jake awoke, he saw a bridge in chaos. Consoles sparked, the railing around the bridge was crushed, with several jagged pieces jutting out. Several crew members were struggling to get up and as he looked around, he saw Sovak impaled on one of the jagged pieces of railing. “Oh, shavash!” shouted Janeway and tapped his comm. badge, “MEDICAL EMERGENCY ON THE BRIDGE!!!” There was no response so Jake ran for the emergency medical kit at the back of the bridge, ignoring the emergency medical tips that were coming through his comm. badge, ripping it off and smashing it with his boot.

“What are you doing, sir?!” said McKnight, who ran over, all but ready to grab Janeway and stop him. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Backoff, McKnight, I’m a combat medic!!!” said Janeway as he pushed the junior officer away and began using the medical tricorder to determine the extent of the damage. Damage to the liver and sple'keth, but no arteries hit, that’s good. Her pulse and heart rate are worry-some though, Janeway thought. “All right, we can move her.”

“Are you out of your Betazoid mind? She’s got a piece of metal sticking through her guts!!!” McKnight shouted and he was about to continue but Janeway stood up to his full height, a good four inches taller than McKnight and just stared at him, smoldering. “Yes, sir,” McKnight said meekly and began to help Janeway pick her up off the rod impaling her. Sovak groaned in pain, but blessedly remained unconscious. Suddenly, the tricorder’s alarm went off.

“Damn it, she’s starting to arrest! Put her down, put her down!” Janeway shouted as they gently lowered her to the ground, and Janeway reached for the rest of the kit and came up empty. Looking over, he saw the kit being used by Patterson and Clancy to help the crewmen who were down, one bleeding from almost every opening on his face and the other who had seemed to be having a seizure. “All right, McKnight, I got a job for you to do, you have five minutes to get down to Medical on deck 2 and bring back a EMedkit, before she goes into full arrest, understood?” McKnight just nodded and ran for the Jefferies tube as Janeway began compressions, keeping Sovak’s heart going.

 

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Janeway kept up compressions until, less than two minutes later, McKnight came back with the EMedkit. McKnight quickly tossed it to Janeway, who quickly pulled out the defribilator and quickly shocked her back into rhythm. The monitor on the tricorder quickly became more steady and stabilized. “How many people did you have to fight through to get this?” Janeway joked as he quickly cauterized Sovak’s wound.

“Just a few,” said McKnight with a grimace. When Janeway looked over, McKnight just shrugged.

“Alright, she’s good until we evacuate,” said Janeway as he activated the ship’s comm. at one of the few working stations, “What’s the status of the communications, shields, engines, and sensors Mr. Warrth?”

“Shield generator is destroyed, the armor is running though, communications are working for the time being, I can only give you half impulse, sensors are working, the convoy escorts are getting shredded by the Pyramids’ fighters, and weapons are down as most of the EPS is disabled,” replied Warrth from Engineering, where it was organized chaos, “We’re also getting sporadic reports from different decks about Borg assault drones.”

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll be off this ship soon enough. I’m ordering an evacuation authorization Janeway-Sigma-Delta-3-9-6-8-Omega. Warrth, transfer fleet command protocols and sensors to the helm,” Janeway began, “McKnight, you, Patterson, Clancy, and Deaver, get the wounded to the Medevac runabout and head for Trion Prime as fast as you can make it. I’m gonna take down those Pyramids.” McKnight and the others nodded with a chorus of “yes, sirs”. Janeway sat down at the helm, and punched up the maximum impulse available, and pulled up Battleaxe Squadron’s positions, and saw that the squadron’s guided weapons defense cruiser, the USS Tian An Men, was still able to fight. Janeway activated fleet command channel and ordered, “This is Commander Jake Janeway of the USS Musashi, I’m taking command of the squadron authorization Janeway-Sigma-Delta-3-9-6-8-Omega, Tian An Men, I need some cover from those drones and the Pyramids’ torpedoes.”

“Roger that, Battleaxe Leader,” Janeway heard over the comm., and he quickly punched in the collision course at the lead Pyramid. Coming in on the Musashi’s flank, the Tian An Men provided withering defensive fire from every arc, lashing out at enemy torpedoes and fighter drones with impunity. As escape pods shot away from the ship, the Musashi dove through a torrent of energy coming from the enemy ships.

Janeway punched in his access code, and activated the self destruct sequence and punched the final heading in. Bolting from his seat, Janeway jumped into the final emergency turbolift. “Requesting authorization for self destruct sequence,” the computer said calmly

“Authorization Janeway-Sigma-Delta-3-9-6-8-Omega-Sigma-Charlie, countdown for 60 seconds,” said Janeway as the Arrow class Runabout, the USS Javelin in the shuttlebay, was activated and the emergency lift dropped at breakneck speed. Janeway sprinted from the turbolift to the open hatch of the Javelin and clambered into the runabout. Sliding into the seat, Janeway activated the shuttles engines, and as the ship’s hatch closed, he pulled out of the shuttlebay and through the bay’s magnetic containment field. As the Javelin pulled out the bay, the Musashi began its terminal run, plowing through several fighter drones. The targeted Pyramid finally took notice of the ship bearing down on her, and launched another volley of torpedoes at the crippled Musashi, but the Tian An Men again lashed out with her micro-torpedoes batteries, destroying all but two of the incoming. As the Tian An Men pulled away from the battleship, the Musashi shrugged off the two torpedoes, and smashed into the Pyramid, cracking the Musashi’s saucer. On the main console in engineering, the self-destruct countdown reached zero, and in less than a microsecond, every remaining phaser bank, photon, quantum, transphasic, and tricobalt torpedo overloaded and detonated, including the ship’s antimatter supply. The resulting explosion was massive, 700 trillion isotons, which all but shattered the Pyramid. The shockwave slammed into the Javelin and again Jake blacked out.

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Lt. Cmdr. Evan McKnight was in hell... at least he thought so. The USS Tennessee, the Medevac variant of the Colorado class Runabout, was pounded by micro-torpedoes and cutting beams. As McKnight dove the runabout through a torrent of micro-torpedoes, avoiding almost all of them. Suddenly, the Tennessee was stopped in its tracks as the Pyramid switched targets from the capital ships harassing it to the escape pods and shuttles from the Musashi, vengefully lashing out with cutting and tractor beams. The Tennessee was quickly caught in a tractor beam that stopped her dead in her tracks. The Tennessee fired its singular quantum torpedo and blasted at the Pyramid with it's dual phaser banks, but to no avail. The Tennessee shook, and the runabout's power failed as she tried to break the beam's grip. Out of the corner of his eye, McKnight saw a green flash go across the cockpit windows, getting bigger and bigger, until it disappeared into the Pyramid. Nanoseconds later, the tractor beam projector exploded in a green blue fireball, releasing the Tennessee and restoring its power. The comm. came alive with Janeway's voice, “Do you have power, McKnight?”

“Roger that, sir!” he replied as he punched the impulse engines up to full and began to follow the Arrow class Runabout that Janeway was flying.

“No, don't follow me, McKnight! Get the hell out of here, you son of a Bolian!!!” replied Janeway, and the Tennessee broke off from the Javelin and went to warp.

The Javelin dove as the vengeful Pyramid began pummeling it with multiple cutting beams, launching seven gravimetric torpedoes at Javelin. Janeway pulled the runabout up and over the Pyramid, and then pulled a high-g turn, reversing direction and dove, confusing the torpedoes' guidance. Having bought himself some time, he pulled up the squadron’s command and control interface, and activated the comm. “Battleaxe Leader to Courageous-A, get that damned convoy out of here, before the Pyramid figures what they're supposed to be doing. Paine, Agamemnon, Kraken, and Providence, cover the convoy and keep up the pressure on that Pyramid. Tian An Men and Minuteman, stay after those fighter drones. The rest of the squadron, go to rally point Bravo-Sigma-3 and try to get some support for us.” There's almost no chance we're gonna survive this without support, the best chance is to get as many ships as possible to the rally point, and safeguarding that convoy until they get to Trion Prime. The Javelin rumbled as it was hit by fighter drones' cutting beams and pounded by micro gravimetric torpedoes, rolling and wheeling around, avoiding as much of the enemy fire as possible.

“Roger that,” came the chorus of replies coming from the comm, and the Paine, Agamemnon, Kraken, and Providence all came about, weapons ablaze, firing everything they could still fire. The Agamemnon and the Kraken, both Akira II Class Pocket Battleships, simultaneously launched four transphasic torpedoes from each of their eight forward launchers. The torpedoes streaked in on their respective targets, thirty two of which shredded the fighter drones while the Tian An Men and Minuteman blasted away at incoming enemy torpedoes. The remainder of the transphasic torpedoes smashed into the Pyramid. The Pyramid began to shudder and quickly broke apart. As whoops of celebration began on the command channel, sixty five transwarp conduits opened up, reveling dozens of fighter drones and among them, a lone tactical cube. Oh, we are so screwed.

“All ships, begin immediate withdraw, I repeat begin immediate withdraw, rendezvous at rally point Alpha-Whiskey 4!!!” Janeway said as he began taking withering fire from a dozen fighters, quickly overwhelming his shields. Janeway began maneuvering wildly and chaotically to lose the pursuers, and succeeded in losing eight of them, but the remaining were determined to destroy the Javelin. The Javelin dove into the cloud of drones, weaving and rolling, and lashed out with its pulse phaser cannons and micro-torpedoes. The runabout's armored hull was holding off the onslaught of energy being unleashed upon it, but in the cockpit, structural integrity alarms blared. Around him, the Kraken was rammed by a dozen drones, destroying a good half of her saucer. The Agamemnon, caught in on of the Cube's tractors, was slowly obliterated as the Cube pumped torpedo after torpedo in the wounded ship. The Thomas Paine, a Patriot class Heavy Cruiser, was listing and unresponsive as it was swarmed by drones, while the Providence exploded from a warp core breach, leaving no trace left of the once proud Nova Mk II class vessel. Suddenly, one drone careened off the cockpit of the Javelin, cracking it, while a well placed shot disabled the ship's power. Realizing the danger, Jake grabbed for his pilot's helmet sealing mechanism, but as the cockpit's window shattered, he realized it was too late and was pulled into the dark void of space....

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When Jake awoke, he was on an assimilation table basked in the green glow of the Borg vinculum. He struggled against the bonds of the forcefield surrounding him to no avail. Suddenly, from beyond the forcefield came a shape, one he could not make out, until it resolved itself as Dr. Jack Weber, Jake's roommate at the academy.

“God, Jack, you scared the crap out of me!!!” Janeway said as the doctor deactivated the forcefield restraints and Jake sat up. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

“Besides saving your ass yet again, I'm part of Task Force Freedom now, chief medical officer on the USS Rhode Island, and part of the medical team that saved your life” said Weber as he strode toward Janeway and Janeway began to try and stand up. “Whoa, that's not a good idea, buddy. You're still suffering the effects of being sucked into space like you were. Besides, you're gonna want to stay seated. I've got some bad news.”

“What, is Sovak okay? Did the convoy not make it?” Janeway asked. “Damn it, tell me what happened Jack!” Janeway demanded as he stood up, wobbling slightly as he did so.

“What happened was all the ships you ordered to stay to cover the convoy were destroyed by the Borg tactical cube and its fighters. The Tian An Men was destroyed while making a suicidal run at the Cube, to delay them from attacking the planet. Minuteman was captured and assimilated by the Remnant. 6000 personnel were killed. It gets worse. The JAG is calling your decisions into question and convening a board of inquiry to investigate after Starfleet Command denounced your actions as reckless and called for your court-martial,” Weber reported grimly. Janeway all but collapsed in shock.

“Who called for the court-martial?” Jake replied in a tone almost too low to hear.

“Jake, I'm pretty sure you don't wanna kno...” began Weber, but he was cut off.

“To hell with your opinion, who called for my goddamned court-martial?!” Janeway screamed as he glared at Weber.

“Your mom, Jake. It was your mom.”

 

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Chapter 1: Inquisition, Stardate 79540.31

“Commander Jacob Calvin Janeway, please stand,” Admiral Alynna Nechayev said as she and her adjunct entered the court chamber escorted by the bailiffs, and she sat down at the bench, with her aide in the seat to her right. “In accordance with the Starfleet Code of Conduct and the Uniform Code of Justice, this court finds you not guilty of all charges,” Nechayev said with a smile.

“Thank you, Admiral.” replied Janeway as he saluted, a habit leftover from his Marine days. When Nechayev realized what he was doing, she returned the salute smartly. Jake turned to his attorney and said, “Thank you for all your work and taking the time to come to my defense, Ambassador.”

“It was the least I could do,” replied Ambassador Tuvok as he stood, “I found your mother's insistence on a court-martial quite... illogical.” Janeway nodded as he followed the ambassador out of the chamber and into the bustling corridors of Starfleet Command. “Your actions were as they say, 'by the book' and not in violation of Starfleet combat doctrine or the Code of Conduct. It was simply logical that you were not at fault. Onto another matter. How are your symptoms? The Doctor requested that I ask. He also requested I tell you that you are overdue for your physical.”

“Sleeping is much better than it was several months ago. The nightmares still occur occasionally and the flashbacks come and go. The court-martial didn't exactly help matters. And with regards to the physical, tell Joe that it's not happening, I expect to be very busy in the next month or so, and after that, I hope to be part of the Andromeda expedition,” replied Jake as he and Tuvok walked to the turbolift. “Level 12.”

“I do not mean to pry into your personal affairs, but why are you headed to Level 12? that is where StratCom is located,” Tuvok asked as the turbolift lurched ever so subtly and began rising through Starfleet Command's main building.

“I scheduled an appointment for a proposal to Starfleet Strategic Command for 11:30 hours,” replied Janeway as he looked at his chronometer.

“You scheduled an appointment with StratCom without knowing if you were going to be cleared. That is a rather bold move, if I may say so,” said Tuvok, raising an eyebrow.

“Well I knew I did nothing wrong, you did not think I was wrong, so I made the appointment,” Janeway replied with a sly grin.

“A gamble,” Tuvok shot back.

“An act of faith, you should try it sometime,” said Jake as the turbolift reached Level 12 and the doors opened up quickly and Janeway walked out and turned to face Tuvok, “Up for a game of kal-toh, before you leave for Confederation space? Maybe tonight?”

“It is as you would say 'a date',” replied Tuvok before the doors closed.

“Looking forward to it...” Janeway muttered as he turned around and strode into the briefing room.

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“Admirals Ruiz, Adislo, and Meyer, Commodore Sovak, Captains Ibanez, Hernandez, and Ma'Reth, thank you for your time. I am here to present to you Project: Hartmann, a joint proposal from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, Daystrom, the Annapolis Commision, and M.I.T. The proposal is on your PADDs to help you follow along.” said Janeway as the projector flashed the logos of each of the organizations that Jake had mentioned on the screen. Janeway stopped as an aide came in and handed a PADD to Captain Hernandez. “Something I should know, Captain?”

“No, by all means, continue Commander,” replied Hernandez as she all but sneered at Janeway. Ok, there's one person that I'm never gonna get on my side. She then put the PADD down and returned her attention to the briefing.

“As I was saying, with the exploration of the Andromeda galaxy, it is becoming extremely likely that Allied starships will eventually face a threat with fighters. While some are calling for research into more advanced targeting, tracking, and interception components and computers. The organizations I represent, we think that the best course of action is a tactic that was created by the British, American, and to a certain extent, Japanese, navies,” Janeway stated. “With the collaboration of M.I.T., SCE, and myself, we have designed both a starfighter craft and a pod that can be attached to almost any ship with a modular system. This is the Razor Strike Fighter, a one man fighter, developed by M.I.T., SCE, and myself. It is well equipped to deal with both the fighter and torpedo threats.” Jake continued as he looked around for responses and reaction, but his stony faced audience betrayed no emotion, so he resumed the presentation, “The carrier pod shown here can carry six full squadrons of twelve fighters a squadron. A designated carrier ship would be able launch her fighters in 15 seconds flat, unlike the more traditional shuttlecarrier which takes close to 10 minutes to launch her shuttles.”

“May I interrupt, Commander?” asked Sovak, with a raised hand, “What exactly allows the Razors to be able to intercept the torpedoes, because most target/intercept computers are too large to fit on anything smaller than a frigate chassis? After all, these computers are exceedingly powerful.”

“With the help of SCE, M.I.T.'s, and the Daystrom computer research departments, we managed to shrink the size of target/intercept computers by 300%. Also, we decreased the amount of targets it could track at one time from 96 to 48 torpedoes/missiles. This allows the computer to be mounted on fighter type craft or runabouts,” Janeway said as he pointed to the illustration of the new computer.

“I have a question, Commander?” asked Vice Admiral Adislo with a grimace.”These fighter craft, what makes them better than standard runabouts or shuttles with these computers? They are far easier and cheaper to produce,” Adislo inquired.

“The weaponry, shielding, and armor give it an excellent edge over any runabout or shuttle, and it is the only craft below a frigate that is equipped with quantum warp drive, making it the fastest small craft in the fleet. This makes it an excellent scouting platform. It is also the first ship of its size to be equipped with an ablative armor generator. Its sensor suite is extremely sophisticated, much better than anything in its class, other than a runabout configured for science duty, and no runabout is as heavily armed,” replied Janeway.

“The hangar pod costs approximately 10,000,000 Federation credits or 1,000,000 latinum pieces. The fighter is approximately 1,000,000 or 100,000 per unit,” said Jake as he gestured at the graphs.

“So in total, for a test squadron and carrier platform, we're talking about 22,000,000 credits? This is ridiculous,” snapped Captain Hernandez, “Commander Janeway is hardly an officer at all. He was just court-martialed for dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming a Starfleet officer,” Hernandez said, as she nodded to her aide, an ensign, who handed out datacards, “These datacards contain the personnel and court-martial records of Commander Jacob Calvin Janeway.”

“You may outrank me, Captain, but my personnel records are sealed and for good reason,” replied Janeway. Stay calm, for now, at least.

“Recommended by then Commanders Thomas Paris and Harry Kim, now COs of the Indiana and Rhode Island, is that correct, Commander?” asked Captain Hernandez.

“That is correct, Captain,” replied Janeway,

“Why did they recommend you?” she asked.

“At the time, Lt. Cmdr. Paris and Lt. Kim were my flight instructors, they taught me to fly shuttlecraft as well as old Terran fighter aircraft. They both thought I would be an asset to Starfleet as a helm officer,” replied Janeway, as cool as possible, despite knowing what was next.

“Ok, now, is it correct that you were ruled responsible for USS Musashi's loss at the Siege of Trion Prime?”

“No, the court-martial proceeding determined that I was not at fault for the loss of the Musashi--”

“Isn't it also true that this isn't the first time you were court-martialed?”

“Yes,”

“It was after you were implicated in a plot to kill President Picard, correct?”

“Yes, but the charges were dropped after my Marine company proved the charges false.”

“Don't you mean the SPECOPS Delta detachment? You were a member, were you not?”

“Captain, my record is classified. There are things in your record that I'm sure you don't want to see the light of day. That incident on Bolarus XI, for example,” Janeway finally snapped.

“I.... I.... I.....” Hernandez stammered, shock on her face.

“Enough of this, both of you! We will consider your proposal, Commander. Dismissed,” Admiral Ruiz said, cutting them both off. Janeway saluted, spinning around, and stomped out of the room, with Hernandez still glaring at him.

 

[Whtstr314]

Tuvok was sitting on the floor, meditating on the floor, candles surrounding him. Suddenly, the door chirped, and Tuvok stood, “Enter.”

Janeway walked in the room, carrying a meditation mat. “Hi, Tuvok, how was your meeting with the Andorian ambassador?”

“Sufficiently well, we talked a great deal about the potential reformation of the Galactic Union and...” Tuvok trailed off after he saw the mat, “I believe we were supposed to play kal-toh tonight, Jake.”

“Just need a brief refresher course from you, if possible,” Jake responded, as he sat down on his mat.

“What has occurred, Jake? What happened with the presentation?” asked the Vulcan, raising his left eyebrow.

Janeway looked up at the ceiling in frustration and sighed, “Not well.”

******************************************************************************************************

Sitting outside the CINC's office, Captain Eliza Hernandez was utter wreck at the prospect of facing the Commander in Chief-Starfleet and for reasons she did not yet know. Her badge suddenly chirped and she practically jumped, “Captain Hernandez, please come in.” Captain Hernandez stood nervously and made her way to the doors. The doors opened and she slowly made her way into the CINC's office. The Starfleet five star admiral was staring out the window at the Golden Gate Bridge and Hernandez stood there for almost a minute before the admiral spoke. “Sit, Captain Hernandez,” she said in a tone that was almost gentle but had a harder edge to it. Hernandez quickly sat in the chair in front of the admiral's desk.

“Admiral...” Hernandez began, but she was cut off by a swift motion from the CINC.

“Stay quiet and just listen, Captain. We both know we don't like each other, but we share a common goal, we both want my son out of Starfleet....” said Admiral Kathryn Janeway.



Chapter 2: Partial Catharsis, Stardate 79546.06

Commander Jake Janeway stood and paced outside of the office of Deanna Troi-Riker, too nervous to sit. She knows I want this to be my last session, why is it taking so long? Is this deliberate to see what my response would be from waiting? Nervously, he glanced at the camera that was positioned to cover the waiting room. Surprised I never noticed that damned thing in here after 19 mandatory visits. “Commander Janeway, please come in.” Come on in for one more hour of hell. The Commander waited for the previous patient to come out, a Marine Lieutenant, and Jake entered.

“Hey, what's up? Think you're gonna succeed in shrinking me today, Captain?” Jake sarcastically said as he flopped down on the couch in the office, grinning sardonically.

“I've told time after time, call me Deanna. After all, I did teach you to control your gift,” Troi-Riker replied, apparently unfazed by Janeway's demeanor.

“So that's the route we're taking today, hmm? My gift? Remember, I was a xenopsychology major at the academy. I honestly expected better from a counselor of your caliber. Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Jake replied, keeping up his sarcastic demeanor.

“Come now, Jake. I've noticed something in our previous sessions, you haven't mentioned making use of your empathic abilities since we've begun, and I certainly haven't noticed you using them during the sessions, either. So, care to explain? Or should I bring my husband in, so you can laugh about the time you destroyed his ship?” she replied, matching Janeway's sarcasm.

“Ok, point made, I know I've been avoiding that subject, it honestly just hasn't...” Deanna's stern look quickly put an end to his excuse. “Alright, fine, what do you wanna know?”

“Why haven't you used your empathic abilities since the attack? Before you claim you have, that little implant that keeps the voices from overwhelming you that we installed at age two? It monitors your empathic and telepathic usage and per the PATI Act, I have the ability to download the records. As a fellow empath, I don't want to do that.” replied Deanna, a hard edge to her voice.

“You've been saving this card for a while, haven't you Counselor?” returned Janeway as balled up his fists.

“Answer the question, Jake!” she replied, red in the face, but her tone softened again, “Please.”

“Fine, you wanna bloody know?! My “gift” is the reason 6000 men and women are dead!!!” Jake screamed and flipped the coffee table in front of him, then collapsed onto the couch.

“What are you talking about, Jake? What happened?” she replied and sat down next to Jake. Deanna attempted to put an arm around him, but he pulled away. Janeway's shoulders sagged, and he hung his head in shame.

“Right before the battle, I used my ability to see what my crewmates were feeling, and when the Pyramids decloaked...” Jake stopped as he tried to regain his composure, “Their panic.... it just overwhelmed me, and I couldn't.... react, couldn't.... think, couldn't.... even shut them out. The use of my “gift” allowed them to get the first shots off, and 300 people, just on the Musashi.... died because of it. Not to mention all hands on the Jefferson, the Leyte Gulf, the Oppenheimer, and the Wolf 359.... Then there's the Tian An Men and the Paine.... All totaled, my actions led to the death or assimilation of 6000 people.... Then the JAG rules that I was not liable.... that's like putting salt in the wound.”

“Jake, you have to see what they saw... what I saw... I never told you, but I read the report on the battle. You did everything right, you saved the convoy, you did your best to protect your crew, and you kept 40,000 civilians and military personnel from being assimilated or killed by ordering the rest of the squadron to retreat. I understand your frustration, but...” Troi-Riker began.

“No, you don't understand and you never will,” Jake straightened and put the mask of anger back on. “This is such a waste of time! Have a good life, counselor.” Jake stood, and stormed out of the office. Troi-Riker tried to follow, but the door closed behind him before she could.

“I hate it when he does that,” Troi-Riker said as she bent over and began picking up the pieces of glass from the coffee table.

******************************************************************************************************

Jake opened the door and walked into his Philadelphia apartment, unzipped his uniform jacket, and tossed it onto his couch. Stretching as he did so, he walked over to the baby grand piano and sat down. Activating the electronic song computer, he called up Dave Brubeck, Billy Joel, and Thelonious Monk. Jake began playing, and was lost in the music, until the doorbell chimed repeatedly. Looking at the chronometer, he realized he had been playing for 6 hours without stopping. “Jake, come on, let me in... I've got a extra large pepperoni pizza and some Sam Adams,” the voice outside the door said in a sing song tone.

“Come on in, Miral,” replied Jake, without getting up from his seat at the baby grand, as Miral Paris came in, set down the pizza and beer, and sat on the bench. Miral slid over, bumping into Janeway. “What are you doing here, Miral?” Jake asked as he got up, grabbed a bottle of beer, and began rumaging around the drawers for the bottle opener. Finding it, he popped the lid, and took a sip. “Aaahhh, thank you for bringing this, Miral.... Wait, what's the look for? I'm on vacation!” he shouted gleefully as he turned around to face Miral's hard edged look.

“I think you know.... What the hell happened at Captain Troi's office? She's keeping it under wraps until she gets a suitable explanation for your behavior, but so far she's got a diagnosis of PTSD and extreme anger outbursts that would extend your “vacation”, as you call it, to a minimum of 42 months,” replied Miral, who gave Jake a look of disapproval.

“I got pissed off, we both know I've got a temper,” he said with a grin, while Miral went into the kitchen to get plates. “Most of the time, it's an asset; occasionally it gets me in trouble. Besides I sent a message to Captain Troi, saying I would pay for the table. So what's the big deal?” Miral returned to the table and set down the plates, giving Jake a look. The 'You're an idiot, you know that, right?' look, which Jake had seen multiple times over the last ten years or so (probably longer). The look accomplished what it intended. “Alrighty then, what do you wanna know?” he sighed as he picked up a slice of pepperoni off the pizza and popped it in his mouth.

“I wanna know why you aren't getting on with your life,” she snapped, growing impatient with Janeway, “Goddamn it, Jake, what the hell happened out there?”

“What are you, my mother? Oh, wait, if you were my mom, you'd have me bloody court-martialed, wouldn't you?!” said Jake as he took a slice of pizza and began to eat, “Look, can we just talk about BS and just have some laughs for tonight?”

“Fine, but you have to come up with a solution by tomorrow, understand?” Miral replied, staring hard at him. Jake nodded, feigning fear, and they both laughed.

 

[Whtstr314]

The next day, Deanna Troi was coming out of her office at the end of the day and as she turned around after punching in the door lock keycode, she saw Jake Janeway sitting on the bench outside, smiling sheepishly. “What do you want, Jake?” she sighed as she approached him.

“I just wanted to apologize... I ordered your new table, but it might take a while, they build it by hand,” said Jake with the sheepish smile still on his face.

“A new table, while hand-built, isn't going to keep me from reporting what happened yesterday to your superiors, you know,” Deanna replied, obviously exasperated from the past two days of counseling.

“Well, that's what I came to talk to you about,” Jake said, the grin disappearing from his face, “Look, I have a proposal, if you're willing to listen...”

“What is it, Jake? I am due home in an hour, so talk fast, and as we walk,” Deanna replied with a sigh. She and Jake began walking toward San Francisco's starshuttle terminal.

“Alright, here it is...” Jake began...



Chapter 3: Desperate Times...

The USS King Arthur, an Excalibur Class Deterrence Dreadnought, one of Starfleet's fastest ships, cruised through the Polenae system of the Andromeda galaxy. Slowly passing the Polenae system's second planet, , the Arthur was a majestic sight, powerful yet sleek. However, in front of the powerful battleship was a crimson hued vortex, almost like a whirlpool. On the bridge of the King Arthur, Captain Jeremiah David stood behind the station of his chief science officer, leaning over to see the readouts at the station. My God, what is this thing? “Any results on the vortex, Doctor?” asked David with a grim expression on his face.

“It is of unknown origin, but it appears to be a tunnel through subspace, similar to a wormhole but altogether different somehow...” replied Dr. Alvan, the ship's resident subspace physics expert. Captain David sat in the command chair and considered the situation. Should I report this to Command? Should we deal with this ourselves?

“We're out of our depth here.... Report the situation to Command, submit all sensor data as well,” the captain ordered as he stood, “I'll be in the ready room; alert me if there are any changes.”

“Sir, we've got twenty craft of unknown origin coming out of the vortex! Approximately ten meters in length, they appear to be equipped with disruptors and another type of energy weapon,” shouted the tactical officer.

Captain David sat back down and pondered the situation for a moment. “Go to yellow alert, raise shield, deploy defense drones, and activate armor. Plot the bandits course as well,” David commanded.

“All defensive systems active,” reported the tactical officer, “The unknown craft are on a collision course!”

“Arm weapons, send message on all frequencies, 'Disengage or we will open fire.',” replied the captain with a frown.

“Message from the ships, text only, 'Do....',” replied the communications officer, suddenly shocked.

“What is it, Skova?” David snapped.

“They say 'You cannot beat us Starfleet,'” replied Skova, still in shock.

Captain David settled into his chair and ordered, “All hands to battle stations, prepare to engage.”

******************************************************************************************************

Commander Janeway was standing on the mat doing tai chi chuan when his class came in. The class of 15 marines cadets came in and sat as Jake stopped. The students looked up at Jake expectantly. Alright, here goes nothing...“Welcome to Advanced SAMCMAP training. You have qualified for this by mastering the standard Starfleet and Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and requesting Force Recon placements after you graduate. Now, the first class I do, we spar to see what your level of training. Now, everybody pick a part...,” Jake suddenly stopped when a cadet's hand popped up, “Yes, Cadet... Mason, is it?”

“Yes, sir, Cadet 4th Class Olivia Mason. To be frank, we've all heard about you and your career as a Marine Corps fighter. One of our number would like to take you on in a full contact fight,” she replied with a smile.

“Alright, well, who will I be facing then?”Jake asked as he stood up.

“Me,” replied the woman as the smile disappeared, “I'm an MMA fighter. I'm 25-7 so far, with 16 knockouts and 9 submissions.”

“Well, let's go.” Janeway replied, activating his comm, “Send a message to Dr. Weber at Medical, Captain Chakotay at Tactical Command, and Ambassador Tuvok at Vulcan Science Academy, tell them 'I've got a match today.'”

“Wait, right now?!” she replied, shocked, as Janeway looked over and grinned.

******************************************************************************************************

Dr. Jack Weber stood outside the octagon at the Academy's athletic center waiting for his patient. Out came Jake Janeway from the locker room looking poised and ready for his opponent. “What the hell are you thinking? A student picks a fight with you and you decide to agree?! Are you trying to get thrown out of Starfleet?” asked Weber.

Jake simply smiled and looked at Tuvok with the grin, “What? Do you think I have a shot?”

“I think the odds are significantly in your favor, but I do not understand the point of this exercise,” replied Tuvok, “I completely fail to understand the logic of this demonstration.” Chakotay nodded his head in agreement.

Chakotay stood up from his seat and looked over Janeway, “This does seem kind of frivolous Jake. You are making example of the student for what reason exactly?”

Janeway stood up after putting on his gloves and said “This student challenged me in my class and I am her superior officer. I've learned that challenging your superior officer without cause can be a whole lot of trouble. So this is a lesson one in both combat and etiquette. ”

Weber looked over and just sighed, “You better know what you're doing Jake, because if not you're going to get your ass kicked. Either literally or figuratively, take your pick.” Jake walked into the octagon and activated his corner's force field.

Janeway stood inside the octagon waiting for his opponent to emerge from her locker room. She's going to definitely regret this. Olivia Mason came out of the locker room looking fresh and with a stony look on her face. This should definitely be interesting.

The referee walked into the ring as Olivia entered the octagon. Mason stood in a southpaw stance with her hands in the standard kickboxer's position. “You ready?” said the referee as he looked at Olivia. The referee turned and looked at Janeway, who nodded. The referee shouted, “Fight!” Mason charged at Janeway and threw a kick aimed for his head, which Janeway easily dodged. Trying a quick superman punch, Mason missed and bounced off the holographic fence. Janeway took advantage of it and took her down to the mat. Jumping back up, she fired several combinations, until Janeway took her down again. He sprang back up and threw quick kick to her head after she staggered to her feet. She blocked the kick and quickly countered with an overhand right. Parrying the blow, Janeway quickly shot for a takedown. She sprawled to avoid the takedown, but Janeway quickly stood up and fired a jab at her which connected at her temple, rocking her. Seeing how exhausted she was, Janeway came up and slammed her into the holographic fence. She threw several wild shots at Janeway, and Janeway parried all of them, grabbing her arm with his left and locking in an standing arm lock. With his free arm, he locked in a t'plath choke around her throat.

After several seconds, she gasped, "Okay, enough!" Jake let go and she fell to the ground gasping, and cradling her right arm. "What the hell was that?" she asked with an angry look on her face.

“What are you referring to?” replied Janeway with a smile. Mason stood up and glared at him. Janeway just laughed.

"Debrief is in an hour, after you get your arm checked out by Dr. Weber there," Janeway said as he walked out of the octagon, "Debrief for all of you is one hour." The students looked at each other worriedly as Janeway and his corner men left without a word.

******************************************************************************************************
“So what did you learn?” asked Janeway as looked out the classroom's window while his still stunned class. Hearing no responses, he turned around and looked at the expressions; most of his students looked shocked, but Cadet Mason beet red face showed she was more than just shocked.

“That you're a sadistic jerk,” Mason replied under her breath.

“Yes, in this particular class I do act like a sadistic jerk,” Jake said with a grimace, “I'm actually a nice guy most of the time. However, you don't get the code of chivalry in real combat nowadays. You all want to be Special Operations or Marine Force Reconnaissance. You will be alone in combat; there will not be any calvary riding to your rescue, which means you have to be willing to do anything to stay alive and complete your missions.” Mason's face went beet red again, this time with embarrassment.

“Now, we're gonna go over the move I used on Cadet Mason, a standing armlock into T'plath choke. It is fairly simple and muscle memory will...” Janeway began, then saw Commodore Sovak enter the room. “Excuse me a moment,” Jake said. He walked over to the commodore, asking in a low tone, “May I ask what you're doing here, ma'am?”

“You are needed at StratCom immediately,” said Sovak.

“Okay, let me finish the clas--,” he replied,

“No, this request came from Starfleet Command, you have been ordered to appear at Briefing Room 1-A,” she replied, “Now.”

 

[Whtstr314]

Chapter 4 will be posted by Sunday. I wanted to repost with the modifications I added. Feedback is welcome.

 

[Whtstr314]

Poll is up, feedback welcome...

 

[Whtstr314]

Chapter 4: Past Sins

Jake looked around at the briefing, seeing multiple admirals, commodores, and captains, and quite a few lower ranking officers most of whom he knew. So I wonder who thought of inviting me to this little shindig? Into the room walked Captain Hernandez, who glared at him before she took her seat across from him. He was tempted to say something, but Janeway thought better of it. Hopefully, this will be the last time I'll see her face again... The various officers were chattering, waiting for whoever was giving the briefing. In walked Lt. Cmdr. McKnight, followed by Commodore Sovak. “Jake, what are you doing here?” asked Evan.

“Beats me, Commodore Sovak ordered me here. Any idea why we're here, ma'am?” Jake said with a grimace.

“I have no idea as to the purpose of this meeting, Commander,” said Sovak. Jake considered the possibilities of what the meeting could be about, but suddenly the chattering stopped. Janeway swiveled towards the front of the briefing room, where Fleet Captain Jakovic had taken the podium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the CINC,” said Jakovic. Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Admiral Kathryn Janeway walked in, nodded to Jakovic, who stepped aside, and she replaced him at the podium. The officers stood at attention, and Jake reluctantly joined them.

“Please be seated,” the Admiral said. As the officers all sat down, the holopad lit up, showing the Starfleet insignia emblazoned with a top secret emblem. The briefing stations at each of their seats sprang to life, with the Project: Marco Polo patch on the screens. Ah, the Andromeda expedition, this must be her idea of a cruel joke. “As most of you know, the Andromeda expedition is underway. We had most of the expedition group near the Andromedan galactic barrier, but several ships have been sent ahead as scouts, including the USS King Arthur, the Pharaoh, and the Adamant. Five days ago, Vice Admiral Wa't lost contact with all three ships. Before he lost contact with the King Arthur, she streamed a live sensor feed. This is what got through.”

The patch was replaced by video of a crimson gigantic vortex, swarming with small dagger like craft. The craft suddenly shot towards the King Arthur, firing blue hued disruptor bolts. The dreadnought responded with withering fire from its defensive batteries, but only destroying maybe a dozen, leaving almost thirty six craft boring in on the King Arthur. Abruptly, the pointed end of the ship began to glow with blue energy, punching holes right through the powerful shields of the King Arthur. The first craft smashed into the dreadnought, and suddenly the feed went to static. The screens switched back to the presentation, and Admiral Janeway continued.

“Two days ago, we lost complete contact with the rest of the expedition task force, a total of 18 ships MIA. We suspect that whatever threat force behind the attack on the King Arthur also destroyed or disabled the task force and the other scouts,” the Admiral finished as she nodded to Jakovic, who took her place at the podium.

“We are assembling a battle group to investigate the disappearances,” said Captain Jakovic, “With the exception of the flag officers, you have all been assigned to the battle group. Your various departments and ships are waiting for you to report as soon as possible. Dismissed.” Jake looked at the list of names and their assignments, as the bulk of the officers stood and , noting that his name didn't appear on the list. Why the hell am I here then if I'm not assigned to the force? Jake stood and began to walk out, when Jakovic called out “Commander Janeway, Capt. Hernandez, please stay, if you please.”

Janeway turned around, seeing Capt. Jakovic waving him over as Jakovic finished talking to Hernandez. “What is it, sir?”

“I want you as the executive officer and head of security for the USS Lionheart, and I've received permission to approve your plan you laid out to StratCom,” Capt. Jakovic said with a grin, “However, both the CINC and StratCom have requested an adviser be attached to your squadron. Congratulations, commander, I guess.

“Thank you, sir, but who's the adviser?” Jake asked with a smile. The captain gestured over at the leaving Capt. Hernandez, and Janeway's smile disappeared from his face almost instantly. “How soon till the battle group gets going, sir?” Jake asked. Capt. Jakovic sighed and put an arm on Jake's shoulder.

“First, Jake, we've known each other since you were five, my first name is Lucas, and you know that,” Jakovic said with a smile, “It's only captain or sir on the Lionheart, understood?”

“Yes, s... Lucas, thanks for the support. I thought my mom was pulling some cruel joke, letting me come to the briefing, but rejecting any attempt for me to join the expedition... we haven't exactly had a great relationship the last couple years... How long till we depart, Lucas?”

“2 days, it'll take that long for all the ships assigned to reach the rally point... Then it'll be 6 days for the force to reach the Andromedan galactic barrier; will your squadron be ready by then?”

“We had better be...”

 

[Whtstr314]

7 Years Earlier

“What were you thinking?!” Kathryn Janeway shouted, “You must've lost your mind in the past 72 hours!”

“My best friend is dead thanks to the Tholians, and you want me to go to UCLA and act like nothing happened?! I enlisted in the Marine Corps so that won't happen to some other kid!” Jake shot back.

“Yes, you're a KID! Remember that fact, you're only 15!”

“Evidently, you haven't been paying attention, 15 is an adult in the Federation!”

“But not old enough in this house!”

“You mean the house I spend maybe 3-4 weeks in per year?! I've lived on 3 dozen planets in the last 5 years!”

“I am your mother! You will respect me, and you will listen to me!”

“How am I supposed to respect someone who I see maybe a dozen times a year?!”

“I---”

“My pompous stepfather, who I've only known for 7 years, has spent more time with me than you have my whole lifetime!”

“I have tried---”

“You've tried?! You were Bajor when I pitched my first shutout! You were attending a conference when my shuttle went down, 3 years ago!”

“You know I lov---”

“Bull, Tuvok has shown me more love than you have!”

“I--”

“Have a good life, Admiral!” Jake screamed as he stormed out of the room. Kathryn Janeway stood at her desk until she heard the exterior door slam. Kathryn sat down at her desk covered in PADDs, and looked at the holoplate of Jake smiling in his baseball uniform, as she sighed and buried her face in her hands...

 

[Gibraltar]

That was a gut-wrenching fight for Janeway, no doubt, having the reality of her absence thrown back in her face. It appears Jake still has some emotional baggage in his adult years, but hopefully not so much that it will interfere in his new posting.

 

[Whtstr314]

“Tom!” Jake shouted as he tried to work his way through the crowded ground at the Starfleet Academy.

“Jake, how the hell are you? Hey, guys, clear out, I need to talk to a war hero!” Tom Paris shouted to his class, grinning broadly from ear to ear. Tom worked through the crowd, grabbed Jake by the shoulders, and hugged him.

“Alright, Tom, enough with the 'war hero' stuff,” Jake replied, looking like he had swallowed poison.

“Jake, you need to stop beating yourself up,” Paris said, turning serious, “You here to check in or for something else?” They walked past Boothby's Memorial Garden and towards the city.

“Tell Deanna I've been doing well with my temper under control,” Jake sourly responded, “Look, I need to talk about the project I'm working on.”

“How are the trauma symptoms? Deanna will ask---”

“They're fine, now can I talk to you about what I came here for?!'

“Sure, what would you like to talk about, Mr. Banner?”

“Stop joking, Tom, I need to ask you a question!”

“What's taking you, I've been waiting for you to ask, would you get to it?”

“Damn you, Tom! I need...” Janeway settled himself, took a deep breath, and turned to Paris, slowly saying, “Tom, I need suggestions on where to recruit good pilots, preferably with experience, and preferably ones who aren't as infuriating as you.”

“Well, good luck with that last one...”

 

[Whtstr314]

I hope to have the 5th chapter by the end of the week, which may be this Friday or this Sunday, depending on how bad my writer's block is... lol.

 

[Whtstr314]

Sorry for the delay, but our cat had to be put down Friday, haven't been able to concentrate effectively. Please stay tuned, probably be out by Wednesday.

 

[Whtstr314]

Chapter 5: Fury of the Stars

God, I hate the night shift. Jake Janeway stood on the bridge at his security station of the USS Lionheart and waited for Evan McKnight to show up on the bridge, when a thought occurred to him. “Lieut., what is our current heading and speed?” Janeway asked the helmsman, a Bolian.

“Bearing .30, Mark 12, speed at Transwarp 4.5,” replied the lieutenant, who responded instantly.

“Alert all hands to prepare for sudden maneuvering. Helm, attack maneuver 22 Alpha,” Janeway shouted as the ship suddenly lurched and went through the complex maneuver. “Go to evade pattern Delta 32.” The ship lurched the opposite way and began a series of rolling patterns designed to evade torpedoes. “All stop!” The ship suddenly ground to a halt. The Bolian officer looked at him expectantly, waiting for another order.

“Resume course. What is your name Lieut.?” Janeway asked as the ship resumed warp and he closed the gap between the helm and the security station. The entire bridge stared at the helm officer, looking for answers as to what just occurred, completely lost.

“Melar Pranyge, sir. Can I ask what that all was about?” asked Pranyge.

“I'd like to know what the hell that was about too...” Capt. Jakovic said from the turbolift behind them.

“Capt., could myself and Pranyge use your ready room for a moment?” Janeway asked with a grin as he turned around to face his commanding officer.

“Yes, but be sure to pencil me in right after, Commander...” Jakovic replied sarcastically, as Janeway led the still confused helmsman to the Captain's ready room.