Star Trek: Intrepid - The Double Edge

[Galen4]

Chapter 3 continued​

She would never admit it, but she took pride in his accomplishments as a daughter would her father.

“Well, let’s hope our Genesis idea works so we won’t have to put those ships to the test.” Aubrey was holding another croissant. He took a large bite out of it, using a finger to push the protruding end completely into his maw.

Shantok’s left eyebrow moved up a notch. “If memory serves, you consumed a full meal less than an hour ago.”

“That was then.” Aubrey slurred through a full mouth. “Anyway, I need to stay sharp. We wouldn’t want my blood sugar to drop during a critical moment now would we?”

He chomped down on the remainder of the croissant the moment there was room for it.

Shantok looked on with distaste. “I would estimate the likelihood of such an occurrence to be vanishingly small.”

A musical chime caught their attention.

“Captain, incoming audio from the command ship.” Rodriguez communicated.

Since the captain was still chewing away, Shantok answered for him. “On speakers.”

A woman’s voice came through, carrying both somberness and determination. “This is Captain Caroline Hiroko, USS Legacy to all ships…”

Hiroko began to recap current developments. As the litany of bad news came in, Aubrey slapped the railing in front of him with frustration. The first runabout had been shot down. The Dominion knew a Starfleet presence was here now. If Adol and Pal were still out there, it was unlikely they’d get the chance to take their turn at the nebula.

Their survival was even less likely.

Hiroko continued her dissertation, sounding as flat and officious as if she were reading from a script. “A large armada of Dominion and Cardassian vessels are now emerging from the nebula’s dead zone. Admiral Jellico is ordering an immediate launch to intercept. All ships are to assume tactical formation Alpha Two Two One. Interlinks to Nagasaki should be made now. Clock will be set for a two-minute countdown on Captain Zorek’s mark. That is all.”

“Battle stations.” Aubrey ordered at once.

An old style red alert klaxon whooped through the ship and the level of activity increased on the bridge.

“Mr. Rodriguez, please bring phasers online and load all torpedo bays,” Shantok instructed.

“Interlink established.” The operations officer reported.

“Confirmed,” Said Lt. Fidel from the CON position. “Nagasaki has helm control.” The Indian woman didn’t seem happy at having another ship pull Intrepid’s strings.

“Sir, the admiral is addressing the fleet,” Rodriguez updated.

When Admiral Jellico first appeared on screen, he was caught in an unguarded moment. His head was down, as if examining the deck between his feet. His face was pinched with concern. It was the picture of a man pressed by an enormous weight.

When he looked up, he was solid and confident. “I’ll be brief. You all know what’s at stake. You all know the odds are against us. But let me say this: we are Betazed’s only hope.”

The CON and OPS officers exchanged worried looks.

“The sacrifices we make here today and the blood we spill won’t be in vain. Every second, every minute, every hour we can delay the enemy from its attack is that much more time that the Tenth Fleet has to return.” His eyes swept back and forth, giving the eerie impression that he was seeing each member of his audience. “Good hunting to us all.”

The viewer winked off.

Zorek’s voice came through the PA system. “All ships: this will be a tandem warp jump. Countdown has commenced from this mark.“

“The clock is running.” Rodriguez confirmed nervously.

Shantok looked over her freestanding panel on the upper command deck. “Argentina and Dionysus confirm that they’ve copied operational orders to come in 30 seconds after the fleet. The rest of Excelsior Wing has formed up around us and is standing by.”

“Engineering shows ready.” Said the Operations officer. “Coordinates in and locked.”

Far beneath them, unimaginable power began to gather and boil within Intrepid’s engine core. The mighty starship was coiling its muscles, ready to side step Einsteinian physics.

Zorek’s countdown was under way. “19…18…17…“

Bathed in red light, Aubrey and Shantok gazed at one another as if to validate their mutual faith.

Or perhaps they were communing a final farewell.

Rodriguez wiped sweaty palms on his trousers. He gripped the edges of his console tightly, showing off white knuckles.

Aubrey, however, was poised at the edge of his command chair, as if he were about to spur a horse into motion.

He can’t actually be enjoying this, can he? Rodriguez thought incredulously.

“Ten…nine…eight…“

“Warp coils have energized,” Shantok noted coolly.

“Seven…six…five…“

Fidel held her breath.

“Three…two…one…“

“Tally-ho,” Aubrey whispered.

“ENGAGE.”

Tango Fleet blasted into warp speed.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

A tough break for the crew of Montreal. It shows that battle plans never survive the first encounter with the enemy - or changes in "weather." They gave their all - literally.

A very tough loss for Hiroko - tactically and personally. Hopefully she can keep her feelings in check to see this battle through.

Now the battle really begins - but what of the other runabout? Can they still use the Genesis torpedo to turn the tide, or is it too late?

Great segments!

 

[CeJay]

Hard-hitting chapter with Montreal making the ultimate sacrifice and quite literally going out with a bang. Cpt. Hiroko's loss might compromise her ability to function at one hundred percent in the upcoming battle. Turns out those guidelines about captains fraternizing with the crew have a point after all.

Way to end this chapter at its most exciting moment. And I too can't help but wonder about the chances of the second runabout. Too many people have written them off already which usually means that they have a flicker of a chance to pull off a miracle.

Terrific, edge-of-your-seat kinda stuff.

 

[mirandafave]

Tally-ho indeed. Into the fray they go. It seems awful that such little faith has been put in the crew of Intrepid's shuttle to complete the mission. Oh ye of little faith ... I am hoping that they do indeed show the rest of the fleet what they are made of. I guess rooting for the underdog is going to be a theme in this tale. I like the description of the Intrepid as the experimental test bed that makes it one powerful but ultimately problematic ship. It seems Aubrey has his hands full regardless of the mission and the added complication of command of the Excelsior wing.
What really impresses me are the details that pepper the dialogue and the scenery. Details about ship movements, attack patterns and the engineering reports. All done so as not to intrude on the story telling but add so much flavour and authenicity to the tale. Very well rendered and brilliant realisation onto paper without being gimmicky or techno-babble like. This is seen most especially in the combat between the fighters and the Montreal runabout. Great action stuff that was of course then followed up with the heart stuff as Hiroko silently grieves her loss.

I am also liking our Vulcan friend Shantok. Her interesting background makes for her to be one formidable Vulcan and character. I'll be interested to see how she develops.
And to note, I like the detail that Aubrey prefers to command from the secondardy bridge. A wonder it wasn't standard procedure in the war. Continued great stuff and a bumper of a chapter.

 

[Mistral]

Great stuff, Galen. The detail is rich, indeed, as noted by others. It makes the story feel "on the mark" . And you continue to develop Jellico with subtle points-I think you are making him all that Ronny Cox could convey and more. Thumbs up!

 

[Galen4]

TLR, Cejay: Thanks. And yes, Hiroko has a long road ahead. Maybe funcitoning after a personal loss is one of the hardest tests for a commanding officer.

Mirandafave: As always, I appreciate your reviews. I do strive for the right balance of technical detail and story pacing. I'm pleased that so far, it's working out. Regarding the secondary bridge idea, it sort of seemed like a no-brainer to me after watching DS9. There were a few scenes in which the Dominion pulverizes the bridges of Starfleet ships. I thought to myself, "Gee, I wouldn't command from there during a battle."
Thanks for commenting on the numerous details that I added.

Mistral: Much appreciated. I admire Ronnie Cox as an actor and believe he did a tremendous job in fleshing out a character in a short amount of screen time. I think Jellico has endured in the fan fiction world because Cox gave him dimensions and hinted at more depth. This left fans somewhat intrugued and wishing there they could have seen more.

Thanks again to all of you for your time, support and reflections.

 

[Galen4]

Chapter 4​

Runabout Chin Ho
Approaching Kokala Nebula


Much to Adol’s chagrin, Lt. Pal had decided to exorcise his fear by yammering endlessly.

“And Ensign Benwick agrees with McDowery from Astrophysics.”

There was a suspicious lull in the chatter and Adol realized he was expected to formulate an answer. “Oh. That’s interesting.”

“I think so, too. In fact, three people from my study group believe that the Founder’s war against us was foretold in Revelations. And they’re not the only ones. Several prominent ministers are saying the same thing.”

“Ah ha.”

“And on Archer IV, Reverend G’mora has even gone so far as to claim that Martin Santiago is the Anti-Christ.”

The Andorian considered the remark with bemusement. “The Federation President is your so-called ‘Anti-Christ’? That’s an interesting…theory.”

Pal stroked his auburn goatee, looking wistful. “Actually, it’s more plausible than you might think.”

Adol tried to shrug, but he never could get it right. As always, the movement came off like an uncontrolled spasm. “Santiago is a pacifist and an idiot. But anti-Christ might be a stretch. Personally, I think you’re giving him too much credit.”

“Well, there’s enough markers there to at least give you pause.”

“Oh, you’ve given me pause all right.”

“You should catch a holo of Reverend G’mora sometime. You might realize there’s more to Santiago than meets the eye.”

Adol adjusted his antennas to display mischief. “Well, I’m not responsible either way. I backed Shavesh.” He put up a warning finger. “And not just because he’s Andorian, either.”

“Uh hunh. I’m sure that had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

Adol emitted a prolonged exhale. “We are about to dash into another topic, I hope?”

Pal held up his hands in appeasement. “I’m just saying…if you suddenly find yourself alone in this cockpit, don’t be too surprised.”

“I should be so lucky.” Adol grumbled under his breath.

His companion tried to smother his grin, but it was already wriggling away from him----a fact that wasn’t going unnoticed by his crewmate.

“Just trying to see if I was paying attention, aye?”

Pal let his smirk blossom. “Well, I wasn’t entirely kidding. Santiago might be the one.”

A warble sounded from the forward panel, indicating that they were now on the last leg of the journey.

Both men shifted back into professional mode, giving full attention to their boards.

“Firing portside thrusters.” Pal reported. “I now have line of sight with Kokala. Re-establishing a relative bearing with the nebula.”

“Passive sensor return shows no hostiles.” Adol supplied. “I have runabout power below detection threshold.”

“Confirmed. Main engines still powered down.” Pal tapped out more commands on his interface. “Shutting off thrusters. We are back on inertia and in full quiet mode.”

With protocol now behind them, they took in the Nebula through the main windows.

It was magnificent to behold.

Before them lay a mountain range of dust and ionic radiation. Tangled arms of purple and orange kissed and separated, snaking through the nebula’s body in a fluidic dance.

Pal was reminded of boiling storm clouds lit up by an orange sunset.

“Kokala shouldn’t still be here.” Adol said, breaking the spell. “The Montreal didn’t make it. They were either shot down or captured.”

Pal flinched at the blunt statement. “We don’t know anything for sure.” He objected weakly. “We’re approaching the opposite side of the nebula. Communication is blacked out.”

Adol looked about him warily. “Either way, the Dominion knows there’s a Starfleet presence here now, so stay on your toes.”

“Do we still go forward? If the Dominion knows we’re here, they may have already pulled out.”

Intrepid’s security chief nodded, making his antennas bob up and down over his head. “Remember, our function was to act as a back up for this very possibility. We’re cut off from the fleet, so you know what the regs say…”

“’In the absence of new instructions, or a major change in circumstances, you proceed with the orders in hand’.” Pal recited humorlessly.

Adol looked down his noise reflectively. “Now, if only a stout Andorian woman would say that to me, life would be grand.”

“So you don’t find me attractive?”

They continued to exchange friendly fire for the next 45 minutes or so. The bantering was something that had flowed between them since their Academy days, and the confined space of the runabout only increased the tempo.

An unspoken agreement lay between them...they would not bow to hopelessness. For now at least, they were alone in a great void, partially blind and deaf. They knew that even a propitious outcome to their mission was no guarantee for survival. The odds favored either enemy capture or oblivion, all without ever knowing if their efforts had tipped the scale.

So they bickered and made bad jokes, all to reinforce their resolve. As they crept closer to their target, it seemed their luck might hold long enough to cap their assignment.

However, their spring of good fortune ran dry preciously 67 minutes later.

“Two contacts six hundred thousand kilometers of the port bow. Closing fast.” Adol huffed. “They just emerged from Kokala’s dead zone.”

For a man of the Christian faith, Douglas Pal had a respectable anthology of curse words at his disposal. He shared much of his collection with Adol, before running short of breath. “How did they find us?” He sputtered, after his litany was done. “The nebula’s circumference is huge! And enemy ships just happen to be lying right here in wait?”

 

[Galen4]

Chapter 4 continued​

“We’ll worry about that later. I’m going to power us up. Stand ready on evasive.”

Pal clenched his hands around the helm controls, awaiting a detailed update from Adol, who had now brought the Chin Ho’s full sensor suite on line.

“Looks like two Cardassian gunships, Lamphett class. Closing on an intercept.”

The Lamphett class was a larger, more heavily armored cousin to the Hideki fighters. They packed roughly twice the firepower, but without enough additional mass to slow them down. (“Gunship” was a misnomer perpetrated by someone at Starfleet Intelligence, but the term had stuck.)

Pal hissed out a profane reference to Cardassian genealogy.

“We’re almost close enough to hit Kokala with Genesis. Can you get us by them?”

Pal jerked his head back and forth. “They’re faster than we are. We’ll get hammered on the way by. I don’t see our shields holding.”

“Then for this to work, we’ll have to launch Genesis before they hit us.”

“If we do, it’ll look suspcious.” Pal warned. “More than likely, they’ll scan the warhead and probably shoot it down.”

“Then we’ll have to do it inconspicuously.”

Pal eyed his friend with deliberate suspicion. “How do you shoot at a nebula without drawing notice?”

Adol grew a malicious smile. “Just fly and leave the rest to me.”

As the two gunships closed the distance with the runabout, one of them fell back while its companion bolted forward.

The Chin Ho began an erratic course. The small ship increased speed to maximum, while diving up and down along the Z-axis. It tried to retreat out of the system, only to swing back onto a new heading towards Kalandra Four, the nearest space body. Finally, the runabout backtracked, racing towards Kokala at breakneck speed.

By now, the Cardassian pilots knew they were dealing with a panicked Starfleet crew. It was obvious that the runabout’s pilot had made a last minute decision to hide within the nebula.

They easily overtook the Chin Ho, completing a wide arc that blocked its escape route.

Never once did the Cardassians realize that they had been maneuvered into placing themselves between the nebula and the runabout.

The runabout launched a cluster of five torpedoes, a gesture that reeked of desperation. The underpowered explosives would barely scratch the Lamphett’s shields, even if all five scored a direct hit.

The gunships weaved aside nimbly to evade the projectiles, while the sputtering flares raced past them, heading in the general direction of the nebula.

And then Chin Ho was raked by disruptor fire.

Pal threw his arms over his face with the expectation of being incinerated, only to open his eyes a moment later, shocked to be among the living.

His co-pilot was no less surprised. “Shields at 51 percent.” He announced with confusion. “No other damage. Enemy ships have swept behind us and are coming about. Estimating weapons range in three minutes, 19 seconds.”

Pal scratched at his goatee nervously. “We should be dead or crippled by now. Why all the delicacy? Not that I’m complaining!”

Adol ignored the paradox for the moment, concentrating instead on the only issue that mattered to him. “Our torpedoes are still on course for Kokala.”

Pal allowed himself satisfaction, even if his own death was fast approaching. “Looks like you were right. The Cardies had no reason to scan warheads aimed at them. And like you figured, the trajectory towards the nebula looks incidental.”

Adol consulted the timer on his weapons board. “Genesis will detonate in exactly nine minutes, 16 seconds.”

“Too bad we won’t be here to see it.” Pal chided himself the moment he said it. It might be human nature to gawk at destructive events, but he had thought himself above such things.

“They’re closing!”

“Executing evasive pattern Aubrey-Foxtrot.” Pal intoned shakily.

“They have a lock. Brace for incoming! Brace! Brace! BRACE!”

The Cardassian ships unloaded two more volleys as they strafed Chin Ho. Adol dumped what power remained into the runabout’s shields, gobbling up the reserves instantly.

There was a thudding noise and the interior lights faded. A rear panel popped out sparks somewhere behind them.

And that was all.

“Shields at 24 percent.” Adol spoke in a revered hush. He looked at his friend earnestly. “They have their disruptors set to one quarter standard power.”

“My God.” Pal complained as he wiped sweat from his brow. “No wonder we’re still in one piece. They know about Genesis. They’re don’t want us destroyed.” His eyes bulged. “They’re planning to board us.”

Adol found himself in agreement. “The Montreal must have used Genesis, or it was taken from them by the enemy. Bad either way.”

The insistent beep of a chronometer ushered in a new development----one that neither man thought he would have stayed breathing long enough to witness:

The Kokala Nebula was about to be extinguished.

They leaned towards the cockpit window, unconsciously giving in to morbid fascination.

After a minute of anxious waiting, however, the nebula continued to stare back at him, unscathed.

Puzzled, they both began putting the runabout's sensors to work.

"Strange. I read the Genesis wave expanding, but----" The Andorian’s voice trailed off as he tried to wrap his head around the data he was viewing. At the same time he noted that the Genesis wave could be read even through the nebula’s subspace interference bubble.

Pal leaned over Adol's board. "It's stopped." Pal murmured in awe. "The reaction stopped just under the nebula's surface."

Adol was quite literally struck dumb. A tremor of foreboding stirred within him, but it wasn’t the familiar threat of death that he had been so far operating under.

No, this was different. Perhaps because he recognized this oddity for what it was: a treacherous twist of the unknown, manifesting itself as the unknown often did; at the worst possible time.

 

[Galen4]

Chapter 4 continued​

This close to Kokala, the small ship couldn’t create a stable warp field, so fleeing the Cardassians wasn’t an option.

The Andorian keyed up the Chin Ho’s auto destruct sequence. It would take only three taps on his console and the runabout’s warp core would breach. He had no intention of allowing himself or Pal to be tortured for Genesis information neither of them possessed.

"Maybe it misfired," He heard Pal volunteer beside him. "The captain did say it was a bad imitation."

"There's no way. Genesis uses proto matter to create a runaway cascade effect upon any substance it integrates with. Once started, the reaction is self sustaining.” He pulled an example familiar to a human being. “The process can no more stop midway, then you can throw an incendiary into a pool of gasoline and expect only half of it to burn.”

Pal went back to stroking his goatee. "You tell me, then. The nebula should be gone by now."

An audio alert chose that moment to sound a chorus of beeps at them. The runabout’s deflector system had just stumbled over something that had made the computer take notice.

The Cardassian attackers, against all reason, suddenly veered away at full speed. They fled so quickly, Adol was certain for a moment that a Starfleet task force had just come to the rescue.

The two officers stared at one another in silence.

“What’s going on?” Adol pondered uneasily. ”Our friends just ran for their lives. Did you----“

"I've got something on long range." Pal interrupted, as he tried to absorb the constantly changing variables around him. "But I don't…"

Adol squinted at the same data. "Some kind of localized disturbance in space-time. Temporal and spatial fluctuations."

Incredulous, Pal rechecked his data before speaking again. "I've got more details now. The disturbance is similar to a wormhole, but spatial dimensions are more constricted. Switching to visual."

Transfixed, they both watched a side view screen. Part of the nebula could be seen twisting away from itself, forming a long, ragged finger. It was reminiscent of a planet-bound tornado except that this funnel----if it could be called that----writhed and shivered as if it were made of enormous insects.

"It's headed in our general direction." Pal said. "I think I should change course. We may not have warp, but I’ll push impulse for all its worth."

Adol nodded. "A few degrees should do it. We’re far enough away."

"Firing port thrusters. Coming starboard two degrees deviation."

His antennas now twirling with agitation, the Andorian got up from his chair and stared intently at the viewer, "Did you see that? The vortex just executed a right angle turn to match our new course. It looks like it’s tracking us."

"That can't be. Let me try full evasive maneuvers."

Pal made a second and third attempt, with each evasive pattern more complex than the last. But nothing from his repartee was able to shake the uncanny pursuer.

The aberrant distortion continued to close on them, zigzagging through space like a crack spreading across the surface of a frozen lake.

"Vortex speed is approaching relativistic scales. Mother of God.” Pal grunted. “It's going to overtake us."

Adol couldn’t explain the overwhelming revulsion that now gripped him. Never did any phenomenon feel so fundamentally wrong as this vortex did.

The antithesis of nature, was his immediate judgment.

On the heels of that revulsion came something unexpected: fear.

As he fought to dispel the irrational feelings, he might have sworn that a wispy tendril of…something…touched his mind, sending his imagination further into overdrive…

For an instant, Adol perceived a distant cry that echoed up through the corridors of history: the collective death scream of a thousand civilizations, demanding to be heard one last time.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to dislodge the haunting specter. “Get us out of here, Doug.”

Pal turned upon hearing the tightness in his friend’s voice. It was a tone that had never been wrestled from the Andorian, even under far worse conditions than this. “But sir, I can’t get a stable warp field. I’ll have to put distance----“

“I said get us out of here!” Adol snapped frenetically. “NOW!”

Pal craned up at the viewer to see the funnel racing towards them, building speed with each second. The maw of the vortex was directed unerringly on the runabout.

He felt they were both about to be swallowed by a monstrous snake.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

I enjoyed the banter amongst the long-time friends. Under such tremendous stress, it's natural for people to become talkative - it helps distract them from the inevitable. Loved the speculation as to whether or not Santiago is the anti-Christ.

And speaking of inevitable, what the hell is chasing them? Did the Genesis device cause that, or did the "snake" shut down the Genesis device.

Write, sir! Write, I say!

 

[Galen4]

I enjoyed the banter amongst the long-time friends. Under such tremendous stress, it's natural for people to become talkative - it helps distract them from the inevitable. Loved the speculation as to whether or not Santiago is the anti-Christ.

And speaking of inevitable, what the hell is chasing them? Did the Genesis device cause that, or did the "snake" shut down the Genesis device.

Write, sir! Write, I say!

Thanks, TLR. Glad to see someone out there enjoyed it!
More to come in a week or so...

 

[Mistral]

I enjoyed the banter amongst the long-time friends. Under such tremendous stress, it's natural for people to become talkative - it helps distract them from the inevitable. Loved the speculation as to whether or not Santiago is the anti-Christ.

And speaking of inevitable, what the hell is chasing them? Did the Genesis device cause that, or did the "snake" shut down the Genesis device.

Write, sir! Write, I say!

Thanks, TLR. Glad to see someone out there enjoyed it!
More to come in a week or so...

Hey! I enjoyed it, too! But you sure picked a heck of a place to stop!

 

[CeJay]

I think Adol is about to find out the hard way that there are more things in the universe than can be easily explained by nature. Something very odd is happening here and unfortunately for Pal and his pal (yeah, I know, clever, right?) it's now after them, probably not exactly appreciating the little package they delivered.

I'm going to venture a guess and say this is going to be painful. Very painful.

Awesome story, though.

 

[Galen4]

Thanks for the comments, guys.
Might be a few weeks for the next chapter since I'm dividing my time between projects.
But don't worry, more trouble is on the way!

 

[Gibraltar]

Commentary on Chapter 3

A gut-wrenching scenario for Captain Hiroko, having to sit impotently while a loved one rushes into harms way and dies in the line of duty. You captured her anguish through her command façade especially well here, making her loss all the more poignant.

Jellico is really pushing the envelope here, and throwing both caution and common sense to the wind. Yes, Betazed is in danger, and yes, Starfleet has a duty to intervene if possible, but at this stage in the war every ship and every crewmember is an irreplaceable commodity.

And then there’s Aubrey, all too eager to rush in where angels fear to tread in the last seconds…

This is riveting, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat drama you’re crafting here, and both the odds and the price keep going up.

Well done!

 

[Gibraltar]

Commentary on Chapter 4

The whole Adol/Pal conversation had me in stitches, with Pal blathering on endlessly and Adol responding as disinterestedly as possible. The odd-couple friendship between these two is one among the many high points of your series.

Whatever the hell can stop a Genesis Effect dead in its tracks and then rush out at FTL speeds to intercept as nimble a craft as a runabout… damn… just… damn. I think Adol and Pal would have had better luck with the Cardassians.

Once again, amazing story!

 

[Galen4]

Gracious and generous as always, Big G...thanks for taking the time to comment.

True, Jellico does seem more than a bit reckless with his determination to engage a hopeless battle. I'm sure you're not the only one who's wondered about that.

Never fear, it will all (hopefully) make sense as we rock along.

 

[Galen4]

Chapter 5​

Three weeks ago, “Tango Fleet” didn’t exist.

At the time, Admiral Jellico’s task force was part of an armada of eighty-four vessel stationed near Cigna-Draconas Minor, a pulsar just beyond Federation space. Starfleet had chosen the staging area for a new offensive because it was remote, but close enough to reach their target.

The new fleet would implement “Operation Hammerstrike”, a surge into the Aratos System, which contained four of the Federation’s largest dilithium plants----all recent holdings of the Dominion.

Hammerstrike was under the command of Fleet Admiral Jacob P. Devonshire, with Jellico assigned as his Strategic Advisor, a role he silently chafed under.

The enemy had a foothold in the Aratos System, but was yet to become entrenched. Hammerstrike would blindside the Dominion, dislodging their grip before it tightened. If successful, the operation might even herald a turning point in the Federation’s campaign, allowing them to shift back into an offensive posture. Or so everyone hoped.

But war is nothing if not an exercise in Chaos Theory. Little wonder then, that circumstances changed only a day before the mission could be launched. A new Intelligence alert indicated that Archer IV was expected to come under attack within days. In what would prove to be just one costly blunder among many, the planet’s protection had been reassigned to bolster Hammerstrike’s fleet.

Faced with the glutting of more Federation real estate, Admiral Devonshire settled on a risky gambit; he would split his fleet neatly down the middle, sending half the his forces to hold Archer IV, while the remainder went on to liberate the Aratos System.

Jellico had argued against dividing the fleet, stressing that Aratos should remain the top priority, given the dilithium cracking stations it contained. Even the esteemed Captain Zorek had thrown his hat in with Jellico’s, for most of the same reasons.

But Devonshire wasn't persuaded. He made the case that Archer IV was strategically important because it held jumping off points to Betazed and two other Federation sectors. Like or not, (and Jellico didn’t) Devonshire was in operational command and the final word was his.

Devonshire would take “Task Force Sierra”, to tackle the Cardassians at Aratos. Jellico’s half of the fleet, “Task Force Tango” (i.e. “Tango Fleet”), would dig in at Archer IV and hold the system as long as possible.

What no one could have realized at the time was just how badly Starfleet Intelligence had been compromised, or just how many falsified communiqués were now in use by the Alliance.

And it got worse, for The Dominion held not one, but two long range sensor arrays, essentially allowing them to see and orchestrate events across four different sectors.

As it turned out, Archer IV was not on the brink of invasion, but had actually fallen three days prior, soon after Hammerstrike had siphoned off its defenses.

Tango Fleet had been lured into a trap.

Jellico’s group of forty ships and ten fighters faced twice the number of enemy vessels than expected. A horrendous battle ensued, with the fleet scratching and clawing for survival. Any hope of liberating the colony was quickly abandoned. In less than two hours, the task force suffered a fifty percent loss.

Torn and hobbled, Tango Fleet was forced to retreat, leaving three million Federation colonists to their own devices.

Jellico had decided against backtracking to Aratos, once it became apparent that communications and Intel had been compromised. Instead, he pressed on for Betazed, the nearest safe harbor where he hoped to couple his twenty-four starships with the Tenth Fleet.

Maintaining radio silence, he arrived to find yet another looming disaster: An invasion force stealthily assembled over time, ready to fall upon Betazed.

Jellico had been mortified by his loss at Archer IV. Now, he would be forced to watch another Federation world bow to the enemy.

It was this final bit of stress that caused a crack in his foundation. Not a complete break mind you, but a hairline fracture in his mettle.

The admiral made a fateful decision: He would commit the remainder of his forces to foiling Betazed’s invasion. If necessary, he would throw every spare body he had under the enemy’s wheels, if it would slow their advance by even a single hour. He would make the Dominion shed blood for every cubic meter of space they took from the Federation.

Captain Zorek begged to differ. After lending his voice to Jellico’s, he now argued against him, using the same dispassionate tones of logic that he had assailed Admiral Devonshire with. There was simply no way to stop the fall of Betazed, he warned. Not with Tango Fleet outnumbered five to one. Sacrificing what few ships remained amounted to an immitigable loss.

Jellico had listened without hearing. The admiral couldn’t help thinking that if Zorek could peer out from beneath his detached and analytical veneer long enough to feel the rage and hopelessness that now consumed the Federation…

If Zorek could feel any of that for even one second…the admiral had no doubt that the statuary Vulcan would have been first to kneel in the sand and draw a line.

 

[Galen4]

Chapter 5​

coninued​

Battle of Betazed
Kalandra Sector
Opening stages


"Dionysus, come in. Do you read?" Captain Fleishman’s voice was strained and panicky as it hissed over Intrepid’s speakers. "We have critical damage and are abandoning ship! I repeat: we have to abandon ship and need assistance immediately!"

Captain Happel’s tinny voice crackled a response. "Stand by, Argentina----taking heavy fire----Aubrey, are you out there? ----Boxed in----ields failing----“

Aubrey fingered the transmit function on his right side interface podium. “Dionysus, keep your heading. You have a Galaxy class----the Empress----at two thousand kilometers off your bow.” He swung his command chair away and examined the adjoining interface on his left. His blue eyes darted back and forth across his situation display. “Mr. Lurn, have the Kursk double back and begin an evac of Argentina’s crew.”

The young Bolian called out a smart “Aye, sir!” from the operations chair.

Shantok bore a look of notable alarm. “Sir, if we don’t keep pushing forward, we’ll lose what little progress we’ve attained…”

"Aubrey can you hear me?" Captain Fleishman’s desperate tone came back over a storm of interference. Then, with a mixture of fury and helplessness, he yelled: "My CREW! The bastards are shooting down our escape pods! God DAMN them! Aubrey, Happel, somebody save my crew!"

Aubrey shone sullen defiance at his first officer. “I’m getting them out.” He told her.

The Vulcan commander lifted an eyebrow, weighing the value of another objection. After a moment she turned her attention back to her board.

Ensign Lurn looked over his shoulder. “Sir, the Kursk is surrounded and reports unable to come about for Argentina.”

“Captain, hostiles on approach!” Rodriguez yelped out from tactical. “At least four, no FIVE contacts converging on an intercept! Cardie destroyer and an attack wing. Weapons range three minutes!”

The captain swiveled to face the main viewer. “Switch to quantums on the forward tubes. Acquire that destroyer and give me a lateral run. Attack sequence Epsilon. Strafe all targets as we pass.”

“Incoming message from Resolution,” Lurn blurted out unexpectedly.

The captain paused. “On screen,”

A haggard James Donovan overlaid the upper right corner of the main viewer. The bridge behind him was a smoking junk heap. Obviously his ship had already taken some serious punishment.

‘I’ve been monitoring,” Donovan said. “I still have the Kessalt with me. We’ll pick up Argentina’s crew, Aubrey. Don’t worry.” He flashed a dazed smirk. But the implication was troubling: Resolution and Kessalt, it seemed, were all that remained of Donovan’s Miranda wing.

Aubrey nodded in silent gratitude.

“We were in the neighborhood.” Donovan shrugged and closed the channel.

The exchange left a lopsided grin on Aubrey’s face. He pondered the small moments of wonder that life offered, even in the face of utter devastation. James Donavan, the irreverent new starship captain who had publicly decried Jellico’s mission, was now risking what was left of his command to save as many lives as possible.

He kept that warm thought close to him as Intrepid raced into battle against the Cardassian warship…

Jellico’s strategy was basically sound for the circumstances, but it relied considerably on happy thoughts: The Miranda and Excelsior wings had led the charge along with a handful of fighters, intending to draw the support craft away from the Dominion’s heavy cruisers. The Galaxy and Ambassador wings would then hit the enemy’s capital ships, with emphasis on the Jem’Hadar battlecruiser.

Jellico reasoned that if the larger warships were brought down, Betazed’s outdated defense grid might hold out longer against the invasion----perhaps long enough for the Tenth Fleet to return and balance the scales.

Aubrey knew the plan had a significant flaw: Even if the Dominion took the bait, they still had superior numbers. They could spare ships for pursuit while holding the bulk of their fleet intact.

Intrepid shuddered under the full brunt of a spiral wave disruptor. This was only the second joust with the Cardassian destroyer, and their opponenet was already gaining the upper hand.

Lt. Fidel wrestled with a sluggish helm. Feinting and weaving, she tried to hide the ship behind wreckage, small debris, and even enemy vessels, anything to minimize the pounding.

The deck heaved under another salvo. The overhead lights strobed. A workstation blew off a cloud of sparks and extinguisher gas sprayed uselessly from a fissure in the ceiling.

Damage reports tumbled from Aubrey’s crew, increasing with each round of fire.

“Hull breaches on decks four, seven and eight----”

“Ventral shields are overloading----”

“We have casualties in engineering----”

“Inbound fighters bearing zero one SIX----“

Aubrey raised his voice, toggling orders between his tactical and helm officer. “Roll port negative twenty degrees! Full spread on all starboard banks!”

Intrepid launched a hail of red arrows, impaling two Jem’Hadar fighters at close range. They spun away like burning Frisbees.

The Cardassian destroyer snarled after the Federation ship, belching torrents of disruptor energy at her even as she banked away and ran for open space.

The air in the auxiliary bridge was permeated with the smell of hot metal. A murky haze hung around the emergency lights, making halos. There was a shell-shocked silence in the room. For precious moments, all that could be heard was labored breathing, hissing gas and, if one had the proper ear, the pounding of hearts.

“The Galor is still in pursuit,” Rodriguez panted from his tactical podium. His face was crisscrossed with fine scratches, a souvenir from a ruptured panel. “We’ve also picked up two more Jem’Hadar fighters.”

Aubrey nodded as though all were in accordance to plan. He collected himself within his chair. The captain looked frayed but still managed to project a deadly calm. “Helm, all ahead full. Let’s spread these bastards out as much as we can.”

He looked at Shantok for validation. But her expression brought him up short.

“Captain,” His first officer’s voice hummed with restrained anxiety. “We’ve just lost our uplink to the command ship.”

 

[Galen4]

Chapter 5 continued


***​

The Dominion warship focused the entirety of its arsenal on USS Legacy, unleashing enough raw destructive power to level a continent.

The Galaxy class starship reeled under the onslaught. Legacy’s overtaxed shield grid began to collapse, exposing vulnerable openings.

Taking advantage of her weakness, two Cardassian gun ships fired on her starboard engine nacelle. The salvo ripped through the support pylon and the severed warp engine cartwheeled into space.

The shockwave forced warp plasma back along the injector pathways and down into the ship's reactor, killing most of the engineering crew in a conflagration.

The choreographed dance between matter and antimatter began its decent into anarchy.

Miraculously, the chief engineer----now in agony from third degree burns----still managed to engage the manual override and start the jettison routine. The warp core ejected like a missile, soon becoming a small nova that rendered the battlefield in stark highlights.

Her enemies gave no respite. Legacy was accosted on all sides by torrents of weapons fire. Her shields finally collapsed under the punishment and her exposed hull began to shred and buckle.

The great starship listed onto her side, drifting through space like a dying manta ray. The symmetry of her saucer edge was now marred by a bite-shaped hole. Ionized gas, ship fragments and bodies trailed from over two dozen hull ruptures.

On the bridge, Admiral Jellico crawled into the captain's chair with the stubbornness of a mule. His first order of business was to return fire. With the bridge stations unmanned because of casualties, he accessed weapons control from the command chair. He set the computer to strike continually at all enemy targets.

Legacy struck back from her deathbed, spending her reserves in a final act of defiance.

And then her guns fell silent.

The admiral pointedly kept his eyes off the bodies around him, including that of Captain Hiroko. She lay pinned under the blackened remains of her first officer, who was covered with twisted metal and hull fragments. The XO had used his body to shield his captain from the last explosion, giving up his life to save her. It was anyone’s guess if he had succeeded.

"Damage report all hands!" Jellico yelled into the crackling COMM system.

Only silence greeted him.

He tapped his combadge. "Jellico to all hands. Report immediately."

A few squawks and sputters came back, but nothing more.

“Warning,” The computer announced, “Decompression has occurred on decks fifteen through thirty-seven. Containment fields are offline.”

There was a deep groan of fatigued metal and the demolished bridge shifted ominously under Jellico’s feet. He felt the vertigo of free-fall, signaling the loss of artificial gravity. Gritting his teeth, he anchored himself to the armrests.

“Warning: Life support failure on all decks.”

The room darkened slowly, as though the lights were coming down for the start of a show.

“An immediate evacuation of all hands is recommended.” The computer suggested helpfully.

As if from a great distance, Jellico heard the proximity alert beep, indicating that a large body was moving in fast.

He dragged his eyes to the snowy viewer just in time to see the shark-like outline of a sleek ship. It pulled into view and hovered between Legacy and the Dominion Battle cruiser. An instant later, the new arrival unloaded a blistering fireworks display. Overlapping flashbulbs and brilliant red filaments tied both vessels together in a mortal embrace.

Jellico turned his head from the blinding exchange. When he looked back, he saw the Dominion warship crack down the middle and explode into white radiance. The professional in him noted that the Sovereign class starship had extended its shields to cover Legacy’s remains.

The admiral’s self control slipped for one of the few times in his life. He shook a fist into the sooty air of the bridge, crying out triumphantly.

It seemed that Captain Zorek and the starship Nagasaki were still alive and kicking.