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Chapter Three: Blitzkrieg
Ensign Kim’s pulse raced as he hurriedly assessed the situation, barely managing to sustain a calm façade as he did so. Captain Janeway, Tuvok, Paris, and Chakotay had all been snatched from the ship – a mystery that he was sure had come about at the whim of their missing visitor, Kes, but also one that he did not have time to contemplate. Seven Kazon vessels were approaching, all locking their weaponry on Voyager, and he had to somehow negotiate a resolution without sacrificing the safety of the crew. This would be difficult enough, he knew, with a battle-hardened selection of Starfleet’s finest officers…but he had only and a small cabal of inexperienced substitutes surrounding him on the Bridge.
Lieutenant Ayala was at the tactical station, and although an able security officer, he had never served in such a hazardous ship-to-ship combat arrangement. Manning the helm was McKenzie Brooks, a command-division ensign that was pleasant enough and efficient about her work, but in the area of piloting, she was nothing more than adequate. Fortunately, he had two crewwomen that bolstered his hopes somewhat: Seven of Nine was maintaining a vigil at his very own post, and Ensign Samantha Wildman was working furiously at her usual science station. Meanwhile, Neelix had seen it fit to assume Commander Chakotay’s seat. Everybody was understandably and undeniably tense.
But Kim was damned if he were to let that stop him. “How long until we’re in weapons range?”
“Three minutes,” Ayala said. “But there are seven of them. We can’t handle that kind of firepower.”
“I know that.” Kim immediately realised that his words had emerged more scathing than he had intended, but bit back an apology. Such trivial matters could wait until after the volatile situation that had ensnared them had been dealt with. “Seven, any luck finding the Captain and the others?”
“Yes. Their lifesigns are clear on the planet, along with Kes.”
“Tell me we can get in transporter range before the Kazon hit us,” Kim half-pleaded.
Seven shook her head. “That will not be possible, Ensign. I would suggest that we set aside that particular goal until the Kazon attack has reached its conclusion. I am routing an evasive flight plan through to Ensign Brooks’ console as well as your own; I believe it is the most efficient course to take.”
Kim examined it quickly and, finding no glaring flaw, ordered Brooks to adhere to it before returning his attention to Seven. “Any Borg tactical data we can use?"
“The Kazon, Species 329,” she recited in response. “The Collective judged them unworthy of assimilation due to their unremarkable and obstructive biological distinctiveness. Any of this kind encountered is simply ignored or destroyed, so as not to detract from perfection.”
“No wonder they’re so angry,” Wildman said wryly. “Even the Borg rejected them.”
“Ensign!” Brooks barked frantically. “Three more Kazon ships approaching from ahead of us! I’m trying to compensate and adjust the flight plan, but my best guess is that we’ve only got another thirty seconds before we’re hit!”
As if on cue, the first barrage of torpedoes and disruptors ripped into Voyager’s shields. The ship juddered and convulsed, and the inertial dampeners audibly whined as they struggled to keep everything in its place. Kim’s knuckles whitened with pressure as he gripped the armrests on his chair, and waited for the vibrations to subside. To the Bridge crew’s credit, there were no shrieks or cries as he mimicked their leader, hugging their consoles and riding out the proverbial storm.
“Shields are stable at eighty-nine percent,” Ayala called.
Kim shook off his nausea and allowed his command mindset to assert itself. “Miss Brooks, initiate evasive pattern gamma-three. Mister Ayala, fire at will!”
Voyager plummeted into the fray, arcs of energy lancing outwards and striking the enemy vessels. The Kazon shields crackled and glimmered as the attacks implemented, but the Intrepid-class ship was not satisfied with that; it followed up on this initial assault, ejecting an array of photon torpedoes into the bulk of one the Kazon transports…which, in turn, belched fire and keeled away from its attack pattern. At Brooks’ instructions, Voyager accelerated and cut a swathe through the remaining pair of perpetrators before them, lashing out with phasers as it sped past them.
“One vessel has been destroyed,” Seven said dutifully. “Another is incapacitated, but the third is joining the main seven. Further engagement is tactically unsound and inadvisable.”
“It’s also unavoidable,” Wildman cut in. “But I’ve got an idea that might even the odds a little.”
“Explain,” Seven stated in her usual taciturn manner before Kim could make the request.
“We have some refuse plasma that was scrubbed off the manifolds a few weeks back. It was meant to be dumped at the next available opportunity, but I think it could be used here to knock out one of our pursuers,” Wildman elaborated. “There’s three canisters of the stuff in cargo bay one that could be released into space directly in the path of one of the warships.”
Kim’s brow furrowed. “What would that accomplish?”
“We’d better hurry this up!” Ayala interrupted. “The remaining eight will be within weapons range in two minutes!”
Wildman nodded briskly in acknowledgement of the warning. “The canisters will split as the Kazon ship hits it, and their deflector shields will become coated in plasma. One correctly-tuned phaser beam will ignite that plasma, frying their shields and leaving them open to attack.”
“Good thinking!” Kim applauded. “Let’s do it. Ayala, link to Samantha’s console and get that phaser frequency right. Seven, the moment we’re within weapons range, I want those canisters transported into space, right in front of the lead warship. There’s no room for error.”
Seven regarded him as though he had just suggested a short break for a round of Velocity. “That is fortunate, for I do not make errors,” she told him, before resuming her work at the console.
Kim turned to see Neelix in the commander’s seat; he had forgotten that the Talaxian was even present. “Neelix?” he beckoned tersely. “I need you to get down to cargo bay one as quickly as possible and attach transporter tags to each of the plasma canisters.” At Seven’s withering glare, he hastily added, “Just to be on the safe side.” The ensign settled back into his chair as Neelix rushed to the turbolift, and tried to work the tension out of his muscles. It was unsuccessful, and he remained as taut as he had been since the chaos had begun its reign.
After over sixty seconds of silence, the crew began to speak.
“We’ve got the phaser frequency,” Wildman announced. “It’ll do the job perfectly!”
“I have established a lock on the transporter tags, and relayed the coordinates of the canister transportation to Lieutenant Ayala,” Seven added.
Ayala drummed his fingers impatiently against the console. “The targeting sensors are aligned with Seven’s plan. We’re ready to do this.”
“Good work. Now, let’s see if it pays off…” Kim chewed errantly on his bottom lip, feeling the weight of enormous responsibility shifting uncomfortably on his shoulders. “Miss Brooks, slow to half impulse and display the aft section on the viewscreen. Seven, Ayala, initiate the strategy.”
The viewscreen came to life with a different image, one that sent fear spiking through Kim: eight Kazon ships zooming ever closer to Voyager, their weapons arrays alight with power. Ayala notified him that they were in weapons range, and instantly angry scarlet explosions were blossoming over the aft shields in conjunction with staccato bursts of energy from their pursuers. Suddenly, amidst the myriad of needle-like disruptor blasts, there was a strange shimmering…and three metallic barrel-shaped canisters materialised. The lead Kazon ship struck all three, and they split in unison – unleashing an electric blue fuzz that splayed itself across the vessel’s shielding.
Kim nearly drove himself upwards with the force of his voice as he yelled, “Fire!"
Ayala did just that, and in a split second, the Kazon shield was literally aflame. A miniature inferno danced sadistically across the shield, completely consuming the ship…until the shield sparked out, and a photon torpedo span into view. Kim watched with a muted glee as it reduced the vessel to a collection of debris.
“Ayala!” he snapped. “Tractor that wreckage and drive it into the next ship!”
Another towering wall of fire erupted from the Kazon ship as the rubble of its late companion pierced its side. For a moment, the resulting fireball obscured the remaining vessels…but then they burst through the orange canopy, and their weapons began to churn out energy bolts. Before Kim could call out any further orders, he found himself facedown on the deck, blood seeping from his mouth because of the force of the impact. Brooks’ console erupted into a cascade of sparks that blasted her across the Bridge. From the tactical station, Ayala screamed, and Kim had no time to see why before Wildman was pitched over his head. He tried to stand, desperate to stage one final stand against the Kazon – but he was swallowed by darkness a moment later, claimed by unconsciousness.
Voyager, its hull blackened and its shields failing, was similarly helpless. The blue effervescence of its warp nacelles cut out, and it plummeted towards the surface of the planet.
And, behind it, a depleted but nonetheless powerful Kazon fleet followed, its guns raining down fire on the citizens of Ocampa.
