Well, things should get interesting now! With the Enterprise on station and the Pasteur not totally defenseless, that warbird may be in for a rude surprise!
The TNG Relaunch - My version
- Thread starter BrotherBenny
- Start date
Never underestimate what a Starfleet engineer can do...
Ouch! That left a mark. This is not a good sign--conflict between Captain and First Officer...between First Officer and crew...here, I do put some of the blame on Picard as well as Madden. The two need to show--at least in front of the crew--that they're on the same page or this could easily turn into a clusterfrak.
Ouch! That left a mark. This is not a good sign--conflict between Captain and First Officer...between First Officer and crew...here, I do put some of the blame on Picard as well as Madden. The two need to show--at least in front of the crew--that they're on the same page or this could easily turn into a clusterfrak.
I'm just curious and I don't know if I missed it before but who is Lieutenant Paige? I don't remember her name for any of the books.
Paige was the Enterprise's chief of security in NF#1: House of Cards, IIRC. I wanted to have former personnel back on board.
Ah, I wasn't sure if that was the same Paige after I looked her up and so I am glad it is. Didnt really get to see much of her in NF#1.
CHAPTER THREE
USS Enterprise
Kevratas orbit
Stardate 57062.8
‘Shields up,’ Picard ordered calmly. ‘Commander Madden, you’ll have to remain over there for a little while, Picard out.’
Lieutenant Lionardo Battaglia briefly wondered whether Kadohata would be happy having to spend more time with Madden. There was clearly a clash between them. Instead of dwelling on that he began scanning the warbird for anything that would be useful in disabling the vessel and noticed something that set his teeth on edge.
‘Captain, it’s the same warbird as before.’
Picard turned to face him. ‘Thank you, Lieutenant. Open a channel.’
‘Channel open.’
‘Commander Sela, are you following us around or just stalking us like a bad hunter?’
Sela’s face appeared on the viewscreen. ‘If I wanted you dead and your little toy ship destroyed, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I know you sent a team over to the derelict, why didn’t you just take it in tow? I hope you’re not planning something, you know how much I hate surprises.’
Battaglia tried to keep a grimace off his face. This Romulan was pretending to be so pleasant, as if she was talking to a distant relative, but he could see through the facade as easily as he knew Picard was. The two of them clearly had previous dealings with each other and Picard seemed to know her quite well, but she was up to something herself, and he needed to find out what it was before they were caught out.
‘I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset you now, would I?’ Picard replied, sweet as nails. ‘But I need to recover the dead.’
‘Fine, just don’t take too long, and don’t send anyone down to the surface,’ she told him and cut the channel.
‘Battaglia, has she sent any soldiers down to Kevratas?’
‘There is a lot of Romulan activity down there, sir, but this is a Romulan subject world.’
‘Very true, Lieutenant, but according to our latest intelligence, the Romulans abandoned this world soon after the plague began spreading, even though it can’t affect them.’
‘In that case, sir, I suspect that those are Romulan soldiers she sent down to look for our people.’
‘The ones from the Pasteur that survived,’ Picard mused aloud. ‘Open a channel to Commander Madden.’
‘Aye sir.’
‘Madden here, sir.’
‘Commander, how many people are over there?’
‘Five sir, Commander La Forge and four engineers. The others abandoned ship when the energy dampening weapon was used,’ he replied, scorn colouring his tone.
‘The Breen weapon?’
‘Yes sir,’ La Forge cut in. ‘It appears the Romulans have been toying with it since the end of the war.’
‘It’s good to hear your voice, Commander,’ Picard said. ‘How are you doing over there?’
‘Just fine, sir. We’ll be ready to transport the dead in just under an hour.’
Picard nodded to himself. ‘Good work, we’ll be waiting. Picard out.’
‘Captain?’ Battaglia asked.
‘He has something in mind, Lieutenant. We just have to be ready to assist when he puts his plan into motion.’
‘Aye sir, I’ll have five teams standing by for a ground assault.’
‘A ground assault?’
‘Yes sir, we can use the distraction to find our people and get them out.’
‘It’s a big planet, Lieutenant. Have you tried hailing Commander Worf or Doctor Crusher?’
‘Yes sir, no response. But there is a cave system riddled with kelbonite deposits.’
‘There’s always a cave system with kelbonite,’ Picard murmured, thinking of the Enterprise’s trip into the Briar Patch and the Ba’ku colony. ‘When you send our people down, concentrate them on the cave system. That’s our best chance of finding them all alive,’ he added.
Battaglia noticed a haunted look in Picard's eyes. It made him think of Sara Nave, the only woman on board he was close to, the one who shared his bed once and he hoped would share it again. ‘We’ll get them back, sir.’
‘Yes, we will,’ the captain replied and Battaglia shuddered, recognising the tone in his voice.
T’Lana picked up on it as well and turned to Battaglia.
‘You have the bridge, Mister Battaglia,’ Picard said and headed for his ready room.
T’Lana approached the tactical officer. ‘Could you tell me what that was regarding?’ she quietly asked.
Battaglia sighed. He didn’t like the Vulcan. ‘He doesn’t like leaving people behind,’ he answered at little more than a whisper.
‘Is it not deeper than that?’
‘Meaning?’
‘Perhaps the time this ship was taken over by the Borg or the Remans?’
‘What does that have to do with anything?’ Battaglia hissed. ‘He doesn’t like leaving people behind, dead or alive.’
‘Interesting,’ she said and moved away, returning to her seat.
Battaglia cursed the woman for being such a good judge of character. Although he hadn’t given anything away, he knew that the counsellor would continue to push for something to go after the captain with, and that rubbed him the wrong way. While running computer simulations for disabling the warbird alongside possible actions from the Pasteur, he opened up T’Lana’s personnel file using his security clearance, not caring whether she discovered it or not. She never stayed in one place very long, anywhere from a few days to a few months, but none longer than seven months. He cross-referenced her postings with files from Starfleet Medical and found that in every case a Starfleet officer was sectioned by Medical Mental Health. The only information he could not find, and which caused him consternation, was which Starfleet officer had authorised her transfer orders. It was included in every transfer, except hers.
He decided not to go to Picard just yet, because he would order an investigation and tip off T’Lana’s superior, whoever that was. Battaglia decided to make his own investigation, no matter how long it took. Picard belonged in that chair, not a hospital room where he had been forced to reside the year before. He sensed movement toward his console and blanked the screen, returning his gaze to the simulations. A single bleep sounded on his console and he noticed increased power coming from the Pasteur.
‘Captain Picard to the bridge,’ he said.
Picard emerged from the ready room. ‘Is he ready, Lieutenant?’
‘It would appear so,’ Battaglia replied. ‘I’m reading power increases in all secured areas.’
‘Prepare your people for transport, Lieutenant,’ Picard replied. ‘It’s time we end this.’
USS Enterprise
Kevratas orbit
Stardate 57062.8
‘Shields up,’ Picard ordered calmly. ‘Commander Madden, you’ll have to remain over there for a little while, Picard out.’
Lieutenant Lionardo Battaglia briefly wondered whether Kadohata would be happy having to spend more time with Madden. There was clearly a clash between them. Instead of dwelling on that he began scanning the warbird for anything that would be useful in disabling the vessel and noticed something that set his teeth on edge.
‘Captain, it’s the same warbird as before.’
Picard turned to face him. ‘Thank you, Lieutenant. Open a channel.’
‘Channel open.’
‘Commander Sela, are you following us around or just stalking us like a bad hunter?’
Sela’s face appeared on the viewscreen. ‘If I wanted you dead and your little toy ship destroyed, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I know you sent a team over to the derelict, why didn’t you just take it in tow? I hope you’re not planning something, you know how much I hate surprises.’
Battaglia tried to keep a grimace off his face. This Romulan was pretending to be so pleasant, as if she was talking to a distant relative, but he could see through the facade as easily as he knew Picard was. The two of them clearly had previous dealings with each other and Picard seemed to know her quite well, but she was up to something herself, and he needed to find out what it was before they were caught out.
‘I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset you now, would I?’ Picard replied, sweet as nails. ‘But I need to recover the dead.’
‘Fine, just don’t take too long, and don’t send anyone down to the surface,’ she told him and cut the channel.
‘Battaglia, has she sent any soldiers down to Kevratas?’
‘There is a lot of Romulan activity down there, sir, but this is a Romulan subject world.’
‘Very true, Lieutenant, but according to our latest intelligence, the Romulans abandoned this world soon after the plague began spreading, even though it can’t affect them.’
‘In that case, sir, I suspect that those are Romulan soldiers she sent down to look for our people.’
‘The ones from the Pasteur that survived,’ Picard mused aloud. ‘Open a channel to Commander Madden.’
‘Aye sir.’
‘Madden here, sir.’
‘Commander, how many people are over there?’
‘Five sir, Commander La Forge and four engineers. The others abandoned ship when the energy dampening weapon was used,’ he replied, scorn colouring his tone.
‘The Breen weapon?’
‘Yes sir,’ La Forge cut in. ‘It appears the Romulans have been toying with it since the end of the war.’
‘It’s good to hear your voice, Commander,’ Picard said. ‘How are you doing over there?’
‘Just fine, sir. We’ll be ready to transport the dead in just under an hour.’
Picard nodded to himself. ‘Good work, we’ll be waiting. Picard out.’
‘Captain?’ Battaglia asked.
‘He has something in mind, Lieutenant. We just have to be ready to assist when he puts his plan into motion.’
‘Aye sir, I’ll have five teams standing by for a ground assault.’
‘A ground assault?’
‘Yes sir, we can use the distraction to find our people and get them out.’
‘It’s a big planet, Lieutenant. Have you tried hailing Commander Worf or Doctor Crusher?’
‘Yes sir, no response. But there is a cave system riddled with kelbonite deposits.’
‘There’s always a cave system with kelbonite,’ Picard murmured, thinking of the Enterprise’s trip into the Briar Patch and the Ba’ku colony. ‘When you send our people down, concentrate them on the cave system. That’s our best chance of finding them all alive,’ he added.
Battaglia noticed a haunted look in Picard's eyes. It made him think of Sara Nave, the only woman on board he was close to, the one who shared his bed once and he hoped would share it again. ‘We’ll get them back, sir.’
‘Yes, we will,’ the captain replied and Battaglia shuddered, recognising the tone in his voice.
T’Lana picked up on it as well and turned to Battaglia.
‘You have the bridge, Mister Battaglia,’ Picard said and headed for his ready room.
T’Lana approached the tactical officer. ‘Could you tell me what that was regarding?’ she quietly asked.
Battaglia sighed. He didn’t like the Vulcan. ‘He doesn’t like leaving people behind,’ he answered at little more than a whisper.
‘Is it not deeper than that?’
‘Meaning?’
‘Perhaps the time this ship was taken over by the Borg or the Remans?’
‘What does that have to do with anything?’ Battaglia hissed. ‘He doesn’t like leaving people behind, dead or alive.’
‘Interesting,’ she said and moved away, returning to her seat.
Battaglia cursed the woman for being such a good judge of character. Although he hadn’t given anything away, he knew that the counsellor would continue to push for something to go after the captain with, and that rubbed him the wrong way. While running computer simulations for disabling the warbird alongside possible actions from the Pasteur, he opened up T’Lana’s personnel file using his security clearance, not caring whether she discovered it or not. She never stayed in one place very long, anywhere from a few days to a few months, but none longer than seven months. He cross-referenced her postings with files from Starfleet Medical and found that in every case a Starfleet officer was sectioned by Medical Mental Health. The only information he could not find, and which caused him consternation, was which Starfleet officer had authorised her transfer orders. It was included in every transfer, except hers.
He decided not to go to Picard just yet, because he would order an investigation and tip off T’Lana’s superior, whoever that was. Battaglia decided to make his own investigation, no matter how long it took. Picard belonged in that chair, not a hospital room where he had been forced to reside the year before. He sensed movement toward his console and blanked the screen, returning his gaze to the simulations. A single bleep sounded on his console and he noticed increased power coming from the Pasteur.
‘Captain Picard to the bridge,’ he said.
Picard emerged from the ready room. ‘Is he ready, Lieutenant?’
‘It would appear so,’ Battaglia replied. ‘I’m reading power increases in all secured areas.’
‘Prepare your people for transport, Lieutenant,’ Picard replied. ‘It’s time we end this.’
Bad enough Picard has to deal with Romulans in front, now he's got to watch his rear because of plotting by his own people...
And Madden continues to win friends and influence people...
And Madden continues to win friends and influence people...
Apparently there are still elements in Starfleet that do not trust/like Picard. It would seem that T'Lana's job is to provide evidence that he is no longer fit for command.
Another excellent segment, setting the stage for Geordi to work his magic. I'm looking forward to your next chapter!
Another excellent segment, setting the stage for Geordi to work his magic. I'm looking forward to your next chapter!
Next time PM me with email address and I'll send you the file
USS Pasteur
Kevratas orbit
Stardate 57062.9
Ignoring the bad blood between Kadohata and Madden was not going to be an easy task, but La Forge knew that he had to do so in order to get the ship working again. His four engineers were back at their stations after manually checking and replacing any damaged power couplings and relays, and he was sitting in the chief engineer’s office, with Kadohata, Madden, Taurik and Paige. Taurik was hunched over the monitor looking at the various systems which were damaged and which could be repaired.
‘What can we do with this ship?’ Madden asked. ‘It’s barely operational.’
Kadohata bit back a retort as La Forge answered. ‘Show the Romulans that this “barely operational” ship can still hold her own. The shields can be put in place over the bridge, engineering and deflector control. Everything else is immaterial.’
‘The bridge is operational?’ Paige asked.
‘Yes, Lieutenant,’ La Forge replied. ‘Are you ready to fight the Romulans?’
She smiled. ‘Yes sir.’
The engineer turned to Madden. ‘As the ranking officer, sir, you should be on the bridge.’
Madden sighed. ‘I’m an operations officer, not a soldier.’
‘So am I,’ Kadohata shot back. ‘If you want to sit at a captain’s right hand side, you have to be ready for anything. And you’re supposed to be the first officer of the Enterprise for the Gods’ sake.’
Madden squared his shoulders. ‘Lieutenant Paige, you and I will man the bridge,’ he said and headed for a turbolift, his tone trying to be hard but not quite managing it.
‘You’ll have to use the Jefferies tubes, Commander,’ La Forge called out.
‘Right.’
‘I don’t like him,’ Kadohata muttered when Madden was gone.
‘I’d never have guessed,’ La Forge replied with a grin. ‘How about you and I prepare this tub for its last battle.’
‘Deflector control?’
‘A plasma burst once the phasers are gone. I don’t expect to get more than six or seven shots before the couplings and relays blow.’
‘Torpedoes?’
‘A few, but only one working launcher.’
‘So Paige will have to use one launcher and fire a full spread.’
‘If she gets time. The Romulans will no doubt fire on us first because we’re in such a weakened condition.’
‘We’ll go down fighting.’
La Forge nodded. ‘Good luck, Commander.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Kadohata said and headed for the nearest Jefferies tube.
‘I believe I have increased the engine efficiency by six percent,’ Taurik added. ‘We should now be capable of impulse power at fifteen percent.’
‘Enough for evasive manoeuvres, just. How are the thrusters looking?’
‘Eighty percent.’
‘That will have to do,’ he said and tapped his combadge. ‘Commander Madden, are you ready?’
‘Lieutenant Paige has entered an excellent firing solution into the main computer.’
‘Kadohata?’
‘Good to go.’
‘Madden, how are you at evasive manoeuvres?’
‘Third in my class,’ the Enterprise’s first officer answered.
‘I’m bringing main power to maximum. Let’s get ready.’
Across the damaged ship, lights flickered and consoles came to life. La Forge shut down the dampening field and Madden piloted the sluggish vessel toward the Romulan warbird. As expected, the warbird opened fire on the Pasteur and the ship shuddered, but the shields held. Paige tapped the fire key and the one working torpedo launcher spat four quantum torpedoes at the warbird, followed by phaser blasts aimed at the weapons emplacements and engines. Two of the torpedoes impacted on the shields, the third impacted the warbird’s ablative armour and the fourth slammed into the lower hull. The phasers all hit their targets but no further damage was sustained. As soon as the shields were down, the Enterprise began firing as well but the warbird continued firing on the Pasteur, hitting it each time and making the ship shudder and shake.
‘Phasers are gone,’ Paige called out over the open comm. ‘Torpedo launcher is offline.’
La Forge didn’t need to respond but rerouted all available power to the deflector dish. It remained their last hope for defeating the Romulans and he hoped that Picard let him have that little glory at least after all the times he had been the one to give the order to fire. The ship shook again, harder than before, and La Forge barely noticed that the warbird’s disruptors had hit the Pasteur just three decks away from deflector control.
‘Kadohata, fire!’
When nothing happened La Forge sprinted from engineering and almost shimmied down the Jefferies tube to deflector control. As he approached the doors he heard a high pitched whine and hit the deck. The Pasteur bucked from the recoil of the deflector dish firing a charge of plasma vented directly from the damaged warp nacelles. La Forge held his hands over his head as deflector control exploded outward, making another hole in the hull. The time there was nothing Geordi could do to seal it and as he made his way gingerly to the opening, he saw Kadohata holding on for dear life. He tapped his combadge and was about to call for transport when he felt the tingle of the beam. La Forge watched Kadohata disappear as the plasma impacted the warbird’s hull, and smiled in satisfaction as the warbird’s hull started to buckle.
He realised that he was still on board the Pasteur. The transporter couldn’t get a lock on him. He reached for his combadge. ‘La Forge to Enterprise. I’m going to let myself get sucked out the breach by deflector control. There’s no time to get to a shuttle or transporter room.’
‘We’ll pick you up,’ he heard Picard say.
La Forge let go and closed his eyes, praying for the first time in years that this wasn’t going to be the end of it all. He felt himself float and found his consciousness slipping away, before something familiar grasped him in its warm embrace. Just before he lost consciousness, he heard a familiar voice.
‘Tropp to bridge, I have them all.’
‘Alive?’
‘Yes sir, but I need to work on Geordi and Miranda.’
‘Acknowledged, Picard out.’
Kevratas orbit
Stardate 57062.9
Ignoring the bad blood between Kadohata and Madden was not going to be an easy task, but La Forge knew that he had to do so in order to get the ship working again. His four engineers were back at their stations after manually checking and replacing any damaged power couplings and relays, and he was sitting in the chief engineer’s office, with Kadohata, Madden, Taurik and Paige. Taurik was hunched over the monitor looking at the various systems which were damaged and which could be repaired.
‘What can we do with this ship?’ Madden asked. ‘It’s barely operational.’
Kadohata bit back a retort as La Forge answered. ‘Show the Romulans that this “barely operational” ship can still hold her own. The shields can be put in place over the bridge, engineering and deflector control. Everything else is immaterial.’
‘The bridge is operational?’ Paige asked.
‘Yes, Lieutenant,’ La Forge replied. ‘Are you ready to fight the Romulans?’
She smiled. ‘Yes sir.’
The engineer turned to Madden. ‘As the ranking officer, sir, you should be on the bridge.’
Madden sighed. ‘I’m an operations officer, not a soldier.’
‘So am I,’ Kadohata shot back. ‘If you want to sit at a captain’s right hand side, you have to be ready for anything. And you’re supposed to be the first officer of the Enterprise for the Gods’ sake.’
Madden squared his shoulders. ‘Lieutenant Paige, you and I will man the bridge,’ he said and headed for a turbolift, his tone trying to be hard but not quite managing it.
‘You’ll have to use the Jefferies tubes, Commander,’ La Forge called out.
‘Right.’
‘I don’t like him,’ Kadohata muttered when Madden was gone.
‘I’d never have guessed,’ La Forge replied with a grin. ‘How about you and I prepare this tub for its last battle.’
‘Deflector control?’
‘A plasma burst once the phasers are gone. I don’t expect to get more than six or seven shots before the couplings and relays blow.’
‘Torpedoes?’
‘A few, but only one working launcher.’
‘So Paige will have to use one launcher and fire a full spread.’
‘If she gets time. The Romulans will no doubt fire on us first because we’re in such a weakened condition.’
‘We’ll go down fighting.’
La Forge nodded. ‘Good luck, Commander.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Kadohata said and headed for the nearest Jefferies tube.
‘I believe I have increased the engine efficiency by six percent,’ Taurik added. ‘We should now be capable of impulse power at fifteen percent.’
‘Enough for evasive manoeuvres, just. How are the thrusters looking?’
‘Eighty percent.’
‘That will have to do,’ he said and tapped his combadge. ‘Commander Madden, are you ready?’
‘Lieutenant Paige has entered an excellent firing solution into the main computer.’
‘Kadohata?’
‘Good to go.’
‘Madden, how are you at evasive manoeuvres?’
‘Third in my class,’ the Enterprise’s first officer answered.
‘I’m bringing main power to maximum. Let’s get ready.’
Across the damaged ship, lights flickered and consoles came to life. La Forge shut down the dampening field and Madden piloted the sluggish vessel toward the Romulan warbird. As expected, the warbird opened fire on the Pasteur and the ship shuddered, but the shields held. Paige tapped the fire key and the one working torpedo launcher spat four quantum torpedoes at the warbird, followed by phaser blasts aimed at the weapons emplacements and engines. Two of the torpedoes impacted on the shields, the third impacted the warbird’s ablative armour and the fourth slammed into the lower hull. The phasers all hit their targets but no further damage was sustained. As soon as the shields were down, the Enterprise began firing as well but the warbird continued firing on the Pasteur, hitting it each time and making the ship shudder and shake.
‘Phasers are gone,’ Paige called out over the open comm. ‘Torpedo launcher is offline.’
La Forge didn’t need to respond but rerouted all available power to the deflector dish. It remained their last hope for defeating the Romulans and he hoped that Picard let him have that little glory at least after all the times he had been the one to give the order to fire. The ship shook again, harder than before, and La Forge barely noticed that the warbird’s disruptors had hit the Pasteur just three decks away from deflector control.
‘Kadohata, fire!’
When nothing happened La Forge sprinted from engineering and almost shimmied down the Jefferies tube to deflector control. As he approached the doors he heard a high pitched whine and hit the deck. The Pasteur bucked from the recoil of the deflector dish firing a charge of plasma vented directly from the damaged warp nacelles. La Forge held his hands over his head as deflector control exploded outward, making another hole in the hull. The time there was nothing Geordi could do to seal it and as he made his way gingerly to the opening, he saw Kadohata holding on for dear life. He tapped his combadge and was about to call for transport when he felt the tingle of the beam. La Forge watched Kadohata disappear as the plasma impacted the warbird’s hull, and smiled in satisfaction as the warbird’s hull started to buckle.
He realised that he was still on board the Pasteur. The transporter couldn’t get a lock on him. He reached for his combadge. ‘La Forge to Enterprise. I’m going to let myself get sucked out the breach by deflector control. There’s no time to get to a shuttle or transporter room.’
‘We’ll pick you up,’ he heard Picard say.
La Forge let go and closed his eyes, praying for the first time in years that this wasn’t going to be the end of it all. He felt himself float and found his consciousness slipping away, before something familiar grasped him in its warm embrace. Just before he lost consciousness, he heard a familiar voice.
‘Tropp to bridge, I have them all.’
‘Alive?’
‘Yes sir, but I need to work on Geordi and Miranda.’
‘Acknowledged, Picard out.’
Alright! Geordi gets one int the "w" column! That was some fancy engineering work to get that ship combat ready, even in limited form.
Madden isn't winning any brownie points thus far. He may feel uncomfortable leading a ship into combat, but he should never admit that, especially to subordinates! At this rate, I don't think he'll last long as first officer of the Enterprise.
Madden isn't winning any brownie points thus far. He may feel uncomfortable leading a ship into combat, but he should never admit that, especially to subordinates! At this rate, I don't think he'll last long as first officer of the Enterprise.
Similar threads
