Here is the new chapter, sorry if I kept you waiting! Now, brace yourself for a li'l surprise!
Chapter 3 : Adapting
"Captain's Log, Stardate 57225.1 . We have reached the Neutral Zone, and we are currently patrolling the Sector 096. Until now, there is no sign of Borg activity, but the ship is at permanent yellow alert, and I have ordered to keep the tactical systems in stand-by and ready for activation in case of something happens. The crew has showed some tension, but the ship has been prepared with an efficience that surprised me. Their morale is good, while I must admit that mine is a bit fragile. I've found the various jobs that come togheter with command slightly boring, but at least they've kept me from losing my head right away. But surprisingly I have found my confidence stronger than I expected. Maybe because I acknowledged my responsibilities towards my crew now that I'm on the command chair. But whatever happens, I have to keep them safe, and to bring them home. I just hope Admiral Charleton's trust in me wasn't a dreadful mistake!"
"The sensor still don't pick up anything unusual, Captain!" said Lieutenant Ellison, with a voice that seemed to say "I hope I didn't do anything wrong!". Tom commented : "Very well. Don't lower your guard, if they want to, they are quite capable of taking us by surprise!" He stood up from the chair, he wanted to make a tour of the ship to control everything. "The Bridge is yours, Commander!" "Yes, sir!" said Keith.
He went for Main Engineering, mentally bracing himself for the cascade of words that would fall from Rhell's mouth, when he nearly crashed into an Ensign. "Oh… I'm sorry, sir!" said the Human female, a very young one, she looked like she was barely twenty. "Don't worry, Ensign." Said Tom, but he was busy looking carefully at her. Her manners were quite nervous, she was avoiding his glare and she looked like she was struggling not to run away. "Is there anything wrong, Ensign…?" he asked, and she breathed before replying too hurriedly : "Young, sir! Ensign Felicity Young! And everything's okay, sir!" Tom watched her sternly, and she seemed to shrink under his glare. "Ensign Young, I'm not accusing you, I am merely asking you if you are okay. Because you look like someone who's trying not to escape from danger!" She bit her lower lip, looking very frightened. "Sir… this is my first mission, and we're waiting for the Borg to show up! I know I shouldn't, but I'm very scared! If something bad happens, I might…" "Ensign." Tom's voice interrupted her gently. She looked up to see Tom smiling reassuringly. "You're wrong, you have every reason to be scared. The fact is, you can't permit fear to dictate your acts; fear is nothing to be ashamed of, as long as you keep it under control. Everyone on this ship is scared as you are, but everyone is reacting, by doing their jobs as good as they can. And trust me, it's the only thing that works!" She at first looked confused, but as he spoke she seemed to regain some confidence. She looked at him and said : "I understand, sir. I'll do my best!" "I never doubted it! Carry on, ensign!" said Tom, walking away. He was slightly puzzled; he'd heard Captain Janeway say words like that many times before, and he'd always thought that Captains mentally prepared their speechs for the crew. Now he understood that he wouldn't have to bother himself about finding the words. Because the words came in willingly. He grinned, suddenly amused. "Maybe I can make this Captain business!" he remarked, marching on to Engineering.
The bridge was quiet. Everyone was performing his duties with silence and skill. But Tom felt like he just had to move for the static electricity to electrocute him. He sighed, and absentmindedly caressed the command chair's pommels.
A console beeped. It took everyone's best effort to not jump. Tom swirled his head towards the Tactical Officer, which console had put on the music. "Report." His voice was clear but controlled. That of Fernandez was as dark as his humor. "Sir, we are receiving a distress call from a freighter, the Great Lakes. They're under attack." "Borg?" asked Tom, bracing for the worst. "No, sir, they can't identify their attackers." He breathed. "Red alert, battlestations. Mr. Kelly, set a course and engage at maximum warp. We have no time to waste!" "Aye, sir!" the Ensign said, too incensed by the emergency to be nervous. The stars on screen were twisted and became long strips of light. "ETA?" "Nineteen minutes and twenty-five seconds, Captain!" Kelly reported. Tom nodded, then leaned against his chair and made the thing captains hated to do : he waited.
Nineteen minutes and twenty-five seconds later, the Berlin went down to impulse power and reached the battlefield. On screen, the bulky freighter, a rectangular design with two clumsy nacelles, was battered by three small spacecrafts. "Lieutenant, identify those ships!" The SCI Officer quickly tapped on her console, then she shook her head. "Identity unknown, Captain. They seemingly are attack crafts, with short range but decent weapons; the sensors read disruptors cannons and photon torpedo launchers." "Sir, the Great Lakes has lost shields. They won't hold on for long!" said Fernandez, emotionlessly. "Hail the crafts, tell them to break off their attack!" The TAC officer tried, then shook his head. "There's no response, sir!" Tom bolted on his feet and sprang on action. "Alright, let's set things right. Mr. Kelly, bring us closer to the freighter, I want to protect her with our shields. Commander, fire to disable, I'd like to have some information about this guys. Everyone, buckle up and spit on your hands!" he exclaimed, joyfully. The Berlin entered the battlefield determinedly; precise phaser fire forced the unknown aliens to break their attack to regroup. Kelly took advantage of that and maneuvered to place the starship upwards the freighter, allowing Fernandez to extend their shields to protect it. Paris knew this way was risky, because the shields would be less efficient, but he was there to protect the freighter, and most assuredly didn't want it to be boarded. He would have time to destroy the enemy later.
The enemy ships regrouped and together attacked the cruiser in a delta-formation. Their disruptor fire shook the Federal shields, but they held nicely. Fernandez reported, calmly : "Shields down at seventy-eight percent. We have scored a direct hit on each enemy ship." "Try to disable their weapons, Commander. A toothless snake can't bit." Ordered Tom. Fernandez didn't even bother to acknowledge, but he fired again the phasers, weakening the enemy's shields to allow the photon torpedoes to pass through. "Their firepower is now reduced to forty percent, sir." Tom rose again and walked towards the screen. "Open a channel, Commander. Let's see if they are willing to talk now!" "You may speak now, sir." Tom took a deep breath and spoke sternly : "This is Commander Paris, of the Federal starship Berlin. Your attack has stalled; identify yourselves and power down your tactical systems, and prepare to negotiate a ceasefire!" For some seconds, the only answer was silence. Then, a ragged voice hissed : "You are lucky, we were not prepared to fight Starfleet. But next time, I'll have your ship destroyed! The Kalypsian Order doesn't forget!" Puzzled, Tom opened his mouth to answer back, but the channel was cut down. Then, Ellison reported : "Sir, they are going away… they have gone to warp, sir." Tom looked down to Keith, who looked as baffled as he did, and said : "Kalypsian Order? What the hell is that?" he said. Keith bit his lower lip and shrugged. Tom wanted to press the question, but he had to make sure his mission was accomplished. "Contact the freighter, Commander." On screen, appeared a grey-haired human captain. "This is Commander Paris, of the Berlin. We answered your call as soon as we could. Do you need assistance?" "Captain Gérard, of the Great Lakes. I wish to thank you for your timely intervention, Commander. Whoever they were, those ships shook a bit my ship. Nothing we can't take care of, however. But thanks for your offer!" "Where do you come from, and from where did those ships came, Captain?" asked Paris, trying to gather as much information as he could. "We sailed from Argyus IV a week ago, and we are going to Andoria. And these aliens came from the same direction they went to run, Commander." Tom nodded. "Very well. If you don't need assistance, you can go on, Captain, I am sure you won't have any problems now!" "I hope so. Thanks, Commander!" The screen resumed his normal status. Tom turned around and asked Ellison : "Lieutenant, make a research about this… Kalypsian Order we heard, and as soon as you have completed it, make your report to Commander Keith. We're maintaining our position, in case those creeps want to have another round. Commander, I'm going to report to Starfleet. The Bridge is yours!" With that, Paris strode towards the Tactical Room. Keith sat on the Command Chair, and after having confirmed to Kelly to maintain actual position, he noticed that the atmosphere now had reached another level. Because one thing was to fight a known enemy, and they knew something about the Borg, but another was fighting an enemy on which you don't know anything.
Two hours later, the senior staff was reunited in the Ready Room. Tom sat down and directly asked the Scientific Officer : "Very well, did you find something, Lieutenant?" "Yes, sir." The woman paused a moment to look down at her PADD, then she went on. "It seems that the Kalypsian Order is the name of the armed forces of a government of the planet Kelvani, in the Klingon-Romulan Neutral Zone, populated by the homonymous humanoid people." "An independent planet there? Is that one of the planets that proclaimed its independence after the Treaty of Kithomer?" asked Keith. Ellison nodded : "Yes, apparently it is just one of the border planets that the Klingon lost during their decline, one of the many non-aligned governments. But that's all we know about it. They kept a low profile in all this time, and there is no sign they went on to become… some space pirates!" "Maybe for some time they limited themselves on raiding Klingon trade routes, which Qo'nos kept silent because they had enough problems to deal with." Suggested Keith, thoughtfully. Doctor Selar confirmed it with her Vulcan logic. "It's logical; but if they are now bold enough to harass even Federal ships, they must feel self-confident." Paris leaned against his chair. "Well, we went here to keep an eye on the Borg, but we found ourselves with another problem. I spoke with Admiral Charleton; he has issued an order concerning civilian starships to avoid this area, and has charged us to investigate this matter. We have to find out the Kelvani and try to find some kind of agreement with them. If not, we are to call for aid. He has a task force ready to intervene." "In other words, we have to go there with an olive branch and talk to the same people we have just fired at!" commented Rhell. In another situation, Tom would have snickered, but now merely shrugged. "Yes, that's about it. It's not like going against a Borg tactical cube, but I'm afraid it's not going to be a cakewalk either. But I want to remember… we are not to fire first. We have to try and talk to them, and just then, if they don't want to talk, we are authorized to engage in combat. Explain the situation to your men, and advise them to stay calm." Everyone nodded seriously, and Tom turned to Kelly. "Mr. Kelly, our information about the precise location of the Kelvani is quite vague, and Admiral Charleton is not willing to ask the Klingon, because they may think we are trying to poke our noses in space close to theirs. So, it's up to you to locate it using the incomplete data Lt. Ellison shall provide you, and your own intuition. It's a difficult job, but I'm sure you'll surprise us!" The Ensign's face lit up with contemporary pride and embarrassment, but Paris knew he would make the task nicely. He was definitely going to help him throw away his low self-esteem, or to kill him trying. He stood up. "Very well. Dismissed."
So, Tom expected to face the Borg, but now he's gonna face an unknown warrior alien race. The problem is, he's gotta experience in fighting Borg, but he's not a specialist in dealing with bloodthirsty unknown aliens. Is he gonna make it without blowing up the ship? (ha-ha!)
Please review! And I thank who already did!
16/12/10 - Added some lines and corrected a few mistakes!