Chapter Twelve
It had been a real belief to T'kinta that they would be stuck analysing transmissions and cataloguing ingoing and outgoing ships for the foreseeable future. But with the Loknar-class frigate USS London leaving dock once again so soon after arriving at the station and seemingly in a hurry, the Klingon captain had decided to pursue and investigate.
Once they had finally arrived at the Starfleet ship's destination hours later, the following battle between the Federation ship and the unknown ship had been rather pathetic. The unknown had quickly shown it was weak and had fled. T'kinta had then been forced to make a decision. Remain or follow.
She had chosen to follow.
Despite the unknown ship's embarrassing combat prowess it proved to be a hard track. It was almost as though their warp signature was being masked and while it was possible to mask, it wasn't something that could be done easily, especially when maintaining warp seven.
As with when they were following the London, she grew impatient. She hated snooping and felt more like a Romulan instead of an officer of the Klingon Imperial Fleet. It was frustrating.
Finally, after almost eighteen hours the unknown vessel slowed to impulse where it met up with fifteen other ships of the same design, though two were larger. There was some communication between the ships but as it was a direct link, they were unable to intercept.
The ships; except the one they had followed here, had all then turned around on a direct course back towards the system they had come from. It was clear that they wanted to finish off what they had started.
With fifteen ships it would certainly be more of a challenge for the lone Federation ship and should provide her with some entertainment. At least for a short while. Perhaps they would even overcome the Federation ship and destroy them. That would definitely be entertaining.
The trip back took just as long and at one point they were forced out of warp to decloak so that they could not only rest the cloaking device but vent the excess heat they had accumulated while under the stealth field.
T'kinta spent most of this time in the gym working through the tedium and frustration. She was never one to like downtime and this mission was nothing but downtime. She was a woman of action not of espionage.
When they finally dropped out of warp she was ready to see the fireworks when they clashed against the frigate. What she had not expected was another ship to be in orbit and one that appeared to be far better equipped than any frigate.
T'kinta sat and watched as the large Starfleet cruiser broke orbit to intercept the ships with anticipation.
She glanced over to the weapons officer. "Tell me, what class of ship is that?" she asked, wanting to know what kind of fight it would put up. From first glance, it looked like a constitution, but its saucer looked wrong, the nacelle struts were thicker and there was also a shuttle bay at the front as well as the back of the stardrive section.
The reply came swiftly. "Covenant-class," he answered.
"Give me all the information on it," she commanded not having heard of the class of ship before. "Armaments, defence?"
"From intelligence, the Covenant-class is largely built from the Federation-class hull with similar armaments but with an extra rear shuttle bay and no third nacelle."
She had heard of the Federation-class. A class of ship that had been not only planned but constructed and subsequently scorned by the Federation for what it represented. A true battleship, one worthy of fighting.
The weapons officer continued. "I have identified the ship as the Ishimura."
"Any data on who commands the ship?" she questioned hoping it was someone she had heard of.
"No information."
The communications officer, Devuk, called over to her. "Captain, the commander of the Starfleet ship is sending out a warning to the aggressors."
"Let us hear it," she said.
There was a brief silence before a male human voice came over the speakers. "This is Captain Brannon of the Federation starship Ishimura. You are to stand down or you risk being fired upon."
T'kinta liked this captain. He seemed ready to be proactive instead of reactive. Though she knew that this was probably just posturing and that he had no intention of firing the first shot.
"Any response?" she asked.
"None," he responded. It appeared the next thing that would happen was conflict and she was very much looking forward to seeing how it ended.
The aggressive vessels slowed to a stop as did the Federation ship. There they stayed, thoroughly disappointing T'kinta.
"The Federation ship is hailing them," Devuk reported.
"Any response?" she asked.
"None."
She was tempted to decloak and start the battle herself, but she restrained her more base instinct and just sat and waited. They couldn't sit here forever. Someone had to make a move sooner or later.
Thankfully, it was sooner and as T'kinta expected it was the unidentified vessels that made the first move.
"The unknowns are charging weapons," the tactical officer reported.
T'kinta leant forwards in her chair and bared her teeth. She was looking forward to this. She hoped the aggressors showed more combat prowess this time than they had the last otherwise this would prove once again to be a short battle.
Her only regret was that she would not be able to join in and be part of it.
"The unknowns are concentrating their fire," the tactical officer reported.
The tactic she saw them use was a very basic one. To use as much concentrated fire as they could in order to punch a hole in the Federation ship's shields. It was a tactic that could only work when there were enough ships with enough firepower.
The aggressors had the former, but she was sceptical as to whether they had the latter. Their output while deadly against weak or unarmed targets was not an issue for a battleship.
She watched as the aggressors continued their stings, which while not as powerful were quick in their succession. Eventually, the Federation ship would show its hand and she almost salivated in anticipation of the destruction that was sure to follow.
"The Starfleet ship is returning fire," she heard the tactical officer say.
She watched as streams of red shot out of the underside of the saucer, striking the shields of one of the enemy ships. Another streak of red shot out striking the second, then the third.
A volley of missiles left the fronts of four ships and struck the shields of the starship with a series of near blinding flashes. The Starfleet vessel seemed to buck slightly, but its shields remained firm.
"Detecting a lot of radiation from those missile detonations," the tactical officer reported.
She glanced at him. "Are we in danger?" she questioned, knowing that they were susceptible to high levels of radiation while cloaked.
"We're out of range, but they appear to have been old-style nuclear warheads."
A smile crossed her face. Crude weapons but still powerful.
Then she heard Devuk report. "The Ishimura is sending out a subspace signal."
"Most likely calling the London for aid," she said. This was it. The battle was finally afoot and T'kinta was loving every second of it.
An uneventful trip back to Overwatch with their alien captive was what Commander Arie Cayman was expecting. That, however, was not what she was going to get.
She was sat in the centre seat signing a report when the communications officer spun around in his seat, earpiece plugged firmly into his ear. "Commander, I'm receiving a message from the Ishimura."
Arie turned in her chair. "What's it say, Ensign?"
"Vessels matching the one we fought over the colony have engaged them."
"Numbers?"
"Fifteen and they are reported to have thermonuclear missiles. They are requesting our assistance."
"Understood," Arie said as she pressed firmly pressed down the internal comms button down. "Commander Cayman to Captain Anthi."
There were a few moments before the response came. "Anthi here, is there something wrong Arie?"
"The same unknowns that attacked the colony have returned in greater numbers. Ishimura requesting assistance."
"Turn us around Commander. Let's show them not to mess with Starfleet."
"Understood."
"ETA from here?"
The navigator responded. "Forty-five minutes at warp six."
"Push for warp eight, knock that time down."
Arie resisted the urge to remind the captain that they were just a frigate not a cruiser and that warp eight would be a struggle. Instead, she acknowledged the order. "Understood."
"I'll be up in five minutes, Anthi out."
The call ended and Arie stared out of the viewscreen "Helm, Navigation, you both heard the captain. Turn us around, let's get there before the show ends." She turned to communications. "Ensign Theth inform the Ishimura that we are on route."
"Understood."
Arie knew that while a lone ship had proved to be no match there was a real chance that fifteen of them well coordinated could prove much more of a challenge. Hopefully not too much of a challenge.
"Keep focus on their weapon systems," Captain Brannon commanded. "If we can start disabling their ability to shoot at us we'll have an easier time."
The tactical officer Commander Philips glanced back at the captain. "Their shields are weak, but they have a quick recharge time. Every time we knock them offline, that ship retreats and recharges while the others draw our fire."
"This is a battle of attrition," Brannon said. "We're slowly wearing them down. More and more of them are having to retreat."
"They're wearing us down too," Philips pointed out. "Those warheads are no joke."
The captain disagreed. "They're not antimatter, we can handle them as long as our shields stay up." Brannon knew that all they had to do was wait for the London to get back. Thankfully it had only been just short of an hour since they had broken orbit.
While the Ishimura was a carrier and had a squadron of ten fighter craft aboard as well as a full complement of shuttle craft. The fighters themselves were designed primarily for atmospheric combat against pirate raiding parties, which depending on the part of the galaxy were becoming alarmingly common and with Orions having been spotted in the sector, it had been deemed necessary for a ship such as the Ishimura that's primary objective was to seek and destroy pirate vessels, to be assigned to the sector.
These ships, however, were not pirates nor were they interested in flying down to the surface to raid the settlements and colonies. They were here to destroy and it was his duty to stop them.
After looking at his readout, Philips glanced back at the captain. "One of the larger battleships are launching more nuclear missiles."
Brannon was growing tired of this. "Disable the warheads, fire a volley of our own torpedoes back at them."
"Firing phasers at the missiles," Philips reported as his fingers flew over the controls. "Torpedoes locked. Firing."
As the small explosions of the undetonated warheads died down from the phaser attack four photonic torpedoes struck the offending ship's hull. Two of the regular unknown ships moved in front, shielding the larger ship as it turned and fled the battle to reenergize its shields.
A well-placed phaser shot struck one of the weakened regular ships before it could flee. Its shields collapsed and its hull flared up in a series of explosions before it came apart.
"Ship destroyed," Philips reported.
Brannon nodded. Even if they did somehow manage to disable every one of the ships out there, they still had enough deadly firepower to devastate a good part of the planet's surface. While he wished otherwise, he knew that they had to be destroyed if they did not surrender or retreat.
"One of the damaged ships is changing course," the helmsman reported. "Looks like a ram."
The captain gripped the sides of his chair. "Evasive."
"Too late."
The ship shook violently and the alert klaxon blared out. It was a struggle for most just to remain seated, for others the impact knocked them off onto the deck.
Philip's voice was barely audible over the chaos. "They destroyed themselves on impact, starboard shields are barely holding."
This battle was starting to take a turn and it was not in their favour.
It was glorious, or it would have been if T'kinta had been able to join in on the battle. The swarm of unknowns were starting to get the upper hand and while she was almost tempted to decloak and finish off the Starfleet ship she also knew that she was not permitted to make contact with anyone.
So she just sat there and watched as the conflict unfolded with the Ishimura looking more and more like it was going to lose.
The tactical officer reported on the latest development. "A third ship has been destroyed. That leaves twelve, Captain." A moment later he updated his report. "The Starfleet ship's starboard shields have collapsed."
This only proved to T'kinta that the Starfleet ship was losing the battle. As to what would happen when it was destroyed? At a guess, the colony down below was next.
Then unexpectedly, the ships broke off the attack left orbit and went to warp. She sat there not only in shock but also deeply disappointed. She was half tempted to decloak and finish the job.
She would have to settle on following them.
Captain Brannon, while surprised, was thankful they had gone. As to why was not readily apparent to him. His science officer lieutenant Flaherty gave him the reason.
"Looks like they're headed to intercept the London."
The tactical officer Commander Philips confirmed it. "Yep, they're on an intercept."
"They must want the guy they have in their brig," Brannon surmised. "Hail them, tell the London to turn about and head straight to Overwatch."
The communications officer acknowledged. "Aye, sir."
Brannon leant forward in his chair, resting his hands on his knees. "If they follow them, then we'll know the alien they have aboard is who they are after."
"Do we follow?" Philips asked.
"I wish we could. We have to stay here until we know the threat is truly gone. I hate to say it, but the London needs to outrun them alone."
"We could have the London lure them back," Philips suggested.
Brannon shook his head. "No, bringing hostiles into orbit of a colony world is something I want to avoid. A missed shot could strike the planet and I won't risk it."
None of them liked it, but the London was on their own.
As soon as they received word, they had turned right back around. All they had to do was outrun them, which was easier said than done.
"They have matched our speed," Arie informed the captain.
Anthi stared forward at the viewscreen. "That's all we need."
Beveth, the science officer spoke up regarding that. "We cannot maintain warp factor eight for very long, Captain."
"We just need to keep it up long enough. How many vessels?"
Beveth answered. "Twelve, two larger ships that are heavier armed and better shielded. The rest appear to be the same class we fought previously."
The captain turned to communications. "Have we received a response from Overwatch yet?"
"No, sir."
Arie's feeling of dread had turned into nervousness since word that the unknown hostiles were now in pursuit of them. Her sister and the Bartletts were still on New Loknar last she heard and the thought of the attack that had started before they first arrived being finished off before they could get there had seriously worried her.
"Sir," the comms officer said looking around. "Just received word from Overwatch, they are sending one of their Cray-class starbase defence ships to intercept us."
It was something, but they would be three-quarters of the way back to the starbase before they reached them. Unless the enemy slowed down, they themselves would have to and they would catch them up long before they could rendezvous with the other ship. When that happened there would be a fight and one they might not win.
Admiral Thalon was in a panic. He had one Cray-class and a Constitution still damaged from the battle with the Klingons, he had lost the Evergreen with him aboard it to the Klingons and now some previously unknown race had not only wiped out a colony world but attacked another and nearly incapacitated the Ishimura.
He did not want to think about it but at this rate, every ship in the sector would be broken and in need of repair and the last thing he needed was a war on his hands when he had so few ships already.
Thalon leant on the centre console in the operations centre. Before him on the table was a map of the sector with small indicators showing every active ship available to him.
Apart from the Ishimura and the London, there were three ships on the board. First was the USS Deslandres which was useless in this scenario. It was a Ptolemy-class tug and while it could handle light combat he did not want to put a ship built for hauling cargo containers into a combat situation.
Next was the USS Drake a frigate. It was too far out though and the London would be in dock before they could do anything anyway.
The final ship on the grid was the Lexington. Again it was too far to help, so that left him with his hands tied.
He was honestly starting to wonder what he had done wrong to get this posting. Life back at the research and development station while difficult and frustrating most of the time, was at the very least fulfilling. Right now he felt like everything that could go wrong was going wrong.
There were few options available to him. If he ordered the closest ship, the Drake to Overwatch then they would arrive ten hours after the London and if the pursuers followed them all the way back any battle would have been concluded by then. At least hopefully, he didn't want to even think about a battle lasting ten whole hours.
Thalon checked the time. He had called a meeting in briefing room 1 and it was scheduled five minutes from now.
"Lieutenant Rivera," he called out.
The dark haired woman looked around from the communications terminal. "Yes, sir?"
"You have command until either myself or Commander Gessi returns."
"Understood," she acknowledged.
He made his way out of the command area and up the shallow steps that led up and out of the control centre. He made his way around the rounded corridor and stepped into the briefing room where he found Captain Herrera of the Shaandra and Lieutenant Commander Gronag, the Tellarite commander of the station defence ship, Overwatch-One.
Both of them stood up and Herrera nodded curtly. "Admiral," she greeted.
He sat down. "Take a seat and let's wait for the rest."
The first to enter after him was Lieutenant Commander N'reinn, followed by Commander Gessi and finally Colonel Marshall, who as usual had an air of superiority about him.
With everyone sat down Thalon began. "As we speak, the London is on its way to the station with a small fleet of ships in pursuit. I have sent one of our defence ships to intercept and assist if needed but I need to know if we can defend the station?"
Marshall spoke up immediately. "I have one Cray and a squadron of fighters ready to defend the station."
Thalon looked to Gronag. "Is the ship ready?"
"We can defend the station, Admiral," he said assuredly.
Thalon turned to Herrera. "What about the Shaandra?"
"We might not have warp, but phasers, shields and torpedoes work just fine. We can be ready to confront any enemy within a half-hour."
Thalon made the decision. "Then The Shaandra and Overwatch-One will help defend the station hopefully along with the London and Overwatch-Two when they get here." He then mentally added, if they get here and aren't destroyed.
"And the fighters?" Marshall questioned.
Thalon had been reading up on the so-called fighters and decided to impart his knowledge onto the Colonel. "The fighters we have are best served for atmospheric flight," he said. "They are designed for planet operations, not deep space."
"This is a test, Admiral," Marshall said. "To see if they can be repurposed."
N'reinn wholly disagreed. "Fighters are great at taking on pirates who are raiding a colony world, but even the Evergreen my old ship could take down those fighters in a space combat scenario. Unless they use the starbase's shields as a defence."
Marshall glared at her. "It's numbers, not overall strength. I've been training the pilots extensively."
"We're not using them here," Thalon said firmly. "If anything, I believe we should redeploy them to the colony worlds as defence."
Gessi asked. "How long until the London arrives?"
"Currently, eleven hours. The last update was that the pursuers had slowed to warp five and the London had also reduced to warp five to let their engines recover a little bit."
Colonel Marshall said. "They could cruise at warp five and leave the pursuers in the dust."
Thalon disagreed. "The concern is they return to the colony and finish what they started. Right now, every colony in the region is in potential danger."
"Are we getting more ships?" N'reinn asked. "If there's a hostile species in the region we need to secure our borders, otherwise every colony within fifty light years might be in danger."
"Unknown as of yet," Thalon told them. "I'm still waiting on the reply."
Marshall cracked his knuckles. "Whatever happens, we'll be ready."
Thalon rose up from his seat. "You have eleven hours, I want both ships out of dock and ready in nine."
Herrera acknowledged. "Shaandra will be ready to fight, sir."
N'reinn added. "So will the station."
"Very well, dismissed."
