Chapter Two - "Conflict"
Captain Janeway stood behind Paris, watching the Kazon ship close in. She felt a deep sense of wrong as the mysterious vessel drew nearer and fought to ignore the looming presence of dread that invaded her thoughts. Action was the remedy she needed to clear her head and help her focus. "Open a channel. Hail them." Janeway stepped around the flight control station and toward the viewer as the snowy outline of the alien captain's face appeared on the screen. The image was so distorted there was no way to visually determine his identity. "Can you clear that up?"
Harry Kim stood at his station, furiously typing commands at his console. He responded to Janeway's request after a few seconds of obvious consternation. "I'm sorry captain. There seems to be some powerful interference. It may be our proximity to the anomaly."
The audio transmission suffered in the same way. All that could be heard was a long popping hiss with intermittent breaks that allowed only a few words to be understood. ".Captain.fight.must.attack.yours.reply." Voyager's bridge fell silent, as everyone tried to guess the meaning of the message, although the speaker's intent and tone was apparently hostile.
Kathryn contemplated for a few moments, considering her response. She turned and glanced at Chakotay to read his face and found an expression that equaled her feelings. "Kazon vessel. This Is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Please repeat your transmission." She paused a moment when the figure on the screen seemed to react to her statement. "We wish to speak to you regarding your journey through the spatial anomaly. I offer a truce so that we may confer. Please respond." Janeway's request was met with continued static.
"Captain. The Kazon ship's shields are active and she is now locking weapons." Tuvok paused a moment and looked pained. He placed his hand to the side of his head and closed his eyes.
"Tuvok what's wrong?" Janeway ordered the Kazon's weapons array targeted. "Tom, prepare for evasive maneuvers."
Chakotay moved to help Tuvok. "Commander we need more information. Tuvok!"
A moment later his eyes opened, the pain of a moment before was replaced with an odd look of satisfaction. Chakotay and Janeway stared, waiting for an explanation. "Captain. I sense a Vulcan aboard the Kazon vessel."
A phaser blast interrupted the discussion.
Paris spun in his seat to face Janeway. "She's taking a shot at our shield generators Captain. One Kazon cruiser doesn't stand a chance against us. Where have these guys been?"
Chakotay and Janeway both leapt for their seats. "Target those weapons and fire." Paris quickly tapped the console and sent a pulsing ribbon of energy toward where the Kazon ship should have been. The Kazon had effortlessly pivoted on her axis and in a quick burst from her warp engines, swung down and beneath Voyager. The larger vessel was instantly rocked by a double photon torpedo blast. Circuits and power generators exploded all over the ship sending most of the lower decks into temporary darkness. The bridge was bathed in a shower of sparks and rupturing conduit, knocking most of the crew to the deck.
Paris managed to keep his seat and launched Voyager into motion. "At least the helm is responding again. Who the hell are these guys? I've never seen anyone pilot a starship like that."
The moment Captain Janeway got to her feet she began to bark orders. "Get a fix on that ship. Now!"
After clearing the end of the anomaly the Enterprise was able to slow to a crawl. Damage control parties swarmed about the ship, helping to prepare for battle.
Dr. McCoy's sarcastic comment on the intercom helped diffuse some of the tension on the bridge. "Captain. If you are quite through bouncing this ship all over the galaxy I'd like to find out what's going on up there."
Kirk allowed himself a quick smile. "Doctor, I will let you know the moment we discover it ourselves. Do you have a casualty report?"
McCoy was cut off in mid sentence as Spock interrupted. "Sir. The Klingon warship has locked their phasers on our weapons. At such close proximity, our shields would be severely damaged."
Kirk reacted by jumping to his feet and asking Lieutenant Uhura to open a communications channel. "Klingon vessel. This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise. We have no wish to fight, but if you must attack this vessel we will respond in kind. The choice is yours. Reply."
The distorted image that appeared on the screen to resemble the dark interior of a Klingon bridge but there was no way to be certain. The crackling, garbled audio transmission that followed did nothing to clarify the situation. Kirk stood staring at the main viewer trying to understand the broken message until the Klingon Captain seemed to raise his fist in anger. ".you.repeat.no.truce.destroy.them!"
Captain Kirk instantly launched into action. "Sulu, target their forward shields and then lay in the course I gave you. If they want to fight, we'll do it on our terms." Kirk sat back in his chair a waited for the right moment.
"Captain." Spock walked down from his station to stand next to the command chair. "Sir, I sense that there is a Vulcan on board that vessel."
What?
Kirk turned and studied his first officer's face. There wasn't a hint of doubt to be found, but situation call for quick thinking and hard choices. "There's nothing I can do about that now. If you're right I hope he survives. Mr. Sulu, fire!"
Captain Janeway stood behind Paris, watching the Kazon ship close in. She felt a deep sense of wrong as the mysterious vessel drew nearer and fought to ignore the looming presence of dread that invaded her thoughts. Action was the remedy she needed to clear her head and help her focus. "Open a channel. Hail them." Janeway stepped around the flight control station and toward the viewer as the snowy outline of the alien captain's face appeared on the screen. The image was so distorted there was no way to visually determine his identity. "Can you clear that up?"
Harry Kim stood at his station, furiously typing commands at his console. He responded to Janeway's request after a few seconds of obvious consternation. "I'm sorry captain. There seems to be some powerful interference. It may be our proximity to the anomaly."
The audio transmission suffered in the same way. All that could be heard was a long popping hiss with intermittent breaks that allowed only a few words to be understood. ".Captain.fight.must.attack.yours.reply." Voyager's bridge fell silent, as everyone tried to guess the meaning of the message, although the speaker's intent and tone was apparently hostile.
Kathryn contemplated for a few moments, considering her response. She turned and glanced at Chakotay to read his face and found an expression that equaled her feelings. "Kazon vessel. This Is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Please repeat your transmission." She paused a moment when the figure on the screen seemed to react to her statement. "We wish to speak to you regarding your journey through the spatial anomaly. I offer a truce so that we may confer. Please respond." Janeway's request was met with continued static.
"Captain. The Kazon ship's shields are active and she is now locking weapons." Tuvok paused a moment and looked pained. He placed his hand to the side of his head and closed his eyes.
"Tuvok what's wrong?" Janeway ordered the Kazon's weapons array targeted. "Tom, prepare for evasive maneuvers."
Chakotay moved to help Tuvok. "Commander we need more information. Tuvok!"
A moment later his eyes opened, the pain of a moment before was replaced with an odd look of satisfaction. Chakotay and Janeway stared, waiting for an explanation. "Captain. I sense a Vulcan aboard the Kazon vessel."
A phaser blast interrupted the discussion.
Paris spun in his seat to face Janeway. "She's taking a shot at our shield generators Captain. One Kazon cruiser doesn't stand a chance against us. Where have these guys been?"
Chakotay and Janeway both leapt for their seats. "Target those weapons and fire." Paris quickly tapped the console and sent a pulsing ribbon of energy toward where the Kazon ship should have been. The Kazon had effortlessly pivoted on her axis and in a quick burst from her warp engines, swung down and beneath Voyager. The larger vessel was instantly rocked by a double photon torpedo blast. Circuits and power generators exploded all over the ship sending most of the lower decks into temporary darkness. The bridge was bathed in a shower of sparks and rupturing conduit, knocking most of the crew to the deck.
Paris managed to keep his seat and launched Voyager into motion. "At least the helm is responding again. Who the hell are these guys? I've never seen anyone pilot a starship like that."
The moment Captain Janeway got to her feet she began to bark orders. "Get a fix on that ship. Now!"
After clearing the end of the anomaly the Enterprise was able to slow to a crawl. Damage control parties swarmed about the ship, helping to prepare for battle.
Dr. McCoy's sarcastic comment on the intercom helped diffuse some of the tension on the bridge. "Captain. If you are quite through bouncing this ship all over the galaxy I'd like to find out what's going on up there."
Kirk allowed himself a quick smile. "Doctor, I will let you know the moment we discover it ourselves. Do you have a casualty report?"
McCoy was cut off in mid sentence as Spock interrupted. "Sir. The Klingon warship has locked their phasers on our weapons. At such close proximity, our shields would be severely damaged."
Kirk reacted by jumping to his feet and asking Lieutenant Uhura to open a communications channel. "Klingon vessel. This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise. We have no wish to fight, but if you must attack this vessel we will respond in kind. The choice is yours. Reply."
The distorted image that appeared on the screen to resemble the dark interior of a Klingon bridge but there was no way to be certain. The crackling, garbled audio transmission that followed did nothing to clarify the situation. Kirk stood staring at the main viewer trying to understand the broken message until the Klingon Captain seemed to raise his fist in anger. ".you.repeat.no.truce.destroy.them!"
Captain Kirk instantly launched into action. "Sulu, target their forward shields and then lay in the course I gave you. If they want to fight, we'll do it on our terms." Kirk sat back in his chair a waited for the right moment.
"Captain." Spock walked down from his station to stand next to the command chair. "Sir, I sense that there is a Vulcan on board that vessel."
What?
Kirk turned and studied his first officer's face. There wasn't a hint of doubt to be found, but situation call for quick thinking and hard choices. "There's nothing I can do about that now. If you're right I hope he survives. Mr. Sulu, fire!"