- CHAPTER 49 -
- 2nd Fleet, ISS Athena, Enroute to Starbase 665 for repairs, Two weeks earlier -
The massive bulk of the Athena dwarfed her many companions as 2nd Fleet cruised through slipstream. They were still close to a day out from Starbase 665. Work parties in engineering hardsuits and work bees swarmed around the damaged vessels, fixing what they could on their own without yard support. Already, wide swaths of fresh hull plateing and armor were laid down over the hull breaches in Athena's flanks, though massive gaping furrows still remained, showing multiple decks of bent and twisted wreckage. The shiny new skin looked like scabs, highlighted by the scorched and blistered hull surrounding them. Many weapons installations had already been repaired as well, most replaced in their entirety from the Athena's cavernous cargo holds. The swirling aqua tube of slipstream curved around the fleet, widening in diameter as the ships slipstream engines interacted with each other, creating a massive tube through the layer of subspace slipstream employed. The vessels of 2nd Fleet slowed and dropped back into normal space, for they had a final duty to perform for far to many of their comrades.
-Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 334.980.361. It is with a heavy heart that I make this entry. Our dead and wounded have finally been tallied, and the total is every bit as grievous as initially thought. Repairs are ongoing throughout the fleet, yet today, all work shall be placed on hold as we pay our respects to our honored dead. -
All small craft that normally packed Athena's Shuttle Bay One to overflowing were elsewhere, freeing the space for its alternate use. Row upon row of torpedo casings filled most of the floor. There were thousands of them crammed into the shuttle bay deck. Similar set ups were happening on all vessels in 2nd Fleet, for nearly all had taken casualties of greater or lesser extent. The fighter deck on Athena was especially empty, with thousands of coffins as well, most of them empty because there were no bodies for them, even if recovery had been possible.
"Aten HUT!" The Marine Sargent barked. The computer systems in the cavernous Shuttle Bay One of the Athena amplified his voice so that it could be heard everywhere in the vast open space. The assembled officers and honor guard snapped to ridged attention with a quiet scrape of alloy. Imperial dress uniform was basically an ancient Roman Centurion's armor and clothing. The main difference was that all underlying cloths and leather were space black. For Flag officers, the armor and metalwork were polished inlaid alloy of a polished gold color. Non-Flag officers wore silver armor, polished to near mirror like sheen. Ulysses wore his crimson command cloak over his armor. It had been transported over from the Hopolite and had survived the battle intact and unaffected. His silver helmet, complete with obsidian black Mohawk plume, shone brightly under the shuttle bay overhead spotlights. One would think that an outfit that was mostly metal would be heavy, but modern Imperial science had managed to make a very lightweight alloy that otherwise looked like gold and silver for use in Terran Empire dress uniforms. Ulysses still felt that the get up was ridiculous, yet he had to admit that the precise ranks of officers and honor guard did make quite a spectacle decked out in their shining armor. The uniform was as complete as historical records could make it, right down to the archaic shoes and highly polished yet still functional gladus in the hilt on his belt. The short sleeves allowed the flowing alloy of Borg implants to be clearly visible on his left arm. He wasn't the only one with Borg implants visible, but even here, on one of the most populous vessels in all of Starfleet, Ex-Drones were only a good sized minority.
"Fellow warriors of the Terran Empire." Ulysses began. "We are gathered here today to pay final respects to our comrades who so recently gave the ultimate sacrifice in Imperial service. No greater sacrifice can be made than to give ones life in the protection of the Empire, and over 10000 of our fellow officers and enlisted personnel paid it. But their sacrifice wasn't in vain, for the enemy that killed them was driven back, the only way in sealed forever behind a new world." Ulysses had only told P'tel and T'var about the Section 31 vessel's attempt to wipe out all of 2nd Fleet along with the enemy. Now wasn't the time to tell the personnel of 2nd Fleet that they had nearly been killed by one of their own, if Section 31 could be called that, just when they had gained the upper hand of the battle. Most thought that the Genesis attack was a carefully timed and planned maneuver, not a barely avoided catastrophe.
"They died like true warriors, never faltering, never retreating in the face of the enemy. I ask now for a moment of silence in honor of their sacrifice." The arms of the 1000 gathered officers and 2000 gathered NCO's swung upward with machine like precision, each one ending in a textbook perfect salute. The same thing was being done by every living soul in 2nd Fleet. No one in close to 50,000 souls in 2nd Fleet dared breathe a word for the five-minute silence. During that time, the AG drive in the torpedo casings activated in sequence, and rank by rank the black, TE flag draped coffins floated up and out through the forcefield holding in the atmosphere of the shuttle bay. The same thing happened on all the other vessels that lost souls, and far to many coffins spawned in 2nd Fleets wake. So many dead because one man in a powerful position made a colossal blunder. Outside the blue bordered forcefield blocking the shuttle bay opening, a flight of fighters cruised up from astern, they split apart into the ancient missing man formation. Contrary to the propaganda put out by the Bureau of Public Information, not every officer in Starfleet was a monolithic, fierce servant of the empire. There were more than a few misty eyes as the officers and crew watching in person and, for those not able to fit into the shuttle bay, on com screens as they remembered their departed comrades.
The teachings of Spock, however illegal they might be, were more widely subscribed to than the Council and general public believed, especially in Starfleet. They had been a moderating influence, limiting the chaos and wrath present on ships from Kirk's time. It hadn't been entirely stamped out, just looking at numerous corpulent flag officers and petty line officers showed that. But by and large, the excesses present before Spock turning traitor to the Empire were gone. In Section 31 the remained in full force though. And in spite of their belief that there had to be a better way than the current system, only an extremely insignificant few choose not to follow the orders of a superior officer, however horrid those orders might be. Doing so could mean death depending on the CO's whim, so even those that did so only did so once.
"Company, presennnt ARMS!" The honor guard brought their archaic black and silver sub machine guns to their shoulders, aiming out into space.
"Fire!" Twenty Marines fired as one, the explosive crack from their weapons as they fired their blanks filling the shuttle bay.
"Fire!" Again the crack of ancient firearms boomed through the shuttle bay.
"Fire!" A final volley made its thunder, then the Marines brought their guns from their shoulders. They dropped towards the ground stock first. As they touched the deck, 20 left feet lifted and slammed down as one, creating a quieter but no less noticeable thunder of their own.
"Company, DISMISSED!" As one, the officers and crew of 2nd Fleet dropped their salute. Those assembled in the shuttle bay turned in their ranks and left through the multiple exits in perfectly straight lines.
Ulysses, P'tel and T'var entered a turbolift, the other assembled crew and officers respectfully allowing them to take it by themselves.
"Deck 13, section C." Ulysses ordered the lift. It would send them through the bulk of the Athena to the deck and section where all three of their quarters were located. "What a needless waste." Ulysses muttered.
"Agreed, but brooding about past events that can't be changed is illogical." P'tel said quietly from his left.
"Illogical but a very human tendency." T'var said from his right. Her armor had an eagle inlaid on the golden breastplate. It held arrows clutched in its talons and was placed over the Imperial seal of Terra with a single sword down the middle of it. She also wore a cape similar to Ulysses except it was of golden silk instead of red.
"What would you have me do, forget about them!" Ulysses snapped, then nearly instantly sighed and continued in a more level tone. "Sorry. didn't mean to explode at you. It just gets to me that all that death could have been prevented."
"Brooding isn't the same thing as remembering young Captain." T'var said.
Ulysses sighed again. "I know, and I know I shouldn't, but the sheer stupidity of that senile old Bastard."
"What's done is done. Those left behind can only strive not to become like him and prevent those like him from advancing in rank. Part of that responsibility falls on you now Ulysses. You are a Captain now, and you are now one of those who must stop power mongers and those incapable of doing a good job from advancing."
The door opened up to their deck. It was deserted seeing as there were only another few officers assigned to the deck and the trio had taken the first and most direct route to it.
"But that's the problem. I AM one of those kind of people." Ulysses said, self loathing leaching through his command persona's armor for the first time since assuming command of the ill fated Hopolite. It was the first time he had even admitted it to himself, let alone shown it to others. T'var and P'tel turned around and grabbed one shoulder each.
"What ever made you think that you were one of them Ulysses." T'var said, her eyes peering deeply into Ulysses'.
"I killed my captain to become one myself."
"You always had a temper Ulysses. But you didn't kill for personal gain, no matter what you might think. You allowed the darkness to take control. Even Vulcan's have been known to snap if provoked enough. I see your fear now. All the rage that is inside of you, you are unable to exorcise it. You keep it firmly in check, but every once and a while you lose control and lash out at your aggressors. You fear that it will cause you to lose your way." Ulysses merely nodded, not trusting his voice. "If that is what concerns you, you need not be worried. I have never encountered one such as you Ulysses. So much rage in you, yet the bonds that hold it are so strong it rarely gets out. You could be a terror every bit as sadistic as the late Admiral Chriton if not more so, yet you make the conscious choice daily not to let the darkness consume you. As long as you don't let it, you will never be like those kind of people." P'tel nodded her agreement.
"I know you're right, it's just that sometimes the hate is so strong. it scares me."
"Ulysses, I could take away that hate, but in doing so I would have to take away the love that caused it. It would inevitably change you, and not for the better. It is that love that makes you fight against the darkness. Without it, I am not sure what you would become." Ulysses snorted. "What?"
"Here I am being counciled on love and hate by a couple of Vulcans. It's hard to picture you as anything other than logical, emotionless beings."
"We are ruled by logic, but we merely suppress our emotions, not eliminate them."
"I know, I know." Ulysses said. He sighed loudly. "Thanks for the reality check. I needed it."
"Anytime young Mr. Vanguard." The trio continued down the hall to their respective quarters.
- ISS Athena, Main Bridge, 10 minutes later -
The Athena's Main Bridge wasn't as grandiose as her Flag Bridge, but it was nearly so. It was virtually a copy of the Flag Bridge on a slightly smaller scale. Ulysses strode along the carpeted catwalk to his command chair. P'tel, who had exited the turbolift with him, made her way to her own duty station. The duty crew, after bracing to attention and saluting their CO's as they entered the bridge (a courtesy which Ulysses and P'tel returned), went back to their assigned tasks.
"Orders from the Flag Captain." The com officer said. "The Fleet is to proceed back into slipstream as soon as possible."
"Do the other ships report ready?"
"Aye sir, all vessels report ready to engage slipstream."
"Very well. Helm, execute jump to slipstream at your convenience. Proceed on previous course of bearing 330 mark 848."
"Aye sir, executing slip jump on bearing 330 mark 848, max fleet sustainable velocity." For after all, a fleet was only as fast as its slowest ship. The viewscreen's stars stretched to rainbow streaks, but were rapidly blotted out by the onrushing aqua tube of slipstream. The Athena's powerful engines' near silent rumble was steady in Ulysses ears.
"ETA to Starbase 665 is now 20 hours, 34 minutes 5 seconds."
"Thank you XO. That should give us plenty of time for battle drills." Ulysses said with a mischievous smile.
- 2nd Fleet, ISS Athena, Enroute to Starbase 665 for repairs, Two weeks earlier -
The massive bulk of the Athena dwarfed her many companions as 2nd Fleet cruised through slipstream. They were still close to a day out from Starbase 665. Work parties in engineering hardsuits and work bees swarmed around the damaged vessels, fixing what they could on their own without yard support. Already, wide swaths of fresh hull plateing and armor were laid down over the hull breaches in Athena's flanks, though massive gaping furrows still remained, showing multiple decks of bent and twisted wreckage. The shiny new skin looked like scabs, highlighted by the scorched and blistered hull surrounding them. Many weapons installations had already been repaired as well, most replaced in their entirety from the Athena's cavernous cargo holds. The swirling aqua tube of slipstream curved around the fleet, widening in diameter as the ships slipstream engines interacted with each other, creating a massive tube through the layer of subspace slipstream employed. The vessels of 2nd Fleet slowed and dropped back into normal space, for they had a final duty to perform for far to many of their comrades.
-Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 334.980.361. It is with a heavy heart that I make this entry. Our dead and wounded have finally been tallied, and the total is every bit as grievous as initially thought. Repairs are ongoing throughout the fleet, yet today, all work shall be placed on hold as we pay our respects to our honored dead. -
All small craft that normally packed Athena's Shuttle Bay One to overflowing were elsewhere, freeing the space for its alternate use. Row upon row of torpedo casings filled most of the floor. There were thousands of them crammed into the shuttle bay deck. Similar set ups were happening on all vessels in 2nd Fleet, for nearly all had taken casualties of greater or lesser extent. The fighter deck on Athena was especially empty, with thousands of coffins as well, most of them empty because there were no bodies for them, even if recovery had been possible.
"Aten HUT!" The Marine Sargent barked. The computer systems in the cavernous Shuttle Bay One of the Athena amplified his voice so that it could be heard everywhere in the vast open space. The assembled officers and honor guard snapped to ridged attention with a quiet scrape of alloy. Imperial dress uniform was basically an ancient Roman Centurion's armor and clothing. The main difference was that all underlying cloths and leather were space black. For Flag officers, the armor and metalwork were polished inlaid alloy of a polished gold color. Non-Flag officers wore silver armor, polished to near mirror like sheen. Ulysses wore his crimson command cloak over his armor. It had been transported over from the Hopolite and had survived the battle intact and unaffected. His silver helmet, complete with obsidian black Mohawk plume, shone brightly under the shuttle bay overhead spotlights. One would think that an outfit that was mostly metal would be heavy, but modern Imperial science had managed to make a very lightweight alloy that otherwise looked like gold and silver for use in Terran Empire dress uniforms. Ulysses still felt that the get up was ridiculous, yet he had to admit that the precise ranks of officers and honor guard did make quite a spectacle decked out in their shining armor. The uniform was as complete as historical records could make it, right down to the archaic shoes and highly polished yet still functional gladus in the hilt on his belt. The short sleeves allowed the flowing alloy of Borg implants to be clearly visible on his left arm. He wasn't the only one with Borg implants visible, but even here, on one of the most populous vessels in all of Starfleet, Ex-Drones were only a good sized minority.
"Fellow warriors of the Terran Empire." Ulysses began. "We are gathered here today to pay final respects to our comrades who so recently gave the ultimate sacrifice in Imperial service. No greater sacrifice can be made than to give ones life in the protection of the Empire, and over 10000 of our fellow officers and enlisted personnel paid it. But their sacrifice wasn't in vain, for the enemy that killed them was driven back, the only way in sealed forever behind a new world." Ulysses had only told P'tel and T'var about the Section 31 vessel's attempt to wipe out all of 2nd Fleet along with the enemy. Now wasn't the time to tell the personnel of 2nd Fleet that they had nearly been killed by one of their own, if Section 31 could be called that, just when they had gained the upper hand of the battle. Most thought that the Genesis attack was a carefully timed and planned maneuver, not a barely avoided catastrophe.
"They died like true warriors, never faltering, never retreating in the face of the enemy. I ask now for a moment of silence in honor of their sacrifice." The arms of the 1000 gathered officers and 2000 gathered NCO's swung upward with machine like precision, each one ending in a textbook perfect salute. The same thing was being done by every living soul in 2nd Fleet. No one in close to 50,000 souls in 2nd Fleet dared breathe a word for the five-minute silence. During that time, the AG drive in the torpedo casings activated in sequence, and rank by rank the black, TE flag draped coffins floated up and out through the forcefield holding in the atmosphere of the shuttle bay. The same thing happened on all the other vessels that lost souls, and far to many coffins spawned in 2nd Fleets wake. So many dead because one man in a powerful position made a colossal blunder. Outside the blue bordered forcefield blocking the shuttle bay opening, a flight of fighters cruised up from astern, they split apart into the ancient missing man formation. Contrary to the propaganda put out by the Bureau of Public Information, not every officer in Starfleet was a monolithic, fierce servant of the empire. There were more than a few misty eyes as the officers and crew watching in person and, for those not able to fit into the shuttle bay, on com screens as they remembered their departed comrades.
The teachings of Spock, however illegal they might be, were more widely subscribed to than the Council and general public believed, especially in Starfleet. They had been a moderating influence, limiting the chaos and wrath present on ships from Kirk's time. It hadn't been entirely stamped out, just looking at numerous corpulent flag officers and petty line officers showed that. But by and large, the excesses present before Spock turning traitor to the Empire were gone. In Section 31 the remained in full force though. And in spite of their belief that there had to be a better way than the current system, only an extremely insignificant few choose not to follow the orders of a superior officer, however horrid those orders might be. Doing so could mean death depending on the CO's whim, so even those that did so only did so once.
"Company, presennnt ARMS!" The honor guard brought their archaic black and silver sub machine guns to their shoulders, aiming out into space.
"Fire!" Twenty Marines fired as one, the explosive crack from their weapons as they fired their blanks filling the shuttle bay.
"Fire!" Again the crack of ancient firearms boomed through the shuttle bay.
"Fire!" A final volley made its thunder, then the Marines brought their guns from their shoulders. They dropped towards the ground stock first. As they touched the deck, 20 left feet lifted and slammed down as one, creating a quieter but no less noticeable thunder of their own.
"Company, DISMISSED!" As one, the officers and crew of 2nd Fleet dropped their salute. Those assembled in the shuttle bay turned in their ranks and left through the multiple exits in perfectly straight lines.
Ulysses, P'tel and T'var entered a turbolift, the other assembled crew and officers respectfully allowing them to take it by themselves.
"Deck 13, section C." Ulysses ordered the lift. It would send them through the bulk of the Athena to the deck and section where all three of their quarters were located. "What a needless waste." Ulysses muttered.
"Agreed, but brooding about past events that can't be changed is illogical." P'tel said quietly from his left.
"Illogical but a very human tendency." T'var said from his right. Her armor had an eagle inlaid on the golden breastplate. It held arrows clutched in its talons and was placed over the Imperial seal of Terra with a single sword down the middle of it. She also wore a cape similar to Ulysses except it was of golden silk instead of red.
"What would you have me do, forget about them!" Ulysses snapped, then nearly instantly sighed and continued in a more level tone. "Sorry. didn't mean to explode at you. It just gets to me that all that death could have been prevented."
"Brooding isn't the same thing as remembering young Captain." T'var said.
Ulysses sighed again. "I know, and I know I shouldn't, but the sheer stupidity of that senile old Bastard."
"What's done is done. Those left behind can only strive not to become like him and prevent those like him from advancing in rank. Part of that responsibility falls on you now Ulysses. You are a Captain now, and you are now one of those who must stop power mongers and those incapable of doing a good job from advancing."
The door opened up to their deck. It was deserted seeing as there were only another few officers assigned to the deck and the trio had taken the first and most direct route to it.
"But that's the problem. I AM one of those kind of people." Ulysses said, self loathing leaching through his command persona's armor for the first time since assuming command of the ill fated Hopolite. It was the first time he had even admitted it to himself, let alone shown it to others. T'var and P'tel turned around and grabbed one shoulder each.
"What ever made you think that you were one of them Ulysses." T'var said, her eyes peering deeply into Ulysses'.
"I killed my captain to become one myself."
"You always had a temper Ulysses. But you didn't kill for personal gain, no matter what you might think. You allowed the darkness to take control. Even Vulcan's have been known to snap if provoked enough. I see your fear now. All the rage that is inside of you, you are unable to exorcise it. You keep it firmly in check, but every once and a while you lose control and lash out at your aggressors. You fear that it will cause you to lose your way." Ulysses merely nodded, not trusting his voice. "If that is what concerns you, you need not be worried. I have never encountered one such as you Ulysses. So much rage in you, yet the bonds that hold it are so strong it rarely gets out. You could be a terror every bit as sadistic as the late Admiral Chriton if not more so, yet you make the conscious choice daily not to let the darkness consume you. As long as you don't let it, you will never be like those kind of people." P'tel nodded her agreement.
"I know you're right, it's just that sometimes the hate is so strong. it scares me."
"Ulysses, I could take away that hate, but in doing so I would have to take away the love that caused it. It would inevitably change you, and not for the better. It is that love that makes you fight against the darkness. Without it, I am not sure what you would become." Ulysses snorted. "What?"
"Here I am being counciled on love and hate by a couple of Vulcans. It's hard to picture you as anything other than logical, emotionless beings."
"We are ruled by logic, but we merely suppress our emotions, not eliminate them."
"I know, I know." Ulysses said. He sighed loudly. "Thanks for the reality check. I needed it."
"Anytime young Mr. Vanguard." The trio continued down the hall to their respective quarters.
- ISS Athena, Main Bridge, 10 minutes later -
The Athena's Main Bridge wasn't as grandiose as her Flag Bridge, but it was nearly so. It was virtually a copy of the Flag Bridge on a slightly smaller scale. Ulysses strode along the carpeted catwalk to his command chair. P'tel, who had exited the turbolift with him, made her way to her own duty station. The duty crew, after bracing to attention and saluting their CO's as they entered the bridge (a courtesy which Ulysses and P'tel returned), went back to their assigned tasks.
"Orders from the Flag Captain." The com officer said. "The Fleet is to proceed back into slipstream as soon as possible."
"Do the other ships report ready?"
"Aye sir, all vessels report ready to engage slipstream."
"Very well. Helm, execute jump to slipstream at your convenience. Proceed on previous course of bearing 330 mark 848."
"Aye sir, executing slip jump on bearing 330 mark 848, max fleet sustainable velocity." For after all, a fleet was only as fast as its slowest ship. The viewscreen's stars stretched to rainbow streaks, but were rapidly blotted out by the onrushing aqua tube of slipstream. The Athena's powerful engines' near silent rumble was steady in Ulysses ears.
"ETA to Starbase 665 is now 20 hours, 34 minutes 5 seconds."
"Thank you XO. That should give us plenty of time for battle drills." Ulysses said with a mischievous smile.