Chapter 5

The Andromeda Ascendant

The next morning Sisko is talking to Major Kira in the middle of Ops when he overhears one of the ensigns assigned to the harbour master station, more informally referred to as the docking station, dealing with a enquiry, and listens harder when hears Rommie's voice.

" Thanks DS 9 .. Hope to see you again soon .. Maru out "

Sisko turns his attention to the central display, showing all ship activity near the station. Kira pays more attention to her commanding officer when she realises that something has got Sisko's complete attention.

" Major, monitor that ship just departing, and put an image of it on the main screen " Sisko requests, then " Get me Martok "

Sisko then looks at the screen and looks at rear view of the departing ship. The actual ship itself appears very battered, and is a design that Sisko has never even heard of, its main hull had support frames above attaching it to a large cargo section bigger than the main hull. Its three engines glow brightly and the ship heads out into the void. " Chief," he calls, without taking his eyes off the screen.

" Aye Sir "

" Take a look at the craft "

" Aye Sir "

Suddenly the screen is replaced by an image of Martok sat in the command chair in the middle of the bridge of his bird of prey.

" I see them Captain, "

And then the screen is replaced by the Maru, more distant this time.

" The Rotarran has left the station, but they activated their cloaking device before they left " Kira reports.

" Chief ? " Sisko prodded, after hearing Kira's report.

O'Brien responds,

" Sir, those engines are in theory a lot more powerful than the Defiant's but they are only operating at 30% power. The design could be reconfigured to be a lot faster, but they are nowhere near as efficient as a Star fleet vessels engines. I'd say from the way they are configured that it could be a tug ? It's the warp drive that has me confused, I don't think that it has one? I also think that it has some surprising potent weapons on board "

" Why surprisingly ? " asks Kira

" It would be like putting all the Defiants firepower into a runabout "

" Oh " replies Kira.

The report leaves Sisko all the more eager to hear what Martok has to say upon his return.

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Martok sat in the command chair of his flagship, the Rotarran, and watched the strange vessel on the main view screen in front of him. He glanced at his ship status display attached to the arm rest of his chair. Cloaked, weapons charged, shields, full power available, Engines, Full power available.

Martok watched as the alien vessel increased speed as it travelled through the system, until the Rotarran was having to strain to maintain the same speed. They were heading towards the asteroid field at the edge of the system. This had Martok intrigued. He called up a navigation map, there was nothing else out here, so why were they still travelling at sub light speeds ?

" Maintain pursuit " He called, looking at his helm officer.

" Aye General "

" ETA to the asteroid field at current speed ?"

" 30 minutes sir "

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30 Minutes later

" Sir, the vessel is altering course towards one of the large cluster of asteroids "

" Maintain, match their course "

" Aye Sir "

While cloaked, Martok could not transmit, intercept or receive messages, so he didn't know if they were in contact with anyone, but as they rounded one especially large asteroid he was amazed at what he saw.

" All stop " He barked " Record this, all passive sensors "

" Aye Sir "

" Aye Sir "

On his view screen was a massive, yet graceful ship. Probably the biggest ship he had heard of, even colony ships!! Its was a light grey, similar to Star Fleet vessels, in colour only. It was obviously the same ship that had travelled through the wormhole three days ago.

As he watched, the vessel they had been trailing docked with the larger vessel

" Sir " Said his sensor officer " Our scanners are not penetrating the hull. If I use active sensors, however, we would have to de-cloak the ship "

Martok, still in awe of the size of the alien vessel, waved his hand, indicating silence.

He ordered the view screen to zoom in for a more detailed visual scan of the surface of the ship, and soon could make out weapon batteries, cannons, tubes, possibly for torpedo's ? His sensor officer suddenly broke into his thoughts

" Sir, we have just been acquired by hostile ships sensors, enemy vessel weapons are coming to bear "

Martok was so engrossed at the sight on his view screen that it took him a few seconds to realise that the mammoth vessel had penetrated his cloaking device.

" Helm, get us the hell out of here, back to DS 9 "

**************************************************************************** ********* On board the Andromeda Ascendant

Dylan, Tyr and Rommie all head directly for the command deck after docking the Maru and the hanger bay had been re-pressurised.

Harper, Beka and Trance were already there, Beka, as usual, stood near the helm controls with Harper and Trance near the command deck's engineering console.

" Status " Asks Dylan

" Everything is just as you left it boss " Harper replies, looking pleased with himself " Actually, its better the when you left. All systems with the exception of the Slip Stream drive are now on line at full capacity. The battle scaring on the hull has also been taken care of "

He pauses, then asks " What's the station like ? "

Before Dylan can respond, Andromeda appears on the main screen as the battle stations alert activates throughout the ship.

" Point defence lasers activated " She pauses " Target acquired, missile batteries coming to bear, preparing to fire "

" Hold fire " Dylan snaps " What's the target, let me see it "

The screen changes, all the crew can see is space and asteroids

Tyr runs to the tactical console

" There is a vessel, it is only showing on scans, but it is there. It must be using some sort of stealth technology "

" Very well. Deploy cables, Tow it into the hanger bay " He looks at his crew " Tyr, Beka, Rommie lets go and meet our guests, shall we ?"

Harper looks confused at Dylan, but before he can speak, Dylan says

" Harper, Trance stay hear let me know the minute our situation changes, keep an eye out for any friends they might have out there "

As the four crew members head down to the hanger bays Rommie speaks

" Dylan we have the alien vessel, it tried to escape but the cables are holding. I'm docking the vessel in hanger 2, it won't fit in any other. Indicating 35 crew aboard, and they are becoming... unhappy at being towed into the hanger "

" Ship, what species are they ? " Tyr asks

" Klingon " Rommie replies instantly.

" Great "

Dylan pauses outside the hanger bay, thinking how best to handle this " Ask them to send a delegation on board, tell them to limit their numbers to 4 only...if they send more than four make the gravity so heavy that they would not be able to move.... "

" Aye "

**************************************************************************** ********* Hanger 2

The four crew members enter the cargo bay to see the alien vessel docked. It had only just been able to squeeze inside the docking bay. It rested on two landing struts and was a green colour. It boasted two lasers, one on each end of the ship and a torpedo tube at the front. They had lowered a boarding ramp from the belly of the craft. At the foot of the ramp four Klingon's stood, Martok at their head, waiting for them. One of the Klingon's wore a different uniform to the others. Also, he was the only one not to be armed. Tyr recognised him and Martok from the security office on the station.

" I am Martok, General of the Klingon Defence forces, and I demand to know why you have seized my vessel " The Klingon raged

" I am Captain Dylan of the Commonwealth starship Andromeda Ascendant " Dylan then pause's for effect " I want to know why you were spying on my ship "

Martok then pulls out his side arm and starts to point it directly at Hunt, but the gravity under Martok's arm suddenly increases to the point he has to strain in an attempt not have his arm drop to his side. The barrel was pointed near Dylan's feet, so Andromeda increased the gravity again, forcing Martok's arm to fall to his side.

" I will ask you one more time... Why were you spying on my ship?" Dylan asks again

" Release me " Martok's voice gave away none of the surprise at the responsiveness of the gravity generators.

" Allow me intervene " Interrupts the only unarmed Klingon. " I am Commander Worf. A member of the senior staff on station Deep Space 9. I believe that I have already met some of you "

" If you will release the General, I will explain our activities " Worf states calmly.

After pondering this for a few seconds, Dylan nods at Rommie, and Martok, who had been straining against the gravity, almost fell as it was reduced to normal levels.

" Thank you " Worf responds, pretending not to notice the tension around him " As you are obviously aware, we first encountered you yesterday on the station. The first thing to attract our attention was you throwing a 400 pound Klingon like a rag doll."

Worf said, nodding at Rommie, which brought a smile to Beka's face.

"The second thing was your reason for your strength, in our experience most people from heavy gravity planets, while being of below average height, and indeed possess above average strength, also have, without fail, a lot stockier limb's and general build. You do not "

" As you must be aware, this entire quadrant is currently a war zone, and we therefore pay more attention than usual to any unusual behaviour. Include the fact that the ship you arrived on is not a Bajoran design, and has discernible faster than light drive, unfamiliar weapons, so therefore we must ask, how did it arrive in this system? Is it a new type of reconnaissance ship ? Are you enemy agents ?"

" The Rotarran " Worf says indicating the ship behind him " was the ship chosen to discover where you were going and ascertain your intentions, determine if you were hostile or not. "

" Also, there was a large vessel we did not recognise exit the wormhole a number of days ago, obviously this one, and its location and intentions have yet to be discovered. "

Worf, pauses, and then said in a more forceful voice.

" You have evaded our patrols of this system, lied to our officials on the station, myself included, and now seized a vessel in space not controlled by yourselves, which makes you pirates now as well " Worf stops speaking as Tyr glowers at him.

" If you have a problem with me, speak it now " Worf demands, staring Tyr right in the eye.

" Tyr " Dylan cautions, not wanting the incident to get out of hand.

" Well Commander " Tyr says in a quiet but not very friendly manner " Did it ever occur to you that we had no idea of your intentions either ? And if what we have seen, you consider to be acceptable behaviour on the station..."

" What behaviour ?" Martok interrupts

" Allowing your crew members to become so drunk in a time of war that they fall over in a public place. Attacking people who were not interfering in any way, officials who almost arrested us for simply defending ourselves. On the return journey to the Andromeda I researched your race, Klingon's, and according to what I discovered, you are race that prides itself on notions of Honour, well, I don't see any being displayed today "

" Enough of this " Barks Martok, cutting of Worf's response, and addressing Dylan again " Will you release my vessel, Captain, or do you wish to make an enemy of the Klingon empire ? "

" Of course " replies Dylan " Commander Worf, inform your Captain Sisko that I request an audience. I will return to the station at 09:00 your time, tomorrow "

" Understood " Worf replies

" I, also, will be there, " Martok states, and turns around and begins to return to his ship.

" General " Tyr calls.

Martok stops at the foot of the boarding ramp

" If you ever try to follows us again, I will shoot first "

Martok snarls and heads further up the ramp.

As the remaining Klingons walk up the ramp on the underbelly of the Rotarran, Worf stops, and turns half to Martok, and half to Hunt

" With your permission Captain, General Martok can relay your message. I would like to request a tour of this ship, if that is practical, I could then return to the Station with you in the morning " Worf requests. Eager to get a look at the Andromeda from the inside, knowing that Martok would approve, and so would Sisko.

" Agreed, I will relay your message " Martok replies " Captain ?"

" Of course " Hunt responses instantly. " Rommie here will give you a tour of the ship, and then we can meet in the mess later. I have a feeling that we both have questions we would like answers to "

The four Andromeda crew members and Worf leave the cargo bay, there is a slight vibration felt through the deck plates as the Rotarran departs the hanger bay moments later.

" Enemy vessel away " Andromeda reported.

Worf stops dead in his tracks.

" Why does the ship have the same voice as you " He asks, looking directly at Rommie.

Beka just smiles

" Welcome to the Andromeda Ascendant "

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That evening - The mess deck

Worf and Rommie entered the mess deck. The rest of the crew are already there, with the exception of Beka. After a tour of the ship, Rommie had given Worf a brief history of the Commonwealth, and it's downfall.

" Captain, I must thank you for the tour of your ship " Worf says to Dylan " It is most impressive. What is its top achievable warp factor ? Most races that I am familiar with have problems getting larger ships to travel very quickly" he asks as he sits down.

" That would depend " replies Beka, just entering the room " Just what is a warp factor ? "

Worf now looks up shocked " Warp travel, it is this quadrants way of travelling from one system to another, a ship surrounds itself in a warp bubble, and can then travel faster than the speed of light. Warp 1 is the speed of light, warp 2 is twice the speed of light and so on and so on. Warp 9.99 is the maximum speed ever attained, to my knowledge."

" How long would it take to get from here to Earth " asks Harper who had been listening intently, wanting to compare technologies.

" An average trip takes 15 days, that's travelling at an average speed of warp 5 " Worf replies, " but it can be done a lot quicker. Warp 9 would reduce the travel time to 11 days "

" The Andromeda would do the journey in 1 ½ days " Harper says with a proud grin on his face.

" How is that possible ? " Worf asks, genuinely interested " If you don't operate a warp drive, what type of FTL drive does this ship operate ? "

" Its called a slip stream drive " Harper answers, after Dylan giving a nod to proceed " the simply version is, every system has a gravity well, a star, and they are connected by, well we call them strings, on such a mircoscopic level, beyond sub space, that they cannot hardly be detected. A lot of the science behind it, the knowledge of how it was discovered was lost during the fall, some believe it to be slightly out of phase with reality. Anyway, when activated the slip stream drive allows a ship to travel down a string. Instantly travelling from one system to the next, with the technology you have to fly between stars, we kinda, jump between them. "

" Navigating to arrive at the correct destination is a bit more tricky, especially when you consider the amount of stars that it would not be safe to emerge next to. While you have been on the tour of the ship, I've been studying what you call the wormhole, and I believe it to be a broken string. "

" A broken string? " Worf, and Dylan say in unison. While Beka, Trance and Tyr just look, interested, this, after all, could be a clue how they got here, and possibly a way to get home

" Yeah, usually, when a star has gone nova, a string becomes unusable because it is no longer possible to travel down that individual route. You can only use a string with an entrance and exit. "

" All usable strings have two anchors, one at each end. My theory, and its only a theory, is that the two connecting strings went Nova at the same time and this string literally had no anchor at either end. Hence, it's a broken string"

" But there are life forms that live within the wormhole. The Bajoran's worship them as gods. " Worf interrupts.

" It would be possible, I suppose that some form of life could live there, but its would be one that has remained undiscovered by the anyone and slip stream technology has been in use for over a million years "

Worf considers this for a moment

" Has much, or any attention ever been paid to these ' strings ' that only have one anchor "

Harper suddenly speaks like it's a brand new possibility that has never even occurred to him

" No, it could be possible that creatures live in them because they know that they would never be disturbed " He continues, getting more and more excited " They could have been moving to this one, and when both stars went Nova, when both anchors were lost , they became stuck "

" Again in theory, if this lose, broken string touched another, which to my knowledge has never happened before, a ship could jump from its intended string and onto the broken one. That's what may have happened to us and is why our ride was so bumpy "

" But why did you emerge here, in our universe " Worf asks,

" Again, Im only guessing but as a lot of the science has been lost im not sure, but when the contact was made between the string we were travelling down, and another one, the jolt was so tremendous that we have moved into a different reality. I still haven't figured it all out yet, but it's the only theory I have"

" I'm glad you gave me the simply version " Worf says grinning, which causes a laugh round the entire table. " I would recommend that you continue this conversation with Commander Dax, our science officer. But I still have not been told why the computer voice is the same as Rommie's. "

" Let me handle that one Harper " Rommie says. " Let me explain about the ship itself. This, as you have heard is the Andromeda Ascendant. It is a Glorious Heritage Class Heavy Cruiser. Its true designation is in fact Shinning Path to Truth and Knowledge. There have only been 12 such ships built. They were to be the shining stars of the High Guard, the pride of the commonwealth fleet."

" Andromeda is the 12th and final vessel. She was designed to carry a crew of over 4000 as well as a regiment of lancers. " Worf looks round at the crew, Rommie continues " The Glorious Heritage class vessels are the most deadly vessels ever designed and built by the Commonwealth. They can be tasked as exploration ships, or the command and control vessel of an entire battle group. "

" I understand that Rommie has explained about the fall of the Commonwealth " Tyr suddenly says, Worf just nods " During the initial strike, my people realised the danger of these vessels and made them a priority target. The ships fought with such tenacity that there are records of destruction of only 4 of the 12. That's 4 confirmed kills, including the Andromeda, which I might add, was only achievable through sabotage, and as you can see, the results were not as described. "

"Why only 4 confirmed? "

" Each time they were engaged in Battle, the numbers of ships that had to be employed against the Glorious Heritage's were, formidable. 8 times, while they were all destroyed, no attacking ships survived either. They never reappeared during the conflict again, so the assumption was made, a reasonable one, that they had been destroyed"

Worf looks at the Andromeda with a new respect

" The reason for that is the computer system is actually an A.I. Whenever the crew were incapacitated during a battle, whether it was a result of a hull breach, battle damage, whatever, the AI would simply take over. That's what happened when we emerged from the wormhole "

" Whenever a ship's AI took over ship functions, as the crew became incapacitated, the fighting style of the ship changed. The Nitchezeans would use this as a sign that the crew were either dead or dying and try and take the ship to control themselves. They would then send boarding parties if they thought that the crews were incapable of mounting resistance. "

" But the AI's are sentient, alive and fought alongside their crews to the death, the ships internal defences of the Glorious Heritage class have never been over run by Nitchezeans, only by the magog "

" What internal defences ? " Worf asks, thinking if it would be possible to adapt these ideas to counter the changeling threat.

" Automated guns, ships robots, planetary warfare bots and the ships avatar. The main AI can create different copies of itself. Usually through choice they only use two or three copies "

" Such as ? " Worf is now becoming more and more impressed with the technology of the Commonwealth.

" Like this " says Andromeda, appearing on the monitor, in holographic mode and Rommie standing up all at the same time.

Worf looks at the three Andromeda's, and then turns to Rommie " You are a machine! " he pauses " That is how you through, Latnok across the room, you speak Klingonese, and accessed our computer "

" Yes, it is " Then Rommie state very coldly " For the sake of diplomacy I will let you say that only once. I am not a machine, I am an AI, with a big sister who happens to be the only remaining Glorious Heritage cruiser left, never call me a machine, I am alive "

" I'm still getting use to the idea, I meant no offence " Worf stated, realising that it would not be a good idea to annoy a sentient warship.

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