Chapter 11
Worf's Plan .
Martok sits in the Andromeda's mess, with Rommie, Hunt, Dax, Harper, Trance and Sisko. The DS9 Captain had been invited soon after Rommie had brought Martok on board. The Klingon was very interested in the internal guns and gravity generators that were part of the Andromeda's internal defences, both with a mind for implementing them on bases as well as ships.
Martok still had a doubt as the back of mind indicating caution with regard to Rommie. It was just the knowledge that she was so innocent looking, yet so dangerous. Now that he had chance to speak to Hunt, he decided that he was very similar to Starfleet Captains, but with less constraints. Harper, the young engineer of the mammoth vessel, looked tired to the point that Martok was willing to bet on how long he could stay awake, Martok's personal bet would be 10 minutes.
Dax looked tired as well, not as tired as Harper, but still tired. His train of thought was interrupted as Hunt spoke to Harper
"Mr Harper, I know how hard you and Dax have been working. I think that we can do without you for a while. Take 36 hours R&R. "
At this point, Sisko, who had been chatting to Rommie, speaks to Harper
" If you go to Quarks, the station Bar, I have told him to make the holo- suites available to any Andromeda crewman. Just make sure that he doesn't try and charge you. If he does, remind him of our last conversation"
As Harper gets up, Andromeda appears in holographic form near Dylan
" Captain, we have received at transmission from the Maru"
Sisko looks at Hunt,
" You could have mentioned that you could communicate through the jamming "
" We were not sure if we could. Besides which, the transmission band is not capable of being detected by your equipment. We were going to leave a transmitter on Earth for you " Rommie speaks, defending her Captain.
Sisko anger evaporates
" Display message "
All eyes are on the screen as the message from Beka is replayed.
Once the message has finished, both Martok and Dylan look at Sisko, who is racking his brain, trying to remember any details about the Exeter. Suddenly he smiles.
"The Exeter is an old long range explorer, but no slouch in a firefight. If she has been captured, it may well be the distress call is the bait to lure someone into a trap " Sisko says, concerned. " It would take the Defiant too long to get there to intervene if it is a trap"
" And the Rotarran is in no shape to leave the system, let along a possible battle " Martok added, frustrated with the state of his flagship.
" It is pointless to try and contact the Maru now." Rommie interjects " With Tyr and Beka on board, they would have gone into silent running, they can only receive short range "
"Very well" Dylan says " Mr Harper, there has been a change of plan. I'm leaving Andromeda in your hands " Martok smirks to himself as Rommie's face looks very concerned
" Don't worry boss, this time you can count on me" Harper says, fatigue suddenly gone and looking more serious than Dylan has ever seen him.
" What are you planning to do?" Sisko asks " Your drive has not been repaired yet "
"I'm going to take a slip fighter and make sure that everything is Ok " Hunt pauses "They are faster than anything but the Andromeda, and a lot more manoeuvrable "
" How any people do they carry ?" Sisko asks
" Two in a squeeze " Dylan asks "Why?"
" I would like to join you " Sisko states simply " My people are also out there "
" Be in the launch bay in 5 minutes " A droid will be there to assist you with the flight suit " Hunt then heads out of the mess without another word, heading for his quarters. Rommie stays with the remainder of the party, Harper looks at Rommie
" I'm going to get some sleep, wake me if there's any problems " he looks at Martok and Dax " Your welcome to stay, or Rommie can take you back to the station "
" Captain, would you care to follow me to the hanger deck " said holographic Andromeda as she looks at Sisko.
**************************************************************************** ***********
Rommie and Sisko are waiting by one of the slip fighters as Hunt enters the bay.
" Captain, I've downloaded all relevant data into the on board computer. Also, in the Tactical database, you will find all available information on Dominion allied vessels. "
" Understood " Dylan responds. He gestures into the cockpit. " Captain, after you ." As Sisko climbs into the rear of the small fighter, Dylan addresses the Andromeda " I know you would rather be coming with me, but I need you here. Tell Harper to focus his efforts on the Slip Drive "
" You think you might need something more potent than a slip fighter " Rommie says " Aye Sir "
Hunt then climbs into the cockpit, powers the small vessel up, and then activates the launch sequence.
**************************************************************************** ***********
" Mr Worf, are you sure this is a good idea ?" Tyr asks
" Considering our situation, it seems to be our best option " Worf replied vaguely
They were stood at the front of a transporter platform, behind them, also awaiting transport, were 10 Exeter surviving crew members. The plan had seemed rather easy at first, but now it did not seem very clever. They had diverted power from the gravity system on most of the deck, including the ones that had the Cardassian boarding parties on, and were using it to power the transporter.
" It's going to take 35 seconds to recharge, before we can send the second wave" Lt Kidd said from the console. Currently 20 marines are guarding the sick bay, and the rest of the surviving crewmen are waiting in turn. The Cardassian warships had lowered their shields in order to board the Exeter, but as there was no weapons fire from the once proud ship, they had both not raised the shields again, leaving them open for a counter assault.
" Very well " Worf responds, looking straight at Lt Kidd. "Send the second team to the other vessel, then alternatively until all boarding parties have gone. I expect that there should only be 150 crewmen left on board each vessel, less any causalities. Energise"
Lt Kidd operated the console in front of him and the first wave of the boarding party vanished from sight.
They re-appeared in the Cardassian transporter room, Tyr raised is gauss rifle and fired at the operator. To Worf's surprise, the internal alarm didn't sound.
" It fires projectiles, not energy beams. " Tyr said, as he passed Worf a smaller pistol from its holster on his hip. The small party headed out of the room into the ship. As agreed, the 5 marines went forward towards the torpedo bays. Their mission was simple, plant explosives around the torpedos. If they tried firing any more, the entire supply of torpedos would detonate. The same could happen by remote control if there were captured. Worf and Tyr's party headed for the engine room, if the ship had no power, it would be in the same state as the Exeter.
Worf and Tyr had made it down 2 decks, forcing Tyr to admit that Worf's estimate about the number of available crew on board would be depleted, when suddenly the speaker system came blaring to life.
" All crew, resume battle stations, another vessel has entered the area "
" The shields will be raised again, which means that the rest of the boarding party will be stuck on the Exeter. We need to get to a terminal and find out who's out there " Worf hisses.
" Agreed "
" Sir "
They both turn to face the remainder of the boarding party, to see the lead officer, who is pointing at a door. A quick glance reveals some writing on the door, but nobody can understand it.
" Life support and environmental control " Ensign T'Vall translates, after consulting a translator.
The entire party storm the small room, there are 4 crewmen in there, the Starfleeters take out three, but as Worf is about to shoot the fourth, the entire deck heave's as the ship comes under fire.
The surviving Cardassian shoots wildly, also caught out by the shaking deck, but his shot hits T'Vall in the chest. T'Vall's last act before death claimed the Vulcan was to shoot his opponent in the head.
Two of the boarding party instantly turn and guard the door, one pulls T'Valls body out of the line of fire, while Tyr and Worf head to the control panels in the room.
Worf calls up a visual of the attacking ship, it looks similar in design to the Andromeda, but of a much smaller scale.
" It is a slip fighter " Tyr answers Worf's unspoken question. "Which means that has to be Dylan out there"
" How much damage can it inflict on this ship ?" Worf asks as the fighter makes a run on the other ship. It fires its guns and then spins out of the line of fire as the other cruiser tries to hit the smaller ship, without success.
" I'm not sure " Tyr responds. " Can we override this ships security lock out and flood the ship with some sort of sleep gas?"
" I can " Says one of the guards at the door. Ensign Conroy " I worked a lot in the computer core with T'Vall "
The Ensign then swap's positions with the ensign that had moved T'Valls body. He walked straight to the console's pulled out two access covers and started working. 5 minutes later, he was still working, while the ship had taken a lot of blows from Dylan's slip fighter,
" Activating now " Conroy said, and pressed a button. "I have isolated this room, I didn't isolate the armoury, as we have no way of knowing if our forces have taken it. At worst they are going to wake up in 12 hours with a sore head. The cycle is going to take 10 minutes to gas them and clear the atmosphere "
"Understood " Worf replies.
Tyr then activates his comm
" Dylan, this is Tyr, respond "
" Dylan here, its good to hear your voice "
In the background, Tyr can hear the small fighters weapons firing, but the ship remains steady, so Tyr assumes that the weapons are being fired at the other vessel.
" Indeed, I am on one of the vessels. We have just gassed the entire crew. We will be in control of this ship in a matter of minutes "
" Understood. I believe that the other ship is about to leave the area, its defences are almost gone and I believe that they are powering up their FTL drives "
" Once they have gone, we will manage here " Tyr responds " The Maru was struck by weapons fire as she entered slip stream, you should be able to track her down using the nanobot trackers. I do not know the extent of the damage the weapons fire inflicted. "
" Understood.. The other vessel has just left. The ship you are on has more of its weapons array intact, so you should be fine if they do decide to return "
Sisko then speaks up
" Mr Worf "
" Aye Sir " Worf answers, surprised to hear his CO.
" Your orders are to two the Exeter and proceed to the nearest Starbase, then proceed to Earth, we will rendezvous with you there "
" Aye Sir"
The boarding party had to wait for the gas to be cleared from the rest of the ship. When the computer reported that the air had been filtered, removing all of the sleep agent, the surviving members of the party emerged from the room. Two of them led the way while Tyr and Worf brought up the rear. They headed straight for the bridge, but had only travelled a few metre's when Worf tapped his comm badge.
" Worf to Marine detachment "
" Sargeant O'Ternell here sir " Came the almost instant reply .
" Sargeant, we have taken the ship, I want you and your squad to secure the crew in the brigs. The rest of the boarding party will be on board soon, so you can have extra manpower if you need it. "
" Understood, I will report to the bridge when they are all secure, however its quite a big ship, so we are going to have to use the ships tranporters "
" Understood. Worf out "
During that conversation, the small group had entered a turbolift. Ensign Conroy had input the destination for the bridge.
" How come the marines were un-effected by the sleeping agent? " Tyr asks the star fleeter's
" Standard tactical helmets are designed to analyse the surrounding air. If they detect any foreign or harmful substances, they activate a small reserve of breathable air " Worf responds instantly. Just as the lift doors open revealing the bridge. As they emerge the last of the bridge crew are beamed out of sight. The small group wander around the bridge, and sit at various stations.
Ensign Conroy opens a panel under one of the stations, plugs some equipment into the computer and within a few moments, all the displays turn from Cardassian to Federation Standard.
Worf sits in the command chair of the captured Cardassian ship. The ships helm and navigation stations were manned by Exeter crewmen.
As Worf continued his visual inspection of the bridge, he saw Tyr Anasazi at the weapons console. He knew that with Tyr's attitude for survival, no one would sneak up on them. Worf was also impressed with the way he had grasped how the weapons console operated.
Turning his attention back Conroy, who was now sat at the ships operations station.
" Status "
" The ship has full power available. There is some damage to the forward and aft weapons array, they are operating at roughly 40% capacity. The shields are in need of attention, they are reduced to 15%. Engine and towing systems are, however undamaged "
" We are moving into position to tow the Exeter " the officer at the helm called.
" Activate towing beams when in position. Prepare a course too station DS 6. It should be the closest, and the nearest with facilities that could take the Exeter off our hands "
" Sir, in position "
" Activate towing beams "
" We have them "
"Engage warp drive, warp 3 "
Worf's Plan .
Martok sits in the Andromeda's mess, with Rommie, Hunt, Dax, Harper, Trance and Sisko. The DS9 Captain had been invited soon after Rommie had brought Martok on board. The Klingon was very interested in the internal guns and gravity generators that were part of the Andromeda's internal defences, both with a mind for implementing them on bases as well as ships.
Martok still had a doubt as the back of mind indicating caution with regard to Rommie. It was just the knowledge that she was so innocent looking, yet so dangerous. Now that he had chance to speak to Hunt, he decided that he was very similar to Starfleet Captains, but with less constraints. Harper, the young engineer of the mammoth vessel, looked tired to the point that Martok was willing to bet on how long he could stay awake, Martok's personal bet would be 10 minutes.
Dax looked tired as well, not as tired as Harper, but still tired. His train of thought was interrupted as Hunt spoke to Harper
"Mr Harper, I know how hard you and Dax have been working. I think that we can do without you for a while. Take 36 hours R&R. "
At this point, Sisko, who had been chatting to Rommie, speaks to Harper
" If you go to Quarks, the station Bar, I have told him to make the holo- suites available to any Andromeda crewman. Just make sure that he doesn't try and charge you. If he does, remind him of our last conversation"
As Harper gets up, Andromeda appears in holographic form near Dylan
" Captain, we have received at transmission from the Maru"
Sisko looks at Hunt,
" You could have mentioned that you could communicate through the jamming "
" We were not sure if we could. Besides which, the transmission band is not capable of being detected by your equipment. We were going to leave a transmitter on Earth for you " Rommie speaks, defending her Captain.
Sisko anger evaporates
" Display message "
All eyes are on the screen as the message from Beka is replayed.
Once the message has finished, both Martok and Dylan look at Sisko, who is racking his brain, trying to remember any details about the Exeter. Suddenly he smiles.
"The Exeter is an old long range explorer, but no slouch in a firefight. If she has been captured, it may well be the distress call is the bait to lure someone into a trap " Sisko says, concerned. " It would take the Defiant too long to get there to intervene if it is a trap"
" And the Rotarran is in no shape to leave the system, let along a possible battle " Martok added, frustrated with the state of his flagship.
" It is pointless to try and contact the Maru now." Rommie interjects " With Tyr and Beka on board, they would have gone into silent running, they can only receive short range "
"Very well" Dylan says " Mr Harper, there has been a change of plan. I'm leaving Andromeda in your hands " Martok smirks to himself as Rommie's face looks very concerned
" Don't worry boss, this time you can count on me" Harper says, fatigue suddenly gone and looking more serious than Dylan has ever seen him.
" What are you planning to do?" Sisko asks " Your drive has not been repaired yet "
"I'm going to take a slip fighter and make sure that everything is Ok " Hunt pauses "They are faster than anything but the Andromeda, and a lot more manoeuvrable "
" How any people do they carry ?" Sisko asks
" Two in a squeeze " Dylan asks "Why?"
" I would like to join you " Sisko states simply " My people are also out there "
" Be in the launch bay in 5 minutes " A droid will be there to assist you with the flight suit " Hunt then heads out of the mess without another word, heading for his quarters. Rommie stays with the remainder of the party, Harper looks at Rommie
" I'm going to get some sleep, wake me if there's any problems " he looks at Martok and Dax " Your welcome to stay, or Rommie can take you back to the station "
" Captain, would you care to follow me to the hanger deck " said holographic Andromeda as she looks at Sisko.
**************************************************************************** ***********
Rommie and Sisko are waiting by one of the slip fighters as Hunt enters the bay.
" Captain, I've downloaded all relevant data into the on board computer. Also, in the Tactical database, you will find all available information on Dominion allied vessels. "
" Understood " Dylan responds. He gestures into the cockpit. " Captain, after you ." As Sisko climbs into the rear of the small fighter, Dylan addresses the Andromeda " I know you would rather be coming with me, but I need you here. Tell Harper to focus his efforts on the Slip Drive "
" You think you might need something more potent than a slip fighter " Rommie says " Aye Sir "
Hunt then climbs into the cockpit, powers the small vessel up, and then activates the launch sequence.
**************************************************************************** ***********
" Mr Worf, are you sure this is a good idea ?" Tyr asks
" Considering our situation, it seems to be our best option " Worf replied vaguely
They were stood at the front of a transporter platform, behind them, also awaiting transport, were 10 Exeter surviving crew members. The plan had seemed rather easy at first, but now it did not seem very clever. They had diverted power from the gravity system on most of the deck, including the ones that had the Cardassian boarding parties on, and were using it to power the transporter.
" It's going to take 35 seconds to recharge, before we can send the second wave" Lt Kidd said from the console. Currently 20 marines are guarding the sick bay, and the rest of the surviving crewmen are waiting in turn. The Cardassian warships had lowered their shields in order to board the Exeter, but as there was no weapons fire from the once proud ship, they had both not raised the shields again, leaving them open for a counter assault.
" Very well " Worf responds, looking straight at Lt Kidd. "Send the second team to the other vessel, then alternatively until all boarding parties have gone. I expect that there should only be 150 crewmen left on board each vessel, less any causalities. Energise"
Lt Kidd operated the console in front of him and the first wave of the boarding party vanished from sight.
They re-appeared in the Cardassian transporter room, Tyr raised is gauss rifle and fired at the operator. To Worf's surprise, the internal alarm didn't sound.
" It fires projectiles, not energy beams. " Tyr said, as he passed Worf a smaller pistol from its holster on his hip. The small party headed out of the room into the ship. As agreed, the 5 marines went forward towards the torpedo bays. Their mission was simple, plant explosives around the torpedos. If they tried firing any more, the entire supply of torpedos would detonate. The same could happen by remote control if there were captured. Worf and Tyr's party headed for the engine room, if the ship had no power, it would be in the same state as the Exeter.
Worf and Tyr had made it down 2 decks, forcing Tyr to admit that Worf's estimate about the number of available crew on board would be depleted, when suddenly the speaker system came blaring to life.
" All crew, resume battle stations, another vessel has entered the area "
" The shields will be raised again, which means that the rest of the boarding party will be stuck on the Exeter. We need to get to a terminal and find out who's out there " Worf hisses.
" Agreed "
" Sir "
They both turn to face the remainder of the boarding party, to see the lead officer, who is pointing at a door. A quick glance reveals some writing on the door, but nobody can understand it.
" Life support and environmental control " Ensign T'Vall translates, after consulting a translator.
The entire party storm the small room, there are 4 crewmen in there, the Starfleeters take out three, but as Worf is about to shoot the fourth, the entire deck heave's as the ship comes under fire.
The surviving Cardassian shoots wildly, also caught out by the shaking deck, but his shot hits T'Vall in the chest. T'Vall's last act before death claimed the Vulcan was to shoot his opponent in the head.
Two of the boarding party instantly turn and guard the door, one pulls T'Valls body out of the line of fire, while Tyr and Worf head to the control panels in the room.
Worf calls up a visual of the attacking ship, it looks similar in design to the Andromeda, but of a much smaller scale.
" It is a slip fighter " Tyr answers Worf's unspoken question. "Which means that has to be Dylan out there"
" How much damage can it inflict on this ship ?" Worf asks as the fighter makes a run on the other ship. It fires its guns and then spins out of the line of fire as the other cruiser tries to hit the smaller ship, without success.
" I'm not sure " Tyr responds. " Can we override this ships security lock out and flood the ship with some sort of sleep gas?"
" I can " Says one of the guards at the door. Ensign Conroy " I worked a lot in the computer core with T'Vall "
The Ensign then swap's positions with the ensign that had moved T'Valls body. He walked straight to the console's pulled out two access covers and started working. 5 minutes later, he was still working, while the ship had taken a lot of blows from Dylan's slip fighter,
" Activating now " Conroy said, and pressed a button. "I have isolated this room, I didn't isolate the armoury, as we have no way of knowing if our forces have taken it. At worst they are going to wake up in 12 hours with a sore head. The cycle is going to take 10 minutes to gas them and clear the atmosphere "
"Understood " Worf replies.
Tyr then activates his comm
" Dylan, this is Tyr, respond "
" Dylan here, its good to hear your voice "
In the background, Tyr can hear the small fighters weapons firing, but the ship remains steady, so Tyr assumes that the weapons are being fired at the other vessel.
" Indeed, I am on one of the vessels. We have just gassed the entire crew. We will be in control of this ship in a matter of minutes "
" Understood. I believe that the other ship is about to leave the area, its defences are almost gone and I believe that they are powering up their FTL drives "
" Once they have gone, we will manage here " Tyr responds " The Maru was struck by weapons fire as she entered slip stream, you should be able to track her down using the nanobot trackers. I do not know the extent of the damage the weapons fire inflicted. "
" Understood.. The other vessel has just left. The ship you are on has more of its weapons array intact, so you should be fine if they do decide to return "
Sisko then speaks up
" Mr Worf "
" Aye Sir " Worf answers, surprised to hear his CO.
" Your orders are to two the Exeter and proceed to the nearest Starbase, then proceed to Earth, we will rendezvous with you there "
" Aye Sir"
The boarding party had to wait for the gas to be cleared from the rest of the ship. When the computer reported that the air had been filtered, removing all of the sleep agent, the surviving members of the party emerged from the room. Two of them led the way while Tyr and Worf brought up the rear. They headed straight for the bridge, but had only travelled a few metre's when Worf tapped his comm badge.
" Worf to Marine detachment "
" Sargeant O'Ternell here sir " Came the almost instant reply .
" Sargeant, we have taken the ship, I want you and your squad to secure the crew in the brigs. The rest of the boarding party will be on board soon, so you can have extra manpower if you need it. "
" Understood, I will report to the bridge when they are all secure, however its quite a big ship, so we are going to have to use the ships tranporters "
" Understood. Worf out "
During that conversation, the small group had entered a turbolift. Ensign Conroy had input the destination for the bridge.
" How come the marines were un-effected by the sleeping agent? " Tyr asks the star fleeter's
" Standard tactical helmets are designed to analyse the surrounding air. If they detect any foreign or harmful substances, they activate a small reserve of breathable air " Worf responds instantly. Just as the lift doors open revealing the bridge. As they emerge the last of the bridge crew are beamed out of sight. The small group wander around the bridge, and sit at various stations.
Ensign Conroy opens a panel under one of the stations, plugs some equipment into the computer and within a few moments, all the displays turn from Cardassian to Federation Standard.
Worf sits in the command chair of the captured Cardassian ship. The ships helm and navigation stations were manned by Exeter crewmen.
As Worf continued his visual inspection of the bridge, he saw Tyr Anasazi at the weapons console. He knew that with Tyr's attitude for survival, no one would sneak up on them. Worf was also impressed with the way he had grasped how the weapons console operated.
Turning his attention back Conroy, who was now sat at the ships operations station.
" Status "
" The ship has full power available. There is some damage to the forward and aft weapons array, they are operating at roughly 40% capacity. The shields are in need of attention, they are reduced to 15%. Engine and towing systems are, however undamaged "
" We are moving into position to tow the Exeter " the officer at the helm called.
" Activate towing beams when in position. Prepare a course too station DS 6. It should be the closest, and the nearest with facilities that could take the Exeter off our hands "
" Sir, in position "
" Activate towing beams "
" We have them "
"Engage warp drive, warp 3 "
