Chapter 15

The USS Hotspur

" Captain, we are receiving a transmission "

" Very well, on screen "

The picture changes from one of Andromeda to Worf on a bridge showing signs of being in a fierce battle.

" Captain Hunt, now would be a good time, I believe that they will soon be calling up their reserves "

" On our way Mr Worf "

The screen closes, but before it does Sisko is seen hurled from his command chair.

" Battle stations " calls Hunt " Prepare for slip stream "

He glances around his command deck

Tyr is stood at the weapons console, with Riker behind him. He had been given a quick briefing on how the console operated, but was manning a secondary comm. console.

Beka was in the slipstream chair, Harper was leaving command for his station in Engineering, with La Forge accompanying him. Data was manning the main Comm console. The Andromeda's sensors were a lot more advanced than those on federation Starships so once they appeared and joined the battle, Data and Riker would be advising their own reserve's where they were needed.

Rommie was moving to her control stand, which had access to all systems, just in case, as she always put it.

Suddenly Beka's voice interrupted his train of thought

" Brace for slip stream 5...4....3....2....1..."

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The Dominion reserves had just been placed on stand by, the battle was likely to last for quite some time, so each of the ship commanders opted not to raise their defensive shields until it was almost time to engage, in an effort to prolong their energy reserves.

As Star Fleet intelligence had surmised, the reserve force was 152 ships, about half of which were Breen, the rest being made of Jem Hadar and Cardassian battle ships.

The Andromeda appeared out of Slipstream behind the enemy force and immediately commenced firing with all batteries.

The first ships blew apart before the sensor operators had been able to report the Andromeda's presence to their Captain's.

" AP cannon on automatic " Tyr called, as his fingers flew over the weapons console. Instantly the cannon on the bow of the Andromeda started firing, disrupting Dominion targeting systems.

" 15 vessels destroyed in the opening salvo " The calm voice of Andromeda report. "18 more severely damaged. They are powering their defences "

" Increasing to attack speed, commencing run " Beka said from the Helm. The Dominion fleet reserves were holding in one long line abreast, making the Andromeda's attack run more or less a straight line

" Incoming fire " Riker called

" PDL's are set to automatic, so focus on your work " Tyr shouts at Riker

Riker returned his attention to the screen in front of him. The incoming fire at the Andromeda was nothing near the level he was expecting. They are manually targeting, he realised. Torpedo's were veering off target, most not getting anywhere near the ship, and the ones that were, were being shot down. The laser fire was being allowed to get through, but when it did impact the hull, it was not causing damage. Just before he turned his attention back to his assigned task, he realised that they had taken out or crippled almost 1/4 of the reserve's already!

For the next 20 minutes Riker was thrown left and right as Beka weaved up and down. The reserves had broken and scattered when the Andromeda had finished it's initial attack run, so they had to literally chase them down. Four times the Jem Hadar tried to ram the Andromeda, but each time Tyr shot them down at a range Riker had never thought lethal.

Then Andromeda's calm voice spoke

" Reserve forces destroyed "

" Where do they need us next " Dylan asked the two Starfleet officers.

Data spoke out to the crew of the Andromeda for the first time since the battle had begun.

" The USS Hotspur is in need of assistance. She is a hospital ship which was boarded, after being disabled. The ship was towed out of range by a Klingon bird of prey, but they are in danger of entering a gravity well "

" Intercepting in 1 minute " Beka called from the helm.

" Mr Harper, how are we doing down there ? " Dylan asked.

" Fine boss, limited internal damage, a couple of Torpedo's managed to impact the Hull and we have some more scarring on the hull, which I can take care of later "

" Captain Hunt " Data called " I am unable to scan the Hotspur, damage to her warp core is spilling so much radiation, sensors cannot penetrate to determine the number of survivors. "

" Contact the bird that towed her, see if she has any readings "

" The Klingon vessel has been destroyed "

" The Hotspur had evacuated a Romulan War Bird, and was then boarded. It is possible that the Romulan survivor's and the vessels own crew repelled the boarders, or they may still be on board. " Data stated.

" Very well " Dylan replies, considering his options" Beka, you have command, have Trance meet us in the hanger bay, Mr Riker, if you would care to join me? "

As Hunt and Riker make to leave the command deck, Rommie walks after them

" Rommie, where do you think your going ? " Dylan asks

" Obeying High Guard regulation Lexia Dark 8787 " Rommie replies " No Captain will enter a possible hostile environment with adequate security "

Knowing that he won't win this argument, Dylan simply walks out with Rommie and Riker on his heels.

They used the Maru for the trip out to the Hotspur, the Andromeda was taking up station to tow the vessel out of the gravity well it was fast approaching. Riker took the chance to look at the massive ship with its battle blades deployed. Suddenly, as he watched, a barrage of missile shot out from the vessel. Riker followed the path of the missiles until they impacted on the bow of a Cardassian Galor class warship that had obviously entered weapons range of the Andromeda. Just as the Warship erupted into a ball of fire he was distracted by Rommie.

" Docking in 5 seconds " Rommie called from the cockpit

The vessel rumbled as it made contact with the hull of the stricken Hotspur.

" Pressuring airlock " Came the computer report from a nearby speaker.

Suddenly the airlock swung open, and they entered the vessel.

Rommie lost her link to the Andromeda almost immediately, Riker drew his phaser, while Trance, Dylan and Rommie all readied their force lances.

The corridor from the airlock led to a T-junction.

"I'll head towards the bridge " Riker says, pointing one way "the crew quarters are on this deck " Riker said, in a quiet voice.

" Take Rommie with you, I will go with Trance and check this deck " Dylan orders, after a few moments.

Dylan knew that Rommie would want to argue that order, so he marched away before she had chance to object. Watching the interaction, Riker was glad he managed to keep his Captain on the ship at much as he did.

Trance followed Dylan down the corridor. She wasn't happy with the way Dylan had just treat Rommie, but after noticing in the dim lighting of the corridor the weapons fire marking the halls, she was glad she was with Dylan, rather than a stranger. She caught Dylan up at the end of the hallway standing in front of a door. He had ignored a lot rooms as they headed down the corridor, obviously following the trail of battle.

Dylan forced the door and stepped through, with Trance right behind him. They shone their flashlights around the room. Although there was blood over a lot of the beds and work surfaces, there were no bodies. Suddenly out of nowhere Jem Hadar appeared in front and behind two crewmates. Before Dylan or Trance could respond, Dylan was struck across the back of the head as at the same time Trance was hit in the belly. As she doubled over in pain, she was also struck in the head. They both fell, unconscious before hitting the deck.

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After leaving Dylan and Trance, Rommie led Riker down the passageways of the Hotspur. Rommie had no problems seeing despite the poor lighting, for which Riker was grateful, inwardly he would have admitted to being a lot more cautious without the Avatar.

"I don't think that there are any Jem Hadar on board " Riker says, as a way to break the silence.

" Why is that ? "

" They would have attacked us by now. "

They came to the end of the passageway, Rommie forced the door open to reveal a lift shaft. After looking inside, they saw a lift, but it was in a maintenance bay on the opposite side of the shaft. Looking at the deck numbering on the wall of the turbo shaft Riker realised that they are on deck 14.

" Just keep going upwards " Riker said, after motioning to the ladder inside the shaft.

They swung out onto the ladder and began to ascend, Rommie setting a pace that Riker could manage easily. They passed another lift in a service bay.

" It looks like the crew disabled the lifts to prevent the Jem Hadar from having easy access about the ship. " Riker pauses " It must have been getting desperate "

This makes Rommie pause and look at Riker.

" Have you ever fought the Jem Hadar in hand to hand or ground combat? "

" No " Riker replies " The Enterprise is a very high profile ship, so we have been kept off the front lines in an effort to distract attention from other ships. At least that's the theory " Riker finished, suddenly sounding bitter.

" What happened? "

" We disregarded orders " Riker said simply " there was a long range colony ship, the USS Larne, returning from a 3 year mission. They set out for a planet discovered by long-range probes, but found it to be uninhabitable when they finally reached it. They were heading back, we got word before the war, but the station that they were heading to had been captured by the Jem Hadar. They would all have been massacred. We wanted to break through enemy lines and warn them, the request was refused."

" How many people were on board the colony ship? "

" 2500 " Riker replies " So, we got through enemy lines and warned the colony ship, and gave them extra supplies to make the journey. They are now going to circumnavigate around captured territory, but its gonna take them another six months. We knew the Enterprise would be needed before the colony ship could return so rather than escort the ship we tried to make it back through. "

" I take it you met a few problems? "

" Yes, in a word. We would have been destroyed by a Breen battle group, but it turns out that we weren't the only ones who can disobey orders. Captain Picard had contacted another Captain, one M'C'NZY of the Starship Excaliber and mentioned that we might have been biting off more than we could chew. The Excaliber is a heavy destroyer which was on detached assignment and being held back as a reserve ship. "

Riker pauses

" After a running battle the Enterprise was in trouble. We had just been forced to take our warp engines off line when Data announced a group of 4 star ships entering the system at high warp. Well, we thought that was it and were contemplating surrender. "

" Only, it turned out to be friendly forces. After our departure, Captain M,C,NZY called on an old friend, who happened to be a task force commander. The Excaliber was in the lead and only just arrived in time to shield us from a bombardment that was meant to shatter the Enterprise, the other ships forced the Breen's flank and within minutes they fled. "

" I'm surprised that your Admirals didn't discipline the Captains, or remove them from command.

" They tried, an Admiral Jellico arranged a court martial for the command crew of the Enterprise and the other four Captains. Captain Picard tried to take the entire blame but we all stood by him. It was Captain M'C'NZY's XO that saved us in the end. She pointed out the public outcry and effect on our troop morale if the fact became common knowledge that Star Fleet would have allowed 2500 people to be massacred. And they would have to find replacements for all of the five battle ready Star Ship command crews, and once word got out that some of Star Fleet's more famous officers were court martialed for saving 2500 lives, a good number of officers would probably demand Jellico's resignation. "

" The Federation president actually got involved! He ordered Jellico not to proceed with the court martial. He said that if we going to allow our civilians to be massacred without even trying to help them then the Dominion had already won." He started climbing again " He also ordered Jellico to take a field assignment, after a bit of digging it emerged that Jellico had been finding any excuse to get as far from the front as possible "

The two rescuers fell silent for the rest of the ascent.

After a couple of minutes they reach the top of the ladder. The ladder stopped at the top of the lift shaft next to a set of doors marked 'BRIDGE.' Rommie forced the doors with one hand, but instead of entering the room, Riker was surprised when he heard gun fire, and as he glanced up he saw Rommie take a hit in the chest, and fall down the lift shaft, almost knocking him of the ladder as well.

Before he could react, a voice from above called

" If you try and escape, you will die. " He looked up to see the barrels of 3 Jem Hadar guns pointing at him.

He slowly climbed the remainder of the way to the top of the ladder, and then entered the bridge.

There where 15 Jem Hadar on the bridge, one manning the security station, the rest at version of parade rest, while a Vorta sat in the command chair. The three that had their weapons trained on Riker moved to one side, but ensured that their guns remained trained on him.

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Beka sat fidgeting the slip stream chair. The panels in front of her showed that the fighting was moving away from them, so she instructed Andromeda to hold position, lept out of the chair and went over to Tyr's station.

He was checking the ammo loads in the ready use magazines, and ordering top ups where needed. The main ammo supply was near the centre of the ship, where no random or lucky shot would detonate the entire load.

" They should have checked in by now. "

" I am aware of the time Captain Valentine "

They were suddenly interrupted by Harper marching onto the bridge, with La Forge in tow.

" Hey, what's going on? "

" Dylan, Rommie, Trance and Mr Riker have gone over to the USS Hotspur to determine if there are any survivors " Beka answers, but before any of them can respond, Andromeda appears in holographic form

" The Maru is returning "

All eyes look at the view screen and watch as the Maru approaches the docking bay of the Andromeda

" Right as soon as they are aboard, we'll go help with the mopping up " Beka says, referring to the battle, as she heads back to the slip chair, only to be stopped by the Andromeda's calm voice.

" Unable to establish contact with Dylan or my Avatar. "

" Abort docking " Tyr orders

" Too late, they are in the hanger...... Reading Jem Hadar life signs in Hanger bay 2. They are spreading out into the passageway. "

" Seal off that deck, activate internal defences " Tyr roars.

" Defences aye, intruders have spread to decks 14 – and 16 "

" That's moving fast " Harper said.

" Tyr, if you would please take care of our guests? " Beka snaps " Andromeda, lock down all security doors, they aren't getting anywhere sensitive. How many boarders do we have ? "

There is silence for a few seconds

" 25 Jem Hadar and one Vorta. Internal guns now have them pinned down "

" Releasing ship wide nanobots. I have isolated the bridge so they won't attack Mr La Forge " Tyr reports from his tactical console.

La Forge raises his eyebrows, the only outward sign he reveals about how impressed he is again with Commonwealth technology.

" All intrudes are now unconscious " Andromeda reported " I'm sending drones to place them on V – deck "

" Very well " Beka replies. " Tyr would you please return to the Hotspur and retrieve the rest of our crew?"

Tyr just nods silently and leaves.

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Tyr boards the derelict hospital ship, gauss rifle in one and pack on his back. He slowly makes his way down the passageway until he comes to a T- junction. Not really knowing the layout of the ship he figures it doesn't really matter which to go and turns left. After marching 50 paces he comes to a door which has obviously been forced. Buy the size of the handprint, Tyr figures that it must have been the Avatar.

Activating his wrist light, Tyr peers through the doorway. He quickly realises that it is in fact a lift shaft. He checks up, and then down. He is surprised to see Rommie laying on her back at the bottom of the shaft, with one arm bolt upright, pointing a Force Lance.

" I know somebody is there, " the Avatar says weekly, unable, or unwilling to turn her head to look at the hatchway.

" You would be correct " Tyr quickly examines the damaged robot

" Tyr Anazasi out of Victoria by Barbarosa " Tyr could have sworn he saw a small smile cross the face of the android. " Fancy seeing you here "

Tyr gauges the distance between him and the bottom of the shaft to be no more than 8 meters. He quickly takes a length of rope from the pack and ties it to the bottom rung, as he climbs down to the bottom he asks

" The fall from the hatch is no more than 8 meters. I refuse to believe that the fall from there damaged you. What is your status?

" I was shot by the Jem Hadar from the top of the ladder. Most systems are operational. I can not regain my link with my ship self. Weapons fire caused a malfunction in my artificial gravity generator. It is now pinning me to the ground. Stop, do not come any closer "

Tyr stops, approximately 2 meters from the bottom of the shaft.

" Why? "

" One more step and you would enter the gravity field. I need my link to Andromeda re-establishing, she can then correct the error "

" Understood, I will go to the bridge and use the ships Comm unit to inform Harper of the problem.

" Riker is still up there " Rommie informs Tyr " When they left the Vorta said that they had had some fun with him. "

Without waiting a moment more, Tyr takes of up the ladder.

At the top, he slows, sneaking up to the edge of the shaft, where the Jem Hadar had left the lift doors open. There is one solider left, patrolling round a limp form, which is now a bloody mess. Tyr realises that this in fact Riker, but as his back is facing the door, Tyr cannot see what sort of state the Star Fleet officer is in.

Waiting until the soldiers back is facing the door, Tyr climb the last four rungs, and throws his body through the door, bring the gauss rifle to bear.

He fires one shot, hitting the solider in the middle of the back. He falls instantly dead. Quickly Tyr goes to Riker's side. He produces a medical scanner from his pack. A quick scan horrifies him.

Riker had taken one hell of a beating. All his ribs on one side where broken. Both kneecaps had been shattered, all the bones in his left hand fingers where broken, as was his right wrist. He had a broken jaw and massive internal bruising, as well as a punctured lung.

Realising that any attempt to move Riker would only cause him more harm, Tyr moves quickly around the bridge until he finds the communications console. It still had power, manipulating controls more by luck than anything else, he manages to hail the Andromeda.

Beka's face appears briefly on the screen, between bouts of static. Tyr quickly explains Riker's need for urgent medical care, and about Rommie's need to link with Andromeda. **************************************************************************** *************

On the bridge of the Andromeda, Data and Geordie approach Beka.

"If you could get us over there, I should be able to get that Warp Core under control, once I have managed to do that, the interference will stop and comm's and your scanners will be restored." La Forge informs Beka, who looks a bit dubious.

" Commander La Forge is the chief Engineer of the flagship of the fleet and one the most respected warp field engineers still in service " Data adds helpfully.

" Very well, I'll take you in a drop ship. Harper, I want you to head down to V- Deck, make sure that all the prisoners are all accounted for, and that they have not found a way to by pass Rommie's sensors, then return to the bridge " Beka says, snapping off quick orders.

She turns back to the screen

" Tyr, we are on our way. Continue your search for Dylan and Trance "

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Tyr heads back down the lift shaft, realising that the lifts on federation star ships must travel both side ways through the ship, as well as up and down. He travels almost to the bottom of the shaft so he can inform the Avatar of the current plan.

" Ok, I'll just stay here " Rommie says as Tyr heads away again. " Its ironic, I'm the living version of a High Guard heavy cruiser and I cannot even stand up. "

Tyr exits the shaft at his original enter point, but before moving on turns and looks down at the Avatar

" Ship, I do believe you just made a joke "

Then heads back down the corridor. As he is approaching the original T- junction, he hears the sound of footsteps. He quickly raises his rifle, prepared to attack whoever was approaching.

Beka, Data and La Forge come into sight.

" She took quite a pounding eh ? La Forge asks, before realising that Tyr had almost killed them all.

" Indeed, but I would advise you to move with more caution. They left at least one Jem Hadar behind, there could be more " Tyr answers dryly.

" We'll head down to main engineering and get started on the warp core "

La Forge and Data head towards the lift Tyr had just left.

" I believe that Dylan and Trance went that way " and after pointing the way he was facing Tyr started walking.

After 20 minutes of searching Beka had lost the number of wards, room's closets, they entered yet another ward. This time the entrance to the ward was t the end of the corridor and not one of the small side wards.

Trance was in the middle of the floor, not moving. Tyr still had his medical scanner handy from his examination of Riker. A quick sweep revealed injuries similar but more extensive to Riker's.

" Where's Dylan? " Beka asks, still looking around the ward.

Trance starts to mutter under her breath, Beka cannot understand, but Tyr, after leaning closer can.

" The Jem Hadar took him away, then beat her into a bloody pulp " Tyr says, a mixture of compassion and anger crossing his face at the same time. " She doesn't know where "

Suddenly Tyr and Beka's Comm spring into life

" Beka, Tyr. Respond. "

" Harper, this is Beka "

" Hey boss, the interference is now clearing " before Harper can say anything else, the ship shudder from an explosion, and alarms can be heard through the Comm link from the crippled Starfleet vessel.

" A small shuttle has just smashed through the hanger bay doors " Andromeda pauses "Dylan is on board "

Beka and Tyr strain to hear the voices from the Andromeda bridge. It's obvious that Harper has left the Comm console with the channel still open

" It's moving out of range of the towing cable's and about to activate its FTL drive "

" Fire a tracker " Harper orders, not wanting to fire on such a small vessel and possibly kill anyone aboard

" Firing " came the smooth voice of the Andromeda

" Direct hit " Then the channel closes. Before either Tyr or Beka can react to the changing situation Rommie suddenly bursts through the door. She quickly scoops Trance up into her arms and then leaves the room.

Beka and Tyr follow the Avatar as she heads straight back to the Maru, inside La Forge and Data are examining Riker.

" We were able to get the Hotspur's transporter system on line " Data explains " And beamed the commander to the air lock, but the scanners we unable to establish a safe lock to move Miss Gemini "

Tyr heads straight across the Maru and exits the other side in to the drop ship, while Beka seals the airlocks behind him.

She jumps into the cockpit and powers up the engines, Data follows her while Rommie and La Forge stay tending to Trance and Riker.

" Captain Valentine, we recorded a explosion on the Hotspur, do you know the source? " Data asks Beka as they head back towards the Andromeda, which was manoeuvring so they could pursue Dylan as soon as the two small ships had docked.

" A small shuttle smashed through the doors of the hanger bay, they have Dylan on board "