Disclaimer - Star Trek is property of Paramount pictures.
USS Spartan - "To Go Boldly"
Prologue
It was dark in the vast underground caves of Melina III, so dark that a single burning torch illuminated only a few metres in front. A lone Cardassian sat in the dim light warming himself over the flickering flames whilst patiently waiting. He wore civilian clothing although the barely visible scars on his face and the disrupter hidden from view within his pocket may have suggested more.
For more than an hour he sat patiently among the tombs of Cardassians from a time long ago. Until not so long ago this whole underground network was a place of magnificence and prosperity. Then it was all plundered by the military to fund their war effort against the Federation.
As he strained his eyes to see a little further into the distance he could make out the shape of a small tomb in the wall. No doubt it contained ancient remains. Probably someone of importance at the time, although this tomb now lay as bare as every other one in the planet. It was all the fault of the Federation and their stupid war.
His mind began to drift and he tried to imagine this Cardassian at his prime. He may have been one of the first to settle on Melina III, whatmore he may have been one of the first to leave Cardassia in search of the unknown. But a lot can happen in over four hundred years. The Cardassia of that day had faded and in its place was a stronger union, one that had something more than the splendour and prosperity of times gone by... POWER.
However suddenly he was dragged back into reality when he heard a noise in the distance, his body became rigid and he stood upright. There it was again, and again, footsteps... someone was approaching.
The eerie echo seemed to bounce off every wall within the cave which made it almost impossible to determine the direction they were approaching from. Instinctively he reached into his heavy golden tunic and felt for his disrupter.
Moments later the footsteps had stopped, but by now he was sure they were very near, possibly watching him at this moment and waiting to see what his reaction would be. Seconds passed in what seemed like hours as he could hear his heart pounding against his ribcage and echoing throughout the cavern.
" The light in Melina shines from a blood red sky." spoke an unfamiliar voice.
Drawing his disrupter from his pocket he swiftly turned around pointing it into the blackness. However within a few seconds he was again calm. Although the sentence sounded bizarre it told he had found the one whom he was waiting for.
A figure emerged from the darkness dressed from head to foot in black but stood quite some distance away from the torch so he could not be easily recognised. A shadow flowed from across his brow covering half his face, but his eyes gave off a chilling flame that could send a shiver down anyone's neck.
" I believe you have some information for me." the voice came again.
"Yes." came the blurted reply followed by a silence.
" Well do share, I'm a very busy man."
" I have it here." came the reply before the man reached into a pocket within his golden tunic and brought out a pad.
He wearily took a few steps forward and placed the pad into the other man's hand never once taking his eyes off the man's flaming gaze. Instinctively he withdrew a few steps as the pad was checked for authenticity.
" I can assure you its genuine, I obtained the information myself."
The man in black never responded but eagerly studied the pads contents as a smile began to grow from his lips.
" Excellent, it already confirms our theories." he eventually said.
" What theory? That the Federation has a new class-ship?"
" Last month our sensor relay picked up scans from the Badlands that the Federation has a new class starship which can travel at full impulse through that region."
The other man looked disbelievingly astounded.
" That's impossible nothing can go through that region at full impulse, the gaseous stresses would tear the ship to pieces," he said.
" It is you who brought back the information," the man in black responded before continuing to read. "Bio-neural circuitry, a top speed of warp 9.975, its faster than anything in Starfleet or the Cardassian Union."
Again he began to skim through the pad before stopping in amazement, again he looked up with those burning eyes.
"They're building another one." he smiled confidently.
" Yes I know, I also obtained a little more information." came the response as the man again reached inside his golden tunic and brought out another pad whilst starting to read from it.
" Intrepid class starship... name unknown... construction already underway at Utopia Plantatia... estimated time to completion 2 months."
The pad was immediately snatched from him to confirm the details.
" Do you know what our scientists could do with this?" he ecstatically shouted. " Use this prototype to refit every warship so we would become the greatest force in the quadrant." He again skimmed through the pad eagerly before pocketing it.
" You weren't tracked were you?" the man in black asked.
" Not by the Federation." he responded.
" What do you mean not by the Federation!!!... by who?"
" The Maquis quarantined me attempting to return to Cardassian space."
The man in black looked shocked by this.
" And you still came here!!! You might have lead them straight to me!!!"
No sooner had he shouted these words when a communicator sounded in his pocket, obviously it was from his ship as a voice blurted out.
" Five Maquis raiders have entered the system, their entering weapons range of the planet."
In a few short moments the cave all around them began to shake and rocks began to fall from the roof of the vast cavern.
" You fool, they've followed you!" he shouted as he lifted his hands and tried to find the other mans neck.
Instinctively he pulled out his disrupter and aimed it in the middle of his black flowing cloak. Just as he was ready to pull the trigger the caves again shook and a large boulder fell from the ceiling onto his arm sending the disrupter sprawling.
The upright man in black again reached for his communicator.
" Kalder Grim to the CDS Amulet, one to beam up."
Within a great golden light that illuminated the whole cave he disappeared into thin air leaving the other man crawling on the floor with the cave ready to collapse. Suddenly a huge stone crashed on top of the burning torch leaving everything in complete blackness. The man opened his mouth to scream but never heard a sound as the collapsing of the ceiling drowned all noise.
USS Spartan - "To Go Boldly"
Prologue
It was dark in the vast underground caves of Melina III, so dark that a single burning torch illuminated only a few metres in front. A lone Cardassian sat in the dim light warming himself over the flickering flames whilst patiently waiting. He wore civilian clothing although the barely visible scars on his face and the disrupter hidden from view within his pocket may have suggested more.
For more than an hour he sat patiently among the tombs of Cardassians from a time long ago. Until not so long ago this whole underground network was a place of magnificence and prosperity. Then it was all plundered by the military to fund their war effort against the Federation.
As he strained his eyes to see a little further into the distance he could make out the shape of a small tomb in the wall. No doubt it contained ancient remains. Probably someone of importance at the time, although this tomb now lay as bare as every other one in the planet. It was all the fault of the Federation and their stupid war.
His mind began to drift and he tried to imagine this Cardassian at his prime. He may have been one of the first to settle on Melina III, whatmore he may have been one of the first to leave Cardassia in search of the unknown. But a lot can happen in over four hundred years. The Cardassia of that day had faded and in its place was a stronger union, one that had something more than the splendour and prosperity of times gone by... POWER.
However suddenly he was dragged back into reality when he heard a noise in the distance, his body became rigid and he stood upright. There it was again, and again, footsteps... someone was approaching.
The eerie echo seemed to bounce off every wall within the cave which made it almost impossible to determine the direction they were approaching from. Instinctively he reached into his heavy golden tunic and felt for his disrupter.
Moments later the footsteps had stopped, but by now he was sure they were very near, possibly watching him at this moment and waiting to see what his reaction would be. Seconds passed in what seemed like hours as he could hear his heart pounding against his ribcage and echoing throughout the cavern.
" The light in Melina shines from a blood red sky." spoke an unfamiliar voice.
Drawing his disrupter from his pocket he swiftly turned around pointing it into the blackness. However within a few seconds he was again calm. Although the sentence sounded bizarre it told he had found the one whom he was waiting for.
A figure emerged from the darkness dressed from head to foot in black but stood quite some distance away from the torch so he could not be easily recognised. A shadow flowed from across his brow covering half his face, but his eyes gave off a chilling flame that could send a shiver down anyone's neck.
" I believe you have some information for me." the voice came again.
"Yes." came the blurted reply followed by a silence.
" Well do share, I'm a very busy man."
" I have it here." came the reply before the man reached into a pocket within his golden tunic and brought out a pad.
He wearily took a few steps forward and placed the pad into the other man's hand never once taking his eyes off the man's flaming gaze. Instinctively he withdrew a few steps as the pad was checked for authenticity.
" I can assure you its genuine, I obtained the information myself."
The man in black never responded but eagerly studied the pads contents as a smile began to grow from his lips.
" Excellent, it already confirms our theories." he eventually said.
" What theory? That the Federation has a new class-ship?"
" Last month our sensor relay picked up scans from the Badlands that the Federation has a new class starship which can travel at full impulse through that region."
The other man looked disbelievingly astounded.
" That's impossible nothing can go through that region at full impulse, the gaseous stresses would tear the ship to pieces," he said.
" It is you who brought back the information," the man in black responded before continuing to read. "Bio-neural circuitry, a top speed of warp 9.975, its faster than anything in Starfleet or the Cardassian Union."
Again he began to skim through the pad before stopping in amazement, again he looked up with those burning eyes.
"They're building another one." he smiled confidently.
" Yes I know, I also obtained a little more information." came the response as the man again reached inside his golden tunic and brought out another pad whilst starting to read from it.
" Intrepid class starship... name unknown... construction already underway at Utopia Plantatia... estimated time to completion 2 months."
The pad was immediately snatched from him to confirm the details.
" Do you know what our scientists could do with this?" he ecstatically shouted. " Use this prototype to refit every warship so we would become the greatest force in the quadrant." He again skimmed through the pad eagerly before pocketing it.
" You weren't tracked were you?" the man in black asked.
" Not by the Federation." he responded.
" What do you mean not by the Federation!!!... by who?"
" The Maquis quarantined me attempting to return to Cardassian space."
The man in black looked shocked by this.
" And you still came here!!! You might have lead them straight to me!!!"
No sooner had he shouted these words when a communicator sounded in his pocket, obviously it was from his ship as a voice blurted out.
" Five Maquis raiders have entered the system, their entering weapons range of the planet."
In a few short moments the cave all around them began to shake and rocks began to fall from the roof of the vast cavern.
" You fool, they've followed you!" he shouted as he lifted his hands and tried to find the other mans neck.
Instinctively he pulled out his disrupter and aimed it in the middle of his black flowing cloak. Just as he was ready to pull the trigger the caves again shook and a large boulder fell from the ceiling onto his arm sending the disrupter sprawling.
The upright man in black again reached for his communicator.
" Kalder Grim to the CDS Amulet, one to beam up."
Within a great golden light that illuminated the whole cave he disappeared into thin air leaving the other man crawling on the floor with the cave ready to collapse. Suddenly a huge stone crashed on top of the burning torch leaving everything in complete blackness. The man opened his mouth to scream but never heard a sound as the collapsing of the ceiling drowned all noise.