Chapter 10
The encounter with the Cardassian warships had been a costly one. The shield generator had failed and there were multiple breaches in the hull. The warp-core looked dangerously unstable as engineering teams worked frantically to keep it online until they crossed back into Federation territory. On the personnel front ten people were injured among them the ships counsellor Kestra Vall, perhaps it was a miracle no one was killed.
However danger still lurked behind them, the surviving Cardassian warship was still in hot pursuit. With the Spartan in such a state there would only be one winner if another battle were to commence. Captain Lennon knew that the only thing keeping his crew and his vessel from capture was an increasingly unstable warp-core. As a former engineer he and Lieutenant Glatzer would do everything possible to keep it stable. Lennon was aware that the lives of all onboard would depend upon his success. Was this to be his fate? Would he pull through and save the ship?
With only half an hour until they reached Federation space it looked as if he was fighting a loosing battle as the antimatter flow became increasingly erratic. They were beginning to slow down and the warship was gaining ground. Commander Sara monitored their impending doom from the bridge. From the com system he was able to speak directly to the captain running repairs.
" Captain we won't make it to border at this speed, we must drop out of warp and face the Cardassians."
" That's suicide Ric!" Lennon shouted back over the heavy engine room noise, "The state we're in we won't stand a chance."
" But we have an advantage, they don't want to destroy us, they only want our technology."
" I wouldn't put to much faith in that idea, the nearer we get to Federation space the harder it becomes for them to take our ship in one piece. They would prefer the Spartan destroyed rather than it returning to the border."
" We can make it to the Badlands on impulse drive, our manoeuvrability systems would give us the upper hand." Sara responded.
Unsure what to do he looked over to Lieutenant Glatzer who had all but given up on returning to warp 8. All his efforts were going into stopping the core from breaching.
" Captain, we can't continue on like this, we'll blow ourselves to pieces."
" No, we must keep going Isaac," replied Lennon, "we can do this."
" No we can't sir." said Glatzer grabbing the Captain's shoulders. "You have done all you can to save the ship, its time to give the others a chance at it. Remember Captain, we are all in this together."
Both men looked into each other's eyes and the Captain was taken aback by the unbroken stare from Glatzer. After a few seconds he agreed.
" Power down the warp core, we make our stand in the Badlands."
Glatzer smiled knowing the Captain had made the right decision, but deep down Lennon worried as for the first time in the whole mission his live and everyone else aboard the ship were in the hands of others. Fate would have its say now.
" Your place is on the bridge Captain, I'll keep everything intact down here."
Both men shared a firm handshake and as Lennon walked from the room he couldn't help but thinking that Glatzer would be a fine choice for any man to entrust their live.
* * * * *
The stars through the viewscreen had halted as Commander Sara stood in the centre of the bridge. Below him Ensign Atkar was preparing for his second test by the Captain and this time the crew's lives were at stake. All he had to do was navigate in and out of the various nebulas in the Badlands evading any Cardassian torpedoes. He had done similar missions hundreds of times before on the holodeck, but suspected this one would be very different. You can't train someone to work under pressure in combat conditions, it was all about experience but unfortunately for the young Ktarian he had very little. Commander Sara's presence would help in the crunch. Experience radiated from everything he said, an experience that would keep a calm head on the entire crew.
Captain Lennon rushed out onto the bridge seeing the enormous gas cloud rapidly approaching. He could almost feel the Cardassian warship drop out of warp behind him. In looking around he noticed the entire bridge staff engrossed at their stations showing absolutely no fear of what may come to pass, they were ready to lay their lives on the line to protect the Federation.
" Take us in Ensign Atkar." ordered the Captain.
The tall helmsman looked towards Sara pacing towards him, eyes unblinking and a smile emanating from his face, showing the confidence he had in Atkar.
The Cardassian ship closed from behind, just out of firing range but was following the Spartan into the nebula for a cat and mouse game. Upon entering Atkar placed the ship low in the gas cloud to avoid detection. All weapons were on standby, all there was to do was wait.
It didn't take long before the warship entered the same narrow gap and began looking for the Spartan. Captain Lennon immediately took his seat at the centre of the bridge.
" Target their weapons systems Mr. Cumbrae and fire all weapons." he said.
From the viewscreen the Cardassian ship took quite a pounding, but the strong hull on the warship was not breached. Upon realising this, the Captain expected a deadly response, and quickly called to Atkar to again hide the ship.
" Incoming torpedo!" shouted Cumbrae from the back of the bridge.
" Evasive manoeuvres." said Lennon as Atkar pulled of a revolution to avoid the torpedo.
However something happened that no one predicted, the entire gas cloud which the Spartan had pulled out from exploded right behind them. The ship turbulently shook and became engulfed in flames. Fires broke out across the bridge.
" Safety backups are down." shouted Cumbrae allowing the fires to be left to junior officers.
" What the hell was that!" shouted Lennon at the science console. "All hell is breaking loose."
Lieutenant Ruth Donnachie had been reassigned to the bridge and eagerly pressed away at the science station.
" It appears the plasma torpedo ignited the cloud of helium, the Cardassians have upgraded their torpedoes since our last encounter." she shouted back over the noise on the bridge.
Ensign Atkar was trying furiously to reposition the Spartan to get another shot at the Cardassian hull when again another siren came from Cumbrae's tactical control panel.
" Another incoming torpedo." he cried.
" Brace for impact!" shouted Commander Sara grabbing hold of a hand barrier.
Again the Spartan was shook from top to bottom and bodies flew across the bridge. Fires continued to burn on the bridge as control panels sparked and went black.
" Hull breaches in Engineering section, emergency forcefields down. Shall I dispatch repair teams?" Sara reported from the ops station.
" No." shouted Lennon.
" The Cardassians are preparing to fire again." said Cumbrae
" Evasive manoeuvres." cried Lennon.
Atkar pulled off a dive as the torpedo flew past them into another helium cloud and igniting it. The Spartan again took the brunt of the impact as the bridge went completely black.
" The core has destabilised, main power has failed, backups are off line, force fields are inactive and only the viewscreen is operational. We're no use to the Cardassians in this state." shouted Commander Sara.
" Eject the core." shouted Lennon through his commbadge to Engineering.
" Already done sir." came the response from Glatzer over the background noise from engineering which heralded explosions all over.
" And send out a distress call, all frequencies."
" Sir, the distress call won't penetrate the outer wall of the Badlands." Donnachie shouted.
" I know." replied Lennon.
The whole crew knew what was going to happen, a warp core breach of this magnitude would ignite the whole nebula and everything inside it. With main power off line they would be relying on their momentum to ride the initial shockwave and of course some piloting skill from Atkar, but foremost they were relying on fate to be kind.
Atkar manoeuvred the ship into position with the last piece of thruster power and let it glide away from the jettisoned warpcore. All eyes stared at the viewscreen which emanated the only source of light on the bridge now. The Cardassian ship noticed the warp core and was frantically turning around. However it's engines were unable to overcome the turbulence from the gas clouds. Lennon looked at the screen with a smugness, despite the fact he could be facing his impending doom.
" Die you bastards, die."
Suddenly the entire screen filled with the most blinding light ever seen, the crew spontaneously turned away and lifted their hands to their eyes. The viewscreen again went black leaving the bridge in utter darkness. Everyone knew they only had a few seconds before the shockwave hit, that left just enough time to brace themselves in a crouching position and expect the worst.
The encounter with the Cardassian warships had been a costly one. The shield generator had failed and there were multiple breaches in the hull. The warp-core looked dangerously unstable as engineering teams worked frantically to keep it online until they crossed back into Federation territory. On the personnel front ten people were injured among them the ships counsellor Kestra Vall, perhaps it was a miracle no one was killed.
However danger still lurked behind them, the surviving Cardassian warship was still in hot pursuit. With the Spartan in such a state there would only be one winner if another battle were to commence. Captain Lennon knew that the only thing keeping his crew and his vessel from capture was an increasingly unstable warp-core. As a former engineer he and Lieutenant Glatzer would do everything possible to keep it stable. Lennon was aware that the lives of all onboard would depend upon his success. Was this to be his fate? Would he pull through and save the ship?
With only half an hour until they reached Federation space it looked as if he was fighting a loosing battle as the antimatter flow became increasingly erratic. They were beginning to slow down and the warship was gaining ground. Commander Sara monitored their impending doom from the bridge. From the com system he was able to speak directly to the captain running repairs.
" Captain we won't make it to border at this speed, we must drop out of warp and face the Cardassians."
" That's suicide Ric!" Lennon shouted back over the heavy engine room noise, "The state we're in we won't stand a chance."
" But we have an advantage, they don't want to destroy us, they only want our technology."
" I wouldn't put to much faith in that idea, the nearer we get to Federation space the harder it becomes for them to take our ship in one piece. They would prefer the Spartan destroyed rather than it returning to the border."
" We can make it to the Badlands on impulse drive, our manoeuvrability systems would give us the upper hand." Sara responded.
Unsure what to do he looked over to Lieutenant Glatzer who had all but given up on returning to warp 8. All his efforts were going into stopping the core from breaching.
" Captain, we can't continue on like this, we'll blow ourselves to pieces."
" No, we must keep going Isaac," replied Lennon, "we can do this."
" No we can't sir." said Glatzer grabbing the Captain's shoulders. "You have done all you can to save the ship, its time to give the others a chance at it. Remember Captain, we are all in this together."
Both men looked into each other's eyes and the Captain was taken aback by the unbroken stare from Glatzer. After a few seconds he agreed.
" Power down the warp core, we make our stand in the Badlands."
Glatzer smiled knowing the Captain had made the right decision, but deep down Lennon worried as for the first time in the whole mission his live and everyone else aboard the ship were in the hands of others. Fate would have its say now.
" Your place is on the bridge Captain, I'll keep everything intact down here."
Both men shared a firm handshake and as Lennon walked from the room he couldn't help but thinking that Glatzer would be a fine choice for any man to entrust their live.
* * * * *
The stars through the viewscreen had halted as Commander Sara stood in the centre of the bridge. Below him Ensign Atkar was preparing for his second test by the Captain and this time the crew's lives were at stake. All he had to do was navigate in and out of the various nebulas in the Badlands evading any Cardassian torpedoes. He had done similar missions hundreds of times before on the holodeck, but suspected this one would be very different. You can't train someone to work under pressure in combat conditions, it was all about experience but unfortunately for the young Ktarian he had very little. Commander Sara's presence would help in the crunch. Experience radiated from everything he said, an experience that would keep a calm head on the entire crew.
Captain Lennon rushed out onto the bridge seeing the enormous gas cloud rapidly approaching. He could almost feel the Cardassian warship drop out of warp behind him. In looking around he noticed the entire bridge staff engrossed at their stations showing absolutely no fear of what may come to pass, they were ready to lay their lives on the line to protect the Federation.
" Take us in Ensign Atkar." ordered the Captain.
The tall helmsman looked towards Sara pacing towards him, eyes unblinking and a smile emanating from his face, showing the confidence he had in Atkar.
The Cardassian ship closed from behind, just out of firing range but was following the Spartan into the nebula for a cat and mouse game. Upon entering Atkar placed the ship low in the gas cloud to avoid detection. All weapons were on standby, all there was to do was wait.
It didn't take long before the warship entered the same narrow gap and began looking for the Spartan. Captain Lennon immediately took his seat at the centre of the bridge.
" Target their weapons systems Mr. Cumbrae and fire all weapons." he said.
From the viewscreen the Cardassian ship took quite a pounding, but the strong hull on the warship was not breached. Upon realising this, the Captain expected a deadly response, and quickly called to Atkar to again hide the ship.
" Incoming torpedo!" shouted Cumbrae from the back of the bridge.
" Evasive manoeuvres." said Lennon as Atkar pulled of a revolution to avoid the torpedo.
However something happened that no one predicted, the entire gas cloud which the Spartan had pulled out from exploded right behind them. The ship turbulently shook and became engulfed in flames. Fires broke out across the bridge.
" Safety backups are down." shouted Cumbrae allowing the fires to be left to junior officers.
" What the hell was that!" shouted Lennon at the science console. "All hell is breaking loose."
Lieutenant Ruth Donnachie had been reassigned to the bridge and eagerly pressed away at the science station.
" It appears the plasma torpedo ignited the cloud of helium, the Cardassians have upgraded their torpedoes since our last encounter." she shouted back over the noise on the bridge.
Ensign Atkar was trying furiously to reposition the Spartan to get another shot at the Cardassian hull when again another siren came from Cumbrae's tactical control panel.
" Another incoming torpedo." he cried.
" Brace for impact!" shouted Commander Sara grabbing hold of a hand barrier.
Again the Spartan was shook from top to bottom and bodies flew across the bridge. Fires continued to burn on the bridge as control panels sparked and went black.
" Hull breaches in Engineering section, emergency forcefields down. Shall I dispatch repair teams?" Sara reported from the ops station.
" No." shouted Lennon.
" The Cardassians are preparing to fire again." said Cumbrae
" Evasive manoeuvres." cried Lennon.
Atkar pulled off a dive as the torpedo flew past them into another helium cloud and igniting it. The Spartan again took the brunt of the impact as the bridge went completely black.
" The core has destabilised, main power has failed, backups are off line, force fields are inactive and only the viewscreen is operational. We're no use to the Cardassians in this state." shouted Commander Sara.
" Eject the core." shouted Lennon through his commbadge to Engineering.
" Already done sir." came the response from Glatzer over the background noise from engineering which heralded explosions all over.
" And send out a distress call, all frequencies."
" Sir, the distress call won't penetrate the outer wall of the Badlands." Donnachie shouted.
" I know." replied Lennon.
The whole crew knew what was going to happen, a warp core breach of this magnitude would ignite the whole nebula and everything inside it. With main power off line they would be relying on their momentum to ride the initial shockwave and of course some piloting skill from Atkar, but foremost they were relying on fate to be kind.
Atkar manoeuvred the ship into position with the last piece of thruster power and let it glide away from the jettisoned warpcore. All eyes stared at the viewscreen which emanated the only source of light on the bridge now. The Cardassian ship noticed the warp core and was frantically turning around. However it's engines were unable to overcome the turbulence from the gas clouds. Lennon looked at the screen with a smugness, despite the fact he could be facing his impending doom.
" Die you bastards, die."
Suddenly the entire screen filled with the most blinding light ever seen, the crew spontaneously turned away and lifted their hands to their eyes. The viewscreen again went black leaving the bridge in utter darkness. Everyone knew they only had a few seconds before the shockwave hit, that left just enough time to brace themselves in a crouching position and expect the worst.