There was a visible expression of relief on the old admiral's face. "Kirk, thank goodness. We've been trying to get you for over 4 hours."
"Well, Admiral, that nebula does a very thorough job of keeping sensors out of our business while we tested the weapons systems..."
The admiral interrupted. "Good, good...at least we have you now. How are the weapons tests coming along?" There was a certain urgency in the admiral's bearded face that made Kirk a bit uncomfortable.
Kirk considered for a moment how to best respond. "Our standard ordinance works just fine...the torpedoes and the phasers. The new cannons, well...not so much. We almost blew off part of the ship during one of the tests."
"Can you fix it?" The admiral asked quickly.
Kirk turned to Tom with an inquisitive look. Tom, sensing that he was supposed to answer, took a quick mental inventory of what he thought he could use. Now, he regretted Kirk's decision to abandon canibalizing parts for the cannon. "Well, Admiral..." Leiutenant Kelly started. "I think we can put the burned out cannon back together. But...we can't figure what went wrong. It'll take us a couple of days to figure out the cause. Otherwise, we'll just burn it out again the next time we fire it...or...we'll blow it up." Tom shrugged.
"Oh, my... that's unfortunate." the admiral's face grew worrisome. "What about the shields? Your last report I got said your main shields worked. What about the secondary shields?"
"We don't have the parts for that yet, Admiral." Kirk answered. Tom nodded in agreement. "What's going on?" Kirk asked flatly.
Admiral Leonard's eyes squinted as he looked into his viewscreen. "Commander, being out of communications for the past several days has probably kept you out of the loop on current events. There's been a coup within the Romulan Empire. The Remans have taken over the government. Enterprise is at Romulus right now at the request of a Reman named Shinzon. Supposedly, Shinzon wanted to formalize relations with the Federation. The last communication we received from Enterprise was that Shinzon had some gigantic warship called the Scimitar at his disposal, but wanted to talk peace. We haven't been able to contact Enterprise for over a day.
"Earlier today, Starbase 173 received a communication from one of our operatives within the Empire. He had gotten himself into the Reman mining planet. Apparently, the Remans do NOT want any kind of relations with the Federation. Why Shinzon wanted the Enterprise there is still unknown, but the Scimitar has some kind of planet killing technology aboard. Here's where it gets worse; our spy informed us that the Remans also have two of these warships. The Scimitar is the flagship, but there's another one, called the Rapier, which is the prototype. Their plan is to ambush the Enterprise, take whatever it is they want, then begin the conquest of the rest of the Romulan Empire, followed by the Federation. The Rapier has already launched from Remus and should arrive at Romulus in eight or nine hours. I'm sending you the coordinates of where we think your best chance will be to intercept them. I wish I had another alternative than to send Warlord, but the next nearest starship is over a week away and it doesn't have any way to detect cloaked ships. Commander, I'm truly sorry to have to do this to you... especially when your ship is in the condition it's in."
The Admiral sat up straight and looked as official as he could, despite the worry and sorrow he was obviously feeling. "Commander Kirk, whatever the Remans want with Enterprise, they cannot have it. They must be stopped at all costs. Your mission is to intercept the Rapier, if possible, before it reaches the Enterprise. If you think you've missed your opportunity to achieve that, your secondary mission is to proceed to Romulus and offer whatever assistance you can to the Enterprise. Your goal is to keep that ship protected." His face softened a bit. "Good luck and God's speed. Leonard out." The screen faded to blue, with the Federation logo in the center.
Each member of the bridge crew sat in silence as they took in the gravity of what Admiral Leonard had just commissioned them to do. Commander Kirk looked at the stunned faces of his crewmates. This wasn't what he wanted. He desperately hoped Starbase 173 would contact them to inform them that Captain Velasquez had miraculously healed and was ready for duty. Under his breath, he said a prayer that God would deliver just that.
Ensign Bristol stared at the blue viewscreen studying the Federation logo. His mind drifted back to his holodeck simulations and his one-handed defeat of the Romulan warbirds. If pressed, he would have to admit he was actually excited about this. Warlord was undermanned, underpowered, and untested...going against a terrible new threat that would spell certain doom for the Federation if they failed. This was the kind of stuff he read about in history books and novels. He had dreamed of being in a position like this himself. Now, it's coming true. Tyler almost jumped out of his seat.
Leiutenant Commander T'Nia regarded the admiral's words as the screen went to blue. Her mind went over all the issues preventing the Warlord from being fully functional. Given less than nine hours, virtually none of these issues could be addressed, let alone resolved. From the conversation, the Reman vessel was a prototype, so possibly not as well equipped as the production model. It was large, therefore it probably contained a similar weapons array to the Warlord. It could cloak, therefore the broad-spectrum tacheon burst would need to be operational. Her fingers quickly moved over her console to ensure it was online.
Leiutenant Moreaux sat at his chair as the viewscreen went to blue. His eyes drifted down to his Academy friend, Steve. My God, we are completely screwed. Tony loved Steve like a brother. They had been through a lot at the Academy and always managed to keep in touch after they graduated. Tony tried to shake his doubts about Stephen. After all, Steve always had the top grade in starship tactics. He was one hell of a fighter pilot and an even better helmsman. Thoughts kept nagging at him, though...thoughts of how Steve slid into the Academy using a little-used military policy. Thoughts of how Steve had barely passed half his classes. Thoughts of how quickly Steve had been promoted after graduation. He's a commander already...I'm still a lowly leiutenant. Sure, Steve had some skills, but he had to have been sailing under his great-grandfather's name for some of this. That's the only way it explains everything that's happened to him. Now, Steve's in charge of this incomplete bucket of bolts going against some unknown Reman warship. They were doomed... and there was no way for him to get out.
Leiutenant Kelly stared blankly at the floor. He knew this ship would see combat. It was a warship, for crying out loud. This was what it was meant to do. But without a full crew? His engineering team had already been beaten up these past few days getting the weapons systems working. Without full weapons? He wondered if the secondary weapons systems would work under pressure. Without full shields? He could configure either the primary shields, which were impressive, or the secondary shields, which were typical for every other starship in space. His mind drifted back to his fiancee. Would he ever see her again? Did he want to? After all, there are some very attractive women on this ship. His mind began picturing them. Oddly enough...one of them was sitting right next to him...
Leiutenant Davies absently shut down the connection. The viewscreen switched from blue to the dotted blackness of space. Up until now, the realization of her being aboard a warship had never hit her. She was into communications. She was fluent in eight different languages. She was currently studying Ferengi. Sure, this was a great opportunity. She had burned a few bridges on her previous assignment on the USS Lexington. This chance to start over again on a brand new vessel full of people she didn't already know had come at just the right time. Starfleet had told her the new assignment would carry a more combative element, but it wasn't until she saw the thing that she realized it was a warship. It had troubled her at first, since she was more into exploration and alien contact, but all the building activity had pushed Warlord's true purpose from her mind. With this assignment, it all came rushing back, and in a very scary way.
A small, blinking light on her panel brought her back. The light marked 'data transmission' was blinking. She tapped the button, listened for a moment, then turned to Commander Kirk. "Commander, I have the coordinates Admiral Leonard was referring to." Her voice was almost monotone.
Kirk snapped to quickly and nodded Elaine's direction. "Pipe it to Bristol, Leiutenant." He said.
"Aye, aye, Sir." she replied robotically.
"Got 'em, Sir." Tyler stated. He sounded almost chipper.
His youthful exuberance made Stephen smile. He nodded. He looked back to Elaine. "I guess I better let everyone else in on the plan. Put me over the system speakers."
She nodded and pressed a series of keys. "You're on, Commander."
For a moment, he tried to think of something galant or noble to say. Times like this call for galant and noble speaches. Nothing was coming to mind. He cleared his throat and stood up, once again looking towards the ceiling. "This is Commander Kirk. I need everyone to stop what they're doing for a moment and listen." He paused.
"As of this moment, we are no longer an experimental vessel performing system tests. We have been activated and assigned our first mission. The USS Enterprise is in grave danger from multiple attackers. We have been ordered to intercept and neutralize one of the enemy vessels." Suddenly, the words he had hoped to say just came to him in a startling moment of clarity. "I know we weren't expecting this so soon, but this is a warship. This is our job. We may not have all the equipment. We may not have all the personnel. We may not have all the systems. Even so, we have a vessel that was built to survive. We have a crew that has already accomplished more than anyone expected. Even in our current state, we have a combination of personnel and machine that cannot fail. We dare not fail. In the end, the alpha quadrant will know the name Warlord and we will celebrate our victory together with the crew of the Enterprise. Back to your stations, everyone... and prepare for battle."
The bridge crew clapped. Bristol let out a shout. Even Tony dared to believe they might succeed. Kirk gave the 'cut' sign to Elaine with his thumb across his throat. She closed the channel.
"Ensign Bristol, lay in a course to the intercept point, maximum warp."
Tyler's hands effortlessly glided over his panel. "Course and speed laid in, Commander."
Stephen sat back in his chair. For several long moments he waited, hoping to get that miracle communication from Starbase 173. The communications panel was mockingly silent. Like it or not, this was his command for now. He looked up at the viewscreen with determination. After a deep breath, Kirk ordered, "Engage."
Once again, the stars twisted and danced around the viewscreen as the ship aligned itself to the new course. As the stars stretched to lines, the Warlord rocketed towards its first appointment with destiny.
Kirk turned to Leiutenant Kelly with a grim face. "Tommy, remember what I told you about saving those parts in the cargo bays?" Tom nodded, still somewhat in shock at what he just heard. "Well, belay that. I need that port cannon operational in six hours. We're going hunting."