Writer's notes: I wrote this back in college so it might be a bit raw. I think I've done a bit of improvement since then.

ROVE YOUR ASSIGNED AIRSPACE

NCC 21323. ATTACK CARRIER USS NAPOLEON – 2365.06.01 0800 HRS – VFA 137 BRIEFING ROOM "THE WOLF'S DEN"

The Attack Carrier USS Napoleon was built on an Nebula-Class Cruiser hull. The primary hull was circular in shape with a bulbous secondary hull holding up two warp nacelles. She mounted only four phaser banks, but held four torpedo tubes. What she lacked in firepower and shielding, she made up in striking power with three attack wings of fighters. The secondary hull mounted 36 launch tubes and a vast flight deck. The three squadrons aboard Napoleon were VFA 137, VFA 175, and VFA 224. The squadrons flew the F-2 Attack Craft, a powerful one-man fighter with two phasers, one torpedo, and four sensor-homing missiles. It had a sleek design with a forked nose, where the phaser housings flanked the torpedo tube. The missiles were kept in a bay on the ventral side of the craft. Its fuselage was painted in characteristic Federation white.

Attached to the flight deck, the briefing rooms for the squadrons were located. VFA 137 had gathered for the Beta Shift briefing.

Claire sat nervously as the other pilots gathered in the briefing room. She had just come from Survival Section, where she had received her survival training and equipment. The old-timers walked right past her and the younger pilots eyed her arrogantly. "Newbie" they said under their breaths. Claire averted her gray eyes.

Commander Kent Yee, Callsign Yahoo, took the podium for the morning briefing. He was a slender man of average height, about forty-five years of age. His slightly graying hair lent a distinguished look to his weathered features. The XO, Lieutenant Commander Rachel Hood, Callsign Butter, called the room to attention, "On your feet," she bellowed.

The room came to attention. Commander Yee motioned everyone to sit, "Good morning. Today is just routine. We're going to fly a few basic fighter maneuvers. Nothing fancy. Oh, also, let's welcome our new pilot, Ensign McCoy."

Claire spoke up, "Uh, sir, that's McGregor."

Yee nodded dismissively, "Whatever, welcome aboard." There were a few waves from the crew. Claire felt herself blushing. Yee continued, "Ensign, your flying wing for 'Caveman'. Any questions? Ok, let's get out there. Prime frequency is Batman. Aux is Robin. Departure and approach are Penguin."

The pilots stood and began to head for the flight deck. Claire looked around, bewildered. Where did she need to go? Who was 'Caveman'? Lieutenant Commander Hood noticed that lost look in Claire and approached her, "Hey, ensign. You look lost."

Claire nodded bravely, "Yes, ma'am."

The XO continued, "You know, I got the same treatment when I was your age. Here, follow me."

The short, stocky XO led Claire onto the flight deck and showed Claire her craft. She also pointed to Lieutenant Horatio Kearn, aka Caveman. "Caveman, take care of her," called Hood. Kearn just looked over and smirked. He then went back to his checklist. Fortunately, Claire had studied hard and she could take it from here. She jumped into the cockpit and began reviewing the checklist.

Her crew chief, Chief Petty Officer Goha Tror, passed her a helmet and helped her secure her safety harness. CPO Tror pointed to the comm panel on the port side of the instrument panel, "I dialed in your frequencies, ma'am. You're all set. Have a good flight."

Claire smiled, "Thank you, chief." With that, she donned her helmet.

"Lobo One, clear for takeoff," called the controller.

"Roger, Baldwin. Lobo flight clear for takeoff."

The flight of eight shot out of their launch tubes into space and formed on Lobo One.

"Lobos, comm, Alpha, and system check," commanded One.

"Two, check," called Two, followed by Three through Seven.

Claire knew it was her turn, "Umm, Eight, check."

Kearn shot back, "Get it together, umm Eight."

"Knock off the chatter," ordered One. CDR Yee continued, "Ok, break off into pairs. Alternate set ups for offensive and defensive. On my mark, break. Three, two, one, break." The flight split four ways with leads and wings setting up for dogfights.

Caveman broke away from Claire suddenly. Was this part of the exercise, she wondered? Then, diving in from the starboard side, he fired his phasers on minimum setting, "Lobo Seven, guns kill."

Claire broke away too late, "Hey, I didn't know we had started yet," she said somewhat annoyed.

"Get used to it," retorted Caveman. Claire snap turned to give pursuit. She maneuvered into Kearn's port rear quarter. He rolled to port to shake her, but she anticipated the move. Then, he cut a –90-degree rollover only to be followed again.

Claire lined up her tracking system and let loose a burst. Direct hit. "Lobo Eight, guns kill."

"Whoa, the newbie scored a kill," an anonymous call came over the radio.

This wasn't over. Kearn continued to duck and dodge with Claire right behind him. She fired another burst. Direct hit. No one knew she was intimately familiar with the targeting system, as her father had designed it. "Lobo Eight, guns kill."

Caveman timed a snap turn to let Claire eat his guns in a forward pass. He fed extra warp energy into the thrusters and spun 160 degrees to port. He fired his phasers into space. Claire was gone. Suddenly an attack craft whizzed past with flashing phasers. "Lobo Eight, guns kill."

"What's wrong, Caveman? Sounds like you're getting waxed," the voice called again.

Caveman had had enough. He vectored his craft straight at the Napoleon and her escorts Murat, Ney, and Lannes. Claire hesitated for a moment, but then leapt after Lobo Seven. As they closed on the fleet they heard a call, "Lobo Seven and Eight, boundary advisory. Vector Two Niner Zero." Seven pressed on. So did Claire. Caveman dodged between the nacelles of the Murat and looked back to see Claire still there.

Lobo One had observed the party on the datalink. "Ok, knuckleheads. Knock it off, knock it off. Rejoin on me. We're done for the day…and you two, in my office when we get down!" The CO of the Murat was screaming and he could be overheard on the radio as the controller hollered at Seven and Eight.

Claire's fun had suddenly turned into one of those cold pricklies. They had busted the safety boundaries. She guided her F-2 back to the roost and unbuckled her harness. Caveman was waiting, "This is your fault. You pushed me beyond the boundary!"

Claire leapt out of her cockpit, "What! That's a bunch of…"

A highly agitated LT CDR Hood grabbed them both. "CO wants to see you, NOW! Not Commander Yee…Captain Wallace." Both Horatio and Claire turned pale.

Standing outside Captain Wallace's office, the two were perspiring profusely. Commander Yee was inside talking. Shortly thereafter, Yee came out and motioned them in, "It's your turn." Both flyers entered and stood at attention.

The scowling CAPT Wallace jumped up and gave them a butt chewing they wouldn't forget. However, he gave special attention to Kearn, "You should know better! Just because she was kicking your butt, you thought you'd hide behind a starship. You know what could have happened? I oughtta make you scrub replicators! Captain R'tan is furious. He wants both your hides. I don't know why I talked him out of it! Get outta here!"

The two scrambled out of CAPT Wallace's office and went silently back to the briefing room. As Claire put away her gear, Caveman shot her an evil glare. Claire ignored it. Caveman then went to the men's locker room and Claire gave a sigh of relief. Lieutenant Mario Fararre, Callsign Rancho, who sat in the corner of the room, chuckled. Startled, Claire turned around, "I didn't see you," she said. Fararre smiled, "You were good today kid. You had him down cold. Don't worry too much about the butt chewing. We've all been there." Claire recognized the voice on the radio. Fararre came over and introduced himself.

Claire nodded shyly, but returned the smile. "Thank you," she said. Fararre's thick, handlebar mustache and goofy smile was infectious. His black hair was slicked back, adding to his olive complexion. He gave a curt bow and waved his hand. "Ciao," he said as he left.

Claire went to the female locker room. One of the pilots in the shower was a Mantoid with six limbs and faceted eyes. She/it also had a green carapace and antennae. Claire had never seen anything that weird and felt very sheltered. This was going to be an interesting tour, she thought.

USS NAPOLEON - ENS MCGREGOR'S QUARTERS – 2365.06.30

Claire had settled into somewhat of a routine. VFA 137 flew every other day. She was quickly developing into a superior pilot and could hold her own against nearly all of the others. She sensed that Caveman disliked her for that.

As she sat at her console checking her mail, she saw one message from her brother Joseph, whom she called 'Little Joe.' It had been nearly a year since she heard from Joe. Things had been tense between them since she left for the Academy. They had been close up until that time. Claire felt that the reason for Joe's feelings might be a resentment of her leaving Earth. He had little desire to live beyond the Sol System.

Reading the message, Claire learned that Joe was doing well at the Lunar Institute of Technology and would intern at Litton-Sedeco Shipbuilding at Pearl Harbor, Earth. Joe always had a way with science. He certainly was the child their parents wanted, Claire thought. She could imagine his red, wavy hair and boyish face. He took after their father, slender and tall. Even in mannerisms and temperament, he was his father's child: thoughtful and introspective. Claire was very much the opposite: fiery and passionate.

She fondly remembered a time back in 2355, soon after the McGregors had relocated to Hamamatsu, Earth. Their home was a quaint structure of wood and paper set on a hill. A stone wall surrounded the property, which was flanked by a lazy river.

Little Joe, then nine had trouble adjusting. Quiet and shy, he had been picked on by some of the school kids. Twelve-year-old Claire, always the protective one, took care of matters. Unbeknown to their parents, she confronted the bullies. A scuffle ensued and Claire was forced to make their leader eat dirt, literally. The kids learned that Claire, who had been involved in Aikido and Karate, was not someone to be trifled with on the playground and no one messed with Little Joe. With discipline, Claire learned gentility and grace along with strength. Just prior to her departure for the Academy, she reached her Shodan rank in Aikido. Sensei Yamada Tomoyuki awarded her the coveted black belt. He also gave her a samurai helmet, known as a Kabuto, to protect her hard head. She had excelled at the dojo, and her stubbornness drove her to even greater skill. Academically, however, she was much more modest. Little Joe saved her butt on more than a few finals. Between he and their father, Claire got more than enough tutoring to pass the Academy entrance exam. When Claire started dating and sneaking out of the house, Little Joe covered for her. He often devised elaborate ruses involving holograms of Claire with interactive voice recordings. They were a team.

USS NAPOLEON - ATHLETIC GYM – 2365.08.27

Claire was heavy into a game of Parises Squares with members of the squadron. She and Rancho were paired against Caveman and Werewolf, aka Lieutenant JG Todd Peralta. It was a good match and both teams fought hard. Claire and Rancho were slightly more in sync and they were able to score three quick points against their opponents. Caveman became visibly upset and spiked the ball. Rancho put his finger in Caveman's chest, "Chill out, man. It's just a game."

Caveman pushed Rancho's hand away, "Back off," he said as he threw the ball at Rancho.

Rancho caught the ball with a grunt and scowled at Caveman. He set up to pass the ball to Claire. Claire caught the ball and was immediately elbowed in the mouth by Caveman. She turned away, holding her jaw. Caveman stepped back saying, "She stepped into it." Claire's face turned red. She whirled back to face Caveman and was caught by Rancho.

He pointed at Caveman again, "That was uncalled for." He pulled Claire back, who was struggling to get free, "Don't do it, Claire. Let it go." Eventually, she calmed down. Lieutenant Farrare wiped the blood from her fat lip and escorted her down to the Sickbay. As the doctor passed a dermal regenerator over Claire's lip he asked, "So, how did you get this?"

Claire replied with gritted teeth, "The ball hit me."

With her lip healed, but her pride wounded, Claire followed Rancho to the evening briefing. When the pilots had taken their seats, she turned to face Caveman. Finding him, she fixed him with a menacing glare. He merely looked away. She thought to herself, You just wait, bucko.

In the ensuing weeks, Claire discovered that Josh's ship, the USS Prometheus was beyond the range of subspace relays to transmit timely messages. He would be out of touch for a year, at least. Another letter advised that Mom and Dad were doing fine. It was tough now that both Claire and Joe were out of the house. Claire's childhood friend, Kimiko Nomura was now an intern at Asakaze Ordnance as an engineer. As always, Claire would receive a call from her friend Chubb, now a security officer aboard the USS Saratoga. The fuzzy face appeared with a smile and a mouthful of food, "Hey there. How's the food?"

"Oh, it's pretty good. We had a soufflé today with vanilla ice cream dessert," chuckled Claire.

"The one with the ground beans, I hope," added Chubb.

Claire nodded, "Of course. Hey are those lieutenant's bars I see?"

Chubb shrugged, "Oh yeah. We did some stuff with the Bismarck and got attacked by bugs. Nothing special. More importantly, the Captain gave us fresh strawberries with whipped cream. You know those are my favorite. Don't forget to send me alien recipes."

Claire replied, "Did you get the Kriosan pot pie recipe?"

Chubb smacked his lips, "It was primo!"

Claire waved, "My time is up. See ya." Chubb waved back. Claire liked the furry guy, but he reminded her of that man-stealer, Bombo Jar. The bear-like Chubb was only part Tellerite and had a prodigious appetite. His love of culinary delights knew no bounds. Somehow, he always found time to call everyone he knew to share his joy of dining. Claire always wondered how he got into security, but she remembered him saying something about guarding the replicator.

USS NAPOLEON – 2366.01.03 – 0735 HRS - VFA 137 BRIEFING ROOM "THE WOLF'S DEN"

USS Napoleon had been vectored near Asteroid Cluster 5392-S, near Tholian Space. USS Saladin and USS Attila, destroyer-class vessels, were also dispatched to cover the carrier battle group. Several merchant vessels had been lost in what appeared to be a series of ambushes. As expected, the Tholians had denied any involvement in the attacks. However, a Tholian BLACK WIDOW-CLASS Cruiser was detected departing the area of one attack.

The flight crews had assembled in the briefing room. Scuttlebutt indicated that the Tholians were going to launch a surprise attack across the border. The xenophobic Tholians fought the Klingons to a standstill more than twenty years ago when Klingon aggression dominated the quadrant. Tholian hit and run attacks and unusual web-plasma technology baffled the invading Klingons, who eventually gave up the battle, claiming victory.

Commander Yee gave the background of the operation: three merchant vessels had been lost over a 12-day period. The diplomatic situation with the Tholians had deteriorated over this matter and the negotiators did not seem very hopeful. Today, they would be flying a simulated attack run against the fleet in preparation for any hostilities. After the briefing, LT CDR Hood approached Claire, "Hey, Ensign. I need you to research Tholian capabilities for tomorrows briefing. Commander Yee just appointed you squadron intell officer."

Claire nodded, "I'll have it ready ma'am."

The practice run went well. The Wolfpack penetrated the defense of the fleet and scored several hits on the carrier. Claire had performed exceptionally well, covering the attack run and knocking out four fighters from VFA 175. By now, she was considered to be one of the top five pilots aboard the USS Napoleon. She had continued to have sporadic problems with Lieutenant Kearn, but nothing so overt as the incident in the gym.

Upon completion of the practice run, Claire set to work on the Intelligence Briefing. She reviewed the incident between the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, and the Tholians many years ago. Most of the information came from SIGINT sources along the border. Claire ran several programs on the various data she reviewed. Fortunately, the computer could do all the calculations for her. Claire then spent an hour rehearsing her briefing before she went to the workout room. A characteristic worrier, Claire spent hours rolling around in bed before falling asleep.

The morning briefing came too soon. Claire showered quickly and threw on her flight suit. She wolfed down a bagel and grabbed her report before heading to the briefing room. After the initial status report, Claire was called to the podium. Following the Starfleet briefing protocol, Claire presented her findings on Tholian capabilities. She covered weapons power output, sensor frequencies, and shield strength. When she was finished, Claire stepped back and asked if there were any questions. The CO raised his hand. Claire felt her chest flutter.

"If we run on low observable mode through the asteroids, how likely would we be detected?" he asked.

Claire brought up a schematic of the Cluster. "Good question. Based on the SIGINT data, it would not be likely. Tholian sensors are better than ours in asteroid fields, but they seem to have difficulty picking up fighter-sized craft in low observable mode. The Klingons made the mistake of assaulting the Tholians with capital ships in close formation. In the asteroid clusters, they lacked the room to maneuver and the Tholians had the advantage of earlier detection."

Yee asked another question, "Tell us more about Tholian web technology. Is this something we need to worry about?"

Claire nodded, "Yes, sir. It is. As far as we know, the Tholians need an anchor point to secure their webs, be it an asteroid or another ship. Once caught in the web, they can drain energy from your craft. During the Klingo-Tholian war, a K'TINGA-CLASS battlecruiser was caught and completely drained until life support failed. The bigger the Tholian vessel laying the web, the more plasma in can use in the web. How do we defeat this? We don't know. You just have to avoid it."

Yee nodded, "Ok, that's good. Let's suit up, we have a mission to fly."

As they departed for the flight deck, Rancho slapped Claire on the back, "Good job. This is your first live mission, huh? We're going to have to give you a callsign." Claire smiled as she picked up her helmet.

Claire walked onto the flight deck. CPO Tror greeted her, "How ya doin' ma'am?"

Claire returned the greeting, "Excellent G. How's our bird?"

CPO Tror waved his hand at the F-2. "She's doing good, ma'am. Will you be taking her for a spin?"

Claire nodded. "Indeed I will."

Tror handed her the PADD to sign for the craft. Tror motioned Claire over to the starboard side of the craft, "Ma'am, Lieutenant Farrare asked me to paint this for you. It's supposed to bring you good luck for your first mission." He pointed to an image painted on the craft, depicting a blonde woman in an archaic blue and white dress. In a scrolling print, the words, 'Claire in Wonderland' were painted on her fighter. Claire was speechless. Tror added, "Don't you worry, ma'am. You're going to do fine." They did a preflight check and all seemed well. Claire hopped into the cockpit and Tror helped he buckle in. CPO Tror was a true professional and Claire always took the opportunity to thank him.

"G, you are a true gem," Claire commented.

Tror blushed, "Doin' my job, ma'am." He handed her the flight plan and checklist and with a wave, she sealed the cockpit. Turning the master switch and comm panel on, she listened in on the radio chatter. The flight callsign was 'Jackal.' Claire received permission for engine start and the impulse engine roared to life. Communications, thrusters, weapons, and life support were all in the green.

CDR Yee gave the signal, "Jackal Flight, clear for takeoff." With that signal, the 12 fighters were hurled into space. Jackal Flight was split into three, four fighter elements: 1, 2, and 3. Claire was assigned Jackal 34 and flew wing for Caveman in Jackal 33. Rancho led the element in Jackal 31. The flight formed up on CDR Yee, Jackal 11, and they proceeded into the asteroid cluster. Assuming a loose nose to tail formation for easier maneuvering, they ventured further on.

Lieutenant JG Iridan in Jackal 24, Callsign Tank, indicated debris, "Jackal Two Four has debris on sensor. It appears to be Tholian in origin. I'm showing it to be leftovers from a small base station."

"This is Jackal One One. I don't think our merchants did this. Something fishy is going on. Switch into low observable mode." Yee replied. The flight powered down and reduced emissions, also known as EMCON Z. Claire followed Caveman at a 500-meter distance, using passive scanners. Small and large asteroids floated around in an eerie ballet. Her scope showed large pieces of debris from the base station. Her intell database confirmed this. It would have taken at least a cruiser-sized vessel to destroy such a base. Claire had to agree with the Commander, this was weird.

Jackal flight penetrated further into the asteroid cluster. Passive sensors continued to show no activity. As the flight passed a large asteroid, a Starfleet shuttle came into view. Scans showed that one life sign was aboard. Commander Yee maneuvered ahead, "This is Jackal One One. I'm moving to take a look. It might be a survivor from one of the merchants." Jackal 11 and 12 slid close to the shuttle.

"This is Jackal One One. I'm two hundred meters from the shuttle. It shows a registry from the SS Dirg. I think we can tow her in." As Yee activated his tractor beam and captured the shuttle, it detonated. The resulting explosion engulfed both Jackal 11 and 12 and tore Jackal 13 apart. Jackal 14 was struck by the shockwave and tumbled out of control.

LT CDR Hood in Jackal 21 immediately called out, "Jackal One One, respond!" Suddenly, phaser fire erupted around the flight. A passive mine also detonated. Jackal 32, aka Bolo, vanished.

Several snub nosed fighters appeared, leading a frigate-class vessel. Jackal 31 spoke out, "Crap, they're Orion."

Jackal 21 responded, "Cover fire, evasive pattern gamma." Claire switched to datalink mode and began looking for targets.

Jackal 33 leapt out after a target, "Three Four, this is Three Three, stay with me: I'm engaged offensive." Claire swept in behind Caveman, covering his six.

Mario, as Jackal 31 called out, "This is Three One, Bolo's gone. I need cover." Two Orion fighters had sandwiched him and he was in serious trouble. Claire saw this, but she couldn't leave her wingman. Her heart ached and she could only grit her teeth.

The battle was desperate, Jackal 21 had scored a kill, as did two others, but Jackal 24 took a direct hit from the frigate's disruptors and was destroyed. Lieutenant Commander Hood and Lieutenant JG Peralta snap turned and launched their torpedoes at the frigate. The first brought down the Orion's forward shield and the second smashed into the port nacelle. As the nacelle came apart, warp plasma began spewing into the surrounding space. The frigate lurched to port and began tumbling.

Caveman lit out after two fighters. He locked one up, "Jackal Three Three, fox two." A missile flew from Caveman's fighter. The Orion fighter erupted upon being hit, throwing debris everywhere. The second Orion fired phasers into a nearby asteroid, shattering it. Chunks of rock shot out in all directions. Claire rolled to starboard and hit full ventral thrusters. A five-meter rock glanced off of her shields. Kearn was not so lucky. Being fifty meters ahead of Claire, he had less time to react. A two-meter chunk impacted directly on his shield, crushing it. The rock shattered on the shield, but centimeter-sized fragments rained down on Jackal 33, punching tiny holes in the skin of the craft.

"This is Jackal Three Three. I'm hit. Impulse off line. Weapons twenty percent. I need cover," Caveman called desperately. Claire rolled inverted, looking for the bandit. She switched to active sensors and found him coming around to finish her wingman. Claire snapped off a missile on passive seeking mode as she had no time for a lock. The missile took the cue and slammed into the engine of the Orion fighter.

"Jackal Three Four. Fox two kill," she called. An immediate scan revealed no other bandits nearby. Claire then lit out to find Rancho, "Three Three, this is Three Four. I'll be back."

Rancho had destroyed one fighter, but was being peppered by the remaining two. From long-range, Claire locked on to one of the fighters. Its sensor-warning receiver must have given it warning as it began evasive maneuvers. Claire launched anyway, "Jackal Three Four. Fox one." The shot was a miss, but it distracted the attackers. Claire pushed to half impulse and dodged a rolling asteroid. Popping out from behind the rock, she fired phasers into one of the Orions, "Jackal Three Four. Guns kill." The other Orion lit out.

The Orions had retreated, but losses were heavy. VFA 175 was called in to help tow damaged fighters home. Commander Yee was dead as were four others. It was a quiet night in the galley as the Wolfpack licked their wounds. As the "pack" moped about, eating their chow, Horatio Kearn came up behind Claire. Gently, he tapped her on the shoulder. She turned slowly, but upon seeing him, she gave a defensive look. Kearn held up his right hand, "Hey, Claire. Umm, you saved my life. I've been really crappy to you and I'm sorry."

Claire went back and forth on stiffing him. She had a tough time letting go of animosities. After what seemed like an eternity, she shook his hand, "No sweat, Caveman. I'd save your butt anytime."

At that time, Rancho came up to the two, "Take a number Caveman, 'cause this one saved us both." He wrapped Claire up in a big bear hug and spun her around, which caught her by surprise. She let out a very uncharacteristic squeal. Mario put Claire down and looked at her sternly, "I did a little research and I have a callsign for you: Raven."

Claire blinked. "Where did you find out about that?" she asked.

He gave a wry smile. "I have my sources."

Claire gave him a playful push. "You talked to my Grandma, didn't you?"

Mario shook his head, while twirling his mustache with his fingers. "Sorry, top secret."