Chapter 21: Stirring Up The Hornets' Nest
Reviewers:
Shogun Lodge: Thanks for the compliments! One hive ship no way, but a dozen, oh yeah. As for Picard's new ship, you'll see!
Liljimmyurine: I think I gave the Orks a pretty good run. Also, I'll be the one who decides which Chaos Gods survived.
Silvanas: Your right, the Dragon would assume Human form. Sorry for the slow update rate. My senior project's really slowing me down. I HATE SENIOR PROJECT! Permission granted for your opposite view idea, but is it just for the battle for Kitomer? If so than you could probably start right now.
BGTom: I know what it's called. I just decided to do the bomber seen instead. The Halo universe idea is interesting, but if I decide to do it it's still a long way off. But thanks for the idea.
Grayangle: Great ideas as always. I'll put as much codex stuff as I can, but yeah I'll probably add some modifications of my own. The 40k galaxy will come back into the picture soon. The big Ork idea is good. If I use it I'll probably bring in a creation of my own. Now don't flame me for this idea, but what does everyone think of KLINGON SPACE MARINES? They could match those Orks don't ya think?
Joseph Rosario: Not to worry, the Necrons are here to stay, for a while at least. Thanks for the compliments! I have a feeling the Tyranids will soon be eating chainfists for every meal pretty soon.
On the surface the Imperial ground army was finishing off the few Orks who had survived the battle. Precise orbital strikes were used to destroy the Ork Roks. Picard was meeting with General Drennon in his command tank when the call came.
"Admiral, a call is coming in for you sir," Drennon said.
"Picard here."
"Admiral, I have bad news. The Enterprise was destroyed." Picard was silent for a long moment.
"Were there any survivors?"
"Yes, most of the crew made it out. They are being brought aboard the Emperor's Judgment now."
"I'm on my way."
A minute later Picard materialized in the main sickbay of the Emperor's Judgment. It was filled with thousands of patience brought on board from destroyed ships. A surgeon showed Picard to the place where the Federation survivors were. Worf was the only one who had more than some scratches and bruises. His arm had been hit by a falling support beam. It was tightly bound and he had a burn scar on his face. Both were being treated with Nano probes, a recent addition to Imperial medicine.
"Are you all right Mr. Worf?" Picard asked.
"Yes sir. Minor injuries," he said. "The medics say I should be back on duty in three days."
"How many did we lose?"
"Seventeen sir?" Worf answered.
"Admiral? An aide asked as he came up to Picard. "Your presence is requested on the bridge sir."
"Get well soon Mr. Word," Picard said as he left.
This was one of the first times Picard had set foot on the command deck of an Imperial vessel. He was awed by the hundreds of men and machines working in perfect harmony. Servitors, stacked in layers along two of the walls, processed vast amounts of information and fed the relevant bits to their organic counterparts. The Captain, a massive man named Haredin, noticed Picard and strode over to him.
"Admiral, I would like to express my deepest condolences on the destruction of your ship. It is a difficult thing for any captain to bear."
"Thank you captain," Picard answered. "The important thing is most of her crew have survived to serve on the next Enterprise. So tell me captain, is there something you wanted to discuss with me?"
"Yes Admiral, but I would prefer if we spoke in my cabin."
"Very well, lead the way," Picard said. The Captain's cabin was furnished with fine wood furniture and expensive looking artwork. A large bookshelf sat behinds the captain's large Oak desk, filled with data slates.
"As you can see Admiral, I am somewhat of a collector. Now, down to business. I have recently received an astropathic message from Lord Admiral Madthayn. The battle against the Tyranids does not go well Admiral. They are far more deadly than we had anticipated. The Lord Admiral's fleet has taken heavy losses. Tell me Admiral, do you consider yourself an expert on the Borg?"
"What relevance does that have? The Borg are gone."
"Please, just answer the question."
"I would like to think I understood their tactics and motives as well as any man," the Admiral replied.
"Excellent. The Lord Admiral's fleet will be arriving here within the hour, and Madthayn said to tell you that he is bringing something for you."
"For me you say?"
And so you the next hour, Picard waited on the bridge, getting the layout of the place. He met the ships commissioner, a massive man named Klieve. He learned from him the laws which governed a navy vessel. They were far harsher than anything done aboard a Federation starship. He also learned the rate of deaths common in the lower ranks. When he was about to go further on the subject, the officer of the watch announced that a warp exit was forming. From the exit emerged what was left of Lord Admiral Madthayn's battered fleet. Over half the ships were gone, and many of those left showed massive damage. The Harbringer of Vengeance had lost most of its starboard batteries and showed heavy damage to its engine array.
"The Lord Admiral is signaling us captain," the Watch officer reported.
"Bring it up," he ordered. The bridge of the Lord Admiral's flagship was a mess. Consoles were blown apart and dead servitors littered the floor. Madthayn had a cast on his left arm and a large bandage on his forehead.
"Greeting Admiral Picard. As you can see the Tyranids gave us quite the bloody nose. I would invite you here but the briefing room has taken heavy damage. I request you and the fleet accompany me back to Terra where we can plan our next moves. We managed to give as good as we got to the Tyranids, so they should retreat for a short time."
The trip to Earth would take about a day at Transwarp. During that time Madthayn informed Picard of the new Tyranids.
"They were much more intelligent. They defended their main hive ships quite effectively, and their warrior breeds are much stronger than those we have encountered before. That is why I would like you to take command of the fleet being assembled to defeat the Tyranids. Your experience with the Borg makes you the perfect candidate. The Tyranids are also governed by a hive mind." Suddenly the ship gave a great shudder and dropped out of Transwarp.
"Madthayn to bridge, what's going on?" He demanded.
"We've been pulled out of Transwarp sir. We're detecting a Tyranid fleet."
"What? How many ships?"
"At least five hundred sir."
"Well Admiral, it would seem you will have the chance to prove yourself against the Tyranids sooner than I thought."
Picard and Madthayn swiftly made their way to the bridge. The viewers showed the bio ships approaching. Picard had never seen anything like them. Living creatures, with tendrils and bio weapons sprouting like weeds out of their hulls. Waves of smaller creatures surged ahead of the main force.
"Admiral, you are in command. I will give you advice, but I would like to test your command capabilities. Just think of them as insects, the bigger they are the more important they are." Madthayn said. "We await your orders Admiral." Every eye belonging to a sentient being was on Picard. He briefly froze, than his training took over.
"Signal the fleet! Come to battle formation. Launch all fighter craft. Have our Longbow frigates target those small creatures with area effect warheads. Then have our fighters punch through and attack the largest of the bio ships. Order all capital warships to target the enemy vessels our fighters are not attacking," he spat out the stream of orders with practiced ease, and to their credit the crew hurried to comply. Thousands of Furies and Starhawks surged out of their carrier ships and engaged the Tyranid vanguard craft. Longbows launched wide area warheads that reaped horrific tallies among the Tyranids. Then the fighters were through. Furies protected the Starhawks from enemy ordinance and point defenses. Many fighters were lost, but the bombers struck several bio ships hard. Blood and viscera streamed out of the dead and dying Tyranid vessels. Bio-acid and point defense organisms reacted swiftly to defend their parent ships. Suicide creatures slammed into fighters, blowing both up in massive explosions.
"Nemesis leader to Admiral Picard, we're getting hammered here."
"Withdraw. You've done your job," came the reply.
"You heard the man, let's go home," Nemesis leader ordered.
While the Tyranids were recovering from the loss of several of their main hive ships, the Imperium fleet began bombarding htem with weapons fire. The fleet began to fall apart. Still, several ships were destroyed by enemy weapons. Suddenly a collision alarm sounded on board the Admiral's ship.
"Sir, somehow several Tyranid boarding pods have slipped through our defenses. They're boarding us!" Shouted an officer.
"Have security forces move in and contain them." Picard ordered. Commissioner Klaine left to take command of the counter boarding action. "Give me a view from the security cameras," Picard ordered. What he saw on that screen he would never forget. Thousands of black carapaced insects moved through the corridors, massive lumbering monsters to tiny but vicious beetle-like creatures. Crewmen armed with everything from chainswords to pipe wrenches met the Tyranids hand to hand. Most were ripped apart in seconds. Others were showered with acid blood from Tyranid dead. Picard could only watch as the most horrific fighting he had ever seen played out just a few decks below.
"With me men! Come on men, beat then back!" Commissioner Klaine shouted. He wielded a chainsword in one hand and a Plasma Pistol in the other. A Hormagaunt leapt at him, lash whip aiming for his face. He fed it the blade of his chainsword. A warrior tried to eviscerate him with its bonesword. He ducked, losing some of his hair, the man next to him losing his head, and gave it a volley from his Plasma Pistol. The battle was raging, with both sides taking massive losses. Across from him, a man with his back broken allowed himself to be devoured by a massive Hive Tyrant. Then the brace of grenades he'd been wearing blew the monstrosity apart from the inside out. The loss of one if its commanders stunned the Tyranids for a brief moment, and the defenders used that moment to open up with everything they had. The Tyranids still attacked with suicidal frenzy. A Broodlord slashed through a squad of armsmen, and leapt for the Commissioner. He blasted an arm off with his pistol, and slipped between the gaps left in its attack. A claw sliced into his shoulder, causing him to drop his pistol. The Tyranid commander moved in for the kill when a flamer washed through the corridor, cutting a swath through the Tyranids. While the Broodlord was reeling from the pain, Commissioner Klaine aimed his Plasma Pistol and vaporized the beast's head. With the loss of its last commander, the Tyranid hoard was easy meat for the rest of the crew. The battle still left thousands of crew dead, and many more injured. Transporters teleported the worst cases to sickbay. "Klaine to bridge, boarding attempt repealed."
"Acknowledged Picard." He could not shake the scenes that had passed on the pict screens.
"Sir, the Tyranid fleet has been destroyed. Losses stand at seventy ships destroyed, one hundred twenty three damaged but still able to enter Transwarp. With their fleet gone Transwarp Drive is back online. Resuming course for Earth."
There were no more attacks from the Tyranids. It was deduced the enemy had been a splinter fleet, roaming the galaxy gathering information on potential food sources. When the fleet arrived at Earth, Picard saw they had come out of Transwarp at Utopia Plenitia. It was at least ten times larger than the last time Picard had laid eyes upon it.
"Admiral, if you will direct your gaze to the shipyard coming up on your right," Madthayn said. Picard turned and saw a massive ship, larger than the Emperor's Judgment, lying in dock. It was twelve kilometers long, and looked like a navy warship except for the fact it had a deflector dish on its underside and retractable warp nacelles.
"Behold Admiral, the first truly hybrid ship ever built. It's name is Enterprise. I would like for you to take command. It is built to be operated by a combined Starfleet/Imperial crew." Picard was speechless. "However, there is something I would like yout help with first."
"Yes?"
"The crew of the Voyager have begun campaigning to have the Federation leave the Imperium. I would like your help to solve this problem."
"I will try, but I would like to hear both sides of the story first."
"Of course. The hearing is scheduled to begin shortly. A shuttle is waiting to take us to the surface."
"Then let us be on our way," Picard responded. So together, A Federation and an Imperial Admiral prepared to take on possibly the greatest challenge they had ever face, saving an alliance could decide the fate of two galaxies.
How was that? Sorry there was so little Tyranid action, but I promise there'll be more soon. In the next chapter Picard and Madthayn will face Janeway and the Voyager crew. What will the outcome be? The 40ok galaxy may also be involved in the next chapter as well. Please review and stay tuned for Court Date! See ya then!
ENTILZA