Chapter 3
Stardate 59519.7
The tension in the room increased sharply as the lighting dimmed about the bridge crew. Thoughts fluttered about as if floating on a light wind, calling out to the young betazed's mind. Fear, anger, anticipation.
Lt. Commander Brianna Venoi, ship's counselor took a deep breath and tried to calm her own mind to filter out all the other thoughts straying through the air.
"Yellow Alert," Captain Sulanic's soothing voice called out through the throng of voices that filled the cabin. "Lt. Psan An Alb Kouish, slow us down to one-quarter impulse and match their moves. Comm, continue to hail them."
Bri turned from the Vulcan's sharp features to the view screen at the front of the bridge. The ship had been on an intercept course for the last fifteen minutes, matching the Horizon's speed. There was no doubt, this strange new vessel had every intention of meeting the crew.
The ship was large, though not nearly as large as a Sovereign-Class vessel. Early scans had shown it to be comparable in technology, though to what extent, it would be difficult to tell until they met face to face.
Why have they not contacted us, yet? Captain Sulanic's thoughts pushed through. Logically, one would not press a Federation ship without reason.
Bri looked to the screen again and reached out with her own mind. She could feel masses on board the vessel, but they were jumbled. Too many, too close together. Added to the distance from the Horizon, and it was nearly impossible to pick apart any one voice. Together, though, the overwhelming feeling was…annoyance. Boredom, perhaps. Business as usual.
"They have not responded to our hails, Captain," Psan An Alb Kouish said. His blue skin reflected the soft yellow lights through the cabin, though his large black eyes seemed to soak in everything around him. "If I may be so bold, Starfleet Regulation 19--"
The Captain knows Starfleet Regulations, Lieutenant, thank you very much," Commander Mina answered sternly. Her thoughts were the sharpest of the lot, this red-haired Bajoran. Easily, she was the most focused on the situation, but her…irritation with others often got in the way.
"Nonetheless, Commander," Sulanic replied. "Psan An Alb Kouish, raise shields, but do not power up our weapons."
"Sir, I'm getting two more warp readings!" Lieutenant Valkir called from the back of the bridge.
"Location?" Mina asked.
"I…I can't get an exact location, Commander," Valkir answered.
"Why not?" Mina asked.
"The signatures aren't there any longer," Valkir answered. "It's like they were there, and then they vanished."
We've seen this before, Sulanic's mind whispered. Romulan, Klingon cloaking technologies.
Bri closed her eyes for a moment and she reached out. Echoes in the darkness touched her mind. "Captain!" she called out to the bridge. "No, they're there! They're…excited!"
"Excited?" Sulanic asked. "Fascinati--"
Before the Vulcan Captain could finish, warning lights flashed and horns called. The ship automatically came under red alert.
Several voices began shouting at once. Two more vessels, engine matrices matching the first vessel, de-cloaking off the port and aft. High energy readings, could be weapons.
"Evasive Maneuvers, Lieutenant!" Captain Sulanic called surprisingly calmly. Bri could feel a small spike within the Vulcan's heart rate. Even he was a little surprised by the sudden attack.
"Ready counter-measures!" Commander Mina shouted.
"Enemy ships are adjusting courses, 3709.6, 48907.45, and 1254, Captain!"
"Enemy ships 1 and 2 are charging their cannons, readying another salvo!"
"Damage reports from decks 14, and 15: Hull degradation on both--"
"Sir, ES 3 has cloaked, we lost them from sensors!"
"Evasive Maneuver Theta 13," Mina barked.
"Bring Phasers and Quantum Torpedoes online," Sulanic called.
"Commander! ES 3 has de-cloaked at our port side! They're firing!"
"Engineering, this is the bridge, we need to divert power from the warp engines to the shields and modulate the frequencies," Sulanic called into his communicator.
"Evasive Maneuver Alpha--"
"Too late," Sulanic interrupted. "All hands, brace for impact!"
The red orb on the view screen grew larger until it filled the whole screen and disappeared. Chaos erupted. The ship shook violently as several panels at the back of the room blew out. Fire erupted through the back of the bridge and several panels fell from above the work stations, spilling fluid down on the floor.
Bri rubbed at a wet spot on her cheek and pulled her finger back. It took a moment for her brain to register the thick gray liquid on her finger. Blood. Aloguin blood from Lt. N'moir, who had only a second ago been standing at science terminal three.
The Lieutenant's body had been effectively split apart in several places from the explosion, his body parts having sprayed about where he had been standing. The gruesome sight was forever burned into the psyche's of all around.
"Another salvo launched, sir!"
"Can we get around it!" Mina shouted.
"Sir, the shots are passing directly through our shields!"
"Everyone calm yourselves," Sulanic called. "Ready Quantum torpedoes. Helm Evasive Maneuver Alpha 1."
Bri could feel a relative calm pass through the crew. The Captain wasn't worried, why should they?
"EM Alpha 1, aye, Captain," Psan An Alb Kouish answered, his fish-like head nodding.
Bri swore she could feel the ship tilting ever so slightly as the engines powered up, though she knew it was not possible to do. Slowly, she dared her eyes to look at the tactical display on her miniature monitor at her station. Readouts flashed across it telling her numerous bits of information. She was most interested in speed and course, however, both of the ship and the incoming shots. The numbers looked odd at first, but Bri's mind quickly figured out why. The torpedoes were matching speed and course. They turned and the first shot slammed into the back of the ship, hitting mostly shuttle bays while the second came down directly on top of decks 21 and 22. Engineering.
Before she could react, her screen shifted a little and grew brighter. Sparks shot out the sides and the view screen blew up in her face, blinding her for a moment. She felt the heat from the pulse, smelled the burning of hair, but she knew she was not hit bad.
"Captain?" Bri heard. It was Mina, her voice was panicked. Bri lifted her head to try to see, but as she opened her eyes, she winced. Her vision was affected. It would take several minutes for her to regain her sight. She reached out with her mind and felt Mina's shock as she looked at the green blood on her arms.
Sulanic was dead.
"Enemy ships closing in around us, Commander!" Psan An Alb Kouish called.
"Energy readings spiking, Commander!"
"Fires all through the ship! We've lost contact with Engineering!"
Anger swelled up within the Bajoran commander. "Shut up!" she screamed.
Fear ripped through the crew. All were suddenly very frightened of Commander Mina.
Bri fell to her knees from her seat, the edges of her eyes still searing. She reached up and tapped her badge. "Captain Dorsey to the bridge. Immediately."
IIII
Alexander felt the world about him shudder and twist. Smoke filled the air, as panic and fear swept through the Engineering deck.
He felt as though he had no strength left in his muscles, would never have strength left in his whole body, yet knew if he stayed right there, he would die. The Captain opened his eyes and pushed his arms down on the carpeting. His body lifted from the seared red floor, watching as a small line of blood fell from his nose to the floor below him.
A head pushed under his armpit and arms passed around his body, pulling him up to his feet. Alexander looked to his left to find the side of Lt. Armand's curly hair. Alexander was grateful as the young officer helped him stand against the panel.
Several Ensigns and a few officers had already bolted down the hall or through the Jeffries' tubes. Alexander turned to face the deck behind him.
The fires had already been separated and put out by the ship's EVAC system. Small holes straight out of the ship high above shown through on the fifth deck up, emergency shielding having already filled into place to keep everything from being sucked into the vacuum of space.
The engine core, itself, miraculously, was mostly unharmed, and still functioning, though most systems appeared to be offline. Half the stations in Engineering had been blown out by the explosion, and only half of those were still manned.
Alexander turned to see Armand standing before him, taking in the damage through the room, as well. His face was covered with black smoke and dried blood, his uniform was tattered and bloody along his right arm.
The dark-haired woman whose thick Irish accent flared when she became angry eased up behind the young Lieutenant. Her left eye was red and swollen, though otherwise she seemed no worse for the wear. "Chief Venul is dead, sir," she whispered, her voice raspy from the smoke.
"What's the word, Captain?" Amir asked.
Alexander took a short breath, pain shooting up his ribs. He realized all eyes in the room were staring at him. He exhaled shortly, rubbing at the blood under his nose to clear it away. "What's your name, Ensign?"
The dark-haired woman's eyes widened and she put her hand to her chest. "Me, sir?"
Alexander nodded.
"Ensign Jewels Menendez, sir," she answered.
"Ensign, I'm promoting you to a field-rank of Lt. Commander," Alexander answered. "You're in command on board this deck. Priority goes to communication. Get the bridge, find out what's going on up there. Second, get warp engines online. We're going to need them more than impulse or anything else, at the moment."
"Sir," Lt. Commander Menendez nodded.
"Another thing, Commander," Alexander raised his finger. "I want no one punished for abandoning their station, you understand?"
"Sir?" Amir asked.
"As soon as communications are back up, send out a call through the ship, get everyone back down here, and get repairs going. No one is to be in trouble for leaving their post, not this time. I expect a tight ship in here, Commander."
"Yes, sir," Jewels answered. "That won't be a problem."
Alexander nodded and turned to the Jeffries' tubes.
"Sir?" Amir asked. "Where are you going?"
"Where I should have been all along," Alexander answered.
"Captain Dorsey to the bridge. Immediately." Alexander's communicator chirped, static filling the voice at the other side. The Captain brushed back his hair and took a deep breath before setting off on the long climb up.
IIIIII
"All hands brace for impact!"
Alexander wrapped his arm around the last rung of the Jeffries Tube tunnel and closed his eyes. The slow vibrations quickly increased in intensity rattling the bars and bringing more chaos above. The Captain lost his footing on the rungs and screamed out as his arms pinched along the top rung. He knew not to let go no matter how hard the ship was shaking or it would be a long trip down.
The violent shudders of the ship finally eased and passed on, causing the top rung to loosen a little. Alexander gritted his teeth and lifted his hands to the carpeted floor of the bridge, pulling himself to the deck.
"Their torpedoes are ripping right through our shields as though they aren't even there!"
"We have decompression on decks 12, 14, and 15!"
"Phasers are offline, Warp engines are down!"
"Torpedo bays 1, 3, and 4 are destroyed. Torpedo bay 2 is exhausted of all payload!"
Smoke poured around the rear weapons panels, brushing into Alexander's eyes and causing him to cough with several other officers still manning their stations. Two bodies lay on the floor spread out nearby. Panels behind him were blown and exposed wiring flashed and sparked from above, dripping bio-neural gel to the floor where it began eating through the carpeting.
Alexander turned to face the screen, watching as it flickered and snowed, looking as though the ship were passing through a nebula.
"Shut up! Shut up! All of you shut up and focus!" the red-haired Bajoran Commander from before screamed. "Get Phasers back online and get a hold of engineering, I don't care what it takes! We need emergency thrusters!"
"Captain on the deck!" a young Lieutenant shouted from behind Alexander. Alexander brushed at his eyes trying to keep the smoke away, pursed his lips together and stepped forward. All eyes on the bridge turned to him.
Alexander took deep breaths for a moment as he looked around the room. Exposed wiring, smoke rising to the roof, dead and injured throughout the room. His pulse rised for a moment as flashbacks of Locutus calling out over the intercom swept through the back of his memories. He looked down and rubbed at his temples.
"Captain?"
"Clear the bridge of all non-combat personnel," Alexander said, barely above a whisper.
As more than half of the bridge personnel cleared out, carefully hurrying past the debris and bodies, a thousand questions came into his mind at a thousand miles per hour. Who was attacking? Why were they attacking? Where was Captain Sulanic? How many enemies were there?
"Helm?"
"Sir."
"I don't care if you have to get out and push, get me evasive maneuvers," Captain Alexander Dorsey called, moving past the end seats and sitting in the Captain's chair. "Engineering is in worse shape than the bridge, so you'll have to work out the repairs yourself."
"Captain…" the red-haired commander hissed at his side.
Alexander ignored her and turned to the young Andorian behind him. "Weaps?"
"Sir?"
"Is the enemy firing on us?" he asked.
"No sir, they fire salvos of three before their cannons have to recharge," Weaps answered. "I estimate thirty seconds before the two ships open fire again."
"Shields?" Alexander asked.
"Down to thirty percent, sir, but their pulse torpedoes are passing through them as if they weren't even there," Weaps answered.
"Captain, with all due respect, I know you're higher--" the commander started again.
"Helm, what about the warp engines?" Alexander asked, again ignoring the Commander.
"Online, sir, barely," Helm answered. "I can give us warp 4, maybe 5. We're venting coolant all over the place, though."
"Sir, I have 25 Impulse power."
"Move us!" Alexander hissed. "2349.5, down bubble 90 degrees."
"Sir!" helm responded.
"Keep the impulse engines venting," Alexander called.
"Sir!" the red-haired Commander hissed. "I was in command, here! You had no right--"
"Now is not the time or place, Commander," Alexander hissed as he stood, straightening the top of his uniform. He moved to the Helm and knelt next to the young Lieutenant furiously pecking away at the command monitor in front of him. Sweat fell from his forehead down onto the soft black screen before him.
"Easy, son," Alexander said, putting his hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder. "We'll get through this."
IIII
Professional.
Perhaps that was the best word to describe the room since the Captain appeared on deck. Thoughts floating through the air were uneasy, unsure. Few even knew a Captain was on board the ship, but at the same time, most were glad Commander Mina was no longer in charge.
Captain Alexander Dorsey's mind was clear. Not calm, not too uneasy, but it was clear…focused, perhaps. Seldom did he speak without thinking and his mind never stopped racing, which was what drew Commander Bri's attention to him in the first place.
"Keep the coolant venting, Lieutenant," Captain Dorsey calmly said.
"Enemy ships closing on aft and port sides, sir," Tactical called. "Still no sign of Enemy ship 3."
"Weaps, ready aft torpedoes," the Captain ordered. "A burst of two, directly at the enemy vessels, then the last directly at the coolant."
"The coolant, sir?" Psan An Alb Kouish asked.
"That's the tricky part, isn't it?" Alexander smiled.
The part where you make us all dead, the thought drifted from Psan An Alb Kouish's mind. Bri huffed at the thought. And yet, she could not help but notice the quiet that now passed through the bridge. Most were still unsure of what to think, but they weren't as afraid as they had been.
"A split second after you fire the torpedo, cut the coolant leak and engage maximum warp," Captain Dorsey answered.
"That will indeed be tricky, sir," Psan An Alb Kouish answered. "What is our course?"
"Nearest celestial body," Alexander answered.
"Sir!" Weaps called out. "Energy spike…the enemy is powering up their cannons for another shot."
"Drop us to 1/10 impulse, Lt.," Captain Dorsey ordered, standing and crossing his arms. "Exert a good deal of energy into the engines. Make it look like we're blowing a fuse."
"Enemy vessels are slowing, sir, rounding to our port and starboard sides, Captain. Power levels are at their highest output. Looks like they're readying a final shot."
Alexander turned and looked at the bridge crew around him before sitting in his chair. His chair. Somehow, it felt odd to say that, yet, Bri knew…it was his, now.
"Enemy vessels are firing," Weaps said. His voice was unusually calm.
"Lt, engage," Captain Dorsey ordered.
The Horizon cut its coolant, which had already spread throughout the area, fired two torpedoes at each ship, a third at the trail of coolant and immediately jumped to warp speed.
Both enemy ships easy maneuvered away from the torpedoes, but, as the third hit the coolant, it lit the highly explosive liquid and engulfed the entire region in a massive explosion. The two ships were instantly destroyed.
Most on board the bridge, Bri included, wanted to shout and cheer. However, all were unsure what this new Captain would think, as he, himself, kept very quiet, staring at the screen with his hands crossed under his chin and elbows resting on his knees. The bridge crew decided on small jubilations within their own minds, instead.
"Sir, I am picking up a warp signature," Psan An Alb Kouish called back. "It is sporadic, but definitely a ship."
"I assume it's another enemy vessel?" Captain Dorsey asked.
"At least one other ship had been seen in the area, sir," Weaps answered. "It is likely they are pursuing."
Alexander nodded. "Are they keeping up?"
"We're giving it Warp 4.7, sir," Psan An Alb Kouish answered. "It seems they are matching the speed."
"Well, they're not firing," Captain Dorsey sighed. "Until they do, let's pretend we don't notice them. Course and heading?"
"56332.7 Mark 345.3, sir. A Class T System. Pulsar, 2 planets and thousands of asteroids, mostly spread across four belts."
"Perfect," Captain Dorsey answered. "ETA?"
"Two hours."
"Bridge to all hands," Alexander called aloud. "We have come under attack by an unknown enemy. For the moment we've managed to slip by them, but we don't know how long we can run. All hands continue to stay at battle stations until we know we're clear. You all have done an excellent job. Everyone, please return to your posts, find your highest commanding officer and begin all possible repairs. Senior Officers are to meet in fifteen minutes on the bridge. Captain Dorsey out."
Captain Dorsey hung his head for a moment, his eyes dancing across the dead bodies sprawled along the floor, likely only noticing them for the first time. Captain Sulanic lie at his feet. The young Captain brushed his hands over his eyes for a moment and turned to Commander Mina. "You have the bridge for the moment. Anything happens, I'll be in the ready room."
IIIII
More to come.