Bad, worse and 'Oh, my god!'
For just a moment, the bridge of the Alliance fleet carrier Denali was utterly still as the Voth fleet that had ambushed them was ambushed in turn by another force. The Voth fleet was sizable, a large capital class ship that the Denali's sensors identified as a 'Citadel' class dreadnought, surrounded by almost a dozen smaller ships that were classified as 'Bastion' cruisers and 'Palisade' frigates. Mary didn't know a lot about the Voth. She had never dealt with them in any of her journeys. She did know they were a hostile race from the Delta Quadrant, all the way across the galaxy from the Beta quadrant where the Federation was situated. So why were they here?
Her musing was cut short as a volley of projectiles that the sensors identified as some sort of plasma arced from the dreadnought at the Denali. She started barking commands and her crew obeyed, taking the projectiles under fire and eliminating them well before they could pose a threat to the ship. She smiled grimly as the newcomers, an eclectic group of ships, attacked the Voth flank and their weapons were as varied as their ships. Phasers, disruptors and other weapons Mary had no names for pounded the Voth from an angle they clearly hadn't expected. She saw Krenn's Fencer darting in and out of the combat, its disruptors poking holes in anything that got too close. A D7 that Mary recognized as Neesha's ship followed it, if slightly less daring. Krenn was scary. The Reflective Master's ability to interpret enemy motivations and thoughts led to a downright uncanny way of knowing where and when to be to do the most damage and avoid it as well. His old ship never took hits! Neesha's ship did, but it shrugged them off as she followed her battle commander into the fray. The cloud of other ships that had appeared with them were smaller than the D7 and D6, but no less power. Mary saw Klingon ships, Romulan ships, Federation ships, Ferengi, Orion, all sorts. And wait a minute! Was that a Tzenkethi ship? All pouring fire into the Voth who had been focused on the Denali. Then the massive Romulan dreadnought Bloodwing opened fire and it was immediately clear that the Denali had not been hit by that ship's weapons the first time it had been attacked by plasma. Six huge plasma projectiles tore from the Bloodwing and arced towards the Voth at far higher speed than normal plasma torpedoes. Even Romulan plasma torpedoes were not that fast. If those had hit the Denali? The ship, and Mary, would have been ashes. Then it fired the same number again! How many launchers did that ship have? The massive green balls of sun hot fury slammed into the Voth dreadnought and it flashed, impossibly strong shields holding even those titanic heat blasts away from its hull. Other Voth ships exploded as lesser defenses than the dreadnought's were overwhelmed. The battle was not one sided though. The Voth were fighting back, even as surprised as they had been, their weapons were powerful and many of the ships that had appeared took hits, one old style Federation Steamrunner class escort simply vanishing as its warp core exploded and-
"No!" Mary bit back a scream as Neesha's D7 took a hit from something and went pinwheeling away from the battle, its engines sparking and dropping plasma. Several Voth ships took advantage of the D7's sudden lack of maneuverability and fired at it, but the Bloodwing moved to shield it! The massive dreadnought's shields held long enough for the D7 to cloak and then reformed somehow. "What the-?"
Mary inhaled in shock. Neesha and Owlesha hated each other! It was a longstanding family disagreement and Mary hadn't remembered it all until very recently. Neesha hadn't been happy with Mary taking in the orphan Romulan and the less said about the Klingon's reaction to Owlesha's betrayal after picking up that cursed sword, the better. They had come to blows many times and Owlesha had only survived because her sword could hurt Neesha even as an energy form. Even a sword made to cut anything by a mad telepath couldn't kill her, but it could and had driven the irate energy form Klingon away many times. All their fights did was fan the fires of their hate for each other.
"No one hurts my aunt but me." Came a cold voice from Owlesha as her ship returned the Voth fire with interest. Whereas the massive Voth dreadnought had shrugged off the Bloodwing's attacks, none of the smaller ships she targeted managed to survive more than two hits as her torpedo launchers fired salvo after salvo. Voth ships vanished in sun hot fury as the Thrai spun back to face her massive adversary whose shields were sparking as more and more ships poured fire into it. The two Tholian ships matched its course and speed, but they were not firing. Why not?
"Captain, I checked the database. We must beware when attacking the Voth!" An unexpected voice had Mary spinning to her Second officer whose reptilian face was pulled in a scowl. "The Voth have something that reflects damage taken! Gorn use something similar called Aceton Assimilators! Said Gorn devices draw energy in, and when they reach a high enough level? They will pulse out anti-proton bursts back at the attackers! Nothing can protect from such damage!"
"No." Mary nodded as she took her seat again. She knew all about anti-proton weapons form her time with the Iconians. No defense was proof against such as the Fek'Ihri had learned the hard way over Boreth. Even Iconian ships were not proof from such raw destructive power, hence why they were so quick to replace. "Fall back! Whatever the Voth want, we won't give it to them. We are the prize here. Or… 'I' am." She said very softly. "They had to be the ones who attacked the Denali before. Those plasma projectiles were not torpedoes. Somehow, they hit the ship in warp with that plasma. But then... Why was Owlesha there?" She shook her head. "Mysteries later. For now? Survive. Get us out of here, Helm. Set course 218 mark 7, Evasive Pattern Omicron." The ensign at the helm station nodded and bent to his board. "Keep our escorts close." That was to Jhinis at her com station who didn't nod, but sent a silent acknowledgment back long their mental link.
"More Voth!" The tactical officer called out from his post and Mary's eyes narrowed as another group of mixed cruisers and escorts, six of them, appeared out of some kind of cloak. "Moving to flank us."
"Joy. Helm, change course to 187 and keep us evasive. Where did they come from? How the hell are Voth in the Beta Quadrant anyway?" Mary asked as she perused her displays. "This is way outside their area of operation from what I understand."
"They are a Delta Quadrant threat from what little I know of them." Her second officer was perusing his own readouts. "They haven't been seen in this quadrant before."
"Or no one survived seeing them." Mary said grimly as one of her escorts caught a Voth Antiproton burst, but not squarely. It vanished into cloak to make repairs, but that left a hole in the Denali's defenses. She was about to issue orders to redeploy the remaining escorts when another Bird of Prey decloaked where the other had been and took up station! That Bird of Prey was familiar but not from the Denali. Mary shook her head, pieces were falling into place now. "That is one from the K'Valk's Honor, isn't it?"
"Yes, captain." The tactical officer said slowly. "Only one life form aboard. Though how the hell they are flying the ship alone-" He paused and then all but gulped. "Um… They are requesting to link into our defense grid, Ma'am."
Ordinarily, such would have been unthinkable. To allow an unknown so close was a bad idea usually. Into a close knit defense? Worse. That said? If that ship wasn't tied into their coms, it wouldn't be effective. In such a battle, close coordination was the only way to win. The swarm of small ships that were still harrying the Voth fleet all around the Bloodwing were clearly coordinated or they would have all been dead by now. The Voth had incredible defenses and powerful weapons. Only close coordination, or a certain Reflective Master's guidance, kept the mismatched fleet of ships from being obliterated. They were losing ships steadily, some destroyed, some damaged and withdrawing. Mary shook her head as pieces fell into place. Mlian vanishing and a Bird of Prey going missing just about the same time. Then Owlesha saying her name? This could not all be a coincidence.
"Are they?" Mary asked softly enough that everyone looked at her. "Put me through." A chime sounded as an icon on Mary's display shone. Before anyone else could speak, Mary did. She tried to get just the right pitch of 'Mom is not happy'. "That is an Alliance Bird of Prey. You do know that 'borrowing' other people's property without asking is called 'stealing', right, Mlian?"
Everyone on the bridge of the Denali gawked at her, but then they stilled as Mlian spoke up from the com!
"Yes. There wasn't time." Mlian wasn't apologizing. She was simply explaining. "I know that I will be punished. I accept that. You needed the help. I had to come."
"Let me guess, Krenn?" Now, Mary's tone was long suffering. Now that her memories were unlocked, she remembered dealing with Krenn before. Both in Starfleet when she was a slave to Lorinos and after her return to this galaxy as a free being trying to get back to Earth. Such had rarely been pleasant, but as far as she knew, she had never been his enemy. Just inconvenient on occasion. He was a pain in the butt and worse? He was usually right! And so very aggravating.
"He and Neesha said you needed me. They were right." Mlian was worried, that was clear. That said? She was standing firm too. A far cry from the hurting, scared Orion child she had been pretending to be before. "I know what I am now and I swear this: I stand with you as you stood with me. I take responsibility for my actions and I will do as you command, Captain Pangolin."
"You better or I will tan your backside, girl." Was that a snicker that came from the com? Mary shook her head as she cut the com to find her entire bridge staring at her as if she had grown two heads. She sighed. "People, focus. We are in a battle. She will behave. Tie her into our defenses." Again, everyone gawked at her. "Now." That was command.
"Whatever you say, Captain, Ma'am." Butter might not have melted in Jhinis' mouth and more than one person snickered at Mary's betrayed look. They did go back to their tasks, but everyone felt a little better. The battle was still in doubt though.
Then, things changed.
"Federation ships dropping out of warp and engaging the Voth!" Came from tactical but Mary had seen the update as soon as it came across her screens, her mind parsing information as fast as a computer. An Akira class destroyer and a Defiant class escort, a Constitution class cruiser and a Nebula science ship all moved to engage the Voth that were trying to hem in the Denali. For their part, the Voth mostly ignored the shots the Federation ships sent their way, clearly focused on their prey. If they got close, Mary didn't like to think what they might have up their scaly sleeves. Their tech was more advanced than she had thought if they could stand off full plasma torpedo salvos from a Romulan ship, even one as old as a Thrai. The Federation ships were outgunned, but fought as a team, each one taking fire and retreating to rebuild their shields while others took the Voth ships on. None of them were in danger of destruction. Not yet anyway. Their phaser fire was not doing much damage, if any, but they were diverting the Voth's attention a bit. It helped.
"Stalemate." Mary said softly as the Voth pursuing her shifted to avoid the federation forces while still trying to hem her in. She could go to warp anytime, but if that weapon had hit the Denali in warp before, even hyperlight travel was no safety. She paused. Why had the Tholians said 'she' could end this? That made no sense. She was on an Alliance ship and the Voth didn't trust the Alliance. They had come to blows too many times in the Delta Quadrant for trust to be achievable. They had basically just started a full scale war with the Federation here if they had fired on the Denali before it had been salvaged by Mary. So… why... Mary stilled. Maybe it wasn't about her.
"Jhinis, has anyone talked to us since the Tholians?" Mary inquired and her Herald sent back a negative thought before shaking her head to keep from creeping out the crew. "Hail the Voth dreadnought."
"Captain?" The Second Officer was clearly confused by this sudden change. Mary turned to him and the Gorn shook his massive head. "What little I know about them says they won't talk to us."
"They might not talk to you or the other races from this quadrant." Mary said as Jhinis worked to establish communication. "But I bet they will talk to me. There is only one reason I can think the Voth of all people might attack a Federation ship in the middle of the Beta Quadrant even if it wasn't technically in Federation space. I was aboard." Again, the Gorn looked confused even as the turbolift shot open and R'Kerti all but threw herself out and towards the secondary helm whose occupant gratefully slid out to let the Gorn take it. R'Kerti might technically be fresh out of the Academy, but she had been helm on the Denali in several battles already and knew the ship. It said something for how big the Jupiter class carrier was that it had taken R'Kerti this long to get here when Battle Stations had been declared. "I studied a little about them at the Academy, not much. Even the Voth don't want war with the entire Federation. They didn't fare so well against Voyager on its own and that was thirty years ago. Before the war with the Klingons. I doubt the Voth will do so well in a full scale war with the Federation now. Yes, their tech is advanced, but nowhere even close to the Iconians and the Federation survived them. If just barely. So, 'I' am the target. What I want to know is 'Why?'."
No one seemed to have any rejoinder for that was the battle continued. Several Voth ships had been destroyed and several of the motley fleet that had come to assist the Denali were hulks as well. Krenn's Fencer was still dancing in and out of the Voth ranks, sowing destruction in the ancient ship's wake. When Mary looked for it, however, the Neesha's D7 was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully cloaked to make repairs, but Mary had little time to worry about that.
"We have connection, but they are not talking." Jhinis said slowly as she accessed readouts far faster than anyone with sight could have managed. Being a Herald was good for some things.
"Put me on. Audio only." Mary shook her head as the Voth that were flanking the Denali closed in further. "Voth Commander… This is Captain Pangolin of the Alliance Carrier Denali." Mary worked hard to keep her tone calm. "Trying to take this ship will not work out well for you. Trying to take me will irritate people who even your kind have to know better than to irritate." There was no response and Mary shook her head. "You cannot win here. Even if you manage by some miracle, to disable this ship, taking me won't gain you anything but a lot of death and misery. Even your kind cannot be arrogant enough to think you can match the Iconians. You have to know better. What do you want?" There was no reply and Mary heaved a sigh. "Very well, you force my hand." She turned to her Second Officer who stared at her expression, or more properly, her non-expression. "Second Officer? This battle has gone on long enough and too many have already perished for nothing. Those Voth ships are in our way. Please remove them."
"Yes, Captain." The Second Officer hissed in agreement. "All ships: Weapons free on any and all Voth targets. Watch for friendly fire, but do clear those scaled scum from our Captain's way." For a reptilian looking being, he did not like the Voth, apparently. Then again, who did?
Just like that, the tide of the battle turned. All four of the Denali's heavily enhanced Bird of Prey disappeared into cloak, leaving the carrier to handle her own point defense. That said? The carrier was out of range of all but those weird long range plasma projectiles and had no need to attack anyone just yet, so every single weapon that the massive ship had was focused on protection. Phasers, disruptors and odder things all fired and none of the Voth projectiles got anywhere close. Then two of the Birds of Prey reappeared, targeting the enemies who had been trying to hem the Denali in. One concentrated firing run later, two of the Voth ships were dead in space and another sparked before exploding. All three of the others, still taking fairly ineffectual fire for the Federation ships, changed formation, starting to retreat.
"Oh, no you don't." Mary was still toneless. "I know your kind do not surrender, so get ready to die. You started this fight. I am going to end it!"
"Stop!" Finally, another voice! That had to be a Voth commander. Mary had never spoken with one, but she had heard recordings at the Academy and one had spoken earlier. The same? Who knew. Another Voth ship exploded but whatever had hit it hadn't decloaked. Could have been anyone.
"Why?" Mary demanded, her tone about as warm as interstellar space. "You think your technology gives you the right to do whatever you want? Well, you are not the only ones with antiproton weapons and other advanced tech. Here is a free hint. My tech is better than yours." That was almost pure 'little bitchy girl' and more than one person goggled at Mary as she fought her rage back. "Feel free to keep shooting, lizard breath!" She glanced at apology at the Gorn on the bridge, but they all seemed amused, not insulted. "I am so sick of people assuming I am a pushover because I try not to antagonize everyone. You and your scum are no better than Lorinos!"
Sudden silence was all that replied, but then…
"Captain!" The Second Officer said, almost dazed. "The Voth ships are deactivating their weapons!"
"What?" Mary snapped. "They don't do that when faced with lesser races! Even I know that!"
"You can say his name." Came a quiet voice from the Voth commander. "Are you… freed then?"
"What do you know of that?" Mary's fought sudden, terrible rage.
"We know he was a threat to everything." Came from the Voth. "He was evil."
"He was thrown out of our reality." Mary probably shouldn't have said such over an open frequency, but she was beyond caring. "Were you one of his pawns?" Her tone said it all. If he had been? She would kill him and enjoy it.
"Don't believe him!" Came from Owlesha! "He lies!"
"I am not talking to you, Owlesha." A glance at Jhinis had the Herald trying to cut the other out of the communication. Maybe she could, maybe she couldn't. Mary didn't really care. "Give me one good reason I should not blow you and your entire fleet out of the sky for attacking me, Voth."
"We did not serve him. We were not attacking you." Was the Voth sounding desperate? If so, that was the smartest thing he had done so far. Even the arrogant lizards had to know how outclassed their entire race was again the Iconians.
"Oh?" Mary's was still in 'scary talk' mode. "So, you fired on the Denali before and just now… To do what?" She snorted. "Besides start a war, that is. Because that is what you just did. War with the Federation, the Alliance and the Iconians."
"We want no war with the Iconians!" The Voth commander declared. "We were ordered to rescue you."
WHAT?