Chapter 5
Captain's Log, 04/14/2260-1145: -It seems as though the Challenger has become a magnet for temporal anomalies. As can be seen from the entry timestamp, we have travelled through time. And now it seems as though we have passed into another universe. To make matters worse, I have been told, there is no way for us to return.
O-O-O
"Report," Picard demanded over the din of the alert alarm. As he asked this, the rest of the senior officers took up their normal post. LaForge headed for the turbo-lift, with the officers from Challenger, on his way to engineering.
"Sensors have just picked up an energy spike from the array, Captain." Crusher replied as he got up from the command chair, to take his place at the helm.
"On screen, magnify." Picard said as he took his seat next to Riker.
The main screen flickered, showing an array of long struts three kilometres long in what looked vaguely like a dock of some kind. Only, they had determined from theirs scans of the array, that they were generators of some sort. But what it generated, they did not know – yet. They had also noticed that it contained a previously unknown element.
Now though, within the array, a series of controlled explosions passed down the length of the struts, until finally a vortex formed within it. A moment later, a large grey blocky vessel shot out. The blue vortex collapsed behind it. Staring at the vessel, Picard noted that its middle section spun slowly creating a centrifugal force.
The vessel was massive. But it was bulky with none of the smooth lines of the Enterprise. Even the Challenger had smoother lines than this ship. The message it was giving out was clear. It was a warship.
At the operations station, Data was tapping his controls. "According to intercepted EarthForce communiqués, it's an Omega-class destroyer." He paused, as a new reading appeared on his readouts. "Sir, it's on a direct course for what we've confirmed is the Orion VII colony. That course will take it past our co-ordinates in one minute sixteen seconds. Average velocity equates to point eight-seven percent impulse."
"No inertial dampers, Riker murmured. Picard just nodded slightly, silently agreeing with him.
"Sir," Yar said. "Challenger, signalling she's ready for combat manoeuvres at your command."
"Signal for them to standby." Picard commanded.
"One minute to intercept…"
"Mr. Crusher, hold our relative position to the destroyer," Picard ordered. "Instruct Challenger to match, but to close to within one hundred metres of ourselves."
"Slowly," Riker added. "They can't travel that fast. I' don't think we should let them know that we can either."
Picard nodded in agreement.
"Hold relative position, aye; instruct Challenger to close to within one hundred metres of us, slowly, aye."
A new alarm sounded at the tactical station.
"Sir," Yar reported. "EarthForce destroyer signalling. Audio only."
"Open a channel," Picard said.
"This is Captain John Simpson of the EAS Odysseus," the male voice said commandingly, "to unidentified vessels. You are in a restricted sector of Earth Alliance territory. Identity yourselves or be destroyed."
"Lieutenant Yar," Riker quietly commanded. "Tactical analysis."
Yar grinned as she gave her report. The grin alone told Riker and Picard, that the Odysseus was no match for them. The Enterprise and Challenger had the destroyer outgunned. They listened anyway, so they could learn the specifics. "Sensors detect minimal armaments; multiple particle lasers, multiple plasma cannons and a pair of missile launchers. It also has multiple energy projectors of some kind. "Not much power behind them. It also has some sort of energy projection system."
"Captain Simpson," Picard replied more pleasantly than he really felt. "I am Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Federation starship Enterprise."
"Human names," Simpson responded. "Given the names of yourself and your quaint vessels. I have to assume that you are part of the rebellion against President Clark. As such, I order you to surrender your vessels and prepare to be boarded." As Simpson was saying this, Picard could see numerous small fighter craft exiting a bay on the front of the Odysseus. The fighters seemed to be shaped like an 'X' while the pods were roughly conical with four landing pads at the narrow end, and four engines at the wide rear. They were turning towards the two starships. "You have twenty seconds to comply."
Boarding Pods? Picard thought. Don't they have transporters? It would seem not, he decided.
"Captain Simpson," Picard responded sternly. "I will not surrender this ship or my companion. If any of your craft should come within one hundred metres of this ship or the Challenger, then you run the risk of the said craft being severely damaged or even destroyed." As he finished his statement, he turned to Lieutenant Yar at the tactical station, making a slashing gesture across his throat; ordering the channel closed. "All hands, battle stations."
O-O-O
Aboard the EAS Odysseus, Captain Simpson was worried.
He had exited the Orion VII jump gate intending to cut the EAS Alexander off from any avenue of escape. Only it hadn't worked out as planned. On re-entering real space he had encountered two vessels of unknown design, and questionable origin. The designs were very alien, though they apparently had human-based names. It seemed as though the rebels were getting help from this 'Federation' and had somehow gotten word again of the ambush. Simpson had done the only thing he could. He ordered them to surrender.
On the monitor at the front of his command deck, he could see the two vessels. Both were similarly designed, a large circular or oval saucer attached to a smaller second hull by a neck-like structure. At the end of the lower second hulls, he could see a pair of pylons leading to a pair of nacelles. He noted that the larger vessel was about frigate-sized at six hundred and forty-two metres; while the other was only a corvette at three hundred and five metres.
"Captain Simpson, I will not surrender this ship or my companion. If any of your craft comes within a hundred metres of this ship or the Challenger, I will destroy them."
"Don't be a…" Simpson began. But he was cut off by his com officer.
"They broke contact," the officer in question said.
"Starfuries," Simpson said simply. "Commence attack."
O-O-O
For the second time in five days, the Challenger bridge was bathed in the deep red emergency lighting that was the norm during a red alert.
"Enemy fighters," Foster called out from the tactical station, "moving in on attack vector. They're attempting to lock on."
"Initiate flak barrage; fire at will." Styles said responding to the threat.
He was glad they had finally managed to get the new countermeasure system fully operational. When his ship had been deployed to patrol the Klingon Neutral Zone back in his own time, the system had only been partially installed. Over the past few days, he had made it a priority, figuring that most combat hereabouts heavily involved fighters. Though the system had been developed to counter torpedoes; extending shield endurance by firing pulses of anti-matter at the incoming torpedoes, attempting to make them detonate before they impacted the shields. Styles believed it could also be a good deterrent against fighters. It worked during the Second World War against fighters and bombers after all, so why not here? Styles thought.
A beat later; "Helm, navigation," Styles commanded. "Take us in one-fortieth relative impulse power. Work your way through the fighter screen to the destroyer."
"Aye, Sir," his navigator and helmsman responded together. They were getting to become a good team, Styles noted. Though Crewman Burke complied with the order, he did look questioningly at Styles. He was curious as to why he had ordered them to crawl.
"I want to keep our max sub-light velocity a secret. Right now, that's one of our aces."
On the screen, Styles could see the small fighters. He thought they couldn't be longer than one of his type-3 shuttlecraft, and probably just as weak. But, there were swarms of them. Individually, he thought, they are no threat. But, if they attack in waves instead, they will be.
O-O-O
In the Aurora-class starfury designated Gamma 1, Lieutenant Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, angled his fighter towards the smaller alien ship, going into a dive, his wingman echoing his moves, firing away at the spurts of white particles that were emerging from the points all over the hull. It was, Nishizawa thought some sort of flak barrage and three 'furies had been hit by them, forcing their pilots to eject.
He was aiming for the yellow rectangles on the pearl-white saucer at what he thought were pulse cannons and so established a visual lock. Like Minbari war cruisers, they had not been able to get a proper lock on. Only his laser range finder worked, and that was only useful, for telling him when to pull out of his dive.
When his range finder showed he was only twenty metres from the hull, he pulled out of the four g dive firing his twenty-mill pulse cannons as he did so. But instead of hitting the ship, they hit some type of barrier that for an instant flashed blue. Damn, he thought.
An instant later, his guess about the cannons was confirmed as he saw the closer one turning towards him. Instinctively, he jinked his fighter to the starboard, putting his fighter into a barrel roll that took him inverted over the top of the saucer as a beam of orange energy lanced out towards his fighter. He was the lucky one, his wingman, Jenny Milbourn, wasn't so lucky. Her starfury blew apart.
Pulling away from the annoyingly hard to hit ship, he activated his communications system. "Gamma 1 to command," he said. "Attack run one failed. Repeat, attack run one failed. Target is protected by some kind of energy field. It deflected my pulse cannon bolts."
"Understood Gamma 1...standby." There was a pause, as the communications tech consulted the Captain. "Message from Command: Fire in the hole."
Knowing what was about to happen, Nishizawa got back on his radio as he put he poured on the velocity. "All fighters, break, break break!" he said.
O-O-O
Several seconds into the engagement, Challenger's bridge was now a hive of activity, as the various officers and personnel present made reports or acknowledged reports from below decks. Lieutenant Foster's voice cut through this multitude of overlapping voices. "Four enemy fighters destroyed; firing phasers."
Across the bridge at the science station, Crewman Samno was sweating. The new sensors were a godsend, allowing him to see much more than he could with the old sensors. Unfortunately, they also showed him too much. Filtering out the non-essential information was proving hard. As such, it was for this reason, he almost missed the warning his station was giving him. "Sir," he shouted. "Energy spike from the destroyer. She's firing."
"Evasive action, hard to port!" Styles commanded. "On screen."
On his screen at the science station, Samno saw the fighters suddenly break their formation apart to reveal the Odysseus bearing down on them, firing bolts of yellow energy from a pair of cannons on its bow. On the main screen at the fore of the bridge, Captain Styles could see the same thing.
O-O-O
On board the starfury Delta 3, Ensign Mark Hollins watched as the Odysseus' plasma pulses flew towards the rapidly turning starship, the first couple missed, having been aimed before the starship began turning. But, the remainder impacted the shields on the saucer's starboard side, they flared a bright blue as they hit. This was followed a moment later, by a pair of red beams from the x-ray/particle lasers. Both the beams were firing, doubling their firepower. Judging by how bright the beams were, they were firing at full power. It lasted for several seconds, during which the Challenger's shields had sparked and flared.
O-O-O
Aboard Challenger, Captain Styles looked around the bridge, making sure no one had been seriously injured, and was pleased to see none had. Only a few had fallen to the deck as the ship had rocked violently from the impacts to her shields; they were now returning to their posts and checking their stations.
"Shields holding at eighty percent," Foster announced.
"Sickbay reports only minor casualties," Garret said from communications. "Mostly contusions; Doctor McCoy has a broken arm." She grinned; she knew of Captain Styles' hatred of the McCoy family.
Glaring at the main screen, he ordered. "Return fire! Take out those turrets; maximum firepower."
O-O-O
In Delta 3, Hollins looked on in growing horror, as the Challenger's four starboard cannons opened fire. Turning his starfury to look back at the Odysseus, he saw just how precise the Challenger's weapons were. The orange beams impacted the starboard particle laser turret dead on, blasting it away. He could see the Odysseus wildly doing its own turn to starboard. Vainly trying to get out of the precision fire, as the turn presented more targets. It's like the damn Earth-Minbari War, he thought. There, the Earth Alliance ships were virtually slaughtered by the Minbari as their weapons cut through the Earth Alliance armour like a hot knife through butter.
"Collision alert, collision alert," the fighter's computer suddenly announced.
In response to the alert, he quickly checked his scanners noting he was too close to the boarding pod he was supposed to be escorting. He banked briefly to the port, as the pod flew by. He quickly joined up with it; resuming his role as an escort, rather than an observer. "Breaching Pod Alpha to Delta 3" a gruff male voice said over the communications system. "Watch it, Lieutenant. You're of no use to us dead."
"I wish I were," he muttered.
"What was that, Delta 3?"
"Nothing," Hollins responded.
"Good. Now listen up."
"I'm listening." He told him.
"I've got an idea to get past the shields of the smaller vessel. I've been monitoring the sensors, and I've noticed that every point zero-zero-two seconds, we do get a reading…"
O-O-O
"Damage report!" Captain Simpson demanded when the Odysseus had stopped her shuddering.
"Sir," his executive officer called up from a damage station. "We just lost both forward port x-ray particle laser and heavy pulse cannons. Gunnery crews for those cannons are not answering comms."
"Sir," another officer called. "Challenger is turning toward."
"Put it back on screen."
On the screen, he saw the Challenger turning to face the Odysseus. A moment later, as the starships turn ended, it spat out a pair of red glowing balls that flew towards his ship.
"Rig ship for impact," he said strapping into his chairs safety harness. "Sound collision."
"All interceptors," the executive officer ordered. "Open fire!"
O-O-O
In contrast, to the Challenger's bridge, the Enterprise Bridge was a calm quiet. After having spent their entire careers at war, this sort of engagement had become the norm. Even with the constant vibration from the multitude of low powered plasma bolts from the fighters, everyone remained calm. They had been through a lot worse.
"Captain," Data said. "The Challenger has just opened fire."
"On screen," Picard ordered.
Ahead, the screen changed to show a wide shot of both the Challenger and the Odysseus, with the fighters buzzing around. On the screen, Picard could see the Challenger's starboard dorsal and ventral phasers lashing out and impact the forward structure of the Odysseus, blasting her forward port cannons apart and because of the lack of inertial dampers, giving the destroyer a slight yaw rotation to starboard. Forcing the vessel to fire its reaction control thrusters to correct the yaw.
"Damage assessment," Riker said looking back at Yar.
"They've lost their forward port weapons," Yar told him. "I'm reading a hole in their armour where the emplacements used to be."
As she spoke, Crusher spoke up from the conn. "Captain," he said. "Challenger turning toward Odysseus. She's bringing her torpedoes to bear."
Looking back at the screen, Picard and Riker watched as the Challenger fired a pair of torpedoes. "Ensign," Picard said addressing Crusher as he continued to watch the action on the screen "Bring us in closer." A moment later, just as the torpedoes began their final acceleration to hit their targets, the Odysseus began spitting out plasma bolts at the torpedoes rapidly and in such concentration, that it was impossible for the torpedoes to impact and penetrate the destroyer. Instead, coming into contact with the interception fire, the torpedoes detonated prematurely, resulting in severe damage to the forward section, rather than obliterating it.
"Sir," Data said. "The Odysseus appears to be adrift."
O-O-O
Aboard the Odysseus, Captain Simpson looked round his bridge. Everything was in utter chaos for the moment. Sparks were raining down from the ceiling and several consoles were burning. Their operators lying dead or unconscious. I have to warn EarthDome. Simpson thought. "Navigator," he said. "Turn us around…"
He broke off, as he saw the shattered pilot's station. The officer's burning corpse lying slumped over it. Instead, he began issuing commands that would transfer command to one of the secondary bridges, in the hope that they could get them moving again.
O-O-O
Taking a surveying course over the Odysseus, Gamma 1 set his scanners to maximum power to make a more detailed analysis of the damage. Visually, he could see that the forward cowling was essentially crushed. That had him worried. It meant that he and his fellow pilots had no berth to go to…
O-O-O
"Sir," Garret said suddenly from the communications station of the Challenger Bridge . "I'm picking up a distress signal."
Turning quickly to face Garret, Styles asked her. "Is it the Odysseus?"
"Negative," Garret answered. "Captain, if I'm reading the identification code correctly, it's the EAS Alexander."
To be continued…
