Star Trek Hunter
Episode 27: The Sword of Destiny
Scene 11: yav raD
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27.11
yav raD*
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"They called him 'Possum' as an insult. Then they called him 'Possum-Chicken' as a compliment. Now they're just starting to call him 'Chicken'," groused Captain Alaimo Marx. "When are we going to stop running away and give the klingons a fight?"

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Captain Suparman Saldana Budi was giving the U.S.S. Eye of Sauron a final inspection before approving the new Andromeda class ship for its maiden voyage. Like the U.S.S. Milky Way, the U.S.S. Andromeda, the U.S.S. Hoag's Object, the U.S.S. Pegasus and the U.S.S. Whirlpool, the Eye of Sauron was named after a galaxy.**

Only a few of the thousands of crew and contracted civilians aboard were aware of the literary significance of this name – in no small part because a sizable minority of these were bolians. But the ship also carried a contingent of 8,000 United Earth Governments Space Marines, mostly from North America, the 101st Brigade of the United States Marine Corps, who, when they learned the name of the ship they would be serving on, had quickly taken to calling themselves "Sauron's Orcs."

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"You and your orcs will see action soon enough," said Captain Budi. "Even these new Andromeda class ships aren't much of a match for a Martok class cruiser in a fight – and the klingons hunt in packs. Our guns aren't as powerful, these ships aren't as maneuverable. We're just big targets out here. But the one advantage we have is speed. We're much, much faster than the klingons – and our engines are far more reliable and efficient. Let me ask you this, Alaimo – how many Star Fleet vessels have we lost since Admiral Chicken took over?"

"Eight," replied the captain of the Eye of Sauron.

"Eight," repeated the captain of the Milky Way. "And we have 16 confirmed kills. Our pre-Chicken ratio was 1 for 3. Now we're 2 for 1. Everyone wants a pitched battle. So does Chekov. But that battle will happen on his terms – when and where Admiral Chicken wants to fight it. Until then, he's going to run their nacelles off, spread them out like corn in a barnyard and peck at them. The more frustrated they become, the more likely they are to make a serious mistake that we can take advantage of."

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Captain Budi escorted Captain Marx to his own office, just off the Eye of Sauron's bridge. He waited for the door to close. "Okay Alaimo, you get your wish. You are to take this ship under cloak to Rising Sun and land your orcs. The romulans will be sending 1,500 ground support troops and significant air support resources."

"Only 1,500?" Captain Marx sagged into the chair behind his desk. "Suparman, I only have 8,000 marines. There are more than 80,000 klingons on Rising Sun. It's one of the planets they clearly intend to keep."

"Who is in command of the 101st Brigade?" Budi asked.

"Colonial Nancy Hope," Marx replied.

"Pass this along to her… Those 1,500 romulans are there to coordinate air support. They're not front-line fighters although I strongly suspect they can take care of themselves. I don't know much about this air force the romulans are bringing in – only that they're supposed to be something really special…"

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*yav raD (thlingn Hol - Ground Forces)

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** The Eye of Sauron is an intermediate spiral seyfert galaxy in the Canes Venatici constellation.

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