Chapter 5 Hide and Seek
After the fierce fight with the Undine ship over P'Jem, the Essex was limping back to the Sol system at its best speed, which wasn't fast. Luckily another Federation ship offered to take them in tow and they got back much faster. It took the engineers at Utopia Planitia a solid two weeks to repair the damage from the battle. During that time many of the crew elected to have their family brought aboard to visit, including Maxwell's parents who were currently having lunch in the Captain's mess along with Elisa Flores and T'Vrell. During their meal the doorbell rang.
It was Admiral Quinn.
"Lieutenant, I need to see you privately as soon as possible. I have a new mission for you and your crew."
"Yes sir. May I present, my parents, William and Sara Maxwell."
Quinn shook both parent's hands. "Pleased to meet you. You've raised a fine young man Mr. Maxwell."
"Thank you, Admiral. We're both very proud of him." William replied.
After seeing his parents off the ship Maxwell went to a small briefing room with Admiral Quinn and an officer from Starfleet Intelligence. Quinn stood and began the briefing.
"Lieutenant, this briefing is classified. After your fight with the Undine ship over P'Jem we intercepted a number of coded transmissions headed for Klingon space. We've been working on cracking those codes and we able to do so only a few days ago. These messages have several references to the Paulson Nebula in the Lackey system. An area we know little about. We need you to survey the area and report back anything unusual. Be advised however that the Nebula clouds sensor scans so it may screen any opponents from view."
"Understood sir."
"Your ship is fully repaired and reloaded. Try to bring it back in one piece Lieutenant." Quinn said with a smirk.
"I'll do my best sir." Maxwell replied then went to a transporter room and beamed back to the Essex.
The ship departed Utopia Planitia without incident and jumped to warp on course for the Lackey system.
It took a week to reach the Lackey system, when the ship dropped out of warp they found another Federation ship under attack by Gorn vessels. T'Vrell reported a distress call from the U.S.S. Valor, a Centaur-class tactical frigate. Engines and weapons were offline and shields were failing. The Essex immediately sprang into action with a full volley of quantum torpedoes, impacting the pair of Vishap-class frigates and weakening their shields. The goal was to get both vessels to stop shooting the Valor and concentrate on the larger threat, the Essex.
"Helm, bring us about, Flores target the ship to port, full Alpha Strike." Ordered Maxwell.
The ship came around under fire and opened up on one enemy. An overloaded phaser strike drained a shield facing, leaving the front of the ship exposed to a pair of high yield torpedoes which destroyed it. The other frigate, incensed at the loss of its comrade increased its speed and set a collision course, but the Essex had another trick up its sleeve.
"Activate grapplers. Hard to starboard."
The launch bay opened and a pair of magnetic claws were launched at the Gorn ship. The Essex's violent maneuver to the right jerked the frigate and tore a hole in the hull, leaving the ship disabled. From the aft launchers another pair of high yield torpedoes finished off the last ship.
"Secure from battlestations and open a channel to the Valor." Ordered Maxwell.
A human captain appeared on a static-filled viewscreen. "Thanks for the assistance Maxwell. Nice job. We were on a mapping mission of the Paulson nebula but failed to compensate for the power drain on our engines. When we retreated, we found this illegal Gorn mining facility."
"That explains the attack. Do you need any further assistance?" asked Maxwell.
"Indeed. My chief engineer says we need some new dilithium crystals. Without them we can't go anywhere. There are crystals on some of the larger asteroids here, that's why we came here in the first place. If you could bring us some crystals, we can get our engines going and get back to a Starbase for repairs."
"Understood. Sit tight. We'll be back before you know it." Said Maxwell.
"Helm, set course for the nearest asteroid. T'Vrell, keep a sensor lock on the Valor, if more Gorn attack I want to know about it. Also find the other asteroids containing dilithium and route the data to the helm. Let's get the dilithium and get the Valor out of the system." Maxwell ordered.
The first load was beamed aboard without incident. However, behind the second rock lurked a Tuatara-class cruiser that immediately attacked when the Essex tried to beam the crystals up. After ducking behind the asteroid to avoid more weapons fire and bring the shields up the Essex came around behind the cruiser. A tachyon beam drained the aft shields and an Alpha Strike caused enough damage for the warp core to go critical and explode. The Essex managed to avoid the explosion by ducking back under the same asteroid. The ship headed for the last asteroid and beamed up the needed contents and set a course back to the Valor. On the way T'Vrell reported another vessel in close proximity to the Valor, as they got closer the ship turned out to be another Gorn cruiser. The Valor was firing what weapons it had but wasn't making a dent in the shields. The Essex swooped in from the nebula and hit it with a full Alpha Strike, draining the shields and damaging the hull. The Gorn ship turned to present fresh shields and intact hull but the Essex turned with it and ended up in front of it. A pair of torpedoes from the aft launchers impacted the damaged hull through severely weakened shields and destroyed it. Luckily the explosion was far enough away to not damage the Valor any further.
The dilithium was transported to the Valor without further incident. The captain of the Valor recommended that the Essex visit Lackey III, home of a decalithium mining facility taken over by the Gorn. Decalithium crystals work better in the Paulson nebula than normal dilithium. A short warp jump and the Essex arrived in orbit above Lackey III. In orbit over a large asteroid were a pair of Vishap-class frigates that posed little challenge for the Essex. However, once they attempted to beam up some decalithium they encountered another problem.
"Captain, there appears to be a dampening field of some kind in place over the station. It's being projected by a nearby facility. We can't beam anything up but we should be able to beam explosive charges down and destroy the station." Reported T'Vrell.
"Make it so." Replied Maxwell.
A moment later a half-dozen spatial charges materialized on the jamming station. A warning was transmitted and a minute later the charges went off, destroying the station and a sizable portion of the asteroid it was built on. A Gorn cruiser tried to interfere but some quick maneuvering and the Essex was able to get out of range. They beamed up enough decalithium to power the engines and jumped to warp again.
The Essex dropped out of warp in the Paulson nebula at yellow alert, shields and weapons were on standby but not active.
"Engineering, this is the bridge. How are the decalithium crystals working out?" asked Maxwell.
"They're doing well sir. I'm reading enough of an increase in engine efficiency to boost impulse engines in the nebula." Replied Chief Engineer Zarva
"T'Vrell, sensor scan please."
"The metallic density of the nebula is much higher than I'd expect from a nebula of this class. There is something here sir, but it may be built on another high density object. I recommend we scan all suspicious objects in the vicinity. There are three within fifty thousand kilometers. I have tentative identification on them. One is an asteroid, a large satellite and another larger asteroid." She replied
"Very well, helm, lay in a course." Ordered Maxwell
The first object they scanned was an asteroid with an old mining facility built on it. But the mine was played out and therefore abandoned. The second was a large 22nd century satellite of Federation design. Before they found the last object however they were forced to engaged a trio of B'rel-class Birds of Prey. Even though the Essex was outnumbered its recent upgrades to shields and weapons ensured success. Flores did sound a note of caution after the fight.
"Sir, I recommend against any more Alpha Strikes. The phaser emitters are beginning to wear down. Normal fire is still available though."
"Noted."
The third structure was another asteroid but this one was much larger than the first. The facility built onto it was not like a mining facility. In orbit was a ship of distinctly Klingon design. A Vor'cha-class cruiser.
"Captain I'm getting some odd readings in the surrounding area. I think it's a minefield of some kind. The energy signatures are likely masked." Reported Flores
"We still need to investigate. T'Vrell, standby tachyon beam on the Vor'cha, Flores, high yield torpedoes and set phasers to short range point defense mode. Helm, Attack Pattern Alpha I."
"Ready sir." T'Vrell reported
"Weapons set."
"Attack course plotted."
"Take us in."
The Essex moved in at half impulse because of the minefield. Sensors indicated that the enemy ship was an older model with an equally old shield matrix. It did not stand up to the tachyon beam the Essex projected from its deflector. The beam drained the shield and a pair of torpedoes was sufficient to destroy it. Mines began moving toward the ship but the phaser array responded in quick bursts clearing a path to the large asteroid. The Essex came to a full stop above the facility.
"T'Vrell, what do you have?" asked Maxwell
"The mines were clearly Klingon in origin and gravitic in nature. I am detecting several Klingon lifesigns in the facility as well." She reported
"I'm intercepting a number of high-frequency transmissions from the facility. I think it's a listening post. How did they manage to build one so deep in Federation territory though?" Flores asked
"A good question. Away team to the transporter room." Ordered Maxwell.
Flores, T'Vrell, Zarva and another security officer beamed down to the facility. They immediately engaged three Klingons directly ahead. Despite having a reputation for being formidable warriors the officers were taken off guard and didn't last long. Flores pulled out her tricorder after the last enemy fell.
"This facility can't be too big. We should be able to find the data center fairly easily." She reported.
"Move out. Keep it quiet." Ordered Maxwell
The team moved into a single file formation and proceeded down a hallway. Maxwell turned a corner and signaled the team to stop. A single Klingon had his back turned and was working on a power relay. Maxwell motioned to T'Vrell and she changed positions with him. Very quietly she snuck up on the Klingon and pinched his neck causing him to lose conscience and fall to the ground. The team waited a moment for the possible alarm to go off but didn't hear anything.
Maxwell signaled 'move forward' with a single finger. They turned another corner and the hallway tuned into an incline. At the top of the incline were three warriors apparently waiting for them. A disruptor fired and the bolt impacted the security officer. Luckily the officer was wearing a personal shield and survived the hit. The warriors weren't so fortunate. Their armor didn't stand up to four phaser rifles and went down quickly.
A door to the right opened into a control room of some kind with several more officers at their stations. One Klingon noticed the away team. "Intruders!" he yelled
The team took cover and a firefight broke out. It took some time but the Starfleet team prevailed. After securing the area T'Vrell accessed the computer and set up a transmission to the Essex. "It will take time to download the data. We will have to defend the core until it is complete." She reported.
Maxwell quickly pointed out the best defensive positions and everyone took available cover. Maxwell himself moved a crate in front of the core and stood in front of it. About thirty seconds into the download a half dozen Klingons beamed in a tight group. A perfect target for a grenade which was thrown by Maxwell. The photon grenade eliminated half the enemy targets. The other three were equipped with personal shields allowing them to survive. The team opened fire and concentrated on single targets to penetrate the shielding. Moments later the remnants of the Klingon team were killed.
Another thirty second went by and a single Klingon beamed in. It appeared to be a Dahar Master. His shields were extremely tough. The burly Klingon managed to take down the security officer with dual pistols and then charged at Maxwell. Maxwell's shields held against the assault but his own weapon managed to drain the shields enough to hit the armor. The Klingon stumbled slightly and dropped his weapons but drew a Bat'leth just as quick. As the Klingon raised his sword to cleave Maxwell in two, Maxwell used the butt of his rifle to strike the Klingon in the stomach. The Klingon took two steps back and started to strike again but his sword was out of position to defend against a rifle strike to his face. Dazed, he stumbled back again, Maxwell stepped forward and struck him with a left and rifle butt stroke. Even through his daze the Klingon swung his sword and Maxwell avoided it by jumping back thus giving the rest of his team a clear shot. Three phaser beams hit the Klingon and he went down just as the computer beeped, indicating the transfer was complete.
More Klingons were heard outside the door. "Maxwell to Essex, five to beam
The away team was beamed away just as a dozen Klingons burst through the doors. Maxwell and the team went to the bridge while the security officer was taken to sickbay. Kolez reported as he stepped off the turbolift.
"Ensign Williams' injuries were severe but he should recover. Sensors indicate several Klingon ships headed this way. If we leave now we can get out of the nebula before they arrive." He said
"Very well. Helm, get us out of here full impulse. Flores, aft torpedoes maximum yield. Destroyed the outpost as we leave. Let's make sure they can't use it anymore."
"Aye sir."
The Essex moved away as quickly as it could and as it left a volley of twelve torpedoes flashed out of the aft launchers. The torpedoes detonated, destroying the outpost, the asteroid and the remaining mines. The Essex exited the nebula and immediately jumped to warp. A dozen Klingon ships arrived at the location of the now destroyed listening post.
All they found was debris.
Maxwell was greeted by Admiral Quinn at Earth Spacedock.
"Well done Lieutenant. Starfleet Intelligence will begin analyzing the data from the listening post immediately. With any luck we'll find something that will help us gain the upper hand in our fight with the Klingons. I'm granting you and your crew a forty-eight-hour leave. When you get back I should have another mission for you."