Hide, Seek And Fight
Unfortunately, the Norcadian vessels opened fire on Voyager so they rushed back to various stations.
"Report!" said Naomi.
"Shields are down to 89%" Mezoti said.
"Target their weapons, and return fire" Naomi ordered. Twin lances of energy darted out and hit the offending vessel.
"No effect" came the report. "Either they have superior shielding, or they have diverted a lot of power. I am uncertain as to which is correct"
"Evasive manoeuvres, Rebi. Are our weapons going to be any use?" she asked Icheb.
"I do not believe so" he replied. "given enough time, I believe we may be able to enhance our weapons and shields" and the ship shuddered.
"Is there anything that we can use for cover?" asked Naomi of Azan.
"There is a nebula bearing 134.82" he said.
"I'll take it. Rebi, set course for that and engage at maximum warp" Naomi ordered.
"That is illogical" said Mezoti.
"We need to get there quickly" Naomi said. "We don't need the forwards shields at the moment. Divert power from there to the aft shields. I bet they'll try to shoot our impulse and warp drives" and this made sense. Icheb, Azan and Mezoti worked quickly to divert all possible power to the aft shields. To keep hem at full power, they travelled under impulse power to the nebula, and the Norcadian ships followed Voyager whilst firing at them.
"Cloud boundary in one minute" Rebi said.
"Our shields will be useless once we go inside, and sensors will become very limited" Icheb said. "However it will be extremely hard for them to detect us once we are inside" he added.
"So we just aim for the biggest part of the nebula?" said Naomi.
"It will give us some protection" Icheb said. "We can wait there for them to pass by, or for them to grow tired of searching for us" he added.
"But how long can we last in there?" asked Mezoti.
"According to sensor scans and computer records, we can last up to 7 hours before our hull begins to reach dangerous corrosion levels" Azan said.
"Cloud boundary in ten seconds" Rebi said.
"Mezoti, load and fire Aft torpedoes as we enter the nebula" Naomi ordered. She planned to blind their sensors as they entered the nebula through the antimatter detonations. Two torpedoes flew out and detonated the moment they entered.
"We have entered the nebula" Rebi said, and the shields and main sensors went down.
"We have now lost our ability to trace the pursuing vessels. We are limited to the passive array, and our navigation plotting systems are inoperable" Azan said.
Rebi, can you plot us a course to the densest part of the nebula, with a base start originating on our original entry course when we entered the cloud?" Icheb said.
"I will comply" said Rebi, and his fingers darted over the helm as he worked. They went forwards on half impulse in case the Norcadians had sensors better then those on Voyager. Once they had entered their hiding spot, they came to a full stop after Rebi executed a prefect turn so Voyager was pointing towards Earth.
"Right then" Naomi said. "Begin damage checks, estimate a repair priority and then do the repairs that are possible in the seven hours we can remain stationary. I also want a watch kept on the bridge, so that means you Doctor" she ordered.
"Very well" said the hologram.
"Lets get to work" Naomi said. "Doctor, you have the bridge" and with that they broke up and went to their jobs. Naomi however went to her quarters and fell into a deep sleep.
# # # # #
"I believe this relay is fused" said Icheb.
"I concur" said Azan.
"Although it is a low priority, there are plenty of spares around us. We can do the repairs now" Icheb continued. "I will remove the relay while you go get a spare"
"I will comply" said Azan. He went and started looking at boxes, and he was on the third row when he came upon something of a surprise. Azan called Icheb over who was equally surprised.
"I believe our repairs can be done quicker" Icheb noted dryly. He tapped his comm badge and asked Naomi to come to the cargo bay. She arrived a few minutes later with her hair in a slight mess and Mezoti trailing her.
"This had better be good, or I'm throwing you out the airlock" grumbled Naomi.
"I believe that when you have heard Azan's discovery, you will not be throwing me out the airlock" Icheb said with a slight smile. "Azan found Borg components in several storage crates. Upon further investigation, we discovered that they date from when the crew made an alliance with the Borg. After the alliance was terminated by them, the crew removed nearly all of the technology that had been installed but did not jettison it into space or use the metals contained within" Icheb finished speaking.
"Does this all work?" Naomi asked. She wondered if there was anything that they could use.
"If tricorder readings are accurate, then all components in the crates are operational. Installation is possible for everything, though some will take more time then others of course" Azan said.
"We could use some of this to enhance Voyager's systems" Mezoti said to Naomi.
"But who could install it?" she asked.
"Well you just so happen to have four ex-Borg onboard" Mezoti grinned at her friend's reaction.
What systems can you enhance?" Naomi asked.
"All of them" said Icheb, and Naomi wondered about something.
"Would Borg shields allow us to stay in the nebula longer?" she asked.
"They will give us an additional twelve hours" Mezoti said.
"How long will it take to install the technology?" Naomi asked.
"One hour for installation and testing" Icheb replied.
"Do it" said Naomi instantly. "Once you have done that, begin work on enhancing the engines and then weapons. With so few of us, I'd prefer to run from danger if at all possible" she added. Mezoti, Icheb and Azan set to work pulling out the Borg technology and sorting it out. They took the power regulators and shield adaptors and headed off to make the ship's shields stronger. They took their time in doing it, and Rebi monitored everything from engineering. It took a little longer then the hour that Icheb had estimated, but he assumed that Naomi didn't mind. Once they were confirmed as being connected and powered correctly, Icheb went to Engineering with Mezoti to enhance the engines while Azan took over from the Doctor on the bridge. The hologram was certain his main profession would be needed soon enough. The engines took several hours to do as they needed to repair the damage sustained first before they began the upgrades. Because of the fact the Borg power nodes and technology consumed a lot of power, the pair made sure they could be deactivated when not needed. It took them several hours to complete, and they had to visit Sickbay to get treated from the cuts and burns each had received. They were informing the Doctor of their work when the ship shook violently.
'Red Alert' said the computer. 'All ands to battle stations' and the trio ran for the bridge.
# # # # #
"REPORT!" shouted Naomi as she dashed onto the bridge whilst still in her pyjamas.
"The Norcadian ships are firing some kind of unguided charge into the nebula" Azan said. "They are most likely to be watching any reactions in their sensors" he added.
"What if we were to move away to somewhere else?" Naomi asked.
"We would still be discovered" Icheb said. the girl thought for a moment and then made her decision.
"Take your stations" she ordered. "Doctor, off to engineering with you please" and the hologram headed down. Naomi wasn't being mean to him, but if there was a coolant leak he was the one to keep working through it.
"Impulse engines are at 100%" Rebi said.
"Very well" Naomi said. "Take us out, 1 quarter impulse"
"Sensors are having a hard time seeing through the interference" Azan said. "We may be able to –"
"SHIP DEAD AHEAD!" Mezoti said.
"Hard to starboard" Naomi ordered, and Rebi swung the ship round.
"They are following" said Azan.
"Mezoti, do we have weapons?" Naomi asked
"We have phasers at 90% power. Aft torpedo launcher is offline" she said as the Norcadian fired at Voyager.
"Fire phasers" said Naomi, and two lanes of destructive energy crossed from their ship to the Norcadian vessel. The no shield rule applied to them as well, and the phasers burned into the hull. It didn't do much because of the toughened hull, but a few plates were burned and one was twisted badly.
"Direct hit" came the report. "Very minor damage to the enemy vessel" added mezoti. The fact they were of the same race as her had noy much thought in the former drone's mind.
"Is that a large pocket of gas I see?" Naomi said as she looked at the viewscreen.
"Affirmative" said Azan.
"And they will be as blind as us when we go through right?"
"Indeed"
"Increase speed to full impulse" said Naomi.
"That is inadvisable" said Icheb.
"We need to make the ship think that we are making a run for it" Naomi said.
"Bt we are not" Icheb said.
"We will in fact come to a stop, drop down, wait for them to pass over and then rise up and shot everything but their least powerful engine out" Naomi said.
"And then what do we do?" asked Azan.
"We take on the other ships in the same manner" she replied. "Only we burn out everything so they will have to either abandon some of the ships, or else otherwise make very long term repairs. Either way, we'll be long gone" Naomi added.
"We have entered the pocket" Rebi said.
"All stop" Naomi said. "Take us down by 100 metres" and Voyager plunged into depths of the dense cloud. "Ready phasers, load torpedo bays and prepare to fire" she ordered.
"I will not be able to get a lock due to the interference" said Mezoti.
"Aim manually" Naomi said. they waited for a few moments before they sensed the Norcadian ship pass over them. "Take us up, Rebi. Standby all weapons" and Voyager shot up to where it had dropped from.
"They have not detected us" Azan said.
"Pick your target and fire" Naomi said, and Mezoti pressed the buttons. Phasers and torpedoes shot from Voyager and ripped into the hull of the Norcadian ship. The resultant explosion shook them hard, but Mezoti kept on firing phasers into the engines in order to disable all but the most powerful.
"Their engines have been all but disabled" Azan said. "They have total failure of main power. Their life support is working, but at reduced power. They are 'dead in the water' so to speak" he said.
"They have sent a distress call" said Mezoti. "If I have read this right, they got a response" she added.
"Plot us a course out of here" said Naomi. "Half impulse until we clear the nebula, and then ramp it up to Warp 9" and Rebi acknowledged the command. Several minutes later, and they reached the boundary of the nebula, and sensors began to come back online.
"We are beginning to regain all main systems" said Icheb from his place at the Engineering console.
"Give me a sensor scan" Naomi ordered.
"Sensors indicate a group of large masses" Mezoti said. "Readings match that of…" her voice faltered.
"Of what?" asked Naomi.
"Norcadian vessels dead ahead!" Mezoti said.
"How many?" Naomi asked.
"Four" Azan said. "Two appear to be a type of scout or courier, one is a cruiser and the other appears to be the same ship that killed the crew"
"They have powered up weapons and shields, and are on an intercept course" Mezoti said.
"I guess we'll see how good your Borg shield enhancements really work" Naomi said. "Raise shields. Ready phasers. Standby forward torpedo bays" she ordered.
"We are being hailed" said Azan.
"Open a channel"
"This is Captain Ra' ider of the Norcadian defence force" the same male voice they had heard before came over the speakers. "Stand down your weapons and shields and prepare to be boarded" he ordered.
"Go kiss a targ" Naomi used a Klingon expression that B'lanna had once told her of. The girl closed the channel from the Captain's seat. "Rebi, plot a course directly for the scouts – full impulse".
"Understood" said the boy.
"They are in weapons range" Mezoti said.
"Lock on and prepare to fire on my command" Nomi said. "We'll not start this buy we'll finish it alright" she added.
"Ready, Naomi" Mezoti said.
"Fire" and the phasers lanced out at them both. All four vessels returned fire, but the enhanced shields took the attack without much trouble.
"Shields down to 96%" Mezoti said.
"Bring us about for another attack, and target the scouts first. Once we have knocked them out, we can go for the cruiser before we go for that… that… thing" Naomi finished. A little bit of hate was beginning to flow through her veins. Voyager swung round and fired phasers at the scouts, and soon they lost their shields. A bit of good aiming from Mezoti soon had them disabled. The remaining pair fired at the ship which shook.
"Shields are down to 89%" sad Icheb.
'Doctor to the Bridge'
"Naomi here"
'Sorry to disturb you in the middle of a battle, but the computer tells me that the automatic reloaders have failed on the forward torpedo launchers. We only have what is in the tubes now. It is a one in two thousand chance they failed when they did'
"Understood" Naomi said.
'I am unable to fix this whilst in combat' the Doctor said.
"Okay" Naomi said. "Just keep watching everything else, bridge out" and she closed the channel.
"We have four torpedoes in each tube" said Mezoti.
"Eight left…" Naomi said.
"If we were to find a gap or weak spot in the enemy ship's shields, then we could fire full phasers at that location and create a gap through which our torpedoes could travel" Icheb said
"Keep looking for that spot" Naomi told Azan. "bring us about to face the rear of the cruiser and fire full powered phasers at their engines…" but before she could finish, the cruiser fired two shots at Voyager and then warped away. "What happened?"
"They have warped out of the area, and are on a course directly for Norcadia Prime" Azan said.
"They're retreating?" Naomi was very surprised at this.
"I believe so" and the ship shook as the remaining ship fired torpedoes at them. Consoles sparked as Naomi was thrown from her chair.
"Report!" she yelled as she got back into it.
"They fired some kind of plasma torpedo" said Mezoti. "Even Borg shields are not enough to stop them, they phase in and out of subspace before they impact on the hull" she said.
"I have noticed something odd about them" Azan said.
"Don't keep it to yourself" Naomi said as Rebi evaded another spread of torpedoes from what could only be called a battleship.
"The torpedoes do not become active until they have reached a certain point away from them" he said.
"A safety feature" Icheb said.
"The point is five hundred metres in front of them" Azan said.
"Rebi, put us on a collision course. Even when we have got inside their torpedo safety zone, keep heading towards them" Naomi instructed.
"Aye, Aye"
"You have a plan" said Icheb.
"They don't want to get damaged as much as possible. We'll head in so close they will have to drop their shields in order for them to turn round. When that happens, Mezoti fires every torpedo we have and we should be able to get them" Naomi explained her plan. Onwards Voyager flew, and took pounding after pounding from the beam weapons of the Norcadian ship. Then as they got within touching distance, the Norcadian's dropped shields and turned to port. "FIRE!" yelled Naomi, and Mezoti fired all eight of the torpedoes into the ship. Such a concentrated burst allowed them to break the hull and the mighty ship slowed to a halt in the midst of explosions coming from differing points.
"They have lost all main and secondary power" Azan said. "They have hull breaches on multiple decks and have limited life support" he finished.
"They are attempting to transport something over to us" said Icheb.
"Mezoti" Naomi stood and pointed at the drifting ship with her finger. "Beam the aft torpedoes into that ship and fire full powered phsaers into them. Tear her… apart" and the girl complied and the ship detonated with such a force that Voyager shook heavily and several more consoles shorted and sparked.
"They have been destroyed" said Azan.
"Stand down to yellow alert and stay like that for the next hour" Naomi ordered. "Begin damage checks on all stations. Set course for the Alpha Quadrant, Warp 6. Naomi to the Doctor. Report to the ready room please. Icheb, you have the bridge" and Naomi took one last look at the swirling debris and a few body parts before leaving for the ready room.
A/N:
Another great chapter for you to read. For the observant, the nebula battle is based on ST II. Next chapter will have some big decisions made, some personal logs made and a large shopping trip made by the group.
Next one will take some time on account of the fact I'm going to do my HP fics now.
Regards,
Pixel And Stephanie Forever – one and the same person