PATTERNS OF INVASION

By: Dan Bivens

Chapter 2

CAPTAIN'S LOG, SUPPLEMENTAL. Because we'd inadvertently left behind, barely a year earlier, an unclaimed hand phaser, which had then been kept by the tyrannical rulers of Ekos whose warlike race had been mistakenly introduced to Nazism by the now-dead John Gill, had been not only completely retro-engineered by Gestapo scientists and technicians, but a believed-dead Deputy Führer-turned-Führer, Melakon, had evidently, in an unbelievably short series of months since the ENTERPRISE's departure, made the mimicked leap from chemical rockets to warp-traveling starships of their own. A situation which wound up with the peaceful-yet-scientifically ingenious Zeon, literal planetary neighbor of star system M34, being very nearly obliterated with those tens of thousands of Zeon survivors swiftly turned into slave laborers who helped develop the first fleet warp-capable Nazi starships currently preparing to attack my starship! If 23rd Century Nazis laid claim to any of the hundreds of worlds currently part of the United Federation of Planets…God help the galaxy!

"Shields, Mr. Scott!" said Captain James T. Kirk currently occupying his center seat even as the seen-via-viewscreen Nazi starships streaked in at a sustained Warp One, the same relativistic speed at which the USS ENTERPRISE had been currently traveling. "Special attention to our forward deflector screens!"

"Workin' on it, Captain!" said Lieutenant-Commander Montgomery Scott from the port side of the circular bridge whereupon his station was situated. "I might have to steal a wee bit of power from some of the secondary systems to maintain it, sir!"

"I don't care if you have to steal it from your grandmother's purse, Mr. Scott," said Kirk with a clipped tone as his eyes stayed practically glued to the forward viewscreen's digitally-clear display, "just keep those forward shields strong! Lt. Sulu…evasive action so they can't surround us! Mr. Chekov, fire photon torpedoes at near point-blank range!"

"Aye, sir!" said Lt. Hikaru Sulu even as he activated and raised his helm's targeting sight system.

"Aye, Keptin!" also said Ensign Pavel Chekov even as he preprogrammed the detonation discharge of all photon torpedoes for close proximity explosion even as he allowed Sulu to slave-use all phaser bank controls since his was the side with the close-quarters targeting rig. "Release of torpedoes in twenty-five seconds, sir!"

"Uhura?"

"Still no response on any channel, sir!" said the beautiful black lady in short red tunic-skirt so competently manning her communications station directly to the rear of her handsome commanding officer's center seat.

"Send subspace distress call to Starfleet Command, Lieutenant!" pressed Captain Kirk even as the view of the vectored-for-attack Nazi starships seemed seconds from minimum range for their roughly retro-fitted phased energy cannons, such as sensor scans had already detected. "Relay it to all nearby starbases as well! Even though they're using primitive versions of our weaponry, one starship is not going to be able to hold them off for long!"

"Aye, Captain!"

"Spock?"

Having rooted his tall, thin Vulcan physicality to hover over the scanner hood of his station on the starboard side of the circular bridge, the calm-no-matter-what Commander Spock promptly reported, "If they get any closer, Captain, even crude phased energy cannons in such numbers could easily batter through our shields until the ENTERPRISE hull has been breached. Recommend…"

"No recommendations necessary, Spock," snarled Kirk even as some small part of him was actually glad that the tedium of the past star-year had, at long last, been ended, "you do your job, Mr. Spock, and I'll do mine. Sulu…Chekov…open fire!"

If one were space-walking in a special pressurized spacesuit capable of looking at warp-traveling vessels currently engaging in rabid battle, one would essentially see, but not hear through the frozen airless vacuum of both space and warp space, the USS ENTERPRISE suddenly unleashing gleaming beams of crimson searing through the prevailing void to violently slam into the lesser-shielded ships brandishing centuries-old swastika symbols in blood-red squares larger than a planet-bound building.

Some would fall by the spatial wayside, partially or totally taken out of the furious fight, while others would employ battle-smart evasive maneuvers, similar to such initiated by the ENTERPRISE, even as photon torpedoes, brilliant points of destructive stars, spread wide while erupting explosively, still all sight and no sound, with bluish matter-antimatter detonations somewhat more destructive than phaser banks blasts.

Especially at such close range.

One would also note that those within the swastika-sporting Nazi starships apparently were quick to learn from costly mistakes in the use of starship military tactics born of the 23rd Century Starfleet Command, while swiftly attempting, at Warp One or better relativistic velocities cutting through, in short swift tunneling through normal space-time, to so surround the USS ENTERPRISE, celebrated starship of the Federation, even as it swiftly, utilizing warp-powered twists and turns, attempted to deny these devilish invaders such a substantial triumph.

It would quickly become crystal clear to any hypothetical outside observer at such a point that, even when one weighed high-tech phaser banks and photon torpedoes against less-effective phased energy cannons at least a century behind current Starfleet technology, that should the ENTERPRISE fail to promptly warp-distance itself from the fleet of Nazi starships, at least until the eventual arrival of more Constitution-class starships to assist in the defense of Federation space, planets, and peoples, the Ekosian Nazis could, quite possibly, prevail.

"Sir, shields are bucklin' and there's nothin' I can do!" shouted Scotty amidst a shower of sparks from his station, even as Sulu spun around with additional bad news.

"Captain, phaser banks are nearly depleted of power!"

"Keptin!" exclaimed Chekov even as his news proved every bit as bad. "Ve have no more photon torpedoes! Ve have used them all in battle!"

"Spock!" Kirk blurted out even as he stepped close enough to tightly grip the red railing separating upper tier from lower while Spock completed supplementary sensor sweeps via the luminous blue inset screen so steadily displaying data the officer with the pallid color tinged with green and slanted eyebrows was quick to critique.

"Captain, there exists enough fully functional Ekosian starships with serviceable phased energy cannons and primitive deflective force field protection to preclude the likelihood that the ENTERPRISE, on its own, could…"

"Mr. Sulu!" loudly ordered Captain Kirk before his friend and first officer could conclude his long-winded description of a certainly losing situation. "Get us the hell outta here, Lieutenant! Warp Eight! Mr. Chekov, plot a direct course for the nearest starbase!"

"Aye, aye, Captain," said Sulu even as he swiftly deactivated the target sighting device, which quickly lowered itself back into its hidden holder to the far left side of his helm, even as Chekov quickly located said nearest starbase and laid in the necessary navigational information.

Seconds later, again from an outside observer, capable of peering through normal and warped space simultaneously, even as the Nazi starships maintained their violently invasive advance, the ENTERPRISE streaked away at a warp speed Kirk had hoped such primitive vessels, based on their unmistakably primitive phased energy cannons and the total lack of photon torpedoes, could not possibly accomplish.

As terrible as it felt to basically turn tail and run, as Dr. McCoy, who'd long since left the bridge the instant trouble reared its proverbially repugnant head, might put it, Kirk knew it was the only way to not only protect his ship, but the populations of hundreds of Federation planets further within.

Having left the bridge in Spock's exceptionally capable Vulcan hands, now that the ENTERPRISE, traveling at a steady Warp Factor Eight while the Nazi invader vessels, according to Spock's logical analysis based on intensive sensor scans, could only push their warp engines and nacelles to a maximum of Warp Factor Four…

"Any injuries or fatalities, Bones?" tensely asked Kirk after entering sickbay six decks down, which was, at the moment, completely empty of potential patients. "During the battle, I mean."

Already relying on Saurian Brandy, one for him and one for Kirk, McCoy managed a mien of curmudgeonly disdain and said, "Well, luckily, there were only some small cuts and bruises. No broken bones. Nothing life-threatening. But that's just because we were damned lucky, Jim!"

"Lucky?" parroted the perplexed Captain as he accepted the smoky-colored glass of Saurian Brandy even as McCoy did a little more than simply sip his. "I thought it was my expert command capabilities that had made it possible for the ENTERPRISE to…"

"Oh, bull!" snidely snapped McCoy while refilling his glass even as Kirk continued to consume his much more slowly. "It was blind luck and you know it! A few more minutes wallowing along at Warp One and we'd probably be unwelcome 'guests' of these new Nazis who, by the way, weren't ever supposed to reach such a high-tech level so quickly in the first damn place! If you or Spock could've troubled your 'busy minds' with that left-behind hand phaser…not to mention assuming Melakon was dead…!"

"All right, all right, all right," surrendered Kirk after finishing off a single glass of Saurian Brandy and no more. "You know how much I hate turning away from a fight, Bones. I guess…I guess I'm just looking for a non-logical agreement in my actions."

"Yeah, I guess you did the right thing, Jim," finally replied Dr. McCoy even as he filled his smoky-colored glass with still more alien alcohol. "God knows there wasn't too much else you could've done without losing not only the ship and crew but leaving Federation space wide-ass open for these Nazi bastards. Naw, you did the right thing, Jim. Let's just hope like hell, when we do head back with several starships, we'll be able to stop 'em before untold billions are killed."

Even as Kirk continued to torture himself over a decision he so detested in light of all the times he had led his illustrious starship to guaranteed glory…

"Report, Col. Ethok!" demanded the brown-haired Führer, still sitting in his opulent office more than a dozen light-years to the rear of this steadily proceeding, at Warp Four, fleet of Nazi vessels. Even as the black-garbed Gestapo officer stood at attention before the subspace-transmitted image, though not one hundred percent static-free, currently established via two-way between fleet and planetary base-of-operations.

"My Führer," began the grinning man beneath the elegantly black cap, "I am more than happy to report that our fleet successfully struck the first of many planets inside Federation space. And we engaged none-other-than the USS ENTERPRISE in combat with only mild losses!"

"That is excellent news, Col. Ethok," nodded the slightly static-ridden subspace transmission of Melakon, who then harangued, " of course, the news would've been better had you told me you destroyed the ENTERPRISE! Now you and your surviving Nazi starships must prepare for retaliatory action by several Starfleet starships! How do you plan on handling such a situation once it presents itself, Colonel?"

With a self-certain smirk, Col. Ethok gestured one black leather gloved hand in the direction of two World War II-type helmeted Nazi soldiers in gray-green who immediately manhandled a beautiful lady of humanoid descent, while stating, "I think holding hostage this high-ranking Federation official shall cause them to pause potential counterstrikes, Führer Melakon."

"Hostage?" said Melakon with knitted-brow scowl while looking at the feather-haired, literally, person dressed in elegantly colorful bureaucratic attire. "Who is she?"

"Speak!" snarled Col. Ethok with some rough handling of his own.

"M-my n-name," stammered a terrified politico from a planet in the 61 Cygni system left decidedly damaged in the interstellar wake of the Nazi starships, "is Trellius. Ambassador Trellius. And I m-must protest the t-treatment of not only myself and my s-staff, b-but the violent intrusion on the s-surface of m-my homeworld, Ch'Lonn Three! I demand…!"

"You shall demand nothing, woman!" shouted an enraged, racist, as well as sexist Nazi leader hell-bent on prevailing in his own Hitler-like intention to destroy and dominate. "You, Ambassador Trellius, shall soon see what we Ekosians can do when following our fated path to totalitarian glory! Should the ENTERPRISE return with more Starfleet starships…your potentially torturous death shall be the punishing prize! Ha, ha, ha, hahaha!"

END OF CHAPTER 2