CHAPTER 9
"Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time."
- Jim Rohn – Earth (Human)
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, UNDER WAY
SEPTEMBER 2269
The Hood was shaking, badly, as she rocketed towards Toulagai. Down in Engineering, things were starting to fail and Wilkes and his team and the rest of the Engineering staff were scrambling to replace failed junctions, arcing circuits and dead power systems. On the bridge, Captain Karmes was watching the clock tick down as well as the range to Toulagai.
"Comm, any contact with Commodore Selek yet?"
Vibrating slightly as his chair shook, Lieutenant Gordon Williams said, "No sir. We're still being jammed. It's a really strange field sir, It keeps increasing as we close, and then holding steady and then increasing again in fits and starts. It's almost like we're jamming ourselves sometimes."
"Dammit, figure that shit out!" He tapped the controls on the side of the command chair, "Karmes to Engineering, White, how are we holding up?"
"Well, Bob, we've been past Vne for about 26 hours now and we're definitely paying the price. But she'll hold together until we get there. We've broken out the duct tape."
Karmes laughed, "Oustanding. We might just make it. Defense, energize the weapons, but leave the shields down, just in case."
ROYAL HYDRAN LIGHT CRUISER SUCCESSION, UNDER WAY
SEPTEMBER 2269
Aboard the Succession, Colonel Jons was becoming concerned. "You say there's a jamming field?" He had, as was his practice, already inspected the Marines aboard and conducted a pair of drills.
"Yes, Colonel. But it's a damn strange field. One minute it seems to be coming from in front of us, the next from behind. Whatever it is, it's totally blocked sub-space communications. It'll interfere with transporters too."
Jons studied the tactical display in the battlesphere. Toulagai was closing fast. The Romulon ship had been in parking orbit on the far side of the starbase for the better part of a day now and had another day before she would leave. There was no real rush. So why was there a jamming field? This was strange, and Jons didn't like strange.
In orbit between his path and the Hyperion was the pearly-white shape of the USS Yorktown.
Turning to Captain Rince he said, "Prepare a shuttleraft. Full diplomatic markings. Make sure there is nothing even remotely resembling a weapon aboard it. When we arrive at Toulagai, you will drop me in the shuttlecraft and immediately warp out for home. Explain that you have an urgent mission to protect a freighter or some such. Be creative. I will make my own way past the Yorktown to the Hyperion."
Captain Rince stood and bowed, "Understood, sir."
FEDERATION STARBASE 26, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Commander Jackson scowled at the screens in the sensory. "So this shit has been going on how long?"
Petty Officer Bennett said, "Almost a full day now, sir. We thought it was on our end for hours and wasted a lot of time running diagnostics. It's not coming from our systems."
Gnawing on his cigar he said, "Wonderful. So where IS it coming from?"
"Apparently from 220 mark 185, sir. It keeps surging, it's not like any jamming field I've seen before but it's definitely playing hell with sub-space. We can't even use transporters right now."
"What's out that way?"
"Nothing much, the usual freighter and neutral traffic. Well, we got a part of a signal yesterday but it got cut off. Something urgent about the Hood."
"And this just happens to show up while we've got a Romulon cruiser overhead, a bunch of diplomats negotiating a treaty and a warning from Starfleet about sabotage and terrorists and hobgoblins. I don't like coincidences, Bennett. Something is not good and you're going to find out what it is."
"Yes, sir."
"Get me the Yorktown."
"Um, sir, I said the field was really playing hell with sub-space. Communications are really spotty."
"Bennett, I didn't say I wanted to hear the story of your life, I said Get me the Yorktown."
"Yes, sir." Bennett scrambled to try to establish some sort of contact with the heavy cruiser 42,000 kilometers overhead.
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER, USS YORKTOWN, IN ORBIT OVER TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Lieutenant Yoshida, sitting at the Yorktown's helm console tried to make some sort of sense out of the snow and static on the view screen. It looked like Commander Jackson – no one else smoked cigars – but that was about all she could make out. That and a few words.
The screen went dark and Captain Kamov asked, "Anyone get anything out of that?"
After a few seconds of silence, Yoshida said, "Just something about the Hood and terrorists and sabotage and something about diplomats sir."
"Well that's more than I got, so we'll go with it. So if anyone sees the Hood bringing in a bunch of terrorist diplomats to sabotage the negotiations with the Romulons, you let me know."
There were a few chuckles around the bridge and the navigator spoke up, "Sir, ship dropping out of warp at 000 mark 015."
"You have got to be making a joke."
"No sir – I've got her, she's Hydran sir...the light cruiser Succession."
"See if you can raise her, assuming we can get better comms than we did with Toulagai."
"Yes, sir"
A few moments later the defense officer said, "Sir, she's launching a shuttlecraft...Ah, it's got full diplomatic codes. Must be for the conference."
Kamov sat back in his chair. "Really. A diplomat."
The navigator chimed in, "Sir, the Succession's warping out. I got a partial signal, something about 'urgent' and 'protect' and she's gone. The shuttlecraft's making for the Hyperion."
"Scan it. Use all the power we've got. Find out if there's anything so much as a firecracker on board that thing."
Moments later the defense officer said, "No sir, one occupant, Hydran, no luggage."
Kamov ignored the little joke and started tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. They watched the little shuttlecraft, flashing it's diplomatic recognition markers closing with them as it made course for the Romulon cruiser.
There was the flash of a ship dropping out of warp and the navigator nearly shouted, "Sir! The Hood!"
"Of course it is." He frowned. Things were not making any sense here.
"Sir! Her weapons are charged! She's making straight for the shuttle!"
"Are they insane?" Kamov asked. "Raise shields until we get comms."
The Defense officer turned towards Captain Kamov, "Sir, the HOOD is the source of the jamming!"