CHAPTER 10
"Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain... In short, most intelligence is false."
- Carl Phillipp von Clausewitz – Earth (Human)
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, APPROACHING TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Taking the tactical situation in an instant, Captain Karmes issued rapid fire orders, "Helm, get us to that shuttlecraft and put a tractor beam on her. Comms, raise the Yorktown." The shuttlecraft was almost directly in front of them, closing fast on the Yorktown, with the Romulon Hyperion just visible behind the shining white disc of her primary hull.
"Sir, there's no way – the field just soared in strength and it's surging back and forth a lot faster. It's like its see-sawing back and forth between us and the Yorktown."
"What the hell are they on about?" Karmes asked,
"Sir! They've raised shields!"
"Oh shit. Raise ours. And dammit get me to that shuttlecraft!"
The Helm officer, Ensign Diego said, "Yorktown's moving to intercept us."
"Get around - get between that shuttle and the Hyperion no matter what you have to do, then get us to tractor range. And someone burn through that damn jamming!"
The Hood curved gracefully up and over the twisting Yorktown and then back down, now having traded places with the other cruiser, still between them and the shuttlecraft.
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Kamov issued his own orders, "Yoshida, don't let them get close to the shuttle. Someone's taken over the Hood – that must be the terrorists they were warning us about. Charge weapons but do NOT fire yet – see if we can get a tractor on that shuttle."
"Sir, the shuttlecraft is moving away from us, it's out of range. Still closing with the Hyperion. Sort of."
"What the hell? We're trying to protect them!"
"I guess they don't know that, sir."
"God dammit, will someone get me communications with SOMEONE! This is the 23rd fucking century and I'm having to use signal lights!"
"We could try that, sir." the comms officer said.
"Shut up, Swede."
The two starships began a bizarre twisting dance around each other and the shuttlecraft as both the Hood and Yorktown tried to close to within tractor beam distance to the shuttlecraft, which was trying to keep out of range of both while still slowly closing with the Hyperion, in a two steps forward, one step back sort of way.
FEDERATION STARBASE 26, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Commodore Selek, watching the tactical display as well as the live sensor feeds said, "Remarkable."
Jackson just shook his head.
Again, the news nets were alive with the images of starships fighting it out overhead.
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
White contacted the bridge, "Captain, we can NOT continue maneuvering like this. We stressed the hell out of her and now we're taking everything that wasn't..." Collision alarms sounded throughout the Hood as the Yorktown cut them off again, her secondary hull scraping along one warp nacelle. "God DAMN! Captain, finish this before we fall apart! Williams! Get..." and he cut the connection.
Karmes made the sort of rapid decision that Captains get paid to make – and sometimes make wrong. "Weapons, I need you to take the most accurate shot you've ever taken – Low power shot, just hit one of their thrusters. Anything to give us the advantage we need. Low power, right? Just enough to damage the thruster."
"Yes, sir..." he bent to his task
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
"Targeting!" The Defense officer screamed and Yoshida rolled the big cruiser around her secondary hull as the green of a phaser lanced past, striking a glancing blow at her shields.
"Dammit! They are terrorists! Weapons, aim for their phaser emitters – just enough to take out the emitters. Make it happen!"
ROYAL HYDRAN SHUTTLECRAFT, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Jons watched the pearl-white ships fighting like two cats over a mouse. It was somewhat more..interesting...from the perspective of the mouse, he thought.
He was slowly making progress towards the Hyperion, but he was constrained by having to keep both ships out of tractor-beam range. This necessitated frequent rapid retreats or dodges in odd directions. He watched the Yorktown cut the Hood off again with a brilliant spiraling descent directly into the other ship's warp nacelles, forcing her to fall off and away.
He smiled to himself, that had to be Yoshida at the helm. She had been on an exchange from the Yorktown. She was still keeping him safe, he chuckled quietly and returned to his course towards the Hyperion, but now he had phaser-blasts to dodge as well.
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
There was smoke on the bridge of the Hood. Karmes wasn't quite sure from where, but wasn't happy about it. Lieutenant Wu spoke up, "Sir, we could try an assault transport – Take their bridge and end this. Or hell, just use their com-sets and TELL them what's going on."
"With shields up?"
"That's what assault transporters are for, sir."
"Don't be a twit, Wu. I meant can you make it work right now."
"Yes, sir – Let me trade some phaser power for transporters and at this close a range, we should be able to burn through the shields and the jamming and put a team aboard her. We've drilled for this sort of thing extensively."
"Can you do it without killing anyone? These are our shipmates too. This has gotten WAY too out of control." The Hood rocked as another shot raked across the primary hull's shields.
"Yes – we can issue hand phasers as well as rifles."
"Make it happen. Fast."
"Already at battle stations – I'll issue the orders now."
"Dammit, Helm, get around them!" another collision alarm sounded and the Hood rolled away from the climbing Yorktown just in time to avoid an impact.
Sooth pulled her helmet down over her head and activated her com-set. Her team was already standing on the assault pad, ready to go. "Just like the drills, right everyone?" Her blue-grey and tan mottled battle armor a stark contrast to Starfleet's gold and red. Crouching down, she again had a brief flashback to the few moments before she transported in to Airdrie. Shaking her head to clear the vision, she checked on her team. Kalea was visibly shaking, her hand phaser wobbling.
"TWENTY SECONDS!"
Reaching her hand over, she whispered, "I get the shakes too."
"FIVE SECONDS!"
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
The ship shuddered from another phaser impact and the world turned inside out. They materialized in a hallway a few decks away from their target on the bridge. Several startled crewmen working on an engineering junction froze at the apparition. Kalea's crew instantly phasered them down with a heavy stun setting as the Yorktown's intruder alarms added their weird howl to the mix.
Sooth yelled into her com-set "MOVE!" and was answered with the staticy scream of a jammed com-system. Shaking her head to kill the noise, she reverted to hand signals and voice.
Petty Officer James Jones, a huge member of Kalea's team said, "We probably should've told those guys what was up instead of shooting them. I think we drilled too much on combat..."
Sooth said, "A little late now. Let's go! Battle Drill 2-Alpha EXECUTE!" and they began to race for the accessways to the bridge.
Which, of course were guarded. The first few Security crew were in standard Fleet uniforms with hand phasers and stood absolutely no chance against Sooth's armored team. But the Yorktown crew were also among Starfleet's best and reacted quickly, despite their inexperience with the bulky, heavy battle armor. The Hood team had managed to assault up to the deck below the bridge before they were stopped cold by another pair of armored teams; With phaser rifles.
Pinned down, Sooth tried yelling at the Yorktown security teams, poking her head up and shouting "DAMMIT CEASE FIRE! WE NEED TO TELL YOU WHATS GOING ON!" only to be answered by phaser-fire and "FUCK OFF, CAT!"
Shaking her head, she resumed trying to low-crawl over to Kalea's injured team.
In the bridge, Captain Kamov was getting reports from his own security teams, "Sir, it looks like it's the Dosadi that took over the Hood. They must be going after the Romulons and the Hydrans again." He saw an image on his viewscreen of an armored Dosadi Marine, the distinctive blue-grey and tan mottled armor making the identification easy. They were engaging one of his security teams, hitting two with a phaser rifle before being driven back into cover. The view went dark as an errant shot hit the pickup.
"They're insane. This makes absolutely no sense."
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS HOOD, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Aboard the Hood, Wilkes had a sudden flash of insight. "Holy shit, I got it." and he ran across the main engineering deck to the Chief Engineer who was working with First Officer Thalev on re-routing power around several damaged systems. Thalev advising, "No, that system remains a priority – we need to..."
Wilkes interrupted, "Chief, I know how to make this stop."
Both officers looked at him, "This better be good Wilkes." The Hood groaned again as she maneuvered tightly.
"Sir, we take a shuttlecraft – make sure there's no weapons on it at all – I stick a grappler on the rear-end like a Thunderbolt and we fly THAT out. Snag the Hydran shuttle and take it to the Yorktown!"
Thalev said, "That is brilliant. They won't fire on an unarmed shuttlecraft, the addition of the fourth craft will break the stalemate and once you grapple the other shuttle, they will likely tractor you themselves."
"Make it happen, Wilkes!"
"I need a pilot, sir. I'm a mechanic, not a flyer."
Thalev said, "I am a pilot. Quickly now." and the two grabbed Wilkes' team as they ran towards the Hood's shuttlebay.
Boarding the modified shuttle, Thalev noticed Wilkes carrying a large, folded piece of cloth. "What is that, Lieutenant? I notice you brought it with you from Engineering, but I have yet to see you do anything with it."
Smiling as he sat at the grapple controls, Wilkes put Sooths' cloak on, feeling enfolded by her scent, and said, "Lucky charm, sir."
"That's not Starfleet uniform, Lieutenant."
"No sir. I'll happily report for punishment for being out of uniform if we survive."
Thelev chuckled, "I can accept that, Lieutenant. Ready for launch."
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Finally working their way through several of Kamov's security teams, Kalea, Sooth, and their three remaining mobile team members had their backs to the turbo-lift doors while some of the wounded kept a steady stream of fire going down the curving corridor.
"Well," Kalea gasped, in severe pain from a phaser burn that had clipped through the side of her armor. "This is going well."
Sooth grinned at her, the expression invisible beneath her helmet, "Better than some of the drills. The Yorkies are good." Her own armor had half a dozen different deep scores in it. It's OK, I've got a plan."
"Oh goodie. Those always work out so well."
FEDERATION HEAVY CRUISER USS YORKTOWN, MANEUVERING, TOULAGAI
SEPTEMBER 2269
Captain Kamov noted the shuttlecraft launching from Hood. "Scan that! Now!"
"Two occupants sir, nothing else. One Andorian, one human. It's just an empty shuttle."
"What the hell? Can we keep it away from the other shuttle?" The Yorktown's shields rang from another phaser hit from the Hood.
Yoshida shook her head. "Not and keep the Hood away too. I can try to get us close enough to tractor it though."
"Do it!"
The Yorktown elegantly traded distance from the Hood for a closer position to the shuttlecraft, the distance closing rapidly. But, the Hood moved to intercept them and she had to back off to keep the Hood away, then sliding her starship towards the two shuttlecraft.
"Captain!" the defense officer shouted, "The other shuttle – it's got a grapple on the Hydran!"
"So, that's their game! Yoshida, get us in tractor range NOW – Security team to the shuttle bay!"
"Hood's backing away sir, and powering down their weapons. But the Hyperion's coming on fast."
"What? Has everyone gone completely bat-shit insane?" The turbo-lift doors opened and everyone turned in surprise. The two Security guards dropped into a crouch, phaser rifles at the ready focused intently on the lift.
And the lift was empty. A moment later a blinding flash and deafening roar stunned the bridge crew into insensibility. Had they been able to see, they'd have observed Kalea and Sooth dropping out of bridge maintenance access-tunnels, weapons at the ready. Instead as their ears stopped ringing, they heard hand phasers discharging.
When Captain Kamov could finally see again, his security guards were unconscious on the floor, their helmets torn off and phaser stun impacts clearly visible on their faces. Armor was proof against a flash-bang grenade, but not if you were staring straight at it. "What is the meaning of this!"
Sooth ordered, "Everyone away from your consoles – move quickly to the far side of the bridge, please sirs." Moments later the turbo-lift opened again and Sooth's three remaining Hood security men stepped out.
Kalea, struggling to catch her breath with the burn to her side ordered "Block the doors open and take up positions to cover the access tunnels – let's not have them do unto us what we just did unto them."
Angry, Kamov barked at Sooth, "Have the Dosadi declared war on the Federation then, Marine?"
She remained silent as the com system came alive, "Bridge! Shuttle-bay! We got them both! Bridge? Bridge?"
Sooth ordered "Have your crew stand down, please sir. Your vessel is now under the command of Captain Karmes and the USS Hood. I need to explain what's going on."
"I'll do no such thing, pirate."
Kalea turned to one of her team, "Can you do it, Jimmy?"
"Yep." The beefy Security Guard took his helmet off and stepped to the command chair. "Good to see you again, sir." he greeted his former Captain.
"Petty Officer Jones? You transferred out six months ago. What is the meaning of this!?"
"When I was aboard Yorktown, I was pretty good at imitating your voice sir. Sorry about this." And he punched the com button on the command chair. "All hands, this is the captain." he said in a fair imitation of Captain Kamov's voice. "There has been a severe misunderstanding with our sister ship. Stand down. Medical teams, treat the casualties. I repeat, stand down." and he cut the connection.
The Com system came alive again, "Bridge, shuttle bay – you REALLY need to get down here. Bridge? Jesus, is this thing even working?"
Kamov faced Sooth. "Well Marine? Shall we go down to the shuttle bay then? We tractored both the Hydran shuttlecraft and one from the Hood into our bay. Time to make a decision. There are still no coms with anyone. What are you going to do, Marine?"
Sooth looked at Kalea. The little Hawaiian woman shrugged back at her with her uninjured side.
Sooth swallowed hard. She really wanted to throw up. Kamov pushed her again. "Time's slipping away, Marine. Do we go down and find out what's happening in the shuttle bay or stand here and chat? The Romulon cruiser was closing with us last time I knew. What's your choice, Marine? You need to decide. You need to decide NOW."
Sooth really didn't have enough people left to do anything but hold the bridge. Maybe. If Jones' ruse had worked, maybe she could 'escort' the Captain down to the shuttle bay and why wouldn't he shut up? Finally she snapped, "Shut UP, sir."
He smiled a rather predatory smile and she decided, "Kalea, keep everyone here. I'm going to walk the Captain down to the shuttle-bay. If you don't hear from me – you know the word – in five minutes, do whatever you have to do to get to Captain Karmes."
"Right."
Gesturing with her hand phaser, she and Captain Kamov got into the turbo-lift. On the way, she began to explain to her captive audience what she had been told by Lt. Wu.