Chapter 16
After having arrived in the Delta quadrant, Tanas immediately began the search for the Klingon ships that Q had force to come there. Having no idea in which direction to begin the search, he decided that the most logical course of action should be to go to where sensors indicate that most likely existed inhabitable planets, but before that search could pay off, a first encounter with some locals that called themselves Centauri occurred. Unfortunately, due a series of misunderstandings and not enough cool-heads in both sides, a deadly battle ensued.
To General Tanas that had been the last entertainment that he had experienced in some time. However the battle had been won very easily thus not been minimally satisfactory. A second race had also appeared just as the defeated Centauri were fleeing the battlefield, but instead of they being the worthy challenge that the Centauri had not been, it turned out that they were even more technologically inferior and battle them would have been a waste of time. therefore Tanas decided that the search for the missing ships should be resumed, maybe later on a worthy adversary was to be found.
Now on the Bridge of the IKS Negh'Var, an extremely annoyed and frustrated General Tanas was repeatedly walking back and forth like a jailed animal.
"How long until the nearest habitable system." Tanas Asked.
"Twenty hours at present speed, Sir." The helmsman replied.
Before Tanas could say anything, the Tactical officer spoke. "General I'm detecting some debris dead ahead. "
"Why would I be interested in some debris?" An extremely unfriendly Tanas retorted to the Klingon officer.
"Sir, according to the prisoners, this area of space doesn't use warp in any way form or shape, but according to these readings I'm detecting large quantities of gamma radiation, neutrinos and dilithium isotopes, followed by a distinct gravimetric displacement field, all of which are consistent with a warp core breach. A simple matter antimatter explosion would not have caused this kind of signature." The Tactical officer explained.
"WHAT? Drop us out of warp immediately and scan the entire area meticulously." Tanas ordered.
Immediately the Klingon fleet exit from warp and began approaching the debris at impulse speed, coming to a full stop shortly after.
"Scanning the debris now General…" An extended pause occurred as the Klingon began the examination of the field ahead. Seconds later, some chirps emanated from his console and the Klingon said. "…General some of those remains are certainly from Klingon vessels. I believe that from a Bird of Prey and a K'T'Inga Class cruiser. Other remains are completely unknown and organic in nature. The pattern in which the remains are scatter, suggest that a battle took place here."
"Tanas visibly became very upset with the latest news. "Beam those organic remains aboard, I want to know more about them. Anything else?"
"Yes General, I'm also detecting a faint plasma trail, most likely from a damaged warp manifold, an indication that at least a vessel survived." The Tactical officer informed.
"Will it be possible to follow that plasma trail?" Tanas asked.
"If it continues as consistent as it is now we can, General. The trail is heading in the same direction that we were going, so you were right General. That is the way to go." the Klingon replied.
"Let's not waste more time talking, engage warp eight." Tanas commanded and then sat in is chair with a furious gaze in his face and said. "Whoever did this will pay with their lives!"
Far away from there, two other ships were also traveling at warp; it were the Federation starships Enterprise and Voyager.
-oOOo-
On board the Enterprise
Picard had just finished reading Captain Janeway's report about species 8472 and their war with the Borg when the door of his ready room opened letting Riker walk in. Riker now again wearing a proper looking Starfleet uniform instead of his previous one that Q had turned into a clown suit. "You called Captain?" Riker asked.
"Yes Number One, please sit down." Picard replied. Then he tapped a few keys on his computer before turning it to Riker. "Captain Janeway's report about this species 8472 and the Borg causes me serious concerns. I know it must've been tough being stranded tens of thousands of light years away from home with no support and limited supplies, but Starfleet regulations should still apply and not be used this loosely." Picard expressed is apprehension and waved his hand to the screen.
Riker then began to read some passages of the report that Picard had purposely highlighted. "I see what you mean Captain, some Starfleet rules might not have been outright disregarded, but certainly were more bent than a pretzel. What do you intend to do Captain" Riker uttered.
"Frankly I don't know Number One, I will have to talk to Captain Janeway and express my reservations about this nanoprobe weapon. It is more akin to a weapon of mass destruction or at least a very indiscriminate weapon in disguise than anything else. But the worst is that Voyager's crew doesn't seem to realize this." Picard stated.
"You could always quote Regulation 191, Article 14. In a combat situation involving more than one Federation ship, command falls to the vessel with tactical superiority." Riker said.
"If possible I rather not to, we booth are already in a difficult position and unless I really have to, I prefer not to make things worse. What's the Enterprise status?" Picard asked.
"According to Giordi's last report, there are both bad and good news, Captain. The bad are: things aren't expected to get much better than it are right now unless we can go into a space dock and do proper repairs, so for the time being going above warp five or have more than partial shielding is only wishful thinking. The good news are: he have full impulse restored and all weapons are fully operational."
"So given our present situation what are your suggestions, Number One?"
"What I can envision is: If we continue the mission as we are right now, our chances are not great, especially if those organic ships show up again. If we do it with the help of Voyager our odds will improve although not by much as they are also struggling with their own problems. For last, there is the option of going back and get proper repairs before returning, maybe with more ships." Riker replied.
Later on and after a lengthy conference, Captain Picard and Captain Janeway agreed that in their present condition and due the unknown that the organic ships represented, it was best to go back to the wormhole and instead of two banged up ships, fresh ones certainly would have a better chance in getting Cmdr. Shelby home. So at their best speed, both Federation ships headed towards the wormhole.
-oOOo-
Meanwhile in the Alpha Quadrant: Federation sector 001.
The battle between the Federation and their mysterious enemies was now raging for hours. Initially due to sheer numbers and surprise on their side, the Minbari had managed to get the upper hand for quite some time, but as the Federation began to consolidate their forces, the tide of the war steadily began to shift. Now the Federation was in complete dominance and their only doubt now wasn't the final outcome of the battle, but what had happened to their Commander in Chief that in a flash of light mysteriously disappeared from the bridge of a fully shielded USS Galaxy.
After Admiral Paris disappearance, at first existed the fear that their enemies somehow could be able to beam Federation crewmembers at will even through the shields of their ships. But then due the absence of further disappearances, maybe because they randomly began to rotate their shields' frequencies, that fear was put completely behind and their entire focus shifted into achieving victory as fast as possible.
"Captain Riddick, I believe that I may have located the enemy's flag ship. Regardless of with how many ships they attack, their pattern is always to travel in groups of three. But at the coordinates I just sent you, a single ship is surrounded by an abnormal number of escorts." The USS Galaxy Tactical Officer informed his superior.
After analyzing the finding, Captain Riddick immediately began issuing orders. "It's time to end this battle and take those bastards down for good. Order Delta group to form on our wing and let's show this aliens their error in attacking us."
Seconds later eight Defiants formed around the Galaxy and its support ships, two Nebulas and an Akira. All twelves ships immediately began heading towards to what they believe was the enemy flag ship and piercing through the enemy forces as a hot knife pierces through butter, nothing seeming capable of stopping them.
-oOOo-
Minbari command ship.
Inside it, the Grey Council was seeing in their holographic display the wall of destructing that those alien ships were bringing towards them and probably for the first time in their lives, they sensed fear. Having seen it also, Admiral Paris frantically tried to call his ship. "Paris to Galaxy do you her me, Captain Riddick please reply." However, the message apparently was not going through, possibly due to enemy jamming or Q, which was standing next to him finding the whole situation hilarious.
-oOOo-
Federation command ship.
Aboard the USS Galaxy, the Tactical Officer had reported that what he believed was the enemy flagship was almost in weapons range. but before the order to attack was issued, all over the battlefield and from dozens and dozens of vortexes that suddenly began to appear, possibly hundreds of unknown ships whose dimensions varied from Runabout's size to about a kilometer long began to immerge. And all regardless of their size, shared the same basic shape, a cylindrical body, greenish-yellow hulls with a seemingly random dark mottled pattern and in the front four tentacle-like struts irradiating tendrils of green energy that converged to the center.
So to say that the unexpected occurrence had merely surprised the Federation forces was put things very mildly, but before any reaction from their part could occur, the new enemy viciously began attacking them with frightening results and showing that they were a whole new beast to reckon with. Their weapons and especially those of their larger vessels, having enough powerful to with only one or two shots fully destroy a shielded Federation starship.
In the Federation ranks, chaos and confusion soon erupted and the speed at which they started losing ships was so high that in their history only one other enemy so far had managed to match that, The Borg.
The USS Galaxy group soon also got under attack by three new alien Dreadnoughts that in seconds destroyed two Defiants and a Nebula; the Galaxy itself taking a hit that reduced its shields to practically zero, as well as inflicting a considerable amount of damage to its hull.
The Grey Council and all Minbari in general among their fleet became ecstatic with the turnaround of events and again began to believe in their righteous ways and that they were going to win after all. To Admiral Paris however, what happened shook him so much that for a while he felt his legs falter. The new ships however did not remain unscathed for long and as Federation ships began to return fire, they also began taking damage and losses.
The USS Galaxy attack group quickly recovered from being under their attack and all remaining six Defiants immediately left formation and gone after the three enemy ships that had attacked them, leaving the remaining Nebula and Akira to protect the Federation flagship.
The targeted Minbari group however after seeing what happened to the enemy force that was coming at them, immediately tried to take advantage of their now weakened situation and counter-attack to punish them for having dared to think in attacking the Grey Council's ship. Moreover, despite their weapons not being nearly as powerful as those of their newly arrived allies, to the now almost shieldless Galaxy they were equally a threat. So the three Federation ships began veering away to reach a more secure area. But before doing it, they unleashed a barrage of phaser fire and torpedoes which in seconds caused a massive devastation in the incoming enemy vessels, among whom was the Minbari Command ship which also was hit and got considerable damage, including the loss of its stealth.
Inside the USS Galaxy, the Tactical Officer immediately alerted Captain Riddick that not far and inside the very ship he had speculated it was the Aliens' flagship; a signal from Admiral Paris comm. badge was now being detected.
"WHAT? Are we still in range to beam the Admiral?" Riddick shouted.
"Barely Sir." The Tactical Officer replied.
"Then drop what is left of our shields and beam the Admiral aboard immediately!" Riddick ordered.
In the Grey Council Chamber, the violence of the attack that moments ago had fell upon the ship they were in; bar from Q had caused everyone else to be thrown violently to the floor. Then as they all start to pick themselves up, Q came forward and addressed the Minbari while pointing to the holographic display.
"It seems those you so blindingly follow, really want to learn their lesson the hard way. So be it." Then Q turned his attention to the Federation Admiral. "It seems you are about to leave, send my regards to everyone and tell them that I'm proud or their resilience and spunk." The Grey Council than saw Q disappear in a flash of light and the human soon follow but in a shimmering column of light.
"The Dark Lord departed and took his minion with him, certainly scared because his forces are about to be defeated." Dalenn stated with certainty.
In the bridge of the Federation flagship, its Captain had just been informed that the Admiral was aboard safe and sound. Therefore, the three Federation vessels without more delays and at full impulse headed do a more safe area to organize a new strategy for the battle that now was going very badly for them, just as several thousand kilometers away another vortex appeared and from it, another ship emerged.
This one, although as the newly arrived attackers also featuring a mottled greenish-yellow pattern in its hull, in shape and size was vastly different. Its form was that of a bifurcated disc with a length of nearly fifty kilometers. Connected to its aft and curving forward to almost half the length of the disc, was a pair of nacelles shaped like petals. The dorsal and ventral surfaces featured a pair of longitudinal smooth bubbles sided to port and starboard by fins as well as several large spikes and sail-like structures. The forward section as in the smaller counterparts, were equally dominated by four undulating tentacle-like struts, each flanked by similar but much smaller sets mounted alongside the outer edge of the dorsal and ventral hull. The energy it seemed to be generating only seemed to have rival in other alien vessels of past times as the Doomsday Machine, the Wale Probe, or V'ger.
-oOOo-
Elsewhere in the Delta Quadrant, in the Tigris sector.
"Finding a needle in a haystack would have been a far easier assignment." Lochely beamed.
"No one ever said this would be easy, but this is humanity best chance to survive." Sheridan replied.
"Yes but a day has passed and we are no closer to find that damn wormhole from where the Klingons claimed to have come from then when we first arrived." Lochely retorted.
Before Sheridan could answer, a bridge officer that was in charge of the Minbari sensor array yelled. "Captain I'm detecting a jump-point ten thousand kilometers away on our starboard side."
Immediately Sheridan swiveled its command chair to face a screen that showed a Nova Dreadnought exiting a jump-point
"What the hell!" A surprised Sheridan let it out. "Hail them Lieutenant." Sheridan ordered the Communications Officer.
A couple minutes elapsed and the newly arrived EA Dreadnought continued silent.
Suddenly, Lochely at tactical shouted. "" Captain they are powering weapons and locking on us!"
"Go to read alert. What's our battle status?" Sheridan shot out consecutively.
"Weapons and the interceptor grid are still disconnected from sensors. The guys in engineering said that they had to disconnect them from our old sensor array before connecting to the new array as the two systems apparently can't be on at the same time, but until now that still didn't happen. So on what concerns weapons targeting and interceptors, we are essentially blind." Lochely stated.
"And is there any estimation for when the weapons and the interceptor grid can be linked to the Minbari array?" Sheridan asked his First Officer.
"Unfortunately those geniuses back in engineering are still trying to make sense of how Minbari stuff works and how to successfully connect it to our stuff. I believe that presently anyone's guess is as good as theirs." Lochely replied sarcastically.
Annoyed with the lack of progress, he decided not to lose more time and go straight to the source to know where to stand. "Sheridan to engineering, how are things there? We need weapons and the interceptor grid operational now!"
"Sir this endeavor that Earth Force tasked us with is a lunacy. We are working around the clock for days now without sleeping and we barely got the scanning sensors online. We really can't tell you how long until weapons and the interceptor grid can be linked to the Minbari array of if when done will work perfectly."
"How about temporarily disconnect the Minbari array and put our old one online so that we can target anything?" Sheridan asked while seen in the main screen the other Nova getting closer and closer.
"We would have to undo most of what we did so far. So if you have about twelve hours we may be able to do it, Captain." Was the reply from engineering.
Without many options left, Sheridan ordered to the Helmsman. "Go to full military thrust. Power up the jump engines and get us into hyperspace now!"
"What's your plan Captain?" Lochely asked.
"If we can't fight them, let's try to lose them."
A minute later as the approaching unknown Nova was about to have its target in weapons range, the EAS Heracles opened a jump-point and escaped into hyperspace. However the tactic that Sheridan hoped was enough to outwit the pursuer, wasn't and despite the multiple jumps to and from hyperspace that the Heracles performed in the next hours, the pursuer always found it. Pursuer, by now identified as the EAS Cerberus, the ship of General Martel.
"They found us again, Captain and this time they are almost on top of us." Lochely reported.
"They must have put a transmitter on this ship before our departure; it's the only explanation for how they manage to find us each time. No one can be this lucky." Sheridan uttered in frustration. "Take us to hyperspace again and let's find that damn transmitter."
"We have made too many jump points in a very short time. We need at least five more minutes before the jump engine recharges, Captain." The helmsman said.
"Our luck is over then, because before that the Cerberus is going to get in range and blow us to smithereens." Lochely said.
"Let's end this one way or the other then, all personnel to battle stations. Launch all starfuries and prepare to target the enemy manually." Sheridan commanded.
-oOOo-
Far away, but still in the Delta Quadrant.
Korras battle group was uneventfully traveling to where they thought finally would get the answers they wanted when something caught their attention.
"Sir, I just pick up a distress signal, its dead ahead and at present speed we'll reach it in two minutes." Toran stated.
"Tactical!" Korras ordered.
Then in the main viewer appeared a strange and small drifting ship. It had almost no power readings left, but strangely, it was not being possible to scan its interior.
"What do you make of that, Cmdr.?" Korras asked Shelby.
"Not certain Brigadier, but I have a bad feeling about it." Shelby replied.
"Bah, it must have been something that you ate." Korras rejected her presage and began laughing causing all in the bridge to laugh as well.
"We'll just drop out of warp, tractor it and see what's inside later." Korras informed.
Minutes later, all four Klingon ships dropped out of warp a couple Kellicams from the derelict ship, but as the IKS B'Moth was about latch its tractor beam into it, suddenly from behind three dark spiky ghostly forms seemed to materialize from nowhere and immediately each fired a purple deadly beam into a Klingon ship. The IKS Qo'nos and IKS Pak't Marr upon being hit in seconds had their shields overwhelmed and got cut in half, the IKS Kahless the other ship to also be hit held firmly, although having its shields reduced to sixty percent.
"Sir, we are under attack, the Qo'nos and Pak't Marr were already destroyed!" yelled a frantic Toran.
"Evasive!" Shouted Korras, immediately causing the Kahless to cartwheel towards the enemy whose maneuver was promptly mirrored by the IKS B'Moth that being smaller and more maneuverable then its bigger companion, was the first to get one enemy in its sights. The result being that the dark ship that roughly resembled an Earth crab, upon being hit by a couple of disruptors beams and a volley of torpedoes got most of its spikes severed and its main body shrunk to half its size. But before the B'Moth could finish it completely, the other two dark ships joined their forces and through a combined attack quickly overcome the B'Moth shields sealing its fate. Then as its sister ships moments before, the proud Klingon ship disappeared in a fierce explosion.
The Kahless now was firing all its forward weapons at the enemies but they seemed to shimmer and disappear before any disruptor beams or torpedoes reached the intended targets. Then again, a dark ship materialized behind the remaining Klingon ship and again unleashed its purple beam further depleting the Kahless shields, nevertheless unable to carry on the attack, as again had to seemingly dematerialize to avoid an incoming torpedo fired from the aft of its target.
Inside the Bridge of the Kingon ship, the last attack had made a metal beam fall from the ceiling and hit korras on his head causing him to at least lose consciousness. Shelby without losing time took command and ordered the Kahless to go to warp. Rodek however countermanded her order and stated that now he was the one in command as only a Klingon can command a Klingon ship and that they were not going to run like scared Targs. Fed up with Rodek constant challenges to her authority and recognizing the gravity of the situation, Shelby draw Korras hand held disrupter from his side holster and promptly shot Rodek. Meanwhile as this struggle for power was taking place, the Khaless was hit again.
"Warp speed any heading now!" Shelby yelled, still menacingly wielding the disruptor she took from Korras just in case any other Klingon needed convincing.
"We can't, that last hit disabled our warp drive and shields are almost gone!" Toran yelled back.
"Fire all weapons in a wide pattern and have fore and aft torpedoes to detonate as close as possible to give us cover. Then drop what is left of the shields since as they are now are useless and engage our cloak!" Shelby ordered without losing a beat.
Toran fingers flew over his console and immediately every single disrupter emitter on the Khaless began firing as well as its fore and aft torpedoes launchers, forcing the dark ships to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the torrent of incoming fire and giving the Klingon ship the breathing room it needed to engage its cloak and also seemingly disappear.
TBC