USS Alexia

Alexia class Strike Carrier

In Orbit

Orais


Rei swallowed a deep breath. The Klingon Defense Force had been utterly battered over the last twenty years, taking a beating from the Dominion, the Kinshya, the Jem Hadar, and even themselves. A century ago, the Klingons could drown an enemy in thousands of ships and hundreds of thousands of warriors. Those days were long gone.

But one thing had stayed the same over the years. While the Klingon professional military may have been a shell of its former self, the Klingon Great Houses still commanded sizable military forces of their own. In an emergency, they could be called to subordinate themselves to government control, as happened a decade ago for Operation Sniper Wolf. But in practice, they were largely independent, and no less deadly.

"I don't suppose that's backup?" Logan asked with mild hopefulness in his voice.

"Not likely. They're here either for me or that cargo," Eyos answered.

"Did we manage to recover it?" Rei asked in turn.

Kayla nodded back. "Got it. Its locked down in my cabin."

Rei sat down and took another deep breath. Was this what mom felt like over Bath'lor?

"Open a channel on QC and all subspace frequencies. Let's still pretend like we're friends," Rei ordered, trying to, at least, sound confident.

Logan nodded and Rei stood back up. "Klingon Vessels, this is the Federation Starship Alexia, Captain Rachel Nechayev in command. Welcome to Orais, but we have the situation under control here."

A few seconds later, Lord J'mpok appeared on the view screen. He had been making a name for himself in the Klingon Empire over the last several years as a challenger to the old guard. Rei half wondered if he would be making a move for power soon.

"And just who the hell are you?" he asked harshly.

Rei blinked. "Did you miss the part where I told you my name? I'll say it again, slowly. Captain. Rachel. Nechayev. Federation. Starship. Alexia. Situation is under control."

"Is that so, Captain? Then do me a favour. Return my property and leave this area, at once!"

Rei blinked, again. "Couple questions. One, what property do you mean? Right now, all I can see is the remains of an Orion carrier group we've been tracking for two days, the very same group that attacked a Romulan convoy under Milky Way Alliance protection and captured one of my Marines. None of those things really belong to you, as far as I can tell."

"Two, we're over a neutral planet right now, so we have as much right to be here as you do. In fact, even more so, again considering it was our Marine and our convoy that was attacked."

Rei sat down at her chair and crossed her legs. "Finally, we are allies, Lord J'mpok. Is such a hostile tone really necessary?"

It was J'mpok's turn to sigh. "I suppose its just like the Federation to put idiot children in charge of starships. And I'm familiar with your mother's reputation, another equal idiot to yourself. Aboard the ruins of that Orion Carrier was certain property that belongs to me. You will beam it aboard my ship at once, along with that criminal standing behind you. Then, if you value your meaningless life, you will leave this area. Is that understood?"

"You'll have to explain what makes Captain Eyos a criminal. Her crew and her ship were invaluable to recovering our captured personnel."

"Just like her father, she has murdered men doing their duty to the Empire, and she will be held to account for that! My patience with you has run out. The cargo and Eyos! Now!" J'mpok ordered.

Logan cut the audio and made a report that sent a cold chill down Rei's spine. "Skip, they're powering up weapons and locking on us. We're not gonna last long against a hundred Klingons, especially with an empty torpedo magazine."

Rei sighed again. Logan wasn't wrong. Fighting here would be suicide. She was about to order the cargo to be beamed over, when Logan again interrupted her with another report that chased the cold feeling from her spine.

"New contacts dropping out of warp! Its Starfleet! Eighty-seven ships led by… holy hell! Its Challenger and Tirpitz!"

On the screen, the image shifted to a powerful Starfleet task force racing to Rei's battered ship. The Galaxy class Challenger and the Sovereign class Tirpitz were museum pieces compared to Alexia, but they were still well-armed and sturdy combatants. And – if Rei's instincts were correct – their two commanders would be as battle-hardened as the ships themselves.

"Additional contacts from aft! Twenty-five independent ships, But I don't know that I've ever seen this transmission signature before," Logan reported.

Kayla walked over and looked at the console. She then looked at her two sisters with a wide smile. "Uncle Sali's here guys."

Beside Alexia, the wider Emergency Health Management System Cruiser – EHMS-C, the pride of the Black Star ECS Fleet – flew over and parked itself into a covering position, while Salimov appeared on the viewscreen.

"Hey, Boss Kayla! How doing?! Your mom calls me and says you in trouble. Says 'Salimov, go save Boss Kayla!' so we come help. You ok?" Salimov asked between gulps of Vodka.

Despite his unceasing drunkenness, Salimov was as close as any of Kayla's adopted family. He was also a prodigious fighter and a deadly shot with a rifle. There was no one else Kayla would rather have at her back in a fight.

"Hey Sali," Kayla replied with a smile, "Thanks for the help. Stay close to me, okay? Let the grown-ups do their thing."

The channel closed, but no one was ready to relax yet. Logan tied in another report. "Challenger is hailing the Klingon flagship. I'm tying us into the call."

The screen shifted again. Thaddeus Grax was a war hero to the entire 2410 ACCP graduating class. Perhaps not as famous as the Janeways, Siskos, Picards or Nechayevs of the fleet, but someone respected by his friends and feared by his enemies in the same token. And fear wasn't a word in his vocabulary.

"Klingon Vessels. My name is Admiral Thaddeus Grax. Your presence above a neutral world is a violation of standing Milky Way Alliance doctrine and protocol. And we have monitored aggressive communications against a Starfleet vessel. I demand that you state your intentions forthwith."

Grax sounded confident to Rei's ears. Equally as confident as J'mpok sounded annoyed.

"Heh. So, they dragged an old, bleeding heart like you out of retirement? This doesn't concern you, Grax. I am here to retrieve my property. Go back home to Betazed and write more love poems, or whatever it is you people do."

"I don't think so," Grax replied in equal annoyance, "I never retired, for one. For another, I don't leave people behind in hostile territory. According to my information, your property is, in fact, Federation-marked cargo bound for Kinshya. Which in turn makes it our property."

J'mpok lowered his tone and deepened his tone. "Out of respect for what you did in the war, Grax, I'll allow you that remark and one last chance to turn back. And then I'll take what is mine, over your corpse if I must."

In a shock to Rei, Grax suddenly smirked. "I can read your mind. I know you don't respect me or my service. But I also know that you didn't fight in the Dominion War, or Operation Sniper Wolf. Other Klingons did. Men with more sense and honour than you. We'll be taking Alexia home. And you will stand down."

The mood in the air was tense enough to cut with a knife. The Milky Way Alliance was an unprecedented achievement. Species across the galaxy who had all fought wars with one another were now working together. The people standing behind Rei stood testament to that fact. An Augment. A Romulan. A Klingon. A Kinshya. Supported by a Betazed Admiral, supporting a Russian Mercenary. And J'mpok was threatening to undo all of it… for what?

Grax and J'mpok stared each other down for the long eternity of thirty seconds. Both the Starfleet/Black Star Task Force and J'mpok's fleet were evenly matched in terms of numbers and firepower. What was left of the OSN had long since ran for their lives. A fight here would be very costly, and very bloody.

Both Rei and Kayla had watched Uncle Mark spend a not insignificant part of their lives gambling. Both were fair hands at the art of placing a bet. But neither of them knew who to bet for this time.

"Fortunately, for you and your precious little ship, Grax, I did not come to start a war with the Federation. Today," J'mpok replied.

The channel closed, and Rei was left staring at a massive Klingon Fleet, holding above the Orion home world like a predator over prey. But just as she was about to relax, the Klingon fleet pointed downwards and laced the surface of Orais with disruptor and torpedo fire.

The explosions were massive, even in space. Fire from the cities chased the plasma into high orbit. Nimble Birds of Prey raced across the skies, swatting down the few serviceable fighters left from the battle. Larger Vorcha and Negh'Var cruisers dropped torpedoes into any target they could hit. Klingon Infantry Transports de-cloaked and made their way slowly to the surface.

"Sensors are showing a full-scale invasion, Skip. I'd estimate at least four divisions of infantry, along with CAS and OSP support," Logan reported, almost as an afterthought.

"Five at least. They're aiming to conquer the planet," Kayla added, "Do we intervene?"

Rei keyed a switch on her chair. "Alexia to Challenger. We're monitoring a Klingon invasion of the Orion home world. My OC-MCT is requesting orders to intervene."

Grax's voice came alive in the comm, faster than it should have by Kayla's estimates. "Negative Alexia. My orders were to bring you home. Stand down and follow us back. We're done here. Challenger out."

Rei, at last, finally relaxed, looking at her chronometer in disbelief. "Two days. That's one hell of a first mission."

Kayla walked over and draped her arms around Rei's shoulders. "You know what we need, Skipper?"

"Divine intervention?"

"A god damned drink."