Warp 7 and counting
Paul strode onto the bridge after the meeting and was followed swiftly by Ava and Sorek, heading towards their respective stations. Du Pont stood from the captain's chair and offered it to the silhouette of a man in front of him. After a pause, Paul stepped forward and slumped down into the chair, nodding at his first in command.
"I… trust ze meeting went well, Captain?" The Frenchman's blue eyes glistened as he stared at the captain and asked him, practically whispering. He had leant forward as to talk to him without too much interference with the others. The bridge didn't gleam quite as much this time. Finally the Captain responded.
"It was certainly an airing of opinions…"
"Ah, I see," Pierre inclined his head to the side, "It is a very sensitive issue; it is understandable."
"Yeah, I 'spose so…" Paul looked up and flicked his head around to the Engineering console, "Can you give me WARP 7, Commander?"
"Yes, captain," Ava typed animatedly on her console for a few seconds before swiping the information away to engineering. The red light switched to green after a few seconds.
"WARP speed, up to factor 7 ready at your command, Captain," she finished, revolving her chair around to face him, half smiling.
"Thank you, Commander," he nodded at her and ordered Lieutenant Foster, the pilot, to increase speed. He only hoped he'd get there in time.
"ETA at Venga IV?"
"2 Terran days, 14.2 solar hours, approximately, Captain," Sorek answered before Foster even understood the question.
"I only hope that's fast enough," Paul glanced at Sorek, then rose and left the bridge. He had a bad feeling about the mission, and the last thing he wanted to do was to project that on his crew. Du Pont didn't call after him, but simply sat down in the vacated seat and called upon Engineering for a report on their systems. All he could do was worry… worry and wait.
"RED ALERT. ALL STATIONS ON RED ALERT, ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS."
The Captain jerked up out of his bed and practically fell out of his quarters, running to the bridge. He was about to confront Du Pont for not calling him sooner, when he saw it on the view screen. A Romulan battle cruiser. The sheer audacity of bringing a ship like that this far into Federation territory was unbelievable. They must be so sure that they would not be captured, which could only mean one of two things: their commander had promptly gone mad and had waged a premptive out and out war with the Federation, or they had something deadly on board which would protect them from Federation attack.
Swinging himself into the Captain's chair, information about what little they knew about the vessel came trickling in from people on the bridge and over the intercom system. Surely the cruiser had seen them by now? Or had the nearby planet's magnetism saved them from being detected?
"Commander, can they see us?" he faced Sorek.
"I believe so, Captain. But they have not yet prepared to fire any detectable weapons… interesting."
"Oh yes, couldn't agree more, fascinating!" Paul choked out in disbelief, before turning in his chair to face the screen once more, "Harrison, have all phaser banks ready, we're going to attack."
A crackle of sound resounded from the communications console, the young man manning it desperately trying to gauge the channels correctly as to create a better transmission. His hands swept over the device deftly, making alterations here and there, anything to stop the crackling and make something out of the message they were being sent. Suddenly a face appeared on the screen. A Romulan face.
"Captain Andrews, I presume?" At first sight, they could be mistaken for Vulcans, but the more Paul looked at this man, the more un-Vulcan he became. He had the pointed ears and eyebrows, yes, but none of the steady rhythm in the voice or their manners. This man was particularly happy with himself and not afraid of displaying this emotion for all to see.
"This is Captain Andrews of the USS Endeavour, acting on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. What are you doing in Federation Space? State your name, the name of your vessel and your intention."
The bridge fell silent. Not only had the communication between the two ships fallen silent, but the bridge personnel all gaped at the view screen for so much as a glimpse of the Romulan again, simply to really take in what the situation was.
"Shields up" the Captain broke the silence by handing this command to Cdr. Donnelly at her post.
"Aye, sir. Shields are up and fully functional."
Just as the words were leaving her mouth, a jolt travelled through the ship, accompanied with a bright flash of light. Most of bridge crew were incapacitated, falling to the floor, their bodies heavy on the metal. The only three remaining were the Captain himself, Sorek and Ava.
"Their new weapon," Paul breathed out, barely a whisper as realization hit him.
"It appears to be a new type of photon torpedo, Captain."
"Our phasers could still cause damage to their ship. A weapon like that must drain some sort of battery source, if we can divert the power from the torpedo, we may have a chance at saving the ship," Ava replied, her voice steady, calming, even reassuring as she knelt on the floor where she took cover from the jolt.
"I agree with Commander Donnelly. This appears to be the only logical solution."
Paul silently agreed and pointed Ava over to the main piloting and weapons console. Sorek stood by the Engineering console, stepping into her usual place. Crawling up to the captain's chair, he gave the order to fire the phasers at one of the main engines. Accurate as ever, the beam hit the engine, no doubt through one powerful shield.
"Direct hit, but with minimal damage. Easily reparable, Captain," Sorek warned, looking over the ship's plan on the computer screen.
"The torpedoes. We need to fire the photon torpedoes," he looked at Ava, who seemed to know what he was hinting at immediately. She looked at Sorek, and then nodded, climbing effortlessly down the shaft to engineering. She was the only one conscious able to load the torpedo bays.
"Do you surrender, Captain Andrews?" the same smug face beamed down at the captain, clasping onto the armrests of his chair.
"The Federation does not surrender to terrorists." Determination – especially when defeat was imminent – was one of his stronger points.
"Your ship and crew will be utterly destroyed. I hope you know this,"
"I am aware of your military capabilities,"
"You believe you are aware, Andrews. On another note, I am also aware that your Science Officer is sending our coordinates to the nearest Starbase. We will be long gone by then, I am afraid. And so will you,"
The screen flickered back to the view of the oncoming Romulan ship.
"Advice Mr. Sorek?"
"We are in a compromised position at the present time, Captain,"
"No shit, Sherlock!" Paul audibly sighed, before regaining his composure, "I'm sorry Sorek. I was thinking about obtaining some more hopeful advice."
A few seconds of silence, Sorek rose to the Engineering console and pointed at the flashing green light on the dashboard.
"I believe Commander Donnelly has most efficiently loaded the torpedoes, Captain."
"I love you, Sorek." Paul laughed as he leapt to the weapons console, ignoring the completely bemused face of his Science Officer behind him.
Firing the torpedoes directly around the engines, Paul managed to break through the shield, successfully disabling one of the engines, leaving only one working. But even then, they could still be attacked. The Romulan vessel, did not move. The shields were up, but only just functional. A lucky hit and Paul wasn't in any position to waste power and 'finish the job'.
"I am afraid I do not reciprocate your amorous intentions, Captain," Sorek seemed anxious to clarify.
"I'm quite aware, Mr. Sorek. Warp speed over the Romulan vessel. Warp 8 to Venga IV. The crew should be coming around soon enough."
The doors slid open to the silhouette of a certain woman before she returned silently to her station. Finally…
"Good work, Commander."
She just smiled.