The Hour of the Wolf
Chapter Thirty-Five

Authors note:-

A lot of people are leaving reviews, pointing out their concern with what I'm doing with the Andorians. I know it's a little weird and it might sound silly that there is so little information in the Federation database.

The problem is it isn't that far fetched to suggest that a strong proponent of an alliance could leave after political and social changes. Given that the Federation has laws against interference and others that protect individual freedoms if the Andorians don't want the Federation to know something they have no real way of finding out.

Just what that is, and why those changes took place is something I'm going to try and get into, sooner or later. Anyway on with the show!

Four tiny ships flew into space from the dull planet. Their near impossible speed taking them into a high orbit before anyone could react. They were one man craft, moving with a speed and precision that no other ship their size could hope to match. A bright white backwash from their thrusters burning brightly, making them look like a swarm of comets racing across space.

Ahead the two rogue Klingon vessels were firing on the unarmed transport. Even with shields it wasn't going to last long under that sort of onslaught. The transport flew close to Praxis, trying to use the debris as cover. The attack pods accelerated, heading directly for their home ship.

Gowron paused the recording, enhancing and magnifying in on the ships. The battle was long over and this was his second time of watching since returning to his new flag ship. The Vor'cha. He studied the frozen image. They were impossible, one man craft with three large engines at the back and a long nose cone at the front. Sensors had no idea what powered them, only that they were very good. As he read the information the door behind him opened.

After reaching for his disruptor Gowron recognised the commander of Vor'Cha. The officer in charge of new ship development. His loyalty to the Empire was unquestioned. His loyalty to Gowron might be another thing, but that was worth testing. 'You have seen this, Colonel?' he asked

'Yes Chancellor. It was impressive.'

Gowron waited for him to say more. 'Why did you not get involved?' he asked eventually.

He pulled himself tall, not ignoring the slight to his honour. 'It was a surprise. We had no warning, and no knowledge of the battle. I was about to challenge when they responded.' He pointed to the attack pod.

That was what the sensors had shown and Gowron privately approved of waiting to see which side to take in a battle. Only a true fool rushed into a situation they knew nothing about. 'Good. Now that you know, whose side do you chose?'

The question hung between them, Gowron's hand resting on his disruptor. 'My house has no quarrel with that of Duras, or your own. I serve the Empire first.' The Colonel announced truthfully. 'From what I have seen those of house Duras serve only themselves. I side with you Chancellor.'

Gowron grinned, not letting his guard down just yet. 'Then watch this again Colonel and tell me your professional opinion.' He restarted the recording.

The attack pods covered the distance faster than any shuttle could. Faster than anything the Klingon Empire had. As soon as they were in range they slowed and began firing. Alone there was no chance the small ship could match a Bird of Prey's firepower, together they had more than enough.

Bright orange bursts flashed out from each of them, splashing against the aft shields of the trailing Bird of Prey. At first the shields held. Glowing under the near constant weapon's fire, but it couldn't last. Expecting an attack from the transport the Bird of Prey's Captain had reinforced his forward shields at the expense of his rear. The attack pods made full use of that and all too quickly burnt through them.

The trailing ship tired to pull away, engaging in evasive manoeuvres to escape, but it was too late. The attack pod's blasts tore through the wing actuator, the main hull and eventually the impulse engines. Taking out warp drive and primary power. Adrift the engines flamed out and the ship tumbled in to the debris field.

There the helpless Bird of Prey was pounded into scrap by meteorites before the warp core detonated.

The four pods changed course with startling precision, heading for the remaining Klingon ship. Only their next target wouldn't be so easy to defeat, it's Captain had redirected shields to face them and was still firing on the transport.

Then the transport's shields failed.

Were the pilots of the pods, or transport for that matter, Federation they would have hailed the attacking Klingon ship. They would have surrendered, or at the very least tried to negotiate. Instead the transport accelerated, heading for the dark side of Praxis. So did the pods, two of them flying so close to the Bird of Prey's bridge section that they nearly ran into the shields.

It was then the rogue ship made it's biggest mistake. The transport was about to escape and the Captain decided to finish them off quickly. Arming and firing a torpedo.

At the same time the two pods that had passed them pulled a near impossible turn at speed. Swapping nose for tail they turned completely around and began firing.

Launching a photon torpedo was often a risky business. Full power a single torpedo could tear through a ship, at close range the explosion could also damage you. More importantly due to the nature of the weapon a small hole had to be opened in the shields to let the warhead through. Disruptors could phase through he shields, but torpedoes couldn't. The hole normally only lasted a fraction of a second, but that was long enough.

The first volley from the attack pods splashed against the shield, the second passed through the gap. Hitting the torpedo as it left the tube and causing it to detonate.

The explosion tore the bridge section apart from the inside in an enormous fireball. Secondary explosions went off as the torpedo magazine was set off. Data scrolled from the display, telling the viewer that most sensors were blinded. Those that weren't reported a power surge that reached the warp core.

Another explosion took out the main section of the ship, breaking most of it up into a fiery cloud of plasma and free flying atoms. The pair of attack pods peeling off and away to the relative safety of the Praxis debris field.

Gowron stopped the recording and turned to the Colonel. After a long moment he responded; 'They were lucky.'

Gowron snarled at his shortsightedness. 'Lucky, or were they skilled enough to make use of of the opportunities provided?' He asked. 'Did you not see what I saw?'

'Yes Chancellor, I did.' he told them. 'Those were K'Vort class ships. Outdated, the Vor'cha would not be so easily defeated.'

'How many Klingons were aboard just one of those outdated ships? Twenty? Thirty? Four one man ships destroyed two of them. No losses.' Gowron stood up, with a few quick commands he brought up everything they had on the pods. 'Four humans. Imagine what Klingons could do. Imagine a dozen, two dozen attack pods piloted by our best warriors! Not even the Vor'cha could match that!'

The Colonel's eyes widened as he realised just what it meant. 'This technology could change the balance of power in the galaxy and through Picard the Federation has it within their grasp!' Gowron half bellowed. 'We must forge an alliance with these humans, develop our own attack pods!'

Gowron marched up to him. 'You are in charge of developing our ships. I am to visit that transport soon, I will take you with me Martok. While I negotiate,' he sneered at the word, 'You will find out what you can. I want you to start work on this, as soon as possible!'

They had convened in one of the Galactica's briefing rooms, similar to the main council chamber if only a bit smaller. A large table sat before a window out into the universe. Beyond the transparent Tylinium the handful of Andorian ships hung there. As did the Pegasus, an uneasy peace between them.

There were three non-humans in the room. They had blue skin, white hair and highly mobile antenna flicking this way and that. There than that they were surprisingly human. Two wore shiny black bodysuits and the third was in furs. They appeared to be having an argument. Those in bodysuits had the bearing of warriors while the woman did not. She was the trader they were meeting with.

Right now they appeared to be arguing about who was in command. Tigh could see that the warriors didn't like the idea of answering to a civilian and he couldn't blame them. Luckily he had better discipline, so did Benjamin. After a couple of centons one of the Non-human warriors marched up to him. It was Shvens, the Captain of the warship that had entered the system. 'Why the delay? We are eager to get this over with!'

Tigh noticed that the trader, Tanhia, was unhappy with him. He was having a hard time controlling his temper too. 'They are on their way. If you had contacted us before invading our system he might have been closer…' He told him.

Before they could respond the door opened and in barged Sparoe. During the Exodus he'd been a Black market dealer, hoarding medicines, food stuffs and other luxuries. While he had always drove a hard bargain it was know that he was somewhat of a honourable man. Never letting a child starve or denying vital supplies he also never forgot a dept. There were any number of people that still worked for him to pay off some little favour that would otherwise be long forgotten.

Tigh privately detested the man, but had to admit that he could have been worse. He reportedly never cheated his customers, nor did he try to force anyone into compromising positions. Rumour was he'd even run his more disreputable rivals out of business.

Sparoe wore newly made robes, with a heavy cloak over them. He'd always been overweight but since arriving at New Kobol he'd become positively obese. Walking up to the table you could see his face was flushed red. He threw himself into a chair and it creaked under his bulk.

lazily he slammed his feet on the table and looked at the Andorians. 'So your the people that gave our daggets here the run around.' he flicked a finger at Tigh before glowering at one of the black suited non-humans. 'Good job. I take it that was his decision.'

Tanhia sat opposite him. 'Always negotiate from a position of strength.' She admitted.

'Agreed.' He smiled. 'This is what's going to happen. You're going to start with whole list of things you want. I'm going to pretend that it's impossible and counter with sixty percent of what you asked for, for half again what your offering. You're going to say that's outrageous and try to argue me up to… What? Ninety percent? I'll counter and we'll settle on eighty, but at a quarter again of your original offer. Thing is after first delivery you'll come back and tell me that the quality wasn't right and you'll be taking a discount. Out smarting me twice, because we both know this original offer is so low I will barely be making it pay for itself while you sell everything on at inflated prices.'

Tigh winced as two of the Andorians had gotten steadily angrier. When Sparoe had finished Shvens lent over the table, his antenna pointing forward. 'We aren't Ferengi, we don't cheat people. Now you're going to take this deal or we're coming back with a fleet. We gave you these worlds, we can take them back.'

Before Tigh could protest the trader burst out laughing. 'An empty threat.' Sparoe waved him off. 'You'd never have given us anything if you could use it. First rule when bargaining; Never give away anything you can't afford!'

'Sit down Shvens.' Tanhia ordered. 'You're not helping.'

'But he hasn't even seen what we're offering!' they protested.

Tanhia didn't look away from the disreputable, fat trader. 'He doesn't need to. He knows all the arguments we could make.' Her antenna flicked back and forth as she pulled out what looked to be an Andorian version of a PADD. 'Ninety percent, for a quarter again of what we have on this.'

'Quality?'

'Everything we discuss here will have to be ratified by my superiors. Much like you I assume. I'll be taking samples back with us.' she slid the PADD across the table to him.

Tigh knew this negotiating trick. Both Tanhia and Sparoe should already have full authority, but claiming they had to confirm things with superiors meant they had time to think about what the other offered.

Sparoe was reading the data like a card sharp assessing his hand. 'There are other issues we should discuss first. Transport costs, docking fees, taxes and the like, but I feel we can do business.' he dropped his feet, all attitude was gone and for the first time he was the serious business man he propertied to be.

Tanhia lent forward, seeing the change in his demeanour. 'Those we might want to talk about.'

'Good. Colonel make yourself useful and send for some drink. This may take some time.'

Apollo watched as the bulky shuttle flew into the hanger. He could see the pilot wasn't that skilled, landing with a loud bang when they cut out whatever anti-gravity drive they used too early.

'Remind me not to fly with that guy on my wing.' Boomer whispered.

Privately Apollo agreed, but still silenced his friend with a stern glance. They needed to be disciplined. The Rising Star's command crew, deck hands and the contingent of Warriors onboard were present. Standing at salute when the door to the shuttle opened.

Out stepped the High Chancellor and three other Klingons. They were nothing like Worf, their armour and furs looking positively barbaric. The High Chancellor wore what appeared to be a ceremonial cape, decorated with medals and heavy amulets. Still they were the official government of an interstellar empire.

'Parade attention!' Apollo called out and the various officers on the landing deck saluted. After a moment he took a step forward to meet with the tall non-human. 'High Chancellor Gowron, I am Strike Captain Apollo. Galactica Blue Squadron. Commander Adama regrets that he could not be here in person, his injuries have confined him to the Medical quarters. As I am in command of Commander Adama's honour guard it is my responsibility to introduce the commanding officer of the Rising Star. Captain Kaystire.'

The young Captain smiled as she stepped forward. 'Welcome aboard the Rising Star Chancellor. If you have any questions I will answer them to the best of my ability.'

The Chancellor's eyes widened, giving him the appearance of a madman. 'Your ship's speed was impressive, but you relied on your attack pods for defence…'

Apollo nodded. 'Chancellor, If I may also introduce Captain Starbuck. He led the Viper wing that escorted us down to your planet and then defended the Rising Star.'

'Chancellor.' Starbuck half saluted. Given his usual attitude to authority it was the best anyone could have hoped for.

'This is Colonel Martok.' The Klingon introduced one of his guards. The man had a great mane of dark hair and a permanent sneer from his jagged teeth. 'You will find he has much to discuss with you. He is very interested in your… Vipers. He will remain here while I talk with Adama.'

Apollo was glad he and the others had flown together for so long that they could anticipate each other's reactions. They all knew how uncomfortable he was with this idea, they also knew that it was too important to refuse. 'I will escort you personally. Captain Starbuck and his wing will remain here. If you will follow me.'

Before the High Chancellor could make anymore so called requests Apollo led him to the transport tube. It was the fastest way to the Medical deck and bypassed other sections of the ship such as the Chancery and Triad courts. The Chancellor's escort followed, as did Boomer. Leaving Starbuck with the Klingon Colonel.

It also gave him enough time to talk with the High Chancellor. 'Sir, if I may; I have concerns with any alliance between your people and mine.'

'Really Captain.' He stared at Apollo, obviously dismissing his rank before spitting out:- 'Why is that?'

Apollo didn't back down. 'Twice now my people have been hurt protecting you. First my son, injured by a bomb meant for you during your nomination ceremony and now my father during your coronation.'

'You are the son of Adama?' he asked, shocked.

'I am.' Apollo admitted. 'And my father is too important to my people to sacrifice. Even for you. If you are asking anyone from my family to spill more of their blood, look no further than me.'

The High Chancellor looked at him for a long moment, his eyes still wild. He still didn't move even when the tube stopped and the doors opened. 'Your family is a noble one. Your sacrifices will not go unnoticed.' he announced.

With that Apollo lead the small group into the medical deck, where both his father and Ambassador K'Ehleyr were being tended to. The Commander pulled himself from the med-table, Most of his external wounds had been treated but the internal ones would take longer to heal. 'High Chancellor, I trust you are now safe.'

'Yes, thanks to you and your Warriors.' He replied. 'Commander Adama, your House has proven itself to be an honourable one. A true ally to the Klingon People and to me.'

The Chancellor pulled a dagger from under his cloak. It was long with a hollow space down the centre. A pair of smaller blades snapped open and Apollo reached for his pistol, but the Chancellor wasn't threatening anyone. He ran the main blade over the palm of his hand and then handed the dagger to the Apollo. 'With this we bond our Houses in blood. We become allies, our Houses will stand united against all our enemies.'

'A blood bond?' Apollo looked to his father, who carefully nodded his agreement. Apollo realised that he'd practically offered it when he confronted the Chancellor. Slicing his own palm the High Chancellor clasped his hand with a loud clap.

'Now we are as brothers!' He crowed. 'Duras and their kin will rule the day they chose to challenge us!'

Gowron was not the only one to see a recording of the battle over Praxis. Cloaked, in hiding on the edge of the system was a Romulan transport, carrying the Duras sisters and their nephew.

The two Duras loyal Birds of Prey had attacked the Transport on the orders of its Captain. Commander Sela. She had recognised it as one of the supposedly mythical ships capable of appearing anywhere at will. The hope was to see if it truly was unarmed. If so force it to retreat so that she would have proof of their advanced FTL. What she got was infinitely more concerning.

Four tiny fighters were more than capable of destroying warships more than a hundred times larger. It should have been impossible, unthinkable, but there is was. Revolutionary weapons technology in the hands of humans. That meant it was in the hands of the Federation.

It was only a matter of time before it was used against their enemies, against the Romulans. Sela was certain of it.

End Chapter Thirty-Five