Chapter 42
Bridge, USS Endeavour
Monday 31st March 2375
Ketracel White? The highly addictive drug used by the Founders to control the Jem'Hadar and ensure their loyalty? That was disastrous news, and it changed everything. Mackenzie's expression darkened and he swore under his breath. No wonder there was such a large fleet in orbit. This had to be one of the major supply and distribution centres for the Dominion War effort. All their carefully laid plans were about to go right out the airlock. Cursing again in an odd mix of English and tlhIngan Hol, he opened the emergency channel to the Hegh'Ta, quickly bringing its captain and crew up to date with the unwelcome development.
Over the comm from the other ship, a muttered imprecation was heard from Krang as he listened. "There was nothing about that in the intelligence we recovered," the Klingon said grimly. "That means we have two targets to destroy."
"Make that three… no… four targets," Kehlan told them, swiftly double-checking the data as she spoke to ensure there were no more. "I'm detecting three large deposits of Ketracel White, but there could be others that we aren't yet aware of yet, plus of course, the weapons factory."
"Four?" Mackenzie was dismayed by the very unwelcome news. They only had two ships at their disposal, and suddenly they had four targets to destroy while attempting to evade a large enemy fleet. He sighed heavily. "Understood. Major Speares, we are going to need…"
"You'll need the marines, sir." Speaking at the same time as his captain, Speares was already on his feet and heading for the turbolift doors. Not waiting for his captain's permission, he hit his combadge, snapping out the orders that would scramble his team.
Bridge, IKC Hegh'Ta
Speaking rapidly in clipped battle language, Krang was giving very similar orders to his own officers, confirming the roles he wished them to play in the upcoming battle. Over the last few days, aware of their youth and inexperience, he'd held several training sessions with them, going through various possible scenarios and ensuring that they all knew exactly what was required of them in an effort to ensure that they would not panic as they had the day Kay'vin had died. Looking at them now, he did not think that would happen. They had come a long way since then, and he believed that if Kay'vin could see them now, his old friend would be proud of them. He too was proud of them. This was what they had trained for, and today, they would bring glory to their Houses and their Empire.
"Kargan, I'll want you to stay on helm. Vareq, you're the best gunner we have, I need you on weapons. Chadra, another gunner won't go amiss; you can work with Vareq. Ch'vok, I want your attention fully on the sensors. Things are going to move fast, and we'll be relying on any tactical information you can give us. And you, Koreq, will take charge of the troops. Take as many squads as you need – in fact, take all of them… and prepare to beam down. Kerrik, they'll need a combat engineer; go with the troops."
All six officers acknowledged their orders and got to work, the security chief leaving the bridge at something approaching a run, and the engineer only a moment behind him.
Much as his Federation counterpart had done, Koreq opened a comm channel to his subordinates, shouting orders in clipped battle language as he went. With battle looming, the soldiers were already armed and prepared for whatever orders they might be given. Within minutes, he was able to comm the bridge to say that they were ready and waiting in the transporter room for the command that would send them into combat.
"Endeavour, I suggest that to start with, we go ahead as originally planned," Krang said, satisfied that, barring any more unpleasant surprises, everything was as ready as it could be. "We will attack the weapons facility from orbit and make them think it's our main target, then send in the ground troops to the Ketracel facilities, which I've designated as targets two and three. Then we circle round and destroy number four from the air."
"That works for me," Mackenzie responded tersely. "We'll have to drop our shields to beam the troops down. Can you cover us and then we'll swap over and do the same for you?"
"Consider it done," Krang said at once. "Very well, we are ready when you are. Awaiting your confirmation, Endeavour."
"Ready and waiting, Hegh'Ta."
Receiving the acknowledgement from the Federation pilot, Krang gave the order to decloak and return helm control to the Endeavour. The moment the cloak dropped, and Ch'vok acknowledged, Kargan took the bird-of-prey swooping gracefully away from the Federation starship and into a strafing run over the enemy base.
Bridge, USS Endeavour
Watching the enemy ships beginning to react to their presence, Captain Mackenzie gave a grim smile, imagining the panic on board as the complacent crews realised that they were under attack. It was a nice image if not a wholly accurate one. Unfortunately, Jem'Hadar soldiers were not prone to panic, and whatever was going through their reptilian minds, he knew that they were already organising themselves and getting their ships under way.
Snapping orders, he sent Endeavour racing after the Klingon ship, firing a barrage of photon torpedoes at the large Jem'Hadar ship which was now moving to threaten the Hegh'Ta. Even as he gave the order, he saw Hegh'Ta diving into the upper atmosphere, its disruptor canons sending volley after volley of brilliant green disruptor fire at the weapons facility. The bird-of-prey shot past, turning and coming back for a second run. Multiple explosions bloomed like scarlet flowers on the planet's surface and Hegh'Ta rocked with the intensity of the shockwaves.
Endeavour followed suit, firing a volley of photon torpedoes at the weapons facility before veering off towards their secondary target. Mackenzie had serious doubts about the next part of the mission, aware that he was very likely sending his marines to their deaths. Not that staying aboard ship was any safer with half the Dominion fleet after them, he thought wryly. But there was no time for second guessing; all they could do now was move forward and do their duty as best they could.
One of the nearer Dominion ships, reacting to the threat a little more quickly than its compatriots, was approaching them from starboard. It opened fire, but Ch'Pesh was already swerving to avoid the torpedoes, and in a spectacular display of piloting, he turned Endeavour straight at the enemy cruiser and at the very last second, dropped her down to skim just a few metres underneath its hull. They were flying so close that Mackenzie thought their shields would brush those of the other ship, and he was half convinced he could see the shocked faces of the enemy ship's bridge crew.
At the same time, Ibn Ahmed shouted the traditional battle cry of his people and returned the attack with a barrage of phaser fire, all of which found its target. "Allahu Akbar!"
Mackenzie had limited knowledge of Arabic, but he knew that phrase. With another… well, it was probably something rude in his native language, Ibn Ahmed fired again. "Yakhsaf allah bih al'ard!" Curious, Mackenzie tapped a quick query on his console and the translator obligingly informed him of the meaning. "May God swallow the Earth underneath him!" He grinned as the computer added a profanity warning to the translation. Obviously, the phrase was a serious insult in that language.
Turning the ship's weapons on another target, more insults followed, their meanings lost in translation, although Mackenzie thought he caught something about camels and dubious parentage. Despite the seriousness of their situation, his grin widened. Arabic was such a poetic and descriptive language for insults. Ibn Ahmed came from a long line of warriors, even if they had fought in a very different arena, and from the sound of it, he was enjoying himself.
Ch'Pesh already had Endeavour back on track to their destination and it was time to beam down their marines. "Cover us, Hegh'Ta," Mackenzie yelled. "We are going in. Transporter room, stand by…"
"Changing course now." Kargan's voice came clearly over the comm channel. "Hegh'Ta has your six." Mackenzie was not the only member of the crew to wonder momentarily just where the Klingon had picked up that Americanism, although unlike some of his other attempts, it was at least being correctly used this time.
The bird-of-prey banked, coming hard round to its left and putting itself between Endeavour and the pursuing enemy cruiser, its disruptor canons spitting green death.
"Commander Kal, on my mark, lower the shields… Mark!"
The security chief had been waiting for the command and she obeyed instantly. "Shields down, Captain. Hurry up, we haven't got much time."
"Transporter room, NOW!"
Target number two, Jem'Hadar planet
Almost before the fog of the transporter beam had released him, Major Speares was already stepping forward, phaser rifle at the ready as he looked around him, assessing his surroundings.
He was, he discovered, in a loading area, maybe thirty metres on his left, a large, partly raised roller door leading to what appeared to be a warehouse. It didn't look much different to manufacturing sites on Earth and he supposed there were only so many ways a factory could be organised.
His fellow marines were materialising, and just as he had, were checking their surroundings and spreading out to secure the immediate area. No instructions were needed, they were well trained and knew what to do. Another handful of marines, some of his best snipers, would be taking up positions on the rooftops of nearby buildings, he knew. He didn't bother looking for them, they would have concealed themselves too well to be visible.
Overhead were the flashing lights and sounds of aerial fighting, and taking a very brief moment to glance up, he winced at the sight of Hegh'Ta swooping down for another strafing run on the weapons facility which had been designated 'target number one'. The bird-of-prey was flying far too low for his liking, a Dominion fighter close on its tail, and if he hadn't known Kargan was at the helm, he would have been seriously worried.
A pair of Jem'Hadar guards standing one on either side of the roller doors were already reacting to their presence, raising their weapons with shouts of alarm. Speares opened fire on them. One guard fell immediately, his weapon clattering to the floor. The second guard managed to get off a shot before phaser fire from Van Zyl took him down as well.
A few hand signals placed a marine on each side of the roller door – Van Zyl and Murray. The two men were very different, Van Zyl being a large and very noisy Afrikaner, whereas Murray in contrast was a small, wiry Glaswegian. To listen to the pair bickering in the mess room, anyone would think they were mortal enemies, but in reality, the two worked well together and made a good team.
Satisfied with the situation so far, Speares approached the warehouse entrance, positioning himself to one side of it before ducking under the roller door, phaser rifle at the ready. His marines followed, keeping the combat engineers in the middle of the group where they could be protected. They were essential to the operation and their safety was paramount. A couple more Jem'Hadar were running towards them, obviously reacting to the shouts from the two they had just killed, and a moment later, they too lay dead.
Bridge, USS Endeavour
For the anxious officers on Endeavour's bridge, the transport procedure appeared to take far too long but in fact, it went smoothly and efficiently, and it was actually only a very short time until they heard Argyle's broad Scots brogue informing them that transport was complete. "All done, Captain, ye can raise the shields again."
It was with some relief that the captain gave the order to do just that and immediately the order was carried out, he sent Endeavour on a showy strafing run designed to draw the Dominion attention away from the bird-of-prey so that Hegh'Ta could send down its own marines who were waiting impatiently to go into battle.
A nearby cruiser took the offered bait, and with a quick order to Ch'Pesh at the helm, Captain Mackenzie sent Endeavour into a zigzagging flight pattern to avoid the enemy fire, at the same time careful to keep the Nebula-class ship between the enemy and the temporarily defenceless Klingon ship.
Unable to get out of the way of the attacking cruiser without leaving Hegh'Ta dangerously exposed, Endeavour was rocked by a series of explosions, causing Mackenzie to stagger as the bridge shook violently. He swore virulently, utilising a variety of Klingon curses he had learned from the other captain, before yelling, "Hurry up, Krang. We are taking heavy fire."
"jIyaj', Endeavour, transport complete."
With the all-clear given, the Klingon captain raised Hegh'Ta's shields again and sent the bird-of-prey back into attack mode, soaring upwards and into a dizzying series of manoeuvres as it wove in and out of the attacking enemy vessels.
Regaining his balance, Mackenzie glanced at the viewscreen and froze. Hegh'Ta had turned and flying at almost suicidal speed, was coming straight towards them, its disruptor cannons still firing. As the Klingon ship veered off at the last second, the torpedoes shot straight past Endeavour, barely missing it and slammed into a Jem'Hadar vessel that had come up behind them, causing it to explode in a spectacular ball of fire.
"I thought you'd changed sides for a moment there, Krang," Captain Mackenzie called to his fellow captain on the other ship. "Don't scare me like that!"
He heard laughter over the commlink. The Klingons, he thought, like Ibn Ahmed, were enjoying this far too much. "On behalf of my crew, I'm insulted!" Krang's voice came back to them. "If you'd been the target we would NOT have missed."
Mackenzie could not argue with that; Hegh'Ta's young gunner had proved his brilliance many times over, although Poseidon's first officer, currently serving in that role on Endeavour's bridge, was giving him a run for his money.
Target number two, Jem'Hadar planet
The interior of the warehouse was very much as Speares expected, a central corridor dividing it in two along its length, with rows and rows of racking on either side and at the far end, another roller door. The marines' commander swore at the sight, not for the first time wishing he had a better vocabulary for that purpose. Still, there was nothing wrong with plain English, and at times like this, a good, old-fashioned F-bomb conveyed his thoughts just perfectly. Stretching into the distance, all he could see was pallet after pallet of boxes, all containing Ketracel White. There had to be tonnes of the stuff and every last bit of it had to be destroyed.
A faint crackling from the transmitter in his left ear was followed by Koreq's voice, informing him that the Klingon soldiers were all in position at site three and were already moving to secure their positions. That was good news.
"Acknowledged," he responded briefly, and then added in badly accented but understandable Klingon, "batlh peSuvchu' – Fight well."
Lieutenant Davis was already pushing his way to the front of the group, ready to get to work and Speares stepped aside to let the engineer through. His job now was to keep the area secure so the engineering team could work.
Under Davis's competent supervision, the marines carrying the explosives started laying the first of their charges. They had been into battle far too many times since the beginning of the Dominion War and were experienced at this. It did not take them long to get the explosives in place, and they were almost finished with the job when the large roll-up door at the far end of the warehouse let out a loud creak as it began to open. The teams scattered, concealing themselves amongst the rows of racking, weapons at the ready to kill anyone who approached them.
Two figures appeared in the doorway, approaching their position, pulling a heavily loaded pallet on an antigrav trolley. Wearing dirty grey overalls, the two workers were obviously not Jem'Hadar, but it was only as they got closer that, to the shock of the watchful marines, it became obvious that they were Terran.
Biting back an imprecation, Speares gave a few quick hand signals to his team to cover him before leaving his hiding place and stepping out in front of them, his weapon raised and ready to fire. "Stop right where you are and don't make a sound!"
Instantly the two men halted, letting go of the equipment they had been handling and holding up their hands as a mix of fear and hope dawned on their faces. "You're Starfleet?" one of them asked, too shocked to register the command to stay silent. "Are you here to rescue us?"