Paint and Powder

A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.

Enterprise: "Mother Goose" 2

Shimakaze's Borderlands desktop was fairly simple: A charming Japanese house on a beach. The shoreline was beautiful, the sun was shining over gorgeous little islands covered in greenery...

"Very nice," Enterprise said to Shimakaze. She was sulking on the beach, and abruptly looked up in shock.

"En-Enterprise, I-how-?"

"I'm very good at getting around cyber defenses," Enterprise said with a smile and a wink. She sat down next to Shimakaze on the warm sand. Shimakaze looked back down at her knees.

Enterprise listened to the sound of the gentle waves and the cry of gulls, before she spoke again.

"So... Right now you're feeling pretty stupid and embarrassed, huh?"

Shimakaze mumbled, but managed a nod. Enterprise reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"It's all right," she said, "everyone makes mistakes like that."

"Not you," Shimakaze muttered. Enterprise smiled sadly.

"Trust me. Everyone makes mistakes like that," she said gently, "and I'm no exception. So don't beat yourself up over it."

Shimakaze sighed heavily.

"I just... I want to impress you. I want to impress everyone," she muttered. "I know we're just a-a stopgap, a speedbump, but-"

Enterprise firmly but gently turned Shimakaze's face to hers.

"Don't ever say that, or think that," Enterprise stated firmly, "it doesn't matter if they intend for you to be a battleship or a tug. You're a Starfleet ship, and you can make a difference. You're helping to rebuild our strength and hold the line in a much more dangerous galaxy. You're not a speedbump. You're a Shipgirl. And we hold the line."

Shimakaze managed a small smile. One Enterprise returned. She squeezed her hand.

"All right... Let's get back out there, huh?" Enterprise suggested.

"Only if you can teach me how to get around firewalls," Shimakaze said. Enterprise chuckled.

"Well... Fair is fair..."

Enterprise appeared in Picard's ready room, standing at attention. Data was already sitting there, along with Ensign Ro.

"Sorry I'm late, Captain," Enterprise apologized. Picard nodded.

"Shimakaze?"
"She's back to duty," Enterprise said, "I already informed her captain."

"Good," Picard said with a nod. "Mister Data, Ensign Ro, your report?"

"I noticed some subspace turbulence nearby us," Ro said, holding up a PADD to Enterprise. Enterprise immediately linked with it, and her sensor records. She nodded.

"Yes. It's hard to pin down," she said, "almost seems like four or five different signals."

"Given our proximity to the Neutral Zone, it is logical to conclude they are cloaked Romulan probes," Data stated, "or even a Romulan ship observing us."

Picard nodded slowly.

"That is the point of this entire exercise," he said, "show off some of our newest starships as a deterrent. The Romulans have grown bolder in the wake of the Borg attack. We need to demonstrate our resolve."

Enterprise nodded. Picard glanced over at Ensign Ro.

"Ensign Ro has made a... Unique suggestion for a demonstration," he said, "I was hoping you could help the Jian, the Claymore and their crews with implementing it?"

Enterprise looked over at Ro. She still looked a bit uncomfortable, but the Bajoran was meeting her gaze evenly and without suspicion. Enterprise gave her a smile.

"I'd be happy to. What's the plan?"

Daimon Lurin grumbled. Despite the changes made to this chair, it was still uncomfortable! Damn Klingon workmanship!

Oh well. These two K'vort-class cruisers were, at the very least, formidable weapons for the independent Ferengi. He supposed he could live with an uncomfortable chair, given what the Romulans were paying him to spy on the Federation.

And potentially seize one of their latest ships. The little flotilla of one battleship, two cruisers, and four destroyers were heading deeper into the asteroid field. Perhaps an opportunity would arise that would let them separate one of the smaller vessels from the herd.

The Tal Shiar would pay greatly for it... But Daimon Lurin was no fool. Such a task would be very difficult. Maybe if they raided a mining colony first... Lured some of them away...?

"Daimon," his sensor officer reported, "they are heading for that asteroid right there."

"Magnify, and give me an analysis," Lurin ordered. The viewscreen showed a massive asteroid, dwarfing the Federation ships. His sensor officer nodded.

"Looks like a typical iron-nickle asteroid. Their comms chatter suggest they have picked it because it is approximately the same mass and size as a Borg cube," the sensor officer reported.

Lurin frowned, and nervously picked at his teeth with his golden toothpick.

"Really? Why did they pick that one?"

Enterprise's holographic avatar worked with Worf and Ro at the tactical station. In the Borderlands, she worked with Claymore and Jian on their own systems. She analyzed the asteroid, and nodded with a smile down at Picard.

"I'd say that matches the cube fairly well as a target, Captain," Enterprise said.

"I concur," Worf said with a nod.

Picard sucked in a breath through his nostrils.

"All right... Geordi? The tachyon grid we're using is a lot smaller than the one we deployed for the Civil War. Sure it's going to work?"

Geordi's voice was cheerful as it came over the comms speaker.

"Absolutely, sir. The destroyers are letting us pulse the tachyon beams and cast a wider receiver to catch the signals, versus the old system. I can put the Romulans at point nine lightseconds away, bearing around 347 mark 45."

"Then they're going to get a good view," Picard murmured. He nodded up to Ro, Worf, and Enterprise. "Enterprise to Jian and Claymore: You are free to proceed."

"Acknowledged, Enterprise," the captains said, almost in unison. Ro glanced over the tactical station with a frown.

"Explain how this works to me again?" Ro murmured.

Enterprise zoomed in on the two Broadsword-class cruisers. In particular, at the pods perched atop their already formidable looking photon torpedo launching modules.

"The Broadswords use the FQT-6G launching system," Enterprise explained, "which allows them to fire five torpedoes in one launch per launcher. Since they have four forward launchers and two aft, that means they can deploy about three times as much firepower in one salvo than I can."

"Already a considerable boon to their firepower," Worf agreed with a nod. Enterprise zoomed in a bit more. There were square hatches on the pods not unlike those for the escape pod hatches across all seven ships, but these were in two long lines of 25 hatches each on both modules. All of them opened up, revealing four cells in each square compartment.

"But, they're also carrying these new vertical launch missile pods," Enterprise said, "now, once they've expended their ammo, they're empty and useless... But... When they fire..."

"Ready Enterprise," the captains of the two cruisers reported in. Picard nodded, leaning forward slightly.

"Fire!"

Bright orange stars erupted from the pods of both ships, bursting out of the modules and then racing forward. They were staggered in their launch, but only by a few seconds-So that it looked like hundreds of photon torpedoes burst as one great cloud.

Hundreds of antimatter projectiles flew like ravenous magmaflies for the asteroid, and almost all of them impacted on the huge, gray mountain at the same time. The explosions flashed brightly, and the viewscreen quickly dimmed to compensate.

Picard stood up out of his chair, and walked forward to examine the remains. He grunted in grim satisfaction when the debris cleared, revealing nothing larger than pebbles.

"Mister Data?" Picard asked.

Data checked his sensors, and Enterprise helped out. The android looked up and nodded.

"The cloaked vessels are retreating," Data stated, "though their subspace distortions are... Unusual based on our knowledge of Romulan technology. Shimakaze will monitor the retreat as long as she can."

"It will warrant further analysis," Picard said with a nod, "but I think we gave a good show to whoever was out there. Good work, Ensign Ro."

Ro smiled briefly, but nodded with respect.

"Thank you, sir," she said.

Enterprise and Picard shared a knowing look. They were both, after all, mentors in this endeavor. With all the ups and downs that implied.

"We're ready to jump to warp, Daimon!"

"Do so!" Lurin gasped, wiping his slimy skin with a wet cloth.

"Are you sure we shouldn't stay longer?" His first officer, Ruti, asked softly, "the Romulans promised great profit if we watched the entire exercise-"

"They can do it themselves!" Lurin muttered, "and try to take one of those ships for themselves, too! Let them make the stupid decisions!"

"Ah," Ruti nodded, "Rule of Acquisition number 15: He who dives under the table today lives to profit tomorrow."

"And how!"

And so, the terrible TNG episode "Rascals" will never happen. You're welcome.

I know this is a bit meandering, but I'm experimenting a bit with this. You'll see.

Or maybe you can come up with better ideas for this shakedown flotilla.

Julie Q, I named Kiev after a destroyer of the Soviet Navy from WWII. Look her up on Azur Lane! She's cute.

Look up my Discord, USS Itano! Join me!