The command deck of the Andorian warship Timshel was hardly big enough for six people, so Bianca made do in a spot next to the tactical station, where Executive Officer th'Marin took his place at the weapons. Commander Shonem took his seat in the centre, while another officer - perhaps this was Linar - slid out of that seat and over to the operations console, her eyes following the information on the new threats. At the helm and sensor stations were two unfamiliar Andorians wearing officer's uniforms, each carefully making sense of what was unfolding.
"Let's hear it," Shonem declared aloud.
"Reading some ...thirteen small Birds-of-Prey. They're... they're moving to attack the Reskava."
"Put us between the two, helm" Shonem ordered. He turned to his right, and the tactical station. "Weapons hot?"
"You know it," th'Marin replied. "We're ready."
"Signal the Chitrem and the Sharlin to follow us in, take up targets of opportunity once we've made the first pass."
"On it," the female officer replied. "They're forming up now."
Two other Andorian ships came in behind the accelerating Timshel, forming a triangle, each maneuvering to keep an open forward field of fire as they did.
Shonem pointed to the tactical display. "Have them concentrate fire on that target as we pass."
A moment passed as the operations officer worked her control panel. "Chitrem and Sharlin signal ready," she said seconds later.
The three ships closed range quickly, and as the marked target moved to fire upon the Reskava, bolts of phaser fire and photon torpedoes ripped through its shield and knocked it off course. Within moments, fire broke out along its ventral surfaces, and as each Andorian ship broke formation to chase a Bird-of-Prey, the wounded vessel detonated, rolling over as it erupted in a cascade of flame. The Reskava followed suit, targeting a fourth remaining target and setting them to flight.
"Reading another ship coming in," the helm officer noted.
"Confirmed," the sensors officer replied. "It's - sir! Klingon warship!"
On screen, the slow reveal of the presence of a Klingon battlecruiser was ugly enough, but this ship's appearance was truly macabre. Coloured in tones of deep purple and matte tan, it looked more like living flesh than metal. And its forward prongs were glowing a hot, bright blue. At once, it fired, and a bolt of electric shock ripped through its target the Timshel's sister ship Chitrem, breaking the ship into four different pieces before it ripped apart in a sudden, ferocious explosion. There could be no question of survivors from such a complete, sudden destruction. Timshel's helm officer deftly performed an evasive maneuver, avoiding the decelerating wreckage as it moved to engage this newly-revealed adversary, and it managed to make two hits on the target before its cloak re-engaged and it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Shonem gritted his teeth. "It'll come back soon enough."
"And fully charged to fire," th'Marin added.
Shonem nodded and turned to his operations officer. "Linar, signal the Imperial Guard - tell them we need immediate reinforcements."
Linar acknowledged with a nod, then turned back to her console, a definite look of panic on her face.
Bianca took a deep breath. So there was a one-shot killer out there somewhere in the Andoria system - cloaked, waiting to strike, lashing out against the Andorian defenders at a time and place of its choosing. They'd all be dead before they had time to react, just like Chitrem's crew had been.
"We've got to act fast," Shonem said after a moment, turning to each of his officers in turn. "Helm, keep us maneuvering, random vectors. Tactical, shots of opportunity only. Defensive posture. Take the sensor data we have and try and trace that energy pattern - see if anything's leaking through the cloak. Maybe we can track it well enough to stay one step ahead. Get engineering to increase power to the engines and weapons."
"Not the shields?" Linar asked.
"If we're in that thing's crosshairs, shields aren't going to matter."
Bianca straightened up. "What can I do?"
"For the moment, Commander, I'm afraid you're a passenger. I'd offer an in-flight holo-show but our library's got nothing on what Starfleet might offer."
Bianca smiled. "I'll just hold on for the ride, then."
"You can help me out," th'Marin suggested. "Work the phaser controls and I'll handle torpedoes."
"I'll make myself useful, then," Bianca replied.
"Target decloaking!"
This time, the Sharlin was the target. The long, flat form of the Klingon vessel appeared in a green-blue blaze, took aim and fired. As it did, the Sharlin tumbled hard to starboard, the bolt of destruction only partially striking the evasive target.
"Sharlin's been hit!" th'Marin noted.
"But it held," Bianca added.
Shonem turned to Linar. "We're next - us or the Lukari."
"I'm reading five - no, six of ours approaching, weapons hot." Linar checked her screen. "Closest one... is the Chyron."
"How close?"
Linar shook her head, her antennae drooping. "That's the thing... they're still at least thirty seconds away."
Shonem turned to th'Marin. "And how long in between-?"
"Ten, maybe twelve seconds."
"We'll call it ten." Shonem gave a quick nod of contemplation. "Helm... get us in close behind one of those Birds of Prey. I want our nose up his backside." He turned to Bianca and th'Marin. "Do not engage that target."
Th'Marin was incredulous. "But we've got him!"
"And we need him in close."
"To use him as a shield," th'Marin realized.
"Exactly - we'll be too close for comfort."
"But won't they just go after the Reskava, then?"
Shonem considered for a moment. "They do that, we'll break off and hit them. But not before." He looked to Bianca. "The instant - the very instant - when you see them de-cloak, I want any beam we have, fore or aft, to target them and keep them under continuous fire."
"Right." Bianca began inputting what she hoped were instructions to that effect into the computer.
"They won't risk cloaking if we keep firing," Shonem reasoned. "If they do, we'll score an unshielded hit."
"Torpedoes can lock onto the impact of the phaser fire even if they're engaging the cloak," th'Marin suggested.
Shonem nodded. "Exactly."
"Wait - we're being hailed." Linar looked astonished, her antennae standing wide apart as though she were receiving the signal through them.
"Just us?" Shonen asked.
Linar gave a quick nod. "Looks like."
"Let's hear it."
"-Andorian vessel. This is Matriarch J'Ula of House Mo'Kai aboard the IKS Lukara. Stand down immediately or you will be destroyed."
Shonem held out a hand. "Helm, keep us evasive," he whispered.
"Signal muted." Linar gave Shonem a sideways glance.
Shonem spoke up. "Trace that signal, she's still out there. I'm going to keep her talking if I can, give you time to trace. Just narrow it down and open fire on the source as soon as you're confident." He pointed to Linar, who unmuted the channel. "This is Telvin Shonem, commanding the Andorian imperial defense vessel Timshel." His voice was authoritative and stern, though also slow in pace - deliberately so. "Negative on stand-down, Matriarch. This is Andoria - our home system - in which your hostile presence is violating multiple interstellar treaties and agreements. You have neither a reason to be here nor jurisdiction to issue orders of any kind. Rather, by the authority of the Andorian Imperial Guard, and the United Federation of Planets in which Andoria is a founding member... I order you to withdraw - immediately."
The matriarch's laughter rose, a cackle that made Bianca's hair stand on end. "Only a fool fights in a burning house," she said after a moment.
"Perhaps. But you're the uninvited guest. I say again, withdraw - immediately. Or be destroyed."
"So be it, fool." Bianca's Klingon wasn't as sharp as it once had been, but the rapid order that followed was unmistakable. The Timshel was being targeted.
"Cut the channel," Shonem directed. "Evasive maneuvers."
"Sir-!" the sensors officer shouted. But Bianca and Shonem could see for themselves. Rather than use the time to line up the Timshel, now the Klingon flagship -so it must be, to be named after such a prominent Klingon as Lady Lukara- revealed itself directly in the path of the oncoming Chyron. As the Andorian ship broke off and attempted evasive action, Lukara tore it apart with a bolt of energy.
Shonem's eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched. "Weapons free," he snarled.
Within moments, the Bird-of-Prey that Timshel had been tailing closely was absorbing close-range phaser fire, its shields unable to take very much of that kind of action. It spiraled out of control and, as Timshel passed, it fired two torpedoes rapidly from its aft tube, destroying the target. Timshel then moved on to a second Bird-of-Prey, the older vessel's shields no match for the overloaded beam arrays of the Andorian vessel.
"I'm getting a hail," Linar exclaimed, "from the Starfleet vessel!"
"Put it through."
The face of Captain sh'Marois of the USS Hofmann appeared on the viewscreen. "Commander Shonem."
Shonem nodded. "Captain sh'Marois. Congratulations on your promotion."
sh'Marois' antennae extended upwards in pride. "Thank you. To you as well. It's... been a long time. I didn't expect it would be you." She glanced to Bianca. "I see Commander duBois has found a spot on your command deck."
"Indeed, she's proving herself quite useful." Shonem leaned forwards slightly, his antennae doing likewise. "How are you doing?"
"We've taken a little damage. We're staying with the Reskava, trying to keep them covered. But we're a science ship, this isn't really our cup of katheka."
Shonem gave a nod. "We've contacted Imperial Guard Command, they're scrambling reinforcements." The ship quaked with the impact of a disruptor bolt. "We have to stop the Lukara before they damage our facilities - or the planet itself."
"I understand. We're outgunned at the moment. Captain Kuumaarke has sent a distress signal out to the surrounding systems - we'll just have to hold on for now." She looked back to her right quickly, then back to Shonem. "We'll form up on you - maybe if we keep together we can concentrate our efforts."
Shonem shook his head. "No, stay as dispersed as you can - when the Lukara decloaks, hit it with all you've got. It's crucial that we avoid getting close enough for them to catch more than one of us in a single blast."
"Alright." sh'Marois looked off to her right again. "We're working on programming a metaphasic sweep using our primary and secondary sensor arrays. It should give us an idea of where she is, maybe even knock the cloak offline. I'll let you know when it's ready." When sh'Marois looked at the screen, there was an intensity in her gaze that made Bianca tremble. The Andorian captain was terrified, that much was clear. But this was why they all wore their respective uniforms.
"Good luck, Captain. We'll... have to catch up later."
"Looking forward to it. Hofmann out."
Shonem took a deep breath. "Alright, people. Continue to engage - keep working on some way to track the Lukara - and... in Uzaveh's name, keep hoping we prevail."