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Star Trek Enterprise
Here We Stand
The Enterprise Incident pt2
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(A Brief note I do not own Star Trek or its associated products. Also please forgive any grammar and spelling errors I am Dyslexic and even with a spell checker it is difficult for me to see them.)
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Crewman Marks was one of the youngest men on the ship he had joined the fleet through the ROTC program in high school and he had earned his place in the crew by being diligent and dedicated but today he was wishing he had slacked off.
Crewman Marks had the unenviable position of working in the wase recycling plant this duty rotation and he was pretty sure that this was Klingon Prison duty stuff, luckily this place didn't smell like a sewage treatment plant.
The sewage system drained into the next room and the tanks were sealed so well that nothing escaped them well usually He thanked the lord that nothing had ruptured while he was working even with the ship shaking like a jelly in an earthquake.
Crewman Monroe, the most senior of the none commissioned crew, was in here when the attack happened and had nearly drowned in well let's just say something very, very… unpleasant.
The younger man felt queasy just thinking about it.
The only good thing about this assignment was that there was a wonderful view of the aft of the ship between the nacelles, why was that so good? The nacelles gave off a very pretty rainbow dust like arura that danced down the nacelles when activated like swirling sands and he liked to observe them between shifts.
But Today was different, the ship warp engines were not active so when he looked, he saw something that should not be there at all, it took a moment for him to register what he was seeing but as soon as his brain caught up, he bolted immediately to the wall communicator.
"Marks To Bridge, we're being followed." He cried with panic into the mic, his hearth thundering like a racehorse's rampaging down a track. His eyes locked onto the strange shape that was following behind.
"sensors show nothing are you sure." Said Reed over the open com.
"look out the freaking window were being followed." His eyes locked on the strange distorted and discoloured coloured shape following them.
"Crewman there is no need for histrionics." Said the ever-calm voice of T'Pol. The PA activated with a slight popping sound and the whistle of a navy boatswains call.
"This is Commander Smith all crewmen I want you at the portholes verify if you can see a ship bearing off our aft." The door whooshed open as a security officer, LTJG Goldberg, rushed into the room seeing the younger crewman there he gave a questioning glance to him before the young men pointed out the window in response.
He walked over his eyes locked in a scowl at the younger man, as if to say boy if you made this up I will put you through hell, his head snapped to the window and he saw it past the cascading rainbows that surrounded it a mint green ship with a fire red and orange bird print on its ventral hull it was thankfully alone but from its angle of attack it was prepared for an offensive strike.
"This is Goldberg." He said after tapping his active comm "we are being followed." He said his gruffly and grinding Bostonian accent pored so thickly from his voice that you could smell the beans.
"can you identify them?" asked the Commander.
"not a ship I've ever seen before sir but there is a large bird printed under the hull." There was silence for a moment before the Commanders voice resounded out of the PA.
"Action stations all crews man your battle stations this is no drill." There was no claxon and no shift in the lighting and that left a grater feeling of foreboding and dread in the Younger crewman that he hadn't felt before.
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As the description came ice pumped through his veins. He Turned to Reed but was interrupted by another call through the internal Comm.
"This is Crewman Murphy; I have eyes on the ship off the port side amidships Sir." He felt his stomach drop like a ten-tonne weight.
"this is Crewman Steel I have eyes on the ship off the Starboard Prow." Deep feeling of hopelessness descended on him like a dark cloud, his mind racing trying to figure a way out, but he was broken from that a moment later by a voice on his left.
"we are surrounded." Said the calm Voice of T'Pol, he turned to her when their eyes met, he nodded, spinning his chair to face Malcolm. He was resolved now he couldn't win a fight, but the Vulcans were close enough that any weapons fire would alert them.
But he couldn't afford to advertise to his opponents that he knew they were there, so a quick plan formed.
"Mal, I want you to go to action stations but keep the weapons on slow charge." He said to the man. He pressed the button on his chair for the PA, "Action stations all crews man your battle stations this is no drill."
"sir, I cannot shoot what I cannot see." Said Malcolm
"T'Pol shift sensor frequencies see you can find one that we can use." He tapped the PA again. "I need eyes on the ships, and I want immediate updates on if they're moving to attack."
"I've got a hit on the passive sensors." Said T'Pol, he turned his chair to face the Vulcan who looked up from her scope. "there Warp Drives are giving off a similar radiation to a fission reactor and I'm using that to get a clearer picture of the ships."
"put it through to tactical." Ordered Horatio.
"I'm filtering it through the main computer and reader for the sensors now sir." Said Mal "but I need the science computers to properly filter out any unnecessary data." Horatio turned and pointed to T'Pol who understood his gestured responses, Malcolm's fingers danced over his console then he turned to his rear consoles and continued with the inputs.
"bribing them up on the viewer asap." Ordered Horatio.
"Two ships appear to be destroyer weight by size." Said Mal, his critical eye read over the info "I'm detecting some plutonium and Uranium possibly nuclear ordinance." The screen showed the two ships in a split screen the ships themselves looked like they were made of green static, but they would coalesce into a picture one a second.
They were mushroom shaped with long almost tentacle like arms that made them look reminiscent of a jelly fish. But it was the next screen that Horatio recognised, an oblong saucer with two connected long wings and warp nacelles that were formed almost like blade in a similar fashion to Klingon ships, it was a ship he wasn't expecting yet was at the same time.
"Romulans" he said with a growl that rumbled out of a dark location in his chest, the present crew felt it like the rumbling of an angry tiger, "Mr Mayweather." He called, "drop us out of Warp."
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The Romulan commander scowled at his screen, now why have they done that. He pondered for a moment before bringing his armada out of warp. He maneuvered them in front of and at each side of the Earth ship effectively giving only one escape rout that would force them away from any aid that the Vulcans could provide.
"Commander." The voice to his left called "they are hailing us." The bridge was small and cramped only thirteen and a half feet with the consoles installed it was a tight fit for the crew. The Captains chair was situated on an elevated platform at the centre and all the consoles were around him with his crew facing away from him.
"Impossible!" he seethed; his eyes locked on the screen. "status of stealth field?" he called to the officer sitting on his right, the young officer turned to face him with a shocked expression his mind trying to calculate all possibilities.
"fully active Commander." The reply was swift, and the voice slightly panicked.
"run diagnostic." He ordered.
"but sir that will necessitate shutting down the field." The voice broke slightly, and the young man tried not to blush the green tint creeping up his neck and heading to his face.
"if we do that then they will see us, Commander." The second officer was old much older than the rest of the crew but with that came experience that the rest couldn't muster. He was cautious but knew how to exploit a weakness when one was presented.
"they already have." Replied the Commander.
"that's inconceivable sir." The second officer rumbled.
"then how are they seeing us?" asked the Commander with almost crazed eyes he staired down the man.
"Unknown at this time Commander."
"and how are they communicating with us."
"it should be impossible Commander."
"and yet they are." That voice oozed smug superiority like a hepatoid with ink.
"your are here as a courtesy witness only" said the Commander darkly "if you feel the need to speak, do me and my crew the courtesy of thinking again and shutting up."
"oh, but my deer Commander." She smiled, as if used to this kind of treatment from the navy. "if you wish to commit suicide, I will not stop you." Her voice dripped like moist sewage and made his skin crawl. "but I'm sure that the rest of the crew wouldn't feel that happy about it."
"you scum sucking amoeba."
"Or perhaps the Orders from High Command didn't register with you Commander." Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes "or do you need me to reiterate them."
"Reiterate." The man rose to his feet and his hight already domineering to most was expounded by the platform his seat was placed on.
"By Order of the most exalted Praetor of the Romulan Empire through is Proconsul and to his most loyal and decorated Legate Admiral Stall you Commander Zar are ordered to observe but not to engage in any military action" the woman's smugness gave her a confidence and undeserved air of invincibility that he wanted to end with his dagger.
"The Tal Shiar has no jurisdiction here." He loomed over her anger and fury dancing behind his eyes. It would take only a moment to unleash the mans legendary temper something she knew all too well having witnessed him execute his last intelligence officer for incompetence.
"My dear Commander" she said her eyes never leaving his own "we have jurisdiction everywhere." There was a sound of a shot and the Captain collapsed into his chair as he vanished in a pail green dust like effect.
The disruptor in her hand was tucked back into her sleave before she sat in the Command chair. "
"keep the stealth field up" she commanded "and set course back to Romulus best speed." She ordered, no one moved for a moment before the second in command barked at them.
"you herd her get moving."
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Horatio turned from the younger officer to Malcolm, pointing at the Englishman.
"Mal, Weapons to full power polarise the hull plating." He ordered "I what the torpedoes set to proximity detonation and prepare the pulse cannons for interception duties." He spun his chair to the science station "T'Pol, I'm going to need you to prepare your station for fast adjustments in case we lose them in their stealth fields." He pressed the button on his PA again "all observes give us up to the minuet movants of the ships as best you can to the communications station."
The ships moved to block them from moving passed and Horatio had the feeling that they were looking to attack.
"Comms open hailing frequencies at those ships." The young officer nodded he knew his name but at the same time didn't, it was a bit annoying but not something to dwell on. "This is Lieutenant Commander Horatio Smith of Star Fleet, we know you're there you, will reveal yourselves and intentions in Vulcan Space."
They dint respond and just sat there for ten minuets no one blinked Horatio's eyes were locked onto the screen, sweat slowly dripped from his head and his one good hand was shaking slightly even with the swagger stick held white knuckled in his hand. The ships still distorted in their green static on the main viewer it was the most intense standoff in Star Fleet history so far.
And then the Romulans blinked first the cruiser then the destroyers moved off and warped away. The crew let out a collective sigh of relief.
"alter status to alert status yellow until we sight a Vulcan ship." he ordered Malcolm "Helm get us to Vulcan and let's try for a quieter journey this time." He said as he pressed the PA button "all hands prepare for Warp."
"Course laid in."
"Engage impulse Warp one."
The battered ship accelerated away heading to a safe harbour and Horatio was not looking forward to the paper work for this.