From: Erik (felldoh_at_voyager.net)
Date: Mon Jan 07 2008 - 23:14:45 PST
"A Patriot's Duty" continued from "How 'The Ballad of GATEWAY' was inspired..." Location: USS PATRIOT Stardate: 2.80107.1947 Scene: Bridge "Shields are down!" Martin Soldat cried from the tactical station. "Ablative armor is operational and stable." "Keep it that way, Mr. Gibson." Kenta called back to the ensign manning the engineering station. "Transfer any remaining shield power if you have to." The armor generated by the mark V units was incredibly durable, though they required more power to maintain than standard shields. Ben was confident the armor would keep his ship in one piece, as long as they could maintain the power reserves to regenerate spent tiles. The bridge rocked as the Dominion battleship fired another volley. "Direct hit." Kimmura Sanba shouted from Ops. "Minor hull breeches on deck 7. Damage is superficial." "Status report on the Dominion ship." Ben demanded. Their target was the last battleship in the Dominion fleet, save the flagship which remained out of the fight with the reserve forces. The much larger battleship had shields more powerful that of the Federation, but the PATRIOT outclassed her in pure firepower. "Shields at 12% and fluctuating. Damage to their weapons array indicates they may not be able to target along the Z axis of the starboard side." "You heard him Helm, get us in that sweet spot." Ben replied. "Aye, sir." The Caitian aFCO, Prrlyn Mrrrana, had already begun the maneuver. "Mr. Soldat." Ben continued. "Target the weakest point of their shields with all phasers, as soon as you've punched a hole follow it up with three Quantum torpedos." It took a few moments for the phasers to do their work, but soon quiet exclamations of triumph erupted on the bridge as the viewscreen showed the brilliant death of the Dominion battleship. The triumph, however, was short lived. Their one-on-one confrontation had pulled them away from the center of the battle, and it was time to rejoin the fray. There was still much work to be done. "What's the status on the rest of the fleet." Ben asked. His voice calm and confident. The answer came in a much different tone. "The INDEPENDENCE and the MERCY have been forced to retreat, and the VANGUARD is dead in space. The HONSHU and RHODE ISLAND have been destroyed." Soldat began, his voice the voice of a soldier. Familiar with death, but still not used to it. "The GUADALCANAL is heavily damaged but..." his voice suddenly cut out. "The GUADALCANAL has just been destroyed." For a moment that seemed longer than it was the bridge was silent. Then the captain's voice, still calm, but now resigned, delivered a single word which seemed to ring out, unnaturally loud, and bounce off the darkened gray walls. "Gateway?" It was Lt. Sanba at operations who answered this time. "Her shields are down. Weapons systems functional but not firing. I'm picking up thousands of Jem'Hadar life signs..." Her voice trailed off. The air of defeat was palpable. Everyone present waited for the order they considered inevitable. Retreat. But Ben was not going to give it. He had one last mission to accomplish. He spared a moment of thought for Daisy, and the 200,000 others he was about to condemn. And then for his crew who might perish with them. And finally for his son, who he hoped was not about to become an orphan. "Set a course for GATEWAY. Inform all remaining fighters our new target is the station. Vital areas only." "Captain!" Mrrrana gasped from the helm. "GATEWAY is the most advanced station the Federation has ever constructed." Kenta cut her off. "If it's to be war, what the Dominion learns from her will mean the death of millions, if not billions. They can not take the station." "But all those people!" "We'll do what we can. Transport anything you can get a lock on that's not Jem'Hadar. Tell the INDEPENDENCE and the MERCY if they have functioning transporters or weapons we need them." =/\= Location: Space Seventeen small Jem'Hadar attack ships suddenly dropped the fighters they were pursuing and, whether swarming on the last significant target or sensing it's goal, turned as one toward the PATRIOT which raced towards the GATEWAY. The closest ones reached it before the larger ship was yet in range of the massive station, but it's phasers lanced out dooming three of them in the process of their strafing runs, which inflicted negligible damage on the PATRIOT's powerful armor. By then the mighty ship was as close as it needed to be, and just as the hundreds of fighters turned their tiny guns upon what for many of them had once been a haven, the PATRIOT let loose with her final spread of torpedoes and potent phaser cannons. GATEWAY seemed to shutter with the impact violent impact, and the determined ship switched to regular phasers. But as the Federation learned in their very first encounter with the dominion, the resolve of the Jem'Hadar to win dwarfs that of even the famously stubborn humans. The change in their tactics was instantaneous, and was agreed upon by all, from first to last, without discussion. The nearest Jem'Hadar ship came about out and, accelerating to full impulse, rammed the PATRIOT's Stardrive section, nearly severing the port nacelle. Before the larger ship could react a second ship smashed into the saucer section. =/\= Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Bridge The first impact threw Ben from his seat. For a moment his vision blurred and he was aware only of Martin's voice behind him. "We've been rammed by a Jem'Hadar Ship. Hull breech on decks..." A second crash, more violent than the first, and an explosion that showered Ben with superheated sparks, and sent small bits of burning shrapnel rocketing into his right side and back. The pain focused him. His mind cleared and the first thing his eyes settled on was the body of his Security chief, laying next to him. It didn't require any analysis to see he was dead. They had served together for 8 years. The younger officer had in many ways been Kenta's protege, but their was no time to morn. In moments he was on his feet. The tactical console, while not intact, was still functional, and Ben's hands fly across it with a familiarity that had not faded in the years since he'd occupied the position. He quickly ascertained the damage. The ablative armor had absorbed much of the impact, otherwise even one ram attempt would have been enough to destroy her completely. Still their were hulls breeches on several decks, and most of the ships systems were powered down, including weapons and engines. The remaining Dominion ships had already turned their attention elsewhere, they could see that the PATRIOT would do no more damage this day. They would now focus on wiping out the remaining fighters one at a time. GATEWAY would survive the encounter, and the Dominion would have their prize. He had failed. A quick glance around the bridge showed him was the only one conscious, and possibly the only one still alive. He would have to check them all, and get who could be saved to an escape pod. Their was potential for further power failure, and even a possible warp core breech. The ship was no longer safe. Activating the internal communications, thankfully still working, he addressed whatever was left of his crew. "All hands, this is the Captain speaking. Abandon ship, repeat, abandon ship." His voice, unnaturally calm, almost vacant, did not match the order and somewhere in his mind he registered that fact as he reached down to cut the channel. It was then that he noticed the new data which poured onto his console. Fifty starships, with Federation signatures had just warped into the system. Of the suddenly outnumbered Dominion ships that remained, only the Flagship warped away, presumably with a founder on board, though perhaps merely a highly valued Vorta. The rest would fight to the death. Suicide a potent weapon in their arsenal. Ben smiled. Reinforcements had once again come in the nick of time. He was about to reactivate communications to inform whoever could still hear him when somewhere behind him a console exploded. Again he felt the searing pain of superheated metal ripping into his back. The force of the explosion threw him forward against the tactical station. The wind was knocked out of him, and he felt several ribs crack with the impact. Draped over the console in mind numbing pain, Ben could not move. Instead he simply focused on staying conscious; trying to deny the pain with sheer force of will. But human resolve is only so strong. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NRPG: Don't worry Ken I'm not stealing Gene's thunder. Ben will recover, as long as somebody rescue's him when the battle is over :) Erik Walz Commander Benjamin Kenta Commanding Officer USS PATRIOT 5781-A & Lt. Seloron Junior ACT Instructor Starfleet Academy, Earth From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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