From: Erik (felldoh_at_voyager.net)
Date: Fri Dec 07 2007 - 23:30:06 PST
"To the Rescue"
continued from
PATRIOT's "Moooooooo!!!!"
and
GATEWAY's "Return of Dr. Kathryn MacNeil"
Location: USS PATRIOT
Stardate: 2.71205.1626
Scene: Captain's Ready Room
It had been two days since the PATRIOT arrived at
DS3. By that time, every department was already
busy testing equipment and running diagnostics,
working out the kinks of a state-of-the-art
starship that had just undergone one of the most
complicated refits Starfleet had ever proposed,
the first ship to do so, and had done it in a
month less than the required time because GATEWAY
simply could not wait any longer. The ship’s new
captain demanded a report on every glitch, every
unexpected result, no matter how minor. He wanted
no surprises once there mission began.
There were dozens of reports from engineering
alone. Most were minor, adjust a ratio here an
algorithm there. The worst was that several EPS
conduits were found to have plasma flow
regulators that had been programmed with the
wrong fail safe, either allowing them to draw
more plasma than their maximum tolerance or cut
off the flow too early. Either could result in a
power failure of any system attached to the
conduit. The problem was relatively easy to fix,
but difficult to detect. Ben had ordered all
conduits serving critical systems to be inspected manually.
There were also a handful of issues from other
areas of the ship. The chief science officer had
reported an unusual misalignment of the long
range sensors that was causing L class planets to
leave an unexplained sensor shadow several light
days behind them. Security had initially reported
energy drain issues upon deployment of the
ablative armor, but Ben recalled a similar
problem when the system had first been installed
and directed them to notes on the fix implemented
by the chief engineer of the time.
The last ship of what Starfleet had officially
designated Tactical Fleet Gamma had arrived 12
hours after the PATRIOT. Ben had immediately
arranged for a meeting between the captains in
the MOC to discuss tactical scenarios. The
meetings had been a pain, but a necessary one.
Kenta was the youngest of the seven officers in
the room and with his promotion to captain less
than a week ago, the lowest in rank as well. Some
of the others were wary, or downright upset, with
Starfleet’s decision to make him the fleet
commander, and they were not afraid to let it be known.
But Starfleet had considered their choice
carefully. Ben’s background and specialty had
always been ship-to-ship tactics. More
importantly, during a largely peaceful time for
the Federation, he had racked up a formidable
list of engagements. Only two of the other
captain’s had participated in more than one
ship-to-ship engagement. Perhaps the most
important thing of all was that he had actually
fought against the Dominion, and with their last
official conflict ending more than 40 years ago,
there were few left in the fleet who could make that claim.
The meeting started rough, but Ben was had the
scenarios he intended to use prepared, and
required little input from the others, though he
accepted all that was offered, and the captains
left, if not entirely mollified at least
convinced of his ability, and willing to follow
his orders. Ben had begun work on the plans soon
as Admiral Jarett had sent him the list of ships
in the fleet. Besides the PATRIOT there were six.
The RHODE ISLAND, a Nova mark II, the VANGUARD, a
prototype vessel, and the INDEPENDENCE, a
Prometheus-class, along with the PATRIOT, would
make up the primary assault group, should the
situation require it. They were the core of the
fleet. The GUADALCANAL, a Midway-class carrier,
would add its impressive array of fighters, and
the Sanctity-class medical frigate MERCY, was
along in the event of heavy casualties on the
station. The final ship was the HONSHU, a
Nebula-class ship, was primarily intended as an
escort to the MERCY, but its ample firepower gave
it potential for a more active role as well.
Seven ships charged with defending the GATEWAY
STATION from the entire Dominion fleet, or, in
the worst case, retaking it, a formidable task in
and of itself. Ben dreaded the last option. Not
because he feared fighting the legendary
Jem'Hadar on foot, that wasn't in the picture. If
they found the station occupied by Dominion
troops, his orders were to make diplomatic
contact, and treat for the release of any
surviving Federation citizens into his custody.
Once those objectives were completed the fleet
was to return home immediately. No, if they had
to take the station it would not be from
Jem'Hadar, it would be from people who had once
called themselves Starfleet officers. Ben’s
greatest fear was that Kane had declared himself
an independent power, and would not resubmit to Federation rule lightly.
The door chime rang out, distracting Ben from the
report he was reading. “Come.”
The figure that walked in had a familiar face,
one he didn't see often enough. Unbidden his mind
turned to the first time he'd seen it, 6 years
earlier, almost to the day. The PATRIOT had been
boarded and taken by Klingons. In shackles, he
had been escorted into a room only to see that
face turning blue because its owner was being
strangled by one of their captors. He had been
unable to bear it then, and even now he quickly
dashed the thought from his mind.
“Cmdr. Byrne, reporting for duty as ordered.” She
said with a smile that belied the formality in her voice.
“Daisy,” The new captain stood up from his desk
and crossed the room to give her a hug. “It’s
good to see you.” It had been too long since
their last meeting, for both of them.
“You too, Ben.” She replied, feeling his arms
around her and knowing it wouldn't last long
enough. “Though I wish it were in better circumstances.”
“You've read my brief then.” He answered,
releasing her reluctantly. He had sent a file to
her shuttle with the details of the mission.
“Yes, I've made arrangements for my children to stay with Erek.”
“I'm sorry to ruin your holiday; I know it’s very
important in your family.” Ben’s family didn’t
celebrate Christmas, and in fact he had never
heard of the old EARTH holiday until Daisy had
introduced it to him. Having grown up in a
society that revered the ancient ways of
humanity, she had a great deal of strange
celebrations that he had never understood, but
tried to respect. He knew that this one always
seemed particularly special to her. “I wouldn't
have ordered it if I didn't think it was necessary.”
“I understand.” She replied, meaning it.
Ben moved back towards his desk. “Have a seat and
I'll explain what I couldn't say in the brief.”
Daisy obeyed, though she didn't want to. It had
been nine months since she had seen him last, and
now they were in a room, alone, and the last
thing she wanted to do was talk about danger and duty and war.
“Starfleet is concerned about Captain Kane.” Ben
began frankly. “He’s been through a lot in his
career. More than most captains, and his last few
psych evaluations have been…concerning.” Ben used
the exact words Jarrett had given him. “No red
flags or anything serious enough to get him
removed, but since he got back from the DISCOVERY
they've been keeping an eye on him.” Ben paused a
moment and sighed, knowing Daisy wouldn't like
what he was about to say. “They are concerned
that the incident with the wormhole may have pushed him over the edge.”
“No!” Daisy blurted. “Mikey may have been through
some traumatic situations but so have I. So have
you. It doesn't make him crazy.”
“Then why did he refuse the Borg’s offer to bring
everyone on the station back to Federation
space?” Ben asked, wishing that she could give
him the good answer he had been unable to think of himself.
Daisy paused for a moment and felt herself
choking up. “I don't know, but he must have had a reason.”
“I want to believe you Daisy.” Ben replied
honestly. “So does Starfleet, but until we know
for sure we have to assume the worst. That’s why you’re here.”
“I don't understand.” She answered, calming down.
“One of my orders is to evaluate Kane's mental
state, but I barely know the man, I have a
counselor but she’s never met him, and I don't
want to risk missing something. You know him
better than anyone else I can call on.”
“What about Maverick, or Daniel and Catherine,
they both served with him more recently that I have.”
“But you've known him longer. Besides Mav hates
him, and Clarkson’s not fond of him either I'm
sure, none of the marines are. Sterling, she’s…”
Ben chose his words carefully. “…young. I don't
want to rely on her judgment.” He looked her in
the eye and tried to convey with his gaze how
much he hated to put this on her. “I need your
help, Daisy. You’re the best person for the job,
and with what we might face in the next few weeks, I need the best person.”
Daisy was quiet for a moment and then she sighed.
“You’re right. I'll do what I can.”
“Thank you.” Ben said quietly. Then he rose and
continued in a lighter tone while he escorted her
towards the door. “Now, our Borg escort isn't
scheduled to arrive until tomorrow morning, so
you still have some time to familiarize yourself
with the medical facilities, they've changed
quite a bit since you worked here.”
“I'm sure they have.” She answered, her mind not
on sickbay. They paused a few feet from the door.
“It really is good to see you again, Ben.”
He smiled and drew her into a kiss. Then he
pulled back a bit to whisper. “I'm off duty at
1700 hours. We could have dinner in my quarters.”
Daisy smiled. “I'd like that.” She kissed him
again and then turned to go. Ben watched her
leave, and his eyes lingered a few moments, even
after the doors had closed behind her. Finally he
turned away, returned to his desk, and picked up another report.
=/\=
Scene: Bridge
Time Index: The following morning
“A Borg sphere has just arrived, sir.” Lieutenant
Sanba announced from the Ops console as Ben
emerged from the ready room. “They are signaling ready for departure.”
“Very well, Corwin move us into position.” Borg
conduits were a wonderful technology that the
Federation couldn't duplicate, but they were
finicky. If the Borg were going to pull seven
ships along with them they would have to be in a
very specific formation. Instruction for this
formation had been calculated by the Borg as soon
as they arrived, and relayed to the PATRIOT along with the original message.
“Aye, Sir.”
“Lieutenant Soldat,” Ben turned now to address
his tactical officer. “Relay the coordinates to
the other ships and tell them to signal when they
are in position.” He watched on the viewscreen as
the other ships glided into a formation somewhere between a line and a V.
“All ships are in position, Captain.” Soldat’s
tone on the last word betrayed his happiness that
his old boss, and long-time friend, had finally
achieved a goal he had wanted for so long.
“Signal the Borg we are ready to depart.” Ben
ordered, then, looking at the helm continued.
“Match the sphere’s movements and speed exactly.”
As the group began to move forward space began to
blur, but not into the familiar star lines.
Instead a green and blue swirl surrounded them,
and slowly it dawned on the crew that, though it
felt no different that it had a moment before,
they were traveling faster than they ever had before.
In two minutes they would be in hell.
=/\=
Location: Space
Time Index: Two minutes later
Eight ships slid into normal Space, one grey, and
seven the shiny white metal of Starfleet,
harbinger of peace and order in an uncertain
galaxy. But this was not a place of peace or order. This was a war zone.
Energy beams crashed into flickering shields.
Torpedoes careened through space to explode at
their targets. Fighters whirled around each other
in a dance of death. And in the middle of it all
hung the massive GATEWAY STATION, no longer a
monument to peace and power. Now it was darkened
and scorched. Its shields failing, its hull
breached, but its weapons still blazing. It was a
mighty bull, wounded and surrounded by wolves,
but determined to make them pay dearly for its corpse.
=/\=
Location: USS PATRIOT
Scene: Bridge
“GATEWAY is surrounded. There are 23 Dominion
ships engaged and several more in reserve. She’s
in bad shape, Sir, but still fighting.” Soldat
shouted. “We are inside their perimeter, but have not yet been targeted.”
“Captain, the Borg are leaving.” Sanba added from
engineering. Ben ignored the last as it was
expected. The Borg had agreed to ferry their
allies, but the Dominion was not their enemy.
They wanted no part of the conflict.
“Tell the fleet to assume attack pattern
epsilon.” Ben began giving orders to different
officers in a rapid series. “Launch the fighters
and the COUNTERSTRIKE.” Both marine and naval
fighters had been prepped for launch before
departure, and Mav and his crew had manned the
COUNTERSTRIKE. “Helm, bring us close the nearest
battleship. Mr. Soldat I want you to hit it with
everything we've got and target only vital areas.
Let’s show them we mean business.”
=/\=
Location: Space
On Ben’s command Tactical Fleet Gamma swung into
action. The MERCY moved in close to the station,
using her powerful shields to screen vital areas.
The GUADALCANAL opened its bay doors to reveal a
belly teeming with fighters. Joined by the
squadrons from the rest of the fleet, and
numbering over 400, they surged towards the
enemy. Some went to the aid of GATEWAY’s
outnumbered fighters, while others swarmed the
larger ships targeting torpedo launchers, shield
generators and turrets. The PATRIOT rushed
forward, weapons blazing, followed by four
powerful ships that would fire at anything she did.
The first battleship had no chance. Caught off
guard and faced with the combined power of
fifty-six phaser banks, twenty-six torpedo tubes,
four pulse phaser emitters, and two powerful
phaser cannons, all shooting to kill, it’s
commander was barely aware his ship had been
targeted before it was destroyed. The second ship
fared little better, firing only a few
ineffectual shots before it’s destruction, but by
now the Dominion was responding. The ships they'd
held in reserve cam forward to engage the small
Federation fleet. Tactical Fleet Gamma could no
longer focus its firepower, but neither could the Dominion.
=/\=
Location: GS-2
Scene: Operations
“Commander, seven Federation ships just came out
of a Borg conduit.” Lieutenant Kor shouted, her
voice a mix of excitement and disbelief.
“What?!” Teague voiced the word on everyone’s mind.
“They’re engaging the Dominion; they've already
destroyed two ships!” Kor continued.
That was surprise, Teague thought. They wouldn't
be able to keep that pace up. Still she was so
stunned by the sudden arrival of reinforcements
she almost forgot to give orders. “Focus your
fire away from the Federation ships. Crichton,
you keep working on those shields. If we can hold
out just a little longer maybe they'll scare the
Dominion away long enough for us to repair.” She
doubted it, the dominion didn't scare easily, and
if they could finish the damaged station quickly,
they'd make short work of the ships. **If only
they'd arrived twenty minutes ago we might have won this thing.**
“We should announce it to the station.” Crichton
said suddenly. “It will give them hope.”
Teague nodded “Patch me through the entire
comment.” She said. “This is Commander Learna
Teague. Federation reinforcements have arrived at
the station and are engaging the Dominion.”
=/\=
Location: USS PATRIOT
Scene: Bridge
“Hail the lead ship.” Ben ordered, and waited a
few moments for the image of a Vorta to appear on
screen. Without waiting for her to speak he began
aggressively. “I am Captain Benjamin Kenta of the
Federation starship PATRIOT. Your hostile
presence in Federation territory is in violation of the Treaty of ANDARA.”
{{Perhaps you haven't heard, Captain.}} The Vorta
smiled. {{GATEWAY station is no longer a part of
the Federation, by decree of its own citizens.}}
“I assure you the Federation does not see it that
way.” Ben retorted. “Remove your ships now, or
this action will be considered an act of war to
which the Federation will respond in force.” It
was a big concession to allow what they'd already
done not to be called war, but the threat of
Federation retaliation meant nothing if they had no way to avoid it.
The Vorta laughed. {{You expect me to believe the
peaceful Federation would go to war for a
rebellious station 70,000 light years outside of its territory.}}
“The Federation sent my fleet, and at a
convenient moment don't you think?” Ben bluffed.
“If you believe the collapse of the wormhole has
dimmed our interest in this station then you are
mistaken. The Federation will defend its
territory against all threats, and if you think
seven ships is the extent of the force we are
willing to commit you are in for a rude awakening.”
“And what if I don't believe you, Captain?” The Vorta replied with a smile.
Ben glared steel at her. “Your predecessors
underestimated Federation resolve. Perhaps the
Founders will forgive you for making the same
mistake.” Her smile never twitched, but Ben saw
her pupils dilate when he mentioned the founders.
“Decide!” he added forcefully, before signaling for Soldat to cut the channel.
“You think that will work?’ Tanith asked, speaking out of turn.
Ben let the breech in protocol slide. “It will if
there isn't a founder onboard. If I'm bluffing
she has nothing to lose by withdrawing now and
returning with reinforcements, but if I'm telling
the truth she'll be a lot safer if a Founder makes the decision to go to war.”
“Dominion ships are breaking off their attack!”
Sanba shouted excitedly. “They are withdrawing.”
Ben couldn't resist a small smile. “Tell our
ships to cease fire, and regroup close to the
station. I want a damage report from each of
them, but first I want Captain Kane on the comm.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NRPG: Okay everybody this is the official start
of our joint mission. Patriot people you'll be
getting an NRPG with more background in a moment.
Everybody can go ahead and write the battle from
their perspective, or tackle the aftermath if you
wish. There will be lot's of cleanup for medical
and engineering staff, and The Dominion may or may not be satisfied.
Tam: Perhaps the Patriot will lone its
counselling staff to Gateway. After all they've
been through they may need the help. That would
give you a chance to talk with some of the many
Bajorans on the station, and visit their temple to the prophets.
Gateway Crew: Our fleet doesn't know Kane is
gone. He arrived on EARTH only a short time
before we departed, and didn't have a
communicator, so the information didn't arrive.
Ben is expecting to find him still in charge. The
Borg told us he refused the Borg's transport
offer, but didn't tell us about the assimilation
demand, thus our concern about the station
possibly being in rebellion. Ben won't be
entirely friendly until the station agrees to
return to formal Federation control, but he will
offer aid and supplies if needed.
Taylor runs an excellent website at
http://www.geocities.com/USSPatriot You can find
all of our bio's there, as well as other
information about our ship. Our mailing list is as follows:
felldoh_at_voyager.net
selyara_at_hotmail.com
swiften_at_yahoo.com
vrccan_at_gmail.com
naomi_lara_at_optusnet.com.au
AlexandraECFowler_at_gmail.com
naomi.lara_at_gmail.com
naomi.bortolin_at_csl.com.au
mouse3of3_at_yahoo.com
Looking forward to writing with you all.
Erik Walz
Captain 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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