2401
[---classified---]
[---classified---]
"Those are either the bravest or the stupidest people.."
The Andorian engineer stared in disbelief as four of the Vulcan fighters broke formation to circle one of the advancing warbirds and rained blue fire onto it's shields.
"Completely outta their minds is more like it, lass. Watch that power flow or we'll save those Romulan bastards the trouble o' blowin' us up!"
The Andorian engineer stared in disbelief as four of the Vulcan fighters broke formation to circle one of the advancing warbirds and rained blue fire onto it's shields.
"Completely outta their minds is more like it, lass. Watch that power flow or we'll save those Romulan bastards the trouble o' blowin' us up!"
Commander Ranil Ranasinghe had never felt more angry or more helpless than during these minutes when his station - along with a shipful of Vulcans who seemed to behave highly illogical - was about to be reduced to rubble by three Valdore type warbirds.
While his Chief Engineer and lovely Thrandasar were struggling to keep the pathetic leftovers of their shields up and Lieutenant Sithundë threw everything he had at the warbird relentlessly pursuing the smaller Vulcan vessel, Ranil could only count the minutes until the Mecklenburg would arrive. And watch his crew defy the odds, second after precious second.
Strangely enough, the sight of twelve tiny, ridiculously outgunned fighters throwing themselves between the besieged station and it's attackers had apparently given his people a renewed sense of hope.
While his Chief Engineer and lovely Thrandasar were struggling to keep the pathetic leftovers of their shields up and Lieutenant Sithundë threw everything he had at the warbird relentlessly pursuing the smaller Vulcan vessel, Ranil could only count the minutes until the Mecklenburg would arrive. And watch his crew defy the odds, second after precious second.
Strangely enough, the sight of twelve tiny, ridiculously outgunned fighters throwing themselves between the besieged station and it's attackers had apparently given his people a renewed sense of hope.
"Quapla'! Or something like it!"
Ranil's head jerked up towards his tactical officer who obviously had taken his studies of Klingon history a bit too seriously and threw the Lieutenant a questioning look.
"We have made a dent, sir. Either we did or the Vulcans, or both. The warbird has broken off pursuit and stopped firing. Oh shit."
"Somehow that last comment doesn't quite correspond with …" the Commander had to tighten his grip on a console as his station rocked yet again under a fierce barrage.
"Looks like the Seleya lost weapons, Commander. And warp. " At a nod from his CO, Sithundë refocused his fire towards the warbird closest to them. "But there does seem to be damage to the warbird, they keep hanging back."
"Small favors" Ranil muttered. Of course they would not bother blowing up the disabled little science ship if they could take it home as a prize. And Kali only knew what they would do to the crew. WHY had that captain been so reckless and taken his people into this? It seemed so blatantly un-Vulcan.
And still those little fighters would not give up, seeking and exploiting whatever small weakness there might be …
Ranil's head jerked up towards his tactical officer who obviously had taken his studies of Klingon history a bit too seriously and threw the Lieutenant a questioning look.
"We have made a dent, sir. Either we did or the Vulcans, or both. The warbird has broken off pursuit and stopped firing. Oh shit."
"Somehow that last comment doesn't quite correspond with …" the Commander had to tighten his grip on a console as his station rocked yet again under a fierce barrage.
"Looks like the Seleya lost weapons, Commander. And warp. " At a nod from his CO, Sithundë refocused his fire towards the warbird closest to them. "But there does seem to be damage to the warbird, they keep hanging back."
"Small favors" Ranil muttered. Of course they would not bother blowing up the disabled little science ship if they could take it home as a prize. And Kali only knew what they would do to the crew. WHY had that captain been so reckless and taken his people into this? It seemed so blatantly un-Vulcan.
And still those little fighters would not give up, seeking and exploiting whatever small weakness there might be …
'They're trying to get them mad and draw them away.' suddenly Ranil saw the pattern in the madness, the desperate attempt to buy time, by any means and at whatever cost. But the Romulans simply weren't falling for it, taking shots at the annoying little fighters as the tiger might swat at a flock of little birds defending their nest, but otherwise not bothering with the noise and swirling of feathers when there was bigger prey to be had.
The Commander clenched his fists in frustration. It was all so damn pointless…
"What the he…"
"Fire, godsdammit, he's given us an opening!"
"Did you see that? He's got to be…"
The Commander clenched his fists in frustration. It was all so damn pointless…
"What the he…"
"Fire, godsdammit, he's given us an opening!"
"Did you see that? He's got to be…"
Sithundë's fist slammed on the console and the phaser fire hit precisely on the point where the warbird's shields were weakened from being grazed by a fighter. The Lieutenant's shout of triumph followed the impact on the Valdore's hull but the little fighter's crazed maneuver had cost it dearly. From the looks of it, it had lost attitude control… before Ranil could think of a way to get it out of there, the third Romulan reduced it to it's compound atoms.
"Status, Mr Sithundë." the Commander's voice jerked the tactical officer out of his shocked silence and he busied himself with the console while the Chief Engineer once again demonstrated his wide range of Gaelic incentives.
"Two warbirds have suffered minor damage, sir. The one we just hit seems to have lost weapons but my guess is they'll have that fixed soon. And the third…"
The third made it's displeasure known by stopping all attempts to merely disable the station and going for all out destruction.
As another console exploded, throwing a rain of glittering metal and plastic, Ranil felt a brief stab to his side.
"Well, we seem to have ruffled some feathers there after all. Who would've thought? Anything from the Mecklenburg?"
"Still 57 minutes out, can't reestablish contact."
"Figures."
"Status, Mr Sithundë." the Commander's voice jerked the tactical officer out of his shocked silence and he busied himself with the console while the Chief Engineer once again demonstrated his wide range of Gaelic incentives.
"Two warbirds have suffered minor damage, sir. The one we just hit seems to have lost weapons but my guess is they'll have that fixed soon. And the third…"
The third made it's displeasure known by stopping all attempts to merely disable the station and going for all out destruction.
As another console exploded, throwing a rain of glittering metal and plastic, Ranil felt a brief stab to his side.
"Well, we seem to have ruffled some feathers there after all. Who would've thought? Anything from the Mecklenburg?"
"Still 57 minutes out, can't reestablish contact."
"Figures."
If the fighters had intended to make the Romulans angry, they had succeeded all to well - Ranil counted only eight of the sleek, copper red shapes still out there and five of those were coming after the last fully intact warbird while the other three seemed to be hounding the one that had crippled the Seleya.
And then everything went, as his engineer would have put it, had his head not been stuck in some sort of hatch, donut-shaped.
Within seconds, the station's shields flared again and there was the scream of disruptor fire tearing his station apart.
'They're really going in for the kill now. No more Mr Nice Guy I guess'
"Mr Donegal!" Ranil shouted and then coughed as acrid smoke filled his lungs "Where are my SHIELDS?"
Whatever the Scot answered, it was lost in the sound of another explosion.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ranil saw beautiful Thrandasar catching the blast squarely in the chest and rushed to help her, just as one of the pretty little Vulcan ships broke formation and treated Ranil to an unusual sight - the cobalt blue glow of impulse engines being shoved into overdrive while the gleaming hull of the elegant little ship turned right outside the station's window. Almost like a lazy cat rolling over, it tipped to port and pointed it's nose right at …
"No…" Ranil whispered.
"YES! Hail Mary and every bloody Saint!" the Chief Engineer emerged from the hatch and stormed towards his console but stopped in his tracks when he saw his CO's ashen face. Before he could figure out what was going on, an explosion rocked the station and threw him off his feet. It hadn't been a torpedo impact, that much he was sure about but still too close for comfort. Donegal pulled himself up to the engineering station and reactivated the shields - another rabbit pulled out of a rag of a hat, but it would hold for a while. Who the hell needed food replicators when you were being shot at anyways?
Then he saw Thrandasar's wry smile and followed the CO's gaze towards the window where… would you believe it, another warbird looked just a wee bit banged up and.. Oh crap. There wasn't enough left to tell that floating debris had ever been a fighter, but one didn't need to be a genius to add up what had happened.
"Bought us them few precious seconds, the poor lad." he sadly shook his head and then looked around the station's control center. Or rather, what was left of it. There had to be a med-kit somewhere, although it didn't look as if Thrandasar would be able to do more than sit there and be pretty for a while. At least someone should do something about the bleeding.
Then he realized it was eerily quiet. They actually had stopped firing.
And then everything went, as his engineer would have put it, had his head not been stuck in some sort of hatch, donut-shaped.
Within seconds, the station's shields flared again and there was the scream of disruptor fire tearing his station apart.
'They're really going in for the kill now. No more Mr Nice Guy I guess'
"Mr Donegal!" Ranil shouted and then coughed as acrid smoke filled his lungs "Where are my SHIELDS?"
Whatever the Scot answered, it was lost in the sound of another explosion.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ranil saw beautiful Thrandasar catching the blast squarely in the chest and rushed to help her, just as one of the pretty little Vulcan ships broke formation and treated Ranil to an unusual sight - the cobalt blue glow of impulse engines being shoved into overdrive while the gleaming hull of the elegant little ship turned right outside the station's window. Almost like a lazy cat rolling over, it tipped to port and pointed it's nose right at …
"No…" Ranil whispered.
"YES! Hail Mary and every bloody Saint!" the Chief Engineer emerged from the hatch and stormed towards his console but stopped in his tracks when he saw his CO's ashen face. Before he could figure out what was going on, an explosion rocked the station and threw him off his feet. It hadn't been a torpedo impact, that much he was sure about but still too close for comfort. Donegal pulled himself up to the engineering station and reactivated the shields - another rabbit pulled out of a rag of a hat, but it would hold for a while. Who the hell needed food replicators when you were being shot at anyways?
Then he saw Thrandasar's wry smile and followed the CO's gaze towards the window where… would you believe it, another warbird looked just a wee bit banged up and.. Oh crap. There wasn't enough left to tell that floating debris had ever been a fighter, but one didn't need to be a genius to add up what had happened.
"Bought us them few precious seconds, the poor lad." he sadly shook his head and then looked around the station's control center. Or rather, what was left of it. There had to be a med-kit somewhere, although it didn't look as if Thrandasar would be able to do more than sit there and be pretty for a while. At least someone should do something about the bleeding.
Then he realized it was eerily quiet. They actually had stopped firing.
"Commander!" Sithundë's shout broke the silence "I got a life-sign! Just 30 meters outside our shields!"
"What?" Ranil jumped up, leaving the Andorian woman in Donegal's care "Get him out of there! Now!"
"Sir…"
"Donegal, drop the blasted shields, Sithundë you better grab that man and have him on my transporter platform that very same second, understood!"
The tactical officer knew better than to argue with his CO in this mood "Aye."
If the Romulans were just playing dead, they'd blow the station to high heavens. But one could dare hope they'd really gotten their noses a bit bloodied, right? He locked on to the Vulcan and nodded towards the Engineer, just as a hatch was kicked outward and the Chief Medical Officer himself emerged. Well, speak of the devil…
"Mr Sutok, how nice of you to join us" Ranil nodded towards the doctor who looked about as unruffled as a person could who had just climbed several decks in a cramped Jeffrey's tube.
"I apologize, Commander. It would seem that the medics dispatched here have been.. delayed."
That or they were right where that last torpedo hit, but Ranil did not want to think about that now.
"Now or never, Lieutenant. As it happens, Doctor…" the Commander watched as a humanoid twinkled into shape on the transporter platform and he jumped forward as the Vulcan - and a Vulcan it had to be, although one really couldn't tell with the helmet - staggered and almost crashed onto the floor "You're just the man we need for our newest guest."
"Indeed" Sutok briefly quirked a brow at the pilot on the platform who had caught his - correction, her - footing and raised a hand towards the advancing Commander, before returning his focus towards the Andorian engineer. The gesture was clear, that one would not require immediate attention.
"What?" Ranil jumped up, leaving the Andorian woman in Donegal's care "Get him out of there! Now!"
"Sir…"
"Donegal, drop the blasted shields, Sithundë you better grab that man and have him on my transporter platform that very same second, understood!"
The tactical officer knew better than to argue with his CO in this mood "Aye."
If the Romulans were just playing dead, they'd blow the station to high heavens. But one could dare hope they'd really gotten their noses a bit bloodied, right? He locked on to the Vulcan and nodded towards the Engineer, just as a hatch was kicked outward and the Chief Medical Officer himself emerged. Well, speak of the devil…
"Mr Sutok, how nice of you to join us" Ranil nodded towards the doctor who looked about as unruffled as a person could who had just climbed several decks in a cramped Jeffrey's tube.
"I apologize, Commander. It would seem that the medics dispatched here have been.. delayed."
That or they were right where that last torpedo hit, but Ranil did not want to think about that now.
"Now or never, Lieutenant. As it happens, Doctor…" the Commander watched as a humanoid twinkled into shape on the transporter platform and he jumped forward as the Vulcan - and a Vulcan it had to be, although one really couldn't tell with the helmet - staggered and almost crashed onto the floor "You're just the man we need for our newest guest."
"Indeed" Sutok briefly quirked a brow at the pilot on the platform who had caught his - correction, her - footing and raised a hand towards the advancing Commander, before returning his focus towards the Andorian engineer. The gesture was clear, that one would not require immediate attention.
"Well done, laddie." the Scot wiped some sweat off his brow and grinned at the young tactical officer as his shields were back up and they were still alive to notice it "That's gotta be a new record. And they're still not shootin' so catch a breather while I get our own phasers back online."
He turned to look at just what a crazy, hell-raisin' mad and luckier than anyone should be allowed to get sonofabitch Vulcan might look like, and his jaw dropped. Because the person on that platform wore what one could safely refer to as a damn tight fitting suit and that in turn left no doubt…
Commander Donegal's newest outburst of colorful metaphors proved to be quite imaginative.
He turned to look at just what a crazy, hell-raisin' mad and luckier than anyone should be allowed to get sonofabitch Vulcan might look like, and his jaw dropped. Because the person on that platform wore what one could safely refer to as a damn tight fitting suit and that in turn left no doubt…
Commander Donegal's newest outburst of colorful metaphors proved to be quite imaginative.
Ranil had stopped just short of the transporter platform as the woman - and the terracotta colored flight suit clearly outlined a female - had gestured for him she would not come tumbling down after all. How odd that the mind would focus on little details like that, but he caught himself looking at the beautiful copper shine of the helmet with it's opaque visor and the shimmering gold of the insignia on the flight suit's collar and left shoulder. He idly wondered what those Vulcan letters might mean - ship's insignia? Rank and name? Hell, for all he knew it meant "She who wipes the floor with warbirds"
There was a hissing of air as she disengaged the helmet's locks with her gloved hands and whatever Ranil had expected to see when she pulled it off her head, it certainly wasn't the face of a woman who looked so … young.
Gods, she could barely be older than, well, whatever the Vulcan equivalent of a teenager was.
Her incredibly dark, calm eyes rested on him as she tucked the helmet under one arm and raised the other hand in the Vulcan salute. But when she spoke, the voice was not quite that of a teenager and Ranil smiled at the warm, musical sound.
"You have my gratitude for an excellently timed rescue, Commander. Permission to board your station?"
There was a hissing of air as she disengaged the helmet's locks with her gloved hands and whatever Ranil had expected to see when she pulled it off her head, it certainly wasn't the face of a woman who looked so … young.
Gods, she could barely be older than, well, whatever the Vulcan equivalent of a teenager was.
Her incredibly dark, calm eyes rested on him as she tucked the helmet under one arm and raised the other hand in the Vulcan salute. But when she spoke, the voice was not quite that of a teenager and Ranil smiled at the warm, musical sound.
"You have my gratitude for an excellently timed rescue, Commander. Permission to board your station?"
==========
[to be continued...]
============
[to be continued...]
============
Ens Sakarra Tyrax
Chief Helmsman
USS Charon
