Wednesday, February 18, 2015
[[Excruciating. Think that about sums up the writing of this chapter. For those curious, there will be one other chapter, aiming to be out within the next month, and an epilogue. New project already lined up after that, though I will be going back to edit this and trim a lot of fat out.]]
“It's
an act of war, Kaz. It's as simple as that.”
Kanor
could practically hear Kaz's teeth grinding together as his jaw
clenched tightly in frustration.
“And
genocide is the answer?!”
“They
should have considered that before they imprisoned one of our ships
and held an esteemed Commodore of the Independence Fleet and his crew
captive.”
“We
weren't held captive; they simply wanted the research, but couldn't
communicate it to us. We're all fine, that's nothing to drag the
entire Fleet into a war over!”
“Believe
me, we're going to have a good long conversation concerning your
decision to simply give them a copy of that research in a more
private meeting. As it is, I'm en route aboard the Independence with
the rest of the First Squadron to take care of this personally.
Captain Somers has reported he believes heavier firepower will solve
the issue.”
Kaz
vehemently said something Kanor couldn't recognize and the universal
translator didn't seem to pick up; he assumed it was some sort of
curse. The Metron took a deep breath, closing his eyes for just a
moment, before clasping his hands behind his back and looking back to
the viewscreen.
“Admiral...Andy...this
has all been a misunderstanding. I know you want to make sure the
rest of the galaxy doesn't just...write us off as some sort of small
ragtime team of nobodies. But this isn't the way. These people
aren't even a part of the galactic community as we know it, and...”
Stapes
cut Kaz off in a clipped, firm tone, making sure to emphasize Kaz's
rank. He must not have appreciated Kaz trying to bring the issue to
a more personal level.
“On
the contrary, Commodore, I believe this is the perfect opportunity to
establish ourselves as a serious presence in the galactic community,
and seeing as how I am the founder and Admiral of this Fleet, I do
believe that makes it MY call. These Benders will be the biggest
discovery since the Bajoran wormhole, and it will be ours and ours
alone. We'll be arriving within the hour, at which point you and
your crew will assist us in sanitizing the Bender vessel. Stapes
out.”
Jax
snorted.
“'Sanitizing'...as
if calling it something other than murder makes it more palatable.”
“While
the entire First Squadron is formidable, I do not believe the whole
Independence Fleet is even capable of disabling the ship, let alone
subduing it in any fashion.”
Kaz
shook his head at Selorus' observation.
“I
believe you, Selorus. Unfortunately, Stapes is obsessed with
legitimizing the Independence Fleet, and isn't going to let a
'trivial' thing such as extinction of an entire culture slow him down
at all.” His brow furrowed as he continued staring at the
viewscreen, where the five Independent vessels had just finished
another strafing run along the length of the Bender's ship. The
giant tendrils had stopped their movement, resuming their position
“trailing” behind the central ring of the vessel, as they were
when the Enterprise had first encountered it. It had, as of yet,
done nothing in response to the attacks Somers and his group were
conducting.
“Jax,
intercept course on the Courageous. Do your best to keep us
inbetween the Independent vessels and the Bender ship. Kanor, fire a
warning shot across the bow of the Courageous as soon as we're in
range.”
Kanor's
eyebrows rose up at Kaz's command, but he nonetheless focused on the
tactical console and waited for Jax to bring the Enterprise within
range. He found it a bit odd not a single protest was spoken by the
Enterprise's crew at Kaz's orders. They were firing on their own
fleet; surely to be considered a treasonous act. Kanor took a moment
to glance at the faces of everyone on the bridge. A corner of Jax's
mouth was upturned in a grin, but otherwise, everyone
seemed...determined. And calm. Kaz had given them a course of
action, and they were following it through. They knew what it meant.
One of the turbolift doors had swished open and Skid had stepped
onto the bridge, making her way to the Engineering console with only
a resolute nod exchanged with Kaz as he gave his orders. Not even
the redhead was arguing. Kanor's eyes diverted back to his tactical
screen as it made a short beep of their range to the Courageous. His
fingers moved over the controls, tracking the movement of the
Defiant-class vessel, her snub nose leading the charge...
Twin
scarlet beams of light flashed through space directly in the
Courageous' path, causing the vessel to veer sharply to port and
roll, trying to present a narrower target to this unexpected attack.
The rest of the Independent vessels broke off, as well, though they
were a bit sluggish in their response-time. Kanor noted the
Enterprise's phasers were a couple of degrees off where they should
have been targeting; plus, the convergence point for the individual
phaser banks could be a lot narrower and, therefore, more precise.
He'd have to speak with Munson about correcting that.
“Courageous
is hailing us.”
Kaz
smirked, and turned to sit down in his chair, lifting his right leg
to cross over his left.
“Well,
imagine that. Someone is suddenly wanting to talk. Onscreen.”
“Are
you fucking out of your MIND!? I sure as hell hope your tactical
officer made some sort of error when they went to target that alien
piece of...”
“On
the contrary, Somers, while my current tactical officer is...new to
the position, he fired exactly where I told him to. If you insist on
continuing to assail the Benders, you will find the Enterprise more
than willing to get in your way.”
Somers
eyes narrowed, the red in his face only darkening at Kaz's flippant
response.
“Ohhh
I've always wanted a reason to send your ancient relic of a ship
limping back to Independence One, Kaz...I just never thought you'd be
so stupid as to throw down while I outnumber you five to one.”
Kaz
laughed-a genuine, rolling sound of amusement-before clapping his
hands on his knees and leaning forward in his chair, grinning from
ear to ear.
“Somers,
you silly boy. You're the one who's outnumbered. Do you want me to
wait for the rest of the First Squadron to arrive to help you before
I make you dirty your diaper?”
Te'ara
giggled as Somers ended the communication, and Kaz, still grinning,
called out towards him.
“Kanor,
as much as I'd love to tell you to fire at will, make sure you shoot
to disable, not to destroy. Weapons, engines, power-however you'd
like.”
Kanor
grunted. He could account and correct for the poor calibrations of
the Enterprise's weapons, he thought, but it was still a tall order
to ask. Jax had sent the Enterprise into a seemingly erratic pattern
of movement as soon as the transmission with the Courageous had
ended, and Kanor watched as the five ships in Somers' attack group
reoriented themselves to face off against the Enterprise. His eyes
narrowed as he paid attention to their movements, looking for
predictable patterns, a chance to take any advantage that might
present itself. His eyes fell on the two B'rel class ships more than
the rest; he was the most familiar with them, and would recognize
issues more readily...
There.
He had noted the sluggish reaction Somers' group of ships had in
response to the Enterprise's warning shot. This Bird-of-Prey,
however, was truly maneuvering poorly; the normally agile vessel made
awful port maneuvers. Not enough to affect combat performance per
se, but recognizable as a flaw if one was familiar enough with the
ship's average handling. Perhaps it was a sensor issue, perhaps a
structural integrity problem...it could even simply be a poor pilot.
Or it could be a problem with the power distribution.
The
Enterprise was engaged in full-on combat with the five vessels; the
sounds of blows to their shields, shudders in the deck plating, and
minute dips in the inertial dampers compensating for Jax's quick
maneuvers all background sensations experienced starship crews
thoughtlessly tuned out to perform their duties. Shield percentages
dropped on both sides, though the Enterprise's was understandably
dwindling faster; despite Jax's best efforts to avoid incoming fire,
the Enterprise was simply too big to outmaneuver the five ships built
for quick hit-and-run tactics. Kanor was firing the phasers when and
where the most opportune moments were, sometimes missing, more often
hitting, and occasionally firing a torpedo when it would do the most
damage. He was focusing mostly on getting that B'rel's port, largely
tuning out a lot of the orders flying back and forth from Kaz to the
crew. His instruments showed a dip in the Enterprise's power as a
tractor beam was activated, but he largely ignored the debris
trailing behind the ship because Jax was bringing them along on a
vector that would provide the perfect shot against that B'rel, as
well as the other Bird-of-Prey and the Akira-class vessel just
beyond. Firing a torpedo, he grinned as the sluggish ship abruptly
wavered upon impact, the lights of her engines sputtering out as it
started to drift out of control. His eyes shot up, however, as a
veritable wave of small asteroids slammed into the remaining B'rel
and her Akira companion immediately afterwards, the shield indicators
for each ship on his instruments disappearing entirely.
“Kanor!”
Kanor
reacted instinctively to Kaz's shout from the center chair, quickly
firing their phasers at the exposed vessels. The second B'rel
immediately became dead in space, their engines incapacitated
immediately by his shot. The Akira tumbled for a bit, but recovered
as some backup systems most likely kicked in; Kanor noted the ship
veering away from the Enterprise at a much slower speed, though. The
Enterprise shuddered as the Courageous and the remaining Romulan
interceptor hammered at their exposed flank.
“Where
the hell did those rocks come from?”
Kaz
had a bit of a smirk on his face when Kanor spore a moment to glance
over at the center chair, where Kaz had leapt to his feet at some
point.
“Little
thing I like to call 'shooting marbles', Kanor. Temporarily
overwhelms their shields. Excellent work, by the way. That gave us
some breathing room, I think. Status?”
Kanor
shook his head as he glanced over his instruments.
“Shields
at thirty-nine percent.”
“Main
engineering has been taking the most hits; there was a brief fire in
Jefferies tubes ten and eleven, but they're taken care of. Chelsea
Boys have it under control down there.” Skid added.
Kaz
nodded, his hands reaching behind his waist to clasp together.
“Drei...?”
Drei
pressed a few buttons on his console, then nodded.
“What
was that you were saying about five to one, again, Somers?”
“Dammit,
Kaz, you...”
Drei
cut the link in mid-sentence, and Kaz grinned ferally.
“I
do believe someone out there insulted our Lady...focus on the
Courageous.”
“Aye
SIR.”
The
glee in Jax's voice was rather infectious; Kanor felt himself getting
excited about giving the smug, arrogant Somers a bloody nose as the
Enterprise doggedly pursued the snub-nosed vessel. Shots were
exchanged between the two ships, the Courageous and the Enterprise
vying for better positioning. The Courageous was more nimble, but
the Enterprise wouldn't be deterred. Jax always seemed to be one
step ahead; and between Kanor firing the phasers when the Courageous
tried to get too far out of the way, and Jax's impeccable
maneuvering, the smaller vessel couldn't shake her relentless
pursuer. Even when the Courageous sought to loop back towards the
Enterprise, Jax, almost as if he were expecting the maneuver, had the
Enterprise beneath the Courageous as the other ship repositioned to
the Enterprise's previous vector. Kanor remembered, suddenly, how
the Courageous' pilot had damaged the docking port at the
Independence One space station due to a very simplistic and foolish
error; their lacking piloting skill was apparent even in combat, it
would seem. The Romulan interceptor, once the crew realized their
commander's ship was the main target, did their best to interfere,
but was largely ignored.
“That's
right, Somers, whose 'relic' is knocking on your do...”
“There
is an energy surge building in the Bender ship!”
Selorus'
exclamation cut Kaz's gleeful muttering short just moments before the
viewscreen was lit up with bright lances of purple-hued light. The
Enterprise lurched as Jax altered their vector drastically, and
Kanor's eyes shifted to the ship's shield readout; their ventral,
starboard, and port shields were all glowing with fresh, powerful
hits.
“HolyfookinbloodyMotherofallthatisholy!”
“Report!”
“The
Bender ship has fired multiple shots into the field! Not as powerful
as their single, already witnessed blast, but significantly more
impactful than normal phasers or disruptors. Courageous has suffered
a direct hit, but is still mobile. The Bleeding Wind....”
Another
flare of light lit up the viewscreen, and Kanor looked up in time to
see one of the Birds-of-Prey exploding, pieces of familiar
green-painted hull flying in multiple directions. The light faded
quickly as the vacuum of space claimed new inhabitants.
“...suffering
a warp core breakdown.” Selorus paused, fingers tapping over his
console before he added. “I detect no survivors.”
Kaz
had resumed his seat in the Captain's chair at some point, his lap
and thigh restraints in place, his jaw flexing.
“No
lifepods launched...?”
“Negative.
They were directly hit by the Benders; the warp core failure
was...swift.”
Drei
spoke up from Communications.
“Incoming
hail, Courageous.”
“Onscreen.”
Alarm
klaxons were sounding in the background of the Courageous' bridge,
now. Kanor saw two crewmembers behind Somers spraying one of their
comrades down as he rolled, screaming in agony, on the deck, flames
from what Kanor guessed to be a plasma leak engulfing his body.
“Dammit,
Kaz, this is on YOUR head!”
“Incoming!”
Selorus called out.
Jax
shouted right over the tail end of Selorus.
“Hold
on to something!”
The
Enterprise lurched to one side, her overhead lights flaring bright,
dimming, then gradually growing back to their standard battle-level
of brightness.
“Courageous
is firing phasers...!”
“Are
you SER...”
The
Enterprise shook under a volley of phaser fire from the Courageous,
and Kanor instinctively returned fire, though missed. Skid chimed in
from the Engineering console, almost a snarl.
“We
can't take on the two of them AND those blasted spooky buggers!”
Selorus
jumped in.
“Sir,
the Bold's engines were disabled by our earlier exchange. The
Bender's first volley was merely a glancing blow, but the last was a
direct hit. I do not believe they will survive the current...”
Kaz
interrupted him before he could finish.
“Jax,
intercept course to the Bold!”
On
the viewscreen, the Courageous flew past them, their newest phaser
barrage narrowly being avoided; Enterprise's rear shields flared up
on Kanor's panel as the Romulan interceptor flew over them from the
opposite direction.
“Easier
said than done, Kaz...!”
Jax's
teeth were gritted tightly as he kept his eyes on his instruments,
spotted hands darting over his controls as Te'ara muttered beside
him, presumably working with him. Kanor did his best to fire at the
two Independence ships that kept harrying them, focusing more on
deterring them from getting good attack vectors than striking hits.
It looked like Jax was attempting to send them towards the drifting
outline of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, the Bold, but the Courageous and
Romulan ship were not making it easy. The Bender ship was
periodically blasting out swaths of energized death, sometimes
slamming into the Enterprise's withering shields. Skid was cursing
prolifically; or at least more so than she usually did, but Jax was
clearly doing the best he could. Kanor watched as the inert Bold was
hit yet again; it merely clipped them, but visible hunks of hull and
armor plating went spiraling. Kanor thought he saw signs of leaking
atmosphere.
“The
Bold will not survive another hit.”
“Te'ara!”
The
Andorian's antennae were nearly lying flat back against her pure
white, puffy hair as she responded to Kaz's curt address.
“...in
tractor range in...one hundred seventy-five...ninety...”
A
blue beam of light shot out on the viewscreen and surrounded the Bold
as the Enterprise flew by, and Kanor felt the deck plating vibrate
beneath his boots. The entire ship shuddered abruptly, his shield
monitor flaring up on the starboard and port sides. He watched the
port side shields crumble and fall entirely. Then the Enterprise
screeched, the deck rumbled beneath him, and a panel behind Kanor
exploded, showering the area behind him with sparks as jagged pieces
of an Engineering readout display spewed out past the circular
railing to hit the flooring in front of Te'ara and tumble a few feet.
Skid's console screeched out multiple alarms before she swiftly shut
them off.
“Bloody
torpedo hit from the Courageous!”
Kanor,
unfazed by the destroyed panel chimed in, as well.
“The
Benders hit our shields on the opposite side simultaneously. Shields
are failing...”
Kaz
snarled.
“Drei!”
Drei
seemed to know what Kaz was going to order before he had spoken, as
he immediately responded.
“Onscreen!”
“Somers,
you ass! Do you not recognize a rescue mission when you see one!?”
Somers'
face came back on their viewscreen in the small window in the corner,
his eyes smoldering with bitter hatred. A medical team was in view
behind him zipping up a body bag amidst a blackened, glistening stain
on the deck.
“Hiding
behind hostages now, Kaz? I expected better of yo...”
Kaz's
voice overrode Somers like a furious parent disciplining a petulant
child; tightly controlled anger held back by sheer force of will,
brooking no argument or discussion. Absolute authority stating what
was going to happen.
“Your
task force is in a shambles, and under attack by a superior force. A
force threatening to destroy more than the one ship that's been lost
already. You disengage, protect and assist your own!”
Somers
looked like he was actually considering interrupting Kaz at one
point, but proved he had a small grasp of the situation, finally, and
remained silent. Selorus interrupted.
“The
Benders are firing yet again...!”
The
crew on each side of the viewscreen took a moment while they evaded
the deadly fire, though Kanor noted Kaz's gaze never let Somers go.
Somers glanced down at a control console before finally responding to
Kaz's expectant silence in the aftermath of the Bender's volley.
“Courageous
is badly damaged, but we are warp capable.” There were a few
moments of terse silence, Somers lips tightening into a grimace
before he finally pushed out the next few words as if his entire
being resisted them. “Ordering Fierce Talon to stand down. We
await...your...orders.”
“Orders”
was practically spit towards Kaz, though Somers refused to lift his
gaze to the Metron.
Kaz
continued glaring at Somers for a couple more seconds, but then
glanced down to his left, his fingers rapidly typing in something on
his chair console.
“Have
the rest of your group rendezvous at these coordinates; Enterprise
will tow the Bold there, where we'll all await the arrival of the
First Squadron.”
Somers'
head snapped up, his eyes incredulous.
“We
can't let those...!”
“Dammit,
Somers! Do you REALLY think we stand a chance against their ship,
even if we WERE all at full strength, which we CLEARLY aren't?”
Somers
growled, and the transmission abruptly ended.
Kaz
sighed, glancing over at Skid.
“Please
tell me you can give me warp power?”
“Think
I'd take warp power over all this bashing dancing around we've been
doin! We're not exactly in a bloody condition to tow the Bold all
the way back to Independence One. As it is, I need to get down to
Engineering to throw some gum around and hope it keeps things
together...!”
“That's
why I'm hoping the Benders don't follow us to these coordinates,
Skid, because I don't want another ship lost in this fiasco.”
“Another
energy surge from the Bender vessel...”
The
Enterprise maneuvered valiantly, but the ship shuddered as one of the
Bender's beams glanced along what remained of their shields. Selorus
gave an update on the situation without being asked.
“The
Fierce Talon has sustained damage, but is engaging their warp
drive...now.”
Kanor
watched the Romulan ship warp away, followed closely by the even more
battered Akira-class vessel, then the Courageous.
“Coordinates
laid in.”
Kaz
sighed deeply, lifting a hand to rub at the Bender-blocking device
still resting over his head.
“Get
us out of here, Jax.”
*************
“The
Bender ship has left the system. Based off of what we have witnessed
before, I would speculate they have engaged their faster-than-light
travel capabilities, however that may operate.”
The
Enterprise, the Bold in tow, had rendezvoused with the rest of the
Independent ships at the specified coordinates, and had been
attempting to make hurried repairs as they all nervously monitored
the Bender ship, at the edge of their long-range sensors, for
pursuit. Skid had left the bridge to jump into the fray down in
Engineering (muttering something about hurrying to get HAL offline),
but the rest of the bridge crew had remained at their posts. Kanor
had spent the time trying to gauge exactly how he could tweak the
Enterprise's weapons to perform better, though it was mostly to keep
himself awake, and divert his attention from thoughts about Marcie.
At Selorus' announcement, a previously unnoticed tension in the air
seemed to relax, almost as if they had all let loose a collective
sigh of relief. Kaz disengaged his lap and thigh restraints and
stood up.
“Drei,
let Somers know we will remain here until the arrival of Admiral
Stapes. Under no circumstances will we allow anyone from any of his
group to board the Enterprise, unless it is due to a medical
emergency and necessity.” He paused a moment, mulling something
over. “Also, let him know as soon we are able, we would be happy
to extend any additional aid they may require.”
“Aye
aye.”
“I'll
be in my office. You have the bridge, Jax.”
Kanor
glanced over at the Trill, whose back seemed to have gotten
straighter as Kaz turned to head towards the turbolift. Kanor mulled
over the situation briefly, tapped a command to place the Tactical
terminal in stand-by, and got up from the chair, struggling around
the curve of the bridge towards the turbolift Kaz was entering while
attempting to cover the screaming protest his body was giving him.
Jax glanced over at Kanor and frowned, appearing as if he were about
to say something, but a glance towards Kaz silenced him. Kaz had
stopped the turbolift doors from shutting as he waited for Kanor
wordlessly.
“That
was...unexpected.”
The
turbolift doors swished shut as Kaz twisted the handle and set the
car going; Kanor leaned against the wall of the car, scrutinizing the
emotions going over Kaz's face, though the Metron was reining them
in.
“I
should have known Stapes would freak the fuck out once communication
was severed. Somers being in charge of that task force shadowing us
was a specifically chosen barb in my side, as well.”
“...are
the two of you always at each others throats?”
Kaz
didn't respond any further, his eyes staring at the turbolift doors.
In the silence, the barely discernible hum of the lift slowed to a
halt as they reached their destination and the doors parted. Kanor
wondered if the loss of the Bloody Wind and her crew weighed on Kaz's
mind; his frankly treasonous acts beforehand hadn't appeared to
bother him at all, so that couldn't be it.
“I'm
heading to my office, Kanor. Stapes and his fleet will be here too
damn soon, which will be followed by what I'm sure will be one hell
of a conversation between the Admiral and myself. Come to my office
after dinner; we'll need to work out the details of your payment.”
“We're
going to get the Federation their package and collect that bounty,
finally?”
“Inevitably;
that's what all this has been about, right?”
Kaz
stepped through the open doors and started heading down the corridor,
producing one of those cigarettes and immediately lighting it, not
even waiting for a response.
“I'll...be
there.”
The
turbolift doors closed, and the car remained still for a moment until
he realized he had not given the computer a destination. He mulled
over the hours he had until this meeting with Kaz after dinner. He
wanted to go visit Marcie, but...he needed sleep. Badly. He gripped
one of the control rods lining the turbolift's walls in a ring and
gave it a twist.
“Deck
five.”
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