Star Trek: Into The Breach Part Three

Chapter Three: Hidden Surprises
Contested Space, 2573

After an hour of scans, the bridge crew convened in the observation room to discuss their findings.

Dax spoke first. "Whatever weapons they were using, they were pretty powerful. Not even a volley of quantum torpedoes can cause that much damage."

Destron pounded the table with his fist. "Does it matter? They killed innocent people. The proper course of action is swift retaliation. We find a military target and annihilate it."

Torek nodded. "I agree. Everyone, report to battle stations and sound the Red Alert." As if on cue, alarms began to blare, and a panicked voice sounded over the intercom. "Captain! We have Klingon Birds-Of-Prey decloaking in the vicinity!"

The captain swore. "Raise shields and arm weapons!" Turning to the others, he gestured for the bridge crew to follow. "Let's go!"

As they ran, Torek began issuing orders. "Destron, I want a full torpedo spread ready as soon as possible. Dax, find a way to use what's left of the station to our advantage. Varowitz, I want you to boost our impulse power. Tigora, start thinking of evasion tactics." As they nodded, the group filed into a turbolift and took off towards the bridge.

The minute the turbolift doors opened, they headed for their seats. Immediately, the bridge crew carried out their orders. On the viewscreen, three Klingon Birds-Of-Prey hovered in space in front of the Hades. Torek's eyes narrowed.

Dax spoke up. "Captain, there are several exposed quantum fuel rods. If we hit those with focused phaser beams, the resulting explosions would cause a massive subspace distortion, which could interfere with their sensors."

Destron cut in. "Torpedoes armed. Dispersal pattern Centauri-Seven keyed in."

Tigora turned from the helm. "Standing by for evasive action, sir."

Varowitz spoke from his place at the bridge Engineering station. "If we route emergency power to propulsion, we could use the impulse manifolds for a seven-second impulse boost."

Torek nodded. "Commander, lock phasers on the quantum fuel rods, and fire the torpedo spread on my mark. Lieutenant, evasive pattern Theta-Orion on my mark. Ensign, route emergency power to propulsion. Lieutenant Commander, try to hail the center ship."

The crew carried out their orders with precision. On the screen, the Birds-Of-Prey remained motionless, like the agents of Death, waiting for the right moment to ensnare their prey. Behind the Klingon ships, the remains of Deep Space K-7 drifted in the void. Torek could see pieces of Klingon vessels floating in the debris. At least our guys went out fighting, he thought.

Dax interrupted his thoughts. "Captain, the Klingons are responding."

He nodded. "Onscreen."

The view of the destroyed station and the Klingon starships was replaced by the view of the interior of a Klingon command bridge. In the captain's chair of that ship sat a muscular, violent-looking Klingon.

The Klingon spoke in guttural tones. "Federation starship, I am Commander Gar'Tal. This sector is now Klingon territory. Withdraw or be destroyed."

Torek shook his head. "Not a chance. You have attacked a Starfleet outpost and have slaughtered countless innocents. It's my job to bring you to justice."

Gar'Tal laughed mockingly. "There are no innocents in war. I give you one last chance. Withdraw, or die."

Torek sneered. "Bring it on." Motioning to Dax to close the channel, he stood. "Commander Destron, fire photon torpedoes!"

From the Hades, a cluster of photon torpedoes rocketed towards the Birds-Of-Prey. The shields of each ship lit up as they tried to absorb the damage. The center ship responded with a volley of disruptor fire.

On the bridge, the deck shook. Dax checked her console's readout. "Forward shields holding at eighty-four percent." On the screen, the two Birds-Of-Prey flanking the center ship seemed to dissolve. Dax confirmed what they were seeing. "The flanking vessels are cloaking, Captain."

"Probably trying to cut off our escape," said Torek. The deck lurched as Gar'Tal fired again. Torek clenched his fists. "Lieutenant, engage! Commander, focus phaser fire on Gar'Tal's vessel!" The Hades began to move, pelting the Bird-Of-Prey's shields with phaser beams. As it passed, the other two Klingon ships decloaked behind the Hades, and emptied a salvo of disruptor fire into the ship's shield grid.

On the bridge, circuit nodes sparked as they overloaded. Dax manipulated her console controls, trying to sort out the damage reports. "Aft shields down to thirty-seven percent, and an EPS conduit has ruptured on Deck Seven!"

Varowitz entered a command on his console. "Repair team is en route."

Torek's mind raced. "Tigora, take us into the debris, and decelerate to a safe speed. Dax, divert available power to aft shields and compensate." The starship began to weave in and out of the debris surrounding the station, with the three Birds-Of-Prey in pursuit.

As he watched the massive floating pieces of wreckage drift by on the screen, Torek issued his next set of orders. "Lieutenant Tigora, move us closer to the station and prepare to bring us about. Commander Destron, stand by to fire on the quantum fuel rods on my order. Lieutenant Commander Dax, send out a distress call." A torpedo zoomed past them, detonating against a piece of debris.

Torek jumped to his feet. "Fire aft torpedoes!" As Destron carried out the order, Torek could imagine the photon torpedoes soaring out of the aft launcher. Dax spoke up two seconds later. "Captain, Gar'Tal's vessel has been destroyed. Two hostiles remaining."

As if to drive the point home, the deck bucked abruptly. Varowitz fell backwards just seconds before his engineering console erupted in a shower of sparks. Circuit nodes in the walls overloaded, and some exploded. As the fire-suppressant systems kicked in, Torek gripped his chair's armrests. "Report!"

Varowitz pushed himself to his feet and tried to wave away the smoke coming from his console. After a few experimental button presses, he shook his head. "My board's down. It'll take at least three minutes to repair by myself."

Dax coughed, waving one hand to clear the air around her. "I've got the damage report. Aft shields are down, and we've taken a direct hit to our port nacelle. Engineering reports multiple wounded officers. Medical teams are being dispatched."

Torek repressed his anger. It would just cloud his judgment. "Helm, bring us about. Commander, I want a full phaser and photon torpedo barrage, maximum power. Lieutenant Commander, divert emergency power to weapons."

The Hades banked sharply, turning to face it's pursuers. Then, it let loose with an onslaught of weapons fire. One Bird-Of-Prey was obliterated in seconds. The final ship broke away and warped out of the sector.

The captain looked around at the amount of damage that had been caused. The Klingons had definitely been upgrading their offensive capabilities.

"Captain," Dax said, a look of confusion on her face, "We're being hailed. It's Admiral Kevton, onboard Deep Space K-7."

Torek frowned. "Our earlier scans showed no life signs."

Dax checked her board. "They do now."

Shaking his head, Torek turned to face the viewscreen. "Put the admiral onscreen."

Immediately, the view went from the wreckage of multiple ships floating in space to Kevton's office on the station. The admiral himself stood in the center. He was an elderly Andorian, his face lined with scars. He seemed distraught. "Starfleet vessel, please identify yourself."

Torek tried to sit straighter in his chair. "I am Captain Torek of the USS Hades. We were sent to search for survivors. Our initial scans turned up negative, and we were reviewing our compiled data when we encountered hostile Klingon forces. We managed to destroy two of them, but the third ship retreated. Tell me, Admiral, how did our initial scans fail to detect you?"

The admiral smirked slightly. "It was my paranoia that saved me. Shortly after I was posted here, I requested for a personal life-support system to be installed for my office, as well as a sensor scrambler and a personal power generator. I'm lucky I survived so long."

Torek held up his hand. "One moment, sir." When the admiral nodded, he turned to Dax. "Open a channel to Starfleet Command, and synchronize it to this frequency. They need to hear this." Once she confirmed the connection, Torek turned back to Kevton. "Admiral, how in the world did the Klingons do so much damage?"

Kevton shuddered. "It was absolutely horrific. Everyone was just doing what they always do. I was in my office, finishing my daily report to Command. Out of nowhere, an armada of twenty or more Klingon ships decloaks in the system. People were rushing everywhere, panicking and screaming. Then, one of the Klingon vessels, a Negh'Var-Class warship, starts moving in. We raised what shields we had, and that's when the warship starting emanating a strange energy signature. Before we could react, it accelerated and slammed into the station at near-light speed. I'm surprised my office is still in one piece after that explosion. We had several ships stationed in the sector. They put up a heroic struggle. They managed to take out half the Klingon armada before they were all destroyed."

Akeza interrupted. "Sorry, Captain, but an Excelsior-Class starship has entered the sector and is hailing us. It's the USS Flame."

Torek nodded. "Open a channel."

The voice of the Flame's captain sounded through the speakers. "This is Captain Arnold Melwut. We're responding to the distress call you sent. Looks like we're late."

Torek smiled. "We fought them off, but I think it's time this ship was retired. I'm asking Command for a new ship as soon as we return to Earth."

Melwut tried unsuccessfully to contain a laugh. "Understood, Captain. We'll beam up the admiral and finish investigating the area. You're free to head back. Melwut out."

Kevton nodded. "Good luck, Captain." With that, both channels were closed.

With a heavy sigh, Torek tried to relax. "Varowitz, do we have warp capability?"

Varowitz nodded. "Up to warp six, sir."

Torek turned to the helm. Tigora, set a course for Earth. Warp five. Engage as soon as we clear the debris."

Tigora began inputting the coordinates. "Aye, Captain."