The Perseus shook violently under another direct hit.
“Shields are down to thirthy percent, Ma’am,” the Tactical Officer shouted over the shrieking alarm klaxons and the cacophony of frantic voices.
“Helm, get us closer to the Romulans!” M’rroah called out. “Tactical, concentrate fire on the closest enemy and divert all available energy to the shields!”
How stupid she had been. The uncloaked ships had only been a ruse to draw Starfleet forces away from this sector and now she had to fight off two Temrek-class cruisers single handedly. She was sure the Perseus could take one of them, but then the other would tear up the convoy at its leisure. But if she engaged both ships at once her own ship would be caught in the crossfire and regardless how much the Perseus damaged her opponents the Temreks would still be able to deal a devastating blow to the merchant convoy she was supposed to be guarding. Faced with a loose-loose situation M’rroah had decided to take at least some of the Romulans with her, but even her Caitian hunter instincts couldn’t push away the pity she felt for the merchant marine crews who would soon be left defenseless.
“MA’AM! Incoming transmission on a coded Starfleet frequency!” Communications was the last station M’rroah had expected a report from – the Romulans didn’t ask for surrender these days.
“Decode, put it up and pray it’s good news”, the Commander shouted over the chaos that had become her bridge.
For an instance only static filled the bridge as the shouts around her died down in apprehension. Then a new voice came from the speakers, barely audible over the interference.
“USS Perseus, help is on its way. Just hold them a little longer…”
Static drowned out the one hopeful message they had had all day, but Commander M’rroah jumped off her seat and leapt to the middle of the bridge. Her loud laughter and her barred carnivore's teeth frightened every member of her crew more than any Romulan had ever done.
“Tactical! Full torpedo spread on the secondary target! We will hold them both whatever the cost!”
As the torpedoes streaked from the Perseus, the Ops Officer was the first who found the courage to ask what was on everyone's mind. “Who was that, Ma’am?”
M’rroah’s laughter drowned out even the blaring alarm klaxons and for a second everyone but Ops thought she had finally gone mad.
“Oh Lieutenant, that was someone I could never doubt! If she say’s that help is on it’s way I’ll trust my life to her and so should you!”
When she laughed again her crew realized how determined and assured their commander was. Could it really be that this faint transmission held the key to their survival?
* * * * *
“Why are we sent to the Romulan border, Captain?” It was Lieutenant Hagen who asked, but Tarin could see the same question on several other faces around the conference table. “It looks to me like the Cardies are much more of an immediate threat to us than the Romulans.”
Tarin brought up a current map of the Federation on the computer screen behind her before she replied.
“I
assume you are referring to the fact that the Cardassians have cut far deeper
into our space then the Romulans have. As you can see the Cardassians have come
dangerously close to both Betazed and the Trill homeworld over the last few
weeks, while the Romulan border has shifted very little. Still, there are good
reasons to concentrate on the Romulans first. Commander Westmore?”
Alexander Westmore rose and strode over to the display, apparently to study it closely, before he turned around again and addressed the senior officers assembled around the table.
“There are several things you all have to understand about the Cardies and the Romulans. The Cardassians want to grab what they can and then hold on to it, while the Romulans are more interested in the big picture. They are more patient then the Cardassians, but their ultimate goal is a lot bigger. The Cardies want to eat us up, piece by piece, while the Romulans want to swallow us whole. The longer we wait before we show them that we aren’t so easy to take down, the more convinced they will become that we are ripe for the taking.”
Nodding heads around the table assured him that everyone had understood what he wanted to convey, so Commander Westmore continued.
“Another important aspect of the Romulan situation is that they are so close to our border with the Klingons. While we are still formally allied with them, the Klingons have refused to move their forces from the systems they entered when they came to our aid during the first stages of the Romulan attacks. They call it a peacekeeping mission and we call it an occupation, but they are a key factor in keeping the Romulans from invading the Federation. The Romulans are smart enough not to risk a war on two fronts and the Klingons don’t want to waste their forces attacking us only to have the Romulans take away the big prize from their hands after they are weakened from fighting us.”
“Thank you Commander.” Tarin looked from face to face while Westmore took his seat again. “As you can see we need to give the Romulans something to think about. If we can win a few battles against them in rapid succession we could force them back to the planning table, giving us more time to bolster our defenses along the border.”
Captain Veal took a moment to consider if she should reveal the next piece of information to her crew but then decided this was as good a time as any to start trusting her officers.
“What
I am going to tell you now must not leave the confines of this room is that
understood?” Everyone in the room voiced their agreement, so Tarin went on:
“The Federation has started top-secret negotiations with the Klingon Empire to
bring them to talks about the occupied worlds in the Ramatis sector, but
progress on the diplomatic front has so far been slow. If we can show the
Klingons that we are still a force to be reckoned with it could be a lot easier
to convince them to enter into these negotiations. That’s something we can’t
do fighting Cardassians on the other side of the quadrant.”
When
Tarin was sure everyone had realized what could be at stake she continued with
topics of a more immediate importance to her ship. “Now, let’s talk about
what kind of opposition we are most likely to run into. Commander Enikal, would
you give us a short summary of the Romulan forces deployed along the border,
please?”
As
the meeting continued with details about Romulan ship deployments and possible
battle tactics Commander Westmore wasn’t paying much attention. Even for him
it had been difficult to learn about the secret talks with the Klingons, but it
looked like Starfleet Command had entrusted young Captain Veal with the
pertinent information. Now maybe most of Starfleet Command had turned into a
bunch of fools, but that she had this information meant that at least some of
his own high-ups put their faith in the young Captain. Alexander started to
focus his attention again ignoring most of what was going on around the table,
instead concentrating on Captain Veal. Could it be that for the first time his
instincts had deceived him?
*
* * * *
“All
right” Tarin concluded the meeting. “Now that we are all aware of what lies
ahead we should be ready to move out. If there are no further questions you are
all dismissed.”
As
her officers started to head out off the conference room Tarin added:
“Remember people, we launch at 0800 tomorrow. While I should ask you
all to go to bed early, you might just as well enjoy yourself while you can.
Just make sure you don’t enjoy yourselves too much.” Her smile was answered
by soft laughter from most of the officers. ‘Maybe I should take the evening
off myself’ Tarin thought when she noticed that someone was still in the
observation lounge with her.
“Counselor
Lee, is there something I can do for you?”
Catherine Lee folded her hands on the table and looked down at them while she spoke. “Yes Captain, there is something I want to discuss with you, but I am not sure how to say it.”
The seconds ticked by in silence and Catherine realized the Captain just waited for her to make up her mind. She sighed and closed her eyes. After taking a deep breath she said what she had wanted to say for over a week.
“I want off this ship Captain. I don’t think I am fit for this duty and you would be better off taking someone else.”
“Why?” Counselor Lee opened her eyes and looked at Captain Veal. All she could see was curiosity.
Starring out through the large windows she gathered her thoughts again. Catherine had expected a stiff reproach for making up her mind so late, but all Tarin Veal seemed interested in was her motivations. ‘Why am I disappointed?’ Catherine asked herself. ‘Could it be that I was just looking for someone to order me around instead of trying to make up my own mind?’ As true as that sounded, her Captain still deserved an answer.
“Captain, the war has destroyed most of my life. Almost everything I had - people, places, memories - was taken from me. The last thing I want to do is to loose the little I have left by taking this commission. Leaving Earth seems to me like I am turning my back on my past or what’s left of it and that just seems so wrong to me.”
Again Counselor Lee looked down at her folded hands. From the corner of her eyes she could see Tarin standing up and walk over to the chair next to her.
For a moment Tarin sat in silence next to the woman she had selected for the Counselors position. “I see … Mei Hsin.” Being called by her Chinese given name made the Counselor look up just as Tarin continued.
“Tell me about your past.”
* * * * *
As Tarin Veal walked from the turbolift Commander Enikal announced “Captain on deck!”
“As you were.” She waved her crew back to their duties while she started down the ramp towards the Captain’s seat. As she passed by the ship’s dedication plaque Tarin stopped for a moment and ran her fingers over the smooth golden metal. Her eyes were drawn to the lowest part of the plaque where traditionally the ship’s motto was displayed. Unlike other ships in Starfleet the Valkyrie’s motto consisted of just three words – Faith, Courage, Hope.
Straightening Tarin walked toward her seat, taking her time while she surveyed her bridge crew. Lieutenants Hagen and O’Shea sat at the forward stations of Conn and Ops while Commander Enikal was busy with some last minute checks using the small controls next to the First Officer’s seat. Ben Tucker was at the engineering station at the aft of the bridge but turned around as she watched him and gave her a lopsided grin Tarin answered with a wink. Even Commander Westmore had found a place at the aft stations; Mission Ops as Captain Veal noticed. ‘What a fitting place for my political officer’ Tarin thought while she settled down in the bridge’s center seat. On the other hand she had no reasons to complain about Alexander Westmore’s performance so far. During all the crew’s mission briefings Commander Westmore had proven himself to be an efficient if rather distanced officer.
As Tarin started a quick check of her own control panels Catherine Lee walked onto the bridge and took her place at the Captain’s left hand. “I am glad you could join us, Counselor.” Catherine only nodded in reply, but a faint trace of a smile showed around the corners of her mouth.
For the last time ensuring herself that everything was in working order Tarin addressed her Ops Officer. “Miss O’Shea, signal spacedock control and ask for permission to depart the station.”
When Moira O’Shea reported back with the go-ahead signal from spacedock, Captain Veal gave her orders to depart. “Lieutenant Hagen, disengage docking clamps and bring us out of the dock, slow and steady.”
“Aye Ma’am, slow and steady.” Before she carried out the orders Rishana turned in her seat and looked at the Captain. “You know, I knew you were going to say this.”
Smiles and in some places laughter from the former Eclipse crewmembers answered Lieutenant Hagen’s own smile, while others around the bridge started to wonder if the Betazoid helmsmen had just used her telepathic abilities or not.
‘So she still has something of that mischievous streak in her” Tarin thought. ‘Still trying to mess with people’s minds.’
With a warm smile Captain Veal asked: “Then what are you waiting for?”
* * * * *
Tarin was busy copying some of her personal files into the Valkyrie’s database when the comm came to life and Commander Enikal’s voice sounded from the hidden speakers: “Captain Veal, please report to the bridge immediately.”
When the ready room doors opened and she entered the bridge Tarin asked “What is it Dar?”
While he vacated the Commanding Officer’s chair her Bolian XO replied: “We have received a garbled emergency call from a Federation freighter convoy near the Romulan border. It looks like they have come under attack from Romulan ships, but now we have lost all contact.”
“I see.” Tarin turned towards the forward stations. “Lieutenant Hagen, set a course for that convoy, maximum warp.” Not waiting for a confirmation Captain Veal took a step towards Ops. “Time to intercept?” she asked.
“14 minutes at maximum warp”, Lieutenant O’Shea replied and with a nod Rishana Hagen signaled her affirmation from the Conn station.
“Red Alert!” the Captain ordered. “Senior bridge officers to the conference room.” As other crewmembers hurried to take over the vital stations her bridge crew fell in line behind her. ‘This is it,’ Tarin thought. ‘Now we will see what this ship and her crew are made of.’
* * * * *
“What do we know?” Tarin asked even before everyone had time to find a seat in the observation lounge.
It was Lieutenant O’Shea who answered her: “A Federation convoy, designation Romeo-12: One Centaur-class cruiser, the USS Perseus, guarding five merchant marine transports; the Entebe, Tangier, Bavaria, Gantala and Undoro.”
“Damn it!” Dar Enikal exclaimed. “My best uniforms are still on the Gantala.”
Chuckling Tarin Veal cut into the laughter of her senior officers. “Now that we have found a course worthy of our attention what can we do to prevent Commander Enikal’s uniforms from falling into Romulan hands? Is their anything we know about the Romulan ships attacking the convoy?” Her face betrayed nothing of it but the look she gave Commander Enikal showed Tarin’s gratitude towards her XO. While everyone was still highly concentrated his remark had taken the initial strain off the meeting.
It was Dar Enikal himself who answered her: “Initial sensor readings show two Romulan cruisers attacking the convoy. Available data isn’t very precise but suggest they are Temrek-class ships.”
Everyone around the table looked concerned, except for Commander Westmore. “And that is bad news I guess?” he inquired.
“It may be” Tarin replied. “We have faced Temreks in the Lantara sector while on the Eclipse but never had to fight them. Commander Enikal?”
“Yes
Captain.” The Bolian turned towards Commander Westmore. “The Romulans
classify the Temreks as swift cruisers and for good reason. These are about the
fastest Romulan ships you will ever encounter. And they are well armed and well
defended too. Their shields are almost as strong as ours and their weapons are
not to be trifled with.” The XO
walked over to the conference room LCARS access and brought a schematic of a
Temrek-class cruiser on the display.
The
images showed a design unlike any other Romulan ship, distinguished by a large
rectangular superstructure mounted on the ventral hull of a ship that lacked the
graceful curves common to many Romulan vessels – it looked just like a cross
with a box stuck to the underside. As he pointed out the ventral superstructure
of the Temrek the Commander continued: “Nearly all the weapon systems of the
ship are housed in this ‘box’, giving the Temreks an unobstructed field of
fire in almost all directions. Due to this design a Temrek-class cruiser can
bring as many weapon systems to bear on a single target as the Valkyrie
can and maybe even more.”
While
he took his seat again Lieutenant Hagen inquired “What if we attacked them
from above? There are almost no weapon systems on the dorsal side of the ship.”
Captain
Veal shook her head. “No use Rishana. Their crews will expect this maneuver
and simply roll the ship upside down and blast away at us.”
“At
least we have the Perseus on our side. Centaurs are tough ships and
maneuverable enough to avoid the worst of what the Romulans can throw at them.
What do we know about her?” Tarin wasn’t expecting any good news as this
situation was developing, but maybe there was some hope left.
Commander
Enikal used a padd to access the Valkyrie's database. “The Perseus
has taken part in several engagements with Romulan forces, so we can hope her
crew knows what they are doing. Our database has next to nothing on her CO, but
you know how slow the database updates are coming along since we have lost
Memory Alpha.” His voice sounded apologetic even if he was aware that nobody
would blame him for the lack of intelligence.
“Just
tell me what we know,” Tarin requested.
“Only
that the CO is a Caitian, a Commander Mroah, but that’s about it,” her First
Officer answered. “She assumed command of the Perseus about six months
ago and before that she was XO of Deep Space 3.”
Captain Veal starred at him incredulous for a moment before she replied. “I see.” As she recovered from her initial surprise a grin spread across her face. “By the way Commander, the correct pronunciation is M’rroah with a soft M and rolling R.”
Commander
Westmore slightly raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you speak Cait, Captain.”
“I
don’t”, Tarin answered, still grinning. “But when you share your academy
quarters with someone for over two years you learn a thing or two.”
*
* * * *
The
Romulans had moved off for the moment but they were still staying close to the
Federation transports and the Perseus. It was only a matter of time
before they would resume their attack.
“You
are placing a lot of faith in someone who may or may not show up in time to help
us.” Her Executive Officer had leaned closer to M’rroah and spoke softly,
making sure no one on the bridge overheard their conversation.
While
she kept her eyes on the viewscreen the Commander replied in the same manner:
“As I said Sudek, I recognized that voice and when she says she is going to
help us I have no doubt she will try her utmost to do it.”
The
Vulcan XO had his doubts. “You have not told us who this person is so far.”
“Didn’t
I?” M’rroah really hadn’t noticed. “I don’t suppose you would know
her, but that voice belongs to an old friend of mine, Tarin Veal.”
“I know of a Tarin Veal, but it seems likely we are talking about different persons by the same name.” Sudek still looked doubtful. “The Tarin Veal I have heard of is a science officer, best known for her work on the interaction between naturally occurring subspace phenomena and high-frequency radiation beyond the Theta-band spectrum.”
“Oh
I see, you have heard about her after all.” M’rroah turned towards her
Executive Officer. “Believe it or not, but we are talking about the same
person. She switched to the command branch a few years ago. Why she did it is a
long story and I am not sure if...”
The
call from the tactical station cut her short. “Captain! The Romulans are on
the move again. They are coming straight at us this time!”
Commander
M’rroah hit her chair’s armrest with a clenched fist. “Listen up everyone!
I said we are going to hold them both and we will! Helm, try to keep us between
the freighters and the Romulans. Tactical, concentrate fire on one enemy at a
time, but as soon as one of them slips by us hit it with everything we have.”
She
rose from her seat and slowly spun around looking at every face on the bridge
while she activated her communicator for a ship-wide announcement.
“This
is it people. Help is on its way, but if we can’t hold those Romulans long
enough that won’t matter. We have to keep the Temreks from getting at the
transports. Stay sharp, stay calm and do your job. If you follow these simple
orders we may all live to tell the tale of this battle. That is all.”
M’rroah
deactivated the communicator and braced herself for the beating her ship was
sure going to take.
*
* * * *
"What's our plan once we reach the convoy?" Dar asked.
"That
depends on the what we encounter" Tarin replied. She looked from face to
face as she continued: "If the Perseus has managed to hold off the
attack until we arrive I intend to give the Romulans a chance to withdraw. On
the other hand, should the battle be going badly for the convoy we will strike
the Romulans as hard and as fast as we can."
Grim faces around the table told her how unlikely her crew thought a Romulan withdrawal was and silently Tarin agreed with them. The Imperial Navy had been rather cautious over the last few weeks and that they had suddenly decided to attack Federation shipping again made it likely that there was more to this attack then just some commerce raiding. If those Temreks were part of a larger design they wouldn't withdraw until they had achieved what they had come for.
Captain
Veal brought her hands down on the conference table and pushed herself up.
"Let's get to work people."
Once
her officers had headed for the bridge Tarin activated her communicator. "Sickbay,
this is the Captain. Prepare to receive wounded from the other ships once we
have dealt with the Romulans."
*
* * * *
"Understood Captain," Doctor Jascar answered the Captain’s transmission in a flat voice. He remained seated behind his desk and studied the picture of his wife that provided the only personal touch to his office. During the last few days he had been too busy with all the details involved in getting his department set up, but now Theron's mind started to return to his fears and doubts.
Suddenly, and for reasons he would never be able to describe, he noticed something in his wife's face he hadn't thought about on a conscious level for years; the compassion in her eyes. Theron remembered how that had drawn him to Helena in the first place - the way she had always cared about the people around her. Without noticing it he started to smile as he fondly remembered how proud she had always been of him for working so hard to help other people.
When
Doctor Jascar entered sickbay from his office his voice still sounded somewhat
flat but his orders were short and precise. Soon the Valkyrie's medical
department would be ready to deal with any wounded the convoy was sure to have.
*
* * * *
"Time
to intercept?"
"Six
minutes Captain" Rishana Hagen replied.
"Dar,
are we getting any clear sensor readings now?" Tarin inquired.
Since
they had returned to the bridge Commander Enikal had taken over the tactical
station. Now he checked the long-range sensor readouts again. "No. The
Romulans are still jamming on all frequencies."
Captain
Veal’s shrug was barely noticeable. After their attempt to contact the Perseus
had been broken off by the enemy’s jamming she hadn’t expected anything else.
“Let’s just hope the Romulans are as incapable of looking out as we are of
looking in.”
“Not
bloody likely” Commander Westmore muttered from his position at the aft
stations. Tarin was surprised she even heard him. ‘Must be the adrenalin
sharpening my senses’ she thought.
She
became aware that several heads on the bridge had turned in her direction and
she was unwilling to concede the point to Westmore. “Our friends out there
seem determined to have a private party Commander. If they would leave any open
sensor bands for their own use they would risk others using the same frequencies.
They may know that someone is coming, but I am sure they won’t be able to tell
who we are.”
‘Why
didn’t he come to the same conclusion?’ Tarin asked herself. ‘He must have,
and yet he made that remark.’ There was only one explanation she could think
of, one she didn’t like at all. ‘He wanted me to hear him. He is testing me,
maybe even trying to provoke me.’
She
looked over her shoulder at the Strategic Operations Officer, but he had his
back towards her and the display in front of him didn’t reflect enough of his
face to make out his expression. 'Well Mr. Westmore,’ Tarin Veal thought,
‘you may be a tough customer, but on my ship you will learn to play by my
rules.’
*
* * * *
Colorful
streaks of light suddenly formed into a spacecraft as the Valkyrie
dropped out off warp. For a moment the huge vessel seemed to hang motionless
between the stars but then her impulse engines started to propel the
Galaxy-class ship towards the beleaguered convoy.
“Status
Commander Enikal.”
“One
Temrek is moving towards the transports. The other is still engaging the Perseus
and blocking her intercept route.”
“Helm,
course 015 mark 0, full impulse. We are going straight for the Temrek closing on
the convoy.”
“Tactical,
target that Romulan. Prepare for continuous phaser fire and get ready to launch
photons.”
As
the Valkyrie moved to intercept the Romulan cruiser Tarin checked the
sensor readouts on the small repeater displays set into her chair’s armrests.
The transports had all taken some damage, but none of it too severe. Both the Perseus
and the Romulan cruiser keeping her busy had taken much more damage and the Perseus’
warp drive was down. That explained why none of the freighters had tried to make
a run for it. Their only chance had been to stay with their protector, but that
had changed now.
"Moira,
signal the convoy. Tell them to move off while we deal with the Romulans."
But
they had arrived just a few seconds too late. As the Romulan cruiser reached
weapons distance to the Federation freighters several bolts of superdense plasma
shot from the underbelly of the Temrek. The Bavaria and the Undoro
were each hit by two plasma torpedoes, nearly collapsing the shields of both
ships. As the attacker swept around to face the Valkyrie she fired again
on the convoy, this time with her starboard disrupters. The Bavaria took
only a glancing hit that was still powerful enough to bring down her shields
completely. The Undoro wasn't so lucky. Two bright green beams stabbed
through her weakened shields and cut into the ship. A split-second later the
freighter's starboard warp nacelle exploded in a blinding flash of light and
debris trailed behind her as the ship swerved off course.
Ignoring
the rest of the convoy for the moment the Temrek completed its turn and raced
towards the Valkyrie. Now both ships were on a head-on collision course.
"Helm,
start evasive pattern Delta-1 and slow to half impulse. Ops, all available power
to the shields." As the huge starship started to jink to port and starboard
while still heading for the Romulan cruiser Tarin finished her orders: "Tactical,
as soon as he is in range fire phasers and keep the beam on him as long as you
can."
Only
seconds later both ships had crossed the vast distance that had separated them a
moment ago and bright beams of energy lashed through space, orange phaser fire
answered by green disruptor blasts.
The
Valkyrie avoided most of the attacks directed at her, but some of the
enemy's attacks still found their mark. As the Starfleet ship shook under the
onslaught Moira O'Shea exclaimed: "Captain, shields are holding at 75
percent. The regenerative shields really work!" She sounded incredulous.
Tarin
was too busy checking her sensor readings to reply. Commander Enikal had managed
to keep the Romulan ship under constant phaser fire and their enemy's shields
were weakening more and more, but Captain Veal knew that the battle was not over
yet. So far the Romulans hadn't used their plasma torpedoes. Those weapons were
not much use against a constantly evading target, but soon they would get close
enough that the Valkyrie would be unable to dodge them any longer.
"Rishana
prepare for a hard turn to port, course 280 mark 10." As she spoke Tarin
rose and took a step forward. "I expect he will turn in on us trying to
cross our course and fire a torpedo broadside. Once he starts his attack run we
will come to a full stop." Now she turned to the tactical station.
"Dar, as soon as he crosses our bow fire a full torpedo spread at his side
and make every shot count."
"Aye
Ma'am" Lieutenant Hagen answered and Commander Enikal managed a short
"Understood", his concentration still focused on keeping the Romulan
cruiser under constant phaser fire.
Tarin
leaned down to her own controls and pushed a few buttons. The main viewscreen
split in half, on the left displaying the rapidly closing Romulan ship, while
the right showed a tactical view of the battle based on sensor readouts.
The
Captain took a few brisk steps towards the viewscreen. ‘Any second now…’
she tought.
“Rishana
NOW!” While she stayed completely focused on the tactical display part of her
mind still registered how effortlessly her helmsman executed the maneuver but
she had no time to admire Rishana’s skills. Already the Temrek’s crew forced
their ship into a hard turn to follow the Valkyrie.
As
Tarin had expected the Romulans counted on their ship’s greater
maneuverability to get in front of their opponent. Several more disruptor blasts
hit the Valkyrie and this time a heavy jolt told Captain Veal that her
ship had taken some real damage.
“Full
stop!”
They
had just been in time. A barrage of plasma bolts launched from the Romulan
cruiser, aimed at a point in space the Starfleet vessel never reached. Before
they had time to correct their aim their high speed had brought the Romulans
dangerously close to the Valkyrie.
“Fire
torpedoes!”
*
* * * *
Her
ship was finished. Shields had just failed and both torpedo launchers and half
the phasers were destroyed.
While
she knew she should focus on getting her ship out of harm’s way and save her
crew M’rroah couldn’t help but watch the viewscreen instead.
Part
of her mind wondered what kind of Galaxy-class ship had two forward torpedo
launchers as she watched over a dozen bright orange lights race from the
Federation ship towards the Temrek. The crew of the cruiser the Perseus
had been fighting must have wondered the same as suddenly the attack on the
battered Centaur ceased.
*
* * * *
The
high speed of the Temrek made it impossible for Commander Enikal to hit with the
full torpedo salvo, but enough still found their target.
One…
Two… Three…
The
Temrek’s shields failed and suddenly missile after missile impacted on the
defenseless hull of the Romulan cruiser in a blinding explosion of light.
*
* * * *
Captain
Reuter was speechless. A second ago his whole life had passed before his eyes,
but suddenly hope had reappeared.
As
he watched the huge Galaxy-class starship turn towards the surviving Romulan
cruiser a voice from the comm system startled the crew of the Bavaria.
“This
is the USS Valkyrie. Romulan cruiser; withdraw or be destroyed. You have
30 seconds to decide.”
Never
before in his life had Peter Reuter heard a voice more confident and yet so calm.
*
* * * *
It
had taken the Romulan ship less then twenty seconds to go to warp and of her sister
ship only a spreading cloud of dust and debris remained.
“Moira,”
Tarin placed her hand on the Ops Officer’s shoulder, “signal the convoy.
Tell them to stay close to us and resume course for Vulcan at impulse speed. If
they have any wounded they can’t treat themselves they should beam them over
directly to our sickbay.”
Captain
Veal turned towards her First Officer. “Dar, I want a damage report on my desk
in ten minutes.” As the Bolian nodded in acknowledgment Tarin continued.
“Once you finish with the damage report start looking for a reason why the
Romulans have suddenly begun attacking our merchant convoys. See if you can come
up with any pattern to Romulan activity in this sector, anything that explains
why they have gone on the offensive again.”
Tarin
had nearly reached the door to her ready room when she stopped. Without looking
at him she added: “Commander Westmore, I expect you to help Commander Enikal
with his analysis to the best of your abilities. And by that I mean all
resources available to you.”
As
the ready room doors opened before her Captain Veal turned around to face her
bridge crew.
“Well done everyone.” Even without more words her smile and her tone of voice made it obvious to everyone how proud Tarin was of her crew’s performance.
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5