Confrontation

Posted on 14 Jan 2017 @ 9:57pm by Captain Harvey Geisler & Commander Thiago Teixeira & Commander Terry Walsh & Commander Jayla Kij & Lieutenant Commander Arjin Djinx & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Lieutenant Elizabeth Marion & Lieutenant Avery Stuart Ph.D. & Lieutenant Jarith Roshe & Lieutenant JG Samantha Lopez & Lieutenant Commander Gemma Alexander & Lieutenant JG Michael Griffin & Master Warrant Officer Karyna Fordyce

8,922 words; about a 45 minute read

Mission: Click Three Times
Location: USS Black Hawk || Various
Timeline: MD11 || 1115 hours

Harvey had been on the bridge the moment the asteroid field entered extreme sensor range. So far, the Black Hawk's sensors had confirmed the probe's telemetry. There was lots of damage, debris, and active weapon platform signatures.

They had also picked up two Confederation ships on an intercept course, matching the configuration of the five they'd encountered just after exiting the Hadyn Nebula. As soon as they were ten minutes away from their destination, Harvey had renewed the red alert status as it had been active for the last few hours. A fresh reminder to all would serve to reenergize the crew at large, especially since they were likely outmatched and outgunned. There would be no turning back now, no second chances.

Joey didn't necessarily have a battle station on the bridge. The second Red Alert sounded, she was on an intercept course for the Black Hawk's Commanding Officer. Her main purpose for being there was to protect the Captain at all costs, not to mention anyone else that was currently on the bridge. She stood just off to the side of him with her hand placed on her phaser, ready to use it if it was needed, and a very large part of her hoped that it wouldn't be.

As the red alert sounded, Camila immediately left the office she had been using as the acting XO and headed down to the auxiliary bridge they had set up in Engineering. While she hadn't planned to fall asleep after she had written her personal log, sleep had decided to claim her until it was time for her duty shift. As yet, she wasn't sure if it were a good thing or if she should have forced herself to stay awake.

Now she found herself wide awake as she stepped out of the turbolift and went into the room being used. "What have we got?" she asked as she looked at the tactical information coming in from the sensors.

"Captain... there are currently two ships on an intercept course. Considering we're here to rescue our ship and people, we can't let them get too close to us or chances are we'll suffer the same fate," Joey stated.

"Looks like we've got company," Harvey announced to his temporary executive officer. "Raise shields. Arm all weapons. Photons in odd tubes and quantums in the even ones," he ordered. With the ship's six forward launchers, and the eight launchers in the rear pods, he certainly was going to put up the best fight he could muster.

Joey nodded her head as she raised the ship's shields, but she was a bit skeptical. They weren't in any shape to to take on two ships. Wasn't that why they ran when they got into this godforsaken universe? "Captain... perhaps we should consider other... safer... options. Like using two of the shuttles we acquired from the Chimera, loading them with torpedoes and sending them after the ships." She was prepared for the idea to be shot down, but she had to say something.


===SECURITY===

Cooper was sleeping, fully uniformed in a Cot in the Security Command Center, helping as needed to make sure everything would be ready to get their people back. And she'd meant to lay down just a minute before returning to Tactical Country. She was up and on her feet before her brain caught up with the sound of Red Alert. She spun town the master readouts as a crewman reported, "Lt. Corwin at tactical controls on aux bridge." Cooper nodded heading for the master console, =/\="Cooper to Corwin, Tactical and Security is at full readiness, where do you need me?"=/\= Her feet wanted to move but she forced them still, wasted action was not useful action as her martial arts instructor once told her.

=/\="Arm all weapons, Lieutenant. Photon torpedoes in odd tubes, quantum in even ones."=/\= Crowin instructed.

=/\="Spinning up, reporting to Tact Center."=/\= Cooper said acknowledging. Giving orders as she hauled jets to the Tactical Command Center deep in the depths of the ship. She could control everything she needed from there if needs be and coordinate with Lt. Corwin. Also as a side benefit it kept with the old adage of not putting all ones departmental command staff in one place for the enemy to blow up.

Tactical personnel rushed to ensure the proper load of torpedoes in the correct pattern, their movements swift but not panicked due to long experience and training.


===FLIGHT DECK===

As soon as the Red Alert sounded, Terry tapped a sequence into his monitor that opened a commlink to the Flight Deck. "Condition Red! Condition Red! All starfighters to hot standby! Recall all pilots immediately!" Terry ended the transmission and got up, quickly jogging out the door of the Flight Deck office. He was headed to the locker room to suit up.

Galahad was asleep on three chairs in the briefing room, a PADD on his face. He, very gracefully, fell to the floor when the alarm went off then staggered to his feet and ran as adrenaline coursed through him.

Archer looked up from checking her craft and immediately spun to grab her helmet.

Aurilia entered the Flight Deck already in her flight suit and headed over to her Peregrine with her helmet in hand. She began to do a pre-flight inspection of it and barked orders that the maintenance crew while checking it.

Striker jogged onto the flight deck, straight over to her craft, climbed up inside and took her helmet off the dash, placing it onto her head. She then started her pre-flight checklist.

Terry came out onto the Flight Deck, helmet under arm, and jogged to his Valkyrie. He could see that some of the others were already seated in their fighters and nodded. He liked their urgency and speed. The others were climbing inside or still en route to theirs. He came up to where his fighter was parked and halted. "Is she ready?" he called out to the Crew Chief.

The blonde Crewman came around the port wing, her ponytail bobbing as she ran. "It is, Commander. All prepped, loaded, and ready to fly. That issue with the structural integrity field was corrected last night. "

"Excellent," Terry said, as he finished a very quick pre-flight walk-around. He put the helmet on and climbed into the cockpit. He powered her up and started a quick systems check. Everything was looking good when he switched one of the screens over to the squadron. One by one, he watched as the small icons turned green indicating that his team was getting ready. Terry activated the commlink for the squadron and spoke, "Alpha Flight ready. Flight Leaders, report."

"Bravo Flight reports ready, Rocco," said the Betazoid. This wasn't his first combat mission by any means. But it was the first where he didn't have that much information. And that bothered him.

"Charlie flight ready boss!" Sam said, looking over at Sito in the craft next to her, giving him a small nod. She knew this was going to be one of their hardest missions, but she knew it had to be done.

Aurilia put her helmet on and got into her Peregrine and took a deep breath as she powered it up and ran a check. She swallowed hard and for a moment wished she had a bottle of liquid courage, but knew that she couldn't go back to that. She waited for the orders from Rocco as she looked out of the cockpit and imagined what was to come.

Sito climbed in his fighter and went through a rushed pre-flight check. Archer sat in her hers just finishing.
=/\="Galahad reports ready"=/\= He said over the shared comm link for pilots. =/\="Archer reports ready." Alexander said looking over her instruments. The cockpit of the craft surrounding her as familiar as her own fingers. Everytime pilots climbed into these, what some called 'death boxes', in combat they never knew if it would be their last. There were safety measures but but odds were if you needed them you were already blown up. Archer didn't think on that, she focused on her duty and routine.

Sito gave Sam a jaunty salute then returned his attention to his craft.


===SICKBAY===

Jayla, who had been zoning out at her desk while she was supposed to be working on a report, snapped to attention at the red alert. She rushed out into main Sick Bay to see that the doctors and nurses were already scrambling to check on patients and ready for injuries. Good. That was good. Now, what did she have to do? Oh! Right! She had one patient left in Sick Bay. No, strike that, two. Adan was still in the stasis pod. She had to check on the symbiont as well as the young Bajoran officer who was recovering from severe injuries.

Peeta had been topping up his medical kit when the red alert sounded. "Here we go again..." He muttered to himself. He walked over to Jayla. "Where do you want me stationed boss?" He asked, shouldering his bag.

Jayla's mind was glad of something to do to keep her mind off of what was going on in her head, so she jumped on the question. "Take three more nurses and set up triage on the flight deck," she said. "Get ready for anything."

Peeta nodded at Jayla, walking over to the nurses station, and picking 3 nurses to go with him.

Avery emerged from her office into the organized chaos of the main ward. "Want me to assist in triage like usual, Doctor?" Avery asked Jayla.

"Absolutely," answered Jayla. "Anything you can do would be appreciated. I want teams of four on every other deck. I don't want to be caught without power and having to crawl through Jeffries Tubes again. That was awful."

"Agreed," Avery offered with a nod, not relishing the idea of having to crawl through the tubes while the ship was rocking and rolling any more than Jayla did. "I'll get right on it."

Lucas, like other medical personnel, was currently preparing for the worst. The large man seriously hoped they didn't see an influx of patients come through as they had days before, but considering how exhausted and overworked the entire crew was, it could happen. He scanned the faces present in an effort to locate Lieutenant Blake, but he didn't see her. Then again... it was next to impossible to see someone of her stature through the sea of bodies moving around.

But... she'd been sent down to Security for a medical emergency hours ago, and he hadn't seen her since. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen a report come through regarding the incident. That struck him as odd. Dani was extremely thorough when it came to things like that. When he was done with what he was currently doing, he'd have to look into that and bring it to Doctor Kij's attention.

T'Lura checked Sickbay's medkits, and made sure they were fully stocked. She walked from biobed to biobed, and powered them up, getting ready for the worst.

Two Security personnel appeared at the entrance to Sickbay and took up positions as they waited for potential boarders and trouble.


===MAIN ENGINEERING===

Lieutenant Elizabeth Marion was just about to hand off a routine maintenance assignment to a repair team when the Red Alert klaxon began to sound. She immediately brought up a situation report that had been sent down from the Bridge Operations console and began rerouting personnel where they would be needed most during a battle.

"I want damage control teams sent to standby positions at all the shield generator control rooms. The modifications I made are touchy and if the adaptive matrices give out, people are going to have to pull them fast to keep the shields from collapsing," Lt. Marion yelled out over the wail of the alert, "I also want at least one team on stand by at each of the breach points where we haven't finalized hull repairs. Take mobile force field generators down there and reinforce those sections of the ship. If they know anything about what this ship has been through, they'll pick on those points before they pick on anything else."

Michael would be quick to delegate the orders further down the line, with the Chief in Engineering there was little reason for him to stay there as well and the teams could use all the help in anticipating nearly every possible point of failure, as such he would head up one of the teams going for the shield generator control rooms.

A few minutes later, two Security officers entered Engineering and took up unobtrusive positions where they had a line of sight to the warp more and the entrance ways.


===OPERATIONS===

Two Security officers showed up at the computer core and took positions where they wouldn't be in anyone's way and double checked their phasers.

Bob the Efrosian took note of the Security officers' appearance near the computer core, and steeled himself for what was to come.


===SCIENCE LAB 1===

Arjin was busy making further analyses from the data they still owned, trying to find a way home when the red alert sounded.

He lifted his head and went off towards the auxiliary bridge where he would be taking his post.

"I want every available personnel to analyse any data sent here as quickly as possible and relay your findings to my computer at the auxiliary bridge.", he added before leaving.


===AUXILIARY BRIDGE===

Lt Burke ran a quick systems check, making sure all of the Black Hawk's systems were up and running. They were still showing a lot of battle damage from the Consortium encounter in the nebula, as well as multiple hull breaches, but for now they were running as good as they would get.

"Mister Burke," Harvey said, standing by the viewscreen with his arms crossed in front of him. "Start scanning for the Cochrane's transponders. Begin hailing the ship on all private Starfleet frequencies. Let's not draw too much attention to our search."

"Aye, Sir!" replied the young Operations officer.

"Miss Di Pasquale, have all fighters on standby launch. Their target will be one of the Confederation ships. Engines and weapons only. We're not interested in people dying."

=^=Di Pasquale to Commander Walsh, put the fighters on standby and prepare to have them target engines and weapons only one one of the ships.=^= Camila said as she tapped her combadge.

Terry heard the order come through from the Bridge and activated the link. =^=Walsh here, Black Knights ready to launch on your command, Lieutenant. Standing by.=^= All of the Flights had reported in ready and he was a little itchy, truth be told.

"Miss Corwin, that's the same to you. We want to cripple, not destroy. Let's get our guest escorted up here in the meantime." They did only have a few minutes before company arrived.

"Yes, Captain," Joey said. She didn't want to leave the auxiliary bridge without an able Security officer there, not that Camila wasn't, but she was the acting XO. With that in mind, she tapped her combadge to have their guest escorted to them. In her defense, she didn't want to kill anyone... but she did want to hurt them a little. After all, they were the reason the other ship and crew were missing in the first place.

"Helm, take us out of warp. Full impulse." As the ship dropped out of warp, Harvey instructed, "I know the density of the asteroid field won't help our sensors, but we can start hailing the Cochrane on secure frequencies. That might help us find her faster. What do you think, Mister Burke?"

"Yes, Sir!" confirmed Burke. "Scanning for a Federation Warp signature now. But scanning the entire asteroid field could take up to six hours."

"I'm picking up the two ships on sensors, Captain," Joey said.

"How soon until they're in weapons range?" Harvey asked the temporary Chief of Security.

"They're two minutes to weapons range," the Security officer reported, hoping this would go relatively smooth.

"Maintain course and speed," Harvey said. "We're going into that asteroid field."

Two armed Security officers appeared on the bridge with Kr'ozzu between them. They stopped near the Captain to await further orders.

Lieutenant Jarith Roshe had been in position near the Captain on the auxiliary bridge when the updated red alert sounded. At that time, his Betazoid senses detected the urgency on the Black Hawk, but the alien vessels were a considerable distance for him. Ahey drew closer, He was certain they were not as confidant as before. To the Captain, he said, "They sent two larger vessels after our last encounter. They are not certain they'll be able to take us like they did the Cochrane. As for our guest, he seems resigned to the inevitable."

"I don't think they're here for us," Harvey remarked, knowing that the young lieutenant hadn't been briefed on the whole situation. "If they were, certainly we'd be facing more than two."

"What is going on, Captain?" demanded Kr'ozzu. "Why have you brought me here to see what you did to this installation?"

"We did nothing," Harvey countered, refusing to look at the Karemma. "But it looks like there's been an incident of some kind."

"Sir," called out Burke. "We're being hailed by the lead ship. Calling itself the B'Intang."

"Figure out which ship that is. And, on screen," Harvey ordered. He looked to the viewscreen just in time to see the familiar visage of D'rimo appear.

"Captain Geisler," D'rimo snarled, seeing the man who escaped him before. "This is not how I wanted to meet again."

"Believe me, D'rimo, there are a lot of things in the last few days that I would like to do over," Harvey said. The fact that D'rimo now knew his name did not escape him. "You have learned a lot about us since our initial encounter, so I will waste no time. I want the Cochrane back, and her crew. You have one minute to surrender her location, or we will engage."

Lieutenant Roshe stood stolid, not wanting his reaction to be revealed on his face. Inside, he knew something was up. The Cochrane...

Whispering in Geisler's ear, Jarith said, "I suspect that the Cochrane has escaped. It's something I'm sensing from their leader, that he can't give you the Cochrane."

Harvey turned and gave the Betazoid Lieutenant a glare. Here the Black Hawk was in a tense situation, and the man was telling Harvey something he already knew. If anything, he hoped that the Betazoid would recognize that the Captain of the ship had the situation under control and knew what he was doing.

Burke walked up to the Captain. With his back to the viewscreen, he whispered in the Captain's ear. "Sir, I've detected a pattern in the asteroid field's movement. I believe there was an explosion here about twenty-four hours ago. But there's no sign of Federation debris at the explosion site."

D'rimo had taken notice of the different crew members quickly approaching their captain. Either the man was not well organized or something foul was afoot. "You and your... Cochrane are in violation of Confederation space. Your ships are forfeit. Stand down and surrender your vessel, or we will take it by force."

Harvey made motions to both officers at his sides to back away. "We'll get what we came for D'rimo. One way or another."

He jabbed his thumb across his throat and turned towards the bridge crew. "This is life or death now, everyone. Remember that. Launch the squadron, have them assume a defensive formation. Lieutenant Corwin, target D'rimo's ship, but do not fire. We wait for them to fire first per the rules of engagement."

Joey took a deep breath. "Acknowledged, Captain, targeting D'rimo's ship," she said, moving her fingers over the console in front of her. Since coming aboard, just about every situation they'd come across was life or death. Why should this time be any different? Now... it was a waiting game. If the Confederation vessel fired upon them, hell could be unleashed.

"Mister Burke, narrow your scan parameters to Starfleet hull plating. That should reduce the time."

"Aye, Sir!" replied Burke, grateful for the suggestion. He recalibrated the sensors to scan for duranium hull plating. He knew he had probably made a faux pas by delivering his message to the Captain during the communication with the Karemma, but he felt it was a vital piece of information to pass along. He only hoped his inexperience in such matters wouldn't be held against him.

"And Mister Roshe," Harvey said, looking towards the Betazoid. "Have a seat and wait for me to call on you."

Without another word, Jarith seated himself near the Captain. He had made a serious mistake not following protocol and he knew it. There was no excusing it and he would expect a reprimand at a later date. He could have jeopardized the ship and its crew and for what? Telling the Captain something he already knew? Privately, Jarith chided himself over and over.

"Di Pasquale to Walsh," Camila said as she tapped her combadge. "Launch the squadron and form a defensive position."


===FLIGHT DECK===

Terry grinned behind his helmet and activated the comm link. "Rocco to Black Knights, we have the launch order. Once out there, form a defensive position around the Black Hawk. Rocco out." He was already disengaging the mag-locks in the deck plating under his fighter's location and raising off the deck. When he finished passing along the orders, he moved his fighter out of the bay as fast as possible and took up a defensive position above the Bridge. He obviously left enough space between them for either ship to maneuver. "Alpha, on me. Bravo, port. Charlie, starboard.

Aurilia released the mag-locks hold the Peregrine in place and brought it up up and moved to Rocco's port side. "Tango is hot and ready to go," she said.

Sito took his position behind and to Sam's side as Archer flowed smoothly into her take off position near Rocco's other side.

Sam looked around, making sure her whole flight was in position. "Here we go again!" She said, releasing the mag locks for her craft. Sam opened a comm channel to Charlie flight. "You heard the boss, we got starboard, keep eyes peeled and watch each others backs. Striker out." She said, switching back to the squadron frequency.


===USS Cochrane Bridge===

In the last 24 hours, the Cochrane's crew had managed to get the Intrepid-class ship operational again. It wasn't 100%, but it had functional power, weapons, and engines. He'd managed to get sensors operating within 14% of normal. Things were certainly looking up, but they weren't perfect. Shields and structural integrity were still an issue, ship-to-ship communications were still offline, and they'd had to scavenge some parts to repair other systems from things like replicators, transporters, and turbolifts so they were eating rations and using the Jefferies tubes. Lots of jury-rigging and more than a little innovation and luck, but they were ready to get underway.

Teixeira looked around. Everyone was at their stations; Marley at the helm, Starkweather at Ops, Owens at Tactical, and Fordyce, immobilizer in place on her leg, was at Science. Jonas, the Deltan engineer who had been so useful during their escape, was manning the Engineering console.

"Jonas, tell the Chief to stand ready with the engines," he called out. He'd appointed Senior Chief Catangay, a seasoned damage control specialist, as acting Chief Engineer.

"Bridge to Engineering," Jonas said, following the order. "Stand by on engines." After the acknowledgement came back, he turned to the commanding officer. "Engineering reports ready."

"Notify all sections that we're leaving the surface Mister Starkweather. Let's get moving. Take it easy though Marley."

Ian's slender fingers glided across his console. "Attention all hands," he informed them, "prepare to depart." Instantly, all stations reported in.

Turning to Teixeira, he said, "All stations reporting ready when you are, Sir."

Marley activated the thrusters and the Intrepid class ship began to rise off of the surface of the asteroid that they had been on while making repairs. Her fingers moved over the helm as she made minor adjustments and retracted the Cochrane's landing gear before she angled the ship away from the large rock they had been on while the repairs were being done. "We're clear of the asteroid, Commander," she said.

"Engineering reports all systems are holding within acceptable parameters," Jonas reported.

"Find the Black Hawk," Teixeira ordered.

Karyna began scanning for Federation signals, emissions, hull materials, anything that would indicate the Black Hawk was nearby.


===USS BLACK HAWK===

The Confederation ships entered the Black Hawk's firing range, quickly announcing their knowledge of this by firing on the Black Hawk. Harvey, who was standing, kept his footing as the deck shuddered. He was quite grateful the modifications to the shields were holding, keeping this from ending terribly. "Target engines only. Open fire. Engage the squadron."

To himself, Harvey muttered, "Where are you, Teixeira? Please be here."

=^=Engage the ship, Commander Walsh,=^= Camila said. =^=Engines only.=^=

The second the Black Hawk was fired upon and the deck shuddered, Joey tapped her combadge. =^= Corwin to Cooper... fire torpedoes. Target weapons only. =^= She closed the link and moved her fingers over the console, locking phasers on the ship's engines and firing. Sadly, their shields held up, but that wasn't going to stop the Lieutenant from trying.

From the Tactical Command Center Cooper could see everything and control the ships weapons from here. She stood at the console, they had locked on to weapons and had been trying to maintain the lock, awaiting orders. =/\="Understood, we have a lock...firing now..."=/\=. Cooper's hands flew over the console like a mini dance but smooth in its efficiency, not a motion wasted. The prepared torpedoes streaked out from the ship on their prearranged path, making for the enemy weapons hubs. The crew began to automatically load the same prearranged set up of torpedoes preparing for the next volley.


===SPACE===

=^=Understood,=^= said Terry. =^=Rocco to Knights, engage the lead ship, engines only. Remember, if we can knock out their impulse engines, we'll all have a chance. And stay clear of that polaron weapon. Alpha, stay with me, we'll provide a distraction. Bravo Flight, cover Tango for her torpedo run.=^= Terry quickly brought up the Confederation ship's engines on a screen as his fighter darted forward at full impulse. He pulled her around in a Sierra-One maneuver and swooped in from an aft dorsal angle, opening fire on the lead ship's engines. As his phaser shots landed, Terry could see the shields flicker around that area. =^=It's going to be a tough nut to crack. So let's give it all we've got.=^=

Aurilia peeled away from Rocco and executed a Sierra Four, bringing the Peregrine up from beneath the target and looped up over it while firing her phasers as she waited for Bravo Flight to give her some cover for her attack run.

=/\="Acknowledged Rocco, let me know when and we'll make it loud and obvious..." Archer said her hands on the controls as her eyes skimmed the instruments and the space around them.

Terry took a quick look at the monitors in front of him. One...two...three...and Bravo was almost ready. =^=Alright Alpha, go!=^= he said into the comm. Terry lead an assault on the Confederation ship. Hopefully this would be enough of a distraction for Bravo Flight and Tango to at least weaken the shields around the engines.

Sito took his position near Lopez, =/\="Striker, Lady My Lady, lead and I will follow..." He said a smile in his voice and a fierce look on his face as he settled into position, checking systems.

=/\="Shall we go join the party Sito?" Sam asked, smiling inside her flight mask.

=/\="Wouldn't be a party without us My Lady." =/\= Sito quipped and kept in tight.

The Bravo Flight lead, Lieutenant Ap'eth had already formed her flight around the Peregrine as ordered. =^=Ap'eth to Tango, we are in place,=^= spoke the half human, half Klingon woman. =^=And it would seem our distraction has begun. Lead the way.=^=

=^=Acknowledged Ap'eth=^= Aurilia said as she increased speed to the Peregrine after the other pilot had formed up with her and began a high speed run on the ship that was their target. She unleashed barrage after barrage of phaser fire at the shields in the hope of punching a hole through it, following the phaser bursts with two torpedoes before she reloaded and arched away.

Ap'eth stayed with Aurilia as she made her run. The Lieutenant was able to land a few shot of her own on one of the weapons that was firing at them, but to avail. The Commander was right, this wasn't going to be an easy battle. Of course, none of them were. She watched as four other Valkyries belonging to her Flight careened by, two port and two starboard, as they arched away. But as she turned her fighter away from the enemy ship, one of it's weapons impacted her shields and rocked the fighter.

Ap'eth growled, something she hadn't done in a while. =^=Shields are weakened!=^= The half Klingon woman was glad that the Valkyries had the Defiant-style ablative armor built right into the hull itself. She pulled alongside Aurilia and grinned behind her helmet. =^=Let's do this again.=^=

Aurilia laughed at the half Klingon pilot's willingness and swung back around. =^=Time to shake and bake!=^= she said as she released another barrage of phaser fire before the Peregrine took a direct hit. She spun off and veered away in a feint before she pulled back and released another salvo of torpedoes at the enemy ship. Seeing her shields had taken a beating, she began a more evasive flight pattern and waited for another opening.

This time Ap'eth laughed, along with her wingperson. Until she saw her spin off. She was about to call the redhead and check when she saw her regain control and unleash fire on the enemy. =^=Qapla' Aurilia! Battle like a Klingon and we shall celebrate like one when this over!=^= She pulled her fighter up and away after taking a few more shots and launching some torpedoes of her own.

Aurila swung her fighter into an Immelman turn and rolled until it was right side up again and headed back towards the engines. =^=On my mark.=^= she said as she fired two Type J and three Type VII phaser bursts at the spot she had been weakening. With a flare out, the shields in that area went down and she smiled. =^=Now!=^= she said as she launched four photon torpedoes through the breech in the shields and watched with satisfaction as three of them made it and exploded against the engines.

A smile crept across Ap'eth's face. They had done it! She followed suit and fired all available phasers right before she launched three torpedoes. As they impacted, she hit her comm, =^=Ap'eth to Rocco, shielding around the engines is penetrated. Aurilia has succeeded.=^=

=^=Understood, Ap'eth. Rocco to squadron, concentrate fire on Tango's targeted area. Disable those engines and hopefully it will shut down that damn polaron weapon.=^=

As Aurilia brought her Peregrine back around, she fired four more torpedoes and watched the explosions =^=Tango to Rocco, port impulse engines are out!=^= she declared as she jerked hard to starboard to avoid a blast from the enemy ship.

Ap'eth came around on her wingperson and signaled half of Bravo to form up on her and the other to continue providing cover.

=^=Way to go, Tango! Rocco to squadron, disregard that last order. Looks like we've got ourselves a powerhouse. Move to starboard impulse engines, Tango, and repeat. Alpha and Charlie will keep them busy. Rocco to Black Hawk, port impulse engines are inoperable on our target.=^=

=^=Acknowledged,=^= Aurilia said before she banked her fighter and came around for another attack run on the starboard side and fired a burst from her phasers. She had fifteen torpedoes left and wanted to make them count, so she concentrated on one spot on the shields instead of random targeting.


===USS BLACK HAWK===

Both Confederation ships were individually much larger than the fighters and the Akira-class ship, but neither one seemed to be prepared for firepower that had been unleashed. Harvey watched the viewscreen intently, watching the photon and quantum torpedoes impact their shields. The forward volley appeared to be effective, though he didn't see that their shields had been breached. "Standby another volley, same combination of photons and quantums. What's the status of their shields?"

"Their shields are holding at 95 percent," called out Burke. He kept tapping his console, diverting power from nonessential systems to keep their own shields up and at full power. So far, the modifications they'd made seemed to be holding.

His station suddenly beeped. Burke looked at the display, and frowned. He adjusted the sensor bandwidth, and confirmed the duranium finding. He double-checked by scanning for a Federation warp signature, and triple-checked by verifying the ship's transponder codes.

"Sir!" he called out. "I've got the Cochrane! Bearing 146 mark 024!"

Arjin looked up from his viewscreen to refocus on the coordinates Lieutenant Burke just called out. As he took a closer look to the data and did his own calculations, he came to the same conclusion.

"I confirm Captain. It seems we do have the whereabouts of the Cochrane.", he replied.

The Cochrane thought Camila as she studied the readouts coming across the console in front of her. I hope Temerant is safe.

Joey readied and fired the ship's phaser array, this time focusing a concentrated burst on the main weapon of D'Rimo's vessel, hoping to do a little damage and weaken the shields. The torpedoes wouldn't do much good with the shields still up. She brought her hand up to tap her combadge once more. =^= Lieutenant Cooper.... prepare another volley identical to the previous one. Standby for orders to fire. =^=

=/\="Understood Ma'am, torpedoes loaded and locked. Same prearranged pattern, prepared and holding fire..." =/\= Cooper said, her eyes intent on the screen as she watched the screen, waiting like wolf watches prey. When Cooper choose to focus on something fully, it could be intense but she was oddly still. Her eyes skimming the readouts and points of light as she maintained the lock, waiting for orders.

"On screen!" Harvey ordered, walking ahead to stand directly behind the helm. His hands gripped the console, and his expression was that of someone seeing a long-lost friend. Sure enough, there was the Intrepid-class ship soaring through the asteroid field. In his forty-three years of living, seeing that ship just became one of his top five all favorite visuals. "Hail them!" he shouted.


===USS COCHRANE BRIDGE===

"I'm detecting weapons fire!"

Thiago looked towards Fordyce, the source of the exclamation. "Pinpoint and send coordinates to the helm."

Karyna nodded and tried to get a firm fix on the energy discharges she'd seen. "Nothing precise, sir, but I've got a general heading. Sending to you now Lieutenant."

"I'm on it," Marley said as she entered the coordinates she had been given.

"Go!" he ordered. "Owens, ready weapons. The Black Hawk might need a hand."

Go was hardly a command that Marley needed and she smirked as she engaged the engines and headed towards the battle that had already been joined.

"Mister Jonas, what are the chances you can get our comms back by then?"

"I'm working on it!" Jonas said, his Deltan hands flying across the console. He'd hoped to have another hour to finish this. Now he only had minutes. Maybe he could get this running in just a couple of minutes by cross-circuiting the primary and secondary EPS shunts and bypassing the logic circuits...

Teixeira didn't respond, focusing instead on the viewscreen. The Black Hawk was likely trying to communicate with them, but the Intrepid-class Cochrane had no way of responding.


===USS BLACK HAWK===

Harvey was left to wonder why the Cochrane wouldn't answer their hails. Had the Confederation taken over the ship? Had they time to locate and study the Black Hawk's schematics? Would this be the end for them all?

He had to take a chance and assume that Thiago was in command. This entire mission was built on hope, and he couldn't risk it now. "Keep hailing them!" he ordered the Operations Chief.

"Yes, Sir!" acknowledged Burke.

"It's time to move," the Captain ordered, not moving from his position. "Attack pattern delta four. Keep their attention on us."

=^= Corwin to Cooper... fire. Delta four. Keep them occupied. =^= Joey ordered. She readied the phasers once again and fired a full frontal assault on the enemy ship. Her intentions were to disable and keep them distracted as ordered.

=/\="Delta Four, acknowledged"=/\=. Delta Four was a full frontal assault, "keep them occupied" Cooper understood meant Corwin didn't want Cooper to go for a full smash through, perhaps she meant to board, that wasn't Cooper's focus hers was to disable with maybe a little shock and awe. So she coordinated the firing algorithms accordingly, she quickly checked her weapons lock then replied, =/\="Firing...now...". Hundreds of isotons of explosive power ripped toward the enemy ship and Cooper watched her console with a fierce look, almost wishing one could hear the explosions in space but unlike holonovels space combat was eerily silent. With deadly beams and torpedoes arcing toward their targets in complete silence. No air meant no sound, oddly peaceful in its way but no less destructive.

The Black Hawk's weapons fire found their marks, finally overwhelming the shields of D'rimo's mighty ship. It did not come without a cost as a phased polaron beam found a window through the Black Hawk's shields, striking the hull. Harvey gripped the helm as the room shook, sparks flying from nearby consoles. "Report!" He ordered.

"We have a hull breach on deck ten, aft section," Camila said as she looked at a console that hadn't exploded and automated reports started flooding in. "Several casualties and one missing crewmember unaccounted for," she said. "Damage control teams are en route."

"Find out how that beam passed through the shields!" Harvey demanded, thinking of the poor soul who was likely going to die in this forsaken universe. "Keep us together. More power to shields and standby for another attack run!"

"Rerouting auxiliary power to the shields," Camila said as she worked the console and checked to see why the shields went down. The work that Lieutenant Marion had done should have prevented that, but when she went to pull the logs, she discovered they were missing and now wasn't the best time to bring that up. "Working on it, Captain!"

Joey's victory of getting past their shields was short lived when the console she stood at sparked, then chose to explode seconds later. She used those precious seconds to use her arms to protect her face and neck as she crouched down. Pieces of shrapnel did hit her and superficial burns marred her skin, but thankfully missed anything vital. Still, that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Disoriented, she shook her head to try to rid herself of the ringing in her ears.

Harvey glanced back, noticing the tactical station had exploded and Joey staggering away. "Di Pasquale!" Harvey shouted, "Evasive maneuvers! Get a secondary Tactical station running and press on the attack."

Camila switched the console she had been checking to Tactical mode when the Captain gave the order. The sight of Corwin's station exploding sent a wave of fear-spiked adrenaline through her system and she began to target the weapons on the enemy ship. =^=Cooper, light their weapons up!=^= she shouted over the sound of exploding consoles and screams as she fired the phasers in bursts in an attempt to take D'Rimo's shields down so the Assistant Tactical Chief could get the torpedoes through.

During the time of the weapon getting through the shields Petty Officer First Class McShane looked at his readouts and called, "They got a poloran beam through! Hull breech on Deck 10 and aux power coming to shields!" Cooper didn't take her eyes off the torpedoes and the map of the combat area, "What the hell? How..never mind adjust accordingly we'll sort it later..." There was no time especially as the Acting XO's call came in.

=/\="Aye Ma'am...". =/\= She said pleased at the chance even as she was concerned about what she was hearing. And that Corwin wasn't giving orders. She hoped the Acting Chief was just busy but Cooper had precious little time to worry. Her look was fierce as she prepared the spread and gained the locks she needed. Her eyes locked on the data and map of the combat area as her hands flew with deadly efficiency. =/\="It's away!"=/\= She said as a final sequence unleashed the needed firepower to turn their weapons into scrap. She would take gaping holes or melted, giant paperweights as she wasn't being picky. She watched them streak along their prearranged path, on target and thought, "Let the bodies hit the floor....", as a song looped in her head and grateful there were no betazoids in tactical. A part of her wanted to ask after Corwin but she knew this wasn't the time and focused on her duty.

"Hull breach on Deck 10," reported Burke - another hull breach, among the countless others they'd sustained in the conflict with the Valdore, Chimera and the Cochrane. "Power relays destroyed on Decks Eight through Twelve, Sections 11, 15 and 16. Shields breached on the Starboard-Aft quarter. Antimatter containment field down to eighty-five percent. Structural integrity at seventy-two percent."

Harvey dashed over to Joey and led her to a chair. "You all right?" he asked, checking her pupils for signs of head trauma.

Joey, who was still trying to get the ringing in her ears to stop, looked at the Captain. Her pupils were normal, and thanks to her covering her face, only a few superficial cuts marred her skin. Of course, the bleeding made them look a lot worse than they were. "I... I'm fine, I think," she said, doing her level best to ignore the discomfort she felt. "Nothing vital was hit."

The deck plating shuddered again. As much as he wanted to make sure Joey was really okay, he had to be a Captain right now for the five-hundred plus souls on this ship. Without waiting for the damage report, Harvey turned back into the fray and shouted into the comm system. "Alpha One, Actual. Disable your target and give us a hand!"


===SPACE===

Terry hit his comm, "Understood Actual! Rocco to Alpha and Charlie, form up on me. We're going after the impulse engines on the ship that's attacking Black Hawk. Walsh to Tango and Ap'eth, you and the rest of Bravo Flight finish off that starboard impulse engine ASAP and then join us on the other ship."

=^=I'm on it,=^= Aurilia responded as she sent the Peregrine into a tight turn to avoid another blast from the enemy polaron beam. She knew that one more hit would wipe her shields and her out as she brought the fighter around again and lined up with the starboard engine of the ship. This time, she fired a full burst from her phasers, followed by four torpedoes and quickly reloaded while going into a dive under the Karemma vessel.

Ap'eth knew that Tango was carrying more torpedoes on her Peregrine than she could carry on her Valkyrie. But that did stop her from trying to help penetrate the shields. Plus, according to what the Commander had just said, they might just need them for use on the other ship. She banked and followed Tango's flight path in hopes of at least weakening the shields for the redhead's next run. Ap'eth brought all four of her Type-J phaser emitters and both of the Type-VII phaser banks to bear on the engine. Just before she was about to pass, she released three of her eight photon torpedoes. Her plan was to save the other five for the other ship. But in a combat situation, plans were made to be changed.

Aurilia swooped back around and fired another full burst of phaser fire and was rewarded in seeing the shields go down. =^=Shields are down!=^= She called out before she launched four more torpedoes directly at the starboard impulse engine and had the satisfaction of seeing four detonations. =^=Finished!=^=

"Actual, Alpha One, we are en route. Rocco to Archer, we're going to put everything Alpha Flight has into the shields surrounding that starboard engine. Same goes for Charlie Flight, only target the port engine. Let's give the big bird some help, eh?" When Terry's Valkyrie was close enough, he pulled up a quick sensor readout on the ship. "Holy...," he said into the comm. "Shields are down! Rocco to Alpha and Bravo, unleash hell on those impulse engines! Now!" He glanced out of his cockpit toward the Black Hawk and shook his head. Terry gritted his teeth in anger and brought his attention back to the exposed starboard engine. He fired all phasers on a dead run to the Karemma ship, followed by his last two torpedoes. Something had to give.

=/\="On your 9 Boss..." Archer replied and started to work up a firing solution for the shields around the impulse engines then the update came through. She let out a victory yell and quickly readjusted her solution, literally on the fly, as she sped on Rocco's left. The moment she got a clear lock she let loose with full phaser power then dropped her torpedoes and they streaked to their target. She didn't stop to watch them hit as she zoomed by, rearming for another pass, flying smoothly and checking the combat area on sensors.

=^=Nice run, Archer,=^= said Terry, dodging another shot. It seemed to be harder to do that on this main ship than it did the others. =^=Rocco to Knights, watch your six. These guys seem to be better shots.=^=

Aurilia went into a tight turn and headed back to the lead Karemma ship while checking her torpedo compliment and saw that she had eight remaining. =^=Tango to Rocco. I have eight presents left for our guests. Who wants to welcome them to the neighborhood with me?=^=

=^=Nice, Tango. We've just knocked on the door of the starboard impulse engines. So far, nobody's answering. Care to break the door down?=^=

=^=On the way,=^= Aurilia said before she veered off her latest attack run and headed for the main ship. She was exhilarated by the opportunity to fly in a combat mission, but not stupid enough to think that she was invulnerable and kept one eye on her sensors while the other was locked on the space around her.

Ap'eth angled her Valkyrie just off to Aurilia's starboard and above. Her target wasn't the impulse engines, but the other weapon that kept firing at the Peregrine. She only had one more torpedo left and she wanted to make it count. Her phasers most certainly got their attention and she quickly found that the Commander was right a moment ago. They are better. The half Klingon woman fired her last photon and pulled away, keeping her eyes on the little redhead's fighter.


===USS Cochrane===

"Fire at will!" Thiago commanded. Marley had gotten the Cochrane to close the distance to the battle quickly. Now, the ship was entering the fray, trying to help keep the Confederation at bay. "Try to disable them. We just need to be able to get away."

The Starfleet ships exchanged fire with their Confederation counterparts for several minutes.

"I think..." Jonas said, fiddling with the controls a bit more. "Yes! Communications are working. I'm picking up a hail from the Black Hawk. Automated recording, Starfleet frequencies only!"

"Put me on!" he said, standing from the command chair.

Ian's fingers glided across his console in compliance. "Hailing frequencies open, Sir," he announced above the din. Rescue at last, he thought. When this was all over, he was going to put in for a transfer, hopefully aboard the Black Hawk.

"Captain," Teixeira began, "nice to see you again."

=/\= "Likewise, Commander," =/\= Harvey said on the viewscreen with a relieved smile. Behind him, another shower of sparks sprayed from the ceiling as the ship shuddered from another volley of weapons fire. =/\= "I'm afraid we'll have to catch up later. Target D'rimo's port nacelle. We'll take the starboard." =/\=

Nodding, Thiago gave Starkweather a signal to kill the video. "You heard the Captain," he said, lowering himself back into his chair. "Target the starboard nacelle. Fire at will."

Burke kept his sensors trained on the enemy ships, in an attempt to record every detail he could about their technology, but also to constantly monitor their status. The latest volley from the combined Black Hawk and Cochrane weapons scored a direct hit.

"Their Warp engines are disabled!" he announced.

Harvey smiled, happy to be done with this. "Recall the fighters," he ordered. "Commander Teixeira, prepare to warp out with us."

=^=Di Pasquale to Commander Walsh, bring the fighters home=^= Camila said as she opened a comm to the Squadron Commander of the Black Knights before she turned her attention to the rest of the crew.

Seeing Joey was hurt, she grabbed a medkit and pulled out a hypospray and loaded it with an ampule of Morphenolog. Setting it to five cc's, she pressed it to Joey's neck. "Just enough to get you through this without making your brain go on vacation, Lieutenant Corwin," she said. "Do you have any serious cuts?" she asked as she put the hypospray back and pulled out a dermal regenerator.

Joey blinked when she saw Camila, still a touch disoriented. "I... don't know," she said, extending her arms. Defensive wounds marred her arms as well as having a few on her torso, legs and even head. There were also superficial burns here and there. "I... think I'm okay, though."

Camila ran the dermal regenerator over the burns on her head and hands and stepped back. "That's all I can do for the moment, Lieutenant," she said. "Get to sickbay as soon as you can."

Corwin wanted to stay on the bridge, but Camila was right. She needed to get to sickbay. The faster she did that, the faster she would be able to resume her normal duties. Taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet, wavering slightly before she got her footing. Once she was sure she could move, she excused herself from the bridge with one of the Security officers assigned to guard it, then made her way to sickbay.

"Get coordinates from the Black Hawk, Lieutenant," Teixeira said to Marley. "Take your cue from them."

"I have them, Commander," Marley said at the helm. "They're about to head for the nebula at warp eight, Sir." She set the coordinates into the navigation and prepared to send the Cochrane after the Akira class ship.

After signaling to close the channel, Harvey ordered, "Lay in a course for the Hadyn Nebula. As soon as the fighters are aboard, engage at Warp Eight."


===FLIGHT DECK===

Terry's fighter was the last to land, as always. When it powered down and the canopy opened, he climbed out and looked around. Everyone seemed harried, but then so was everything they had been through. He made a few mental notes that he planned to put in the final report that would go to the XO. This had been some ride. But he couldn't wait to get back out there.


===AUXILIARY BRIDGE===

Kr'ozzu watched from where he was being held guard. As much as he wanted to see his father pay for his excommunication, this was a bit harder to stomach than he thought. This Black Hawk was powerful and her captain dangerous. The Karemma was only left to wonder what would happen to him next, especially since using the Captain's plan to use him as a ploy was no longer an option.

"The fighters are aboard," reported Ensign Lynch from an aft station. "Flight Deck Doors are secure."

"Engage warp," Harvey said, returning to his Command Chair. The helmsman complied, launching the ship into warp. Harvey checked his sensors to confirm that the Cochrane was indeed still at their side. He heaved a sigh of relief, logging out of the chair's armrest console. "Stand down red alert," he ordered. "Submit all damage reports and casualty lists to the First Officer." With that, he rose from his chair. Harvey's next order of business was to debrief Commander Teixeira and start figuring out how to return to their universe.

Hopefully, that would be a lot easier than what they'd been through the last few days.



OOC-HG: Final Tags Everyone.

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