Engineering

“Damn it!” Lieutenant Rakes exclaimed, slamming her hand down on the railing. The Briar Patch was wreaking havoc on her ship. “I don’t recall the Enterprise having this much trouble…” She muttered to herself. “They just had to fly slow and couldn’t see shit!”

One of the engineering crewmen hustled over to her, and upon seeing the coolant jetting from a microfracture in the pipe conduit, hurried to lock it down. Rakes watched the crewman for a moment, then, satisfied, she turned back to her console.

“Engineering to Bridge,” Rakes called out, tapping her badge. “Captain, I don’t know how long we can stay in this gas cloud. The radiation and amalgamation of stellar particles are continuously damaging our systems. My team is keeping on top of it… for now… but it’s only going to get worse.”

“Acknowledged, Engineering. Let me know before something important explodes.” Captain Beardsly disembodied voice replied. Rakes shook her head, picked up her tool kit, and walked away muttering.

Bridge

“What’s the status of that Vaadwaur ship?” Captain Beardsly inquired. The Truckee had retreated into the nebula, after an analysis of the alien vessel gave Marcus some concerns about meeting them in empty space. He’d never encountered the Vaadwaur before, but he’d read the reports from Voyager. Better not to risk a confrontation.

Perking up, Lieutenant Commander Dhalan Nhar turned slightly in his chair to reply. “They entered the Briar Patch before we did. We lost them for about an hour, but since reacquiring their signal, we’ve been following them. No sign they’ve noticed us yet. They seem to be making a bee-line for the planet Ba’ku, sir.” With Bishop temporarily reassigned to the Astrometrics Lab, Dhalan had taken his place on the bridge. While it was a bit unusual for the Chief Medical Officer to man Ops, he’d served a tour as a science officer, and had the experience to manage it. Dhalan was concerned, however, that any encounter with the Vaadwaur would see him right back in the medical bay.

Marcus pursed his lips, considering. What could they want on Ba’ku? The Federation barely maintained a presence in system, and the native people eschewed technology.

“Any thoughts, commander?” Marcus asked his XO.

Peldun Aldiib paused before answering. “I do not have the requisite information to speak with any certainty. Perhaps they wish to claim this world for its regenerative properties?”

Peldun’s speculation was cut short and rendered moot when tactical shouted a report.

“Sir, Vaadwaur vessel is powering weapons! They’re making a run at the communication satellites!”

On the viewscreen, the bridge crew watched as the Vaadwaur vessel emerged from the gas cloud ahead of them and accelerated towards the planet. Sickly green energy weapons flared from the ship and pummeled the defenseless relays in orbit above Ba’ku.

“Red alert! All hands to battlestations.” Marcus announced. He spoke calmly, but he was alarmed. Cut off from the rest of the Federation, facing an enemy with superior firepower? This is… not ideal, he thought to himself.

Internal lighting shifted to a red hue as the klaxon sounded. Marcus noted on his chair panel the ship’s shields had raised, and weapons were powering up. He shared a wry glance with Peldun, as if to say “I don’t like this, but my hand is forced.”

“Listen up. You all saw the tactical analysis. Our little California-class can’t match them head on. But we have a duty to protect the Ba’ku people. So we’ll have to even the odds. Helm, when I give the order, get in behind that ship and stay there. Tactical, you will lay into them with everything you’ve got. Don’t wait for my order for every phaser blast; just light ’em up.” Marcus sat up a little straighter in his chair. “The moment we’ll be waiting for is when they start to come about. If they turn towards the planet, we’re going to run back into the Briar Patch. We need them to come after us, so let’s make sure we bloody their nose a bit.”

Marcus’ view swept across the bridge, making eye contact with each of his officers. He wanted to feel their resolve match his own. When he was confident they were ready, he faced forward and braced himself in his chair. “Do it.”

The USS Truckee surged forward out of the Briar Patch, gas swirling chaotically around the little ship. Immediately, angry red photon torpedoes hurdled out of their launch tubes, crossing the distance to the Vaadwaur ship and slamming into its shields. Phaser beams followed up quickly, dancing around the enemy ship to get their attention, before redirecting to focus fire on the aft shielding.

The Truckee was in behind the enemy vessel quickly, and began matching maneuvers to stay there. The Vaadwaur ship couldn’t bring its full weapons compliment to bear on the Federation starship, but it wasn’t helpless. Aft-mounted turrets returned fire, and plasma-based energy began to eat away at the Truckee‘s shields.

“Report!” Marcus demanded as sparks exploded out one of the aft auxiliary consoles.

“That last volley brought shields down to 63 percent. Shields are only partially effective against their weapons… we’ve sustained hull damage on decks two through five” came the reply from Tactical, before the young officer resumed punching away at his control panel.

“Engineering reports damage control teams are on route. Casualty reports coming in.” Dhalan reported uncomfortably. He should be treating the wounded now, not manning Ops on the bridge in a firefight. Still, his staff was well-trained. They would manage without him until he was relieved.

Peldun suddenly pointed at the viewscreen. Marcus looked up and saw it. The Vaadwaur’s engines were surging, and the ship was turning towards the planet. They were trying to pull away from the Truckee and swing about to bring more weapons to bear.

“Helm, get us back into the Briar Patch, now! Maximum impulse until we’re within the gas cloud. Divert all shields aft, we’re going to take a few hits before we make it into cover.” Marcus ordered, leaning forward as if he could will the ship to move.

The Truckee pulled starboard as the Vaadwaur ship moved to port. The little California-class ship was only 3 seconds from the cover of the Briar Patch when the enemy was in position to fire… and fire they did. A full volley of torpedoes and energy weapons exploded across the gap between them, and the Truckee‘s shields lit up brightly as they struggled to protect the ship.

Marcus heard nothing but explosions and a few muffled cries. The lights cut out briefly, and he was blind as the ship rocked violently. When emergency lighting kicked in, he was relieved to see his bridge crew were all still alive. The viewscreen showed nothing but static.

“Report.” Marcus coughed out. His mouth was dry. He was nervous to hear the status of the ship.

Dhalan wiped his forehead, smearing blood onto his sleeve but out of his eyes. When tactical didn’t answer, he spoke up. “Shields are at 14 percent. We’ve sustained hull damage across all decks, but no breaches. It looks like…” Dhalan struggled to focus on his panel, blinking rapidly. “It looks like our starboard nacelle was hit pretty bad. Main power is down to 81 percent. Auxiliary is compensating somewhat, but several EPS systems are down and power flow is not optimal. I don’t… I’m sorry sir, I can’t be more specific. We are in the Briar Patch now, I can tell you that much.”

“That’s alright Commander, I’ll get the rest from Engineering. Where’s that-” Marcus was interrupted by the bridge speakers clicking on. Either Tactical had decided to open a channel, or the Vaadwaur had forced communications.

“Federation vessel. The Vaadwaur have claimed this system. Run if you’d like… but we are coming for you, and there is no escape.”