Topic: ST: Tigermoth - Return Of The Andromedans

[James Smith]

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Chapter 7 - The Blast Of War (part 2)

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USS Tigermoth-A
5th July 2395
0645hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


"Secure link is available, sir."

"Thanks Riggs." Smithy closed down the internal comm link and activated the console on the desk. "Authorisation Smith-Two-Two-Nine-Beta." The screen blinked static for a few moments, before resolving into the image of his friend and former captain.

"Hello Smithy. Was about to call you."

"Oh?" Smithy tossed a quirky look at his wife. "What did I do this time?"

Harriman grinned. "Nothing like that. We need Lisa's help - the new ship's computer is giving us some hassle getting set up. Programming is a bit of a nightmare I'm afraid."

Lisa sat on the arm of the chair, leaning on Smithy's shoulder. "Which series of M24 computer are they using? I know the 24C is no good as the Constitution frame isn't large enough for it, and the 24A is fairly idiot-proof. That leaves the B, which I didn't think was in production any more after that debacle with the Intrepid Type 2s."

"They aren't using the M24. Daystrom Tech came up with a new model for this application, and it's throwing up the usual 'new technology' issues. Can you guys spare a week to swing by and help out? The Tempest engineering crew are all busy with other ships, and none of the other teams here have your level of experience."

Lisa looked at her husband, who merely shrugged. "Guess we have the time. We're not due on patrol duty again until the 19th, unless another attack occurs."

"Which is what I wanted to talk about." Smithy shook his head. "I can't be entirely sure....but I think another big attack is coming. I don't think it's going to be in Federation space though....it didn't feel that way."

Harriman frowned slightly. "Well....we have the sensor network going now. If a wormhole large enough to send an Andromedan fleet through begins to form in our space we'll have enough warning to get a good sized force out to engage them. But anywhere else....we'd struggle."

"I know." Smithy rubbed at his eyes, fatigue and worry making them feel uncomfortable. "As you know, I never get anything desperately specific on first viewing. It's only later it all gets clearer, and often it's a little late by then."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, mate. You've given us some warning. It's better than nothing at all." Harriman wore a look of concern on his face. "I'll put in a call to the DSF, get the Klingons on the look-out. I'm not sure we can do much more than that. The sensor network covers most of the Alpha Quadrant and a few chunks of the Beta Quadrant. That's a lot of space completely in the dark."

"And no ships in the Gamma or Delta Quadrants right now." Lisa got up and began pacing. "Not good."

"No. No, it isn't."

Smithy closed his eyes, thinking. Come on, come on....what did you see? He opened them. "They're going for fairly soft targets so far. That fleet of ours wasn't exactly full strength, and the Romulans certainly weren't. Though don't tell them that to their faces."

Harriman nodded. "But you're right, their fleet was in a pretty poor state even before the attack. So you reckon it'll be an attack against someone with a diminished defence force?"

"And one that can't get reinforcements from us or the Klingons with any kind of speed."

Lisa nodded. "Okay, I see where you're going....that rules out the Cardassians. Even though their fleet numbers are still low, they're too close to both the Federation and Klingon fleets. Also rules out the Tholians, the bulk of the TacFleet could get to them in a matter of hours."

"The Orions should be able to take care of themselves. What about the Ch'Nai'Tal?"

"Might be worth moving a small fleet their way, just to be safe. That leaves the Gamma and Delta Quadrants....not a whole lot we can do about that, unfortunately." Smithy shook his head. "We'll head over your way now, be there in short order. We can discuss this more when we get in."

"Sure." Harriman glanced sideways. "Ah, hell's teeth. Looks like a workbee just tagged one of the cargo shuttles in the dock. Better go. And you better hurry over here. If the Andromedans are working up to a larger attack soon, we're going to need another Tigermoth class ship out there."

Smithy nodded. "See you soon." He shut down the terminal, and tapped his comm badge. "Smith to Bridge."

"Riggs here."

"Set a course for Antares. Maximum transwarp. Have the engine room pour it on kid, I want to keep this ship and crew ticking over."

"Aye, sir."

Lisa stared pensively out of the window. "Where do you think they'd attack?"

"I honestly can't say." Smithy shook his head. "Judging by what we've worked out about their wormhole technology, they could pop up anywhere. I know what I'd do though. Avoid the Delta Quadrant, as the Borg would just prove to be too much of an annoyance. The Gamma Quadrant on the other hand....no chance of us getting numbers out there, and the Jem'Hadar fleet is still pretty small compared to during the Dominion War." He glanced out of the window as the ship launched herself into transwarp. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

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[Governor Ronjar]

I keep bumping into a brick wall everytime I read this! I keep forgetting that its set in the 2390's...man!

Keep up the ol's grind. Still wanting to see where this all goes!

--thu guv!

[NCC-1701-V]

But... but... but where.... Where are the damn Andromedans?!?!?!

[James Smith]

But... but... but where.... Where are the damn Andromedans?!?!?!

Patience, dear boy. Patience. They're on their way.

 

[James Smith]

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Chapter 7 - The Blast Of War (part 3)

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USS Endeavour NCC 1895 (DC)
12th July 2395
1005hrs EST
Main Engineering


Lisa's face wore a smile of satisfaction as the computer blinked and hummed it's way into life. "Gotcha."

Lieutenant T'Pel looked up from the control board she was wiring in. "'Gotcha'? I'm unfamiliar with that term, ma'am."

"A contraction of 'got you'. Very common amongst a lot of English dialects." Lisa rubbed at her eyes, glancing over at the wall chrono and doing a double-take. "Is that chrono right? Hadn't realised I'd been at this all night."

"Indeed. You did seem rather absorbed, but you'd given orders not to be disturbed while you were workign unless it was Captain Smith or Admiral Harriman."

"I did, didn't I?" Lisa sighed, stretching out a few kinks in her body. "I'm going over to the station for breakfast."

T'Pel nodded. "Before you go, could I ask you something Commander?"

"Sure." Lisa sat on the edge of the nearest console. "Ask away."

T'Pel frowned slightly. "It is not customary for a Vulcan to think this way, but I can't help wondering if I've been promoted too soon. Captain Smith seems to feel that I am ready for this assignment, and Admiral Harriman obviously agrees with his assessment." She glanced around the room. "This ship requires a great deal of work. We have had to call in expert engineers several times, recalling the Tigermoth-A here twice in order to utilise the expertise of you and your crew. We seem....ill equipped to deal with a refit of this magnitude, and I understand from the reports that operating the ship will not be any easier."

Lisa smiled. "In the early days, when we took that ship out for a real baptism of fire it was tough to operate her. But we had James, and that made the difference. Then when we ironed the kinks out of the design, it got a lot easier. The Tempest has benefitted from that experience, the future Typhoon will as well. Once we've got her looking like a starship rather than a pile of assorted bits and pieces, you'll be set. Hell, it's not like they promoted you without considering your lack of experience. It's probably an advantage."

"I do not understand, Commander." T'Pel looked as close to 'completely confused' as a Vulcan could. "How can a lack of experience become an advantage?"

Lisa shrugged. "You've not had to unlearn bad habits. While we're replacing virtually every system on this ship with more powerful setups, they have to be designed to take into account the hull that they're going in. That provides certain constraints. The ship operates much more like an older starship than a later one, at least with regards to systems control. Before the Gatrellian War, cadets always used to train on Mirandas and Excelsiors first, then other older ship types. I know you did your training on the Republic, but you're in a minority there. Most train on much more modern ships now. I got rushed out of the Academy onto a Saber class ship....a beat up old ship named Tigermoth that was kept running at peak performance only by the sheer ingenuity of her crew."

"Captain Smith."

"Yep. Commander at the time, of course. And the then-Captain Harriman. That little ship had so many stories attached to it from the Dominion War." Lisa smiled, fondly remembering the old ship that she'd been so briefly a crewmember of. "All of us from the Academy, we wanted to be on that ship, to work with those two men. It turned out to be a bit more exciting than any of us would have liked, but even knowing what I know now I'd still have wanted that assignment."

"From what I understand from the reports, the Tigermoth was destroyed in a classified incident."

"Yes, Dave setting the autodestruct so we wouldn't have to scrap her. She deserved to go out with a bang. Robert Metcalf tried to destroy the Federation, and a few people stood in his way. One was the same man who promoted you. He knows what he's doing, Lieutenant. They don't promote people simply because they're tired of doing the job themselves. They promote people who they reckon will get the job done. You will get the job done."

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USS Tigermoth-A
1130hrs EST
Bridge

"Captain's log, stardate 71380.5. Scout reports, along with the readings from the sensor network still show no evidence in Federation or Klingon territory of an Andromedan incursion. The Romulans have cut off all ties with the Federation officially, but information is still coming out of their system through somewhat...unofficial channels and no Andromedans have been seen since their destruction of the Romulan fleet. Maxwell is making noises on the Federation NewsNet about how the Romulans refused the help he offered. And a lot of people are buying it....just when I think people can't get any dumber, they go and prove me wrong."

Smithy sat, reflecting. He'd fully expected the public to swiftly rise up and demand a new election to get Maxwell out of office after refusing to help the Romulans defend their space. But they hadn't. Instead, there were actually people claiming it would be a good idea to take over vast swathes of Romulan territory now that they were crippled! Unbelievable. Mind you, any group of people who could have elected the guy in the first place....But hey, what do they care? They're safe and well on their planets. It's us daft buggers out here on starships getting shot at that want a change at the top.

All had been quiet since his last flash of foresight, and that little feeling was creeping up on him. The one he always got when some catastrophic news was about to hit. Still, might not happen this ti-

"Sir, receiving a hail from Admiral Harriman on the Tempest, transpace link."

Smithy glanced back at Riggs. "Just when I thought I'd get through another day without anything happening. On-screen, kid."

The view of the Antares Yard winked out to be replaced by Harriman's face. It seemed all-go on the Tempest bridge. "Sorry to disturb Smithy, but it looks like you were right."

"Damn. Where?"

"Gamma Quadrant. A sensor buoy over there picked up traces of weapons fire. We're rounding up a force at Deep Space 9 before heading through the wormhole, reckon you can get here in the next hour?"

"If we pour it on. I'll round up the troops. I'll try and scare up a few more ships while I'm at it."

"Thanks. See you out here, keep me updated on your ETA." The view of the Tempest bridge faded out.

Smithy turned to Riggs. "Get everyone recalled." He shot a glance at Winchester and Drelkar who had just arrived to retake their stations. "Okay lads, see who you can round up for a quick trip to Dominion space."

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USS Tempest
1242hrs EST
Bridge

"Any word?"

"Last word from Captain Smith indicated that he'd been delayed getting some ships together, Admiral. It seems Commander Harrison wouldn't authorise their leaving, as you know the docking system requires voice ID from you, the commander or one of several other senior officers."

"And everyone else who could do it is out here commanding a ship right now. Remind me to have Smithy's voice ID logged in that computer at some point. I take it everything is sorted now?"

"You could say that, sir." The communications officer grinned. "Ensign Riggs said something about a phaser welder. I can ask her for details if you'd like?"

Harriman shook his head, laughing. "No need. I can guess. He's going to get into serious trouble one of these days." He returned to his seat, thumbing the comm tie-in. "All ships, this is Admiral Harriman on the Tempest. Form up, and follow us through the wormhole."

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USS Tigermoth-A
1430hrs EST
Bridge


"Approaching DS9 downwarp point, Captain."

"Cut to half impulse on that mark." Smithy keyed the comm panel on his chair. "All ships, drop to half impulse at downwarp point and form up."

"All ships acknowledging." Riggs half-turned. "Message from DS9 Operations Centre, co-ordinated from the Admiral attached. Feeding to the helm.....this was where they were headed to start looking."

"Elkins?"

"Laying in a course." Elkins' fingers danced over the helm console. "On the board."

"Engage. Take us into the wormhole."

***********
USS Tempest
1440hrs EST
Bridge


"I'm picking up something....dead ahead."

Harriman glanced up from his PADD. "Helm, increase speed. Comms, have the fleet pull in a little tighter. Ops, full scan."

A couple of minutes ticked by, the tension on the bridge rising with each second. Harriman paced around the bridge. He'd forgotten just how much he enjoyed being on a starship. Command of the Antares base had it's moments, but for real action you needed to be mobile. He'd half considered taking command of the Tigermoth back, but knew it wouldn't be fair to expect Smithy, Lisa and Orlatrel to demote themselves back into the old command structure. So he'd persuaded Starfleet to let him build another one. And boy am I glad I did, given what we're up against now.

"I'm reading a number of ships. They don't look good though."

"On-screen." The image swtiched. "Full mag." Harriman stared. "Oh boy."

Debris and wrecks drifted by. Harriman shook his head. "Too damned late. Confirm it for me."

"Same type of destruction as before, sir. Juding from the debris, I'd say none of them got a decent shot in."

"I take it there's no sign of the attacking fleet."

"Not a damned thing. No residual traces of their engine activity, barely any trace of their weapons fire, beyond the wrecks." The Ops officer stiffened as a warning alarm sounded from his board. "Picking up incoming ships. Jem'Hadar....two dreadnoughts, twenty cruisers, lots of smaller ships."

Harriman twisted back to Communications. "Hail them. Let them know we'll assist in trasnporting their wounded and the salvagable ships back to their base."

"Aye, sir." The comm officer frowned. "No response, Admiral."

Harriman stared at the screen. "Back everyone off. Now!"

Alarms sounded from both Ops and Tactical. "Picking up increased power to their weapons, sir!"

"Confirmed, Admiral!"

Harriman sat down. "Helm, get us out of here! Comms, tell the fleet to do the same."

The ship rumbled under several weapons impacts. He glanced at Tactical. "Shield status?"

"88%, sir. Unless we can find a way by them that'll change though."

The Ops officer turned. "They've got us pretty well surrounded."

Harriman stepped down to the helm. "Any way through?"

The helm officer shook his head. "Not unless we start ramming ships, Admiral."

"Still no response to hails, sir."

Harriman shook his head. "Anyone got any bright ideas?" He turned at a new alarm from Ops. "More of them?"

The younger man shook his head, an expression of relief on his face. "No sir....the cavalry just arrived!"

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USS Tigermoth-A
1451hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy stood, grimacing at the sharp stab of pain and cast a glance back at Riggs. "Hailing frequencies."

"You're on audio, Captain."

"Attention Jem'Hadar vessels. Unless you want to join your other friends in whatever afterlife you all believe in, I suggest you back off and tend to that pile of broken ships of yours. Or just leave altogether. Either way, I want you backed off from our fleet and I don't particularly mind if I have to fire a whole bunch of quantum torpedoes at you to achieve that. Respond quickly."

A beat. Then the ships began to move away from the Federation fleet and back over to the remains of the Jem'Hadar vessels that the Andromedans had destroyed. Smithy sighed. "Got myself all worked up for battle an' all."

Lisa crossed over to Winchester. "Any signs of life on the Jem'Hadar wrecks?"

"The other Jem'Hadar ships are blocking our scans now, but there were some faint signs before we lost focus. It looks like the new boys are preparing to tow some of those wrecks out of here, ma'am."

Riggs half-turned. "Sir, Admiral Harriman on the line."

"Put him up." Smithy sat down. "Dave, you all okay?"

"Fine, thanks to that timely intervention. Did you really threaten Harrison with a phaser welder?"

"It wasn't charged!" Smithy grinned. "What was I meant to do, ask nicely until he forgot that he was a complete moron and let me have the ships?"

"I'm not sure....I'll have to consult the regulations. Somehow, I don't think they ever had you in mind." Harriman looked at something off-screen. "Well, getting a response at last. I'll tie you in."

The screen divided up and showed the bridge of one of the dreadnoughts. The Vorta in command narrowed his eyes. "Ah yes, Captain Smith. I thought I recognised your voice. And Admiral Harriman. Admiral, now....my, you two are going up in the world since your exploits trying to kill us. And here you are, back for more."

Harriman, in his own restrained way, went ballistic at that. "Oh, don't be daft! You can very well see that your ships weren't damaged by Starfleet weapons!"

"Then who do you propose did this? Are we to believe that you had no hand in it? Come now, Admiral. I might be cloned, but I'm not stupid."

Smithy sighed. "Yes, you are. I'm sending you a data packet. Take a look, then get back to me with an apology." He glanced at Winchester. "You know what we need?"

"Feeding to Riggs now, sir."

Smithy waited a moment. "Got the data, Vorta?"

There was no response for a minute. Then the Vorta looked up. "An interesting fantasy. You honestly expect us to believe that Andromedan ships can get all this way into our space?" His image disappeared from the screen.

Drelkar shook his head. "Looks like they're moving into a battle formation, the Admiral's force is moving into position behind us."

Smithy shrugged. "Well, we tried. Guess we'll have to start shooting now. Dave?"

"I'm setting an exclusion zone around our fleet. Any one of their ships comes inside it, we fire on it. Has Drelkar got the data?"

"Confirmed, Admiral. Setting up an auto-response to lay down a burst of phaser fire at anything that gets that close."

"Good old-fashioned Tigermoth-style withdrawl then?" Smithy smiled fondly at the memory. "The old ones are the best, after all."

"Ain't that the truth?"

***********
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[Scottish Andy]

Excellent stuff as always, Smithy!

[Governor Ronjar]

Sure was a smart Vorta in command of that fleet. I figured the CO's hail was just going to get him in deeper into one hell of a fight.

Kepp 'er cumin'!

--thu guv!

[James Smith]

Quick note - still working on the next part.

As per my note in my "Ship Data Extract" thread in here, I've edited Chapter 4 part 2 to reflect a shot from the Mighty RetCon Cannon Of Great Justice.

[Scottish Andy]

Yay! My ship is in there! woo-hoo! Thanks muchly, Smithy. Not silly at all.

I see a nod to Wicked Zombie's OSF ship too - although, didn't he rename her (to something I cannot remember right now) and give her the registry 4217?

[James Smith]

Yay! My ship is in there! woo-hoo! Thanks muchly, Smithy. Not silly at all.

I see a nod to Wicked Zombie's OSF ship too - although, didn't he rename her (to something I cannot remember right now) and give her the registry 4217?

She's always been the Valiant AFAIK, the registry changed with his last re-work from NCC-74210 to NCC-4217. WZ's other ship on this theme is the Lethality, a piratical version of the Valiant. Oh, and the latest one he did - a Valiant with TMP-era nacelles and phaser emplacements (emitters rather than linear arrays), called the USS Argentina.

[Czar Mohab]

Holy crap!

I just spent 9 hours (unfortunately I was oft interrupted) reading this, from word one. Honestly, I was intimidated by the number of replies, but now I regret the decision to not read this when I first noticed it.

Don't harsh yourself about not being "one of the best" on the board. Certainly, with what I have read thus far (please do remember that I am relatively new to this crew of writers, and haven't read them all, yet) you are rather well placed in the "one of the best" catergory.

I do not know if it is intentional or just the way you write, but sometimes the accent comes through on others that normally wouldn't have one. DON'T change this. I like it.

From what I can see, something really big and probably bloody is coming. I really can't wait.

I have no complaints or nitpicks. None. Its such a swell piece that I can't find anything wrong with it.

Just so there is no confusion, the Andromedans in my bit, Second Chances, are a bit farther along in the future than yours that are portrayed here, assuming that one timeline might ever intersect the other. But that is all for another day.

I know you make no promises, but I have to say this, "More, please."

Czar "A rubber grenade, eh? Nice." Mohab

[CaptJosh]

Glad to finally catch up on this one again. I'm back on the board after a long absence, partly due to work kicking my ass, but mostly due to not wanting to hang around while stuck with some writer's block. (I may have broken the block though.)

I noted the comment about the *FLASH* and chuckled because the first thing I had thought of was Captain Sisko's visions of the Prophets. After all, it certainly wouldn't be one of Q's flashes of power. The other thing I thought of was Picard in "All Good Things..." flashing back and forth it timelines. Abrupt transitions and all.

Anywho, keep up the good work, James. Maybe the next time I post something, it'll be the newest chapter of my story.

[NCC-1701-V]

Well, I can hardly wait for next chapter - and I hope those Andros are in it. Here's what an Andro might process:

[2374.12.25 - Command AI 2383753197 recording]

For once, I can hardly acknowledge the fact that our once massive Starship fleets and our 3 Descerators were brought offline by those inferior lifeforms of the Mikly Way Galaxy, M0, back in Y202 - Andromedan Year 741349271.1937. It is impossible that the "Federation" have somehow discovered our Rapid Transport Network and taken full advantage of it by destroying them, decreasing our successes when we were so close to annihilating M0 Galaxy of all lifeforms. Even our masterpiece, the Devastator-class Battleship, has been devastated by the inferiors in that battle when it was so close to completion - we could have exterminated them all with it if they left the Devastator be. Now look at us - a shadow of our former glory, reduced to being only a minor nuisance in their galaxy, the specter of our invasion removed from M0.

Never again will we process the same errors in this invasion.

Years have passed since then. Reconstruction and upgrading our army was a priority we have accepted. We have waited in our home galaxy. Studied. Learnt. Adapted. Upgraded. Built. Discovered. Researched. Harvested. Planned. Repaired. Thought. Reclaimed. Now that time is coming - the time we are whole once more.

Already our starships were on their way to M0, programmed to serve as warnings of our return for those miserable lifeforms.
We have upgraded our Starships, our RTN, our Tractor-Repulsors, our Absorption Panels, and enhanced them with technology advanced enough to strengthen and rebuild our stronghold on M0. We have learnt and studied our errors, our enemies, their strengths and weaknesses. We have harvested and refined resources to keep our Starship Factories online. We have discovered and researched new technologies, new classes, and new devices to give us the cutting edge to annihilate them. We have built a new fleet, a new Desecrator to command them, and a new RTN to start it again.

But there is only one thing I cannot process. When we fought the Federation and the Alpha Octant races in Y188-202, we thought that they are easy prey to us... at first. But when they took out our RTNs, starships and the Desecrator trinity in the LMC, we realized that the Federation MUST have that Titan technology... which leads me to one question: are the Federation the long-dead and legendary Titans? But it hardly shows any relevance for now.

As for all of us, including me, #2383753197 of Eradicator-class Heavy Cruiser 77512399 - human codename "Traumatizer", we can only wait until the time is right for us to strike. The time we have invaded M0 Galaxy again, never to fail this time. The time the inhabitants of M0 will finally learn the error of their ways... and lives. All who dare despoiling us results in the usual termination.

We have failed once. We will never fail again.
WE ARE THE ANDROMEDANS.
[2374.12.25 - Recording terminated][/color]

[kadh2000]

Like the Czar I've been intimidated by the large number of replies.  I decided to pick this up anyway.  I'm starting reading it now and will have commentary when I finish.

Kadh, who's back in black... and gold, and funny glare, and green (which is not easy) and blue (which is kind of sad) and red (which makes me mad), and is now out of colors so I can stop.

[James Smith]

*sneak, sneak, sneak*

Reckon I can get away with simply posting some more story rather than explaining my absence?

***********

Chapter 8 - Stiffen The Sinews, Summon Up The Blood (part 1)

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USS Tigermoth-A
26th July 2395
1205hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


Smithy tapped at the control panel. "Captain's Log, stardate 71417.2. Following a fortnight of.....delicate negotiation, the Dominion forces have finally accepted that there are Andromedan incursions in their space. Damage from our encounters with the Jem'Hadar ships is being repaired. Sickbay reports that all injured crewmembers will be fit for duty again soon. We've returned to Antares, and once again I find myself heading for a confrontation with our President."

Smithy glanced up as the door opened. "Hey hon'. How far out is he?"

"About an hour." Lisa crossed over to him and dropped onto the couch, staring glumly out of the window. "My parents have arrived on Earth."

Smithy raised an eyebrow at that. "They moving back there for good, or until we win?"

Lisa shook her head. "Dunno. Mum reckoned that they were too close to the firing line out on Ventara, but to be honest I think she's been looking for an excuse to leave there for a while. They've both retired now, so no real need to stay there." She got up and headed for the replicator. "Coffee, strong, hot."

Smithy took the cup from her and sipped at it. "Cheers. Orlatrel sent a report up yet?"

"Yeah. Remember that shot in the last battle? The one that sent us both to the deck?"

"Not likely to forget that for a while. The landing hurt me so much that Al managed to keep me off-duty for nearly an hour."

Lisa smiled, but sobered quickly. "Weakened the tritanium skeleton in the port nacelle strut. Dave is trying to find a free drydock so we can get it bandaged. No chance of a replacement, unless we steal the one being built to fit to the Typhoon."

Smithy pondered for a few seconds, finished the coffee then tapped his comm badge. "Smith to Orlatrel."

"Orlatrel here."

"Port nacelle strut."

"Yeah, sent a report up. Was planning to come see you when my shift ends. Any advice on how we can patch it up would be muchly appreciated. I've drawn up a plan of sorts, but it'd be nice to get another engineer's input."

"You planning on supervising the Antares guys?"

"After the performance last time we let them anywhere near this ship, I'm not letting them out of my sight."

Smithy grinned at that. "Page me when the daft beggars arrive. I'll take a look at the damage then. In the meantime, maybe you ought to put in a call to the production centre and enquire just how long it would take to fabricate a new skeleton. I can't see any kind of bandage lasting too long in a war." He closed the connection, and stood. Immediately a stab of pain went through his knee. "Ugh. I'm gonna have to get Al to up my dose."

"You're already at the maximum." Lisa gently pushed him back down onto the couch. "Maybe we need to make that trip out to Vulcan a bit sooner than planned."

"Not like I can take a month off right now, is it?" Smithy shook his head. "I'll survive. I might not be happy about it for a while, but I'll survive." He got back up onto his feet, testing the joint. The pain had eased somewhat. "I'm gonna go walk it off planetside before the meeting. See you there."

***********
Antares Command Post
26th July 2395
1315hrs EST
Briefing Room


Harriman watched as Federation Council members, Starfleet captains and admirals, SOD captains, Klingon DSF commanders and ambassadors to the major powers of the galaxy slowly began filling the seats. A seriously important crowd. He spotted Lisa in the crush, motioning her over. "Did your husband re-appear yet?"

"Checked in with me five minutes ago, he was waiting for a beam-up." Lisa stared around the room. "Don't think I've ever seen so many politicians in one place."

Harriman nodded. "Maxwell invited them. Apparently he has an announcement to make. Harrison is meeting him at the docking bay, figured I'd leave him to deliver his spying report to Maxwell in peace. Not as if it makes a blind bit of difference what Special Operations knows about Starfleet." He glanced to the door just as Smithy limped in and made his way over. "You alright?"

"No." Smithy shot him a grin. "Business as usual on that front. Look, I have a quick favour to ask."

"About a port nacelle strut?"

Smithy nodded. "Orlatrel is checking with your production department on the build time for a new tritanium skeleton. He's drawn up a plan to bandage our damaged one, but the stresses of combat added to the stresses of transwarp travel are going to seriously challenge any kind of bodge-up. What are the chances of you getting your guys to build a new one?"

Harriman scrunched his face up. "With the work on the Typhoon, the other shipbuilding operations here....I'll try Smithy, but I can't guarantee it before the end of August. And that still leaves you with the amount of time to remove the port nacelle, strip all the components out of the old strut, swap out the skeletons....it's a helluva job."

"I know, I know. But we've got a good crew, we can get all that done in a week once we have the new skeleton. Don't even need an exotic repair dock, just a bog-standard box dock would be fine."

"Alright, we'll continue this later. Looks like Maxwell has arrived."

The three officers took their seats as Maxwell walked past to stand at the head of the table. Smithy watched him glance around the room. Checking to make sure all your supporters are in the room, Maxwell? I'll bet they are. I've got a horrible suspicion I know what you're about to say.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I thank you all for attending all the way out here at Antares, and thank Admiral Harriman for the use of his facility. I doubt we'd have squeezed everyone in back at Federation headquarters."

Harriman cocked an eyebrow at that. "I'd say 'any time', but you might think I meant it."

Maxwell paused, sensing the anger buried in Harriman's tone, before smiling. "Always ready with a one-liner, you Starfleet people. I've asked you all here today so the Council can make their announcement to you all. Council Leader T'Preth?"

The Vulcan woman stood, moving to stand at the head of the table next to Maxwell. "As of 1400hrs Earth Standard Time today, the Federation Council will no longer be involved in decisions regarding the conflict with the Andromedans. President Maxwell has full say over how Special Operations fights this war."

Angry murmers immediately filled the room, many from the ambassadors and Starfleet people. Smithy let out a hollow, mirthless chuckle. "Imagine my surprise. And post-war, no doubt those powers will remain."

Harriman shook his head. "Well, it's not like we didn't see this one coming is it? What of Starfleet, then? Are we to submit all our plans for Presidential approval before engaging the Andromedan forces?"

"No, Admiral. Starfleet can do as it pleases. Special Operations will however be leading the attack on the Andromedan forces. That much we are stipulating."

Sheehan vaulted to his feet. "Well, you can be damned sure the Klingon DSF won't be following orders from the Federation President!"

"Captain Sheehan, you are being ordered to return to Earth. Your assignment with the Klingon fleet is over."

Now Smithy was standing, his chair flying back out from underneath him. The pain in his knee was completely forgotten. "On whose authority is Captain Sheehan being recalled?"

Harriman leaned forward. "I'm Sheehan's commanding officer at Starfleet, and I've heard nothing."

T'Preth regarded the officers coolly. "Gentlemen, the order comes from Fleet Admiral Wallace. Do your reputations for disobeying orders that you don't agree with extend to defying the head of Starfleet Operations?"

"Depends on if he's wrong or not." Sheehan shook his head. "Damned if I'm sticking around for this crap. See you out in space sometime, Smithy. I've got a ship to get back to." He stalked out of the room, followed by the Klingon ambassadors.

Thulinuk stood. "I must apologise for my first officer. He should have used many more expletives. I should as well, but I can't think of any right now that do this situation justice." He headed for the door, pausing just before it. "The DSF will link up in co-operative missions only with Starfleet forces under the direct command of Admiral Harriman. That may be the only thing holding the Khitomer Accords in place right now. The Federation Council should consider this a warning of what is to come if they continue on this course."

Smithy fixed Maxwell with The Look. "Just once, I'd have loved to be wrong. But no....you've made your grab for power and succeeded. You've got your little helper in the background, manipulating things behind the scenes. Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if it turns out he really is behind the Andromedan attack in the first place. Lord knows it wouldn't be the first time he invited invaders to do his dirty work. But I tell you what does surprise me." He turned his gaze to the council. "It surprises the hell out of me that you all caved in so quickly, letting your fear of this situation rule you. You all decided that you didn't want to make the decisions, fearful that you'd get it wrong. So you handed the power to make those decisions over to someone who effectively wants to rule the galaxy. Congratulations. Really, I mean it. Congratulations on tearing down democracy. You've accomplished in one short move what so many dictators and evil-doers have spent years and years trying and failing to do."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
26th July 2395
1530hrs EST
Bridge


"James?"

Smithy looked up. Lisa was standing in front of him. "Hey hon'. How'd it go after I left?"

"About as well as it could, given how the rest of the meeting had gone. One of the journos there was recording that speech you launched into, it's getting serious airplay on the Federation News Network."

"Can't wait to see the headline tomorrow, then. Maxwell will be attempting to bury it, will be interesting to see what he comes up with."

Lisa dropped into her chair. "Thulinuk and Sheehan took off back to Klingon space to meet up with the fleet. Sheehan resigned his Starfleet commission."

"Smart move. Wallace can hardly threaten him with anything if he's not in Starfleet. Sad, though....I always thought I'd get him back onto the Tigermoth crew roster one day. I take it he's getting a full Klingon DSF commission now then?"

"Yeah."

Smithy shook his head, sighing. "Oh God, what a mess."

"Sir?" Riggs turned to face him. "I've got Council member Shrelen on the comm link. Audio only."

"Wonder what the hell he wants? On speakers, kid." Smithy tapped the control on his chair to unlock the system. "This is Captain Smith."

"Captain, I must speak with you. In person. It's urgent."

Smithy and Lisa exchanged glances. "Very well. Where shall I meet you?"

"I can come to your vessel. If you could arrange a quick transport, I would be grateful. They are about to notice that I'm missing. Please, hurry!!

Smithy shrugged, and tapped another control on his chair. "Transporter room."

"Benton here."

"Lieutenant, tie into the comm system. Transport whoever is on the end of the current call."

"Aye, sir....tying in. One lifeform, energising now."

Smithy levered himself up. "This better be good. I was enjoying that sit-down."

***********
1535hrs EST
Transporter Room


Lieutenant Broxton tapped in the energising sequence, expecting a normal beam-in. Immediately warning lights began flashing. "What the hell?" He quickly scanned the board. Someone was trying to interrupt the transport. "Oh no you don't, not on my watch." He began engaging the emergency systems.

He glanced up as Smithy entered the room. "Someone's trying to scramble the transport cycle, sir. Compensating."

Smithy joined him at the panel. "You need any help?"

"Think I got it....could use a little more power though, sir."

"Ask and ye shall receive." Smithy quickly headed for the other panel, re-routing the emergency power supply to the transporter. "That enough, or d'you want me to call the engine room?"

"That should be enough, Captain."

Smithy glanced at the panel Broxton was feverishly working on. "Woah....that's not like any scramble I've seen before."

"Yeah....I've never come across anything like this, sir." Broxton tapped deeper into the emergency power. "The scanner lock is perfect, it just seems like we need....well, we're up to three times the normal power draw. Think I've got it back now....right, pattern is in the buffer. Materialising....now."

Smithy turned to the transporter chamber as a shaken and distinctly queasy looking Andorian formed. "Nicely done, Broxton. It was about time we tested the emergency procedures you wrote for the new transporter. Welcome to the Tigermoth, Mr Shrelen. Sorry about the rough ride, it seems someone didn't want you to make it over here."

Shrelen nodded. "Yes....yes, Captain." He straightened his tunic. "I must speak with you about the Council. President Maxwell's influence on them. "

Smithy glanced at the yeoman stationed in the transporter room. "Yeoman, escort Mr Shrelen to the bridge. I'll be up in a moment, I just want to go through the transporter error log with the lieutenant briefly." He watched the two leave. "Something very odd is going on here." He tapped his comm badge. "Smith to bridge."

"Lisa here."

"Better have the crew recalled. I get the feeling we'll be needing to get moving soon. Tell Orlatrel we'll need to shore up that nacelle strut on our own, we can't wait for the Antares repair crew. Also, I need to talk to Dave. Secure line."

"Riggs is on it."

"Cheers, see you in a couple of minutes."

***********
1545hrs EST
Bridge


"It all started a few months ago. Council members who had been opposed to the President having so much power, with the Council having so little say, began to change their minds for no apparent reason. Soon the President had the majority of the Council on his side. And then...."

"And then, he began to push through his plans." Smithy leaned against the bridge rail, eyeing Shrelen with a searching look. What the hell aren't you telling me? Lisa was perched on the rail next to him, Shrelen in her seat. Most of the prime shift bridge crew were back at their stations. "So, he has the Federation Council under his thumb. He has SOD as his own personal warship fleet. And the ghost of Robert Metcalf hangs over all of this."

Shrelen's antennae wiggled in surprise. "Robert Metcalf? He's the man you were talking about in the meeting earlier?"

"Yep."

Shrelen tilted his head. "But he's dead, isn't he? I thought you killed him."

"So did I." Smithy sighed. "I blew the guy up with an overloaded phaser. You'd have thought that would be enough."

"Nearly killing yourself in the process." Lisa shuddered at the memory of seeing her husband that badly injured. "If he left an echo of himself when he went into the Nexus, and that echo was able to make it back into normal space....then he might well be even more dangerous than he was before."

Smithy rubbed at his knee. "He will be. You heard him after his little trip to the Nexus. He wanted me to tell him how to use the power it gave him. His echo will know the truth of that power." He rubbed his eyes. "I'm not ready to face him. Not yet. Riggs, is Dave ready on that line yet?"

"Five minutes, sir. He's currently in a meeting with the production engineers."

"Alright, that'll be important. I'll wait." Smithy turned to Shrelen. "Well, you can stay here....but I wouldn't recommend it."

"No, that's quite alright Captain. I'll rejoin the Council, see if I can persuade a few of them to turn away from the path we are on right now."

Smithy nodded, tapping his comm badge. "Transporter room, beam Mr Shrelen back to the Council ship at Docking Bay 14."

"Aye, sir."

Smithy watched Shrelen dissolve, before turning to Lisa. "What d'you think?"

Lisa shrugged. "I'm not sure. Something about Shrelen just doesn't ring right. And you're thinking the same thing."

"Shrelen was hiding something. Something big." A thought popped into his head. A horrible thought. "You don't suppose....oh, bollocks to it. I need to talk this through with Dave. Winchester."

"Sir?"

"Call up the transporter log. The beam-in and beam-out of Shrelen. Send the files down to the computer terminal in my quarters. Take a look yourself, see if anything....odd jumps out at you. Riggs, when Dave is available route the call down to my quarters as well. Elkins, as soon as all personnel are aboard take us out of the dock." He swung over the bridge rail and headed for the turbolift, Lisa following a half-step behind.

***********
1555hrs EST
Captain's Quarters



Smithy stabbed at the computer terminal controls, calling up the files Winchester had sent down. "That's the moment Broxton locked in on Shrelen, and immediately the Level 4 warning starts. Power draw required is three times nominal....signal degradation negligible....makes no sense. If someone was using any normal kind of transport scrambler or blocker, we'd get signal degradation. At least five or six percent. The beam out....completely ordinary. And sending is harder than receiving for these machines."

Lisa looked over his shoulder at the screen. "So what about abnormal kinds of scrambler?"

"Any equipment powerful enough to give the 'Moth's transporters this kind of trouble would need a decent power supply. And the internal sensors on the Antares Command Post would start jumping up and down and screaming if they spotted anything like that. And whatever it was wasn't using the Antares power core because our sensors didn't pick up any major power draw. Which leaves me hoping that this biocode I'm about to look at is completely normal." He tapped away at the terminal. "Well....it does look normal. That's a relief."

"What were you expecting?"

"I'm not sure....I'd have known it when I saw it." Smithy leaned back in the chair, his eyes still fixed on the screen. "I'll let Winchester continue to look at it, maybe he'll spot something untoward. He's a bit better at dissecting these logs than I am."

The comm system chirped. "Bridge to Captain Smith."

"Here, Riggs."

"Admiral Harriman on secure channel, code six."

"Thanks." Smithy tied into the comm system. "Dave, how'd the production meeting go?"

"Not bad, we're on target to finish the Typhoon by early September. All our other projects, plus the re-work of some Special Operations ships are on-time as well. Why the need for a coded line to talk about starship production?"

"I need the coded line for the next subject. One of the Council members, Shrelen, was here. He told me that a few months ago many of the Council members who opposed Maxwell changed their minds. No reason, they just simply did a one-eighty."

Harriman frowned at that. "Strange that they'd do an about-face like tha-....wait, who? Shrelen?"

"That's the guy's name."

"There's no-one on the Council by that name as far as I know, unless he was appointed in the last two or three months."

Smithy sat back, and smiled. "Well, there you go. This Shrelen is appointed to the Council, and suddenly folks are queuing up to be on Maxwell's side. You're the one who likes to see links between events like that."

Lisa tapped her comm badge. "Smith to Winchester."

"Winchester here, ma'am."

"Log onto the Federation Worlds Wide Network, see if you can get any info on Shrelen."

"I'm on it. I also have the computer running a few processes on that transporter log. I'm seeing something odd, but I don't have anything concrete to report yet. I'll get back to you as soon as the computer finishes up."

Smithy gently tapped out a rhythm on the table with his fist. "If this Shrelen is up to something, then why would he ask to meet me?"

Harriman shrugged. "Keep you off-balance? Mis-direct you?"

"He didn't do his homework, then. Not as if James is easy to throw off." Lisa glanced up as the door chimed. "Come."

Winchester hurried in. "Sorry about this, sir, ma'am. But I thought you should see this now." He switched the other screen on, and slotted in the IL chip that he'd been carrying. "Sending a copy over to you as well, Admiral. This is the transporter log. Take a look at the energy signature in the buffer."

Smithy peered at it. "It's a tad high, isn't it?"

"These peaks here and here are far too high." Winchester stabbed at the screen with a finger. "The energy levels shouldn't be that high, not for a single person transporting."

"What are you saying, Winchester? That something more than just Shrelen was being transported?"

"Well, here's where it goes from 'odd' to 'really odd'. I had the computer play with the data, trying to generate some kind of 'picture' of the energy. I wanted to see it in a form that would make comparison with other energy forms easy. I found no matches in the library, except to a sketch. A sketch drawn by the commander." He split the screen in two, placing the energy signature on one side and calling up a file on the other half.

Smithy heard a sharp intake of breath next to him. He stared at the picture. "The pattern you keep seeing."

Lisa stared at it for a few seconds. "Yeah....it's exactly the same."

Winchester nodded. "I'm not going to pretend I know what this means, sir. But there is definitely more to Shrelen than an Andorian politician."

Smithy nodded, tapping his comm badge. "Bridge."

"Riggs here."

"Lay in a course for Earth. Maximum transwarp." He waited for Riggs to relay the order to Elkins. "Engage." He turned back to the screen. "Back soon, Dave. I've got to check something out."

"Alright. Make sure you're ready to head back out at the drop of a hat though. No telling when or where the Andromedans will strike next."

***********
***********

Not entirely happy with it, but it'll do for now. I may be revising part of it at a later date.

[Scottish Andy]

Lines like this are why I love this story.

Smithy levered himself up. "This better be good. I was enjoying that sit-down."

This is great stuff Smithy. Please keep going. I love your character interaction, the convoluted plot twists, and your engineering problems are brilliant. It is clear what they are and that they are big issues and complicated issues (not necessarily at the same time), yet you don't devolve into the horrific Treknobabble that is the bane of all ST series since TNG started. For that alone you should be lauded, never mind the rest of what I say.

And just to "Bug The Guv" (A new segment on Rivaldo  ), your technical skills at writing are up to my standards. I see no errors! Yay!

And another thing: love the British English! As Celine Dion would shriek, I "LUUUUUUUUURRRRRRVE" it. 

So, yes, I forgive you your long posting absence, but I'm far too glad to see you back to be annoyed by it... until the next time you leave! 

[Potemkyn]

Looks bad.  Very bad.   

I'm expecting we might see something we've seen before.   

Oh - great story!  Keep it going.

 

Mike

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 8 - Stiffen The Sinews, Summon Up The Blood (part 2)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
26th July 2395
2105hrs EST
Bridge


The turbolift doors slid open, allowing Smithy to stomp out onto the bridge. He glanced around. "What're you lot doing on duty still?"

Winchester, Drelkar, Elkins and Riggs all glanced back at him sheepishly. Winchester shrugged. "Nowhere else to be, sir. And if it comes down to it, you're still on duty as well."

Smithy shook his head, grinning. "We're going to have to sort these shift patterns out one of these days. What's our position Elkins?"

"Just swinging by Jupiter now, Captain. On Earth standard approach at full impulse."

"Switch to lunar orbit approach."

"Uh....aye, sir."

Smithy sank back into his chair. "I don't want to get too close to Earth. Lunar standard orbit will do just fine." He turned as the lift doors opened again. "Evening Orlatrel."

"Captain." Orlatrel dropped down to the command area and leaned against the rail. "Here's the report on the nacelle strut."

Smithy took the PADD, and scanned it. "Mm....bit worse than we thought. Even fast cruise seems to be straining it."

"I'm all out of ideas with it. We definitely need a new one."

Smithy nodded. "Yeah. We do. I had a thought about it.....if production demands at Antares and Utopia Planitia won't allow for it, then there's one other place that could do the job."

"The Andorian yards?"

"Nope. The other place."

Orlatrel stared without comprehension for a few seconds. "Oh....right, with you. What are the chances we can get out there for long enough to get fixed up?"

"Pretty good, if the existing strut holds together long enough for one last high speed transwarp run. I've put in the call already, just waiting on a response. We'll see."

Riggs half-turned. "Sir, I have a message coming in for you on the transpace link. I've never seen an ident-code like this before."

Smithy tapped his control panel. "Ah, OS-WZ45-T831. Perfect." He scanned the hieroglyphs that emerged on his screen. "'Confirming receipt of transmission. Understand situation. Replacement parts ready when you are. Additional surprises waiting.' Wonder what the Omega Yards have come up with now then?"

***********
Federation Headquarters
Paris, France
2230hrs EST


Shrelen entered the room, locking the door quickly behind him. That was a mistake. I have to be smarter than that, he'll know. He closed his eyes, concentrating hard. His form began to blur and reshape.

Metcalf opened his eyes. He cast his mind out, searching for his foe. Nothing. He tried again. Where are you, James? Can it be that you already know what's going on?

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
2231hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy closed his eyes, feeling his way through the fabric of existence. Not so all-seeing as you think, are you? Mind, I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. He opened them. "Position report."

Elkins turned. "Lunar standard orbit, we're on the far side right now."

"Good. Winchester, what's your estimate of the reliability of the transporter to get to Paris from here?"

Winchester blew out a long breath. "Tall order, Captain. Even using the orbital relay units it'd take some work. We've got the Moon and most of the Earth to get around."

"Have a conflab with Broxton, see what you can do. I want to remain on the dark side of the Moon. I don't care how many relay units you have to bounce me off, just get me there without moving the 'Moth any closer."

"What are you up to?"

Smithy spun, and stared guiltily at his wife. "Didn't hear you come in."

"No, you were too busy planning to sneak off." Lisa leaned against the bridge rail. "You're off to find him, aren't you?"

"I already found him. I'm off to confront him." Smithy joined her at the rail. "Look, I'll be fine. He's not powerful enough yet to do me any serious damage."

"I'm not letting you go alone. Winchester, what's the word?"

Winchester looked up from his board. "We've got a procedure worked out. We can adapt it for two, if needed."

Smithy shot him an I'll-deal-with-you-later look. "Fine. Come on hon', let's go worry the little sh*t.

***********
Federation Headquarters
Paris, France
2245hrs EST


Metcalf opened his eyes. Smithy was sat on the other side of his desk. "You...."

"Yep. Me. Her, too." Smithy jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Lisa, who had a phaser trained on Metcalf. "Things going to plan for you?"

"They were." Metcalf had managed to regain some of his composure. "Tell me young woman, what do you intend to do with that?"

"Drill you through the head if you so much as twitch." Lisa's voice had none of it's usual warmth. "And you can't imagine just how much I'd like to do that."

"I believe I can, actually." Metcalf returned his attention to Smithy. "So, James. Here we are."

"Here we are." Smithy glanced back at Lisa. "You might as well put the gun down, love. He's not ready to kill us just yet. And I'm not ready to kill him."

Lisa shrugged, holstering the phaser. "You know best."

Metcalf's expression was a mixture of equal parts confusion and alarm. "What....what do you want?"

"The answer to one question. Just one, then we'll leave." Smithy kept his expression neutral, hiding the deep joy he felt at seeing Metcalf so uncomfortable.

Metcalf licked at hs dry lips. "Okay....one question."

"Are you responsible for the Andromedan invasion?"

Smithy watched as Metcalf sank back. "You'll find this hard to believe James, but no. I'm not."

"Alright. Thanks for your time." Smithy tapped his comm badge, and he and Lisa dissolved into the transporter beam.

Metcalf stared at the spot where they'd been. What just happened?

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
2252hrs EST
Deck 3, Corridor 2A


"Think we shook him up a bit." Smithy strolled down the corridor, the pain in his knee completely forgotten for now. "I wish I'd been able to get a holo of him. Bloody brilliant."

Lisa shook her head. "I don't get it. He said he wasn't responsible, and you believed him?"

"He's telling the truth. He couldn't hide it from me." Smithy looked almost gleeful. "Oh God bless it. Just when I think I have this life figured out." He stepped into the turbolift, followed by Lisa. "Bridge."

Lisa stared at him. "So, the invasion....is just the Andromedans choosing this time to attack?"

"We-e-ell....maybe. Metcalf isn't the one responsible at any rate. I'm filling in more of the picture as I go, and I just got quite a bit of it." The lift smoothly came to a stop, and the two stepped out onto the bridge. "Riggs, get me Antares on transpace. Secure line. Elkins, plot a new course. The Omega Sector." He tapped his comm badge. "Bridge to engine room."

"Orlatrel here."

"One more run, to the Omega Sector. Can the nacelle strut take it?"

"I've got the SIF boosted as high as poss'. It'll either hold, or break. One of the two."

"Fine. Prepare for transwarp speed." He turned to Riggs. "You got the Admiral yet, kid?"

"Yes, sir. Admiral Harriman is just heading for his office."

"Right." Smithy headed for his chair and dropped into it, keying into the comm system. "Dave?"

"Here, Smithy. What's this about you guys not needing the nacelle strut any more?"

"Alternative supplier. We'll be heading to the Omega Yards. With the systems there we can be ready again in a couple of days, not a week."

"Sounds like a plan. Be advised though, we're picking up movement on the sensor network. Looks like a build up. Ships keep appearing and disappearing."

"Where?"

"Klingon space."

Smithy sighed, the pain in his knee returning. "And I was having such a nice day as well. Okay. We'll try not to be too long. I'll have Ops keep a constant watch on the network."

"Please do. Did you find out anything more about Shrelen?"

"Yep. Shrelen is probably about to disappear. I'll tell you the whole story when we meet up." Smithy closed out the line without any ceremony. "Elkins, engage. Best possible speed to the Omega Sector."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
29th July 2395
1400hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


Smithy stared out of the window at unfamiliar workbees. They'd come swarming twenty minutes ago, just as the ship came to a halt in the dock. Things had changed a lot in the 20 years since he was last here. He could see ships being constructed that were nothing like any design he'd seen before. And I bet neither Starfleet Command or SOD know about 'em. Wonder how far off completion some of them are?

He spotted a familiar shape sailing through the docking area. "Well, well, well....hello Valiant. Long time no see." He squinted at her, trying to make out any differences in her design. New nacelles. I swear, that must be the eighth set she's had. They went through three during construction.

Something else caught his eye. Below the dock his own ship was sat in, there were three smaller docks connected together and three ships occupying them. He couldn't tell what they looked like, or what stage of completion they were in, but he could see the glow that you only get from Federation starship nacelles that were powered up. "That looks promising."

***********
Antares Command Post
31st July 2395
0910hrs EST
Admiral Harriman's Office


"Antares Yards log, stardate 71351.4. The TacFleet forces are on full alert. The sensor network is picking up more and more Andromedan activity. Ships are popping up in both Klingon and Federation space, but all signs point to the Klingons as their next target. Special Operations has been unable to increase their fleet numbers, with many of their ships remaining unusable in drydock. Starfleet engineers have been sent to help out, but many of the designs seem to be fatally flawed in their current form.

"Captain Smith's last message from the Omega Yards indicated that there may be a few ships there that could join the fray. I hope he's right, because we'll need them."

Harriman ended the recording, and sat pondering the recorded images from the sensor network on his computer terminal. The numbers were not adding up in the Federation's favour. Get back here soon, friend. We're going to need you. The door chimed. "Come."

Harrison rushed in breathlessly. "Sir, we've just received word from the DSF. A dustcloud has appeared in the Brek'Tagh system."

Harriman jumped to his feet and rushed out into the operations centre. "Show me Brek'Tagh on the network."

The main screen zoomed in on Klingon space. Harriman grimaced at what he saw. He glanced back at Harrison. "Any chance of SOD joining this party?"

Harrison coloured. "Some of the current ships....maybe, sir. But Admiral, none of the new designs can make it there yet."

"Imagine my surprise. Alright. Communications - declare TacFleet level 1 emergency. Get everyone we can to the Brek'Tagh system. Also, get on the transpace link to Omega. We need the Tigermoth there, if she has both nacelles attached now. Senior officers, report to the Tempest."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
31st July 2395
0940hrs EST
Bridge


"Yeah....I see it."

Lisa glanced around as Smithy limped onto the bridge. "Andromedans, at Brek'Tagh."

"Oh, bollocks. Had to be that far away, didn't it?" Smithy leaned against the rail to get his breath back. "Helm, lay in a course for Brek'Tagh. Engine room."

"Topper here, sir. Commander Orlatrel has just beamed back, he'll be here any minute."

"Orlatrel here. Sorry about that, Captain."

"No prob'. We clear to move out?"

"Move out....if we take care not to stress our systems too much while I get the fine balancing done."

"No promises, the Klingons are under attack. Keep her together."

"I'll do my best. Orlatrel out."

The bridge was coming back to life around Smithy as systems began powering back up. "Riggs, did we get final word from Omega Control about who's joining us on this merry excursion into hell?"

"Three ships, sir. Starships Wasp, Hornet and Bee. They're forming up at the edge of the yard."

Smithy nodded. "Helm, take us out of dock. Thrusters only. Punch it up to 1/4 impulse when we clear the dock. Drelkar, take a look at those ships. They're right up your street."

Drelkar cast his captain a quizzical glance, before heading over to Winchester's monitor which was showing the vessels. "Wow. Like a more modern Defiant."

"Yep. Same sort of weapons fit, transwarp and even more maneouverable. Another three are under construction. These guys haven't even seen a full shakedown yet, but no time like the present."

The ships were now on the main screen as the Tigermoth cleared the dock. Riggs turned. "USS Wasp signalling, sir. Ready for transwarp on your mark."

"Acknowledge them." Smithy steeled himself. "I hope that strut is welded on properly. Helm, engage transwarp drive on my mark." He keyed the comm panel. "All ships, this is the Tigermoth. Transwarp speed now."

***********
***********



***edit***

Missed some.

[James Smith]

Forgot to add - the new ship design. Attached (hopefully) are three shots of a ship DJ Curtis made for Bridge Commander called the Valiant Class. Now, there's already one Valiant built by the Omega Yards in this universe so it'll get named something else in this fic, but I rather like the look of it as a post-Defiant design.

[Potemkyn]

Sweet model - what do you use, 3D Max?

Metcalf, well, at least he's confused.

Mike
~Po