From TTy99@aol.com Wed May 27 08:08:16 1998 Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 20:07:57 -0600 From: TTy99 To: INDIGO FLEET List Serve Subject: [INDIGO] USS PROMETHEUS: The hero's legacy (1/3) ---OFFICIAL INDIGO FLEET TRANSMISSION--- Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 22:09:32 EDT From: TTy99 Subject: [INDIGO] USS PROMETHEUS: The hero's legacy (1/3) [NRPG: Part 1 of 3. Continuous action, I'm afraid. } SD 100521.0245 GMT Scene: Bridge, USS PROMETHEUS FMD 6.1555 "Acknowledged, Commander Butler. PROMETHEUS out." Sovak's voice was devoid of emotion and precise as he nodded permission for Lt. Cmdr Modix to close the comm channel. The Chamelean TAC officer complied, and, meeting Sovak's gaze for a moment, winked broadly. "Way to tell him off, Captain," he said, grinning. The AGAMEMNON's XO, known for his prickly temper, had sent a sharp reminder about staying on station to his presumably inexperienced opposite number now in charge of the PROMETHEUS, with some rather pointed comments about the obvious incompetence os their current Navigator, Ensign Faith Robinson (at least until the imminent arrival of her alpha shift superior, Lt jg Phoenix). Sovak had defended their present position as 100 per cent accurate, and, to everyone's complete surprise, even added a comment that he would match Navigators against the AGAMEMNON's any day, though of course he hadn't expressed himself in quite such terms. None of them had expected such an emphatic defense for a junior crew member, and more than one bridge officer had gaped openly at the startling comment. Now, in the slightly more relaxed atmosphere which resulted from that exchange, a chorus of low chuckles sounded around the bridge, gradually dying off in a crescent arc just ahead of the Vulcan XO's steely-eyed stare. By the time Sovak's eyes had made the full circuit and come to face Modix once again, everything had quieted down, and Chaz wore an innocent and attentive expression instead. Ignoring the apparent change of heart, Sovak said: "Mr. Modix. Such levity has little place on the bridge, nor do I approve of the criticism of a serving Starfleet officer your would-be witticism implied, despite his apparent lack of courtesy. I will even choose to overlook the inappropriate t term of address you used...." "Wait a minute, Sovak!" protested Chaz. "Got you there. As senior officer on board, you are entitled to be called Captain." There was a brief moment of silence, which caused several heads to turn, although they were careful to keep from openly staring. But only a brief one. "Technically you are correct," admitted the Vulcan, bringing a sly smile back to Chaz's face. "However, I prefer to be addressed as Commander, since the situation is only temporary. And *not* by my name, Mr. Modix! Is at least that much clear to you?" "Yes, *sir*!" answered Chaz enthusiastically, bringing two of his four hands up at once in a parody of a snappy salute and seemingly getting them tangled up as he did so, instigating another round of soft chuckles. This time, Sovak just shook his head and waited for it to subside. "I'm glad we understand one another," he finally said, as if nothing had happened. "In the future, however, when I am on the bridge, I expect you to maintain a more dignified and professional manner. Even more so now, since we are only awaiting Captain Slick's order to begin the exercise." "Of course, *Commander*," responded Chaz easily, putting a slight, yet somehow still exaggerated emphasis on the last word. "But since you work beta shift, I don't usually get an opportunity, or should I say the *privilege*, of interacting with you on the bridge. Sir." "And until now, I little realized just how fortunate I was," the Vulcan XO commented. Chaz was stunned for a split-second, then he laughed aloud, noting Sovak's raised eyebrow and realizing he was being kidded. By the very last person he would've expected. It took another second or two for the rest of the bridge crew to figure out why Chaz was laughing, but they joined in willingly enough when it finally struck them. Ensign A'Vanya, who had asked permission to remain on the bridge despite being relieved by Modix because she wanted to stay and watch the exercise, laughed perhaps a little more loudly than the rest, earning an irritated glance from Sovak who did not like such obvious reminders that they were two very different sorts of Vulcans. Other than that, he stood cool and unmoving like a rock upon which the waves of mirth lapped without effect, until a sudden voice issuing from hidden speakers silenced them all. [AGAMEMNON to PROMETHEUS] came the flat intonation of their TAC officer. With a flick of one wrist followed by a quick nod from Lt Cmdr Modix, Sovak replied: "PROMETHEUS here." [Stand by for Commodore Slick.] "Standing by." [Commander Sovak] announced the familiar voice, provoking small smiles of quiet pride from virtually the entire bridge crew, knowing it was their Captain who was in command of the entire Battle Group today. It almost made up for the fact that they had to put up with Sovak while Slick was gone. [I'll be watching today's exercises from the AGAMEMNON. This will be an excellent training opportunity for you. You have the PROMETHEUS. I expect a full report when I return aboard after we're done.] There was a slight pause, and Sovak was about to reply, when a slightly chagrined Slick quickly added: [Er... I meant brief report, not full.] "Understood, sir," the Vulcan responded simply, ignoring the smiles that blossomed all around him at their Captain's amendment. [Very well, prepare to begin. Slick out.] There was a slight pause, then the speakers boomed forth again with Slick's confident voice, a little louder now as he addressed the entire battle group: [All units, this is COMBATRON 9. Today's mock battle will be the final exercise before we head back to OMEGA. We're running low on torpedoes and probes, so let's make the most of what we have left to make any final enhancements to Wild Weasel before we bring her home. Dalriadan forces, are you in position and ready to go?] Now another voice sounded from the leader os the "enemy" ships: [Tallyho, COMBATRON 9... this is the AGINCOURT, stationkeeping at the in-system edge of the range. We're quite good to go, sir.] At that acknowledgment, they all tensed a little. This was only a drill, but each and every crew member knew that someday - *soon* - their lives might well depend on what they learned here today. Once more, Slick's confident tones sounded forth: [Excellent... good luck. All units, proceed.] Everyone glanced at Sovak, as if expecting him to say something inspiring, then most rapidly turned away, suddenly remembering just who it was they thought might give them such an "illogical" morale booster. The Vulcan just stood silently, staring at the screen without moving a muscle, waiting for the inevitable follow-up. The speakers rang out with Slick's voice again, this time addressed only the PROMETHEUS: [Activate Wild Weasel.] With a nod, Sovak passed implementation of the expected order over to his TAC officer. Modix's four hand flew over the controls, punching buttons and flicking switches, eyes locked on the readouts and oblivious, for the moment, to the rest of the bridge. In an age-old ritual of human preparation, muscles tightened and mouths formed grim lines as everyone concentrated on their jobs with efficiency and dispatch. The only person not manning a console, Commander Sovak, carefully watched the quiet activity around him, looking for any slight hesitations, looks of confusion, or a dozen other little tell-tale signs that might indicate one or more of the bridge crew was not adequately prepared or competent at their jobs. To his satisfaction, he noted no discrepancies whatsoever, a tribute, in his mind, to the hard drilling they had been engaging in ever since the end of their last mission. Since he was a Vulcan, he of course felt no sense of pride at such a realization, but perhaps to those who actively suppress their emotions, satisfaction could be considered the same thing. ***************************************************************** NRPG: You can see that I kind of melded this into part of Jeff T.'s post "Heroes never die - part 2". He describes this exercise, so I won't bother to repeat all that. Note that Jeff. J's post "And so it begins - part 2" goes in here as well. As a matter of fact, the next part begins about midway through that part 2. Then it moves back to Jeff T.'s , relating the same events from the PROMETHEUS' point of view. Yes, I'm having some fun with this post. Bear with me. There will be quite a bit of new stuff before I'm done. ************************************************************* Scene: Bridge MD 6.1631 [NRPG: In the midst of the Sovak-Walker debate about Star Wars.....] "Commander Sovak," A'Vanya suddenly announced looking over Chaz's shoulder and pre-empting her own superior in her obvious excitement. "I have a proximity alert on long range sensors. It looks like a ship coming out of hyperspace. No Federation ships are scheduled for arrival and she's already violated the perimeter of the testing range." Sovak strode over immediately to join the little crowd clustered around the TAC console, followed by an openly curious Walker. The XO might not have liked Lieutenant A'Vanya's attitude towards her duties and found her lack of self discipline unprofessional, but he could not fault her report this time. "Probable identification, unknown Dalriadan warship," Chaz added quickly, glaring at A'Vanya to remind her she was only an observer here. Walker looked at the readings over the Vulcan executive officer's shoulder. "Thae's noo Dalriadan. Thae's the power signature o' a SOLAR-class ship. Thae muss be NOVA," stated the engineering officer as Sovak looked at him with a classic look of disdain. Sovak didn't need the Scot leaning over his shoulder to tell him something that was fully evident to the former science officer, or at least something he never would have admitted needing confirmation on. He would have had to cross reference Federation hyperspace signatures to be as certain as the chief engineer was, but the Vulcan trusted the Scotsman's judgement in this regard, as he had helped to design the dimensional warp system on PROMETHEUS and should know the signatures of similar drives in other ships quite well. "That does not explain why she has arrived off her anticipated schedule nor why she is in the middle of the test range," he stated dryly. Turning towards the tactical station, the XO ordered, "Mister A'Vanya, open a channel...." He was pre-empted by a familiar voice:: [PROMETHEUS, this is Slick. Have you got a fix on that incoming, bearing 245 mark 49?] "Captain, this is Sovak," responded the Vulcan, completely unruffled by the interruption. "Commander Walker informs me that it has the signature of a SOLAR-class vessel." "Sir, incoming signal from NOVA," declared Chaz excitedly , with a sharp glance at A'Vanya obviously calculated to keep her silent. "Attempting to compensate for disruption from n-space transition." "Put in on the speakers, Mr. Modix," Sovak directed. Everyone visibly tensed as they all tried to hear the static-filled message that crackled out to fill the bridge. [...say again my last. This is Captain Robert Brooks commanding the battlecruiser NOVA. We are under attack by Dalriadan warships. They have dimensional warp drives, and transition to normal space of their fleet is imminent. Data on pursuing vessels is encoded on a subcarrier of this frequency.] Sovak did not frown, but if ever he was tempted to, this was the time for it. Brooks had been relieved of command, so it was surprising to hear the former and now obviously restored CO's voice. This was not time to worry about minor mysteries, however, he quickly decided, dismissing the thought. "Message repeats, sir," announced A'Vanya, earning yet another glare from Modix. "Red Alert, shields up," stated Sovak loudly. Immediately, klaxons went off and the standard flashing red lights washed over the bridge crew, who ignored them, tensing even more as they all suddenly realized this was no drill. In a few minutes, they would be engaging in battle with a hostile foe known to have superior capabilities "Sovak, the captain...," said the engineering officer, alarm evident in his voice. "The Captain is aboard AGAMEMNON, Mister Walker," interrupted the First Officer, walking around the side of the bridge to take a position standing directly in front of the Captain's chair. "Their shields are up, as are ours. He will have to remain there for the duration. We do not know the capabilities of the Dalriada, and if we break formation to rendezvous with the trailing ship in this formation, we may be out of position to react when the Dalriada arrive. Now, Mister Walker, please return to engineering and insure that this ship is ready for combat." Turning away, Sovak punched the comm button on the arm of the chair beside him and said: "Sovak to Mister Talon. Report to the battle bridge." Then he took up a rigid stance with hands clasped behind his back, staring at the main viewscreen. He did not bother to look behind him, knowing Walker was too good an officer to question or second-guess his orders under their present extreme circumstances. At this moment, former Counselor Johansen's voice seemed to suddenly ring in Sovak's ears, reminding him at this crucial juncture, as if he needed it, of his ultimate responsibility: "Keep them safe, Sovak." Though the Vulcan's lips moved, no sound issued forth, nor was anyone watching to try and decipher the acting Captain's silent response, even if they had been able to understand it: "I will, my friend. I will. As best I can....." Keeping his eyes fixed on the screen, Sovak said loudly: "Mr. Modix. Please give me any tactical evaluations as you observe them." "Aye, aye, sir," responded Chaz promptly, his own gaze still locked on the console in front of him. Behind him, A'Vanya leaned in, anxious to help, at least until Chaz said quietly: "A'Vanya. Go to the battle bridge. Now." "But...." she began. "Now," repeated the Chamelean firmly, never looking back. Though clearly reluctant, she turned away and marched with leaden feet to the turbolift. She knew it was the right thing to do, but still couldn't help wishing she could be involved in the *real* action, instead of waiting impatiently for the worst to happen. Abruptly Sovak's commbadge sounded, and the voice of the new Operations officer spoke out of the air: [Talon to Commander Sovak. Mister Phoenix will accompany me to the battle bridge and act as my Navigator unless instructed otherwise.] The Vulcan looked down at his chest briefly, as if irritated at the distraction, and answered shortly: "Understood, Commander. Lt. Phoenix is at your disposal." The brief interruption was immediately forgotten, however. "Sir!" suddenly rang out Chaz's excited voice as the turbolift doors finally hissed shut on his sulky subordinate. "There are over twenty ships coming in!" "Be precise, Mr. Modix," Sovak said coolly. "This is no time for inaccuracies." "Twenty-six... twenty-seven, twenty-eight!" counted Chaz aloud in reply. "Oh, my God!" breathed a quiet anonymous voice, as they all realized at once that they stood little or no chance against such overwhelming odds. Their despair became almost total at Chaz's next chilling words: "Captain," he said quietly, though in the heightened tension of the bridge, each word sounded as loud as a thunderclap, "they've launched missiles." "How many, Mr. Modix?" inquired Sovak, seemingly indifferent to the rising tension as the pulverizers streaked toward their targets. "More than a hundred....... estimate one hundred and twenty, sir!" Shocked expressions greeted this demoralizing announcement. Everyone knew the test results showed that only a little over thirty per cent of those devastating warheads could be taken out by the counter-measures they had been practicing. If the silence was thick before, now it was positively suffocating. No one dared to move, as if wishing they could simply wake up from this nightmare. Sovak looked around, noting the unnatural stillness, a part of him wanting to say something inspiring, or even comforting, that might mean something to these emotional creatures, but not having idea what they might want to hear. Fortunately, he was spared what could have been a debacle of biblical proportions when the reassuring sound of Slick's voice came over the squadron comm channel and everyone seemed to straighten up a little: [BATRON 9, take out those missiles with your torpedoes!] "Mr. Modix," Sovak said firmly. "Fire a full spread of torpedoes toward the incoming missiles." "Aye, aye, sir!" exclaimed the Chamelean TAC officer grimly, his finger stabbing the console in front of him. On the viewscreen, tiny points of light sped from into view in a straight line, joining others that were already emanating from the AGAMEMNON and the NOVA, shortly followed by the even more from the rest of the Starfleet vessels present. Together they looked like a swarm of slowly receding candle flames against the backdrop of endless night. All eyes remained fixed on them until the speakers once again boomed forth with Slick's voice: [Squadron, this is COMBATRON 9. The AGAMEMNON and the PROMETHEUS will delay the Dalriada with the countermeasures while the NOVA and the rest of the squadron make a tactical withdrawal to Starbase OMEGA..] "Acknowledge that signal, Mr. Modix," Sovak commanded, knowing an oral message was unnecessary and that Slick would have enough to do without the added distraction.. "Done, sir," immediately answered Chaz, though several worried looks were exchanged as the bridge crew realized that order might well become their death sentence. Sovak started to speak, but was pre-empted when another voice rang out strongly from the hidden speakers: [COMBATRON 9, this is AGINCOURT... a 'tactical withdrawal'? With all due respect, you're off your bloody rocker. We've been training to fight for the past week... let's do it..] How typically human, Sovak found himself thinking. Even facing odds against which they stood virtually no chance, Captain Farthington still was willing to sacrifice his ship rather than perform the logical maneuver and withdraw. The ominous sight of the Dalriadan ships forming up seemed to fill the screen before him. Off to one side, the crew could see the NOVA turning ponderously, firing even more torpedoes as she went, heading back to OMEGA, followed slowly by the rest of the squadron, save only th AGAMEMNON. And, of course, the PROMETHEUS.. Since they were already in position, there was nothing to do but wait for the inevitable onslaught. Unless, thought many of the bridge crew staring at the retreating starships, you were lucky enough to have orders to turn and run.... Another voice rang in: [COMBATRON 9, this is COURAGEOUS... I concur with AGINCOURT. Let's kick some ass.] Several of the ships, AGINCOURT AND COURAGEOUS among them, seemed to hesitate, hanging in space as they appealed to the squadron commander for the chance to stay and fight instead of the ignominious retreat they had been ordered to perform. "Sir?" inquired Chaz quietly, his hand poised over the squadron comm channel. "Captain Slick will handle this, Mr. Modix," the Vulcan said flatly, without turning around. "They have their orders." [Squadron, my last order stands. If you do not comply, make no mistake, we will all be wiped out in a matter of moments, failing to deliver the information we've gathered over the past few days to OMEGA. Withdraw now.] [COMBATRON 9, this is--] protested a fourth voice. This time, though, he did not get to complete yet another useless statement of defiance. Slick immediately cut in, shouting now: [GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! THAT IS A F$%KING ORDER!] ********************************* [NRPG} Just thought I'd end this at the same spot where Jeff did. Proceed to part two. Respectfully submitted, Tim Tyson Lt Cmdr (acting Captain) Sovak USS PROMETHEUS tty99@aol.com ***This message sent by an official member of Indigo Fleet*** Are you also posting your message to the newsgroup?!!! ---END TRANSMISSION---