© 2004 by
Federation Space and the authors Tam Otlan, Jonathan Beckett,
The metallic
black hull of an alien starship slid through Federation space, a silent menace
to those waiting ahead.
The sleek but gentle curves of the giant ship belied its size. A Terran might
say it looked like a giant trilobite--something beautiful, but scary at the same
time.
Silently, without answering hails, it glided ever forward...
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The inhabitants
of the ships listened to the various comm traffic they heard, but could make no
sense of the noises they were hearing. Whether it was simply spacial noise or
language, they could not identify it, though it seemed to be coming from the
vessels in the area.
Closing the channels and silencing the noise, they continued on their course,
watching the various ships and their movements.
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== SBA Theater ==
The two probes,
fired on Cdr Avark's orders, directly at the alien ship flew through space
towards their target. The alien ship didn't slow or alter its course instead, it
lumbered forward, slow and deliberate.
In the silence of space, the probes collided with the mammoth ship. Though they
did little to no damage, a silent gauntlet had been thrown. Intended or not.
The alien ship came to a sudden halt. It was then the powerful sensors of the
Copernicus seemed to come alive with information for the armada of federation
ships gathered around. Science and tactical officers throughout the various
ships reported the information to their CO's:
"Sir, something's happening on the bottom of the alien ship. It appears that two
doors, which travel the whole length of the underside of the alien vessel are
opening," Reported a science officer on the Copernicus.
In a matter of 15 seconds the two doors, larger than any door on any star base,
were completely open, revealing an inner bay.
"My god," a tactical officer on the Drake gasped. "There's ships in there. I see
a heavy cruiser sized ship and two destroyer sized ships."
"The smaller ships have powered up and separated from the mother ship. They are
heading towards the Copernicus."
"The mother ship has closed its doors. Incredible the whole process took less
than 45 seconds."
"The smaller ships have many of the same style hard-points that the mother ship
does."
"Wait, some of the hard-points on the cruiser seem to be powering up."
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Four hard-points on the alien cruiser, known in it's own tongue as the RAS Slyth,
began to glow a faint silver white light.
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On his ship, or at least his temporary ship, Lopu manned the science station.
"I'm not certain, but those hard-points seem to be some sort of tractor beam,
but there's something different about them I just can't make out."
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In a flash of silver-white light two beams hit the unshielded Copernicus.
The first beam
hit the starboard nacelle right where the nacelle and the pylon mated. The area
of impact took no energy damage. Instead, the nacelle was torn from the pylon by
a violent back and forth force. The Copernicus's nacelle cartwheeled in the
general direction of the sun.
The second blow was much more devastating. It hit precisely where the saucer
section connected to the secondary hull. In a sickening screech, the
Copernicus's saucer section was forcibly separated from it's secondary hull. The
two sections careened out of control.
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When the probes
crashed into the alien vessel, their response had been immediate. The Commander
of the vessel also sent a short comm burst to their sister vessels throughout
this region of space. The message was simple and repeated several times to make
sure it was received.
[Alien vessels have fired upon us. Attack and destroy them.]
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Starbase Alpha
seemed to be an anchor point in space between the alien vessels and Earth. The
sensors were able to watch the battle and the ship movements, but the Starfleet
ships as well as the aliens, were still beyond the Immense Class Base's weapons
range.
The four strange vessels were also keeping a relatively stationary position, as
if determining whether they would continue their advance, or simply start firing
on the starships that surrounded them, their attacks however had tapered off as
the starship Captains had ceased their hostilities.
So far the aliens had used their tractor/repulsor beam to frightening effect on
the Copernicus, but were ignoring the fighters altogether. As ships passed
during their attack runs, phasers had fired back in response. It was also
noticed that the aliens had shown no sign of having torpedoes.
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== SBB Theater ==
Starbase Bravo
was out of weapons range of the alien invaders, but the starships had formed a
rough barrier between them. The USS Cook was destroyed almost instantly, and the
USS Clark had backed away to a position behind and below the larger Federation
starships, the Captain having seen how quickly his sister ship had been pulled
apart by the tractor/repulsors.
The USS Republic, the USS Comet, the USS Gettysburg and the USS Lexington formed
the front line against the four alien ships and from what they had seen so far,
they were outmatched in firepower. Nonetheless the ships continued to move
through space, trying to maintain their blockade while firing upon the alien
vessels. The tractor/repulsors had been silent, but the alien phasers were not.
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Communications
between the Federation and the aliens had not been going well, in fact, the
aliens had been ignoring any incoming comms from the Starfleet vessels, deciding
that their languages were incompatible and further comms were unnecessary.
However, they were in constant communication with their fellow ships throughout
Federation Space, each keeping the others up to date as to what was happening.
When the Gettysburg punched a hole into one of the alien ships, they decided it
was time to become more active in their study of these strange creatures and
their technology. They transported the small unarmed vessel to a space within
their hull and transported one of the larger ships into their midst so they
could send in a scouting party to further their knowledge.
Away teams would be necessary, as well as possible capture and study. It was
always best to learn as much as possible about those who threatened you.
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The USS
Lexington, a Fearless Class Heavy Cruiser, followed up the attack the Gettysburg
made and launched a spread of stacked torpedoes on the mothership, coming at it
from the opposite side. The torpedoes struck true and punched another hole in
the alien vessel, but unfortunately the Lexington pitched and rolled in the
wrong direction, taking it too close to two of the other alien ships.
They both fired their tractor/repulsors and tore the saucer in half, long ways.
It was like a giant axe was buried into the top of the saucer, cleaving the
large disk in two. The saucer separation clamps that allowed the ship to part,
couldn't hold the saucer section in place and the two halves tumbled away,
exploding before they had completely cleared the stardrive section.
The Captain hadn't had time to order the ship abandoned before more than half
his crew had been killed. The stardrive section moved away at impulse speeds,
but it was obvious that the drive section had been badly damaged. What was left
of the Lexington, limped away from the fight.
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== SBA Theater ==
The three
ships, the Kiev, the Copernicus (though broken in two parts) and the Sheridan
circled the heavy cruiser sized alien vessel and fired their modified payloads.
The hull of the ship tried absorbing and redistributing power as it impacted,
but it was being hit from too many places at once and was suffering heavy
damage. The hull had broken open like an over-ripe fruit in half a dozen places
and fires were illuminating the inside of the hull. The tractors from heavy
cruiser, which were helping to hold the Drake in place flickered and faded from
existence.
The ship was still secured by the other three vessels, but the heavy cruiser
peeled away and began returning phaser fire to the ships that had attacked it.
Already its hull was breaking apart in some sections and it made an attempt to
move away from the group to not jeopardize the rest.
Commands moved through the small fleet from the mothership and with a final
wrenching jerk to the Drake, which threw people from their feet and caused the
structural integrity alarms to shriek, the beams shut off. The two destroyer
sized vessels turned and set course for Earth, jumping to warp speed. The
mothership moved closer to the USS Kiev and the ship faded from existence,
having been beamed directly into the huge ship's bay. The mothership then
wheeled away and began heading out of the system, back in the direction from
which it came.
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As the
Mothership left the area at warp and the two Destroyer-sized ships raced to
Earth, leaving the badly damaged heavy cruiser life vessel behind where it would
fight until the end, a message was sent to the other alien forces in Federation
Space. It was simple and signified much to those who received it.
[Destroy what you can, gather samples and return.]
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The alien heavy
cruiser, badly damaged and with no chance of a successful return home, turned
away from the battle with the Federation ships and began a run against the
Immense Class starbase. The ship had taken a serious beating and was without
much of its energy absorbing capability, but its weapons were still fully
functioning and the CO wanted to see how they fared against the humanoids space
station.
Setting an intercept course with the huge base, they locked all their weapons on
the area they located as power reactors and charged ahead at full impulse.
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As one of their
heroic commanders prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for their people, the
two smallest alien ships tore through space heading directly for the planet that
was teeming with humanoid life. They scanned ahead and saw that the blue-green
orb was protected by shields that were so powerful, the energy needs must have
been extravagant.
Still, shields didn't matter to them. They had long ago perfected ways to use
shields to their advantage as well as live in the hostilities of space without
using them themselves. Shields were a crutch for the weak and a tool ripe for
exploitation. The two ships dropped out of warp at nearly the last minute and
shimmered out of existence.
When they rematerialized, they were within the shield bubble of the planet and
began scanning for the more prime targets this world had to offer.
Before either ship could fire a single volley, the massive batteries that had
been charged in anticipation for battle, especially after the Borg attack the
previous year, unloaded their barrage against the two small warships. The
absorbers didn't have a chance to absorb a single gigawatt of power before the
ships were completely vaporized.
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== SBB Theater ==
In the space near Starbase Bravo, the Comet began moving away from the circle of ships that had surrounded her. Before she could make any real distance, she vanished from view and sensors.
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== SBA Theater ==
The last alien
ship in the Sol System, and by far the largest, was cutting through warp space,
heading back to their origin point. Within the ship lay the USS Kiev FF-6096, a
Berlin Classed Frigate which had been transported inside the huge hangar bay and
seemingly ignored since.
On the bridge of the small ship, the Officers were calling out ideas and fears,
hoping that their CO would get them out of this snag. They had confidence in
their Captain, who had always seen them safely home in the past.
Captain Telehg, a Vulcan approaching nearly one hundred and fifteen years of age
simply held his hand up to bring silence to his bridge. His mind was one of the
most ordered his teacher in the Kolinahr had claimed to have ever melded with
and he used his impressive intellect to quickly entertain and dismiss the ideas
he had heard from his crew.
His First Officer, a Terran woman who was easily one of the most capable humans
he knew, leaned in close to him, perspiration rolling down her face and spoke
quietly.
"Captain, I think it's time we activate the self-destruct. We could take much of
this ship with us and allow the fleet to overwhelm her. Even their thick hulls
couldn't hold back that kind of explosion."
He tented his fingers before his face and continued to watch the darkened
viewscreen for another forty-five seconds.
"It would be illogical to destroy ourselves when we have not fully examined this
species under a non-combative circumstance. They have transported us within
their hull, indeed saving this ship from further damage. Had they wanted to kill
us, they would have been able to do so with little effort on their part. I
believe we would better suit Starfleet and the Federation, if we were to wait
for them to contact us. Then we may ascertain what their true intentions are.
Should that fail, we may always destroy ourselves. In fact, we will preprogram
the ship to do so if it does not receive the proper sequence from us every hour.
We will give ourselves every chance to survive this encounter, but should we
not, we will endeavor to stop them from keeping this ship and its technology."
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The alien
vessel detected the large asteroid, but not the ship behind it; they were intent
on making their escape now that they had everything they wanted from this area
of space. Their orders had been well-defined with several contingency plans
depending on what they had found. The loss of several of their ships had not
been planned, but it was an acceptable loss overall. The ship they currently
held would still be a valuable bauble and there was no reason to remain any
longer.
Adjusting course to avoid the asteroid, they edged starboard roughly one million
kilometers to go around it and head for the jump point they would use to return
home.
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== SBB Theater ==
With the destruction of one of their smaller ships and the significant
damage done to the heavy cruiser sized vessel, the mothership sent orders to the
two remaining vessels, transported the Comet within its considerable hangar and
jumped to warp speed on a course to take them out of this space as quickly as
possible. They had intended to take a smaller vessel and indeed the orders of
the heavy cruiser were to do just that, but if they could take one of the large
enemy warships home, they would likely unlock most of the secrets it held and
could use them to their advantage.
The remaining destroyer-like ship spun about and began a final attack run on the
Lexington and the Gettysburg. It locked tractor/repulsors to the stardrive of
the Lexington and began shearing the ship apart while focusing its phasers on
the Gettysburg. The larger ship locked onto the remaining scout ship and
transported it into its own hangar and followed after the mothership. The two
alien vessels knew they were sacrificing their sister ship, but they couldn't
remain any longer and chance losing the advantage.
Within a few short moments, what was left of the Lexington exploded violently,
causing more damage to the alien ship which was now sending volley after volley
against the Gettysburg. The Republic moved closer and added its weapons to the
battle, punching numerous holes into the alien hull and bringing the ship
quickly to ruin.
When the final alien ship was destroyed, less than half of the Federation ships
had survived.
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The two black-hulled ships were
lighting out of the system at warp speeds. The larger ship was in the lead and
heading for the rift that would take them home.
The smaller ship was a few thousand kilometers behind, also attempting to make
the rift, but the Captain of the USS Clark had other plans. Deciding that all
was lost and they had nothing to lose by allowing themselves to remain
prisoners, she initiated the auto-destruct sequence and only allowed it a one
minute detonation.
When the small scout ship exploded, the supernova of her warp core turned the
alien ship into a micro-star that sent shockwaves in every direction. Only the
mothership remained and it didn't slow down until it reached the rift.
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== SBA Theater ==
The mothership
realized too late that they were in the middle of an attack by the Federation
forces. Coming to an emergency stop they locked tractor/repulsor beams on the
asteroid and began tearing it apart while the Agincourt's formidable weapons
battered their hull.
Much of the energy was being absorbed, but they were still attempting to deal
with two threats at once and sensors showed more ships on the way. The CO of the
alien vessel ordered all power to their weapons and prepared to deal out damage
in kind.
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== SBB Theater ==
The mothership was moving at warp speed, nearing the rift that would take them home when an explosion on the ship's starboard side erupted into space and the vessel was knocked out of warp. The Comet, damaged and burning from her own quantum torpedoes, tore free of the alien ship and leapt to warp. A moment later the alien ship did the same and when it reached the jump point it had used to arrive here, it disappeared from Federation Space.
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The fighters, though limited in
their sensor abilities, were still able to detect the mothership's warp trail
and began following it immediately. They were approaching the area where the
Starbase patrol had stopped broadcasting when they read the mothership stopped
almost dead in space. A moment later it launched away at warp again and another
target was moving away, also at warp speed in a different direction.
The second reading had a distinctly federation signature.
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== SBA Theater ==
The mothership
had been trying to avoid the obvious impact of the asteroid which had moved into
its path, but when it exploded towards them and the starships began peppering it
with torpedoes and phaser fire, the decision to stop was proving to be a
mistake.
Changing tactics, the mothership's tractor/repulsors shut down and their phasers
lit up the surrounding space, taking targets that were too close to move away in
time.
When it became obvious that there were too many to be dealt with without
chancing being destroyed, the mothership jumped to high warp on a direct course
to their rift home. When they reached it, they vanished from Federation Space.