Commander Serala: Never Give Up. Never Surrender!
Serala
(( Bridge, Deck 3 - Primary Hull, USS Chin’toka ))
Serala: Number One, signal the fighters and the Aegis and tell them to stand clear. Then have them redirect to the Passchendaele.
Sherlock: Aye, Captain.
Lieutenant Stapledon locked onto the other ship’s warp core and energized. A split second later, she saw the telltale blue glow coming from near the Ypres just before McGillian targeted it with a well-placed phaser blast, detonating it. Serala could hardly believe it herself. They had managed to neutralize both the Minor and the Inaieu, and the explosion of the Inaieu’s warp core had actually damaged the shields of the Ypres to the point that it was now limping away from them. That just left one more ship for them to deal with, the Passchendaele.
Ilsam: If they didn’t have shields…
Serala looked over with a smile.
Serala: You read my mind, Commander Ilsam. We’ll need their codes as quickly as possible. We won’t get many more tries at that tactic before the Borg adapt, so let’s use it while we can.
Islam: Aye, Commander.
Stapledon: Sirs, we might be able to fire short bursts of tetrion particles at the ships to disrupt their connection with the Borg.
Ilsam: ::looks up from his work, then returns his attention to the console and enters a series of commands:: Confirmed, Captain. ::pauses:: It should work, especially if we can get close enough.
Sherlock: It's worth a shot. If we can even get some of them ::beat:: offline, that ship might hesitate.
Serala: I am all ears. What did you have in mind?
Stapledon: We could modify a shuttle to do it, dump it out the aft of the ship, and have it follow us around, sending the bursts
Kel: :: turned to the captain, eager to provide a suggestion:: Sir, you mentioned a series of short warp jumps. If there’s enough power in our warp core, a series of short fast jumps on our targets could create echoes of the Chin'toka. :: the ensign paused :: Picard maneuver sir. Multiple Chin'toka’s to confuse their targeting sensors. After a few jump we can start firing the tetrion particles – it should give us enough of a head start.
Ilsam: ::grins:: Excellent thinking, Ensign. They won’t know what hit them.
Sherlock: Two for one, that'll give us an edge. ::to Stapledon:: Lieutenant, get the shuttle bay to prep a shuttle for the tetryon burst.
Serala: The Picard Maneuver is only going to work once. And to a lesser degree, we’ve already been implementing it. But these are Starfleet Officers and that is one of the best known maneuvers in Starfleet. Not to mention the previous assimilation of Captain Picard which means the Borg have his knowledge and memories. :: pauses, considering :: But maybe all we need is just one time. Get it set up, Ensign, but standby to execute for my order. :: to Neshala :: Lieutenant, it’s not a starship, but it should give you thrills enough. I want you to take the shuttle out.
The Orion turned a pale shade of green but nodded and secured her station before heading for the turbolift.
Kel: response
Sherlock: ::to Stapledon:: Lieutenant, how long before we can launch the shuttle?
Stapledon: Work's underway. ETA six minutes.
Kel: response
McGillian: ::to Serala:: Captain, if Lieutenant Neshala needs a co-pilot in the shuttle, I am certified.
Serala could appreciate the offer, but she needed the Ensign where he was.
Serala: Negative, Ensign. I need you right where you are. Neshala is a capable pilot and you’re doing very well at tactical.
McGillian: Understood.
Ilsam: ::to Stapledon:: What do you think, Lieutenant? ::sends a message to Stapledon’s console:: Would this frequency do the trick?
Stapledon: Absolutely, sir!
Ilsam: ::nods:: Understood. I’ll monitor from here. Make sure nothing goes wrong.
Stapledon: Thanks.
McGillian / Kel: Responses
Serala: Launch the shuttle.
Sherlock: Response
Serala watched the shuttle depart from the shuttlebay at the front of the ship and bank to get behind the ship. There was something unusual on one of the nacelles, so Serala manually zoomed in on it using the main viewscreen: "ASSIMILATE THIS"
oO Damn straight. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Oo
Stapledon: Shuttle launched.
Ilsam: Response
McGillian / Kel: Responses
Sherlock: Responses
Stapledon: I have the Vimy Ridge approaching.
Serala was about to order evasive maneuvers when Lieutenant Neshala cut in over comms.
Neshala: =/\= Shuttle Delvok to the Chin’toka. Captain, I just picked up a transmission that I think you need to hear. It’s from about two hours ago and appears to be set on auto repeat. =/\=
Serala sat forward in her seat before responding.
Serala: =/\= Patch it through, Lieutenant. =/\=
The signal connected and Serala nearly rose from her seat as she listened.
Chekov: =/\= This is President Anton Chekov of the United Federation of Planets broadcasting on all emergency channels. =/\=
Serala sat back and listened. She could hear the strain in his voice and hoped this was not what she was afraid it was.
Chekov: =/\= Do not approach Earth. A signal of unknown origin has turned our young against us. They have been assimilated by the Borg. Our fleet has been compromised and as we speak, our planetary defenses are falling. =/\=
oO No! No, this can’t be. T’Saara is down there! Oo
Chekov: =/\= Sol Station is defending Earth as best it can. But we’re almost out of time. =/\=
<Panicked background chatter>.
Chekov: =/\= We have not been able to find a way to stop this Borg signal and unassimilate our young. But I know if my father were here, he’d remind us all that hope is never lost. There are always possibilities. Until then, I implore you: save yourselves = /\=
Female voice: ::in background:: =/\= Mr. President, we need to get you to an escape pod! =/\=
Chekov: =/\= Farewell. =/\=
oO The President !? Oh bloody hell. Oo
Serala sat back in her seat. Not only had they just heard what sounded like the final words of President Chekov, but his announcement convinced her that Earth had not escaped tragedy after all. Unless he was on Sol Station. It was possible he had been there for the Frontier Day celebration. And that would mean there might be hope for the planet. For Bean.
oO T’Saara! No! Oo
But there was no time for grief. She was in command and if her daughter was gone, then she was going to make someone pay for this.
Serala: =/\= Thank you, Lieutenant. Cut the transmission. =/\=
The channel closed and Serala allowed silence to fall across the bridge. But only for a moment. Then resolve took her and she felt the fires boil within her veins.
oO As a great Romulan Praetor once said: Revenge is a dish best served cold. And it is very cold in space. Oo
Serala: Helm, jump us aft to the Passchendaele. Execute the Picard Maneuver. Ensign McGillian, I want a full spread of torpedoes on their aft shields combined with a full barrage of phasers. Then a second salvo of torpedoes.
McGillian / Kel: Responses
Sherlock: Response
Serala: As you said, Number One, it’s time we start punching back. Signal the Aegis and the fighter group. I want their full attacks on the Passchendaele. Once it’s neutralized we take down any bastards between us and Earth.
Sherlock: Response
Serala turned to Stapledon next.
Serala: Lieutenant, I have a new assignment for you. Operate under the assumption that the President escaped and is out here in this mess somewhere in an escape pod. Find it.
Stapledon: Response
Serala: Lieutenant Commander Ilsam, the shields and power balance are your responsibilities now. Keep us alive. I want to find the President if he’s out here. A shuttlepod isn’t going to last long in this, and it’s already been two hours.
Islam: Response