JP Commodore Taybrim, Cmdr Serala & LtCdr Sherlock: Reinforcements
Serala
(( Bridge, Deck 3 - Primary Hull, USS Chin’toka ))
They were in the battle of their lives. But not just their lives, but the lives of everyone in the Federation. The Borg and the Changelings had effectively conspired to take over the entire fleet assembled at Earth for the Frontier Day celebration. The Astraeus had learned enough, with the help of Captain’s Rahman and MacKenzie, to know of the threat, if not the exact nature. Serala had been dispatched, along with a skeleton crew, to appropriate the Chin’toka, and get it out to assist with rescue operations.
That had been the plan, anyway. But reality had been something quite different. Owing to the Fleet Formation software, and some method of assimilating younger officers and crew - which they had yet to learn how that had been done - the Borg had effectively assimilated the fleet. Only a few ships remained free of control. Among those that Serala knew of so far were the Astraeus, Kitty Hawk, and possibly the Artemis since it seemed they were no longer attacking the Kitty Hawk. Captain Delano had made contact and requested her help in running interference with the Enterprise-F while the Astraeus attempted to rescue people from Earth Spacedock. It was a suicide mission, but Serala was a soldier and she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. The Chin’toka was an Akira-class starship, built for combat.
Serala oO We will not go gently into that good night. Oo
Serala was waxing poetic, a new trait that she had developed, apparently, to help her deal with stressful situations.
Serala oO At least I’m not doing it in Romulan anymore. Oo
Neshala was demonstrating a remarkable skill at piloting, and they’d only taken a few glancing blows from nearby ships. McGillian was doing a commendable job with the limited firepower available to him, but Serala had a thought about that as well.
Serala: Ensign McGillian, whenever we manage to take down the shields of a vessel, I want you to beam their torpedo complement off and have the torpedo teams begin loading them.
McGillian: Response
Neshala: Captain! It looks like we might have more reinforcements.
Serala popped out of her seat. Or, at least that was her intent. Her pregnant condition made that move a bit more awkward than she’d intended.
Serala: On screen.
Neshala flipped the view to what was almost an aft view of the ship, then zoomed in on the vessel she’d been referring to. It was an Ambassador-class starship, and chances were good it had not been assimilated either, especially since it was an older class of starship.
Serala: Can we get an identification?
Neshala punched a few buttons and checked her readings.
Neshala: It appears to be the USS Narendra, NCC-26595.
Serala was stunned. That ship was assigned to Starbase 118, under command of Commodore Taybrim. She wondered if he was here, or if it was some other officer acting under his authority. Either way, there was a good chance they were friendly, and for all of Serala’s faith in the Chin’toka, there was no chance they would survive against the Enterprise-F alone.
Serala: Lieutenant, hail them, encrypted channel, priority one.
Neshala: Aye, Captain. :: punching some commands :: Channel established, Captain. Linking visual now.
The visual was reassuring. A calm, collected Betazoid, a crew that was focused and ready, a ship that was - as of yet - unscarred. Taybrim gave a faint nod of recognition to Serala, his demeanor was all business, no pleasure.
Serala resumed her seat and looked at the face on the screen.
Serala: =/\= Commodore Taybrim. I am glad to see your face. Please tell me your crew hasn’t been assimilated. =/\=
Taybrim: =/\= No, we are not. We are here seeking answers. What is the status of this battle? =/\=
Taybrim had already figured out the Borg were involved. Picking up Whittaker had confirmed that and more information, but he still didn’t have the entire scope of what they were walking into.
Aine hadn’t expected to see the Narendra or the Commodore she’d previously served under. But the arrival was a welcome one. They needed all the help they could get as the fleet, or what was left of it, was in a dire situation.
Sherlock: =/\= Right now, all but a handful of ships is turning their attention to Earth Spacedock. =/\=
Serala: =/\= We had a problem with the Borg ourselves, but we’re getting it under control. We’ve managed to partially block the Borg signal and it seems our crew is responding. Thankfully. But we have a bigger problem. =/\=
She meant that in quite a literal sense as well as the figurative one.
Sal Taybrim matched her gaze with a no-nonsense expression that immediately communicated ‘define bigger problem.’
Taybrim: =/\= I’m going to take a wild guess and assume you are referring to the Enterprise-F. I’m also going to guess it’s been fully assimilated. =/\=
Fantastic, the flagship of the fleet against them? Sounded like a challenge.
The Commodore’s assessment was spot on. Just a few seconds before, the Chin’toka was getting ready to head right into the fray and that meant right at the Enterprise. And Aine knew that would have been a suicide run going in alone against the massive Odyssey Class vessel.
Serala: =/\= Yes, sir. Captain Delano has separated his ship and the saucer section is attempting to rescue people from the station while his stardrive section is covering the evacuation. He asked me to run interference with the Enterprise-F. We’re already banged up, undermanned, and low on weapons. We could use all the help we can get. =/\=
Ah, the Astraeus. A recently refit ship, it was - on paper - bigger, stronger and faster than the Narendra. And it was certainly both bigger and stronger. And faster at warp speeds. But in a fight?
The Astraeus had been designed for deep space exploration. The Narendra was designed as a warship, from a time when war was a reality and not something the Federation waved away as a folly of the distant past. And in this situation that design mattered. The Narendra was far more maneuverable than the Astraeus - or even the Chin’toka, and she was fresh.
Smaller only meant the Narendra could dart in between enemy ships and use the chaos of the battle to its advantage.
Taybrim waited a moment, the flow in formation suddenly pouring in as they had breached the communications and scanning blocks, and then looked back up.
Taybrim: =/\= No matter how capable the Astraeus is, there’s no way it can survive with the amount of adversarial firepower it is going up against. =/\=
He was careful to use the word adversarial, not the word enemy. There were comrades under that assimilation - friends, colleagues, innocent people. Maybe they were lost forever, but this fight was one of hope.
Serala nodded.
Serala: =/\= Yes, Commodore. And, frankly I agree that even Captain Delano can’t hold off that many starships by himself. The station is taking a pounding by the fleet and can’t last much longer. =/\=
Sal’s demeanor shifted. He was the ranking officer here and he had years of experience with situations like this - odds against them scenarios with ship battles. He was calm, he was focused and he was starting to think of a plan.
Taybrim: =/\= Then you’re lucky I brought backup. I mobilized the Aegis, the Rahuba and the 292nd squadron of Raptors to follow me. They can provide enough cover to get anyone who is badly damaged out of the fight and they’ll even the odds against the Enterprise. =/\=
Serala: =/\= Understood, sir. What are your orders? =/\=
He looked at the formations, the movement of the ships, who was attacking what and who was needing help.
Taybrim: =/\= The Narendra will take the Enterprise. Get Captain Delano to back off to a safe distance, the 292nd will cover him, have him regroup, repair, do whatever he needs to - and then focus on the Titan. =/\= ::He adjusted his tactical display:: =/\= The Iniaeu and the Minor are headed towards space dock, you know the Chin’toka best - can you take either one of them? =/\=
Serala: =/\= We’re undermanned and low on weapons, but I have a plan for that last part. We can probably handle the Minor. Additionally, the Chin’toka carries a small fighter contingent. We can launch what we have to join the battle as well. =/\=
Aine knew the Akira Class was tough, but a ship was only as capable as the crew, and there was no lying, their crew was rough. Few to begin with, fewer after the assimilation, and unfamiliar with each other.
Sherlock: =/\= Sir, even with the fighter compliment, we could use a hand in there. =/\=
Taybrim: =/\= Good, then you focus on the Minor. I’ll send the Aegis to back you up. Sherlock knows the Aegis’ capability. The Commanding officer is Major Tem, he will follow your orders. =/\=
Tem was a Bolian marine officer who was dedicated to his duty - and incredibly good at ship tactics. He was the perfect choice to back up a new commanding officer, and he was someone who would not question orders.
Serala: =/\= Understood, Commodore. And frankly, I will take all the help I can get. Thank you, sir. =/\=
Standing next to Mac at the Tactical console, Aine began to set-up a link to the Aegis. Yet another ship she was familiar with from her time back on 118. Sending a quick message and response from Tem, she pointed to the display, showing the Chin’toka’s Tactical Officer where she wanted the Aegis positioned relative to them.
Sherlock: =/\= ::looking up the viewscreen:: We’ve got them. We’ll try and return her in one piece. =/\=
Sal’s expression said one thing: ‘Don’t try. Do.’ But he remained professionally silent.
Serala: =/\= Acknowledged, sir. Is there anything else? If not, I will reach out to Captain Delano and let him in on the plan and then break off for the Minor. =/\=
Taybrim: =/\= Fight smart, if you think you need to retreat start doing it immediately, don’t wait until one more hit will vaporize you. Keep in contact. Together we’ll win this. =/\=
Serala: =/\= Clear, sir. Best of luck to you. Chin’toka out. =/\=
Fairhug: =/\= Responses =/\=
Sherlock: =/\= ::giving one last smile to the viewscreen:: We’ll see you all on the other side. Have a good one. =/\=
Taybrim: =/\= May the galaxy be at our backs and may we see you all on the other side. =/\=
--
Commander Serala
Commanding Officer
USS Chin'toka NCC-97187
A239412S10
and
Commodore Sal Taybrim
Commanding Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
E239010ST0
and
LCDR Aine Sherlock
Executive Officer
U.S.S. Chin'toka
R239712AS0