Topic: ST: Tigermoth - Return Of The Andromedans

[James Smith]

Author’s note – This story takes place a few years after the events of “Silent Enemy”. And unlike most Tigermoth fics - no weapons are fired in the opening post    How long d'you suppose that's going to last.....


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Prologue

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USS Thor
SOD-322
1210hrs Earth Standard Time
2nd March 2395


"We're entering visual range, captain. No indication that the intruder has spotted us."

"I want a quick scan, and then we get out of here." The captain turned to Tactical. "You have a match on that configuration yet?"

"Negative. Doesn't match anything in our database."

"Widen to include old TacFleet memory banks, Starfleet and Federation allied databases."

"Aye sir." The tactical officer set to work for a few minutes. "Uh, sir?"

"What is it?"

The officer swallowed. "No exact match found sir, but it's very similar to this."

The captain stared at it, the colour draining from his face. "Uh oh." He spun around to face the helm. "Take us out of here. Maximum warp!"

************
USS Tigermoth-A
Bridge
0236hrs EST
14th March 2395

The doors opened, and Commander Lisa Smith stepped out onto the bridge. It was very quiet, the soft hum of the ship’s systems present in the background as ever. The graveyard shift was on duty, and on a slow post-refit cruise like this that meant boredom for the officers who were on the consoles. So it was not all that surprising that she’d been called to the bridge by the young ensign at Communications. First message in days and blind panic sets in. “What is it Riggs?”

The young woman turned. “A message from Starfleet Command, ma’am.”

A twinge of annoyance pulled at Lisa’s face. “I’d guessed that much Riggs. It’s hard not to spot the Starfleet logo on your screen. So what does the message say?”

“They would like a word with the captain. It’s been labelled Priority Code 1, so I figured it must be fairly important. But….”

“But you didn’t want to wake him. I can understand that. He’s not in a desperately good mood at the moment.” Lisa’s smile faded into a frown. “Priority 1…..they probably ran out of biscuits at a Starbase nearby.”

“Ma’am?”

Lisa shook her head. “Ignore me, just having an internal rant at the people we work for.” She glanced down in surprise as the console beeped. “Are they calling again?”

“Yes ma’am.” Riggs’ hands flew over the keypad. “Admiral David Harriman calling from the Antares shipyards. He would like a word with the captain.”

“Patch it through to our quarters.” Lisa hurried off the bridge. Dave wouldn’t be calling at this hour if it wasn’t important. Probably not biscuits then.

************
Captain’s Quarters

“Dave? At this hour?”

Captain James Smith crossed quickly over to the desk, and activated the computer panel. The screen popped up, awaiting authorization to tie in to the communications system. “Authorisation Smith-2-4-1-Alpha.” The screen lit up, the Federation seal appearing and then being quickly replaced with the image of his friend and former CO. “What time of day d’you call this?”

“It’s nice to see you too.” David Harriman stared at his former chief engineer. “You’re looking pretty good Smithy, all things considered.”

“Cheers. Not looking too bad yourself.” Smithy flashed a quick ‘thank-you’ smile at his wife as she handed him a mug of coffee, and then returned his attention to the screen. “Things are settling down here now we've got everything repaired after the last refit. How are things at the Antares yards?

“They’re ticking over. Production is up this month, looks like we’re going to meet our great and glorious President’s targets.” The sarcasm didn’t just drip from his words, it practically poured. He grinned apologetically. “Sorry. I usually just bottle up that frustration.”

Smithy returned the grin. “I understand. You hear about my last run in with the dictator?”

“I saw the damage to the bar at headquarters. I was told you had something to do with it.”

“Not my most professional moment.” Smithy caught Lisa rolling her eyes at him and blew an apologetic kiss in her direction. “It’s come down to a battle of wills. He knows it would be lousy PR to kick me out of the fleet or demote me, and he can’t promote me as I’d have too much power then. I think he’s hoping that I’ll resign my commission soon.”

“Is there any chance of that?” Harriman looked slightly alarmed at the thought.

“I doubt it.” Smithy sat back and contemplated for a second. “What else could I do with my life? Can you see me as a diplomat? Bollocks to that….no, I think I’ll be spending a while in this job yet.”

“I see.” The relief was evident in Harriman’s voice. “Listen, the reason I called....”

“Was wondering when you’d be getting to it.”

“Special Operations Division came calling the other day.”

“Ah.” Smithy flashed a quick look at Lisa. “What did the silly SODs want?”

“They wanted opinions from former TacFleet officers about some sensor logs. Ordinarily I’d have told them where to go, but I think you ought to see this.”

In a flash, Harriman’s image was replaced by that of a standard Starfleet sensor log. Smithy leaned forward and stared at it, his breath catching in his throat. “When....when was this scan taken? And where?” Lisa stood behind him, reading the data in disbelief.

“It was out by the Barrier Zone. 12 days ago. You’d have thought that they might have given us notice a little earlier really. I would have dismissed it as a fake, but the Klingons spotted a similar vessel yesterday.” Harriman’s image returned to the screen. “Of all the things we didn’t need right now, this has to rank right up there.”

Smithy slumped back in his chair. “Are there any indications of a build up? Any sign of an imminent attack?”

“No and no, which is why SOD is assuming that there is a build up and it is for an imminent attack.”

Lisa pulled up a chair and sat down slowly. “Is Starfleet invited to this party, or is SOD going it alone?”

“They’ve told Command to keep all Starfleet vessels away from the Barrier Zone.”

“So…Andromedans.” Lisa slumped back in her chair.

“Andromedans.” Harriman echoed, sighing.

“Andromedans.” Smithy’s face scrunched up into a scowl.

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

[Lieutenant_Q]

Welcome Back Mr. Smith!

[James Smith]

Welcome Back Mr. Smith!

Cheers 

Went hunting this morning for some pictures I remembered seeing on the internet at some point in the past. When I was writing the first story in the Tigermoth universe WickedZombie finished his first model of a TNG refit Constitution class called the USS Valiant, and he made up some Tigermoth registries for it so I could fly 'my' ship in SFC. Since then (in the fics) the ship has been refitted quite heavily, and I'd gone looking for something that I remembered seeing a loooooong while ago:





This is Dennis Bailey's USS Concord - a conjectural TNG era refit/redesign of the Constitution class. If you can imagine the secondary hull, pylons and nacelles of this model with a saucer closer in shape to WickedZombie's Valiant model (see below), then that's the ship that I see in my mind when I write about the Tigermoth.

USS Valiant by WZ:

[James Smith]

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Chapter 1 - Reunion (Part 1)

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USS Tigermoth-A
Bridge
16th March 2395
1025hrs EST

"Course laid in, sir."

Smithy glanced up from his PADD. "Engage, transwarp speed. I have no intention of not being the first there." That raised some smiles from the crew around him.

And they've been in short supply since the news came in. He resisted the urge to get up and wander around, knowing how much it bothered people when he showed any signs of tension. His crew knew what a disturbed captain meant - that serious trouble was brewing, and that they were going to be a part of it. He preferred to keep that tension bottled up and out of the way, only letting it show when he was with his close friends. He couldn't hide it from them. Or his wife.

Lisa glanced over at him, and then checked the bridge chronometer. "Well, we've got about an hour before we'll reach Antares. You had breakfast yet?"

Smithy visibly brightened at the mention of breakfast. "Sounds like a plan. Riggs, keep my chair warm." He departed, holding hands with Lisa.

Riggs watched the pair go, and self-consciously sat in the centre chair. Ensign Winchester half-turned from his position over at Ops. "Now that looks weird."

"What's that?"

"You sat in the big chair."

Riggs threw him a dirty look. "Hopefully I won't be here for long. He knows that I don't like this, why does he keep doing it?"

Winchester grinned. "You went through the Command path at the Academy. You must have wanted it at some point in your life."

Riggs stood and crossed over to his console. "Maybe, before I found out just what it means to be sat there. You took the test didn't you?"

"Which, the Maru?"

She frowned. "No, the other one."

Winchester sighed. "Oh. That one. Yeah, I took it. Pretty graphic....and I haven't found anyone who passed it yet. Mind you, rumour has it that the captain passed it....never been able to find out for sure though."

Riggs stared at the viewscreen, watching the rainbow streaks of particles getting smeared by the ship's transwarp fields. "I took it five times. I even got hold of a modified copy of KIRK-KM.sim re-written for the different test."

"You use it?"

"No. Opened it up, examined what it did. I'd already tried it on my first attempt." She shook her head. "I nearly quit because of that test. The only thing that stopped me was the instructor telling me that it was beatable."

"How was that any better than being beaten by a no-win scenario like the Maru?"

Riggs shrugged. "I don't like unfair tests. If it was beatable and I lost, then fine. But putting us through a completely un-winnable test like that one....I can accept it with the Maru as that’s so obviously un-winnable that the impact is lessened."

Winchester stared up at her thoughtfully. "Things like that do happen in real life you know."

"Well, if I do face a no-win situation then no amount of practice is going to change things is it?" With that, Riggs crossed back to the chair and sat down, her gaze never leaving the viewscreen.

************
IKV Mortum Hesta
Bridge
16th March 2395
1025hrs EST


"Co-ordinates received sir. Course is plotted, engines are at standby."

Thulinuk glanced back as Sheehan entered the bridge, gingerly picking his way over a mass of exposed cables. "Watch your step. I don't want to have to dig you out from under that lot."

Sheehan looked around the bridge. "You planning on getting this little lot fixed at the Antares yard?"

"Harriman offered. It’s better than waiting six weeks for Tykor station to do the work." He turned to face Sheehan. "You received your message from Earth?"

"Yeah, cheers for relaying it. My niece just finished her final exams at the Academy, she was letting me know how it went."

Thulinuk returned his gaze to the datascreen in front of him. "The son of a family friend is going through the Starfleet training program. He found one particular test outcome hard to accept."

"The Maru?"

"No, the other one."

"Oh. That one." Sheehan grinned in fond memory. "We nearly destroyed a holodeck once running that with the safeties disabled by accident."

"Did you beat it?"

"Nah. But I know someone who did."

************
USS Tigermoth-A
Mess Hall
16th March 2395
1105hrs EST

Lisa stared out of the observation windows as the ship raced along towards Antares. She turned as Smithy pushed a mug of tea towards her. "Thanks."

Smithy sipped at his own large mug of coffee. "Orlatrel just handed me the figures for this month, looks like we're finally running within Starfleet's fuel allowance."

"That'll please the Admiralty, right up until they come to visit and find that you've been falsifying the records."

"Massaging the figures, there is a difference you know." Smithy gazed at her. "You look really pretty with your hair like that."

Lisa smiled. "I was going to change it back to how I had it before."

"That's okay, you look really pretty with it like that as well." The two leant in over the table for a kiss that was interrupted by Smithy's comm. badge beeping at them. "Bridge to Captain Smith."

Smithy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I do wish the universe would leave me alone when I'm busy. Smith here."

Riggs' voice filtered through the comm. system. "Sorry to interrupt your breakfast sir, but we're approaching the Antares system."

"Go to impulse, head straight for the main base." The pair got up and headed out the door, Smithy pausing to grab another coffee out of the replicator on the way out. He had the feeling that he might need all the caffeine he could get today.
************
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[Grim Reaper]

I didn't welcome you back did I. Dude welcome back. and since you've such a nice posting interval, I'm going to excuse your hiatus

[James Smith]

Cheers Grim 

[Commander Maxillius]

Andromedans.

You have my attention.


Carry on

[James Smith]

************
Chapter 1 - Reunion (Part 2)

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Antares Shipyard Command Post
Operations Centre
16th March 2395
1135hrs EST

Harriman leant against the rail running around the perimeter of the room, watching the semi-organised chaos that marked a typical day at the Antares yards. Never a dull moment here, that's for sure.

He strolled over to the scanner board, which reported the positions of all the ships in the Antares system. One ship was heading in that the computer didn't recognise. Harriman knew which that ship would be. You're going to have to get that warp signature registered at some point Smithy, or Starfleet will make good on their threats regarding your career....PR damage notwithstanding. He glanced over at the communications console. "When the Tigermoth arrives, get them docked at Port 1."

"Aye sir."

Harriman headed for the turbolift, tapping his comm. badge as he walked. "Commander Harrison, report to Conference Room 1A."
************
Habitat Module

Commander Kyle Harrison glanced up as Harriman's voice filtered through the comm. system. "On my way sir." He returned his attention to the screen. "I have to go."

"I understand. Do your duty."

Harrison shut down the terminal, stood and headed for the door. He paused to grab his uniform jacket off it's hook and glance in the mirror. Yes, I'll do my duty. You can count on me Mr President.

************
Conference Room 1A

"Hello Dave."

Harriman turned, and grinned as Lisa strolled into the room. "Hey." He grabbed her in a short hug. "Been a while."

"Too long." Lisa moved out of the doorway to let other officers into the room. "James sends his apologies, he's going to be a little late. He wanted a few minutes planetside to....well, you know."

"Yeah. I know." Harriman sighed. "Is he getting any better?"

"Well, it's been a few months since he last cursed at power conduits that didn't deserve it." Lisa shook her head, then shrugged. "He said to start without him anyway. Besides, he probably knows what you're going to say."

"I wish he'd tell me then, I haven't got a clue."

************
Antares B II
Goltaka Garden
1155hrs EST

Smithy limped through the garden, barely noticing the beauty around him. The Goltaka region was known throughout the Federation as being spectacular at this time of year, but he wasn't here for the scenery. He was here to visit the resting place of an old friend.

He reached the clearing, finding it exactly as he'd left it when he'd come here the last time. A simple gravestone, with a name inscribed on it. A low wall running around the grave in a circle. He sat on the wall, and stared at the gravestone. The inscription was simple, and to the point. It simply said 'Mack'.

"Hey Mack." Smithy absently rubbed at his aching knee, a legacy of the damage he received in his final deadly confrontation with Robert Metcalf. Damage that had been minimised by the timely intervention of the surgeon buried in the grave here. "Still giving me bother. That treatment you developed though, it really does help."

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he angrily rubbed them away. "Sorry. I know you'd be the first in line to kick me for crying over you." The tears persisted though, and began rolling down his cheeks. "I know you live on inside the Nexus, and I know you had a damn good innings....and I can't figure out why none of that is any god damn comfort!" He pounded a fist on the wall a couple of times, and dried his eyes on the sleeve of his uniform. Some steadiness returned to his voice. "I miss you old friend. I have to go know, the galaxy needs saving again. Wish me luck."

************
Antares Shipyard Command Post
1230hrs EST

"I'd like to thank you all for making it here on short notice." Harriman stood at the head of the long table, and glanced down to his right at Thulinuk and Sheehan. "Especially those of us who have better things to be doing than making trips from Klingon space."

A quick laugh rippled down the table, which the two men acknowledged with a nod. Sheehan grinned up at his former captain. "That's quite alright Admiral. All's quiet on the Romulan front right now anyway."

"As you're all aware, a Special Operations starship took sensor images of an Andromedan ship in the Barrier Zone earlier this month. I believe similar sightings have occurred in Klingon space?"

Thulinuk nodded slowly. "Ships in a configuration similar to known Andromedan designs have been sighted along the Galactic Barrier, towards the Federation border. The Klingon DSF has been put on alert, any further sightings will be reported to Starfleet."

Harriman continued the briefing. "Considering that the last reported sighting of an Andromedan vessel was in 2355, and that their ships were more than a match for Starfleet's best back then, we're assuming the worst regarding their tactical capabilities."

Harrison regarded Harriman with a confused look. "I wasn't aware of any Andromedan sightings that far into the 24th century."

"You should read more history books."

Everyone in the room looked to the doorway. Smithy stood there, leaning against the door frame. "Sighting was made by USS Excalibur, NCC 26517. On one of her voyages into deep space, she travelled through a wormhole out past the Galactic Barrier and came across an Andromedan cruiser."

Harrison frowned. "I've read history books. That incident isn't in them, it isn't on file with Starfleet."

"Really? Oh well, we probably forgot to note it in the ship's log."

Lisa glanced at Harrison, and offered a brief explanation. "James was chief engineer aboard Excalibur at that time. I'm sure he can give an accurate account of the incident."

"Sure can." Smithy limped over to the empty seat next to Lisa and sat, noting the look of concern on her face and silently promising an explanation later. "Bob, in one of his more competent moments, didn't actually fire the first shot. Of course, since he hadn't ordered the shields up in time I think we can strike any competency from the record."

"Bob?"

"Oh, forgive me. Robert Metcalf, Starfleet officer, psychopath, criminal genius, dead and his atoms scattered across a wide portion of space in a warp core breach. Gone, but certainly not forgotten. And I know that he's in the history books." Smithy stared up through the transparent ceiling at the Antares Maelstrom, still an awe-inspiring sight every time he saw it. "Where was I? Ah yes, the incident. The Andromedan ship was fitted with some kind of plasma based weapon, seemed to operate on a similar basis to the weapons the Romulans began fielding a few years back. Concentrated bolts of electroplasma, nasty on a shielded vessel and very damaging to an unshielded one. Their first shot went right through the port nacelle pylon." He paused, remembering the scene in the engine room. "That pretty much scuppered any chance of us making a proper fight of it, but I doubt we'd have been a match for them if we'd had our shields up from the start. The only thing that saved us was Bob getting brained by his chair when we took that hit."

Harrison's face wore a luck of confusion at that, so Harriman explained. "He was knocked unconcious, and since Excalibur didn't have a first officer at the time that meant that the chief engineer was in charge from that point."

Smithy continued the account. "Only one thing really we could do at that point. In the words of the Monty Python team - run away! We put overload power into the impulse engines while reconfiguring the warp program for single-nacelled flight, and then returned to the wormhole and got the hell out of there."

"So, you're saying that we don't have a chance against them?"

"Nope. I'm saying that last time we met they had a distinct advantage. It's a bit of a jump to go from that all the way to 'we're doomed'."

Sheehan turned to face Harriman. "We don't even know if there is a fleet of them out there, or what their intentions are. All we've got is guesswork right now."

"Well, what do you propose?" Harrison sat back and folded his arms. "You want to go do some recon? You want to send a Starfleet force out there to deal with any Andromedan ships? Special Operations will be out there by now, I'm sure they've got it covered."

"Special Operations Division is full of morons who couldn't find their arse with both hands." Smithy leaned forward, his hands gripping the edge of the table. "I'm not at all comfortable entrusting the safety of the Federation to that bunch of muppets."

"Well, unfortunately for you the President doesn't see things that way."

"Yes, unfortunately for me and for the rest of the Federation! Well, fortunately for the security of the Federation I have absolutely no intention of sitting back and watching events unfold."

Harriman's face wore a smile as he watched his former chief engineer go off on one of his familiar rants about those above him. A quick glance around the room confirmed that everyone bar Harrison was looking at Smithy in approval and admiration. No surprise there....he always did know how to work a crowd. "I agree. It's clear that Starfleet has to do at least something. Thulinuk, you said the DSF is on alert. How many ships do they have that far out?"

"15 cruisers, and some escorts."

"Then you'd better join back up with them then. Our repair teams will be done with the Mortum Hesta in another hour."

Sheehan nodded. "We'll head out as soon as the ship is ready."

Harriman turned to Smithy. "How soon can you get the Tigermoth out to the Barrier Zone? Everyone else will be using the warp highways to get there, it's about 3 days at those speeds."

"At maximum transwarp speeds, we can be there in less than a day. We can hold the fort until others arrive."

Harriman nodded. "Very well. I'll inform SOD's commander that Starfleet ships will be in the area on a training exercise."

"A lie?" Harrison's face was scrunched up in disapproval.

"If you like." Harriman looked around the table to see if there were any further questions. There were none. "Go on, get out of here. The galaxy isn't going to save itself."

Everyone began to file out. Harrison, Lisa and Smithy remained behind. Harrison spoke first. "Admiral, I must object to this course of action."

"Duly noted." Harriman watched as the other man stuttered for a couple of seconds, then turned and left. "Well, the President will probably be getting a call from him. You guys better get going quick."

Lisa nodded. "Watch your back. That guy's bad news."

"I know. You guys watch yourselves as well....those idiots in SOD are just as likely to shoot at the Tigermoth as they are at Andromedan ships."

Smithy regarded him glumly, and grumbled. "Just once, I'd like the universe to play nicely for a change."

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

[Grim Reaper]

Nah that won't be fun. I like the universe not nice to Smithy. But those SOD's cannot be totally incompetent?

[James Smith]

Nah that won't be fun. I like the universe not nice to Smithy. But those SOD's cannot be totally incompetent?

Thing is, they have to be incompetent. Otherwise, what's Smithy going to rant about? 

[Grim Reaper]

Nah that won't be fun. I like the universe not nice to Smithy. But those SOD's cannot be totally incompetent?

Thing is, they have to be incompetent. Otherwise, what's Smithy going to rant about? 

The coffee?



j/k Ranting about the coffee is probably not as cool. However it might be fun to show that only their commanders (admirals and such) suck.

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Smithy, good to see you back and writing, bro!

[James Smith]

Grim - The only person who Smithy really detests is the Federation President (or dictator, since he's pretty much on that level). I suspect that given the chance, he'd rather work with SOD than against them Besides, we all know that crews only follow orders....and Smithy can't expect them to mutiny just because he doesn't like the concept of a pure-military fleet operating outside Starfleet authority.

K-Fo - Cheers mate 

[Lieutenant_Q]

So, its been a few years since the Dictator came into office, right?  How soon until Smithy runs for President? 

[James Smith]

So, its been a few years since the Dictator came into office, right?  How soon until Smithy runs for President? 

For some reason, I can't honestly see him doing well as a politician.....

[CaptJosh]

Perhaps not, but what about as a true statesman?

[James Smith]

Perhaps not, but what about as a true statesman?

I didn't realise there even was such a thing 

Quick note - any stardates that I happen to quote in this fic are calculated from here. I have no idea how "accurate" it is but it'll do for my evil purposes. It's actually the first time I've bothered with stardates in a fic, which is a fairly poor effort really 

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Chapter 1 - Reunion (Part 3)

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USS Tigermoth-A
Bridge
17th March 2395
0710hrs EST

Smithy exited the turbolift and looked around. "Quiet at this time of day isn't it?"

Riggs glanced around and jumped to her feet, hastily vacating his chair. "Sorry sir, I didn't realise you were coming to the bridge."

"Any word from the SOD taskforce in the area? They ought to be picking us up on LRS by now." Smithy took his seat and turned to face Riggs at her station.

"We've had no communications from them, but about five minutes ago one of their ships changed course to pass closer to us."

Smithy thought for a second, then smiled to himself. "Open a channel on SOD's frequency, I want to announce our presence."

Riggs turned back to her console, and tapped at it for a few seconds. "Channel open."

"This is Captain James Smith aboard the USS Tigermoth. I'm looking for Andromedans, anyone seen any?" He mimed a cutting gesture to Riggs, who closed the channel. "Well, that ought to get someone's attention."

"It has, sir. Incoming communication from the USS Venture, Captain Ghelev."

Gotta love the direct approach. Never failed me yet. "On-screen." Smithy turned his attention to the main viewer as the image of the Venture's bridge sprang into focus. The Andorian officer in the centre chair stared impassively back at him, but Smithy could sense the man's tension even through the distance between the ships. "Good morning Captain Ghelev."

"Good morning Captain Smith. We were told to expect you, I hadn't realised we'd be meeting so soon though."

"Well, that's transwarp for you. Does have a habit of making you early for meetings."

"Yes, and now that you are here....what are your intentions?"

Smithy sat back and folded his arms. "Well, that really depends. My intention is to either work with you and find out if we are facing an invasion by an Andromedan force.....or to not work with you, and find out if we are facing an invasion by an Andromedan force. And with regards to that choice....well, the ball is in your side of the court."

Ghelev smiled and nodded. "Yes, I see your reputation is well earned. To be quite honest with you captain, we are under orders to have nothing to do with you. But then, we are such a long way from the nearest command post...." He paused to scribble a signature on a PADD and hand it to someone off-screen. "We don't have enough ships here to mount an effective search in a short space of time, so we could use the help. How many other Starfleet ships are heading here?"

Well now, that is interesting. Not enough ships? Sounds like someone screwed up somewhere. "We have at least 15 Starfleet vessels heading this way, they'll be here in around 36 hours. The Klingons have ships searching on their side of the border, around 20 in total. We'll link up into your search pattern immediately."

"Thanks captain. Uploading our current data to you now." Ghelev's image winked off the screen to be replaced by the Venture's datastream.

"Riggs, get me a full compliment of bridge crew. We've got work to do."

************
USS Venture
Captain's quarters
18th March 2395
2030hrs EST


"Captain's personal log, stardate 71077.8. The search is progressing much quicker thanks to the arrival of a number of Starfleet ships." Ghelev stared out of the window, watching the stars as his ship carried on through the search pattern. "The crew expressed some surprise at my accepting Starfleet's help, and I can understand that surprise. I am well aware of the President's orders regarding this subject....but the situation seems to call for a rather more flexible interpretation of the rules." He ended the recording, and headed for the replicator. "Tarkalean tea." Grabbing his drink and a couple of PADDs, he settled down in his comfy chair and began to read.

He got as far as the second PADD before his comm. badge began chirping at him. Sighing, he tapped it. "Ghelev here."

"Sorry to disturb you sir, but I think you'd better get up here. One of the ships has found something."

************
USS Tigermoth
Bridge
2030hrs EST

"You're definitely sure you saw something?" Lisa paced in front of Winchester at his Ops console. "You guys better be reading those screens right."

Winchester glanced up at her, and at Drelkar who had come over from Tactical to confer with him. "We're sure ma'am. There's definitely something there."

Lisa sighed, and turned to the helm. "Pick up the co-ordinates from Ops, Elkins. Full impulse. Riggs, let everyone know what we're doing." She glanced down at Smithy, who was sat brooding in his chair, and then collared a passing yeoman. "Go grab a cup of coffee for the captain will you?"

"I don't need coffee."

"Well, you need something to take your meds with." Lisa made her way down to him. "You're about due. And since you hate the taste of them, water's out."

Smithy conceded the point. "Fair enough." He took the cup of coffee that the returning yeoman offered, threw several pills into his mouth followed by half the contents of the cup and screwed his face up in disgust. "The things I do to keep this body in one piece."

"Coming up on the co-ordinates that Ops supplied, sir." Elkins half-turned in his chair. "Whatever it is should be in visual range."

"Ops, put SRS on-screen." Smithy frowned at the image that popped up. Something was shimmering in the bottom of the screen. "Magnify lower-left quadrant. There, what is that?"

Winchester worked the console in front of him. "Initiating full sensor sweep.....I'm getting something, a massive neutron radiation surge...."

He didn't need to go any further, the screen told the whole story. The image rippled, and suddenly an Andromedan ship was there. Smithy stared at it, his eyes narrowing. "Cloaked. Bet there's more where he came from. Red Alert. Riggs, transmit our data to the Venture. Elkins, back us off. Nice and slow, I don't want to have to listen to Orlatrel complain about us getting shot at. Winchester, you still scanning?"

"Affirmative captain. They're attempting to block it with feedback, compensating."

"Stay at it. Drelkar, just in case....get the phasers ready for cold start."

"Aye sir."

Lisa headed over to Riggs' console. "Has the Venture responded yet?"

"They confirm receipt." She glanced up at Lisa. "They're heading over with everyone who's near enough."

"Uh, sir?"

Smithy turned to Drelkar. "What is it?"

"Reading an increase in power on that ship....in what I'm pretty sure is their weapons array."

"Oh good. I was beginning to get bored." Smithy leaned forward in his seat. "Deflector shields to full intensity, don't bring weapons fully on-line yet."

"Shields to full...phasers still in cold-start mode. Torpedoes loaded but launchers not charged ye-incoming!"

Everyone hung on as Elkins put the ship into a hard turn to port, the intertial dampening field lagging a few microseconds behing the move. As the ship righted itself, Smithy was out of his chair. "Nice move, that was a close one. Stand-by on phasers, bring torpedo launchers on-line. Riggs, where are the others?"

"Two minutes away sir."

"Tell them to hurry. Elkins, half-impulse. Straight at them. Drelkar, set torpedoes to proximity mode and fire one."

The Andromedan ship turned as the torpedo homed in on it. Smithy watched it on the main viewer. "Don't like that, do you? Drelkar, fire two more."

Winchester shot a glance over at Smithy. "I've got two more ships decloaking sir. Smaller vessels. They're firing!"

The ship rumbled under the impact. "Report."

"Shields holding, sir."

"Phasers, target those two smaller vessels and lay down a pattern across them."

Riggs turned to face Lisa. "The Venture and several other ships are arriving ma'am!"

"That's got them on the back foot." Winchester stared at his screen. "Yep, they're running...and going back under cloak. Losing sensor contact with them."

Smithy sighed. "Well, I wonder what that was all in aid of then? Secure from battlestations, go to Yellow Alert. Riggs, send a message back to the Antares Command Post. Include a record of what we found, and request instructions from the admiral." He looked at Lisa. "Time we had a conference with Captain Ghelev."

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

[Grim Reaper]

I wonder what their planning is?

[Commander Maxillius]

nice,  keep it up!!

[James Smith]

And some more. Part of this chapter borrows from one of my favourite Trek novels, "Federation". Rather than call it 'plagiarism', I prefer 'homage' 


************
Chapter 2 - Build Up (part 1)

************
USS Venture
Briefing Room
18th March 2395
2300hrs EST

Ghelev paced up and down at the head of the table. "Why now? Why would they be attacking now?"

Smithy rubbed his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "The entire quadrant is in disarray. Starfleet and Special Operations don't have all that many battle designs left in service thanks to the President ordering half of them to be scrapped in favour of new designs that haven't actually materialised yet. The Romulans are still trying to get back on their feet after the Reman incident. The Klingons are still attempting to rebuild their forces after the Gatrellian war. The Cardassians have no military to speak of since the Dominion War. You want me to go on, or can I stop listing the fundamental problems that we're faced with?"

Ghelev sat, and looked at him. "I take your point....so where does it leave us?"

"It leaves us, fortunately, with a load of mothballed starships that we can probably bring into operation over the next few weeks." Smithy scowled at the PADD in front of him. "I told everyone involved that it was a bad idea to take all those ships out of service. But apparently I know 'absolutely nothing about the situation', and that all those completely untried and untested designs would simply flow out of the shipyards. I'm bloody glad we didn't scrap the ships when we were ordered to. No doubt El Presidente will want us all court-martialled for that but frankly I can't see him managing that somehow."

"You've sent word back to your command post?"

"I've sent word back to the Antares yard. Dave Harriman is pretty much the only man in the Admiralty I trust not to panic and get everything even more f*cked up than it is already." Smithy consulted his PADD. "Starfleet can bring around 70 ships out of mothballs that are perfectly worthy for combat, and with enough crewmembers to operate them effectively. Add that to our usual tactical force that we can roll out....we're looking at maybe 220 ships in total for direct combat, and maybe 20 more for fire support. How many can SOD send?"

"I don't honestly know." Ghelev sagged in the chair. "Our numbers aren't even remotely what they should be. Lack of crews, ships stuck in dock due to maintenance issues....we were supposed to have this all resolved by now, but all our engineering focus has been on the new designs...."

"....and they're proving to be problematic." Smithy finished for him, and shook his head. "So all those resources that have been diverted away from Starfleet ship construction over the past few years, they've been sat in freighters and cargo boxes waiting to be used? And I thought that the Admiralty I have to deal with is incompetent." His comm. badge chirped at him. "Smith here."

"James, Dave called. He wants you back at Antares, seems that all hell broke loose at Command. Apparently the President is rather upset about us coming out here."

"Send a message back. Ask Dave to arrange a meeting with Maxwell, I've got some questions to ask him."

"You planning on a little bit of Smith-brand diplomacy here? Because that would probably go down well with quite a few people."

Smithy grinned. "You know me. Always ready to deal out a dose of cold hard facts to a complete moron. I'll be ready to beam back in a few minutes."

"Acknowledged. Tigermoth out."

************
USS Tigermoth-A
Bridge
19th March 2395
0230hrs EST

"Captain's log, stardate 71078.4. The Tigermoth is heading back to the Antares Command Post, and I'm heading for a potentially explosive meeting with President Maxwell. Any kind of working relationship that we had was destroyed during our last meeting, along with a Starfleet bar.....and I can't see this meeting being any more cordial."

Smithy sat, gazing at the viewscreen as the Tigermoth flew on through the transwarp realm, wondering what on Earth he could possibly say to Maxwell that would convey just how little he thought of the President's intellect. I'm going to have to invent a whole new language....somehow, English just doesn't have the required punch any more.

He glanced at the chronometer. Riggs should have started duty at 0230. Not like her to be late. "Bridge to Ensign Riggs." There was no response. "Computer, locate Ensign Riggs."

"Ensign Riggs is in her quarters."

"Odd." Smithy thumbed the comm. panel on his chair to call Lisa. "Hon, you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"

"Riggs didn't show for her shift yet. She arranged cover?"

"Not as far as I know. You called her?"

"No response."

"Okay, I'll go see if there's something wrong."

Smithy closed off the connection, and glanced around the quiet and mostly empty bridge. Well old girl, it's just you and me for now. He patted the arm rests on his chair. I'll try and take care of you a bit better during the coming battles. And if you do really well, I'll see what I can do about geting us a nice little exploration mission to play with. Lord knows you deserve it.

************
Deck 6
Ensign Rigg's Quarters

The nightmare was the same each time. The bridge in flames, her crew all dead. And she couldn't work out why, couldn't work out what she'd done wrong. And the same voice chanting over and over in her head. What did I do? What did I do?

Riggs woke up with a start. The door lock was chirping. She glanced over at the chronometer. sh*t! "Just a second!"

She quickly scrambled into her uniform, and rushed to the door. It was Commander Smith. "Sorry ma'am, I overslept."

"I'd figured." Lisa regarded the young woman with a look of concern. "You okay kiddo? You look awfully pale."

Riggs shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it. Sit down." Lisa herded Riggs back into her quarters and steered her to a chair, then headed for the replicator. "Water, chilled." She handed the glass to Riggs. "The captain can handle things on the bridge for a while longer, in fact he's probably talking to the ship by now."

Riggs unsteadily sipped at the water. "I really am sorry ma'am."

"It happens." Lisa regarded her with a slight frown. "This isn't the first time is it? I seem to remember a note in your academy file about being late for classes a couple of times, and then a few times when on your 4 month stint on the Republic."

Riggs shook her head sadly. "I thought I'd gotten past it. Seems I haven't."

"Gotten past what?"

She drew in a breath slowly. "Nightmares. Or rather, a nightmare. It's always the same one. About one of the tests at the Academy."

"Oh. That test. Yeah, a lot of people can't seem to get over that one. First time I've heard of anyone having nightmares about it though. You didn't see a counselor about it at the Academy?

"No. I thought they'd just say I was getting worked up over nothing."

"They might have done, but they'd have been wrong. What about the captain, you never asked him how he beat it?"

"I'd heard that he had, but I never really approached him about it." Riggs stared down at her glass. "I probably should, just to put it to rest."

Lisa stood, and held a hand out. "Come with me. Let's see if we can do that."

************
Antares Command Post
Habitat Module
Commander Harrison's Quarters

"Mr President, the Tigermoth will be docked here in a few hours."

"I'm heading out to you now. I'll give you your orders when I arrive. Until then, co-operate with Harriman and Smith."

"Yes sir. What would you like me to do about Captain Ghelev? He did violate your orders."

"Ghelev will be dealt with in time. I'll see to that."

************
USS Tigermoth
Holodeck

Lisa tapped the computer panel. "Load program SFA-113, solution JRS 2-2-2-Alpha."

"Ready."

Lisa turned to Riggs. "Go on. Watch and learn. I'll be on the bridge." She turned and left.

Riggs watched her go, and steeled herself. Go on....you want to know how to beat it....just get it over with already. She entered.

The bridge was just how she remembered it. The aftermath of a Romulan attack, smoke and confusion hanging over the control centre of the ship. But instead of her in the centre chair, there was the captain.

"Damage report!"

"Main power off-line! Auxilliary is kicking in!"

"Is the cloak on-line?"

"Affirmative!"

"Get us under."

I did that....the exhaust gives us away. How do you get out of this?

"Sir, our impulse exhaust will eventually give them a lock. I estimate two to three minutes at best."

Riggs watched the captain mull the situation over, amazed at how calm he was. Much calmer than she'd been.

"Residual cloaking bleed. How long does it last?"

Cloaking bleed? The time to lock-on?

"A couple of tenths of a second sir, no more than that."

"Tactical, target that Warbird's dorsal bridge spine. Feed the co-ordinates to the helm. Engineering, transfer all power to the structural integrity field on my mark. Helm, prepare to engage full impulse power."

Wait, he can't be serious....

"Engineering reports ready."

"Helm ready."

No way. Not in a million years. No-one would do that!

The captain leaned forward. "Ramming speed!"

Riggs grabbed hold of the bridge rail as the ship flew into the Warbird. Seconds later an eerie silence descended over the bridge.

Thats it. The Warbird is destroyed. Riggs laughed to herself. My God! Thats it! No wonder no-one ever beats it!   "Computer, end program."

************
Bridge
0255hrs EST

Smithy and Lisa both turned as Riggs exited the turbolift. Lisa spoke first. "You get your answer?"

Riggs was staring at Smithy in admiration. "Yes ma'am, I got my answer. Thank you. Sir, I need to know something."

Smithy nodded. "Shoot."

"What made you think of doing that?"

"Warp Mechanics 119. Impact shock on a vessel with an active warp core would generate a wave through the electro-plasma setup that would destroy the ship. But with main power off-line....no longer an issue. And since Starfleet SIF setups are traditionally ran with rather large margins for overload power, coupled with residual cloaking bleed to nerf the Romulan targetting computer for those critical moments....well, I'm continually surprised each year that no-one figures it out. You actually got closest, which is probably why it wound you up so much. But....now you know. Now keep it a secret."

He and Lisa both stood. "Well, we're both supposed to be off-duty right now. Let me know when we reach Antares. You have the bridge Ensign."

"Aye sir."

Smithy flashed a quick smile at Lisa then turned as they headed for the turbolift to watch Riggs take the centre chair with a little more confidence. Who needs a ship's counselor anyways?

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

[Grim Reaper]

LMAO, it's so easy but I can see that ppl might miss it.

[CaptJosh]

One of my old IRC role playing characters has a ship that has only I.M. Pulse reactor power to the SIF and IDF systems for exactly that reason. No warp power to feed back from the shock of ramming. It's a rather bastardly designed ship he had, specifically made for crunching into enemy ships if need be.

[James Smith]

LMAO, it's so easy but I can see that ppl might miss it.

The warp drive being off-line is the key to it all. So, hands up if you think there may be a call back to that sequence later on in the fic.....



***edit***

Just noticed that there is a sweary filter  Pity that said sweary flter managed to catch Riggs's exclamation of "sh*t" but missed Smithy's exclamation of "bollocks". Was it a bit too US-centric to catch that most British of swear words? How many minds have I corrupted by using a British swear word?

[James Smith]

************
Chapter 2 - Build Up (part 2)

************
Antares Command Post
Conference Room 1A
19th March 2395
1035hrs EST


Smithy walked into the room, disguising his limp as well as he could. Harriman and Maxwell hadn't arrived yet, but Harrison had - he was standing by the window, staring out at the view of the Tigermoth in the box dock. "Pretty little thing isn't she?"

Harrison turned. "Done a lot of work on her haven't you? What’s left of the original ship?"

"Most of her spaceframe dates back to the original construction. Don't build 'em like they used to. Or, as I found out recently, they don't build them at all." Smithy dropped a PADD onto the desk that clattered to a halt on Harrison's side. "You know anything about this?"

Harrison read the data. "So new construction is taking longer than expected. That does happen when building all-new ship designs. I'm sure you remember the construction history of the Defiant class, the Prometheus.....even the Galaxy class took three years longer than expected."

"Difference being - we could afford to take our time over them. The Defiant problems were solved quickly once the project was re-activated, the Prometheus was just an engineering exercise to show that MVA Mode could be done, and we were in one of the most stable periods in Federation history when the Galaxy class was having it's problems ironed out." Smithy sat down, and fixed Harrison with a glare. "I take it you're Maxwell's link to Starfleet."

"What d'you mean?"

"Oh come on.....I know him. He'd want someone close to the high-ups in Starfleet to keep tabs on them. And since you're serving under Starfleet's only fully competent Admiral....you make a logical choice."

Harrison glared back. "'Logical'....what are you, a Vulcan? And why do you hate the President that has brought security to the Federation?"

"He's brought a dictatorship and disarray to the Federation. The only reason no-one's attacked us until now is that everyone else has problems of their own. And the sooner people like you wake up and realise the damage thats being done the sooner we can get things back to how they should be."

Harrison was going to reply, but Maxwell and Harriman chose that moment to enter. Smithy caught Harriman's look of annoyance. I see the President is endearing himself already. Oh this really is going to be fun....

"Good morning sir." Harrison shook hands with Maxwell. "I trust your journey here was uneventful?"

"It was fine commander. Just fine." Maxwell sat, stared at Smithy. "Well, you look a lot less angry than at our last meeting. They've repaired the bar by the way."

"Good. That means I can destroy it all over again." Smithy glanced over at Harriman who was leaning back in his chair. "You mind if I launch into my scathing attack now, or should I wait?"

Harriman grinned. "I never stopped you before. No reason to start interfering now."

"Thanks." Smithy slid the PADD across to Maxwell. "You want to explain that? And I don't want the same excuse that Commander Brown-nose gave me, if I wanted to listen to a complete load of bollocks I'd play a tape of one of your speeches."

Maxwell folded his arms and stared back impassively at Smithy. "What do you want me to say? That I admit we're behind on production? That it was probably a mistake to put all our eggs in one basket? How will that help anyone?"

"It will help me."

"I don't think it would. You'll still be left with the same problem of how to defend against this new threat."

"I will be left? What about your grand plan to have the Federation defended by a military force that you had some control over?"

Harrison snorted. "Well, we all know how that's worked out. First time that the Great Captain James Smith hoves into view he is granted control of the SOD taskforce. You have this strange ability to make people like you and respect you when you want it."

"It's called charisma. You were quite plainly at the back of the queue when that was being handed out." Smithy turned to Harriman. "You got in touch with the mothball yards yet?"

"We've got engineering teams working on getting a number of ships ready for immediate duty. The rest will be reactivated over the next couple of weeks. I'm pulling ex-TacFleet crews from everywhere I can get them, and Science Branch has attached every Combat Class 3 vessel to us for the duration of the emergency."

"Excuse me." Maxwell leaned forward. "I was under the impression that I had to be consulted regarding these matters."

Smithy rolled his eyes. "You know what Maxwell? I'm done being even slightly diplomatic about this. You will keep out of Starfleet's business."

"Or what?"

"Or I will make you."

Maxwell stared at Smithy, and knew he had to back down. He recognised The Look, the one that said 'Don't even try it. I will end you'. He hadn't liked the result the last time he saw The Look, and didn't fancy his chances this time either. Enjoy this while it lasts James. I have no intention of letting you ruin everything I'm trying to achieve. "When your Starfleet taskforce is together, come to these co-ordinates." He tapped the data into the PADD and slid it across to Smithy. "Special Operations will be basing itself from that station. You can co-ordinate with them there."

************
Command Centre
1300hrs EST


"Well, didn't that go well?"

Smithy raised an eyebrow. "'Well'? I did everything short of punching him out."

"Thats what I meant. I was convinced you were going to hit him." He shook his head. "Something's going on. I don't trust Harrison, and I certainly don't trust Maxwell."

"You and me both. Well, as long as we stay on top of things I'm sure we'll be able to deal with whatever they throw at us."

Harriman glanced over at the chronometer. "I've got to get to Earth, Starfleet's top brass are having a meeting."

"Need a lift?"

Harriman smiled. "Thanks. You headed that way?"

"We've got transwarp. Everywhere is 'that way'." Smithy sighed. "Actually, I'm headed for Dantar."

"You aren't going to...."

"No. No, he doesn't need to be involved. But he does need to know."

************
USS Tigermoth
19th March 2395
2110hrs EST
Bridge

Lisa leaned against the bridge rail, watching the screen intently as the ship exited the transwarp realm and proceeded into the Dantar system. "Elkins?"

"Ten minutes to Dantar IV ma'am."

"Standard orbit when we arrive. Riggs, let the orbital station know we're coming and let the captain know we're nearly there."

Smithy chose that moment to exit the turbolift and limp onto the bridge. He caught his wife's look of concern. "I'm alright, I just got off a physio session in sickbay."

"Those sessions are supposed to be helping you, not cripping you." Lisa shook her head. "It ought to be getting better by now."

"You know regen.....sometimes it doesn't take."

"Even so...."

Smithy put his arms around her. "Look. When we next get a break, I'll arrange a visit to Vulcan and see a specialist. Mack passed on some of his wisdom to a couple of doctors there. And it'd be nice to catch up with S'Tasik's family." He looked up at the bridge chrono. "Got to be getting close now."

"Few minutes sir."

He let go of Lisa and headed for the turbolift doors. "Lisa, you have the conn. I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

Lisa nodded. "What will you say to him?"

"I'm hoping that I'll think of something once I'm in the pattern buffer."

************
Dantar IV
Khelthane Family Compound


Kieran Forester shuffled across the courtyard, pausing to grab a piece of fruit off one of the trees. Absently biting into it, he almost walked past the figure clad in a Starfleet uniform. He stopped. "Smithy?"

"Hi Kieran." Smithy stook a hand out, Kieran grabbed it in a firm handshake. "You look...."

"Old?"

"Well, I was going to say 'bloody awful' but old does seem much more polite."

Kieran let out a mirthless chuckle. "The perils of not getting my top up of metaphasic radiation I suppose." He led Smithy over to a low stone wall, and the two men sat. "Been a while. Last time I saw you would have been the ceremony for the Hyperion-D entering the Starfleet Museum."

"Yeah. Damn good party that. And a nice idea as well.....didn't seem right having a Hyperion in Starfleet without a Forester in command. So, aside from age are you keeping well?"

"Look around you Smithy." Kieran gestured at the courtyard. "I'm home. No stress, no zooming across Federation space at warp speed.....no battles."

"The quiet life." Smithy nodded, gazing out at the view. "I wondered if you might retire out to the Ba'ku homeworld. Go tell all those kids more stories about life outside the Patch. Last time I dropped in they said they missed you."

"I could have retired there." Kieran smiled wistfully. "But then I couldn't. It's a great place, and I have many friends there. But it isn't home. I just needed to be here again."

Smithy smiled. "Yeah. I can understand that."

The two men sat in silent contemplation for a moment or two. Kieran threw his old friend a look. "Nice as it is to see you, I somehow doubt that it's a social call. You're too busy for that game usually. Well, whatever it is - I'm not coming back."

"Who asked you to?" Smithy glanced at him, then back out at the flowers in the courtyard. "I'm not here to draft you. I'm not here to persuade you to come out of retirement."

Kieran stared at him. "Well, that makes a change I suppose. I can't count the number of times Starfleet sent someone out to lure me back. But if you aren't here to draft me, then there must be something going on out there that you aren't going to draft me for." He frowned. "I think that makes sense."

Smithy allowed a small smile to creep onto his face, but quickly it vanished and was replaced with a dark frown. "Andromedans."

The name sent a shudder through Kieran's body. "Oh no..."

He listened as Smithy detailed the events of the last few days, slowly taking in the news. "And this Special Operations outfit, which should be leading the defence, isn't at all ready?"

"No. We've got the engineering teams at UP and Antares working flat out getting mothballed ships back into service, and we're pulling crews together." He rubbed his knee, not quite able to keep the pain from showing in his face.

Kieran watched him. "Still giving you bother?"

"Yeah. It probably always will."

"You should get it looked at."

"I will. But without Mack..." He willed his voice to remain level. "He was the one doctor I trusted, and a good friend. Now he's gone. Time always catches up eventually, you and I both know that."

Kieran nodded sombrely. "You could go to Vulcan."

"Yeah, I discussed it with Lisa. It's been a while since I saw S'Tasik's family as well. What about you? You want us to swing by and pick you up when we go there?"

"Sure. I'd like that. Of course, it does rather depend you dealing with current events first."

"Yeah....it does." Smithy nodded, got up, and turned to face Kieran. "On which note, I have to get going."

Kieran looked up at him. "I can come with you if you want. I do have a little experience against the Andromedans."

Smithy shook his head. "No. Your place is here. Mine is out there." He gestured at the sky. "Right now, the universe wants you to have a quiet retirement."

"What about you? Don't you deserve one after all you've done?"

"The universe won't let me do that. It hates me, and it wants me to be miserable. I offset that fact by having a wife, and by having good friends. But the only way it knows how to deal with that is to put men like John Maxwell and Robert Metcalf in positions of power. I've dealt with one....and now I'm temporarily stuck with the other."

"'Temporarily'?"

"You know me. Always looking to cause mischief in the political ranks when given a chance." Smithy stared up at the sky. "I have no intention of letting everything you, me and the rest of TacFleet fought for go to the dogs just so he can make his mark on history." He tapped his comm. badge. "Smith to Tigermoth. Transporter room."

"Aye sir."

"Stand by, one to beam up."

Kieran stood, and reached out a hand. "I'll see you when this is all over."

Smithy shook it. "Take care old friend. Transporter room, energise."

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

[Grim Reaper]

Ha I kinda expected that Kierran would come anyway. Maybe he swoops in to the rescue later?

[CaptJosh]

Keiran has been riding to the rescue for how long now? Smithy is right. It's time he had a chance to relax.

[James Smith]

Ha I kinda expected that Kierran would come anyway. Maybe he swoops in to the rescue later?

Keiran has been riding to the rescue for how long now? Smithy is right. It's time he had a chance to relax.

I had toyed with the idea of leaving him out completely, and letting K-Fo come back to tell the Admiral's story at a later date when he feels like writing in this universe again. When I wrote the outline¹ for this fic many moons ago he was in the thick of the fighting, but a convo over PM with K-Fo led me to change that plan somewhat. I would post the details, but a) some of you who are reading this have definitely got the picture already judging by my e-mail inbox and b) it's really K-Fo's place since the character is his

¹ A word about the creative process (otherwise known as 'utter chaos'):

I'm not sure how other writers go about writing their fics, but when I started out with "ROTISC" I didn't have all that clear an idea of where it was going to go. For "ROTImp" I decided that it probably wasn't the best way of doing things, so decided to have a plan of where I was starting and where I wanted to end, and leave the middle to be done on the fly (since it was a collaboration). For the other chapters "Vengeance", "Silent Enemy" and "ROTA" I decided to go in with an outline of the entire plot.

"Vengeance" has seen so many re-writes of the outline that it's almost getting quite silly, and it will appear on here in a proper form after this fic.....probably some time in the winter. "Silent Enemy" didn't quite work as I intended - there wasn't enough in my outline to flesh out if I'm really honest about it, so it came out rushed and that was commented on by some of you (quite rightly). I'll have to come back and do a 'director's cut' of it at some point, insert some new chapters and flesh the whole thing out to get it to a point that I'm happy with.

During my hiatus between the penultimate and final chapters of "SE" I wrote a veeeeeery long outline to "ROTA" to try and avoid that problem. I again ran into a slight snag - it turns out that I didn't actually know how I want this one to end yet! This was slightly annoying to me, as I wanted to get a clear idea of what was going to happen to these characters this time round to avoid the problems "SE" threw up. Endings that I chucked out included a very dark 'fall of the Federation' scenario and a polar opposite with every one of the major species in the Alpha and Beta quadrants allying into one gigantic Federation to ensure that the galaxy would be safe from external forces. That last one sounded just a little bit too much like the end of Asimov's "Foundation and Earth" though (the formation of Galaxia to guard against forces from outside the galaxy), and I didn't feel I could do justice to the first one. I'm still not sure really - if I get a burst of inspiration I may re-visit one of those ideas but for now I have a plan of sorts and I'm going to stick with it.

Also, "ROTA" was slated to be another collaboration at one point (after I/we had done "ROTimp" I think there was some discussion back on Ye Olde Taldren board regarding it).....that plan was put on the back burner with writers doing other things and me having almost no time to do any writing justice. A shame really - a James Smith/K-Fo/S'Tasik/Iceman/anyone else attempt at this would probably have resulted in the greatest piece of organised chaos ever seen on a forum. It definitely would now that my writing has gotten a bit better and I have a clearer idea about my characters.....but no matter. Much as I would love to do a joint fic again it probably isn't on the cards now

Enough rambling - I'll hopefully have another part ready for tomorrow. Finished Uni, so I'll have a reasonable amount of spare time inbetween my part-time job hours for a while until I go full-time in August.

[James Smith]

************
Chapter 2 - Build Up (part 3)

************
IKV Mortum Hesta
19th March 2395
2200hrs EST
Bridge

Thulinuk paced up and down the command centre of his ship, pausing to glance at console screens. Reams of data were streaming in from every sensor on the Vampire class ship, and a crew that was used to full-scale battle was facing the unfamiliar task of operating like the crew of a scout vessel. He stopped at Sheehan's Tactical console. "Are you certain you saw something?"

"I'm sure. Kamal, upper right quadrant. Magnify. Now, direct sensor scans just to the side of that disturbance."

"Yes, commander."

Thulinuk frowned. "Just to the side?"

"I don't want them thinking we've got a lock."

"Ah. Clever."

Sheehan worked in silence for a few seconds. "Alright, got an outline. Something around 250 metres long is sat out there. It's directing scans out by the look of this background radiation."

"Communications. Tie in the translator for Andromedan linguacode. Broadcast this on known Andromedan frequencies."

"Ready sir."

Thulinuk sat in his chair. "This is the Klingon ship IKV Mortum Hesta. You are in Klingon space. Withdraw immediately."

He waited a beat. Then two. Nothing. Then an alarm.

Sheehan turned. "Neutron surge. I think you got their attention."

The screen image rippled, and an Andromedan ship emerged from under cloak. Thulinuk glanced at Sheehan. "Shield status?"

"Up. Weapons ready for cold start. They have their shields and weapons charged. And we have more ships decloaking. Reading five in the same configuration as this one."

"Our fleet status?"

"Kolg'ata and her escort ships are moving to intercept. One minute."

"Helm, prepare for erratic maneuvering. Sheehan."

"They aren't pre-.....wait, reading power surge."

"Charge weapons. Helm, now!"

The screen switched out to the view directly in front of the ship as the lead Andromedan vessel fired. All the shots sailed past as the ship dived out of the way. Thulinuk bared his teeth. "Disruptors to full! Target that ship and fire!" Huge bolts of green disruptor energy slammed into the Andromedan ship as he watched.

"Here comes the Kolg'ata. More Andromedan ships are arriving!"

"Communications! Send situation report on Allied channels, including transpace link!"

"Sending!"

Thulinuk stared at the screen. "Torpedoes! Maximum spread!"

************
USS Tigermoth-A
2210hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy sat back and reflected. He didn't like what he saw. The PADD he held contained the latest update from the mothball yards regarding the status of the ships they were trying to get ready. We can't help defend the quadrant with these numbers.

Something else was troubling him, and he didn't know what. He hadn't had any pre-cognitive vision, but he could sense that something was coming and he knew he wasn't going to like it. "Riggs, any comm. chatter on the TacFleet frequencies?"

"Negative sir. Wait, getting something." She listened intently for a few seconds. "It's the Klingons sir. Multiple Andromedan ships attacking patrol group A."

"Helm, maximum transwarp." Smithy jumped to his feet, willing his knee to keep him upright. "Notify all vessels in the area to make their way over there at once. Signal battlestations to all decks, senior officers to the bridge. Or at least, as senior as we have these days."

************
IKV Mortum Hesta
Bridge
2225hrs EST

Sheehan slammed a fist on his control panel. "Aft torpedo tube is off-line. Thermal cut-off tripped."

"Engineering, get the aft launcher back on-line." Thulinuk gripped the sides of his chair as several hits landed against his ship. "Shield status?"

"64%. Not sure how much longer we can keep re-inforcing them, storage batteries are draining."

"The fleet?"

Sheehan half-turned. "We've lost several escorts and two Vor'Cha cruisers. More Andromedan vessels are coming in."

"Where from? Is there a wormhole nearby?"

"If there is, the sensors missed it.  No sign of one." Sheehan stared down at his board. "Got a new contact coming in, from our side of the border."

"Klingon?"

"Starfleet." Sheehan grinned. "It's the 'Moth."

The Tigermoth hoved into view on the main screen, spitting torpedoes out at several targets and evading much of the returning fire. Phaser bursts lanced out from every single emitter on the ship. Thulinuk looked on in admiration. "A true warrior's ship. Helm, full impulse! Follow the Tigermoth, shoot at anything she does!"

************
USS Tigermoth-A
Bridge

"Mortum Hesta is following us sir."

"Good." Lisa crossed over to Tactical. "They'll be following up your shots with a good hard disruptor uppercut." She glanced over to the helm. "Don't block their line of fire Elkins. Drelkar, continue firing."

Smithy turned his attention to Ops. "Winchester, what's the status of the Andromedan fleet?"

"They're attempting to get back into some kind of formation. Looks like they're going to try and break through our line here. We have more ships arriving now, including a small force of SOD ships."

"Nice of them to join the party." Lisa sat and consulted her screen whcih was receiving a feed from Winchester. "Riggs, signal the Klingons to move in tighter, the Andromedans are drawing in to try and punch through."

"Yes ma'am." Riggs worked at her console for several seconds. "Klingon force is moving in tighter, I'm asking the new Starfleet arrivals to go wide to prevent any attempt there."

"Good. See if you can raise the Andromedans at all, maybe we can end this before it gets too silly."

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

Short bit. Wasn't happy with the rest of what I planned to post tonight, so this will have to do for now

[Grim Reaper]

It does and it doesn't. Gives a taste for more?

[James Smith]

It does and it doesn't. Gives a taste for more?

Figured it may. Unfortunately, there was some alcohol that was desperately in need of drinking so I chose to do that instead of a) some work for someone who won't appreciate it at all or b) some writing that probably would have been appreciated by you and others 

In other news, I'm planning on being very, very drunk in the next couple of hours. I will place a piece of work that I have here on the back burner for the reason I mentioned above, and write some more in the morning. In the meantime, anyone who is old enough is more than welcome to join me in cracking open some cans if they can make it over to Barras Lane in Coventry.

[James Smith]

Okay, in my defence there is a reason for the gap since I last posted anything. I finally (after over 2 years of waiting, God bless the NHS....) had my knee operated on. After two days of being good for very little indeed, I started back on my old training regime to shift some of this weight that I picked up since hurting myself and becoming less active.

As matters stand, I have a great wadge of glue and filler material holding the articular cartilage together so hopefully it will join up properly and the damage to the lateral collateral ligament can heal properly now. I'd ruptured a tendon when I initially hurt the knee, and that hasn't healed quite right so the doctors are having a think about it. Right now I'm enjoying being able to walk more than 2-3 miles without experiencing pain in the joint

No promises here, but I'll try and finish some more up before Friday.

[James Smith]

Glad I made no promises.....

Quick update - been writing, not got anything to a point at which I'm remotely happy with it. Hopefully will have something ready soon.

[Grim Reaper]

How's the knee?

[James Smith]

How's the knee?

Pulled the stitch out the other day as it was annoying me  The hole they made when they went in has scabbed over now, healing just fine. The internals seem to be holding up nicely, so it's looking good.

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Glad to hear you're doing better, Smithy. Take your time.

[Grim Reaper]

[Scottish Andy]

Good for you Smithy! Finally made it to the end ofthe waiting list. And Canada donesn't want a 2-tier healthcare system, wants to make it illegal to get private healthcare, even if it's available... *rolls eyes in disgust*

Gald to hear you're healing up properly. I'm kinda feeling the need to shift some excess weight myself... used to walk 3 miles, 6 days a week. For the last 3 years I've been sitting on my arse... Well, at least I carried some weights (brought home some shopping) and hit the pool this morning.

So, looking forward to you resuming your epic tale!

[James Smith]

Slightlly worrying thought of the day:

Ever since I had my knee op, and came off the quite insane amount of (prescribed) drugs I was having to pop just to function, I've not been happy with my writing. Hope there ain't a link there.....





Nah. In other news, I am actually getting close to posting some more. Y'all are gonna have to be a little patient for a while until I get back to some kind of normality in life. On the plus side - my weight is down below 200lbs¹ for the first time in 6 months! W00tage!!

 







¹Yeah, 200lbs. But I am tall, and girls apparently dig the ol' "bear" look!

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Bah, at least you're tall. I'm 5'10" on a good day, and I've been pushing 190-200 for too long now. I was down to 175 during basic training, but that changed when I got home and didn't have to work out everyday. I'm going to start working out again though; evidently the ladies don't dig the short and chunky look.

[Scottish Andy]

Hey, what do you mean, at least he's tall? I'm 5'9" and 176ilbs! I don't consider myself short...

I really do need to start walking again though...

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Most of my friends are taller than me, the bastards. That's why.

[CaptJosh]

Ok, since you folks are here. Would someone besides the Guv please comment on my most recent chapter. The topic title is "When the Going Gets Tough..." Chapter 6 has been up for a while now and the Guv is the only one who has said so much as "boo" about it.

[James Smith]

MORE FIC!!!!!! Well, sort-of. Just another short section, trying to get back into the rhythm properly 

*************
Chapter 3 -  War (part 1)

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
19th March 2395
2235hrs EST
Bridge


"No response fom the lead Andromedan ship sir." Riggs frowned in concentration, trying to pick useful comm. chatter out of the mess of signals in subspace. "Shall I try the transpace link?"

Smithy nodded. "Go ahead. Elkins, attack pattern Moth Alpha Three. Drelkar, how are we doing on the weapons front?"

"Phasers warm, but operating within spec. We still have plenty of torpedoes left."

"Good. Winchester, fleet status?"

"We have reinforcements coming in now from the Klingons sir." Winchester scanned his screen. "Looks like the Andromedans are falling back off us a bit....in fact they definitely are. They're cloaking."

Lisa made her way over to his console and looked over his shoulder. "Plot their course if you can, see if we can get a general idea of where they'll be hiding."

"Yes ma'am."

Smithy looked up at her. "What d'you think?"

Lisa came back down into the command area. "Time to send in the scout ships? Maybe we'll get lucky. If the scouts find anything then we could have every ship we have now standing by to engage. If they don't find anything, then we take a breather and get more ships ready."

"Sounds like a plan. Riggs, tell all personnel to stand down from Red Alert. Get me the Mortum Hesta."

"Aye sir.....Captain Thulinuk on the screen."

"Good evening Smithy. Your intervention was right on time."

"Always know how to make an entrance." Smithy grinned at his friend. "We're currently working up a plan of action for the next stage of proceedings. I've got my Ops guy plotting various courses that they could have followed so we can send in the scouts."

"We can have several wings of D14s here to co-ordinate with your forces."

"Cheers, I'll let our teams know. You in need of any repairs?"

"No. We do need some time for shield regen and to let our weapons cool down, but we intend to hold position here, just in case something happens."

Smithy nodded. "Alright. Tigermoth out." He turned to the helm. "Elkins, lay in a course for the co-ordinates Maxwell gave us for the SOD meeting station. Engage, Transwarp speed."

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

SOD Station 641Alpha
2345hrs EST
Command Level


"What time do you call this, Captain?!"

Commodore Ellis stomped out into the command centre, a snarl etched on his features. "I was in bed! I was enjoying being in bed! You better have a damn good reason for getting me up!"

Ghelev patiently waited for him to stop ranting. "The Tigermoth is here. Captain Smith's ship. You know, one of the people who may just be able to save us from complete oblivion. Sir."

Ellis narrowed his eyes. "Alright, what the hell does the good Starfleet officer want?"

"All available ships. Starfleet are sending scouts in to find the Andromedan fleet, they want a taskforce ready to engage as soon as the Andromedans come out of hiding."

"He can't have any. We aren't done testing all the new equipment, we barely have skeleton crews."

"We have several ships we can send out right now, sir. I've checked it with their engineering crews. And my ship stands ready."

Ellis shook his head. "No, Captain. SOD will send out ships when they are good and ready, and I say we aren't readt. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
0005 hrs EST

"Okay Ghelev, thanks. I'll be over in a few minutes."

Smithy waved at Riggs to close the comm link, and turned to Lisa. "You fancy coming along? Watch the master at work?"

Lisa grinned. "No way. If I go along I'll feel obliged to restrain you, and that'd only make you grumpy."

"Fair enough. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, wait longer."

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

SOD Station 641Alpha
0015hrs EST
Command Level

The transporter effect had barely cleared his eyes before Smithy was stepping off the platform. "Morning Ghelev, hope I'm keeping your boss up."

Ghelev shook his hand. "Follow me, he's stewing in his office."

*************
Commodore's Office

Ellis looked up from his computer. "Ah, the great Captain Smith. I thought Ghelev had made my position clear to you."

"He did." Smithy sat, and grinned at Ellis. "However, I'm not sure that my position was made clear, so I'm here to do it in person."

"Oh? And what is your position, Captain?"

"Well, it's quite simple." He leaned forward. "You have fifteen ships here that can be made battle ready in the next hour. You will get all available engineering teams together for that task, and get them crewed. You will then send them out to the Barrier Zone."

Ellis started to pale under the full force of The Look. "W-what makes you think I'll do that?"

*************
Command Level
0020hrs EST


"That went well."

Smithy strolled towards the transporter. Ghelev eyed him curiously. "You threatened him with a photon grenade!"

"Like I said, that went well. Been ages since I was able to bring one of these props out." He pulled the arming pin out and handed the grenade to Ghelev. "Rubber, with some flashing lights and a power cell imbedded in it. Remarkably effective negotiation tool."

The two men stopped by the transporter pad. Ghelev shook his head. "He'll be calling the President as we speak."

"Let him. I've got bigger things to worry about than Maxwell." Smithy frowned. "Watch your back Ghelev. Something's brewing, and it smells worse than the coffee at DS4. If I were you, I'd leave here right now."

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

[James Smith]

Little bit more for y'all....

*************
Chapter 3 -  War (part 2)

*************
SOD Station 641Alpha
20th March 2395
0840hrs EST
Commodore's Office


Ellis paced about nervously, waiting for the comm link to establish. I'm done for....there is no way he will let me live.

The computer chimed up. "Link established." He dropped into his chair and activated the screen. "Mr President?"

"What can I do for you Ellis?"

"Sir, I have to inform you....Captain Smith was here several hours ago. He has taken control of a number of ships here, they have headed out to the Barrier Zone."

"I see....this is most disappointing."

"Sir, he threatened me with a photon grenade!"

Maxwell's image wore a thin smile at that. "Ah, the rubber grenade. One of his many negotiating tools."

Ellis' face had begun to redden. "Rubber?!"

"Don't feel too bad Ellis, many people have been caught out by him using that old trick. Did you deal with Ghelev?"

"Captain Ghelev seems to have....disappeared, sir. His ship left here apparently un-noticed, I have my best people running through our sensor logs now....but...."

"Very well Commodore. I shall have to deal with that later. What is the status of the rest of our ships with you?"

Ellis shifted nervously. "We estimate that they require another day of system integration tests, Mr President....the new weapons arrays are taking some getting used to."

"Good. Continue your work, I will be arriving to take charge of those ships in two days." The screen winked off, Maxwell's image replaced by the SOD logo.

Ellis breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I'll live through this after all....

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
0840hrs EST
Bridge

"You still here Riggs?"

Riggs turned to see Lisa leave the turbolift. "I had some calibration work to do on the transpace communications array ma'am, figured I ought to do it while we were at Condition Green."

"Rare event." Lisa studied the tactical plot on the main viewscreen. "Klingons have nearly finished their search pattern, no joy. Damn."

"We have scouts a little way further out Commander. Maybe one of them will find something."

Lisa frowned. "I'm not holding my breath. Andromedan cloaking devices are much better than anything any of the Alpha and Beta quadrant powers have, aside from the phase cloak of course."

She turned as Riggs' console chirped up. "Message from the Klingon lead scout ship, they have something. A dust cloud, with strange readings coming from inside it. They want a cruiser there to investigate."

Lisa nodded. Always nice to be pleasantly surprised. "Right. Get a full compliment of bridge officers up here." She tapped her comm badge. "Bridge to Captain Smith. You better get up here honey, the Klingons found something for us to take a look at."

"On my way up."

Officers began filling up the bridge, taking their consoles and getting settled back in. Smithy walked in, clutching a couple of coffee cups. "If you're wondering, they're both for me. Meds have knocked me for six."

Lisa's face wore a look of concern. "Look, if you want to take some time out to try and get recharged then I'll be okay up here."

"No, no....I want to see what this is all about." Smithy drained one cup of coffee and threw the empty into a storage bin next to the turbolift. "Helm, you have the co-ordinates?"

"Yes sir."

"Then get out there. Riggs, get me Thulinuk."

"Onscreen sir."

"Good morning Smithy. We are heading out to the location of our scouts now."

"Okay Thulinuk. We'll meet you there." He turned to Ops. "Sensor status?"

Winchester turned to face him. "Main and secondary sensor arrays are up and ready to begin scanning this cloud, high resoution mode. Tertiary sensor systems will be left for proximity detectors, just in case something decloaks nearby while I'm focussing on other things."

"Good." Smithy sat back and sipped at his coffee. Something was nagging at him.

"Do you feel it?"

He turned to Lisa. "What did you say hon?"

Lisa stared at him. "Something....I can feel something is about to happen."

Smithy stared back at his wife. That's pretty odd, even by this Universe's standards. "You're getting the same feelings I do? Flashes of insight, some kind of pre-cognitive vision?"

"I....I don't know....I mean...." She frowned. "Guess this is how you felt the first time it happened."

"Pretty much, yeah." Smithy held her hands in his. "Winchester, when we get to the cloud I want you to-"

"-direct a focussed sensor sweep on the lower right quadrant." Lisa finished. "That was right, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. That was right. Winchester?"

Winchester nodded back. "Affirmative."

"Approaching cloud." Elkins half-turned. "Bringing us to full-stop."

"Winchester, initiate sweep." Lisa stood, staring at the tactical plot up on the screen. "Right there...."

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

[Scottish Andy]

Hi Smithy! Another great installment. I really love your dialogue:

"Fair enough. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, wait longer."

This kinda stuff keeps me coming back. That and the fact of your good characters--if not exactly in the wholesome TNG style we all know and sigh about. *grin*

[James Smith]

Hi Smithy! Another great installment. I really love your dialogue:

"Fair enough. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, wait longer."

This kinda stuff keeps me coming back. That and the fact of your good characters--if not exactly in the wholesome TNG style we all know and sigh about. *grin*

Yeah, never really got the "wholesome" thing. TNG and beyond, characters were prortrayed in a way that I didn't find all that real, aside from the odd exception. In the case of this fic, we have people here who are fighting for their lives (and the lives of everyone in the damn galaxy right now.....) and being screwed by a bureaucracy that really only cares about itself. There comes a point where, instead of getting angry about it (which they do as well, but let us leave that one aside for a second), they start to behave the same way that Hawkeye Pierce did in M*A*S*H - they make fun of it, they joke about it, and for the most part they don't talk seriously about it. Despite all the crap, all the adversity, all the battles that he has seen, Smithy (the character) does hold on to that very Human sense of humour regarding his situation. Ironic, considering that he isn't entirely Human....

Anyway, Smithy (the real person) will be posting more soon hopefully. Starting to get back into the swing of things now. Hope y'all are enjoying it 

[Grim Reaper]

you bet!

[Governor Ronjar]

Darn right I'm enjoying! I was slow to get in on it for a while, but am growing ever more fond.

Never saw TNG's crew as wholesome. More like creepy and sureal. All those pastels on the bridge and the space-hooker at Picard's left... or...right too, come to think about it. And the Klingon who loved everything about being Klingon but was raised by humans... After seeing the Elian Gonzalez thing, I figure Janet Reno or whoever would have Worf foceibly removed from Earth and sent back to Qo'noS.

So far as crew's I liked, 2 of the series had it going for me. TOS and ENT. Not a character I didn't like outta either.

But I don't mean to turn your story page into a thread, here. Lemme just say again, bravo and please bring more on!

--the guv!

[James Smith]

Been far too long again hasn't it? Got to stop doing that 

Just a veeeeery short bit to finish off Chapter 3. Really am going to try and get back to doing this for a while, as I could use the diversion from a few things that are going on in my life right now.

*************
Chapter 3 - War (part 3)

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
20th March 2395
0854hrs EST
Bridge

"Anything?"

Winchester scanned through the reams of data coming in. "Definitely, ma'am. But what it is....I can't tell you." He glanced up from his console. "The dust cloud is playing havok with our equipment, even if we went into the cloud we'd never get the scanner resolution required to tell us what's going on in there."

Smithy frowned at the tactical plot, then turned to Lisa. "I've got nothing. Judging by the look on your face, neither have you."

Lisa nodded. "Just that brief flash." She shook her head. "Something is still nagging at me though."

"That would be common-or-garden paranoia. Trust me, I've been in this situation for a long time." Smithy stood, and turned to Winchester. "New plan. You have a rough idea where those readings are coming from in there right?"

"Yes, sir. To within approximately fourteen kilometers."

"Right. Tractor beam. Use it like a....like a cocktail stick. See if you can stab anything with it."

Winchester started quizzically at his CO. "That one in the manual sir?"

"Page 84. Look it up sometime, comes under the heading of 'Daft Stuff That David Harriman Came Up With'. We used to use a similar trick during the Dominion War."

Winchester turned back to his console. "Engaging tractor, I'm going to move across the area in hundred metre increments horizontally along the Galactic plane, then move up fifty metres and do the same."

"Sounds good." Smithy sat back down, rubbing absently at his knee. He caught the eyes of his wife and several crewmembers looking at him in concern, tossing them a 'don't say a word' glance.

Lisa wasn't deterred. "Look, if you want to go stomp around the ship for a while to get some circulation back, I'll hold the fort up here."

"I'll be alright. Think my system's caught up to all those meds, starting to have less of an effect." Smithy glanced over to Ops. "Winchester?"

"Nothing yet sir."

A tense silence descended over the bridge, save for the soft hum of the ship's systems and the odd blip from Winchester's console. Everyone looked nervous, except for Smithy who simply scowled at the main screen with his arms folded. He was used to this kind of tension.

"Sir, got something! Energy readings are increasing!"

Smithy snapped into action, jumping to his feet. "Red alert. Shields to maximum, weapons charged. Elkins, back us away from the cloud."

Everyone stared at the screen as Andromedan vessels slowly emerged. Lisa glanced up at Smithy. "That's a lot of ships."

"Winchester?"

Winchester turned from his Ops console. "Reading over a hundred signatures. Fourty of those are dreadnought sized."

Smithy shot a glance back to Riggs. "Send out the call. I want every ship we have in the area out here to engage this lot."

Riggs set to work. "Aye sir.....receiving acknowledgments from Klingon taskforce and our ships."

"Still leaves us outnumbered." Lisa turned to Riggs. "Send a message back to Antares on the transpace link. We're going to need those ships soon."

"Yes ma'am."

Drelkar turned from his console. "Klingon taskforce is forming up. Starfleet and SOD ships taking up positions."

"Standby on weapons. Elkins, head straight at them on my mark, full impulse. Riggs, tie me into the fleet channel."

"You're on audio."

Smithy sat back down, and stabbed at the comm panel on his chair. "This is Captain Smith. All Klingon ships, follow us in close. Starfleet and SOD forces, hand back in a fire support role, lay down a torpedo barrage. Make sure that those Andromedan ships stay pegged back, don't let them get around us."

"All ships acknowledging, sir."

"Elkins, mark!" The Andromedan ships swelled on the screen. "Drelkar, fire!"

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

[Commander Maxillius]

Very good!  Now, can we not wait 4 months between installments? 

[James Smith]

Very good!  Now, can we not wait 4 months between installments? 

Given my past track record.....I make no promises

[Commander Maxillius]

don't worry, it was worth the wait

[James Smith]

I changed my mind a couple of days ago about how I wanted the refitted Tigermoth-A to look. WickedZombie built this new version of his refit Connie, the Valiant. I downloaded a BC version of it earlier this week....and I reckon it's gorgeous. It also makes sense - as a war design, the original Constitution and the refit Constitution both have a few problems, chief among them the width of the neck section. It would just be far, far too easy to slice or blow straight through it. Hell, if Khan's phasers had been a couple of meters higher in TWOK he might have sliced the saucer from the engineering hull. There's also no obvious torpedo coverage to the aft, something that the Klingon competition (the K'Tinga) does have. WZ's refit builds up the neck somewhat, and includes a photon torpedo launcher mounted at the rear of the engineering hull. The engineering hull is built up a touch, the primary hull has also been pretty heavily altered - much as you'd expect with a refit as extensive as the one the Tigermoth-A went through.






While it doesn't have the beauty of the TOS or movie Enterprises, it does look damned good IMO

[Commander Maxillius]

It makes much more sense that way.  It looks like a mini Ambassador, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[James Smith]

*************
Chapter 4 - Stage Left (part 1)

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

USS Tigermoth-A
20th March 2395
0902hrs EST
Bridge

The ship rumbled as the first few shots from the Andomredan forces impacted the shields. Smithy watched the main screen as phaser beams lashed out from his vessel to strike several targets. Disruptor pulses from the Klingon taskforce pummeled various Andromedan ships, while photon torpedoes from the Federation fleet exploded and forced those ships to stay in tight.

"Elkins, evasive pattern of your choice. Drelkar, continue firing."

Winchester turned to face the captain. "Sir, I've got more contacts coming out of that dust cloud."

"How many?"

"Unable to get a good reading because of the weapons discharge, but we're looking at at least another fifty....make that another hundred small ships."

Smithy made his way over to Winchester's station. "How can that be? We've picked up no evidence of any wormholes, transwarp networks or anything...." His voice tailed off as a thought occurred. "The dust cloud?"

"It's conceivable that the cloud was formed by the gravitational attraction of a wormhole. It's rare though, and the cloud formed is never as extensive as this."

The ship pitched to starboard suddenly as Elkins threw her into a tight turn. Everyone fought to stay upright. "Sorry sir, needed to find some room."

"Don't worry about it." Smithy willed his knee to keep him standing. Don't fall down, don't fall down, don't fall down. "If that wormhole has been there long enough, it could have formed this cloud. That means we have the Andromedans knocking on our back door."

"There's still no way to confirm that there is a wormhole in there sir."

Explosions on the main screen pulled Smithy's attention away from the Ops console. A couple of Klingon ships crumbled under fire from Andromedan vessels. "Drelkar, target that group of ships, fire at will." He made his way back to his chair. "Reckon we need to withdraw yet?"

Lisa shook her head. "The Klingons would be upset if we did. Besides, we've hopefully got re-inforcements on the way from Antares."

"Alright. Riggs, signal the Federation fleet. I want all the destroyers, escorts and frigates to come in tight with us, the cruisers can stay out wide to provide fire support."

"Fleet is acknowledging sir."

*************
Antares Command Post
20th March 2395
0915hrs EST
Command Centre


"Admiral, all available ships have now left to join up with the fleet. We have a transwarp capable ship running ahead of them to lay a conduit down, all ships are currently running at stable transwarp speeds."

Harriman finished reading the PADD in his hands. "What percentage of full transwarp speed are they getting?"

"Approximately 55%, it was the only way to stay within acceptable safety margins sir."

"Very well. Is the Tempest ready?"

"Skeleton crew is aboard, just waiting on you and Commander Harrison."

"Very well." He tapped his comm badge. "Commander Harrison, report to the Tempest immediately."

"On my way Admiral."

Harriman turned to Lieutenant Eva. "You're in command until I return. I want engineering crews to continue working on the ships here, Utopia Planitia are also working on more. Try and scare up some more crews as well, I don't want to have to start automating these ships as we need them to be combat effective."

"Aye sir."


*************
USS Tempest
20th March 2395
0920hrs EST
Bridge

"Admiral on the bridge!"

Harriman stepped out of the turbolift and down towards his chair. "As you were. Helm, you have the co-ordinates?"

Ensign Loval glanced back. "Course laid in Admiral. Engine room reports ready for transwarp speed at your discretion."

"Thank you." Harriman glanced at Harrison. "You look nervous Commander."

Harrison's face coloured. "I've never been aboard a transwarp capable vessel before, sir."

"Relax. The days of nacelle implosions are long gone. Helm, engage. Best possible speed."

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
20th March 2395
1140hrs EST
Bridge

"Shields down to 47%!"

Smithy made his way over to the Engineering console. "Auxilliary power currently being used by....phasers, damn it. Alright....tie in power fom the storage batteries to the shield grid, that should firm them up for a little while." He glanced over at Lisa. "Not going to be enough is it?"

"You're the engineer." Lisa shot a glance over at Winchester. "Are they still coming?"

"Yes ma'am. We've destroyed 83 of them, they've added around 150 more to their numbers. The Klingons have lost 14 ships, 35 have arrived to join the party. We've lost 4 ships, SOD has lost nearly all of theirs."

"Any sign of our re-inforcements?"

"Not yet."

The bridge tilted suddenly under weapons fire, before righting itself almost as violently. Lisa glanced around. "James?"

"Down here."

"Oh no." Lisa rushed to the back of the bridge. "Don't try and get up, just straighten that leg out."

Smithy looked up at her. "Yes ma'am." He winced as he pulled his leg out from underneath himself. "That'll teach me to stand up during a battle."

"Shields firming up now sir!" Drelkar called back. "I'm switching them back over to standard combat power mode."

"Good." Smithy dragged himself upright with a little help from the console next to him. "Reckon I'll go and sit down for a bit."

Despite her worry, Lisa couldn't help but smile. "Probably for the best. Riggs, any word from Antares yet?"

"Just that ships were being sent ma'am."

The ship shuddered under another big hit, one of the science stations erupting in a shower of sparks. Smithy ducked as a bit of debris flew across the bridge. "Someone make sure that station isn't on fire please."

Winchester grabbed an extinguisher off the wall rack near him and directed a stream at the blackened console. "No fire here." His attention returned to his own console as it began beeping. "Sir, new contacts!"

"Andromedans?"

"No, Starfleet!" He stared at his screen closely. "Uh sir, I think you ought to see the lead ship."

Smithy threw him a puzzled look. "On-screen."

Smithy and Lisa stared at it. Lisa spoke first. "I think it's quite pretty."

"Yeah, nice lines. Those nacelles are a little different, I quite like that."

The Tigermoth class USS Tempest flew by the ship she had been built to emulate, phaser beams lancing out from her. Neatly diving to avoid the return fire, she swung around to take up a flanking position with the Tigermoth.

Riggs turned. "Admiral Harriman is hailing, sir."

"On-screen."

Harriman's image sprang into focus on the viewscreen. "What d'you think?"

Smithy grinned. "I like the nacelles, why didn't we get them at the refit?"

"They're still fairly experimental. We're not even sure if they're a huge improvement yet, we haven't done any speed trials. Hell, haven't done any trials full stop."

"No time like the present I guess. How many ships did you bring with you?"

"50. All we could get ready this quick."

"Hey, better than nothing. Beers are on me when this is over. Turning over command of the fleet to you."

"Very well. Continue as you were doing, while we thrash out a plan we've been considering over here. Tempest out."

Smithy closed out the link. "Drelkar, Elkins, you heard the man - continue as we were. Weapons status Drelkar?"

"Phasers heating up, but still within tolerance. Running low on photon torpedo casings, but we have plenty of quantum torpedoes."

"Use a few more then, let's keep the phaser useage back a bit to let them cool. Fire at will."

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

Not that happy with it, but it'll do for now 

[Scottish Andy]

Good enough, James. However, are you saying that Starfleet is building a new class of Constitutions to the Wicked Zombie specs you displayed above?

I'm not averse to the idea itself, but I can't really see it happening. I suppose it could be justified that they are now small ships easily built, and with a proven track record, but it would be like building a WWII destroyer hull today out of modern metals, and fitting her with modern electronics, engines and weapons.

It could be done. Actually, would that be cheaper than designing a new hull from scratch? That would be an interesting feasibility study... 

As always, your character interation is first rate. I enjoy reading these characters.

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

I would imagine it would be a conversion of any mothballed Constitutions still around this long... but that's just my guess. Smithy?

[James Smith]

However, are you saying that Starfleet is building a new class of Constitutions to the Wicked Zombie specs you displayed above?

I would imagine it would be a conversion of any mothballed Constitutions still around this long... but that's just my guess. Smithy?

K-Fo has it correct.

In this universe I write in, there were the 12 Constitution class starships mentioned in TOS. There was also at the time of TOS a 'shadow' fleet which operated a further six Constitution class ships in actions against the Klingons and Romulans. These went through various upgrades over the years, up until the end of TOS. After V'Ger, the remaining Constitutions in Starfleet were upgraded to Enterprise specs along with the surviving ones from the shadow fleet. More new-build Constitutions were made to Enterprise specs up until 2288 when the Excelsior project finally got off the ground properly.

Tigermoth-A was built on the bones of the USS Tricolore, one of the shadow fleet ships that was hauled out of the mothball yards. The refit design had been first tested on USS Valiant by the Omega Sector Fleetyards, and the designs then passed on to Starfleet. It seemed silly to have the 'Moth be unique considering how effective she's been. I did originally plan to have Tigermoth class ships as being quite widespread by this point (all the Constitution class ships remaining in mothballs would have been upgraded), I'm not sure what happened to that draft. One of those things I guess

USS Tempest (a cookie for whoever has spotted the naming convention, it'll become even clearer after you see the names of the next couple of ships in line) is a refit based on both the OSF design and the years of experience gained with the Tigermoth - what works, what doesn't. As Smithy and Lisa have noted - new nacelles, there will be other differences. I've refined the Tigermoth specs to something believable a) considering the size of the ship, b) considering the technology available by 2395, c) considering that most of the labs the original Constitution design carried wouldn't be present on a TacFleet ship and d) considering that I didn't want a God ship. I wanted a ship that was damned tough but that could still be hurt.

9 Type 12A phaser arrays - more compact than arrays seen up to now, with a slight tendency to overheat due to all the hardware being in a fairly confined area.
A quantum torpedo turret on the underside of the saucer.
Two photon torpedo launchers in the neck, one at the aft of the engineering hull.
High capacity SIF setup, reasonably strong shields.

I'm not averse to the idea itself, but I can't really see it happening. I suppose it could be justified that they are now small ships easily built, and with a proven track record, but it would be like building a WWII destroyer hull today out of modern metals, and fitting her with modern electronics, engines and weapons.

It would, which is why I favor refitting of old ships.

It could be done. Actually, would that be cheaper than designing a new hull from scratch? That would be an interesting feasibility study... 

Not being a starship engineer, I'm not sure of the problems involved But I'd imagine that building new frames from an old design would be workable in this case - after all, the refitted ships do still have the original frame inside them. Yes, the refits are extensive but they are still built on the original ships rather than keeping, say, one structural beam from the saucer section in order to justify calling it a refit rather than a new build.

Interesting point actually - what was left of the original Enterprise when she went through the refit prior to the V'Ger encounter? Aside from all new warp drive, all new weapons fit, new shields, new bridge etc she was also quite a lot different in shape. There can only have been the bare frame left over really.

[Governor Ronjar]

I find your above to be quite within reason. Going by some of the CGI ships seen in DS9 (The Centaur) and a few other smashed together CGI craft glimpsed in the background during the Dominion war, we know that Starfleet played around with a lot of old hulls and wrecked salvage to keep their fleet at levels to fight with. I thought it was one of the few novel ideas Trek had ever used, but I also noticed they never really centered on it either.

That is a wicked nasty, mean looking Conny you got pictured, too, btw. I like her.

If any charitable soul out there would feel like putting USS Endeavour NCC-2007 on a standard Excelsior and post it for me, I'd be greatly obliged!

Anywho, I'm still digging your story! Love fleet actions. Just got through with a small scale one for my own story #9. Keep up the stellar work. BTW, REALLY loved the fake grenade thing! Keep stuff like that coming!

-thu guv!

[Wicked Zombie]

Knew I'd forgotten something: Tigermoth regs, since JS' been writing about his TNG Connie as long as I've been building mine. For those interested, the summary of the Valiant's back story is posted here.

[James Smith]

snip

Heh, looks good WZ 

[James Smith]

*************
Chapter 4 - Stage Left (part 2)

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
20th March 2395
1207hrs EST
Bridge

Smithy threw a quick glance at Winchester. "Tactical plot on main screen. Drelkar, are the phaser temperatures still increasing?"

Drelkar frowned at his screen, willing the numbers to change. "Jumped another two hundred degrees in the last ten minutes sir. We're flirting with thermal cut-off."

Lisa keyed her comm panel. "Bridge to Main Engineering."

"Orlatrel here."

"You see those phaser temperatures?"

"I see them, and I wish I didn't. I've got something better rigged up to cool the main coils down, but we'll need to take phasers completely off-line for a few minutes to tie it all in. Son'tarak and MacDougal have replicated a batch of photon torpedo casings for you, Drelkar will just have to use torpedoes for a while."

Smithy nodded. "Alright. Drelkar, take phasers off-line. Divert auxilliary power back away from phaser control and put it into shields. Orlatrel, I want phasers back as soon as poss'."

"I'm on it."

Riggs turned. "Sir, message from Admiral Harriman. He's been monitoring our internal comms, and requests a copy of Commander Orlatrel's designs for the cooling fix. Apparently, the Tempest is beginning to suffer the same issue."

"Get hold of someone in Engineering, ask them to send you up the datafile. Broadcast it as soon as you have it."

"Aye sir." Riggs set to work.

Smithy glanced around tothe back of the bridge. "Yeoman."

The young girl dashed down to the command area. "Yes sir?"

"Two things. Firstly, you don't need to stand at attention in a battle situation. Secondly, go grab me a large mug of coffee. Black, no sugar, strong and hot enough to make a Klingon wince."

"Uh, yes captain." She departed at a run.

Lisa smiled and shook her head. "I was never that young, was I?"

"First time we met? Maybe. It soon got beaten out of you though."

Smithy had found himself idly wondering if Metcalf had a hand in all this. He knew he was dead, there was no question of that - he'd blown the man up. But he also knew that Metcalf had touched the Nexus, and that made his total demise never entirely certain. Ever since Lisa had that moment of pre-cognitive insight, a part of his mind had been churning the idea around. Wouldn't be the first time he'd popped back up to surprise me. Hope this is just paranoia talking, I'd hate to be right about this.

He watched as his wife signed off a couple of PADDs sent up from Damage Control. As soon as the Universe lets me in on the story, I'll tell her. She has a right to know.

Drelkar leaned back and half turned. "Engineering reports new phaser cooling measures are plumbed in. Bringing phasers back on-line."

Smithy nodded. "Keep a watch on the temperatures. Make sure you keep sending telemetry down to Main Engineering, I'm sure Orlatrel will want to keep a watch himself. Riggs, ask Admiral Harriman if he can keep you posted regarding the Tempest, two sets of data are better than one."

"Yes sir....Tempest reports that they are preparing to bring their phasers back on-line in one minute, they will keep us informed."

"Good. Ask Orlatrel if he can spare a couple of minutes please, I want him to talk me through the changes that we'll need to do something a little more permanent."

"He's on his way sir."

Smithy stood, testing his knee and grabbing the mug of coffee from the returning yeoman. "Alright kid, next task. Call up the plans of the Tigermoth on that Engineering station back there."

"Aye sir."

Lisa glanced back as Orlatrel exited the turbolift. "Getting her back into shape yet?"

Orlatrel shook his head. "I don't know what to make of it. Every problem we solve, we turn another one up elsewhere. Too much equipment on too small a frame." He tossed Smithy an isolinear chip. "That's our proposal for a permanent upgrade of the cooling system. We'll need a couple of days at Antares."

Smithy handed the chip to the yeoman who opened up the datafile. "Looks good....take it you're routing through Junction 23A because of the EPS tap at 23B."

"Yep...and we can't run that section any further forward as it'd make it far too close to those labs."

The bridge rattled slightly. Smithy cast a glance over at Drelkar. "Shield status?"

"71%. That rumble was one of their ships beating a retreat, they skimmed a bit close to us."

Winchester turned from Ops. "Sir, looks like they're all retreating."

"Tactical plot." Smithy stared at the screen, as it showed the Andromedan force entering the dust cloud. "Winchester, is there any way to see if there's a wormhole in there?"

"We might find out in a moment. The cloud is dissipating! Sir, this is impossible!" Winchester stared at his board in confusion. "Dust clouds don't just dissipate."

"No, but a wormhole that's collapsing would pull all that dust and debris in. If there was a wormhole, I'd be willing to bet that's what just happened."

Winchester frowned. "That's awfully rare, sir. Usually when a wormhole collapses the gravitational effect is lost pretty much instantly, nothing gets sucked in unless it was right on the opening."

"If it was artificial, then maybe it was constructed in a different fashion to those found naturally." Lisa stood and crossed over to Ops. "Full scan, focus on the sub- and transpace layers of local space, if they're using a form of transwarp to create a wormhole then we might see some evidence of it."

Smithy returned his attention to the engineering plans while Lisa worked with Winchester. "Riggs, send a copy of these plans back to the Antares yard and to the Tempest."

"Aye sir. Tempest acknowledges receipt, Admiral Harriman would like a word."

"Patch him through. Dave?"

"We're preparing to head back to Antares. You joining us immediately?"

Smithy glanced at Lisa, who nodded. "Yes, we'll head back with you."

"Alright. See you in the bar."

"Looking forward to it. Elkins, lay in a course for the Antares yards. The Tempest will go to transwarp speeds, try and stay ahead of her. I wanna see what she can do."

Elkins grinned as he set to work. "Aye sir. Engaging transwarp drive."

Lisa joined Smithy at the back of the bridge. "They're using transwarp alright. Or at least, some form of it. It seems closer to the Borg version than ours."

"So, the question is - where are they launching from? Even at transwarp speeds, they can't be popping in and out from Andromeda, they must have a staging area somewhere just outside our galaxy."

"Yeah. But we can't exactly go hunting for it. Lot of space to cover, and that's if we can get ships through the Barrier without cooking them."

Smithy swallowed a mouthful of coffee, making a face as he did so. "Orlatrel."

"I know, I know. The replicators aren't a priority at the moment though."

Smithy shook his head. "Good coffee is always a priority. Alright, this design looks damned good. Are your people doing the prep work now?"

"Yes. We should have the entire phaser coolant network drained and taken apart by the time we get to Antares. Their head of engineering says that they'll be able to start fitting new components tomorrow, we've cut in line for the replicators."

Smithy smiled. "Bet Dave got in ahead of us though."

"Probably." Orlatrel returned the smile. "If you'll excuse me, got a lot of work to do. I'll keep you informed on progress."

"Enjoy." Smithy watched him go, wondering if that pang in his stomach was the coffee or the longing to poke at the ship's internals himself.

Lisa recognised that look. "Don't even think about sneaking off to bother the engineering teams."

Smithy grinned. "Yes ma'am."

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
21st March 2395
0915hrs EST
Bridge

"Captain's Log, stardate 71084.4. Commander Orlatrel has begun work on our phaser cooling system. We hope to be able to test the systems soon."

Smithy glanced around the deserted bridge. Only the engineering crews remained on-board the ship, readying her for the next time she would have to fight. He patted the back of his chair. "Let's see if we can get you all sorted before they come back for more, huh? Much more fun joyriding around in you when there are no surprises lurking."


*************
Antares Command Post
21st March 2395
1320hrs EST
Recreation Deck

Harriman strolled into the bar, nodding a 'hello' to members of his command crew. He joined Smithy at the bar. "Afternoon."

"Usual?" Smithy waved at the barmaid. "Whatever he's having and another pint for me, cheers."

Harriman sipped at the Aldebran whiskey. "Lisa not about?"

"She's on the comm. link with her parents. They get a bit concerned when they read the news on the Federation Network and see the Tigermoth being mentioned." He finished off his first pint and took a swig from the new one. "Been trying to contact my mother. No such luck, as usual."

"I thought she was on Earth?"

"I thought so to. But that's the thing, she could be pretty much anywhere in Federation space at any one time. Ever since she left Starfleet, she's been impossible to pin down for any length of time. Especially after Dad passed away."

Harriman felt some sympathy at that. He'd been to far too many funerals in his time, but someone of Smithy's genetic makeup could look forward to seeing plenty more years and plenty more people pass on. "On a somewhat cheerier note....you haven't asked me much about the Tempest."

"Yeah, you were keeping that one quiet weren't you? Mind, it's about time Starfleet built another, given how well the 'Moth and the Mossie have performed. We've got several Constitution class hulls in mothballs, and a little birdie tells me that the OSF are investigating the work involved in a new-build version."

Harriman nodded. "I'd heard that as well."

"Whatever happened to the Valiant anyway? Did the Gatrellians destroy her while I was away, or did the OSF keep hold of her?"

"Couldn't tell you. When I took command of the Tigermoth I tried to find out where she was, no-one at Starfleet knew. I suspect she's docked at the OSF somewhere, being used as a technology testbed. The Constitution frame is pretty much perfectly suited to that, with the way the structural stuff is laid out. I know the Mossie is still in general Starfleet service."

"Yeah, SciFleet and TacFleet had a tug of war and both lost. Starfleet must actually have quite a few ships yanked back from specific attachment by now." Smithy grabbed a handful of peanuts out of the bowl on the bar. "Can't tell you how much I miss these. Delicious."

"At any rate, we've pulled one of the other Constitution hulls out of the mothball yard. It's currently being towed here, should have it in a couple of days."

"You're going to build another one? Didn't think you had the engineering capacity here, what with the refitting already going on."

Harriman smiled. "We've got the room. The question really should be 'have we got the time?'"

"And there's no way of knowing."

"Nope."

Smithy sighed. "I need another beer. What will you call her anyway? Going for a more obscure plane name next time, or stick with a well-known one?"

"I considered USS MiG 15, but only half-seriously."

"Could stick with the British planes I suppose. Hurricane, Typhoon, Spitfire, Fury, Hunter?"

"Yeah. Of course, Spitfire and Hurricane are already taken by your shuttles."

"I added another two as well. Spiteful and Mustang."

Harriman thought for a second. "Spiteful?"

"The ultimate development on the Spitfire theme. Laminar wing, Griffon engine. Great plane, there's one in the British Museum Of Aircraft that's still flight-worthy."

"Alright....USS Typhoon then. Keep it similar to it's Tempest cousin."

"Sounds good." Smithy raised his glass. "To the future USS Typhoon, the current Tigermoth, Mosquito and Tempest, and the Valiant wherever she may be. May they keep us all safe from annihilation."

"Amen."
 
*************
*************

***Edited***

[Andromeda]

Oh yeah, we're back.  I like it so far.

[James Smith]

*************
Chapter 4 - Stage Left (part 3)

*************
USS Tigermoth-A
24th March 2395
1241hrs EST
Corridor 23A

Orlatrel waved the tricorder over the bulkhead. "Flow rate is still down."

"Yeah....I see it." A hand snaked out of the open hatch. "Hand me the agitator."

"Agitator?"

"The hammer."

Orlatrel sighed. "James, these new pumps aren't as robust as the ones they used to make. Beating it with a hammer may not do it much good."

"Just give me the damn hammer so I can get this working and get out of here." Smithy waved his hand, and grabbed the hammer that Orlatrel proffered. "Ta."

There was a brief pause, followed by an almighty bang. Orlatrel winced. That did not sound good. Muffled cursing drifted out of the hatch. "Are you okay James?"

"Fine, fine....bit louder than I thought it would be. Guess the acoustics in a Jeffries tube aren't quite as I remember them. What does that flow rate look like now?"

Orlatrel brought the tricorder back up. "Flow rate is....increasing."

"Jolly good." Smithy slowly dragged himself back out of the hatch. "Hope I don't have to do that too many more times. I don't remember us having the same problem getting you in the tubes on the old ship."

"They were a bit bigger." Orlatrel closed the hatch and re-attached the cover panel, and tapped his comm badge. "Engineering."

"Wilson here."

"We're all plumbed in now lieutenant. Begin powering the ship back up, we'll be doing the weapons test at three o'clock."

"Aye sir."

Smithy threw his uniform jacket back on over his T-shirt. "Right, going to go inspect those EPS junctions on Deck Six, then it's time for a shower. Make sure you run a Level Four diagnostic on all key systems, been a while since she was powered down that long. I don't want to take her out and immediately blow some relay up."

"I'll see to it."

*************
Captain's Quarters
1413hrs EST

"First officer's personal log, stardate 71092.7. The Tigermoth has spent a few quiet days in dock, and my unease has increased. I feel that something is going on, yet I can't put my finger on it....can't feel any more detail than a general sense of foreboding. James has lived with this for a long time....I don't know how he ever got used to it."

Lisa switched off the console, folding the screen away. Think I'll be happier when we're back out in open space. She crossed over to the window and sat, watching the workbees flitting around the various ships in dock at Antares.

She turned as Smithy entered. "Hey hon, you get that new pump working?"

"Yeah, just wanted a bit of percussive maintenance." He slumped in a chair. "You seen my meds?"

"On the table by the bed. You were due an hour ago."

"Glad one of us is able to keep track." Smithy levered himself up and crossed to the bedroom.

Lisa stared out at the stars. She could almost see what it was that was bothering her. Almost. James told me that I was important to the survival of the Federation, that invaders would come and be repelled. But how? And what do I do?

"Trying to make sense of it doesn't work."

Lisa turned to Smithy, staring at him. "How did you...?"

"How did I know what you were thinking?" Smithy sat next to her. "I just....knew. My pre-cognition is odd like that, sometimes I see stuff very clearly. Other times....I'm in the dark. Take this for instance - I know that the third workbee from the right over there is about to stack into that docking pylon due to pilot error. Don't know why I know that, but I do."

Lisa watched the workbee intently as it moved towards the pylon. Sure enough, the braking thrusters ignited too late. "You said once that you could see all of space-time."

"And I can....I can't make sense of it quite as quickly as it flows in, but I can see it. And I can recall what I saw after perfectly. But only certain bits are easy to see, easy to make sense of. Things are beginning to resolve in my mind now. But by the time I know what will happen, it will more than likely be just about to happen."

He got up, and flexed his knee. "I now know that I saw this, saw myself get shot by Metcalf. Didn't know it at the time, didn't really work it out until that first week in the hospital. I now know that I could have avoided it. I could have prevented S'Tasik from being killed during the Imperial war. I could have avoided getting us blasted into a wormhole and knocked forward six years. I could have saved the lives of a number of kids on the old 'Moth." He sat back down. "For all that I have done, for all that I saw ahead of time and prevented....how much more could I have done? How much more should I have done?"

Lisa gazed at him. "You prevented Metcalf from destroying the Federation several times. You saved my life a few times. You've saved Dave's life more times than I think either of you would care to remember."

"And yet I'm always left thinking that I should have done things differently. Most people can only see that sort of thing in hindsight. I see it before and after the fact....if only I could grasp hold of the image before."

The two sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating the stars. Lisa held Smithy's hand in hers. "James, promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise me....that as soon as you know what will happen....that you'll tell me? I...keep trying to make sense of what it was that I could see, and I'm not doing a great job. It'll drive me mad if I don't know....I need to know...."

"You will. Either you'll figure it out, or I will and will tell you." He leaned in and kissed her. "Right, really do need a shower before I head back up to the bridge."

Lisa smiled. "Alright. I'll see you up there."


*************
Bridge
1438hrs EST

Smithy stepped out of the turbolift onto the bridge, and immediately knew that they weren't going to start the weapons test on time. Bodies, computer parts, panels, tools and wires were everywhere. "Someone want to fill me in?" No-one stepped forward. "Fine, make me do it the hard way. Riggs!"

"Sir?" Riggs pulled her head back out from under her console.

"Status report."

"As you can see sir, bit of a mess. The engineering crew from Utopia Planitia that came over here to work on the Tigermoth obviously weren't familiar with the last refit of the computer systems. We're trying to get everything working again, but even with everyone that Antares could spare we're still going to need some time to get everything up and running."

"Fine, keep at it. Where's Lisa?"

"Down here."

Smithy crossed over to Ops, and bent down. "Enjoying yourself inside that console?"

"Oh just great. I can see why you left this job."

Smithy shook his head, grinning in spite of his annoyance at the situation. He looked around. "Hang about. How come the women are the ones grovelling around in the carpet pulling isolinear chips, while all the men are sat down doing the programming job? Damned unchivalrous of you lot."

Winchester turned. "Sir, you need small hands to re-order the isolinear chips."

"Bollocks. Lisa, come out of there. You're a better programmer than you are an engineer. Winchester, come away from that console and get under here."

Lisa gladly vacated the cubbyhole under the console, handing a set of chips to Winchester. Smithy crossed back to Riggs' console, and motioned at her to get out of the way. "Now, how far have you got?"

Riggs rubbed at an ache in her neck. "Quads L1 through L3. Just L4, then the M and N Quads. The crews put them in reversed, so 1 is 4, and so on."

"Right, right. I wouldn't mind, but I had the damn things labelled up." Smithy's knee protested as he lowered himself onto the floor. "I'm gonna pay for this in a little while. Riggs, as soon as you get some signs of life in your board will you raise Antares and let them know what we're up to?"

"Aye sir."

Twenty minutes ticked by, with the sound of the bridge systems gradually increasing as consoles were powered back up. Smithy replaced the last N2 chip, and tapped a hand on the communications console. "Should have short-range now Riggs."

"Yes sir. Antares Command Post, this is the Tigermoth. We're currently experiencing some difficulties related to the repairs that have been made, be advised that we will be late commencing the weapons test."

"Acknowledged Tigermoth. Is Captain Smith there?"

Smithy replaced the last chip, and hauled his way upright. "Affirmative Antares."

"Sir, we have a message for you from Captain Ghelev of Special Operations. Shall I send it over now?"

"Please do." He scanned the text of the message as it came in. "Thanks Antares. We'll let you know when we're ready for the weapons test. Tigermoth out." He glanced at Riggs. "You better run a diagnostic routine, just in case." He raised his voice to carry over the bridge. "That goes for everyone else, run a diagnostic as soon as your consoles are fully powered up. I don't want any surprises." A chorus of acknowledgments came back. Smithy dropped into his chair, and sighed. Just wouldn't be a normal visit to a dock without having to rebuild the ship afterwards. They must do it on purpose.

Lisa sat next to him. "What did Ghelev want?"

"Just updating me on the SOD fleet situation. They lost almost all of that force that they sent out to engage the Andromedans with....and they're having a world of trouble getting the new ships ready to fly. What a mess."

"How many ships are they trying to work on?"

"Over two hundred. And given the small size of their stations, they can't really do it. Starfleet has offered them the use of the Jupiter yard, Ghelev is currently trying to persuade them to accept the offer."

"Two hundred....if we can get them working to an acceptable level, those numbers would really help."

"Question is, can they be brought up to an acceptable level? I was reading some data that Ghelev sent me last night....and I'm really not all that confident. But, we shall see."

Finally, repair crews began leaving the bridge and normality set back in. Smithy glanced around. "Okay, once around the room. Helm?"

"Ready sir."

"Tactical?"

"Ready captain."

"Ops?"

"Sensors and scanners are operational sir."

"Communications?"

"Antares signals that we can proceed at any time sir."

Smithy nodded. "Right. Helm, detach umbilicals. Thrusters at station keeping." He tapped his comm. badge. "Engine room."

"Orlatrel here."

"Status?"

"All systems ready."

"Okay. Helm, one quarter impulse. Move us to the test area."

He sat back for a few minutes, letting his crew prepare the ship for the test. Winchester turned. "Sir, carbon-neutronium target pucks dead ahead."

"Right. Helm, Tactical, we'll make this as realistic as possible. Shields and weapons to full power Drelkar. Elkins, random evasive patterns of your choice. Just imagine that there are vessels out there, and that you're trying to keep those targets in phaser lock without giving them a clear return shot." He glanced back at Riggs. "Signal the alarm."

"Aye sir." Riggs keyed the internal comm. panel. "All decks, Red Alert. The weapons test is beginning. All hands to battle stations." She waited a beat. "All decks are acknowledging."

"Keep an open channel to Orlatrel. Drelkar, fire when ready."

Drelkar began laying down a pattern of phaser fire, keeping one eye on his telemetry screen. Lisa crossed over to his station to watch for herself. "Sustained bursts Drelkar. Don't give the capacitors any rest."

"Yes ma'am." Drelkar worked through his checksheet, stressing in every array on the ship.

Lisa stared intently at his screen. "Temperature is climbing much slower. Orlatrel, does your board agree with what we're seeing?"

"Affirmative. Rate of temperature increase is roughly one sixth compared to before, and it's levelling off now as well rather than continuing."

"Good." Lisa glanced at Smithy. "Reckon we can call that a success?"

"I'd say so." Smithy turned to Riggs. "Order all decks to stand down from battle stations."

"Aye sir. All decks, secure from battle stations. The weapons test is over. Stand down from battle stations."

Smithy turned back to the helm. "Elkins, return to the Antares docking ring. Orlatrel, when we put back into dock, I want a full diagnostic running on everything. The entire lot. If there is a single wire plugged in the wrong socket, a single chip in the wrong slot, I want to know. I'm not taking this ship out again before I know we've got everything as it should be."

"Comfirmed. As soon as we have full computer runtime, we'll begin level ten diagnostic routine."

"As soon as you set it up, go have some fun. Riggs, tie me into the internal comm."

"You're on audio, captain."

Smithy settled back in his chair. "All hands, this is the captain. As of 1630 hours today, I don't want to see any of you working for four days. Barring any emergencies, the Tigermoth is resting for a long weekend."

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

Eh, that'll do for now.

[James Smith]

Almost forgot.....

I sketched a bridge layout for the Tigermoth a while back, and never got around to posting it. I've just spent a few minutes whacking it into AutoCAD to make it a touch more presentable (and readable).

I should add - it's not drawn to any kind of scale, it's just to show where everyone is. The station where Smithy and Orlatrel went over the cooling modifications is one section of the green area, which contains a few engineering and science screens. The circle at the back is obviously the turbolift. I'll probably work up a much better AutoCAd drawing at some point.

[Scottish Andy]

...a bit of percussive maintenance.

I love this line. Keep it coming.

Smithy and/or WZ: How long do you think it would take to pull an old TMP Constitution from the Proxima Maintenance Yards and have her refitted to Tigermoth specs? Realistically speaking, just another Starfleet R&D project to play with an old ship, no fate of the Federation emergency pouring in more resources and manpower than they can handle?

I'm kinda interested in this, putting aside the whole "her bones have 1,000,000 light-years on them and 1,000 battle shock repairs" type metal fatigue that would likely prevent them from doing this in a practical manner.

[James Smith]

A loooooooong time ago, I wrote an extra chapter for "Return Of The ISC" that detailed the death of the old Saber class Tigermoth and introduced the Tigermoth-A before the characters took control of her. The death of the old ship was then kicked off into the "Vengeance" story (which is still being written), and I re-wrote the extra chapter for RotISC to take that into account. As I recall, RotISC opened with a ship being destroyed by an unknown attacker, before cutting to a briefing at Starfleet HQ that informed the characters about the ISC being responsible. Following that briefing, Smithy takes Harriman over to see the new ship. The chapter I wrote came before the ISC attack, and showed that Smithy had been working on the Tigermoth-A after the events of "Vengeance" while the crew awaited their next assignment. He'd also overseen some of the OSF design work, so Starfleet decided to assign the ship to Harriman in order to have Smithy as chief engineer. I seem to recall pegging the rebuild time at 8 months, in a post Dominion War time when shipyards were cranking out replacement ships at a helluva rate. They rushed the Tigermoth-A out at any rate, and post RotImp she had to put back into dock for some fairly major surgery on her power grid.

I'd reckon on about a year to do the work, in an ideal universe. Starfleet needed 18 months to redesign and refit the Enterprise prior to the V'Ger encounter in TMP - advances in construction techniques, production of materials etc would take some time off that. OSF had done the design work, so Starfleet just needed to follow the plans (which the didn't, hence the power grid weakness). If Starfleet had been designing the refit, you could probably take the work back up to two years to include all the design and simulation work that would need to be done.

Sadly, the extra chapter I wrote is long gone....about 4 hard drive crashes ago. Rather more worryingly, I can't even find my copies of RotISC or RotImp - I know they're on a CD-R somewhere, but damned if I can find it.

[Scottish Andy]

Thanks for the reply, James.

I would have helped you with your lost stories, but the CD-R I put all the old Taldren stories on to save space on my hard disk got really screwed up for no reason. No scrapes or scratches or anything, just would not load access the scores of old stories. Pissed me off something rotten, I tell ya. I feel your pain.

P.S. I love your new avatar. Very silly indeed!

[James Smith]

Thanks for the reply, James.

No prob.

I would have helped you with your lost stories, but the CD-R I put all the old Taldren stories on to save space on my hard disk got really screwed up for no reason. No scrapes or scratches or anything, just would not load access the scores of old stories. Pissed me off something rotten, I tell ya. I feel your pain.

I'm pretty sure my disc does still survive somewhere. It's probably at my parents' house, next time I'm back in Burton I'll have to have a hunt.

[Andromeda]

I'm glad to see the relatively low amount of combat in all these stories right now.  Is that a trend that I've missed or is this just a lull for everyone?  I ask because I realized that my story will have perhaps one incident of starship combat in it and that's at the end of the tale.

[James Smith]

I'm glad to see the relatively low amount of combat in all these stories right now.  Is that a trend that I've missed or is this just a lull for everyone?  I ask because I realized that my story will have perhaps one incident of starship combat in it and that's at the end of the tale.

The calm before the storm as far as my story goes I'm afraid. The Tigermoth universe maintains a fairly consistently high death count all the way through 

[Scottish Andy]

I'm actually feeling the lack. I'm working something up that's all flashy, but only Nameless Villans (tm) are getting hurt. When it gets too hot, the Heroes (tm) take to the hills.

Its great when you get to pick your battles.

[Commander La'ra]

I'm glad to see the relatively low amount of combat in all these stories right now.  Is that a trend that I've missed or is this just a lull for everyone?  I ask because I realized that my story will have perhaps one incident of starship combat in it and that's at the end of the tale.

For me, it's because I get sick of trying to work fight scenes into stories where I just don't see 'em happening.

That said, one I'm about ready to post part of (a new one) starts out with one of most pleasingly over-the-top brawls I've ever written.

[James Smith]

As you can see, no change on the JRS front. Still wandering away from fic writing to go do real work for months at a time....

Currently finishing up the next part, using that most wonderful of story-telling techniques - the flashback. Provide a little info on what happened the last time a Federation starship faced off against an Andromedan vessel (the incident with the Excalibur mentioned earlier in the story), and why such an encounter is to be feared. Also gets a chance to see Metcalf and Smithy arguing in the days when Metcalf was merely an annoyance rather than a murderous bastard with dreams of ruling the entire galaxy by lording over it with a superweapon.

[Scottish Andy]

*BUMPSIE*

Oh, and you don't mind if I grab a Constitution (Tigermoth refit) class battlecruiser for my own use, do you? I've been playing with the Tiggy-A in SFC2 and she looks good. I now want to do a whole shipyard piece on her getting put together.

I was going to have it in 2377, though... Maybe call her the USS Gyspymoth.   

Or perhaps the USS Mosquito... yes, I like that. She's a battlecruiser, after all. (Especially if you've removed all the lab spaces...)

How many crew does she have? I was thinking around 300, max.

[James Smith]

*BUMPSIE*

Oh, and you don't mind if I grab a Constitution (Tigermoth refit) class battlecruiser for my own use, do you? I've been playing with the Tiggy-A in SFC2 and she looks good. I now want to do a whole shipyard piece on her getting put together.

I was going to have it in 2377, though... Maybe call her the USS Gyspymoth.   

Or perhaps the USS Mosquito... yes, I like that. She's a battlecruiser, after all. (Especially if you've removed all the lab spaces...)

You can if you like - my little Trek universe exists entirely apart from all other Trek universes out there, but if anyone wants to incorporate elements of my fics into theirs I have absolutely no problems.. Mosquito works for me, as it also still fits the 'plane' theme - the de Havilland Mosquito was a fighter-bomber in WWII, and a damned good one at that.

Pic:



Beautiful kite. Two Merlin engines, simple construction, devastatingly effective 

How many crew does she have? I was thinking around 300, max.

Think I pegged it in the 200s a while back. No huge science crew due to the lack of labs, but quite a large complement of bodies in the engineering and tactical divisions.


***edit***

The Intrepid class (Voyager) is 343m long, is a bit more substantial than the older Connies, and has a crew of 141. The Tigermoth crew would have to be in the low 200s I think.

[Scottish Andy]

Yes, I chose the names to honour your lineage and naming convention. The Gypsymoth was a two-seat light touring biplane, though, which is why I decided on Mosquito.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Gypsy_Moth

With the glass nose, that makes that Mossie a pure bomber variant, maybe the B.Mk I. I way prefer the FB.Mk VI, myself.  That's the model I built, anyway. Four 0.303" machine guns and 4 20mm cannon in that kite's nose cone, as well as a 1,000lb bomb load in the bay and 8 60lb rockets under the wings. Awesome machine. Even the Yanks bought some. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito

Before I was a Trekkie, I was a plane buff. I still love reading 'Biggles'.    I believe he actually flew a Mossie at one point, too.

Hey, I put this together yesterday for some preliminary details of my ship. Could I have your opinions on it, please?

USS Mosquito NCC-77777, Constitution (Omega Refit) class. (Ex-USS Indefatigable NCC-1760.)
 
Commissioned: 23rd April 2377, stardate 54308.5. (USS Indefatigable decommissioned & placed in mothball storage at Proxima Maintenance yards on 17th May 2322, stardate 14891.7)

Complement: 212 crew.

Has 3 shifts: Alpha (0800-1600), Beta (1600-0000), Gamma (0000-0800). This means 70 crew per shift, and the CO & XO are on call. During war time, each 8 hour shift is split into two watches, Alpha I and Alpha II, etc. to have the people manning their stations as fresh and sharp as possible. Watch I leaving their bridge/engineering watch grab a meal and return to other duties in their department, whereas watch II already working in their department take up their bridge/engineering stations.
Credit due to Larry for the concept and brainstorming to work out the specifics of a "battle watch".

Her nicknames are “Mossie” to her crew, meant affectionately and in the tradition of the WWII De Havilland fighter-bomber of the same name.

She is also called “Beans” by rival crews, semi-affectionate, semi mocking, and this is because of her registry. 5 sevens => 5 7s => 57s => Heinz 57 varieties => Heinz Baked Beans => “Beans”. (Heinz will obviously still have to exist in the 24th Century for this in-“joke” to work, but McCoy had beans at least in 2287, so I’m going to say they will.)

Do you think the “Beans” thing works? I flung that in as a spur of the moment lame joke. If y'all think it too lame or disconnected (who knows, if Heinz still exists in 2377, maybe they'll have more than just 57 varieties...) PLEASE let me know. I was going to go with a low 78xxx registry otherwise.

[Commander La'ra]

I like the all-seven registry number (edit: And, since this is the 77th reply, it must be fated...bad omen to change it now.  Keeping it might make up for the cringe-worthy faux pas of renaming an already christened ship...that's terrible luck, you know. ), just for giggles, but not the 'beans' thing.  If you have to explain the joke...

And the Mosquito was a great plane.  Used to fly them on Aces over Europe all the time, when I could tear myself away from the P-47's and Hawker Tempests that were my first Simulated European Air War loves.

I also have fun memories of watching the Guv blast his own wingmen with the 57mm on the XVIII model.

[James Smith]

Hey, I put this together yesterday for some preliminary details of my ship. Could I have your opinions on it, please?

USS Mosquito NCC-77777, Constitution (Omega Refit) class. (Ex-USS Indefatigable NCC-1760.)
 
Commissioned: 23rd April 2377, stardate 57308.5. (USS Indefatigable decommissioned & placed in mothball storage at Proxima Maintenance yards on 17th May 2322, stardate 14891.7)

Complement: 212 crew.

Has 3 shifts: Alpha (0800-1600), Beta (1600-0000), Gamma (0000-0800). This means 70 crew per shift, and the CO & XO are on call. During war time, each 8 hour shift is split into two watches, Alpha I and Alpha II, etc. to have the people manning their stations as fresh and sharp as possible. Watch I leaving their bridge/engineering watch grab a meal and return to other duties in their department, whereas watch II already working in their department take up their bridge/engineering stations.
Credit due to Larry for the concept and brainstorming to work out the specifics of a "battle watch".

Her nicknames are “Mossie” to her crew, meant affectionately and in the tradition of the WWII De Havilland fighter-bomber of the same name.

She is also called “Beans” by rival crews, semi-affectionate, semi mocking, and this is because of her registry. 5 sevens => 5 7s => 57s => Heinz 57 varieties => Heinz Baked Beans => “Beans”. (Heinz will obviously still have to exist in the 24th Century for this in-“joke” to work, but McCoy had beans at least in 2287, so I’m going to say they will.)

Do you think the “Beans” thing works? I flung that in as a spur of the moment lame joke. If y'all think it too lame or disconnected (who knows, if Heinz still exists in 2377, maybe they'll have more than just 57 varieties...) PLEASE let me know. I was going to go with a low 78xxx registry otherwise.

1) Crew complement and shift pattern sound good. Shift pattern is actually something I've never really paid a whole lot of attention to, which is probably a mistake. I might have to sort that out.

2) What are you using to calculate your stardate? Using the calculator I use in my fics, stardate 57308.5 is Thursday 23rd October 2380 at 17:55GMT. Another example of my universe being just a little bit different I guess!

3) The 'Beans' nickname - it's cute, and funny Not sure how the rest of your audience would see it, but I like it.

Regarding your ship history - if you want it to tie into the Tigermoth-A history you could make it an OSF build rather than a Starfleet one. Valiant was the OSF prototype, Tigermoth-A was the first one that Starfleet built from the plans, Tempest and Typhoon being the second and third. OSF could have built more after Valiant. They do operate somewhat apart from Starfleet in the Tigermoth universe, despite being affiliated with them.

[Scottish Andy]

Well Larry, my real reason for renaming the ship was to honour Smithy. I play Wicked Zombie's latest TNG Constitution refit with Tigermoth registries, so I wanted to be true to his naming convention. Plus, Smithy is recommissioning mothballed Constitutions with these names, so I'm just following his lead there too.

My justification (in-universe reason) for renaming her is that she'd been decommissioned and made surplus some 55 years earlier. As a decomm'ed  ship, other vessels bearing that name were commissioned in the mean time. During the time of the original Indy's recommissioning, there was already my grand-daughter Karen as captain of the Steamrunner-class Indefatigable. So, can't have two ships of the same name in service at the same time (in the same theatre of operations, anyway). Besides, ships are renamed under special circumstances in real navies. Also, she had been out of service, with no service history or crew, for the aforementioned 55 years. Her name and its history had already been taken over by an Excelsior class in the NCC-18xxx's, if I remember Jaeih's Timeline properly. So,  it was not dishonouring her memory at all.

I grant you that had Karen's ship been lost and no new Indy was there to take her place, it is likely she would have been been recommissioned with her original name, a la Admiral Patrick's Excelsior-class Farragut from DS9.

Yeah, the "Beans" joke is kinda thin. Maybe I can still have her rivals call her that, but not explain it. Some (inevitable) 20th century Earth fanatic in Starfleet nicknamed her that for the reason I give, and although no one else knows why, the nickname stuck. I can have one long-suffering Mossie officer say, "Apparently, it has something to do with her registry number, but it beats me..." 

Smithy, shift patterns and all the silly anal stuff like that is what I waste my time on instead of actually writing stories.    Don't bother with it, your stories are perfectly fine "in the finest tradition of..." stories without such details, and if you'll note, you have a lot more fiction out here than I do. 

As for the stardate, you are right about the year. That was my mistake. I've corrected it above, but it should have been stardate 54308.5.
As for your unusual day and month, my system uses the generally accepted (I thought) system of 1000 stardates = 1 Terran year, and so stardate 54000.0 is midnight on 1st January 2377. Stardate 54999.99 is 11:53pm om 31st December 2377. It does mean that every season cliffhanger happens over New Year, but... *shrugs*
What system do you use?

Yeah, I'm glad you like the "Beans".    As I said to Larry, I'll not explain it now. People who get it will get it. Those who don't will just have to wonder.

As for tying in with the Tiggy's history... when do you have the Valiant built, and when do you have the Tigermoth built? The whole point of my story here is that Starfleet will be re-building these ships to make up for losses in the Dominion War. If we're too far out of whack I guess I'll forgo the direct connection to your ship but keep it anyway and chalk it up as a Berman Inconsistency. 

[Commander La'ra]

I jokingly comment about an old superstition and Andy answers with a long explanation about how he imagined it happening.

...

Dude, there is no one on this planet quite like you.

Suggestion:  Have other people call her the 'Woody'.*shifts his eyes about suspiciously*

[Scottish Andy]

Thanks for the suggestion, Larry. I think I'll use both. The weird, anal engineers who put her together will use the "Beans" nickname and it will be seldom heard, maybe in the Engineering Dept. and the more "normal" human Fleeties will use "Woody".

[James Smith]

Smithy, shift patterns and all the silly anal stuff like that is what I waste my time on instead of actually writing stories.    Don't bother with it, your stories are perfectly fine "in the finest tradition of..." stories without such details, and if you'll note, you have a lot more fiction out here than I do. 

Well, I still think I'll set the times in stone for when my main characters are on duty. Even if I don't show the other shifts.

As for the stardate, you are right about the year. That was my mistake. I've corrected it above, but it should have been stardate 54308.5.
As for your unusual day and month, my system uses the generally accepted (I thought) system of 1000 stardates = 1 Terran year, and so stardate 54000.0 is midnight on 1st January 2377. Stardate 54999.99 is 11:53pm om 31st December 2377. It does mean that every season cliffhanger happens over New Year, but... *shrugs*
What system do you use?

I use this calculator.

Yeah, I'm glad you like the "Beans".    As I said to Larry, I'll not explain it now. People who get it will get it. Those who don't will just have to wonder.

As for tying in with the Tiggy's history... when do you have the Valiant built, and when do you have the Tigermoth built? The whole point of my story here is that Starfleet will be re-building these ships to make up for losses in the Dominion War. If we're too far out of whack I guess I'll forgo the direct connection to your ship but keep it anyway and chalk it up as a Berman Inconsistency. 

Valiant was built sometime prior to 2377 during the Dominion War, Tigermoth-A being built towards the end of that year/start of 2378. Smithy had done some consulting work on her refit, and when the original Tigermoth (Saber class) was destroyed in the "Vengeance" story arc (still being written) the vessel was named in her honour. She was giong to have a different (new) registry number, but Harriman got permission to tack an A on the old one. During the ISC, Imperial and Gatrellian conflicts she was the sole ship of her class in service with TacFleet, but that doesn't mean there weren't any more around due to the way OSF operates. The galaxy is a big place after all - plenty of places other ships could be while all the excitement is happening in the Alpha Quadrant.

At any rate, the build order I have right now is as follows:

USS Valiant - OSF - 2375ish
USS Tigermoth-A - Starfleet - 2377/2378, further refits since
USS Tempest - Starfleet - 2394, to same specs as Tigermoth-A
USS Typhoon - Starfleet - 2395, to same specs as 'Moth and Tempest.

There are a few more hulls left. Take out one for Beans....I'd reckon that there are two, maybe three more useable hulls (the other ships would have been scrapped, stuck in museums, used in weapons tests etc). I want to write in a heavier version at some point called Lancaster, but that may end up as a refitted Federation class DN 

[Governor Ronjar]

One major thing I loved about the log entries on Enterprise....

...no damn stardates.

Just the Earth Date and a year affixed. Much clearer.

And yeah, I loved blasting my wingmen. You tell anybody about my base defense technique on Aces High II?

--thu guv!

[Scottish Andy]

So, any chance of a new chapter on this story? (sorry for high-jacking your thread, Smithy...)

[James Smith]

So, any chance of a new chapter on this story? (sorry for high-jacking your thread, Smithy...)

Eh, maybe. Got some work to finish up, but once I've got that out of the way I might do some writing tonight.

As for hijacking the thread - not a problem. Most of the hijacking was semi-on-topic anyway!

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Glad to see you're still writing, Smithy.

Now that you are, maybe we should sit down and hammer out the details of this collaboration thingy.

[James Smith]

Glad to see you're still writing, Smithy.

Now that you are, maybe we should sit down and hammer out the details of this collaboration thingy.

Good point, we should. I PM'd you the rough timeline I had a while back didn't it? I can't honestly remember 

***********

Chapter 4 - Stage Left (part 4)

***********
Antares Shipyard Command Post
28th March 2395
1056hrs EST
Conference Room 1A


Harrison watched a steady stream of officers enter the room. The conversations were typical Starfleet - bragging about the performance of their ships in the recent combat, some wrangling over who was next in line for repairs. The usual nonsense. I'll be glad when Special Operations takes over the entire fleet.

Smithy walked into the room, absently playing with the pair of isolinear chips he held in his hand. "Dave, your data."

"Thanks Smithy." Harriman took the data chips from him. "Everything completed on the 'Moth?"

"Checked on her yesterday morning, the diagnostic found about four hundred things wrong. Orlatrel has his teams back on the job today sorting it all out. Should be done sometime this afternoon."

Harriman glanced at the clock on the wall. "You sure you want to talk about that incident?"

"Everyone has to know. We haven't seen the Andromedans bring their full force out yet."

Harriman frowned. "Have you seen anything?"

"Nothing I can make sense of yet. But....I will do, it's important. If I think about it, I'll never work it out. If I ignore it, it'll click." He turned as Lisa arrived. "Hi hon."

"Hey. You ready?"

"Yeah."

Everyone took their seats. Harriman looked around the table. A lot of captains and officers present, and more on the end of the comm. link that was broadcasting the briefing. "I've asked you all here to listen to the details of the last encounter Starfleet had with an Andromedan vessel. Smithy?"

Smithy closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, steeling himself. Then he began speaking. "On stardate 33052.2, the USS Excaulibur was investigating some strange readings near the Barrier Zone. Starfleet had lost a scout vessel, the USS Feynman, in this sector a few weeks ago, and we were the closest vessel able to investigate...."

***********
USS Excalibur NCC 26517
June 12th 2355
1030hrs EST
Bridge

"Regulations specifically state that-"

"Bollocks to the regulation Bob."

"You will not talk to me in that manner Smith!"

Smithy sighed, wondering what he'd done in a previous life to deserve this. Captain Robert Metcalf stood before him, a symbol of everything Smithy found wrong with the way Starfleet was going - a captain who could quote the rulebook off by heart but who had no idea what to do when the situation was outside of that rulebook's experience. "Bob, that is a twelth power energy field out there! If we take this ship anywhere near it we stand a good chance of something bad happening."

Metcalf snorted derisively. "'Something bad'. And yet you refuse to give me anything specific, beyond your usual mumbo-jumbo about 'seeing something'." He sat back down. "What makes you right and the computer wrong?"

"The computer is only as good as the person who programmed it. Energy fields like this aren't exactly common."

Metcalf shook his head. "Get back down to Main Engineering. I want full power on all sensor and scanner systems, engines and shields."

"You're going to have to compromise on something. We're still running with a cracked dilithium crystal thanks to that business last week."

"That will do, commander!" Metcalf reddened, remembering the incident that lead to that damage. Still, it wasn't like it was his fault! If his crew would just do what he wanted, rather than what they claimed was possible! And Starfleet saddle me with a chief engineer who refuses to grant me any respect. "You have your orders."

"Aye aye captain sir!" Smithy mockingly saluted, and stomped off towards the turbolift. He paused next to the communications station, and leaned in to the ensign on duty. "Keep an open line. If anything happens, I want to know instantly."

"Yes sir. Channel 2 will be open."

***********

Engine Room


*CRUNCH*

Everyone kept their eyes rivetted on what they were doing. Even the recent additions to the crew knew when to stay out of the chief engineer's way, and when he was punching bulkheads that time was now. Very few people could approach him when he was in this kind of mood.

Orlatrel was one of them. Deliberately keeping his voice even and low, he stood facing his CO's back. "Went that well?"

"Yeah." Smithy swung around to face him. "Can you give me a couple of minutes to calm down?"

"Sure thing." Orlatrel turned, and cleared his throat. "Alright people, we'll be heading into the middle of hell quite soon. Baker team, concentrate on shield systems. We need them above everything else. King team, you're on engines."

"Evans, remember that the port impulse packs are a bit scorched." Smithy had just about recovered his composure. "Everyone else, you're on power management and damage control. Hopefully we won't need too much of the latter." He knew that it was a forlorn hope. Ever since Metcalf had taken command of the ship Smithy had seen his worload triple. Some of it was down to the fact that they were exploring way out in uncharted space, but most of it was down to the idiot in the centre chair. Smithy had seen four young engineers lose their lives on this deep space mission. Sure, danger is part of the job. Sure, they signed up for that danger. But no-one signs up to be commanded by a complete moron. "Orlatrel."

Sensing this was going to be a private conversation, Orlatrel moved to stand up close with him. "Sir?"

Smithy looked up at him. "I'm...going to request a transfer off the Excalibur."

Orlatrel was momentarily thrown by that. "You're....you're certain that you want to do that?"

"I'm certain. There's a guy I taught a few classes at the Academy, he's about to get his first command. We talked last week, after....you know. Anyway, he's put in a request that if I become available, he'd like me to join him. And Bob isn't going to stand in the way of me getting off this ship....hell, he'd be overjoyed at me leaving. The point is, Starfleet would then ask you to be chief engineer."

"And if I don't want to be?"

Smithy raised an eyebrow at that. "You don't?"

Orlatrel looked around the room. "I'm learning a lot from you. I'd like to continue learning from you." He shook his head. "Reckon you know any ships that would have me?"

"I might." Smithy listened to the background chatter coming from the bridge. "Well, hang on. Sure hope I'm wrong about this."

***********
Antares Shipyard Command Post
28th March 2395
1118hrs EST
Conference Room 1A

"And I wasn't." Smithy paused, remembering the utter chaos as if it was yesterday. "The ship entered the region, and began a standard search pattern looking for the Feynman. We had completed most of that pattern, when sensors picked up a vast energy flux off our starboard bow...."

***********
USS Excalibur
June 12th 2355
1123hrs EST
Engine Room


Everyone fought to stay on their feet. The ship rumbled and shook underneath them, protesting at the treatment. And suddenly, all was calm again.

"Everyone okay?" Smithy let go of the rail, flexing his fingers to get the blood flowing again. "Damage report."

Orlatrel glanced at the System Monitor screens. "Nothing reported in. Nothing new, anyway."

"Bridge, you mind telling me what that little lot was in aid of?"

"Stand-by, sir. Ops is currently trying to ascertain our position-"

"Position? Ensign, pipe the data feed from sensors down here." Smithy scanned the readouts. "Wormhole. Son of a....I told him, I f*cking told him!"

Orlatrel leaned over him. "According to this, we've jumped past the Barrier. Quite a way past in fact."

Smithy shook his head. "I hate it when I'm right...." He listened intently to the voices from the bridge. "Right, looks like we'll be here for a few minutes while the wormhole re-aligns itself. Definitely not a natural one....these energy patterns are far too regular. Doesn't match anything on file though."

***********
Bridge


"How long, lieutenant?"

"Around five minutes captain. The wormhole is beginning to re-align, we'll be able to follow it back then. It definitely is a manufactured one, judging by our readings."

Metcalf frowned. "Who would have the ability to create something like that? And what happened to the Feynman, are we picking up any sign of her out here?"

"Nothing on SRS sir, widening to LRS...." The lietenant studied her board. "Contact with a ship sir, moving at warp speed. Signature doesn't match anything on file."

Metcalf frowned. "Probably just some problem with the sensors. It must be the Feynman, what else would be out here? Helm, set a course over to the ship, warp speed. Ensign, hail them."

"No response sir."

"Try again." Metcalf returned his attention to Ops. "Are they in visual range yet?"

"Aye sir, they changed course to intercept us. Entering SRS range now and slowing to impulse."

"Helm slow to impulse. Onscreen." Metcalf stood, staring. "What....what is that?"

The ship filled the screen, it's distinctly alien lines nothing like the crew had ever seen. The lieutenant at Ops began checking her board. "Definitely matches nothing on file." He stiffened as the console began a shrill beeping. "Sir, reading power fluctuations from the vessel. It reads like-"

She didn't get a chance to complete the sentence. A large bolt of light lanced out from the vessel, straight at the Excalibur.

***********
Engine room

Alarms rang out, flames and sparks shooting out of the equipment lining the walls. Engineers fought to stay on their feet, fought to stay at their posts. It was a battle few of them were winning. Even throughout all the simulations at the Academy, even throughout all the incidents they'd faced before, nothing had ever happened quite like this. Smoke filled the room, the lights dimming as the power grid struggled to cope under the sudden onslaught.

A voice boomed out over all the noise, all the chaos. "Team leaders, report!" Smithy emerged from the gloom, wiping blood from a cut on his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket before discarding it. "Seppowitz!"

"Warp drive is disabled sir! Port nacelle shows as offline!" Seppowitz glanced across at his team's monitors. "I think we took a shot to the port pylon!"

"T'Pon, impulse engine status."

The Vulcan woman's voice was impressively controlled for the situation, but had a definite hint of emotion to it. "Power relays are struggling to maintain their link. Impulse engine efficiency down 32.6%!"

"Alright, everyone report in to the repair teams. Lets get some control back on things. Orlatrel."

"Sir?"

"Take over, I've got to get to the bridge."

***********
Bridge


Smithy stepped out of the turbolift, hastily moving out of the way to allow the medical team to rush around. "Someone want to give me a quick summary of how f*cked we are?" He saw Metcalf on the floor. "Oh, well....things aren't so bad. Bob's getting a chance to catch up on all that lost sleep he's given us." He made his way down to Tactical. "You'll be getting power for shields in a few seconds if I taught Orlatrel well. As soon as you're nominal, get them up. Ops, what do we know about that ship out there?"

"Not much sir. I didn't get chance to scan them too deeply before the attack, and I've lost most of the sensor array now."

Smithy shook his head. "We really have got problems, haven't we? Alright, new plan. I need the warp entry program for single nacelle flight implemented. My people have enough to do right now, so you've got the job. There's a basic program in the library, it'll need editing to take into account our mass, our cracked dilithium crystal and the fact that we don't have full hull integrity by any stretch. Get on it."

"Aye sir."

"Tactical."

"Shields are up sir. The vessel backed off after firing at us, but it's moving in again. We don't have weapons power at all, not even torpedoes."

"Yeah, the power relays took a battering. Torpedoes are the priority, you'll get them soon hopefully." Smithy stepped down to the helm. "Go get that arm seen to lieutenant." He took a couple of seconds to familiarise himself with the control layout. "Damn sight different to the last ship I flew." He thumbed the intercom tie-in. "Engine room."

"Orlatrel here."

"We're going to need torpedoes. Can you spare anyone to reset the power relays?"

"Have someone on it already. Warp drive stands ready once you have the new program in the computer. I've got everyone trying to keep what we have left together."

"Good, you're doing a grand job of it. Stay on the line." Smithy glanced over at Tactical. "Soon as you get power, fire at will."

"Aye sir. Forward tubes are charging now."

"Ops."

The lieutenant turned. "Programming. It's taking a while sir, I'm not sure if-"

"It's alright, the computer is just a bit overloaded right now. Too much going on, not enough processor time to allocate. Let me know as soon as you have it." His attention was caught by the viewscreen. "Never thought I'd be so happy to see a photon torpedo."

The torpedoes struck the enemy ship, which banked off to avoid further fire. Smithy watch one of it's aft weapon nodes light up. "Everyone brace!"

The impact wasn't quite as bad as the previous one, but it still left everyone fighting to keep working. Smithy tied into the second comm channel. "Mack, Mack you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. But I'm not going to be for much longer if we keep this up."

"How many?"

Doctor Mackenzie's voice softened, knowing how much his friend hated moments like this. "We've lost eight. Another seventy are seriously injured, many more with less threatening injuries."

Smithy closed his eyes. Eight. Damn it. This isn't right, this shouldn't happen. "Alright Mack, look after them. Orlatrel, we're getting ready to go back to warp. Keep her together."

"We'll do our best."

"Ops?"

"Program ready sir!"

Smithy stabbed at the control panel. "Warp speed now."

Everyone felt the ship struggle into warp, the one working nacelle almost stalling under the load being asked of it. Smithy glanced over at Tactical. "Are they following?"

"Yes sir. We got the jump on them a bit, but they'll overtake us in one minute."

"That's alright, we're only 55 seconds away from the wormhole." Smithy glanced around as the medical team finally got Metcalf loaded onto a stretcher. "Make sure he doesn't get a bed."

***********
Antares Shipyard Command Post
28th March 2395
1142hrs EST
Conference Room 1A

"We made it to the wormhole just ahead of the ship, and got back through. The vessel didnt follow. Once back on our side, we spotted something....a data log buoy from the Feynman. She'd gone through the same wormhole, and had been attacked by the same vessel and boarded. The Feynman's commander confirmed that the vessel was Andromedan....no-one knows what happened to the ship or crew after the buoy was jettisoned back into the wormhole and into Federation space."

He paused for a moment, thinking back. "As I said before, eight people were killed pretty much instantly. Of the seventy seriously injured people, twelve didn't make it. We went back over our sensor logs at the time....our photon torpedoes barely did anything to their shields. One bolt from them, our shield power dropped by about half. Our technology has moved on, but as we saw in the last encounter even our newest ships are still having a hard time of it. Ghelev?"

Ghelev nodded. "The SOD force that joined up with you suffered massive losses. Our engineers are currently working with Starfleet to get more of our ships ready."

Harrison frowned at that. "Is the President aware that Starfleet engineers are working on Special Operations ships?"

"No, but I'm sure he will be soon." Smithy rubbed at the ache in his knee. "Harrison, those ships that SOD have promised to be the next greatest thing in defence are not remotely ready. Half of them shouldn't have ever left the drawing board in their current form. They're underpowered, overgunned and more dangerous to the crew operating them than to any opposing vessel. They're lemons. At least with Starfleet engineers and Starfleet facilities we stand a chance at getting some of them into useable condition. If our great and glorious President doesn't like that, then he's more than welcome to come and explain his position to me. But he shouldn't be surprised if he ends up knocked down on his arse nursing a bruised jaw."

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

Not quite happy with it, but at least it gets something posted.

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Nice part, Smithy. I like how you spliced the flashback with the rest of the story.

And yes, you did PM me that timeline.

[James Smith]

Nice part, Smithy. I like how you spliced the flashback with the rest of the story.

And yes, you did PM me that timeline.

Cheers K-Fo. Would you mind PMing it back to me? Think I deleted it 

[KOTH-KieranXC, Ret.]

Ask and ye shall receive, Smithy. Check your PMs.

[James Smith]

Ask and ye shall receive, Smithy. Check your PMs.

Ta muchly.

Currently working on April and May, if the world willl leave me along for a while on Monday I might actually get some more writing finished up this week! PMed you back.

[Governor Ronjar]

Ah, the Excalibur. Pre-MacCalahan or whatever his name was days...

Nice touch.

Once I'm done with my current running plot line, I was thinking with some wormhole usage...

Anyway

Bravo!

--thu guv!

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 5 - The Approaching Storm (part 1)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
4th April 2395
1002hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


"Captain's Log, stardate 71121.2. The Tigermoth is currently on her way to Jupiter Station to assist with the trial runs of some of the new SOD ships. Ordinarily I'd rather jump out of an airlock sans spacesuit, but since Dave asked so nicely...." Smithy paused the recording a second, something nagging at him that he couldn't quite grab hold of. "Hopefully I shall be proven wrong, and these new ships will perform well. Something tells me that I'm not going to be wrong though."

He switched off the terminal, and gazed out of the window. The familiar white streaks of warp flight weren't there, replaced by the red of transwarp. Smithy still wasn't used to that. He'd lived many years with transwarp being the almost legendary pipe dream, the name you'd club Starfleet R&D over the head with whenever you wanted to remind them that they weren't all that clever. Then the Gatrellian war happened, and while Smithy had been missing in that wormhole the entire galaxy changed. Transwarp opened up so many exploration possibilities, and what was it being used for? Getting to battles quicker. Maybe Kieran had the right idea. Leave Starfleet, go home and let other people risk their lives instead. Trouble is....where is home?

Having no official planet of birth or residence drove Starfleet's paper pushers crazy, and Smithy knew it. He hadn't been born on a planet - he'd been born on a starship, and the system couldn't cope with that. Most parents usually listed their home planet as the place of birth in those cases, but Robert and Kate Smith had never gotten around to it after finally being told it wasn't possible to list their son's birthplace as the Enterprise-B. He didn't have a home on a planet either - virtually all officers had property on a planet somewhere that they could call home, Smithy didn't. Of the rest, they at least had an apartment on a station or starbase somewhere, Smithy didn't. Leave was usually spent doing something or visiting someone, so he'd never found the need to have a place of his own somewhere.

He heard the door open, watching Lisa's reflection in the window. "We about there?"

"Few more minutes before we secure from transwarp." Lisa dropped onto the couch next to him. "Listen, I was scanning through the paperwork Starfleet sent."

"Rather you than me. Anything remotely interesting?"

"A few. Crew transfers. Apparently Captain T'Pos has been making a play for some of our people."

Smithy shook his head grinning. "She does like to play dirty. The only female Vulcan I've ever known who has truly mastered the art of being a complete bitch. Who's she after?"

"Riggs, for one."

The grin was replaced by a scowl. "She can go suck a photon torpedo if she thinks she's going to get Riggs transferred." A thought struck him. "She doesn't want a transfer does she? I mean, it's slightly hazardous duty being on a ship like this. I wouldn't blame her for wanting to leave."

"Nah, talked to her already. T'Pos contacted her, was told no, and went ahead to try and transfer her anyway."

"Where is the USS Fox at the moment? I wouldn't mind a word with the captain about her recruitment policy."

"Fortunately for her, well away from us right now. Out on the Barrier Patrol, sector 18 I think."

"Very fortunately for her." Smithy got up, grabbing his uniform jacket. "Coming to watch the show? There's every chance that it'll be a glorious failure."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Got a bet going with Captain Mirra of the Ariel, she's convinced that this is going to go smoothly."

***********
1028hrs EST
Bridge


"Right, what's on?" Smithy stepped out of the turbolift with Lisa and immediately headed for the Communications console.

Riggs looked up from her board. "SpecOps ship USS Dragon is about to leave dock, they don't have her up to full power yet but are going to try it as soon as they're clear."

Smithy nodded. "Well, I do hope we don't get any fireworks." He glanced over at the Operations console bank. "Winchester, how many medical and repair ships are in the immediate area?"

Winchester scanned his readouts. "Quite a few sir. We expecting trouble?"

"Better to assume the worst. Still, unless things really have gotten bad I doubt we'll have anything catastrophic. Bit worried that they haven't taken the Dragon up to full power yet though." He sat i nhis chair and thumbed the intercom. "Engine room."

"Orlatrel here."

"What d'you know about USS Dragon?"

"Lizard class heavy destroyer, brand new design that hasn't seen a whole lot of simulator time. Beyond that....it's a Special Operations ship, so the technical journals haven't been able to divulge many details."

"Alright, thanks." Smithy closed the connection, and turned to Lisa. "Something is up. That ship should have been powered up fully while in dock. Hell, when the 'Moth was first built we put overload power through her warp core before even thinking about leaving Spacedock."

"Yeah, and that sure did wonders for the power grid."

"Hey, we didn't have problems with the grid until after the Imperial conflict." Smithy glanced at the main screen. "Well, here she comes. Winchester, keep a watch over her."

"Aye sir."

The view zoomed in on the Dragon as she slid forward out of the dock. Smithy grinned. "Well, despite the SOD paintwork she's a very pretty little thing."

Everyone had their eyes glued to the screen. Winchester quickly glanced at his console. "She's powering up."

Smithy held his breath. Nothing. No explosions, no fire. He sighed. "Well, glad I was wro-"

He didn't get a chance to complete that thought, as a line of explosions erupted from the primary hull of the Dragon. Lisa was immediately on her feet. "Riggs, get those repair and medical ships over here now! Winchester, full scan! Transporter room, stand by for emergency evacuation of the Dragon!"

Winchester turned from his console. "Reading massive fluctuations in their power grid, looks like they blew a whole series of relays!"

Riggs threw a look over her shoulder. "Repair ships are coming in, medical ships are standing by to co-ordinate with our transporters."

Smithy nodded. "Alright, lets get them out of there. Engine room."

"Orlatrel here. I have engineering teams standing by in Transporter Room 1. Just waiting on you."

"On my way." Smithy glanced at Lisa. "I should have seen this."

"You probably did, not like this but you definitely were concerned about it. You certainly put an awful lot of preparation in place in case of it." Lisa shook her head. "I'll update Dave, doubt SOD will be advertising the problem to Starfleet."

***********
USS Dragon SOD-792
6th April 2395
1235hrs EST
Deck 3 Section 12


Smithy levered himself back up off the deck. "Well, that was definitely the failure point judging by the damage. What was sat here on this EPS tap?"

The young SOD engineer hurriedly checked through his notes. "Uh....I believe it was a junction point for the phaser power."

Smithy frowned at that. "A phaser junction here? The phasers are on Deck Two, about five sections over. Here was the closest point?"

"Yes sir. The EPS tap near the phasers is sending power to the secondary shields."

"That doesn't make a single shred of sense." Smithy took the PADD from the engineer. "Who the hell designs a ship this way? This power grid is a complete disaster. I haven't seen anything cross-circuited and bodged together like this since the Academy." He handed the PADD back. "We were bloody lucky the entire works didn't blow." He closed off the wall panel, and tapped his comm badge. "Smith to Tigermoth."

"Here hon'."

"Are the tests progressing okay?"

"Anything but. No fires or explosions, but a number of ships are dead in space right now."

"More power grid problems?"

"Yeah, but very few things in common with where they're failing. We're currently towing one of them back to dock, starting to run short on tugs here."

Despite the situation, Smithy had to smile at that. "TacFleet's flagship, currently on tug duty dragging half-dead ships back into dock. There's something really, really wrong about that."

"Yeah, the crew are chafing at it a bit. Dave called to let you know, we're up on patrol duty from Saturday."

"That'll be a welcome change of pace. Alright, I'm finishing up here. Prepare to beam me back in a few minutes."

***********
1749hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


"Hello Dave." Lisa sipped at the cup of coffee and regarded her former captain's image on the comm link. "We're on our way back to Antares now, James is just finishing up his report."

"As bad as he expected?"

"Probably worse." Lisa sighed, shaking her head. "I know he expected problems, I don't think he was expecting things to be quite this bad though. Four people are still in critical condition from the accident on the Dragon." She turned as the door opened. "Talk of the devil." She got up and crossed to the replicator.

"Evenin' Dave." Smithy took the coffee that his wife held out to him, and sat in front of the comm terminal. Lisa dropped onto his lap. "Riggs is uploading a report to you."

"Look forward to it. So, just how screwed are we?"

"On a scale of one to ten?" Smithy thought for a second. "About nine. We'll see anyway. You should be getting an additional report from SOD themselves. They seem a bit chastened by the whole thing, I'm not sure they even considered the possibility of a failure on this scale."

"I'm not sure any of us did." Harriman turned to someone off-screen to sign a PADD. "I've got a whole bunch of meetings to sit through now. I'll talk to you when I've read through the report."

"Alright. Enjoy the meetings."

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

Little more for you.

[Scottish Andy]

Hey Smithy,

Enjoying your first-rate character interplay as always. 

Just wondering though. I know that we're supposed to be "booo!"-ing the SODs, but would they really be that incompetent? Speaking of which, their design philosophy reminds me of Rob Grant's brilliant book 'IncompetEnc'.

[James Smith]

Hey Smithy,

Enjoying your first-rate character interplay as always. 

Just wondering though. I know that we're supposed to be "booo!"-ing the SODs, but would they really be that incompetent? Speaking of which, their design philosophy reminds me of Rob Grant's brilliant book 'IncompetEnc'.

I did hesitate over having the new SOD ships perform so badly, but there is a sort-of precedent for it in the Real World™ with the Apollo CSM. With Apollo you have a craft that had over 100 seperate defects in design and construction, and it killed three astronauts with that fateful pad test. NASA and North American had to do some heavy reworking of that ship before they dared put men inside it again. On the Russian side of the space race, Soyuz 1 failed badly on it's first mission - virtually every system quitting on it when it was in orbit after a solar panel failed to deply and then the parachute failing when a landing attempt was made.

With something as complex as a warp capable starship, the potential for screwing up in similar ways over design and construction matters must be there. We had it with the Tigermoth and her power grid problems, then the phaser coolant issues. In Trek canon, we had it with the refitted Enterprise tearing space a new wormhole the first time they tried to go to warp, and then the Enterprise-A performing very poorly indeed on her first outing. Defiant - Starfleet built her and the first time they tried to use her she nearly tore herself apart due to being overpowered and overgunned.

I'll be delving deeper into the reasons why the failures happened anyway, so see how you feel about it after I've done that.

[CaptJosh]

More specifically, DS9's Defiant's IDF and SIF systems were not commensurate with the extreme amount of propulsive and weapons power she had for her size.

[James Smith]

Oooooookay, think I've left it a little too long again without checking in....

Stuff that has happened of late:

1) Bounced in and out of hospital a few times, more fun with the knee. Reckon the NHS might get it right eventually if they keep hacking away at it. It's okay though - I can have a new metal and plastic one when I'm old and doddery. Jolly good.

2) That said, I can't rag on the NHS too much. Mum's father had a stroke a little while back which he's just about recovered from thanks to the care he received at a hospital in Bury. Haven't seen him yet, but talked to him and Gran on the phone quite a bit. Going to see them for Gran's birthday in a few weeks time.

3) Work goes well. Earning enough money to live at any rate. Currently trying to buy a house, but given that a price crash could be on the horizon I'm still trying to hedge my bets on that score. If I do buy, it'll need to be a place that I could live in for a long time just in case there is a crash and I need to stay there long enough for the value to come back up.

4) I've actually written quite a lot. Unfortunately, I didn't work on this fic - instead, I worked on the "Vengeance" story arc. On the plus side, now that I've gotten a lot of very, very dark, very violent story action written I'm back on to this one so you might even see some more posted in the next few days....

[NCC-1701-V]

Well, keep up the good work, ol' chap.

And in ancticipation of my 16th birthday, I have prepared something just for you...

[spoiler]http://starfleetcommand3.filefront.com/files/Starfleet_Command_III/Ships/Andromedan;4140[/spoiler]

The Andromedan Warships for your fanfic!

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 5 - The Approaching Storm (part 2)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
15th April 2395
0910hrs EST
Bridge

"Captains log, stardate 71149.8. The Tigermoth has completed a week long patrol of the Barrier Zone, sections 12 through 15. Aside from a number of Andromedan probes attempting to fly into Federation space, all is quiet at the moment. But I feel....I know that this quiet won't last long."

Smithy stomped around the top area of the bridge, making no attempt to block out the stab of pain every time he shifted his weight onto his left leg. The pain gave his mind a focus, and he was using that focus to try and make some sense out of the myriad of images that were just floating out of reach in the back of his head. Nothing. Just the same flashes. Explosions. Pain. Death on a scale he'd never seen before. His own death. And over all of it, the image of his late 'friend', Robert Metcalf. Must be losing it. There is no way that Metcalf is involved in this. You blew the stupid bastard up, remember? Hopefully this meeting will sort my damned brain out.

He glanced over at Ops. "Are those ships arriving any time today, or do I have to start knocking some heads together?"

Winchester half-turned from his console. "Starships Daytona and Fox are about ten minutes away, sir. I think they got held up at Starbase 312, taking on equipment. My brother is posted there, he said this morning that there had been some trouble getting ships away on time."

"Some things never change" Smithy grumbled. "You collated all sensor data ready to hand over to them?"

"Yes sir. Just finishing off appending Drelkar's tactical reports on the shielding those Andromedan probes are using."

"Good. Riggs?"

Riggs spun around from her communications console. "Captain?"

"You have the bridge. Once we've transferred the patrol data to the ships, take us back to Antares. There's someone there that I need to see."

***********
Captains Quarters
16th April 2395
1350hrs EST

Lisa tossed a PADD aside, picking the next one up. The paperwork was just unending. I can see why James just refuses to do it.

Sighing, she closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them with a start. The pattern was back. She'd been seeing the same pattern in her mind, every so often for the last couple of days and had been drawing it into the computer as she remembered bits of it. Quickly, she activated the terminal and called the file up, finishing it off with what she'd just seen. What does it mean? I'm going to have to tell James....mind you, he probably knows already.

***********
Antares B II
Goltaka Garden
1520hrs EST

Smithy found the cloaked and hooded figure near the centre of the garden, sitting on a stone wall. "Thank you for coming to see me."

The figure drew back his hood, revealing the time worn face of Atrran Varek, the oldest living El Aurian. "Always a pleasure James." He returned his gaze to the trees. "I was informed of your....concerns."

"Yes." Smithy frowned. "I have nothing definite, nothing beyond...."

"Intuition." Varek turned to him. "You have intuition in these matters, and you act decisively on it. But you have been hurt, gravely hurt by him and you no longer trust that intuition."

"I find myself wondering if my insight can be relied upon when his name and his face come up. Metcalf was more than just an enemy of mine....he is....was....the enemy. Everything I stand for as a Starfleet officer, everything I stand for with the human part of my heritage...."

"And everything you stand for as a guardian of the Nexus."

"And that, as the El Aurian half of me." Smthy shook his head. "And there's more. A pattern that I keep seeing. I think my wife sees it as well."

Varek raised an eyebrow at that. "Your wife....she is human?"

"Yes. Don't look so surprised Varek, you know as well as I do that certain human minds are more than capable of seeing what I see." Smithy paused, trying to recall the pattern. "Curves and straight lines, crossing each other seemingly at random. I don't recognise it at all."

Varek stood. "It is time for me to leave. My advice James is this - you must trust your intuition in this matter. It is better to err on the side of caution, hmm? As for this pattern, perhaps like other things it will become clearer if you don't think about it too hard."

Smithy levered himself up, and extended a hand. "You realise of course, that if my insight is correct....I'm staring death right in the face."

Varek took his hand. "Yes, I know. The universe may well demand that you lay down your life to save it. And when the time comes, you'll know what you must do."

***********
1700hrs EST
Captains Quarters

Smithy walked in, sniffing the air appreciatively. "Smells good."

Lisa was pulling a couple of plates out of the replicator. "Orlatrel worked wonders on the replicator network." She sat next to him at the table. "Beef, onion and potato jalousie. Enjoy."

"I will." Smithy dug into the food. "Just like that bar on Starbase 91 makes it."

Lisa took a sip of water. "Listen, I need to tell you something."

"About that pattern you keep seeing?"

She smiled. "I'd ask how you know, but...."

"But I just do." Smithy grinned. "I've been seeing it as well."

"I drew a copy for the computer, which also doesn't recognise it. Did you ask your friend about it?"

"Varek isn't really just a friend....he's more of a godfather. And I mentioned it. I expect it means something reasonably important....I'd just love to know what."

The two finished their meal, and Smithy took the plates back to the replicator. "Can you call up that drawing on the terminal?"

He limped back over as Lisa brought up the image. "It definitely doesn't match anything in the library, it isn't even similar to anything." Lisa shook her head, and dropped down onto the sofa. "I really don't get it."

Smithy sat next to her. "Listen....I told Varek about seeing my own death."

Lisa swallowed. "And?"

"And....he noted that the universe might require me to sacrifice my life." Smithy frowned. "But I'm not ready. Once, I was. Metcalf came calling with his ultimate weapon, and I stood in his way ready to die if it meant taking him with me." He turned to Lisa. "But I can't do that now. I have you. And I will not go gentle into that good night. I will rage against all of Creation. Because I am not leaving you. Ever."

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

There you go. Little bit that I was finally semi-happy with.

[Commander La'ra]

Glad to see ya' posting again, Smithy!

[Scottish Andy]

Seconded!

Not too much to comment on here, except that it continued the flow well. Looking forward to more.

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 5 - The Approaching Storm (part 3)

***********
USS Endeavour NCC 1895 (DC)
3rd May 2395
1015hrs EST
Engine Room


Smithy limped into the disassembled engine room of the Constitution class ship, catching hold of a passing yeoman. "I'm looking for a Lieutentant Commander John Roberts."

"He hasn't arrived yet sir."

Smithy frowned. "Alright, who's in charge at the moment?"

"Lieutenant T'Pel sir. She's currently examining the new warp core mounts."

"Thank you." Smithy glanced around, before heading off in the direction of the nearest mounting bracket. "Lieutenant T'Pel?"

"One moment please." The young Vulcan woman finished scanning the metal of the bracket before turning. "Oh-....excuse me sir, I didn't realise you were on board."

Smithy smiled at the quick flash of embarrasment that crossed her features before Vulcan equanimity took over. They really turning Lieutenants out that young these days, or am I just getting really, really old? "That's okay. Any idea if this ship is getting to see her chief engineer today, or do we just give you the job?"

T'Pel deliberately kept her tone neutral. "I believe Mr Roberts will be along in another half hour."

Smithy looked around. "Haven't seen an engine room gutted like this for a bit. How soon can we get some hardware installed in here?"

T'Pel consulted the PADD she was holding. "We're running 13 days behind schedule at the moment sir. At the present rate we will need another week to complete the structural modifications needed before we can start fitting the computer and power systems."

"You have detailed reports of the work that's been done so far?"

"Yes sir."

"Send them through to the Tigermoth. I'd like to review them." Smithy shook his head. "When Roberts shows up, ask him to see me on the Tigermoth."

T'Pel watched him leave, before returning her attention to the core mount. So, that's what a Starfleet legend is like. That will make for an interesting anecdote to relate to my bunkmate.

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
1330hrs EST
Briefing Room


Smithy sat leafing through the PADDs that had been sent over from the work in progress that was supposed to become the USS Typhoon over the next few months. No wonder they've started to slip behind the schedule. This'll teach Starfleet to appoint youngsters to this kind of job.

He looked up at the sound of the door chime. "Enter."

The young man strode into the room. "Lieutenant Commander John Roberts, reporting as ordered."

"Yes, welcome to the Tigermoth. Take a seat." Smith finished reading the page he was on, then placed the PADD down and looked at Roberts. "You aren't happy with your assignment?"

"What gives you that impression sir?" Roberts shifted in the chair. "I like the assignment just fine."

Smithy shook his head. "Chief engineers who like their assignments don't tend to work the shortest shift allowable under regulations. Maybe I'm just old fashioned like that, I know I turned the long shift into an art form....but you seem to be barely involved in the work on your ship."

Roberts considered for a second. "Permission to speak candidly sir."

"Permission granted."

"I was due to be assigned to the USS Sovereign under Captain Tycho. I earned that posting. I'm fully rated on all design aspects of the Sovereign class. However, I find myself transferred over to a ship that last saw service a century ago and which requires many months of reworking and rebuilding to even come close to being modernised. So yes, I am a little annoyed about missing out on the chance to be chief engineer on something that's state of the art, and instead find myself as chief engineer on a hundred year old death trap. Sir."

Smithy smiled. "I do love the arrogance of youth. You've seen the refit plans Roberts. What isn't state of the art about them?"

"The hull they're going in."

"And that's it? The hull?" Smithy sat back. "A hull is merely there to keep the air in Roberts. Warp science has evolved to the point at which hull shape is no longer of any concern. That's why the spherical primary hull is finding favour again."

Roberts flushed. "It's not the shape sir. It's the strength."

"Which is why on the Eighth Day God created structural integrity fields. And as it happens, Constitution class hulls are thicker than any other ship hull made since the introduction of the Excelsior class." Smithy nudged a PADD over to the younger man. "I've written two timelines on that PADD. One details how that refit progresses with a completely uninterested chief engineer. The other details how I'd like it to go. Can that second one involve you?"

"No sir. It cannot." Roberts glared back at Smithy. "What happens now sir?"

"Now....I go hunt for a new chief engineer. Given that the future USS Typhoon isn't actually in service yet we can bypass all the usual paperwork. Still, you do realise that you're doing your career a lot of damage by walking away from this posting?"

"Yes, I realise that I may well be damaging my Starfleet career sir."

Smithy caught the meaning. "I see. And you believe Special Operations will offer you a better ship." He shook his head sadly. "Go on, get off my ship. And good luck Roberts....you've got every chance of not coming out of all of this alive if you throw your lot in with SOD."

***********
1352hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy exited the turbolift and headed for the comm. station. "Still here Riggs?"

Riggs looked up from her board. "I just wanted to finish this diagnostic run sir."

"Well, pause it a second. Can you ping Dave's office for me? Need a word."

Riggs tapped in a few commands, and listened. "Admiral Harriman on-screen."

Smithy turned as the image of his former captain sprang up on the main screen. "What's up Smithy?"

"We need a new chief engineer for the Typhoon. Roberts just resigned."

"Well....I guess I saw that one coming. Word on the grapevine reckoned that he was unhappy about the posting. Any ideas on a replacement? The pool is a bit short on engineers with enough experience to get promoted that high."

Smithy shook his head. "I know what I'd do....give the job to Lieutenant T'Pel. A refit job like that will give her all the experience she needs to run an engineering crew. But Starfleet wouldn't like it one bit."

"No, they wouldn't. Which is why I'll do it." Harriman's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Long as she accepts of course."

"I'm sure she will. I never met a Vulcan yet who'd turn down a challenge." Smithy grinned. "Cheers Dave. Any idea when we can have those sensor buoys to go deploy them? You know how this ship hates sitting with the warp drive idling in dock."

"They should have completed the design modifications tomorrow morning. We've got enough built to begin assembling a good portion of the network." Harriman turned to look at something off-screen. "We have four other transwarp capable ships in dock right now, so with you making five we can probably get all these deployed in a day. We could have the entire network up and operating by the end of the month."

"Here's to hoping." Smithy sat on the bridge rail to take the weight off his leg. "Well, the cargo bay is ready whenever the buoys are. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning before the off."

"Alright. Till then." Harriman's image faded out to be replaced by the Antares Yard logo.

Smithy turned to Riggs. "Close that diagnostic down, and clear off. About time you had a break. I'll set the computer to ping whoever's on call if we get any messages come in."

Riggs considered protesting for a second, but gave in. "Aye sir. I guess I could use the time to catch up on some reading."

Smithy watched her depart, then glanced around the deserted bridge. "Smith to Orlatrel."

"Orlatrel here."

"You got everything put back together down there?"

"Just finishing up now."

"Okay. Finish it then bugger off for the rest of the day. What's the point in having authority if you don't use it to delegate work?"

"I might ask the same of you."

Smithy could hear the smile in his protegé's voice. "You might, if you didn't think it would lead to pain. Hop it. I'll see you in the morning."

"Will do."

Smithy closed out the link, and stood. "Well old thing, I'd love to stop and chat....but I've got to go see a girl about a kiss." He patted the bridge rail. "We'll get you racing across space at high transwarp speeds tomorrow, you'll like that. And we'll see if we can beat all those other ships back to Antares as well. Time you stamped your authority on your doppelgänger out there." He grinned to himself at that. "Not sure I'd let Dave live it down if you did."

***********
1414hrs EST
Captains Quarters


Lisa stared at the image on the screen. What are you? What do you mean?

She glanced up as Smithy came in. "Hey hon'."

"Hey." Smithy leant in and kissed her. "Still trying to figure it out?"

"Yeah." Lisa shut the screen off. "And now I quit. Time I followed the James Smith Plan - just ignore it and let it come to me."

Smithy grinned at that. "Works for me." He grabbed a glass of water out of the replicator, and tossed a couple of pills into his mouth before washing them down. "I'll be glad when this is all over, and I can take a couple of months out to get myself sorted out."

Lisa smiled at him. "Now, I know you. You won't take a couple of months out. I'll be lucky to get you to slow down any longer than two weeks."

Smithy shook his head. "I dunno...." He dropped down onto the sofa. "I met a Vulcan girl on the old Endeavour earlier today, can't be much older than you were when I met you. She's about to get the chief engineer job for the duration of the refit, so she'll certainly be chief engineer when it gets recommissioned and enters service. There are kids getting positions like that in Starfleet all the time now....and they're basically signing their lives away." He looked over at her. "Our longest date in that first year must have been shoreleave while we were waiting for the parts to get the 'Moth's power grid rebuilt, when we spent a whole day in Manchester. The wedding and honeymoon were only just as long as we could get away with, before we were back on here working. Did it ever bother you?"

"Not really. I knew exactly what I was getting into with you." Lisa joined him on the sofa, snuggling up to him as he put an arm around her. "Is this it then? is this you finally realising that it's time to look after yourself a bit better?"

"Well, you know....as matters stand, I may only last another five hundred years. With a bit less stress, a bit more time off I may make it seven hundred."

Lisa giggled. "Wouldn't it be terrible to have a poor innings and not even make it to your six hundredth birthday?" She shook her head ruefully. "Given that we're facing an Andromedan invasion force, it may be a bit premature to talk about what will happen after the conflict."

"Have a little faith." Smithy stared out of the window at the stars. "The Andromedans have done nothing so far beyond smash a defensive force half to hell and put two quadrants on full invasion alert." He frowned. "Sounds bad, doesn't it?"

"Just a bit."

"Hmm." Smithy shrugged. "Oh well. We'd better win then."

***********
4th May 2395
0910hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy and Lisa walked out onto a Tigermoth bridge bustling with activity. Smithy made his way down to his chair while Lisa did a once-around. "Report."

Riggs looked up from her board. "Cargo bay reports buoys are aboard ma'am. Admiral Harriman waiting on Channel 1A."

"Onscreen." Smithy glanced over a PADD before signing it and handing it back to a yeoman. "Mornin' Dave."

"Morning." Harriman's image sprang up on the main screen. "Sending you your flightplan for today."

Riggs turned. "Receipt confirmed. Feeding co-ordinates to the helm and to Ops."

Lisa sat on the bridge rail. "Just the five transwarp ships today then?"

"Starships Lexington and Armstrong are being released from SciFleet duty tomorrow in time for the second round of buoy deployment. We'll keep adding ships as they become available."

"Sounds good." Smithy sat back in his chair. "We'll see you later on today then. We should be first back."

"Now there's confidence." Harriman grinned. "You had Orlatrel do any tuning work on that drive lately?"

"We might be about to find out. Tigermoth out." Smithy mimed a cutting gesture at Riggs, then turned his attention to the helm. "Elkins, are we cleared to depart?"

"Dock signals clear sir. We can move off at any time."

"Then take us out. As soon as we're clear wind it up to full impulse, then at first safe range engage transwarp drive and give the engine room full speed control."

"Aye sir."

Lisa sat. "You've been waiting for this haven't you?"

"What, the chance to wind this ship right up as fast as she'll go?" Smithy leaned forward. "You bet."

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

[James Smith]

That does it for Chapter 5. Chapter 6 is currently being slightly re-worked as I wanted to lengthen it a bit. No major story changes, just making it a bit wordier and allowing for rather more conversation than just the general bridge and battle chatter that it had.

And yes, that does mean that Chapter 6 sees the (possibly welcome) return of Ships Getting Blowed Up Good™ to the Tigermoth universe.

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 6 - Death's Shadow (part 1)

***********
USS Endeavour NCC 1895 (DC)
28th May 2395
1220hrs EST
Main Engineering


T'Pel sighed as the by now familiar words flashed up on the screen.

POWER UP SEQUENCE INTERRUPT 01927AA5
CHECK ISOLINEAR ARRAY 00000012

She acknowledged the error code, and set off back over to the computer core. Irritation made a bid for freedom inside her, but she beat it down. An emotional response would serve no purpose. No purpose at all. No purpose....except to vent frustration. She sighed again. I must be as far from kolinahr as it is possible to be.

She turned at the sound of a familar grumbling behind her. Some of the Tigermoth engineers had taken over work on the ship, due to their familiarity with the design and the need for only a skeleton crew aboard that ship right now with her helping to deploy the new sensor network. And with that engineering crew had come two engineers in particular.

"Hold it down."

"It's held."

"Well something's still waggling. Hand me the agitator."

"It'll break."

"It won't break."

T'Pel watched with curiosity as the two men worked. It is a wonder they get anything done. And yet they do. The build is back on schedule, if I can just get this computer to start up.

*BANG*

"Yep...it broke."

Smithy dropped back out of the Jeffries tube, and handed what was left of the EPS tap to Orlatrel. "In my defence, it was definitely broken already. Not quite that broken, but definitely not right."

"I'm not surprised. This is the wrong model of tap." Orlatrel turned it over in his hands. "Look at the serial number. Wrong family."

Smithy took it, and glared at it. "Welcome to why we shouldn't trust the labels on those crates. Is this the only one giving us any gyp?"

"Yep." Orlatrel fished a replacement out of his box of parts. "This one is correct."

Smithy took it, and hauled himself back up into the tube. A few clunks, and he dropped back out. "In. What a bloody performance." He glanced around. "Sorry lieutenant, did you need something?"

"Only a new computer core sir." T'Pel had given up trying to bury her annoyance at the trouble she was having. "Error code 01927AA5."

Orlatrel nodded. "And I bet it told you the problem was at isolinear address 12."

"Indeed."

"Yeah.....it's bollocks." The two men shared a grin at that. Orlatrel grabbed up a PADD from his pile. "Let me see.....charge.....circular......got it. Computer core, start-up sequence. You need to bypass steps 12 through 17."

T'Pel raised an eyebrow. "That will bypass all the safeties sir."

"Not all, just the ones that get in the way." Smithy nodded. "I remember that one. Took us ages to figure the bugger out. Was that one of your fixes or mine? Must have been yours."

"I thought it was yours to be honest."

T'Pel left them to argue over past escapades. I suppose when you reach their level you could get away with behaving in that manner. She tapped in a few more commands, then braced herself for another error code. Instead, a hum. Lights. And a new message.

POWER UP SEQUENCE COMPLETE
BEGINNING STAGE ONE PROGRAM

"Sounds a bit better." Smithy leaned in over the Vulcan girl's shoulder. "Yeah....now you've got it. Just remember to reactivate the safeties after Stage One finishes." He turned to leave.

*FLASH*

"I'm reading minimal power generation. Life signs are....sporadic. It's like these ships have been completely gutted."

"And no sign of the attacking fleet?"

"None."

*FLASH*

"Sir?"

Smithy realised he'd frozen in mid-step. "Sorry lieutenant. Just had a....thought." He crossed back over to Orlatrel. "Something's coming. When does the Tigermoth get back in?"

Orlatrel glanced at the chrono on the wall. "Should be in any time now. Are we going somewhere?"

"Not needed here any more. Look." Smithy gestured over towards the other half of the room, where T'Pel was ordering people around. "Once you have the confidence to turn the safeties off, you can truly lead." He shook his head. "I've got a really bad feeling about this. I need to talk with Sheehan."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
29th May 2395
0100hrs EST
Bridge

Lisa stretched her legs out in front of her, ignoring her body's protests for sleep. "Any chatter Riggs?"

Riggs half turned from her console. "Nothing on their frequency ma'am."

"Then they're definitely here." She glanced over at Tactical. "Decloak. Open a channel Riggs."

The light levels on the bridge returned to normal. "Channel open."

"Morning guys." Lisa waited a beat, before the Tactical console started beeping. "That them?"

"Comfirmed. IKV Mortum Hesta decloaking."

"I have them on the channel ma'am."

Lisa thumbed the intercom. "They're here hon'."

"On my way up."

Lisa shifted at the Vampire class vessel's bridge appeared on the main screen with no-one in view. "Anyone home?"

"One second." Sheehan popped up into view. "We had a coolant pipe rupture up here. It sealed pretty quick, but clean-up takes a while with this Klingon bridge architecture. James said it was important?"

"It is." Smithy exited the turbolift, and limped down into the command area. "You still have that Bird Of Prey in Romulan space?"

"Believe so."

"Could you ask them to keep a watch on the Romulan core defence fleet. I had a bit of a moment yesterday, I think something's coming and headed for Romulan space."

Sheehan nodded. "We've got to go meet up with them anyway to give them the new sensor data you lot collected on patrol. I'll ask them to keep an eye or three on the Rommies."

"Cheers mate. Take care."

"You too." Sheehan's image melted away to be replaced by the view of the Hesta re-cloaking.

Lisa stared thoughtfully at her husband. "You okay?"

"I'm fine....it just that I'm not sure the Romulans will be if the Andromedans decide to attack them. They're still in a pretty bad state from the Gatrellians turning on them. I know I wouldn't want to try and defend all that space with the ships that they have left."

***********
RIS Valdore
2nd June 2395
0950hrs EST
Bridge


"Report your findings."

The science officer shifted nervously under the glare of the commander. "We are definitely reading an increase in subspace field distortions all across our space. Without access to a transpace sensor array I cannot confirm....but I believe the distortion is not simply limited to subspace. The energy levels are higher than I have ever seen before."

"Transmit your data to the fleet." The commander returned to her chair, and turned to face the communications officer. "If the invaders come, you will need to act fast to get a message out. Prepare a recording to let the Federation know we are under attack."

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

Just a reeeeeeally short part to get the ball rolling.

[James Smith]

Sat here with a few beers, listening to a DragonForce album and writing Star Trek fanfic. If there's a better way to relax, I haven't found it yet 


***********

Chapter 6 - Death's Shadow (part 2)

***********
RIS Valdore
4th June 2395
1920hrs EST
Bridge

"Entering Sector 12, Commander."

Commander Tal stood. "Begin sensor sweep. Report your findings as soon as you have collated all data."

She waited out the minutes impatiently, moving around the bridge. Finally she heard the console chirp. "Well?"

"Subspace distortions have definitely decreased here, I'm only reading what could be termed as 'aftershocks'. Whatever it was appears to have passed through this area of space, Commander."

Tal stared at the screen. "'Aftershocks'. If this was a group of ships, could you interpret a course out of these?"

"I'm afraid not, Commander. As you can see, the readings are sporadic at best. They have spread so much, it is impossible to tell what direction the source was moving in. I can only give you a rough idea of the speed, which would be some way up into the transwarp realm."

Sub-Commander Vorel grunted. "The Federation has transwarp." He stepped closer to Tal. "May I speak freely?"

"Go ahead Vorel. You always have done."

"What makes you so sure that the Federation can be trusted in this matter? We allied ourselves with the Gatrellians to destroy them, we've fought them on and off for so long now....and yet you believe they do not seek vengeance for this? We have not seen Andromedan vessels in our space since the Invasion. All we have are the reports from the Federation and the Klingons, you say they are to be trusted without question?"

Tal faced him, the fire in her eyes making Vorel shift uneasily. "I know Captain Smith. Despite our differences, he is an honourable man. I trust him."

"How can you trust a human?"

"He isn't human. Not completely, at any rate." Tal frowned, a thought occurring. She turned back to the Science station. "Our anti-cloak sensors, are they online?"

"Yes, Commander. I scanned the area for cloaked ships, none found."

"Run the readings we have on those aftershocks through the interpolation routines on the anti-cloak scanners. As if you were trying to remove echoes. Whichever shocks are strongest will remain."

The officer nodded. "Understood. Running the program."

Vorel leaned in. "Well, I'll be.....a path is forming."

Tal grinned in satisfaction. "Plot the course. Put it on the main screen."

An image of Romulan space came up, which then widened to include the Barrier Zone and the star of Federation space. The bridge crew watched as a line formed, from the Barrier right through to a point just outside the sector they were in now. "That's where the trail ends, Commander."

Tal stabbed a finger at the main screen. "Still believe the readings are from Federation ships Vorel? Even the mighty Starfleet couldn't get that many ships all the way out there undetected, to come into our space through the back door. Helm, prepare to follow the course."

The communicatons officer turned. "Receiving a message from Fleet Admiral Gentrel, Commander." He paused, listening, a look of shock rapidly crossing his face. "The fleet is under attack! Receiving co-ordinates!"

"Plot them on the viewer!" Tal swung back to the screen, watching as the line completed itself. "Helm, engage on that course. Maximum warp!"

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
4th June 2395
1945hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy stepped out onto the bridge of his ship, glad to be on a starship again that wasn't in pieces. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy doing that though. Nice change of pace. He glanced at Riggs. "Why the hell is it every time I arrive on this bridge you're here? Don't you ever sleep?"

Riggs glanced up from her work. "Sorry sir, I was just working on our transpace communications array. Trying to iron out some signal issues."

"Any word from Sheehan?"

Riggs consulted the screen. "Ensign Liu noted the last message from them. 'IKV Korinar reports increased activity among Romulan fleet, have informed them to keep you updated as we need to return to Klingon space'."

"Right, right....he said they might need to refuel. Those Vampires run a bit rich. Nothing from the Korinar then?"

"Nothing logged." Riggs jumped as the console chirped at her. "Speak of the devil.....tape dump message from the Korinar."

"Decode it and play." Smithy sat on the bridge rail, rubbing at the insistent ache in his knee.

"IKV Korinar report. Large dust cloud matching Tigermoth sensor log found in Romulan space, Sector 14. Our ship has taken damage from an ion storm and must return to Klingon territory. Have suggested DSF make contact with Romulan fleet, suggest Starfleet also does so. IKV Korinar out."

Smithy immediately jumped into action, the ache forgotten temporarily. "Get everyone up here, right away. And contact Dave. We might need to get a fleet together rather sharpish."

He went over to one of the workstations, calling up the list of TacFleet ships in and around the Antares area. Not many, and we can't rely on a Special Ops force. He turned away from the screen to watch crewmembers dash onto the bridge and re-activate their stations. "Riggs, you got Dave yet?"

"Stand-by sir. He was in the shower." A few seconds ticked by. "Admiral Harriman on-screen."

The main viewer flicked from a view of the dock to a view of Harriman's quarters. "Sorry Dave, emergency."

"Don't worry about it. I just had a message come in from the DSF, they're scrambling the few ships they have ready to head out to Romulan space. Looks like this is it."

"I looked over our numbers. It ain't exactly great, but I think we can have around eighty ships ready to go in about fifteen minutes."

Harriman nodded. "That'll have to do. We'll signal everyone to get ready and into formation, and get the Tempest fired up."

"Right. We'll get ready for the off." Smithy nodded at Riggs to close out the connection, then tapped the comm. panel on his chair. "All hands, listen up 'cause time is short. We may be heading into combat again shortly. Do your jobs, do them well, and make me proud."

He closed out the link, and waved off the applause from his bridge crew. "Knock it off you lot, it was hardly on the level of a Winston Churchill speech."

Lisa grinned fondly at him. "I dunno, short and sweet. I hate those ones that drone on."

"Yeah, Dave never went in for those either." Smithy dropped into his chair. "Is the fleet forming up?"

Winchester brought up the fleet overlay in a corner of the main screen. "Transwarp ships to the fore, everyone else lining up behind to take advantage."

"Right. Elkins, scoot us up to the front, flanking the Tempest." He watched as the view shifted past the docks, briefly showing a glimpse of the yet-to-be-completed next ship in the Tigermoth's family. "I wouldn't mind having her along. Hopefully we can have her half-built soon." He tugged the collar of his uniform open, settling in. "Once around. Helm?"

"We're in position, sir."

"Tactical?"

"Phaser arrays pre-charged, Captain. Torpedo bays loaded, launch rails ready to be powered up when needed."

"Ops?"

"All scanner and sensor arrays on-line, Captain."

"Engine room."

Orlatrel answered. "Transwarp drive standing by. We've got all shifts standing by in case they're needed."

"Sickbay."

Dr Al Benson's voice flitered up. "Standing by, sir. Though I hope we won't be needed."

"So do I, Doctor. Communications?"

"TacFleet frequencies clear, sir. Transpace communications link on-line. Tempest signals that we're ready to move out."

"Right. Helm, on the Tempest's mark."

***********
2150hrs EST
Bridge

"Captain's log, supplemental. The Klingon taskforce has linked up with our fleet, we are proceeding into the Neutral Zone. We have heard nothing from the Romulans. We are assuming the worst, and heading in fully rigged for battle."

The bridge was bathed in the red light of a starship at battlestations. Smithy always preffered this light level. His rather odd genetics had left him with eyes that functioned much better in certain light conditions, and they liked this light. Trouble is, this light brings battle with it.

He watched his wife. Lisa was wandering, inspecting each station and geeing the crew up. He swallowed a couple of pills. He didn't want pain clouding his mind right now, the stakes were too high. Lisa sat, and he squeezed her hand briefly, mouthing "love you" at her and accepting a brief peck on the cheek in return.

Elkins glanced back. "Coming up on transwarp shutdown in five....four....three....two....one."

The low frequency hum faded from the background, leaving the normal sounds of the bridge systems at Red Alert. Smithy was immediately on his feet. "Winchester, full scan. Co-ordinate with the officer on the Tempest, since we're the only ones with high resolution LRS systems."

"Aye, sir."

As Winchester set to work, Smithy sat back down. No need to pester anyone right now on the comm. link unless a call came in. So he simply held Lisa's hand and waited.

"Got something, sir. Just inside Sector 9, bearing 080 mark 14."

Riggs shot a look over her shoulder. "Admiral Harriman would like us to follow them."

"Well, he is in command after all. Elkins, follow the Tempest. Drelkar....stand by on weapons power-up."

The crew waited the few tense minutes of full-impulse flight into a possible warzone. Winchester scanned his board, frowning. "I'm picking up no traces of weapons fire. In fact, I'm not even picking up much in the way of power generation. Tempest Operations officer is comfirming our readings."

Smithy closed his eyes, knowing instinctively what they were about to find. "Please, let me be wrong for once." He opened his eyes and turned to Ops, sighing. "Go on kid, put them onscreen. They should be in range by now."

Winchester tapped away, and looked at the main viewer. "Holy...."

Everyone stared. Lisa and Smithy leaned forward in unison, Lisa speaking first. "I guess the Andromedans finished what the Gatrellians started."

On the screen lay the shattered remnants of the Romulan fleet, a hundred Warbirds broken and battered by weapons fire. Plasma fires still raged on in many of them, highlighting the damage they had taken. Drelkar shook his head, his gaze riveted on the screen. "Unbelievable."

Smithy stood, and limped over to Ops. "What's the word?"

"I'm reading minimal power generation. Life signs are....sporadic. It's like these ships have been completely gutted."

"And no sign of the attacking fleet?"

"None."

Riggs glanced back at her board. "Admiral Harriman signalling."

"Onscreen."

The image of Admiral Harriman was a welcome relief from the view of the Romulan fleet. Harriman shook his head glumly. "I hope you have your full medical team onboard."

"We do. Winchester is scanning for survivors now, suggest you do the same and we co-ordinate everyone else into a rescue effort."

"Agreed. Lets get on it."

***********
2230hrs EST
Sickbay


Smithy limped in, moving out of the way to let doctors and orderlies past. Sickbay seemed to be running pretty efficiently despite the workload. Romulans were occupying every biobed. Surgical fields were up in several cases. He searched the crowd of faces for the CMO, finding him near the back. "What's up, Al?"

Benson glanced up from his work. "Ah, Captain. One of my patients insisted on seeing you. Over there."

Smithy turned, and saw her. "Aw hell....Tal."

Commander Tal levered herself up off the bed, her voice shaky. "Captain. I regret that we don't meet again under better circumstances." She winced, lying back down. "I probably shouldn't move yet."

"I didn't know they'd given you the Valdore. What happened? I mean, beyond the obvious."

Tal shook her head. "A blur....we'd been scanning for the incursion...got a message from Gentrel that the attack had begun, Sector 14. We arrived....the fleet was taking a pounding. They forced us all the way back to Sector 9....we were all dead in space....then they stopped."

"There are about a hundred ships here. Are these all you had ready to go?"

"All we had at all." Tal shook her head gingerly. "Our entire defense force."

Smithy digested that. "Suddenly, our problems seem rather insignificant." He patted her on her good shoulder. "Get some rest. We're ferrying those of you that survived back to Romulus."

"How....many?"

Smithy shook his head. "I'm not sure. We picked up thirty eight from the Valdore, including you. Tough ship by the way, we've got her in tow. I reckon she could be salvaged if your engineers are willing to put in some effort."

Tal chuckled mirthlessly at that. "I doubt....we have the capacity or resources to do a full refit. Please....have someone wake me before we reach home...." She drifted into unconciousness.

Smithy turned. "Al."

Benson picked his way through the crush. "Captain?"

"Make sure one of the orderlies wakes up the Commander about a half-hour before we reach Romulus. Don't bother with a report about all this....I'm not sure I could stomach reading it."

"Aye, sir." Benson went to leave, but turned back. "Captain.....you don't feel....well...."

"Responsible?" Smithy shook his head. "A bit, maybe. But I'm used to that these days. Did Mack ever tell you about that time in the Dominion War?"

"He mentioned it, it's actually in his memoirs. You never read them?"

"Haven't managed to bring myself to do it just yet. Think I will tomorrow night though." Smithy gazed around the room. "Look after them Al. I'll be on the bridge if you need anything.

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


***edit***

Oops, sorted some spelling. If I missed any more, I'll sort it when I sober up. Hope you're all enjoying it - I haven't been keeping much of an eye on the thread 'read count', but it seems to have risen a fair amount from what I remember it roughly being....

[James Smith]

Quick update - been writing some more, but I'm not even remotely happy with it yet.

I know people are reading this, but the lack of comments on this last section are worrying me a touch - was it that bad? If so, could someone let me know and I'll re-write it 

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 6 - Death's Shadow (part 3)

***********

Tal fought to stay on her feet, the deck pitching around underneath her. The bridge was in flames. Debris and bodies littered the deck. Two, maybe three crewmemembers were still at their stations. She twisted around towards Tactical. "Garonis, report!"

The young man glanced up from his board, his fingers tapping away as he fired what was left of the Valdore's weapons array at any target that got near enough to them. "Torpedoes have been depleted Commander! Disruptor banks running low on power!" He ducked as another explosion rattled the bridge. "By the Moons of....there go the disruptors. Shields aren't firming up either."

Tal swung back around to the helm. "Can you get us out of here?"

"No, Commander. We're drifting, all engines dead. I think we've lost the power relays!"

"Engineering! Engineering, report!" Tal hammered the comm. panel before sagging back into her chair. "Can we self destruct, take some of them with us?"

Garonis ripped a panel off the wall. "I'll try, Commander. I think we can tap into the plasma relay from he-"

The deck pitched around again as explosions thundered through the ship. The last thing Tal saw was the deckplates rushing up to meet her. Then darkness and silence.

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
5th June 2395
1000hrs EST
Sickbay

"Commander?"

Tal's eyes flew open as she pushed herself upright. "I'm awake." She glanced up at the young orderly. "Have we arrived at Romulus?"

"We're about twenty minutes out, Commander. I've been instructed to take you to the bridge if you wish it."

Tal nodded. "Yes." Gingerly, she swung her legs out over the side of the biobed and stood. I haven't felt this ill since zero gravity training...

***********
1005hrs EST
Bridge

"Captain's log, stardate 71283.5. The Tigermoth is approaching Romulus with the RIS Valdore in tow. Commander Orlatrel has been over to the vessel to see just how much repair work is needed."

Smithy, Lisa stood behind Orlatrel who was sat at an engineering console, examining the sensor reports. Lisa shook her head. "I haven't seen a ship that badly gutted since the Apollo. But you say that the frame integrity is okay?"

Orlatrel nodded. "We recharged the batteries on the ship and threw the Romulan equivalent of the SIF generator on them. Absolutely no problem. She held up to that journey in our tractor beam just fine."

Smithy leaned in closer to the screen. "Looks like a shot went right through the main power relays. Precision work, that." He tossed a glance over his shoulder at Tactical. "Hey Drelkar, you could learn something from the guy that did this."

Drelkar flashed a grin back at his CO. "Sir, if you give me a set of ultra-high resolution targeting scanners I'll put a quantum torpedo anywhere you want it. But given that our sensors are rather more general than dedicated targeting units...."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't look at me, go gripe at Starfleet if you want to try and convince someone to turn the Tigermoth into a pure warship." Smithy turned as the turbolift doors opened to admit Tal to the bridge. "Commander, there you are. Welcome to the bridge of the Tigermoth."

Tal stared at the bridge. "Our spies did not do your ship justice, Captain. She is most impressive."

Smithy shrugged. "Maybe you ought to pay your spies more if you want accurate reports. Here, take a look. Orlatrel's finished taking a look at your ship."

Tal moved into the seat that Orlatrel had vacated. "Hmm....that explains the shields not recovering. We lost every single one of our port generator links."

"Good news is that the frame is pretty much untouched. It'll need a lot of work, but I reckon the Valdore could be flight-worthy again if your people put five or six months work in."

Tal shook her head slowly. "I doubt we can. I'm not even sure we have enough parts to repair her." She got up and paced around the area at the back of the bridge. "Our leaders diverted the majority of our resources to the Gatrellian fleet, thinking that the Romulan-Gatrellian alliance would be victorious. We would have the resources of the Federation once they'd conquered you. But the Gatrellians couldn't defeat you, and when they turned on us at the end of the war they left our fleet decimated."

Smithy frowned. "Tal....just how bad is the Romulan fleet situation right now? Those hundred ships you sent out, were they really..."

"They were all we had that could be used for combat." Tal chuckled mirthlessly. "The Senate were so sure that the Gatrellian alliance would see the fall of the Federation. So sure that the Gatrellians could be trusted. After all, they were our brothers." She sighed. "It will take us six months to produce enough parts to start refitting any ships that survived the Andromedan assault with minimal frame damage. Any that have even just moderate damage to the structure will need to be scrapped."

Elkins half-turned from the helm. "Sir, we're entering orbit over Romulus. A tug is heading over our way to take the Valdore from us."

"Alright. Riggs, how many Romulan ships are we bringing back with us?"

Riggs consulted the comm. record. "Admiral Harriman noted that we had fourteen ships of the required tonnage and engine power for towing at warp speeds with us, plus Tempest and Tigermoth makes sixteen. He's asked the Romulans for that many tugs at any rate, the're also scrambling warp capable tugs to head out to Sector 9."

Smithy nodded. "Right. Lets hand over the Valdore, get the Commander and her crew down to a Romulan hospital, and get back to our side of the Neutral Zone. We've got a sensor network to carry on laying, and we need to get a few hundred more ships out of dock and ready to fight." He shot a glance at the yeoman standing by the turbolift doors. "Yeoman."

"Yes, sir?"

"Show Commander Tal to Transporter Room 1. Her crew are being beamed down from there."

"Aye, sir. If you'll follow me Commander?"

Smithy watched the two depart, before returning his attention to Lisa. "A defence force of only a hundred ships, now all smashed half beyond repair. Not good."

Lisa shook her head. "We knew things were bad after the Gatrellian conflict, but not this bad. Judging by the ships we've seen pass through sensor range since we arrived at Romulus, they've only got police ships left. I've seen a few Klingon designs trundling around though, I guess they still have all those KR series ships from the old alliance."

"They might well be all they have left to defend their space. We may even have to put in a call to the Gorn Confederation. I'm sure they'd love the irony of defending the Romulans."

Lisa grinned at that. "I can see that going down really well."

Smithy shut down the console they'd been viewing and grimaced at the sharp stab of pain from his leg. "Riggs, get a message over to the Tempest, tell Dave I need a word. I'll be in my quarters, working out some numbers." He turned and headed for the turbolift.

Lisa shot a glance at Riggs. "You have the conn. As soon as you hear from Dave, patch him down to our quarters."

"Yes, ma'am."

***********
Captains Quarters
1040hrs EST


Smithy dropped into the chair, and rubbed his eyes. "What time did I get up?"

"About 4am yesterday." Lisa slumped in the chair next to the computer terminal. "We've got to start getting some kind of standard shift pattern going here. I'm sure Riggs is pulling a similar shift to you, I've never seen anyone take over from Drelkar."

"He's a Trelkian, they only need an hour of sleep every day. Lucky buggers." Smithy stared at the ceiling. "You're right though, we can't keep this up for long now that we're definitely in a shooting war."

Lisa looked up blearily as the terminal beeped at her, and punched the ON button. "Authorisation Smith-Two-Two-Nine-Beta." The image on the screen flicked from the Federation seal to Harriman's image. "Hi Dave."

"You look about as tired as I feel. Is he there?"

"I'm here." Smithy hauled himself upright and perched on the arm of Lisa's chair. "Judging by the view outside and the vibration in the deck, we've just gone to transwarp. We'll link back up with the ships setting out the sensor network, and pitch in."

"Right. I've just received some instructions from Command. The Tempest will escort a Romulan delegation to Earth."

Smithy and Lisa exchanged glances at that. Smithy leaned in closer. "I take it this will be to negotiate for a spot of help?"

"Things are worse than bad for their fleet right now. Though I'm not sure what they expect us to do."

"Save them." Lisa shrugged. "And we always do, don't we? They refused to commit a large force to the second ISC invasion, and we fought them off with just the Klingons helping us. The Imperial universe forces attacked, and we fought them off with just the Klingons helping us. They allied themselves with the Gatrellians against us, the Gatrellians turned against them....and we fought them off and saved the Romulans from being wiped out."

Harriman nodded. "Well, given the current political state of the Federation....I'm not honestly certain they'll get the answer they want. I can't imagine Maxwell agreeing to send any Special Ops ships over to defend Romulan space."

"No, but I can see him 'volunteering' TacFleet." Smithy screwed his face up in disgust. "Depends on how much of an idiot he is, really. Even he must have realised by now that the SOD ships aren't going to be ready for a full-scale fleet engagement any time soon."

"I wouldn't bet on it. I'll let you know how things go, anyway."

"Alright. Tigermoth out."

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

Short chunk. More soon.

[Governor Ronjar]

Quick update - been writing some more, but I'm not even remotely happy with it yet.

I know people are reading this, but the lack of comments on this last section are worrying me a touch - was it that bad? If so, could someone let me know and I'll re-write it 

No, sir, certainly not. Just a might quiet 'round these parts.

Your writing continues along its previous par and keeps the story going well. I'd like another touch of blood-steaming action, but I'm certainly not complaining about the amount thus far. I did a double take to read that you were using the Endeavour. Gave me a good sized grin.

Keep on plugging along. Maybe these lazy turds will give you some replies...*evil grin*

--thu guv!

[James Smith]

Cheers Guv. Glad to see someone likes it.

 

 

[Governor Ronjar]

Well...I'm here every night, almost. I notice the view counts steadilly increase, but the replies do not. So someone is taking a gander.

Anywho. Looking forward to more.

--guv!

[Commander Maxillius]

very nice, this is the only work I remember to pay attention to since Rat Boy left.

And that's only barely remember since I didn't notice the 3 month hiatus 

[Governor Ronjar]

Oh really?

Mighty nice of ya...

--thu guv...

[James Smith]

very nice, this is the only work I remember to pay attention to since Rat Boy left.

And that's only barely remember since I didn't notice the 3 month hiatus 

Oh really?

Mighty nice of ya...

--thu guv...

Hmm.

It makes me a bit edgy when I read comments like "yours is the only work I read" because I don't consider my work to be anywhere near the level of other writers on here. Don't get me wrong - I like compliments  But anyone choosing not to keep up with the other stuff on here really is missing out badly.

I was hoping to get some more done this week, but hit a slight snag in the form of a death in the family. I've now got a funeral to look forward to. Next week will be taken up clearing somewhat of a backlog at work, but I'm going to attempt to get some more written soon. It's good for relaxing with anyway.

[Governor Ronjar]

My condolences, sir.

--thu guv.

[James Smith]

My condolences, sir.

--thu guv.

Cheers pal.

You should have seen me the day after I heard the news....I'd got no time for the general idiocy I tend to encounter in the office. Normally I can take it, but not that day. I was actually snarling at people....My boss (bless him) did his best to keep people away from me - you'd think people would have got the message after I sent the first one scurrying away with all the colour drained from their face 

[Commander Maxillius]

My apologies, I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I'd forgotten I posted that in here since I'm here again to read and post that same thing, although without the "yours is the only work..." thing in there.  It's nothing against the rest of you, really, it isn't!!  Again, sorry if I've offended anyone.

[Governor Ronjar]

Not so offended. Just was...bemused. No big deal though. 

thu guv!

[Commander La'ra]

I'm following it, it's just slow.  Haven't caught up to ya' yet, and thus, didn't wanna comment...

[Scottish Andy]

Smithy, just so you don't feel left out with all my other commenting, rest assured that I am reading yours.

I'm just re-reading it from the beginning.

I'm up to the start of page 3, and I'll be reading more of it today. Just know that I love it, your character interactions, your characters' sense of humour, the Tigermoth herself - and Smithy's rubber photon grenade.

Keep up the fantastic work, and I'll get caught up this week, for sure. Carry on.

[Scottish Andy]

Okay Smithy, I'm all caught up again.

A really excellent story. I still think it is more Star Wars-themed than Star Trek, but your characters are great, very real-seeming people to me and I love coming back for more.

I didn't notice anything bad in the sections you were worried about, so I'd say, "don't worry about it."

I have to say that, for the last chapter(s);
1) I'm surprised Smithy' team and Harriman are so "all right" about helping out the Roms after just fighting a huge war with them not too long ago.
2) You sure gutted the Roms as a mahjor interstellar power. Our "Resident Rom" proponents () won't be happy with that...

Okay, now put up some more!

[Governor Ronjar]

The Romulans were always the #3 badguy...even when there were only two to go around...

waiting to see how many mail-bombs I get this week...
--thu guv!

[James Smith]

Yes, nerfing the Romulan fleet completely was a decision I made a long while ago. Given their spectacular uselessness over the years - the D'Deridex never seemed much cop, and those Norexan (?) class sips in Nemesis were handed their arses on a silver platter almost immediately while the Ent-E hung on in there - along with them basically trying to wipe out the Federation and the Klingons in the Gatrellian war it was time to punish them. Badly.

So, I destroyed their entire fleet and crippled their empire. Let's see you act all smug and superior now, you pointy eared bar stewards

Will post some more later in the week. Got a mountain of work to catch up on after taking a few days off for Grandpa's memorial and funeral. Plus one of my weasel co-workers decided it would be a corking idea to keep funnelling work off onto me through her manipulation of one of the management drones so she could look like she was getting all her work done. She will experience retribution on Friday though. I may or may not have something to do with the almighty dressing-down she's scheduled for 

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 6 - Death's Shadow (part 4)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
9th June 2395
1210hrs EST
Captain's Quarters

"Captain's log, stardate 71294.2. Romulan representatives have met with Federation officials. The meeting did not go well, thanks mainly to our President. The Tigermoth is currently heading for Earth, and I am heading for a confrontation with Maxwell once more."

Smithy saved the recording and closed down the terminal, his eyes riveted on the window and the red streaks of transwarp flight. He heard the door open, and saw his wife's reflection. "Dave called?"

"Yeah." Lisa crossed the room to sit next to him. "He asked if you'd mind not doing anything that would get you arrested."

"No promises." Smithy shook his head. "I expected this. It shouldn't have happened, but I expected it. How has the Federation reached the point at which the Council can be completely subordinate to the whims of a madman in president's clothing?"

Lisa gazed at her husband. "It's not just him though. Is it."

"That a statement or a question?" Smithy faced her. "No. It isn't just him. This....all of this....it feels like Robert Metcalf. I don't know how....but despite blowing the sod up I know I haven't seen the last of him." He gingerly stood up, straightening out his protesting knee. "I'm going to meet Maxwell. I am going to ask some questions of him. And I'm probably going to punch him in the face. I'll need you to get me out of whichever holding cell I get thrown in."

Lisa smiled. "Alright. Holler when you need the pick-up."

***********
SOD Command Centre
California, Earth
1524hrs EST
Conference Centre


Maxwell stood at the window, surveying the courtyard. Men, his men, marching in the monthly parades. All the pomp and ceremony missing from the outdated and obsolete Starfleet. The new order was well underway to being completed, with himself as it's leader. The prospect made him almost giddy.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Maxwell spun around. Smithy stood there, leaning against the doorway. Behind him the two guards lay on the floor. Maxwell shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that, James. That would be assault."

"Yep. And I'm not done yet." Smithy pushed off the edge of the door allowing it to shut, and walked slowly over towards Maxwell. All traces of his limp were absent, something that was taking a lot of concentration to achieve. "You refused to offer any protection to the Romulans. Now why would you do that, John? You think the Romulans will let that pass? Once we've fought off the Andromedans, the Romulans will rebuild just as they did after the Romulan War. It might take a century, but they will be back. And they will explode out of their home system hungry for vengeance."

Maxwell fought down the urge to shrink back. "They won't get the chance. After Special Operations has won this war we will make sure the Romulans will never pose a threat again!"

Smithy frowned at that. "You'd really send ships into Romulan space as a first strike? You're even more crazy than I thought." He shook his head. "Not that what you say matters of course, given how utterly useless the new SOD ships have proven to be so far. And while judging by that courtyard you appear to have built an impressive army of brainless little drones, you still couldn't go quite that far."

Maxwell's eyes flashed with anger. "Would you like to put me to the test, James? You might find an answer you weren't expecting."

Smithy grinned mirthlessly. "Oh....I think you'll find I'm expecting all kinds of answers, all of the time. Your 'benefactor' can tell you that much."

The other man's face wore a look that was equal parts confusion and alarm. "What are you talking about? What benefactor?"

"Don't lie to me, John. That just annoys me." Smithy half-turned as if to leave, before spinning straight back and planting his fist square in the middle of Maxwell's face. He stared down at him. "Tell him I'll find him. And this time I'll end things for good, one way or the other." He turned to face the group of SOD security forces who had just burst into the room. "Afternoon lads. Here to show me to my cell?"

Maxwell struggled to his feet behind him. "Shoot the bastard! Shoot him!"

Smithy shook his head. "Not today." He tapped his comm badge three times. "See you soon." He dissolved into the transporter beam.

***********
1601hrs EST
President's Office


Maxwell dismissed the doctor with an angry wave, staring at himself in the mirror. If I had full control, you'd be dead by now James. No-one will ever do that to me again. He crossed back over to his desk, and activated the computer terminal. "Secure-One. Activate communications link."

"Working. Link active."

He tapped in a few commands. "Sir....I have news."

"What....is it John?"

Maxwell leaned in close to the screen, lowering his voice even though he was alone and on a secure channel. "Captain Smith. He knows."

"This was expected. Nothing has changed yet, John. We are still on course, and soon you will have the power to kill him. Does he know where I am yet?"

Maxwell shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think so, he mentioned something about setting out to find you. Could he do that?"

"He is capable of many things. That...is not one of them. Still....I shall take precautions. Thank you for letting me know." The screen went blank.

Maxwell sagged back into the chair and let out a half-sigh, half-sob. Despite the reassuring words, he was worried. I....we....have worked too hard for the plan to be ruined by him. I need a plan.

***********
USS Tigermoth
1630hrs EST
Bridge

Smithy stepped out onto the bridge of his ship, noting the near-emptiness with satisfaction. Finally, people were actually obeying orders and getting some rest. On a nice, boring run like this flitting between Antares to pick up sensor relay drones and out into space to drop them off, all at transwarp speeds, the ship needed very few people actually operating her. Computers had come on in leaps and bounds, as had most starship technology.

He rubbed at the knuckles he'd felled Maxwell with, annoyed at himself for doing that. Temporary satisfaction notwithstanding, he knew just how stupid he'd been to do that. There had been no real need to rattle Maxwell's cage, he could have simply made his plan against the president in secret. Instead, he'd gone charging in as usual and let Maxwell know in no uncertain terms that his days were numbered.

And his benefactor. Smithy had no idea how to find him, but he knew it was going to take some work. He sat, closed his eyes, and cast his mind out. You're out there. I know you are. I'll find you. I'll find you and stop you. I'll....find....you.

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

Short chunk to end Chapter Six. See you all next week sometime.

[Commander Maxillius]

Wow, great work!!  The Federation's really gone to hell in a handbasket hasn't it?

[James Smith]

Wow, great work!!  The Federation's really gone to hell in a handbasket hasn't it?

Things might just get a whole lot worse before they get better. The Andros haven't brought their A-game to the party yet 

Plus - it's 2395. Those legendary crews from the various TV series are retired now. All the Federation has is Harriman, Sheehan and Smithy with his Tigermoth crew. K-Fo is sat at home enjoying retirement and the quiet life (with that little tantalising thread that might just pull him back....), S'Tasik is dearly departed at this point (killed in the Imperial conflict)....and an incompetent, reasonably psychotic, utterly unlikeable smegger is in charge.

Now, how the hell do I dig my universe out of that hole?

[Commander Maxillius]

Can't wait to see how it unfolds! 

Maybe the  Romulans could save the day?

[James Smith]

Can't wait to see how it unfolds! 

Maybe the  Romulans could save the day?

Heh, doubt it. I pretty much mauled that fleet of theirs unfortunately. I don't think they'll be back this year....not in numbers anyway. But, you never know....

[Governor Ronjar]

Your Fed Prez aint based on good ol' Gee-Dub-Ya Bush, is he?

Still liking!

--thu guv!

[James Smith]

Your Fed Prez aint based on good ol' Gee-Dub-Ya Bush, is he?

Actually, he isn't. But I'd be interested to know just how many people think he is

Maxwell is very much a composite of several people I've had the misfortune to encounter, a couple of whom are politicians. The madness is notched up a bit, as is the complete cowardice. Metcalf is the same - a composite of several people, with some traits exaggerated to provide a half-decent target for my characters to beat.

Still liking!

--thu guv!

Jolly good 

[Commander Maxillius]

Dubya isn't that bad, and I think that if you were to punch the President in the face, he'd get up and hit ya back.

This guy (Maxwell) needs to be ended.  He's ruined the Federation

[Governor Ronjar]

Dubya isn't that bad,

 

--guv

[James Smith]

Dubya isn't that bad,

 

--guv

Could be worse.....John Kerry could be in charge. Ugh.....

[Governor Ronjar]

We haven't had a good presidential candidate in my life time. Save MAYBE for Reagan...but he was still a Republican. [not that I really like one over the other]

--guv again

[Commander Maxillius]

We haven't had a good presidential candidate in my life time. Save MAYBE for Reagan...but he was still a Republican. [not that I really like one over the other]

--guv again

true. 

[James Smith]

Quick update - getting close to happy with the first parts of Chapter 7 now. Will try and get the start of the chapter posted by the weekend.

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 7 - The Blast Of War (part 1)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
5th July 2395
0610hrs EST
Bridge

"Captain's log, stardate 71361.6. The sensor network we have been helping to lay out for many weeks is almost completed. My science officers are completing final calibrations of the last unit, and setting up our own sensors to interface with the network."

Smithy stretched out both his legs, grimacing at the sharp stab of pain from his left knee. About time I got this damn leg sorted. As soon as this is all over, Starfleet can consider me on leave for a few months. A sudden chill swept over him.

James. Can you hear me, James? Can you feel my presence?[/b]

Metcalf. Smtihy closed his eyes. He'd gone a whole fortnight without thinking about him, he'd been that busy with other things. Another thought struck him. Lisa. He punched the intercom.

***********
Captain's Quarters
0612hrs EST

Lisa awoke with a start, the images of her nightmare still fresh in her mind. The engine room of the old Tigermoth, the sudden jolt sideways that had pitched her against the rail around the warp core, the rail giving way....and this time, James not being there to save her. Instead, she fell.

She got up, and turned on the replicator. "Water, chilled." She managed to force a few sips down, her whole body trembling.

"Bridge to Commander Smith. You alright hon'?"

Lisa tapped the comm panel next to the bed to activate it. "Yeah....I'm fine. You get a twinge?"

"Just a bit."

Lisa smiled at that. "Always looking out for me. Well, now that I'm up - has the sensor network come on-line yet?"

"We're just about to give it a try. You coming up?"

"On my way." Lisa closed down the connection, and pulled on her off-duty uniform. On her way out she paused by the mirror, staring at her reflection for a moment. It's him. It must be.

***********
Bridge
0620hrs EST


Smithy leaned on the bridge rail next to Ops. "How long?"

"Another minute, sir. Just need to get this emitter calibrated and then we can link it in." Winchester tapped away at his console, dialling the last sensor drone into the now-complete network.

Smithy turned as his wife stepped out of the turbolift. He headed for the relative privacy of the rear of the bridge, and lowered his voice. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm sure." Lisa shook her head. "It's him, isn't it? I keep having those nightmares, always about that first time on the old ship. When you and Metcalf had your first big showdown. I'm in the engine room, when that first big hit came in. I go over the rail, and this time you aren't there to grab me and haul me back. Last time I had that kind of nightmare was during the Gatrellian war. Before that, it was after the ISC had attacked with his help."

Smithy nodded. "He's calling. He knows that I can't find him, that I'll have to wait for him to make a move. Which puts us on the back foot....despite his insanity, he's clever."

"How did he survive though? I saw what was left of him....he can't have been alive." Lisa shuddered at the memory, partly from remembering the weeks afterwards of her husband struggling to pull through from the injuries he'd taken and partly from the sight of Metcalf post-explosion.

"The Nexus. He went in, and left an echo. That echo must have found a way out." He turned back to Ops. "Winchester?"

The younger man turned to face him. "Ready for power-up on your signal, sir."

Smithy and Lisa headed for their seats. "On my mark, then." Smithy settled in, his gaze locked on the main screen. "Hit it."

A beat, then the screen began to fill with sensor data. As the crew watched, the Alpha Quadrant took shape. Every star, every planet, every major installation withing the range of the network was visible on the Tigermoth main screen. Smithy grinned. "Well, whaddya know? Certainly seems to work."

Winchester scanned his telemetry. "Response time is good, range is exactly to spec, everything is in focus....yep....I think we got it, captain."

Riggs glanced back at her board as it lit up. "Admiral Harriman on the line, sir. He says that Antares has a clear picture as well."

"Tell him to wave out of a window, we could probably see it from here." Lisa squeezed Smithy's hand. "Reckon that just tipped the balance a little back towards us?

"Well, it should certainly give us a little more warning about incursions in our space." Smithy shook his head. "Still....the Alpha Quadrant is not the galaxy. Did Dave say whether the Klingons okayed the extension of the network into their space?"

"They have, we just need to build a bunch more sensor units. We'll start on that soon, if other events don't precl-

*FLASH*

"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."

*FLASH*

"-ude it." Smithy blinked. What had he just seen? "Riggs, get me a secure line to Antares. Patch it through to my quarters when you have it." He stood. "You coming hon'?"

"I'm not on duty for another couple of hours."

"Right. Riggs, you have the bridge."

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

Right, short bit to get the Chapter 7 ball rolling.

[Commander Maxillius]

but but but... more????? 

You certainly have a way with cliffhangers

[Scottish Andy]

He certainly does! Love your *FLASH*es. Very... real.

Looking forward to more.

[James Smith]

but but but... more????? 

You certainly have a way with cliffhangers

He certainly does! Love your *FLASH*es. Very... real.

Looking forward to more.

See, it's odd. I don't comment on much on here, but I do read it all. There are people on here who, IMO, write waaaaaay better than I do. And it always surprises me to see the nice comments that my writing draws. Not that I'm staring at the metaphorical tonsils of a gift horse. It's certainly enjoyable to get a good reaction to my work, even more enjoyable than writing it in the first place And given that I tend to write it while consuming vast quantities of alcomahol, that should say something!*

The *FLASH* is meant to emulate two things, really. One - the interludes that DS9 took when they wanted a character to talk to The Prophets. The other thing is the technique that the TV show NUMB3RS uses to cut to Charlie Eppes' internal thought process. If you imagine a sort-of combination of those two....bah. It makes sense in my head!

And therein lies the problem wiith my fanfic. I can describe stuff all I want, but at the end of the day, I'm bound by the limitations of the written word and my own level of operating with that restriction. Actually showing the action....that would be the Holy Grail. But, with the sheer amount of work involved....I have a huge amount of respect for the people making particularly good fan films in the Trek universe, I really do.

I do wish I was a good enough writer to really show you all what I see in my head when I read these stories back 




* - I may, or may not, be ever-so-slightly drunk right now.

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 7 - The Blast Of War (part 2)

***********
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."

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

[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]

***********

Chapter 7 - The Blast Of War (part 3)

***********
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."

***********
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."

***********
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."

***********
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!"

***********
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?"

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

[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)

***********
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

[James Smith]

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

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.

'fraid I can't take credit for the model

Metcalf, well, at least he's confused.

Mike
~Po

He'll be more than confused by the time Smithy's done with him....

[Governor Ronjar]

Love that ship!!

--guv!

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 8 - Stiffen The Sinews, Summon Up The Blood (part 3)

***********
USS Tempest
1st August 2395
0010hrs EST
Bridge


Harriman paced around the upper level of the bridge, casting glances at the main screen every so often. The red glow of transwarp flight added to the Red Alert condition lighting made the bridge seem much warmer. Even so, he was shivering. The prospect of battle never sat well with him, despite how much of it he'd seen over the past few decades. I'm getting too old for this.

"Approaching Brek'Tagh, Admiral."

Harriman dropped down into the command area and sat. "Secure from transwarp speed at downwarp point. Full impulse power. Ops, full scan. Tactical, confirm shields and weapons readiness."

"Deflector shields at full intensity. Phasers charged, torpedoes loaded."

"Ops?"

"Scanning, Admiral." The young man worked for a few seconds. "I have the Klingon fleet. Tactical plot on the main screen."

Harriman stood, taking in the information. He touched the comm tie-in control on his chair. "All ships, this is the Tempest. Form up, we're going in."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
0020 hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy and Lisa turned as Orlatrel hurried out onto the bridge. "How's she holding up?"

"About as well as expected. I've got the SIF boosted as far as I can, but we're getting a competition brewing up in the power grid. Not much I can do about that though."

Smithy nodded. "Yeah. Chin up pal, only got about half an hour before we can shut down the transwarp drive."

Orlatrel smiled weakly. "All things considered, I think I'll be glad when we get to Brek'Tagh. Even with the promise of battle."

Smithy levered himself up to head over to Riggs. "Any word from the Klingons or Starfleet, kid?"

"No sir, nothing. I've tried raising the Tempest on the transpace link, but the signal is being jammed."

Lisa glanced over at Ops. "Winchester, tie us into the sensor network. See if you can spot the fleets."

Winchester tapped a string of commands into his console. "I can't get you particularly fine detail ma'am, but there are three distinct groups of signatures all starting to blend into one. That's got to be the Andromedans, the DSF and Starfleet."

Riggs looked up at Smithy. "USS Wasp is signalling sir. They confirm battle readiness of themselves and the Hornet and Bee."

"Good. Elkins, time to Brek'Tagh downwarp point?"

"24 minutes, Captain. Our speed is starting to slip a little though."

Orlatrel immediately headed for the bridge Engineering station. "Nacelle balance is still shaky. Compensating." Seconds ticked by as Smithy joined him at the station, the two men working quickly. "How about now, Ensign?"

"Our speed is creeping back up again. Revised estimate of 21 minutes to downwarp."

Lisa smiled at her husband. "Still haven't lost your touch."

Smithy accepted the compliment, and turned back to Orlatrel. "You'd better get back down below. I don't care how you do it within reason, but get me more speed."

"You'll get it." Orlatrel hurried to the turbolift, and was gone.

Smithy leaned forward onto the bridge rail. "Alright people....lets go over our plan of attack."

***********
IKV Mortum Hesta
0031hrs EST
Bridge

Sheehan picked himself up from the floor as the ship righted itself. "I'm gonna feel that one in a few hours."

Thulinuk waved the smoke away from his face, his nose wrinkling at the smell of burned circuits. "Report!"

"Our shields are weakening. Engineering is attempting to re-route power to compensate." Sheehan punched at his console, sending a volley of disruptor fire slamming into the nearest Andromedan cruiser.

"The fleet?"

"Taking a pounding." Sheehan leaned over to the now unmanned station next to him, calling up a view of the fleet on it. "Looks like the Negh'Var is in trouble."

"On-screen." Thulinuk stood as the battleship came into view, her hull bearing the scars of the battle. "Helm, new course! Get us over to the Negh'Var, target vessels closest to her. Sheehan, get our battle wing to join us!"

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
0035hrs EST
Bridge

Elkins half-turned. "Sir, our speed is still increasing. Downwarp point now only five minutes away. I have the computer on control so we can time it as tightly as possible."

Smithy nodded an acknowledgement from the Engineering station. "Atta boy Orlatrel, keep it up. Drelkar, as soon as the transwarp drive is shut down I want all combat systems on peak power."

"Aye, sir."

Lisa joined her husband. "Reckon we can do that while keeping the SIF boosted?"

"I don't know, to be honest." Smithy glanced at the telemetry coming from the warp core. "We're almost 3% down on core output, and there's no way we can claw that back without some time spent sorting it all out. I doubt we can do it on the fly. Lord only knows where Orlatrel is finding the power for this flight."

***********
USS Tempest
0041hrs EST
Bridge


The bridge rumbled and shook underneath Harriman, the main screen flaring white under the impact of the plasma torpedo. "Helm, evasive manoeuvres! Tactical, fire at will! Get them off of us!"

Three more torpedoes sailed past on the viewscreen, ending up wide of their mark. Harriman glanced at the tactical plot on one of the auxilliary monitors, noticing four small blips appear at the outside edge of it's range. Hope swelled in him. "Lieutenant, is that them?"

He got his answer soon enough, four ships racing past on the viewscreen scattering the Andromedan ships that had been on the tail of the Tempest. Explosions bloomed. Harriman quickly headed for the Communications console. "See if you can raise the Tigermoth, that jamming was starting to ease. Maybe now they're close, we can get through it."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
0042hrs EST
Bridge

"I've got the Admiral, sir!"

Smithy hurried over to join Riggs at her station. "Hello Dave, sorry we took so long."

"I'll let you off this time." Harriman's image wavered with the lingering remains of the Andromedan jamming field. "I like those guys you brought with you."

"They haven't even got going properly yet." Smithy ducked as a heavy impact sent sparks flying out of one of the auxilliary monitors. "Drelkar, find whoever did that and bounce a couple of quantum torpedoes at 'em! Gotta go, Dave. Stay safe."

"You too."

Riggs closed out the connection. "Receiving a data packet from the Mortum Hesta, Captain. DSF report."

"Decode and give me the edited highlights." Smithy headed back to his chair, settling in. "Drelkar, did you fnd that Andro yet?"

"Aye, sir....just waiting for a clear shot."

"Elkins, can you help him out?"

The young man's fingers were almost dancing over the helm console. "Trying, sir. Running right out of room here."

Riggs leaned over the bridge rail. "Captain, the DSF has lost around 35 ships. The Negh'Var has been pretty badly mauled but is still operational. Mortum Hesta herself has suffered damage and some casualties, but Commander Sheehan is alright. The Andromedans have suffered heavy losses, but more ships are joining the fray. They still outnumber us three to one."

Smithy absorbed that. "Bugger. I think I'd rather not have heard that."

Lisa looked up from her screen. "I hate to pile on....but the Venture has been destroyed."

Smithy closed his eyes. "Ghelev. Damn." He opened them again. "Survivors?"

"Picked up by the Korolev. No word on numbers."

The screen flared as an Andromedan vessel dissolved into fire. Drelkar gave the bridge air a quick punch. "Got him, sir!"

Smithy allowed himself a small grin. "Well done, kid. Now, rinse and repeat until every last Andromedan ship is gone from here."

***********
IKV Mortum Hesta
0110hrs EST
Bridge


"Shields back up to 65%" Sheehan gripped the edge of his station as the inertial dampeners lagged behind the Hesta's erratic course. "Klugh'Tal and Maracha are moving in tighter to provide us with some cover."

"Good." Thulinuk could barely see Sheehan through the smoke that filled the bridge. "Can we get the ventilators working again?"

"You sure you want to see the damage?" Sheehan leaned over and prodded at the environmental controls. "I think this console is dead anyway."

"Engineer, status report."

The engineer appeared out of the haze. "Hull integrity holding. We have lost some ancillary systems but all combat systems still on-line."

Thulinuk nodded, returning his attention to the screen. "Excellent. Helm, continue erratic course. Sheehan, fire at will!"

***********
USS Tempest
0115hrs EST
Bridge


Harrison glanced at Harriman. "Sir, SOD reports heavy losses among their ships."

Harriman shook his head, sighing. "Comms, order Defiant wing to get over and defend them, give them time to regroup."

"Aye, sir."

"Tactical plot on viewscreen."

The image sprang up, looking for all the world like utter chaos. Harriman watched the patterns. "Damn. We've taken some heavy losses haven't we?"

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
0125hrs EST
Bridge


"Engine room to bridge."

Lisa stabbed at the comm panel on her chair. "Enjoying yourself down there Orlatrel?"

"Would you mind sending your husband down here? I'm running right out of options for keeping us at full combat effectiveness."

Smithy glanced up from the tactical report he was discussing with Winchester. "How bad?"

"Getting a serious energy competition in the reaction chamber. I'm all out of tricks." Orlatrel's voice was bleak, the tone bringing Smithy up short.

Smithy shot a look at his wife. "Computer, transporter tie-in. One to beam directly to the engine room."

***********
0126hrs EST
Engine Room


Smithy was moving before the transporter effect had faded from his vision and hearing. "Alright, give me the run-down of what you've done so far."

Orlatrel met him halfway across the room, handing over a PADD. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Been waiting for an excuse to get back in here." Smithy arrived at the control bank, still scanning the PADD. "Okay, okay....to be honest, you've done everything I would have done. Not sure why it hasn't worked. Time to be creative." He headed for another console. "Computer, release all safeties on warp core controls. Authorisation Smith Two-Four-One-Alpha."

"Working. Secondary authorisation required."

"Computer, this is Commander Orlatrel, chief engineer. Authorisation Orlatrel Four-Five-Nine-Gamma."

"Safeties released."

Orlatrel shook his head. "You know I'm always one for ignoring the manual, James...."

"But this is dicey, yeah. Still, fortune favours the foolish." Smithy shot him a manic grin. "Increase M/AM flow until it just starts to get a bit unstable. Then increase it a tad more. I'm going to alter the way our dilithium is arrayed to see if I can make the most of the increase." He collared a couple of junior engineers who had been hovering nearby. "You two, watch the telemetry. If it lights up yellow, tell me. If it lights up red, then hit the emergency over-ride on this panel here to step the flow rate back down."

"Aye, Captain!"

Smithy looked up. "The rest of you, keep all our other systems together. Drelkar will get mightily irritated if phaser batteries start to lose power." He set to work on the panel, Orlatrel dashing to the other side of the core and beginning to type in the commands required to increase the amount of fuel going into the huge reactor.

Minutes ticked by, the rhythmic pulsing of the reactor getting noticeably stronger and faster. Alarms began sounding, which Smithy cut off straight away. "Never did understand why the alarms stay connected when you disable the safeties. Must get Lisa to re-program that sometime....Orlatrel, what's the word?"

"Flow is starting to get unstable. I'm not sure I can push it any further."

"Don't try." Smithy worked for a few seconds, making minute adjustments to the positioning of the dilithium in the reactor. "It should start to smooth out again now."

Orlatrel nodded. "Yeah, things are improving. Reactor output is now at 106% of normal."

One of the junior engineers turned. "Sir, the panel just went yellow."

"Good." Smithy hit his comm badge. "Bridge."

"Lisa here."

"Reactor power is up. Have those warnings quit flashing over all the screens up there?"

"Yeah, but the telemetry screen has gone utterly nuts. What the hell have you and Orlatrel done down there?"

"You probably don't want to know. I'm heading back up." He closed out the connection and glanced at Orlatrel. "As soon as we're done here, you better reverse those changes we made pretty sharpish. I doubt we're doing the core much good running it like this."

***********
0134hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy sprang out of the turbolift, heading straight for his chair. "What's the situation?"

Winchester half turned. "Andromedan force is re-grouping. Looks like they're getting set to make a radical change in formation. Klingon DSF has taken heavy losses, but predictably they're still putting up a stiff fight. We've lost 12 ships, SOD has lost nearly all of theirs."

"Colour me surprised. Riggs, did you find out if Ghelev was among those lost on the Venture?"

"Yes, sir. He made it off the ship, he's currently on-board the Korolev."

"Good." Smithy settled back. "Elkins, Drelkar, continue as you are. We seem to be doing alright ourselves."

Lisa shot him a fond glance. "Speaking of 'doing alright', what the hell happened to 'no way we can up the core output on the fly'?"

"You know me. I don't even listen to myself."

***********
USS Tempest
0140hrs EST
Bridge


"Sir, the Andromedans are backing right off. I think they're heading back to the dust cloud."

Harriman stared at the tactical plot. "I see it. Probably not worth pursuing them, we've all taken a battering. Communications, order all ships to hold back. Defensive posture. None of us can be in any shape to go after them."

As the bridge crew watched, the Andromedan fleet began to disappear into the cloud. Harrison stared up at Harriman in confusion. "Sir, surely we can do something!"

"Like what, Commander?" Harriman shook his head. "We've got no way of finding out just how far away the transwarp portal in that cloud will send us, and we've got seriously depleted numbers on our side. I'm not really all that keen on suicide missions." He glanced across the bridge. "Comms, get me a line to the 'Moth."

"Aye, sir. Captain Smith on-screen."

"Dave. How you holding up?"

"Poorly, if I'm honest. You?"

"Well, I ended up back in the engine room for a bit. We hit some power problems on our way here, and the battle didn't do us much good. Going to need a dock at Antares, if we head all the way over there."

"Okay, we'll get you a proper mooring when you arrive."

"And speaking of moorings, looks like your ship could do with a few coats of paint. You're missing a few hull plates on your saucer."

Harriman looked over at the damage control monitor, what he saw bringing him up short. "I hadn't dared look at the screen. Wish I hadn't seen that now. Judging by the look of the fleet we're going to have to do some serious juggling to get everyone repaired."

"I'll leave that job up to you, Admiral. In the meantime, we're going to take a low transwarp run back to Federation space. I don't fancy breaking down all the way out here. I'll see you back at camp."

***********
Antares Command Post
2nd August 2395
1115hrs EST
Operations Centre


Harriman shook Smithy's hand. "Well, we both made it back."

"Yeah, with both ships sat in dock getting repairs. Did you see the final tally?"

Harriman shook his head. "Haven't had time, didn't really want to. You?"

"Yeah, Riggs got the data this morning."

"And?"

Smithy sighed. "About as bad as we feared it could be. The DSF took a right pounding. The Negh'Var will be out of commission for weeks, and they lost almost a third of the force they had at the party. The Hesta is sat waiting for a dock at Tychor. SOD....seven ships survived in the end, and those are going to need serious work. And we lost thirteen, with many more seriously damaged. What was the state of play with the Tempest in the end?"

"Took a plasma bolt to the saucer, like you pointed out. It's pretty much destroyed the port phaser array, but we've got replacement parts for that. How about the 'Moth? You mentioned power problems?"

Smithy shrugged. "Usual story. We rushed out of dock. She wasn't honestly ready for a sustained high-speed transwarp run followed by a battle. The jury-rig that Orlatrel and I made might have cooked a few bits and pieces in the reactor assembly. Orlatrel's on it. Everything else held up pretty well though."

Harriman nodded. "You on duty?"

"No. Lisa made me take a few hours off."

"Want to grab a beer?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

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

[James Smith]

Just so y'all know, I had to really, really fight to keep the Treknobabble out of that engine room scene with Smithy and Orlatrel hot-rodding the warp core. Hopefully the little bit that there is doesn't irritate too much!

[Iceman]

Well I'll be...it's been a while. Glad to see you're still alive and well!  I'll have to get to reading this ASAP!

[James Smith]

Jesus, Iceman - don't sneak up on us like that!

How the hell are you pal?

[Iceman]

You know...hanging in there. Graduated last weekend, so I'm an honest to god engineer now!  Also got my commission so I report in to the Air Force on Tuesday of next week. How about yourself?

Also, about 1/2 way down this page of posts. Good to see everyone's still around!

[James Smith]

You know...hanging in there. Graduated last weekend, so I'm an honest to god engineer now!  Also got my commission so I report in to the Air Force on Tuesday of next week.

Congrats!

How about yourself?

I'm pretty good, all things considered.

Also, about 1/2 way down this page of posts. Good to see everyone's still around!

Hope you enjoy it.

[James Smith]

***********

Chapter 9 - Invasion (part 1)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
8th August 2395
0802hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


Smithy scanned the PADD, grimacing at the numbers, anger slowly building up. The Klingon fleet had been hit badly. Even the ships that were still operational were down on crew numbers. As for Special Operations, it was just pathetic. They had twenty ships ready to actually go, of which eighteen had a crew that was even approaching 'skeleton'. TacFleet and the general Starfleet were a bit better off, but without any back-up....that wasn't going to last.

He glanced over at the bedroom door. Lisa was sleeping, coming off the back of a 41 hour shift that had seen the entire crew pull together to make sure the 'Moth was able to get into battle-ready condition again and stay there. He knew Drelkar would be back on the bridge by now, no doubt he was still fine-tuning the targeting sensors. The rest of the bridge crew wouldn't get back up for another hour or so unless events intervened. Smithy reached over to the control panel on his desk, activating the acoustic baffle on the bedroom door. Then he did something he hadn't done in a while.

The PADD went sailing into the far wall of his quarters, almost exploding on impact. Pieces of ruined electronics rained on the deck. Smithy sat back, letting his breathing slow back down. Temper, temper. Nice to see you've forgotten all your anger management lessons. He got up and headed out of the room and into the corridor. There was far less chance of him breaking anything more if he went to the bridge.

***********
0815hrs EST
Bridge


Drelkar glanced around as the lift doors opened. "Morning, Captain."

"Still at it?" Smithy leaned over his tactical officer's shoulder, examining the data on his screen. "Nice. Looks like you've got them down as tight as the design'll ever let you." He wandered back across the bridge to the communications console. One message in the tray. Low priority, otherwise the computer would've paged Riggs and she'd have paged me. He called it up.


REVISED BATTLE READINESS DATE
NCC-96912 - USS TYPHOON
STARDATE 71501.1


"Hey Drelkar, looks like we might be getting the Typhoon out into space earlier than we thought."

Drelkar turned. "How much sooner, sir? Last I heard they were in the process of assembling the impulse deck."

"Stardate 71501.1. That's what, 19 days from now?"

"Something like that." Drelkar shook his head. "There's no way they can have her completely built by then, is there?"

"I'd have thought they would just get her engines, weapons, shields and major ancillaries in and up to scratch. Bet she won't be a pretty sight inside. I doubt they'll even sort out all the accommodation. I'll have to commiserate with T'Pel when I see her at the launch. Helluva first assignment for a chief engineer, she'll spend half her time dealing with computer alarms caused by all the gaps where equipment should be."

"I'd heard on the Net that they might consider launching ships in a somewhat less-than-complete stage. Hope we don't hit the same kind of trouble SOD has."

"We'd do well for it to go that badly."

The lift doors sighed open again, depositing Lisa on the bridge. She stared sleepily at Smithy. "Why is there a yeoman sweeping up the remains of a PADD in our quarters?"

"It had an accident." Smithy joined her in sitting on the bridge rail.

"That explains why the baffle was turned on." Lisa yawned, glancing at the bridge chrono. "Is that all the sleep I got?"

"'fraid so."

"Damnit." Lisa rubbed at her eyes. "God, I need sleep. Real sleep."

Smithy smiled gently at her. "Don't we all? Well, aside from that guy." He nodded at Drelkar who flashed a toothy grin at him."

"Did Dave's crew get the Tempest ready yet?"

"Yeah." Smithy jerked a thumb over at the communications console. "We also got a message about the Typhoon. She'll be in service on stardate 70501.1."

"Wow. Won't be complete, then."

"Not a prayer. But we don't need 'complete', we just need 'battle ready'."

***********
USS Endeavour NCC 1895 (DC)
0940hrs EST
Bridge


Harriman stepped out onto the bridge. Not all the consoles were even in place, much less connected up. The helm, tactical, ops, communications and one engineering station were in and being attached to the computer network. Where everything else should be - all the auxiliary monitors, the other engineering station, the library computer access console - there were just gaps, stray wires and sockets for power and data links.

He picked his way through some of the debris littering the deck, looking around the bridge. "Lieutenant T'Pel?"

"Here, Admiral." T'Pel turned from the engineering console.

"What's our status here?"

"Most of our vital systems are in place and connected up to both the power grid and the main computer. We tested the warp core at minimum power generation yesterday to confirm that all engine room controls are working. We will a bridge by this time tomorrow, but it will not be particularly....user-friendly."

"Understood. I've assigned some of the Tempest engineering crew to finish the checks on your offence/defence equipment."

"Thank-you, Admiral. If you'll excuse me sir?"

"Of course. Carry on." Harriman watched as the young woman set about finishing the work on the console. If she can get this ship out into space in 19 days....Smithy better watch out, she'll be taking over his mantle of Starfleet engineering legend.

***********
Federation Headquarters
Paris, France
9th August 2395
1430hrs EST
Memorial Garden


Maxwell sat on the bench, a number of worrying thoughts nagging at him. He didn't even look up when the other man sat next to him. "We're in trouble now. Aren't we?"

"Yes." Metcalf shook his head. "How could he have seen it? It seems like I've spent most of my lives underestimating James. And the Andromedans...."

Maxwell waited, but the rest of the sentence wasn't forthcoming. "What about the Andromedans?"

Metcalf sighed. "I was sure of the Other's purpose in bringing the two of us together. We were supposed to defeat the Andromedans, with Smith and his crew dying in the process. But that thread of probability is ebbing away. The Andromedans dominate all the possible future threads. Only two threads remain."

Maxwell stared up at the sky. "This Other has virtually signed our death warrants. Special Operations has failed me. The Klingons have taken massive losses. The Romulans are all but gone as a military force. Starfleet can't hope to beat back this invasion." He glanced sharply at Metcalf. "Two threads?"

"Two possibilities. We are victorious in one. The other....it seems that James Smith plays a rather significant role in it."

The two men sat quietly for a while. Maxwell spoke first. "We must do everything in our power to make sure we are victorious. Even if means I have to kill Smith myself."

Metcalf nodded. "It will be so. Have faith, my friend. We can win this yet." He rose, and as he walked away a grin spead slowly across his face. Of course we can win this. Smith can't hope to defeat the Andromedans and us.

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


Just a very short part to get chapter 9 under way.

[Scottish Andy]

This is awesome.  Can't repeat often enough how much I love this story, these characters, the whole feel of the tale.

And your engineering scene didn't feel even slightly technobabbly. You used recognisable words like dilithium and antimatter in properly comprehensible sentences.

Iceman: congrats on graduating. Whose air force did you join? RAF or USAF?

[Iceman]

The good one!

The USAF, that is!  I actually just got to Virginia yesterday to my base (Bolling AFB).

Sorry to hijack Smithy.

[Scottish Andy]

Ah, "the good one". Shame you missed out on joining the best one then. 

Congrats anyway, a stellar achievement! At least you've got more money for cool toys... even if you can't use them properly! 

[Iceman]

Ah, "the good one". Shame you missed out on joining the best one then. 

Congrats anyway, a stellar achievement! At least you've got more money for cool toys... even if you can't use them properly! 

...dammit. That's what I get for being a 'fng' as my sponsor called me.

[James Smith]

This is awesome.  Can't repeat often enough how much I love this story, these characters, the whole feel of the tale.

Cheers.

I got an idea the other night (the kind of idea you get only when coming home from the pub late at night), and ended up massively re-working the end to this story. A lot of character driven stuff. Hopefully when it gets posted you'll think I did the idea justice. Of course, the next time I roll in from the pub I might get another idea....

And your engineering scene didn't feel even slightly technobabbly. You used recognisable words like dilithium and antimatter in properly comprehensible sentences.

That scene got re-written, ooh, about thirty times. It started out like something a Voyager script writer would have turned in.









.






..








Well, maybe not quite that bad. But when I read it back, I just kept getting visions of all the worst moments in post-TNG Trek where you could go an entire scene without knowing what was going on, why it was going on, and what exactly the problem even related to.

Sorry to hijack Smithy.

Hijacks are welcome, since they're usually interesting. Besides, if I wanted to keep this thread as fic only I'd lock and unlock when I had new stuff to post

[Nerroth]

Hi.


I just read up on the story so far - not too shabby, I must say.


However, I'm not entirely sold on how different you have made the Andro tech and doctrine, compared to that seen in SFB - while the advent of stealth systems seems not wholly unreasonable (and there are other kinds of stealth systems in the Star Fleet Universe) you seem to have discarded PA panels, TR beams and the satship/mothership dynamic, as well as the likes of Displacement Devices.


Plus, everything seems very easy to kill, and the Andros are relying more on quantity than quality.

(I would have liked to see fewer capital ships, but ones which were as relatively effective aginst this era's Alpha ships as the likes of Dominators and the Devastator were against General War-era ships, backed up by more numerous satellite shipsdeployed from the motherships. But then, your mileage may vary...)


Also, you seem to have skimmed very lightly through the Omega Octant (of which the Omega sector is but one of three present, alongside Psi and Chi... unless you also count Phi, the Zosman-dominated sector) - no mention of how the transwarp ship can circumvent the Void (do they plough straight through, or go the 'long way' vis the Iridani Cluster, or by some other route?) and no word on where the Omega Yards are in (while one might assume you intend them to be in the Aurora system, or somewhere else in Federal Republic space, they could be in Maesron space, the Ryn Nebula, or somewhere esle entirely) or what kind of relation that the FRA may or may not have with the Federation (in the SFU Omega timeline, the Federal Republic joined the Maesron Alliance as a fully autonomous member government in Y209 - but did have debates later on about whether they would stay in the Alliance or not, which implies they could have voted to secede and either return to independence or become UFP members... or ISC or Klingon members, depending on the influence of the former Concordium and Empire citizens on PX 123 and Kraknora, the other two major FRA systems).



Sorry if I am being nit-picky...

[Potemkyn]

Interesting.  I used to play Andromedans, almost exclusively just before I quit.  I'd agree that it does seem like they are relying on quantity vs superiority.  Andro ships were top of the line.  They could, if piloted correctly ( just like everything else) take out an opposing ship, even if at a disadvantage.  One of the last tournaments I played in was a Battlecruiser Tounament.  Everyone else's ship was valued around 180 or more.  I got the Conquistador: 170 - and no mines!  I did well, but we never completed the thrid round, most of the folks moved at that point.

I like the story.  For the most part, it seems unimportant about the andro numbers, but it is anti-historical  (is that a word?   )

If it's important to go at it this way, keep going.


Mike

[Scottish Andy]

Since this is in the SFB Andros' future, it can go anywhere. It could be that the Andos have not developed in thousands of years, like the Halo universe's Covenant. This would mean that they are the same SFB Andros, but the UFP has advanced by 100 years. Or, they've developed more slolwly, like out own Trek Vulcans. Despite having interstellar travel for centuries, they're barely a few decades higher than 2150s Earth.

Oh wait... that's after providing 80 years of high tech assistance to Earth. n/m that then.

Just some more antimatter for the warp reactor. 

P.S. Not commenting on my stories, Po? *hint hint*

[James Smith]

Hi.


I just read up on the story so far - not too shabby, I must say.

Thanks.

However, I'm not entirely sold on how different you have made the Andro tech and doctrine, compared to that seen in SFB - while the advent of stealth systems seems not wholly unreasonable (and there are other kinds of stealth systems in the Star Fleet Universe) you seem to have discarded PA panels, TR beams and the satship/mothership dynamic, as well as the likes of Displacement Devices.

Very good points. The TR beams are coming, but I've left the mothership spawning other ships out because this universe never had them. Displacement devices - the Federation found a way around them long ago. I probably ought to have made mention of that early on in this story, it does get mentioned later on but obviously that wasn't very helpful of me.

This does probably need spelling out - the Tigermoth universe is not SFB (at least, not quite), nor does it particularly play nice with canon Trek. I think one of the big problems has come because I've written these out of order. The timeline should go:

1) Vengeance - Metcalf making a play for domination of the Federation and other galactic powers with a very large weapon. The old Sabre class Tigermoth is destroyed stopping him.
2) Return of the ISC - The new Tigermoth-A is launched. The Interstellar Concordium return for pure, simple revenge. All higher motives long gone. 100 years has let them rebuild from being nigh-on wiped out by the Andromedans, and they are a tiny bit pissed about the fact that the Alpha and Beta quadrant powers weathered that storm rather better.
3) Return of the Imperials - forces from one of the squillions of parallel universes cross over intending to subjugate this universe. Tigermoth is part of the defence force, ending the war in pretty bad shape.
4) A couple of short stories go here, with the Tigermoth actually doing some peacetime work for a chance.
5) Silent Enemy - posted on here, but getting a heavy re-write again.
6) And this one, Return of the Andromedans.

1 and 4 have never seen the light of day. 2 and 3 were on the old Taldren board (may it rest in peace). And being out of sync really is a problem. Vengeance fills in a lot of the gaps in the backstory (it being the first one and all)

Plus, everything seems very easy to kill, and the Andros are relying more on quantity than quality.

I wouldn't necessarily say either side has managed to keep their fleets intact so far. Not just the Andromedans taking losses. Part of the whole quantity-over-quality comes from the fact that DS9 showed the Almighty Dominion tended to focus on that - and the Federation and allies seemed pretty fearful of them, even when those fighter-ish craft (would they be pseudo-fighters if canon Trek was SFB? I wonder....) would just dissolve any time the Defiant fired on them.

(I would have liked to see fewer capital ships, but ones which were as relatively effective aginst this era's Alpha ships as the likes of Dominators and the Devastator were against General War-era ships, backed up by more numerous satellite shipsdeployed from the motherships. But then, your mileage may vary...)

A fair point, and one that I'll consider.

Also, you seem to have skimmed very lightly through the Omega Octant (of which the Omega sector is but one of three present, alongside Psi and Chi... unless you also count Phi, the Zosman-dominated sector) - no mention of how the transwarp ship can circumvent the Void (do they plough straight through, or go the 'long way' vis the Iridani Cluster, or by some other route?) and no word on where the Omega Yards are in (while one might assume you intend them to be in the Aurora system, or somewhere else in Federal Republic space, they could be in Maesron space, the Ryn Nebula, or somewhere esle entirely) or what kind of relation that the FRA may or may not have with the Federation (in the SFU Omega timeline, the Federal Republic joined the Maesron Alliance as a fully autonomous member government in Y209 - but did have debates later on about whether they would stay in the Alliance or not, which implies they could have voted to secede and either return to independence or become UFP members... or ISC or Klingon members, depending on the influence of the former Concordium and Empire citizens on PX 123 and Kraknora, the other two major FRA systems).

I knew someone would eventually pick me up on that.....

The only reason Omega gets mentioned in here is because a looooooooong way back a certain ship modeller of great talent, whose name shall remain WickedZombie45, made a TNG'd Constitution class. His backstory for the ship involved the Omega Sector Fleetyards building it. I tied the Tigermoth's history into that, but made it a Starfleet build to the OSF plans.

That galaxy map you linked to - am I reading that right? The Federation is sat square in the middle of the Beta quadrant, extending partially into the Gamma quadrant? Hmmm. I think I retain enough Trek canon in these stories to blow that one right out of the water.

If people want details of the OSF and where they're based, I'll write it. But I always considered it a minor point. Probably ought to have known better given my audience!

Sorry if I am being nit-picky...

Don't be sorry. Nit-picks are welcome, and you make good points.

[Nerroth]

However, I'm not entirely sold on how different you have made the Andro tech and doctrine, compared to that seen in SFB - while the advent of stealth systems seems not wholly unreasonable (and there are other kinds of stealth systems in the Star Fleet Universe) you seem to have discarded PA panels, TR beams and the satship/mothership dynamic, as well as the likes of Displacement Devices.

Very good points. The TR beams are coming, but I've left the mothership spawning other ships out because this universe never had them. Displacement devices - the Federation found a way around them long ago. I probably ought to have made mention of that early on in this story, it does get mentioned later on but obviously that wasn't very helpful of me.

I see - not quite sure about the getting around DisDev idea, but we'll see.

This does probably need spelling out - the Tigermoth universe is not SFB (at least, not quite), nor does it particularly play nice with canon Trek. I think one of the big problems has come because I've written these out of order. The timeline should go:

1) Vengeance - Metcalf making a play for domination of the Federation and other galactic powers with a very large weapon. The old Sabre class Tigermoth is destroyed stopping him.
2) Return of the ISC - The new Tigermoth-A is launched. The Interstellar Concordium return for pure, simple revenge. All higher motives long gone. 100 years has let them rebuild from being nigh-on wiped out by the Andromedans, and they are a tiny bit pissed about the fact that the Alpha and Beta quadrant powers weathered that storm rather better.
3) Return of the Imperials - forces from one of the squillions of parallel universes cross over intending to subjugate this universe. Tigermoth is part of the defence force, ending the war in pretty bad shape.
4) A couple of short stories go here, with the Tigermoth actually doing some peacetime work for a chance.
5) Silent Enemy - posted on here, but getting a heavy re-write again.
6) And this one, Return of the Andromedans.

1 and 4 have never seen the light of day. 2 and 3 were on the old Taldren board (may it rest in peace). And being out of sync really is a problem. Vengeance fills in a lot of the gaps in the backstory (it being the first one and all)

I'd like to say that as a big fan of the ISC - and particularly with the insight which has been put into print in Captain's Log (and will be re-printed in SFB Module Y2) about the rise of the Concordium - I really dislike the idea of the ISC being that way, especially since it (seemingly) made a more robust recovery in the Star Fleet Universe.

But then, it's your setting.

Plus, everything seems very easy to kill, and the Andros are relying more on quantity than quality.

I wouldn't necessarily say either side has managed to keep their fleets intact so far. Not just the Andromedans taking losses. Part of the whole quantity-over-quality comes from the fact that DS9 showed the Almighty Dominion tended to focus on that - and the Federation and allies seemed pretty fearful of them, even when those fighter-ish craft (would they be pseudo-fighters if canon Trek was SFB? I wonder....) would just dissolve any time the Defiant fired on them.

On the Federation side, the closest thing to gunboats (fast patrol ships, ADB tend not to call them 'pseudo-fighters') would be the Peregrine-class craft, the ones which were used also as Maquis raiders in the TNG era. Jem'Hadar atack ships are more like frigates or destroyers, but ones which were faced with a pretty overgunned Defiant (which itself came a cropper when the Breen showed up).

And there is a significant difference in theme between Jem'Hadar and Andromedans, in terms of their 'iconic' fleet structure. Andros are closer to the Borg, or at least the way the Borg were before the whole 8472 War came along (as in, you'd see one cube fearsome enough to take on, and destroy, an entire fleet of Alpha starships - the Andros were not quite as relatively powerful, but were still the ones who could afford to be outnumbered by their rivals).

Take the pic in this link, for example - created by Adam Turner, the current cover artist for ADB - which shows a Fed CX and a Klingon DX trying to take on a Dominator.

That is what Andromedans in space are about - a level of size and power that even the most advanced Alpha ships struggle to take on in anything like an even contest.


(Indeed, the Jem'Hadar case would be an apt one, since the Dominion would send fleets filled with swarming frigate-sized attack ships anchored by the larger battlecruisers and perhaps led by a battleship, and try to rely on speed and manouvre to break down the Andro ships' defences before the latter - who are fast in combat themselves - literally shake the Dominion ships to pieces!)

(I would have liked to see fewer capital ships, but ones which were as relatively effective aginst this era's Alpha ships as the likes of Dominators and the Devastator were against General War-era ships, backed up by more numerous satellite shipsdeployed from the motherships. But then, your mileage may vary...)

A fair point, and one that I'll consider.

Again, I'd put them sort of halfway between Starfleet and the Borg, in terms of their fleet density, and the relative power/durability of their ships.

Also, you seem to have skimmed very lightly through the Omega Octant (of which the Omega sector is but one of three present, alongside Psi and Chi... unless you also count Phi, the Zosman-dominated sector) - no mention of how the transwarp ship can circumvent the Void (do they plough straight through, or go the 'long way' vis the Iridani Cluster, or by some other route?) and no word on where the Omega Yards are in (while one might assume you intend them to be in the Aurora system, or somewhere else in Federal Republic space, they could be in Maesron space, the Ryn Nebula, or somewhere esle entirely) or what kind of relation that the FRA may or may not have with the Federation (in the SFU Omega timeline, the Federal Republic joined the Maesron Alliance as a fully autonomous member government in Y209 - but did have debates later on about whether they would stay in the Alliance or not, which implies they could have voted to secede and either return to independence or become UFP members... or ISC or Klingon members, depending on the influence of the former Concordium and Empire citizens on PX 123 and Kraknora, the other two major FRA systems).

I knew someone would eventually pick me up on that.....

The only reason Omega gets mentioned in here is because a looooooooong way back a certain ship modeller of great talent, whose name shall remain WickedZombie45, made a TNG'd Constitution class. His backstory for the ship involved the Omega Sector Fleetyards building it. I tied the Tigermoth's history into that, but made it a Starfleet build to the OSF plans.

I can see where youare coming from, but Omega is a great location to flesh out, and there is already 'historical' contact between the FRA and UFP in the published Omega timeline - so it might be worth considering...

That galaxy map you linked to - am I reading that right? The Federation is sat square in the middle of the Beta quadrant, extending partially into the Gamma quadrant? Hmmm. I think I retain enough Trek canon in these stories to blow that one right out of the water.

The SFU map is divided into octants and sectors, not quadrants.

There are twenty-six sectors (Alpha to Omega) and five octants derived from that (Alpha, Omega, Sigma, Sargasso and the Xorkaelian Empire, each divided by virtually-impassable Void zones) - but if you look at the map from a TV-esque 'quadrant' perspective, and draw a line from Earth to the centre of the galaxy, the Alpha quadrant would extend from the 'western' half of the Federation to the far end of the Sargasso Octant, and the Beta quadrant would go from the 'eastern' UFP as far as the Void separating the Omega and Sigma Octants. Thus, the Gamma Quadrant would be mostly taken over by what is listed on that map as Xork space (or what might be partly covered by Dominion space, in a 'hybrid' universe) and the Delta Quadrant would go from Omicron Sector (the farthest reach of Xork space) through the Xork-Sigma void and down through the Sigma Octant (where the Borg would be in a hybrid map).

If people want details of the OSF and where they're based, I'll write it. But I always considered it a minor point. Probably ought to have known better given my audience!

Don't worry - sadly, Omega has yet to become as popular as I'd like...

Sorry if I am being nit-picky...

Don't be sorry. Nit-picks are welcome, and you make good points.

Ok then!

[Iceman]

Two things.

I still have a .jpg of the WZ Tigermoth-A.

I MAY have the IoTA story saved. I will have to look hard. I know I will have my portion.

Have you heard/seen S'Tasik anywhere?

[James Smith]

Heh. The Tigermoth-A got a bit of a refit since WZ made that version.

Current model:

[James Smith]

***********
Chapter 9 - Invasion (part 2)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
17th August 2395
2310hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy took a long look around the bridge. He didn't like what he saw. Everyone looked worn out.

The tactical plot showed the last few Andromedan ships scuttling back off into a dust cloud, resumably off to wherever they were using as a staging area for their attacks. Their attacks were becoming ever more frequent, with four seperate battles having been fought in various locations within Federation space today. This one had been particularly fierce, especially on a crew that hadn't seen a break from fighting for nearly a week except when travelling between battles.

He made his way over to the back of the bridge, where Orlatrel and a couple of engineers were dismantling a ruined computer access station to make it safe. "Just get it shut down. We can worry about replacing it later."

Orlatrel nodded. "To be perfectly honest, if you'd asked me to replace it right now I'd have told you to sod off." He let out a hollow laugh. "Besides, I think I already used the last spare LCARS panel in the engine room."

Smithy shook his head, and shot a glance across the bridge. "Better add that to the order, Riggs. Two crates of type nine LCARS panels."

The lift doors sighed open to admit Benson. He studied Smithy's face. "You look like I feel, captain."

"I'll live. That the casualty report?"

Benson handed him the PADD he's been carrying. "We've got three kids still very poorly. Preparing to transfer them to a hospital ship, unless you're thinking of heading back to a dock very soon. We'll have everyone else back duty-ready in a few hours."

Smithy studied the PADD, and scribbled his signature at the bottom. "We'll not make it back to dock for another couple of days yet. Hon', which hospital ship is nearest?"

Lisa looked up frm her consult with Drelkar. "Medical frigates Pierce and McIntyre are a few minutes away at low transwarp. They've got the room."

"Elkins, set a course. Orlatrel, we okay for a few minutes of transwarp?"

Olatrel levered himself up off the deck. "Should be okay, but I need to off-line the nacellles sometime in the next few days. Guess it can wait until we get back to dock if we don't strain 'em." He glanced back at the console. "Well, that's that one de-activated. Time to go look at that relay we blew out on Deck 9. See you later."

Smithy watched him go. Okay, so maybe I don't miss that job all that much after all....

***********
0142hrs EST
Captain's Quarters


Smithy dropped into his chair. No ignoring it now. He gently hitched the left leg of his uniform up over his knee. Big bruise. Swollen. Yep, definitely shouldn't have ignored it. No wonder it had been getting slowly harder to bend it all evening.
 
He glanced at the chrono. It was a bit late in the day to bother Al, and he didn't want to wake Lisa. She'd gotten halfway through undressing before falling asleep, and he was loathe to wake her by rummaging around in his bedside drawer for the medikit. It was also too late in the day to think abotu knocking himself out with a glass of something. Besides, if you start drinking now you might not stop.

The thought was rendered moot anyway as the alert klaxon sounded. Winchester's voice rang out. "Red alert, red alert! All hands to battlestations! Senior officers to the bridge!"

Lisa flew out of the bedroom, pulling her uniform top back on. "If this is someone having a laugh I'll kill them."

"Form an orderly queue." Smithy eased his trouser leg back down and stood. It would just have to hurt for a bit longer.

***********
0155hrs EST
Bridge


The lift deposited Smithy, Lisa and a couple of other crewmen on the bridge. "What's the deal, Winchester? I've got a poorly knee and thanks to this red alert I've got a grumpy wife. Both are painful."

"Sorry sir, ma'am." Winchester jumped out of the centre seat and got back to his own Ops console. "But LRS just picked up a cluster of Andromedan signatures. Large signatures. We're now on intercept. Six minutes away."

Smithy blew out a long breath. "Okay....you're forgiven. Any support Delkar?"

Drelkar had just arrived, and was already merrily tapping away at his controls. "The patrol group we were heading to link up with is due to intercept the Andros at around the same time we do, sir."

Elkins half-turned. "Confirmed, captain. Our speed is now warp 8, engine room reports higher warp and transwarp speeds too risky right now."

Smithy nodded his head, but grumbled anyway. "So transwarp is too much of a risk, but Orlatrel is letting us go sailing off into battle with....". He trailed off as he looked at the tactical plot. "My, they are big aren't they? Hells teeth."

Riggs shot a glance at Lisa. "All decks confirm readiness, ma'am."

"Think they might change their tune if they see this." Smithy had gone for a closer look. "Four signatures, each about six times our size. Drelkar, you'd better have those weapons ready."

"All phaser banks charged. Quantum turret loaded, photon launch rails charged. Aft launcher is still a bit of an unknown though, Engineering reports that rate of fire might be a little lower than spec."

"We'll deal. Elkins, drop us to impulse as close as you can." Lisa tapped her comm panel. "Sickbay."

"Benson here."

"Would you send an orderly up here to inject something strong into James? Either painkiller or caffeine, I'm not fussed which."

"I'll see to it myself."

Smithy blew a kiss at his wife, before returning his attention to the screen. "Come on Winchester, they must be in visual range by now."

"Entering now, sir. On-screen."

Smithy headed back to his chair as Benson arrived. "Make it quick, Al." Benson didn't waste time replying, setting about clicking a number of different drug ampules into the hypo. Smithy grimaced as the cocktail went in. "I hope this is worth it."

"You'll get a few hours of much less pain. But that's it, and I can't give you another of these for the next few days without boxing your system up good." Benson hurried back to the lift. "Try to keep us semi-safe."

"No promises."

Lisa stared at the screen. "There they are. They don't look particularly friendly."

The ship trembled underneath them as it decelerated. Drelkar turned. "Starships Lexington, Hornet, Wasp, Defiant, Mainwaring, Lionheart and Trinculo forming up with us."

"Good. Ahead, full impulse. Shields to full."

***********
Antares Command Post
0204hrs EST
Admiral Harriman's Office

Harriman glanced up as the comm system chimed. "Harriman here."

"Sir, a report from Patrol Group Five. They've sighted a small number of Andromedan signatures, large ships. They're intercepting, the Tigermoth is also moving to assist."

Harriman jumped up, heading out into the Operations centre. "Can you see them on the sensor network?"

"Got their positon. No detail as of yet, they're in a region of space that disrupts the network's performance."

"Tell the Tempest crew to stand by, we may need to get a force out there. Keep a watch on PG5 and the 'Moth, and keep a channel clear in case they call."

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

Short bit. Back with more in the next few days.

[Andromeda]

Yea something to read!  Good as always. 

[Scottish Andy]

Smithy watched him go. Okay, so maybe I don't miss that job all that much after all....

Lisa flew out of the bedroom, pulling her uniform top back on. "If this is someone having a laugh I'll kill them."

"Form an orderly queue." Smithy eased his trouser leg back down and stood. It would just have to hurt for a bit longer.

The lift deposited Smithy, Lisa and a couple of other crewmen on the bridge. "What's the deal, Winchester? I've got a poorly knee and thanks to this red alert I've got a grumpy wife. Both are painful."

"Would you send an orderly up here to inject something strong into James? Either painkiller or caffeine, I'm not fussed which."

Can I just say again how much I absolutely luvluvluv your snappy, witty dialogue?   

Keep it coming, Mate. Excellent stuff as always!

[James Smith]

***********
Chapter 9 - Invasion (part 3)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
18th August 2395
0158hrs EST
Bridge


The first plasma bolts sailed by the viewscreen, the enemy weapons thrown by an evasive course that took the Tigermoth very close to one of the Andromedan ships. Seconds later, that ship was under heavy phaser fire.

Drelkar glanced around. "Confirming full potency on phaser batteries."

"Good. Keep it up. Elkins, continue evasive pattern of your choice. Winchester, plot their movements."

Winchester worked for a few moments. "Tactical plot."

The image sprang up. Smithy narrowed his eyes, watching the movements of the four ships. The fleet movements these ships were making were new to him. Not classical, but they had a distinct logic that he could make out. Clever commanders. They were being very economical with their maneuvers, not showing the out-and-out impulse performance of their ships, using their size and defences to ride out the hits they took. Whereas the TacFleet ships were having to use everything to keep avoiding weapons fire. What I'd give for a Borg Cube and a way to fly it right now.

Lisa had made her way over the bridge to Drelkar's station to look at the reports from the targeting scanners. Now she turned to Winchester. "You got any more sensor info than here?"

"Can't get clearer intel through their defences, ma'am."

Smithy watched one of the ships round on the Trinculo. Something was nagging at him. "Elkins, pursuit course on Target 4. Drelkar, prepare to fire quantum torpedoes on that ship."

The Trinculo and its pursuer hoved into view of the visual sensors. Smithy could see an emitter array warming up. "Drelkar, in range?"

"In four....three....two.....one.....ready!"

"Fire!" As soon as Smithy gave the order, he knew it was late. The Andromedan had beaten him to the punch. He stared in horrified fascination as a blue beam locked onto the Trinculo, which shuddered then began to tumble drunkenly out of control. A bare couple of seconds later the torpedoes ended the assault. "Riggs, open a channel to the Trinculo!"

She worked for a few seconds. "Trinculo on audio, sir. They're weak."

"Ti----oth, Tigermoth, y'all receiving ov-- there?"

Smithy tapped the comm tie in on his chair. "Poorly, but you're on audio. What's your status?"

"Just about getti-- topside. What the hell hit us? I've ain't never seen anything like that!"

Smithy glanced at Drelkar for confirmation. The young man nodded. "I think we just saw the Andros bring their A-Game. A pretty nasty variant on tractor technology. I believe it used to be known as a Tractor/Repulsor Beam. Can you stay in the fight?"

"Navigational gyros took a darn good bashing. SIF strained. IDF needs shorin' up some. We'll do our best."

Smithy nodded at Riggs to close the channel. "You'd better get a message to Antares."

"Aye, sir."

***********
USS Tempest
0402hrs EST
Bridge


Harriman stared pensively at the screen. The call had come in the best part of two hours ago, bringing with it the disturbing news about the return of an old weapon. An old weapon that had lost none of its potential for causing damage. "Time to intercept?"

"One hour, twelve minutes at present speed sir. Engineering is trying to increase engine performance."

"Very well." Harriman leaned back. Nothing to do but wait.

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
0512hrs EST
Bridge


Smithy waved away the cloud of fire suppressant that was streaming from the vents above Ops. "Y'alright there, Eric?"

Winchester slowly became visible once more. "I'm fine-". He broke off for a coughing fit. "Thanks for asking, sir."

"Get your breath back, and finish that report." Smithy glanced around. Everyone still hanging on. Jolly good. "Drelkar, did I hear you say we'd run out of photon casings?"

"Yep. Torpedo control reports that they're replicating a batch, sir. We'll have them in five minutes."

Winchester had got some clear air into his lungs now. "Confirming nine additional Andromedan ships have joined the fray, Captain. Dust cloud job again."

"Let me see it." Lisa vaulted the bridge rail, landing next to Ops.

Smithy shook his head. "You'll do yourself an injury playing that game. What've we got?"

"More coming through now, if this neutron surge is anything to go by." Lisa looked at the main screen. "Here they come. Smaller ships."

"I see 'em." Smithy shot a glance back at Riggs. "Where's Dave?"

"About a minute away, sir. Several patrol groups have linked up with him along the way. We won't be very heavily outnumbered."

"But still outnumbered." Smithy felt the deck rumble underneath him. "Elkins?"

"Running out of room here, sir." The helmsman's fingers were tapping out a rapidly changing beat on his board, desperately trying to find a place to put the ship that wouldn't leave it exposed to weapons and wouldn't end up with them cramming into the back of another ship. "They're closing in on us."

Smithy stared at the view. "Bugger. They're warming up a TRB. Everyone hang on!"

The screen went blue. Smithy braced.

Nothing.

The blue faded.

Lisa stumbled back into her chair. "Report!"

Drelkar took a quick check of all of his screens. "Their weapon, it had no effect!"

"Confirm it, Winchester. Was it a full-strength shot?"

"Seemed to be from here." Winchester grabbed the log-file, scanning the hieroglyphs that sprang up onto his viewer. "Confirmed. Full power beam, our shields dissipated it!"

Smithy shook his head. "I'll take 'em where I find 'em. Elkins, you seem to have found a way through. Stay out in the open. Drelkar, use your torpedoes on a mix of reglar and proximity warheads. Save the phasers, they'll do no good at this range."

Riggs turned. "Sir, Admiral Harriman hailing. They're dropping in now."

Smithy watched as the blue coloured blips hoved into view on the tactical plot. "About bloody time. Send the Admiral my compliments and tell him to get his arse into the thick of proceedings."

"Uh...aye, sir."

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

Short blob.

[James Smith]

***********
Chapter 9 - Invasion (part 3)

***********
Antares Command Post
20th August 2395
1225hrs EST
Admiral Harriman's Office


Harriman gazed out of the window at the space around the Antares Yard command centre. It had become a glorified parking lot. Ships were everywhere, some with temporary box docks rigged up around them, most just sat at station keeping, all of them sporting some kind of damage. He could see the Tigermoth sat out in the middle of it all, even she was getting some armour plating replaced. I'll be glad when the reinforcements can enter service. Hell, I'll even be glad when the SOD ships are usable.

He glanced over one of the many PADDs that littered the room. Starfleet had been ordered, finally, to oversee redesign and rebuild work of some of the failed SOD designs. The work had begun at the Jupiter yards, and so far quite a bit had been accomplished. They'd even got one of the ships to make it all the way to Antares under her own power, something that Smithy had greeted with equal parts happiness and incredulity. Harriman smiled at the thought. Not often that you see him pole-axed like that. The door chimed. "Come."

Smithy limped in. "Another one for your collection." He tossed a PADD onto Harriman's desk.

"What's this?"

Smithy dropped into a chair. "Report on why we might see a few ships survive this mess just yet."

Harriman picked it up, scanning the screen. "Shield energy dissipation equations. Going to explain it?"

Smithy leaned forward, slotting an isolinear chip into the computer workstation in the desk. He tapped away for a few seconds. "Right, take a look. This is the 'Moth's sensor record of the Trinculo getting whacked by that TRB. The beam got them by the hull and thrashed nine bells o' sh*t out of them, even through full-strength shields." Another few clicks. "And here....here is us getting hit."

Harriman stared at the terminal. "Your shields dissipated nearly all the energy. It didn't get anywhere near your hull."

"Yep."

"How?"

"I'm coming to that." Smithy swapped out the chip for another one. "Plans for the Tigermoth and her ilk, and plans for the Trinculo alongside. Scroll down to the defense systems. Read it out loud."

Harriman shook his head. "Alright. For the Trinculo - FSQ-3 shield generators, linked directly into main power grid with auxiliary feed from the impulse reactor in the secondary hull. And for the 'Moth, LS7 deflector shield generator, with power feed from transwarp core and aux feed from impulse reactor in the primary hull."

Smithy looked at him with an amused gleam. "You went straight over it, didn't you? Read it again."

"FSQ-3 shields on the Trinculo, LS7 deflector-"

"Stop." At Harriman's blank look, Smithy shook his head smiling. "You never did pay attention in that class, did you? 'T424, Defensive Technology Studies."

"I'm ashamed to say it, but it was never my best class." Harriman gave an embarrassed shrug. "Don't make me beg, come on. Spell it out for a poor idiot."

Smithy sat back. "Tigermoth, in keeping with her original design and given Omega's preference, has classic style deflector shields mounted. These are tied into the sensor network, and can make themselves specific to incoming fire or other energy conditions. The newer style, which came in with Excelsior, are stronger overall but much less selective about how they deal with stuff."

"So, when Tigermoth's sensors detected the Andromedan weapon they were able to alter the shields to nullify it?"

"That's our thinking. Explains why it didn't even mess Lisa's hair up, yet it shook the Trinculo so hard that they nearly cracked like an egg shell. I was talking to Kate Greene, her chief engineer - the damage report extends across nine PADDs."

"Sh*t." Harriman rubbed at his eyes. "She think they can get the Trinculo sorted any time soon?"

"They've taken her to Utopia Planitia. I'm sure Greene'll get the ship patched up well enough to serve as fire support. Galaxy class ships shouldn't be flying in close anyway."

"Forgive me if this sounds stupid."

"I always have done."

"What are the chances of refitting starships to use classic deflector shield technology? And how many ships do we have employing it anyway? Just the Tigermoth and her ilk?"

"Tigermoth, Tempest, Typhoon when she enters service. Mosquito, but she's set up for exploration and kitting her out with weapons and heavier armour would be a stretch, Hornet and her sisters are mounted with them, and the Omega yards are in the middle of constructing a few more of them. We've got some Mirandas still, but they'll be cannon fodder at best given that the Andromedans aren't limited solely to TRBs. As for refitting....it's problematic. It would mean a complete gutting and replacing of both the shield and sensor grids, some work on the computer cores, complete re-programming, modifications to the power grid, re-working of the command/control net...."

Harriman waved a hand. "I get the picture. Not a runner."

"No." Smithy slowly got up. "I've gotta get back to my ship. We need to clear out and make room for someone else, we can get the rest of our repairs done on the fly now we're carrying some spare parts. We're back out on patrol tomorrow, talk to you then."

"Yeah." Harriman looked down at the pile of PADDs as his friend departed. "No more problems today, please."

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
21st August 2395
0710hrs EST
Captain's Quarters

"Captain's log, stardate 71484.7. We are departing Antares to pick up our patrol of Federation space where we last left off. Ships condition has improved, Orlatrel reports that he'll have us at full repair integrity later this morning. I'm concerned, however, that our crew might not be in the best of shape."

Smithy paused the recording, reflecting for a second. Be honest Jimmy. Your crew are in much better shape than you are. He erased the last sentence. If you had any sense, you'd turn over command to Lisa and take a transwarp sled to Vulcan. I'm sure they could patch you up enough to get you through this. He gingerly got to his feet, his knee protesting all the way. Maybe not. I need a year off.

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


Another short chunk to finish that section off. Apologies for the absence, work got in the way somewhat!

[James Smith]

***********
Chapter 10 - The Reason Why We Fall (part 1)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
27th August 2395
1245hrs EST
Bridge

"Captains Log, stardate 71501.1. The Tigermoth has returned to the Antares Construction yard to witness the launch of several TacFleet vessels."

Smithy shot a glance over his shoulder as Orlatrel lumbered onto the bridge. "Just in time, she's about to power up to leave dock."

"Was hoping not to miss it." Orlatrel stepped down to the command area. "There she is. Bit rough."

"Haven't even finished painting her yet. Great work by T'Pel even getting her this ready in the timeframe available." Lisa leaned forward. "Those nacelles look different to you?"

"Little. Don't think they've built one of these yet to the standard design." Smithy saluted the viewscreen with his coffee cup. "Here's to the Typhoon. Keep your crew safe, old girl. Do us proud."

***********
1832hrs EST
Captains quarters

Lisa looked over the reflection in the mirror. Perfect. Still fits. Crossing back to the replicator, she pulled out the two plates and set them down on the table. Don't be late now.

Right on cue, the doors swished open, Smithy already talking. "Orders just came in to join up with PG23 tomorrow, told Command we'd hold here overnight and make the trip out in the morning, and my God in heaven why am I even talking about this when you've got that on." He came to a halt, and stared. The hair, wavy and undone, spilling onto her shoulders. The dress, a short, off-the-shoulder number. And legs that started a long way off the deck and kept going, and going, and going. She was beautiful. He couldn't see the TacFleet solider and commander any more. Just the woman that he'd married. "Last time I checked, my birthday wasn't until October."

Lisa smiled. "Well, we haven't had a night to ourselves in a while. And since we're officially off the line until tomorrow, I figured we should make the most of it." She began guiding him to a chair. "Now lose the jacket, and let's eat."

"No arguments here." The jacket sailed across the room to land on Smithy's desk as he dropped into the chair on one side of the table. He looked across at his wife. "You haven't worn that in a long time."

"Well, it affects you."

"You like the way it affects me."

"Maybe I do, but sometimes you don't need the distraction."

"I always need that distraction. There's nothing wrong with that distraction." Smithy took a sip out of his wine glass. "In fact, as your commanding officer, I should probably order you to distract me more often."

"You certainly could do that." Lisa giggled. "Remember Develon's wedding, on Betazed? 93 naked women, and you couldn't keep your eyes off me."

"Well, I thought you might object if you saw your husband with his eyes glued to that statuesque blonde bridesmaid. And besides, as I recall you pounced on me the first chance you got that night. So you must have been enjoying what you saw."

"I guess so. Which is odd, given that out of all the handsome and sexy men there only one of them was covered in scars and fading injuries." Lisa's smile faded into a look of concern. "That's the other reason for tonight. Proper relaxation, proper sleep. We could-." She stopped. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because while relaxation is on my mind, sleep for the moment isn't." Smithy stood up, his eyes never leaving hers. "Come with me."

***********
1858hrs EST
Engineering Deck 6


"Yeah, here it is. Right here." Smithy came to a halt, his hand resting on a Jeffries Tube access port.

"What is it?" Lisa glanced around. "Engineering section 6B, power junctions for...." A memory flickered back into view. "Oh wow. Okay. Um. This is where we-."

"Yep."

"Back when we got married, this is the first place we-."

"Yep."

Lisa stared at him. "And you want to-."

"Do you?" Smithy leaned forward and opened up the tube. "I remember the exact spot. Junction box 23 Alpha. Lovely and warm."

Lisa smiled coyly. "Promise we won't get caught?"

Smithy helped her up into the tube, and thought for a second. "No."

***********
0714hrs EST

Riggs rounded the corner, hurrying to the turbolift to get to the bridge. The sound behind her made her turn and stop. "Sir?"

"Ah. Morning, Ensign." Smithy dropped down the foot or so to the deck, straightening some of the creases out of his uniform. "One moment." He reached up. "Come on down love."

"Coming." Lisa shimmied out of the tube and into his arms. "Oh! Good morning Riggs." She tried to smooth out her rumpled dress. "We were just..uh...well...." She stopped as Riggs' look of confusion became one of mortification.

"I should, um, really be getting to the bridge ma'am, sir. I'll see you up there later." She fought the urge to sprint to the 'lift, only looking back once she was in the car. She couldn't read the expression on their faces. Oh. My. God.

***********

Smithy waited until the doors were closed before exploding into laughter. Beside him Lisa was bent double, leaning against the bulkhead. "Oh my Lord, we'll have to apologise to the poor girl in private. Did you see that look on her face?"

Lisa wiped the tears from her eyes. "I know! Think she'll forgive us if we promote her?"

"I think we'll need to get her raised all the way to Fleet Admiral to make this one right!" Smithy dried his eyes on his sleeves. "Ah well. Think we've got time to shower and change?"

"Easily, we're not due to be under way until later this morning." Lisa linked arms with Smithy. "How's the leg?"

"It's been worse." Smithy let a bit more of his weight onto it. "Been a lot worse, actually. Guess that localised low-grav node in the tube there did some good."

"Good." Lisa turned to him as the lift doors closed. "Maybe we should do that more often."

"Maybe. But we best make sure that someone else gets embarrassed next time instead of Riggs, fairer that way."

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


So yeah, it's been a while since I wrote anything. Over a year since I even looked at this story, years since I actually posted anything. But Real Life™ has calmed down somewhat in the last few months, so I figured it was time to dust the files off.

The Jeffries Tube moment has its roots in something that did actually happen. I'm not sure the girl who saw me and my then-GF trying to make a surreptitious escape (and would have seen us in flagrante delicto had she been any earlier!) ever forgave me. But then, I didn't have the option to promote her to Fleet Admiral of course 

[Scottish Andy]

Woo-hooo!!! He's back!

Welcome back, Smithy!

Great continuation; it's like you never paused (for a year) at all. Hope there's more to come.

Oh, and remind me: is that my Mossie you've included in the previous chapter?

[James Smith]

Woo-hooo!!! He's back!

Welcome back, Smithy!

Great continuation; it's like you never paused (for a year) at all. Hope there's more to come.

Oh, and remind me: is that my Mossie you've included in the previous chapter?

That would be your Mossie, yes. Cheers for the welcome back mate!

[Hstaphath_XC]

Priceless, Smithy!   

I have a strong urge to go back and read these from the beginning again.

[James Smith]

***********
Chapter 10 - The Reason Why We Fall (part 2)

***********
USS Tigermoth-A
28th August 2395
0803hrs EST
Bridge


"Here's that data to upload to Antares." Drelkar waited a beat. "Riggs?"

"What? Oh, thanks." Riggs took the IL chip and slotted it into her console. "For Antares, you said?"

"Yeah. You okay, you look a bit distracted?"

"I'm fine. At least, I will be. Weird start to the day. Too weird." Riggs shook her head. "Just going to try and forget about it."

The turbolift doors opened as Smithy and Lisa arrived on the bridge. "Morning gang, ready for the off?" Smithy dropped into his chair. "Elkins, set a course for the Gennaro system. Best possible speed. Engage when ready."

"Aye sir."

A beep from Communications caught Smithy's attention. He turned. "Riggs?"

"Message on the transpace link, Captain. No audio, data stream only."

"Punch it up on your screen." Smithy made his way back to the console. "What the hell? Is that....?"

"I think so, sir." Riggs frowned. "Computer is identifying it as Andromedan code, decrypting now."

Lisa joined them at the console. "Why would they be contacting us?"

"Several reasons. None of them good." Smithy peered at the screen as the code resolved itself. "Co-ordinates, and a time. That's three hours from now. Riggs, feed those co-ordinates to the helm. Elkins, alter course."

"On it, sir."

"Co-ords received, altering heading."

"Riggs, inform Captain Vallaire of PG23 that we're going to be late joining up with him. Copy the message to Dave back at Antares."

"Yes, sir."

Smithy looked at Lisa. "I wonder if this is where we get part of the puzzle filled in."

***********
1109hrs EST

"Still nothing, Winchester?"

"No ma'am, nothing yet. I'm going to switch scanning modes, see if I'm missing a ship under cloak."

"Good, keep at it." Lisa pushed off the bridge rail and sat back down next to Smithy. "Well, if this was a trap you'd have thought it would have been sprung by now."

"It's not a trap." Smithy shook his head. "Something else."

"Got something here." Winchester half-turned from his console. "Putting it up on-screen. Andromedan ship de-cloaking."

The ship sprang into view. Smithy narrowed his eyes at it. "Eric, magnify. Get me a look at the markings on that hull." He turned to Lisa. "You see that?"

Lisa watched as the view zoomed in. The hull of the ship came into sharp focus. A pattern of curved and straight lines. "That's the pattern we saw. The pattern from Metcalf's transport."

"It most certainly is." Smithy shook his head. "So what the hell d'you suppose that means?"

"Another datastream coming in, sir." Riggs turned to face Smithy. "Transporter co-ordinates. And your name."

Lisa looked at her husband. "Oh no you don't. You're not going over there."

"It's not my idea of a great way to spend my day either, love. But we need information, and this might be the only way to get it." Smithy reached out to hold her hands in his. "I'll go armed to the teeth, if that'll make you feel any better. Phaser, photon grenades, the works."

Lisa blew out a long breath. "Okay. Winchester, I want you and Broxton to keep a lock on him at all times. Yank him back if it even slightly wavers."

***********
Andromedan Vessel
1114hrs EST

The universe faded back into view as the transport cycle completed. Smithy found himself looking at a computer terminal. The screen snapped on.

YOU ARE SMITH

"I am."

YOU ARE OF THE STRANGE PLACE

"I don't understand. What is the 'strange place'?"

THE STRANGE PLACE IS THAT WHICH YOU REFER TO AS THE NEXUS

"I'm part El Aurian, yes. Why?"

THIS BEING IS ALSO OF THE STRANGE PLACE

Smithy stared as a picture of Metcalf flashed up. "He's been to the Nexus. When he died in this universe his essence emerged from there so that he could come back to life."

WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THE OTHER

"What is the 'other'?"

THE OTHER JOINS PEOPLE

Pictures of Maxwell and Metcalf appeared now. Smithy narrowed his eyes. "You're saying this 'other' is responsible for bringing those two men together?"

THE OTHER WILL DESTROY US IF WE DO NOT DESTROY YOU

"Oh good. Are you able to contact this 'other'?"

YES

"Put me into contact with him."

YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HIM

"I don't understand."

YOU MUST LEAVE

A new image sprang up on the screen. A countdown. Smithy tapped his comm badge. "Taxi for one, please."

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

Short bit to finish the weekend off.

[James Smith]

Just a quick note, working on the next part over the weekend. Will hopefully have it posted by Monday

[Grim Reaper]

Well, you sure as that hot place made me curious!

[Scottish Andy]

Tease!

Love the stuff with Riggs.

Andy

[acerr68]

Damn good fiction writing there...Damn Good...Is this story taking place after STAR TREK NEMEISIS...or before...???