I'd been dallying about writing this one. It's necessary both to tie in with the nex story I post and also to show the beginnings of Dath'mar's tale of vengeance.
Hopefully, you'll like this little Vignette as much as the previous 4...
Klingon Interlude
Part 5
The stubby, fat transport tanker descended through the foggy mess of Kovarn’s atmosphere at a snail’s pace. Dath’mar watched it go, lowering toward its designated landing place… Over Warden Jarn’s mining installation.
The home of his enemy.
In most circumstances, Captain Dath’mar, son of Kurog, allowed his gunner to directly control the weapons. Not so this day. This day, the captain manned the weapons via the lowered captain’s ‘periscope’. Today, Jarn would begin to know the first bitter taste of his defeat. And it would begin, and end, at his hands.
“Vessel descends into the biosphere. Altitude eleven kelicams.” Reported I’rell, his science officer. Behind her was his First Officer, Commander Kurvis. Kurvis watched both the readings from the tanker and the tactical readings from the multitude of enemies that surrounded the IKS Pang as she stood cloaked above the prison world.
Kurvis was nervous about his captain’s resolve to attack such a heavily defended outpost. For a mere prison, this world was glistening with amassed firepower. Many ship’s orbited and patrolled this planet. Any attack would have to be carried out swiftly. The cloak would ill protect them from amassed bombardment.
Dath’mar narrowed his one eye, blinking away sweat. The leather of his gloves creaked as his tawny hands bore in on the twin control handles. His thumbs poised over the firing studs. He would relish this moment. He waited till his target hovered right over the exact point where inertia would bring it crashing down…right where he wanted it to land…
“Drop cloak!”
The warning siren called out as the lights flashed and brightened. The main ventilators fired back up to full power, bringing in the first fresh air this bridge had known in days. Dath’mar’s peripheral vision, such as it remained, watched the glittering green indicator over his weapon status keys began to flash. The roar of high-energy capacitors idling down faded aft of the control compartment. The indicator turned red.
Dath’mar pressed the firing studs.
The Pang, still barely wavering at her most outer edges with the vapors of the cloaking field, spat three blazing crimson torpedoes down onto its unaware, helpless target. Those missiles raced down into the atmosphere, glowing even more hotly as they gathered speed and arced in on their victim. They hit, tearing the aft section and undercarriage of the tanker into shreds. The freighter lurched back up tens of meters, then came barreling back down, all her control lost.
The tanker began to roll, her nose generally pointed down as she plunged to certain death. Her prow began to glow, and her shields came up in a vain attempt by her crew to avert certain death.
Jarn’s mining camp imploded inward upon itself in the dead center. The rising towers of the factory section wobbled on their foundations, then crumbled with the stresses imposed upon them. The most horrendous blossom of fire belched up toward the heavens, larger than any Kovarn had ever seen in its occupied history.
Dath’mar’s eye glistened within the scope’s receptors as he beheld the macabre spectacle. He had laid home the first strike. He knew from intercepted Ya’wenn messages that Jarn was not here at the moment. He and his fleet were off, chasing down Captain Ford and his Endeavour. But it mattered little to the Klingon commander. He would have his ultimate revenge, provided Ford did not end the Warden first. Jarn was a coward, though, and Dath’mar doubted this very much.
Dath’mar slapped home the control levers and pressed for the scope to slide back into its recessed ceiling aperture. He returned unsmiling to his command chair. A subtle point from his black-gauntleted hand gave Kurvis leave to issue further orders. The captain sat in silence and observed.
Kurvis came forward from the science console, voice booming as his blood warmed to the beginning battle. “Direct full battery fire upon the mining installation. Aft torpedoes, begin auto targeting incoming defensive vessels. Bring shields to maximum power!”
The entire fury of the Pang’s arsenal lashed down upon the hurting world below. Dath’mar would not totally destroy the place. There were denizens there undeserving of a fiery death. They did not suffer so much as the Klingon by their incarceration, and would prefer life. The captain knew this. He would let them live. After all, many this day might even achieve their own freedom as he had.
The captain reveled in the glowing emerald disruptor blasts that rained down from his ship upon his enemy’s assets. He knew Jarn would recover losses quickly…bring in spare equipment and force his prisoners to build new factories. But this would show him that someone lurked out there in the dark…waiting to strike him dead. With this thought in his mind, the captain turned to his communications officer.
“Send text message to the planet, maximum gain and in the Ya’wenn language. ‘I will come for you…Dath’mar!’”
“Yes, my lord!”
Captain Dath’mar turned his command chair back to face the viewer in satisfaction and watched the blaze hundreds of kelicams beneath him. For the first time in over a decade, he felt good. An impulse came to him, and without thought, he gave into it.
As Kurvis ordered the raid’s end and the ship’s retreat under cloak, Captain Dath’mar, Son of Kurog…was smiling.
END.
Topic: Dath'mar #5 (Read 3037 times)