Merely the Beginning

 

Ch: 1- 1st Battle of Sol

 

 

What is to be of our times? Our world as fallen to the shadows, our cities and planets are laid to waste, lowly ruins now. The high and mighty Federation has been torn asunder and gone for good; it and its associates crushed under the heel of an enemy I am almost absolutely certain I have defeated once. Perhaps this is all an act of revenge upon me... Or they have something more sinister in mind.

 

Either way, I can see only one escape, one last beacon that might still save all. In these dark times, my old family, the Hyperlight industries may have inadvertently have created the last hope of all the free peoples of the universe...

 

The city-ship Metamor....

 

Excerpt, Captain's Log, Captain Lanson Richson, 3255

 

 

 

 

It was the year 3254. The Federation's last holdout slept a final peaceful sleep before the coming storm of destruction would arrive. Starfleet had held them at bay at the edges of the Federation for nearly 40 years...

 

But 10 years earlier they had made a mighty push, and had finally begun smashing the Federation. Starfleet did the best they could, but as the monstrous fleet began taking out the inner worlds of the Federation, it ran off, saving a few of its forces, and those it didn't hide, were wiped out. It left the sol system the day before, slinking into the night with its collective tail between its legs, knowing what was to come. One last ship remained in the Sol system, home of so many last stands, to make sure no thing Starfleet was left behind to fall into enemy hands... The Kep Salu II.

 

The mighty Hyperlight Industries, frustrated at not being let out of the system, was in final stages of finishing up their mightiest works, 5 massive literal cities in space, transwarp capable, and almost ready to mount an expedition to the next galaxy over. They had been in work for the past 10 years, and little did anyone know the part they would play in the destructive events ahead. They were ready to fly, and to carry people where they had never gone before. They would need to shortly.

 

On the bridge of the city-ship Metamor, Fleet Admiral Davison enjoyed the last bit of peace with himself he would have for the next several years. And he also noticed suddenly that something was far from right, and made a fateful call.

 

On Earth, families finally awoke to the order to evacuate the planet, and one in particular made it a little too quickly. Little did they know that their choice of ship would help change the future. Melony Rich wondered as she boarded the ancient S.S Flash if she would survive the next few hours, not knowing that she would play a critical part in the events to come...

 

In deep space, the last refugees from the hubs of the Federation made a last, desperate dash for earth. Their ships were in tatters, their lives hanging on threads. All they knew was that Earth was safe, for now. The captain of the fleet knew something better, and while she was quiet, in that quiet was hope. With the fleet lead by the battered, Long Shot, a ship which had a greater past than met the eye, they put on one last burst of speed, in a dash for safety, or a few last moments of survival...

 

But they weren't alone.

 

There could only be one outcome to this combination....

 

 

Tragedy.

 

 

December 19, 3254

 

City-ship Metamor, Bridge, 2:12 hours standard Sol time

 

"Are you absolutely positive that the Salu II is the only Starfleet ship left in the system? I want a complete scan!" Davison rechecked the sensor readings at an auxiliary science console, and then turned to make a call.

 

"Confirmed Admiral, The Kep Salu II is the last ship in the system, heck, within 20 light-years, that is with Starfleet. They've stopped at every Starfleet installation in the system, with one left to go. I can't get a good scan of what they are doing, and they've shielded their comms."

 

"Yeah, they haven't let a signal out for the past 10 years, and they haven't let any of their lower personnel talk to anyone either. I don't like this." Davison turned to his seat, grabbing a private comm headset as he went. "Put me a channel through to them, and sound yellow alert. Every sense of mine is saying something major is up."

 

The lights flashed to low alert yellow, the klaxon sounding heightened alertness. Deep in the ship, the crew, most of whom were sleeping, woke to a sound that would soon become commonplace in the years ahead. The great engineering rooms of the ship woke up for the first time; the massive cores, the hearts of the vessel, beginning their mighty dance of hell-fire and unbridled power.

 

"Yellow alert sounded. You're on, Admiral."

 

"Yo, Richson, what in the heck is going on out here? I'm reading you and your ship as the last bit of Starfleet personnel and material in the system! What in the heck are you up to, and I intend to find out once and for all what has been going on the past 10 years!" Davison's voice conveyed his utter annoyance and frustration with the silence of Starfleet and his ally's silence in the matter as well. "I can tell this is all linked together somehow, or is this bigger than even I think?"

 

"Davison..." His friend's voice was weary, battle weary. "Do you want the short version, or the long depressing version?"

 

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to hate what you're about to say?" Davison felt something akin to a growing, nagging horror fill his soul.

 

"Let's put it this way, you had better hope your transwarp drive works right."

 

 

 

S.S. Flash, 2:05

 

 

"Look, you're not getting aboard at this ridiculous hour. I don't care who you are, what you do, or whatever else you want to say." Captain Marthan was never a morning person, let alone a before 3 A.M. person. He had enough fire to blow the top off Mt. Ludina in his voice at the intrusion into his ship's airlock.

 

"Look, Captain, we don't have time for this nonsense. There is more trouble than you can possibly imagine about to go down. Your ship is the first one we could find available, and we've got a load of people willing to pay good money to board it." Melony's father had fire in his voice as well, but not the same kind as the captain. He had the fire of fear, of a sense of urgent purpose. She had never heard her father have so much steel in his voice, had never heard the like of the tone he had now. If it weren't for the fact that he was in his human guise, he would be growling and puffed up like a blowfish, or at least that is what his tone implied.

 

"I'm not going ANYWHERE at this ridiculous hour. No amount of money is gonna make me start this ship up at the whim of some crazy person at an hour when even the graveyard shift needs some rest. Scram!" Marthan began to push the duo back through the airlock, and onto the main orbital docking complex.

 

"What if I told you that not to launch would be suicide, that there is more than a million ships heading this way, wanting nothing more than to scour every life from the system. If you don't believe me, you can die here."

 

His words caught Marthan's attention, and turned him around. "What's that supposed to mean?" His anger had suddenly turned to concern. The past 10 years had driven everyone's paranoia to all new heights, and the concept didn’t seem outrageous to Marthan.

 

"It's true. If you don't believe me, the general announcement will be made in a few minutes. By then it will be most likely to late to escape though." Melony took a long look at Marthan, then back at her father and then back to Marthan. She suddenly realized the enormity of what was going down, and knew everything was screwed big time.

 

"Oh holy-” Marthan ran back through the airlock, and back to his ship.

 

"Come on." Melony's father led them through the airlock, and pressed a button on his communicator. "We don't have much time now."

 

Melony got her first good idea of what kind of ship the Flash was on the other side. The status displays on the side of the wall indicated she was one of the older types of Firebird cruisers, likely an A series. The ship was ancient by the standards she knew, and she realized that even though they might be getting out first, they were still in serous trouble....

 

 

 

 

Metamor, Bridge, 3:01

 

Davison plopped back into his captain's chair, his face ashen. He had seen the end of his times in the report just given him. The end of all things good in fact. His face was ashen, his hands trembling with fear. He just sat there for several minutes, knowing that all hell was breaking loose on his watch, despite his swearing not to let it get away.

 

"Admiral, sir?" The bridge crew looked at him, seeing the utter horror in his eyes.

 

He took a few minutes to un-hang his head, and then looked around the bridge, realizing that all the ship had been built for had been laid to waste, that she had a new purpose now. "Sound general quarters, and Red Alert. I want battle stations." He knew his words were hollow in the face of what was heading for him. "Prepare for emergency launch, and the evacuation of earth."

 

The crew looked at him incredulously, and then as he didn't come and say he was pulling their legs, they began franticly working to fulfill their orders. Buzz filled the air as systems powered up before they were ready, and the ship woke fully. Life as the crew knew it was at an end, and something new was starting. Comm signals pounded through the ship, giving the call to war.

 

"Transwarp control is reporting in. They signal the drives as ready as they will ever be. Docking bays on all five city ships are opening, and the docks are evacuating. Base 001 is beginning evac sequence."

 

Davison turned to a view of earth, the home he would likely never set foot on again. "Any sign of the general public knowing? Or a general evac from earth?" Davison began prowling the bridge, micromanaging the operation. His fear was manifesting itself as restlessness, a desperate need to check everything, and to oversee every detail, fearing failure

 

"No, no wait, getting the first few launches. Plotting them up on a display." One of the secondary operations stations came alive with a tactical display. The rush of ships leaving Earth swelled in the tactical display, a green wave rushing out, before turning towards the city-ship docks in L-5 orbit around earth,

 

"And so it begins, the end." Davison's words had a prophetic tone to them, before he barked an order. "Keep the peace by any means necessary. I want an orderly evac. I don't want to be slowed down by space being filled with wrecks, or idiots in our way." Davison turned to the massive status display of the Metamor, watching as the indicators shot towards active status projections. "Beam those you can off the unusable ships, try and get as many Hyperlight industries ships as you can gathered to us. Ready the transwarp drive, and launch us."

 

"Aye, sir. Navigational deflector online, ready when you are. Moorings have been cleared. The other 4 are ready on your word." The ship shuddered as life flowed through her steel veins, as she began living on her own power. She was at last a being of the stars.

 

Davison felt the majesty of the moment despite the awful situation it was created in. He sighed, knowing it was something that could never come again. "Take us out, aft thrusters, one quarter impulse power."

 

"Aye sir, one quarter impulse power."

 

Davison sat back down in the captain's chair, listening to the mighty power up of the ship's engines, of peace denied, and a hero of war begun. "So as all things end, so must they begin."

 

"Sir?"

 

"Just a hint of what could have been." Davison closed his eyes as the impulse drives sang and the ship trembled. He smiled for a moment, feeling the call of space, even if it was a call to escape.

 

 

 

 

S.S Flash, Bridge, 3:00

 

"Mind telling me what in the hell you think you're doing on my bridge!?" Marthan was more than a little surprised and annoyed at the intrusion onto his bridge. He was having a very bad day, but then, so was everyone else in the system. "No, never mind, scratch that, get off!"

 

"I'm looking to do something to help. I don't want to sit around like a toadstool if one little bit can make the difference between 600 saved lives and death!" Melony looked around the bridge, and got a good glimpse of the mis-repair the ship was in. "You need to fire your engineer if he let this old bugger get in this bad of a condition."

 

"The engineering command team left last year." Marthan took a good look at the girl, and realized that Melony might be able to help, and that he needed some help, bad. "See what you can do."

 

"Already on it." Melony made her way to the engineering console, and ducked under it. She got to work like the miracle worker she was destined to be. "Captain, from what I've seen already, when we get to safety, you're gonna need a serious overhaul on this ship, at least if nothing else to get you to B series." She hit something inside of the console, and it flickered back to life.

 

"Hey, take a look at this!" The man's jubilant voice heralded the return of at least some hope...

 

 

 

The lights in the city-ship docks sputtered, and dimmed out; leaving them backlit by the moon. The last automated systems aboard them finished clearing the tractor moorings from the massive ships. All was darkness for a moment more, and then something majestic started. Light began to pour into the nacelles, the blue light of the controlled hell-fire that made the mighty ships go, swirling and ready to drive the mightiest ships ever built. The transwarp projection domes on the tops of the nacelles began to glow sickly green with their own hellfire, ready to cross unimaginable distances. The mighty deflector dishes of the ships began to glow, a piercing white and blue, beginning their own job of holding the forward guard for the mighty ships.

 

Then the running lights flickered on, slowly at first, then faster and faster. White lights danced across the hulls, lighting them up in a massive web of light. The ships could at last be seen in all their enormity, and majesty, great angels in a rapidly darkening world, and the people cheered.

 

The mighty impulse drives flickered for a moment then pounded to life. They shined a piercing, screaming blue that could be seen half way across the quadrant, and the ships shuddered, and began to move...

 

The Metamor leapt forward, her saucer rim clearing the dock slowly despite her speed. Several ships near the dock could only hold position, their crews gaping in awe as the massive ship cut through space above, her hull flashing past as she made her birth known. He sister ships, the New Navarre, Cait, Prophet, and Shi'rann lined up on her like a great arrow in space. This was it, the turning of a tide...

 

 

 

 

S.S. Long Shot, Bridge 3:45

 

"We have our pursuer's warp signatures on the long range sensors again captain. Intercept in about an hour. They'll be in warp-torpedo range in 15 minutes, though."

 

Captain Akalia Pelon Richson Diess closed her eyes in frustration, feeling the battle weariness to come. "Push us to maximum velocity that the fleet can hold with minimal engine damage. Drop several torpedoes in mine mode out the aft tubes. I need a status report on the fleet." Her head ached with too much caffeine, too many stimulants over too short a time. The past 3 days had been non-stop fighting and running, and it was beginning to wear on her. For some reason, the Ohansu didn't want them making it to Earth. Whatever the reason, she knew it was vital that she make it to Earth.

 

"We can hold warp 13." The tactical officer knew better than to argue with his superior. Especially when she was in this mood. Her anger was visible to anyone on the bridge in the form of her thrashing tail and the snarl on her muzzle. He had never known the Vulpin to be so pissed off, and he knew that when her anger was provoked, it was best to not even be in the same galaxy as her. "Status report is: most of the fleet has sustained enough damage to keep them below warp 15, we've got minimal torpedo stocks, phaser banks and pulse turrets across the boards are undergoing repair for overheating damage. Currently have 50 ships from Cait, 100 from the Erindi, 25 each from the outworld territories, and 150 from the gamma quadrant locals. Most of the ships are probably just not worth repairing."

 

"1 million people to 50 ships still, or have a bunch of people been spaced yet?" She ached at the numbers, wondering if there was any polite way of saying she had major blood on her hands, for letting billions be left behind to the ravages of the Ohansu, whoever they were. Then she reminded herself that that was all she COULD get, so he might be a savior despite her pitiful track record. Either way, the job of protecting one of the last groups of free people in the galaxy weighed heavily on her, a massive guilt that she could not shake. "So, it comes to this..."

 

"The great doom of our times, captain?"

 

She turned to her tactical officer, and XO, pointing, with a lightening of her sour expression. "Bingo." She suddenly realized how much she had changed over the years. Her husband, who she had not seen in over 50 years, had become a very large part of her, and had changed her personality and ideas so greatly. She suddenly realized that almost none of her was her original self. She seethed at that, her pride damaged beyond all comprehension by that one little detail. At least this time she had a viable target... "I want those Ohansu dogs to be molten slag in the space lanes."

 

"Captain?"

 

"Wipe them out, all of them." Her voice had what sounded like neutronium in it, a dense, destructive anger in it, and a touch of a maniac. "I don't care how you manage it, wipe them out!"

 

 

 

 

Base 001 Control, 4:15

 

"That's it commander. Evac is nearly complete. We confirm all weapons have been offloaded to the city ships. Torpedo stocks have been transferred to the city-ship magazines, our reactor is shutting down. All personnel except for us are on the ships, shutting down life support." The great base, which had been the hub of civilian traffic in Earth orbit for so long was at last empty. It had been stripped in record time, thanks to its design. "Fuel stocks have been offloaded. General supplies are in final beam out stages. “The Lt. sees the sad look in his commander's eyes.” Don’t worry sir; we'll get another position aboard the Metamor, or one of her sisters."

 

The great base echoes, having been nearly completely emptied by the city ships and the local freighters. The base would quite soon be gone, possibly never again to be.

 

"I know, Lt. I want the self-destruct sequence set to a dead man’s switch on one of the city ships. Prepare to close the space doors when the last freighter is clear. No, scratch that, leave them open. There won't be any need to shut them; this place will be gone as soon as we leave..." The commander of the base took one last look over his domain, knowing that it would be gone soon, and him never to have something like it again. "Let's get out of here while we still can."

 

"Amen to that." The pair beamed out, leaving the base completely emptied....

 

The fleet that had evacuated it quickly got itself out of blast range, and one last thing had to be done....

 

 

 

 

 

Metamor, Bridge, 4:19

 

"Sir, final destruct sequence for Base 001 is awaiting your command." The bridge crew turned to see how he would carry out his duty. It was another burden to bear on his soul.

 

"Destruct." Davison closed his eyes so he would not have to see another dream shattered. He knew it had to be astounding, a massive spectacle in space.

 

"Sir, the USS Kep Salu II just left the system, slipstream drive engaged. Starfleet outposts are now detonating as well." Everyone became downtrodden, knowing this was the end of dreams, the end of time.

 

"Scorched Earth... Leave nothing behind, whether it can be taken, or destroyed. Give the enemy nothing despite their taking all." Davison opened his eyes to see the still expanding fireball that had once been one of the hubs of life around Earth. He turned his chair, to face the operations officers. "How go the evac procedures?" Davison knew it was going to be bad, but what he got was horrible.

 

"We will only be able to get a billion out of nearly 45 billion. We cannot afford to stay long enough to have all the people get through a transwarp corridor, and we can only fit three quarters of a billion on the entire city ship fleet. Transporter rooms are working at 300% capacity to bring the people off the ships that can't take a transwarp corridor, or are incompatible with our facilities. We have full fuel stocks aboard, and the cargo bays are quickly filling up with ship parts, and other equipment."

 

"How many ships can't take a transwarp corridor?" Davison knew that the answer was going to break his heart, but he had to ask.

 

"75% of them. If they're lucky, being in the wake of a city ship might preserve their ship, but it's not going to save many."

 

"Then may god have mercy upon their lives." The words echoed through the bridge, making everyone realize the sheer utter magnitude of the horror to come. The silence stretched out, until a frantic beeping snapped everyone back to attention.

 

"Sir, picking up incoming contacts. Unknowns, wait, getting their beacons now." A look of hope began to appear on the young officer's face. "They read Hyperlight ships, friendlies!!!"

 

"Confirmed, sir! Reading the Long Shot leading them!"

 

Davison smiled at one of the first bits of good news he had gotten. Their enemy was not all unstoppable if refugees had made it to earth... "Don't cheer yet. Put me through! They might have unwelcome guests on their tail."

 

"Aye, sir, opening a channel now."

 

The viewscreen flickered to a familiar face, one who Davison was familiar with intimately. She had saved his life and he had saved her life more times than either could count. "Yes! Davison! It's good to know you're still alive. I have an Ohansu fleet on my tail end, and they'll be in torpedo range of us very quickly! We need help out here!"

 

Davison smirked at the cry. He had a perfect setup line, and while the situation was grim, he had to take it. "Roger, Captain. Do you want a small or large can of whoopass with that order?" He openly smiled, knowing Akalia arriving was the best thing that had happened yet on this sad day. Before she could respond annoyedly, he gave the second part of his answer. "Just give me some targeting data. We have something that might give your local annoyance something major to think about. I have all the boom I will ever need now. Just remember to duck."

 

"Sending you the data now. I hope that gun of yours is as big as you claim it is." Akalia developed a concerned look on her face. "Scratch that. If it is as big as you claim, then you need to take your hands off it. You're too dangerous with explosives and weapons as is." She gestured to someone off-screen. "And if you have a transwarp capable ship, I want a corridor ready for an escape when we get to you. Here goes nothing."

 

"Oh, boy, yeah, they're big enough, Captain Diess. Let's see how the Ohansu like being on the receiving end of a Winchester Temporal Cannon." Davison smirked at his words, while Akalia could only stare at him in horror.

 

 

 

The Metamor banked hard to get a good shot for its twin Temporal Cannons, her impulse drive screaming with power. The ships in the fleet were quickly informed of what the Metamor was about to pull, and began diving and swerving out of its way.

 

Way out behind the refugee fleet, the Ohansu cheered their pursuit on, thinking they were going to win totally. As the refugee fleet banked, they suddenly realized something might be up...

 

 

 

"Open fire." Davison grabbed his chair, expecting the mild recoil expected from the weapon. What he got exceed all expectations, which was remarkable, yet frightening in its own right.

 

 

 

The twin cannons on the bow of the Metamor charged for a moment, glowing white, then let loose a massive blast of energy that rocked the ship back like one of the old original projectile cannons of the early seafaring battles. The surge of the blast seared through the entire EM spectrum, eliciting an earsplitting shriek from every comm unit in the system. Everyone on the Metamor was flung at least a yard by the recoil, flying to the deck. As the blast seared off to where no weapon had gone before, Davison was the only one with anything to say, and his words were not reassuring. "Oh, yeah, that's plenty big enough!"

 

The blast seared through space, nearly shattering one of Jupiter's moons as it sped off to its targets. It lit up Saturn's rings as it passed, and the refugee fleet could only watch in silent horror as the biggest blast ever fired from a starship grew and grew in their sight, and passed them, and struck...

 

 

 

The comm feed from the Long Shot staticed out for a moment from the interference from the blast, leaving the people at Earth wondering.

 

"Hey, Captain Diess, Akalia! Did I get 'em!?" Davison sat down in his chair, awed, and yet strangely pleased. If anyone had paid close attention, they would have heard him utter one comment... "I hope I didn't get them all, this gun is fun."

 

The screen uttered another crackle, before clearing back to show the bridge of the Long Shot again. 'Oh dear- Metamor, we confirm hit! One hell of a hit!"

 

The bridge crew cheered, knowing that they had the ultimate weapon in this fight. People patted themselves on the back, but Akalia suddenly cut the cheering on her end, a haunted look on her face.

 

"We also confirm that the Ohansu fleet has sustained minimal damage. There are simply too many of them..." She had one heck of a scared look in her. Her anger from earlier had been smashed underfoot by this new problem. The bridge crew of the Metamor turned to face her incredulously.

 

"Did we get even one?" Davison realized they were seriously screwed if even the greatest weapon ever developed by anyone had just been shrugged off like a fly. "Dear god, did even one gak and die?"

 

"Fifteen ships out of over a million were hit directly and destroyed. The rest had minimal damage..." The numbers she gave were astronomical in the history of space warfare, and everyone just stopped at their stations, dumbfounded. The numbers were definitely a problem. "Sending the next targeting batch."

 

"We're getting it now, Captain. Crap..." Davison slumped in his seat, yet still felt a bit of excitement at getting to fire the massive guns as much as he wanted to. "Tactical, continue firing. Operations, I need a status report!"

 

"We're over a quarter capacity in terms of people aboard, should be reaching 40% shortly. We should have 50% or more by 4:28. We've got similar numbers across the board."

 

 

 

Flash, bridge, 4:30

 

"Dear lord, we're history!" Marthan had his head in his hands, feeling panic coming on.

 

Melony could only shake her head at his stupidity, along with the rest of the bridge crew. "Relax already. We will be shortly able to handle a transwarp jump. It is just a matter of the city ships finishing procedures, and me getting the shields reconfigured a bit more. By the time the transwarp corridor is up, the shields should act as an emergency SIF field. And then we can work on repairing the standard one." Melony kept her voice calm and professional, refusing to drop so low as panicking wildly.

 

The rest of the bridge crew had fallen to praying to higher beings for salvation by this point, and Melony was having a hard enough time with the engineering staff. She could feel her human facade start to crumble under the strain of keeping the department together.

 

"How can you be so calm with death staring us in the face?" Marthan had just about lost all control by this point. "There are a million ships out there, and even those mighty newfangled city ships that Hyperlight built can't make a dent in that fleet!"

 

A bit more of Melony's facade chipped away in impatience with Marthan's words. "Because if we do escape, there are a million to the millionth power number of stars in this galaxy alone. If they want to find us, they are going to have to look long and hard. Because my staying calm is the only thing keeping this ship together. Because my staying calm and fixing this ship is the only thing that will guarantee our survival, and because if I don't stay calm I'm going to rip some idiot's head off!" Her voice rose to a mighty roar by the end of her speech, bringing the bridge crew to their senses. "Now if you don't mind, I need the entire crew helping out in this!" Her eyes flicked to their norm, giving Marthan something to really worry about.

 

"Fine, I'll put out an all call." Marthan had indignation in his voice, a whole starship's worth of it. However, since he could not see any other path, he went with tossing out his pride. "Just don't expect too much." He began to suspect Melony's true nature as he togged the comm unit in his chair. "This is the captain to all hands, prepare to receive repair orders from a temporary" he put massive emphasis on temporary, and not the good kind either, "head of engineering. All hands are to assist in any way possible with making the ship transwarp capable."

 

Melony grumbled at some of Marthan's words, but quickly got to work doing what she did best, fixing stuff. She toggled a comm unit. "To all forward section hands, I need the SIF generator unit on deck 10 forward sections shut down, and re-calibrated. It is giving off some nasty sines. I want the port and starboard side forward SIF generators compensating for the gap in coverage." She looked at the readouts, and decided to get that problem nailed before trying to multi-task.

 

"Don't see what the problem is with it..."

 

"It's disrupting the SIF field in the forward section, that's the problem. If we go above light speed with it doing that, the forward section will shatter." Melony had sheer business ice in her voice.

 

"Oh..."

 

 

 

Long Shot, Bridge, 4:37

 

"More shots incoming on multiple angles from the Metamor. Volley of 5 pulses, wide spread." The tactical officer noted everything rather worriedly, knowing that Davison with that huge gun was more dangerous than anything else in the galaxy.

 

"Give me a moment." Akalia thought up a few evasive strategies, trying to figure out what to do next. "Bring the bow up 75 degrees for the fleet. All lower thrusters bring us up Z+ 50,000 K." Akalia began to wonder if the Metamor could do enough to stop the attack fleet.

 

"Aye, Captain. Bringing us to new evasive pattern."

 

"Are we even stopping that fleet at all?" Akalia got out of the captain's chair, tail abuzz in annoyance and worry, and began to pace her bridge.

 

"Not reall-" The tactical officer paused in his readings, before giving the good news. "Wait, they're slowing down to emergency maunvering speed! We're pulling back out of weapons range!" The words brought the bridge crew to a cheer.

 

"Belay that, we're not out of the woods yet!" Akalia winced at yet another old phrase of her husband that found it's way out of her. "Time to arrival at the city ships?" Akalia still felt happiness bubble up in her all the same.

 

"Hey, Captain Diess, what's going on out there?" Davison had a bit of worry in his voice, but it was tinged with hope.

 

"You've slowed the tide, nice work you trigger happy maniac!" Akalia felt a smile stretch across her features. It felt good to be herself sometimes. "Keep shooting, man! Keep shooing!"

 

"About time some major good news was given to me. Tell me you're pushing your ships a little bit faster. I want out of here as soon as is possible, even if we leave some people behind." The viewscreen cleared up again, and Davison's visage was one of jubilant hope, but his last line had betrayed a bit of worry.

 

"Keeping Warp 13, in less than an hour and a half, and counting. Those nasty Ohansu will arrive 20 minutes or more after that." Akalia winced at the time she gave. "You'll probably be long gone by the time we show up then."

 

"I'll keep the Metamor behind for you guys, then. We need every fringe of the federation I can get. Speed it up out there. I need you." Davison knew Akalia was one of the few people capable of giving them a fighting chance on the road ahead. He intended to have her saved no matter what the cost.

 

"I'll push the fleet a little bit faster anyway. Helm, bring the fleet up to warp 15, and keep on pushing us higher as we get in closer! I want the engines of the fleet on the critical line!" Akalia's words made the engineers in the ragged fleet cringe. Many of the ships in the fleet would be scrapped by the highest speeds their engines could produce, due to the damage they had sustained.

 

"Aye captain, pushing us a little faster."

 

Akalia sat back down in her seat as her ship smoothly transitioned into warp 14. "This as fast as we can go?"

 

"For now. Give us 10 minutes, and we'll be in a short enough distance to risk warp 15. Rate should be exponential after that."

 

"Well, keep going, and stay out of the Metamor's firing line. Tactical, keep giving them data on the Ohansu fleet, see if you can find a command ship for her to practice on." Akalia winced as another burst of static heralded a incoming shot from the Metamor.

 

 

 

Metamor, Bridge, 4:42

 

"That's it, Admiral. We just hit 60% capacity."

 

Davison braced himself as the Metamor fired off another shot. "Keep going until we barely have enough room for the refugee fleet coming in." Davison grabbed the report handed to him which detailed the status of operations aboard the ship. "Not bad. Good to see that those old war protocols still work today. Dang... they must have been deadly serious if they managed to develop a plan that's lasted over 800 years... wait, yeah, it was deadly serious back then."

 

The ship rocked again with the cannons, and the first sign of trouble reared it's ugly head. "Sir, reading several red-zone overheats on both cannons. Could be a problem developing with them. I'm not sure what exactly is causing it, but we should have field tested these buggers some more before now."

 

"So sue bad planning. They were never expected to be used. Ah, well. Good to know. Get an engineering team on fixing them, and keep using them. If it's not a critical problem, don't worry about it." Davison turned his chair, checking one of the side stations for problems. What he didn't know was that something critical was about to go down.

 

"I'm not sure cap-" The tactical officer was cut off rather rapidly by the Metamor keeling to portside aft. "Shit! Burnout in Cannon 1! Reading several hull breaches, and a complete shutdown of both cannons! Structural integrity in the forward section is holding though. Emergency teams on their way! Wait, cannon 2 is restarting!"

 

Davison scrambled from where he had been shaken to by the blast to one of the engineering stations, "Full rundown of it's systems, cease fire!" The ship hung in space, devastated by an accident of it's own design. Davison ran over the specs of the ship, trying to find another trouble spot before another disaster. He ran over the specs in his mind, feeling for weaknesses, for places where disaster would strike. Patterns ran through his mind, and he spotted something. "Watch it on the Reactors 2 & 3. Their power couplings were designed to take a huge amount of power, but it looks like we're drawing far more power than expected for the cannons. If there is another problem, that's where it seems it will come from."

 

"What kind of situ-" The officer was cut off as the starboard cannon proceeded to make the problem outlined by Davison known. It created a feedback loop in the power grid, and basically put, things got explosive. The ship rocked to starboard, feeling the strain of another internal explosion. "Power link to the starboard cannon just blew. We'll need dry dock repairs to fix it. And the portside cannon. Well, the portside cannon just got perforated..."

 

"Get every repair crew we can spare to them. I want them fixed. The civilian ships can wait for us to get fixed." Davison winced as the lights

sputtered and flickered off. The bridge was lit only by the faint light of the consoles in the dark. The lights flickered back on again, showing the ashen faces of the crew. "I want us firing again as soon as we are able. I don't want excuses, I want results! That big bugger was fun..."

 

Davison took another look around at his crew, and looked back at the disappointing number of alert notices and red shaded damaged areas on the master status display for the ship.

 

 

 

Flash, Bridge, 4:47

 

"Sir, confirmed. The Metamor suffered a cannon failure. Both of them are offline. She's developed a slight list as well."

 

Melony nearly flicked completely back to her normal self at the news, giving Marthan another start. Everyone else's face grew ashen as they realized there was nothing to slow the enemy down anymore.

 

"We're screwed." Marthan felt utterly defeated, all his worries seem to be coming true. "No hope left now."

 

"If you slump into depression, yeah there isn't any hope! We need transwarp speed, so shut up and help me fix the ship already!" The bridge crew looked at her in shock, surprised by the fierceness of her outburst. They stared at her a moment before she spoke. "What? Alright, so I found what appears to be a transwarp drive in the specs for this piece of junk. If we can get it working, we don't have to worry."

 

"Oh, um, that... Always wondered what that one room was for..." Marthan brushed the back of his head.

 

"I'm getting to work on it. " Melony checked over a few last figures before giving some good news. "Forward structural integrity is back within acceptable limits. Aft integrity is holding strong already." She thumbed a comm unit. "Need anyone trained with transwarp systems to get down to Deck 15, section 31."

 

Marthan finally clicked together all the pieces of the puzzle that had been bugging him since he had first seen Melony. He decided to pop the question before he had second thoughts about it. "You're one of those foul Vulpin, aren't you?"

 

Melony realized she was busted, and went ahead and let her disguise go. "Yeah, and if you have a problem with it, tough luck. What, you don't like the fact I'm helping to save your hide and your ship?"

 

Marthan gave her a scathing look which Melony answered with a growl and a glare of her own. The two locked gazes for a few moments, and if it weren't for the life or death situation already in progress, the confrontation would have lead to a fist fight.

 

"I can't change the way I was born, not that I would want to. You need to suck it up and live with what I am." Melony turned back to the engineering console, ending the stalemate. Marthan could only sputter in anger as she continued work.

 

 

 

Long Shot, Bridge, 4:48

 

"Captain, the Metamor has ceased fire. She's had twin cannon misfires, and both cannons are offline." The bridge crew winced at the report, and the whine of the engines as they continued to slowly accelerate the fleet.

 

"We just passed warp 15. Continuing to 16 in 3 minutes."

 

Akalia took the two reports in stride, despite her worries. She realized that despite the Metamor's damage, they had a chance for escape. "Time to intercept of the Metamor?"

 

"By the end of the hour. I hope, anyway, captain." An alarm sounded on the tactical board as the helmsman spoke.

 

The tactical officer looked to Akalia with a surprised and horrified look on his face. "Captain, they have warp capable torpedoes, and they are launching! Course indicated the target is the Metamor!"

 

"Dear god..." Akalia slammed the channel to Davsion back open. "Laon, get your shields up now!" She watched helplessly as the torpedoes accelerated towards the unsuspecting ship...

 

 

Metamor, Bridge, 4:50

 

"Wha-" Davison had only a second to ponder over Akalia's panicked warning before the first torpedo struck, slamming the ship to starboard. Alarms rang as the crew held on for dear life. "You heard her, shields up!"

 

"Aye, captain, putting up our castle walls now!"

 

Even as the enemy cheered to themselves their first successful strike, the balance of power once again shifted. The shield projection grids and armor generators of the city ships flickered to life, and as the hull continued to spark from the energy discharges of the massive hit, things got rather shiny. The regenerating Ablative Armor shell folded out of the generators and was replicated out, forming a massive wall of protection for the hull. The shield bubble popped into life, and extended outwards some from the hull, and people cheered again. And some wished that the sea-saw of power would quit rocking back and forth, and make up it's mind.

 

The next volley showed the enemy what they really were dealing with. The torpedoes flashed down from warp, and collided harmlessly against the shields of the Metamor, not even rocking the ship. The Ohansu could only stare as the shields dropped their flare to reveal an unharmed and fairly pissed Metamor. The bombardment had also reminded Davison of another weapon in his arsenal.

 

As he wiped some blood from a cut on his arm, he turned to his tactical officer. "Are the torpedo tubes capable of firing warp speed torpedoes? They had better be."

 

"Yes sir. They are. Forward magazines are already filled. Casing replication is still continuing." The crew began to smile, realizing that the city ships just got things back into favor if the enemy was in warp torpedo range.

 

"All city ships into position, prepare to fire." Davison got back into his seat yet again, and while wishing for a seatbelt, he turned to see the next flight of torpedoes. "Prepare for a bumpy ride folks, and on my mark..."

 

Part of the armor of the Metamor cracked open, revealing the 6 massive forward torpedo batteries. The glow of torpedo charging shone on them, and everyone suddenly realized it might be safer to be on the other side of the city ships.

 

"Torpedo bays open, Admiral."

 

Davison felt a dark chuckle escape him, and an even darker look cover his face. "Excellent. Tell the New Navarre to finish transwarp corridor procedures. Everyone else, give them hell." Davison re-opened the comm link yet again. "Akalia, duck."

 

Everyone watched as they milled around as the Metamor and her sister ships lined up in a firing line. All of them had the lights of pre-torpedo launches. The ships of the evac fleet, unable to offload their loads due to the city ships having their defenses up, just watched silently, waiting for what they knew was coming. They were not disappointed. Hell had no fury compared to the Metamor's retribution.

 

The torpedo batteries opened fire in a hail storm of torpedoes, flashing away into warp to pound at the Ohansu fleet that was coming. The refugee fleet, just passing Pluto, could only watch and dodge as the torpedoes passed, their targets never knowing what was about to smack them upside the head. When they did see their doom, it was far too late to do anything but die. Several dozen ships exploded in the first wave of torpedoes, and things could only go downhill from there.

 

"Torpedoes are working excellently, Admiral." The tactical officer had a dark look on his face, but he kept his voice from showing his true feelings.

 

The operations officer had something to say as well. "Admiral, the New Navarre has the conduit open!" He shifted the view on the main screen to show the swirly conduit, and the sister ships to the Metamor taking the plunge. As the Metamor groaned with the strain of holding the conduit open, the evac fleet made a run for safety, hoping that they would survive the trip, as anywhere was safer than the battlefield developing...

 

 

 

Flash, Bridge, 4:57

 

"Captain, here's our chance!" Melony locked down the systems of the ship and hoped it would hold together.

 

"You don't need to be obvious, you twit! Helm, get us out of here, full impulse power!" Marthan's snapping at her was quickly sidetracked as he too braced for what could be disaster. He only had one thing left to do. "Captain to all hands; hang onto your hats, people!!"

 

"Finishing reconfiguring shields for SIF functions, activating emergency hull polarization!" Melony grabbed onto her console, and hung on for dear life. "Oh, crap, I hate these sort of situations!"

 

The ship bucked as the conduit whisked it away, and tried to rip it apart...

 

 

 

Long Shot, Bridge, 4:58

 

"We're passing the Asteroid belt now, Captain! Sensors confirm the transwarp conduit! All city ships except for the Metamor are away! Davison kept his word, it's being held open for us!"

 

Akalia suppressed the urge to duck as a torpedo whisked by the screen. "Please tell me that our fleet is holding together!"

 

"A bunch are showing hull stress fractures, and one is showing massive core imbalances! I don't think we're gonna make it altogether!" A desperate edge filled his voice. It was round 10, overtime innings. And the clock was nearly out. Another torpedo buzzed the Long Shot. "Davison needs to learn how to aim those things!" Akalia growled in sheer frustration as she gripped the arms of her chair even tighter. "Put us to our maximum warp, and push the fleet. Screw every protocol, get us there.'

 

The helmsman winced at the harsh order, and began to throttle up the Long Shot even farther. "The fleet won't make it!"

 

"They will if I have anything to do with it." Akalia had a growl beginning in her throat. It was time to try and cheat death once again.

 

The refugee fleet jolted, and lurched ahead. Some of the fleet began to loose hull as their nacelles began to glow harshly with overload, and what little of their superstructure which remained intact began to buckle under the strain. On the Long Shot, the only ship in the fleet which had been even close to properly maintained, the core began to smoke with slow overheating.

 

"Captain, revised estimate to conduit, wait..." The tactical officer paused, making Akalia turn around. His face grew whiter than a ghost.

 

"Out with it!"

 

"Oh my dear god, no way! No way!" He looked up, utter and total panic on his face. "The Ohansu fleet just broke their maximum speed record, hell, every speed record ever made! They just accelerated again, and are heading toward the 6th warp domain, and warp 59! They will intercept before we get to Earth!"

 

"Hell no they won't!" Akalia jumped from her seat, and pushed the helmsman out of his, and threw the throttle on the Long Shot so far open that you could drive a battleship through it.

 

+0:00.3 hours

 

 

The Long Shot screamed as her engines were shoved beyond what even her re-designer had ever envisioned, and sliced out of warp space in Earth orbit, dropping energy as enough light to make the night side of Earth light up like high noon. She slung around the Metamor, her fleet scattering every which way to avoid hitting her. The enemy was not far behind, eliciting a massive broadside from the Metamor's guns. All of them. Akalia managed to get one scrambled message through. "Davison, pack up! I'll set up a defensive perimeter on the other side, save your ass now!"

 

The Long Shot dived through the portal, and her fleet followed, falling apart at the seams from never expected stresses, and vanished with her.

 

Metamor, Bridge 4:59

 

"You heard that vixen, get us the hell out of here!" Davison dived for his chair, and held on for dear life as the ship turned on it's side.

 

"Never needed to hear it twice, Admiral!"

 

The Metamor barely dodged a massive retaliatory blow from the Ohansu fleet as it turned on a nacelle, guns blazing like a old western right back at the Ohansu. The ship bounced and bucked from hits, and returned the favors 10,000 fold as it made one last rush for safety, diving into the tornadic transwarp vortex. It snapped shut behind it, leaving the Ohansu looking at a defenseless earth, and a fleet that couldn't completely make it out in time...

 

 

 

 

To be continued.