Call of Duty (Part 2 of 3)

Posted on 27 May 2020 @ 3:25pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Matthew Plumeri & Commander Luke Wyatt & Ensign Mimi & Commander Andreus Kohl & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver & Senior Chief Petty Officer Goldie Brown & Cadet Senior Grade Jemima de la Coeur
Edited on on 27 May 2020 @ 3:30pm

5,657 words; about a 28 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A, Latari A III
Timeline: MD 04, 2304 hrs

Previously, on Call of Duty (Part 1)...

"We'll have to wait and see and listen for the 'oh shit, engineering give us full speed command' Draia." Donald replied. "For now lets get the core up to full power and run a few level 3 diagnostics, power transfer conduits and shield systems first."

John just grumbled. "Well your the head honcho down here Donald, best to let the captain know before the 'oh shit' moment." He started the diagnostics but pretty well knew what they would say. This was a ship patched up and functional but it needed more going over at a yard or more time with a bigger engineering crew.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Deck 1, Bridge

Galileo's bridge was now dimly lit and bathed in pulsing red alert strobes which illuminated the cramped atmosphere with crimson hues and dark shadows. The mission clock continued to count down until it hit zero, at which point the bridge crew started to execute the short warp jump back into the Latari system.

Sylver frowned as he set up what he needed, the coordinates laid in. He turned his head towards Kohl, his eyes meeting his for a moment. "Coordinates laid in, jump to warp on your order, Sir," he said, knowing that this was the point of no return.

Breathing in slowly, the breath rattled in Kohl's chest. Something inside him was quavering. He raised a hand to gesture towards the starfield ahead of Galileo. "Engage," he ordered, without emphasis or fanfare.

In the blackness of space, the three-ship Starfleet task group maneuvered together to face the trinary star system. Each vessel's warp nacelles simultaneously began to glow bright white, then flashed. Galileo, Lagrange and Kali elongated then snapped into warp speed, leaving behind dusty cosmic trails punctuated by three distant bright flares.

Aboard the Nova-class' bridge, the newly-arrived security lieutenant called out from his station. "Fifteen seconds," reported Diego.

Plumeri licked his lips in nervous anticipation. He decided, inwardly, that he would not let Galileo fire on or attack the crash site. They were Federation citizens and they had the protection of the Law. To that end, he surreptitiously typed a text message into the Science I console and sent it to Ensign Mastrel and Cadet Senior Grade de la Coeur. It read, "TRUST ME".

Jemima saw the message and couldn't help bouncing a little. It helped disguise her response when she sent a quick thumbs up.

Luke could feel the tension on the bridge and stood up, his arms crossed staring at the view screen. He wished he was at his usual spot at tactical right now but knew he had his place here. If anything was to happen he knew he could be relied upon by the crew. Whether that meant following orders or disobeying them he wasn't sure. For the second time already.

Matthew so wished he could talk with Commander Wyatt now. The man had been the instigator of the previous mutinous action; maybe the guy would have some pointers and tips for Plumeri? Which side would he fall on. Matt trusted that because Wyatt had stood toe to toe with Captain Saalm for the safety of crew and ship, that he would do the same when it came to the safety and survival of the Latari colonists...and all their lives. Even so, if he could only know he had his support. But, their eyes didn't meet and that question would have to remain unknown. For now.

The celestial space high above Latari A III was suddenly punctuated by three bright flashes -- the arrival of the Federation starships. At first scan, the surrounding cosmos in the immediate area was seemingly devoid of any Humanoid life, but in the near distance, a menacing threat lurked.

On the Bridge of Galileo, Commander Andreus Kohl sprung up from the command chair as if he'd been a spring under tension. With a laser focus on the viewscreen, his eyes took in the visage of Latari A III rotating beneath them. Tilting his head to one side, Kohl knew he was only getting half the story. "What do we see?" Kohl asked. He angled his chin, trying to look at the science officers, but Kohl couldn't look away from the screen. "Let's get a full sensor sweep of the star system."

At the Science I station, Matt's scientific sensor array started gathering data. Information regarding the planet and the star. "Aye sir, beginning sensor sweep."

At the auxiliary station now configured for tactical displays, Lieutenant Diego watched as the LCARS sensor screen scanned the surrounding space and started to report contacts. Audible warnings chirped as one...two...three unknown vessels were detected in orbit of Latari A III. It took the ship's computer only a few seconds to identify them as friend or foe.

"Captain," Diego called out, "Tholian contacts! Three ships of unknown configuration in high orbit. The computer's classifying them as frigates," he reported while adjusting his display. A fourth, more subdued sensor signal now appeared alongside a latent IFF signal. "Hold on...I'm getting a Starfleet ID..." Diego continued to work his console. "Sir, it's the Trial. I think they're adrift in the middle of the Tholian formation."

Jemima scanned the planet, looking for all signs of the Genesis effect as she mapped, to the best of her ability, where the effect began and how it spread. Her eyes widened as the data came in and she let out a long, silent whistle. "I'm gettin' data from the planet surface," she said, mostly to Plumeri.

Matt could hardly believe his eyes and he said out loud, "The Trial!" Plumeri access the data from the Tactical station to verify the readings. With his fingers he pulled in the sensor sweeps from Science III station from Jemima. ~That's strange, why can't I access the Tactical system?~ he thought to himself. He put that on an open panel for the moment and queried the computer for an authorization to view the Tactical station. In the meantime, he had to do his Science job. He said to Jemima, "Confirmed. Sensors are scanning the surface of the planet. OK, last known confirmed site location in range now. Debris, no life signs of the colonists. Looks like a debris field. Maybe an impact from the Trial as she drifted? There's no way we can run a scan for the waveform we need in the time we have."

Glancing back over his shoulder, Kohl affirmed, "You've located the colony site? No signs of life?" from his science officers. The only answer he needed was the look in their eyes. Kohl trusted Matt and Jemima's competence well enough; he let his remark hang in the air as a rhetorical question rather than something in need of confirmation. The knowledge there were no souls on that planet gave him some small comfort. Edging towards the auxiliary station, Kohl's greatest concerns could be found on the tactical display. "How have the Tholians reacted to our arrival?"

Lieutenant Diego closely monitored his LCARS sensor display. "They're maneuvering into formation..." he paused while the enemy blips organized themselves, "...and now coming about, bearing 310 mark 02. I think they've seen us."

Kohl breathed in through his nose in one quick huff. Determinedly, Kohl said, "We'll have to be faster."

"The Lagrange is hailing us." Mimi called out as the Ops panel flashed a notification.

Making his way back to the heart of the bridge, Kohl straightened his uniform jacket and he faced the viewscreen. Nodding to Mimi, Kohl replied, "Open a channel."

Matthew looked up and listened.

The ship's 1MC played Captain Rasmussen's communique for each Galileo crew member to hear. The senior captain's throaty voice echoed throughout each compartment on each deck.

"All crews, this is Lagrange. Sensors are detecting Tholian vessels above the planet near a Starfleet wreckage. All diplomatic channels so far have been unsuccessful. We must now assume these ships' intentions are hostile. Prepare to engage," the senior captain said with cold conviction.

"Kali, assume attack formation," Rasmussen continued. "Galileo, locate that Genesis source on the surface and begin your bombardment run." There was a short pause over the comm. "The use of tricobalt ordinance is authorized."

The comm channel quickly chirped to notify of a different audio reply on the same frequency. "Kali acknowledges," came the new voice of the Akira-class' captain. "Maneuvering into attack pattern beta two. Galileo, we'll cover you and keep the Tholians occupied while you sterilize the planet."

Jemima's eyes went even wider in shock and surprise. She turned to Plumeri and mouthed, "Tricobalt?" She shook her head, not wanting to believe what she heard.

The order stuck in Matt's throat and it paralyzed him. He looked at Jemima and saw her mouth the word 'tricobalt'. So, the time was here. Diplomacy had failed? Diplomacy never had a chance. Even perhaps, the decision to obliterate and remove the Federation citizens from this area of space had been decided hours ago. In fact, it may have been decided months ago. Before they even got here. Perhaps this had been the mission all along?

Matthew clenched his jaw and that made his jaw muscles bulge out. It was time to act. Galileo was in no shape to mount an attack - sure an attack straffing run - but Plumeri had another idea. One doesn't become a Historian without learning a few tricks from the past. Specifically, an old trick that was played on Khan. Would it work here again? If not, it's be a real short trip to the brig. He had to work quickly though. First, he pulled up the bridge data chart for the Akira-class ship Kali. Matt was looking for the master bridge prefix combination code. If he could find it and provided Rasmussen or Kohl hadn't changed it when Captain Saalm "borrowed" the Livia, he would gain control of first the Tactical System of the Kali and turn those weapons onto the Lagrange and disable her engines and weapons. While he was at it he might as well try the same thing on Galileo's master bridge prefix combination code.

There, the prefix code for the Kali is 23-42-29. If it worked. Kali would lower her shields and Matthew would gain access to the targeting array. He did the same for Galileo. It no longer mattered that he was denied access to the console. If this worked, he'd have control of the weapons and propulsion system. The Galileo prefix code is: 16-85-07.

Finally, the last step, he made an isolated copy of the encrypted bride prefix codes. He then copied them to Jemima's Science III station in a text file. It was a backup plan. But before he acted he said, "Captain? Commander Wyatt? This is wrong. What we are about to do is wrong. Under the Articles of Interstellar Law and the Federation Charter, we are in violation of both our mandates." Matt stood on his feet, "Captain, we must withdraw. Right. Now. Sir."

The science officers' voice cut the tension and Luke was caught in a momentary surprise, who was he to judge Plumeri when he had done the same thing. The difference in his mind now was he had been doing it to save lives which were needlessly being thrown to slaughter now the variables were different. There was so many unknowns except two, Tholians were closing in on their positions and for the second time, the Galileo was seemingly about to face another mutiny. Luke was frozen in anticipation he wasn't sure to back the officer or to stand by and watch it unfold.

"He's not wrong Commander, just because we are on the far edges of Federation space doesn't mean we should so callously throw away the things we believe in. We should at least attempt to hail the surface, we also don't know what Captain Saalm is doing for all we know she has succeeded in diplomacy." There he broke his momentary silence trying to remain as neutral as possible. "We can begin the run but at least allow the people a chance down there, we're not judge, jury, and executioner."

Luke felt sorry for the commander, he now faced a terrible decision and either way, like himself had faced, neither would be the right answer. One would just be more palatable than the other and he knew which one he would choose in a heartbeat.

Now, thank ye gods, Matt knew which side Commander Wyatt was on. Plumeri wasn't going down without a fight.

Stalking back towards the auxiliary console, Andreus Kohl ignored Matthew Plumeri's objections. Given the bridge crew's bland Federation-appropriate distaste for Kohl absconding with Lirha Saalm's Captain's chair, Kohl supposed the open hostility felt refreshing against his skin. Nobody had time for second guessing and passive aggression -- that was death by a thousand cuts. Kohl was surprised by his own reaction: Matthew and Luke's ease with undermining Captain Rasmussen's orders was less distressing than the presentation the science department had given to Kohl to show him the error of Starfleet's ways. Kohl had his orders; he had to make the planet safe again. All he had to do was fire two torpedoes. Fire two torpedoes and then he could manage the rest of it. He couldn't afford to distract Diego and Matheson; they were the only ones he could trust to launch the warheads. Two torpedoes meant safety.

"Lieutenant Diego," Kohl ordered, raising his voice to be heard over Matthew and Luke's objections. "Arm two tricobalt warheads. Do you have a targeting lock on the colony's genesis source on the planet?"

The young security officer's jaw clenched while he listened to insubordinate musings being spoken out loud in the ship's primary command center. Their new orders were clear, and that was their duty now. They were all bridge officers and it wasn't their place to question command decisions.

The captain's voice snapped Diego's attention back to his console where he quickly tapped a sequence of commands into the LCARS armament panel. It took the Nova-class' forward torpedo launchers only seven seconds to unload two photon torpedoes and slot tricobalt charges in their place.

"Tricobalt torpedoes loaded in tubes one and two," Diego reported. "Arming now, sir." A small blinking red light illuminated on both the captain's and lieutenant's consoles to confirm hot ordinance. He then trained the targeting sensors on the planet but shook his head after several short moments.

"There's too much radiation interference at this range. We'll have to get closer," he revealed. "A lot closer...probably suborbital." While tricobalt charges were effective in obliterating entire planetary continents, the resiliency of whatever Genesis creature was down there meant a direct impact was a necessity.

At Diego's estimation, Kohl snapped his attention towards the Operations console. "Ensign Mimi," he said, his timbre was one of declarations. He indicated to her with a pointed finger. He ordered, "Maintain deflectors and structural integrity fields at all costs."

"Aye sir." Mimi responded tapping away at her console. 'this should be interesting' she thought, while she ship was designed to enter atmosphere and even land it would put a lot of strain on the hull and the ships systems. And it was something she'd never done before.

"Lieutenant Plumeri," announced Kohl, as his attention snapped to the science officer next. "Your presentation wasn't very persuasive. Frankly, your team came off as a mess. Our orders are very simple and they come from the highest levels of Starfleet Command and the Federation Council. Return to your post. Do your duty."

Not waiting for a response, Kohl turned his back on Matthew Plumeri. He raced to the fore of the bridge, hovering over the shoulder of Chief Warrant Officer Sylver. "You heard the man," Kohl said to Sylver, nodding in Diego's direction. "Take us into a standard orbit above the colony site," Kohl said, "and then dive us into the planet's exosphere."

"Yes Sir," Sylver said, his voice firm as he seemed to have slipped into a far more military air than he usually did. He checked the dampeners out of habit as he brought them into standard orbit above the colony site. He didn't hesitate, but there was a slight frown on his face. "Ready to enter exosphere," he almost warned before he did as he had been ordered.

From the auxiliary/tactical console, Lieutenant Diego kept an eye on the helmsman's course. At low impulse speed, it didn't take long for Galileo to make a break for it and arrive above their target. That maneuver, however, was countered by the Tholians who now adjusted their course straight for the Nova-class.

"Captain, Tholian ships incoming," reported Diego. "...Bearing 341 mark 002. Closing fast!"

"We have our mission," Kohl remarked. This time, it was mostly said to keep himself focused. "Brown," Kohl requested, "Let's hear the comm chatter for our sister ships."

"Yes, sir." Goldie went to Starfleet frequency 5-1 and set it to speaker.

Galileo's overhead speakers now transmitted secure tactical comms between the three Starfleet ships remaining in the task group. Each vessel's bridge was now linked which allowed each captain and bridge crew to hear each other. Rasmussen's distinctive raspy voice could be heard alongside those of his conn and tactical officers'.

"Helm, adjust course...three-three-five mark zero-one. Torpedo status...?"

"...Three-three-five mark --ero-one, adjusting,"

"..Torpedoes ready, enabling proximity fusing..."

USS Kali's bridge comms started to overlap with Lagrange's.

"....Tholian warships entering weapons range.."

"Combat impulse, main..ain formation..!"

"--argeting scanners have a firing solution..."

Kohl was starting to breath heavier now; sweat was beading on his brow. He took a couple of steps back, moving towards the command chair like an animal, backed into a corner. The Tholians were moving in too quickly, and Kohl's own Science Officer and XO were questioning their mission commander's orders. Kohl had been nigh-shouting at the crew earlier, but he lowered his voice. He spoke at an inside-voice timbre. "Lieutenant Diego," he asked, not without an edge of impatience. "Where's my targeting lock?"

"Working on it, sir," replied the security officer with equal urgency. Diego's head was focused intently on his console where he tried to isolate the Genesis signal source site - the USS Reliant debris field.

Diego shook his head with frustration. "I've never seen anything like this...I think we're being jammed. From the surface. Targeting sensors can't get proper ranging on the coordinates so the computer can't calculate a firing solution."

With frustration mounting from his unsuccessful attempt, Diego looked over to the science alcove. "Lieutenant Plumeri, can you compensate?"

Seconds passed with no reply. "Lieutenant..?!"

Answering Diego, Matt said, "I heard you." Matt looked at his console, all it needed was a key press. His finger on the button. Matt turned to an ally, "Commander, Federation Charter, Section 73, Starfleet Directive 104, General Order 4. Wyatt, we can't do this! We're going to bombard the truth with tricobalt weapons? You did it once, take command!" Matt looked to the rest of the bridge crew, "What's the matter with all of us?!"

Luke's mental conflicts were not going away, especially with Plumeri begging him to take control again. He thought what if Marisa was down there or even Lirha and realised how selfish it was to think of just people he knew. There was no guarantee that the colonies had evacuated. "I..." The ever-confident security chief for the first time couldn't respond.

On the one hand, Luke had always followed orders as a good soldier should, that was until recently. He had also done terrible things under the disguise of orders during the Dominion War but that was war, this was just... wrong.

Everything they were doing right now was against everything he believed Starfleet to be and thought back to his oath. Luke spoke softly "By the acceptance of principles and the institutions of methods, that weapons of destruction shall not be used…” After reciting the words Luke’s resolve was restored.

“Lieutenant Plumeri, whatever you may have planned I can not condone but neither do I condone the actions we are partaking in. The Genesis Directive is an unlawful abuse of Starfleet’s power and goes against the core charter we swore to uphold which makes our actions here today no better than the enemies we swear to protect against. And as an officer of Starfleet I can not complete these orders nor however, do I wish to be involved in another mutiny. Therefore as a Starfleet Officer, I shall be no more.”

Turning to his acting Captain, whom of which he had held much respect in a previous time and considered a friend even, “I hope you know what you’re doing Andreus and whatever might happen I hope you can find the peace to sleep at night because.” He lowered his voice so it was only audible between the two senior officers “I sure as hell can’t. ‘Following orders’ doesn’t give you the right to mass destruction and the potential murder. Remember why you joined Starfleet? 'The Federation needed more diplomats'" Luke frowned and looked sadly over to the view screen and back to Kohl. "It still does.”

Luke needed not wait, he knew Andreus would carry out his orders. He was, after all, a loyal servant of the Federation. Not needing to be shown the way off the bridge he didn't even look back over his shoulder as he walked away and hoped Plumeri would stand down, he was too young to lose such a promising career. Luke however already had too many ghosts in his closet; these colonists and his comrades in arms were not going to be a new addition to his blood-stained hands and he was sick of the politics, he after all never wanted to be in Starfleet, he was always just a Marine.

Sputtering out a desperate response, Kohl pleaded, "Luke, there are no lifeforms detected on this planet. Before you returned to the bridge, we detected it to be a barren world." --Kohl kept talking to Luke's back-- "All we're destroying is starship debris and a deadly spatial phenomenon. If we detected such a thing among the stars, we would put up emergency buoys to direct other starships away from it, but Starfleet created this instability. It is our duty to make this star system safe."

The moment seemed to be frozen in time. Wyatt had made his choice. The thought of another mutiny aboard a Federation starship was just unheard of. The whole situation they were facing was becoming unhinged from reality. It was just Kohl now and the extra crew that were brought on board. "Shhhhit!!!" Matt said as the situation was now back on his plate. Precious moments were ticking by and he now knew what being under the Sword of Damocles felt like. It came down to letting the Federation use Starfleet to cover their tracks...again. He hated that. It made him sick.

The tactical system blared an alarm, the weapons system were armed and the Galileo was bearing down. It was now or never. If Plumeri took away their weapons and shields what might happen? For sure the Tholians would cut them up. They might even enjoy it. Maybe the Federation colony on the other planets of the Latari system would survive - most likely not though. He remembered that the Tholians were going to kill him. They had the disrupter pointed at him and he would be dead now if it weren't for Saalm and his crewmates. Did Lirha save his life...for this? So that they should all perish?

He moved his finger off the prefix code. He couldn't do it. If he crippled even one ship then they all might die and the Tholians would escape with the technology and wreck havoc. "Damn! Effing thing!"

Plumeri pulled back the prefix code from Jemima's LCARS as well and threw it away. He couldn't risk his friends lives. Starfleet might get to keep its dirty sin after all. He tapped his COMM badge, "=A= Commander Warraquim? I need you on the bridge. Medical emergency. Better hurry doc! =A="

Jemima stood back, doing nothing to stop Plumeri, or help Kohl. She couldn't be a part of what the captain planned, even if it meant a Court Martial. She looked at him and nodded. Plumeri had her full support.

Wyatt was just off and behind the center command chair. No help there anymore. Kohl had been provided at least two of Rasmussen's hired goons. Nothing says "we trust you" like the addition of hired goons. The rest of the security team was deployed throughout the ship. What Matt wouldn't give right now to have the half-Klingon George Ruktah at his side right now. It was obvious to Matt that Diego and Mattheson were there to ensure Rasmussen's orders were followed.

What the hell was Matt supposed to do now? Use harsh language?! Matt said, "Captain Kohl, under General Order 3 and General Order 4, I charge you with endangering this mission and starting a war with the Tholian Empire. I cannot allow you to use this ship to destroy evidence of a crime. I am relieving you of command Captain under those General Orders. As soon as Commander Warraquim gets here I am turning command of this ship over to her.

In the time it took Kohl to pivot his head in Plumeri's direction, his jaw hung agape and his sapphire eyes widened with some surprise. An expression of discomfort crossed Kohl's face -- akin to what it might look like if his ears had popped. Kohl shifted his jaw from side to side and he openly sneered at Plumeri. "Not this...." Kohl murmured, only loud enough for Plumeri to here.

Sucking in a rattling breath, Kohl turned his back on Matthew Plumeri once again. He stalked his way back to the Captain's chair and dropped into it to lay his hands on the LCARS console beside the chair. Kohl had expected the the tricobalt warheads to be loosed by now. They were losing time, with the rest of the fleet taking the brunt of the Tholian hostility. Kohl had one mission and one mission only: launch the torpedoes.

"Lieutenant Diego, the Genesis source was identified by Galileo when the Genesis Directive was initiated," Kohl explained, teeing up his next order. He located a couple of sensor files and pushed them to the aux/tactical display. "We also have extensive scans of the source from Doctor Varelli," Kohl said, as he had learned from Plumeri's proposal for how the mission should proceed. "Can you use the sensor records to extrapolate a target," Kohl insisted, "and fire at will?"

The sudden tension on the bridge was thick enough to hurt Diego's head. Eyes wide and glancing between the science officer, XO, and captain, every breath he took felt loud enough to be heard by everyone. Both he and Matheson had read Galileo's after-action report following the Battle of Latari and had been warned by Captain Rasmussen - not only of the previous mutiny against Captain Saalm, but also the possibility of another. Now, it was actually happening.

Adrenaline coursed through Lieutenant Diego's veins when Plumeri tried to usurp the captain. It sounded absurd to him. Under who's authority? What gives this egghead the right to disobey his senior officers?? His gut instinct as a security officer was to first address the insubordination on the bridge to support the captain. But they were also about to enter combat and Kohl seemed focused on completing the mission.

"Yes, sir...checking," Diego answered with one eye now permanently trained on the science alcove and the other on his console.

Having done all he could in the face of open mutiny, Andreus Kohl slapped his palms on his knees and he rose to his feet. He huffed out a breath. "Chief of Security Wyatt," Kohl said to direct his questions. There was an irritated edge to his otherwise impassive tone. Kohl rest his hands on his hips, and he asked, "Are you going relieve me of my command on the word of a junior science officer?"

"But it's not just the word of a Junior science officer Commander" Luke returned, he thought his attempt to depart would settle where he stood but instead the two parties continued to play tug of war with him. "It is the word of our Entire science department, the word of our Chief Medical Officer, My word, and the word of our Captain. Everyone's objections to this unlawful use of Starfleet's resources have gone unnoticed." Luke sighed, tired from the politics of it all. "I'm not going to arrest you I'm going to trust you make the right decision."

On the bridge's large forward viewscreen, Diego put up the planetary targeting display for all to see while trying to block out the verbal commotion. He'd worked quickly to combine all the gathered intel Galileo had pertaining to the planet's surface. "I think I've got something." Red Starfleet LCARS crosshairs superimposed over the planet's surface and locked on to a specific set of coordinates in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere.

"...There," Lieutenant Diego confirmed. "Last known coordinates of the Genesis source. But," he grit his teeth again, "there's still too much solar radiation coming from the upper atmosphere. Our sensors have a lock but the torpedo guidance systems aren't as advanced. And the EM interference will affect our datalink to the torpedoes." He looked up to the viewscreen then to the captain. "I still recommend getting closer before we launch - into the lower atmosphere."

Kohl slapped the heels of his palms against the arms of his chair, and used it as leverage to return to his feet. He supposed the crew could bicker and hate him all they wanted; the Genesis Directive was plain in its charge: thou shalt not suffer a single particle of the Genesis effect to live. The crew had already witnessed the body horrors it had inflicted on poor Elegy Reiko; the danger was quite clear. Evidently, in Kohl's impression, members of the crew cared more about the principles of how the Genesis device was handled, rather than the grim realities in front of them. Genesis was too unstable and too dangerous to be utilized by anyone, even anyone in the Federation. Kohl closed the distance between himself and the CONN, asking a question as he went. "How are you at atmospheric flight, Sylver?" Kohl asked, an edge of desperation breaking through. "If you take us down into the stratosphere, will you be able to fly us out again?"

Goldie stood motionless, hoping and praying the captain would do the right thing.

Sylver frowned as he let out a breath. "I will need as much power as you can give me when I take us out. Breaking out of the gravity will be...challenging. And it will be a bumpy ride," he warned before he looked over at Kohl. "But I can do it, Sir." That he believed. He truly, truly believed that he could get there and back again and if the ship had the power and could hold together, then they might very well survive it all.

The security lieutenant urgently reported contact from the task group. "Sir, the Lagrange and Kali are now engaged!"

In space above the class-M planet, the Starfleet formation lit up the cosmos with a brilliant display of photon torpedoes. The Akira-class' rollbar launcher flared and ripple-fired three full volleys at the small dart-shaped Tholian vessels. Lagrange' commenced long-range firing as well, employing its own torpedoes.

Twenty-plus photon torpedoes screamed towards the Tholians, their red flares twisting and rotating as they rapidly tracked the enemy vessels. Armed with proximity fuses, they began to detonate near the enemy ships and create a momentary shield between the two opposing lines.

The overhead tactical channel lit up with combat chatter.

"Impact in two, one..."

"All targets evaded, they're breaking forma--"

"..Reloading, five sec-"

"-amage assessment!"

"..No damage, Tholian frigates flanking to port..."

"Conn, cut -em off...two-zero-one, get below them!"

Kohl cocked his chin up and opened a comms channel across every deck aboard Galileo. "All hands, this is the Captain speaking," Kohl said, announcing, "Blue alert. Secure yourselves and all stations for atmospheric operations." Backing towards the Captain's chair, Kohl gave the order to Sylver: "CONN, begin orbital descent."

The bridge's crimson red alert pulses suddenly ceased and were replaced by blue strobes. The overhead ambient lighting brightened to compensate for the probability of an atmosphere more luminous than space. The airfoils at the rear tips of the ship's nacelles started to rotate as a full flight control system check was automatically initiated.

Luke hadn't made it even halfway off the bridge yet and now with the blue alert being sounded, he didn't have the time to to make it back to his quarters, Moving quickly back to his original position next to Kohl and gave him a sideways glance, whatever was going to happen it would seem they were going to do it together.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

All Crew, USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Diego
Security Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

CAPT Rasmussen
Commanding Officer
USS Lagrange
[PNPC Saalm]

RSS Feed