The Battle of Sector 189 (Part 3 of 5)

Posted on 02 Apr 2024 @ 6:24pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Morgan Tarin & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec & Lieutenant JG Serran & Lieutenant JG Montgomery Vala & Ensign Mimi & Ensign S'Ers-a M'Lyr'Zor & Ensign Jonathon DeLaney & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant JG Vren Vral & Ensign Amanda Turell & Ensign Asha & Senior Chief Petty Officer Goldie Brown & Petty Officer 2nd Class Liam O'Connor & Petty Officer 3rd Class John Hollenday & Master Chief Petty Officer Toren Vral

4,871 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Episode 19 - Tomorrow's Galileo
Location: Pleiades Cluster, Sector 189, Grid 02
Timeline: MD 03, 2223 hrs

Previously, on The Battle of Sector 189 (Part 2)...

Tapping swiftly on the small screen at her right arm, Blake sent a message through to Sickbay that combat was imminent. Engineering and tactical were already braced. She pushed herself briskly from her chair, moving around to Turell's position so she could get a clear view of the data from her screen, preferring it to seeing it play out on the viewing screen alone.

Through the main viewscreen, the Romulan warbirds accelerated and approached, they themselves spreading into an unknown attack formation. Tarin tracked their positioning both visually and on her console, then gave the order to the conn to commit. "Helm, increase to 1/8th impulse and keep us in formation with the admiral's vessel." She then tapped the intra-ship comm channel button on her armrest to address the -A crew. "All hands, this is the captain. Prepare for contact with hostile forces."

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

The tranquil Pleiades Cluster's serene calmness quickly turned dire...for the moment of conflict had finally arrived. The nearby cosmos exploded with a colorful display of lime-green disruptor bolts and orange phaser fire as the four vessels exchanged opening volleys then merged into close contact. Both Romulan vessels had targeted the Galileo-B, whose forward and dorsal shields absorbed the impacts, then swiftly crisscrossed their flight paths as they merged with the Federation vessels.

The Mark III's bridge rocked from the impacts of the weapons fire and an overhead EPS relay burst, sending sparks showering across the entrance to one of the nearby turbolifts. Galileo-B's captain quickly identified the maneuver then pointed to the starboard-most warbird currently passing through their formation and preparing to come about.

"Helm, isolate that lead vessel and get us on their tail. Don't let them come around for another pass." Saalm then looked back over her shoulder to Wyatt, "Target that warbird with all phasers and fire at will. Standby on torpedoes until you have a clean lock when they clear their turn. Ensign Mimi, tell Commander Tarin to maintain formation with us to protect our aft quarter from the second warbird."

Vren's watery eyes looked dully from the warbirds on the viewscreen back to his console. He silently began preparing repair teams and damage projections with his usual steady, lifeless efficiency.

Luke had instinctively ducked, shielding himself from the cascading debris from the EPS relays and other damage to the bridge. The sudden burst of energy singed his back and shoulders, causing a jolt of pain to shoot through him.

Grimacing, Luke gritted his teeth against the discomfort, his focus unwavering as he assessed the damage. Despite the burns searing his skin, he remained determined to carry out his duties. He’d seen his fair share of injuries before and failing here was not an option.

Focusing on the task at hand, Luke swiftly turned his attention back to the tactical console and Lirhas orders, his hands steady as he targeted the warbird with all phasers. Ignoring the discomfort, he fired at will, unleashing the Galileo-B's firepower upon their designated target with precision and determination the sound of their returning fire a welcome reprieve from the damage they had sustained. He waited for the computer battle damage assessment to come in with Photons ready to launch if the timing was right.

Transcribing the message Lirha had requested Mimi quickly sent it through the tactical data link between the two Galileos, she wished she was back on her Galileo but knew she actually had a better chance of surviving this battle on this Galileo.

The lead warbird Galileo-B was locked on to suddenly commenced a tight one-circle turn to port. Romulan scout vessels were more maneuverable than their Federation counterparts at low impulse and now attempted to maximize their advantage. The Romulan lead's aft shields were down to 55% when it rapidly initiated its turn and soon passed the 270 angle of both Galileos. Another bust of combined off-axis phaser fire from the two Starfleet vessels reduced its lateral shields to 35%...but it was not alone in the fight.

The second, trailing warbird unexpectedly ignored the antiquated Galileo-A and instead maneuvered high above and behind the -B before unleashing a full volley of green disruptor weapons fire into its secondary hull.

The scene within Galileo-B's main engineering compartment suddenly turned chaotic. The entire chamber rocked from the shield impacts, and multiple system warnings and cautions lit up across all consoles. One of the large, pulsing red power transfer conduits began to leak from its containment field prompting an emergency response.

Her body was jolted from the impacts of battle, but she pushed any thought of what was going on outside their ship from her mind. That wasn't their purview...keeping the ship going was. Rushing to one of the main consoles, Sera brought up ship systems and observed the damage readings.

"Alright," Sera said, her voice carrying with the matter-of-fact tone that was expected. "Plasma relays have blown which are already affecting impulse engine speed and efficiency...Hollenday - I want you on it; Access point...jeffries tube designation...sending you the data now."

"Got it. One more thing to do." John moved quickly to where he needed to be.

She shoved herself away from the console. "The transfer conduit is contained but requires stabilization. This is a priority...however, there are also many EPS conduits already failing that require our expertise. Should be quick repairs." Sera trusted those here to start working on the growing list of damages that were steadily streaming in.

"Sounds like a job for us," John declared, his voice carrying a hint of determination. "Come on, Liam, quit standing around. We've got a ship to fix." With a swift motion, he grabbed the engineer's mate equipment carrier and began to move toward the first set of repairs that needed attention. "Well, are you coming or not?" His tone was firm, yet there was an underlying camaraderie, a shared understanding of the task ahead.

Liam shook his head, a wry grin tugging at his lips. "You could try saying 'please' at least once in your life," he remarked before falling into step behind John as they headed out. Despite the banter, there was a sense of solidarity between them, a silent acknowledgment of their shared mission to keep the ship running smoothly.


USS Galileo-A

Commander Tarin methodically shifted her sharp hazel eyes between the large main viewscreen and the command stations' center console situated between her and her first officer. She grit her teeth while nervously digging her short fingernails into the palms of her hands while she observed the two Romulan warbirds focusing the fire against their future counterpart.

"The -B can't much more of this," she firmly stated to her XO and those around her who were within earshot. "If the Romulans are going to ignore us, we'll make them pay," she then definitively decided. "Ops, reroute all available auxiliary power to our dorsal phaser arrays. Take the ventrals offline if you need to. Helm, roll axis 70-degrees port and cut inside their lead's turn. Turell, focus your fire on that ship's weakest shield grid."

"They're probably still trying to figure out what to make of us...and who and what we are," Blake's gaze was on Turell's console though, her arms folded firmly across her chest. "Let's make the most of the confusion, it won't last long," she nodded knowingly to the security officer.

With a crisp nod, the Vulcan began to do as he'd been instructed. "Even with auxiliary power rerouted, we are going to be cutting it close as Terrans say "I'd suggest evasive action as well, Captain."

Amanda watched the tactical feeds as she fired phasers at the Romulan warbird, the energy beams doing their best against the shields of the more advanced ship. "The lead vessel's starboard shield looks to be weakening." She remarked the sensors were still giving rather mixed results so she couldn't be certain.

Caradec deftly maneuvered the ship to port, punching the engines and closing the gap to the lead ship to 10,000 meters to make their assault that much more effective. "In position, Captain!", Rafe exclaimed. He figured they might as well use all the power available to make the most of the current opportunity to knock these birds out of the fight!

Toren brought up the targeting computer and spent a few moments optimising it for the manoeuvre and enemy ship class. It was nothing he had not done a hundred times before way back during the Dominion War. You had to get every last drop out of the systems in fights like these.

"Ensign," his raspy tone betraying a small amount of adrenaline caused by the ongoing battle, "Attempt another burst, I've juiced up the targeting as best I can."

Firing several more short bursts of phasers towards the Romulan ship Amanda waited for the right moment, she smiled when it came; the Romulan vessel turned starboard exposing its weakened shield to the Galileo-A. "Firing phasers."

A thick orange beam of phaser fire lashed out towards the scout warbird, after a few seconds its turquoise shields flickered before failing, the phasers burned a deep groove into the hull plating of the warbird, fire fueled by plasma, and the ship's oxygen blossomed from the hole.

From the primary command chair, Tarin watched the Romulan vessel's starboard shields collapse followed by a subsequent hit against its exposed green hull. So, they weren't invincible against the -A's older weapons... "Quantum torpedoes, now, ensign! One spread, pulse-fire; target them manually on that exposed hull grid."

Overriding the targeting sensors Amanda switched to manual locking the torpedo launchers onto the starboard side. "Torpedoes away." Three quantum torpedoes flew out of one of the Galileo's forward launchers towards the Romulan ship, it maneuvered to bring a shielded side to face them but Amanda's aim was true..

If Romulans were nothing else, they were cunning, deceptive, and technologically advanced. Much could be debated about their government's internal politics which lent their society susceptible to paranoia and isolationism, yet their galactic projection and military prowess were currently the best-in-class within both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. And so, when a trio of bright, twisting lavender quantum torpedoes streaked through the cosmos, the three of them were targeted upon launch and their guidance computers jammed, causing them to veer off course and away from the warbird as they approached impact. Two of the torpedoes split high and low, rapidly veering off course and missing the enemy starship by several kilometers. The third torpedo tracked longer than the rest, yet suddenly maneuvered toward the rear of the vessel and impacted its aft shield grid with a bright flare across the warbird's turquoise shields.

"What the...." Amanda couldn't help but say, the Romulan ship should have been nothing more than a debris field. After a moment she gave her report. "Negative impact on two torpedoes. Significant damage to targets aft shields."

Toren grunted, his lip twisting into a grimace. Damn Romulans were always up to their tricks. "Some kind o' jammer," his voice cracked a little as he spoke. They were likely outmatched here, but you had to go down fighting. He began tapping his console, analysing the trajectories to work out if there was a counter.

"Captain, I can get us closer...", Rafe turned around and faced Tarin, "much closer! They won't have time to jam them if you let me."

Had Serran been human, he would have cursed, pounded the console, or at least called out in frustration. Being a Vulcan however, his expression remained neutral.

"The Romulans are using highly concentrated EMP bursts to prevent our torpedoes from reaching their target. I believe if we remodulate the guidance mechanism to a lower band it would resolve the issue."

"That or get close enough, so we don't need to use the guidance system at all."

Tarin bit her bottom lip with immense frustration. Galileo-A's torpedo complement was already minuscule, and they'd just wasted three of the eight quantum torpedoes in their inventory. They couldn't afford another miscalculation, and now two options were being presented to her: disable the warheads' guidance systems and close to point-blank range to ensure a hit (and possibly be destroyed in the process by the resulting explosions), or attempt to re-modulate the systems to compensate for the interference.

The red-collared commander shook her head and momentarily closed her eyes to focus on what needed to be a snap decision. This was her first command since being promoted from her old XO position, and usually, such difficult choices were handled by the vessel's captain. But now, she was the captain. She was the one who had to make the call, right or wrong, and unsure if the outcome she chose would be the correct one. Yet one thing was certain...she had to act immediately.

"Number One, take Turell and get down to the torpedo bay immediately. Disable the guidance computers on two of our quantum torpedoes," Tarin decided. "Master Chief, take over tactical. And Mister Caradec...you better not scratch the paint on my ship..."

Caradec grinned widely, showing his pearly whites despite the seriousness of the situation. That was a curious quirk of Rafe, whenever the situation was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-because-we-all-very-likely-may-die situation, he relished it. In fact, one could say he was built for it! It probably had everything to do with a strong vein of Viking ancestry in his blood.

"Not a problem, Captain. Get ready, you're about to see the best piloting ever!", Rafe declared. Humility? Who needed it? Certainly not spaceship pilots! He turned around and entered some parameters into the computer to ready their encounter. "I suggest letting me know when they are ready and I'll get us in close, very close. Once we are in position they will only have 5 seconds to launch before I get us out of there. But they have to tell me exactly when they launch!"

"On it," Blake nodded firmly before glancing to Amanda with dark blue eyes. She motioned with her head for the security officer to follow her, even as she started running towards the lift. This was a higher-risk strategy, but with higher risk came greater rewards. In this case, not wasting more of their torpedoes on a miscalculation. Neither option was foolproof, but she preferred this one.

Securing the console Amanda followed Blake into the turbolift, the moment the doors shut she looked at the Commander. "This is a very bad idea, Sir. Getting close enough to dumb fire a quantum torpedo at a small warbird like that, the risk of us getting caught in the explosion is unbelievably high."

"Agreed, but the risk of both our ships being destroyed because we run out of torps before we figure out how to get them through is also high," Blake glanced to her, nodding all the same, because Amanda wasn't wrong. "I know, we're between a rock and a hard place, but at least this way, if we win the gamble, we have a better shot of supporting B."

"If we can get it done before they finish the B off," Amanda remarked. "from what I saw I don't think she's going to last much longer. And we're only a distraction at best."


USS Galileo-A - Deck 4

Blake sprinted down the corridor, not needing to look to know that Amanda was right by her side. She barely slowed up as she rounded the corner and ducked through the door, half skidding to a stop in front of one of the sizeable torpedoes. She always forgot just how intimidating they were until she was up close and personal with one again. She caught her breath as she opened up the panel, glancing at Amanda. "This was not what I expected to be doing today when I woke up this morning..."

"Me neither," Amanda replied as she caught up to Blake. Pulling some tools from a kit and grabbing a Padd she joined her on the other side of the torpedo. "You know... I've never done this procedure before Commander." She said with a slight hint of nervousness.

"Neither have I," Blake replied bluntly, looking to her with blue eyes that glinted with grim humour as she shrugged, tapping on the uncovered display to start inputting her access code. "Let's figure it out together..."

“Luckily the computer does provide some instructions,” Amanda tapped at the Padd she’d grabbed before putting it down on top of the torpedo. “Let's see, we need to isolate the guidance system and remove it without the computer knowing it doesn’t have a guidance system anymore."

"Nice and easy, when you put it like that," Blake murmured with a frown as she leant in closer to see the small display, shifting her weight onto her forward leg to brace against the ongoing battle. She tapped carefully at the screen, not even realising she was holding her breath as she navigated to the subroutine in question. "Got it..."


USS Galileo-A - Bridge

Toren moved over to the tactical station with a speed that his large frame belied. He quickly cast his eyes over the data and targeting systems, his antennae twitching. The dance of combat continued to play out as he prepared to show the Romulans some of the Galileo's fire.

Rafe continued to monitor the enemy, waiting to maneuver to not telegraph their intentions. His hands continued to enter final calculations and additional parameters into the computer, and he suddenly stopped. The next command he entered would freak everyone out, but he was ready and the Galileo-A would have its say in the Romulans' immediate future.

The blond operations manager looked down at his console, blinked, looked away then back. If someone had been watching they may not have noticed it happened so quickly.

In a calm monotone, he said. "The trailing warbird is firing at the B."


USS Galileo-B - Bridge

While the Mark II Nova class attempted to prosecute the lead Romulan warbird to the fullest, its wingman quickly closed in on the Mark III's aft quarter. The scout vessel's four forward disruptor ports glowed in preparation to fire and permanently cripple the seemingly-most-valuable asset of the two.

As Luke coordinated the firing solution against the lead warbird, his keen eye caught sight of its wing ship swiftly maneuvering to their aft position, leaving them vulnerable. Luke didn't need sensors to anticipate what would come next. "Brace for impact!" he shouted out a split second before the ship's tactical sensors detected the power buildup and subsequent discharge of the Romulan ship's forward disruptor pods.

Vren grit his teeth and betrayed little else, grabbing the console for support as he had done many times before during the war.

Vala did not bother holding on - he found that you were damned if you do and damned if you don't when it came to Starfleet consoles. Being flung clear often hurt less than a face full of plasma. He spent the moments before the impact setting up scans to deliver the most useful data sensors would allow to other bridge stations.

Anticipating the incoming attack, Luke quickly braced himself by half-squatting and gripping onto the console. As his knuckles turned white and his muscles tensed, he felt the strain in his glutes intensify as the ship was violently thrown from side to side. Despite the overwhelming force, his efforts to brace held firm, ensuring that he remained steady amidst the chaos of the impact.

Marisa glanced first at Luke, ever aware of him when they were both on the bridge, then she grabbed onto the console and braced herself. They had to survive this and get the Galileo-A back to its correct time. She just hoped they'd have that chance.

In space, a concentrated volley of pine green disruptor fire rippled from the trailing Romulan warbird against the Galileo-B's dwindling aft shield grid. Multiple consecutive strikes against the small frigate's aft quarter overloaded the shield grid then collapsed it, allowing a consecutive volley of weapons fire to slam directly into the secondary hull and penetrate critical sections of its lower decks. Galileo-B rocked violently from the impact and multiple consoles on the bridge exploded from the energy overload, sending sharp and flaming debris across the upper bodies of several officers.

"Aft shields are down," Mimi reported before the auxiliary station she was using exploded, she leapt back quickly enough to escape the full blast but was still showered in chunks of flaming sharp debris singeing her fur and cutting into her skin.

Vren felt the gout of hot plasma surge from Mimi's console next to him, the blistering hot matter surged outwards as he impassively ducked. The worst missed him, but as he regained his footing he could feel the searing pain of a burn across his right cheek.

Luke remained in his brace position as the console erupted in a shower of heat, duranium glass, and sparking wiring, narrowly missing him. With practiced efficiency, he tapped his comm badge. "=^= Medical staff to the bridge, we have wounded =^=," he relayed, adhering to standard procedure. Realistically, he knew that immediate assistance might be limited, considering the likely extent of injuries across the ship.

Standing up, Luke swiftly moved to a functioning console, brushing away debris as he activated and transferred tactical controls to it. With determination, he began scanning once more, gathering data to provide Lirha with updated information and tactical analysis amidst the chaos of battle.

Marisa felt something hot burn into her left arm and held on until the rocking stopped, then she checked to see that part of her sleeve was burned away and the flesh beneath was blistered. She glanced over at Luke to make sure he was okay, then removed her uniform top so the burned material wouldn't continue to irritate her raw flesh. Then, with her combadge attached to her undershirt, she went back to assisting with data analysis and anything else the admiral needed of her. There would be time after the crisis to get her arm looked at.

Goldie ducked when the ship was hit, knowing that in general, the safest place to be during an attack was beneath her console so that flying debris was less likely to hit her. As soon as it stopped, she got up and did a quick assessment of the bridge crew to make sure no one was seriously injured, then ran a check of her station to make sure it was still working. Any moment now, she expected another attack and needed to be ready.


USS Galileo-B - Deck 7

Down below decks near main engineering - where the brunt of the impact had just occurred - more consoles exploded and overhead relays pulsed before bursting into an amalgamation of sparks of smoke, sending debris descending into the warp reactor's control center. And within a nearby Jefferies tube...a bulkhead within the maintenance tube suddenly fractured and collapsed dangerously close to its occupant just as a hole to space was ripped open at the end of the junction from the disruptor fire.

Looking up from the lower level Asha heard the boom of exploding control stations on the upper level, a large piece of metal was heading straight down the middle of engineering directly at Sera who was leaning over the warp core boundary rail. With no time to warn her Asha's leg muscles coiled for a moment before releasing their energy in a pounce tackling the Vulcan woman out of the way.

The last volley of weapons' fire was a close one as the deck of main engineering pitched and bucked from the release of energy. Sera was suddenly off her feet, arms reaching, and thankfully caught the boundary rail before careening down the length of the core. Fortuitous.

In retrospect, what she was exceptionally thankful for was Asha's observational skills and quick reaction time. However, in the moment all Sera knew was one minute she was at the railing and the next she had been slammed flat on her back to the deck by one of the 'B's' junior officers - Ensign Asha.

"--My thanks." Sera wheezed, having seen the tail end of the falling debris where she had been holding on for life.

"You're welcome," Asha responded with a smile before getting up and pulling Sera back to her feet.

Sera was helped to her feet, and she was thankful - but she released Asha's hand as soon it was safe to do so.

Nodding once, "The sound of the core shifted...shields are offline."

Both Liam and John returned through the half-open doors of engineering, having been sent away to perform emergency repairs. Fortunately, their absence spared them from any exploding consoles. Liam swiftly made his way to the first aid locker, while Delaney headed for a nearby console.

"We have a hull breach on deck 7... section 9 and micro stresses across the entire aft hull," DeLaney reported, his tone urgent as he began to assess the situation. "We need to divert power from non-essential systems and reroute it to emergency force fields. Emergency teams are reporting significant damage and hull buckling on the aft section of all levels, forcefields are just about holding."

As DeLaney relayed the information, Liam began preparing the first aid supplies, ready to assist with any injuries that might arise amidst the chaos of the emergency repairs.

"Christ on a donkey! What the heck is going on...." John was cursing as he worked in the tube. Suddenly he was cut off as his breath was sucked out for a second and he had to dig his fingers into the grating as the wind sucked around him like a sudden hurricane. It lasted only a second before settling. He was breathing hard and it hurt. He twisted to lie on his back and could see the blackness of space beyond a golden shimmering. "I need to get out of here." He thought out loud. "Don't know how long that field is going to hold." He twisted again beginning to crawl along but as he got further he could see that the tube was blocked with debris. There was no way back either as the damage past the hull breach was worse. He turned on his back once more. Hey guys, I've got a problem here. Trapped like a rat."

Sera's commbadge alerted and the tinny voice of Petty Officer Hollenday was heard. Her eyes widened as she listened to his 'off the cuff' comment regarding his issue. Tapping her commbadge, Sera replied, "I do not know what a 'rat' is, however, I understand trapped. You are in the Jeffries tube?"

Where I sent you? Sera added silently.

"Yeah, too much debris behind me, bulkhead bent in front, and nothing between me and space but a flickering bit of forcefield." John paused for a moment. "Hey, if you get a chance tell Mimi I love her. The way this thing is flickering don't know it's going to last."

Sera blinked at his comment. "I respect your acceptance of a most difficult situation, and as a Vulcan, it would considered illogical to attempt to retrieve you as we are under attack. She began to walk towards the Jeffries tube in question, and continued, "However, I am not a very good Vulcan. I would rather not tell Ensign Mimi that, Petty Officer Hollenday. That is a sentiment that should be shared in person. Now what type of debris is blocking the tube?"

"Live conduits and who knows what. I can tell you though that unless you can bend duranium there isn't a thing you can do. I can see a whole support bent that I can't get by. I might not be much above a nut-buster third class but I've been around enough to know that without a base or a transporter, there's no way to go either direction." John coughed, then groaned as the air suddenly rushed for a moment and pulled him off the decking as the field failed for a second. "Force field is failing."

Sera began climbing the utility stairs and looked down to Asha before she disappeared from view. "I apologize, Ensign Asha, but I will not allow my engineer to die without doing everything I can to save him. I accept the odds of finding a successful way forward with this are...less than ideal, but that will not prevent me from an attempt."

"You think I'm not coming with you, that's my father in there," Asha said grabbing a plasma torch before quickly coming to the bottom of the ladder.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

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Primary and Secondary Characters
Various Positions
USS Galileo-A

Primary and Secondary Characters
Various Positions
USS Galileo-B

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