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Broken Dreams

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    • I slowly floated above the asteroid, pinging my active sensors every few seconds while scanning for returns.

    "Any results?" Commander Janeway asked.

    "Nothing useful." I answered. "It's like finding a cloaking needle in a haystack."

    Still, this was fun. A hell of a lot of more fun than scanning hydrogen atoms along the border in case the Klingons got up to any funny business.

    Come on, they might be sneaky honorable warriors but they are also currently neutral in the conflict despite their semi-alliance with the Federation.

    Which made them real bastards, by the way, after everything in the Dominion war.

    Maybe it was a good idea to keep a presence here just in case, after all.

    "Gold Squadron, anything?" I transmitted to the first fighter squadron which was flying fighter cover while Blue Squadron was scouting ahead.

    "Star, this is Oracle. Everything looks clear so far. Any idea what they are up too?" Lieutenant Sarah Hansen answered. "Come on, you have to have heard them plan something."

    "Sorry, couldn't cheat even if I wanted to. Everything about the opposing force was planned in a dead room."

    Or in other words, Lieutenant Bergson's quarters. He was the leader of the Peregrine Squadron. And apparently he was a sneaky motherfucker.

    "I kind of hope they will move soon. This is getting tedious."

    I mentally smiled at that. "Which might actually be his tactic. Drag it out until we get tired and relax."

    "You don't get tired."

    "Which is a problem with his plan."

    "Yeah, I'm not su... CONTACT!"

    What!? Where!? The fighters were a hell of a lot closer and had an easier time picking up other fighters despite their more limited sensors. I couldn't see anything.

    "Okay, break up and engage. They are not getting close to the lady. Remember, stick to your wingmen."

    She must have switched to the dual frequency, patching both to me and to her squadron. They should be in sector three which would put them...

    I swept my active sensors in that direction and at full power, I just about got some signals back. Without transponders at this range, I could only track the Valkyries reliably because their transmissions.

    Those other signals must be the attacking squadron.

    But why would they all attack from...

    I didn't bother finishing the sentence and instead kicked my impulse drive up to full, swinging around and putting the asteroid between me and the other direction.

    As soon as I started to move, I was proven right. Four energy signals spiked in the opposite direction of the attack as three almost completely dead and drifting fighters powered up and went to full power towards me, lighting up on my scanners as their energy levels got high enough to burn through their energy dampening fields.

    Shit! Too fucking close!

    They disappeared behind the horizon of the large rock as I sent out another signal. "Blue Squadron, this is Star. Return to defend."

    "Star, Viper. Returning now. ETA: One Minute." The harsh and rather heavily accented voice of the Russian commander of Blue Squadron sent back. Ironically, his name was Jean Bisset.

    I didn't have one minute. Fifteen seconds until those fighters rounded the rock and at this range there would be no way for me to dodge a photon torpedo, simulated or not. I wouldn't even have managed it in the Sabre.

    "Oracle, I could need some help here. Ten seconds and they have me dead to rights!"

    "Sorry Star, you are on your own. We are engaged."

    Crap.

    I could barely see those fighters when they were not actively boosting and that was at this close range. Not with this much crap floating around.

    So how about we add a bit more crap.

    I flicked the phasers from 'laser pointer' to full power and fired a blast into the asteroid as we flew past, rapidly heating it and causing the rock to spew dust and particles into space. If they fired through that, it might blow up in their faces.

    Flicking the phasers back I waited five seconds before firing a full salvo of simton torpedoes from my single aft launcher, set in a spread area of effect pattern, maximum simulated yield into the dust and gas cloud.

    The four peregine fighters rounded the asteroid and their shields flared when they basically flew into a sandstorm.

    Didn't expect that, did you?

    A second later the simton warheads bathed the area in simulated antimatter radiation, causing the peregines to start to tumble in space, their thrusters automatically bringing them to a halt relative to the asteroid, dead in space as they were 'destroyed'.

    Captain Mason frowned and crossed his arms. "I have noticed that a lot of your tactics involve throwing things at the enemy while running away."

    "Whatever works, sir." I answered and frowned slightly. "But that's a good point. I really need to watch that or I'll become predictable."

    He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Now, that I doubt will ever happen. Status on the fighter wings?"

    I sent out a few quick signals and a couple of seconds I could answer him. "Gold Squadron is mopping up the last of the Warthogs." not the most glamourous nickname for the Peregrines, though they did have a similar role to that old American plane, it was still better than what the Valkyrie pilots called them when none of the Peregrine pilots were around. Fighter pilots are all a bunch of primadonnas. "Blue Squadron is forty seconds out."

    "And what have we learned?"

    I sighed. "I'm no longer in a Sabre and maneuverable enough to get away from enemy fighters. Keep a fighter screen close or you may be forced to use anti-capital ship weapons as flyswatters."

    He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Janeway before he nodded. "I suppose that's accurate enough without a full debriefing. Very well. Send out the all clear signal and recall all fighters for full debriefing in two hours."

    "Yes, Sir."

    I sent out the signal and raised myself higher above the asteroid, the Peregine fighters I 'killed' moving around for docking permission.

    That was way closer than I liked.

    There had to be a better way to detect fighters. I mean, cloaking ships were easier to detect with tachyon bursts.

    Fighters were just so damn small that as long as they were scattering sensors and dampening emissions... even if I spotted them - which they would need to actively be moving to do - unless they got really damn close, they were too maneuverable for me to hit consistently. Phasers are fast, but they are not hitscan.

    But there had to be a better way to do it than using the fighter screen... which did have an easier way to hit other fighters because they could get hell of a lot closer while also being just as hard to hit. They didn't have any easier way actually detecting other fighters though, especially stealthy ones.

    At least the Klingons went for size and firepower on their subcraft. Large enough to slap a cloak on. Which was freaky in and of itself, but they were at least easy enough that I should theoretically be able to swat them from the skies if I saw them.

    And considering they needed to uncloak to fire... should be easy enough. The romulans learned that lesson the hard way.

    As the last fighter got permission to land, something else pulled my attention away from my annoyance over the fact that space fighters were actually a viable thing.

    There was a... blip... at the edge of the system on my gravity scanners.

    Somebody was running a warpfield out there and it was heading in system at just over warp one. But those power readings... with as much power as they were putting into it, they should have been doing warp two.

    If that was the case and I read things right, which considering the distance it was not impossible that I wasn't, their warp geometry was just fucked up.

    The hell is that thing?

    "Captain." I said, stopping him on his way to his ready room. "I think we have a small situation."




    AN// A bucket of thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
     
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    • Insane Pringle said:
    More!! Must have more...
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...


    Comments like this make me think of putting up a patron account. Ten dollars and I post a extra part! :p

    Nah, I wouldn't. Not when playing in somebody elses sandbox anyway. If I was writing Caelum it would be one thing but when it's fanfiction it would feel wrong, even if it wasn't technically legal due to being 'pay for faster update' rather than pay to read.
     
    Retsof said:
    That would be amazing. "... Why are there SRBs on a warp capable ship?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It would have to be KSP Interstellar, and by the point you get access to warp drives in that mod you're unlikely to stick SRBs on your ship. Though there would still quite likely be chemical rockets around, yes. On the shuttle, for example, a shuttle which probably doubles as a fuel refinery.
     
    Baughn said:
    It would have to be KSP Interstellar, and by the point you get access to warp drives in that mod you're unlikely to stick SRBs on your ship. Though there would still quite likely be chemical rockets around, yes. On the shuttle, for example, a shuttle which probably doubles as a fuel refinery.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    ... I just wanted to make a moar boosters joke...
     
    17
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    • Captain Mason frowned at the viewscreen. "Commander, does that look like what I think it looks like?"

    Janeway nodded. "It does. First Contact."

    I had to agree. The ship heading in system under low warp a couple of thousand kilometers to my port was a sphere, about fifty meters across at the widest part. A giant circular nacelle circled the hull another ten meters out. Its deck layout was non-standard as well, being as it was vertical rather than horizontal to its drive axis.

    "Star, what are xenosociology saying? Who is our first contact specialist?"

    "They are saying, and I quote: "Squeeeee!", end quote. Other than that, our first contact specialist is Ensign Ajan. He is on his way to the bridge now."

    Shran leaned back in his seat by the tactical console. "Star... can they see us?"

    "...I don't think so. Not from what I can detect from their technology. No gravimetric sensors that I can identify, not even gravity plating. I don't think they have artificial gravity, even. Not even anything I can identify as a subspace sensor. They don't even have shields." I said and zoomed the picture in, "See this at the 'rear' of the ship? I think it's a fusion torch."

    "A fusion torch drive?" Commander Janeway said with a puzzled look on her face, glancing at Captain Mason. "And without subspace and gravity sensors, how do they navigate during warp?"

    "My guess, Commander?" I said thoughtfully. "They don't. I can't detect anything that would let them do so. I think they drop out of warp, do their observations and then do the next jump."

    Not the safest way to travel, but it seemed to be working for them. As long as nothing able to actually see while in warp decided to take offense to a new species fumbling around their backyard.

    Or if there was a sudden rock.

    "Can we contact them?" the Captain asked as he studied the screen.

    "I don't see how before they drop out of warp. And without subspace sensors, they wouldn't be able to pick it up anyhow."

    "So... what do we do? Radio?"

    "I don't have one as standard equipment, but maybe the preschool will let us borrow one of their toys? I can 'hear' it but I have no way to actually transmit." I said in amusement.

    Mason chuckled and shook his head. "Tell engineering to put something together."

    "Yes, sir."


    We trailed the alien ship for about thirty minutes and by then Ajan had calmed down a bit and stopped hyperventilating from realizing he was actually the most senior first contact specialist and might actually be called in to take the lead on introducing an entire species to the rest of the galaxy.

    All senior officers had the training, of course, but he was actually specialized in the area.

    "Captain, I'm reading a fluctuation in their warpfield. They are about to drop out of warp.... I think."

    "You think?"

    "Well, it's either that or their rubber band broke."

    He rubbed his chin to hide a grin. "Very well. Drop us out with them, put us at a distance of a thousand kilometers. And stop it with the wisecracks, Star."

    "Yes sir."

    With that, I followed the ball of tinfoil out of FTL, keeping us at about a thousand kilometers to their starboard side.

    Three.

    Two.

    One.

    Hello over there. You are not alone!

    I didn't signal or anything, I just floated there in space, waiting for them to notice me, my running lights flashing clearly.

    And waited.

    Hello?


    Oh for fuck's sakes!


    "Captain, I don't think they can see us. They are giving off radar pulses... radar is automatically dispersed by my navigational shielding."

    "Can you send back pulses?"

    "Not with what I have installed." I sighed. "The radio is almost integrated, but best I can do yet is to turn off my navigational shielding."

    He hesitated but nodded. "Do it. Just be ready to raise shields in case they try something."

    I turned off the navigational shield and then I waited. Again.

    And waited.

    Come on, guys, I'm giving strong radar echoes out here. I know you can see me.

    Even if this is the actual first contact for you, you have to have something planned for it.

    Right?

    A laser lit up one of my facing photon sensors.

    Flash.

    Flash, Flash.

    Flash, Flash, Flash.

    Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash.

    "Captain, they have initiated contact with a laser beam. They are flashing prime numbers at me." I reported happily. "Should I initiate a response?"

    Lasers I already had. They were sometimes used to bounce off things like supergiants to measure cloud density. Though I should turn the power down or I might accidentally burn a hole in their hull.

    "Ensign Ajan? Your recommendation?" Mason asked.

    My friend was silent for a moment before he nodded. "They took the lead. Let's allow them to keep it. First Contact Package Alpha Four?"

    "I agree. Star?" Commander Janeway said and nodded.

    "Initiating First Contact Package Alpha Four."

    Which was code for; "Let them take the lead while you learn everything you can about them to make it easier to tell them about us as we are clearly the more scientifically advanced species and it will not only be faster this way, it will also make them feel like they are in a more comfortable position."

    I started to flash prime numbers back at them. Personally I was glad for these aliens. Their warp trail indicated that they were coming from a star about three light years away, but along the border, not from inside Klingon space.

    This could so easily have gone much worse for them.




    AN// Many buckets of Thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
     
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    • Well, it's good to see that Ajan's training in First Contact situations is, finally, becoming useful. Though I am surprised there's no one else on the ship who has the specialty. On the last ship, it made sense as it was pretty small. This one has several times the crew. You'd think there'd be at least someone else who took that.
     
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