Star U-678B, Serina B, 4 Lightyears from Kzinti Border, August 2192
Captain Sukuda of the UFS Olympus regarded the brilliant blue and green world, sparking with silver and brilliant lights, and wished that he were here under better circumstances. The Oceanis Triumvirate, at any other time, would have been fascinating to sit down and have a long conversation with.
The Triumvirate, somewhat like the Xindi further north, were a conglomerate nation, composed of three species that had evolved together on the planet, two of them completely aquatic. Though, they claimed, this wasn't their homeworld, but one that they'd been transplanted to for mysterious reasons. Their mastery of ecology, and the terraforming technology it produced, could potentially make dozens, hundreds of worlds that much more habitable.
It was why he was here with a task force. Though it had been decades at this point, the specter of war loomed over the Federation, wearing a feline mask this time. Olympus, alongside the Mako and the Hammerhead, were here to help set up a defensive perimeter around the planet, should the Kzinti ever decide to come knocking. Triumvirate space-faring industry was a boon here, Triumvirate tenders moving the frankly rather massive satellites that Olympus, along with an engineering vessel, the Archimedes, had brought into their designated stations.
Fuku sat on the bridge watching the final few satellites be gently pushed into place, looking at the ships that did so. These ones were small, but they shared the sleek lines and curves, an almost biological grace, of the rest of the Triumvirate's nascent fleet. The nacelles on their warp-capable patrol boats were elongated teardrops, tapering toward the endpoint…
He chuckled softly. Mosi would have given him some small, playful grief, even as she would have wanted to get a closer look at the nacelles in question, to see if their differences were only skin deep.
"Captain? Is there something funny?"
Commander Zh'rena's question brought Sukuda out of his reverie as he looked up at his XO. "Just catching myself thinking about nacelles again, Thashin."
Zh'rena shrugged. "Well, I'm sure Mrs. Sukuda would rather be thinking about that."
Sukuda nodded. Mosi, for her wartime experience, hadn't been drafted back into Starfleet, thank god. She had, however, been pinned as a 'civilian strategic advisor', with the blessing of Yoyodyne. It had left her… strung out. If there wasn't a war going on, he'd have put in for some leave to go to Andor.
"Captain," Lieutenant Alex Hollyfield said from the comms station, "I'm getting a signal from a Triumvirate patrol boat."
"Put it on screen," Sukuda replied, standing and walking towards the forward viewport.
The view of the stars disappeared, replaced by an interior that was filled with water as a whale-like face regarded him. "Captain Sukuda," the being in front of him said, its voice somewhat ethereal as it passed through their translator matrix into the Olympus's, "this is Ship-Guide Luruuna of the Hirimiri. We're reading an unknown force coming out of warp at the edge of the system. One large vessel, about your size, along with three somewhat smaller vessels."
"Damn," Sukuda said quietly. "Stay clear and return home. It's probably the Kzinti. We'll deal with them. Olympus out."
"Good luck," Luruuna replied before the comm-screen flickered out.
"Red alert!" Sukuda said as he returned to his chair, the alarms beginning to blare. "Hollyfield, signal the Mako and the Hammerhead, tell them to form up on our flanks, then send a message asking when the defense system is going to be fully online."
"Yes, sir," Hollyfield replied as he got to work.
"Are we planning on going out and intercepting them, sir?" Zh'rena asked.
"We're the most heavily armed and shielded ships in the system," Sukuda said as he sat down. "What other choice do we have?"
The Olympus, under Lieutenant Desi's now expert guidance, pulled away from the sight of the now hurrying tenders with their satellite, angling towards the sensor locks that now showed up on long-range scanners. Mako and Hammerhead were not far behind as they began to make their way towards the newly arrived force.
"Captain," Hollyfield said, "Triumvirate Command and Archimedes both confirm it'll be about 15 minutes before the defense system is fully online."
Sukuda nodded. "Then we just need to hold out for that long. Helm, put us at station keeping at about 5 minutes away from the defense grid at full impulse. Once you get confirmation that it's online, signal the task group to turn and burn towards the grid."
"Aye, sir," Desi replied.
"Sensors confirm one Kzinti battlecruiser and three frigates, Captain." the ensign at navigation said. "Also picking up several runabout launches."
"Alright," Sukuda replied. "Put any reserve power we have towards weapons and shields. Those overloaded disruptors are going to be hell otherwise. We'll focus on taking down the frigates first, isolate the battle-cruiser. Time to contact?"
"5 minutes, sir." Navigation replied.
Sukuda took a deep breath as he settled in his seat and steeled himself. Battle again, after all these years. But at least now he didn't have to worry about cloaked surprises.
Cold comfort as he watched the darkness before him. Then, well-trained eyes picked out the artificial stars that were their enemies. "2 minutes to contact." Navigation replied.
"Tactical, prepare long-range torpedo fire. Begin by focusing on the battleship, throw is sensors for a loop for a few moments while we focus fire on the lead frigate, and pick off runabouts where possible." Sukuda continued to watch, no longer fully daring to break the silence that had settled over the crew.
"Fire!"
Several torpedoes flashed out towards the now distinct ships, the torpedoes slamming into the large, spear-like heavy cruiser, the frigates beginning to break off to try and surround the Olympus.
"Tell Mako and Hammerhead to pick a frigate and bring it down! We'll keep the others off their backs." Sukuda said, watching as the Selachiis sprang into action, picking the left-most vessel and bearing down on it with relentless phaser fire. The frigate, in defiance of all reason, pulled one of the tightest turns he'd ever seen a ship this size make. He could swear he saw the stress fractures appearing on the hull, even as several runabouts popped from their sustained phaser fire.
The others tried to come to the aid of their compatriot, but the Olympus battered them with its own weapons, the cruiser trying to breach their shields and the shields of the frigates to little avail at the moment as its targets began to spread out. After several long, ship-shaking moments, the first frigate went up in a brilliant explosion, another frigate that had been worn down by the Olympus's guns and targeted next by the Selachiis going up shortly after.
Finally, however, the cruiser's guns broke through Olympus's shields, hammering into the hull and threatening to send the crew to the floor. "Damage report!" Sukuda called out.
"Hull breaches in Decks 2 and 3, sections 5 through 8. Sealing off the sections now!" Lieutenant Dreyer replied. "Shields are coming back online, but they only brushed us."
"Tell the Selachiis they're on their own for the moment," Sukuda said firmly. "Focus all fire on the cruiser!"
As the Olympus turned away from the fight that the frigates engaged in, trying to keep the minimum distance away from the almost insanely aggressive Kzinti frigate, their guns laid into the heavy cruiser as they began their slow, measured maneuvering, lances of orange light and flashed of photon torpedoes raking across the surface of the Kzinti cruiser as they fired in return. The ship's shields were strong however, and still more overpowered disruptor shots managed to pierce through, one shot shattering the ventral port nacelle's Bussard collector, the nacelle itself cascading into a complete quench and nearly taking its sister dorsal nacelle with it.
"Damn." Sukuda gritted out as he climbed back into his seat. "Status on the frigates!"
"They just sent the enemy frigate up in flames," Zh'rena replied. "They're turning about to help us."
"Good," Sukuda replied. "We should be able to wear them down through weight of numbers."
"Sir!" Hollyfield said. "Triumvirate Command just informed us they've rushed activation of the defense grid section closest to us!"
"Excellent," Sukuda said. That section was made up of about 10, though hastily designed, powerful phaser and torpedo satellites. "Divert all shield power to the aft shields and turn us about. Let them think they've got us on the run. Inform the Mako and Hammerhead and tell them to do the same."
"Sending messages now," Hollyfield said as the ship slowly turned about, making its best course towards the defense grid while throwing what fire it could behind it.
'No Thunderchild today.' Sukuda thought with a slight, grim smile, thoughts turning back to the sight of his ship and the remains of its nacelle drifting dead in space at Cheron. He had to thank whoever thought of four nacelles for this ship instead of the usual two. It might have just saved their lives.
"2 minutes until we're in range…" Desi replied before a solid hit near their bridge sent sparks flying, EPS conduits overloading and sealing off as screens flickered.
"Hold on!" Sukuda said, willing the ships to get to that finish line no one could see, but all could feel in their gut.
Then, they were through. "Scatter and give the turrets a clear shot!" Sukuda said, almost feeling the Olympus dive as he gave his command. The view in front of them came to life with an armament that would have outclassed even all of the Thunderchild-class ships put together, a forest of phaser fire interspersed by constellations of photon torpedoes that tore the Kzinti ship apart in a matter of minutes.
And like that, the skirmish was over. Sukuda allowed himself a quiet sigh of relief. "Casualties?" he asked the dreaded question.
Hollyfield listened attentively at his station. "10 dead, 45 wounded," he said, the words dark and heavy.
Sukuda sighed quietly. "Get a list together. I'll need to inform their families."
. . .
"You showed remarkable bravery yesterday, Rear Admiral." The Landstrider leader of the Triumvirate, an almost penguin-like being that rose to his chest in height, remarked as he sipped from a straw that accommodated his beak. "And I mourn with you for the loss of your comrades."
"Thank you, Representative Kokorina," Sukuda replied. He gazed out at the beatific world that they now stood on. "I think they would have been proud to give their lives preserving a world like this one."
"We will honor their sacrifice in our own ways," Kokorina replied. After a moment, the avian looked up at Sukuda. "It is a shame to see you go. I would have liked to introduce you to some of our underwater cities, even if you needed the aid of technology. The coral growths this time of year are beautiful here."
"Perhaps another time," Sukuda said. "For now, we need to go and do what we did here for the Birrin people a few lightyears over. They're another Federation protectorate that reached out to us after discovering warp travel and stumbling upon one of our science vessels."
"I wish the best for them," Kokorina replied. "And I hope, in time, to join your Federation, and share the wonders that we've managed to find ourselves."
"As do I," Sukuda replied. "And hopefully, that can be a time of peace when you do."
A/N: If you recognize the references to the speculative evolution works that I've mentioned (and put a focus on) here, then caps off to you. I'd highly recommend finding the series on Serina and the Birrin. They are... fascinating. *Slight brow raise*
