I dropped out of warp well outside the tachyon detection grid surrounding Starbase 23. An unknown cloaked vessel crossing that border was in a world of hurt from his twenty permanently stationed ROUs. Not to mention the weapon platforms.
Out here, there was a shoot first, ask questions from the trace elements left behind policy. Any unknown cloaked vessel might be a Berserker remnant.
Even the Klingons didn't try to push that. At least none have so far. For all their blustering, they usually aren't stupid.
Dropping my cloak, I scooted closer and opened a channel to the station, "U.S.S. Velvet Anvil reporting in."
He accepted the connection. His avatar was that of a Caitian, something that was a bit rare, of average height and dark fur, his mane kept short to his head, "Welcome, Velvet Anvil. I am Starbase 23, or R'rrk if you like. I trust your journey was safe of dangers?"
"It was," I agreed with a smile, "Good to be here."
The original Starbase 23 was lost during the Berserker War before it held an AI. The new one forked off the station in orbit of Cait. Not that odd that he had some of their habits.
"I am clearing you for docking bay fifteen," he continued with a smile, "Admiral L'Set would like to speak with your captain and you at the earliest opportunity."
"Oh?" I asked, "Anything interesting?"
He nodded, "Mission briefing. You are going to be deployed along the former Berserker border."
I frowned, "Already? My crew could use some RnR, we have been out for almost three weeks. I'm a small ship, I don't have much in the way of recreation areas."
One five man holodeck was about all there was and it doubled for training purposes so time in it for recreation was limited.
"A couple of days, but then she wants you out there. We are a bit short staffed," he said with shrug, "Sorry."
Sighing, I nodded, "I'll let Captain Shran know that she wants to talk to him as soon as we dock. Well, the least you can do is to make sure we are fully stocked. I'm transmitting the list of parts."
"Received. Transferring to engineering. Also, here is the most up to date data on local movements and reports."
I nodded again, "Thanks. Anything from Berserker space?"
"Not much," he admitted, "Ones emerge from time to time. Sometimes they manage to catch a civilian ship and fade away again before we can pick them up. Most of the time they do something stupid like try for a colony and get squished."
No wonder. Nothing even remotely close to the former Neutral zone was without tachyon grids and proper defences. The war might be over, but there might still be hundreds of Berserker vessels still in there. Maybe even repair stations cloaked in empty space.
We had no idea how many there really were, just that any major fleets or battlegroups had been smashed.
If they had not been, they really should have shown up by now.
But anyone moving into Berserker space had a good chance of getting blooped. Which was the reason why our mission would be as much defending the border from people stupid enough to want to go in there to loot as to defend our side from the evil machines.
I nodded, "Okay. Flight path ready, moving in for docking."
XXXXXXXX
"Captain, we have arrived at Starbase 23," I reported as I dropped the cloak, "New data on current ship movements is available and displayed on your main viewscreen."
Shran looked up from the PADD with the report from the medical bay as I formed the hologram in his small readyroom, "Thanks, Ship, I'll be right out. Go ahead and dock up."
"On it, sir," I agreed with a nod, "Oh, and Admiral L'Set wishes to speak to you as soon as possible about getting us deployed along the border."
"Already?"
I sighed, "Apparently there is a lack of ships with Starfleet focusing more along the Klingon border. Nobody seems to think that this end of it will be very exciting. Neither rebels nor loyalists are very likely to fuck around out here."
Shran dropped the PADD on the desk, "Well, they are likely right," as he got up and walked over to look out the 'window' as I switched it to show the approaching starbase.
I was a Warship, of course I didn't have windows. That's was a silly thing reserved for science ships and civilian vessels.
Okay, granted, they were not much of a weak spot, antimatter or directed energy weapons didn't care overly much if it was duranium or transparent aluminium. But not much of a weak spot didn't mean 'not a weak spot'. Just like the bridge now being at the centre of any ship whose primary mission was going to where there was trouble and shooting it.
Starbase 23 was a Dreamstar class space station. A newer class than the Watchtower class if about the same size, he wasn't a mushroom shape. He looked more like a giant golf ball with hangars and docking ports around the equator. He also had about a hundred pop-out photon torpedo turrets and about twice that in phaser strips.
I was told the suggested name was Deathstar, but it never got past the name committee.
"ETA to docking?"
"Five minutes and change. Should I give the crew shore leave as soon as we do? I think we are going to have to head out again pretty soon."
Shran shook his head, "I want a full check of your systems first."
"Yes, sir."
AN// Many thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section.
Out here, there was a shoot first, ask questions from the trace elements left behind policy. Any unknown cloaked vessel might be a Berserker remnant.
Even the Klingons didn't try to push that. At least none have so far. For all their blustering, they usually aren't stupid.
Dropping my cloak, I scooted closer and opened a channel to the station, "U.S.S. Velvet Anvil reporting in."
He accepted the connection. His avatar was that of a Caitian, something that was a bit rare, of average height and dark fur, his mane kept short to his head, "Welcome, Velvet Anvil. I am Starbase 23, or R'rrk if you like. I trust your journey was safe of dangers?"
"It was," I agreed with a smile, "Good to be here."
The original Starbase 23 was lost during the Berserker War before it held an AI. The new one forked off the station in orbit of Cait. Not that odd that he had some of their habits.
"I am clearing you for docking bay fifteen," he continued with a smile, "Admiral L'Set would like to speak with your captain and you at the earliest opportunity."
"Oh?" I asked, "Anything interesting?"
He nodded, "Mission briefing. You are going to be deployed along the former Berserker border."
I frowned, "Already? My crew could use some RnR, we have been out for almost three weeks. I'm a small ship, I don't have much in the way of recreation areas."
One five man holodeck was about all there was and it doubled for training purposes so time in it for recreation was limited.
"A couple of days, but then she wants you out there. We are a bit short staffed," he said with shrug, "Sorry."
Sighing, I nodded, "I'll let Captain Shran know that she wants to talk to him as soon as we dock. Well, the least you can do is to make sure we are fully stocked. I'm transmitting the list of parts."
"Received. Transferring to engineering. Also, here is the most up to date data on local movements and reports."
I nodded again, "Thanks. Anything from Berserker space?"
"Not much," he admitted, "Ones emerge from time to time. Sometimes they manage to catch a civilian ship and fade away again before we can pick them up. Most of the time they do something stupid like try for a colony and get squished."
No wonder. Nothing even remotely close to the former Neutral zone was without tachyon grids and proper defences. The war might be over, but there might still be hundreds of Berserker vessels still in there. Maybe even repair stations cloaked in empty space.
We had no idea how many there really were, just that any major fleets or battlegroups had been smashed.
If they had not been, they really should have shown up by now.
But anyone moving into Berserker space had a good chance of getting blooped. Which was the reason why our mission would be as much defending the border from people stupid enough to want to go in there to loot as to defend our side from the evil machines.
I nodded, "Okay. Flight path ready, moving in for docking."
XXXXXXXX
"Captain, we have arrived at Starbase 23," I reported as I dropped the cloak, "New data on current ship movements is available and displayed on your main viewscreen."
Shran looked up from the PADD with the report from the medical bay as I formed the hologram in his small readyroom, "Thanks, Ship, I'll be right out. Go ahead and dock up."
"On it, sir," I agreed with a nod, "Oh, and Admiral L'Set wishes to speak to you as soon as possible about getting us deployed along the border."
"Already?"
I sighed, "Apparently there is a lack of ships with Starfleet focusing more along the Klingon border. Nobody seems to think that this end of it will be very exciting. Neither rebels nor loyalists are very likely to fuck around out here."
Shran dropped the PADD on the desk, "Well, they are likely right," as he got up and walked over to look out the 'window' as I switched it to show the approaching starbase.
I was a Warship, of course I didn't have windows. That's was a silly thing reserved for science ships and civilian vessels.
Okay, granted, they were not much of a weak spot, antimatter or directed energy weapons didn't care overly much if it was duranium or transparent aluminium. But not much of a weak spot didn't mean 'not a weak spot'. Just like the bridge now being at the centre of any ship whose primary mission was going to where there was trouble and shooting it.
Starbase 23 was a Dreamstar class space station. A newer class than the Watchtower class if about the same size, he wasn't a mushroom shape. He looked more like a giant golf ball with hangars and docking ports around the equator. He also had about a hundred pop-out photon torpedo turrets and about twice that in phaser strips.
I was told the suggested name was Deathstar, but it never got past the name committee.
"ETA to docking?"
"Five minutes and change. Should I give the crew shore leave as soon as we do? I think we are going to have to head out again pretty soon."
Shran shook his head, "I want a full check of your systems first."
"Yes, sir."
AN// Many thanks to FPSCanarussia for betaing this section.
