Back in Business

Posted on Tue 3rd Dec, 2024 @ 6:04am by Commodore H'tek

1,768 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Phoenix Gamble
Location: Ramalon (The Triangle)
Timeline: MD2

-Start-

{Suv'Wi}

Business had been very good lately, their coffers showed it. H'tek had amassed such a hoard once and nearly lost it all for his madness and self pitying retirement. His ship, a remnant of the Dominion War he ran off with to make his own empire with, was nearly lost to decline. Once, his crew had used plasma fire from the conduits for warmth, but now H'tek smiled inwardly taking in the bright gleam of fresh pain and the smell of fresh atmospheric processors. This vessel, a K'vort class Heavy Cruiser, had carried him to the edges of the galaxy and back. It was pleasing to see that it would live another hundred years at least.

Partha, his partner in crime was already on the bridge as H'tek entered. The old man was an emperor in his soul but had let ambitions go with age. His true ambition was to achieve a spiritual death in combat, to have an answer but not make it easy for that bastard Death to impart it. Today their smaller more local ambitions was to oversee their other partners combat operations. The part this ship was to play was coming soon, the drop of cloak and ambush from powerful type nine disruptors ended most resistance if it ever began.

K'rtorg had been there war dog lately, as piracy was a young mans sport and and an old mans obsession. Lately his hauls had been impressive, beginning with two Zakdorn command Cruisers which had been ground to dust in their usage to capture even more war ready vessels. H'tek had a mind for fleet movement when it was mad for most other things. Having hundreds of vessels operate across the galaxy made it even more impressive the madman had such talents. The scheming and plotting took madness and obsession, Kr'torg was happy to have a well set table for his burgeoning ambitions. This triumvirate formed the crux of the Second Sons Pirate Banner.

"Captain, your seat awakens at your presence." Partha was an old school traditionalist, H'tek was not.

"it awakens for fear of my ass and the state of my lunch!" H'tek belted and anyone who knew better laughed immediately. The mad dog climbed the dais and took his seat with grunt.

His chair had a small display for his eyes, and the battle grid was up, but nothing marked on it. "Status? Locations of reinforcements?" He grunted it out, not so much bored as impatient with the waiting portion of the plan.

Partha replied, "Sire, Kr'torg has shepherded the Romulan convoy into regrouping in the rings of the inner gas giant. They have sounded off distress call. We are in position. Starfleet reports a Sheffield-class Cruiser on the way at maximum warp, presumably twelve minutes away."

H'tek snorted, "I do not know of this Shfield class. Are we in danger?"

Partha nodded, "Aye, it is our superior in shields and raw power. We might stand a chance if we can disable their power generators, but failing that we will lose a prolonged engagement."

"We need to fix that soon, I tire of running from Utility vessels. A Warship perhaps gives us reason to regroup but this is an escort. We are falling behind Partha."

On screen Kr'torg sprung the trap. Two Raptors, cloaked inside the rings opened fire after de-cloaking. Several vessels lost power and engines, and those who remained began to flee. H'tek tagged the lead vessels attempting to flee.

"Target lead vessels, minimal damage its the ships we want remember... none can escape."

His crew worked with grim efficiency. They were in optimal range and firing arcs, their pilot had only to move towards the convoy to expose them all to strafing fire.

"Sire, target Four Deltahas managed to escape detection, we have left it behind!" The conn officer announced this in a panic. It was his eyes on the scopes, and missing one ship even could mean exposing H'tek's operational secrets.

True to form, H'tek bellowed at the man, "You incompetent ass, out of that seat get someone with a brain in there now. Launch our intercepts now!"

As the Conn officer was dragged from the chair Partha sat in it and relayed, "A single vessel, still powering on... they found an ice-body to land on and cut power. Intercepts away, fighters at full impulse."

The minute passed slowly, H'tek saw Kr'torg mopping up, rounding the ships and passengers into units of cargo to be sold. The passengers wouldn't hit slave markets, they'd likely get ransomed. H'tek had few morals, but slavery was not something he cared for. This last ship if it escaped would relay sensor data and information H'tek wasn't ready to have revealed.

"Status?!" The intercepts had no warp drive, and the Suv'wi had to maintain its position to keep their quarry kettled. Those fighters needed to disable the warp on the shuttle before it escaped but it looked like the ship would escape.

"They are powering a warp drive, we will not intercept!" Partha told it like it was, H'tek never questioned it.

A hard decision was made in an instant. H'tek opened the channel, "Reform your cordon, we must leave in pursuit!"

Kr'torgs protests were irrelevant, H'tek and Partha moved the Suv'Wi out of position to chase the evading glint in the distance. Kr' torg's vessel, a B'rel scout bird of prey was fast but lacked firepower. He couldn't contain the larger vessels alone, as the Suv'Wi left position the two largest vessels, Romulan freighters inexplicably geared with military grade shields made their move to escape.

{Suv'Wi}

H'tek watched the pip on their scopes get closer as they moved in. A familiar blood boil sensation overtook him and he grit his teeth prior to ordering, "chop em down."

The smaller sloop was not so well equipped and fell to the blasts. The other immediate problem was the long range sensors confirming the Sheffield class Starfleet vessel was nearly within weapons range.

"Destroy the vessel, cloak immediately and return us to the scene at maximum warp. We must have the portal open before Starfleet arrives behind us!"

Partha replied, "That's a narrow window, they don't have precise coordinates like we do, so that may give us a lead but we have no more than thirty seconds on them."

H'tek grinned, "Prime the portal for two firings then. Ramalon, and... Breen world Kopthka."

Partha laughed, "They had better have good shields!"

The Suv'Wi fired once more before turning invisible and reversing course once more. The streaks of disruptor fire impacted the unfortunate vessel and it cascaded into total engine failure and catastrophic meltdown. The Suv'Wi wasnt able to detect the escape pod which managed to fire before the total destruction of the vessel.

{Kr'Torg's raider "Gloknik"}

None of the raiders on Kr'torgs ship knew anything other than brazen confidence. The man was impossible to shake, and he had carried them through other raids without issue, so this was nothing new.

"Suv'Wi has changed position, it is pursuing a missed target."

Kr'torg didnt even show anger, it was always a smile or dashing side eye when others would have cursed their change in fortune.

"Prepare tractor beam, we can drag the ones without power into the path of ones who do, catch their flanks as they maneuver, grab vessel a4, and b7, coordinate to T'chilz and T'vuhn, to do the same with c5 and f9, let's gooo!"

Three vessels spiraled to tow and drag derelicts into the paths of the larger freighters trying to escape. Only one of the freighters peeled off to avoid running over their fellows. The other large freighter continued to escape, bullying through the derelict in its path. The impact was devastating and destroyed their forward shields, but also revealing how durable these vessels were. These were wolves in sheeps clothing. Kr'torg was surprised at the audacity but took it in stride.

"Well we knew these guys were Romulan military, but that proves it doesn't it. Cold blooded green blooded quasi Vulcans killing their own to escape. Focus weapons on forward integrity points of super structure, deny them the frame of a warp ready vessel. Fire please."

Their tiny vessel made solid impacts, but didn't slow the freighter down. It was a military transport and well built. Damage mounted and soon it lost power.

Sire, "Another Federation vessel on long range sir, an Akira class! And its five minutes away."

Kr'torg knew the Akira class well, it was a warship far beyond their measures. "Well we have our exit planned already, status of Suv'Wi?"

His second, a low born Klingon who had worked hard to rise to this point answered, "Returning to position, the Neutrino emissions indicate they are preparing a portal."

"Sire, 2b, is rising again at full shields. They've charted a course free of obstructions."

"We made a deal, The Imperial Star Empire wanted the whole convoy delivered to them, so that's not going to fly. Prepare boarding parties, use an overloaded disruptor shot coupled with a torpedo to get a team over there. Focus is disabling engines and retrieval."

A precision shot made a brief gap in the shielding, and Kr'torg sent a dozen of his best over, before dissolving himself in the beamover. His startled second looked with wide eyes as Kr'torg commanded, "conns yours."

{Sheffield Class- USS Cumberland}

The Cumberland arrived a minute after H'tek, and a minute before the Thunderchild. In that brief time, the signals of over thirty ships seemed to disappear. A scan showed they were being sent through a portal of unknown technology and though they blazed in, to find the last ship crossing the event horizon. None other remained.

For fear of losing the portal the Cumberland moved to the portal to follow, disappearing as well.

Moments later the Thunderchild emerged from Warp, the final message of the Cumberland playing on their channel before being cut off by the portal winking shut.

...Captain Xin Liu of the USS Cumberland. I repeat, we have been redirected inside the Breen Confederacy do not follow! Convoy locations unknown...---"

The Thunderchild was then alone. Scans revealed only scant evidence of the battle, debris and signal decay were all that remained. The Second Sons had dissapeared entirely with the entire Romulan convoy captured.

Then, a beacon was activated only in the long moment after the portal had closed. A life support pod sounded for help, a sole witness to what had happened. When the Thunderchild recovered the man inside the escape pod, the prisoner said nothing, but interrogation awaited him at SB109.

-End-

 

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