Chapter 8: Once More Unto the Breach (part 1)

CHAPTER EIGHT: ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH

Captain’s Log.

Stardate 58473.2

After analyzing the data from the probes and the cloaking sweeps, we have managed to unveil the gatekeepers waiting to ambush us… lying dead ahead of our present coordinates. We have apparently nullified their accompaniment by disabling the array of mines placed around the perimeter of the Khii system itself. Their lethal intent is obvious… as is our resolve to abrogate their efforts.

If it wasn’t for the allied ships now moving in formation with us toward the system perimeter however, we would have been incontrovertibly overwhelmed by hostile forces upon entering into this region of space. Their fortification of our intent is both critical and astounding.

Our first objective is to break through this initial system borderline before we resolve any obstacles leading to entering within the threshold of the planet itself. Lieutenant Commander Archer and Lieutenant Mitchell in engineering meanwhile are working on reprogramming the "houdini" mines detected throughout the planet for when we have created more favorable circumstances to address our options regarding the Romulan delegates trapped on the planet. But our focus now is solely on successfully penetrating the adversarial barrier with a minimum of damage or casualties to us or our allies. We are prepared… but we are also clearly in the midst of the calm before the storm.

- - - - -

Captain Sterling turned to the olive-skinned counselor manning the communications station and enounced “Mister Pasqual, prepare to send a probe detailing and mapping out all of our sensor findings along with our mission information back to Admiral Kelek on Starbase 39 as soon as possible. I’m sure that he is attentively awaiting an update from us.”

Then glancing down on the armrest of his seat, Sterling activated the ship-wide communications switch from the center seat.

“Attention Crew of the Icarus,” he paused to give them a moment to refocus their attention.

“We will be approaching enemy forces in a manner of minutes. Prepare battle station… all hands alert. This is not a drill!”

As the Captain closed communications, he activated the switch initiating Red Alert. The lights on the bridge immediately changed as a flashing signal pulsed rhythmically to the subtle sound of a synthetic klaxon emanating throughout the ship. Knowing that the point was made, within a few seconds he disabled the audio portion of the alert but the remainder of alert systems persisted.

Sterling then called down to the shuttlebay manager on deck 10.

“Lieutenant Rondeck, are all fighter crews prepared for launch?”

Stopping amongst the controlled chaos occurring down in the hanger bay, the shuttlebay manager responded a bit loudly.

“Yes Sir… all pilots are in place and the remaining crews are just beginning to seal the ship hatches now. They will be ready for launch in just a matter of minutes now Captain.”

Acknowledging his response, he clarified “Understood Lieutenant, but to clarify… no ships are to launch until ordered by me, Hartzer, or Lieutenant Commander Archer.”

The shuttlebay manager replied “Aye, sir… we’ll await the order.”

Nodding, Sterling concluded “Standby Mister Rondeck” as he disengaged the communications switch.

On the bridge, the crew of the Icarus could witness their approach closing in on their opponents on the tactical display of the main view screen. At this point they all knew where they were heading.

Sterling informed the counselor “switch viewscreen to forward view, magnification 10.”

"Magnification 10, aye," answered Ray with both voice and fingers running on his board.

The tactical graph display was then replaced by a computer-generated view of the solar system ahead as recorded by all ship sensors. A distant star shone quietly at the center as they flew through the Oort cloud encircling the whole system. On the viewer, everything looked peaceful.

"Log buoy ready to be launched from aft tube, Sir," then reported Pasqual.

Turning back to face the communication console, Sterling replied “Excellent Counselor, commence launching the probe.”

There was a soft wooshing sound from deep inside the bowels of the ship.

"Log buoy away, Captain. ETA to Starbase 39 is sixty-seven hours," the Orion officer reported.

“Acknowledged Counselor” Sterling responded as he turned toward the science station.

“Lieutenant Than, any unusual readings emanating in our path?”

The science officer quickly rechecked all of her sensor data and then reported “No developments or changes from the previous readings Sir… except that we are getting closer to the enemy line.”

Noting the obvious, Sterling merely stated “Keep me apprised of any changes Lieutenant.”

From the tactical station Lieutenant Callen acknowledged the captain's red alert order'

"Red alert aye Sir. Shields up, and phasers online. Torpedo tubes online and quantum rounds loaded. All tactical systems are green Sir."

Sterling indicated his approval of the tactical officer’s quick response with a simple “Acknowledged Lieutenant Callen” confirmation.

As the alert klaxon sounded two security officers exited the turbolift and took position on either side of the bridge. Down in main engineering Brian heard the alarm and looked at Mitchell who was still trying to bypass the encryption on the mines.

"How's it coming Lieutenant?"

Mitchell sighed "I'm sorry Sir, these things are a tough nut to crack."

"Care to let me give it a shot?"

"Be my guest Sir.." Mitchell said in frustration.

Brian stepped up to the console and began tapping in commands. As he examined the encryption program he recognized it as the same encryption The Dominion had used during the war. Starfleet had cracked that encryption years ago and Brian wondered why whomever had deployed these mines would still be using it. He dismissed it offhand as he had the computer pull up the counter algorithm from the old files.

"This ought to do it." he said as he tapped in the last command. The console beeped and the screen turned green and Brian smiled at Mitchell.

"One cracked nut, Lieutenant."

"Sir, how the heck did you.."

"The encryption program is old...standard Dominion issue. I'm sorry I didn't notice it before I could have saved you some time."

"No problem Sir, the question is what do we want to do with these things?"

"Control them I suppose, the only problem is they don't discriminate when they explode."

"Maybe we could program to activate on our command?"

"I like the way you think Lieutenant," Brian said with a smirk "Let's program them to answer to our signal. Then we can use them as we see fit. Can the computer translate the Dominion programming?"

"I think so," Mitchell replied "Give me a few minutes, and I'll see what I can do."

While Mitchell went to work Brian tapped his combadge.

"Archer to bridge, in a few minutes Sir we should have whatever mines we've uncovered thus far under our command."

Sterling heard the news from Brian Archer and a wave of elation flowed throughout his tense body.

“Mister Archer,” the Captain responded with genuine enthusiasm “You have just earned your pay for the week! Will you be able to transfer control of these mines from your tactical station in let’s say the next 5 minutes?”

Brian looked over at Mitchell and the engineer shrugged.

"I'm not sure about that Sir, but we'll try. We have to use the computer to translate the Dominion programming into something we can understand. We're moving as fast we can Captain, but if we make a mistake none of us will be alive to regret it."

Relating to the magnitude of their challenging pursuit, Sterling responded understandingly.

“Acknowledged Mister Archer… just continue to work your enchantment cracking those codes as quickly as possible.”

Then with a tone of concern, he taunted “As you realize Lieutenant Commander, we do have a few… obstacles awaiting us up ahead.”

After closing the channel, Sterling turned back to the tactical officer operating the console in lieu of Lieutenant Commander Brian Archer.

“Mister Bradbury, inform me when Mister Archer’s mine control program is enabled at your station… unless of course he arrives before it is activated”

Controlling those mines they all realized could prove most advantageous as they entered the perimeter of their adversaries region. In any battle, it was most gratifying and conducive to prevailing when an opportunity arose to turn an enemies’ weapons back against themselves.

Archer rejoined Mitchell at the console after speaking with the captain "C'mon Mister Mitchell we'll have to tag team this one we're running out of time."

The tactical officer and the engineer began to work in tandem with Brian employing a few programming tricks he'd learned while working for Section 31. He'd learned them on a deep cover assignment in Cardassian territory. Yes, the Cardassians were allies now, but Section 31 didn't discriminate in many of its activities. Brian continued to examine the programming, if there was one thing Brian could say about the Dominion it was that they were clever. Bloodthirsty and brutal, but clever nonetheless. As they worked the seconds ticked off the mental clock in Brian's head. Finally it was Mitchell who nearly jumped for joy.

"Here Sir! This string of code right here."

Brian looked at Mitchell's screen "That's it Lieutenant, the mine's activation protocol."

"Yes Sir, now we just need to insert our code here and program them to answer to a specific subspace signal."

"Good work, can you finish up?"

"Yes Sir," he said triumphantly "I'll have them ready in a couple of minutes."

"Make it one and you have a deal," Brian said grimly "Whatever is out there isn't going to wait for us much longer."

"Aye Sir, I'll move as fast as I can."

"Signal me on the bridge when you're ready."

Mitchell nodded absently but he was already absorbed in programming the mines. Brian left him to his work and rode the turbolift back to the Icarus' bridge. As he exited the lift and took the tactical console he spoke to the captain.

"Sir, Mitchell is finishing up reprogramming the mines now. I have to hand it to The Dominion Sir, they are devious bastards. That programming is top notch even nearly two decades after it was designed."

Sterling indicated his recognition of Archer’s assessment coupled with the accomplishment of the two officers by stating “Agreed Mister Archer, as is the ingenuity and tenacity of you and Mister Mitchell accomplishing this burdensome feat; and so swiftly at that!”

He then added “But it will be reassuring to have you to back at the tactical console manning our weapons and shields as we head into enemy territory.”

The Captain turned portside to the communications station and inquired “Any addition readings coming in from our remote sensors or anything showing up at all on the optical sensors at all Mister Pasqual?

"Negative, Sir," answered the Orion hybrid with a shrug. "We know since the last encounter of the Enterprise E with the Reman Scimitar dreadnought that the Romulans have improved their cloaking technology. I can confirm this just by showing you that we don't even detect our friend Terrah's ship out there by our flank and we know she's there."

Suddenly, as a squadron of Jem’Hadar ships came zooming out of obscurity heading directly toward the two visible federation vessels, the cloaked allies of the Icarus immediately sprung into action. The Klingon warship Negh'var inundated the small fighter ships with a lethal barrage of heavy disrupters and photon torpedoes. With 20 disruptor banks and four torpedo launchers, as well as a large forward disruptor cannon protruding from the forward section, this warship was a deadly force to be reckoned with. Within a matter of seconds, the warship ship devastated the front line of the Jem’Hadar attack.

"Jem'Hadar attack ships incoming!" Brian said, "the Negh'var and the Blackwing are decloaking Sir and firing!"

"They're jamming all frequencies, Sir... as expected," reported Ray just as the fireworks started on the screen. "We lost contact with all friendlies; trying to compensate..."

Simultaneously, the Blackwing unleashed a volley of fore weapons from her disrupter beam array, disrupter heavy cannons, and plasma torpedoes while the aft section held a salvo of weapons consisting of a series of disrupter turrets and photon torpedo launchers armed and ready for deployment as they came within range. Together these allied warships flanked the enemy vertically from diagonally divergent angles.

Meanwhile, Captain Doyle ordered the Caucasus divided into MVAM. Each of the three separated sections fanned out from its initial position as individual battle ships and then flew in formation toward the remaining enemy fighters.

"The Caucuses is separating and attacking," Archer reported observing their ally's movement "acquiring nearest target and firing."

The Icarus brand new, top of the line tactical array acquired the nearest Jem'Hadar attack ship and the refitted cruiser unleashed a volley of phaser fire toward her target. The nimble attack ship dodged the first few blasts but Brian Archer was not about to be out maneuvered. Using knowledge he acquired fighting the Dominion Brian compensated for the attack ship's movements and anticipated its evasive pattern. this time when the Jem'Hadar ship tried to avoid the phaser fire it moved directly into Brian's projected path and lost its port nacelle sending it careening off into space. The few attack ships remaining were being easily dealt with by the Icarus allies. Even with this small victory Archer was not impressed, there had to be at least one bigger ship out there.

"This is too easy," Archer commented "There has to be more ships out there, what are they waiting for?" he mused

"The right moment," chimed in Pasqual, channeling the report traffic to appropriate departments with his finger on the communication board. "Patience is the prime quality of the ambushing predator. And it still thinks it has its minefield ready to weaken and trap its prey before it pounces for the kill."

The Orion counselor turned halfway on his seat to face the command chair and the man sitting in it.

"This attack was just meant to test us and incite us to reveal our cards too soon. Typical of both their kinds, Terrah and Duron showed themselves needlessly because they do not really respect Federation might. This attacking squadron would have been dealt with just as quickly by the Caucasus and the Icarus alone; but their shortsighted pride and quest for personal Honor did not help them in their assessment of us. And now, the enemy knows we have a Klingon and a Romulan ally."

Sterling addressed the counselor “Just as we have been slowly revealing their secrets as well.”

The Captain then added reflectively “It would have been in our best interest to keep those aces up our sleeve until later in our approach. This however is neither here nor there at this point. I am also bearing in mind though that our allies were also survivors of previous sneak attacks and were striving to prevent a similar fate occurring again. Nevertheless, get those three all on a channel with me Mister Pasqual.”

His green eyes went to the screen as if he could see the lurking danger out there.

"You must take a more direct hand in leading this task force of ours, Captain Sir... if it's not too late. Or else, I fear the next round will be the last... and it will not end in our favor."

“Well then Counselor, hail them and I can address this with them directly” the Captain asserted as he then turned and inquired to the assistant chief science officer.

“What is the status of our probes from your accounts?”

Lena Than then rechecked the signals coming in from the probes and stated “We lost two of them during the attack but we are still receiving sporadic data from the remaining probes.”

Sterling then added “See if you can coordinate your efforts with Pasqual and Archer to somehow penetrate through the existing static and gain a fix on that warship lurking out there Lieutenant, and after which, determine if there are any other surprises awaiting our arrival.”

Sterling then turned to address the chief tactical officer “Mister Archer, can you reprogram and send a collection of those mines into that region ahead of us where that large cloaked battleship registered? Hopefully, we can establish a more current location as well before we commence with the dispensing of this gift back to our attackers.”

Sterling’s expression then looked a bit more serious and almost imperceptibly sinister as he leaned back into the center seat and gazed at the almost empty forward viewscreen and commented to no one in particular

“Beware opponents bearing gifts, or in this case generously returning them back to the presenter.”

"I would agree Sir," Brian began "except I think we should keep the mines in reserve..our ace in the hole. Since the Blackwing and the Negh'var decided to act on their own we've lost one of our advantages. I don't think we should give this one up... yet."

Sterling smirked slightly.

“Acknowledged Lieutenant Commander… I just want us to be prepared to activate and engage the mines swiftly should the need suddenly present itself as we proceed onward.”

Sterling continued to scan the main viewscreen which had transformed from an explosive display of firepower and destruction back to the faux serenity that existed prior to the sudden attack. The only evidence of this confrontation at the moment was the remnants of debris roving chaotically outward within their vicinity.

Looking down toward the helm, Sterling stated “Subliutenant Falcar, reduce our speed to ¾ impulse power, but maintain our present coordinates.”

"Yes Captain." Said Falcar

He then lightheartedly added “and don’t allow any large fragments to slam into us and scratch up our exterior.”

"Fear not Captain." responded Falcar.

The Captain then turned back toward the tactical chief and asked “Any additional readings from the remaining reconnaissance probes out in front of us Mister Archer?”

Brian checked the probe readings coming back to the tactical station and scanned past the basic results regarding atmosphere composition and other unrelated scientific artifacts. Specifically he noted the readings returned on the subspace particles in the vicinity of Khii's atmosphere, what he saw was not pleasing.

"Sir, one of the remaining probes has entered orbit of the planet. It is reporting elevated levels of tetryon particles in the atmosphere. I believe that indicates more mines Sir, I would suspect probably and entire additional field, that we don't control. If it is there Sir we could fire quantum torpedoes into the atmosphere and detonate them, though I would need a scientific mind to tell me what effects that could have on the planet."

"As an unscientific mind would say; bad at best," retorted Pasqual with a joyless smirk. "I can imagine from here what a chain reaction of mines detonating from a rain of quantum torpedoes would do to the atmosphere of a planet... and those on the surface. The asteroid that blasted apart the world of dinosaurs on Earth would look like a party firework in comparison."

Archer eyed the Orion "In that case I'm open to suggestions, another emp perhaps to at least knock them out of commission. If it was detonated high enough in orbit it shouldn't have an effect on the surface. If I can find them Mister Mitchell and I can try and 'hack' them for lack of a better term."

"You're the expert, not I," said Ray smiling. "But can't you do to them the same magic trick you did on the first minefield?"

Sterling was listening to the exchange occurring between his bridge officers.

“It is not surprising that our adversaries have booby-trapped the atmosphere and surface of Khii with mines, just as they have done here in space within the perimeter of the system itself. Based on what we have ascertained thus far in their efforts, they appear to have little concern or regard, if any, for the planet itself… let alone any life-forms that happened to be present there” the Captain affirmed.

Sterling leaned back in the center seat for a moment as he contemplated once again the situation awaiting them.

“Let’s send several additional probes right into the face of our adversary awaiting us, and have them buzz around their vicinity like orbiting gnats. They can send us back data until the moment that our opponents swat them down. Then we will lead a strike force in to confront them.”

Sterling then turned to face the tactical chief.

“Meanwhile Mister Archer, you and Mister Mitchell will need to devise a method to implement your mine acquisition program on a planetary scale; that will address both atmospheric and surface mines. Otherwise, it would be too hazardous for any of us to approach the planet under any circumstance. In addition, these mines may be too much of a defensive asset to merely destroy.”

Sterling turned toward the communications console and inquired “Any luck synching up our allies all on one channel Counselor?”

"On screen, Sir," answered Ray with a flick of his fingers.

On the main screen, the image showed the Klingon captain on the left side and the Romulan Commander on the right side, both of them in direct contact and at the same time seeing the commanding officer of the Icarus on their own bridge viewer. If the Klingon was smirking like a wolf after a good hunt, the Romulan for his part was utterly unscrutable, except possibly for his raised eyebrow in obvious puzzlement at being hailed by the Federation cruiser.

Standing up to come beside the command chair, the Orion counselor advised his captain in a whisper:

"Remember, Captain; these are Klingons and Romulans; Klingons only respect strength and Romulans beleive in aristocracy. Don't ask for an explanation of their rash behavior; show them who the leader is... and why."

Sterling listened but did not react or respond to the Counselor’s advice as he gazed intently into the faces of each of their allies displayed on the viewscreen. But he understood Pasqual’s message. Within seconds, the Captain of the Icarus forcefully began his dialogue.

“Our opponents have once again displayed their malevolent intent and yet have equally failed in their pervasive objective.”

Before the allies could verbally respond, Sterling continued.

“However, they were successful in one aspect of their attack… they have unveiled each of you, our cloaked allies, early in this battle. This was an advantage that has now been nullified.”

He gave brief moment for this message, surely a bitter pill to swallow, to sink in before continuing.

“We will proceed from this point forward through deliberate thought-out execution of stated plans rather than mere reaction and retaliation.”

Before the objections could begin, Sterling held up a hand and proceeded with his statement.

“They are still out there…” he proclaimed as he stood and faced directly into the screen, his voice becoming more resolute with each word and gesturing purposefully with his hands.

“…awaiting our ongoing impulsive actions and reactions; perceiving that they are still the sole predator in this battle. But we are not mere prey; instead unbeknownst to them in some aspects, we have been meticulously leveling the playing field and beginning at last to gain an upper hand in this engagement. But we will not continue to turn the tide on this battle if we are acting independently while seeking revenge and personal glory! We must function as an efficient and coordinated unit under my authority if it is our intention to prevail not only in this battle but in this mission!”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for several seconds to center his physiological and cognitive manifestations. Sterling then proceeded.

“After we initiate another round of EMP pulses from those remaining probes, we are going to send four additional detection probes into the last recorded sector of the cloaked battleship in an attempt to unveil his whereabouts through collected dated; whether this occurs by way of a data stream from the probes or by his retaliation against the probes themselves as they eventually unveil his position matters not. One way or another, his opportunity to hide in the shadows will be revoked. But then like any cornered animal he will become extremely dangerous in response. It will then be up to each of our ships to flank this vessel and disable it as quickly as possible; with as little damage and casualties from our side as we can manage.”

Sterling then sat back down into the center seat as his gaze remained fixed on the viewscreen.

“We have also detected a series of cloaked mines dispatched throughout Khii’s atmosphere and surface that we are currently also working to resolve. So until notified, once we break through this barrier, do not even approach the planet let alone attempt any transportation down to its surface. The results would be catastrophic.”

He then looked over and signaled Brian Archer at the tactical station to initiate another sweep of the EMP probes out in front of them; each with a 270 degree forward arc range placed in overlapping linear positions from each other as done previously, and subsequently to jettison the four detection probes into the same region.

Sterling then engaged a button from the center seat which transmitted a series and sequence of battle plans and maneuvers in an encoded file that he prepared for the captains of the Blackwing, the three sections of the Caucasus and the Negh'var. It would be up to the helm, tactical and other bridge officers on each of these ships to carry out these carefully orchestrated strategies as they approached and engaged the enemy ship.

He then concluded “Because of the nature and purpose this mission, the Icarus is obviously his main target and objective. Nevertheless, we must take a unified approach in addressing this. Our coordinated strategies have been sent to each of you, so let us take a few moments to prepare for this upcoming battle with the warship. We’ll move out on my transmitted signal. Sterling out.”

Afterward, the captain of the Icarus presented these battle plans to the bridge crew of his ship so that they could see the comprehensive strategy of each of their allied ships. Then utilizing an enlarged tactical display, Sterling thoroughly explained the details of their strategy. Each of these integral officers could then carefully prepare to execute their effective maneuvers and potential responses in this upcoming battle. As a combined force, these ships and their crew were not going to arbitrarily meander into a preset trap as their opponent had expected and anticipated. Instead, they were carefully disengaging components of the adversarial arsenal to place this enemy at an even greater tactical disadvantagewhile preparing to situate this battleship into a defensive position; surrounded by a collection of powerful allied Federation forces. Their forces must act swiftly though Sterling realized… knowing that their enemy had already expended his cache of Jem’Hadar fighters and in desperation could be attempting to acquire reinforcements.

The Captain of the Icarus then sat back down into the center seat. He activated the ship-wide channel along with the audio connection that Pasqual had set up for him linking the Blackwing, the three sections of the Caucasusand the Negh'var together. After the signal went through all of the channels, he announced intensely:

“This is Captain Sterling… All stations at full alert… Initiate stage Alpha-one of this operation… maximum impulse... Mark!

With the order, Falcar tapped his console, and brought the ship back to full impulse.

They were ready and moving forward to challenge the Romulan warship. They had available the flexible application of combat power among each their ships, and squadrons of fighters in the hanger bays of two ships ready to launch within a moment’s notice. But Sterling also acknowledged silently in his thoughts that no battle plan survives intact once contact is made with the enemy.

While Captain Sterling had been addressing their allies Brian Archer had been paying little attention to the discussion. He had linked his console with Lieutenant Mitchell in engineering and the pair were hard at work along with the ship's computer attempting to access the mines in the atmosphere above Khii without alerting their hidden adversary that the Starfleet vessel was aware of his trap. Sitting next to Brian Cassie Strider jabbed him in the ribs when the captain made his signal and Brian looked over at her.

"The EMP probes," Cassie muttered

Brian nodded "Probes away captain, they will fire their EMP pulses concurrently."

He turned his attention back to the console then and the messaging conversation he was having with Mitchell. Using the ship's sensors and the known configuration and programming of the mines they had managed to locate a few of them and were now bypassing the encryption. Once through and into the mines' programming they could alter the control codes and upload their commands to the entire minefield with the intention of rendering the field in the atmosphere completely inert. This group of mines was presenting a tougher challenge than the first group though as their encryption was harder to break. Brian suspected that these were newly produced weapons based on the original Dominion technology and likely Romulan in origin. He expressed his thoughts to Mitchell in a message.

"Try Romulan characters," he sent to the engineer.

Mitchell sent nothing back for several seconds and Brian watched as the engineer changed the variables in the computer program they were using to try and interface with the mines. Finally Brian got a message back

"You're brilliant Sir, we're in."

Brian grinned like the Chesire Cat and sent a message back to Mitchell

"Disable them"

Again Brian watched as Mitchell navigated through the programming code to find the right strings that would allow them to send their disable code to the entire field. After nearly five minutes Mitchell entered several code sequences from his console in engineering changing the operating frequency to a Starfleet one and then reencrypting the mines using the Section 31 encryption codes Brian had provided him. Archer didn't tell the engineering officer where the code came from and since Brian was senior it didn't matter. Finally Mitchell entered two more long strings of code into the mine's programming.

"Done" Mitchell sent

Brian smiled again and looked up triumphantly from his console "Captain, I believe Lieutenant Mitchell and I have effectively disabled the atmospheric minefield."

Sterling beamed a grin back toward the tactical chief’s proclamation… as if another cumbersome burden had been thoughtfully lifted off of his shoulders.

“Most impressive Lieutenant Commander Archer!” the captain replied earnestly.

“Now… let us prepare to unveil and disable this warship lurking out there so that afterward we can at last move forward to the planet Khii itself.”

Then a series of signals were returned back from the probes. They had pinpointed and exposed the Romulan battleship ensconced ahead; within 2.5 minutes of firing range and off of their starboard side at approximately Z-minus 12,450 kilometers.

Sterling turned back to Pasqual manning the communications station and called upon him to notify their allies of the exact position of the enemy ship.

“Forward our tactical data on this vessel to our allies Counselor, and inform them that contact with the enemy will occur in 2.14 minutes.” Sterling stated as he checked the current reading on the chronometer.

"All ships acknowledge, Sir," Ray confirmed. "They are receiving our telemetry and..."

The Orion interrupted himself, frowning as he listened with obvious sudden concentration at what was coming out of his earpiece.

"Sir? Our transmission is being somewhat... reflected back. It's barely perceptible on the shared comm channel but I can definitely hear an echo at the end of each..."

Then, his brow shot up with his voice.

"Captain! They were listening to us all along! They know! "

Sterling acknowledged the Counselor’s elucidation and then responded calmly.

“Understood Mister Pasqual. Whether these adversaries have tapped into to our conversation or not, at this point in time they can surely see two Federation ships coming their way on their sensors. Fortunately, our data was encrypted... so even if they somehow gained accessed to our files I doubt that they have had enough time to decode any of the actual tactical strategies within our battle plans. What they know is that they are mere moments away from a confrontation with our armada. What they may not yet realize though is that the mines they are counting on in repressing our approach are now in our ship's control; thanks to the applied skills and cleverness of both Archer and Mitchell.”

The revelation that the Icarus communications system was tapped did not surprise LtCdr. Archer. Despite that fact he brought up the communications status on his tactical console and accessed the system. He began to employ the Section 31 encryption codes he had used to encrypt his conversation with his intelligence contact earlier in the mission knowing that they were not similar to any known Federation encryption.

"Captain, Counselor, I am rescrambling and reencrypting our communications streams. Whomever is listening is about to lose their ears. We will need to send the decryption protocol to our allies. Counselor I am sending it to your station. I would recommend using a less high tech method of transmission to our allies for the decryption protocol such as log buoys or something along those lines."

"I got just the thing," grinned Ray as he encoded both medium and message from his comm board.

Now that all ships were plainly seen from the enemy, there was no reason to refrain anymore from making direct contact with them in fear of betraying their presence and position. And there was nothing more direct than a laser beam, like the ones that shot briefly from a few remodulated phaser emitters of the Icarus to strike each vessel of the allied task force before they deployed. This was a four century-old data transmission method; although immensely slower than subspace communication, it had nevertheless two advantages most appropriate for their situation: there was absolutely no signal degradation even with distance... and it was absolutely impossible to intercept unless coming exactly in the line of fire of the micron-wide light beam... and that, for the nanoseconds it took to flash at the speed of light the data package towards the receiver.

That one they would not eavesdrop on.

Sterling acknowledged the recommendation and the resultant antiquated yet highly effective solution to their communication issues.

“Let’s test out your system Counselor and see how effectively our allies can master this alternative form of ship-to-ship communication.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sa'arvik's silent reverie was broken by his tactical officer when he spoke softly beside him.

"Sir. Multiple enemy signatures have been discovered, as you suspected. Four ships, one of which is Romulan, as suspected. Orders?"

Sitting up straighter in his command seat, Sa'arvik thought a moment, and then nodded abjectly.

"Get ready with the mines Centurion. Then inform forward tube five ready the package and launch."

As the officer nodded compliance and turned away to return to his tactical station, Sa'arvik began punching instructions to the multitude of fighter pilots throughout the system.

“Be ready for incoming ships. Once your targets are confirmed, activate transponders. After transport, meet at the pre-determined surface co-ordinates.”

Sending the instructions, Sa'arvik then motioned to the centurion to bring up the tactical display, then nodded at his helm officer to engage thrusters. As the massive battleship began to move forward, torpedo tube five forced out its package; a modified torpedo. It's impulse drive engaged once it was well forward of the ship and the four meter long device sped away toward the Khii system star sixteen million kilometers away, trailing a powerful leakage of tachyon's. The gravimetric charge within the warhead was building up to detonation.

"Helm", Sa'arvik barked, "Full impulse, all engine's. Tactical! Bring all weapons to bear on the Romulan vessel. Target its singularity drive."

Swiftly tapping a key on his arm pad, Sa'arvik's chair dropped through the deck and down twenty decks to his personal ship. Quickly taking the readied seat, the large shuttle leapt from the massive Dominion battleship and dove to the planet below. He had a rendezvous with his fighter forces transporting to the surface.

Just then, Lieutenant Lena Than turned from the science console of the Icarus where she was monitoring sensory data and stated somewhat in vexation, “Captain, I am detecting a tachyon trail emanating from the cloaked warship and heading toward Khii's star!”

After scrutinizing the data more thoroughly, she added “It appears to be some sort of torpedo, Sir.”

Ensign Ravell Bradbury working besides Lieutenant Commander Archer at the tactical station then stated, “Sir, a fighter ship just emerged from the battleship as well and is enroute for the planet’s surface.”

Sterling swiftly responded “Initiate an EMP pulse directed at each of these targets when they come in range and see if you can knock their main systems out. Afterward, utilize our available sensor probe that is within the planet’s atmosphere to give us a more precise reading and location of each of these items, in addition to their operational status!”

"We should be able to modify the deflector to emit that pulse Sir without frying our own systems," Archer said "or I could try using our phasers to pick off the torpedo. I'm redirecting the probe now...I should say Sir, I do not like the prospect of that torpedo's heading Sir. If I had to guess I'd say our enemy is planning on destroying Khii's star and all of us with it. At the same time, the Caucasus is much faster than we are Sir and could intercept and destroy the torpedo easily."

Sterling nodded with a slight downcast expression and then replied to the tactical officer.

“Indeed Lieutenant Commander, to target the system’s star in reaction to an impending peace conference is beyond desperation… it is nothing short of insanity!”

The Captain of the Icarus continued “The idea of the Caucasus nullifying these targets Mister Archer is an excellent…”

From the communication station, Pasqual then reported:

"Sir, Captain Doyle is hailing, requesting permission to pursue each with one of his attack modules... and both Commander Terrah and Captain Duron are sending that they have one of their fighter shuttles readying for interception."

Sterling immediately turned to face the Counselor.

“Reply to Captain Doyle to immediately pursue the torpedo heading toward the star with all three vessels! This torpedo must be pursued and destroyed. Have Terrah send in a squadron of scorpion fighters to back him up, but also to send a larger contingent of scorpion fights to pursue the enemy fighter ship heading down toward the surface. Meanwhile, notify Duron to lead the way toward the enemy battle ship.”

Sterling turned to acknowledge the helm officer “Sublieutenant Falcar, navigate us into a flanking position with the Negh'var while the Blackwing moves into position flanking the Klingon ship from the other side: attack pattern Alpha-Beta-3.”

Falcar nodded without turning to face the Captain. He tapped his console, and with a few commands, moved the ship. The Icarus's saucer lifted slightly and the thrusters fired slowing the Icarus. She then tilted slightly to the left, and the thrusters fired again. The Negh'var flew past the Icarus, and Falcar tapped in more commands to straighten out the Icarus. A few seconds later, the Icarus was now slightly behind the Negh'var's port wing.

Then turning back to face the counselor skillfully manning the communication console he commanded “Notify Duron to transport his invasion teams of warriors aboard the enemy vessel once they come within transporter range and we are able to get his primary shields down.”

Sterling then activated his communication to the shuttle bay.

“Lieutenant Rondeck, immediately launch our fighters and instruct them to support the pursuit of the enemy fighter ship first. After this has been resolved, command your squadron to join us in the attack on the enemy battle cruiser ... but as background support initially; the Negh'var will lead this attack with the Icarus and Blackwing watching his back.”

"Orders received, Captain," then reported Pasqual after a moment; "Captain Duron is acknowledging. In his own words: Qapla!"

As he spoke, he stepped away from his station and came right beside the command chair to continue in a low tone intended only for Sterling's ear:

"Commander Terrah is sending all his fighters after the enemy craft going towards the planet; he reminds you that, with only impulse drive, they can not even begin to overtake a torpedo anyway. Captain Doyle also wants to... remind you that you can order him to pursue but thathe is the captain of his ship; he will decide how to best proceed with his ship. All three hulls will do no better than one but will instead do what the enemy wants: disperse our forces; he is ordering only the primary module to the chase. The other two are staying to either cover your... rear... and act as reserve, as you see fit, Sir."

Ray thus made sure no one could hear the criticism of Sterling's command coming from the other high-ranking officers of their rag-tag task force. There never was a correct time to have his own crew question his judgment, but least of all at the moment of entering conflict. Although he was learning well and fast, Sterling was still overwhelmed by events and overreacting to so many sudden threats and surprises, forgetting basic data as the actual speed of auxiliary crafts and projectiles or the proper tactical chain of command. And worse, he was only reacting reflexively and micromanaging again, without keeping in mind the overall strategic picture. Andthat was his job.

And the counselor's job was to help him do it...without compromising morale.

“Thank you Counselor for… assisting in these matters.” Sterling responded discretely back to Pasqual’s private counsel.

"Just doing my job of professional annoyance, Captain Sir," whispered back the Half-Orion with a friendly smirk.

The Captain then stated “Have Captain Doyle apprise me of the progress of his ship pursuing the torpedo and then check the status of Terrah’s scorpion fighters in pursuit of the sole enemy vessel heading toward the surface.”

"Aye, Sir."

And so saying, Ray returned swiftly to the communication station and started playing on several buttons at once with one hand, adjusting his earpiece with the other, eyes lost in concentration as he reconnected himself with what was being said outside of the ship.

Sterling then inquired “How close are we now to enemy contact with the battle cruiser?"

As if to answer the question posed by the Captain, the hidden enemy Romulan battle cruiser suddenly unveiled herself from the darkness as she headed directly toward the position of the cloaked Romulan allied ship the Blackwing; also known by the Romulans as the IRW Akhiy’ae.

Its weapons appeared to be fully loaded and prepared to fire.

But the huge warship facing her was not Romulan in design. It was nothing less than a massive Dominion battleship.

Meanwhile, the squadron of scorpion fighters from the Blackwing swooped in after the larger Romulan shuttle approaching the planet Khii. Fortunately, the mines placed in the atmosphere by enemy forces had been nullified by Archer and Mitchell’s handiwork and wouldn’t be a factor in affecting their ability to seize or abolish this vessel of their enemy heading toward the planet’s outer atmosphere.

As the scorpion fighters were approaching firing range of the larger fighter shuttle, a section of the Prometheus-class Federation ship zoomed in front of the scorpion fighters and opened up a hailing channel to the enemy vessel.

The voice of the Federation officer leading this section of the Caucasus ship stated firmly and clearly.

“Romulan fighter ship approaching the planet… change your course away from the planet or be prepared to be decimated before you even reach the atmosphere of Khii.”

When Pasqual heard that particular communication over the local channels, his eyes rolled in his head and he strangled an expletive in his throat before turning towards the center seat.

"Captain... looks like we have, ah, confusion in the ranks..."

And so saying, he played over the bridge speakers the message transmitted by the Starfleet warship.

Sterling nodded to Pasqual as he listened to the command, along with the accompanying ultimatum, presented by the officer from the multi-vector portion of the Caucasus to the Romulan fighter ship swiftly approaching the planet.

“I’m sure Counselor that Captain Doyle is monitoring communications from his position. It will be his perogative to clarify any… misunderstanding occurring within his command.”

The Captain’s eyes and attention though were focused soley on the Dominion-style battle cruiser mere seconds away from entering within firing range of the Blackwing.

Commander Terrah stood on the bridge of the Blackwing and gazed at the enemy ship as it approached them.

With a look of intensity and a smirk veiled across his expression, he directly commanded his tactical officer without moving his eyes from the main viewscreen.

“Arm and direct all disruptor arrays and photon torpedoes on the approaching enemy vessel… attack pattern Ti-Re-Tho.”

Then addressing navigation “Helm, initiate battle maneuver… Io-Re-Ti. Hua!”

The Blackwing’s augmentented nuclear fusion impulse engines rapidly maneuvered the thousand meter ship into an optimal firing position at a varying angle then their previous location as the tactical officer unleashed a barrage of weaponry toward the Dominion battleship.

Their weapons struck the enemy’s shield and ignited several torpedoes as they left the launch bay toward the Blackwing. They then swiftly repositioned the Blackwing in preparation to attack the enemy ship from another angle.

“Commander” the tactical officer exclaimed, “The explosion of their own torpedoes have damaged their starboard and dorsal shielding.”

Just at that moment though, numerous weapons from the enemy ship that had escaped their attack forcefully struck the Blackwing. The crew throughout the ship was immediately flung away from their positions as warning lights and graphic representations began to flash information on the display screens of their consoles.

Regaining composure, the reports from different departments started streaming in. As they examined the damage throughout the ship, one thing became evident: their enemy was targeting their singularity drive.

On the Icarus Brian Archer realized what was happening to the Blackwing immediately.

"Captain, the Blackwing's attack on the Dominion ship has weakened their starboard and dorsal shields but the enemy is targeting the warbird's singularity drive, if they score a direct hit we're dust Sir. I'm going to give them something else to shoot at."

Sterling looked over at the tactical chief and stated firmly “Proceed Lieutenant Commander.”

Archer's fingers danced over the tactical controls of the Icarus and the Federation cruiser let loose with a stream of phaser fire and a barrage of quantum torpedoes at the massive warship. The Icarus phasers peppered the weakened shields and the quantum torpedoes slammed into it's bow. Brian didn't know if he had distracted the vessel's commander from his goal or not, but he knew they had to have at least gotten their attention.

"Enemy forward shields down to 70 percent and holding Sir, recommend we maneuver to put us between the Blackwing and the Dominion ship Sir."

Sterling gazed intently from the viewscreen to the Romulan helm officer.

“Sublieutenant Falcar carefully follow through on Lieutenant Commander Archer’s recommendation.”

"Aye, Captain." Falcar spoke as he tapped his console, awaiting a order from Archer.

Then Sterling drew his attention back to his chief tactical officer and stated “Continue your tactical assult on this vessel and gentleman” the captain stated as he keenly looked around at his bridge crew.

“Let us be certain that we do not get careless as we proceed.”

_________________________________________________

'Change course away from the planet', thought Sa'arvik humorously. 'They have yet to discover the true nature of these distractions.'

Ignoring the demand, Commander Sa'arvik glanced over his shuttles telemetry and judged the distance to the surface as adequate. By now, most of his squadron crew would have transported to the surface, their auto-piloted ships running predetermined collision runs on whatever enemy signatures that they encountered. Punching controls rapidly, he readied his shuttle to perform a spiral attack run on the persuing Prometheus ship section. Once that was accomplished, Sa'arvik stood and accepted the transport beam's embrace that took him somewhere into the capital city on Khii.

The shuttle, devoid of its only occupant, turned abruptly away from the planet and accelerated beyond safety limits designed to protect life forms piloting it, and spiraled toward the larger Federation ship section nearby. At nearly ten percent below the speed of light, the shuttle opened fire with forward disruptors and peppered the shields of the section's forward shields, lowering them only slightly before ramming into the shields themselves. The destruction of the shuttle and it's small warp core destroyed the forward and upper dorsal shields on the federation ship. Nearby, three unmanned attack Scorpions sensed the Prometheus section's heightened signature and dove into attack the exposed ship.

As the battle section of Caucasus ship swiftly turned its exposed portion away from the attack zone, Terrah’s large contingency of manned scorpion fighters swiftly moved in and decimated the three enemy scorpion fighter ships heading directly toward the impacted ship. Without sustaining any additional damage, the allied ships all turned and headed back toward the Dominion ship and the main ships of their recently formed alliance.

On the Dominion battleship, the second maneuvered the huge ship into a more defensive posture as his forward shielding dropped thirty percent, bringing his stronger side to bear toward the Romulan warbird. As more enemy fire hit home from a new angle, he correctly assumed that his antagonists were hoping to divide his attention onto two fronts, much the same as Commander Sa'arvik had done by splitting the enemy group into pursuit courses on the torpedo, shuttle, fighter's and Dominion ship. Smiling, the order was given to again fire on the warbird, ignoring the Federation ship for now.

Phased polaron beams erupted from her emitters and impacted the Romulan warbird's shields again, weakening them further and causing energy flashbacks within the ship itself as relays overloaded. Then, switching targets, the second ordered torpedo fire directed toward the interceding Federation cruiser, and twin salvoe's of torpedo's sped toward the Icarus. the second's orders were being followed; 'Divide, distract and delay.'

___________________________________________

Still shaking from the latest strike by the Dominion battleship, Commander Terrah of the Blackwing stood up laughing as he engaged his communication switch and vented his disgust outward to his enemy.

“You disillusioned veruul… you think that you and your ship of cowards are any match for me or my allies here? We will blast you from the stars!”

As he slammed the communication link closed, Terrah commanded to his tactical and other bridge officers:

“Engage all emergency systems, reroute all power, and then unleash all weapons… including our remaining reconfigured torpedoes at this fvai!”

Concurrently, the Klingon captain of the Negh'var roared in delight as his ship intercepted and detonated the pair of torpedoes heading for the Icarus by effectively directing its large forward disruptor into its pathway.

Afterward, he maneuvered the almost 700 meter long heavy cruiser into position to discharge a slavo of weaponry from its twenty ship-mounted disruptor cannons and four torpedo launchers toward the port and ventral sides of the Dominion battleship; approaching this enemy ship from yet another angle.

Duron then bellowed exuberantly from his center seat as he witnessed the Dominion Battleship rocked with simultaneous blasts from multiple sides from the three allied ships.

The Dominion ship was now broadly damaged with shields collapsing in parts on all sides as small hull breaches were scattered throughout the ship with sparks emanating from several of the exposed areas.

The Negh'var’s science officer then notified Duron “We have multiple spots throughout the Dominion ship pinpointed for boarding parties… and we are now within transportor range!”

Duron swiftly stood up and loudly commanded “Start sending our warriors in… Now!”

Within seconds, groups of Klingon invaders had been transported to several key positions within the Dominion battle ship and began their battle from within the ship.

Meanwhile, Sterling immediately contacted the commander of the Blackwing on a secure channel.

“Terrah… Sterling here. Move away from the Dominion ship! They are targeting your singularity drive. We have enough support here now among our ships to handle their ship… and she is already damaged… do not leave your ship exposed! We can disable this ship together… tactically… there is no need to continue to place your ship and ours at risk!”

On the bridge of the Blackwing, the laser-sent message instantly reached its commander.

He engaged a response with a slight smirk hinted across his otherwise serious face.

“You Federation types… you worry way too much Sterling” Terrah noted while positioning himself forward in the center seat.

“We are well aware of the obvious intention of these lowly embittered traitors and have already compensated for their actions. After this last strike… they are now but a crippled dog with a bark more ferious than their feeble bite.”

Then leaning back in his chair, Commander Terrah sighed and stated “As a… courtesy however Captain, we will appease your request of concern to reposition our ship and then share in the demolition of these spineless betrayers to the Empire.”

Terrah then signaled his helm officer. The Blackwing swiftly repositioned itself in a flanking location further away from the Dominion battleship.

The commander then added with a gleam in his eye “But let us not linger too long here with our prey Sterling… you still have a mission to continue and I would suggest we get on with this before we are dealt more surprises to contend with.”

Archer was listening to the discussion between his captain and the Romulan and couldn't help but side with the Romulan. They needed to eliminate the Dominion ship's threat and move on. Then something on the sensors caught his eye..

"Captain, I'm detecting transporter activity from the Negh'var, the Klingons are boarding the enemy ship Sir. As much as I admire their spirit Captain I recommend we ask Duron to pull his men back and destroy this ship here and now. We don't have time for firefights in passageways."

Sterling nodded affirmatively to his security and tactical chief and he gestured his pointing finger upward to indicate he would address his recommendation momentarily.

Turning back toward the viewscreen Sterling stated “Commander, hold a relative position for the moment… we have Klingon boarding parties aboard the enemy vessel. I’ll get back to you shortly.”

As Sterling disengaged communication with the Blackwing, he immediately opened up a line to the Klingon heavy carrier Negh'var.

Duron activated the link.

“What is it Sterling?” he grumbled impatiently.

Sterling ignored the grumbling of the Klingon commander and insisted “Get your warriors off of the enemy ship as quickly as possible Duron… we’re just about ready to vanquish this enemy ship, but obviously not with your crew aboard…”

“My warriors are carrying out their duty Sterling and disabling key systems from within!” Duron interrupted impatiently. “The brief amount of time that they’ll spend accomplishing this from the inside will ensure that our remaing task of pulverizing their shell of a ship afterward from the outside will be ensured!”

He leaned back in his seat for a moment and calmed down his tone as he stated “You spoke to me of patience earlier on in this mission… well… now it’s time for you to follow the recommendation of your own words Captain: Be patient! My warriors will be off of that ship soon enough.. and if not… well then, they will die gloriously in battle! Duron out.”

The Klingon commander closed the communication link to the Icarus resolutely with his fist.

Captain Doyle meanwhile was carefully monitoring the bridge of the Prometheus section of the Caucasus that was in full pursuit of the torpedo heading toward Khii’s star. They were rapidly closing within firing range.

The science officer aboard this section announced “Sir, this torpedo is building up a charge to detonation. At its current rate, it is calculated to detonate before reaching the star.”

Doyle didn’t wait for a comment and instead immediately responded to his officer in charge of that section of the three-part vessel.

“Commander Taggart, we are not taking any unnecessary chances here. Zero in on that weapon and swiftly destroy it! Then return back here at maximum speed. Doyle out.”

Taggart responded “Acknowledged Captain.”

As the Caucasus section followed in the wake of a tachyon trail, the tactical officer eventually locked on to the signature of the torpedo and released two torpedoes in succession at their target as the helm officer then veered off; out of the path of the tachyon trail.

Within a few seconds, a blinding explosion and their sensor readings confirmed that the torpedo had been destroyed.

Reconfirming their analysis of the weapons destruction, Commander Taggart then announced: “Helm, let’s rendezvous back with our allies… maximum warp.”

(( continued in part 2))