Facing the Borg

Posted on Sat Aug 15th, 2015 @ 12:01pm by Fleet Admiral Mike K`Wor Bremer & Commander Jonathan Roebuck IV & Lieutenant Nick Archer & Colonel Danny Lennox & Master Chief Petty Officer Mark Branson & First Ramata`tar & Admiral Deela T'Lar & Major General Thomas Jackson & Commodore Leon `Lee` Pike & Commodore Andrew Clifford & Commander Jonathan Coleman & Captain R'nard Lokran & Captain Jack Solomon & Lieutenant Colonel Jillian "Phoenix" Sullivan & Major Percival 'Percy' Morris & Lieutenant Commander Holly Gillo & Lieutenant Saith i-Ki Baratan & Lieutenant Nuala Takabe & Commodore Alexandra Harrison & Lieutenant Zhao Quan & Lieutenant Ariel Gilmore & Master Warrant Officer Gaius Aquila & Sergeant Maal son of Torg & Lieutenant JG Frank Doyle & Lieutenant JG Connor Maxwell & Ensign Brandy Ragen & Gunnery Sergeant Marcus Ermey & Gunnery Sergeant Agtx & 1st Lieutenant Taz & Corporal Warner Schmidt

3,463 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Episode 89 - Futility's Return
Location: Various, Task Force Ships
Timeline: MD2 1047hrs, Following 'Departing to face the Borg'

ON:

Pegasus, Bridge

"Fleet Admiral Bremer to the Bridge." Archer called over the comm.

Since the trip to Sector 1372 took nearly ten hours, even at Slipstream, Mike had ordered each ship's Senior Staff to get some rest on the way so they would be fresh and sharp when they arrived.

Stepping out of his Ready Room, Mike had been awake for just over an hour. He'd looked over data sent to him from Fleet Admiral Sevlek. While on their way to aid the USS Houston, the Century class vessel had fought a running battle. They were able to destroy the Borg Probe ship and damage one of the Spheres. They were then able to hide in a nebula for a short time before being drawn out. With her warp engines damaged, she really couldn't run, and it looked like she'd been overwhelmed about thirty minutes ago. There were some other strange signals, but they couldn't be identified...

Taking a seat in the Captain's Chair, Mike started giving orders. "Signal all ships. Drop out out of Slipstream and raise shields."

In a flash, the five Starships from Starbase 400 dropped out of their Slipstream tunnels and back into normal space.

"I'm picking up debris from a Borg vessel as well as from a Starfleet ship." Archer reported.


Venator, Bridge

"Commander, I'm detecting two Borg ships, one Tactical Sphere and one standard Sphere. They appear to be firing on each other." Ramata'tar reported.

"On screen." Roebuck ordered.


Yorktown, Bridge

"They're engaged against each other?" K'Temoc asked when he was advised as well.

Saith studied her screen and confirmed for K'Temoc. "Yes sir, it appears so."


USS Essex Bridge

Andrew had the conn as the ships dropped out of Slipstream. He tapped his comm badge, All hands RED ALERT. Admiral T'Lar to the bridge, please". Closing the channel he looked at Mr Lokran, "Get those shields up, arm the phasers and quantum torpedoes." On the other side of the bridge, Soloman was busy on engineering. "Commander, keep that power coming, put everything you can into the shields."

"Aye, sirr." said R'nard. "Phasers and quantum torrpedoes armed, and shields up, frrequencies rrotating rrandomly as per Borg prrotocol."

Jack nodded as he was given his orders. He made sure at his console that Main Power was flowing steady and he confirmed that the Auxiliary and Emergency power systems were ready to kick in at his command. He then re-routed Auxiliary power to the shields. "Aye sir, diverting Auxiliary power to the shields," Jack answered.

It had been a while since he had seen combat with the Borg, a few years ago on the Valkyrie. However that ship was not prepared for a confrontation like that. However this ship stood a chance of surviving a battle with a sphere and he was determined to make sure they were the victorious vessel.

Andrew leaned forward in the seat. this is what he had missed the action and something tangible to shoot at.


USS Saratoga Bridge

"Red Alert! Raise shields Captain Lennox." Jax has been brushing up on his starship operations since their last mission, and today it would bear fruit.

T'Lyn was at Operations running scans of the area while she remained quiet and calm.

Shields up, phasers ready, quantum torpedoes loaded in all fifteen bays sir. Borg protocols are in effect." He tapped in a few more commands to alert Phoenix that her fighters might be needed soon too.

Maal heard the Red Alert klaxon go off, he grabbed his type 2 phaser attaching it to his belt, he grabbed his phaser rifle slinging that over his shoulder then grabbed his mek'leth attaching that to the other side of his belt, then putting his d'k tahg near his boot.


Pegasus, Bridge

"Sir, we're being hailed by one of the Borg ships, the standard Sphere." Archer reported.

"Open a channel." Bremer replied as he stood.

On the screen a large Borg, who was obviously an assimilated Klingon, appeared on the screen while sparks flew through the air behind him. "Federation vessels, this is General Korok of the liberated Borg Sphere Qu'Val, requesting assistance."

Mike paused a moment and looked around the Bridge for a second before looking back at the screen. He knew Korok, he'd been a friend of his father's before his assimilation. Mike had met him as a child and teenager and had looked up to the Klingon Warrior. Mike also had read how General Korok had assisted USS Voyager in 2376 after their liberation during the Unimaterix Zero incident.

"General, this is Fleet Admiral...in command of a mission to locate the USS Houston." Mike replied, being cautious and not wanting to say who he was just yet.

"We responded to the distress call of the USS Houston but she was destroyed." Korok's ship shook from another hit. "She put up a valiant fight and most of her crew died with honor in glorious battle."

"Most?" Mike replied.

"Another Borg sphere beamed off several crewmembers, probably for assimilation, as well as the ship's computer core. We're not sure why. That sphere then left the area to return to a base they are building in this sector." Korok replied.

Mike thought for a moment, the situation was getting worse. Instead of a rescue mission to help the USS Houston, now it was turning into a recovery mission to recover the core of the Houston and any crewmembers that might still be alive...as well as destroying any Borg base that might be under construction.

"Stand by Qu'val" Mike replied as the channel closed. He then took his seat again and tapped the ship to ship comm. "Pegasus to all ships, mark General Korok's ship as friendly. Target the Tactical Sphere with all due force...just save the Transphasic Torpedoes for now."

Mike then addressed his Bridge crew, "Chief, attack pattern Delta-Two. Harrison target the following coordinates on the Tactical Sphere with phasers and quantum torpedoes." He tapped in where he wanted Alex to target. "Set the phaser cannon to pulse mode and target here." He tapped in additional coordinates. "Fire."

Lee stood by watching everything transpire silently with his hands clasped behind his back standing off to the right of Admiral Bremer.

"Yes sir." Alex did as he requested. She watched on as the weapons hit their various targets.

"Lee, assist Alex and monitor the shields. Our MLSS should auto-rotate shield modulation, but keep an eye on it to make sure these Borg don't have any new tricks." Mike added.

Lee gave a nod: "Aye sir" He went over to Science station number 2 and started monitoring the shields.

"Takabe, see if you can track the other Sphere's ion trail, we need to find that base!. Coleman, scan over the Houston's debris field, see if you can pick up any escape pods. Archer, boost power to the shields.

"Aye, aye Admiral. Scanning now." Coleman moved with quiet efficiency. He wanted to make sure that every rock wasn't left unturned and to make sure that if anyone was in this starship graveyard, he'd find them.

Takabe looked over her display. "There are several Borg ion trails so I need to segregate the one missing sphere." She replied. "I'm picking it up and tracking its location."


Venator, Bridge.

"The Pegasus is engaging." Ramata'tar reported.

"Mister Quan, re-enforce the shields. First, target weapons at the same point the Pegasus has and fire. Ensign Regan, full impulse, attack pattern Beta-Three-Five."

Quan was busily tapping commands into his engineering console, "Understood, Sir."


Yorktown, Bridge

"Saith, target the Tactical Sphere's weapons arrays. Let's see if we can quiet them down a little. Holly boost power to the shields."

Holly's hands flew over the console making the ship work to her way of things. Boosting power it a matter of seconds to the shields by borrowing from other systems. Once done she responded to the command, " Shields boosted, Sir."


USS Essex Bridge

The Admiral was just entering the bridge as the Pegasus moved forward, "Helm keep formation with the Pegasus. R'nard monitor the Pegasus targeting, and follow up on their attacks." He looked back towards the turboshaft door, and seeing the Admiral entering the bridge he stood up and moved away from the centre seat. "Admiral, we are engaging a Borg Sphere, backing up the Pegasus. The other Borg sphere has been declared friendly, but I don't have the details."

"Thank you Captain Clifford." Deela sat down in her chair and watched the view screen.

"Underrstood." said R'nard, as he monitored the Pegasus.

Jack kept his eyes on the Engineering console as he made sure the Shields took as much power as needed to make sure they stood up to the returned fire from the Tactical Sphere. He ordered Damage Control teams to be on standby to combat any issues on board.

With the Admiral back on the bridge, Andrew took up a position on one of the spare consoles. From here he could monitor the ships condition and keep the Admiral informed.


Saratoga Bridge

Jackson observed how the other starsips deployed for battle. Without orders, he decided to improvise. "Helm, maintain formation with the Yorktown."

"Aye Sir"

The Saratoga responded quickly to the flight commands Flight COntrol gave her, and like a fighter, she maintained perfect position and interval with the much smaller Yorktown.

Speaking of fighters, Jackson gave Phoenix a thought. "She would love to come out and play," he thought to himself.

=/\=Phoenix, scramble your birds, engage on your discretion, and do not die!=/\=

"Yea heard the man," Phoenix told her pilots.

"Major Morris and Sergeant Vaal, make sure you keep rotating the ship's shields and weapons modulations."

"Aye sir," said Morris. He tapped into his console. He was glad he was not in the hot seat this time, but he was also sorry to not be holding a phaser rifle in his hands. "Vaal, Lennox, copy my signal rotation... sending now." He had a plan up his sleeve from the Academy days, mixed with more modern knowledge of the Borg.

"I'm on it!" Vaal replied as she worked the controls.

"Within weapons range, firing." Lennox advised as he started tapping commands into the Tactical console.

"Captain Lennox, match the Yorktown's targets with phasers and Quantum torpedoes."

"Yes sir." Lennox replied as he locked weapons. He'd lost friends to the Borg in the past, and while the 'Borg Collective' was gone, this little bit or retribution would feel good.

=/\=Bridge to Chief Aquila. Form a reaction force in case we get boarded=/\=

=/\=Aquila acknowledged=/\=



The massive Galaxy Class refit USS Pegasus-B moved forward and opened fire. As she did, Korok's Sphere fell back and took cover behind the Federation ships for a moment while it re-modulated it's weapons and shields. The weapons of the Pegasus impacted at their targets. The ship's main phasers and torpedoes damaged the enemy's shield grid while the phaser cannon's pulses ripped a section of the outer hull away.

The Intrepid Class USS Essex, Defiant Class USS Yorktown, Akira Class USS Saratoga, and Prometheus class USS Venator also moved in and fired. While the Venator's weapons further damaged the Tactical Sphere's shields, the Yorktown was able to knock out one of their weapons arrays. About the same moment, Phoenix's fighters took flight.


USS Essex Bridge

Between the USS Yorktown, the USS Saratoga, the USS Venator , the USS Pegasus and the USS Essex, they almost had the sphere incapacitated but not quick enough. "R'nard, locate the weakest point of the sphere and concentrate phasers and torpedoes on that area."

"Aye, sirr." said R'nard. He focused sensors and fired at the weakest point, making sure to modulate the frequencies to keep them from adapting too quickly.

Jack's attention was suddenly diverted to a sensor alarm on his console and he confirmed his worrying suspicion. "Admiral! Sensors have detected a transwarp opening! A second Borg sphere is exiting and they've targetted our Warp Engines!" He reported, forwarding the sensor information to Clifford, Lokran, and Gilmore's stations as well as the panel next to Deela's position.

R'nard was already on top of it. "We need evasive maneuvers, sirr." he said. He kept firing to finish off the first sphere before they engaged the second. But where was the friendly sphere? Or was it just a ruse?

R'nard was already maneuvering the ship out of harms way, "You read my mind." Dealing with the Borg, Deela was glad that her old crew was with her.


Saratoga Bridge

Morris caught the communications report from the Essex and immediately typed into his panel. "We've got incoming, sir." The marine paused only briefly to look at the tactical map on his console. "Sullivan and Lennox, let's finish off the first sphere." he exclaimed, taking a liberty he hoped Jackson wouldn't mind.

"Roger that.... All fighters, fire the ion torpedoes, full spread," Phoenix told her pilots, for disabling the sphere might be fruitful.

Jackson did not mind at all. Borg ships have been known to come back from the brink of destruction. He just gave Morris a nod.

Lennox tapped the commands into the console. The four forward facing torpedo tubes of the Saratoga's weapons pod fired several salvos in quick succession. As the Akira class ship turned, he fired off a few more torpedoes from the port side torpedo bay.

=/\=Saratoga to Phoenix, we have a new arrival. Say hello to it.=/\=

"Let it fly, guys," Phoenix spoke, and both her squadrons lit up the sphere with shards of phaser shots.


USS Essex Bridge

The sphere fired at the Intrepid class ship but missed thanks to R'nard's quick reaction. "Inform the Pegasus that we are pursuing the other sphere." Deela noticed in the view screen that the Saratoga was also moving towards the other sphere. She looked over at Clifford who was sitting next to her then back at the view screen.

As the Admiral turned slightly towards him Andrew turned slightly to meet her gaze for a second. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, then turned back towards the screen.

Jack re-directed the powerflow from non-essential systems to shore up the shields surrounding the warp engines as the second borg sphere began its assault on the Essex. He made sure that the shield generators were holding up and that the backup systems were ready to kick in should the ship take any damage. He held his nerve as he monitored the Engineering systems.

The ship shook as the strike by the borg hit the shields, Andrew looked around the bridge and awaited the report from R'nard.

"Shields down to 80%." said R'nard.

Deela didn't like being shot at, much less from the Borg, "Maximum power to the shields and return fire."

R'nard didnt' need to be told. He fired with everything they had.

Andrew smiled as the ship spun round to bring its weapons to bear, then gave the Borg Sphere a full volley of torpedoes followed up by the ships phasers.

Jack monitored the situation from his position. Part of him wanted him to be in Main Engineering, being right there in the thick of things but he also knew that the Essex had one of the best engineering crews in the fleet.

He pressed the internal comm button on his console as the starship shuddered from another hit sent by the Borg Sphere attacking them. "Solomon to Engineering. Dispatch damage control teams to maitain and repair the critical systems hit on deck seven," he ordered as he shored up the aft shields with backup power units that were re-diverted.


USS Pegasus, Bridge

Coleman was looking over the sensors, trying to make sure that there weren't any survivors of the Borg attack, when he saw an incoming message from the Essex. He redirected the sensors to the Essex and the area around it and noticed a second Borg Sphere.

"Admiral, we've got another Borg Sphere coming in. They're targeting the Essex's warp engines."

Lee moved over to his chair and sat down looking over the findings:"It's been confirmed Admiral, the other Borg Sphere is firing at the Essex, her engines have taken about 25% damage."

Mike tapped the comm button on his chair arm, "Pegasus to Yorktown, give the Essex some cover fire."

As Mike tapped the comm again to close the channel, the Pegasus shook from a a hit of its own.

"Borg torpedo hit to the port shields, I'm boosting power to the shield generators in that area." Archer reported.

Mike closed his eyes for a moment as a voice in his head gave him an idea. "Alex, let's finish this one off." Mike tapped in a few coordinates, "Hellfire torpedoes, phasers, cannon...target them all on that location." Mike ordered.

"Yes sir! "Alex nodded with a smile. She was concerned about the Essex right now and really wanted to be helping them.

As the Pegasus opened fire, she was quickly joined by Korok's Sphere as it fired on the same section of the enemy Tactical Sphere. After a few hits, a hole opened up as the weapons tore into Tactical Sphere's hull.


USS Venator, Bridge

The Prometheus class ship had remained with the Pegasus and also followed her in.

Roebuck knew Bremer was going for the kill, so a shot to the jugular just might hasten the Tactical Sphere's death. "First, engage the Multi-Vector Assault Mode."

Ramata'tar nodded and tapped in a few commands. The lighting on the Bridge dimmed slightly as an alert sounded, "Decoupling sequence activated. Auto separation in ten seconds" A moment later, the Prometheus class ship started to separate into three.

"Attack pattern Gamma-Twelve." Archer added.

"Specify target" the computer replied.

"The Borg Tactical Sphere bearing 005 mark 012." Ramata'tar replied.

The three sections of the Venator moved into formation as Ramata'tar tapped the 'fire' button on the Tactical console. All together, the three sections opened fired on the enemy Borg ship. It's weapons ripped into its hull.

Turning back for another run the Pegasus and Korok's Sphere opened fire again and within an instant the enemy Borg vessel exploded like a dying star. The explosion shook the Pegasus, Venator, and Korok's ship but none were worse for wear.

Quan was still busy routing and rerouting power to the various parts of the ship that needed it. So far nothing had caught him out, but he wasn't about to become complacent.


USS Essex Bridge

Not only was the Saratoga helping them, the Yorktown joined in as well. The Essex was giving everything they got.

Andrew checked the console beside him, "Damage decks four through seven, Admiral. No reports of casualties yet though."

Jack looked over at Deela to report. "Admiral, I've dispatched damage control teams to deck seven to repair the damaged systems in that area." He wanted to make any more damage was contained as the Venator and the Saratoga came to their aid.


USS Saratoga Bridge

Watching the Main Viewer, Jackson could see that the Essex was getting punished by the new Sphere. "Conn, get us between the Essex and that sphere's weapons."

The Saratoga made a turn hard to starboard, and within minutes, she was now in between the Essex and the Borg. The four Borg plasma torpedoes intended for the Essex now impacted on the Saratoga's shields. The heavy cruiser shook with the impacts. "Major T'Lyn, report!"


In order to protect the damaged Essex, an attack flight pattern was not an option. "Captain Lennox, send a pair of Hellfires to our new friend. Then phasers and quantums at your discretion."

"Firing torpedoes." Lennox's fingers danced across the panel. Between the Borg and the previous engagement with the Pirates raiding Kaleb IV, Danny was getting a lot more comfortable at Tactical. The Saratoga shook from another hit. "Shields down to eighty-five percent."

The Saratoga might have been a Marine Support Ship by assignment, but she still was one of the most capable Heavy Cruisers of the Line, and she was proving herself so far to Jackson's relief.


Pegasus, Bridge

"Sir, the Essex is taking a beating from the other Sphere." Archer reported from Ops.

"Chief, alter our course to intercept. Alex let's give the Essex some cover." Mike ordered.

With the combined fire of the Essex, Saratoga, Yorktown, Vanator, Pegasus, and General Korok's Sphere the enemy Borg Shere stood little chance and soon exploded like the first.

Mike glanced at the sensors and seeing them clear, the tapped the comm, "Pegasus to all ships. Assume defensive patter Kirk-Beta. I want damage reports ASAP. All ship commanders beam over to the Pegasus in ten minutes, General Korok I want you to join us. Pegasus out."


tbc....

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