Major Tarik left the conference room and Carter waited to see what Wallace wanted. He pulled up a PADD and then looked at the Lieutenant. "Okay, I want your squadron to fight the battle as one; concentrate your fire as one. " Wallace said handing over a PADD.
Carter hesitated at hearing her orders. She deliberated on whether she should say something, weighing her responsibility to her squad against Captain Wallace's years of tactical experience. In the end, her friends won, but not by much. She spoke, "Sir, the YF-6100 isn't really designed to operate that way. They work best if they spread out and attack from all sides."
"I know Lieutenant. But this situation won't be your typical fight. You won't have the massive starship support like you had in the War; there's just the Arizona, the Midway and the Sutherland against twelve very large, very mean enemy battle ships." As that unpleasant image filled his mind, Wallace frowned, clasped his hands behind his back, walked over to the large windows and stood staring out at the stars for a few seconds. He continued more hotly, "That's four-to-one odds. We need to do something to help even them. That's why the enemy needs to be lured near the station so we can bring our weapons to bear, and that's why your five ships have to work together as a unit, because together they carry the firepower of another entire starship."
Carter digested all this quickly, then said, "I understand, sir. So now the odds are only about two-to-one against us."
Wallace looked sharply away from the window to the Lieutenant. Is she joking at a time like this?!? he thought incredulously. But his eyes met hers, Wallace saw only a kindred spirit, battle-forged, only too aware of how desperate their situation was. There was no frivolous humor present, just a wry acknowledgment of the situation and a fierce determination to overcome it.
"We won't let you down," Carter said giving a reassuring smile.
"Lieutenant, after this fight, I am going to look into it that your Squadron is never broken up, and that you receive something for your years of service," Wallace said walking towards the door.
Carter said to his retreating back, "Sir, what we've received for our service is a Federation still in one piece. That's all I've ever wanted. Anything else is just icing..."
Wallace paused for a moment in the open doorway and said over his shoulder, "Maybe it's time for a little icing, Lieutenant." Then he stepped though the door, which hissed shut behind him.
Carter addressed her team mates in the small common room the Banshees had commandeered as their own 'briefing room'. She went over the same battle plan with the Banshees that Captain Wallace had just explained to his commanders. After she finished, there was silence for a minute, then the questions began. She answered them one by one:
Sam: "The YF-6100 isn't designed for...."
"I explained that to the Captain. He feels that if we act together, we carry more firepower and stand a better chance of doing significant damage."
Jo: "The ionization above the north magnetic pole will render our refractive shields useless. Instead of hiding us, they'll spew ions everywhere lighting us up like tri-cobolt flares."
"We won't be using shields while we're above the pole," -- this drew a few alarmed looks -- "because the planet's ionosphere will totally cloud our existence. We will switch to shields once we attack the Son'a," she reassured them -- the alarmed looks faded somewhat.
There were a few other minor questions and clarifications about the finer points of the battle plan, and Carter cleared them up quickly and efficiently. Finally, the meeting drew to a close. The five women rose to leave.
Jo motion to Sam and said, "C'mon, let go to the El Taco and see if the manager is there. He's kinda sweet on you, y'know."
Sam blushed but followed Jo out.
Max watched them leave, then looked at Lee and said, I'm going to find a bar and have a little fun. See ya."
Kim was looking a million miles away. Lee walked around the small table to stand beside her. "So, Kim. What mechanical miracle are you coming up with?"
"Hmm? Oh. I think I can shorten the recharge rate of the quantum cannons down from fifteen seconds to...."
"To?" asked Lee, smiling. She enjoyed Kim's occasional departures into engineering fantasyland.
"Ahhh...." Kim screwed up her eyes and a look of intense concentration crossed her face. She scratched her noggin, then tried kneading her knuckles into her temples, and kinked her neck to the left and the right, then round and round. At last, the light of revelation lit her face and she cried, "I've got it!"
"What?" said Carter, eager to hear what her engineer had come up with. This was going to be good.
"I have to go see Garek!" And with that, Kim bounded toward through the door and was gone.
Carter stared at the door through which her last team mate had just fled. They all had somewhere they knew they had to be, for whatever reason, be it personal or professional. Carter sighed and walked slowly back toward her cabin.