Morgan Bicardi smiled as he stepped into the cockpit of the Hammerhead. It had been a long time since he'd flown his fighter into combat--too long! "It is a good day to die," he said quietly over his comm channel.
The information they'd received from Tarik (who in turn had received it from sources unknown) had proven to be reliable: Delar 3, on the border between Romulan and Mulluran space, was heavily defended by Mulluran fighters. In the midst of the sensor data was the telltale trace of a Romulan cloaking device, invisible to all but the most sensitive detection methods.
Fortunately the flight was staged from Thermopylae, rather than the station, so the transit time would be much shorter. The second phase of the mission, involving ground forces, would also launch from the asteroid base.
Shannon Vansen flew on Morgan's starboard wing in diamond formation. She was nervous about the various groups that were to be involved in this conflict. "Hey, Talia loosen up. Ryan's about ready to fly up your exhaust." She smiled as both of the other pilots realized their spacing was off and the formation became perfect once more.
"And a mighty fine tailpipe that is," Ryan Macleod exclaimed, momentarily losing himself in the experience. For the first time in literally ages he was flying into combat again!
"You will watch your bearing, p'taQ!" Morgan snapped. Ryan laughed. He and the half-Klingon squadron leader had built an interesting relationship over the past few days.
"Now, boys, play nice," Talia chuckled as she pretended to chide them like a mother.
"Aw, gee, can't we have a little fun?" Ryan implored. The proximity alarm came on. "Okay, folks, it looks like it's game time. I'm reading three bogeys at 310 Mark 4, about 20,000 klicks out and closing fast!"
Vansen clicked her mic three times indicating she also had three cloaked ships. "Roger, that." She visually checked position of the other four pilots and checked her stores list in her HUD and prepared her own battle plan.
"Stay in formation," Bicardi ordered. "We'll come at them from below, at a -45 degree angle relative to their angle of attack. Mulluran sensors seem to be blind toward the aft section of the ship."
Shannon smiled. The base was still over one AU from their current position. To be meeting such resistance early... "Sir, squadron of fighters just launched from surface of planet. Six targets rising fast. Over."
"Okay, let's look alive!" Morgan said. "Macleod, take my wing and cover me!"
"Roger that," Ryan said as the two planes broke off. "Bogey in sight--launching photon missile! Talleyho!" he yelled as the projectile launched from his wing. Moments later the Mulluran fighter exploded.
"WHOO-HOO!" Ryan cheered over his comm signal. Morgan followed that one by phasering yet another fighter before they cleared the formation.
Shanon and Talia broke in the opposite direction and in close formation strafed one of the other fighters but also fired multiple photon torpedoes at the nearest of the two cloaked ships, causing it to drop both out of impulse and cloak. "Talia, way to go! Lets loop back and join the guys before the shit hits the fan. What do you say?"
"Let's do it!" she replied as they turned their fighters around, ready for more to come their way.
Almost back to the rendezvous, phaser fire streaked past their ships. "Guess they like our tails...lets show them our noses!" Both women flipped their ships and instantly came to phasers and both scored hits. Just then Morgan and Ryan joined the fray.
The Mulluran fighters rallied from their surprise and regrouped, pursuing their attackers, but the hastily trained pilots lacked enough skill to pull off the job. "Step-up formation and lock phasers on target!" The four fighters lined up one above the other in a staggered line and began firing on the Mulluran squadron. Two more fighters disintegrated as Talia and Ryan scored more hits.
"Yes!! Score some for the good guys!" Talia cheered.
The remaining fighters turned tail to bug out, when they were met by a much larger craft...
"A Romulan Warbird!" Morgan exclaimed. "Concentrate on engineering and weapons systems! On my mark!"
"Damn it!" Shannon swore not remembering her mic was hot. She rolled her ship and tried to maintain her postion in line but was taking heavy fire from the Romulan ship they'd decloaked. She peeled off and brought her ship back under control and headed right back for her position with grim resolve.
Ryan and Bicardi began strafing the warship with their phasers; Bicardi released two photon torpedoes directly into the engine compartment. He pulled up just as the missiles detonated. "Qapla'" he shouted as the engine exploded.
In the vapor cloud the second of the cloaked ships was visible and Shannon and Talia as one rolled and headed to strafe the engines.
The first run missed and they headed back for another run, continuing to take heavy fire. But the second time was the charm! They hit their mark and the engine's compartment went up.
Two Romulan ships now lay adrift in space. Their engine compartments gone, they were unable to maneuver. "Sensor readings indicate major damage to the interiors of both ships!" Ryan reported as he read his scanners. Then suddenly a huge beam shot out from the bow of one. "Obviously fire control is still hot!" he said as he barrel-rolled out of the way and began homing in on the phaser array.
Another phaser burst grazed the Hammerhead. Ryan's controls suddenly blinked out. "Dammit! I've lost avionics!" he yelled. Bicardi responded immediately by firing his last photon torpedo at the array.
The entire ship exploded as the duotronic capacitors of the array discharged into the Warbird's superstructure. Ryan's fighter rocked and bucked with the shock wave.
Shannon ducked under Ryan's starboard wing and spotted the maintenance access open to space. "Yikes, Ryan your under side is open to space...its amazing you are still able to transmit! Talia, are you able to talk him through a reboot--maybe his systems are just offline? Sir, Is the op still a go?"
"The op is still a go!" Morgan said. "We've secured the airspace. I'm calling Colonel Tarik now to initiate the ground op! Let's get some!" he shouted as he and Shannon went for the second Warbird.
Both fighters came up over the engines and Shannon fired another well-placed torpedo while Morgan fired phasers into the heart of the command center. Both hammerheads shot away from the path of the debris.
Talia helped Ryan as best as she could under the circumstances. "Is the system rebooting?" she asked as he finished the procedure.
"Hammerhead 6 to Ground 6--initiate landing sequence!" Morgan barked.
"I've had to resort to the backup files, but I've got control over engines and life support now," Ryan replied. "Wait--there! I've got avionics control for the port side! Starboard's a wash--too much hardware damage."
"Sir, there's a lot of activity and reinforecement of the facility were K'tag is...should we do a pre-emptive strike to force their ground crews back?" Shannon asked.
"Sir, requesting permission to tow Macleod back to base... He's done," Talia said, as she realized that with the damage he wasn't getting anywhere by himself.
"Granted," Bicardi grunted. "Well fought, Macleod. You have the spirit of a Klingon!"
"Let's go, cowboy," Talia said, as she initiated a tractor beam on his fighter and began to tow him back to base.
"Yeee-Ha!" Ryan shouted as the two fighters left at warp.
"Return as soon as Macleod is secured. We still need to fly cover for the landing," Bicardi ordered. "Vansen, follow me down into the atmosphere. The landing craft should be here soon."
"Lead the way, sir."
The two fighters entered the atmosphere and began orbiting the site Tarik's intelligence indicated K'Tag was being held. [Ground 6 to Hammerhead 6--we're on our way! ETA 1/2 hour!] Tarik commed Bicardi.
"Acknowledged, Ground 6. You'll find the road well-paved," Bicardi replied.
K'Tag lay on the hard stone floor of his cell, forsaking even the rancid pallet that had been provided for sleep. It was night on Delar 3, at least his portion of it, but he was unable to sleep. He hadn't slept for days.
K'Tag had been watching his guards roatate shifts, trying to determine an opportune moment to effect his escape. He'd saved the crude porridge that they'd given him once a day in his latrine bucket. At the right moment, he'd activate his plan.
The Mulluran guard outside his cell seemed inattentive, almost bored. Now's the time, K'Tag thought. It is a good night to die...
K'Tag took his blanket and hastily tied a crude noose. It was a maneuver he'd practiced for several days. The guard was very nearly asleep. You will not awaken from your negligence, K'Tag thought as he slowly stood up, took his noose, and walked to the bars. With a deft motion, he threw the noose over the guard's head. Then--
ALERT! ALERT! ALIEN ATTACK ON THE COMPOUND! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!
A klaxon whooped, sending its echoing cry through the stone corridor and creating an tremendous echo even the guard couldn't sleep through. The guard immediately tried to run as K'Tag jerked back the noose. The guard's neck was broken instantly.
K'Tag used the noose to drag the inert body to him, and retrieved the control for the cell door. He tapped the control, and the door slid open. Freedom! he thought as he retrieved the bucket and the guard's weapon.
Morgan Bicardi guided his Hammerhead in on a strafing run of the compound. The entire camp, it seemed, was caught off guard. The fighters had launched from another base with obviously better discipline. The prison compound was somewhat more lax.
Shannon Vansen followed him in, both of their fighters blasting phaser beams into the camp's antiaircraft weaponry and antenna farm. Soon thecamp was blind and defenseless. Individual soldiers fired back with small arms, but to little effect. All was chaos on the ground.
The lions having felled the prey, it was time for the jackals to have their fill. "Ground 6 landing now," Tarik announced. A lone Hawke transport landed on the side of the compound nearest the holding cells. "Alcon, take two squads, secure the north end of the complex. Find K'Tag and get him aboard the transport ASAP--let me know when you do."
"Aye, sir," Captain Jayme Alcon responded. "All right, maggots--assholes and elbows! We're moving out!" she yelled as two squads disgorged from the transport.
Tarik instructed the transport pilot--none other than K'Tag's daughter--fly cover while the Hammerheads pulled back to orbit. "Where are you going?" N'Garen asked.
"To find out what my brothers have been up to!" Tarik responded as he ordered his two squads out of the transport.
Resistance was scattered--these were evidently not mainline Mulluran troops but a prison-camp detail, lax on discipline. A shame, this is, almost too easy! he thought as he phasered three of the guards on his way to the camp commander's quarters.
K'Tag made his way down the corridor cautiously, hoping to avoid guards. His plan so far had been simply to escape--what he'd do upon escaping was another matter. But his Klingon honor refused to allow him to remain prisoner!
A group of guards had retreated into the cell block, apparently driven back by the unknown attackers. K'Tag ducked back behind a corner as the panicked guards hurried into the prison. K'Tag tripped one of them as he went by, kicking the Mulluran's skull as soon as the man went down. He didn't get back up. The rest of the guards began to raise weapons when K'Tag threw the contents of the bucket--the vile porridge and even more vile Klingon offal--straight into their faces.
They only had a brief moment to suffer the stench and mess before K'Tag sent them as well to the afterlife.
Tarik was almost rushing ahead of his Marines to get to the camp commander's quarters. If he were in that person's position, he knew what he'd be doing.
Very little met him in the way of resistance as he kicked down the old-fashioned wooden door. The commander, an older Mulluran who looked somehow even more effete than their officer caste usually looked, was sure enough deleting files from the camp's main computers. Before the Mulluran commander even had a chance to surrender, Tarik stunned him. They take one of ours, we take one of theirs, he said to himself as he sat at the now-captured commander's desk and began downloading files to his portable tactical computer. He looked over the files as they downloaded. Several in Romulan looked very interesting. He opened one.
"Hmmm, interesting," Tarik thought as he reviewed the document. "Captain Mallory will love this!"
"Damn! What the hell is this?" Jayme exclaimed as the overpowering stench of the corridor assaulted her. "Everyone put on biofilters now!" she ordered as she slapped on her own respirator mask.
Probing around a corner with the tip of her phaser rifle, Jayme was not surprised to be met with disruptor fire. "Fall back!" she yelled as she pulled a flashbang from her harness. She threw the grenade down the corridor. Moments later a brilliant flash of light, followed by a loud BANG! and a puff of smoke filled the corridor. Jayme heard swearing. Klingon swearing.
"K'Tag--is that you?" she yelled.
"ptaQ! Who else would be yelling in Klingon!"
Jayme emerged from around the corner cautiously, in case it was a setup. It wasn't. K'Tag stood proudly over the bodies of five dead Mullurans.
"Ground 5 to Ground 6--we've found the target! He looks to be in good shape!" she called over her comm.
"Although I could stand a few servings of Rokeg Blood Pie right now," K'Tag added.
[Excellent. We're bugging out. Get him to the transport at once!] Tarik replied.
"What is that horrible smell?" Jayme asked.
"You do not want to know. We do not discuss this with outsiders," K'Tag answered with an evil smile.
After-Action Report
Extraction of Lt. K'TAG from DELAR 3
Col. TARIK, commandingMission accomplished with total elapsed time of 16 hours, 43 minutes. No friendy casualties. Lt. K'TAG recovered successfully, hungry and sleep-deprived but otherwise in good shape. Estimate 36 Mulluran casualties on the ground. Destruction of complete Mulluran fighter squadron and two Romulan Warbirds by VMF 58; estimate 18 Mulluran casualties and 400 Romulan casualties in the air. It is believed that the Romulans were attempting to flee the system to avoid detection by Federation forces. One prisoner identified as Subcommanant ZOSHO taken; held in accordance with Khitomer Convention pending negotiation with Mulluran command authority.
Moderate damage to Hammerhead 88972, assigned to WO4 MACLEOD, in combat with Romulan Warbird. Minor damage to Hawke transport 00963 from small arms fire. Both ships repaired and returned to service.
Intelligence retrieved from Mulluran prison camp indicates effort to exploit diplomatic and military ties with Romulan Star Empire for future use against said entity once Mulluran military strength is sufficient to the task. Possible that the Mullurans are attempting to incite a war between the Federation and the Romulans with intent of moving into Briar Patch while both parties weakened or otherwise occupied.
RECOMMENDATION: Request demarche with Romulan ambassador per formal channels to present evidence of Mulluran plans to Romulan government. Monitor sector for further Romulan activity; inquire as to future Romulan-Mulluran ties. Also request counter-intelligence effort aboard SB901 and SB732-B to avoid raids such as that which resulted in capture of Lt. K'TAG. Lt. K'TAG nominated to receive Prisoner of War award; exemplary performance of Capt. ALCON and Cadet N'GAREN to be noted in official personnel records.
Col. TARIK
Commanding Officer
28th Marine Expeditionary Force