The transporter beams resolved into twelve heavily-armed, reddish-skinned, vaguely humanoid attackers. Using the viewer monocle built into his helmet, Johnny ascertained that the attackers were, indeed, T'rais.
"Chee to Virgo: come in please!" Nothing but static on all bands. The T'rais are jamming communications: definitely an overt hostile act! Let's see if we can talk our way out of this.
[Attention Federation interlopers!] the lead T'rais shouted. "This planetoid and everything on it is under T'rais jurisdiction! You have five minutes to leave or be destroyed!"
"We are here investigating a distress signal from a wrecked vessel and have no intention of making a permanent claim here. In order to leave, we need to communicate with our ship. Are you prepared to facilitate this?" Johnny asked, knowing well what the answer would be.
[I cannot permit that at this time; however, if you and your servants will disarm and accompany me, you can be assured of repatriation at a later date,] the T'rais leader responded.
Yeah, right! Johnny thought. When Klingons swear off bloodwine!
"My men," Johnny responded, "and I will not surrender unless we have orders from Captain Maruu of the Virgo. You will allow us to communicate with the Virgo and leave here peaceably. Then you can have this piece of rock all to yourself!"
[Sir, we're being flanked! Two platoon-sized formations have just beamed down! Volex reports engagement with the enemy!] Olivares broke in.
"Corporal, defend your position and fire at will! All bets are off!" Johnny replied. "All teams, switch to Channel Gamma and dig in now!"
Johnny grabbed a grenade from his combat harness and activated it, tossing it into the middle of the T'rais formation as he ran back to the wreckage of the Kirk. The grenade detonated just as he dove for cover behind a crumpled section of bulkhead. He sighted his rifle and saw that the grenade had wiped out five of the twelve T'rais who had been standing in the clearing before his line.
"All teams, switch phaser rifles to maximum power!" Johnny barked as he fired at the T'rais who were in the center formation. The apparent leader, the one who had been speaking, suddenly became smoke rapidly dissipating in the winds of the planetoid's atmosphere.
Serves you right, you insufferable son of a bitch! Fire from the defensive perimeter destroyed the remaining T'rais in the first party. "Barek, split your team up and cover the right wing, take Nkrumah with you! Send half your troops to me; I'll take the left! Maxon, van der Merwe, find a defensive position and be prepared to provide counterfire!"
Johnny dashed out to assist Olivares, who was holed up behind a mostly-intact warp nacelle returning fire at a furious pace. "How are we holding up?"
"The T'rais are using a combination of phaser and old-style projectile weapons: 45-caliber, if my guess is right. The phaser rifles appear to be Federation Type IVs!" A loud "pop-pop-pop-pop" of automatic weapons fire punctuated Olivares's last statement. Bullets rang off the warp nacelle. Johnny looked to Olivares's right and saw two Marines wounded. One was Private Horigawa, who had suffered the knee injury nine days earlier.
"I guess I should tell my squad leader about this one, sir!" Horigawa gasped. The round had penetrated the space between the breastplate and shoulder plate of his armor and was bleeding profusely despite the quick medical attention one of his mates had afforded him.
"Just hang in there! We're getting you out of here!" Johnny assured him. "Chee to Virgo, come in please!"
[...we've penetrated the T'rais countermeasures. What is your status, Major?] Johnny heard the Captain respond through intermittent static.
"We're engaged against T'rais ground forces, approximately 60 in number, and we have taken casualties! Request evac as soon as possible!" Johnny replied, knowing that the Virgo was likely under attack itself and couldn't afford to lower shields long enough to transport the platoon.
[...working on it... ...shields can't be lowered at the... ...will beam you out as soon as...]
Johnny had heard enough. A platoon of T'rais attackers was closing in on their redoubt: 50 meters. The T'rais machine guns would become more effective at this range. The phasers already were, as was demonstrated by a section of the warp nacelle disintegrating in front of the beleaguered party.
"Maxon! I need a burst: medium dispersal, 50% power! I'm patching the coordinates to you now!" Johnny yelled into his com circuit, tapping a series of commands into his tricorder.
[I've received the coordinates, sir. Firing now!]
Four photon anti-tank rounds lanced out from Maxon's launcher and detonated in the midst of the T'rais. Parts of seventeen bodies in various degrees of combustion were left in and around the craters. The remaining T'rais were in a state of panic!
"Okay, men! Let's give 'em back what they've been dishing out!" Johnny yelled. All at once the Marines hiding behind the warp nacelle opened fire on the T'rais. What had been confusion was now a full retreat!
"Barek! How are you holding up!" Johnny asked.
[Sir, we're holding our own. We've taken refuge in what was Deck Three of the Kirk and have established it as a defensive position. Three of ours wounded, about twelve of theirs so far!]
"Maxon, van der Merwe, relieve Sargent Barek's position! Do whatever's necessary!"
Johnny didn't hear the loud explosions coming from the vicinity of Barek's defensive position as he and his fellow Marines chased down the retreating T'rais. One turned to use his defensive weapon, the same one which had created such chaos on the bridge of the Virgo nine days earlier, to fend off the phaser blasts directed toward his vicinity. A blast from Johnny's rifle eliminated the T'rais's arm and therefore the problem. The T'rais fell to the ground in shock.
The attack was over almost as soon as it had began, or so it seemed. Fifteen minutes had elapsed according to Johnny's chronometer.
"All squads, report!" Johnny called out.
A list of names rang back. Barek, Olivares, Nkrumah: and his senior staff had made it out. Horigawa, Volex, and Sorek were wounded; Sorek badly enough to have entered a Vulcan healing trance. No deaths: this time. Except for the 54 T'rais who now lay dead within the crater made by the crash-landing of the Kirk. Two prisoners remained alive.
"Nkrumah, secure the prisoners. I'm sure we can get a few questions answered now. Everybody, gather up all the T'rais weaponry you can locate: including these!" Johnny ordered, holding up the rod-like defensive weapon for all to see.
[Virgo to Chee: what is your status?}
"The area is secured! Twenty-five to beam up: have Sickbay ready for casualties and Security ready for prisoners!" Johnny answered.
A wave of blessed relief passed through Johnny as the transporter beam locked onto him and took him home.
No sooner than the Marines and their prisoners were beamed up than another transport took place. Lt. Alysa Sinclair beamed down near the wreck of the Kirk and proceeded directly to the bridge.
Knocking aside the mortal remains of Captain Nash, she sat in the command chair, tapped in a code and downloaded file 04172 Beta to her tricorder, then beamed back to the Virgo. Moments later a photon torpedo fired from the Virgo ended the existence of the wreck of the USS Kirk.