The orders were passed through the combined fleet, now twelve ships strong. The Federation/G'kra force moved toward the Mulluran occupation fleet, all weapons firing.
Aboard the USS Flanders, Captain Scheherazade Amanat was almost bouncing in eager anticipation of the fight She'd only held the command for six months, but was still the most senior command-grade Fleet officer in the task force after the demise of Luigi Grimaldi a few hours earlier. And this was her first combat engagement. The distinction was hard to make, however.
"Tactical, how long until we close on that Mark II at 145 Mark 6?" she almost shouted.
"We'll be within photon torpedo range in approximately five seconds."
"I want that dog out of my sky! Full load, target to kill!"
"Are you sure, Captain? Shouldn't we try to board?"
"Do not question me, Commander! We are going to destroy these people, just as they destroyed ours! Disintegrate that thing!"
The torpedoes fired. Four of them hit the Mark II directly amidships. The vessel exploded into a billion shining stars.
"Allahu akhbar!" Captain Amanat couldn't help but shout.
"Captain, we're picking up escape pods from the Mulluran vessel," her Operations officer told her.
Scheherazade thought for a minute. "Leave them. Let them suffocate. We've got more hunting to do!"
At least she didn't decide to phaser the escape pods, the Operations officer thought.
Commandant Mer'an had no such compunction. His flagship, the Fist of La'kon, destroyed yet another Mulluran cruiser. One with Order Police markings. "Target and destroy the escape pods with the aft disruptor banks. Let's give the gun crews target practice!" he said coldly. No one aboard the G'kra vessel thought twice as the escape pods were vaporized.
The gloves were off, on both sides. Tarik smiled as the tactical display showed one Mulluran vessel after another disappearing. Every pretense regarding the 'rules of war' was thrown out the window... for better or for worse...
[Mayday! Mayday! This is Commander Del Monte of the USS McCoy! We have sustained an engine hit and we are dropping out of warp!]
"Hammerhead squadron, prep for launch! Cover the McCoy!" Tarik ordered. The McCoy, with Del Monte in command, was nothing more than a fruit can against the Mullurans. The fighters of VMF 28 deployed from the Patton, but it was too late... the hospital ship was already being boarded.
Unfortunately the enemy isn't obligated to play by the rules either, he thought as he dispatched a wave of Rhino heavy transports to begin boarding operations on two crippled Mulluran cruisers.
"What do we do?" one of the nurses aboard the McCoy asked Jayme Alcon when the red alert sounded.
"Follow my lead," she said without hesitation. "We're not going to roll over and play dead, that's for damned sure!" she said as she grabbed a phaser from the hospital ship's small security armory.
Meanwhile, back on SB901, Commodore Mallory arrived on the command deck.
"Legally, Balax is correct. The Nausicaan government-in-exile is recognized by the Federation, and they are free to pursue whatever course of action they see fit."
Commander K'tag bit back some harsh words. He thought about the situation and realized she was right.
"Commodore, we have a number of unscheduled launches from the Fleet docks!" the traffic control officer announced.
Mallory rushed to the status board. "Open a comm."
[Good morning, Commodore. How may we be of assistance?] Captain Craig McConaughey of the Ronin asked.
"Just where are you going without departure orders?" Mallory asked.
"We're shadowing the Nausicaan vessel, of course," the captain of the Ronin replied
"Will your 'shadowing' take you into Ferengi space, by any chance?"
[All the way to the Mulluran homeworld, if necessary!]
"Very well then. But I expect a full report on your actions!"
The signal cut out. Suddenly six more departures showed up on the board.
"Commodore, Banshee Squadron has just launched without authorization!" the traffic control officer announced again.
"Not to worry. They're just shadowing the Nausicaans, to make sure they don't get into any trouble we don't want them to get into," Mallory said with a wink. Justifying all of this to Command will take some magic I'm not even sure Kassia can work, but we'll see.
The sudden attack by the Federation and G'kra vessels routed the Mulluran fleet. Of twenty Mulluran vessels, only ten remained. The balance of power was now firmly in the hands of the Federation task force. But Zalar was not one to give up.
He dispersed his fleet, playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse amongst the asteroids and other assorted rubble of the Rostella system. It would be only a matter of time before more reinforcements came from the second prong of the attack, directed at Ferenginar, to relieve him.
Captain Sulok of the USS Endymion, however, was a very patient Vulcan. He shut down as much of his ship's systems as he could, running silent to escape detection. For over an hour he pursued a Mulluran cruiser through the Rostella asteroid belt, staying just outside the enemy ship's sensor range. The Mulluran commander seemed to have a preternatural sense that the Endymion was pursuing him, and managed to duck out of tactical range just as Sulok had a clear shot.
But in a test of wills between Vulcan and Mulluran, the Vulcan ultimately won out. The Mulluran commander suddenly became unnerved and made a wrong move. "Forward phasers, fire," Sulok ordered.
The Mulluran vessel's shields went down immediately. It attempted to return fire, but not before another phaser volley from the Endymion shattered its engineering section. "A most illogical move. Sulok to Tarik, we are in need of a boarding party."
[Understood. We've got people on the way now!]
Much too exciteable for a general officer. But then again, he is a Romulan... Sulok thought."
Tarik grimaced as he saw the damage reports. Most of the Mulluran fleet had been destroyed, but the McCoy was repelling boarders and the Flanders had taken a hit to her starboard nacelle while trying to engage two Mulluran ships simultaneously. To Captain Amanat's credit, however, she destroyed both of the enemy ships. The battle was, however, turning rapidly in the Task Force's favor.
"Sir, we've got ten more Mulluran vessels vectoring into the system! They look like Type III's!" a Tactical officer in the CIC announced.
It couldn't last forever, Tarik thought. "Let's mop these people up and consolidate our position!" he ordered.
"I've got another set of signals. It's a Nausicaan battlecruiser and four armed merchantmen!"
[Greetings, grandson! You know I couldn't resist a fight!] Sikal said.
"Good to have you here! You're just in time for the party!"
[The Yukon Synthetics Corporate Security Division is at your service,] Balax added.
"Let's tell it like it is, Balax. You're the Nausicaan Defense Force and that's all you've ever been!"
[Very true... but we cannot forget our benefactor. Hail Nausicaa!]
The Nausicaan ships moved forward to engage the newcomers.
"We've got more incoming vectors... it looks like the USS Ronin... and Banshee Squadron!" the Tactical officer told Tarik.
"Outstanding! Just the way I like to end the day!"
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