Battle of Beta Seranis III

Mission: In the Hands of an Angry God

Day: 13 Stardate 2407.03.19

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1745)

The tension on the Phlegathon Bridge was so think he could have cut through it with his Andorian Chaka. Everyone knew that they were outnumbered, using an untried vessel, and an experimental tactical system. These factors were always the types that added tension to the already palpable primal fear of the genesis weapon.

The distance between the Phlegathon and the enemy battle wing was diminishing rapidly. As he had expected the enemy fleet commander was no fool. He had ordered his ships to increase velocity in an attempt to decrease the length of time that the Phlegathon could enjoy their superior range advantage.

Their battle fleet commander was skilled and experienced.

"Captain, The enemy Ship's are now at extreme range!" he reported. The helmsman was continuing to avoid the larger asteroids in the field with ease and was once again maneuvering the Phlegathon behind a large asteroid to block the line of sight from the enemy fleet.

[...]

Baylon watched as the fore of the Phlegathon broke the edge of the asteroid. As soon as the forward launchers were clear, he jabbed a rapid series of attacks against the enemy vessels.

The quantum torpedo spread was targeting a vessel just to the left of the centermost ship, which Baylon believed to be the task force command ship. The Phlegathon's phasers reached out at their extreme range, smashing into the forward shields of the two ships to the command vessel's immediate right.

Trinin purposely ignored the command vessel, hoping instead to cause the individual ship commanders to deviate from their formation and cause the enemy line to falter. If he could just give them enough reason to believe that they were in danger....

He was reading only minimal damage on the two vessels struck by phaser fire. The vessel that he had fired the torpedoes at however, was not fairing as well. She had been hit by three of the five torpedoes, directly in her forward shields. The shields had been severely weakened by the impacts and the captain had reacted exactly as Baylon had hoped he would.

The starship broke away from the center ship, causing the other ships on that wing to immediately deviate their course or risk a collision. The formation was collapsing, as the right wing of the enemy task force continued forward on their original course while the left wing struggled to avoid collision and to attempt to reform their line. The command ship's left flank was now exposed to attack.

For his trouble, Baylon sent another series of phaser pulses to stitch along the port side of the enemy Captain's ship.

While things were still unwinding on the enemy left, Baylon fired another series of five quantum torpedoes at the vessels to the right of the command ship. Each of the vessels were struck twice, but their Captains had greater discipline and they held their formation.

"Captain I suggest that we cross through the enemy line between the command ship and the ship to her immediate right. Then swing around to attack the enemy left from behind. We can concentrate fire on their right flank to break the rest of their formation, then harry their left and prevent them from reforming. We can continue to perform the maneuver as needed to press our advantage."

[...]

There were only a few more seconds remaining before the enemy vessels were at their maximum weapons range, then things would start to get dicey.

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1745)

There were a few moments after Baylon had given his suggestion, that he thought that Travis might have rejected it out-of-hand. The wasn't any immediate acknowledgement that the Lieutenant had even heard the suggestion. Maybe he hadn't

Baylon was about to repeat his suggestion on the off chance that Travis had not heard him, but he had to wait until the senior officer had finished issuing his orders.

"Ensign Maraht, I want you to do what you can to confuse their sensors." Keswick ordered.

Then he turned towards tactical. The Lieutenant was a silhouette against the starfields and asteroids that Trinin had to peer through to see him.

"Trinin, focus phaser fire on their communications systems. If we can take out their communications array, then the ships will no longer be able to coordinate their attack." The order was there, without any mention of his previous suggestion. Maybe the lieutenant was still mulling it over.

"Aye, sir. using phasers to target communications systems." Baylon replied. He wasn't about to add that he would never be able to be accurate enough to hit them at this range. ~The command was unpractical for the moment, but once they got closer....~

His thought was interrupted by the sudden launch of a half dozen missiles. They were traveling at nearly one-half the speed of light and closing fast. Had it not been for their very direct path of travel and the relative distance of the Phlegathon from the task force, he wouldn't even have seen them.

As it was there was little that he could do to stop them. "Incoming missiles!" he reported and lashed out with every phaser bank he had at the incoming cluster of projectiles.

His efforts weren't entirely futile, three of the sleek missiles disintegrated in a ball of thermal nuclear flame. The explosions weren't large, but the shockwave was rapidly approaching the Phlegathon.

"Evasive Maneuvers, brace for possible impact!" Baylon spat out.

He reached out and grabbed the TIHS console with both hands, readying himself for the shockwave from the blast.

The helm officer twisted the Phlegathon along her long axis, tucking the ship into an inverse climb as she went. The missiles strained to follow, trying to correct their courses and detonate within a reasonable distance of the Phlegathon.

The maneuver worked. The Phlegathon drove headlong into the category two shockwave caused by the expanding detonation of the other missiles. She bucked and complained, but a moment later the shockwave was beyond them and headed for the missiles.

The first missile hit the shockwave and detonated. It's detonation, of course setting off another series of explosions as the remainder of the missile volley also detonated.

The Phlegathon bucked a few more times, as they rode the shockwaves, like some primitive surfer trying to stay afloat during a tsunami.

Several asteroids were hurled out of their orbits and the ones that didn't immediately vaporize or shatter were flung with tremendous force in dozens of different directions.

Baylon released his death grip on the station and looked at the status of the battle. It appeared that all the missiles had been launched for the same ship that he had pelted with quantum torpedoes. Perhaps they were trying to pay back the favor.

For spite's sake, he fired a spread of torpedoes at the leading vessels, who had weathered the shockwave very well, and had gained considerable ground on the Phlegathon.

The Phlegathon shook as some of the enemy's fire slammed into her forward shields.

Trinin quickly made a tactical assessment, despite the potential for serious damage, the Phlegathon had suffered nearly none at all.

Some reports were coming in concerning minor injuries from sickbay and little else. The shields easily handled the radiation and force generated by the indirect detonations of the nuclear energy that struck the vessel's shields.

If it had been a direct hit, however, things may well be very different. Baylon wondered why their sensors had not detected the presence of nuclear missiles aboard any of the enemy starships. Perhaps the weapons were exceptionally well-shielded.

"Sickbay reports minor injuries only Captain." he reported as the status displays scrolled past him. "All major systems unharmed. Forward shields at 92%, Aft shields at 96%, both are recovering."

[...]

Baylon was quickly jabbing pulses of phaser fire at the two nearest ships as they approached. As ordered, he was pounding the shielding surrounding the communications systems in the hopes of burning through and making the ship's both deaf and mute to their commander.

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1750)

The Phlegathon shook as enemy weapons fire raked down either side of the vessel. The Phlegathon was forcing her way between the lead elements of the enemy task force in an attempt to split their lines and create disarray.

The ship to her immediate port side shuddered as the Phlegathon's phasers finally ruptured her protective shields and cut a jagged gash through her communications array and upper decks. Small crystals of flash frozen atmosphere shot out of the wound and the vessel turned hard to port.

The second enemy vessel, was fairing only moderately better. Her shields were beginning to falter and her captain had ordered the vessel to roll the deteriorating shielded relays away from the Phlegathon's onslaught.

With the primary target no longer visible, Trinin shifted his attentions to the heavily shielded impulse engines of the second vessel.

He jabbed phaser blast after phaser blast into the exposed underbelly of the Mrenyu ship. The vessel's shields shimmered in a cascade of excited colors ranging across the entirety of the spectrum. Then when he felt he had weakened the shields enough with the phasers, he fired a quick spread of three quantum torpedoes into her belly.

The enemy ship sputtered, her lights flickered as systems began to fail under the strain. The first torpedo had overloaded her ventral shields and exposed her impulse drives for the second and third torpedoes to exploit. A jagged-edged gaping pit had formed where the second and third torpedoes had slammed into the unprotected hull of the warship.

The vessel lost attitude control as she outgassed and lost all motive power. She was crippled.

Another series of impacts rocked the Phlegathon as the crippled enemy's sister ship sought to revenge her violated compatriot. The second vessel's assaults were ineffective, as Ensign Gold shifted power from the port shields to the starboard to compensate for the renewed vigor of the attack.

Ahead of them, the command ship, pounded the Phlegathon's forward shields with weapons fire.

Baylon took a moment to quickly assess the situation and reported.

"Forward shields holding steady at 85%, starboard shields at 93% and port shields at 70%. Captain, Engineering reports partial power failure on Deck 4."

[...]

The enemy command ship unleashed a series of torpedo attacks against the Phlegathon at that very moment. The first three torpedoes flew straight, striking the Phlegathon solidly in the forward shields. The other two missed her and flew off into space.

"Forward shields now at 45% Captain." Baylon reported, as he turned his phasers on the enemy command ship. He watched as the phasers lanced out and slammed into the forward and dorsal shields with a brilliant display of color. He continued rapidly firing phasers at the ship, not pausing for a moment, even when he fired a spread of five quantum torpedoes from the aft launchers into the forward and dorsal shields of the vessel with the destroyed communications array.

Like an amateur the second ship's captain had turned his vessel towards the rear of the Phlegathon instead of in a broad arc away from her. As a result his shieldless dorsal quadrant was exposed and three of the torpedoes tore into the hull, ripping massive gashes through her upper decks and superstructure.

Despite the damage however, the ship managed to complete the maneuver, to position herself directly behind the Phlegathon. Baylon wasn't worried about this maneuver, in just a moment they would bear hard to starboard and block the pursuing vessels line of fire with their own command ship.

The Phlegathon rolled starboard as she banked, at just the moment when the heavily damaged ship opened fire on her. The enemy tactical officer was determined, and despite the fact that the first three of his attacks missed the Phlegathon. He continued to fire as their helmsman pursued the Phlegathon.

Suddenly the shots from the enemy ship were no longer a threat to the Phlegathon as they were absorbed by the starboard shields of the enemy wing's command ship.

~They must be sensor blind.~ Baylon realized, as the enemy tactical office ceased firing and their Helmsman shifted the course of the ship to avoid a collision. ~they must have been engaging manually, pursuing through visual contact, as would be seen on the main viewscreen.~

He smiled. The enemy battle wing was now in complete disarray.

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1755)

The Phlegathon bucked violently as the enemy command ship swung in a tight interior arc and began to fire torpedoes and phasers into the aft-starboard side of the ship.

The display was suddenly illuminated by a massive series of fireballs caused by one of the enemy ships exploding in a tremendous explosion. The flash was so bright that the computer had to instantly compensate for it by blacking out the entire display. For a few seconds he was completely blind. Despite the quick computer response, he pressed his eyes closed rapidly to clear the starbursts of blue-white light that floated in his vision. The computer simply couldn't react fast enough to prevent him from getting a face full of intense light.

As the fireball diminished in intensity, the blackened screen began to return to normal and the spots floating in his field of vision were also beginning to retreat.

The ship jerked hard, as a series of enemy torpedoes slammed into the starboard quadrant of the ship. The enemy commander had realized that they would be difficult to attack with quantum torpedoes as long as he stayed positioned just below and starboard of the Phlegathon, and he was making good use of that knowledge.

"Structural damage on deck 6," Gold called out

"Evacuate the affected areas and seal them off Mister Gold," Baylon ordered.

[...]

"Helm I need a high energy lateral slide to heading two-five-six mark three-four in exactly three seconds."

"Aye Sir" The Helmswoman answered.

Exactly three seconds later, the Phlegathon slid sideways onto her new course without banking. Baylon could feel the deck vibrate beneath his feet as the inertial dampeners and structural integrity fields struggled to keep up with the sudden shift in momentum.

In that instant, Baylon fired a barrage of quantum torpedoes into the nose and starboard side of the enemy command ship. The vessel's helmsman had reacted too slowly and they shot past the sidestepping Phlegathon. Baylon lanced out with the port side phaser banks, tracing a continuous line of pulsing energy along the length of the command ship's midline. Her starboard shields collapsed and the phasers began to burn through the inferior materials that comprised her hull. The phasers tore through the materials with ease ripping a massive open wound in her side.

As slow as their helmsman was, Trinin's counterpart on the enemy vessel made up for his colleagues shortfalls. A series of three enemy torpedoes fired from their aft weapons array slammed into the nose of the Phlegathon as the command vessel shot past her and the forward shields collapsed completely.

There was an explosion behind him, as one of the auxiliary stations overloaded. Baylon felt something wickedly sharp bury itself into the small of his back and his knees almost buckled. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the console to steady himself and regained his composure.

"Forward shields have collapsed, structural damage to decks 1 and 2, all containment fields holding. Sickbay reporting heavy casualties."

[...]

Baylon reached out and jabbed his finger angrily at the enemy command ship. The port side phaser array did not respond.

Before he could report that as well, Gold reported, " Port phaser arrays are off-line, captain."

[...]

Baylon sighed; this did not bode well. The entire left side of the ship was weaponless at the moment.

"Helm, 90-degree portside roll."

"90-degree port roll, aye sir."

The Phlegathon rotated on her long axis, bringing her dorsal phaser arrays and torpedo bays to bear. Another of the enemy was bearing down on the Phlegathon's exposed port side when the maneuver was made and Baylon opened fire with the dorsal phasers. He watched as his phaser blasts slammed into the brilliantly colored forward shields of the enemy vessel. The ship began to deviate course and Baylon realized that this was the first enemy ship that he had engaged at the beginning of the conflict.

As the vessel twisted away from the Phlegathon, Trinin fired a spread of five quantum torpedoes into her nose. All five impacted the vessel, starting at her nose and tracing their way down the enemy ships port side as she tried in vain to escape her assailant.

Five brilliant flashes of color as the torpedoes made contact with then enemy shields, then the Phasers began to carve through hull plating.

Terrible gashes opened in the duranium skin of the enemy hull and it almost seemed as if she turned herself inside out. The ship shuddered as she violently decompressed, twisted as her supports were severed by the persistent pounding of the Phlegathon's phasers, then tore herself apart in a horrendous rending of materials.

By the time the ship had completed her breakup, she was close to the Phlegathon and Trinin watched as pieces of hull debris rebounded from the Phlegathon's dorsal shields.

The aft half of the ship steamed onwards, oddly enough, still powered by her massive engines. She flew past the aft of the Phlegathon and Baylon watched her for a moment as she headed towards a cluster of asteroids. A moment later, she collided with an asteroid the size of France and disappeared onto the surface never to be seen again.

Now only three ships stood between the Phlegathon and complete victory. Outnumbered still, but with half of the enemy fleet either destroyed or disabled. The enemy command ship was suffering from severe damage, but so was the Phlegathon.

Baylon fired another spread of quantum torpedoes at a pair of enemy vessels that had regrouped and were bearing down on the Phlegathon. Each was struck by pair of torpedoes, but they didn't deviate from their path. They were like sharks going in for the kill on the bleeding swimmer.

Suddenly the intruder alert sirens sounded. With shields down and half the power on deck four off line, Baylon feared the worse. they had been boarded.

He quickly checked the status of the inhibitors, a handful of them were off line around the ship. The report was coming from deck four.

"Mister Moto, we have visitors" Baylon said, then turned his attention back to the battle taking place outside the Phlegathon.

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1805)

"Forward shields restored!" Ensign Gold announced. "Currently at 50% and recovering!"

The Phlegathon shuddered again as another series of enemy phaser blasts slammed into her aft quadrant.

"Aft shields holding at 60%, starboard and port side shields are now at 70% and 55% respectively..." Baylon reported as another volley of enemy fire grazed the aft shields and sent a shimmer along the Phlegathon's decks.

"You've got you're port phasers back Mister Trinin", Gold declared triumphantly.

That was just the advantage that he needed to turn this situation around.

"Helm turn us into the enemy ship, port side turn, let them gain on us to a distance of twenty thousand kilometers, then take us right past them at half impulse, port side abroad. And try to keep that other ship on our starboard side."

"Aye sir." she replied.

Baylon watched, comparing the relative positions and speed of the two enemy vessels as they tried to flank the Phlegathon. Both ships were cooperating.

The enemy vessels began to pour withering fire into the Phlegathon's lateral shields.

He prepared a spread of forward and aft photon torpedoes. The ship to his port side was in for a big surprise.

He lanced out with his starboard phasers, slamming the bolts of light into the more distant of the two ships. It's shields shimmered briefly before collapsing. The phasers kept doing the butcher's work, carving their way through the armored exterior of the ship, reaching for her vital spots. The enemy vessel tried to roll away to escape damage, but Trinin started a new barrage.

The second barrage of phaser fire, tore through the remains of the ventral shields and split open the belly of the enemy ship. She continued to twist in a slow lazy circle, more from momentum than by design, perhaps a result of the atmosphere rushing through the gaps in the hull's exterior.

He continued to trace the horrible gash as she spun until he'd decided that she was no longer a threat. There were gaps in the vessel through which he could see the remains of the asteroid field beyond.

She continued to corkscrew, a slow lazy death throw, as her massive engines continued to push her towards her final oblivion. She was headed for a large asteroid, which would certainly destroy her when they collided.

And while Baylon had probably murdered hundreds of her crew, he felt a tinge of remorse. He activated the repulsor and gave the ship a hard push. It corrected her course just enough to clear the asteroid field and head into the system. At their current speed, it would take a long time to reach anything dangerous.

His act of generosity was not returned by the Captain of the other ship, who was still pounding the Phlegathon from her position to port.

Baylon turned and released the entire fury that he had at his fingertips into the enemy vessel. The first volley of quantum torpedoes came from the forward launchers. They slammed into the starboard side of the enemy ship, collapsing her shields on the third impact. The other two torpedoes ripped into her superstructure, tearing away huge chunks of duranium and tritanium alloys.

Then Baylon unleashed the newly restored port phasers. He traced the beams with both hands in an interlocking double helix pattern, spreading the damage he was causing over the broadest portions of the enemy ship.

Suddenly the enemy command ship loomed above the Phlegathon as Trinin poured the quantum torpedo spread from the aft launchers into the wounded side of the enemy ship. The structure twisted under the impacts and began to break up.

Suddenly the Phlegathon's shields dropped to zero, only a moment later to be completely restored. He didn't have time to ask any questions as the Command ship fired a short volley of weapon's fire into her dorsal shields.

Baylon returned fire as the enemy command ship accelerated away from them. Helm turned the Phlegathon away from the debris that was being launched from the dying enemy ship to their port side. Already Baylon could see the smaller explosions rupturing her insides. In a moment the big one would happen.

He closed his eyes just a moment before the ship disintegrated in a cloud of fire and twisted metals. When he opened them, the system was beginning to return to normal., the enemy command ship was racing away from them at high speed. they had recovered their boarding party.

He quickly scanned the status boards.

They were leaking plasma from their port side nacelle, they had lost all life support on deck four, there was damage in main engineering from the enemy assault teams. There were fluctuations in their power grid and overall the Phlegathon was a mess.

The Phlegathon was missing 28 of her crew. ~..most likely dead. Killed when deck four lost atmosphere, or when the damage reached deck six... or, or...~ the list went on and on.

"The enemy Command Ship is retreating, she is seriously damaged and seems to be heading out of the system." Ensign Josdin reported.

They were seriously damaged but so was the Phlegathon. Neither ship could continue the battle without serious risk of their destruction. The odds had been against them, but the Phlegathon had won the fight.

Baylon looked around the bridge.

Josdin was beaming back at Travis, pleased, he was certain, that the battle might well finally be finished for the Phlegathon. Gold was frantically trying to coordinate repairs from the bridge. As acting chief engineer for the Phlegathon, he and the others had performed admirably. The Operations officer, Shilar, busily worked on restoring and stabilizing power to the critical systems that kept them all alive.

The bridge itself was a shambles. No less than three auxiliary stations had exploded, and the smoke hung thick in the air. Sparks shot out of a wall mounted display terminal with disturbing regularity and there was debris from the panels covering nearly every conceivable surface.

Trinin was tired. The tension was still there, however, as the crew waited for the orders from their captain. he had a sharp pain in his back. He could feel the congealed blood holding the tunic against his body.

Travis was deep in thought, and Baylon knew he was considering the options remaining to him. He was, despite his Human Heritage a Klingon, raised in the Klingon manner, and Trinin wondered if he was trying to reconcile his duty to the ship with his desire for glory and battle.

The Captain had kept the ship together during the battle. Monitoring the situation and directing the critical details of the conflict, Travis Keswick had done extraordinarily well as CO and Baylon was not surprised at the great amount of respect that he had for the man.

And Maraht had been exceptionally focused. Using his exceptional skills at analysis and sensors to constantly feed Baylon a stream of useful information. His modulation changes to the ship's phasers had helped them cut through the enemy shields easier. Baylon had never really considered the mild-mannered Horta, working so diligently to cause the destruction of another sentient species. But in the end, he supposed, it was a function of survival.

As for him, Baylon was numb. He was just beginning to come to the realization of the scope of the destruction that he had caused. Five enemy ships were little more than drifting tombs for the enemy dead. How many hundreds or thousands of the enemy had he just killed?

It was nothing like his activities on Andoria. There he knew who the enemy was. He knew why he was killing them. Here, now, he had hoped that this wasn't some colossal interstellar misunderstanding, a dangerous clash of ideologies that neither side recognized.

He fingered the small gold book that he had around his neck, the one that he had found on the alien wreckage. He'd worn it as a reminder, tucked under his tunic.

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1855)

Baylon snapped back to the present when Lieutenant Keswick spoke to him.

"Great shooting Mr. Trinin. What is the status of our weapons and shields?"

Baylon pulled up the requested information with a twist tap of his fingers on the TIHS console.

"Portside phasers are operating at 22% maximum capacity, We've depleted all but 50 of our quantum torpedo stores, and all other phasers are working at 100% capacity."

He tapped out a few more commands.

"Forward shields have been restored to 23%, port and starboard shields are at 62% and 49% respectively, Aft shields are at 86%. Only aft and starboard shields are regenerating, although at a decreased rate. Overall, sir we gave worse than we got."

"Good. See what you can do to increase the phaser power and transfer power from the secondary EPS systems to shields." Travis ordered.

"Aye sir."

Baylon started looking for spare power to shunt to the port side phaser arrays. There weren't very many options. He started rerouting power, coordinating as needed with the Operations officer.

As he worked, he went into automatic. He wondered if the Acheron was alright, or more specifically if Ranae was safe. He was a little ashamed to admit to himself, that he didn't care for the safety of the rest of the Acheron crew as much as he did for Ranae's.

Baylon turned off the pain receptors in his brain, a trick he had learned from a Vulcan classmate at the Institute after he had mentioned that he suffered from terrible migraines. He used the skill habitually. It was something that he had refined through his four years of combat, injury and recover on Andoria. Usually without the benefit of anesthesia or pain killers.

The fragment in his back had struck the floating rib and he could feel it scraping as he moved. With his discipline in place, however, it was little more than an oddity of kinesthetics. It wasn't a bad injury, he'd had far worse. Once they were past the crisis, he'd get medical attention, not before.

(USS Hades - Phlegathon Bridge - ASEC Ensign Baylon Trinin - 1817)

Baylon listened intently to as much of the conversations and reports flooding into the bridge as he could. The damage was extensive and with an intruder on-board as well, could be getting worse before it got any better.

He had previously dismissed Agent Moto from his station on the bridge to handle the threat posed by the intruders, and from what Baylon could surmise, they had not made much headway due to the extensive damage on deck four.

Travis had ordered Maraht to assist Agent Moto with the ship's internal sensors. Baylon knew he should be the one handling the security problem. He was after all the ASEC on the Hades. It was only his posting as the Phlegathon's First Officer and Tactical Officer that had forced him to stay on the bridge and let things develop without his direct intervention.

"Operations I'm showing a power flux to the dorsal phaser array, can you do anything about that?"

"Working on the problem now, Sir" The operations officer replied and Baylon turned his attention back to the external situation.

The ship rocked again as another volley of enemy fire rattled the decks of the Phlegathon. Baylon returned fire, stabbing his fingers at the enemy ships, as if playing a piano.

"I have crewman bio signs disappearing off my scans without a commbadge telltale signal remaining. Lt Keswick, it appears that some of our crew members are being abducted." He heard Maraht report.

~Now why in the world would they abduct his shipmates? For intelligence gathering? Trophies...slaves?~

The last thought made his stomach turn somersaults. What if they managed to get aboard the Acheron and capture Ranae? What then?

~Then I'll have to hunt them all down until I find her and if they've harmed one hair....~

His thoughts snapped back to the last snippet of a request from Maraht.

"...Is it possible for me to leave and go to Deck 5 to help Agent Moto, sir? These people must be stopped."

"Permission granted Mister Maraht." he replied as Travis gave a series of orders to the helmsman. "Just be careful and follow Agent Moto's orders."

Maraht didn't hesitate, instead he just rumbled to the turbolift and disappeared into the bowels of the ship to deal with some of the invaders. For a brief moment Trinin was jealous of his silicon friend, until he fired another barrage of torpedoes into the side of one of the enemy vessels. it was then that he realized that he could hurt these beings with far greater efficiency at his console then he ever could face to face.

(USS Hades, Phlegathon – Deck 5, Corridor, ACSO Ensign Maraht - 1820

^They're headed for main engineering Maraht.^ Maraht recognized Baylon Trinin’s voice still manning the TIHS system on the Phlegathon’s bridge. ^I'll notify engineering at once. The attacking forces will probably merge there, so watch yourself.^

“Yes sir,” sent back Maraht, still in silent mode. “I will do whatever I can, sir.”

Maraht went back to check on Ensign Adams, making sure to shut the door behind him. She was still unconscious from the attack and Maraht could do nothing else for her now except to keep her hidden. He might be able to use the phaser pistol though, but who knew what else the invaders might be armed with? He recalled an Edoan Engineering instructor telling him back at the Academy, “To be forwarned is to be forearmed, although I have three myself.” Though the class had chortled at the time, Maraht never forgot how important it could be, and so he wanted as much of an extra edge as possible. ~These vicious malevolent rockheads are NOT going to take this ship!~

^Bridge to Moto and Maraht.^

Maraht grabbed up the phaser pistol, and answered. “Go ahead, Ensign Trinin.”

^I just received a report from Engineer Croft that the boarding force is currently cutting their way into main engineering. That would be the doors in section 9 aft quadrant deck 5. The emergency forcefield is in place, but there aren't many engineers there. I need you there as soon as possible.^

Maraht knew that if they lost control of Engineering to these barbarians, that would be the end of life as he knew it for sure, for the crew and possibly the rest of the Federation. He sent back to both the Bridge and Agent Moto, “Yes sir. I will do my best. I am moving that way now.”

Though fear stirred his heart, determined resolve flicked through his phalangi again and he quietly shifted out the door, and after locking it down behind him to protect Ensign Adams, he moved silently but swiftly down the hall.

(USS Hades, Phlegathon – Deck 5, Corridor - ACSO Ensign Maraht, Subaltern Na'Goresh'Niman - 1825)

Maraht moved swiftly down the corridor on silent phalangi tip. He peeked his main phalange tip around each corner, and finally came to the aft quadrant near section 9 to the Phlegathon's Engineering. These were extra large enemy, or at least to Maraht they seemed extra large, outside of Engineering and they appeared to be on guard. The patrol that he had decimated a few minutes ago hadn't been very quiet.

Pulling back behind the corner, Maraht sent another silent message to Security and the Bridge. "Bridge and Phlegathon Security, this is Ensign Maraht. I am in section 8 on Deck 5, spying down the corridor. This group of enemy may be tougher. Their armor looks more heavily powered than the last group that I…..uh…..ran over. I would prefer to engage this group with help from our Security. If they could be on the other end of the corridor, we could catch them between us and probably stop them."

^ Understood, Maraht. Proceed with caution.^ Baylon's voice responded

Niman was monitoring the situation with growing irritation. They had finally breached the outer bulkheads only to discover a barrier field blocking any further attempt at entry. As a pair of his men worked to bypass the field by cutting out the emitters, Niman was monitoring the progress of the remainder of his force.

A group of Marines had been wiped out by a living rock and Niman wondered if the report that he had received was accurate or simply the delusional description of a wounded soldiers. He didn't have very long to wait before the truth became apparent.

"Subaltern, I am detecting a silicon based lifeform just ahead and around the corner," one of the Immortals reported.

"Are you certain?" he asked. While he knew such a species could theoretically evolve, in all their battles and conquests they had never encountered a silicon based life form.

"As certain as I can be, sir. The scanners indicate it highly likely that the readings I am receiving are constructed along a coherent silicon and metal structure and should be theoretically capable of producing and sustaining biochemical life."

Niman found the answer ambiguous at best, but accepted it for what was meant; I think so.

"Set your weapons to maximum yield," he ordered the Immortals over the encrypted commchannel. Then did so himself.

Down the hallway around the corner, Maraht was doing his own preparations, using the Phlegathon's scrambled and encoded channel, again on silent mode. "Ensign Harrod, I am down section 8 aft quadrant deck 5. Can you sneak down here and position yourself down the corridor from me without them hearing you?"

^Yes, I can Ensign Maraht. I am here with Ensign T'Vall. We are very close to your position. We have the heavier phaser rifles.^

"Good," sent back Maraht silently. "I think you are going to need them. This bunch looks more heavily armed. This group's armor has some electronic components. Expect the unexpected. Remember to shoot higher if I am engaging the enemy."

In only a few seconds, Maraht's vox silently received the signal that they were in position. "Start shooting!" he sent. At the same time he charged for the invaders.

As before time seemed to slow. After having had practice at dodging weapons fire, Maraht found he was getting better at it. Pain was a swift, though merciless teacher. Dodging back and forth through the wide corridor, Maraht shot with his own phaser until he could work his way close enough to engage them. When he got closer, he would discard the phaser in favor of his own personal style of combat.

Oddly, his phaser was having little effect on this group, but it made for an interesting distraction. When his phaser blasts hit them, as they made no effort to move, they glowed with a light around them. ~Personal armor shields!~ The more powerful phaser rifles had to be draining the power supply packs on them. He could see the power slowly beginning to wain. "Keep shooting!" shouted Maraht, not bothering with stealth now. He danced back and forth and kept shooting occassionally for those smug faces and shot more for the floor under their feet. If they were going to keep standing there, he was determined to make it hot.

Ensigns Harrod and T'Val had the same thought and began to melt the floor beneath the invaders feet with weapons fire as well.

Niman recognized the danger immediately. His tactical coordinator had been so focused on the silicon life form that he had failed to notice the other enemy troops move into firing positions.

When the firing started, he had been worried at first. But the shields of the combat armor absorbed the blasts with little difficulty. His own barrier shield shimmered in a rainbow of color as an enemy weapons blast struck his chest plate.

He raised his weapon and prepared to fire, when suddenly a blob-like creature rounded the corridor ahead of his assault team and charged his men.

He shifted his aim and fired, but watched in amazement as the creature slipped sideways in the wide hall and his shot missed.

The creature must have become aware that his weapons were ineffective against the suits barrier shields as he suddenly shifted his fire to the floor. Niman recognized the danger immediately as the floor began to glow.

"Spread out! Concentrate your fire on the silicon lifeform!" he ordered.

Contrary to his own orders however, he accessed the targeting subroutine for the suit and selected the explosive projectiles option for his weapon.

He took aim down the length of the corridor and fired three short blasts from the weapon, launching three magnetically contained plasma charges into the enemy firing position.

The first round exploded, ripping a hole in the wall of the inner corridor. Niman knew the tactic was dangerous since he did not know the volatility of the equipment in the areas adjacent to the corridor. The second and third plasma charge went off and the firing from the heavy phased enemy riflemen stopped.

But by that time, the silicon lifeform was among the front rank of his men wreaking havoc. The immortals, while no strangers to hand to hand combat with the enemy, found themselves dealing with a creature that did not have the body structures that their training had told them to exploit.

There were no eyes, limbs, genitals or head to speak of. It was a rock with no discernable weakness. There was nothing to indicate where he should fire, so Niman selected the only discernable structure that the creature had: A mechanical device attached to its surface.

He lowered his weapon and fired at the device that he assumed kept the silicon creature a slave to its master race. The device exploded in a shower of molten metal and shrapnel, but the creature did not pause for a single instant.

~Perhaps the creature was fighting on its own behalf.~

"Pound your armored fists into the top of its body," he commanded, then watched as his Immortals complied.

Agony tore through Maraht when his vox exploded. Fully incensed with loathing and disgust at such contemptible creatures, Maraht moved even faster, knocking down and acidifying as quickly as possible with a terribly cold detachment. He worked, even in his struggles, to get to the one whose insignia and person the others were guarding.

From behind Maraht came more weapons fire that looked like phaser blasts from their own security forces. They were aiming higher in an effort to not hit Maraht. Maraht kept up his attack. When the enemy forces mistakenly thought they could hurt him by pummeling him, he grimly laughed to himself and whipped around more corrosive acid, redoubling his efforts to decimate their forces. He shifted and danced, raising and leaping with a ferocity and speed of which even he had not known he was capable. ~They will NOT take my ship! They WILL be stopped here!~ raged Maraht in relentless fortitude.

The corridor was awash with smoldering acid and steaming piles from Maraht's deadly embrace. Immune to his own acid, he slid in it, using it to increase his speed, crushing a helmeted head here and smashing a limb there, all the while hearing the screams from his prey when his rush of acid dissolved and melted as he performed his toxic ballet.

He could see their power packs for their armor of those still standing, steadily draining away and hoped the Phlegathon's security forces would keep up their attack. At least half were now left upright. More weapons fire came from the other end of the corridor, distracting them as Maraht did his grisly work, further draining the enemy's personal force shields. He jumped and shifted, watching with care how they shot and moved, ramming, crushing and exuding his terrible kiss of death.

Niman was amazed that a rock could cause such mayhem. The creature slammed against his armored immortals with a vigor that could only be described as bloodlust. His men fell under the mass of the beast and acid washed over them. Their barrier shields failed under the mass of the creature and once that happened the acid quickly burned its way through the hardened Tritanium/Duranium alloy.

The Immortals died screaming as the acid dripped through the newly formed gaps in their armor and dissolved their flesh. Niman was appalled.

He backpedaled until his barrier shield made contact with the force field beyond the door that his men had already cut through.

There was a sudden pop, as the forcefields interacted and the field that had been blocking the doors a moment ago was suddenly gone. His own barrier field was significantly drained but intact.

"Fall back through the hatch," he ordered then led the way.

He knew better than to hope that the enemy wouldn't have troops on the other side of the door. As he turned, his barrier shield shimmered as a series of bright phased energy bursts struck him.

He cleared the entry door to allow more of his men through. He turned his weapon at one of the aliens and smiled in glee as he fired. The smaller unarmored creature flew backwards as the gravitons flash boiled his cells. He died instantly.

Half of his remaining force managed to enter into the engineering compartment and began to return fire against the compartments defenders. The other half was trapped by the continued attack of the silicon life form.

Niman made a decision. He'd have no choice but to sacrifice the portion of his bodyguard that did not nor could not respond to his order quickly enough.

He activated a graviton mine and placed it on the inside of the hatch. He stepped away from it and watch as the device armed itself, its personal barrier shield springing to life to protect it against ranged attack.

^Subaltern, we will begin transporting you and your men back to the Bloody Gauntlet at once,^ his suit communications device buzzed.

A moment later, he and his men, alive and dead, were once again on the assault deck of the Bloody Gauntlet.

Though Maraht saw the enemy retreat through to Engineering, he knew he could not stop or these genocidal killers might kill or kidnap more of his fellow crew members. So he kept up his assault on the boarding party, in an effort to do as much damage as possible. There were too many in the way as he tried to fight his way through to Engineering, so he resorted to running them over like a small rocky armored tank. Abruptly to his surprise, he saw them all disappear. ~They retreated?~ he thought dazed with exertion and no small amount of triumph.

Then the graviton mine exploded. The deafening blast grabbed him and slammed him into the bulkhead, just outside Engineering. He smashed into the crumpling wall and left a sizeable dent. He both heard and felt the sickening crack as his carapace hit, smashing off several sizeable chunks. The blast dropped him upright, though it left him stunned.

It became very dark and blessedly quiet.