Command Evaluation - Kla'ren Pt 2
Posted on Fri Jul 16th, 2021 @ 2:54am by Remal Kajun & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren
Mission:
Gamma Quadrant
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: Recertification Week
Thriss turned around and went to the station. "First of all, I do not believe our core would do you any good, because if you destroy us, the core will be destroyed along with our ship. Second of all, why don't you introduce yourself. After all, if I surrender, I would like to know who my capture is" he quipped.
" Your warp core will fetch a high price after the war. There are many who need high end technology. Surrender!" The alien shouted, poking a stubby finger towards the monitor. It was obvious he hadn't anticipated there to be survivors.
"Well, for your information, if you hadn't of attacked us, we may have been more willing to aide you. However, you obviously have the tactical advantage on us right now" the Chief thought for a moment and sighed. "May I have a moment to talk over options with my crew?"
"You have 5 minutes to inform your crew" The alien replied, cutting the connection. The young Ensign looked frightened.
Meanwhile Engineering paged the bridge, informing them that repairs were going to take a while.
"Understood. Notify me when they are complete" he looked at the Ensign as he closed the channel. "For the record, I have no intention of surrendering. But we may get to a point where we need to abandon ship. In that case, what is the status of all of our warp-capable shuttles and runabouts?"
" All shuttles and runabouts are accounted for, shuttle bay has taken a hit, we may not be able to open the shuttle bay doors" The Ops officer announced with a hint of desperation. "Can't we just give them what they want? Give them the warp core?"
"That is an option I am willing to do. However, it is highly likely that they will go for other ships for their tech in the future" he said. "Bridge to engineering how is our warp core?"
"We're looking at thirty minutes minimum chief. I'm not sure we can push this any faster without your expertise down here."
Thriss thought for a moment. Most likely he would have to break the news to the alien vessel that they would not surrender. Because of this, the Sunfire would likely be fired upon. His first option was to let the aliens take the core, but to detonate the core while it was on their ship. However, this would sacrifice their warp capability, and the enemy could call for reinforcements. Another option was to have a load of torpedoes carry of the warp core's signature, and detonate them remotely, that way the Sunfire would have a better chance of escape.
"Ensign, is it possible to have a load of photon or quantum torpedoes carry off the warp core's signature?"
"I believe so. It may take a minute or two, which by my calculations we may only have 2 minutes left before the enemy calls us out. I will make the appropriate adjustments. What if they do not take the bait?"
"Make it so. And for the record, if that doesn't work, we'll figure it out. Hell, if I need to sacrifice the Sunfire to save the crew, I will" Thriss said while contemplating possible outcomes and other alternatives in the event that their plan was unsuccessful.
"What is your answer" The Alien's voice reappeared on the viewscreen, his face menacing. "Your warp core, or we destroy you"
"Our warp core. May we have a moment to get it prepared for transport?" Thriss inquired looking at the Alien.
The was a look of dubiousness on the Alien's face.
" How long do you require?" He asked, not entirely believing what he was being told. Surely this was too good to be true.
"Just another minute. I need to make sure our core is detached so it can be transported in a safe manner" Kla'ren said in a serious tone.
"Contact me when you are ready. Our weapons remain locked on your ship and my crew ready to board..don't try anything" The alien replied before vanished again.
Thriss once again tapped a button on the command chair, this time to open a channel with engineering. "Bridge to engineering, please disconnect the warp core from anything that would prevent it from being transported. We aren't transporting it anywhere, at least not for now. I'll explain later."
He then looked at the Ensign. "Are the torpedoes ready?"
" Aye Sir, core has been isolate and ready to eject or transport. Sir... You arn't really going to give them our warp core are you?" The young officer in Engineering sounded terrified.
" Torpedoes armed and ready Sir" Tactical reported with a wry smile.
He nodded at the Ensign and then spoke again to engineering. "If my plan works, then most likely no. However, if this plan does not work, then as a possible last resort, we may have to give them our core" The Chief said hoping they wouldn't have to resort to that, or worse. "Hail the Aliens and give them the signature for the torpedoes posing as our warp core" he said to the Ensign again.
"Aye Sir"The Ensign tapped the controls at the alien reappeared on the screen. "The core is ready for transport?" He asked greedily.
"Our core is ready. We have provided you with the signature for the core as well" Thriss informed the Alien Captain.
The alien paused as he scanned the signature, apparently pleased with what he saw.
"Lower your shields and standby for transport" He smiled a toothless grin "It's been a pleasure doing business with you"
"Ensign, drop the shields" Thriss said as he knew this was a risk for many reasons. A, because the Aliens could potentially take the real core. However, the Chief did have a backup plan in the event that happened. However, the Aliens could fire upon them while the Sunfire's shields would be down. He just had to hope that the plan would work.
"They're scanning again Chief, looks like they're smelling the rat" Ops replied "They're not locking onto the torpedoes"
Thriss knew that their plan could possibly fail. He pressed a button to activate a comm link with engineering once again. "Engineering, we may need to give them our core. We may not have impulse or warp, but do we have thrusters?" he said knowing he'd have to go with plan B. He looked back at the Ensign at tactical. "We may have to let them find our warp core. But, they will gain a little surprise from it. An explosive surprise one might say" he said with the comm link to engineering still open, so they could hear the plan.
" Aye Sir, Thrusters are good to go" Engineering replied as the alien reappeared on the screen.
"Either you have two warp cores, or you are attempting to deceive us!"
"We did make a mistake. Due to your ship making us immobile, some of our other systems were scrambled. However, we have located our core. We are sending you the correct location of our warp core now. I apologize for the inconvenience." he said walking over to one of the consoles on the bridge, sending the correct location of the core to the Aliens. However, he also sent a message to engineering to detonate the warp core on his command.
The alien looked dubious and took a few moments to rescan the Sunfire, a more thorough scan this time.
" We have located and locked on to your core...if you deceive us, you will pay dearly"
"No tricks. You can transport at your convenience."
The alien disappeared again as his ship prepared to transport.
"They are locking on to the core... transport in progress" Ops reported.
"Engineering. Detonate the core on my command" Thriss said as he opened a channel to main engineering, and sat down at the helm to prepare to get out of the blast radius at full thrust. This would be a close one.
"Standing by Sir" Shouts and orders could be heard in the background as Engineering scrambled to both evacuate the area and get ready to detonate the core. "On your mark"
"Ops, is the core aboard the Alien vessel?"
"Affimative" Ops replied with a nod.
"I'm taking us to full thrust to escape the blast radius. Engineering, detonate the core" he said as he opened a ship wide channel. "All hands brace for impact, this is gonna be close."
The core blew spectacularly, destroying the alien vessel as it did so. Debris blew outward exponentially as the Sunfire attempted to flee.
Proximity alerts flooded the bridge as the Sunfire tried to outrun the explosion and the debris, with Kla'ren using different evasive patterns, hoping to prevail.
"Impact in 3, 2, 1" Ops announced as the wave careened into the Sunfire, tossing the ship as though it were a toy in a windstorm.
Thriss held on for a surprising amount of time, attempting to keep the Sunfire stable. Inevitably, he was thrown from the helm, nearly hitting the force field. "Report..." he groaned after it felt like the ship slowed.
Climbing up from the floor, again, the tactical officer began to get a report together. "Weapons gone, engines gone, shields holding at 5%. Medical reports minor casualties. I, I think we're going to be okay. Life support... still good, for now."
Remal looked at Rhenora, "Is that it? I was expecting more of a personal conflict of some sort. He managed to deal with the enemy and save the ship, well, faster than you did." He teased a little.
"He didn't have species 8472 taking over the ship. He had to choose between giving an alien species highly classified starfleet technology or risk them taking over the ship and destroying it. He chose the crew first, and managed to destroy the alien ship and thus prevent the warp core falling into enemy hands"Rhenora mused. "Not a bad day in the office for anyone in command"
The Chief got up off of the floor. "Please begin repairs. We don't have warp since our core was detonated, so after repairs, we will only have impulse power and thrusters. Please notify Command of our situation, and that we need assistance. Once we have impulse back online, we can make a rendezvous with whoever will assist, or the nearest Starbase. I don't like the idea of waiting here too long, considering what just happened. "I must go and assist with repairs in Main Engineering, so we can be on the move again."
The Andorian thought for a moment and looked at the Ensign manning the tactical station. "Ensign, you probably never thought you would hear this early on in your career, but you have the bridge until I get back," Thriss said as he went to the turbolift door.
"Main Engineering," he said as he entered the lift.
The simulation dissolved into the black and gold of the holodeck, signaling the scenario was complete. Rhenora exhaled and stretched, her spine popping as the muscles moved. "Over to you" She smiled to her husband as a comfortable chair appeared in the center of the holodeck - bathed in light.
TBC
