"Captain! We will arrive at the destination in four minutes!" Sensors said alarmingly.
"Very well."
"Hull armor regeneration is almost finished!" said the Engineer. "Hull armor integrity is at ninety percent!"
"Let's hope that'll be enough," Aaen mumbled.
"I recommend we slow down, Captain! We need to try to reduce our power output as much as possible!" Operations said.
"Do it."
"Slowing to impulse!"
"Sensors, are you detecting anything new about the 'asteroid'?" the Captain asked.
"Not detecting anything new, even at this distance."
"What is that?" the Captain asked puzzled, looking at the contact at 12 o'clock directional indicator on the Sensors computer screen. Aaen noticed the contact was inching closer to the dot in the center of the circular screen. He looked up at the main viewscreen; the stars were gradually becoming still. He focused on the center of the main viewscreen. That's either a really big asteroid. . .or. . . Aaen thought.
"Are we within visual range?" the Captain asked.
"—Sir!" Aaen called.
"What?" the Captain rushed to the front of the bridge. Aaen pointed at the main viewscreen.
"WOAH!" the expression came from the entire crew in a resounding wave through the bridge.
"Definitely not an asteroid!" Aaen exclaimed.
"What is that?" the First Officer asked.
"Sensors!" the Captain snapped.
"It's cylindrical; one-quarter-million metric tons of an apparently unknown metal. . . In-depth scans are reflecting off its hull somehow. Otherwise, the only other reading I can get at this point is that it's about one-hundred-thousand meters long." the bridge filled with mumbled expressions of shock and awe.
There was a momentary silence on the bridge, and then Aaen said, "—That's gotta be some kind of launch platform."
"Whatever it is, our scans can't penetrate its outer hull."
A loud PING echoed through the bridge.
"WHAT WAS THAT? WHO DID THAT?" the Captain asked. The bridge filled with turning heads.
A reverberating hum sounded, and then gradually faded; a series of mechanical chirps followed.
"We're being scanned!" Sensors said.
"—Now we're being hailed!" Communications said.
"Do we answer?" the First Officer asked the Captain.
"I don' know!" the Captain mumbled.
Another series of chirps sounded.
"Captain!" Aaen whispered loudly.
The Captain gasped, and then said, "Do it." he took his seat. The Main Computer chimed the opening of a subspace communication line. The image on the main viewscreen changed to a mug shot of a male in his 40's, Aaen guessed. The bridge filled with expressions of chilling fear. Mad Dog! Aaen realized. Mad Dog wore a green beret with a silver skull insignia over the left eye, and had a look on his face that sent a cold chill down the spine of everyone on the bridge. Aaen's hands suddenly felt cold.
"Well. Well. Well." Mad Dog said darkly. "Whaddo we have, here?"
"I am the Captain of the Federation starship—"
"Odyssey. Yes." Mad Dog interrupted. "Impressive stealth system, Captain. If it hadn't been for my associate safeguarding my cargo in your cargo hold signaling me of your presence, I wouldn't have known you and your crew were there." Mad Dog laughed darkly as he turned his head to his left and then nodded. The sound of a transporter beam hummed through the bridge deck plating for several seconds.
"Captain! One life form and the torpedo have been beamed to that. . .thing!" Operations said.
"My shape-shifting associate and I thank you for helping us to get this torpedo ready for launch, Captain. The Rotelan Empire won't know what hit them after Retela Prime is turned into a debris field."
"As the Captain of the Odyssey, I am placing you under arrest for illegal weapons research and development in Federation space. You will surrender yourself, immediately."
"Or, what?" Mad Dog asked sharply.
"Or I'll open fire." the Captain replied sharply. "I won't allow you to fire on Rotela."
"Captain, think about it! With Rotela gone, the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant will shift! The Rotelans will be crippled; I will plant the Orion's flag in the heart of their space. It'll just be us. . .and you, Federation."
"What about the Klins?" the First Officer asked. Mad Dog chuckled.
"We won't allow you to fire on Rotela." the Captain said.
"I don't see how you have any choice! Your tiny little ship, against my Dreadnought?"
"We will take you on, Mad Dog. You won't get a chance to fire that torpedo!"
"Captain! I'm detecting two ships decloaking on our port and starboard bow! They're Orion battle cruisers! Their shields are up, and their weapons are powered!"
"Do they have weapon lock?"
"Negative!"
The Captain turned to the main viewscreen, and then determinedly said, "We won't let you fire that torpedo, Mad Dog."
"—Try, and stop me!"
"He closed the line!" Communications announced. "Captain, incoming message from Starbase One! The rest of the fleet is back in operation!"
An alarm filled the bridge.
"Red alert!" the Captain said. The First Officer carried out the order, and then the lights turned red.
The main viewscreen lit up as shining red orbs seemingly passed by. The hull shuddered.
"We're gonna need all the help we can get, Captain. I strongly suggest we signal for help."
"Do it! Hurry, Communications."
"I'm typing as fast as I can!"
"Warning: weapon lock on this vessel." the Main Computer droned.
"Aaen, emergency evasive maneuvers!"
"—Urgh! We might want to put more power in the stealth system! It'll make it harder for—"
BANG. The hull shuddered. Aaen struggled to brace himself against his station.
"They're taking random shots at us!" Jason said. "They only grazed the shields! They haven't damaged the ship yet!"
"What did you say?" the Captain asked Aaen.
Aaen carried out his order as he replied, "—It'll make it harder for the Orions to get a weapons lock on us until we can get more friendly ships to help us!"
The hull shuddered, again.
"Communications?" the First Officer asked.
"I just sent the message to Starbase One asking for more ships to come to our coordinates."
Aaen turned around in his chair and looked at the Captain and First Officer. "We've gotta figure out how to keep them from launching that torpedo!"
"And take out that Dreadnought!" Jason interjected. Another shudder. "But we don't have enough firepower to disable or destroy it!" Another shudder—then another.
"They're getting closer!" Sensors said.
"Aaen!" Communications said fearfully.
"If they could lock on to us with their targeting sensors, they wouldn't be missing as much." Aaen said, trying to be reassuring. He wondered how effective his comment was.
Another shudder, this time the bridge vibrated more sharply. "Jeez, whatever torpedoes they're shooting at us are huge! Captain, I don't know how long I can keep dodging their fire before they find us!"
"Do what you can."
"Aye!" Another shudder. The lights moderately flickered for several seconds. "Evasive maneuvers won't work for long if they switch to manual targeting!"
"I've diverted as much power as we have available to the stealth system!" Operations said.
"Let's hope those other ships get here soon," Aaen said.
*****
Steve H. told Jordan Foutin, "You are the next Tom Clancy. You really are a gifted writer."
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