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The Battle of
Altorus
Iluvar watched on the main viewer as the Tigris banked away, having safely beamed Mr. Skii away. Suddenly, the vessel collided with the battleship's shields, causing the dual cores to overload. Matter and anti-matter combined in a brilliant, white-hot explosion. Whether it was the situation at hand or merely the skills learned on Ba'ku, the moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity, time slowed to nearly a stand-still. Then he spoke one word... "FIRE!"
And on the Bridge of the USS Frontier... Sara shouted, "Fire at will!"
And on the Tigris... "Fire!!" Joe yelled.
And on the Tizona... "Open fire!" Bathar ordered
And on the Carthage... "Now!!" Cathcart bellowed FSHEW!!! FSHEW!!! TSSSSSSEEEEEEWWW!!! TSEEEEWWW!!! TSEEEEEEWWWW!!! The Frontier and every other ship fired their weapons at the Terodock... the Frontier and Carthage on one side, and the Tigris, Tethys, and Tizona one the other focusing on the point of impact. Phaser beams and torpedoes issued forth from all three sections of the Tethys, as well as the remaining Federation ships. All of their destructive power aimed at the one weak point in the Teredock's shields. BA-BOOOOOOOM! A massive shockwave emanated out from the equally massive ship, and within seconds, it appeared to be adrift, but intact.
Back on the USS Frontier... "They've lost shields, weapons are offline. And the Elyshan frigates are moving towards it at full impulse." "Are they targeting our other ships?" Sara asked. Shade shook his head. "Their weapon are ready but they don't have a lock on anything. They seem really intent on getting back to the Terodock... who can blame them, really?" Shade asked. "I'm not surprised," Jake said, checking his readouts. "Without their advantage, it's no wonder they'd try to regroup. We've managed to penetrate the subspace shields on all their ships. No doubt they wonder how many other capabilities we possess."
Meanwhile, on the Tigris... Joe turned to Monroe. "Status?" "Down for the count, but still breathing," Monroe said. "Nice work everyone!" Joe said with waves of relief washing over him. Cain took a breath and released his death grip on the console he was standing over. "The rest of their fleet is retreating, moving to protect the Terodock." "How is the Wandering Explorer doing?" Joe asked. Mike ran a quick scan. "Life-support is holding, she is attempting to get out of the area, looks like massive engine damage."
On the Tethys' primary Bridge... "Sir, we need to get in there before that battleship can repair its shields," Earlond said. "Hold your fire," Iluvar ordered, getting to his feet. It was clear that the Elyshans had not expected them to make such a brazen discovery. For the moment, they had the tactical advantage and Iluvar wanted to make use of that...
Returning to the Frontier... Sara sat down in the center chair. "We'll let the fleet worry about them, resume course to the Ambassador's shuttle." Outside, the Frontier moved away from the Elyshan vessels and locked its tractor beam onto the Ambassador's shuttle, slowly moving it toward the shuttlebay. =^= Vickers to Ocal, are you alright Ambassador? =^= A moment later, Raemet's voice echoed over the comsystem. "The Ambassador needs immediate medical attention. Have medical and security teams report to the shuttle bay at once." "Security teams?" Jake wondered aloud. Then the Elyshans aboard were not allies? Raemet sighed. "We have brought back a friend..." Sara and Jake exchanged glances. "Mr. Forest, set course for the Pagh... engage a tractor beam," Sara ordered "Be careful, Commander," Ensign Neptune replied. "The Pagh isn't in too good of condition. I don't recommend exceeding warp one." John shook his head. "I'd rather get us out of here a bit faster than that. Can you stabilize it any more?" Sara spoke, "Do what you can everyone." "Mr. Warrington, Mr. Castillo. With me," Sara stated. "Don't worry," John said, slightly sarcastically and under his voice. "I'll hold everything together until you get back."
And over on the Tigris... "Just got a communiqué... the ambassador's shuttle is on the Frontier." "That's it then, it's over." Cain walked over to Joe. "Yea, XO," Joe said as he looked around his somewhat smashed bridge. "But at what price?" "We have word from the fleet that more Elyshan ships are inbound for Federation space," Monroe announced. "Tell them, understood," Joe replied, sitting back down in his chair. "Is the tractor beam still operational?" "Aye, sir," Mike replied. "That system is fully operational." "Helm, set course to pick up the Wandering Explorer," Joe ordered as he punched in a few commands on the arm of his chair. "Then set course for Starbase 386." Cain picked up some coils and smoldering metal off his chair and sat down. "This place is a mess" he said as he held a piece of scrap to his eye level. "You really think 386 will have the resources to fix this place?" Cain looked over to the Captain as he through the scrap on the floor. "No, actually I don't," Joe said with a sigh. "They can help get us patched up to finish making the trip."
Finally, on the Tethys... Standing amidst the debris that littered the deck of the Tethys bridge, amidst the red glow of alert klaxons, Iluvar watched the Elyshans attempting to regroup. "Open a channel," Iluvar ordered. "Maybe they're finally ready to talk." A moment later, the elder Sovereign reappeared on the viewscreen, and for what may have very well been the first time in his career, he appeared to be caught completely off guard. "It would appear, Sovereign, that we are not as toothless as you originally thought," Iluvar said, taking his seat. "Let us end this now before it goes too far...neither of our peoples wants war and neither is ready to fight one. Would it not be better simply to discover the truth of these events?" The Sovereign grimaced painfully. "The truth?!?! You want the truth, Commodore?! The truth is that your people's insolence has been tolerated for the final time! So go ahead... take your precious Ambassador back to whatever accursed planet she calls home... reward her for her crimes against our people... and give her a room with a view... because I want her to watch as we extinguish every single star in the Federation, and I want her to know that each and every death we cause is entirely... her... fault!" With a powerful smash of his fist on his command chair's console, the vengeful Sovereign ended the communication, once again giving Iluvar and his crew a scenic view of the defeated enemy fleet. "Quite the conversationalist," Earlond said from his position at tactical. "Brief and to the point," Iluvar replied, though inwardly, he was disappointed that Sovereign Joreck had not been willing to discuss things reasonably. Earlond noticed a new readout on his board and looked down. "I wouldn't be surprised if Elyshan reinforcements were already on their way," he said. "I have no doubt," Iluvar said, staring at the battleship on the viewer, "Order the fleet to withdraw to Federation space. Joreck is right... we have what we came for..."
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