Operation Midnight: AEGIS

Posted on Fri May 20th, 2022 @ 11:30am by Commodore Jacob Kane

Mission: Ares Ascending
Location: Rondac System
Timeline: MD-02 - Post-Away Mission
1802 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Kane watched the silent space station on the main viewscreen as it slowly turned in space. So much horrific, immoral design had gone into the work being done there. Since he'd looked into that twisted mirror of his own genetically reproduced face, he had only one thing in his mind: destroying the entire facility.

With the landing parties now back on board, it was essentially abandoned. A monument to the machinations of this dark pact. A tomb, he decided, for the rest of their army of clone infiltrators.

"Lt Zade. Lock quantum torpedoes. High yield. I want to leave nothing but atoms of that place," he said, allowing the moment for it to be done. "Fire."

The space around them lit up just for a moment as the flicker of the silvered torpedoes blasted out. A full spread, delivering devastating finality to the former Dominion orbital facility. He let out a slow breath.

"Time we returned the data we have to Starfleet. They need to know about Admiral White and this cabal of his. Helm, ready course to take us to-"

"Captain!" Lieutenant Bailey at the science station interrupted him. "Strange readings from the moon's surface. Something just came online..."

"Talk to me, Lieutenant," Kane said, tensing rapidly.

"Multiple warp-field destabilisers, Captain. Scattered throughout the moon's orbit. We never saw them until they came online. Something must have triggered it - possibly the destruction of the orbital facility."

Damn. He should have known there would be something. Some failsafe or-

"Multiple ships approaching on intercept vector, Captain. Dropping out of warp..."

Kane watched the screen, rising to his feet as a dozen Breen warships of varying size spun into view. Followed by five Cardassian Galor-class cruisers. And several vessels he recognised as Tzenkethi. An unlikely alliance, yet all of them bearing down on the lone Starfleet ship. Without the ability to go to warp, and being closed in on by a vastly superior force.

"We're being hailed, sir."

Kane straightened his uniform. Loosened his jaw.

"On screen."

The image of a man in a Starfleet uniform should have startled him. But it was to be expected. Admiral Jonathan White, the Starfleet attache to Cardassia, looked back at him with a smug expression.

"Hello, Captain. You look lost."

"I think you know that I'm right where you wanted me to be," Kane retorted. "We know about your plans, Admiral; Replacing key personnel in the Federation, destabilising entire sectors with your sleeper agents. We have all the records from your facility."

"What facility? It appears to have been destroyed by a rogue Starfleet captain..." White smiled. "Thank you for disposing of the evidence, by the way."

"So what happens now? You destroy this ship and people will start to ask questions," Kane replied.

"I don't think so. Not when you have clearly trespassed in sovereign Cardassian territory in flagrant violation of orders and treaty agreements." White shook his head. "Honestly, though, it's not something you should concern yourself with. We might not have the clone of you that I was hoping to use, but destroying your ship and all aboard will mean we don't need to anymore."

"You damned traitor!" Kane snarled at the viewscreen, fully aware that he had over a hundred people counting on him at that moment to see them through this situation. Surrounded, with no escape, he had no options left other than to spit in the face of their enemy.

"Any last words, Captain?"

"I'll see you in hell, Admiral." Kane waved at the conn officer to cut the channel. "Battlestations. Ready everything we have." He looked at Commander Zora as he returned to his command chair. "I know what you're thinking. Running...isn't an option anymore." He hesitated, his outer layer of determination cracking just a fraction. "I'm...sorry." He was the one who had insisted they come here, to chase the threads and kick down the doors. Ultimately, it had led to this: the last stand of the USS Athena and her crew. His last stand as Captain. As he looked around the faces at his side, many of them focused and determined despite the grave situation they now found themselves in, he couldn't help but feel proud. Not one of them was going to break. The finest crew in the fleet.

"Prepare attack pattern Delta-four. Standby multi-vector assault mode on my order," he called out. Their last shot at doing some damage. Maybe taking the Admiral with them. He opened his mouth to give the word.

"Captain!"

He wasn't sure who called it. It didn't matter. Because he saw it as well.

The screen lit up with new lights as dozens more starships appeared, opposite Admiral White's alliance of renegades.

Starfleet. Obsidian Fleet.

There he stood, on the bridge of his ship, open-mouthed as multiple voices came in over the comm.

“Captain Kane…” the oddly familiar voice of Captain Jessica Munro piped through first. “The USS Colossal stands ready to assist you.” There was a slight pause. “I remind you that you owe me a security officer once this is all done…”

“USS Cavalier standing by.” Captain Rodriguez’ grin was almost audible through the comm. They’d not seen the Nova-class ship since their encounter with the space cows but it seemed ready to join the fray. “Looks like I get to return that favour sooner than we thought, eh, Captain?”

Ajani had responded to the call with all the haste she could push out of the Eagle. Their sensors were detecting many other ships arriving at the same time. Someone, somewhere was looking out for them on this day. “This is the Eagle, ready to bring the rain.”

Captain Pax was old, 80 now and he had been in every major conflict Starfleet had fought in his 62 years as an officer. With the Potemkin being the best version of herself he had no problem taking the ageing ship into combat again. “A man who won't die for something isn’t fit to live,” Pax said over the open communications.

"Receiving transmission from the USS Cosmos, sir."

"Put it up," Kane nodded. Ehestri. You understood the message...thank whatever dieties you believe in.

“Good evening Captain. I believe you needed some assistance?” She wondered. “I rounded up a few friends of mine.” The woman said calmly with a bit of a smirk as she appeared on the bridge of the Athena.

"So I can see," he replied, impressed. "We have evidence that Admiral White is behind the cloning project. The main facility has been destroyed, but as you can see he has a fleet at his back. Somehow I don't think he'll be coming quietly..."

"I thought not." She turned to someone off-screen as multiple hails came through on both ships. "Can you find a weakness on those ships Commander and arrange a boarding party."

“Major Drake’s men are preparing as we speak, ma’am,” came the response from her XO.

“Thank you, Commodore.” Kane had nothing else he could say, such was the pride he felt having them at his back.

“I’m sorry…” A male voice spoke up as the view screen of the Athena pulled up the man speaking. Sitting on the bridge of the Gladiator, Captain David Hawkins pulled his view from his controls on his arm rest to refocus on his own monitor before him. “... did I hear you correctly? Clones?”

The Gladiator’s Captain was a former marine and assigned on the perfect ship to sit his history and skill set. So when a last minute call was placed in for back up for the Athena, he made it a point to push the limitations of the ship’s slipstream drive to make it here to do what they do best, fly, fight, and win.

“I’m sure the Captain will have a tidy report for us David,” another voice cut in, with Minawara added to the fray. The Vesta pulled alongside the fighting, flanked as she was by two Inquiry-classes she’d been taking through Quantum Slipstream trials. “I myself am interested to know what you’ve found, but for now I think I need to remind you Captain Kane, that’s technically my ship you’re in, so I’m ordering you to bring it back in one piece.” The smile was coy, but his tone at least made it sound like he was stern. “We’ll follow your lead Captain.”

"Oh a lengthy one at that," David sighed with sarcasm but nodded in agreement. He and his crew went to battle stations before looking back up. "Agreed, we got your six, Fleet Commander. Call it out."

Kane nodded sharply, taking a deep breath as he looked at his own crew. “Time to go to work, people. Let’s show the rest of the fleet how it’s done. Take us in - Lieutenant Zade, weapons free.”

Space exploded into conflict as the two taskforces of ships tore into each other's lines. Ships rocketed through in a veritable melee of weapons fire, some dodging and weaving, others duking it out like the enormous dreadnoughts they were. It was clear, however, that Starfleet was going to have the upper hand, not only in numbers and ship strength, but in fleet coordination; Kane watched, impressed, as the Cavalier and the Eagle dived in like hornets on a Galor-class being pounded by the mighty Vesta. Nearby, the Gladiator provided covering fire for the Cosmos to strike a devastating blow to a Breen cruiser.

"The Colossal just took a direct hit to their port nacelle! Breen ships got her pinned!" someone reported. Kane wasn't paying quite so much to the 'who' as he was to the 'what'.

"Let's give them something else to worry about then. Cover their flank. Starfleet's not losing another Munro to the Breen," Kane ordered. He could feel the shudders and sparks of his own ship taking the hits, but Athena, much like her namesake, was born for this kind of engagement. Torpedoes blasted from her ventral launchers, devastating another potential threat.

"The enemy fleet is scattering, Captain. Looks like we've managed to break their line."

"Regroup with the flagship. Let's see to our own, first." Kane motioned to the disabled Nova-class on their screen. He rose from his command chair, taking a slow breath. Maybe it was relief, or the lifting of battle tension. Either way, they were alive and in one piece. This was one day he was proud, and grateful to be a Starfleet Captain. And hopefully, for now at least, their dealings with Admiral White and his cabal were over.