[Galaxy] 2161.10.22 - BoC - Finney/Spearling - "Bada BOOM"

Sat Oct 22 13:23:56 PDT 2011

//  Vicinity of Cheron  \\

[CHA]

The Coalition vessels, having left the minefield behind, remained in formation as they approached the huge Romulan fleet.  The bridge of the Challenger was relatively quiet.  Everyone stared ahead at the scene on the main viewscreen -- the broad curve of Cheron off to the right, and just outside its orbital pull, an enormous fleet of Romulan vessels of every size.  There were Birds of Prey, too numerous to count.  Supply vessels, gunnery boats, fighters, and the larger battle cruisers, scattered across the starfield as far as the eye could see.  It was an impressive array, clearly outlining the depth and breadth of the Romulan's intended last push to crush the Coalition and subjugate their respective races.

Sasha Spearling looked at it as she noted that all firing had ceased.  Damn Romulans letting the tension build? Having a last laugh before they pulled a mere 1/10th of their Fleet to crush the small Coalition force? She gritted her teeth.  No.  "Chris ... still have Rog on the COMMs?"

"Yes, Captain," Chris said, turning a face shining with sweat to glance at her over his shoulder.

=/\=  "Rog ... we've got to do it.  Ready every single one of them, every one they gave you.  We'll do the same here."  Her face reflected the seriousness of what the two of them were planning.  =/\=

=/\="Understood Sasha."=/\=  Rog looked over at Jonas and gave a nod.

Vic tapped the necessary buttons and then tapped the comm button. He said, "Mr. Bolenski, ready our surprise packages."

<+>  "Well, are we just going to SIT HERE and let these #%!*^#$ Romulans blast us out of the quadrant?!" Captain Horzt said, his angry shout blasting out of the sound system on the Challenger.  <+>

<+>  "No, we aren't.  Hold position, Flaxlatrox Cha," Sasha said on the battle channel, her voice a study in calm compared to the Tellarite's.  <+>

<+>  "I am wondering about the irregular sensor signature we noted when we scanned your ships as they arrived at the Coalsack," T'Pren's calm voice said.  "I have a recollection from my time on the Challenger .... "  She was quiet for a moment.  "Vulcan vessels, this is Whispering Death.  Stand ready.  Stay in formation."  <+>

Vic looked up and said, "Ready captain. On your command."

Sasha worried about Shuttlepod Alpha and its crew ... out on the largest moon of Cheron, working to stop the gunnery emplacement that /still/ lobbed shots at the Coaltion Fleet on each orbital pass.  An Aenar ship had been utterly destroyed, and the damaged Vulcan Suurok-class ship had indeed had to withdraw, after taking further hits from that moon-based platform.  It had to go, and the civilian population had to be freed before the Romulans exacted retribution.

=/\= "Sasha, we're good to go here."=/\=

=/\= "Prepping here, Rog.  We'll be ready to go in ...." =/\=  She stopped, movement catching her eye.

As the formation of Coalition vessels watched from their stationary position, the Romulan fleet began to move.  Slowly, it seemed, as one all the ships began a stately procession, moving out of Cheron's orbit and and along a course heading that -- if they stayed on it -- would lead them toward the galactic core.  And would take them, coincidently, right past Vulcan and Earth.

"They're on the move, Captain.  The whole lot of them."  

<+>  "We cannot allow them to leave this system," T'Pren said over the battle channel.  "Once clear, they will engage their warp engines and there will be no stopping them."  <+>

<+>  "Agreed," snarled Captain Rakul.  <+>

=/\="Sasha, it's like they don't give a damn that we're even here. As far as they're concerned, we might as well be on the other side of the galaxy."=/\=  This was Rog from the Meridian.

=/\=  "They don't appear to be worried about us at all, you're right," Sasha murmured.  "We're too /insignificant/ now, compared to their mighty fleet."  Her tone was rueful.  =/\=  Suddenly she stood up.  "How long til they're out of the system?"

"The main bulk of their force will cross over the last planet's orbit in 7 minutes," Hannah replied from the Helm.

"That's plenty of time," Sasha said.  "Chris ... put me on the battle channel again."

"Y-you're on, Captain," he said.

<+>  "Coalition Fleet ... stay in formation.  Meridian and Challenger will be moving out of place and taking point.  Any ship without warp capability, head back to the nebula at full impulse /now/.  Clear?"  <+>

Rog knew what was coming next. He ordered the Meridian forward at full impulse.

"Hannah ... follow the Meridian.  Take up position off her port side."  Sasha watched as the Flaxlatrox Cha moved over and back, making room for the change in formation.  Behind them, a disabled Vulcan ship -- which they now knew was called the Heart of the Forge -- began to move back toward the nebula, as quickly as she could.  Several smaller fighters moved alongside her.  None of the ships had warp capability, apparently.

[MER ]

Rog tapped the comm button and said, "Crew of the Meridian, the Challenger and ourselves have planned a big surprise for the Rommies. Ready the surprise Mr. Jonas." Switching to the battle channel again, he said, =/\=Sasha, ready to give the Rommies a big bang of a surprise?"=/\=

=/\=  "Ready when you are, Rog."  =/\=

The large moon -- the one with the gunnery placement on it -- came back around Cheron, another pass in its endless, comparably rapid orbit.  Green fire blazed from its surface, catching the Menzoberranzan on its starboard side.  The Andorian vessel's shields flared.

<+>  "Another hit like that ...." Capt. Rakul said, his voice grim over the battle channel.  <+>

<+>  "Acknowledged."  Sasha replied, just as grimly.  <+>  

[CHA]

Again Sasha signalled Chris to put her through to Rog Finney only, ship-to-ship.  =/\=  "We're choosing our targets for maximum damage potential ... wait for launch until the largest moon of Cheron has passed out of sight, there are civilians ... Rog, how long do you think we should set the fuses for? We want to get to minimal safe distance but we don't want them having the chance to neutralize the detonators, either."  =/\=

=/\="I'd say five minutes, tops. Any longer than that and we might as well forget it.=/\=

=/\=  "That's cutting it awfully close ... but you're right, we can't let them exit the system.  We're setting ours for four, then, just to be sure."  =/\=  Sasha turned to Vic.  "Set timers and ready the weapons, as we agreed."

Vic replied, "Aye ma'am." 

"Ma'am ... look," said Cinda Zhang from the outboard SCI console.  The moon, the fast-orbiting moon that held the gunnery emplacement, was returning around the bulk of Cheron.  Only, now the landscape had changed.  Explosions flashed across the surface and no more fire erupted from the battery that had been there.

~Good going, Corad,~ Sasha thought.  Then she turned her attention back to the gathered Romulans, uncountable, menacing, slowly moving toward the system's edge.

=/\=  "Rog ... begin countdown ... we'll go on your order."  =/\=  Sasha looked at Vic.  "Ready?"

Vic nodded and said, "Ready captain."

[MER]

The two ships pulled rapidly out of the Coalition formation and shot "up"ward as a small flight of Romulan fighters peeled off the main group and moved quickly in their direction.

Rog said, "Mr. Jonas, take care of those fighters. Are our surprise packages ready?"

Jonas nodded.

[CHA]

Sasha listened as the countdown continued.  At the top of their formation arc, the Challenger and the Meridian split off and swooped off at a 45-degree angle to each other.

=/\= " ... four ... three ... two ... one.  Fire!"  =/\=

As one, the Meridian and Challenger stopped and began a slow turn over in and front of the Romulan fleet.  With silent explosions, escape pods began popping off both ships, streaking outward and then arrowing down to the Romulans.  The pods moved quickly, presenting too small a target for effective counter-measures, making a zig-zagging course as each one moved deep within the enemy fleet.

<+>  Captain Spearling's voice came over the battle channel.  "Fleet -- disperse! Bearing 180 mark 06, go to warp as soon as clear! You have three minutes!"  <+>

Rog sat in anticipation of the explosion. He said, "Andre, get ready to get us out of here at max warp on my command."

Andre replied, "Aye sir."

The Challenger and Meridian remained in place.  Sasha looked for the shuttlepod carrying Corad and the MACO's, but it was nowhere to be found.  She'd have to hope he heard the orders over the battle channel and would take whatever measures he could to protect himself and the crew.  The rest of the Coalition was moving off rapidly, back the way they'd come.

"Two minutes, Captain," Zhang said from SCI.

"Vic ... fire all weapons!  And I mean everything -- everything we've got!"

Vic tapped the buttons and it looked like a light show on the Fourth of July. Pulse cannon blasts and torpedoes went off, it was kind of beautiful in a way.

"Wow," someone breathed, awed by the firepower the Challenger could call forth.

Sasha spoke into the relative silence.  "Hannah, about face and follow the Coalition fleet, go to maximum warp as soon as you can!"

"Aye, Captain!"  The Challenger made a sharp descending turn, almost hitting a Romulan fighter as she went.  Hannah kept the ship at maximum impulse, straining to reach minimum safe distance before going to warp.

"One minute," Cinda Zhang said, her voice edgy with tension.

Rog said, "Now Andre, follow the Challenger. Once we're at a safe distance, give her everything ya got."

Time seemed to slow down, then to stop.  Behind them, the Romulan vessels continued to lazily attempt to pick off the escape pods.  There were four or five hits, but they didn't know that it wouldn't do anything to the deadly cargo encased within each pod.  

"... Ten seconds.  Nine."

=/\=  "Warp speed, now!"  =/\=  Sasha heard it over the COMMs and yelled, "GO, Hannah!"  

"Engaging!" Hannah said, her voice squeaking on the last syllable.  

"All power to rear polarization! Cinda, give me a rear view, main viewscreen, now!"

[MER]

As son as the Meridian had turned, Rog yelled, "Hit the gas Andre, get us out of here."

Against the starry sky, with Cheron receding in the background, the Romulan fleet glittered.  Suddenly, small explosions popped all over the starfield, in and amongst the Romulans.  

[CHA]

"Two seconds.  One.  Detonation."  This from T'Lara, her voice calm and steady.  As usual.

Light.  Blinding white.  The main viewscreen flickered, trying to dim it down, and even shut itself off for a second in self-defense.  When it came back on, the explosions had blossomed, white and searing blue, a web of destruction that surrounded and encapsulated the Romulan Fleet, punching holes in the vacuum and filling them with heat.  Secondary explosions quickly followed as their ships, stripped of their protective shields, went up in flames, too many to count.  More fell prey to the massive shock wave that ripped outward from the original explosions, pushing debris before it, a rapidly moving wall of energy that threatened to overtake the Challenger and Meridian as they rushed away from it.

"Faster! Hannah, give it all you've got!"

"Warp 5.5 ... warp 5.8 ..."  Hannah read off.  "Captain, I think that's all she's got!"

[MER]

Rog said, "Hang on people. The ride could get bumpy for a bit."

The shockwave overtook the two Star Fleet ships, flinging then forward and then engulfing them.

Captain Sasha Spearling
Commanding Officer
FCL-04 Challenger
&
Captain Roger Finney
Commanding Officer
FCL-06 Meridian
====================
NPC's apb John and Anna,
PC's borrowed with respect.

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