Star Trek: Intrepid
Pre Emptive Maneuvers
Part 2
by Galen Holcomb
(intrepidlogs@hotmail.com)

Pre Emptive Maneuvers - Part 2

Forward from the author:
This tale is the second part of a story arc that began with "The Double Edge." This story, and the preceding one, take place during the Dominion War. The final chapter will be chronicled in "Inevitability."

Chapter 2

"Captain! Ma'am! I don't believe it!"

The acting Operations officer aboard the USS Sentry was not exactly what one might call seasoned. Ensign Manta was two months out of the Academy and was as green as they came.

Manta did, however, have the good fortune to serve upon one of only six starships that survived the battle for Betazed. Sentry had not come away unscathed; a Jem'Hadar fighter had set a collision course in the final minutes of the battle. Luckily, the enemy craft had been shot down with seconds to spare, blowing apart less than a thousand meters off Sentry's saucer. But a large fragment of hull had slammed into the bridge with devastating consequences.

Bad luck had led to all of Sentry's command officers being present on the bridge when that fatal impact occurred. Among the dead were the captain, the chief engineer, the senior operations officer, the first officer, the security chief and the ship's doctor who had been summoned to attend to a medical emergency.

But the Nebula class starship and her crew had endured. They would live to fight another day. (Which meant they would all have the opportunity to die another day, or so the newly appointed chief engineer was heard to solemnly remark.)

The Asian woman who sat behind Ensign Manta in the captain's chair was normally tolerant of a crewmember's inexperience, but today she was not feeling particularly charitable.

"Ensign," Captain Hiroko said ominously, "if you have a report, then report it. I don't have time to play charades."

"Yes ma'am," he gulped. "Sensors show Intrepid crossing into Gorn space. And at full impulse."

Hiroko crossed her legs leisurely, as though she had always resided in this chair. Her composure belied the fact that just a short time ago, the original commanding officer of this ship had died right where she was now sitting. His bloodstains were still visible upon the cushion.

"Resume pursuit course." She commanded. Then, with quiet authority, she added, "let's follow them in. Hold sensor blind." This meant that the CON officer was to stay outside of Intrepid's sensor reach. Sentry was to remain invisible.

Hiroko narrowed her eyes ever so slightly to conceal her anxiety. The bridge crew wasn't experienced enough to understand the significance of the order she had just given. They weren't privy to all the intelligence information that command officers were, therefore, they failed to realize that the Sentry was about to violate the sovereignty of another species' territory.

When the Dominion War began, the Gorn Empire made it clear that they wanted no part of the conflict. They immediately sealed their borders and recalled their diplomats from all over the Alpha Quadrant. Their outposts and installations along the perimeters of their space were fortified with heavy gun ships and battle stations. It was made clear in no uncertain terms that any vessel entering their region would be considered an enemy, regardless of what flag it sailed under.

Only a fool would venture into their space without permission.

She spent a few minutes explaining the situation to the crew. To their credit, they voiced no objections.

Moments later, she exited the small bridge and walked into the captain's ready room. Sitting behind the desk, she keyed in a coded frequency through the ship's subspace transmitter. It took several minutes to establish a COMM link with her distant party.

Admiral Edward Jellico finally appeared on her screen.

"Captain. Good to see you still in one piece. What's your situation?" Static crackled around the admiral's voice as the transmitter jumbled and then scattered the transmission across multiple subspace domains. All the better to camouflage chatter since enemy ears were always listening.

Hiroko was glad that Jellico didn't enjoy small talk or insipid pleasantries. She had neither the patience nor the time. "Aubrey just entered Gorn space. I crossed the border myself a few minutes ago in pursuit. I'll try to stay at the edge of their territory to avoid detection. But Aubrey's trajectory will take him near a Gorn military station." Her voice tightened. "I don't know what he's thinking. I certainly hope he doesn't plan to use that weapon of his on the Gorn. But why else would he cut through their space? There's no way for him to go unnoticed. It's almost like he wants to provoke them."

On the other end of the screen, Jellico looked thoughtful. "I don't think so. I've been reviewing his service record in more detail. When he was a lieutenant on the Baghdad, there was some kind of an incident involving the Gorn. The captain's report barely mentioned Aubrey's involvement, but..."

Captain Hiroko leaned forward in her chair. "Is this some kind of vendetta?" She asked cautiously. "Was this all a ruse to get back at the Gorn?"

"No," Jellico said. "Based on the incident I read about, I believe he may have a friend over there."

"Wonderful," she said tiredly. "So he's looking for a save haven. Also a way to cut a few hours off his trip to Archer IV."

Jellico glanced about in a self-conscious manner, as if he might be overheard. It was a silly gesture but instinct never died easily. "Captain, up until now, I've asked you to follow Aubrey and stay out of sight. I'm changing that order. You now have my permission to make contact. Do what you can to talk him down."

Hiroko blinked in surprise. "Yes sir. But sir, what if he's not open to reason? Once I blow my cover, he may try to lose me."

The admiral's stare hardened. "Then you see to it you don't get lost, Captain. I need you to report on his movements and keep any stray ships out of his path up until he reaches Archer IV."

"And then?"

"Then, if you've been unsuccessful in turning him around, you withdraw." Jellico hated the word 'withdraw' and it showed clearly on his face.

"I should get back to the bridge. I need to make contact with Aubrey before he gets any further into their space." The truth was that Hiroko had already planned to make contact. But she felt better with Jellico sanctioning the idea.

She ended the transmission and returned to her command chair. Steeling herself, aware of time slipping away, she gave the order. "Lieutenant Michelson, open a channel to the Intrepid, encoded for maximum scramble."

The bridge crew seemed relieved. They wanted to be fighting Jem'Hadar, not playing a cat and mouse game with one of their own ships. At least with a direct confrontation, they knew this situation would come to head and be over with.

One way or the other.

"Captain Aubrey is responding." Michelson reported a moment later.

Sure enough, a tired and irritated looking Jason Aubrey appeared on the main viewer.

"Caroline Hiroko." He said curtly. "Please close this channel and turn your ship around while you still can. If the Gorn detect your presence you'll be endangering both our vessels."

Hiroko regarded him coolly. She was aware of his reputation in battle and she respected what he had accomplished during the war. But she was hardly in awe of the man. Starfleet had many skilled combat officers. As far as she was concerned, any one of them was useless if they couldn't be depended upon to follow orders. Despite some flamboyant exceptions from the past, most command officers that defied Starfleet did far more harm than good. Nearly all had finished out their careers in a penal colony. She was reminded yet again that the tremendous pressures and loneliness of starship command was a cross that very few could bear.

"Captain Aubrey, let me be honest," She began. "Frankly I'm too damned tired to argue or negotiate with you. You're a Starfleet captain. You know what I'm going to say and I already know what you're going to respond with." She spread her arms before her. "So, any ideas on how we can work this out?"

The other captain smiled at her tenacity despite himself. "That's not proper negotiating technique." He told her. "You never tell a subject that you already know what they're going to say. It discourages a dialogue."

"True. I guess I'm no good at this."

"Better than you let on. Now you're creating empathy in your subject and trying to give him the feeling that he's in control of the situation."

She sighed. "Alright, try this: I'm under orders from Admiral Jellico to escort you back to Starbase 47. Oh, and I'm placing you under arrest."

"Caroline, listen very carefully: I understand your orders, but I'm on a tight deadline. If I don't reach Archer IV in the next six hours, Betazed will be destroyed. I can afford maybe one hour for repairs. And that's pushing it. I need the Gorn's help to make those repairs. Every second you remain here is a second that you could be detected."

She had heard this line of reasoning before, when Aubrey had first explained himself to Jellico. But orders were orders. Starfleet couldn't afford a loose canon at a time like this. "Jason, you can make your case again once we get back. There are other ways to handle this."

Before he could reply, Ensign Manta's voice interrupted the exchange. "Excuse me, ma'am? We have a proximity alert. There are two ships de cloaking fore and aft."

"Shields up. Red alert." She ordered at once.

On the main screen, a squat, powerful looking craft wavered into view. It was a dark gray crescent with black striping. Nearly every contour hid a torpedo launcher or disruptor bank. Its armor looked impenetrable.

Aubrey broke in. "They're Gorn stealth cruisers. They must have been tracking me when I entered their space. You nearly ran right into them. Dammit, Caroline, if this goes badly, billions of people will die."

"Spare me the lecture," She threw back. "it was you who started this mess, not me. I'm just the one who has to clean it up. You need to leave with me now while you still can, Jason."

He ignored her comment completely. "I'll see if I can talk to them. Don't make any aggressive moves in the meantime. Aubrey out."

"The warships are locking weapons," Manta reported. "I repeat, their guns are hot."

Over the open speakers they heard a determined voice: "To Gorn vessels, this is Captain Jason Aubrey of the USS Intrepid. I am a friend to General Esirr. I say again, I am friend to General Esirr. The other Starfleet vessel is my ally. Do not fire-----"

A rasping growl interrupted him. "General Esirr was a traitor to his people. And you and your kind are responsible for putting him in power. You have the blood of many Gorn on your hands. You defile our space with your presence."

So much for Aubrey having a friend over here, Hiroko thought dismally.

"There's been a misunder-----"

"We have incoming!" Manta yelled.

"HARD TO STARBOARD!" Hiroko shouted.

The Sentry heaved over as a barrage of torpedoes slammed into her shields.

* * * * *

Dalla was a strikingly beautiful Vorta with radiant blue eyes and flowing black hair. Her movements and poise spoke to a natural elegance that had not been present in any of her cloned predecessors. Her charisma seemed to give her a goddess like air of superiority that came off as a surprisingly appropriate and natural. As she strode across the outdoor plaza towards the administration building, she almost seemed to glide on the air.

The building she entered contained what had once been the Governor's office of Archer IV. The structure had suffered little damage during the Dominion's conquest of the planet, owing to the Federation's superb construction standards.

Although Dalla, like most Vortas, had poor aesthetic perceptions, she nonetheless found the building's interior décor tasteful and the muted colors pleasant. It also sported a panoramic view of the planet's ocean, just down the slope and a few kilometers from her window. She had grown a little attached to her plush office over the last few weeks. She found herself thinking she would actually miss it.

A Jem'Hadar soldier met her at the entrance. He was large and intense, like most of his genetically engineered species.

He bowed slightly to her before falling into step beside her.

"You have a report." She stated.

"Yes." He replied immediately. "We have successfully moved the Federation prisoners to our detention facility in orbit. We currently have 1400 in our custody. The rest were killed during our occupation."

"There were no incidents of rebellion or escape attempts during the transfer?" She queried.

The Jem'Hadar seemed amused by the prospect. "Of course not. These are Federation prisoners, not Klingons." He said the word 'Federation' with a tone reserved for the mention of vermin or parasites.

Dalla shrugged dismissively. "It's never wise to become too placid around the Federation. They are poor warriors but cunning tricksters. They often fool their enemies into defeating themselves."

"Yes," the Jem'Hadar allowed, "if you are a buffoon. I am not. Neither are the men I command."

Dalla ignored his statement. She almost never cared about anything a Jem'Hadar said beyond the utterance of a status report. She knew the soldiers to be necessary, but interacting with them was repugnant. It had been the one downside to administrating this planet for the Founders.

She took a seat behind a large desk made of oak or bark or some such Earth material. "I have some final affairs to conclude before I leave. Please be sure my shuttle is ready in twenty minutes."

The Jem'Hadar lowered his head. "Of course. I'll see to it personally."

She waved him away, reaching over to activate her COMM unit.

Her hand paused over the controls built into the desk. She frowned. A slow vibration was coming up through the floor, into her feet. A second later it became intense. The desk began to tremble, and then the whole building shook. The seismic dampers built into the structure were unable to silence the quake, as they should have. This meant it was a significant event.

"Another movement!" She yelled in frustration. She grabbed the edges of her desk and looked anxiously at the ceiling, thinking it might actually fall on top of her this time.

It seemed to last a very long time. She heard things breaking and snapping within the walls. The lights flickered. The floor dropped from under her by a few centimeters causing all the furniture in the room to land with a large thump.

Then it was over.

Dalla slapped the top of her desk in anger. "Why aren't the dampers stopping these quakes?" She demanded of the Jem'Hadar soldier, who had taken refuge in a corner. "This is the eleventh quake in two days and they keep getting worse!"

"It may be that the Federation dampers are malfunctioning." He suggested half-heartedly.

Dalla glared at him. "The land on this planet is solid bedrock. We studied its history. There has never been a quake in the 35 years that the Federation colonized it. In fact, there has never been any seismic activity on this ball of dust. Until two days ago."

"Yes," the Jem'Hadar agreed. "That is why we moved the prisoners into our orbiting facility."

"That is why I ordered it." She snapped. "And I am not happy about our failure to determine what is causing this instability. Most of the structures on this planet are no longer habitable now."

"Our probes and scanners reveal nothing out of the ordinary. " The soldier added. "All that is certain is the disruptions are originating from beneath the oceans."

"That is not very helpful." Dalla seethed. "We knew that two days ago. And quakes do not cause subspace interference. But then what should I expect? You creatures were bred for combat, not science."

The Jem'Hadar voiced no objection to the slight. The Vorta was his immediate superior and she could say what she liked. His duty was to serve the Founders in all things. Besides, ultimately it was Dalla who would have to answer for her apparent inability to solve this problem, not he.

Ground quakes and subspace interference on a planet for which both phenomena were an impossibility. Privately, he thought it was an enemy tactic to force them to abandon Archer IV. But when no evidence could be found to support this idea it had been dismissed. Dalla believed the events to be caused by natural, abet unexplained anomalies of some sort. He chose not to argue the point.

"Remove yourself and make sure my shuttle is ready." She told him.

He bowed again then left the room.

She composed herself then activated the display screen on the wall opposite her desk. So far, the quakes had not damaged it.

A young Cardassian man faded into view through the static on the screen. Dalla was startled at how much worse the interference had become since yesterday.

"Legat Kator," she said amiably. "how are you?"

"I am well. How may I help you, Governor Dalla?" He appeared nervous because of her call, which satisfied her. Kator was among those Cardassians for whom the Dominion had arranged an early promotion. It was good to have a few officers in jobs that they were not qualified to hold. Their inexperience and gratitude made them that much easier to control.

She smiled pleasantly. "I have need of Cardassia's mighty warships."

"How so?" He asked carefully.

"Have you heard about the incident at Kokala?"

His image faded away, and then re appeared. She had to repeat her last question.

"Yes, there were reports of a Starfleet ship that destroyed three of our destroyers. It is said to carry an alien weapon of some sort. I do not have more details."

"Neither do I," she lied, "but we do know that this ship is on its way here, to Archer IV. We have a fix on its position. We believe the Federation is going to test this new weapon by retaking the planet."

Kator was incredulous. "One ship against an entire armada? The report must be wrong."

She nodded as though sharing his disbelief. "None the less," she responded, "it would be prudent to gather more information. Just in case there is some truth to these stories."

"That would seem wise," Kator agreed. She could barely hear his response through the distorted signal.

"That is why we need your two cruisers from the Tewon Sector. They are the closest ships that could intercept the Starfleet vessel and take control of it before it reaches our position."

There was a very long pause before Kator replied, and it was not due to interference. "You wish our ships to engage and capture this vessel?"

"Yes. If this ship is as powerful as we have heard, then we should know to what extent. Therefore we will..." She searched her mind for the right words. The humans had a phrase that fit this kind of engagement perfectly. What was it called? Yes. A 'pre-emptive strike". That was it. She liked the sound of it. It had a dramatic flair that appealed to her. Even in her language, it flowed off the tongue smoothly.

"We shall launch a pre-emptive strike on this ship." She continued. "They will not expect it."

Kator's grim expression indicated that he did not share her enthusiasm. "Why our ships?" He asked suspiciously. "Surely they are closer Dominion vessels in that area. Their weapons are more-----" He almost said 'formidable' but caught himself in time. "Versatile." He finished.

Dalla's benign smile, which had been present since they first spoke, slipped a notch. "Are you saying your attack cruisers aren't up to the challenge of defeating a single out dated Starfleet ship?"

"We are up to the challenge of any battle." He sniffed indignantly. "But we have already lost three destroyers at Kokala while trying to defeat that ship. We should not have to endure more unnecessary losses."

Dalla's smile now fell away altogether. She almost seemed to be pouting; looking very much like a little girl whose feelings had been hurt.

"Legat Kator, I hope you're not implying that only Cardassians have been lost during this conflict. That only Cardassians have made sacrifices."

Her rebuke had the anticipated result. Kator stammered momentarily, then said hoarsely, " Of course not. I-----simply meant that my attack cruisers are needed here, to protect the Tewon sector."

Her smile returned, but her blue eyes were icy. "Ah, I understand your concern. But you needn't trouble yourself with protecting Tewon. That system is not as strategically important as it once was. Our growing borders have left Tewon well within the safety or our territory."

Kator did not seem overjoyed at hearing that the sector he commanded was now strategically obsolete. "Governor Dalla, we still have shipyards here that are a possible target. Most of the Dominion fleet has expanded their patrols to outlying systems. I have few ships left to protect our base here."

She gave him a pitying look, as if he were a simpleton who was struggling with an arithmetic problem. "You may not have understood our last tactical updates which state that no Allied movements have been detected in your area in over two months. And with the fall of Betazed, our priorities have shifted."

Kator was clearly bristling at her condescending treatment of him. But he managed to keep his temper in check.

Barely.

With an intensity that surprised Dalla, Kator said, "Most of the personnel at this base are Cardassian. It will be Cardassian lives that are lost if we are attacked. I'm asking you to leave what little protection I have here, where it is needed most."

Before she could respond, the floor beneath her lurched violently and she fell out of her chair. She heard something else within the building crack loudly. At the same time, the screen began to sputter and fizzle as the picture degraded even further.

"Governor Dalla, are you alright?" He asked as she climbed back into her seat. "What is happening there?"

It was time to end this.

Ignoring his question, she stood, looking as regal as a queen. "I want your ships to intercept immediately. I have just sent the enemy vessel's last known coordinates to you. Remember," She concluded with finality, "it is the Founders themselves who want this ship stopped. You will order your cruisers to either capture it or destroy it, if that becomes the only option. Either way, it is not to reach this system. Do I make myself understood, Legat Kator?"

"It will be done," Kator acknowledged dejectedly.

She turned off the screen, knowing his ships would fail. But the data from the encounter would be priceless. The encounter would also delay the Starfleet ship; hopefully long enough for a more adequate defense to be prepared.

It was time to go. She could finish out her administrative duties from orbit. She had had enough of this cursed planet and its temper tantrums.

Her COMM unit squeaked at her. "Governor Dalla," the voice buzzed faintly, "this is Orbital Detention. We have detected a large atmospheric disturbance spreading over the entire northern hemisphere. Extreme conditions. Recommend beam-----itions not possible-----fly-----" The voice became hissing background noise.

Before she had time to digest the message, a Jem'Hadar rushed through the main entrance to her office and sealed the door with blinding speed. He was drenched with water and a deep gash ran across his forehead. A feeding tube hung limply from his neck, as though yanked out by an assailant.

But what assailant could make a Jem'Hadar flee for his life?

His explanation was succinct, to say the least. "Hurricane force winds." He gasped out. "Even more powerful than that. Your shuttle and most of my men were blown away. This storm came from nowhere!"

As if on cue, she heard a slow groan come from the building. Turning, she gazed out the large window. An uprooted tree flew by. The ocean beyond was churning furiously.

The weather had been tranquil not two minutes ago. Had this planet gone mad?

"We must beam out." The soldier said urgently.

She had no argument with that. She touched the COMM unit built into her sleeve. "Dalla to Orbital Detention. Two for beam out."

But there was no reply.

"This wretched subspace interference! Try the transmitter at my desk." She instructed. Her uniform COMM unit was not able to overcome distortions in subspace. But the larger desk transmitter had planetary power banks to draw upon if necessary. Its computer could instantly select over six billion subspace channels to broadcast on. At least there was no danger of being cut off.

The soldier poked furiously at the panel, sending out an emergency beacon. Or so he thought. But the readout showed him that every subspace frequency was jammed with interference. All six billion separate frequencies.

It was impossible.

"Governor Dalla," he said somberly, "the transmitter will not function. All subspace domains are inaccessible."

"Don't be an idiot," she said testily, "you obviously don't know how to operate a transmitter under diverse conditions. Out of the way." She marched around the desk as he stepped back.

To her chagrin, she realized he had been right. All frequencies were showing gibberish. The subspace interference was now beyond the computer's ability to measure. Any communication would be impossible. And without subspace access, transporters were useless. There would be no beam out. They were stranded.

For the first time, Dalla felt the cool touch of fear.

There was a terrible crashing noise as, incredibly, they heard part of the building collapse. Luckily not the wing they were in. What kind of storm had the power to rend a modern building?

The lights went out.

The ferocity of the storm now sounded like a million banshees, screeching at the top of their lungs as they tore at the structure with their teeth and claws, doing their best to rip it apart.

With hypnotic dread, Dalla looked again out the window toward the oceans of this planet.

And again, she was assaulted by an impossibility.

The ocean's surface was not just seething from the storm as she first assumed, it was actually boiling! Boiling as unimaginable energies turned the vast body of water into a cauldron.

It meant that this was not a freak weather system, not a localized event.

This planet was dying.

And as she gazed at the violent water, she beheld a site that called her sanity into question; through the mountains of steam she saw dark forms moving across the ocean's surface-----things that seemed to slither over the water like immense snakes. Just before the curtains of gas became opaque, she saw hundreds upon thousands of these black abominations filling up every square kilometer of the sea.

It could only be the result of hysteria. No such creatures existed on this planet. The biggest fish was maybe two centimeters in length. What she had seen out there would had to have been many kilometers long.

The ground now shook with a violence that was pure chaos. The room began to rip away from the rest of the building. The window exploded inward as though hit by a bomb. Dalla threw herself behind the desk for cover. Frantically, she reached up and hit the transmission switch. She shouted over and over for a beam out. But even if the transmitter had worked, the howling wind and thunderous quake made her voice impossible to hear.

A chasm opened through the middle of her office. The Jem'Hadar pinweeled his arms in a desperate effort to hold his balance but the floor fell away beneath him. He tumbled into the bottomless canyon without making a sound.

A blast of superheated wind and gas smashed into the Vorta with enough force to lift her legs into the air. She clung to a desk leg that was still anchored to the ground. As the temperature soared, she felt her lungs scorch and her skin begin to blister.

The hellish inferno became worse with each moment. She was being cooked alive as the very atmosphere itself ignited around her.

During her last few seconds of life, Dalla cried out for the Founders to save her.