Cat and Mouse
Posted on Sat Mar 22nd, 2025 @ 3:20am by Lieutenant Shiki Ichiose & Captain J.T Carlson & Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Johnson Sr & Lieutenant JG Daphne Crenshaw & Lieutenant Alice Zuberg MD & Lieutenant Kris McEntyre & Lieutenant JG Kas Th'shrytrir & Ensign Aneitrius Mexi & Ed’Rah, Daughter of Khartan
Edited on on Sat Mar 22nd, 2025 @ 3:22am
4,004 words; about a 20 minute read
Mission:
Season 1, Episode 3: Trespassing
Location: En Route to the Kusogh System
Timeline: Stardate 1538.3
Captain's Log, Supplemental: Now enroute to the Kusogh system, we find ourselves now engaged in a cat and mouse game with a Klingon D-5 Cruiser commanded by the Klingon, Ed'rah, daughter of Khartan.
-----
J.T, leaning on the rail behind the science station, parses his lips. A hand to his chin in thought as he watched the ship position moving on the system plot on the screen above the science station.
"I had a thought, X.O" He says to Ben, still situated next to the Science Station.
"Our compliment of probes? Could we rig several to emit false signatures and deploy them to confuse the Klingons?" J.T asked, still deep in thought.
Ben nodded. "Yes, we can," he said, and made some quick calculations. "Ops," he said. "Want to assist me?" He pressed some buttons to share his screen. The signatures would need to be manually changed, but it was technically possible.
"Mischief is my middle name!" Shiki grinned. "Or, at least it would be if I knew how to legally change the name on my birth certificate..."
"Get started, let me know when they're ready to launch. We'll need to deploy them in such a way as to make it seem like our reinforcements have arrived in system." J.T ordered, nodding his head.
Johnson nodded. "Aye, sir," he said. The two officers went to work, quickly. "I am expecting it to only take an hour," he said.
The turbolift door opened and onto the bridge walked Doctor Alice Zuberg. She clasped a hand over the Captain’s shoulder as he stood at the science station with the XO. “How’re the Klingons treating you?” she asked.
"Like '56 in Axanar all over again." He looks down at Dr. Zuberg.
"Is Sickbay doing ok, Alice?" J.T asks, friendly-like. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten a chance to get down to see you. Been a bit..hectic up here." He chuckles.
She absentmindedly touched her eyepatch at the mention of Axanar in ‘56. Not a good time for any of them. “Sickbay is fine. Ready in case we need it. And I’ve been working on making sure people in each department have basic First Aid training.” She smiled up at him. “And when this is all done we’ll get you down there for your physical. None of this ‘haven’t gotten the chance to see you down there’ nonsense.”
“Yes, Doctor Zuberg. Let me know if you need more volunteers for your medics. Once we’re done playing with the Klingons, I’m goin to be running the Tigerfish through paces and getting her up to a position of strength again. She’s got good bones, just need to have a nice refurbishment.”
"Yes, sir," Alice said. "I'll let you know if Medical needs anything, but right now we're on track to handle whatever comes our way. Barring complete destruction, so, you know, keep that to a minimum please."
J.T lets out a chuckle.
“I make no promises but we’ll do our best to stay in one piece.”
“Lieutenant McEntyre what do we know about the Klingon commander?”
J.T asks Kris, looking over at the communications station.
“Starfleet Intelligence has very little to go on. Section 3 believes that she is a fairly new commander in the house of Khartan. S3 also places her as the brother of Bra'Khis, who at present is the leader of the House of Khartan.”
"So she's hoping to make somekind of name for herself then?" J.T inquires.
"Possibly, but I would assume she's dangerous and motivated to prove herself. She'll be tough to predict."
'Sounds like a laugh!' Kas declared from the Conn station, then looked at Mexi and grinned.
'An absolute barrelful,' Mexi deadpanned in reply before glancing down at the console readout and calling out over her shoulder at Carlson. 'Looks like we're coming up on the Kusogh system.'
J.T nods, walking back to the center chair and taking his seat.
“Helm, drop out of Warp.”
“Passive scans, what am I looking at?”
'There seems to be a mass of debris about twelve degrees up from the ecliptic,' Mexi said in her clipped accented English. 'The sensors ... we need to move closer to determine what it is exactly.'
'What I wouldn't give for a Connie's sensor suite,' Mexi said quietly to Kas as he nodded in agreement.
"Move us in slowly Helm, we don't want to spook anything out here. Nudge us closer for a more detail scan but don't cut in the active sensors."
'Moving forward, one quarter impulse,' Kas declared, using standard procedure. At his nod, Mexi brought up the passive sensor feed on the Main Viewer so the Bridge crew could see what was ahead of them.
'Details still unclear on passive sensors ...' Mexi said.
"Science, can we nudge the power on the passive sensors?" J.T asks Shiki.
=Gimme just a sec to wire something up...= Shiki radioed back, which was then promptly followed up with a faint noise that sounded like cables being rustled. =Aaaand... there we go! Not an ideal setup, but it should extend the sensor's range by about... oh, I'd say 5 miles, give or take?=
'That's better,' Mexi replied, working the sensors, 'if we're able to move a little closer we should get some better resolution with this solution.'
Ben looked up. "I can spare some power from nonessential systems," he said, clicking some buttons. "There," he said. He also enhanced the viewscreen's picture setting. "Is that...a debris field?" He said, aloud, though it was a rhetorical question, really.
Kas and Mexi exchanged glances for a moment, before Kas pressed the ship forward. 'Approaching the debris field.'
'Resolution is improved ... we should be able to make out what it is ..' Mexi said distractedly as she worked the sensors.
'Looks to be the remains of an unknown vessel,' Mexi said gravely as she read the sensor returns. 'Seem to have been destroyed by Klingons judging from the disruptor fire patterns. Recommend we log the results for further study, Captain.'
“Agreed. Science Officer, Note to the log: Debris field consistent with Klingon Disruptor patterns.” J.T turned back to the viewscreen.
“Steady as she goes, helm.”
'Steady, aye,' came the response.
"As you predicted, Birok," Ed'Rah said to her weapons officer. He had guessed which system they would go to next and managed to get there ahead of them. Just early enough to lay their trap. "Detonate. And then bring us into torpedo range. I would see the whites of their eyes."
'Detonation, twenty degrees starboard, fifty-four-hundred meters!' Mexi cried from her console. 'Brace! Brace for impact!'
"Mr. Kas, Helm's a-larboard, take evasive action!"
J.T whips his head over to the security and tactical station.
"Ms. Crenshaw, Shields Up!"
"Shields up, sir!" Daphne called out. "Security personnel report ready from all positions!" Daphne hoped they wouldn't have to do anything but, if there were boarders, it would be her and her people's job to keep them out.
Throwing the ship into as tight a corkscrew dive as he could, Kas fought against the inertia of the craft and used every trick he knew to coax more movement out of the aging ship.
As the explosion billowed out of the debris field, the Andorian felt as much as heard the now-projectiles slamming in to the Tigerfish's hull, shaking the craft from bow to stern.
Ben clicked his Comms badge. =/\=Someone get on that hull NOW. =/\= Lt. Maria Munoz indicated that she was on the way, and he clicked off. Good. His team worked well.
Birok watched the Starfleet ship on his screen. "They have sustained minor damage to their forward section." He laughed heartily. "Their shields were not raised until after the explosion."
"We are approaching weapons range," reported the helm officer.
"If they had only left it alone," Ed'Rah said to herself. "Birok, prepare a boarding party. Beam over when their shields are down." She pressed some keys to lower the periscope and give herself weapons control. She brought their weapons to bear on the old Federation ship and loosed a single photon torpedo...
J.T slams his fist on the Red Alert activation button his chair, alarms blaring as the bridge turns a hue of red from the alert lighting.
"Red Alert! Mr. Kas bring us about. Lieutenant McEntyre, note for the log: engaged by Klingon D-5 at 15:50 Hours."
"I'll be in sickbay," Alice said, exiting the bridge onto the turbolift.
J.T whips his head towards the security and tactical station once more.
"Tactical, get me a targeting solution on that sumbitch! Mr. Kas: phaser crews to stations, prepare to fire!"
"Forward shields are out!" Ben called out. That was it. Totally destroyed. "Cutting off all unnecessary power. Ops, kill the systems," he said.
"Rotate Shields to compensate!" J.T called out.
"Mr. Kas, Fire Main Phasers at will!!"
'Firing phasers!' Kas called, antennae straightening in fear and agitation as he worked his console. Blue flashes of phaser light stabbed out into the dark, splashing off the Klingons vessel's shields.
Sparks flew from multiple bridge consoles as the D-5's power systems surged from the phaser fire. Shields were weakened, some segments down altogether.
And in the midst of it, Ed'Rah grinned.
"What the hell just happened?" Ben said, from his console.
"The aft shields can't take much more, captain," Daphne said, struggling to keep them up. "Security teams, at the ready!" Every muscle in her body was tense. She looked to the captain and to the guards by the elevator. Her hands stayed on the console, though she wore a phaser on her hip.
"Intruder alert! Deck three!" came a voice on comms. "It's Kling-AAAAAAAH!"
J.T whipped his head around to look at Tactical.
"Repel all Boarders, Ms. Crenshaw!"
"Yes, sir," Daphne answered him. "Saqqara! Djoser! Qi!" Daphne then yelled into her comm. She was not going to give orders in plain English with Klingons on board but her security teams knew that those orders meant that security personnel on deck three were to fall back to a defensible position and the mobile response team was to meet her at the hatch leading down from deck three. No, she did not aim to be caught in a turbolift. She drew her phaser and ran for the lift now.
Ben was in full Engineer mode. He tapped his Comms. =/\=Gregg, get up here.=/\= His deputy, a woman called Paisley Gregg, could take over the console. =/\=All Engineering personnel, begin damage control protocols. I'll be in the office.=/\=
He took off at a full run, calling over his shoulder.
'I'll be in main engineering if anyone needs me." The hulls were going to be a pain to repair!
Feeling cold fingers run through his nervous system, Kas quelled the feeling of terror that welled up in him at the prospect of borders. Not seen Klingons since ... he clamped down on the thought, threw the Tigerfish into a savage turn to present some fresh shields towards the Klingons.
Working her console, the sweat dripping from her bald head, Mexi spared her comrade a glance. She knew his history, and was concerned. Watching the Andorian concentrating on his duties with a fierce determination reassured her somewhat as she returned to her duties.
“Mr. Kas, helm hard over! Torpedoes, full spread, FIRE!
Letting out a string of foul epithets in Andorian under his breath, Kas killed the forward momentum of the impulse engines and spun the ship around in a tight arc, pushing the crew back into their seats before the dampers could compensate.
Releasing a puff of breath, Mexi cried out, 'Klingon ship in torpedo range - good lock!'
Slamming a fist on the torpedo launcher, Kas wasted no more time in plunging the Tigerfish into a dive to avoid the returning volley of fire.
'Torpedoes away!' he cried
Down in Engineering, Ben and his team had gotten straight to work. There were two-men teams at the Core, keeping it online, and he, himself, was working on Damage Control with the young Vulcan ensign. "Sar, we're going to flip that switch," he said, pointing to one. "It's going to kill unnecessary power. If they're coming on my ship, they're not getting far," he said. "On my count. 1...2...3." they worked quickly, and soon, power was out on a good portion of the boat. "Good work. Now, we move along. Get to Deck three. I'll meet you there," he said. First, he had to radio up to the Console. Maria informed him that things were fine, and he hurried to Deck 3.
-----
Daphne joined her people as they prepared to go down to deck three. She took a deep breath. She had trained for this. "Report," she ordered as she readied herself.
"All we've got to go off of is that we have Klingon intruders on Deck 3," one of the Security officers reported. "No word on how many of them they are, but based on the location given, one stands to reason that they're going for the ship's computer core. Offices and Recreation areas on Deck 3 have been locked down, but we have no idea as to where exactly they're beaming in."
"But we'll go where they're going," Daphne said. "Let's secure that computer core, but be careful people. They could be coming from any angle. Let's be about it!"
Daphne believed in leading from the front, entering the hatch first and climbing down, phaser at the ready. She waited until one of her team had followed her enough to provide cover and then pried it partially open, looking to make sure it was clear before charging out into potential enemy fire.
A junior security officer joined Daphne and the others. "There are two in the aft corridor. Looks like they're affixing something to the bulkhead."
"At least three in the port ring corridor!" called someone from further away. "Going toward port computer core! One down. Kasinsky's been hit."
"I'll tend to Kasinsky, Ma'am!" an Ensign offered. "You and your team focus on securing the computer cores!"
"We will," Daphne said to the ensign. She looked to the rest of her team. "We have to hold the computer core at all costs." She hesitated just a moment. "But we will disable it before we let the Klingons take it." With that, she was down the corridor, keeping close to the wall, phaser at the ready. She was ready for the Klingons.
As the Security team cautiously circled around the central power transfer unit and drew up to the port alleyway, they were just in time to spot a small cadre of Klingons entering from the far side of the hall. It seemed that the Klingons were just as surprised as they were, for no sooner had they made eye contact that the Klingons unholstered their disruptors, unleased a guttural war cry, and lunged at the Security Team.
Daphne dived back behind the corner for cover. She would let the Klingons do the open charging. It made them scarier but it could leave them exposed. She aimed her phaser and fired. Then again and again. She did not just blast down the hall. She made sure she had a target. She hoped her team was doing the same. She had trained them to but they were under fire from the Klingons now. Some people lost sight of their training in a fight, as hard as she tried to make it second nature.
"Report!" Ed'Rah yelled as sparks flew from consoles across her command centre. She clung to the armrests of her chair, knuckles going white as she held herself in place.
"We've been hit!" called the man at the engineering station. "They fired four photon torpedoes, three of which impacted our starboard side. Starboard shields are down. Hull breaches on decks five and six."
"Send damage control teams!" Ed'Rah ordered, growling. "Helm, bring us about! Weapons, fire disruptors, but avoid Birok's team." Then she lowered her voice. "We need to give him more time."
In sickbay, patients kept streaming in. Most injuries were burns, bruises, and minor fractures, and Dr. Zuberg's team was keeping on it with cool professionalism.
The attitude changed when the first two patients with disruptor burns came in. A shoulder hit that looked agonizing but was survivable. And a belly shot that was more likely not.
"Mark, prep patient for surgery!" Alice called to one of her nurses. She went to help the less injured one. "Where did this happen?" She administered an analgesic by hypospray.
"Deck three," she said, wincing as her shoulder audibly singed, but relaxed as the painkiller did its job.
Alice nodded and gently squeezed the patient's hand. "Stay put. We'll help when we can." She looked to one of her junior doctors. "Shino, take a kit to deck three!" She saw the young woman nod and depart sickbay, medkit in hand.
"Mr. Kas, bring her abroadside, stand by phasers." J.T called from his chair as he hit the circuit for Engineering.
"Engineer, we need shields."
'Aye, Captain,' Kas said, wiping a slick of sweat from his palms as he went to the controls once more. Mexi nodded her confirmation as she fed the nav data into his console, and he followed the directions given.
The Tigerfish moved up to the Bird Of Prey's starboard side, engines flaring under the speed of the maneuver.
"All Phasers, FIRE! " J.T calls out to Kas.
Kas responded by putting in a firing pattern, cycling through the Tigerfish's phaser emitters trying to allow for recharge times as bright lances of energy struck out into the night.
Ben rose the shields. "Kas, keep her steady," he instructed. "The damage to the hulls is pretty bad but repairable. It's best if we can dock somewhere, though," he said.
"First Priority Engineer is to get this ship out of Danger." J.T turns to Kas once more.
"Helm, 40 degrees up on the bow plane, maneuver Echo-6"
'Forty degrees on the bow plane, aye,' Kas responded, rapidly feeding the instructions into the helm, antennae twitching and writhing, betraying the adrenaline surging through his system.
"Yeah, no kidding," Ben replied. He braced for a second impact. "We've lose the auxiliary hulls," he said. "Damage to the inner hulls. We can't sustain much more-we'll be dead in the water out here," he said.
"Mr. Kas, break for the belt!" J.T called out before keying the engineering section again.
"XO, How fast can you rig for Silent Running?" J.T inquired of the Chief Engineer/Executive Officer.
"Just give me thirty-five seconds," Ben replied. He made some inputs into the console, and the ship hummed before the noise stopped. "Done. Good luck," he said.
Mexi plotted an evasive course, and nodded in confirmation at Kas. The nervous sweat was running down her scalp by now, a fear response she had never mastered. Mouth set grimly, she held on as Kas slalomed the ship, trying to keep the damaged sections of the ships away from the incoming fire from the Klingons.
The asteroid belt inched closer, Mexi feeling that it was taking an agonisingly long time to reach, sure that the next second would be the last as the ship juddered and sparks flew from overloaded systems as the ship took hit after hit.
Proximity alerts blared as Kas pushed the Lancaster-class vessel to its limits, jinking in to the belt as nimbly as the frame allowed, spinning a line around a wayward rock. His antennae stiff and upright a sign of his concentration, he licked his lips as he furiously worked the controls.
'Could do with going dark any second now,' he grunted.
'Captain,' Mexi said, 'perhaps Science can rig a torpedo to explode with the approximate readings of the Tigerfish, if she exploded.'
"Sound thinking Ms. Mexi." J.T Commented turning his head towards the science station.
"Ms. Ichiose make ready on thier command please." He turns back to face the viewscreen. "Mr. Kas, as soon as it detonates cut all engines, make it look convincing."
'Aye, sir!' Kas called out, readying the torpedoes for launch with a press of a button.
=A=Torpedo is prepped and ready to drop on your orders, Captain,=A= Shiki radioed from down in Engineering.
"Mr. Kas, Aft Topedoes!" J.T calls to Kas
He slapped the launcher button, hands moving swiftly back to the Helm controls. 'Torpedoes away!' he cried triumphantly.
Ben watched, hoping that they would not return fire. The ship couldn't take much more of a beating.
The torpedoes exploded, sending a shockwave out into space. Mexi and Kas worked quickly in tandem, shutting down the engines, and powering down the rest of the ship until they were on little more than the bare minimum.
The lights dimmed, and active sensors went offline. Viewscreen blinking off, Mexi glanced at Kas worriedly. Hopefully an asteroid wouldn't collide with them.
Ed'Rah stared at the viewscreen, silently seething. "Report," she ordered, her voice harsh, rage bottled tightly.
"Nothing on sensors," said a replacement officer at tactical. "Only debris. If she is dead, it was not one of ours that killed her."
They had won. The Starfleet vessel was dead. Destroyed. Mere dust particles.
But she had not done it. They had done it to themselves.
Cowards, the lot of them. So afraid to face the might of Klingon warriors that they would rather take their own lives instead of confront her head on.
And the petaQs took Birok with them.
A growl rumbled deep in her throat. The nearest bridge officer picked up on it. Then another, and another, until the entire bridge crew was doing it, broken only when first Ed'Rah and then the rest howled into the air. It was a good day to die, Birok. I shall meet you in the Black Fleet one day. But not today.
"Adjust course," she barked after the room quieted. "Take us back to Phantohk. Half impulse until repairs are made to the warp drive."
Piloting the ship with as little input from the systems as possible, Kas felt the sweat dripping from his hairline, and his antennae ached from the effort of keeping the ship alive by thruster alone.
It went by for at least one standard hour. Mexi looked to Kas, then to the Captain.
'Permission to access active sensors, sir?'
"Passive only, we don't want to give ourselves away. We'll discreetly track them. Find out where they're going and then plot a course. Maybe they'll lead us back to the probe." J.T said as he got up out of his chair.
"I'll be in engineering. Ms. McEntyre, you have the Conn."
"Aye, Sir" Kris replied, getting out of her chair and walking over to the center chair sitting down as J.T enters the turbolift.
"Maintain present course and speed." Kris instructed to the Helm and Navigator.
In Engineering, Ben, assisted by Crenshaw's team, was working to restore the damage to the Warp Core, and to also do emergency repairs-enough to keep them able to fly until they could tow somewhere.
Captain J.T Carlson
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Tigerfish NCC-1509
Lieutenant Commander Ben Johnson
Executive Officer/Chief Engineer
U.S.S. Tigerfish NCC-1509
Lieutenant Alice Zuberg MD
Second Officer/Chief Medical Officer
U.S.S. Tigerfish NCC-1509
Lieutenant Shiki Ichiose
Chief Science Officer
U.S.S. Tigerfish NCC-1509
Lieutenant Kris McEntyre
Chief Communications Officer
U.S.S. Tigerfish NCC-1509
Lieutenant JG Kas Th'shrytrir
Chief Helmsman
U.S.S. Tigerfish NCC-1509
Ensign Anetrius Mexi
Chief Navigator
U.S.S Tigerfish NCC-1509
Ed'Rah, Daughter of Khartan
Klingon Battlecruiser Rop'a
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