Shadow Operations: Resurrection
Season 1 Episode 8
Loss
Dec. 23, 2018

Mayla balanced herself when the ship lurched to one side without any warning. She looked around and her team was all there ready to bolt for the door after MacLeod’s announcement.

Jakhar, take the Carnoras and augment security in case we are boarded. Have someone get us some weapons.

Railius, take Thompson and Beckett and secure engineering.

Preet, is your fighter armed in any way?

Armed enough, Preet promptly answered.

Get to the shuttlebay and prep for launch in case the ship needs air support. Sh’avelith, you’re with me. We’ll be on the bridge. If there are no questions, on your way everybody.

The Andorian followed Mayla quickly as they ran to the bridge. Another strike rocked the ship, causing everyone in the hallway to lurch to the right. Sparks flashed across the hall accompanying falling ceiling panels. The pair didn’t let that stop them as their focus was to get to the Bridge.

Someone attacked us while we were in warp, Sh’avelith said, coming up to running speed again with Mayla.

Makes you think about how they were able to track us in the first place. Both women jumped into a turbolift just as the doors were closing. Bridge!

And they knew where we were going. Sh’avelith said as she hung on to the rail, preventing herself from being flung across the lift.

Someone was watching us at the station, and someone here knows where we are going. Mayla said in a calm calculating tone. This can’t be a random attack.

That is an astute deduction.

The turbolift doors opened to the bridge.

Rotate the shield modulation to the port side, MacLeod ordered. Swing us about and get that ship in the sweet spot for a full barrage.

Mayla and Sh’avelith stood to one side, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice if any of the Bridge crew needed any assistance.

The Andorian was scared. She’d been in a number of boarding actions and away missions where there had been combat, but she’d never been in a ship-to-ship battle. Tiri was too young to have served in the Klingon and Dominion conflicts—the last serious wars the Federation had been in.

She noted how calm Commader Vree was and she drew from her commanding officer’s demeanor as they arrived on the bridge and saw the crew engaged in battle. Tiri was both terrified and amazed at how an experienced crew performed in a combat operation.

Not long after they arrived on the bridge, there was an explosion against the hull of the ship and a console at the aft of the bridge exploded, sending a crewman reeling from his chair with plasma burns on his face and right arm.

Tiri grabbed an emergency med-kit from near the turbolift doors and ran over to the fallen crewman who was screaming in pain. She knelt down and went to work, administering medical assistance to the injured man.

Just hang on, she told him. This will dull the pain until I can get you to sickbay.

Reepchip froze—he had no assignation, no idea even where to begin. Ryramorl turned to him and barked something in his own language—which apparently meant something like stay with me as in a flash, Reepchip was perched on the bigger Carnora’s shoulders, his long tail wrapped around Ryramorl’s chest.

Right now, Ryramorl was wishing he had worn his battle armour, even though this was just a holosim. He turned to Mayla. Is there an assigned place I must be at, and do you wish me to don my armour, ma’am? he asked. He knew Reepchip could help him with that.

Jahkar stepped in as the Carnora started asking questions. Reepchip, he knew, had no experience aboard a Starfleet ship and Ryramorl hadn’t been on a Federation vessel in years. He’d have to keep them both close by and focused.

Come with me, he told them. We’ll arm ourselves at the weapons locker and prepare to repel boarders.

They then set off for the ship’s armory to suit up for the possible invasion of the ship.

Vala ran from the holodeck the minute Vree gave the order to man the Talon class fighter. There was no guarantee she was going to be needed, but it was always handy to have an extra set of weapons in a fire fight.

She stumbled in the hallway as the ship lurched from another torpedo hit. Vala glanced off the wall but kept her feet under her. Whoever was attacking the Fearless was not holding back. She made it to the launch bay at double time pace. The flight crew already had her ready to go. The back door was open, and the ship was cycling through the startup commands.

Computer, shut the rear hatch and prep for launch. Vala landed in the pilot’s seat with a thump. With long practiced hands, she buckled into the seat. You couldn’t always trust the inertial dampeners in a firefight.

Preet to Bridge. The fighter is manned and ready for launch on your command.

MacLeod’s voice came over the comm. Launch the fighter on the next cycle through the ship’s shield phase modulation.

Acknowledged. When the command came from tactical, she had a three count to get the ship out of the shuttle bay. She passed through the ship’s shields and out into the darkness of space. A Romulan warbird was off to the port side. Its shields were intact, and it was firing rapid bursts of phaser fire.

Vala steered towards the large ship hoping to gain their attention. She dodged through phaser fire and began looking for a tactical advantage. Over the comms, she heard MacLeod giving commands to the Bridge crew while getting reports from Tac 1 and Tac 2. The Warbird was starting to take evasive maneuvers across the battlefield. Its fore shields had dropped to 75 percent.

She locked onto the weakened spot and concentrated her own phaser fire as a slew of quantum torpedo from the Fearless hit the same area of shielding. It flickered for a moment, and Vala took a chance. She steered the fighter right through the gap in the shields. The Talon class fighter made its first past over the Warbird taking aim at the shield generators and a second pass hit the forward phaser banks. With well-practiced moves, she guided the ship back across the bow and out of range. She whizzed past the Fearless, banked, and started another run towards the Warbird.

Shields are down. Came over the comms.

Disable or destroy, Captain? She asked as her fingers flew over the weapon’s console.

MacLeod heard, Shields are down. over his comms. Disable or destroy, Captain? She asked as her fingers flew over the weapon’s console.

Fearless buckled with another heavy barrage of phaser fire, he started to respond, but the Warbird cloaked out of existence.

Dammit you had a chance, now they’ve cloaked! Helm... MacLeod was about to give another order when another Warbird, materialized off of Fearless’ other quarter and unleashed a massive barrage into her stern. The ship shook and rolled partially to one side, sending anyone who wasn’t seated unceremoniously to the floor.

Sir, rear shields are down....

Helm, 120 mark... MacLeod didn’t get the order out before another wash of Romulan disruptor fire shot through the stern of the Fearless. This time even the seated people didn’t remain seated.

Damage report!! MacLeod ordered, thinking These ships are packing even more firepower than a traditional Romulan Warbird.

Sir, they’ve taken out the main warp energizer coupling. We won’t be able to go to warp.

Dammit MacLeod swore again, these ships were packing a heavy punch. Any single Warbird would be a match for Fearless, but two... or were there more?

Evasive, keep our stern away from them. Reinforce shields in that area. Send out a message to any nearby Starfleet vessels that we are under attack.

Aye Aye sir! Seconds ticked by, Sir no Federation ships are closer than 30 minutes away at maximum warp.

We’ll be catfood before they get here. We’re on our own. MacLeod growled, As bloody usual.

Both Daryl and Cody hit the bulkhead hard, but quickly got on their feet again. Daryl cursed under his breathe. He hadn’t quite expected to be.in action this soon. They made their way to deck 12 and armed themselves with handphasers and continued their way to engineering. Another hit, not as heavy as the one before, but bulkhead panels came off the wall due to a series.of explosions and flew through the air in concert with a rain of sparks and glowing plasma. All 3 evaded the panels, but Beckett was hit by.some sparks and.grunted. You ok? Daryl asked as they dashed to the corridor. Yeah, yeah Beckett said in a grimace, his face a fiery red on one side. They reached engineering, where the Chief was yelling commands. The warp core was still intact, but several subsystems were damaged. Two officers were wounded.....

T’Aayla quickly scanned engineering with the practiced eye of someone who had been in a lot of ship to ship actions, her eyes taking in the situation at a glance.

Fearless had been hit and hit hard. The crew were younger and somewhat inexperienced, and she detected the beginning look of fear characteristic of the dawning realization one had when they were in a fight they might not win, and the ramifications of that result.

She also noted that the main warp energizer coupling had been taken offline. Without it, Fearless’s boundless warp energy could not be sent to her warp engines. With the hits they were taking, escape was the prudent choice.

Fearless could put her warp power into the shields and phasers but it was a toe-to-toe slogging match against superior enemy power; one which Fearless was bound to lose. Without maneuverability, it was simple math. She’s understood that there were two D’deridex class warbirds attacking, each of which was a match for Fearless, and she knew Rihansuu never attacked without knowing there was a sure chance of victory.

She suspected there was another ship cloaked, ready to deliver the coup de gras. Fearless was hit with another blast, sending people to the deck and a blast of warp core coolant into engineering.

Warning klaxons sounded, as the deadly gas started to fill engineering. Evacuation was not an option. Fearless would surely die if engineering was evacuated. Crew started running to escape the doors that were slowly starting to close to seal off engineering.

Stand your posts, T’Aayla ordered, hitting the manual closure switch next to the door they had just entered. It sent all the doors down instantaneously in a whoosh. We do not leave. Crew hesitated but given that they were now sealed in engineering with no chance of escape, their resolve hardened, and they remained at their posts.

Thompson, pull the manual shutoff to the warp core coolant, she ordered indicating an area of engineering that had already been flooded with the gas. Masks were no protection since the gas affected every pore on one’s body. Given that Daryl would have to use significant muscle to pull the release manually, she knew he’d be exposed, and her order was a death sentence for him. She only hoped his discipline was enough to follow it. For her part, it took a reserve of nerve to give the order, but there really wasn’t any other chance for Fearless.

Her other decision would also result in a death, but that command was easier, since it would be hers.

Beckett, with me, she yelled as she sprinted toward the warp core energizer coupling chamber. It was of course filled with seeping radiation from the rupture. Beckett might not live long enough inside it to get the coupling replaced, but with her Rihansuu physiology she could. Beckett, activate this control here. She pointed, indicating a manual control on a panel just outside the room. If we can get the mains online, Fearless will have a chance to escape.

You’ll die in there. Beckett shouted.

We’ll all die, if we sit here and slog it out with those Warbirds. I know those ships, I’ve fought them before and I’ve fought on them before. There’s no other choice.

But it’s suicide!

For both of us, but you need to last long enough outside with the gas to activate the controls. I’ll do my part, will you do yours, she asked her eyes boring through him.

When the trio reached a weapons locker, Jahkar and Ryramorl took out phasers, then Ryramorl took an extra one for Reepchip. The three then joined security, many of whom looked nervous. The simple stern presence of Jahkar and Ryramorl—clearly experienced soldiers—bolstered their morale. At any other time, Reepchip’s phaser might have seemed comically large in his paws, but not now, not when all hell was breaking loose.

The new Warbird blasted the Talon-class fighter after it hit Fearless with its opening barrage. The disruptors pounded the smaller ship and buckled her shields, inflicting damage upon her engines. The vessel piloted by Preet tumbled on past the Warbird, which continued to drive straight at the Fearless.

A barrage of plasma torpedoes and disruptor blasts pummeled the Fearless, the hits scoring a direct hit on the ship’s saucer-section. The shields there collapsed and a torpedo slammed into the Fearless’ bridge.

On the bridge, the hit was being reported just as it ripped through the command center of the Sovereign-class vessel. The main viewscreen and the bulkhead around it suddenly disappeared, blowing outward into space. Several bridge crew members were sucked out with the explosion, as well as the man seated in the captain’s chair.

Vree and Sh’avelith were looking as the hull breach occurred and both watched MacLeod yanked out of his chair as he was blown into space. Sh’avelith lost her grip too and was pulled along with the crewman she’d been treating, and both were hurled at the void into space.

The crewman cleared the breach and was thrown into the vacuum, but by some miracle Sh’avelith slammed into the forcefield that fortunately descended over the massive hole in the bridge.

Right after the Andorian fell to the deck with a thud, the officer at the tactical station, looked around frantically and yelled out his report, Hull breach, bridge! Shields failing! The Warbird is coming back around for another pass!

With MacLeod gone and Commander Alantris, his second-in-command, absent from the bridge, the eyes of the remaining crew members fell upon Mayla Vree.