Strangeness by starlight

 ''Bridge, this is transporter room 1. We're about to beam over there in... thirty seconds... mark. Link your viewscreen with our combadges and you will be able to assist in real time to our boarding operation. We will beam directly to the bridge of the Artemis. Ready in 10.''

Terix tapped the console on the command chair and the computer confirmed that the viewer was now reading the com badges of Sangliar and Snow.

"Aye Sir," Terix relied to the disembodied command "The computer confirms it is reading data from your combadges...Sir, can I safely assume you do have phasers with you? That may look like the Artemis, but it is still an unknown."

''Glad you remember standard protocol for beaming into a hazardous area, Cadet, '' came back the gruff voice of the Tellarite. ''And we are wearing the armored type of spacesuits as both hostile forces and conditions may be present in an unscanned area yeah yeah. Hope you' ll be as sollicitous with the Alsea while we go on our fun stroll. Energizing.''

A few seconds later, the holographic android at ops reported.

''Transport complete. They have remateriallized safely on the bridge of the...''

And as he spoke, the image of the Artemis on the screen flickered, wavered and disappeared... only to be replaced a moment later by an enormous green and gold shape at least twice as big, stunted warp engines linked by a massive ovoid empty structure ending with a gigantic prow looking eerily like the head of a titanic hawk, energy canons blazing red hot.

''Romulan Warbird Sir, D'Deridex class!'' shouted Hansen almost jumping out of his chair.

"Red Alert!" Terix ordered as calmly as he could though the sight of one of the symbols of fear of the Romulan Empire filled him with a sense of dread. As alarm klaxons began blaring through the Alsea he followed up with further orders "Gunner, Shields up, charge weapons and someone get me an open channel."

Gunner had the shields up and a weapons lock before she could finish her order.

Sabrina was continuing to scan the vessel when it suddenly transformed into the Romulan warship.

“Someone is toying with us,” she noted suspiciously as she quickly opened a channel as requested.

“Channel open,” she announced as she tried to confirm the authenticity of what they were seeing.

“Something about this is just not adding up,” she added apprehensively. “It seems like someone is engaging us in some sort of game of cat and mouse or a shell game.”

She looked over at Gunner.

“I hope that your targeting and firing skills are honed to perfection!”

“I do not miss.” Gunner resonded.

Terix stood from the center seat and tried to adopt an authoritative posture

"Unknown vessel, this is Terix in command of the Federation Starship USS Alsea, we are on a mission of peaceful exploration. Identify yourself and state your intention." 

He turned to Sabrina "Any new readings on that thing? Are they using a holo-emitter perhaps?"

The Romulan stared back at the viewer, waited to see if he would get a response, and hoped that his message sounded as good out loud as it had in his head.

Try as she may, Sabrina could not obtain readings on the imposing vessel which occupied the space where the USS Artemis had initially appeared.

“They seem to be hiding something because our scans are being deflected or nullified. I cannot even register the bio signs of Lieutenant Commander Sangliar or Lieutenant Snow.”

She tried again just focusing on the biosigns and then searched for any infrared signatures. The results were negative. She contemplated the situation further, striving to uncover some answers.

“What I do know is that our officers didn’t transport into the void of space. If that occurred, we would readily detect their bodies. Is this ship merely a projection from a holo-emitter? I would estimate not, although it could be projecting a façade of the actual vessel.“

After a moment, she offered “Perhaps we could adjust our main deflector dish to emit an anti-photon pulse.  This could potentially destabilize any holographic projection.”

Terix looked at the viewer and then back at Sabrina "Will it have any effect on Commander Sangliar and the Lieutenant?"

Sabrina contemplated possible ramifications of her proposal for a moment before responding.

“I cannot guarantee if there would or wouldn’t be reaction from the ship or anyone on board but operating on a triaxilating frequency bandwidth, the pulse should only shut down any heavily armored holo-emitter. It should be able to do this without damaging the program it was projecting.  However, as a precaution, I would recommend sending only a brief burst for a few seconds to avoid any danger of some sort of a feedback surge in retaliation.”

“Tactical scans are all over the place.” Gunner reported.

As the ominious warship loomed closer on the viewer, they started noticing that the hull was scorched and marked by what obviously were the remants of phaser fire and quantum torpedo detonations against partially depleted shields. Several hull breaches were visible and the warp nacelles, although more or less intact, looked inoperative. The torpedo tubes appeared also intact but no telltale glow of a plasma warhead about to emerge could be seen; and only half of the disruptors looked operational. But they were all glowing red hot.

“Sensors detect no torpedoes and I am only showing energy readings from half the ship’s disruptor banks” Gunner continued his report.

On the speakers came a static filled signal through which a voice could barely be heard but not understood. It did however sound quite angry.

"What was that?" Terix asked trying to process what he'd heard  "Can we clean that up at all?" He took at step toward the viewer scanning with his eyes the image of the warbird as if it would give him some sudden insight then he looked at Sabrina again "We need to know what we are dealing with...clearly it is not the Artemis and it very likely is not a Romulan warbird either. Prepare the anti-photon pulse, and let me know when you are ready." 

He then turned and walked back to the command chair and seated himself again using its arm rest console to verify that the communication channel was still open.

"Unknown vessel, this is the USS Alsea. Your message was received but we cannot understand you, please transmit your message again." 

He then tapped his combage "Alsea to away team, Commander Sangliar can you hear me?" 

Modifying the deflector dish remotely with only silence emanating throughout the bridge in response to the hail, Sabrina carefully reconfigured the output frequency to a three second anti-photon pulse aimed at the center hull of the mysterious vessel.

“Ready to fire the pulse at your command,” she confirmed with a finger hovering over the control as she gazed at the main screen and waited for the order to be given.

Terix heard Sabrina's ready report on the deflector pulse and did not immediately respond. Both in his past and at the Academy he had learned that every action has a reaction. What would the reaction be if he gave the order? Would the unknown vessel fire on the Alsea? Would he put Commander Sangliar and Lieutenant Snow at risk? Could he justify potentially endangering them? All these questions flashed through his head in a matter of a few seconds. In the end he put his trust in Shadowhunt's ability...

"Fire the pulse." 

Acknowledging the order, Sabrina engaged the digital button on her console and released a three second anti-photon pulse directly toward the enigmatic ship.

A white flash of rippling light traveled like a cloud of stardust straight at the bow of the massive vessel. It's glow spread like a splash of moonlit water all across the bris-like front to cover the entire gigantic structure, then dissipated.

The Romulan warbird still loomed, dark and menacing before their eyes.

And then, the static screeched again through the speakers but this time, an angry male voice was heard.

''Kxzzt-zzzt... vessel, this xzzzziit...xzzmiral Surol  xzz...zzziiitt IRW Terix! This xziit... zzziit kxzit... Warning! Clear this area or xzziiitt-ziiitt... ziittt destroyed!''

Terix, though disappointed by the failure of the deflector pulse to uncover what he was sure was a ruse meant to fool them, remained seated in the command chair and tried not allow that disappointment to read on his face. Despite the message he still did not believe they were actually looking at a Romulan warbird given that they had previously been looking at the USS Artemis. He addressed his fellow cadets on the bridge

"I don't know about the rest of you, but despite our pulse revealing nothing I am disinclined to believe that we are really looking at a Romulan warbird. However, let's say for a moment that they are who they claim to be. They are well into Federation space so they are not in a position to make demands, and judging from the condition of their ship they are in no condition to pick a fight with us. We also know that the commander and Lieutenant Snow are on that vessel somewhere even if the Romulans do not.

While I am in command per Commander Sangliar's order, we are in this together. Give me your opinions on the situation, and any suggestions you may have."

 "Cade, er... Captain? If I heard that transmission right, I believe the Terix was the warbird that confronted Captain Picard of the Enterprise D some 35 years ago or so? I think?"

 Giving a thought to his academy history courses, Hanson continued cautiously.

"Something about a 'winged horse'? Ahah! Pegasus I believe!"

"Hmm..." Terix stroked his chin in thought "I do not recall that incident. Computer: access Starfleet records regarding an encounter by the USS Enterprise-D and the IRW Terix."

"Encounter ocurred on Stardate 47457.1 in the Devolin System." The disembodied female voice replied.

"Elaborate," Terix demanded "What was the nature of the incident." 

"As logged by Captain Jean-Luc Picard  IRW Terix attempted to trap USS Enterprise-D within a large asteroid while the Enterprise was searching for the remains of the USS Pegasus presumed lost within." 

"Was there a battle between the two vessels?" 

"Negative, ship's logs show no weapons fire was exchanged." 

Terix only had more questions after this revelation and he looked at Hanson and then the rest of the bridge crew in turn. "It appears your memory was correct Mister Hanson. So, are we looking at a ship out of time or the same warbird 35 years later, and why did it appear to be the Artemis when we first encountered it?"

While continuing to hold station and maintain the ordered distance to the strange ship before them, Lep was struck by a sudden revelation. Turning slightly in his seat, Hanson addressed his thought to his fellow cadet.

"Sir, you are aware you share the same name as this supposed D'Deridex?"

 Not wishing to sound suspicious, but still with some trepidation in his voice, Hansen continued.

"Is there some significance to this shared Terix name that you may be aware of?"

The Romulan fixed his sight on the helmsman and raised a very Vulcan-like eyebrow before responding.

"Not that I am aware of. I can tell you that Terix is also the name of a star system in the old Romulan Empire. Unfortunately asking my parents isn't an option, they died on Romulus along with their Empire." Disdain crept into Terix voice as he uttered the last words conveying exactly what he thought of the Romulan Star Empire. He paused a moment in thought and then continued:

"There may yet be something in your question Mister Hanson. The vessel appeared to be the USS Artemis when we first encountered it, but then it....changed...and now identifies itself an old Romulan vessel that attempted to intimidate the USS Enterprise and happens to share my name. Perhaps whatever is over there is simply trying to intimidate us. I still do not believe that is really a warbird. If it were, with no cloak engaged we should be able to get sensor readings from its singularity drive at the very least. Cadet Shadowhunt believes someone is toying with us...I am starting to think that perhaps someone doesn't want us here, but that does not explain why we were able to detect a Federation disaster beacon which brought us here in the first place."

As they pondered on the situation, they could see all intact disruptors suddenly go red hot. But just as they fired, the entire ship's image wobbled and faded. In a strange rippling of stars, the whole gigantic warship simply disappeared.

In it's place floated the apparently dead USS Artemis.

''I... I have re-established contact with Commander Sangliar and Lieutenant Snow, '' the holographic betazoid counselor announced in the stunned silence. ''I am receiving their signal... but neither is responding. But I can activate their suit's audiovid system from here.''

"Do It," Terix ordered still trying to process the fact that the vessel had changed shape yet again "We need whatever information we can find, and keep trying to hail them." He turned from the counselor and addressed both Sabrina and Gunner

"Miss Shadowhunt, Gunner, anything on sensors after the shift?"

“This does not make any sense” Gunner said aloud to himself.

“Captain the Artemis registers disruptor and plasma signatures on its hull, and I am detecting active phaser banks with approximately twenty five percent of its torpedoes left”

Gunner worked the tactical sensors before continuing.

“There is one other connection Captain.”

Gunner gestured towards the Artemis on the view screen.

“Initial scans of the Romulan ship registered within all parameters of an old design which had been retrofitted with modern tech, early 25^th century it appeared. This is the same time period and updates the Artemis has.”

“Their respective battle wounds are also similar.” Gunner said as he concluded his report.

"You're right," Terix agreed "That doesn't make any sense." 

Working through the conflicting data and lack of confirmed information at the science station as their discussion volleyed back and forth, Sabrina felt like a carpenter trying to build a foundation on shifting sand. She brought her thoughts back to the beginning of this enigma they were juggling.

“Transponder codes are normally only transmitted over subspace in code,” she noted out loud, referring to the initial signals received. “Upon entering this area of space, we witnessed a shift in positioning of the stars which indicated that we were peering through some sort of portal into another century. Then we witnessed two ancient ships appearing and being replaced by one another. According to scans taken during these transitions, each time a ship appeared then disappeared, there was an accompanying surge of decaying chronitons along with several parameters that existed and would register with the Azimuth Horizon anomaly prior to a surge.”

Her eyes widened with a possible realization.

“Initially I thought that we may have been placed in some malevolent cosmic game of cat and mouse with Romulans or some other species. Eyeing these events with the two ships reflectively, the Azimuth Horizon's effects were distributed along multiple subspace frequencies as well. This caused tendrils of it to drop out into normal space intermittently and at seemingly random intervals. There existed the tell-tale signs of a strong presence of chronitons and nucleons without registering electrons nor gravitons.”

Sabrina paused for a moment trying to assemble how to convey her concern.

“Since we are registering signs that subspace is beginning to fracture and widens each time a ship appears or disappears, we may have to accept the possibility that elements of the Azimuth Horizon we thought were contained may be trying to tear its way back into our spacetime once again. If so, we may need to follow the procedures that the actual Artemis and other federations ships employed to seal up this rift as swiftly as possible… before this small-scale tear rips deeper and wider into our spacetime!”

As they were pondering what they had discovered, the holographic counselor nodded to Terix then to the main viewer.

''Connection established, Sir. Lieutenant Snow's emitter only shows a dark soundless image. Commander Sangliar's is just as silent but there is a clear transmission.''

The image of the battered USS Artemis shifted to that of an old style Ambassador class bridge, but definitely redesigned with consoles just like those of the Alsea; complete with added XO and CMO chairs that never existed on this design, not before Lotus Fleet got custody of the legendary Stalwart Guardian of the Federation. The view was fixed and strangely contorted, as if the holocamera was propped at an angle and jammed there, like against the forward bulkhead of the bridge were their own mainscreen was. But what was visible was clear despite some remnant of fumes lingering throughout, coming from burnt marks here and there and fuming consoles. Lighting was on emergency lights, giving the whole scene a ghastly ambience.

Closest to the camera was Lieutenant Snow, face first on the ground and unmoving. She was prone before a dual console for helm and ops, as in the old days of Starfleet ship design despite the definite state of the art look of it. In the seats was on one side a copper-skinned human with a facial tatoo, in the other an orange-skinned six limbed Edoan. There was another human in the XO seat, Caucasian, and a snow-white skinned female Andorian, an Aenar, in the CMO chair. On her left was another Caucasian male sprawled at the engineering station. To the right of the XO, a bearded Vulcan had fallen under the science station, while up and behind the center seat had fallen across the tactical console an Andorian female of impressive size. Another Andorian, this one almost indigo in color with an atypical muscular physique and a scarred brow, was lying in the captain's chair.

They were all wearing current Starfleet uniforms, Lotus Fleet uniforms; all injured, all unconscious; just like Snow and, obviously, Sangliar.

 

Terix looked at the images on the view screen incredulous as to what he was seeing. He stared for a long moment at the video feed, unable to speak. The aura of the emergency lighting and the inert forms had shaken the Romulan visibly. Then there was the fact he was clearly looking at the inert forms of the legendary crew of the Artemis, something that should not be possible. Finally after a long minute he spoke, but some of the reknowned Romulan confidence was clearly gone from his voice. 

"We have to get them out of there, can we get a transporter lock on them?" 

To assist in the possibility of retrieving their lost officers, Sabrina worked diligently to home in on their faint bio signals. Whether the transporters could maintain a viable lock on their unconscious bodies long enough to capture them and beam them back to the Alsea given the interference occurring in and around that unstable rift was another issue in itself.

“I have a lock on Lieutenant Snow and Lieutenant Commander Sangliar,” she announced with urgency. Then she obtained a fluctuating lock on the bridge crew of the Artemis.

“I am certain that protocols regarding the Department of Temporal Investigations would prevent us from retrieving the remaining bridge officers of that ship. Nevertheless, I am informing you that we have a momentary lock on them as well.”

She looked intently at the Romulan sitting anxiously in the center seat and conveyed in her urgent gaze that this was likely a very brief window of opportunity to act on anyone’s return.

Terix nodded at Sabrina acknowledging that she was right "Beam the Commander and Lieutenant Snow directly to Sickbay. Do not transport the Artemis crew. You are right, we cannot interfere in their timeline." 

The Romulan then addressed the Alsea's computer "Computer, activate Emergency Medical Hologram in Sickbay." 

"EMH active," 

"Bridge to Sickbay, prepare to receive two casualties with unknown injuries." 

"and just how am I supposed to do that with no medical staff?" came the incredulous reply.

"You will have to make do. We have two injured officers and are beaming them directly to Sickbay. Bridge out." 

Terix cut the comm channel "holograms..." he muttered before returning his focus to the situation at hand "tell me when you have them," 

Lep stared incredulously at the scene depicted on the view screen, not really hearing the talk between Terix and Sabrina; Until the acting Captain's statement: 'Do not transport the Artemis crew.' As Terix cut the comm channel to sickbay, Hanson swiveled in his chair slightly to face Terix.

 "Sir, wait! You cannot be really leaving that crew there!"

Once again Terix raised an eyebrow at the helmsman and tried to keep his tone even while speaking with authority "Mister Hanson, as Cadet Shadowhunt correctly pointed out Starfleet temporal directives forbid us from interfering in another timeline." He pointed at the view screen "That Artemis, and that crew do not belong here. In fact, Lotus Fleet records show them all alive and well and assigned to other Lotus Fleet vessels. Removing them from that ship here and now could have disastrous consequences. While I understand your concern, my order stands.Cadet Shadowhunt, beam our officers and only our officers off that bridge." 

A signal soon came back from the intraship comm channel.
''Sickbay here; I have them both, bridge. Preliminary examination show systemic shock to the central nervous system, light cranial thrauma from a short fall and heavy chroniton contamination on their suits. The state they are in, I can treat the cranial damage easily enough, but use of stimulants to revive them could prove detrimental if not fatal. I can only pu them under observation until they come out of it on their own. Estimate time of recovery, four point seven hours for the commander and five point three hours for the lieutenant.''

 The voice of the holographic counselor on his right cut through the tense silence.
''Sir, if we are facing a temporal situation, records and directives about temporal incursions and accidents are under security level 10.  May I remind you that, at this moment, you are captain of this ship. This means that you currently have level 10 security clearance... as long as Commander Sangliar or Lieutenant Snow are not back on board... or are still unwilling or unable to resume command.''

Terix looked at the holographic Betazoid for a long moment as the implication of what she was stating began to sink in with the Romulan cadet. He, Terix, a Starfleet cadet and a Romulan to boot now had full access to everything that Starfleet captains did regarding this situation as well as any other temporal or other matters classified to that level. Terix suspected that Starfleet did not have this situation in mind when they wrote those rules, but it didn't really matter. Until Sangliar or Snow regained consciousness he effectively held the rank of captain. Terix then realized that he needed to respond to the doctor before he addressed the temporal situation.

"Bridge to Sickbay, acknowledged doctor, treat them as you see fit. If they regain consciousness notify me immediately." He looked back at the holographic counselor "Counselor...do current Starfleet temporal directives allow discussion of past incidents among the senior staff of a starship? In short, what information am I permitted to review while on the bridge." 

''That is the commanding officer's prerogative, Sir,'' the holographic Betazoid answered. ''The commanding officer will be held responsible afterwards of the consequences of divulging said information... for good or ill.''

The android mock-up sitting at ops turned around to address Terix.

''May I suggest standard procedure, Sir . You may use the privacy of the ready room to first review any data you deem relevant to fulfill your duties, then decide if and what information should be shared with appropriate personel.''

Sabrina listened to the discussion as she continued monitoring the vacillating space around their vessel. With both Sangliar and Snow medically incapacitated for at least five hours, it would be up to her fellow cadets and holograms to resume resolving their current dilemma. Hearing that they could possibly be briefed on classified information was intriguing, but more importantly, it could provide additional insight into settling their current situation. She returned her attention to the center seat as Terix was awaiting a response from the holographic counselor.

“Pardon the interruption, but now that we have retrieved our officers, I recommend that we put some distance between ourselves and that rift while we decide our next course of action. Additionally, I would also advise that we consider sealing up that gash in space before it can potentially increase in magnitude and lethality.” 

Terix acknowledged Sabrina "That is a good idea. What is the minimum distance we can be at and still direct the appropriate deflector pulse at the rift?" 

Sabrina considered the inquiry for a few moments as she studied the anomalous rift and the fluctuating readings. She then turned her attention to Terix.

“I would estimate that using minimal impulse power, we could we run a course parallel to the rift at a distance of approximately eight point seven kilometers from the opening. We could activate the deflector to emit inverted ionic pulses at the base of the tear followed by low intensity yet sustained, pinpointed phaser fire to close up the subspace gap… similar to suturing a wound. In addition, I would recommend we have shields at full capacity and warp drive ready to immediately implement should a negative reaction begin to occur.”

Terix frowned "That would be a problem...we still have no warp drive." He had been so concerned with the fissure, Lieutenant Snow, and Commander Sangliar that he'd almost forgotten about their dilithium problem until Shadowhunt had mentioned the warp drive. "Mister Hanson, establish the parallel course recommended by Miss Shadowhunt." Terix then tapped his combadge "Bridge to Engineering, what is the status of our dilthium and warp drive?"

''Not good, bridge,'' came the audio response. ''Unless we find some fresh dilithium cristals, there will be no possibility to replace them while we remain in the zone of influence of this... phenomena. Furthermore, there is a small but noticeable drain in all our power reserves. We will not be able to use all systems at the same time at full capacity.''

 Lep acknowledged Terix's order with a curt nod while swiveling his chair back to face the helm console.

 "Parallel course to rift, aye!"

As the ponderous ship tilted back and away from the rift the image on the main view screen shifted downward and slewed to the right momentarily. As Hanson realigned the Alsea to again face the imaged Artemis, allowing the Alsea's main deflector to line up with the rift again, he informed the bridge of their new position.

 "Thrusters at station keeping. Eight thousand seven hundred meters, mark!"

Sabrina kept her eyes focused on her console readings yet gazed up for a moment as she spoke.

“Deflector dish configured and ready to emit inverted ionic pulses at your command.” 

"Hold," Terix said firmly to Shadowhunt and then he addressed the engineering team again "Engineering, I know it is possible to re-crystalize dilithium while still in the core. Have you exhausted all possible methods of doing this? Additionally have you checked the crystals in our micro cores? Did they suffer the same symptom as the main core? We are facing what appears to be an Azimuth Horizon rift and need to attempt to seal it. If something goes wrong, we need to be able to move...quickly." 

 

''Forget about it, Sir, '' came back the voice of the noncom. '' As I reported earlier, the decristalization occured within the articulation frame. Recristalization is an automated procedure in modern warp cores and is heavily shielded. It should not have happened; yet, it did. And yes, that means all controlled antimatter reactions on board; including shuttles. We even tried to do it in a confined lab; no go. It's not a malfunction nor a punctued effect. Somehow, the laws of physics are screwed around here. If this is an Azimtuh Horizon effect as you say, then it all adds up. And it means impulse power only, thanks to the Sangliar drive we have. Even batteries will be drained in... five hours, unless we leave this area.''

He was still speaking when the presence of the USS Artemis was again replaced by that of the IRW Terix. The moment it appeared, a blinding white pulse flashed from it's bridlike forward hull. When their vision and the image cleared, it was nowhere to be seen. The Artemis had not reappeared.

''Anti-tachyon pulse, Sir, '' reported the facsimele ops officer with the yellow eyes. '' Our deflector dish is offline. They nullified our capability to navigate safely beyond thruster speed and to locate them while under cloak... and in the process, also science's attempt to close the rift.'' 

"Ilhusra.." Terix said under his breath cursing in his native language and then he was silent for a moment as he began recalling his research on the Azimuth Horizon prior to their departure from Starbase Lotus. "We will have to use phasers then," he said definitively when he spoke again to the general group. "The U.S.S. Voyager used sustained phaser fire to close a subspace rift. Since our deflector is inoperative we will have to do the same. If this anomaly is part of the Azimuth Horizon phenomenon as we hypothesize our thrusters should then be enough to carry us out of the area. Shadowhunt, Gunner, check my data please. Verify whether I am correct or not and advise if you agree with this course of action."

An imperceptible sigh escaped from Sabrina before she responded. Their hesitation to initiate the closing of the fissure prior to the latest assault from the cloaked vessel not only limited their operation but also their ability to maneuver.

“Effects from that rift are going to escalate until we nullify that fracture in space,” she offered as calmly yet affirmatively as she could muster. “The suturing may not be as surgically precise as we initially intended, but if we don’t close that wound promptly, we will reach a point where we will be unable to doing anything to curtail its influences on our systems and ultimately our lives.”

The alarm from tactical could be heard across the bridge. Looking at tactical Gunner noted the all to familiar sound of incoming energy sources.

“Reading an energy surge directly aft of the shift. Possible incoming torpedo” Gunner exclaimed.

“Sir, if that energy reading is a photon torpedo heading towards us, we must disperse its concentrated energy before it impacts our vessel! We will also need to reroute all energy reserves into aft shielding in an attempt to disperse the force of the remaining effects,” Sabrina submitted with composure as she scanned to confirm the energy source.

“Shields are up and reserve transfer ready” Gunner responded.

As Sabrina worked her console, she continued thinking ahead.

“In addition, if we survive this encounter, I recommend that we shift into multi-vector assault mode, allowing use to transition into three moving targets rather than a relatively stationary one. Also, with the level of automation available, combined with our advanced tactical systems, regenerative shielding, ablative hull armor, phasers, and photon torpedoes, its not like we would be throwing women and children per se into helpless life rafts.”

Gunner heard the words he had been waiting for since this mission started. His Klingon blood warmed at the thought of a real fight.

“With the updates I made to targeting and tactical sensors our scanning and science capabilities would not be hampered by the multi vector attack mode. It would give us a significant tactical advantage to our current situation.”

Pausing for a moment Gunner thought about the others onboard.

“Of course, it would also give the best chance of survival for those of us who would not be joining the fight.”

Gunner worked the tactical controls preparing for the activation of multi vector mode.

 Hansen tensed somewhat in his chair at conn as the warning alarm intruded across the bridge. Checking his console he noted the station keeping mode was performing perfunctorily, keeping the eighty-seven hundrd meters from the rift. But also noted the sudden powering up of the PEl early warning system as Sabrina and Gunner informed the bridge crew of their ideas. The PEL early autowarning system was designed to automatically take control of the Alsea's helm and implement emergency evasive maneuvers when a serious threat was detected. With a raised voice to cut over the talk, Lep cut in behind tacticals last sentence.

"Sir! PEL automated systems overide! Brace yourselves!"

 Abruptly, the Alsea moved under its own automatically generated command.

Terix hardly had time to process, let alone respond, to the information rapidly coming from Shadowhunt and Gunner before the Alsea's PEL drive shifted the starship away from the danger of the energy surge. The Romulan gripped the arm rests of the command chair as the warship shuddered for what was a very long moment and then again came to rest. Thanks to the ingenious personal inertial dampeners implemented first within Lotus Fleet and then throughout Starfleet the four cadets on the bridge weren't too much worse for the wear. 

"Damage report," he said as evenly  as he could after the computer returned control of the ship to the bridge consoles.

''Minor power drop on aft ventral shield, temporary power surge from the lower hull EPS conduits; rerouting to diffuse,'' came the reply from engineering.

''That was not a torpedo, Sir, '' the holographic android at ops reported. ''That was...''

On the screen, what had caused the power surge filled almost their entire field of vision; the green and gold curves of the Romulan D'Deridex merely a few hundred meters away from them.

''The Terix, Sir, '' analysed without emotion the artificial ops officer. ''It tried to ram us while cloaked. it is out of the anomaly.''

Then it became evident to all why the D'Deridex warship had dropped it's camouflage. Haltf of it's disruptor ports, those not blackened by slag, were glowing brighter. 

but it was not turning towards the Alsea. It was turning the other way, towards the inert mass that once again coalesced inside the subspace anomaly.

The Artemis.

Terix, the Romulan cadet in command of the Alsea fixed his eyes on Terix the ship. He knew that they could not let Romulan vessel destroy the disabled Artemis. He knew that the Artemis crew survived its time in the Azimuth Horizon and its officers continued to serve Lotus Fleet in the present. Terix also knew from the scientific data that he couldn't use the full complement of the Alsea's weaponry, it would be up to the half Klingon cadet at tactical to stop the warbird.

"Gunner, we cannot allow them to attack the Artemis. Target the Romulan's weapons and fire, phasers only. If you fire a torpedo near this anomaly we will all die. Mister Hanson, do what you can to put us between the warbird and the Artemis. That ship cannot be destroyed here."

Hanson attempted to swallow the rising trepidation in his throat and, reluctantly, started inputing commands into the helm controls. With only a quick upward glance to the Romulan ship, Lep merely stated the, to him, absolute certainty of the acting captain's order to intersperse the Alsea' bulk between the two behemoths.

"Aye Sir. Painting a target on our back Sir!"

 The Alsea swung under full thruster's, swinging quickly around her axis' to thrust forward and within seconds was pushing her nose into the intervening space between the Artemis and Terix. Lep applied full reverse thrusters against the massive forward momentum he had initiated to reach the focal point amidst the pair of outside ships. As the Alsea braked hard, Lep also rotated the ship to bring her ventral shields facing the D'Deridex, protecting their bridge from any possible disruptor fire from the Romulan antagonist.

And not a second too soon. 

The Alsea received the full brunt of the disruptor volley. On the shieldless Artemis, with it's crew out cold, it would have meant instant obliteration.

The ship rocked as each disruptor blast shook the shields. Using the strength in his shoulders Gunner held his position at tactical and scanned the warbird. The heat resonating from her disruptors was all the lock he needed. Not to mention in those few seconds directly following their use is when each weapon was at its weakest.

“Fire”

With the speed of a Klingon warrior Gunner ran through tactical controls and fired rotating blasts from every phaser bank. The hum of the phasers filled the bridge as the viewscreen showed the familiar orange glow striking the Romulan target. One by one the remaining disruptor banks exploded into small flashes of fire before being snuffed out by the vacuum of space. In only a matter of seconds the D'Deridex sat smoking and charred worse than before, but unable to fire another shot.

“All weapons disabled sir.” Gunner reported.

While peace is always the way a part of Gunner hoped for an order to keep firing, but the mystery of what happened was greater. The warrior in him wanted to see this through.

“Target still locked sir, and awaiting your command.”

Terix observed the efficiency of the tactical cadet with a quiet admiration, Gunner was as good as his name suggested. He observed the smoking warbird on the Alsea's view screen "Not so mighty now are we.."  he thought.  The part of him that seethed with hatred of the Romulan Empire wanted nothing more than to tell Gunner to finish the job. He wanted to tell the half Klingon to let loose the full fire of the Prometheus Class warship's batteries and reduce the D'deridex to slag. He was enraged at the carelessness of the Romulan commander engaging in a firefight this close to an anomaly that could destroy them all and his rage extended even further by the cowardice of this fvai attacking an obviously disabled enemy. Terix knew that Gunner would want to finish the fight as well, but as he had learned on Earth, no matter what the Imperial propaganda said; that was not Starfleet. Starfleet believed in holding their officers to a higher standard, that destroying a disabled enemy and taking lives was a last resort even when that enemy attacked you first. If Terix were a Romulan commander he would be expected to destroy his enemy and ensure there were no survivors, but despite sharing their blood, and even their upbringing; he was not like them and so he stood. 

"Counselor, open a channel." He turned and faced Gunner "If that ship so much as twitches send them to Gre'thor." 

Gunner nodded with a warrior's smile.

"Channel open," the holographic Betazoid responded "but I cannot guarantee they can hear you." 

"Romulan commander, this is the USS Alsea, you have committed an act of war. Stand down immediately and vacate Federation space. If you attempt to resume your attack or make any other offensive movement we will continue to defend ourselves. Do not be foolish Commander, be Rihannsu and save your honor while you can." 

There was only static and screeching sounds from the speakers as they watched the D'Deridex majestically continue on it's trajectory, drifting like a galley now without oars, warp nacelles and impulse exhaust glows growing fainter. There were clearly less lights doting it's green-plated hull than before and many more were flickering out. Then, from several open bays, a swarm of flying objets flew out towards the Alsea. No scanners were needed to identify them; they were all workbees and shuttles. There were even very tiny objects that could only be thruster suits, coming out from various airlocks along the massive hull.

Something screched again in the comm speakers but nothing could be made out.