PLOT - JDL| Com Ivanova, CMDR Dahe'el, CAPT Neyes, CMDR Neyes, Ael'Riov Tr'Bak - "Flight of the Valkyries pt II"

Posted on 241511.23 @ 6:43pm by Commodore Rochelle Ivanova

Ten minutes passed like ten seconds - a blink of an eye and it had gone just as quickly as it had been granted. Of course it had been ten minutes spent arguing over the merits of following her orders regardless of friendship and relationship status. The end result was nothing more, or less, than an irritated, blustery, red faced Commodore stealing herself away as the announcement came that they were being hailed by Tr'Bak yet again.

"Do you have everything you need in order, Commodore? Your Civilians all tucked safely away?" The grinning jackal of a Romulan queried, still perched in his throne and holding what was obviously a brand new snifter of blue ale. "Or do you need more time?" His eyebrows actually furrowed then in a brief display of what appeared to be genuine concern.

Rochelle released a heavy sigh and nodded, "All non-essential personnel aboard the Vindicator have been successfully evacuated and it appears we're a safe enough distance away from Apsha that there's no threat to life on the surface... At least from us." She replied straight laced as possible. No longer did there lilt any form of goading or harassment - that had long been replaced by the sharp iron of her proverbial 'game face'. War, and death for that matter, had never been a laughing matter and this... This was a game where the players played for keeps; all or nothing.

"You know, Rochelle, it doesn't have to come to this," The Romulan shifted in his seat, "Just surrender your beloved little Captain Neyes so he can stand trial for his crimes against the RSE, and I'll see to it that it's a fair trial." He drawled, circling his wrist and sending the liquid in his glass spinning within its confines, "After all, we aren't as primitive as the Cardassians." He chuckled.

The Commodore shook her head, "We're in Stenellian Ascendancy controlled space, Tr'Bak. I'm not inclined to uphold your demands or laws, nor are you allowed to try and flex them. We both know that any trial would have to be conducted by the Ascendancy and so far we have yet to hear a peep from them regarding discomfort or a demand for Neyes." It was her turn to smile, albeit briefly, "So you're very correct that this doesn't have to come down to blows. You can turn around, leave, nurse your singed sense of pride, and be done with it." She shrugged.

Both ships sat bow to bow, weapons hot, shields raised, and primed for battle. Each Captain was not unlike one of the great Khans of old sat mounted astride their prized war ponies, flexing their muscles, and discussing terms that would hopefully offset the bloodshed they each knew would come. Behind them would sit heavily clad armies waiting for them to come apart, waiting for the call to charge headlong into ruthless battle. Rochelle knew it, could sense it - it tingled at the base of her spine and sent cold waves of anxiety surging along every nerve ending in her body. It was an all too familiar feeling, one she both loathed and relished.

Tr'Bak's head shook, "I must warn you, Rochelle, this is not what you want," He began with a sigh, "And believe me," His eyebrows rose as he spoke, and his forehead wrinkled slightly, "this is not what I want. There's no way that the Vindicator would survive this."

Her head dipped in acknowledgment of the truths the Ael'Riov spoke, "So be it. Fortune favors the bold, Tr'Bak, not those who cower from a fight." She replied, finally lifting her gaze back to his with a shake of her head and the slightest of smiles, "and I am not afraid of you or death, especially if it comes by way of standing my ground and upholding my convictions. Anything less would be immoral."

Tr’bak wouldn’t get the chance to respond. Whatever words he may have had coiled upon his tongue in retort, would be left silent as his ship rocked and klaxons blared in response to a blow delivered by a vessel other than the Vindicator. The scene displayed across the view screen left Rochelle wide eyed in both confusion and shock as she watched the Ael’Riov’s glass tumble from his hand and his expression turn from relative boredom to sheer anger at the drop of a proverbial hat.

Shock ran through the Cardassian as he gripped the edge of his chair in anticipation of what was to come, "Enterprise has opened fire on Tr'Bak's ship!" he exclaimed as the information flowed in through his console.

“Son of a bitch! I told them to stand down!” The little redhead bellowed, watching as three more signatures showed up on screen; Enterprise and two additional Mogai – one of which that appeared as if from a delirious dream. It opened fire without a single order from the Ael’Riov, sending the Vindicator, and the Enterprise, rocking as their volley hit without much warning. Rochelle’s jaw clenched as anger joined anxiety, burning and searing through her veins – but this time it was reserved for Captain Karim Dhej and not the Romulan that stared back at her.

"Shields to full, return fire!" Almar called out as the bridge sunk into a darkness bought on by the deep red hues of the alarm systems.

Green bolts of fire and destruction ripped across the fluid matrix of shielding protecting the thick hull of the Vindicator. Their pulsing bursts of energy dispatched in a flash as they pounded against the protective barrier. Each second brought more and more of them as the Romulan ships began to open fire with vicious intensity. As the engines of the Vindicator flared to life to give her more tactical maneuverability, ports opened on her bulkheads and armor to reveal additional turrets and launchers.

From across the screen, the shivering image of the Romulan Ael’Riov studying his now empty and broken ale snifter was one most chilling. His eerily calm demeanor left Rochelle with a feeling of unease – especially when the emerald of his eyes rolled in their sockets to meet the ice of her own and his lips curled in what could only be described as a sardonic little smile. “Oh what a tangled web we weave.” He practically hummed with a shake of his head. The screen shuddered once more before returning the view to space and the battle afoot, the comm-link broken and leaving Vindicator to the sounds of war and her own klaxons blaring.

Neyes' chair spun as his worked two areas of his console at once, with the crew reduced to a handful of the ships more senior officers things would be more than a little tricky. "Bringing point defense network online! Backup shield grid is on standby! Emergency thruster pylons engaged!" The ship was almost vibrating under the constant pummel of weapons fire.

Swallowing hard, Rochelle shook her head and did her best to settle deep into her chair. Everything had spun so wildly out of control. Everything. The ship rocked with the intensity of each blow as it rained down upon her ship - and she could only imagine the severity of those being sent towards the aging Enterprise. There would be Hell to pay. For the moment, however, it would seem that her voice need not raise, Almar and Landon had the majority of it covered and would until her tactical mind caught wind of something better, something greater.

"Their shields are holding at the bow! Looks like they're keeping their face to us and their forward shields charged." A lieutenant said from across the bridge.

"Heard that." Landon smiled. "Give some more power to maneuvering thrusters. If I can get close enough we can slide by one and say hello."

"We're going to have to come about!" Rochelle finally ordered gesturing to the three vessels on the screen. "Face to face isn't going to work, we need to come at them broadside with as big as this ship is!" It seemed like such a mundane thing to say, so common place, so... Obvious - but Tr'Bak, and his escorts, seemed to know it as well. Too well. Someone had done their homework.

The two flanking Mogai seemed to have better plans than to simply allow the big Discovery class ship to turn her big, bulky ass. Landon may have been a credit to her helm, but the Mogai were on a mission all of their own. Like large jungle cats they skulked past the big vessel, firing at will with one target in mind; her thrusters and impulse engines. Blow after blow hailed down upon her shields and armor with hammer-like intensity as they moved to converge on their true prey; the Enterprise.

And then there was the third ship. Tr'Bak's ship.

As the Vindicator's engines whined heavily to respond to Landon's demand that the brick of a vessel come hard to port, working to volley back her own brand of Hellfire at the encroaching and passing Romulan ships, Tr'Bak's orders were clear. More maneuverable than the Discovery class, the Mogai's nose tipped high to bring her above the Federation vessel as it too chose its path to take on the aging Odyssey working to avoid collision with the Vindicator by turning hard right to starboard. Regardless, the targets of choice were the same; thrusters and impulse engines.

Having it his way, the Vindicator would quickly be dead in the proverbial water between the combination of being spurred hard to maneuver in ways she hadn't been designed to, and constantly being bombarded by the entire host of nasties the Romulan Ael'Riov's ship, and those of his cohorts, came packing in their gun belts.

Rochelle knew this... Could feel it... But could also see the error in the passing Romulan's ways. Giving them their sides, when they had been designed to attack from the front, had to have been the work of an inexperienced Captain - or the demands of an Ael'Riov who simply couldn't have cared less for the lives of those he sent into battle. With two choices, she picked one. The closest. "Concentrate fire! I want it dead! Now!" She pointed, her finger aimed directly at the passing Mogai's tender wings and sides.

The lances of red responded to their Captain's order, carving into the tender underbelly and sides of the much more agile Mogai. A burning rain of pulse phasers showered across the Romulan vessel, peppering its defenses. The shields held at first, but the encounter had weakened them enough to allow the real teeth to sink in. A volley of quantum torpedoes erupted from Vindicator's port, screaming toward the enemy hull. One bounced off the shields, then two missed entirely, the remaining three smashed into the broadside of the Mogai. The resulting concussive explosion tore a wing clear off in the first few seconds, and sent it careening off course.

"Got em'!" Landon cheered over a small explosion in the back of the bridge.

"Aft shields at 48 percent! RCS thrusters four and nine are gone! They're trying to cripple us!" Someone shouted.

For the briefest of moments, Rochelle allowed herself a small smile at the defeat of the one Mogai target. She watched as the vessel tumbled off its axis before the entire ship imploded, closing in on itself as the thing's singularity drive went critical and swallowed her, and her debris, whole. It was a bit close for comfort, and yet the blustery Commodore allowed herself the enjoyment of watching it happen. The playing field was being leveled - at least a bit.

"And they're doing a damned good job of it." The smile faded as quickly as it had spread, evanescent within her fluctuating emotions. There were still two Mogai firing upon the grossly out maneuvered Vindicator, and the Enterprise wasn't much help as she fought to keep herself alive under a seemingly endless barrage of fire. Trying to find sympathy for them, Rochelle found herself unable to. They'd brought this Hell upon themselves by disobeying orders.

"Captain, detecting six additional warp signatures!" Rose another shaking voice, "Additional Romulan vessels inbound!"

"Class?!" Rochelle demanded, twisting around to get a look at the Lieutenant's face as best she could.

"One D'Deridex, five T'varo!" They responded with panic fresh in their voices.

It was nearly contagious. Turning back around, the Commodore swiftly found her feet. She couldn't think and sit, couldn't bare to be still another moment. It was a dangerous move, but the pent up and pensive energy running through it was entirely too much to bare. Even with one Mogai they had been hard pressed for survival. Three had meant certain death, and the two they'd been left with didn't even the odds much further in their favor regardless of whether or not Enterprise was there. The additional six vessels made it worse. Far worse.

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TO BE CONTINUED...
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Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Captain Landon Neyes
Civilian Liaison
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Commander Tristan Neyes
Chief Counselor
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Ael'Riov Vrith tr'Bak
Commander, 3rd Tal Shiar Task Force
Romulan Star Empire