Author’s
Note: This story takes place 10 days
after the events of “The Return Part 3.”
Captain
Kalin Kale of Alpha Centauri stepped out onto the bridge of the USS Dauntless and immediately
frowned. Not only was there an
unfamiliar crew member sitting in the captain’s chair, but the man was wearing
one of the red-topped jumpsuit uniforms not authorized by Starfleet for over a
year. Surprisingly, it seemed no one
else on the bridge had noticed the man sitting there, so Kale determinedly
walked toward the command seat.
“Excuse
m...,” Kale stared to say when the dark-haired man quickly turned around as if
he had known Kale was walking over and looked at the captain with dark,
piercing eyes, then smiled broadly.
“Bon
Jour, mon Capitan,” he said. “It’s been
a long time, no?”
Kale
frowned in anger as he growled through gritted teeth, “Q!”
Space, the Final Frontier...
These are the voyages of the
starship Dauntless.
It’s ongoing mission:
To Seek, To Chart, To Explore...
Slipping the surly bonds of Earth,
Going where none have been before!
Star Trek:
Dauntless
The Kale Arc
“The Return”
By
PJK
“Part 4 -
The
Personal
log, stardate 51758.7:
The
Dauntless has retrieved me
from DS9, where I spent the final
days of my convalescent leave after departing Earth sooner than expected. With Captain Kalin Kale still in command of
the ship, we are now heading toward Vulcan, where Kale will be transferred to
the ship construction project at Starfleet Yards. For the time being, I’m
officially just an observer aboard.
In
some ways it feels good to be back. In
others it’s really strange. Strange in
the fact that I’m what amounts to a passenger on my own ship. Stranger in the fact that my usual routine
has been thrown completely off by Q’s
renewed involvement with Captain Kale.
And stranger still, the visit we’ve been paid by an unwelcome guest.
Koester,
out.
“Intruder
alert! Commodore to the bridge,” Kale
ordered as suddenly the command chair was surrounded by Ga’gh, K’danz, Kane,
Kyman, and Commander Lotus Q. Q
first grinned toward K’danz, winking before turning to stare at the Trill
science officer for a moment, his expression angry, then returned his attention
and insincere smile to Kale.
“Why,
Kalin,” Q said. “I’m disappointed that you’re not happy to
see me. Especially since it’s been
soooooo long.”
Kale
rolled his eyes at the comment. “Not
long enough.”
“Ooh...,”
Q overacted, holding his hands over
his chest. “That hurt!”
“Do
you know this... creature, Captain?” Kyman asked, drawing Q ‘s attention.
“Oh
no! Not another one,” Q said with disgust. “Isn’t one Guinan in the galaxy enough?”
Kale
ignored Q ‘s comments as he answered,
“Yes, Chief. Unfortunately, I do. I first encountered him aboard the Sarek a few years ago when he trapped
one of my crew on the holodeck and proceeded to demonstrate to her how
different and ‘normal’ her life could have been if she wasn’t of mixed genetic
heritage.”
“She
needed some prospective on her life,” Q
explained, still ignored.
“Then
a few months later he transported the whole ship from the Gamma Quadrant into
orbit of
“Well,
you told me to go play with the Romulans, so I did!” Q protested.
“And
then, to top it all off a few months later still, he took the starship Genesis out of the Alpha Quadrant and
disabled it directly in the path of a Benj Worldship in the Gamma
Quadrant! And I’m sure you’ve heard that
the Benj are almost as bad as the Borg.”
“Everyone
needs a little fun and excitement in their lives,” Q joked.
Kale
glared at the omnipotent being. “The
Benj are remorseless. If they had caught
either starship, it’s entire crew would have been killed so the ship could be
scrapped for parts!”
“Well,
nobody’s perfect.”
“What
do you want with me this time?”
Q smiled mirthlessly and said, “I hate
to disappoint you, Kalin my boy, but this time my interest isn’t in you or your
ship...” Kale seemed about to question Q when he turned toward the petite
Assistant Chief Science Officer and continued, “But rather on a certain
symbiont and it’s unappreciative host.”
Q started to protest when suddenly both
she and Q disappeared in a flash of
light.
“Tigger!”
Kale shouted. “Gods, this can’t be
happening. Not again.”
As
Kane and Chief Kyman moved closer to the captain now that Q was gone, Fleet
“A
being from the Q Continuum has taken
Commander Q and disappeared,” Kane
explained to the Fleet Captain.
Koester’s face took on a look of genuine concern. Kane then asked Kale, “What connection does Q have with... uh... Q?
...Besides the name, of course.”
“As
you should know, Q is the symbiont’s
name, Number One. From what I learned of
the Commander’s background when we first met at the Academy several years ago,
the symbiont adopted the name who knows how many hosts ago when its life was
saved by a much more benevolent member of the Q Continuum decades, perhaps hundreds of years ago. But I’m not aware of any other reason the Continuum would be interested in her
now.”
“Oh,
I can think of a couple,” Koester mumbled unheard under his breath.
“Captain,
what did you mean by ‘not again’ ?” Kyman asked.
Kale
sighed, obviously shaken, and said, “As I mentioned, it’s not the first time Q ‘s disappeared with a member of my
crew. And never with the best of
intentions.”
* * * *
The
jefferies tube connecting the lower engineering levels was calm, empty, and
silent save for the occasional clicks and beeps of equipment scattered
throughout the network. The peace was
interrupted by two bright flashes of light culminating in the forms of Q and Q. She regarded him angrily.
“How
dare you!” she yelled. “What makes you
think you can interfere like this?”
“If
you keep ignoring my warnings, I’ve got to turn to more obvious measures. The Continuum
allowed you here on this ship to keep an eye on Q. Guide him along while he’s still young. Not fraternize with the mortals.”
“Warnings?”
she asked, still angry but actually confused.
“What warnings?”
“Oh
come now, Q. Do I have to hire out a billboard? The moved outpost... Disabling the ship in the path of a
comet... Sending out a twenty-year-old
call for help. If I were any more
obvious I’d have every screen on the ship flashing the phrase ‘Q, Stop Screwing Kale!’ There are some in the Continuum who already thought you were too deep in these mortal’s
affairs, even before Kale came along again.
And you’ve been warned about this before.”
Q paced back and forth within the
confined space of the tube junction. She
glared at Q angrily.
“I’m
not like you and those others, Q. I don’t simply see these mortals as
curiosities to study or manipulate. I
see them as fascinating, intriguing people, some of whom I’ve developed
close relationships with.”
“So
I’ve noticed,” said Q with
disgust. “It’s bad enough Koester is
aware of what you are. Why don’t you
just go and announce it to the galaxy?”
Q got right up into Q ‘s face and said, “Look! I don’t interfere with how you run your
life. Don’t tell me how to run
mine. I’m tired of the others
interfering in my life when they aren’t even willing to get involved in their
own. It hurt when you made me just walk
away from Kalin before. Hurt both him and
me. I’m not going to let you force me
into, or out of, anything else again.”
“You’ll
stop getting so involved and that’s the end of it!” Q stated, raising his voice.
“Haven’t
you interfered in my life enough?”
“My
dear Q, you have not seen me truly interfere yet.”
Q narrowed her eyes and she stated,
“I’ll do as I please.”
Q ‘s eyes widened momentarily as he
huffed, then said, “Well so will I!” And
with a snap of his fingers they both vanished with a flash.
* *
* *
The
entire bridge crew turned in unison as the flash appeared in front of the
helm. When it subsided, Q stood there, appearing as angry as
ever.
“Are
you alright, Commander?” Lt Ethan Othello asked with concern. Q regarded
the helmsman for a moment before nodding.
“Q!
What did he want? Is your
symbiont alright?” Kale asked, moving toward the science officer.
Q nodded again, then said, “I’m
fine. He was no real problem. He’s just a freaky tall guy with a receding
hairline who doesn’t know how to stay out of other people’s business.”
“But
what did he want?”
“Personal
matter. I guess you can say we have a
long history together.” She patted one
hand on her abdomen where the symbiont was implanted. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re
sure?”
Q glared at Kale, half amused, half
annoyed, and then said, “I’m fine, Kal.”
As
Kale started to calm down a little, moving back toward the command seat, Fleet
Captain Koester quietly moved over next to the petite science officer.
“Something
you’d like to talk about?” he asked quietly.
Q looked up at him, a half-smile
forming on her lips, as she shook her head and replied, “Not now.” But over her shoulder she could still hear
Kale complaining.
“Gods,
I swear if I never encounter another member of the Q Continuum ever again, good or bad, it would be too
soon.” He then took a deep breath to relax himself. Q
looked up at Koester again, who offered her a wane smile and a pat on the
shoulder before he walked back and sat down in the XO’s seat.
“Okay,
we have an appointment at Fleetyards
Vulcan to keep,” Kale said, likewise sitting down. “Helm, set course for Sector 0-0-5.”
After
a moment Othello reported, “Course plotted and laid in, sir.”
“Very
well. Ahead warp factor 5.” And then motioning forward with two fingers,
“Engage.”
And
within seconds, the Dauntless entered
warp.
* * * *
In
the hours that followed, Kale and Q spent
some time in her quarters, the captain gently trying to convince Q to explain what had happened with Q.
She simply assured him she was fine, and that nothing bad had happened,
but seemed strangely distant to the captain, refusing to kiss or even cuddle. Deep inside, Q secretly longed to be able to confide in a close friend, someone
who understood her and would not act judgmental, as Kale’s comment on the
bridge seemed to imply. She found
herself becoming less comfortable around the Centauri man.
“Captain,
you’re needed on the bridge immediately,” the voice of Virgil Kane said over
the ship’s intercom.
“On
my way, Number One,” Kale responded, then holding his hand out to Q, said, “Come on, Tigger.”
The
two made their way up to the bridge in uneasy silence, and once arriving, both
were again all business. Everyone on the
bridge, it seemed, was dead serious.
“What’s
the problem, Number One?”
“We
just received a general alert from Starfleet,” Kane said, relinquishing the
command seat to Kale. “They’ve advised
that a Borg Cube has been detected heading toward Sector 0-0-1.”
Kale
cursed to himself, then looked at Kane.
“Does
Starfleet intend to fight?”
“Starfleet
is amassing an armada to head off the Borg at Wolf 359.”
The
mention of the closest star to the Terran solar system sent a chill down each
bridge crew member’s spine, not for the fact of how close to Earth it was, only
4.3 light years, but rather what had occurred there just over seven years
earlier. The defense against the very
first Borg incursion against the Federation, a massacre that resulted in the
loss of 39 starships and over 11,000 personnel.
Kale’s face remained grim as he looked toward Fleet Captain Koester, who
still sat in the XO’s seat.
“Commodore,”
Kale said to Koester, addressing him with the respectful honorific. “If you would prefer I return command
early...”
Kale
was cut off as Koester raised his hand in a stopping gesture, saying, “I’m here
right now as an observer. I’ll
observe. But if you need my advice, I’m
here.”
Kale
nodded, then looked back toward the viewscreen.
“Helm,
divert course. We’re joining the new
armada at Wolf 359.”
Q looked at Kale, her eyes showing
sympathy for the fact that he knew by committing the ship to this battle, Kale was
risking a greater than likely chance they would not survive. The Dauntless
had faced the Borg once before, during the Battle of Sector 0-0-1 and had
managed to survive. Could the crew’s
luck hold out a second time?
Q walked forward a few steps, placing
her right hand on the edge of the helm console, and watched the
viewscreen. Othello looked over at her,
then returned his concentration to piloting the ship.
“Why
do you suppose they chose Wolf 359 for the standoff again, Captain?” Kane asked
as he too gazed at the viewscreen.
“I
don’t know, Number One,” said Kale. “As
you know, the Arcturus hadn’t emerged
at the time of the original battle. But
during my time in this century since then I’ve met lots of people who knew or
lost someone at Wolf 359.” An idea
occurred to Kale. “Commodore, do you
know if a lot of the wreckage remains in orbit of Wolf? Perhaps the intent is to hide ships amid the
debris and ambush the Borg ship?”
“I’m
not sure, Captain,” Koester replied.
“But it does make some sense.”
The
ship warped closer to the Wolf 359 system, every member of the Dauntless crew growing more tense and on
edge as the seconds passed.
“Mister
Natchez,” Kale said. “Have you sent our
acknowledgment to the fleet?”
“Aye,
sir.
Kane
looked at Kale with a funny expression.
“When
did they launch a new starship
“Sorry,
Number One, I don’t know. I only know
the ships launched from Utopia Planitia.”
Q glanced toward Koester, then looked
over at Othello, her face a mask of worry.
“Something’s wrong here. I can
feel it. I’m stopping this now.”
“No,
you can’t!” Othello started to say under his breath, but not before Q had already kissed the palm of her
hand and slapped the seat of her uniform with it.
Nothing
happened.
Q’s eyes grew wide in shock.
Othello
eyed her for a moment, his expression growing more worried by the second, until
he finally said, “OK. Let me try.” He waved his own hands below the helm
console, and like Q, nothing happened. They were both powerless.
“He
did this!” Q spat with hatred.
In
the meantime,
“Sir,
I’m beginning to think something is wrong with this situation.” Kale seemed about to comment when Othello cut
him off. “Suggest you access the
Federation timebase beacon to confirm my suspicions.”
Kale
suddenly realized what his helmsman was implying. He slowly turned to face the security
console.
“Mister
Schuukveldlaan, access the timebase beacon.”
Ga’gh
acknowledged the order. When he read the
results, his normally dark Wilryck features turned pale.
“Captain,
according to the timebase, today is stardate 44001.1.”
Kale,
Koester, and Kane all exchanged shocked looks.
“It’s
that day!” Kane said. “The day of the Battle of Wolf 359.”
* * * *
Captain’s
log, stardate..... 44001.1:
I
remember the day they dedicated the new memorial to the heroes of Wolf 359, a
polished black granite wall with the names of the 39 starships destroyed by the
Borg phaser-etched onto the surface of one side, the names of the over 11,000
personnel who lost their lives that day on the other. The date was prominently
displayed at the top. A date that would
be pounded into the memory of every member of Starfleet almost every day for
years.
The
Earth year 2367. Stardate 44001.1.
Today’s
date.
For
whatever his reasons, Q has sent
the Dauntless back to that fateful
day. Because of the unusual
circumstances we have found ourselves in, I have resumed command of my
starship. Now I’m particularly glad I left
my daughter Gem back on Earth with her grandparents, in the future, where she’s
safe.
Our
only question at this time remains... Do
we simply make the attempt to head back to our own time? Or do we join a battle we’re destined to
lose?
Koester,
out.
The
department heads gathered in the briefing lounge. Virgil Kane sat in his usual seat, to the
right of the head of the table, Ray Russell sat directly across from the First
Officer, and going clockwise around the table from there, Jeff Bloom, Counselor
Kethry Sutherland, Chief Pono R. Kyman, Dr Sir Azriel Dourden, and Lotus Q.
Standing by the wall monitor were the ship’s tactical and security
officers, Ga’gh and K’danz, and the head of Special
Contingent 41, Marine officer Sean McIntyre.
As
the group settled, the briefing lounge doors parted and Fleet
“In
accordance with Starfleet regulations, as senior officer present, I have
resumed command of this vessel. You all
know the situation we find ourselves in,” Koester started. “We have a very difficult choice to make
right now. The fleet already knows a
ship called Dauntless is on its
way. Do we abandon this time and somehow
try to return to 2374 almost eight years in the future where we belong? Or do we throw caution to the solar wind and
possibly change history, hopefully for the better? I’d like your comments and opinions.”
Almost
immediately the room erupted in an all-out debate.
“I
can’t believe we think there is a choice?”
“You’re
right. We have to go home.”
“Home? It’s obvious the only choice is to stay and
fight.”
“Are
we really prepared to change history drastically?”
“If
it’s for the better...”
“Our
mere presence changes things, probably with the same end results.”
“Who
says history has to change? Maybe we
were at the battle all along and were destroyed.”
“I
can’t believe we’re even discussing this!”
As
argument after argument, opinion after opinion raced across the table, Kale,
who had offered few comments, preferring to observe which consensus would be
drawn, noticed the only other member of the command staff not participating in
the discussion besides Fleet Captain Koester.
Q. She sat quietly, emotionally detached from
the debate going on around her, even as it increased into yelling. There was a distant, unhappy look upon her
face.
Kale
reached over and touched Q’s
hand. Her eyes focused on the captain.
“You
alright?” he asked. Her only response
was a very sad looking smile as she subtly pulled her hand away from Kale’s.
Suddenly,
as if a switch had been flicked, the argument subsided, and the whole command
staff looked to Koester.
“It
seems we’re pretty well divided over this, Skipper. 50-50,” Kane said.
Koester
looked at each of them, then said, “I don’t feel the need to ask that no matter
what my decision, you’ll all support me.”
Everyone
nodded as Kane said, “100%, sir.”
Koester
stood up and walked over to the large windows that overlooked the bow of the
ship. He gazed out at the passing rainbow-hued
starlines, then turned to face the crew.
Once again his crew.
“Mister
Kane, man battlestations. Let’s see if
we can’t make a difference.”
Q closed her eyes, as if in subdued
agony. But as Kane responded, “Aye, aye,
Skipper,” she resolutely got up with the others to man her station.
* * * *
“The
ship is at battlestations,” Kane reported as Koester walked out of the ready
room and sat in the command chair.
“ETA
to Wolf 359, 10 minutes, Captain,” Othello reported. The expression on his face was a near mirror
of Commander Q’s.
“Very
well,” Koester said with a nod. He
looked around at those surrounding him on the bridge. Bloom and Johnson manned the Engineering
console. K’danz and Lt(JG) Shoff 187
were at the security station. Various
other crew members monitored the aft consoles under the watchful eyes of Chief
Kyman, while Ga’gh took position at the tactical panel directly behind Koester
and Kane’s seats. To the Fleet Captain’s
right sat Counselor Sutherland, her concentration evident on her face as she
dealt with the emotional overload present on the ship. Q
maintained her watch on the sensors at sciences, Kalin Kale standing at her
side, his eyes darting from monitor to monitor.
Russell and
On
the screen, the crew could see other starships converging and joining formation
to intercept the malevolent cube that was nearing. Kane could recognize the Kyushu, the
In
the mixture of chaos and preparation that accompanied the armada’s interception
of the Borg, no other ships inquired where the Dauntless had come from nor why they did not recognize its class
when Koester announced his ship’s readiness with the rest.
As
the Dauntless and the rest of the
armada neared the cube, the Borg vessel dropped out of warp, almost regarding
the massed starships as a child would a set of toys.
“Resistance is futile,” announced the
image of Locutus over every ship’s viewscreen.
“You will disarm your weapons and
escort us to Sector 0-0-1. If you
attempt to intervene, we will destroy you.”
“This
is Admiral Hanson,” said the voice of the Armada Commander over the subspace
channels. “We have to stop the Borg
here! All ships, attack formations. Engage the enemy.”
Immediately
all the ships opened fire with phasers and photon torpedoes. Starship after starship turned toward and
attacked the oncoming interloper. Even
the Dauntless made a close approach,
phasers scorching a path along the side of the box-shaped vessel.
It
seemed at first as if the Borg were simply going to ignore the Starfleet
ships. It sat there, taking the
punishment the forty vessels inflicted on it.
Large chunks of the Borg cube were blasted away, but it soon became
obvious the damage was superficial. It
quickly regenerated.
And
then the Borg retaliated.
Tractor
beams lanced out from the cube, latching onto two of the closest starships,
holding them motionless. Laser beams
shot out like razors, cutting into the hulls of the helpless ships, slicing
their saucer sections like pies.
The
The
Dauntless maneuvered in for another
strike, taking blows from the Borg as it did.
The bridge crew watched as on the screen the
“Dammit!”
he cursed. “I spent twenty-years dodging
bullets and bombs and other soldiers and then I learned to do it all over again
with the Buck Rogers little Starwars lasers and aliens and landing craft that
make a blind cow puke both lunches and now I’m going to buy the damn farm
because some alien building block is going to blow my ship right out from
under me!! Why don’t you half-human, collective little freaks get over here and let ol’ Sarge
show you what he thinks of that!” That’s when he heard the moans for help
coming from inside the quarters. His
rage somewhat abated by the outburst, he went to the young woman laying injured
on the floor. The Sarge quietly scooped
her up, saying, “Not to worry little lady, everything will be just fine now. Olly’s got ya.” Then with a last burning look at the Cube,
Sgt O’Laughlin began yet another trip to the ship’s sickbay. Dauntless
turned for another pass on the Borg ship, followed closely by the Righteous. Two tractors shot out, one at each vessel,
but the Borg plan was only half successful.
While holding firmly onto the Righteous,
the Borg tractor beam could not take hold of the Dauntless, its shield nutations having been designed years after
and based upon this very battle for just such an occurrence. The shields had worked against the Borg at
the battle of Sector 0-0-1, they worked here just as well.
Down
in engineering, various members of the engineering staff scrambled around under
the guidance of Xenon Adosh, keeping the severely overloaded systems operating.
“Warp
core is at peak output, Lieutenant,” Kyle Sutherland reported.
“Good. Keep the mains on line. We can’t afford to lose power, now more than
ever,” Adosh ordered.
But who knows how long we’ll last either way,
Adosh thought to himself as the air filled with the smell of ozone as consoles
started sizzling on the upper engineering level. “Taking hits from the Borg weapons,” Ga’gh
shouted above the shudders and bangs of the hull. He called up another display on his tactical
panel. “Shield nutation is holding, but
shields are down to 50%. The Borg ship
is regenerating faster than our shields are.”
“We
can’t take much more a’this, Cap’n!” Russell exclaimed.
“Mister
Ga’gh,” said Koester. “Ready quantum
torpedoes!”
As
Ga’gh readied the new weapon, which had not even been invented at the time of
this battle, the crew watched another Borg weapons strike blow the Righteous out of space. In sickbay, the door barely had time to close
as a constant flow of injuries, from minor cuts and scratches to broken bones
and major lacerations, were helped into the room.
“We
cannot help all these people here!” Dr Dourden complained as he watched Sgt
O’Laughlin carry another badly injured woman into the room and place her on a
diagnostic bed another patient had just been lead away from. “And ever more come!” The ship shuddered severely again.
“Nurse,”
the doctor said. “Meseems only ill can
come of this. Start moving the most
stable of the injured toward the escape pods.
I shall remain here.”
“Yes,
Doctor,” the nurse said. Dourden watched
for a moment as the nurse enlisted the aid of a few of the Marines present and
started moving people out of Sickbay and toward the escape stations. He was about to return to the next patient
when a sudden thought struck him.
Grabbing
an isolinear chip from a nearby storage drawer, he stuck it into the closest
computer slot.
“Surely
I shall later regret this,” he mumbled to himself, then said, “Computer, copy
and store program Omega-1H on this chip.”
The computer quickly complied.
Dourden removed the chip, placing it into a tricorder, and stuck the
tricorder into the holster on his hip.
“Whose
turn is next?” he called out.
On
the bridge, things were not much more optimistic.
“We’re
not making much of an impact, Skipper,” Kane commented.
“To
be honest...,” Koester started to say when a sudden impact threw him out of his
chair.
“Shields
down to 27%!” Ga’gh reported.
As
Koester climbed back into the command chair, he continued, “As I was saying, to
be honest, I didn’t hold much hope we would.
Fire torpedoes!”
“Skipper,”
said Kane. “We’ve fought the Borg
before, just last year. We survived
three major skirmishes against a Cube much like this one. Why are we taking such a pounding this time?”
“I
can only assume it’s because last year the entire fleet had the upgraded
shields and weapons we have. This time
it’s us and a fleet of older starships against a Borg vessel already adapted to
Starfleet’s current defenses.”
“Cap’n,”
Russell shouted. “Sickbay reports
they’re gettin’ casualty reports from all ova th’ ship. They’re gettin’ a might bit ovaloaded down
theah.”
“Kethry,
Q, report to sickbay. Do what you can to help.”
The
Counselor and science officer, both of whom held medical degrees, nodded and
quickly left the bridge. Kale seemed
about to follow, then stopped halfway to the turbolift, choosing instead to
remain on the bridge, helping Lt Ga’gh at the tactical post.
The
ship shook violently again as a combination of the Borg weapons and debris from
wrecked starships collided with the shields.
“Skipper,
I think it’s time we powered up the experimental weapon!” Kane suggested. Koester hesitated a moment, confused, before
Kane added, “The new phaser they installed during our lay-up at DS9.
It was designed for fighting the Borg!”
Immediately
the information clicked in Koester’s memory as he recalled reading about the
new Temporal Phaser Array in Ben Sisko’s office. A weapon which caused damage the Borg could
not simply regenerate. He also
remembered the experimental weapon’s limiting factor.
“Our
shields are down to...?” he glanced over his shoulder.
“21%,”
offered Kale as Ga’gh struggled to keep the defenses on line.
“...to
21%. In order to power up the Temporal
Phaser, we’re going to have to drop shields!”
Kane
looked squarely at Koester.
“Do
we really have a choice, Skipper?”
Koester
shook his head. “No, Exec.”
The
Fleet Captain stood and walked to the center of the bridge where the whole crew
could see him as he said, “It’s been a privilege serving with you all. Mister Ga’gh, on my mark, drop shields and
power up the Temporal Phaser Array.
Prepare to fire immediately.”
Ga’gh
pressed a few buttons on his panel, located in the center of the rail directly
behind the command seats, then looked up at Koester.
“Ready,
Sir.”
Othello
maneuvered the Dauntless to face the
oncoming Borg ship. The cube approached
like an animal slowly stalking its prey.
“.......Mark!”
With
unnatural speed, Ga’gh quickly dropped the few remaining shields, rerouting all
non-vital power to the recently installed weapon. Lighting all over the ship dimmed and all
non-essential functions went off-line.
But dropping the shields made the Dauntless
a beacon to the Borg ship. Immediately a
tractor beam locked onto the Intrepid-class vessel.
“Status?”
Koester demanded.
“Powering
up, Captain. 68% and rising.”
“We’ah
bein’ drawn to-wad the Bowg ship,” Russell announced urgently.
“All
stations, standby!” Koester ordered.
Seconds
ticked by.... 2... 3... 4...
“Phaser
array is energized!” Ga’gh reported.
Koester
gazed for a split-second at the viewscreen.
“Fire!”
The
phaser array on the lower side of the saucer glowed a dull violet, then the
energy burst forth, heading straight for the Borg Cube. At the same moment, the Borg shot an energy
beam straight at the Dauntless. The two beams met in mid-strike, but it soon
became obvious, due to the ship’s reduced energy status, the Borg weapon would
overpower the Temporal Phaser.
“Captain,
we’re getting an energy backlash through the array!” Ga’gh shouted as consoles
and panels on the Bridge sparked and flamed.
“We’re
ovaloadin’ !” Russell exclaimed.
“Systems are goin’ down all ova th’ ship!”
Koester
and Kane suddenly looked to their left as the science console exploded, sending
debris across the entire bridge. Kalin
Kale reached up to where his cheek suddenly stung and found blood flowing onto
his hand.
Fleet
“All
hands, this is the bridge. Abandon
ship! I repeat, all hands to the escape
pods.” But by then it was too late.
The
Borg weapon finally completely overpowered the Temporal Phaser Array and struck
like a cobra. The Dauntless was quickly engulfed in the resulting explosion.
* * * *
Stardate
51767.1 - Sector 137
When
Starfleet had lost contact with the USS
Dauntless and the ship was listed as two days overdue, and knowing the
vessel had been en route to Vulcan to transfer Captain Kalin Kale, Command sent
the USS Tian An Men out to investigate. Captain Lyle Richardson sat in the center
seat of the Miranda-class ship.
“Anything
on sensors?” the captain asked his operations manager.
The
thin, dark-skinned woman sitting at ops turned to look at the captain and said,
“No, sir. Nothing.”
Captain
Richardson started musing to himself.
Ever since he had first heard the name Kalin Kale, it appeared trouble
always seemed to follow. He had lost the
Sarek and his original First Officer
to Kale four years earlier. Now Kale had
been placed in temporary command of another starship and that ship had
disappeared without a trace.
They
continued their search for hours, no signs of the missing starship, until
“Captain,
sensors just recorded what appears to be a large explosion two light years back
along our course. There was nothing in
the sector until sensors detected the explosion.”
“Helm,
reverse course,”
The
Tian An Men quickly turned 180
degrees and warped back along its original course.
“Anything
on sensors?”
“No,
Captain, I’m not...,” the tactical officer’s voice trailed off for an
instant. Then, “Captain, we’re receiving
an automated distress signal now.”
Tian An Men streaked back to the
coordinates where the explosion and distress call had originated. The sight that greeted them there shocked
even the most experienced officer on the bridge.
Before
them drifted what could only be described as the wreckage of the Dauntless. The hulk was powerless. It’s warp engines blackened.
“Holy
sh...,”
“I’m
not sure how, sir, but I’m reading life signs aboard. And we’re going to need to get them out of
there quickly. Sensors are registering a
failure in the core containment system that will destroy the ship in less than
ten minutes.”
* * * *
Koester
slowly opened his eyes. He found himself
laying on the deck. Smoke filled the air
from the charred and burning consoles around the entire bridge, choking his
lungs. Bodies were strewn everywhere
amidst the wreckage. The Fleet Captain
half turned over, looking toward the command seats. He could see Chief Kyman laying motionless on
the upper deck and Lt Ga’gh hanging over the railing by the tactical post, also
seemingly lifeless. Kane, the First
Officer, was slumped across the center panel between the command seats, the
monitor screen mounted there broken away by the force of the Exec’s thrown
body.
Koester
rubbed his hand across his moist forehead to wipe away the sweat running into
his eyes, finding it smeared with blood instead as he drew it away. He slowly shook his head.
“Containment
field failure,” announced the voice of the computer. “Warp core breach in three minutes.”
Koester
turned over again, looking up at the viewscreen, which crackled with
static. Through the distortion he could
just barely see various life pods moving away from the ship, and dimly in the
background, the vague outline of a Miranda-class vessel. Koester smiled to himself. “At least most of the crew is safe,” he
muttered.
The
Fleet Captain rolled his head, and that is when he noticed the phaser laying on
the deck next to him, where it apparently landed after being tossed from
Ga’gh’s holster. Finding the last
reserved strength within, he picked up the phaser, setting the power level to
9. That
should do the job, he thought. He
looked up and started crawling toward the shattered remains of where the
science console was located. Halfway to
the bulkhead, he raised the phaser and pressed the trigger. The beam shot out, striking the wall around
the smoke-blackened plaque attached there.
Quickly, the ship’s dedication plaque fell to the deck with a thunk.
“Containment
field failure. Warp core breach in two
minutes.”
Koester
dropped the phaser to the deck, crawling the remainder of the short distance to
where the brass plaque had dropped face down.
He grasped the plaque, holding it up to read the words one more time as
he leaned his head back against the wall.
U.S.S.
DAUNTLESS
Intrepid-class
* Second Starship to Bear the Name
Registry
Number NCC-74658 * Launched Stardate 49368.4
He
clutched the plaque, holding the words to his chest.
“Containment
field failure. Warp core breach in one
minute.”
“Time
to sleep, girl,” Koester whispered to the dying starship around him. Koester closed his eyes. Time indeed to go to sleep for a long time.
Funny, he thought to himself as he
drifted off. Death kind of feels like a transporter field.
* * * *
“Status?”
“All
shuttles and life pods have been retrieved and stowed in the landing bays. And sir, I’m reading a warp core breach in
progress,” the operations officer reported.
“Twenty seconds until the Dauntless
experiences total containment failure.”
“Come
on, hurry up!”
“Ten
seconds.”
“Bridge,
transporter room.. We’ve got ‘em all!”
“Helm,
get us out of here!”
The
Tian An Men banked hard to port,
impulse engines roaring to life. Then
once the light cruiser’s bow cleared the bearing of the stricken starship, the Tian An Men jumped into warp.
Behind
them, the hulk of the Dauntless
drifted serenely.
Then
in a matter of milliseconds, she was consumed in the energy release of a
hundred suns.
* * * *
Koester
awoke with a start. Without even opening
his eyes he knew where he was. The
antiseptic smell could be nothing but a hospital.
“Aw,
hell,” he grumbled. “I just got out of
the hospital.”
Koester
finally opened his eyes and looked around.
He was laying on a bed in a fairly typical hospital room. A diagnostic monitor bleeped above his
head. Across the room was a wall mounted
monitor. To his right large windows
flooded the room with sunlight and a bright blue sky pockmarked by white,
feathery clouds could be seen.
Koester
looked ceilingward and said, “Nurse.”
Within
moments, a nurse entered the room through the sliding doors off to his
left. She smiled at the Fleet Captain, helping
him to sit up and adjusting the pillow behind his back, saying, “It’s good to
see you awake, sir. You had us a little
worried for a day. Your doctor will be
in to see you momentarily.”
Koester
nodded, then sipped from a cup of water the nurse handed him. The liquid burned his dry, smoke-parched
throat.
A
moment later a male doctor in his late forties and an officer wearing captain’s
pips walked in. The nurse excused
herself and left the room.
“Where
am I?” Koester asked.
“You’re
back on Earth, Captain.
“You
suffered from some smoke inhalation, minor burns and abrasions, and a
concussion, Captain,” Dr. Hatfield said.
“You’ve been here resting for two days, but your prognosis is good. You should be released within a week.”
Koester
smiled slightly, then asked, “How are my ship and crew?”
Dr.
Hatfield looked at Captain Richardson.
Koester
looked away toward the window for a moment.
When he looked back, he asked, “Any of the Bridge crew?”
“Commander
Russell and Lieutenant Shoff were killed before the Tian An Men arrived.”
“And
my ship?” Koester whispered.
Removing
the last of the wrapping, Koester looked at the still soot-blackened face of
his ship’s commissioning plaque.
“That’s
all that remains of the Dauntless,
sir,”
Koester
nodded. The captain’s words only
confirmed what he had suspected. It did
not ease the pain any.
“I’m
sorry to be the one to tell you this, sir, but it’s standard procedure. Starfleet Command will be convening a
court-martial in the loss of the Dauntless.”
Koester
nodded again silently. And as the doctor
and Richardson excused themselves and quietly left the room, Koester clutched
the plaque to his chest once more, and a tear ran down his cheek.
* * * *
Kalin
Kale sat in the chair in his hospital room, staring out the window at the city
of
“Come,”
he said.
Captain
Lyal Richardson and his First Officer, Commander Jade Nakajima walked in, the
captain smiling as he saw Kale was not too badly injured, and making a distinct
point not to offer a handshake.
“How
are you feeling, Kalin?”
“Well,
despite the burns, cuts, and bruises, surprisingly good I guess,” Kale smiled
back.
“You
know, everywhere you go, trouble seems to follow,”
Kale
laughed softly. Then his face turned
disturbed as he asked, “Is the casualty list rumor I’m hearing true?”
“I’m
afraid so, Kalin,”
Kale
nodded. A sad smile appeared momentarily
on his face.
“It’s
really a miracle anyone survived,”
Kale
agreed, then his thoughts drifted to his next priority.
“What
about Tig... What about Commander Q?”
“She’s
fine. A few scratches. But from what I understand, she’s very lucky
Fleet Captain Koester sent her to sickbay.
Had anyone been sitting at the science console when it blew, they’d have
been killed instantly.”
Kale
sighed in relief.
“She
asked me to pass on a message to you,”
* * * *
Four
days later, Kale dressed into a new uniform, carefully packed up his few
remaining belongings in a duffel bag with the padd which held his latest
orders; to Fleetyards, Vulcan to
oversee final assembly of the new starship Illustrious. From there; deep-space duty. He checked out of the hospital, and as he
passed through the lobby he found Q
sitting there waiting for him. She
hugged him tightly, saying, “I’m glad you made it out alive.”
The
two started walking out into the bright sunlight. As they did, Q said, “I’m sorry. This was
all my fault.”
“How
so? And what did Q want with your symbiont anyway?
Why did he do this?” Kale asked.
Q lead the captain over to a nearby
bench overlooking a park built outside the hospital. “I don’t think anyone will ever know why the Q do the things they do. However, there is something else happening
that I need to talk to you about,” she said.
She looked into his eyes, an expression of sadness in her own. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to say goodbye
again.”
Kale’s
expression quickly changed from shock, through anger, to sadness. “But Tigger, I’m getting a new
assignment. Eventually I’m going back
out to the fleet, to where I belong.
Aboard a starship. I was hoping
you’d consider transferring with me.” Q slowly shook her head. Haltingly, Kale asked, “Is there something I
did wrong?”
“It’s
not that there’s anything wrong with you,” Q
said. “Like all those years ago, I’ve
been forced to realize that it couldn’t work between us for very long. The passions we shared then, and now, will
eventually ebb. There’s too much about
me you don’t know, and can’t know, that has too much potential to hurt us both
in the long run. It would put more
distance between us than the stars ever could.
This way we can remain friends.”
“But
Tigger, I...,” Kale started to say when Q
shushed him.
“Don’t
say it,” she asked. “I’ve found I
can’t.”
Despite
how much it hurt, Kale knew in his heart she was right. He had always sensed there was a part of
herself Q was hiding from him. Now he was sure. And though he would probably never know what
it was, it did not make things any easier.
“I
owed it to you to tell you face to face this time,” she added. “I couldn’t just walk away, especially since
this time it has been my choice.”
She
drew Kale into an embrace and felt a tear roll down the back of her neck.
“I
will say this, Kalin,” she whispered.
“It was fun.”
In
spite of his mood, he could not help but laugh a little at that remark. They released each other and she kissed him
softly on the lips.
“Will
you be alright?” Kale asked her.
Q nodded and said, “I’ve got someone
close who understands me pretty well.
Generally keeps me in line. And
besides, I think he’d be a little lost without me around.”
Kale
nodded. As he stood up his expression
became one of sadness mixed with acceptance.
“I’ll
see you around the galaxy, Tigger,” he said, and blew her one last kiss. She nodded.
Then Kale tapped his combadge and said, “Kale to Spacedock. One to beam
up.” He smiled faintly at Q, then finally said, “Energize.” Seconds later he faded from view.
Q’s expression then turned very angry.
“First,
let’s make one point absolutely clear; What I did wasn’t for your benefit,” she
said slowly and forcefully.
“Now,
now,” Q said as he appeared behind
the bench in back of Q. She refused to turn to look at him. “All good things must come to an end... Even when they aren’t all that good.”
“I
ended it because I finally realized he wouldn’t have been able to handle the
truth,” she said, ignoring Q ‘s last
remark. “I couldn’t go any further
without telling him, and if I had told him he would have left on his own anyway
and I’d have lost his friendship as well.”
“A
bit of a species snob, huh? Certainly
wasn’t a prude.”
“Somebody
shut this guy up before I kill him!” Q
shouted into the air.
“Oh,
that reminds me,” Q said. “Congratulations on you and Q getting your
powers back... In spite of my objections.
You know if the ship had simply returned to its proper time as I’d
predicted, you’d still be a mortal today.
Apparently the Continuum took
pity on you.”
Q finally turned and glared at Q, saying, “Leave me alone!”
“Temper,
temper, Q, or you might...,” Q managed to say just before he suddenly
found himself disappearing to who knows where. Q
blew the tip of her finger like a smoking gun barrel and smiled with some
satisfaction. Then standing, she kissed
the palm of her hand, smacked it against the seat of her pants and disappeared
in her own flash.
* * * *
Stardate
51837.9 – Starfleet Command Headquarters
“Would
the defendant please rise.”
Fleet
Captain Koester stood, his Fleet appointed attorney, Lt Commander Fleming, and
his legal aide, Petty Officer Mudd, another member of the former Dauntless crew, standing on either side
of him. Koester looked calmly at the
three tribunal judges, a commodore and two admirals.
The
court-martial had been fairly standard.
The evidence included recordings of the starship’s logs automatically
transmitted when the ‘Abandon Ship’ order had been made as well as testimony
from the vessel’s senior officers, Chief Kyman and Captain Kale. The only part that worried and depressed
Koester was the fact that even if acquitted of all charges, he would likely
spend an extended time behind a desk before ever being given command of a
starship again, if ever.
“After
nine days of testimony looking into the matter of the loss of the starship USS Dauntless NCC-74658,” the tribunal president said, “we find the defendant,
Fleet
Koester
broke into a huge smile, turning and shaking Commander Fleming and Petty Officer
Mudd’s hands. A murmur of approval ran
through the crowd in the hearing room, mostly the former Dauntless crew. Commander
Virgil Kane and Chief Kyman leaned over the rail and patted Koester on the
back.
“It
is hereby ordered by Starfleet Command,” continued the Admiral, “that the
events surrounding the destruction of the USS
Dauntless be classified, level White.”
The Admiral handed the court clerk a padd, which the young lieutenant
then handed to Koester. “This
court-martial is concluded. Good luck on
your next assignment, Fleet Captain.”
“Thank
you, sirs,” Koester said as he turned to start to leave the room, returning
handshakes all the way to the door. When
he finally got out of the room, his arm sore from the multitude of congratulations,
he stepped into a nearby lounge and closed and locked the door behind him. He looked at the padd in his hand, weighing
all the possibilities in his mind. He then
stared out the window. The
“Congratulations,
Pooh-Bear,” Q said, not quite
startling the Fleet Captain with her sudden appearance. Koester smiled as he turned to face her, then
quickly engulfed the petite woman in a huge hug.
“Sorry
I couldn’t get together with you sooner,” she apologized. “I’ve had a lot of loose ends to tie up since
we got back.”
“That
was quite an adventure we had,” he said.
“I assume you had something to do with the ship getting back to the here
and now and then surviving long enough for us to be rescued?”
Q shook her head as she said,
“Actually, the Continuum left me
powerless. Q figured he needed to teach me a lesson. Near as I can figure, based on analysis of
some of the surviving sensor tapes, the backlash of the Temporal Phaser is what
brought us back home. I had been
studying those things for three days before I realized I was all me again, if
you know what I mean?”
Koester
invited Q to sit on the nearby couch
and sat down next to her.
“So
why did Q do it all anyway?”
he asked.
Q rolled her eyes as she answered, “He
didn’t like who I was getting myself involved with. Said he was... distracting me...”
“I
see. I noticed you and Captain Kale got
to be quite close... Again,” he added.
“It
had its moments, but it couldn’t have lasted.
You of all people should understand why?
But at least we parted as friends.
So what about you? I haven’t had
the chance to ask about Joanne since you’ve been back? We’ve all been so busy. You returned so much sooner than anyone
expected, did something happen?”
Koester
hesitated a moment, then finally admitted, “Too many career conflicts. Both of us with the possibility of
disappearing at any time and being away for years... Neither willing to give up the jobs we
love... Pretty much a repeat of the
first time. Like you and Kale, we
decided to remain friends. Though this
time we’ve promised to keep in touch with one another.”
“I
see” Q echoed.
“So,
have you looked at your new orders yet?” Koester asked after a brief moment of
silence.
Q shook her head, saying, “No. You?”
“Not
yet.”
“Well,
go ahead.”
“No,
you first,” he insisted.
“Tell
you what,” she suggested. “Together on
three.” When he smiled and nodded, she
started counting, “One... Two... Three!”
Both
pressed the button on their padd simultaneously, and Koester started reading
his off first.
“Effective
immediately, you are authorized two months recuperative and recreational
leave...”
“...Then
report no later than stardate 52002.5 to Fleetyards,
Vulcan...,” Q continued. She looked up at Koester.
“...Where
you will report aboard Naval Construction
Contract-75310!”
Both
officer’s broke out into huge smiles and hugged each other tightly.
When
the hug ended, the two sat in silence for a moment, smiling slightly awkward
smiles at one another, until Koester finally asked, “Did you have anything to
do with this?” Q simply gave him a
mischievous smile and shrugged.
“Fine. So, are you doing anything
for dinner tonight?”
“Oh,
I’m sorry, Pooh. I have plans,” she said
apologetically. “I promised Jeff I’d
have dinner with him. He was persistent
in asking me the whole time you were gone.
It only seemed fair I should have dinner with him after blowing him off
for so many weeks.”
“I
see,” Koester said once more, a hint of disappointment clouding his features.
Q let another moment pass, then hinted,
“But I’m free all day tomorrow.”
Koester
started to smile, when suddenly Q
leaned forward and drew him into a deep passionate kiss. The move took him by surprise, but he did not
fight it. When it ended a few moments
later, Q stood up and started to say
goodbye.
“What
was that for?” Koester asked with a silly grin on his face.
Q smiled and said, “Because I felt like
it. And we needed it.”
Koester
shook his head and added, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you wanted to
swallow me whole.”
Q looked at him over her shoulder as
she started to head for the door, gave Koester a grin, and said, “What makes
you think you know better?”
As
the door shut behind her, Koester shook his head slowly and laughed to himself,
then returned with a smile to gazing out at the scenery below.
* * * *
Captain’s
log, stardate 51838.2: Final log entry;
I’m
about to begin the two months leave Starfleet has authorized me and my
crew. Much of it will be spent traveling
around Earth with Commander Q and my
daughter, Gem. But we have something
more important to do before that starts.
Today we say goodbye to twenty-five of our brave shipmates, their lives
lost during, strange as this sounds, the
In
two months, my crew and I report to Starfleet Yards, Vulcan, where a new ship, hull number NCC-75310, is taking shape. From the point at which we report, it will
still take about three months before she’s launched, but on that day it will
again be my great pleasure to command the starship Dauntless.
The
newest starship Dauntless.
I
look forward to the day I get to take her out again.
Fleet
Commander,
the late Federation starship Dauntless, out.
The
End
Author’s
Note: Some additional battle scene
material written by
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