With Tail Between Their Legs (Part II of III)
Posted on Sun Oct 17, 2021 @ 3:41pm by Captain Maritza Soran & Commander Amia Telamon M.D. & Civilian Hydel Turvan
981 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: DS5/ USS Titan
Timeline: MD 07 1500
Previously in With Tail Between Their Legs
Hulceen had to make an example out of the Vulcan and her crew for others to understand just how strong Cardassia's hand was in this matter.
"Target Titan's primary systems and on my mark open fire," the gul said, fully understanding that he was giving the command that would undoubtedly strike the vessel critically.
"Sir, the glinn again tried to implore, still seeing that the comm unit was continuing to indicate the hail from the Cardassian Command Center on the planet's surface.
"Glinn Saro," Gul Hulceen said in a measured tone, "fire all targeted batteries," he ordered.
And now the continuation
"Belay that order!" came the piercing voice of Gul Kyren as she strode off of the turbolift and onto the deck of Ops.
Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, the glinn was only able to cancel the firing order to only a handful of the targeted defense batteries. That left at least two dozen that had properly targeted the Titan and fired.
On Titan alarms blared, and the whole ship rocked under the bombardments, and then the stream of reports started coming through.
"Shields at forty percent. Port side shield is gone entirely!"
"Hull fractures portside, decks twelve through nineteen!"
The bridge listed sharply down as another barrage landed.
"Casualties on Deck Twenty!"
"We've lost port side thrusters. Impulse engines at thirty-five percent!"
T'vael sat unperturbed in the centre seat. "Start evacuating non-essential personnel, reroute power from warp standby to forward shields."
"Should we return fire, ma'am?" came the question.
T'vael considered her orders, the strategy they'd chosen. "No. Not so much as a kilojoule to those weapons, Commander."
More blasts rocked the ship.
"We just took a torpedo to engineering!"
"Critical damage to the warp core! We have to eject!!"
"Do it! Remaining power to ventral shields!"
The whole structure shuddered as the hull section was jettisoned and the explosive bolts on the warp core fired the warp core through the hole as fast as it could, punting it away from the Titan, where it exploded in a ball of lightning and fire.
"We've lost the main fusion reactor. We're on emergency power," came the call from Operations
"We're dead in the water," the helmsman reported.
"Timoclea is en route to assist," comms added.
"Contact DS5, tell them we're without power," T'vael commanded. "Tell them Timoclea is coming to give us a tow, and we expect them to return our personnel immediately. Then call every ship we have in a five light year radius." She settled in her seat. She had no doubt now that she wasn't going to fight in her eighth war today. Tomorrow, however, was looking promising.
Gul Kyren was incensed. From what she could read from the tactical display, the Titan had just been completely disabled and was only a slight breath away from total destruction. She looked back at Gul Hulceen and saw that the man had no emotion or concern on his face at all.
"Damnit, Dusad! What did you just do? That Federation vessel had not opened fire on this station, nor was it preparing to," she said to the elder Cardassian.
"I proved a point: This is Cardassian territory and you will comply," Gul Hulceen responded, wincing slightly as he observed the warp core eject and subsequently explode a safe distance away. "I gave that Vulcan ample warning for the sake of both her and her subordinates. She chose to ignore my command. Now her and her broken ship have learned there are consequences to doing so," he replied evenly, almost in a self-satisfied tone.
"Ma'am, Legate Turvan is once again hailing us from the surface," Glinn Saro interrupted, directing his report to the senior of the two guls. "Additionally, the Titan is reporting that the Timeoclea is en route to tow them away," he reported.
"No!" Gul Hulceen nearly shouted, finally showing some emotion. "Hail the Xi'Cadians and tell them not to let a single Federation vessel divert from the Dyson Shipyards. No one is to enter this station's immediate space," he responded. "Tell the Titan that the Beldon and Survell shall tractor them back to the Dyson Shipyard. From there, the Timeoclea or whoever can help them limp back to Federation space with the rest of their people," Gul Hulceen said.
He could see Gul Kyren preparing to launch into another tirade so he raised his hand. "The more Federation vessels we allow into our immediate space, the more problems we are inviting. The fewer vessels, the less possibility of another being shot down because of their refusal to comply," he said sternly.
Gul Kyren wanted to argue, but she saw the logic in his position. Keep them away from the station and you won't have to worry about any more shooting incidents,at least for now.
She sighed as she turned back to the glinn. "Carry out the order. Also, signal the surface that there may be escape pods and shuttles landing on Pangaea's surface, so be prepared to retrieve them," she said.
On the Titan, T'vael heard the Cardassians, and didn't trust them one little bit. "I am prepared to consider the last action as the panicked mistake of an overpromoted secretary. If your ships lock on to us, that will absolutely be considered an act of war."
To be Continued…
Legate Hydel Turvan
Prefect of the Cardassian Administrative Zone Deep Space 5
Cardassian Empire
Gul Meran Denat
Operational Commander Pangaea
Cardassian Empire
Gul Kalena Vashur
Commander
127th Tactical Wing
Gul Natomi Kyren
Deep Space 5 Administrator
Cardassian Empire
Gul Remul Hulceen
Executive Officer
Cardassian Empire
Admiral T'Vael
Starfleet Security
and
Cmdr Amia Telamon
CMO - DS5 - Returning From Leave
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