Joint Log | FAdm. Malone, Gen. Sharpe & Col. Towers | "The Battle of Logan's Nebula - Part 3"

Posted on 241405.06 @ 3:52pm by Fleet Admiral Kerry Malone & General Richard Sharpe & Colonel Adam Towers

Mission: Insurrection [Fleet Plot]
Location: Various

= MCS Vesuvius =

Colonel Towers swore, ducking back behind the wall as shots lanced down the hallway. Most of the 200 soldiers Clarke had sent onboard had come in around the same general area, with the odd squad detached here and there causing chaos down below. They were heading for the bridge and slowly pushing Towers' team back. It was taking time for Colson to organize reinforcements.

Firing another burst 'round the corner, Towers watched a mixture of UFP security and a handful of enemy marines advancing and firing. The marines in particular seemed to know what they were doing, although their uniforms denoted an overall lack of experience.

"Colson we're getting pushed back to the bridge turbolift here. Move your ass." Towers spoke into his comm badge urgently.

The scottish accent hurled a few well placed insults about Towers' mother through the comm, telling him to man up and hold them off.

From behind the enemy soldiers, chaos could be heard, as well as phaser and projectile weapons fire. A loud shout could be heard from down the corridor, bellowing over the din. It was a shout of rage, as a man wearing combat BDU's, wielding a heavy cavalry sword in his hands, whacked his way through the enemy troops, forcing a passage as he was followed by more soldiers.

Sharpe made it up to Towers' position via the left corridor, as half his company followed him, whilst the other half engaged the other forces in the right hand corridor. He walked over to Towers and smirked. "See, this is what happens when I leave your sorry ass alone for five minutes." He said, resting his sword casually against his shoulder.

"Just what I need in my life. More arrogant Generals." Towers said, his voice a mixture of irritation and relief as the battle ended.

"Apparently you do." Richard said. "Although one arrogant bastard of a General got away." He growled. "Clarke... and his senior staff... somehow escaped during the firefight."

"What? How did that happen? And what was that impact halfway through? It felt like a ship hit us. Comms to the bridge went down and I couldn't get to anybody." Towers asked.

"We've no idea." Sharpe said. "A cloaked ship is my guess, but no one knows, and no one was looking for a cloaked ship." He paused. "As to what that was... that was our enemy proving to us that their devotion to their cause is stronger than their will to live. It was an Excelsior class, packed with explosives, rammed into your hull, and detonated."

"Really. Interesting. I didn't think they had enough ships left to waste them like that, but if they're pulling Excelsiors out of mothballs..." Towers shuddered.

"Its a horrific tactic, that works both in its damage capabilities and its psychological impact." Sharpe said. "A very drastic tactic. Only the Jem'Hadar did that."

A thought occurred to Towers and he slapped his comm badge.

"Colson! Where's Commodore Denterius?"

"Mess hall. She's fine." Colson came back almost instantly. Towers looked relieved.

"So Blondie made it then, eh?" Richard asked. "Where's my daughter, Colonel?"

"Ask Blondie. She figured that someone would come after your daughter and decided to stash her on another ship." Towers replied.

"My God, Blondie had a thought. Quick, break out the Romulan Ale." He replied, smirking. "Alright, lets get what's left of this ship back to the fleet. We'd better check on the bridge."

"I could use a shot of that right about now. How the hell did they get their hands on the St Helens?" Towers asked, walking with Sharpe back towards the bridge turbolift that the UFP troops had been pushing the marines back towards.

"Malone thinks Clarke tricked the crew somehow, and stole the ship that way." Sharpe says. "They did it pretty sneakily, that's for sure, and they didn't brag about taking it - which is unlike them."

"Clarke has a rather personal vendetta against me, and he is as much of a gloryhound as the wrong Taylor. He probably figured bringing a super carrier and some of the most wanted men in the galaxy back to Earth would finally get him that promotion." Towers said.

"Instead, he got more than he bargained for." Richard smiled. "We got a tip-off that the UFP had taken the St. Helens, and that Clarke was commanding it. Malone decided to engage directly, so that they knew his resolve. He planned the entire op. Not bad for a Navy Puke. Now instead of towing another Vesuvius back for a victory parade, he lost his own, and is running back in defeat."

"Yes but the direction they are taking with tactics like that is worrying. He had to have the support of UFP for that op to get those ships, which means they approve of kamikaze style tactics to show us they mean business. Another drastic change in ideology." Towers said, shaking his head.

"We knew this war would get dirty, Colonel." Richard said, calmly. "And we're only in the opening gambits... and they're doing things like that... to show us how far they're willing to go."

"I know. And that's what worries me. Someone rather... strong willed... must be driving the ship for the crew to go along with that." Towers said as they reached the turbolift to the bridge just as Fischer was coming out of it.

"Ships these days can be fully automated." Sharpe said. "Just need one guy on the bridge to say engage. Politically reliable, convince him he's dying for a righteous cause. Our marines can be fanatics at times too, don't forget. Victory belongs to those who believe in it the most, and the longest."

"Gentlemen." Fischer said. The expression on his face could only be described as "pained" and would be expected from someone whose ship was just rammed with another ship packed full of tricobalt explosives.

"Colonel." Richard said, by way of a greeting. "What's your sitrep?"

Fischer read off a PADD. "Shields are inoperable, every power conduit on the starboard side is blown out and the hangar bay is compromised. Pieces of that Excelsior blew far enough into the superstructure that there's debris from it all over the deck. We're getting it cleaned up and rigging something up to at least secure the bay enough to allow our fighters to land."

"Warp capability?" Was Sharpe's next question. "Malone's going to want to warp the fleet back to Klingon space as soon as possible. We're vulnerable out here - exposed."

"I don't know." Fischer admitted. "I'm on my way down to Engineering right now." He added.

"I'll accompany you." Sharpe said.

"I need to go and do a head count, gentlemen." Towers said, tossing a quick salute and vanishing down another hallway, clearly concerned for his marines.

Fischer remained mostly silent as the two walked, taking a PADD from the odd damage control crew.

Sharpe walked beside Fischer, pondering his mood. "Reeling from the tactics, Colonel?"

"I don't know if reeling is the right word. A bit shocked, yes. There's too many unanswered questions as to why this whole thing started and why it's gone this far. Suicide ramming ships, manned or not, only bring up more questions. I'm starting to get desperate for some answers." Fischer said.

"Focus on the task at hand, that helps. If you dwell on what you cannot change, you lose perspective." Sharpe offered. "In any case, we'll get our answers one day - the way only we can."

Fischer nodded. "So what's the next move?" He asked.

"Get this bird to Klingon space, patch up our holes, mourn our dead - then take the fight to the bastards." Sharpe said. "Not necessarily in that order."

"So we intend an aggressive move against Earth?" Fischer asked.

"Not entirely sure what the Fleet Admiral has in mind, but its pretty obvious he's taken the gloves off. Prior to now, he's been holding us back, no shoot order enforced." Sharpe said. "Guess that's over now, huh?"

"Agreed... the idea of civil war disgusts me, General... but after having a flying bomb rammed into my ship... The gloves are indeed off." Fischer said.

"We didn't throw the first punch, nor did we start this, but we have people to protect." Sharpe said. "Now then, lets see what they say about warp drive." He said as they entered engineering.

Engineering was a shambles, with green uniformed men scrambling around every which way. The warp core was flickering and making odd noises that had no right coming from a warp core.

"Major!" Fischer called out. There was only one Major in this department: The Chief Engineer.

"Not right now, sir! Warp cores don't like it when somebody punches huge bloody HOLES in the side of the ship! I'll let you know but for the moment warp drive is out of the question!" The man said, clearly anxious as he blasted past Fischer and Sharpe to a console across the room.

"I'd leave him to it." Sharpe said. "Colonel, rig the ship for a tow. I'll liaise with the flagship to have them tow us back to the fleet. We can't stay here."

Fischer scowled. "Yes sir." He said, with bitter resentment. No ship commander wants to be towed away from a fight.

= End Log =