Magnitude

[STSF Corizon 0]

The convoy of fifteen class-h dilithium freighters cruised along at low warp, the wagon train only broken by the presence of three Steamrunner-class frigates at the head of the column, a Luna-class heavy destroyer at the center and hulking Sovereign-class battleship flanked on either side by a Defiant-class. Other than the stray course correction, the formation had barely changed since they’d left Starbase 203 and headed for the repository on Kallan IV.

 

A flash of bright light, followed by a whirlpool of reds, yellows, purples and hints of green broke the serenity of calm space as a wing of nodular, blocky shaped vessels. Their appearance caused a stir of activity, something akin to dropping baking soda into a vat of vinegar.

 

On the Excalibur, Rear Admiral Ah-Windu Corizon braced himself on the wall of the turbo-lift as a shot of bright reddish-white energy strode out from one of the smaller starships that had emerged from the subspace anomaly and rocked the Sovereign-class violently. By the time the lift deposited him on the bridge, two more such shots had struck the vessel and two of the fifteen transports were space junk.

 

With a measured calm that had come from years of service, the Dameon strode to the center seat. “Report!”

 

The tactical officer looked overwhelmed as his board was lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree. Commander Gage Corwin, acting as the first officer for the mission frowned deeply. “Full attack wing… Soltan … no warning what-so-ever. They’ve not started shooting their big guns at us yet, conventional weapons so far. We’ve lost two… three of the transports. They’re focusing on knocking them out.”

 

Another harrying shot smacked the Excalibur as she lobbed return shots with little effect. The Dameon watched on screen as a myriad of weapons fire, debris, death and carnage unfolded. Grimacing as another transport met its end, Corizon shook his head.

 

“Signal the freighters to drop their payloads and get the hell out of here. Bring us around. Signal the rest of the fleet, make the Soltans pay attention to us and not them.”

 

“They won’t be happy about losing the payloads….”

 

Corizon rolled his eyes and in a flat, monotone replied. “They can lose their lives if they want… their choice.”

 

Scowling, “When you put it that way, sir.”

 

A few moments later the transports began dropping the cargo-pods attached the freighter’s underbellies as the fleet of Federation starships formed into a more organized fighting force. Another transport exploded in a ball of fire as the Steamrunner-class Caspian came too late to draw the fire of an attack Soltan raider.

 

The Caspian followed closely by her sistership the Ural doubled back and unleashed a volley of phaser and torpedo fire into the Soltan vessel. The Soltan raider broke off its attack run and spun on its axis unleashing a barrage from its forward weapons banks. The Caspian and the Ural veered off course as the weapons fire lashed out at them. A white-hot flash from the weapons pod of the Oberon hit the offending Soltan vessel .

 

Aboard the bridge of the Oberon, Captain Jenny Majesto gripped her command chair tightly as her ship made a high speed pass at one of the bigger Soltan vessels that was targeting the Starfleet ships. “Zyn give me a firing solution on that damned thing. And where is our cover from the Audacious?”

 

The Trill first officer, who’d taken over at the tactical position when their primary tactical officer had found himself on the extra-crispy side after an explosion in the opening minutes of the battle ran his hands over the console at the near speed of light.

 

“I am doing my best,” he said hoarsely. “The damned EPS grid is fried. Whatever the hell hit us did one hell of a number…”

 

At that moment, the Oberon pitched violently as gaping hole in the forward section of the starboard bow opened like melon being cracked against a rock.

 

Behind her, the squat Defiant-class Audacious rolled out of the way to avoid a collision. Commander Jake Tollbor cursed violently as his own ship shook under a barrage of conventional weapons.

 

Between curses and spitting blood from his mouth he managed to ask “What the bloody hell was that!”

 

A response wasn’t possible as similar phenomena befell the Audacious and the better portion of the starship’s hull decompressed into space.

 

Noting the wreckage floating aimlessly and at high speed, Lt. Koran F’aen banked the big Excalibur mostly out of danger with the exception of a portion of nacelle that impacted with a heavy, jarring thud to the saucer section.

 

“Sub-space readings are off the chart,” Commander Kale Thomas drawled from the engineering console. “They’re obviously employing stronger measures than just your normal phasers and torpedoes.”

 

“Sub-space weaponry, everyone.” Corizon said between gritted fangs. “How many more transports left?”

 

“Six, sir. Two managed to get their cargos dropped and out. The Pride of Nanon Prime was having to manually unlock the cargo…”

 

“They just bit it,” Corwin added to the voice of the operations officer.

 

“Damn. What’s the fleet’s status?”

 

“The Oberon has suffered heavy damage –reports coming in that they’re leaking coolant into their plasma coils. The Audacious and the Tian Shan are destroyed. The Caspian and the Ural aren’t faring much better. Bravado is holding her own.”

 

“And the Soltans?”

 

“We’ve managed to damage one or two of their ships, but honestly sir we can’t make heads or tails of what is a vital system and what’s not. Hell just figuring out what the front of one of those things is and what’s the back…”

An earsplitting roar erupted on the bridge as everyone on the bridge felt a ripple of energy surge through the deck plating. For the first time since the battle started, the myriad of weapons that lined the hull of the warship fell momentarily silent as three whole sections of decking and armor plating gave way under an explosion.

 

Corizon found himself a few meters from his chair and on the floor. Lucky to be alive, he pushed himself off the ground as another shot from the conventional weapons of a Soltan ship added salt to the wound.

 

“Son of a…”

 

Whirling on their axis and delivering shot after shot into the transports and Starfleet vessels in various state of damage, the Soltan ships now began focusing on what was clearly the biggest threat to them – the Excalibur. Taking advantage, one by one the remaining transports – three of the original fifteen – dropped their loads and jumped to warp.

 

The bruising warship, the fifth to carry the name Excalibur, returned fire with a flurry, lobbing gouts of plasma and phaser fire at her circling attackers and following up with photon and quantum torpedoes as her smaller, secondary weapons worked on the small raiders that were harassing her.

 

Nearby, the Oberon had regained her footing and joined in the attack before being dispatched with prejudice. On her bridge, smoke and ozone filled the air and lungs of her Captain. Bedraggled, she pulled her hair away from her eyes and looked over to the dead body of her Vulcan operations officer and exhaled.

 

“Well Zyn,” she said to the only remaining person on the bridge. “I bet you didn’t think this was how nine lifetimes of work would end for you.”

 

Smiling, despite himself, he nodded. “Can’t say that I would have planned it this way, but if you have to go out… this is one hell of way to do it.”

 

“So… you agree with me?”

 

The Trill nodded. “We’re about two minutes from a warp-core breach; we’ve lost weapons and shields. Even if we got everyone to the life-boats, you think those blue sons of a bitches would leave them be?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Well then, I say we take some of them out.”

 

Walking to what remained of the helm console; the lithe captain moved its prior occupant to the floor and began tapping buttons.

 

As another shot from the Soltan’s subspace cannons ripped a gash into the hull of the Excalibur, Corizon looked up in time to see the last flight of the Oberon as the Luna-class starship rammed head-first into one of the bigger Soltan starships.

 

Refusing to be overcome by the moment, he looked to Corwin, who’d taken up working them helm. “Corwin get us the hell out of here. Signal the fleet to do the same.”

 

“Yes, sir. Executing getting us the hell out of here.”

 

The Excalibur, Caspian and the Bravado jumped to warp at nearly the same time. Aboard all three ships a profound sense of relief was shortly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the defeat they’d just witnessed.