Surprise: Britches Down

[Crash Calestorm 0]

“Sir, you did it!

I did NOTHING, except get caught with my britches down. I must be getting senile.”

- Commander Sulu and Admiral Kirk in the aftermath of the USS Enterpriseretaliation against Khan Singh and the hijacked USS Reliant (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) (1982)*

 

The first torpedo salvo from the Dragoon cruiser had been right on the credits. One went wide but the other five found their marks; the shields held but were knocked down to eighty percent strength.

 

The Border Patrol had been caught completely off guard and the fight had been brought to them over the Federation border in a surprise attack.

 

The SS Ibn Daud sustained damage when the Marine troop container it had been hauling was hit. The Ptolemy-class tug was drifting and the troop carrier had been completely eliminated, no survivors.

 

First Threat Response vessels were already inbound to the Harrington sectors in preparation for the original planned punitive action into the Outlands; Calestorm knew they’d not arrive in time to assist the Comanche Creek. Communications channels were going nuts with internal reports and external updates.

 

Harrington base was scrambling their Strike Eagle starfighters. The FTR’s USS Little Robe Creek had already been in sector, alternating protection patrols with the ‘Creek; she had entered the skirmish like a bat out of hell twenty seconds ago, coming to the aid of her sister ship against the Dragoons.

 

Another salvo hit the FTR flagship with the six torps smacking into the shields. The percentage dropped to sixty. Scooter and Crash barked out orders, the chaos on the bridge congealing into a combat response.

 

Helm enacted evasive maneuvers. Tactical tried to get a bead on the enemy vessel and starfighters while ‘Creeks starfigthers continued to scramble and other fixed wing craft launched to assist with SAR. Damage Control teams checked with the bridge at regular intervals. MARDET and Security stood ready to repel boarders. Medical awaited the first casualties.

 

Crash stripped off her gold command tunic and pressed it to Ramirez’s wound; the young man had caught shrapnel in his upper arm when the auxiliary control panel had overloaded. “Easy. Hold that there, medics are on their way.”

 

She turned her attention away from Rammy and gave a piercing whistle through her teeth that cut through the pell mell bridge operations, getting the attention of the officer manning FOPS. “Status! How many Fast Movers we got out in the Black!”

 

TBC in Sim…

 

* With thanks to Commander Wesley’s player for the surprise attack quote idea