From: neale@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Neale Davidson)
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: STTRR 6-10/20 repost
Date: 2 Sep 92 14:57:04 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center


 
  - STAR TREK        -------------------------------------------------
  - THE RAVEN'S ROAR -------------------------------------------------
 
  Part Six through Ten of Twenty
 
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  CHAPTER SIX
 
        After a few nervous seconds a woman piped up, though
  somewhat shaken. ~My lord, Federation protection fleet incoming
  from target at warp nine.~
        Didn't I tell her to relax earlier? Sunak thought to
  himself.  ~I have obviously prepared for this, Secundam Rela.~
  He motioned to the previous communications officer. ~All ships,
  aggressive posture.  Close in on Federation targets and
  destroy.~ Sunak could feel his Klingon blood pour through his
  veins at full strength.
        The Federation vessels were impressive enough, he
  thought to himself. Sunak could easily make the shapes of two
  AVENGER class ships, as well as three ENTERPRISE class ships.
  ~Vessels identified as following: Cruisers consisting of
  POTEMPKIN, DEFIANT, CONSTELLATION. Frigates consisting of
  SARATOGA, REPEATER, AVENGER.~ The female nodded to her captain,
  ~I am raising shields, and arming weapons.~
        The DEFIANT and CONSTELLATION were the first Federation
  ships to reach the Romulan assault fleet. As they warped past
  the warbirds they unleashed their balls of hellfire, which
  slammed into the lead cruisers. One of the cruisers bore the
  brunt of the impact, but the other began to spin and then
  curved off the assault fleet's formation.
        The loose cruiser spat a torpedo of its own toward a
  Federation starship, which impacted heavily on the DEFIANT's
  shields. ~RAVEN to DEATHWING, peel off formation, engage
  CONSTELLATION alongside the RAZORBEAK,~ Sunak commanded to his
  minion ship.
        Another cruiser veered from the front of the fleet and
  curved to the outside. The Federation starships veered one
  behind the other and came head-to-head against the Romulan
  cruisers.
        The DEFIANT and CONSTELLATION fired a phaser barrage on
  the lead cruiser. The lethal blast of heat singed the boom of
  the cruiser, catching it ablaze. The Romulan craft seemed to
  act as an angry eagle, diving wildly at the Federation
  starship. The DEFIANT tried to maneuver away, but the Romulan's
  attack was too swift, and the RAZORBEAK slammed beak-first into
  the smooth underside of the DEFIANT. Both ships went up in a
  ball of white flame as bits of shattered metal sprayed
  themselves through the cosmos.
        ~Starship DEFIANT destroyed ,sir, though we have lost
  the RAZORBEAK,~ Rela let out in an exited tone, not caring that
  her empire had just lost two-hundred people. She merely uttered
  the words "RANAM VALASSA" in their reverance. The reverence is
  given to those who have acted courageously and have performed
  above and beyond their call of duty, it was the first such time
  Rela had seen such an act, and she was impressed. The Commander
  looked over at her, read the excitement in her eyes, and
  smiled, sensing a part of himself in her.
        The DEATHWING maneuvered onto the CONSTELLATION and
  unleashed a barrage of photon torpedoes, only one of which
  actually impacted on the Federation ship's shields. The
  CONSTELLATION retorted with another phaser blast, this one
  crashed into the Romulan cruiser and sent it reeling. Sunak
  tired of this quickly and was about to order the assault ships
  to assist DEATHWING before REPEATER and POTEMPKIN showed up
  in the fight.  The assault craft broke away from the battleship
  and centered on the REPEATER. The AVENGER and SARATOGA
  arrived and converged on Sunak's battleship.
        ~Fire a torpedo burst on the AVENGER and send the
  LADYHAWKE to attack SARATOGA,~ Sunak commanded. The AVENGER
  felt the violent sting of five torpedoes impacting on her
  primary hull, shattering it into countless fragments, leaving
  only the rear half of the vessel warping in space until finally
  exploding into memory. LADYHAWKE had just maneuvered on
  SARATOGA when the Federation ship began to turn tail.
        CONSTELLATION finally took a major hit and lost her port
  side warp engine. She began to spin for a few seconds before
  following SARATOGA's lead back to starbase. ~Sir, it appears
  that the Federation ships are attempting to reconverge at
  starbase.~ Rela began to feel a surge of power flow through
  her. A power that she could see her commander bask in. ~Shall
  we cut them off?~ She found herself already starting to plot in
  another intercept course before realising what she was doing.
        Sunak considered it for a moment, but declined. ~No,
  Rela,~ he stated. ~We need to regroup our forces before
  starting another attack. We have severly damaged the starbase's
  outer defences, and I want survivors to spread the news about
  what is happening here.~ There will be no way for the
  Senatorium to dismiss this incident as a rogue act now, he
  added to himself.
        But a Centurion growled, ~We can't let the Federation
  ships go like this, we should let go with phasers until they're
  destroyed.~ The Centurion was startled by the sudden sensation
  of asphyxiation. His Commander had grabbed his throat and began
  to throttle him two feet above the ground.
        Sunak growled himself. ~We do not have shields or
  torpedoes up thanks to that self-same destroyer. The Federation
  will be sending an assault force of its own soon and we have
  lost ours. If it is your intention to stay here and be
  butchered for revenge, I will gladly let you have a
  shuttlecraft to go fight their carriers with.~ Sunak let the
  man go none to gently and the Centurion crashed to the floor.
  ~I am not in the habit of wasting resources, Centurion. We need
  to rest and repair ourselves before we can fight again.~
	The Centurion started to rub his throat, trying to ease the
  sensation of pain he felt. ~I understand, my lord,~ he managed
  through his damaged throat. The remaining bridge crew were
  either gaping at the Commander or looking stupidly at the
  Centurion. ~May I be excused now, lord?~
        Sunak could understand easily the need for the Centurion
  to get away, and he offered his hand to help out his
  subordinate. ~Tonin, you must forgive me,~ Sunak began slowly,
  ~It is not my intention to bludgeon my crew into submission.
  You acted as any warrior would have done, wanting to finish off
  his opponent.~
        When the Centurion was fully upright Sunak drew in a
  heavy breath and started again. ~We simply cannot afford the
  resources to engage their ships again at this time, but I am
  sure that she'll be in the enemy's assault fleet when we meet
  up with it.~
        Tonin looked confused, this was certainly not an attitude
  he'd expected from a Klingon-Romulan commander with a
  reputation for demanding discipline. ~I understand, my lord. I
  shall be more receptive to your orders,~ he offered.
        Rela found herself looking at her Commander with awe, not
  many true Romulan Commanders, let alone half-breeds, would
  actually apologise for his actions. The fear being that the
  crew would lose respect. Sunak had no need of that fear,
  however. There would be no way that the crew would lose respect
  for Sunak.
 
  CHAPTER SEVEN
 
        Captain's log: Stardate 10160.9
 
        The scouting party, consisting of the ENTERPRISE, the
        HIENLEN, and the MORAN, is nearing the site where contact
        with the USS FEARLESS is lost. Our purpose here seems
        only to prove that the FEARLESS was indeed attacked by
        the Romulan craft dubbed the FIERY RAVEN.
 
        I don't expect to find the Romulans themselves here,
        since there is generally nothing to gain by remaining at
        a battle-site after the battle is over. However, we are
        assured that our ships will be in an excellent position
        if trouble were to occur.
 
        The intercept fleet, I'm told, has been placed far
        enough into the Neutral Zone to make even the most docile
        Romulan nervous. Fleet assures me that the ships will be
        enough to remove the threat of Romulan attack before it's
        even started, but I'm not so sure. I've seen what this
        new IRON CLAW II type ship can do.
 
        The MORAN and HEINLEN were two of the newest class of
  ships, the new scouts. They looked unusual, with a primary hull
  nestled in between her warp pods. She had the distinctive trunk
  connecting her saucer section, as it was becoming known, to her
  sensory hull. The majority of the small secondary hull had been
  given over to sensors and science, with several bands of sensor
  array apparatus.
        The ENTERPRISE, however, was there as a gunship, and
  more than made up for the two scout's lack of firepower. The
  giant starship was leading her smaller sisters into the sector.
        Riley was seated again at his captain's chair, with a
  worried look on his face. "Keep scanning for any signs of the
  Romulan ship," he commanded to his science officer, who didn't
  bother to reply.
        "Coming up on debris of USS FEARLESS, Captain," Tiber
  observed as he made slight adjustments to the ship's course.
  "No life signs, as expected," he continued. "The warp engines,
  what's left of them, are inert. I'm not getting any power
  readings."
        Riley had expected as much, though he was disappointed.
  "Scan for signs of disruptor activity," Riley commanded,
  knowing that the trace would be weak at best. "If we can find
  it, I'm sure our scouts will as well."
        Saavik looked over the instrumentation on her panel. "May
  I suggest that we beam some of the debris aboard for analysis,
  Captain? Our engineering crew could do far more capable a job
  with the material in hand."
        "See to it," Riley commanded. "Make sure that the beaming
  time is minimal. I don't need the shields down any longer than
  I have to."
        "Aye, sir," Saavik replied, standing to leave the bridge.
 
        Grissom, as yet, had very little to do while the
  ENTERPRISE was taking aboard debris. She had already assigned
  the crew, since she had expected the duty, but there was no
  need for her to actively participate. In these times, her duty
  meant that she stayed available for emergencies, which meant
  long periods of boredom.
        "What are you doing calling me from sickbay?" Matthews
  demanded as he entered the room. "In case you didn't notice
  we're under yellow alert, which means I've gotta keep my fancy
  gear up when everything goes to hell."
        "I just have a few questions that I wanted to ask,
  Doctor," Paula countered, bemused by Matthew's attitude. "Then
  you're free to go back to your work."
        "Questions, Lieutenant?" Matthews asked in a worrysome
  tone. "What's on your mind, missy?" he concluded, which nearly
  sent Grissom fuming.
        "It's about our Captain," she began slowly. "I've noticed
  some things about him that most humans can't do, or aren't
  like," she continued, trying to carefully choose her words.
  "Such as crushing titanium cans?"
        "He's got really strong hands," Matthews replied
  noncommittally. "Not, if there isn't anything more, then I'll
  be off." Of course, the doctor wasn't going to get off quite
  that easily.
        "Too strong for human hands, Doctor," Paula dared.
  "Saavik said he was cast out, and that he's half Vulcanoid,"
  she continued. "But everyone who would know something refuses
  to tell me anything."
        "That's because we can't," the Doctor replied. "Besides,
  why are you so concerned about him. I heard in the grapevine
  that you hated men."
        Grissom sighed, reputations didn't seem to take long to
  stick, but she had deserved it. "I don't like it when a man
  keeps secrets from me," she admitted, more to herself than to
  Matthews.
        "Let me tell you about the Captain," Matthews began
  carefully, seeing a bit of the conflict in Grissom's eyes.
  "Thomas keeps secrets from himself more than anyone else. He
  doesn't need you to go digging up old memories."
        "I guess he doesn't," she admitted. "I'll just have to
  talk to him about it sometime soon."
        "That's what I would suggest, Lieutenant," Matthews
  offered as he left. So, he thought to himself, now he's got two
  people falling for him. Lucky stiff.
 
        Riley was impatient. The crews had successfully beamed
  the debris they needed aboard, and had succeeded in keeping the
  shield down-time to a minimum. It didn't, however, make him
  feel any better about waiting for an inevitable attack.
        "If that's all we can do here," Riley began before
  noticing how flustered his communications officer was getting.
  "What is it, Lieutenant?"
        "Sir," R'Ress said with forboding, "I've just gotten
  several panicked reports from the intercept fleet." The Catian
  did his best to clear the static and overlapping signals.
  "They've been attacked."
        Riley turned his chair to the officer. "What? Already?
  Why weren't we informed?" He demanded.
        R'Ress was obviously having troubles with the amount of
  traffic he was receiving. His voice seemed to crack. "I don't
  know, sir, apparantly everything happened in only a couple of
  minutes. There wasn't any time."
        "Damages, Lieutenant," Riley commanded with a distinct
  note of disdain.
        R'Ress sorted through more of the communicaes flooding
  her board. "We've lost the DEFIANT and AVENGER, no survivors,"
  Riley's face went red at that, it meant that there was over
  one thousand already dead. "The CONSTELLATION suffered extreme
  damage and took over one-hundred casualties," R'Ress contiuned.
  "The SARATOGA took some damage but turned tail after the other
  ships were destroyed."
        Riley growled. "Set course for new battlesite, warp
  thirteen," he commanded with such a dark overtone that it even
  sent shivers down Saavik's spine.
        O'Neil frowned at the order, "Aye, sir, warp thirteen."
  He quickly set the course and the velocity as ordered, sending
  the ENTERPRISE faster than any ship had ever gone on its own
  power. The ENTERPRISE quickly began to shake under the strain.
        "Sir, MORAN and HEINLIN are calling," R'Ress piped up.
  "They're asking if they should assist us."
        "Tell them to show up when they can," he angrily ordered.
  "And tell the UNION that their brilliant strategy didn't work,
  and to get as many ships as they can spare over to us."
        "Aye, sir," R'Ress nervously complied.
        "Sheilds, Captain?" Tiber asked nervously, though the
  answer was obvious.
        "Raise sheilds, arm weapons, and red alert," Riley
  ordered, sending the ENTERPRISE headlong into battle like an
  avenging angel. There were going into the fires, again.
 
  CHAPTER EIGHT
 
        The rec deck had emptied with the exception of two, and
  these two were showing no signs of leaving as yet. Rela's
  dueling stick flew underneath Sunak's arm, and he felt the pain
  pierce his skin. He grabbed her arm and flung her easily
  several feet behind him. The strength took Rela by surprise.
  ~You are much stronger than I pictured, my lord.~ She stood and
  came barrelling at her commander poising the stick for a
  strike.
        Sunak was ready for her and thrusted his own dueling
  stick to not only block hers, but send it reeling back across
  the floor. Rela lost balance and fell backwards. She looked up
  and saw her lord with the stick readied for a final blow. ~I
  think,~ he began, ~that you may want to yield now.~
        ~I don't get it,~ she replied as she stood, ~I held that
  stick with a death-grip yet you knocked it out of my hand with
  ease.~ Sunak offered his hand to her and helped her to compose
  herself.
        ~That's the point, you held the stick too tightly, and it just
  snapped off like a heavy branch would on a tree.~ Sunak went
  behind his navigator and put his dueling stick into her hand.
  ~Now clinch this as you would for battle.~ She did so, and her
  veins started to show through her skin. ~That's too tight, ease
  on it. Just put enough pressure to handle the stick and to keep
  it sturdy.~
        Her grip on the stick relaxed somewhat. ~Tell me, sir.
  Why did you apologise to Centurion Tonin when you grabbed him?
  He deserved it didn't he?~
        Sunak fell silent for a moment, and looked into her
  eyes.~I'm not the sort of commander who likes to use
  intimidation and physical abuse to get people to follow my
  orders. I've seen ships that do such and I've seen crews
  attempt to kill their commanders.~ He took a seat on the mat
  the two had been practicing on. ~I don't want my own crew to
  wind up attempting to kill me for something I do.~
        Rela sat and cocked her head with a smile. ~No, you would
  much prefer the Senatorium to cast you off as a traitor for
  starting a war without their permission.~
        Sunak laid a hand on her shoulder. ~You do understand
  what is going on. The Senatorium ordered us to attack any ships
  near the Zone so they could ease their political status with
  colonists out here. I think they, at the time, realised a war
  could result. So they came up with a plan to protect
  themselves.~
        Rela gave a look of concern. ~You mean that they were
  planning on declaring us rogue all along?~
        ~I believe so. I contacted all other ships within the
  area, and when they heard this news they were much more than
  eager to jump to our side.~ Sunak looked away from Rela for a
  few moments, instinctively she moved closer to him. ~What
  bothers me is that I am starting this war.~
        Rela caressed the opposite side of Sunak's face and
  pulled it so he would be looking at her. ~You started this? I
  don't think so, I think you have saved the honor of our people
  with this act.~
	Sunak could feel the soft touch of Rela's hand across his
  face, and he reach for her hand. He started to become a bit
  lost in his concentration as he looked at her. ~Rela,~ he began
  to whisper. She moved over to kiss him and he pulled harshly
  away.
        ~What is it? What's wrong?~
        The was a genuine pain in Sunak's voice as he spoke, a
  pain which seemed to penetrate into his very soul. ~I can't
  take you, Rela, I just can't.~ He started to stand and found
  that he was emotionally unable to. He looked again at her, and
  noted her compassion, her deep caring, her attraction. Could
  this be what love is, he found himself asking. ~Rela, I'm truly
  sorry.~
        She grabbed his hand, and she could feel the dense skin
  of his body for the first time. It was too dense to be Romulan.
  ~I don't understand. I thought that you wanted me, like I
  wanted you. Please talk to me.~
        The softness in her voice relaxed Sunak somewhat. ~I'm
  not a full Rom'lnz by any measure Rela. Only my mother was
  Rom'lnz.~ As he spoke, the words became more painful to bear.
  Rela put her arm around him and parted her other hand in the
  from of a "V" as she caressed his open hand. ~Rela, I'm half
  Klingon,~ he finally admitted, though it had been no secret.
        Rela was taken aback, but didn't stop showing her
  affection.~I knew that. But I thought that Klingons and Rom'lnz
  were incompatible. How could you...~ she found herself lost in
  a train of thought that seemed to lead no where.
        ~My mother died giving birth to me,~ he began slowly,
  painfully caring for each word he let out of his lips. ~My
  Klingon father donated me to Klinzai research. They performed
  experiments on me, corrected the genetic defects in me.~ He
  tried to be soothed by Rela's touch, but there was too much
  pain involved, too many memories. ~They put me on display like
  some sort of animal. I was billed as the greatest feat of
  Klingon science in the entire Avastam.~
        Rela tightened her grip on the commander. ~My lord, if
  this is too much to bear for you then I will...~ Rela could see
  that Sunak's personal reality was overshadowed my memory at
  this point. She only held him that much closer.
        ~In my fourth standard year, a Rom'lnz ship destroyed the
  Klingon science lab where I was displayed, and brought me into
  their influence. I was too physically superior to them for me
  to be one of the k'manatri, so they inducted me into the fleet
  early.~
        Rela looked into her commander's eyes again, this time
  seeing all the emotion he possessed. ~S'T'L'Sunak,~ she
  whispered to him. ~I still don't understand what your fear is.
  I can't see what bothers you so much.~
        Sunak's look of pain subsided, and a look of
  incompleteness swept across his face. ~I do not know love. For
  me there was only the hate of the klivam and the duty of the
  Rom'lnz. I saw others while I was rising through the ranks. I
  saw the way that males and females interacted, but I could
  never take part.~
        Rela brushed the side of Sunak's rough face. ~You can
  now.~ At this point, she kissed him thoughtfully and backed
  off. ~Commander,~ she began with a grin on her face, ~I think
  you have a ship to run. Your bridge misses you.~
        The giant Romulan stood, helping Rela get up. ~I thank
  you, Rela, I have never felt as if I could talk to anyone.~ He
  held her a moment, a sensation he found soothing. ~I will,~ he
  hesitated so he could pick the right words,~ see you once our
  fleet has regrouped a repaired themselves.~ The two touched
  their hands together in a ritual only true Romulans could
  understand and then Sunak walked off to the lift.
        Rela considered following him for a moment, but declined.
  There would be no point to pursue this matter on the bridge,
  the rest of the crew had no need to overhear the commander's
  affairs.
        When the lift doors opened, Rela was surprised to see
  Tonin walk through towards her. ~Well, what did he say about
  me?~
        Rela smiled at the Centurion's nervousness. ~You're quite
  safe, Tonin. Sunak's apology was sincere.~
        Tonin looked at her quizzically. ~I get the distinct
  impression that more went on here than just dueling.~ I know,
  Tonin thought to himself, I am asking a loaded question. But
  that was a damn long duel with someone three times your
  strength and twice your speed.
        ~Let's just say that the Commander had vulnerabilities no
  man could ever get to.~ Rela called that the end of the
  conversation and walked to the lift with a broad smile on her
  face. Tonin just set about massaging his neck.
 
  CHAPTER NINE
 
        ~Commander,~ a Centurion called as Sunak returned to his
  command chair, ~we had registered a Federation battleship,
  closing in at us at very high velocity.~
      Sunak observed the reaction of the crew. What could this
  one ship be to be so bold as to challenge a fleet, they were
  wondering. It was obvious, however, it was the banshee devil
  which had somehow managed to destroy the IRON CLAW II only days
  before. Now it had come to try and claim them. ~On screen,~
  Sunak grimly commanded.
        The screen flickered a bit, then finally fixed itself. On
  it was the image of the Federation's newest and most powerful
  warship, the USS ENTERPRISE. Her massive form was charging
  them at speeds unheard of.
        Rela entered the bridge and was taken aback by the view
  she was welcomed. ~What in the name of the Brothers is that?~
  she asked, temporarily letting her discipline slip. ~Is that
  the new Federation ship?~
        ~It is the ENTEPRISE, Rela,~ Sunak responded as she
  assumed her seat. ~She is headed directly for the battlesite,
  and will pass near us quite soon.~
        ~Sensors are also indicating two scouting vessels,~ Tonin
  continued. ~They're of a type that I've never seen before,~ he
  added with a bit of confusion. ~They are farther away and
  are travelling much slower than the battleship.~
        Sunak stroked thoughtfully on his chin, ~She's charging
  right into us. Her Captain knows we're still here,~ he
  concluded. ~Raise sheilds and drop us from cloaked mode,~ he
  commanded.
        ~Drop the cloak, commander?~ Tonin responded. ~Is that
  wise, sir? Surely we're better off with the cloaked avantage,~
  he added, daring to go too far once more.
        But Sunak was undaunted. ~The ENTERPRISE, we know, has
  seeker torpedoes. If she comes in firing, we'll be destroyed.
  The cloaking device adds no protection for us.~
        Tonin complied, causing the ship to shimmer into reality.
  ~Shall I pass the order to the other ships, Commander?~ he
  asked.
        ~No,~ Sunak replied coldly. ~There's no need for their
  commander to know of our other ships just yet. We'll decloak
  them when needed. But for now we'll offer ourselves as a
  target.~
        Rela drew in a deep breath. ~May the glory be ours today,
  Commander.~
 
        "A battleship has decloaked at site, Captain," Tiber
  announced. "She's raising shields and arming weapons."
        Riley did his best to hide his concern. There was now no
  way of telling if the FIERY RAVEN's siblings were in the area.
  But at least there was one target. "Estimated time to
  intercept, Lieutenant?"
        "Sixteen minutes at present speed," O'Neil replied. "But
  engineering reports that our engines are red-lining and that we
  should cut back to warp twelve," he continued, frightened.
  There was even noticable sweat coming from his brow.
        "If their Commander has half a mind he's already
  prepared himself against the anti-matter trick," Riley mused
  remembering the previous battle. "Since I don't have really
  anything else in mind, we'll slug it out the old fashioned
  way." If Riley was trying to console anyone, he failed.
        "How soon before MORAN and HIENLEN can arrive?" Saavik
  queried.
        "Thirty minutes at their best speed," R'Ress responded
  depressingly. "They're running at maximum speed at warp ten.
  We've got an impressive jump on them."
        "Which is how I want it," Riley replied in a grimace.
  "We'll go in a do some damage, then turn tail and pull the
  RAVEN in, hopefully. If it works, we should catch her away from
  her flock." It was a gamble, Riley wasn't even sure that the
  RAVEN's fleet had stayed in the area. He also wasn't even sure
  about the tactics that the RAVEN's commander was fond of using.
  He was sure, however, that he wouldn't fall for such a trick.
        R'Ress had already begun relaying the order when Riley
  suddenly cut him off. "No, belay that," he commanded, which
  caused the crew to pause. "Tell them to sweep around and just
  scan for tactical analysis. Fleet will need the cloaking
  registers for those ships."
        Saavik raised her eyebrow at her Captain's apparent
  indecision but said nothing. He was faring no worse than anyone
  else, but was having a hard time since he couldn't reverse his
  decision to rush into battle. He reacted emotionally, she
  thought to herself, and he was now regretting it.
        But Riley was quick, and that's what counted. "He's
  baiting me," he muttered aloud. "He wants me to fire on his
  ship, that's why he's out there, uncloaked."
        Tiber studied over his instrumentation for a moment,
  desperately looking for signs of other cloaking patterns.
  "We're too far out of range to detect any patterns," Tiber
  announced. "We've got ten minutes travel before we can find
  them, if there are any other ships there."
        Riley smiled. "Yes, they're there, waiting for me to jump
  right in and get shot at," he concluded, a bit angry with
  himself. "I can't believe how stupid I've been." Riley stood up
  and walked to Tiber's helmsman's station. He studied the
  instrumentation carefully. "They're trying to catch the fleet a
  little at a time, going for the scouting parties instead of key
  targets. That's why it took so long for us to find out our
  ships are missing."
        Saavik gazed at her captain, trying to make sense of his
  random thoughts. "I don't understand, sir? What do they have to
  gain by attacking scouting units."
        "The ability to pick off ships a few at a time instead of
  a coordinated effort," Riley replied matter-of-factly. "The
  Romulans aren't trying to fight a war, they're trying to
  sabotauge our strength in these sectors by stripping some of
  our defenses."
        Saavik's eyes widened as she finally was able to draw
  conclusions. "The Romulans are trying to even out the forces by
  using what they call 'rogue agents' to attack a handful of
  Federation vessels," she commented. "They're at a disadvantage,
  strategically speaking."
        Riley again took his seat. "Desperately, if they would
  try such a crazy idea," he commented. "Some Senator must have
  had a few too many ales one night."
        Tiber span his chair a bit, not having grasped the
  meaning. "Why rogue agents? I don't understand."
        "It's simple," Saavik replied. "The Romulans have likely
  devised this scheme to cause slight damage to the Federation
  defenses along the Neutral Zone. These 'rogue agents' are
  enlisted to find and destroy any lone vessels. The skirmished
  are designed to look like the acts of a renegade commander in a
  new ship."
        "That way," Riley concluded, "the Romulans can't
  officially be held the blame. That's what Konok meant when we
  captured him. We can't morally declare war on the Romulans
  since it all the act of some disgruntled ship Captains."
        Tiber nodded in understanding. "But what happened now?
  Why would they attack an intercept fleet so openly?"
        Riley smiled. "Because," he began with deep
  understanding, "I think that the RAVEN's commander has had it
  with being the scapegoat and has taken matters into his own
  hands."
 
  CHAPTER TEN
 
        "Entering sector," Tiber announced. "Definate Romulan
  cloaking signatures around, looks like a small fleet of them."
  Tiber muttered with a hint of expectation.
        Riley straightened himself up in his seat. "Lauch a
  volley of our seeker torpedoes, and keep it up until the MORAN
  or HIENLEN arrives," he commanded grimly. "With luck, maybe we
  can even the odds a bit."
        The ENTERPRISE fired, in very rapid succession, a barrage
  of torpedoes in what appeared to be empty space. Desipte the
  fact that the FIERY RAVEN was standing to fire directly in
  front of them, the ENTERPRISE Captain was firing at ghosts.
        Sunak's eyes widened in terror as he saw the maneuver.
  The ENTERPRISE Captain hadn't fallen for the trap, but was
  going to spring it the hard way. ~Get our vessels uncloaked and
  shielded,~ he barked even as a group of the torpedoes slammed
  into one of the three hidden TAKARA MORLATTA's, reducing it to
  drifting ash. Suank's surprise was substantial, ~Fire torpedo
  and bring us in for phaser barrage,~ he commanded.
        The the ENTERPRISE torpedo shower hadn't dried itself up
  as yet. The remaining torpedoes found a new target, a TEMAR
  VASTARI which was in the process of decloaking. Five of the
  remaining torpedoes ruptured the cloaking pattern, atomizing
  the vessel in mid-cloak.
        "Incoming," Tiber announced as the FIERY RAVEN unleashed
  her counter assault. Tiber fired the phasers into it, hoping to
  be as lucky as he had been before, but this torpedo didn't
  disperse.
        The ENTERPRISE shook as the Romulan torpedo slammed into
  her. "Return fire," Riley commanded, sending his ship further
  into the battle. Two of the original torpedoes remained,
  crashing into the remaining TEMAR VASTARI's sheilds. The
  Romulan ship took the assault, but the follow up of the
  ENTERPRISE's powerful phasers finished her off cleanly.
        Suank stood in disbelief, his fleet had already been
  comprimised. Of course, the two titans hadn't done much to
  one-another as yet. ~Fire phasers,~ the giant Romulan ordered.
  Rela complied, sending beams of hot-death into the ENTEPRISE's
  sheilding.
        Of course, the other remaining warbirds, two TAKARA
  MORLATTAs, joined in firing on the devil which had attacked
  them. "Sheilds weakening, we can't stand a prolonged attack
  like this," Tiber announced as the ENTERPRISE was bombarded
  with phaser-fire.
        "Back off, back off," Riley barked and gestured wildly
  with his hands. Tiber pulled the ENTERPRISE gently back,
  trying to gain distance from the counter-attacking vessels.
  "Launch torpedoes," he commanded angrily.
        The bulk of the torpedo barrage was geared for the FIERY
  RAVEN, which suffered massive shield loss. She would have
  suffered actual damage if three of the torpedoes hadn't decided
  to track the two smaller craft instead.
        Then the RAVEN fired her most powerful weapon again,
  sending a ball of deadly energy at the Federation starship.
  ~Whatever it takes, Tonin,~ Sunak warned menacingly, ~keep that
  Federation ship in our arc of fire.~
        Tiber had tried firing at the torpedo again, but the
  FIERY RAVEN's weaponry seemed to be more stubborn than the IRON
  CLAW II's. The ball slammed into the ENTERPRISE in a shockwave
  which sent crewmembers reeling.
        R'Ress's communications panel exploded at him, but the
  material caused him no personal damage. He instinctively rushed
  for the fire retardant nearby and commenced spraying.
        Tiber strained to return to his seat. "We're down to only
  ten percent shielding, Captain," he reported mournfully. "Their
  phaser fire is draining us away."
        This would be it then, Riley confessed to himself. At
  least we exposed them for what they were. "Fire another
  torpedo spread at the FIERY RAVEN and prepare to jettison the
  log buoy," he grimly commanded.
        But at once one of the TAKARA MORLATTA's hull was torn
  from behind and the other broke off firing. The FIERY RAVEN
  even seemed to give pause as three new ships entered the
  battle, severly changing the odds.
        The USS MORAN and the USS HIENLEN rushed forward, photon
  torpedoes firing. Behind them was another powerhouse, the USS
  SARATOGA, ready to avenge her earlier defeat.
        ~We had him,~ Sunak fumed as the sensor reports came in.
  ~Order our escorts to dispatch of the newcomers. The ENTERPRISE
  belongs to us,~ he commanded.
 

-- 

"Our crew's living quarters have left the ship."
			- Secundam Yto aboard the IRON CLAW II
Neale Davidson, another writer wanna-be. neale@mentor.cc.purdue.edu