Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, and is owned by Paramount Pictures. It is not mine. Please do not sue me.

Shot In The Dark

Chapter Two

Captain’s Log, Stardate 3145.3:

Our plan to dupe the Klingons worked well enough, though it could have been better; apparently, the Klingon Captain lacks in patience. But he has realized his mistake, and has come about. He is making no secret of his presence, and is closing at his best speed; I doubt greatly that he intends anything but to blow us from the sky. I will be loading this report into the disaster log, in the event that we fail to escape the Raptor.

David released the record button and eyed the tactical plot. "Range?"

"Ten million kilometers."

"What’s their speed?"

"Point six eight cee, and still accelerating." Obrecki scowled, and added, "We’ve entered the radiopause, but as long as we’re still running at full power, we will be visible."

"I know that, Mister Obrecki."

"Sorry, sir."

"Don’t be. You’re paid to tell me these things." David grinned. "How long before we’ve crossed the radiopause?"

"One hundred seconds as of...now."

"Perfect. Range to the mine?"

"The Raptor is just under a million kilometers, but slightly off course. They won’t hit it."

"Not a problem. What’s their closest point of approach to it?"

"CPA to mine is ninety thousand kilometers, in one hundred sixty seconds."

"So we’ll be across the radiopause by then. When they reach CPA, detonate the mine, then execute plan Charlie."

"Aye, sir."

- - - - -

"The Federation vessel has launched a mine." Grel examined the tactical plot. "We will pass no closer than fifty thousand kellicamey, and will not be damaged if they detonate it."

"How long ago?"

"Unsure. The mine is coated with sensor-absorbent material, but judging from its trajectory and speed, and that of the Federation vessel, they most likely launched it shortly after we realized their deception."

"Ignore it. It is of no consequence. Torpedo room."

"Aye."

"Status of forward tube?"

"Loaded, and ready to charge."

"Excellent." He looked over at his weapons officer. "Kreve! Do you have a firing solution?"

"Not yet, My Lord. The Federation vessel is still outside the torpedo’s range, and their vector is directly parallel to our own. Six more tup."

"Use the active sensors if you need to. They already know we’re here."

"Aye, sir." Kreve toggled a switch, and fed more information into the battle computer. "Target has crossed the radiopause, but they’re still using impulse drive. I have a firing solution. Torpedo range in five tup."

Grel looked up from his instruments. "Mine has reached closest point of approach."

- - - - -

"Captain, the mine has reached closest point of approach, and I am executing plan Charlie."

The blast of the photon mine emitted large amounts of neutron radiation. Starships were well shielded against the radiation, and no harm could come of its systems. But the sensor arrays of both ships were unshielded, for the simple reason that they had to be.

At her extreme distance from the mine, Kepler suffered only a momentary flicker in her sensory, but that told the Helmsman everything he needed to know. Ensign Guin immediately cut the impulse drive, putting the Kepler back on chemical thrusters. Their initial burn pulled them deeper into the orbit, and deeper into the radiopause.

- - - - -

"What happened!" Koth was livid. "Where did they go?"

"The mine blast has overridden our sensor lock. We lost the contact. Simultaneous with that, the Federation vessel cut its impulse drive and has altered course." Kreve smashed a fist down on his console. "My firing solution is invalid. Two tup to recompute, and we will need a clear sensor paint on the target--"

"Fire on your last bearing."

"It will likely have no effect."

"We may be able to illuminate them with the blast, and reacquire. Fire!"

- - - - -

"Torpedo incoming. Unguided, and looks like it’s going to miss us by several hundred kilometers."

"They may be trying the same trick that we just used." David’s face was illuminated only by the lights from his chair controls; the ship was running silent, and all non-essential powered systems had been shut down.

"Unlikely." Weber shook his head, and added, "We’re not using our active sensors, so..."

"Then maybe they’re using it like a flare. One second after the torpedo detonates, give us a minimum burn to alter course, just to be on the safe side."

"The Raptor is reducing speed. Looks like they’re unwilling to enter the radiopause."

David grinned. "Fancy that."

- - - - -

"Negative contact on the blast. Wait...no. Ion activity in the radiopause is producing sensor ghosts."

Koth scowled. "We cannot enter the radiopause. Our shields will be degraded, our sensors badly affected..."

"Their sensors must be equally degraded," observed Vash. "And we already know that their shields are not functional."

"What do you suggest?"

"As you have already indicated, entering the radiopause ourselves will likely tip the balance in favour of the Federation ship. I suggest that it is possible to attack across the layer, using sensor probes and torpedoes."

Koth scowled at him. "How would a probe communicate across the layer? Even if we program it to re-cross the radiopause, the Federation ship will undoubtably change course and invalidate any firing solution. You have not convinced me."

"The probe need not transmit through the radiopause. It need merely transmit to a second probe, resting at the radiopause."

Koth considered him, then nodded. "You have convinced me. See to the programming of the probes yourself."

- - - - -

David glanced down at the tactical plot. "So we’ve got about fifty more minutes before anything can happen, right?"

"Aye, sir."

"Okay. Mister Obrecki, you have the conn. I’ll be on the mess deck if I’m needed."

"Yes, sir."

"Tom?"

Weber shrugged. "Why not?"

It was not goofing off; every officer knew that a Captain distracted by his own low blood sugar would be a liability. Weber joined his Captain in the turbolift, and David gripped the controls. "Mess deck."

The lift dropped downward, and David began to curse. Loudly, slowly, and with great creativity. Cursing was an art form on Canaris. Weber remained silent, though David was certain that he was making notes mentally.

Finally, David ran down, and glanced over at his exec. "Well, Tom? What do you make of this mess?"

"I think you’ve already covered my opinion of it, Dave." Weber’s expression didn’t change, even when cracking a joke.

David indicated the man’s shirt cuffs. "You’re entitled to wear one and a half stripes, Tom." Given that he was his equal in rank, David found it odd that his exec chose to wear only the single stripe of a Lieutenant.

"Two Captains sink a ship, Captain."

"Come off it, Tom." David rubbed his forehead. "You’re a Lieutenant Commander, not a Lieutenant. You’re a Captain, even not of this boat. You’re my Executive Officer, which means you’re supposed to be helping me out with this sort of crap. But you’ve been...well, not unhelpful, but I know that you’re a better officer than you’ve been pretending to be."

"Dave, the last thing I want to do is to undermine your authority on your own bridge," said Weber. "Lord knows I’d hate it if it happened to me. Right now, we’re the focus of the first battle of a new war with the Klingons. So any tension I might cause that I can avoid, I must do so."

David nodded. "I can respect that. But the current situation--"

"You have the best handle you can on it, Captain. My only suggestion, you shot down." His mouth quirked, in the closest thing to a smile that David had yet seen from him. "With a better idea, so I have no complaint coming."

The lift came to a halt, and the two officers stepped out.

The mess deck was fairly empty at this time. With the ship at general quarters, every crewman, including the mess specialists, was at battle stations. But Crewman Roberts was on the sick list, and was nursing a coffee in one corner. David punched a request for a coffee and a chicken sandwich into the mess computer. Without a cook on duty, his selection was very limited, but chicken salad was always available.

Weber selected a caesar salad, and joined his Captain at a mess table. "The Klingons might follow us in. They can be most dogged in their pursuit."

"Your tone makes it obvious that you think this unlikely," said David.

"Yes. However, it is a possibility that we should be ready for."

"What do you suggest?"

"Well, we changed course as soon as we crossed the radiopause, so they have no idea where we are." Weber shrugged. "Unless you want to try another drone..."

"That might be worthwhile." David considered. "When we get closer to fully operational status, or if the Klingons try anything new. That would be the ideal time to use another drone. Set it up now."

Weber glanced down at his salad. "Can I finish lunch first?"

- - - - -

"Relay probe is fully programmed and loaded into the forward torpedo tube. Penetrator probe is programmed, and on the loading rails."

Koth nodded. "Any register on the target’s position?"

"None, My Lord. They have crossed below a layer of ionic disruption, and I have completely lost their trace."

"Deploy the relay."

The linear accelerators whined, and the tactical plot showed the relay probe streaking towards the radiopause. It fell into orbit around the gas giant, its speed bleeding off into the gravity well, and it fell off the screen as it crossed the radiopause horizon.

"Time to re-acquisition of relay probe, fifteen tup."

"Noted." Koth nodded at Kreve. "Inform the torpedo room to load the penetration probe, but do not power it up until three tup before relay probe activation. Inform me when power-up starts."

"Yes, My Lord."

- - - - -

"Captain on the bridge."

David ran from the lift, still sealing his undress tunic. "As you were. Report."

"Deflectors restored, and phaser banks are now recharging, Captain." Chief Darr looked insufferably pleased with himself, and he had a right to be; the work had been finished fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. "Mains will be back online in twenty minutes, and we’ll be able to use phaser power at full output at that time. Warp drive still disabled, and will be until we can put into port for refit."

"Good work, Chief. Tactical?"

"We have a probe breaching the radiopause, Captain." Weber touched a key, and the main display sprang to life, showing a tactical display. Nothing seemed to exist outside the radiopause; the interference at the boundary of the gas giant’s magnetic field rendered sensors worthless at the edge of the Layer. But the small impulse drive powering the probe shone on the screen.

"What’s on his mind?" growled David. "Can a probe that small generate a signal strong enough to penetrate the radiopause?"

"Sir, our shipboard sensors cannot penetrate the radiopause reliably, so I doubt highly that this device can do so." Weber smirked. "They may be relying on the probe leaving the radiopause, so they can collect the data."

"What if we shoot it down?"

"Phaser fire will give away our position most effectively, and the probe will not pass within range of the LASERs."

"Damn. Mister Salazar." David sat down in the center seat. "I want a signal strength measurement on that probe."

"Already got it, Captain. Detection range is six thousand kilometers. This information is based on the measured strength of the probe’s signal, and the distance to the probe as determined by triangulation. No active sensors."

"Good job, Mister Salazar." David considered the plot. "Looks like the probe will pass within its detection radius of us. Mister Guin, can you plot a burn, reaction drive only, to keep it out of reach?"

"Afraid not, Captain." Guin shook his head. "We’ll need to use the impulse engines, or we risk falling out of orbit."

"Okay, best possible solution to avoid detection, and plot a second burn for after the probe leaves. We’ll invalidate their sensor readings thoroughly by the time the probe leaves the radiopause."

- - - - -

"Probe reports an impulse burn, My Lord." Grel grinned, baring his teeth. "I am transferring data to the weapons console."

"Excellent." Koth turned to the weapons officer. "Kreve, do you have a firing solution?"

"Impossible at this time, My Lord. I will have to fire on dead reckoning."

"Set torpedoes to boresight guidance." Koth mashed a communications stud. "Forward room. Load one torpedo, and charge."

"Torpedo charging, Captain."

"Aspect change on the target. They are turning."

"Perfect," snarled Kreve joyfully. "That locks it up. I have a firing solution, Captain."

"Torpedo is charged."

"Fire!"

The tiny fighter shuddered as its forward torpedo room launched the weapon. The linear accelerators boosted the torpedo to frightful speeds - the acceleration of the rails was clocked at fifty thousand Q’onos-standard gravities - and once the torpedo cleared the fighter’s impulse field, its tiny on-board warp drive generator spooled up, boosting its velocity to 0.98c. It passed through the radiopause, and activated its seeker head.

- - - - -

"Torpedo incoming!"

David’s eyes widened with shock. "All ahead full, alter course to fifteen mark minus thirty! Give me max positive zed thrust on reaction drive as well."

"Impulse at maximum."

Salazar was firing up the jammers, and scowled. "Captain, the torpedo has acquired us and is in homing mode. Thirty seconds to detonation range."

"Cut the reaction drive, and stand by aft phasers."

"It’s dropping below us...whoever programmed that torpedo knows our defensive systems. It’s staying out of weapons arc."

"How the hell did they find us?" David shook his head. "Never mind that. Guns, acquire the Klingon probe and make it go away."

"Affirm." Obrecki haloed the probe, and fired a single needle-thin blast from the forward phaser array. "Probe destroyed."

"Torpedo still closing, fifteen seconds."

"Rear deflectors off."

"Sir?"

David grasped the arms of the command seat. "Cut rear deflectors. Mister Weber, stand by cargo sling controls."

"Yes, sir." Weber shifted over to the Engineering station.

"Impact in ten seconds."

"Rear deflectors cut."

"Mister Obrecki, stand by for snapshot on rear phasers."

Weber looked over at his captain. "Deadbolts retracted on cargo sling; standing by with magnetics."

"Impact in five."

"Jettison cargo container."

Weber toggled a stud, and the cargo container was released. It slipped backwards, starting to tumble from the eddies of the impulse drive.

"Obrecki, fire on the cargo container."

Phaser fire from the rear bank lashed out, exploding the container and spilling foodstuffs and water behind the transport. The contents billowed outwards, and the torpedo, suddenly presented with a much larger target, became confused. It homed in on the closest item in its targeting cone: the remains of the cargo container.

"Detonation."

The shockwave of the torpedo shook the ship, but the defensive screens protecting the engines and bridge did their job. Sensors failed, but quickly restored themselves automatically.

"Cargo container completely destroyed." Salazar looked up. "Minor damage to defensive screens. No damage to any ship’s systems."

"Alter course to three fifteen mark fifty, all ahead full, ten minutes. Mister Guin, plot us a parabolic around the gas giant. Treat the initial vector of the torpedo as extending through to the Klingon ship, take us out past the other side of the radiopause."

"We’re leaving the radiopause?"

David scowled. "They’re somehow communicating across the Layer. If we shoot down incoming probes, or maneuver away from them, we give away our position. In fifteen more minutes, we’ll have the mains back online, and we can go toe to toe with the bastards." He toggled a communications stud. "Chief Darr to the bridge."

- - - - -

"My Lord, I have detonation."

"Stand by second probe." Koth snarled at the screen. "Can you scan the detonation area?"

"We’re getting some secondaries," said Grel. "The computer is working on them...Got it. Damage pattern consistent with the destruction of a cargo container." He looked up. "It is possible that we struck the transport, but more probably all we hit was the cargo pod."

"We cannot risk that. If they get away, they will warn the Federation of our operation in this sector. Launch the next probe."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Vash."

"My Lord?"

"How badly would our shields be affected if we cross the radiopause?"

Vash considered, and answered carefully. "Defensive screens around the bridge and weapons modules would be unaffected; however, they are quite weak compared to the primary outer guard. The magnetic interference around the planet will de-tune our shields, perhaps halving their effective strength and causing a constant strain on the shield generators."

"So they will be weaker, and less able to recover." Koth nodded. "Understood."

"Probe away."

- - - - -

"Incoming probe, Captain." Salazar tapped his controls, and looked up at the Captain. "Current vector carries it away from us, but our impulse engines will give away our position."

"Noted. Mister Guin, stop all impulse engines, and give us a burn on chemical thrusters away from the probe."

"Aye, sir."

"Probe has altered course, and is steering towards our position." Salazar eyed the instruments. "Okay, it’s settled down on its new course...seems it’s steered towards the point that we cut impulse drive."

"Will it detect us?" David leaned forward, staring at the tactical display.

"Unlikely."

"I’d prefer to hear ’impossible’, but I’ll take what I can get. Mister Guin, alter your course to put us on a normal to the probe’s course."

"Already done, Captain. But we’ve got a lot of velocity from the impulse burn, and I’m having difficulty compensating for that."

David scowled, and opened his mouth to add a comment to this, but turned as the turbolift hatch hissed open.

"Chief Darr, reporting as ordered."

"Perfect." David stood and walked over to the command intelligence station. "If I recall correctly, Chief, we have four bomb-pumped communications drones."

"Yes, sir. But the emissions coil on one of the drones failed. We had it torn down to replace it when the excrement hit the rotary air impeller."

"Won’t be needing to finish that." David pulled up a blueprint of the probes. "What’s the output of these probes?"

"About fifty gigawatts."

David tapped a few more controls, and pulled up a different set of blueprints. "Think you can modify the birds to match this schematic?"

Darr frowned, and scratched his cheek. "I could do. We’d have to pull about twenty phaser pistols from the armoury. Plus, these drones were not very tactically effective. A simple photon torpedo--"

"Have you, in your copious spare time, managed to get the antimatter feed on our torpedo launchers working?"

"No." Darr sighed. "That was stupid of me. I’ll need twenty minutes per drone to get these up and running."

"Crash priority. Pull as many people as you need."

"Twenty minutes total, then. We have the workspace to build all four simultaneously." Darr grinned wolfishly. "I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with these, sir."

"I’ll record it for you. Get on it."

"Sir." Weber turned from his station. "I have the decoy drone programmed, and we’re five minutes from the radiopause."

"Good." David turned as Darr headed back to the turbolift. "Load the drone into tube one, and stand by."

- - - - -

"No contact from the probe at this time, My Lord."

Koth scowled at the tactical display. "Their last projected course would have them leaving the radiopause here." He tapped the screen. "Their captain has shown himself to be a shrewd tactician; he will realize by now that the radiopause no longer offers sufficient protection to him...lay in a course for this point. Half impulse point, parabolic course."

"A parabolic course will have us cutting through the radiopause."

Koth nodded. "If we detect them as we pass through, we can fire on them, before they can fire on us."