Into The Breach - Chapter #62

Free Enterprise  -  Into The Breach!  -  #62


All was quiet on the bridge of Drago's Hand while she and the companion fleet streaked through space at Warp 10. General Tyr's mind was thousands of parsecs away as his mind played through the battle scenario. Every step and action was scripted down to the last eyelash bat.

Tyr smiled as he remembered the infamous “Mr. Murphy”. But, Nietzscheans had ways of dealing with him, too.

“General. We are 9 light years away from our objective.” The young male helmsman called.

“Excellent. Initiate plan Alpha. Maintain communications silence.” Tyr ordered. “Reduce speed to warp two until approximately one light year away. Go to impulse and get us in as close as possible without setting off the proximity alerts.” he continued as he stood.

“Aye, Sir!” the helmsman replied, as he worked his panel.

Halfway there “Mr. Murphy” showed his ugly face.

“Sir! Short range sensors detect a cloaked construct one light year away!” the weapons officer called.

“Cloaked? Is it Orion or Romulan?” Tyr asked.

“It's of Vulcan registry, Sir.” was the response.

“Vulcan! What the hell are THEY doing here?” Tyr demanded as he frowned.

“It is registered as an observatory. Supposedly, they are studying the Nebula.”

“Wonderful!” Tyr thought.

“How many personnel are currently stationed on this supposed observatory?” Tyr asked.

“There are eight, Sir.” was the response.

“Dispatch a ship to remove said personnel and the memory core. Detain the personnel, assure them that they are safe and will be returned to Vulcan.” Tyr ordered, highly annoyed at this minor interruption.

“Aye, Sir.” was the response.

“Now where was I?” Tyr thought, irritated at the stupidity of some races. Though the Vulcan claimed to be hyper-intellectual. To place an observatory in the heart of a dangerous situation like that. . . . . .

“Inform me when we reach one light years distance from the Nebula.” Tyr ordered.

The plan Tyr had initiated was multi-pronged. There were 15 substations or branches of Ghann's operation working as well as the headquarters they were now approaching. Tyr's plan was that in one coordinated attack he was going to deal with them all once and for all. It was typical Nietzschean stratagem. Come down hard, fast, and overwhelm.

“One light year, Sir!” The helmsman called two hours later.

“No external weapons batteries? No defensive ships?” Tyr asked.

“None, Sir.” was the response from Weaps. Obviously, Ghann was secure in the fact that the Mootaru Nebula was too dangerous to broach. So, he didn't deem it necessary to waste resources on external weaponry or patrolling ships.

“Not that it would've mattered.” Tyr thought to himself.

“Prepare boarding teams. Take us in slow. Real slow.” Tyr said, as he stepped down for his Attila the Hun like command chair and walked forward to glower at the view screen.

He watched keenly as Drago's Hand crept into the beautiful but unstable depths of the Mootaru Nebula, and approached the planetoid.

Approximately a half parsec from the planetoid:

“Sir! We are encountering strong interference!”

“Back off.” Tyr ordered. In response, the helmsman eased the huge vessel back. It was as if Drago's Hand had taken a straight pin, stuck it into an electric socket, and got zapped.

“Broadcast this.” Tyr said, as he handed Khan's disc off to the sciences officer. The officer slipped it into the console player and everyone was treated to the sound of Khan singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. Tyr, who was the Katay's Pride Brother had only heard him sing snatches of songs, but never a whole song, was nearly mesmerized.

“Interference gone, Sir!” the helm officer shouted.

“Take us in close! Right up to the front door.” Tyr ordered. He watched the view screen as they crept forward to the planetoid and discovered it really wasn't a planetoid. It was an “artificial construct” just like Khan said.

It was a giant metal ball which was covered with what looked like pimples to the naked eye. Upon further investigation these were revealed to be standard entrance or exit hatches. Obviously getting in was easy. Staying alive once one got in was another story.

“Match us up with the nearest one, Ensign. We're going in.” Tyr ordered, as he walked past his seat to a waiting officer who handed him his bandolier. He was also given two gauss guns, and a gauss rifle which he slung across his back.

He then looked to the left at the person sitting at an unoccupied station.

“Come with me Ada.” he said. He and Ada slid down a fireman's like pole down to the lower decks of Dragos Hand. Once there Tyr was met with hundreds of other officers, all who were similarly and heavily armed and ready for bear. They all waited. There was a soft clunk as the ship abutted against one of the planetoids hatches. Then there was the tell tale hiss as it cycled open.

Tyr, Ada and his subordinates stepped into the tunnel and immediately walked into a dark, very cold and foggy atmosphere. Ada looked around fascinated, as the Nietzscheans were not only still breathing, and alive but breathing out puffs of condensation.

“Tycelene gas. A normal humanoid being would have been dead in seconds.” she said. Ada was one of Starfleet's most advanced EMH's, a Mark 20 which did not require a tricorder to examine patients or environments. “Despite protective gear. The particulate matter of this gas can circumvent even the most sophisticated gear.” she intoned softly, as the walked.

Tyr heard her, but didn't hear her, because he was in full battle mode and “in the zone”. He'd donned shooters glasses to protect his sensitive eyes. All around him, hundreds had done the same.

He went to a bank of rungs which led upwards, and dictated through hand signals that they should all continue up and do a clean sweep once they reached their objective. Hundreds nodded and silently split into groups and continued up. One group stayed with Tyr. Of course, they had to protect the General's back.

“Ada, you are with me.” he said, he reached up and grabbed a rung. General Tyr Anazasi began to climb. Ada followed.


* * * * * * * * * * * *

By the time Tyr's group reached the central hub of operation they found themselves in the thick of a fierce firefight. Here's where the rubber met the road and hard.

For all intents and purposes the Orions fought hard and long. As if their very lives depended on it, and indeed it did. But, they were just no match for the super human Nietzscheans, their superior weaponry, tactics and sheer overwhelming numbers. In the end every Orion lay dead. The Nietzscheans were largely unharmed except for various scratches, lacerations and a few burns. Injuries that would heal in a few hours.

“Where to next, Sir?” One of Tyr's Captains asked.

“You stand watch while I go forth to clean out the roaches nest.” Tyr replied.

“Aye, Sir.” the Captain replied. Tyr, Ada and his crew turned towards the double doors which were none other than Ghann's inner sanctum.

Surprisingly he and his compatriots were able to walk straight in. Ghann, was a huge Orion male, dressed in an expensive suit, sporting several rings on every finger. Not only was he tall but tremendously obese. He was sitting behind a huge desk and was surrounded by his lieutenants.

There was a brief Texas stand off as both sides brandished weapons. However, the Nietzscheans won hands down with more people and more weapons.

“Oh, I see you've returned my favorite wench.” Ghann said, as he espied Ada. The reason was the fact that Tyr had reconfigured Ada's EMH parameters to look exactly like Tamara. Only she was dressed in Nietzschean leather and chain mail. Ghann remembered Tamara even after all of these years. . . . . .. .

“Favorite wench?” Ada wondered, as she cocked her left eyebrow.

“Who the hell are you?” Ghann asked, as if he suddenly saw the real picture and noticed Tyr for the first time.

“The last person you will ever see in your miserable life.” Tyr said coldly, as he simultaneously withdrew his gauss gun from it's holster, pointed it at Ghann's bloated head and squeezed off three shots. Tyr had the pleasure of seeing Ghann's head explode like a watermelon. Ada witnessed it also and raised her eyebrow wondering what this was all about.

A brief firefight ensued afterwords and minutes later the rest of Ghann's men lay dead.

“I want the memory core stripped. Release and remove all of the prisoners and slaves. I want this place cleared and all personnel back aboard their ships in an hour. We will make way then.” Tyr ordered. He removed his glasses and wiped at his left eye. He had a nasty cut on his forehead which was bleeding into his eye. Ada commandeered a medical kit from one of the field doctors and used wipes to clean, and sprayed the wound with Clear-Seal.

“That will surfice until you return to Drago's Hand.” Ada said.

“Thank You, Doctor.” Tyr replied and rewarded her with a crooked smile. He then re-holstered his gauss gun and he along with others headed for the “normal” exit points which were no longer obstructed.


* * * * * * * * *

Approximately one hour later. Tyr was back in his command chair and receiving reports from his other ships. The entire complex had been emptied of prisoners and slaves. All records had been removed. Now, they were ready to initiate the second and final phase of their operation.

“Helm, pull us back one half light year.” Tyr ordered.

“Aye, Sir.” the helm officer replied and made the adjustments. The powerful ship pulled away from the planetoid and out of the Mootaru Nebula.

“Are the Nova Bombs ready?” Tyr asked. As they reached the designated point.

“Yes, Sir.” was the reply.

“Fire at will.” Tyr ordered.

“Aye, Sir. Batteries one through five, away.” the weaps officer replied. Tyr watched as the bombs streaked away at warp speed towards their intended target.

“Batteries six through and eleven, away.” the weaps officer continued. They watched on the view screen as the Nova Bombs struck their target with expert accuracy, and the planetoid blossom in fire.

“Helm pull us back.” Tyr ordered.

“Aye, Sir!” the helm officer said as he touched the controls and the great vessel pulled back. Everyone continued to watch the view screen. It was like watching an old fashioned train wreck, it was horrible, but you couldn't stop watching.

The planetoid expanded as it burned but instead of exploding, it suddenly imploded taking the entire nebula and the Vulcan observatory with it.

“Whoa! I've never seen that happen before!” someone shouted, amid multiple exclamations.

“Fascinating.” Ada whispered.

“Let it be known, that Nietzscheans always clean up after themselves.” Tyr said to no one in particular. It was mostly for Ada's benefit, as every Nietzschean had this drilled into them as little children.

“Let's go home, people.” Tyr said.

“Aye, Sir!” the helmsman said as he tapped in the coordinates and Dargo's Hand turned turned towards Deep Space Ten. Thousands of others followed.



NOTE TO READER “Mr. Murphy” refers to “Murphy's Law”. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong and at the most inappropriate time. Yip, I paraphased it. . . . :+}!