USS Edinburgh – The Castle (bridge) – 0745

The bridge shook as the Warbird’s fire slammed into the saucer section of the Edinburgh.  Prentice pushed the impulse engines and inertial dampeners to the limits as he worked to avoid the disrupter fire and torpedoes flinging across space.  Patra’s arrival had led with the sound and fury of his weapons, not words.  Kondo had activated his two secondary officers on either side of the bridge and they were trading fire with the Warbird.

“Shields at 80%.  Warbirds are at 95%.” Prentice announced as he sent the Eddie into a swerve and dive.  Working with Kondo at tactical he quickly positioned them into a passable firing position and they let loose with torpedoes from the modules and the ship.  “Direct hits to their shields and weapons – shields at 85%,” Prentice reported as he pulled the ship away from the fire that was coming their way and the ship shuddered as the shields struggled to keep up. Harris gripped the arms of his command chair.  The two Klingon ships hadn’t shown their faces yet and he was starting to wonder if Patra was holding them back in case his crew got lucky with their fire.  He had promised his crew they wouldn’t die today.  The bridge shook again as the Warbird pounded the Edinburgh.

“Shields at 70%!  They’re focusing on the modules.” Prentice was tapping wildly on the console, trying to escape the growing fierceness of Patra but the Romulan Commodore was wily and battle-tested.  Kondo sent him another course correction and he grunted as he slid the ship into the space the tactical chief had asked for and watched as phasers and torpedoes arced through the blackness of space into the Warbird’s shields. The helm officer shifted the ship away from the line of fire, but the Edinburgh was a big ship, and she didn’t move as fast as a Raven class.  The blasts scattered across the Edinburgh, causing consoles to flicker and the deck to shake slightly, “Shields at 65%  Warbird is at 80%!”

Ambrose gripped the arms harder as the ships traded fire back and forth.  Sparks flew from consoles and the decks continued to shake and shudder as the dance of battle continued.  The Eddie let loose everything they had while the Warbird returned in kind.  Prentice shouted, “Shields at 50%, Warbird at 65%” as he directed the Eddie to fly away from the Warbird.  A conduit exploded over the turbo lift as the Warbird blasted away with disrupters.  The lights above flickered and the crew braced themselves as Kondo tapped at his console and returned the favor.  Another volley from the Warbird shook the deck and several consoles exploded, sending debris and smoke into the air.  Prentice shouted as he worked hard at moving the Eddie out of danger, “Shields at 40%, Warbird at 55%.  Engineering reports warp core is stable.  We have multiple reports of injuries on multiple decks.  Sickbay is responding and damage control teams are examining possible damage to several decks.”

Harris shook his head, “Mr. Prentice, get us away from them – lock in our escape course and engage when…”  The bridge lurched and the lights above exploded as a new kind of weapons fire pounded into the ship.

Kondo growled, “Two Bird of Prey decloaking – they have opened fire!” Smoke filled the bridge more as the fans shorted out at the next impact from the Bird of Prey’s torpedoes. “Shields at 35%.”

“Get us out of here, Mr. Prentice.”  The officer nodded as he finished the command.  Just as he was about to send them at warp speed he frowned, “Commander, multiple signals inbound…reading two Warbirds…and two Bird of Preys…hail incoming from Patra.”

Harris stood, his bridge lit by emergency lights and smoke.  “On screen.”

The smug face of Commodore Patra filled the screen.  “So, we come to it at last.  The moment where you submit to me…and die.”  He sat back in his chair, “It is good to face you once last time, Commander.  One more chance for me to look you in the eye and tell you that you will die.”  A dark chuckle as he stood and stepped closer to the viewer’s camera, “You will die.  All of you.  Including you, sub-commander.  You…most of all.  Ready your souls.”  The channel closed and Harris shook his head, “Prentice – can we still get out of here?”

The helm officer tapped at the console, “They’ve blocked us in, sir.  Ships arriving in thirty seconds.”

The CO grimaced, “Well, that’s something.  Mr. Prentice, get ready for some fancy footwork…if we have to punch our way out…that’s what we’re going to have to do.”  He turned to the bridge crew, “I promised you we wouldn’t die today.  I’m going to do everything I can to do just that.  Mr.  Prentice – order all hands to crash stations – all saucer personnel need to move from the saucer section to shelter stations.”  The klaxons took on a new sound, an urgent sound that told the crew – they needed to move.  The computer’s voice echoed through the corridors as crew and officers scrambled through the ship guided by damage control and operations officers.

Prentice confirmed, “Crew movement is underway, sir.  Ships arriving in 10….9….”

The bridge crew worked silently at their stations making last-second preparations.

“5….4….3….2…..1”

Harris sat roughly back in his chair and shared a look with his first officer.  On the screen two Warbirds with two Birds of Prey loped through space towards them.  He gripped the arms of his chair for the third time that day.  He prepared to give his orders…until Prentice interrupted.

“Sir!  The new arrivals are targeting Patra’s fleet!  They are firing!”  They all watched in shock as Prentice’s report came true on the screen.

Harris waited a beat as Patra’s fleet turned to face the new threat before he ordered, “Let’s help our new friends – Prentice get us behind them.  Kondo – firing solutions – see if you can coordinate with them – whoever they are on the attack.”  The Edinburgh limped around and away.  One of the Bird of Prey ships peeled off from Patra and began taking potshots at the Edinburgh, the bridge shuddering as the impacts spread across the weakened shields.

Prentice grunted from his station, “Shields at 30%!  Engineering reporting structural damage to the lower module system.”  

Kondo continued to fire as they moved and the Bird of Prey that had followed slowed its pursuit, earning a quiet cackle from the chief tactical officer, “Patra’s shields are down to 40% – looks like he’s trying to run.”

Harris stood, “Prentice…”

“On it, sir.”  The helm officer went to full impulse as the friendly fleet continued to fire on Patra and his fleet.  As Prentice put the Edinburgh in the path of Patra’s Warbird, Kondo fired with phasers and torpedos, nearly shattering the ship’s shields as he went.  Patra wasn’t done either and fired directly into the Edinburgh, shattering the shields. The bridge rattled with a massive shudder as every console sparked.  Conduits in the walls exploded and fires started burning on the bridge as the emergency lights flickered.  Several of the bridge crew tumbled to the ground as the ship quaked again from the impact of disrupters on an unshielded ship.  Harris crawled back to his chair and sat roughly in it, the bridge an unholy mess.  Wires and piping had flung out of the ceiling as steam sprayed out.  Prentice was still at his station, “Shields have failed.  Main power has failed.  We’re on auxiliary power – engineering reports the mains should be back in five.  Sickbay reports widespread and serious injuries.  Multiple decks reporting possible buckling and serious hull damage.”  He wiped the blood out of his eyes as a cut on his brow sputtered. “Patra’s ship is disabled…the two Birds of Prey are being engaged by the other two…the two Romulan ships – Clawed Death and Renegade Justice are assisting in the attack.”  He turned in his chair to Harris, “Warp engines are offline…impulse is offline…we are stuck where we are sir.”  

A medical team arrived on the bridge and went to work in the flickering darkness.  The fires on the bridge still burned until two damage control officers found their way to the bridge and started their own work.  Lieutenant Thasaz spoke up from her station, “Commander, The Clawed Death is hailing us.”  He nodded, remaining in his seat.

The face of the Romulan captain appeared on the fuzzy screen, “We have boarded Patra’s ship.  We are prepared to turn him over to your custody for interrogation and investigation.”  He nodded to Thasaz, “We did this for you, Sub-commander…and only you.  A bond once formed cannot be broken…and we have fulfilled that bond today.”

She turned to her CO and he met her gaze…and nodded, “We accept the conditions, Captain.  We ask for some time to repair our ship…we will then accept Patra into our custody.”  A mild bow was his response as the channel closed.  Harris stood, shakily.  “Gather your damage reports.”  He shifted over to where the damage control team was slowly working and joined their repair efforts.