Mogh was not happy. The tiny ponies violated his ship, his crew all but dead, and his ship crippled beyond repair. Now he was left to die alone while Duras and Lav’ek took the glory of battle without him. Not only that but the ponies managed to escape with only a few casualties. He was dishonored to the highest caliber and left to die in the worst way for a Klingon. To die alone in space without a crew and ship. Still partially recovering from the attack Mogh managed to limp to the helm station of this bird of prey and performed an internal scan. He was surprised to see he had five surviving crew scattered around the ship. Inputting a series of override commands Mogh activated the ships internal communications to address his remaining crew members. A loud beeping signaled the comm was activated.
“This is Captain Mogh, all crew report to the bridge!” He yelled over the ships internal comm.
His loud raspy voice echoed over the battle damaged ship and within a minute the five crew members of his ship emerged on the bridge. He was disappointed, to say the least. The first was his Lieutenant and second in command, Kel Vogh. A young and eager warrior who lacked common sense. A feat sorely missing in the Empire these days as far as Mogh was concerned. The next was a pair of female officers from engineering, Wassi, and Khidri of House Lak. The two were older and far wiser than the two younger Klingons near. Then there was the junior helm cadet, W’thaq energetic and eccentric for a Klingon, but showed a lot of ingenuity. Though small in size and stature he was brave as any Klingon and that’s what Mogh wanted. Lastly, there was the cook Ukad Barpot. A fat old Klingon whose house served the House of Mogh for many generations. Ukad was fat and old, but he always wanted to be a warrior despite his position.
A ragtag group if Mogh ever saw one. While not his best it was all he had left. Oh, how the mighty fall before the gates of Gre’thor, he mourned in his mind. Growling as he looked at his remaining crew, he scoffed giving the notion he was unimpressed as they remained at attention.
“Well, well, well, so this is the best my ship has left to offer?” He asked, snarling angrily at them. “Pathetic. Yet fortune smiles upon all of you this day!”
He turned and walked over to the helm station and activated the view screen. The two birds of prey belonging to Duras and Lav’ek. The birds of prey started towards the Enterprise and Hydra as both groups exchanged a volley of disruptor and phaser fire, intermixed with photon torpedoes. The crew muttered quietly while Mogh let them soak it in.
“That is our destiny! To fight in glorious battle to either victory or death,” He hissed the last part between his sharpened teeth. “Now, I have assignments for all of you. Wassi, Khidri, report to engineering and get this ship flying again!”
The two female Klingons saluted and ran off the bridge heading for engineering. Mogh then turned to Kel Vogh.
“Lieutenant, take command while I assist in engineering. W’thag is young and inexperienced. Take him and prepare the bridge for combat,” Mogh ordered.
The younger officer nodded and pushed the junior cadet aside to the bridge consoles. As the two Klingons began working Mogh pulled Ukad to the side.
“Ukad Son of Gall, today is the day you prove yourself as a warrior. Today we were invaded by tiny creatures that violated our ship. You are but a cook, after today you will either die a warrior's death or bring glory to your house. Will you serve this ship as one of its few remaining warriors till death or victory?” Mogh asked the fat Klingon.
Ukad nodded with a loud grunt.
Mogh grinned patting the old Klingon on the shoulder and sent him to assist in engineering. When Mogh arrived in engineering the twins were hard at work repairing the damaged warp core. Ukad assisted replacing coils, a simple enough task for him, while Wassi was running a diagnostic on the core. Several support structures were broken or damaged and were being repaired by Khidri who was welding a beam in place above the main warp core. Sparks from the welding as well as damaged consoles, panels, and wires made for a hazardous workplace, but for a Klingon ti was considered normal. All around were about a dozen dead Klingons from engineering buried or impaled by debris.
Mogh sighed at the unsavory sight of his ship and crew. There was a lot of work to be done. Grabbing a support beam he held it up for Khidri who began to weald it in place with extra support. Sparks danced around Mogh as he breathed slowly and deeply to keep oxygen running through his body to hold the beam in place. Meanwhile, outside his ship, a battle was ensuring that was proving to be one-sided.
The Hydra, now fully repaired and completely operational due to the repair stations precise and deep repairs, was proving more than a challenge to the two birds of prey. In truth, it was going a lot faster with Enterprise running interference while the Hydra was dealing with one ship at a time. The focus intense barrage of disruptor fire was heavily damaging the shields of Lav’ek’s ship. Duras was holding his own against Enterprise, but a call for help from Lav’ek forced him to shift tactics. The maneuverability of the Hydra was only matched by the birds of prey, but the Enterprise was slow and unsophisticated. Alone it would have stood no chance against two birds of prey, but the Hydra was on equal footing with both of the old ships.
As much as he hated to admit it, Duras was captain of a really old ship. Aged and worn with time the Rotaran was long overdue to be decommissioned by many standards. It was proving to be a problem as the battle progressed. Now he was focusing on the Enterprise intent on destroying it. If he knew the ponies well enough he figured they’d try to help the crippled Enterprise and leave themselves open to attack. An advantage that grew smaller as the battle dragged on.
Both Birds of prey circled the slow enterprise like rabid wolves would hunting a deer. The human ship was leaking dry plasma from its port nacelle where Duras’s ship focused the majority of its disruptor fire. The green bolts missed their target mostly, but the few that did hit delivered massive damage to the nacelle. As predicted the Enterprise did call for help and the Hydra did respond by trying to reposition itself with its broad side facing the Klingon ships. This effectively protected Enterprise, since it was far smaller in profile on its side compared to the Hydra.
Duras took full advantage of the situation and ordered both ships to broadside the Hydra. The birds of prey now fully maneuverable and the hydra keeping pace with the slower Enterprise left it a tempting target. Which left Duras ignorant or why they would do such a foolhardy thing until his ship came closer.
*Hydra Bridge*
Trixie was back on the bridge and in command once again. Major Spitfire took over the tactical station, and Commander Octavia was at the science station with Lieutenant Sunset Shimmer. 3rd of 5 was at the helm as usual completely fixated on his piloting, Lyra was missing with a replacement crew pony at her station.
Trixie had just given the order to flank Duras’s ship when they received a signal from Enterprise calling for support. In their haste to capture the crippled bird of prey, they neglected to protect Enterprise. That and with their quick launch from the repair station things were very hectic currently for the Hydra crew. Nonetheless, Trixie ordered 3rd of 5 to bring the ship's broadside against the Enterprise to protect them.
Of course, commander Octavia saw no logic in this maneuver at all and was first to voice her concerns.
“Captain, with all due respect why are we broadsiding ourselves to the enemy?” She asked with a hint of fear in her voice.
Of course, Trixie had already thought ahead. She leaned back in her chair with a confident smirk. She tapped her hooves together as Commander Octavia sighed and slouched in her own chair after receiving only silence as a response.
“Captain, the two ships are coming to port,” 3rd of 5 said. “Should we evade?”
Trixie shook her head.
“No, stay with Enterprise. Bring the disruptors to overload and prepare the ion cannon. Let’s see what happens when it functions properly, now that the station fixed our coil problem,” Trixie said confidently.
“Aye, sir.”
3rd of 5 obey his orders. He slowed the Hydra down to keep pace with the slower Enterprise. Side by side now the birds of prey flew alongside the two ships then flew perpendicularly straight at the Hydra’s side.
“Fire disruptors,” Trixie said calmly.
Spitfire locke onto the lead ship and fired the entire arsenal of disruptor nodes on the port side of the Hydra. The red bolts of energy ripped against the shields of the Klingon ships. The intense barrage struck the shields for the first ship forcing it to pull away. The second ship was barely touched and they too pulled off behind the first ship.
Trixie saw the opening she had been waiting for. This was a tactic that only the Hydra was capable of performing. As the birds of prey veered off they made the mistake of heading towards the bow of the Hydra. By sheer luck they never witnessed the ion cannon in action and Trixie was hoping they never scanned the ship thoroughly enough to find it.
Ordering the Hydra to pitch hard to port the massive ship lined up like a gun as it charged the main gun. The sudden surge of power filled the batteries with pulsating energy.In engineering, the coils burned bright pink as the reactor went into overload. Then the replaced coils kicked in. The excess energy was siphoned off the main lines and distributed to the disruptors which temporarily overloaded them and other systems. The feedback going as it should, and Lieutenant Pinkie Pie monitoring the energy output, she gave the Captain the green light.
“Fire the ion cannon.”
Trixie could only grin as the Hydra’s ion cannon fired its intense beam at the leading bird of prey. The ship quickly dove barely escaping the blast but the second ship was obliterated. The intense ionized energy beam tore through the shields and the main hull of the bird of prey. The Klingon ship vaporized in a fiery explosion that just as quickly died out as it started, leaving only a bit of debris from the wings left. The remaining ship turned to flee and quickly warped away leaving the stranded bird of prey behind.
Trixie let out a sigh of relief as the last enemy ship disappeared from sight. The rest of the crew seemed calmer too. Major Spitfire cracked her stiff neck and shoulders as the ship was brought out of battle alert status.
“Commander, take the con. I’ll be in engineering. Major, set up another security team and prepare to-”
“*Beep! Beep!*
“Captain another ship just enter the system,” Lieutenant Sunset relayed. “It’s hull and configuration matches that of a ship from the twenty-fourth century. I think it’s an Imperial Ship!”
Trixie groaned loudly. “On screen.”
The view screen activated with a hum and showed a narrow profile.
It was definitely an Imperial Starship. Similar in design to the other Imperial Ships from the battle with the Sol Dios. It bore the Empresses mark across its dorsal hull and a fierce narrow tip at the front of the hull. It had two nacelles that stick out of its backside with a long narrow tail like structure to the back housing a vast torpedo arsenal. Beneath the nacelles was two large pods that were just as long at the nacelles themselves.
Trixie groaned again as she ordered the ship back to battle alert. The alarms barling once again and ponies scrambled to their stations after their short, and fleeting rest.
“Commander, keep the Enterprise safe and destroy that ship,” Trixie said entering the turbolift.
The grey earth pony Commander began to panic at the thought of being in command overwhelmed her again. Her hooves shook, her body began to sweat, and she was sure her teeth would shatter under the pressure from her locked jaw. She nodded as Trixie gave her a reassuring smile and whisper, ‘you’ll be fine,’ as the doors closed.
Octavia sighed rubbing her head. A raging headache was starting to form from her stress.
“3rd of 5 bring us about to face the ship! Lt. Shimmer, scan that ships weapons and shields. I want to know what we're up against.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Quickly Sunset SHimmer got to work. She scanned the ship thoroughly. Unfortunately, the Hydra was a combat vessel and didn’t have a very sophisticated sensor array. She sent a subspace message to Enterprise asking for a more detailed scan.
Meanwhile, aboard the Imperial Vessel, a stallion with blonde hair and a black officer uniform was sitting in his command chair in the center of his bridge. He leaned forward and stared at the view screen which showed the Hydra and Enterprise side by side. The larger equine ship covering the human ship like a shield.
The unicorn stallion laughed as his crew blankly continued to work in silence. Standing at his side was a tall stallion with white fur and a dark blue spiked mane. He too wore an officer uniform and bore a Captains marks. Yet he was not the one in charge of the ship. He stood silently as the ship came to a stop far out of weapons range of the Hydra and Enterprise.
“So, what do you think, Captain Armor?” The stallion in the center asked.
The pony shrugged casually not taking his eyes off the screen.
“Nothing we can’t handle. Our transphasic torpedoes can tear these ships to shreds Regent Blueblood,” Captain Armor replied.
Blueblood smiled and nodded. He rested his chin on his hooves and stared at the screen.
“True, but auntie wants them alive and intact. She wants to destroy them herself. Ever since we nearly lost the Sol Dios she’s been rather cautious with her fleet. We have so few ships and the prolonged war has cost us dearly.”
Armor shrugged.
“Then what are we doing here?” He asked Blueblood. “If we’re not here to destroy them why are we here?”
Blueblood’s smile curled. She chuckled darkly at the screen as the stare down continued.
“We’re here to make sure they get to their next destination, Captain Armor.”
Captain Armor stared blankly at Blueblood for a moment then remembered what they did last. He nodded and joined the regal stallion in an evil laughter that sent chills down the spine of every pony on the bridge.
“Set a course for Sector S143-N, and get us out of here.”
The helm pony nodded and entered the course into the ship's computer. He then brought the ship around away from the two enemy ships. Its nacelles glowed brightly and in seconds it vanished in a blink of an eye from sight.
*Archer, Enterprise Bridge*
Archer furrowed his brow at the Imperial ship leaving the system.
It wasn’t like the Imperials to just leave so suddenly. Something was amiss. He turned and left the bridge heading for the turbolift. He pushed the side button to open the doors. A mechanical *whoosh* sounded when the doors opened. He entered the lift and nodded to Malcolm.
“You have the con.”
“Aye, sir.”
As the doors closed Archer found himself deep in thought. He pushed a button that leads to deck B where he needed to confide in an old memory. Once on deck B Archer opened the doors to exit the lift, but found himself in an unfamiliar place. As he realized he wasn’t on Enterprise anymore he tripped over something. He yelled out as he fell forward while another female voice screamed at him.
Archer impacted the floor with his face and felt the sharp pain run throughout his skull, but was also enforce by a loud screaming voice.
“Get off Trixie, you oaf!”
In a second Archer felt himself being lifted high above the ground. He gasped reaching for the floor but was swept up above it and dangling upside down with a bright pink glow around him. He realized the floor was metal bulkheads with lush maroon carpet that cried in both directions like a hallway. Underneath him was Captain Trixie who looked more startled than anything.
She was rubbing her head when she looked up at the dangling human and quickly realized her mistake. She gasped and lowered Archer to the ground safely and softly so she could orient him to his feet. Once safely on the ground, the glow over him disappeared and Archer breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thanks,” he said sarcastically.
“No problem,” Trixie replied.
The unicorn mare looked around the immediate area. The curved hall was lined with light much like enterprise was but was far more advanced looking. Far more lavish if Trixie had to describe it with one word. Yet, she had no idea where she was.
“So where exactly are we?” She asked Archer. “Are we on your ship? Looks different.”
Archer took a moment to look around himself. It took a minute before he recognized where they were. He turned to Trixie and looked straight at her. The look he gave her made the mare feel uneasy. There was a deep look of distress on Archer's face which he made no attempt to hide. He shook his head turning around to face the bulkhead and placed on hand over his hip and put his weight on one leg and leaned against the wall.
“I think I know where we are,” he replied slowly. “I don’t like the idea of being back here though. I thought my dealings with them were over.” As he talked he spoke around like he was addressing someone else but remained hidden from sight.
Archer paced around the area as Trixie drew her pistol, but a quick gesture from Archer gave her pause.
“You won’t need that. Trust me. You’ll want to hear this,” Archer said to her.
Holstering the disruptor Trixie sighed and stepped beside Archer And followed him down the hall. They followed the hallway down until they reached a viewport. They realized they were on a starship as it flew over a planet in orbit around it. Archer sighed once more lowering his head and closing his eyes to calm himself for what was to come next. Trixie was confused by the human's behavior. It appeared to her that by his reaction to this strange occurrence that hits happened before. Possibly on a regular basis. And just when she was about to ask what was going on, a man in a black suit walked around the corner startling her. She drew her disruptor again and aimed it at the man who seems to take little heed of her reaction. Archer sighed and looked at the man with the most annoyed look he could muster.
Trixie continued to trail her weapon at the man as Archer stepped past her to stand face to face with the man. The man smiled and shook his hand, which seemed to lighten Archer's mood.
“It’s good to see you again Captain,” the man said.
“It’s good to see you too Daniels.”