“Captain, we have completed our sensor sweep of this system. No abnormal activity, Klingon or otherwise, has been detected.”
Jugzon Daz nodded and relaxed into his command chair. Ever since a series of Federation victories that had halted a Klingon advance dead in its tracks, there had been a lull of activity from the Empire. However, that lull was likely to end sooner rather than later, with Chancellor J’mpok apparently drumming up refreshed support in the High Council... and expelling his enemies.
“Anything interesting on the Klingon side of the border? We’re practically at their doorstep right now.”
“One moment, sir,” replied the science officer as he checked his console.
“... no, sir. At least nothing that we can detect.”
“Captain, the Aurora and the Garret have reported in,” chimed in Daz’s operations officer. “They have confirmed our findings and are awaiting your command to move onto the next system of our patrol.”
“Acknowledged. Helm, set a course fo--”
“Captain, sorry, but we are receiving a hail from Commander Wildman at Deepspace K-7. Shall I put her though?”
Dugzon perked up. “Yes, onscreen.”
Commander Naomi Wildman’s face appeared on the Khyfa’s viewscreen. She smiled at the sight of Dugzon.
“Captain, how is your patrol proceeding?”
“Well enough, Commander. It’s been peaceful.”
“That’s welcome news. However, I’m afraid I must interrupt your stroll through space. Our listening posts along the border in the Pi Canis sector have picked up transmissions which indicate the presence of a group of Klingon ships in the Omicron Leonis system. They’re using subspace communication frequencies that are not the Imperial standard.”
Jaz’s eyebrows raised in understanding.
“These ships don’t want to be heard by other ships in the Empire?”
Wildman nodded. “That is our working hypothesis. If this is the case, there is a strong possibility that this may be the Klingon that you’ve been looking for. Under Admiral Ford’s orders, you are therefore authorized to cross into Klingon space and investigate. However, I don’t need to remind you that you are not to act outside Starfleet regulations.”
“Of course, Commander. And thank you for this information.”
“Good luck, and pass my regards onto Admiral Ford for me. It’s been far too long since he last stopped by our neck of the woods. Wildman out.”
A grin crossed Jugzon’s face. This was by far the best lead they’d had yet.
“Ops, open a channel to the Garret and Aurora. I believe T’Laris and Zepari will be very interested to hear this.”
Seven hours later, the three ships were nearing the Omicron Leonis system. On the Khyfa’s bridge, a channel was open to the other two ships.
“Our long-range sensors have confirmed the presence of Klingon ships in this system. While we will not be able to give an exact number until we have arrived, our estimates put the number at far higher than earlier intelligence indicated,” sounded the voice of T’Laris.
“We should be careful about this, Dugzon. We don’t know know what we’re walking into yet. If this is some organized fleet instead of our missing Klingon and his friends, they will make short work of us,” argued Zepari.
“Agreed. Hold position outside the system. T’Laris, can you use your ship’s specialized sensor grid to get an accurate picture at that range?”
“Affirmative. It will take approximately two minutes to obtain accurate data.”
The three ships dropped out of warp near the farthest planet of the system. After what seemed far longer than just two minutes, T’Laris’ voice came over the comm.”
“There are 20 Klingon vessels in the system. However, we are detecting signs of an engagement. The ships are attacking each other.”
“What!?” exclaimed Zepari.
Dugzon frowned. “I think this means we found loS of Nagh reD. Unfortunately, it appears that his rivals got to him first.”
“Given the current situation, that is the most logical estimate,” replied T’Laris. “However, we will need to proceed further into the system to make a more exact determination. We will run the risk of the Klingon forces seeing us.”
“We’ll risk it. Helm, take us in, but keep us a safe distance from their disruptors.”
“Aye, sir!”
The three ships sailed closer to the ongoing conflict. Dugzon stood from his chair and moved toward the tactical station, looking over the sensor data as it came in. However, once again, it was the Garret and her sensors that provided the answer.
“We have positive identification of loS’ ship; the QaQ Hegh. From the patterns of weapons fire, we have also determined that loS is outnumbered. He appears to be in command of eight ships, while his adversaries number at twelve. A number of ships on both sides show significant damage.”
“Three fresh Starfleet ships could easily turn the tide in his favor,” chimed in Zepari.
Dugzon walked back to his command chair. “Agreed, but we hold our position here. We do nothing for the time being.”
“Excuse me? If we do nothing, our whole reason for being here is going to be blown to bits!”
“I know, but intervening on our own will mark us with the ‘Federation interference’ stereotype, and deeply insult loS to boot. It will actually make him more likely to reject any officer of assistance. Trust me on this, Zepari. Hold position here. When he hails us, I will respond.”
“And if he doesn’t hail us?”
“... retreat, maximum warp.”
The wait was grueling. Dugzon’s eyes were glued to the battle. With each passing second, the situation looked more and more dire. He just hoped that loS wasn’t too proud. His sensors had to have picked up the three Federation ships by this point.
“Captain! We are being hailed by the QaQ Hegh!”
Dugzon grinned, but quickly suppressed it. “On-screen!”
The image of a Klingon bridge appeared on the viewscreen. Dugzon wasn’t encouraged by the state it appeared to be in. Electrical sparks were flying from the ceiling in the background and Dugzon could swear he saw what appeared to be a dead Klingon lying on the floor. However, his attentions were drawn to the Klingon sitting in the middle of it all. He wore a proud expression on his face, evident even under the Borg metal that covered a good third of it, and looked directly at Dugzon.
“Federation ships, this is Captain loS of the QaQ Hegh. Why have you crossed into our space?”
“Greetings, Captain loS. I am Captain Dugzon Jaz of the Khyfa. We have come to request your assistance.”
More than one of Dugzon’s bridge officers looked at him in complete disbelief. However, Dugzon didn’t notice, as his full attention was locked on the Klingon captain.
“The Empire and the Federation are at war, Captain. Would you have me assist you against my own brothers?”
“No, of course not. I am not here to ask for your assistance against the Empire. I am here, as a representative of a fleet within the Federation, to speak with loS, son of k’Elee, of the House of Nagh reD... about our fight with the Borg.”
loS’ stare intensified. For better or for worse, the mention of the Borg had struck a nerve. Dugzon held steady as he awaited a response.
“You are fighting the Borg?”
“The Stonewall Fleet has been tasked to deal with the Borg threat, yes. We’re currently holding the first line of defense against Borg incursions. We have heard of the wisdom and experience of the House of Nagh reD regarding the Borg, so we have come to ask you to join us against them.”
A smile slowly crept onto loS’ face. “I am very interested to hear your proposal, Captain Jaz. We would be honored to fight alongside you.”
With that, the viewscreen blinked out as loS ended the communication. Jaz immediately began barking out orders.
“Go to red alert! Power up weapons and shields, and target all Klingon ships that the Garret identified as fighting against Captain loS.”
“He didn’t actually ask us to help him,” interrupted Zepari’s voice.
“No, but he just gave us permission to, which is as good as we’re going to get. Prepare to engage the opposing Klingon ships.”
“Acknowledged,” responded T’Laris and Zepari from their respective vessels.
The three ships flew into the middle of the fray, adding lances of amber phaser energy to the green disruptor blasts already lighting up the sky of Omicron Leonis IV. As Zepari had predicted, the fresh addition of three top-of-the-line Federation starships quickly turned the tide of the battle. Coordinated attacks on already-weakened opposition vessels made short work of them and put the numbers into loS’ favor. It wasn’t long until before victory for loS seemed inevitable. It was at that point that the enemy ships suddenly cloaked in quick succession... and did not reappear.
“Tactical, report!” ordered Dugzon.
“Several of the more damaged ships are incapable of completely cloaking leaking plasma. From what I can track, they appear to be leaving the system.
“Sir, we are being hailed by Captain loS.”
“Onscreen.”
loS appeared on the viewscreen and was noticeably more jovial.
“An excellent battle! We sent those cowards running back to their mothers. Nedec will think twice before sending his toy ships after me. Please, come aboard my ship! We can discuss the borgh and the battles to come.”
“Excellent, Captain loS. We would also like to extend an offer to help with any ship repairs you may need. I can explain once we’re on your ship, but we will need to get move quickly.”
loS studied Dugzon, then nodded. “I accept. I will await you aboard the QaQ Hegh.”
When the communication ended, Dugzon turned to his first officer. “Assist the Klingons with any repairs they need... and keep an eye out. We need to be ready to leave at the first sign of trouble.”
Meanwhile, far away in the depths of the B’Tran Cluster, the Pandora drifted silently in deep space. Aboard, the bridge crew were all staring at an image on the viewscreen. Captain Oren-De was standing and looking at his tactical officer.
“Is this accurate?”
The man nodded. “Yes, sir. There’s no reason to think this is a malfunction.”
Oren-De turned to his science officer. “Anything more on those transmissions?”
“Still working on it, sir. There’s a lot of data in them that seems irrelevant. Whatever they want from these, it’s buried under a lot of junk. Assuming what they want is even in here. From what we know, they’ve been receiving these transmission for a while.”
Oren-De nodded. “Understood, but please hurry. It’s only a matter of time before they detect us, even at this range.”
He turned back to the viewscreen, which showed a tactical map of a nearby star system. The map was littered with green symbols, each one corresponding to a Borg ship.
