The March of the 12th (Massive Fleet Participation Needed!)

[Black_Astral]

Lt. Paltio Neovo was annoyed. Actually, he was angry from being stuck at Starbase Valhalla. Sure, he knew that he had an important job to receive coded reports from Intel and clean them up for the rest of the Fleet, but suddenly being the ranking officer on the Base felt a little daunting and eerily familiar.

Beep Beep

Another report. So far the reports have been sparse as Fleet members were setting themselves into place. Pal sat down and started running the decryption key. The message was simple and direct. It has begun!

That's when the Intel communication hub went nuts. The Saurian Lt. was suddenly swamped with recon reports and updates. He did the best he could to keep up but the backlog was getting away from him. In desperation, Pal made a subspace call to Neospectrum.

"Yes, what is it Lieutenant? We're a little busy here."

"Captain, I'm falling behind with the reports. I know that nobody on board Valhalla is read in on what we do, so I need emergency permission to bring in the senior officers from my ship."

Paltio saw his division Captain dodge some sparks and then reply.

"Alright Lt., but only your top 3 at the most. And don't make me regret this."

Neovo snapped off a salute and thanked the Captain. He then cut the feed and slapped his base communicator.

"Paltio Neovo to Norberto Cogan. bring the Vulcan twins with you to deck 16, room Alpha 732 Charlie. And bring lots of coffee."

Now that he had the assisstance of his three best friends, the 12th Fleet would receive their information when they needed it and damned if they just might pull off the operations.

[Broccan]

The bat'leth screamed towards Broccan's head. He sidestepped, simultaneously raising his own bat'leth to parry and counter, striking for his opponent's midsection. The furious klingon leapt back, then charged forward, bat'leth high. Broccan ducked and swept the challenger's leg from beneath him with a hooked blade. The klingon fell, hard, and was quickly confronted by the tip of Broccan's weapon, hovering a mere inch from his face.

"Good," Kirona's voice called across the holographic arena. A young but incredibly talented martial artist, she was also the only klingon member of the Chapman's MACO contingent.

"Captain, your skills are improving daily, no doubt thanks to some of those old memories of yours," she continued tapping her mek'leth against her empty hand. "K'rabak, your technique is impeccable but you're losing focus and headhunting again. You consistently forget about every target below the neck. I want two hundred practice strikes from you. Begin."

The burly engineer, Broccan's recent opponent roared and slammed his fist against the the holographic mat. Standing he swung his bat'leth directly into the arch, shattering the holodeck control console. The room shimmered briefly before returning to it's original state, the walls matte black covered in a yellow grid. The dying console triggered the safety protocols and the doorway opened to the ship.

"That's the last time I let you use a real bat'leth in training K'rabak," Broccan sighed. "Your watch will be turning to after hours until that gets fixed."

"Aye, sir." The klingon grunted.

"Speaking of real bat'leths, thank you for this," he held forward his sword, forged days before by K'rabak's own hand. "The weight is perfect. Even for an engineer you have an incredible eye for detail"

"You are welcome," the response was curt, but sincere. K'rabak's anger was abating. "It will be used to persuade the Empire into giving up this fight. Which will bring them one step closer to the kuvagh'magh, there is no more honourable purpose."

"I will wield it with honour. I promise- " a slight lurch of the ship cut Broccan off and churned his stomach. They were coming out of warp. He tapped his comm badge, forcing his hand to stop trembling. "Mor to Bridge, report."

"We've come out of warp just outside the RY8-894 system. Long-range sensors picking up signs of phaser and disruptor fire. We got here fast, but the battle's already begun sir."

"Very well, bring the ship to yellow alert. Have engineering bring the Aegis engines online and have Two remove our borg 'enhancements.' I'm on my way to the bridge, now. Mor out," he doffed his sweat-soaked shirt and collected his tunic from the holodeck floor, where it had fallen when the coat rack vanished. "K'rabak get to engineering and help Two, make sure the borg tech hasn't cause any undue harm to our nacelles. It was certainly a bumpy ride. Kirona, gather the MACOs and get kitted up. Be prepared to deploy with minimal notice."

They responded and dismissed themselves to their duties. Broccan leaned against the side of the arch not damaged by K'rabak's tantrum and took a deep breath. He wasn't ready for this, but there was no time for cowardice. It was time to face fears and if, no, when he returned from this mission he vowed to finally undergo the zhian'tara and meet Jashin face-to-face. Perhaps he would become a warrior after all. . .

[Inry]

Bridge of the Admiral Kulakov

Inry sat in her chair observing the tactical displays as the battle unfolded. Due to the Kulakovs revised role she was forced to remain back with most of the transports carrying the MACOs. So far though it was clear that the battle was going well. Inry watched as the formations made a hole for the MACOs and the Kulakov to begin the landing operation. "Status?" Pyr looked up from her console.

"All systems are go for support ma'am, once we're in position we can provide support to Col Davis assault forces. They've all been given targeting units to coordinate our fire. I doubt the Klingon's will know what hit them." Inry nodded and looked toward Tala.

"Hows are two friends doing?" Tala looked over at a console and without looking back replied.

"The Ross and Exeter both report being at full alert and ready to defended the Kulakov in case any Klingon's slip past the main line." Inry nodded as she watched the MACO ships prepare for their assaults.

"Very good." She paused and looked around before smiling with a rather devious grin that put everyone at ease. "Lets go blow something up."

[Shaker]

USS Salt Lake City
Under command of Acting Captain Sylix
Ten minutes out system, Yellow alert

Commander Sylix sat in the center command chair of the Excelsior-Class refit mentally preparing himself for the coming battle. After leaving Valhalla, he held regular meetings with his senior commanders to update contingency plans based on the ever changing tactical situation received from 12th Fleet vessels in the target system.

"Engineering to bridge" A tinny voice from the chair speaker said.

"Bridge here, report." Sylix replied smoothly.

"Captain, power levels in the warp core have been stabilized and all areas report ready for combat. I've taken the liberty to tweak the phasers a bit and have increased power output by 15%. I've also reconfigured the older targeting system to be slightly more accurate. We are as ready as we'll ever be, sir.

Sylix didn't let his surprise show outwardy and said, "Good work Chief. Tell your crews I said so. We are minutes away from entering the engagement zone so deploy damage control teams to all essential areas. Bridge out."

He tapped another control on the armrest, "Bridge to all medical bays, prepare for combat. Ready triage teams and post roving medical personnel throughout the ship." Another two taps of the control, "Bridge to Colonel Xavier, ready your MACOs for ground assault and post security teams at all potential ingress sites aboard ship to repel boarders. Once we engage the enemy, activate local transport inhibitors and initiate Operation Spiders' Web." One more click of the button opened the ship wide channel, "All hands, prepare for combat."

Shuttle Bay One

Private Keras, an Andorian MACO newly assigned to the Salt Lake City at the last minute, approached Colonel Xavier and saluted. "Sir, a minute?"

The Colonel returned the salute, "Private, I know you're new and probably didn't get the memo, but don't salute aboard ship. What's on your mind, son?"

Keras bristled at the term of endearment, mostly because he was a couple years older than the Colonel. "Sir, I wasn't briefed on Operation Spider Web. Could you tell me what it is in case I am in a position to assist?"

"Certainly. And afterwards perhaps you can tell me why you're just a private. You look old enough to be in command of your own battalion." After a nod of agreement from the aged Andorian, Xavier continued, "Operation Spiders' Web is quite simple really. We have our people defending airlocks and stationed in major intersections throughout the ship. Shortly before we get in transporter range of the Klingons, we activate transport inhibitors in all areas of the ship leaving three small holes of coverage. These holes will likely entice the Klingons to attempt to transport over when they take down our shields. We will have detectors set up in those areas to alert us when a beam-in happens. Then we move in and eliminate the threat."

"Interesting plan, sir. But why not have MACOs stationed closer to the open areas?" The private asked with a smile. He had a good idea why no one would be closer, but wanted to hear it from the Colonel.

"The Klingons will be able to detect life signs near those areas. I believe if we aren't near them, they will think we don't assume a threat from such a small vulnerability. They will think they are being sneaky. That's when we pounce." Colonel Xavier smiled as he finished the explanation.

"That sounds like a fine plan, sir, but I think there is one slight flaw that could help with the deception if we correct it now. We should show them one hole big enough to let them know we see a threat and cover it accordingly, and the other two should be small enough to let them think we don't consider these enough of a threat enough to cover closely. That would force them to send a team to the covered area as a decoy and slip small units into the less covered areas. Same result of dead Klinks."

"Interesting idea, Private. I like the way you think. I'll adjust our deployments accordingly. Now tell me why you're rank is so low for your age."

Before the Andorian private could answer, the inter-ship comm chimed:
"All hands this is the XO, we will drop from warp on the outskirts of the system in one minute. Battle stations."

On the Bridge, a few minutes ago

"Captain, all departments report ready for combat."

"Very well XO," Sylix responded, "Helm, adjust course to bring us in system at 80 degrees below the ecliptic. Tactical, raise shields and arm weapons. Tell the MACOs in the shuttles to prepare for ground assault. Communications, send an encoded transmission to all 12th Fleet ships in the engagement zone that we are on station and awaiting further orders, but will deploy MACO units and engage right away. XO, will you give the order?"

Lieutenant Commander Rosencrantz gave Sylix a predatory smile, "With pleasure, sir. Let's bag us some Klinks." He tapped a control and waited for the chime of an open intercom, "All hands this is the XO..."

[Forge04]

USS Locksley: Two Hours before the start of the battle.

Commander Grant Anderson paced in front of the command chair. Though he had sat in it of course, he only did it when it was absolutely necessary. It just felt, wrong.

"Commander, another message from behind the lines Sir," Erpla said from her station.

"Which one?" Anderson asked, finally sitting to look it over himself.

"This one is from," she took a second, "Beta, just outside the main capital city."

"Alright well, patch it through."

This was a waste of their time. They knew it. Admiral Keyes knew it. But it was also understandable. So the Locksley had a cloak. At the moment she had an untested commander sitting in the middle seat.

Hopefully it'd change when the fighting started.

"Katrok, bring us around. Again."

And the Klingon didn't say anything, again. That was enough of that.

"And speak up. We've all been though too much for whatever it is that's bothering you," Grant said, standing.

The Klingon Lt. Cmdr. turned in his seat and regarded his comrade.

"Are you certain Commander?" the Klingon asked.

"No secrets Katrok."

Katrok stood and proudly spoke.

"I fought Angel in battle. He beat me so handily that I was, inspired. I suddenly understood that perhaps the Klingon way was not the only way to Sto'vokor. That perhaps his way, was my way.

I asked for and was granted asylum, then admission to Starfleet. And Angel requested me upon graduation. He has taught me. I have learned. With no disrespect Commander, I did not leave my House behind to be taught by you.

This is the greatest engagement in the history of the Federation!

And I'm stuck at the helm. Sir."

The bridge all turned to remember Grant's response.

"You remember that tactic he used on P'Jem?"

Katrok cocked his head slightly as he recalled.

"The fake leg sweep?"

Grant nodded.

"I taught him that."

[Inry]

Admiral Kulakovs Bridge

Inry seemed very pleased, despite hard resistance the Klingon fleet was being pushed back. The space around Charlie had been cleared and given the green light for the MACO drop, now the assault vessels moved to their prelaunch positions while the Kulakov took up a synchronized orbit to provide support. Talo looked up from his console making some fine adjustments to the ships position.

"Now in synchronized orbit ma'am." Inry stood smiling.

"Very well, inform MACO ground teams that fire support is in position and ready for their firemissions." The bridge became a buzz of activity as the crew readied to begin support for the MACOs on the ground.

[liquidzoo]

USS Proteus, 3 hours prior to the battle

"Captain, we should arrive with the rest of the fleet in 20 minutes."

"Thank you, Dar." Kimara said to the Ferengi at the Helm. "Bring us up toward the rear, in a support formation; and send a narrow band communication out to the fleet ships in the area saying that we're on-site and ready to receive any injuries that might be sustained during the campaign."

Kimara paced the bridge nervously.

"We have two of the best doctors, and one of the finest Science vessels in the Fleet" Aloani soothed, "We are well prepared for the upcoming battle."

Kimara could sense Aloani's calm, which in turn calmed her own nerves. She smiled at her first officer.

"You are right, and you always know what to say."

"Captain," Loz broke in, his own emotions feeling like cold steel in the minds of the other two Betazoids. "Weapon status is charged and ready, recommend we go to yellow alert."

"Agreed," Kimara nodded. "Go to yellow alert, and signal both the shuttle bay crews and the transporter chief to be ready for anything."

Amber lights softly flicked on and off around the bridge, heightening the already tense mood all around.

"K'Konek." Kimara turned to her Klingon advisor and head of Security, "What should we expect going in?"

"The Klingon people are proud, and will fight with honor and intensity to repel our onslaught and take what they came for. If they get the Naussicans or the Gorn involved, things could get...nasty. They have a history of underhanded and sneaky tactics."

Kimara nodded, swallowing hard.

"Set Medical teams on high alert. There are enough of them there that no one should be on duty for more than they need to be. I don't want any mistakes. These are our friends and fleet mates out there. Treat them accordingly."

"Captain." The voice of the Ferengi broke in. "We're here."

"Red Alert, full shields and give me a look at what's out there.

This is the real deal, people. Should we not make it, it's been an honor to serve with each of you."

[Ezme]

OOC: Ok, so I'm way late getting involved, here is the start of my attempt to bring myself and the Crazy Fox into the story.


Ezme wiped her brow and exchanged relieved, but uncertain glances with her chief tactical officer. Ezme tapped her combadge

"are you certain that's the last of them Lieutenant, I'd hate to bring replicators back online while we still have more of those fuzzy little bastards roaming about on my ship"

"as confident as I can be General, our internal sensors have been sketchy at best"

Ezme wasn't sure when or how the tribbles had gotten aboard, all she knew was that the little monsters had interfered with ships operations, bringing their current mission in Borg space to a screeching halt. Long rage communications had been the first thing to fail, followed soon after by shields, weapons, warp drive and main engines. Knowing that an encounter with the Borg while the Crazy Fox was in this condition would mean certain death for ship and crew, they had found a nebula to hide in, hoping it would mask the faint energy signature being given off by the few emergency systems that were still running.

Ezme tapped her combadge again

"Storm to engineering, Chief, I want this ship ready for action by morning!"

"General? By morning? It could take me that long just to get our defensive systems on line, much less everything else."

"I trust you will find a way to make it happen Chief, you've never let me down before."

The engineer sighed and addressed his team

"Better start with the replicators boys, you know how she can be when she hasn't had her coffee"

+++++++++2 days later+++++++++

The chaos in engineering when the repairs were underway paled in comparison to the chaos that followed the return of long range communications and the subsequent flood of priority messages regarding the situation in the Hromi Sector.

After listening to the message from HQ, Ezme wasted no time in reminding the engineering team that the Crazy Fox needed to be combat ready and en route ASAP. She then set about getting her assault team ready for what she imagined would be the worst battle they had ever faced, and she had every intention of joining them on the front lines.

[Shaker]

EldridgeMarch12th.jpg (171.59 KiB) Viewed 2314 times

USS Eldridge
Outskirts of the Engagement Zone

The USS Eldridge, a modified Luna-class Federation starship, hurled itself toward it's target system at it's maximum rated warp factor. The mood of the mostly human crew of 150 Starfleet personnel and 200 MACO soldiers was a mix of calm and tense excitement. Everyone knew their roles to play in the upcoming engagement, and everyone knew they had the complete trust of their Captain, just as they had complete trust in him.

Across the ship in every deck, in every lounge, crew quarters, medical and science bays, the intra-ship comm sounded. Almost every one of the 350 person crew stood at a respectful attention to listen to their Captain speak:

"Attention crew of the Eldridge, this is Captain Aiden Alexander speaking. As you are all aware, we will be arriving in our target zone shortly. Out mission is to deploy our company of MACOs as fast as possible without the Klingons finding out. The MACO's target area will be a transport inhibitor facility located on an island in the southern hemisphere. Once that inhibitor is knocked out, MACO is to signal us to beam them back for resupply and reinsertion at our secondary objectives. Eldridge will provide air support for our teams as we are able and hold off the Klingons from bombarding that location from orbit.

We have been informed that the battle has already been joined. 12th Fleet ships are currently engaging the enemy and there have been a few transports of local origin to escape the solar system. There have also been plenty that haven't made it. Local insurgencies against the Klingons are showing signs of minor effectiveness. MACOs, if you find such a group, assist them in any way you can as long as you continue your primary objectives.

You all know your duties. Let's get this show on the road. Alexander out."


USS Salt Lake City
Bridge

The Excelsior-class retrofit chased a retreating Bird of Prey through a gauntlet of phaser beams and disruptor blasts. Shields flaring from each near miss and turning an opaque flash as the powerful shield emitters deflected or absorbed direct hits from the enemy. The Klingon ship was desperately trying to outrun its pursuit, jinking left and right to avoid the Salt Lake City's upgraded phaser fire.

Taking full advantage of the chaos of the local area battlefield, the Bird of Prey angled sharply upwards between the debris of half a dozen Klingon and Federation warships, engaged his retro thrusters while simultaneously throwing his main impulse engines in full reverse to slow their forward momentum to a crawl in the span of only a couple seconds. The Salt Lake City passed directly underneath as her helmsman was unable to follow the surprising sudden move by the Klingons. In a last desperate attempt to level the playing field, the Bird of Prey fired it's remaining torpedoes and accelerated sharply towards the stern of the Federation ship. The blasts from the torpedoes combined with the relentless fusillade of disruptor fire caused the rear shields to collapse completely, allowing residual explosive force to tear into the upper part of the engineering hull. Quick action by the engineering teams prevented many personnel from being victims of the sudden decompression, though some were lost to the vacuum of space.

"Captain Sylix!" The tactical officer screamed, "Rear shields are down, diverting emergency power to recharge and working to balance shields around the ship! Target is closing fast and seems to have burnt out his disruptor banks with that last salvo. His shields are down completely."

Sylix, being a Vulcan, easily suppressed his mild surprise at knowing the Klingons would rather ram his ship and die than retreat. Quickly reacting to the steadily dire situation all around him, he ordered, "Helm, come about and dive sharp, rotate anti-clockwise to provide better shield coverage of our stern! Tactical, target phasers and send them an overloaded blast followed by a spread of quantum torpedoes."

Moments later, the Bird of Prey's pyrotechnic display of foolish bravery faded into the darkness of space.

Before Sylix could choose his next target and engage, the communication officer's board emitted a series of beeps. She listened for a couple of seconds before making her report. "Captain, I have the USS Eldridge on a secure channel. They will be entering the system close by the planet's south pole and are requesting coverage while they deploy their MACO contingent."

Sylix allowed himself a small smile, "Tell Captain Alexander that we will provide cover as requested. Klingon presence at that location is minimal at best. Also notify the rest of the fleet of our actions and that both ships will be back shortly to resume the engagement."

USS Eldridge
Bridge

Captain Alexander barely heard the helmsman's countdown to when he will bring the ship out of warp. After he heard the comm officer's reply from the Salt Lake City, he braced himself for the potential Klingon fleet waiting at his exit point. He stared intently at the main viewscreen watching the stars streak by.

"...One!" Yelled the helm officer. "Warp speed disengaged, impulse engines firing pre-programmed burst, thrusters rotating for optimal firing angle for the MACOs."

Lt. Cmdr. Tamica made her report, "I read the Salt Lake City on an intercept course, no Klingon ships in range. Initial scans of the target location show a small scale battle going on presumably between Klingon ground forces and the local insurgents. Updating the MACOs via live data feed now, sir."

Captain Alexander took in all the information from around the bridge and opened his direct channel to Major Allen down in the shuttle bay. "Captain to Major Allen, target landing zone information should be available to you on a live feed. Target packages uploaded to your PADD for distribution to your teams. Proceed with the launch in fifteen seconds on my mark." After a few seconds passed, "Mark!"

Major Allen already had his first launch team in the tubes of the Skyjumper orbital insertion device ready to go. Not one to order his men to do anything he wouldn't be ready and willing to do himself, he loaded up into the first tube intending to be the first MACO from the Eldridge to touch down on the surface. Looking out through the visual port of his capsule, Major Allen noted the steady opening of the massive shuttle bay doors. The planet's south pole was clearly visible through the bay's force field protected opening. He tried to spot the location of this small island that was his target landing zone, but some cloud cover was obscuring his view. He turned his gaze to the slow crawling terminator making its way across the surface of the planet, wondering to himself what a sunset on this planet would look like even though he's seen thousands across the Federation.

A shrill alarm sounded in his hear. A swift kick in the ass jolted him to reality. A blur of reality out of the visual port. A tense moment before the inertial dampeners kicked in to compensate for the sudden acceleration of his capsule. A blackness engulfed him.

Blinking away the disorientation, Major Allen glanced at his readout display and smiled as it showed that his capsule was on the proper glide slope and that all systems registered normal.

"I'll be damned," he said with no small amount of awe. "This contraption is actually working."

[Inry]

Bridge of the Admiral Kulakov

Inry was looking at the latest tactical display, the dim lights and red glow from the ship being at battle stations adding to the tenseness about to come. Suddenly one of Pyrs consoles began to beep which drew Inry's attentions away. Pyr looked back at her.

"Colonel, were receving telemetry and coordinates from ground teams for fire-missions. All systems are ready." Inry stood up and looked quickly at the data.

"Mister Talo, Ms. Pyr, send the Klingons my compliments. Fire at will." Pyr and Talo grinned as they turned entering data into their consoles followed shortly by several phaser shots leaving the ship along with quantum torpedoes. "Any sign of enemy counter attacks?" Yoksei turned from her scanners.

"None ma'am, the Klingons seem more occupied with the main engagement zone then trying to prevent the landings here." Inry nodded and sat back in her chair as the Kulakov fired another volley of quantum torpedoes and phaser fire for the MACO's on the ground.