Star Traks: Banshee

"The Dark Fleet, Part II"

By Brad Dusen

	"WHAT!?"  Sorinak bellowed, his scream echoing through the massive
chambers of the Great Temple.
	"We lost the battle."  Terakon looked down.  "The Triaxis was
seriously damaged by some type of high powered energy beam that nearly
destroyed their ship as well."
	Sorinak looked over at Jevon.  "And why did the Sivax retreat from
the battle?"
	"Well we didn't want to get hurt."  Jevon said weakly.
	"You imbeciles!"  Sorinak paced the length of the chamber.  
"Because of you, I have become the laughing stock of the galaxy!"
	"Why you, sir?"  Terakon asked.
	"Because I ordered the invasion."  Sorinak screamed.  "Now everyone
is laughing at me!"
	"I thought that was because you were caught gratifying yourself in
the bathroom."
	"I'm sure everyone's forgotten about that!"  Sorinak hit Terakon on
the head.
	"Owwwiee!"  Terakon fell backwards.
	"Losing to the Federation..."  Sorinak shook his head.  "How 
degrading!"
	"Need I remind you that the weapon they used against us was extremely
hazardous to their own vessels, in fact when the Banshee used it, the
weapon destroyed their own torpedo launcher."
	Sorinak plunked down in his throne.  "True."  He said.  "And other
than that, they were defenseless against us?"
	"Yes, oh nearly-perfect one."  Terakon and Jevon said in unison.
	"Very well."  Sorinak stood up.  "Just for kicks, take the Sivax,
the Triaxis and a fleet of bioships to Earth and blow it up.  It would
make me feel better."
	"As you wish."  Jevon and Terakon quickly scampered out of the room.

	"Cheif engineer's log, stardate 51602.3:  The Banshee, with the
help of the Trueno, has limped back to starbase chi three seven to
undergo extensive repairs.  I must now tell Admiral Newman of what has
happened to the command crew."

	Dave could see the Banshee in the dock from Admiral Newman's 
office.  It looked like they were working on deck 2, which was also
destroyed when the torpedo hit.  There were also several people in
spacesuits on the hull of the saucer, sealing the massive breach that
scarred a quarter of the saucer.
	The doors opened as Newman walked in.  "Hello Newman."  Dave said.
	"I've read your report, as well as seen the sensor footage taken
at the time of the bridge's destruction."  Newman said as he sat down
in his office.  The nice thing about being the head of Section Thirty-One's
Starfleet was that he had an office on every starbase.  "How sad."  He then
muttered, "Now I'm REALLY glad I didn't go!"
	"What was that?"  Dave asked.
	"Oh, nothing."  Newman paused.  "Now I understand that you managed
to inflict damage on the Triaxis before losing the battle.  Correct?"
	"Yes, sir."  Dave said.
	"We think we know what caused the damage."  Newman spun the viewer
around, displaying a spectrum.  "This is the type of energy that did the
damage."  He pointed to the chart.  "The Omicron frequency."
	"So?"  Dave didn't get the point.
	"We will upgrade your phasers and torpedoes to the Omicron 
frequency."  Newman said.  "These new Omicron weapons will be the only
hope of winning this war."
	"Imagine my joy."  Dave said unenthusiastically.
	
	Jevon paced the bridge of the Sivax, identical to the two story
bridge of the Triaxis.  "Distance to the Federation border?"  He asked.
	"One minute."

	"He looks like walking 2 by 4."  Dave said.
	"I'd say a fuzzy pancake."  Brian said.
	"No, more like a frisbee with a head."  Dan said.
	The three of them were staring at Zeke, Dr. Lang's pet hamster.  
The pudgy little thing wandered around his cage, oblivious to his
master's death.
	"I guess I'll take him."  Dave sighed.  "After all, just how much
trouble can one little hamster be?"

	"Chief Engineer/Acting Captain's log, stardate 51606.3:  The Banshee
is headed for a joint fleet of all of Section Thirty-One's 894 and several
ships from the Qua'ala, the Klingon equivalent of Section Thirty-One.  We
will lead these ships to Voran in an attempt to show off our ability to
fight back.  It is our hope that this full scale onslaught will end the
war.  Wait a second, what the hell kind of logic is that!?  Delcare war to
end it?  What has Newman been smoking?"

	Sorinak stared out the massive windows overlooking Voran's capital,
Tirixa.  "My lord."  Sorinak's assistant pierced the silence, causing the
Voran warlord to jump.
	"Don't do that!"  Sorinak gasped.  "What is it?"
	"Captain Jevon is sending out a priority one transmission."
	"Put it in here!"  Sorinak shouted.  "No go!"
	"But sir..."  The assistant held up a piece of paper.
	"GO!"
	The assistant scurried out.  He stared down at the piece of paper.
"Your hoverlimo is illegally parked, you have fifteen minutes to move
it."  The paper said.
	"Oh well."  He shrugged and tossed it into the trash.
	"What is it?"  Sorinak asked as he clicked on the viewer.
	"We have detected a large fleet of Alpha Quadrant starships.  There
are approximately 1092 ships in the fleet."  The image of the massive
fleet appeared on the viewer.
	"Hmmm..."  Sorinak knew that an enemy wouldn't make such a stand
if they did not have an ace up their sleeve.  "I'll dispatch a few 
thousand warships to join you."  He smiled.  "So that you may finish the
job you and Terakon failed to complete."
	"Yes, your phlegmyness."  The transmission ended.
	Sorinak paused, thinking quietly to himself.  Something came
over him.  A presence.  The presence of an enemy.  A chill went down
Sorinak's spines.  He could almost hear someone's voice calling to him.
It sounded like the voice was saying 'Loser!  Loser!'  The warlord
shook it off and walked out of the chambers.

	The fleet was huge, stretching as far as the eye, or sensor, could
see.  Almost every class still in service was in there: Excelsior, Akira,
Nebula, Intrepid, Galaxy, Miranda, Norway, Steamrunner, Saber, even a few
Defiants.  The rest of the fleet was made of B'rel and K'vort-Class 
Klingon birds-of-prey, Vor'cha-Class attack cruisers, old D7-Class 
cruisers and two extremely powerful Negh'var-Class warships.  The Banshee,
still having a fair number of burns and scars, floated near the front,
ready to lead.
	"Lieutenant Rayhan,"  Dave walked onto the bridge and looked over
at the temporary operations officer, "what is the status of the fleet?"
	"Big."  Rayhan said.
	"I mean are all ships ready?"  Dave asked.
	"I'm guessing so."  Rayhan shrugged.
	Dave slapped his head as he plunked into the command chair.  Emily
sat next to him, and Brian on the other side.  Dave looked over at the
transporter chief turned helmswoman, the Bolian Cellis.  "Ensign Cellis,
set a course for Voran, warp nine.  Have the rest of the fleet follow 
us."
	"Which button?"  Cellis asked.
	Dave was beginning to question the people who he put in command of
key systems.  At least he had a good tactical office.  "Commander Smith,
how do our weapons stand?"
	Dan turned in the chair he put behind the tactical railing.  "All
phasers are online, under-stardrive and aft torpedo launchers are at
full capacity, one of the two Defiant-Class phaser cannons is online, but
it will take a while longer to finish repairs on the primary forward
torpedo launcher."
	"We'll have to try to finish it before we get there."  Dave sighed.
"Do we have the Cataclysm Torpedoes ready?"
	"Yes."  Dan smiled demonically.  "We can test them later."
	"Good, I'll be in my quarters."  Dave got up and left.
	"Sir, we're getting a transmission from Captain Sabrina Ridgeson,
from the starship Gorgon, asking to speak to Captain Velorn."  Rayhan
said.
	"Uhh..."  Dave hadn't informed the Gorgon's crew that Velorn, and
the rest of the crew.  "You tell them."
	Rayhan hit the transmit button on his console and said "Starship
Gorgon, Velorn was burnt to a crisp, I'm so sorry, deal with it,
Banshee out."
	"Your personal touch impresses me, Lieutenant."  Dave said to 
Rayhan as he walked out.

	The streets of Tirixa were bustling that night on Voran.  Sorinak
stood by the curb below the Great Temple, looking around for his hover-
limo.  Sorinak's assistant walked up to him.  "Is there a problem,
your waxiness?"  He asked.
	"Have you seen the hoverlimo?"  Sorinak asked.
	"Uhh, no."  The assistant quickly scampered off.

	"What the hell happened!?"  Dave asked loudly as he walked into
his quarters.  Saying the room was trashed would have elevated it up
a few notches.  The couch was torn up, things were knocked over,
glasses broken.  Then Dave noticed Zeke, sitting in the center of the
room, holding a piece of couch fabric and looking at Dave innocently.
"You little wretch!"  Dave screamed as he grabbed the hamster.  "You
know, I'm not above returning you to your master!"
	Dave walked over to a wall and grabbed a phaser, shooting at the
table.  Zeke ducked out of the way and scurried off under the couch.
"Get back here!"  Dave screamed, lunging at the hamster.
	Zeke ran out from under Dave as he came crashing to the floor
with a mighty thump.  There was a voice coming from the deck below.
	"Hey, if you have to enage in foreplay, do it quietly!"  They
screamed.
	"That's it."  Dave said as he stood up, brushing himself off and
glaring at Zeke.  "This hamster is toast!"  Dave picked up a ceremonial
sword from its display on the wall.  Zeke's ears went down and his
mouth dropped open.  "DIE RODENT!!"  He bellowed, charging towards the
hamster.  Zeke ran over to the door as Dave came after him.  The doors
opened and Dave and the hamster ran out into the hallway.
	"What the..?"  An officer shouted as he saw Dave ram into one
of the arched walls.  Zeke ran off down the hallway.
	Dave looked up, as if towards heaven.  "I'll get you, Liz!
And your little hamster, too!"

	"Somehow I just expected it to be more... grand."  Captain
Vorezze looked around the dismal waiting room.
	"What do you expect?"  Axik asked as she sat next to him.  "We're
dead, for god's sake!"
	"Betazoids don't beleive in a god."  Jad replied.  "But come on..."
He looked around.  "This is the gateway to eternity?  I've seen better
places than this in a trailer park."
	"HEY!"  A fat looking woman with a New York City accent shouted
from behind the desk.  "If you don't like it here, then go to Hell!"
	"That phrase is too literal here."  Jad said as he slumped back
into his uncomfortable chair.  "And I'll bet Terakon's having a riot
over the fact that he killed me."
	"Oh please."  Axik shook her head.  "Do you see any of the others
grousing?"  She motioned to the others from the Banshee.  Charlotte
was just sitting there, looking out into nothing, Carn and Vince were
talking, Liz was being hit on by a dead Klingon, Ben was reading some-
thing from Time AfterLife books and Velorn appeared to be in some odd
Vulcan meditation.
	"Well they havn't grasped the concept of death yet."  Jad retorted.
"In their minds, this is like waiting for a bus back to the Banshee."
	"I doubt it's like that.  Besides, all you've been doing since you
got here is complaining and sending telepathic messages to Sorinak."
	"I should know, I just read them."  Vorezze smiled.  "But think 
about it.  This is much more severe than when we joined Section Thirty-
One.  We can NEVER go back.  We're trapped in this hellhole!"
	"I told you to pipe down!"  The same fat lady shouted.
	"Oh shut up you old fat bitch!"  Jad screamed.
	"Hey, don't talk back to me that way!"  The woman said.  "I was
processing souls when your grandparents died... Jaddy."
	"Oh no."  Jad clutched his head.
	"Jaddy?"  Axik laughed.  "Your grandparents called you Jaddy?"
	"It was a long time ago!"  Vorezze protested.  "I was two, and the
most adorable child in the quadrant, mind you."
	"I'm sure."  Axik grinned.  "Jaddy."
	"It's going to be a long afterlife."  Jad moaned.
	The fat woman smiled as she turned back to her magazine.

	"Acting Captain's log, supplemental:  I was forced to give up my
search for a renegade hamster when the fleet crossed the Voran border.  
We'll either win this battle or die trying, but preferably not the 
latter."

	"All wings report ready."  Dan said.  "We're in the lead.  The
first wave will be the Steamrunner and Norway wings, followed up by
the Saber and Miranda wings, then us and the Galaxy wings, then..."
	"I get the point!"  Dave shouted.  "How do we stand on weapons?"
	"Both Defiant-Class phaser cannons are operational, the main
torpedo bay has been repaired and loaded.  Cataclysm torpedoeos on
standby for all launchers."
	"Let's save these suckers for the last minute."  Dave smiled.
	"Commander,"  Rayhan said, "We're getting a report from Klingon
Intelligence."
	Dave started to laugh.
	"What's so funny?"  The Trill asked.
	"Somehow that name seems to be a contradiction."  Dave replied.
"What's the message?"
	"There is  a large fleet of Voran warships up ahead."  Rayhan
said.  "2436 to be exact, including the Sivax and Triaxis."
	"Swell."  Dave stood up.  "Red alert, all hands to battle
stations."
	The lights darkened, displays turned red and an electronic alarm
sounded.
	"How long until we reach the fleet?"
	"Three minutes, sir."  Rayhan said.
	"Let's just hope we don't have to see the captain in the near
future."
	"I think the poor captain would be offended by that."  Cellis
remarked.
	"He's offended by everything."  Dave said.
	"Two minutes."  Dan warned.
	"All units, this is the Banshee.  Go to red alert!"  Dave said.
	"We're going into battle."

	Terakon smiled as he stared at the looming fleet.  "Today is a good
day for THEM to die."  He said.
	"Oooh, nice one sir."  Maquin said.

	"Norway and Steamrunner wings.  Charge Omicron weapons and enage."
Dave said.
	A series of about fifty mid-sized vessels charged into the
Voran fleet, the turquoise Omicron torpedoes and phasers darting
two and fro.
	"All other units engage.  Starships Gorgon, Dreadnought and
Tempest, cover us, we're going in."  Dave said.
	The entire fleet ran forward, a wing of Miranda Class starships
shooting down passing bioships.
	Three large warships concentrated their fire, ripping apart a
Galaxy-Class starship's saucer.
	The Banshee swerved between a series of large Voran warships,
shooting phasers everywhich way.  The Sivax became mobilized, chasing
after the Banshee and concentrating all weapons on the Gorgon.  The
Galaxy-Class ship shuddered as it was forced out of formation.
	"We've just lost the Gorgon!"  Dan warned as the bridge shook.
	The Triaxis came about as it and the Sivax concentrated fire on
the Akira-Class starship Tempest.  The Banshee rocked as the Tempest's 
warp nacelle crashed against the already mangled saucer.
	"Shields down to 12%!"  Dan shouted.
	"The Dreadnought and Tempest have broken off and are retreating
towards the rest of the Akira wing."  Cellis reported.
	The Banshee dropped speed and pivoted between two Galaxy-Class
ships as the Sivax and Triaxis gave chase, slamming their torpedoes
into the Banshee's side.  Passing ships shot at them with their phasers
before heading off to other targets.
	"They're chasing us!"  Dan said happily.
	Dave smiled.  "Load a Cataclysm Torpedo.  Target the Triaxis and
the Sivax with the aft torpedo bay."
	"We're clear of the fleet."  Dan said.
	"Fire."  Dave smiled.
	Several blood red flashes of light shot from the back of the 
Banshee, speeding through space towards the two warships.  The Sivax
swerved out of the way as they exploded against the Triaxis, engulfing
the entire warship in flames.
	"We got 'em!"  Dave said happily.
	A small runabout-like craft emerged from the blaze, housing
Terakon and Maquin.
	"Sir, the other craft and the Sivax have set a course for Voran."
Rayhan said.
	Dave paused.  The viewer displayed the fleet's battle.  "Inform
the fleet.  Any craft that can get through is to go to Voran.  Cellis,
engage the cloak and set a course for Voran, maximum warp."

	"You did WHAT!?"  Sorinak screamed as he paced his chambers.
	"The Triaxis was destroyed."  Terakon said.  "Don't hurt me!"
	Sorinak was full of rage.  "We can deal with that later.  Now,
we have to get revenge.  And as soon as it's finished, we will have
the perfect weapon to do so."

	"What do we do?"  The woman asked.  "You said yourself that you
don't want them here."
	"We'll just have to get rid of them."  An ominous looking man said.
	"Well we can't just send them back."  The woman said.
	"Or can we..?"  The man smiled.

	"We will arrive at Voran in two hours."  Dave said as he gathered
his makeshift crew in the observation lounge.  "I want all battle damage
to be repaired."
	"This attempt at a war is hardly as futile as the Banshee's last
attempt."  Rayhan said.
	"True."  Dave paused.  "But what do we do once we get to Voran?"
	The others looked blankly around.  "We didn't plan that far 
aheah."  Cellis explained.
	"Swell.  We're going up to our enemies capital with no plan."
Dave leaned back in the off-white leather chair.
	"We'll just have to think of something."  Rayhan said.
	"Well that helps build me confidence."

	Captain Vorezze paced the waiting room.  "It's been nearly
a week, and we've been stuck here!"
	"Calm down... Jaddy."  Axik snickered.
	Jad groaned.  "You think that you'd get tired of that."
	Axik shrugged.  "Give me a few millennia."
	"Excuse me... Jaddy."  The fat lady said from the desk.
	"Please stop calling me that."  Jad said impatiently.
	"Whatever."  The woman said.  "Look, we have to talk to you about
something."
	"I'm listening."  Jad groaned.

	"Acting captain's log, stardate 51609.8:  We are cloaked and in
orbit of Voran, waiting for one of us to figure out what to do.  Oh
boy, this could take a while."

	Voran was a blue orb spotted with large blue islands.  Dave 
watched it on the viewer.  There was a thin ring of defense, 
communications and reserve power satellites floated around it.
	"Commander, this is odd."  Rayhan said.  "There is a mass of
particles approaching our location.  There's DNA and protien in these
particles.
	"Where are they going?"  Dave asked.
	"The turbolift."  Rayhan responded.  He paused.  "There's someone
in there."
	Dave was confused.  "A transporter?"
	"No, there wasn't that type of energy discharged."
	The turbolift doors opened.  Jad walked out of the lift and, not
knowing the layout of the new bridge, fell over the tactical railing
and landed on the steps up to the command chairs.
	"Captain Vorezze?"  Dave looked down at the downed Betazoid.
"How is this..?"
	"Let's just say the afterlife didn't want us."  Jad looked around.
"I take it we have a new bridge."
	"Type II Galaxy-Class."  Dave explained.
	"The others are on their way.  We just had to gather up our 
particles in space and come back here."
	"I'm still not understanding this, but I'm assuming that I'm not
the first.  The bridge is yours."
	"Again..."  Jad looked at the viewer.  "Where the hell are we?"
	"Voran."
	"You have command of the ship for a week and you take it to the
enemy's capital!?"  Jad screamed.
	Axik walked onto the bridge, hitting herself on the tactical
railig.  "New bridge?"  She asked weakly.
	"Yup, take your station."
	Axik replaced Rayhan at the Ops console.  "Dear god, what did
you do here!?"  She said as she looked at the controls.  "And you
survive combat in this?"
	Ben ran onto the bridge, hitting the railing and flying halfway
across the room, landing in his chair.  The bridge crew applauded.

	"REAL captain's log, supplemental:  Having been rejected by the
afterlife, we have been forced back to our coporial forms instead of
experiencing the horror's of 'The Waiting Room.'  Now all we have to
do is attempt to resolve our conflict with the Vorans.  The problem
is that, according to our sensors, the Vorans are about to complete
work on a new warship, more massive and more powerful than anything
that the galaxy has seen before.  Our only resolve is to destroy the
warship by activating their spacedock's self destruct system, which
is located deep inside the Voran capital."

	The sewers of Tirixa were filled with the stench of Voran waste.
Commander Smith was one of many people sent to different sections of
the sewers.  He wore a type of Section Thirty-One battle armor, looking
like the stormtrooper armor from Star Wars, only black with a smaller,
sleeker helmet.  At least the helmet was able to filter out the smells.
	"Smith to Burns, I'm entering the main waste processing center."
Dan said into his comm.  No one should have been able to hear him from
outside.
	"I'll be waiting for you at the gateway to Great Temple's basement."
Charlotte said.
	Dan hadn't realized that he'd passed a security sensor.

	"Intruders, Warlord Sorinak."  Terakon said to Sorinak.  "They
are from the Banshee."
	Sorinak glared at the image from another camera.  It was Charlotte.
	"We can't explain it."  Jevon said.  "She was supposed to be
dead."
	"So what do we do now?  You don't honestly think that they can
do any damge?"  Terakon asked.
	Sorinak sighed.  "They're Starfleet, Terakon.  What do you think?"
	"I think..."  Terakon said, "That they won't be leaving this
planet alive."

TO BE CONCLUDED...