10-22-2026, 02:48 AM
A grim spark of satisfaction flashed across Morad’s face as the tactical plot registered the trailing Hideki spinning out of formation, its stern sheared away by Powl’s pinpoint torpedo follow-up. Better still, the broader sensor sweep confirmed what their gambit had truly bought them: with the blockade patrols shifting to intercept the Zephyr, Federation One had slipped its parking orbit around Starbase 214 and was burning hard on a least-time trajectory toward the system edge and open warp.
Step one accomplished, Morad thought sharply. Now we make sure our intelligence survives, and we keep every pair of Cardassian eyes glued to us while Federation One clears the system...
"Amila, keep that broad-range picture locked in," Morad ordered, his fingers flying across the command console’s tactical uplink controls. "Before those three fresh Hidekis close the bracket on us, we’re getting every byte of our deep-scan telemetry on that Cardassian Dreadnought and these upgraded Hideki escorts off this ship."
He glanced toward Operations and Science, calling up the Zephyr’s phased-array directional transceiver protocols.
"Cardassian broadband jamming is attempting to blanket standard subspace channels, so we’re not broadcasting omnidirectionally," Morad directed crisply. "Compile the complete deep-scan dossier, the Dreadnought's structural profile, weapon signatures, and the Hidekis' upgraded shield and countermeasure telemetry, into a compressed burst package. Route it through our phased-array emitters using a Multi-Function Advanced Datalink protocol: ultra-narrow aperture, frequency-agile tight-beam, low-probability-of-intercept. Punch the first directional burst straight to Starbase 214’s command tower so the Base Commander knows exactly what that Dreadnought is capable of..."
They will have to decide to gamble on the task force arriving in time, or to start evacuating the Starbase... I'm glad I'm not the one making that decision... and where the heck is the starbase's own garrison? Why are they not launching...
His hand shifted across the display, highlighting the covert relay marker sitting just beyond the system's outer boundary.
"Simultaneously, slave a second directional tight-beam link to the communications buoy we dropped outside the system perimeter," Morad continued. "That buoy is already configured to handshake with the Zephyr’s phased-array datalink via narrow-beam line-of-sight. Once the buoy catches our burst, have it relay the entire tactical package at maximum subspace priority straight back to Deep Space Nine. Whatever happens in this sector over the next five minutes, Starfleet Command and DS9 are going to have the playbook on the Cardassians' new hardware."
Turning his head toward the tactical and security consoles, Morad caught sight of Gath back at his post-blood-streaked uniform, scorched hand, and all, already prepping the Aura and the Boreas to slip straight through the shield modulation window.
"Good to have you back on the deck, Gath, and that shield-modulated launch is the exact force multiplier we need," Morad called out, his voice cutting cleanly through the bridge clamor. "Powl, Gath, execute right now! Powl, dump a full aft torpedo barrage straight down the throats of the two Hidekis on our tail to blind their forward scopes. The second that ordnance clears the tube, Gath, punch the Aura and the Boreas out through the modulated shield window on those vertical crossing axes. Have the drones harass their forward shields and force them to break stride!"
Pivoting back toward the helm, Morad studied the intercept vectors of the three fresh Hidekis racing out from Starbase 214’s patrol grid. If the Zephyr stayed on a rigid, dead-straight line, the three interceptors would catch them in a head-on pincer while the two pursuers hammered their stern.
"Krandall, we're not letting those three new contacts T-bone our bow, and we're not giving up our speed advantage," Morad ordered, tracing a high-velocity curving trajectory across the helm repeater that skirted the edge of the interceptors' firing cone while spiraling tighter toward Starbase 214. "Use our superior straight-line acceleration to bend our sprint into a wide, sweeping tangential arc, heading zero-four-zero mark three-five-five! Outpace their lateral cutoff angle and force those three interceptors to over-rotate onto our stern to keep up. I want all five of those Hidekis stacked up in a single trailing tail-chase behind our aft shields and fighting through our shuttles, phasers, torpedoes and probes while we ride that curve straight into Starbase 214’s heavy weapons envelope!"
"Engineering, what's your ETA on warp drive?" Ameen called out.
== Tag Bridge ==
Step one accomplished, Morad thought sharply. Now we make sure our intelligence survives, and we keep every pair of Cardassian eyes glued to us while Federation One clears the system...
"Amila, keep that broad-range picture locked in," Morad ordered, his fingers flying across the command console’s tactical uplink controls. "Before those three fresh Hidekis close the bracket on us, we’re getting every byte of our deep-scan telemetry on that Cardassian Dreadnought and these upgraded Hideki escorts off this ship."
He glanced toward Operations and Science, calling up the Zephyr’s phased-array directional transceiver protocols.
"Cardassian broadband jamming is attempting to blanket standard subspace channels, so we’re not broadcasting omnidirectionally," Morad directed crisply. "Compile the complete deep-scan dossier, the Dreadnought's structural profile, weapon signatures, and the Hidekis' upgraded shield and countermeasure telemetry, into a compressed burst package. Route it through our phased-array emitters using a Multi-Function Advanced Datalink protocol: ultra-narrow aperture, frequency-agile tight-beam, low-probability-of-intercept. Punch the first directional burst straight to Starbase 214’s command tower so the Base Commander knows exactly what that Dreadnought is capable of..."
They will have to decide to gamble on the task force arriving in time, or to start evacuating the Starbase... I'm glad I'm not the one making that decision... and where the heck is the starbase's own garrison? Why are they not launching...
His hand shifted across the display, highlighting the covert relay marker sitting just beyond the system's outer boundary.
"Simultaneously, slave a second directional tight-beam link to the communications buoy we dropped outside the system perimeter," Morad continued. "That buoy is already configured to handshake with the Zephyr’s phased-array datalink via narrow-beam line-of-sight. Once the buoy catches our burst, have it relay the entire tactical package at maximum subspace priority straight back to Deep Space Nine. Whatever happens in this sector over the next five minutes, Starfleet Command and DS9 are going to have the playbook on the Cardassians' new hardware."
Turning his head toward the tactical and security consoles, Morad caught sight of Gath back at his post-blood-streaked uniform, scorched hand, and all, already prepping the Aura and the Boreas to slip straight through the shield modulation window.
"Good to have you back on the deck, Gath, and that shield-modulated launch is the exact force multiplier we need," Morad called out, his voice cutting cleanly through the bridge clamor. "Powl, Gath, execute right now! Powl, dump a full aft torpedo barrage straight down the throats of the two Hidekis on our tail to blind their forward scopes. The second that ordnance clears the tube, Gath, punch the Aura and the Boreas out through the modulated shield window on those vertical crossing axes. Have the drones harass their forward shields and force them to break stride!"
Pivoting back toward the helm, Morad studied the intercept vectors of the three fresh Hidekis racing out from Starbase 214’s patrol grid. If the Zephyr stayed on a rigid, dead-straight line, the three interceptors would catch them in a head-on pincer while the two pursuers hammered their stern.
"Krandall, we're not letting those three new contacts T-bone our bow, and we're not giving up our speed advantage," Morad ordered, tracing a high-velocity curving trajectory across the helm repeater that skirted the edge of the interceptors' firing cone while spiraling tighter toward Starbase 214. "Use our superior straight-line acceleration to bend our sprint into a wide, sweeping tangential arc, heading zero-four-zero mark three-five-five! Outpace their lateral cutoff angle and force those three interceptors to over-rotate onto our stern to keep up. I want all five of those Hidekis stacked up in a single trailing tail-chase behind our aft shields and fighting through our shuttles, phasers, torpedoes and probes while we ride that curve straight into Starbase 214’s heavy weapons envelope!"
"Engineering, what's your ETA on warp drive?" Ameen called out.
== Tag Bridge ==