Karg sat back in the command chair and watched the bridge crew perform their duties. They were a good crew on a fine ship and they were his. At times it was still hard to believe. Well, in truth neither was his. They were Adm. K'Lays but they had been loaned to him for now and he intended to take care Of both. They were working well together now, after they had settled their differences. When Karg had first reported to the Bloods Revenge, the crew had been reluctant to follow his orders even with Adm. K'Lays written instructions for him to take command. The first officer had challenged him and he had expected no less. Karg brought his hand up and rubbed his jaw. It was still sore but he was gratified to see that the first officer's eye was now completely swollen shut. Yes, things were better now but still tense. They all knew his background and were waiting for a reason to doubt him which would quickly turn things against him. He swore to himself that he wouldn't give them one.
He sat forward and rearranged his command cloak. He had found it in his quarters with a note from Adm. Septaric that simply read, "Here is your chance. Do not disappoint me. Wear it with pride." Karg sat back in the command chair and relaxed. So far the voyage had been uneventful which was to be expected. This first voyage was just to get everyone on more familiar terms. The crew was already familiar with the ship but not with Karg. Karg was at a larger disadvantage, he wasn't familiar with either one. The ship was easy to get used to. It was similar to other that he had been on before only a little newer. The crew was taking longer but things were slowly improving. Karg's attention was drawn to the communications officer who had suddenly tensed up. He seemed to be concentrating on something that he was hearing.
In a moment Karg's observations were confirmed as the communications officer turned to face him. "Sir," he said as he concentrated on the com link in his ear, "I'm
Picking up something on long range communications." The communications officer paused and Karg leaned toward him impatiently. "Well?" he snapped. The communications officer blinked but made no other move. "Just a moment sir, it's very faint. It must be at the edge of our range." He listened more intently then continued, "It is a call for emergency assistance being made to the USS Hawkeye. The ship requesting the assistance is.." his eyes grew
Wide and he continued, " the IKV Chang's Revenge II, Adm. K'Lays ship!" All activity on the bridge stopped and all eyes were first focused on the communications officer, then on Karg. The first officer stepped forward and fixed Karg with a penetrating stare from his good eye. " What are your orders sir?" He asked in an even tone. Karg looked around the bridge and grinned. "Do you have the co-ordinates of that transmission?" he asked the communications officer. "Yes sir." came the reply. "Transfer the information to the helm." he said then turned his attention to the helmsman. "Set a course. Maximum warp!" He was still grinning when he
looked at the first officer and said, " We can't have the Adm. getting help from the Federation when there are perfectly good Klingons in the area, can we?" "No sir." said the first officer grinning back. "Contact the Chang's Revenge II and let them know that we are on the way.
They needn't bother the Hawkeye. Use a channel reserved for Klingon vessels. "he told the communications officer who nodded his head in understanding. "How long will it take us to reach the Adm.'s ship?" Karg asked the helmsman. "About 20 minutes." the helmsman replied. Thoughts raced through Karg's mind. The Chang's Revenge II was a Vor'cha
class ship, strong as any ship in the Empire. That it seemed to have been severely damaged was an uneasy thought. Karg was brought out of his thoughts by the communications officer. "Sir, I can't get through to the Chang's Revenge II." "Are communications being jammed?" Karg asked concerned. "No sir." came the reply after a moment. " I just don't think that
they're receiving us. It's possible that their long range communications are out." "Very well. Keep trying." Karg told him. The first officer came over to Karg and said, " Sir, with your
permission, I may have another theory on what is going on." At Karg's nod he continued. "
I have served with Adm. K'Lay before and it is possible that she has sent that message in order to lay a trap for her enemies. I have seen her do it before. If that is the case, then we may be putting her plans in jeopardy by trying to contact her. I suggest that we maintain our course but remain silent until we can find out what is going on for sure."
Karg thought a moment then said, " I agree." then to the communications officer he said, "Make no further attempt to contact the Chang's Revenge II but keep a channel open and monitor all other transmissions." The communications officer nodded and returned to his work. "How long before we are able to pick up anything on long range sensors?" Karg asked sounding impatient. The tactical officer shook his head. " Not for several more minutes sir."
Karg growled under his breath and hit the arm of the command chair in frustration.
The first officer grinned at Karg and said, " You should try to relax sir. I'm sure that the Adm. will be fine until we arrive. No matter what condition her ship is in, one Federation ship will give her no problems." At that moment the communications officer broke in," Sir, I'm picking up a transmission from the Hawkeye." he seemed to be straining to hear what was being said through his comlink. After a moment, he continued, "They are contacting the USS Mississippi and asking the to assist them with the Changs Revenge II." the communications officer quit trying to hear and looked at Karg with concern in his eyes. Karg looked at the first officer and saw the same concern as he spoke. " One ship would be no problem but I have a bad feeling about two." Karg nodded. "So do I." He looked at the tactical officer and asked," How far
away is the Mississippi?" "They will reach the Adm.'s ship at least 10 minutes before we do." Came the reply. "Damn!" Karg swore. He pushed a button on the arm of the command chair.
"Engineering!" he snapped. "Can we go any faster?" "I might be able to squeeze out a little more power sir, but not for long." came the reply through the com. "Do it! For as long as you can!" Karg ordered. The ship accelerated slightly a moment later. "That should gain us several minutes." the helmsman reported. "Are the sensors picking up anything yet?" Karg asked. "Just coming into range now sir." The tactical officer replied as he studied the display in front of him. " At this distance all I can be sure of is that there are two ships out there. One Klingon and one Federation." Karg grunted his response. Several minutes passed in tense silence. Suddenly the tactical officer reported, "Another ship is coming into range sir. Federation signature. It's the Mississippi. The other two are the Hawkeye and the Chang's revenge II." The first officer looked at Karg. "They've arrived sooner than expected." "Yes. They don't seem to have wasted any time." Karg growled. "Are you getting anything?" he demanded of the communications officer. "Nothing that I can make out. They may be talking to each other and we're still too far away to receive short range communications." he replied.
"What are the Federation ships doing now?" Karg asked him. "They don't appear to be doing anything." he said. "They are both stationary near the Adm.'s ship." "Scan the area for any sub-space disturbances, ion trails, anything out of the ordinary." Karg told the tactical officer.
"Yes sir. Scanning." he replied. "Perhaps there is nothing to be concerned about. They may just be there to lend assistance." the first officer said quietly. "Perhaps." Karg answered but didn't sound convinced. "Scans complete." the tactical officer reported. "Nothing found."
"Keep looking." Karg told him. "I don't want to take any chances." The tactical officer nodded and began to scan the display again. After a moment he reported," One of the ships is moving off. It's the Hawkeye." He paused a moment then continued, " They've gone to warp sir."
"I want to know why." Karg snapped. He looked at the communications officer. "are you getting anything?" "Yes sir." came the slow response. "They might have received a message.
It's hard to tell. The Mississippi is sending a transmission coded for Federation vessels. It will take some time to decode. Both Federation ships received a message from the Chang's Revenge II but I can't tell what it was. We're still not close enough to receive short range transmissions." "When WILL we be close enough to receive them? Karg asked impatiently.
"In about a minute." the communications officer replied quickly. "Good. Drop out of warp and proceed at full impulse. Put the Adm.'s ship on the main screen." The screen came to life showing both the Changs Revenge II and the Mississippi. The klingon vessel looked like it had gone through an asteroid field with it's shields down. "Disengage the cloaking device."
The first officer glanced at him. "Are you sure that that is wise sir? It is clear that the Adm.'s ship has been damaged and it's attackers might still be in the area." "In that case we will meet them head on!" Karg growled and slammed his gauntleted fist into the palm of his other hand. The first officer nodded in response and Karg continued, "I don't want that Federation ship to try to accuse us of attempting a sneak attack while they are on their errand of mercy."
The first officer rubbed his chin. "Good point sir." he said at last. "We are now within short range communications range of the Chang's revenge II sir." the tactical officer reported.
"Good" Karg sighed. "Stay on course and keep that channel open." They watched the images on the screen get closer. Suddenly the screen flickered. "What was that?" Karg asked. "The Adm.'s ship may have tried to contact us." The communications officer
replied. "Open the com." Karg ordered. A moment later the screen went fuzzy and static and whines came over the com. "It is definitely coming from the Adm.'s ship. Should I try to hail them?" the communications officer asked. "No." Karg replied. "If they're having that much trouble than I don't want to add to it by giving them any incoming messages to deal with. We'll wait. I'm sure that they'll be able to get through soon." At that moment the screen cleared to show Adm. K'Lay. Karg stood and bowed slightly, "Greetings Admiral." "Karg of House Septaric. Good to see you." The Adm. replied. "What...?" K'Lay cut Karg off with a gesture. "There is no time to explain now. I will inform you later. I have a mission of great importance for you. Is MY ship and crew ready for battle?" "Yes Adm. We stand ready." Karg answered quickly. " Good." The screen flickered again. " Keep this channel open!" she ordered someone out of sight then continued, "I am sending you co-ordinates and a briefing. Proceed at maximum warp. A ship is being attacked by the Jem'Hadar. I want you to assist it in any way you can. The commander of that ship is an ally and I have sworn to protect her but due to the condition of my ship, I am sending you in my place. Do you understand?" "Yes Adm." said Karg. "Then Qapla and action!" The screen showed the two ships again. "Do you have the co-ordinates?" Karg asked the helmsman. "Yes sir." he replied. "Then set a course. Maximum warp." Karg ordered. "Transfer the briefing to my console." he said as he turned his command chair around. The first officer moved to stand behind the command chair as Karg began to read the briefing. " So, what ship are we going to defend?" he asked. "The USS Nazgul A. A Federation ship!" Karg spit the words out and made a face as though they left a bad taste in his mouth as he turned the command chair around to face the first officer. "The ship is of some importance to Adm. K'Lay sir." the first officer said. "I know. I just have a hard time helping Starfleet, no matter who orders it." Karg replied disgusted. "Well, sir. The federation are our allies." the first officer reminded him. "Yes but they have been your allies much longer that they have been mine." Karg replied shortly. "It is good to see that you serve the Empire and are willing to follow orders regardless of your personal feelings. Some of us were concerned that you might still be loyal to the Pu'chim colony." the first officer said.
Karg shot out of the command chair, anger blazing in his eyes. "Thanks to the Empire, Pu'chim colony, my family and my home, no longer exists so it is hardly possible that I could remain loyal to it, is it!?" he yelled. He took a deep breath to help regain his composure and slowly sat back down. "None of you need to concern yourselves with the matter any further." he growled loudly. " I can assure all of you that there is nothing left for me on Pu'chim. Gowron and the High Council have seen to that." He glared around the bridge but none of the crew dared to meet his gaze. Finally he turned around to face the console again. "Nazgul." he thought out loud. " I've heard that word before but where?" After a moment he continued, Ah, yes. The ancient Klingon writer T'ol Ken used it in some of his books. If I remember right
He used it to describe a large, reptilian, flying creature. Dark, ugly, and evil. I think that it would be a good name for any Federation ship. It suits them well." he then turned his attention back to the briefing. "The commanding officer of the Nazgul is Adm. Adrienne Paradis." "Interesting." the first officer commented. " It isn't everyday that the Empire gets the chance to save a Federation Adm." "Yes." Karg said thoughtfully. "The bragging rights alone may make this mission worthwhile." He continued to read the briefing and said, " The Hawkeye has gone to lend assistance as well. I don't know how much help they'll be but
at least they will give the Jem'Hadar something else to shoot at until we arrive." the first officer stepped aside as Karg turned the chair back around. " the Nazgul set a distress signal. Try to contact them on that same frequency and let them know that we are on the way." he told the communications officer. "Yes sir." the communications officer responded. "the Jem'Hadar are jamming all of the communications in the area. The Hawkeye is transmitting over a wider frequency. If we do the same, it might make it easier for us to get through." "Yes. To get through to the Jem'Hadar." Karg snapped. "If the nazgul got a message out then we can get a message to them as well. Keep trying. Let the Hawkeye go blundering in like a Duk'mot beast through dry leaves. We have an ace up our sleeve and I intend to keep it that way." A puzzled look came over the first officers face. " A what up our where sir?" Karg grinned at him. "It is a term from a human game called poker. I learned it when I was patrolled the human sector of first city when I was assigned to the city guard. It is one of the few things about humans that I like." "I see sir." said the first officer. "But I still don't understand." Karg continued. "The game is played with a deck of cards. Each card is a different suit and rank. Aces are the highest ranking cards in the deck so to have an ace up your sleeve is to have an unknown advantage over your opponent." "Ah, I see." replied the first officer. "But what if the Jem'Hadar also have, as you say, an ace up their sleeve as well?"
"Then in that case I will make sure that we have the winning hand." Karg's grin broadened as the puzzled look returned to the first officers face. "I've made contact with the Nazgul sir." the communications officer reported. "They know that we're coming. They request that we arrive as soon as possible. The situation has grown worse. The Romulans have joined the attack on
them." "Did our message go undetected?" Karg inquired. "With all of this interference it's hard to tell." the communications officer replied. "But I believe so." "Good. Has the Hawkeye arrived yet?" Karg asked. "There was no mention of them sir and I've lost contact." The communications officer replied.
"How long until we reach the Nazgul?" Karg asked the helmsman. "Less than two minutes." was the reply. "Prepare to drop out of warp and disengage the cloaking devise on my
command." Karg pushed a button on the arm of the command chair, " Engineering,
I want all available power to be transferred to the disrupters and shields as soon as we de-cloak. Is that understood?" "Yes sir." came the reply through the com. Karg pushed another button. "All personnel, prepare for battle!" The lighting changed to cast everything in a red glow as the ship went to battle alert. Karg began to absently pound the arm of the command chair with his fist. He was unaware that he was even doing it until the bridge crew Began to sing. Karg joined in as the anthem rang through the bridge and the smell of battle hung heavy in the air.
