ST Crossfire, page 1

Prologue

Sub-Commander Palak wandered the corridors of the Syrinx, prototype for the new D'Kazanak-class Warbirds. The new Warbirds had a distinct advantage over the present D'Deridex-class; their cloaking devices did not possess the 'ghosting' effect that the present Warbirds had, they had the new Photonic Disruptors, they had modified shields and they could fire their weapons whilst cloaked. This was not usually possible because the cloaking device drew too much power to fire them. Palak decided to take a trip to the onboard casino and holoroom, this was another improvement over the D'Deridex-class ships, even though the holo-projectors weren't up to Federation standards. Suddenly the ship shook violently and an announcement informed him that the ship was under attack. Palak headed for the bridge to see what was happening.

"Fire Ion Torpedoes!" bellowed Krolem, commander of the Klingon Vor'cha-class attack cruiser Hegh'tar. The cruiser launched three silvery-blue torpedoes at the oversized Romulan Warbird. The torpedoes were specially designed to pass through Romulan shields, but the torpedoes just dissipated in a fiery green flash as they hit the shields.
"Minimal Damage!" reported D'arla, the Tactical officer. The Romulan Warbird fired its disruptors at the Klingon attack cruisers warp nacelles, although the shields protected the nacelle itself, the shields in that area weakened considerably.
"Prepare to cloak and head for Qo'noS, maximum warp!" shouted Krolem. Despite the dishonour, they had to tell the Klingon Empire about what they had found. The lights darkened as the cloaking field was engaged and a slight increase in gravity as they entered warp speed.

Chapter 1

The USS Yadozi, Sabre-class, was almost totally black as this prevented certain scanners detecting it. It had a modified Romulan cloaking device that had been stolen from the covert operations base on Galorndon Core and could reach warp factor 9.99999, faster than any other known ship. The Yadozi was doing reconnaissance on a Romulan space station that was disguised as an asteroid. After it had collected data on the station's capabilities, it would rendezvous with the USS Appalachia, Steamrunner-class, to transfer data and pick up a covert operations team to disable or steal technology if necessary. Suddenly a gigantic Romulan Warbird de-cloaked and entered the even bigger asteroid/station.
"Go to red alert, prepare to cloak. We're gonna find out what that ship was" Captain Adonais ordered the bridge crew.
"Cloak ready, weapons on standby" reported Lieutenant Tieran, in charge of Ops.
"Cloak and go to half impulse" ordered Adonais. The lights darkened as the ship cloaked.
"We've entered the main hangar" announced Commander T'Rel, who was a Vulcan. It was very tense on the bridge, if you had just walked in, you would have thought it was a graveyard, everyone was silent,
"We haven't been detected… yet," said Tieran apprehensively.
"Sir, I've just detected a Borg sphere, and it's headed this way!"
"Prepare to drop cloak and fire all available weapons!" ordered Adonais,
"What should I fire at?" asked Tieran.
"Anything that shoots us or gets in our way!" he replied.

"Captain Jean-Luc Picard, authorization Picard Alpha-Tango" Picard gave his authorization to the computer so as to let him access the records aboard the Enterprise-E.
"Authorization confirmed, access to records enabled" reported the computer.
"Computer, access file two-four-six-ten-delta"
"Access denied you must have command authorization"
"I have command authorization!" Picard yelled at the computer, he had been trying to gain access to this file for the last hour and a half. The Enterprise had docked at Deep Space 4 to receive its orders after the crew's court-martials following the incident with the Son'a and Baku in the Briar Patch. They had been ordered to investigate the disappearance of the USS Yadozi, were given a file containing all they needed to know, and had left. The only problem was, the file couldn't be opened by anyone on the ship. Picard had thought about heading back for Deep Space 4, but that would waste valuable time that they needed to find the Yadozi. Picard's Communicator chirped,
"Captain, I've jut finished my scans on that file, there's no doubt about it, it was definitely coded it after we left Deep Space 4" reported Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge,
"Then we must have a traitor on board" replied Picard solemnly,
"Not necessarily, there are certain nanoprobes that can disable systems and, as in this case, lockout files", Picard thought for a moment,
"This is possible, but we cannot rule out sabotage, do what you can, Picard out." Picard gave up on the file and headed for the holodeck, he needed to unwind.

At the same time, Lieutenant Commander Data was starting his shift. He sat down at Ops and began doing the standard sensor sweep and internal diagnostics.
"Commander, I have detected four anomalies in the main computer grid"
"Run a subatomic scan on the main computer core" ordered Commander Riker. Data's hands swept across the panel, he studied the reading he had got and cocked his head in decidedly birdlike fashion. Riker was used to this, Data always did it when he was thinking or accessing a part of his positronic brain;
"It appears that there are microscopic nanites embedded within the main computer," replied Data "The energy emissions are consistent with Borg and Romulan emissions". Riker tapped his communicator,
"Riker to Picard…"

That was the first part done. Now to get a shuttlecraft and get back to Remus where she would receive his next orders. As she had anticipated, no one was on duty at shuttlebay control.
"Computer, activate shuttlecraft Wyoming"
"Shuttlecraft Wyoming is on-line" she stepped up to the control panel and set the launch doors to open in thirty seconds. She walked into the shuttlecraft and prepared for launch. The massive doors opened and she flew the Wyoming serenely out. She set a course for Remus and engaged maximum warp before the crew of the Enterprise could raise the shields to stop her from leaving. Pretty easy, she had to admit.

Chapter 2

"Do you realise the dishonour you have brought the Klingon Defence Force?" raged General Martok,
"Yes, your honour. But we have good reason" Krolem tried to explain,
"You'd better have!" said Martok, still very angry, he was very concerned about keeping honour.
"We discovered a very advanced Warbird that nearly disabled us with a single blow. We fired three Ion torpedoes at it; it barely damaged the shields!" Krolem waved his arms incredulously,
"I see…" said Martok, rubbing his chin, "You could have fought a bit more against the Warbird, tried other weapons!" said Martok, raising his voice again.
"Yes sir, I will not do it again," said Krolem respectfully,
"No, you won't" Martok agreed, then he drew his disruptor and fired it on vaporize, Krolem disintegrated, shrieking, That was what happened to cowards.

General K'Orta strode towards his new assignment, a Vor'cha-class attack cruiser called the Hegh'tar. Its former commander had been executed for cowardice and K'Orta had taken his place. It was an improvement over his original command, a small B'rel-class Bird-of-Prey. He stepped through the airlock and onto the cruiser; the bridge crew was standing at attention in the main entrance hall.
"Warriors, we are about to embark on a mission of highest importance, we are to join the flagship of the Klingon empire, the Negh'Var. We are going to find this new Romulan Warbird, and we are going to destroy it!" announced K'Orta. The Negh'Var is a massive ship, it is roughly seven-hundred and forty metres long and has nearly every weapon that the Klingon Defence Force had to offer. "You will now report to your posts, we are to leave immediately!"

It was good to be back in command of a ship, K'Orta had been sitting around on a space station waiting for a new assignment after his B'Rel-class Bird-of-Prey was destroyed in battle against the Cardassians, an honourable way to die. The Hegh'tar came out of warp cleanly next to the Negh'Var.
"Hail the Negh'Var, K'leyhyer" ordered K'Orta.
"Good day, General K'Orta. Good to see you again, I'll buy the blood wine for the victory party!" said General Martok grandly,
"We'd better start soon, the blood wine is waiting!" said K'Orta,
"You're right, we had better start soon," agreed Martok "I'll see you at the battlefield, Martok out!" The viewer went blank,
"Red Alert, cloak the cruiser and set a course for Galorndon Core, Maximum Warp!" K'Orta sat back in his chair anticipating the upcoming battle.

"Evasive maneuvers!" yelled Captain Adonais; "We need to outrun them!"
The Borg sphere and a Romulan Warbird, thankfully it was a standard D'Deridex Warbird, were chasing the Yadozi through the asteroid belt surrounding the secret Romulan base.
"Sir, phasers have come back on line!" Tieran shouted above the red alert klaxon,
"Fire all available weapons at the Borg sphere, if Borg transport on to this ship, we're done for!" ordered Adonais.
"Direct hit," reported T'Rel, still being as calm as if he were conducting a sensor sweep; that's Vulcans for you," Heavy damage to weapons systems, another shot should put them dead in the water"
"Do it!" T'Rel fired the pulse phasers at the Borg sphere and little green explosions erupted everywhere.
"Their weapons systems are disable, they are operating purely on maneuvering thrusters" reported T'Rel, no signs of relief in his voice.
"That still leaves the Warbird," said Tieran
"We can outrun them!" insisted Adonais "Just get out of this asteroid belt and we can get out of here and back to Station 45!"
"Wilco sir!" acknowledged Tieran,
"Sir, two Klingon ships have just decloaked behind the Romulan Warbird!" said T'Rel, a hint of surprise in his voice,
"On viewscreen!" ordered Adonais; it always helps to see things yourself. The larger ship launched five silvery blue torpedoes at the Warbird and they soared straight through and into one of the nacelles whilst the Vor'cha attack cruiser fired its disruptors into its bridge; the Romulan Warbird erupted in a massive fireball! The larger Klingon ship broke away and started towards the Asteroid Station that the Yadozi had been monitoring,
"Sir, the remaining cruiser is hailing us" reported T'Rel
"On Viewscreen" ordered Adonais. A Klingon face appeared on the compact viewscreen at the front of the bridge,
"I am K'Orta, commander of the honourable cruiser, Hegh'tar. Do you require assistance?" asked the Klingon,
"If you could transport us some Antimatter, we would be able to get back to Federation space. However, if you could lend us a spare dilithium crystal, we could join you in this fight," Said Adonais tactfully, he wanted to be part of this. Adonais usually hated Klingons; his brother had been murdered by one. But now, a Klingon with two Attack Cruisers was the best sight he had ever seen. Tieran wasn't exactly best friends with the Klingons, but he was also very relieved to see them!
"Very well, you will have your antimatter and a dilithium crystal. Q'apla!" he said as a Klingon farewell.
"Beaming over the Antimatter now," reported Tieran "It's safely stored in the containers" he said sounding relieved, Antimatter is an extremely volatile substance and transporting it makes it ten times worse! Something just struck Adonais, he never usually realizes things until quite a while after, how does an Asteroid support a gigantic Warbird, at least ten normal sized ones, the normal fleet of scouts, possibly a Shadow-class Warbird and a Borg fleet? It must have an enormous power source,
"T'Rel, conduct a power scan on that asteroid," T'Rel's hands swept across the control panel,
"Very odd," said T'Rel with a puzzled expression, this was very unusual for T'Rel so Adonais, who worried frequently, started to worry.
"What? What's odd?" demanded Adonais,
"It would appear that the Asteroid does not have a power source within it!" said T'Rel in an even more puzzled expression.
"What!?! What d'ya mean, it doesn't have a power source?" said Adonais, getting a bit panicky, a huge asteroid containing a fleet of starships that has to run a sensor jammer twenty-four seven that doesn't have a power source!?! It was unbelievable!
"I never said that it doesn't have a power source, just that their isn't one within it" replied T'Rel, regaining his calmness once again. Of course! It must be drawing power from a Nebula or a Dilithium Moon,
"Are there any Nebula's in this system?" asked Adonais, also regaining calmness,
"No" replied T'Rel,
"How about Dilithium moon's?" asked Adonais,
"No, but I am getting a barrage of Tetrion emissions from within the Asteroid belt" replied T'Rel.
"If the Asteroid is drawing its power from that, it has to be pretty volatile. If we can destroy it, the stations power will be lost and the resulting shockwave will eliminate the Asteroid and all the ships within it!" speculated Adonais, starting to get excited.
"This is possible. However, we would need the help of the Klingons and they would probably prefer a more direct assault." Said T'Rel, dampening Adonais' mood slightly.
"Firstly, we need to find out what that is, it might not even be the power source!"

Whilst all of this was happening, a certain Tal Shiar operative was giving her report on her infiltration of a Federation starship, namely the USS Enterprise.
"I successfully jammed their systems with Borg nanites and coded their mission file. I extracted valuable information on temporal distortions and captured a Federation Shuttlecraft." Reported Jal'par.
"Very well. You are to be given a Shadow-class Warbird and you are to seek out and destroy the USS Enterprise. Use all the technology and weaponry you want." Replied the Centurion behind the massive desk.
"Yessir!" acknowledged Jal'par and walked briskly out of the office and headed for the hangar bays. It would be difficult and Jal'par was worried. Jal'par didn't usually worry. She was an independent woman who was not interested in men. She never smiled and was extremely strong. Jal'par was also trained in the martial art of Dith Maqh, an ancient art that was now only used by the Tal Shiar. These were the reasons she had been transferred from one of the Star Empires finest fleets and to the Romulan secret police; the Tal Shiar. She entered her security code into the panel of the door that led to her ship and allowed the computer to scan her right hand. The door slid open smoothly and Jal'par stepped briskly into the bridge of her ship. Now to get underway.

Chapter 3

"Sir, Romulan Shadow-class Warbird decloaking, dead ahead!" Lieutenant Talahani, a very excitable Bajoran woman, shouted across the bridge.
"Red Alert, Battle Stations!" announced Captain Picard. A more senior officer walked through the turbolift door to replace the young Ensign at the tactical station who then moved to the secondary Science station.
"Lieutenant, hail the Warbird. Tell them that there is no need for violence and we can negotiate!" said Picard franticly.
"Aye sir," said Data "No response. They are powering up their weapons and have raised shields!"
"Prepare to fire Quantum torpedoes!" ordered Picard.
"Photon torpedoes, brace for impact!" called Talahani. The ship shook violently as the torpedoes made contact.
"Fire Quantum torpedoes and phasers!" shouted Picard trying to get back on his chair.
"Torpedoes away!" announced the officer at the tactical console.
"On screen!" ordered Riker. The glowing blue spheres hit the smaller ship and exploded whilst the phasers erupted in a green haze as they hit the shields.
"Direct hit! No damage!" reported the tactical officer,
"What?" asked Picard, puzzled.
"The torpedoes appeared to have dissipated on contact with the vessels shields," Reported Data, "I believe that they are somehow phasing their shields so that they protect the ship but the shields themselves can not be damaged."
"Data, do you think that you can counteract that?" asked Picard.
"I believe so," replied Data, pressing buttons on his panel, "Yes, I think we can reverse the phasing so that the ship is phased and not the shields. We can then eliminate the shielding, reverse the phasing again and destroy the ship itself. This would result in-"
"OK, Data, just do it. No more lengthy explanations, please!" implored Picard. Data stepped up from his workstation and went over to Science. Ten seconds later he stepped back to Ops.
"I believe that we can now reverse the phasing, Lieutenant Commander Giles lock a polaron beam on the Romulan vessel."
"Aye, ah… sir." Responded Giles just a bit confused; technically, they were the same rank.
"Phasing, reversed!" reported Data.
"Fire all weapons!" ordered Picard.

"Sir, it does appear to be a power source. I am cross-referencing the computer database for and ID." Reported T'Rel smoothly, "It would appear that it is the Omega particle. The Omega particle is unique and possesses immense power. With the right kind of equipment it could-"
"Yes, yes!" said Adonais in a tired voice, "But is it the Asteroids power source?"
"Yes, I believe so. It is the only Logical solution as there are no other power sources in the area." Reported T'Rel, as if he was telling a stupid boy that one add one is two.
"Right then, lock all weapons on that particle! Fire!" ordered T'Rel.
"I might add, we would need the use of Tricobalt torpedoes to destroy the particle." Added T'Rel.
"Now he tells us!" groaned Tieran.
"We will just have to pummel it with what we've got. It might damage it, then again it might not." Said Adonais disappointedly,
"Aye Captain." The Vulcan turned towards his console and started to press the different buttons, "Phasers and Quantum torpedoes on standby!"
"Fire!" ordered Adonais, he crossed his fingers as the torpedoes were launched and the phasers strafed the particle's underbelly. Adonais was not a superstitious man, but he couldn't help thinking that if he kept his fingers crossed, we might, just might damage the particle.
"No effect." Reported T'Rel, who couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"The weapons aren't damaging the Asteroid!" bellowed Nuq'duh across the bridge of the Negh'Var. That couldn't be true! Simply couldn't! The Negh'Var was about the size of a Romulan Warbird or a Federation Sovereign-class starship and was equipped with ion cannons, polaron torpedoes, Disruptors, phasers… the lot! Then it hit him; it must have some sort of regenerative power source! He thought for a second then he said,
"Break off the attack! There's no point in wasting energy on weapons that don't work! Nuq'duh, scan for a power source!" his crew carried out their jobs and Martok thought about what to do.

Chapter 4

"They have reversed our phasing!" said Anvia, slightly frantic, "We'll have to use something more powerful than our ordinary weaponry!" Jal'par said instantly,
"Arm the repulsion wave!" The repulsion wave disabled an enemies engines and propelled it forwards,
"Repulsion wave ready!" responded Anvia.
"Engage!"

"Sir! Powerful shockwave coming this way!" shouted Talahani,
"Forward shields at maximum! Brace for impact! Try to evade it!" Captain Picard called back.
"Impact in Five, Four, Three, Two, One…" The ship shook slightly then suddenly lurched forward, throwing the entire bridge crew backwards. Lights dimmed and reports from all sections came through. Data was the first to react and he propelled himself towards the Operations console.
"Engines are disabled, shields at thirty-five-percent and falling! Casualties on decks One, fifteen, twenty four and seven!" Picard strode towards Data and asked,
"Are weapons still functional?"
"Yes sir," replied Data, "However they will function with minimal efficiency."
"And what of the other vessel?" Picard queried further;
"They are suffering damage to their secondary shield emitters, but have suffered minimal casualties. They still pose a great threat towards us." Data replied as if the odds weren't as bad as they were.
"Are there any other Federation starships in the sector?" asked Picard, dreading the answer that he might get.
"Yes. The USS Appalachia, it was supposed to rendezvous with the USS Yadozi but when the Yadozi didn't show up it reported this and was told to rendezvous with us two light-years from here." Data gave his usual lengthy explanation,
"Send this message to the Appalachia using the quickest method possible, no-matter how many regulations it breaks or how dangerous it is!" ordered Picard.

"Sir, message incoming from the USS Enterprise!" announced Commander Soyuz Bozeman of the Bolian settlement on Narendra four.
"I'll view it in my office," replied Captain Arcos, an English Captain from East London. He strode into his office and punched his personal code into the Computer on his desk, "Computer, relay message from Enterprise, USS." As he read the message, his face grew paler and paler. He got up and strode onto the bridge.
"It would seem that the Enterprise has been attacked. We have been asked to assist it. Lieutenant Bonestall, set a course for the Enterprise, maximum Warp!"

Ten minutes later the USS Appalachia dropped out of warp and flew serenely towards the Romulan vessel that was terrorizing the Enterprise.
"Arm Tricobalt torpedoes!" bellowed Captain Arcos in his strong English accent,
"I did that before we dropped out of warp sir!" reported the Ensign at the tactical station. Although it was a bit cheeky, thought Arcos, it does save time.
"Well fire them then!" ordered Arcos.
"Torpedoes away!" acknowledged the tactical Ensign; "Direct hit! Better be more careful next shot, the shockwave nearly hit the Enterprise!"
"Prepare another set of torpedoes and fire at will!" ordered the English Captain proudly.
"Torpedoes away! Impact in three, two, one… we got em' right in the primary reactor! Their shields are down, weapons are totally destroyed and engines couldn't be fixed by a crack-team of mechanics!" announced the Ensign, just a bit to smugly.

She had failed. She was one of the Tal Shiar's most experienced operatives and she had failed! There was only on thing left to do,
"Computer, initiate self-destruct sequence, authorization;
TASHI Delta-one, Code Forty-seven. Send a coded message to Tal Shiar headquarters saying:
I am Jal'par. I will self-destruct my ship and have failed in my mission. I served the Romulan Star Empire faithfully." The Computer acknowledged this and there was a brief silence. Then, there was an almighty explosion and the Warbird erupted in a flash of yellowish-green light.

Chapter 5

"Sir! Two Federation Starships just dropped out of warp!" reported Tieran on the Bridge of the Yadozi,
"Who is it?" asked Adonais suspiciously.
"It's the Appalachia and… and it's the Enterprise!" replied Tieran, obviously surprised.
"Hail the Enterprise!" ordered Adonais,
"On Screen!" responded T'Rel.
"Captain Adonais, I am Captain Picard and we are here to assist you. Give me your report on the present situation." Said Picard calmly,
"We have found what we believe to be the Asteroid's power source. We think that the Romulan's are tapping it for power. Also they would appear to have the assistance of the Borg" Replied T'Rel.
"The Borg!?!" questioned Picard frantically,
"Yes, we encountered a Borg Sphere that came from within the base. Also I have been scanning the area for transmissions and I have come across the Tachyon resonance frequencies associated with the Borg." T'Rel explained. Picard thought he sounded like a certain Android that he had an acquaintance with, "We have ascertained that we would require the use of Tricobalt torpedoes, we have noticed that the USS Appalachia has such torpedoes."
"I will ask Captain Arcos to assist you. The Enterprise will cover you, but we won't be able to stand up to much."
"Thank you Captain, we will transmit all the data that we have collected to both the Enterprise and the Appalachia," said Captain Adonais gratefully.

"Take us in Lietenant, One-quarter impulse, stand-by torpedoes!" ordered Captain Arcos,
"Aye sir; one-quarter impulse!" confirmed Lietenant Raman, a young Andorian who, like all of his species, had blue skin, twin antennae and white hair.
"Ensign Prokofiev (who was the slightly cheeky Ensign at tactical), fire at will!" ordered Arcos,
"Wilco sir! Four torpedoes firing in synchronized pattern theta! Torpedoes away, detonation in fifteen seconds… ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one… torpedoes have detonated! I think another batch should do it!" reported Prokofiev,
"No!" bellowed Commander Hathaway who was the Science and First Officer, "If we destroy it, it will create a tear in subspace."
"Meaning?" asked Arcos curiously,
"Meaning, this entire sector will cease to exist!" explained Hathaway irritably,
"So what can we do?" puzzled Arcos.
"We can destabilize the particle enough to allow it to be contained with a type twelve force field, then we can destroy it. Although it would create a black hole in its place, this is preferable to an entire sector ceasing to exist." Although he was human, Arcos thought that Hathaway sounded very much like a Vulcan.
"Well get on and do it then! I'll be in my office, informing Captains Adonais and Picard of our plan.

"Commander LaForge, direct all power to force field emitters. Prepare to project a level twelve force field around the Omega Particle. We are the only ship with enough power to do this." Ordered Picard over the Intercom,
"Yessir, but if we do, I'll have to take power from the weapons systems; mainly phasers and they're our main weaponry. If we're attacked…" Geordi LaForge left it linger in the air.
"Understood. But we have to eliminate the Asteroids' power source or else we're just as worse off. Prepare the force field as quickly as possible. The crew of the Appalachia is deploying stationary Tricobalt next to the Particle so that it can detonate them when the Force Field is engaged. Picard out!" Picard strode over to the science console and was extremely alarmed when he discovered that something, whether it was a spatial rift or a cloaked ship he did not know. He was about to call Geordi LaForge when he noticed something. It was the telltale ion particles that emanate from cloaked Klingon ships. Picard was very relieved; it was only a Klingon ship! He watched it decloak and the young Ensign at communications on the nearly deserted Bridge said,
"Sir, a Klingon ship just decloaked and is hailing us"
"On screen!" responded Picard, straightening his uniform.
"Captain Picard I presume? I am General K'Orta, Son of Gragh! My ship and that of General Martok has had trouble attacking the Asteroid. We have received no resistance but the shields of the Asteroid have not been damaged by any of our weapons. Have you discovered anything of value?" asked K'Orta.
"Actually, we have found more than something of value. We have discovered the Asteroids' Power Source and have devised a way to safely eliminate it!" boasted Picard
"Well hurry up then! We have waited a long time to destroy this Romulan Base!" said K'Orta impatiently.
"We're doing all we can" replied Picard calmly "Enterprise out!"
"Captain, your Force Field is ready!" Geordi's voice came over the Intercom,
"Deploy it! The Appalachia has finished laying its torpedoes!" Picard said enthusiastically.

Chapter 6

"We have the word from Captain Picard sir!" reported Ensign Prokofiev "We can detonate the torpedoes at our leisure!"
"Well tell Captain Picard that we're detonating them now!"
"Aye sir! Sending a transmission to Captain Picard, torpedo detonation on your word!"
"On my mark! Three, two, one… Mark!"
"Torpedoes have detonated, a black hole is forming! Our Force Field has collapsed and has been swallowed by the Hole!" Prokofiev was getting frantic; "It's growing! We can get out of its gravity well and so can the Yadozi, but the Enterprise has to much mass and is to close to the Hole to escape! It's gonna be swallowed up like the Force Field!"
"Hail the Enterprise, quickly!" ordered Arcos just as Frantic as Prokofiev,
"On screen!" said Lietenant Raman instantly.
"Captain Picard, as you might have noticed the Black Hole is about to swallow you. Between us, the Yadozi and the Appalachia will transport your crew over to here. The Yadozi could use some extra crew anyway. Please assemble your crew in the cargo bay in-groups of ten. Arcos out!" Arcos turned to Commander Hathaway "Transfer all auxiliary power to transporters. Use the Cargo transporters aswell, we don't want to waste any time. I'll be in engineering!" Arcos strode over to the turbolift and stepped inside. "Engineering!" Captain Arcos had a top-level degree in mechanical and electric operations. He wasn't about to put that knowledge to waste!

"That's the last of them sir!" reported Ensign Prokofiev,
"Let's get the hell out of here! Maximum Warp! Bring us just within sensor range, I want to monitor that Black Hole!" ordered Arcos.
"Aye sir!" acknowledged Lietenant Raman. Five minutes later they dropped out of Warp,
"On screen!" said Captain Arcos standing up from his command chair. The Black Hole billowed and expanding, it turned from electric blue then a bright and fiery red. Suddenly the Asteroid base swept into the hole along with a dozen other asteroids. Then it began to fold in upon itself until it no longer existed.
"Sir, the Black Hole has destabilized and has been erased!" Hathaway was delighted; how often do you get to see a Black Hole form and be destroyed? Captain Picard stepped onto the bridge,
"Welcome aboard Captain Picard!" Arcos welcomed him.
"I congratulate you on your performance! You might be offered an Admiralty!" Picard shook Captain Arcos' hand.
"Thank you. But I'm fine where I am. I have the perfect posting in my opinion!"

"I'm just glad we got out of there alive!" Commander Riker was sitting with Geordi in the Yadozi's confined Mess Hall drinking some Synthale.
"Well so am I, but do you think that they'll make another one?" Geordi asked Riker thoughtfully,
"Another what?" Riker asked, puzzled.
"Another Enterprise of course!" Geordi said, slightly annoyed.
"Well, they have made Six already, I suppose they'll make another one." Replied Riker,
"Hmm, I wonder what class it'll be?"
"Who knows, maybe it'll be a modified Intrepid-class!"
"Or maybe a Prometheus-class!" Geordi and Riker fantasized about their ideal Enterprise for the next hour or so. Geordi even used a PADD to render a computer driven image of both their ideal Enterprises. They were just getting started on their ideal class of starship when an announcement said that they were approaching Utopia Planitia orbital shipyards at Mars.
"Utopia Planitia itself, eh? We must be getting some new assignment!" Geordi sounded excited.

Epilogue

The Champagne bottle tumbled through space towards the hull of the gigantic Starship that rested in the even larger containment station. It smashed on the Starship, liquid drifted away into the void of space. The crowd assembled by the viewing window cheered, among them were Captains Arcos and Adonais who cheered louder than anyone, even Ambassador Worf, who was supposed to be at Deep Space Nine, had turned up.

On the Bridge of this new Starship, a crew of Nine was sitting at the various consoles; Captain Jean-luc Picard was sitting in the central command chair with Commanders Riker and Troi sitting beside him in blue, cushioned chairs. Lieutenant Commander Data was sitting at the console that served the purposes of both Operations and Navigation. An extra console was positioned in a little ditch in the ground that served as tactical was manned by Lietenant Talahani. Commander LaForge had taken residence at the Main Engineering console, near the back of the ship and at Science was Beverly Crusher. At the helm was an experienced pilot named Akagi Antares from Bajor who had recently been promoted to Lieutenant Commander, finally, at the Communications Station was a new Ensign named Antos, Ensign Briar Antos, an Andorian fresh from the academy. The class of this Starship was Prometheus and it could separate into three separate sections that could function as individual ships if required. Captain Picard stood up and said
"Helm, take us out of here! Full Impulse, Engage!" The huge ship shook as the docking claw released its grip then it gathered momentum until it was just in sight of the Starbase. Then, it serenely entered Warp speed.

This new Enterprise was destined to have many more interesting and engaging missions. But for now, let's leave it at that.