The Dreadnought

Star date 2403 6.285-8 Star fleet command center

The giant space station crawled by, its' engines giving off a blue-white exhaust. The crew aboard the space station stood at attention saluting a hulking figure at the end of the deck. The figure wore black clothing, concealing his body from view. The new cadet whispered excitedly to each other. Some gestured to the approaching hooded figure. They had trained their whole lives for this moment: the moment when they would get to see Admiral Burns, head of the Star fleet, for themselves. The Admiral walked briskly past the crew, his cape billowing out behind him. The Admiral's bronze epaulets were clearly visible fastened to his shoulders. All around him, the crew members stood up straighter as the Admiral passed. The Admiral quickly moved to the end of the deck, where he threw off his hood. A shock of red facial hair emerged as the Admiral took off his cloak. The admiral turned to look at the mega-screen in front of him. Little LED lights lit up the screen. Many of them were moving across the screen to establish a perimeter. Admiral Burns turned to Captain Sho'aht. "Captain, how are things looking in sector 5?" The captain's smile quickly turned into a grimace as he recalled the information regarding sector 5. The captain replied, "Not good sir. It has been over 2 cycles since we lost contact with both Patrol ships in sector 5. Since then, we have sent 6 recon vessels to check things out. Each recon ship encountered similar power loss before the ships lost all power. Fortunately for us, we gathered more Intel from the last patrol ship before we lost contact. We have it in a recording. Not all things could be confirmed before we lost contact. Plus, there is a ton of static sir." Admiral Burns reached toward the desk to grab the comm headphones, but Captain Sho'aht's hand shot out, trapping Burns' underneath. The Admiral looked up in shock. Sho'aht's eyes were wild, filled with fear. The captain spoke slowly, "Admiral, I have to warn you before you listen, there isn't a happy ending." The Admiral rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have come here if I expected roses and flowers, Captain. Please turn on the recording." "Aye sir." The Admiral placed his headphones on over his ears. The captain pushed a button on the console and input a security code in order to access the restricted audio tape. There was a loud beeping noise, signaling the beginning of the audio tape. A young female voice followed immediately afterward. "This is Patrol ship Y12. We are now entering sector 5 to patrol the unknown substance that exists here, but if you ask me, I don't think there is any problem, out here in the middle of nowhere." Admiral Burns scoffed at the easy attitude of the young captain. The recording continued, "Our ship's conditions are exceptional. We are scheduled at the unknown entity in t minus 8 seconds." Over the headphones, Burns could hear the captain bark out a course correction to initiate slowing sequences. The female speaking continued to ramble on about the ship's exceptional condition. Just then, the female voice was cut off followed by static. The recording stayed silent with static, until suddenly the female voice spike again into the microphone. "Holy Crap! We've just lost all power to our ship! There's no power anywhere. We've managed to get an emergency backup generator going to record this.... But we have no power at all. We can't move, we have no electricity, and..." More static. "We... message from unknown Dreadnought..." Static erupted as Admiral Burns tried to listen. Then a strange voice began to speak. "We...Dahklan...revenge on James Tiberius Kirk.... make...United Federation of Planets suffer.... DIE!" There was an ear-splitting noise and then the beep signaling the end of the recording. Burns threw down is headphones in frustration. "What have you done since then?" The captain swung around in his chair to face the Admiral. "We sent in a Class 2 Gunship named the U.S.S. Typhoid to blow the unknown vessel up." Burns got more stiff. "And what happened Captain?" The captain winced and relayed the news. "When the U.S.S Typhoid got within range, they too lost power. Guidance systems wouldn't work. The Typhoid was a sitting duck. They didn't stand a chance. Burns looked away. "And has any other action taken place to stop them?" The captain looked up. "Yes sir, UFP has fired a number of ionic warheads at the cloaked ship. None have been successful. They either miss the target, or they lose power when they get into range. Then they harmlessly float off into space." Burns looked directly into Sho'ahts' eyes. "Has a squadron been put together?" The captain looked nervous. He drummed his fingers absentmindedly on the desk. "Not exactly sir. You know as well as I do that the space beyond sector 5 is the Klingon's territory." Sho'aht chuckled nervously. "We wouldn't want to start a war now, would we?" Sho'aht licked his dry lips 'll just let you see for yourself." The captain pressed a button on his console and video popped up the screen. The whatever it takes to get rid of these aliens. Assemble a strike force team immediately." Sho'aht immediately interjected, "Actually sir, the class 5, type A star destroyer, U.S.S. Goznak has been inspected, prepped and is ready for action, sir." Burns smiled. "Good. Get me onto that ship as soon as you can." Sho'aht frowned. "Sir, I wouldn't recommend you of all people..." "Aye sir. Absolutely." The Admiral clapped his hands together and turned to leave. "Right, then I'll be going now." Sho'aht put up his hand, his index finger gesturing as if he had forgotten something. "Actually sir, I have one more thing to show you." The Admiral turned back to the display. "What?" he snapped. Sho'aht said, "I'll just let you see for yourself." The captain pressed a button on his console and video popped up the screen. The Admiral was curious. "What's this?" The captain's replied in a serious tone. "This was an air raid on one of our patrol outposts by this unknown vessel." Sho'aht pressed another button and the picture came to life. Burns found himself looking at the smoking remains of a Patrol outpost." Burns doubled over in shock as he saw the familiar maroon markings of an UFP patrol ship. Through the smoke, 7 more UFP Patrol ships emerged, guns blazing. Lasers went everywhere on the screen. The captain pressed another button and the video stopped. Burns turned to Sho'aht. "Wait, are those our ships?" Sho'aht grimaced as he spoke, "Yes sir. Every ship we've lost contact with were involved in the destruction of this outpost, including the U.S.S. Typhoid. They are using our own ships against us, sir."