Escort Duty (Part 2)

Posted on Fri Jul 18th, 2025 @ 1:26am by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Thomas Johnson & Commander Jennifer Daxer & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Nezuko & Lieutenant Teneca Quinn
Edited on on Fri Jul 18th, 2025 @ 1:27am

1,480 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Preserving The Past
Location: USS Tokyo Observation Lounge
Timeline: January 21, 2397- Approximately 2 hours after departing from Starbase 234

Previously on Star Trek Tokyo:

"Considering the last few missions we have had... its a welcome change. But then again... if they expected just a babysitting job, they wouldn't be sending in their top of the line warship." Thomas replied.

"It seems that the higher ups are becoming more 'skittish' by the day. They know that the Iconians are coming; they just don't know when or where. If there is any chance the Kanna can dig up anything, and when I mean anything, I mean 'anything', that can help us, they want it secured at any cost." Taiga explained. "We're the only ship in this galaxy that has any experience with the Iconians. That's likely why they are sending us."

And now the continuation...

Lieutenant Yuvek leaned back in his chair, his ridged features creased in contemplation as he processed the Captain's words. The Cardassian helmsman had always prided himself on tactical thinking, and this mission's nebulous nature demanded careful consideration of their available assets.

"Ma'am," he began, his voice carrying the measured tone he'd cultivated during his years in Starfleet, "I understand the strategic importance of this mission, but given our previous encounters with the Iconians, I believe we need to reassess our defensive posture."

He gestured toward the holographic display of Amerind still floating above the table. "If the Iconians are willing to travel all the way to our galaxy, then they'll certainly be prepared to take more direct action to secure whatever's on that planet."

Yuvek's dark eyes swept across his fellow officers before returning to Captain Taiga. "I recommend we deploy our Starfury fighters in a defensive screen around the Kanna once we reach the Amerind system. The fighters' maneuverability and smaller sensor profiles could prove invaluable if we encounter Iconian vessels again."

The Lieutenant straightened in his seat, his tactical mind engaging fully. "During our last encounter, the Iconian ships demonstrated superior firepower and shielding, but they seemed to rely heavily on their main vessel's weapons arrays. The Starfuries' ability to attack from multiple vectors simultaneously could exploit potential blind spots in their defensive systems." He tapped his finger thoughtfully against the table's surface.

The Lieutenant straightened in his seat, his tactical mind engaging fully. "The Starfuries' superior maneuverability could be the key advantage we need. While the Herald ships excelled at sustained fire and frontal assaults, they seemed less capable of rapid course corrections." He tapped his finger thoughtfully against the table's surface.

"Our fighters can execute tight turns and rapid acceleration changes that would be impossible for vessels of the Heralds' mass and configuration." Yuvek's expression grew more focused as he continued his analysis. "Additionally, the Starfuries' compact design allows them to exploit spatial opportunities that larger vessels cannot—flying through debris fields, using planetary rings as cover, or executing attack runs through narrow corridors that Herald ships couldn't navigate."

He looked directly at the Captain. "If we do encounter Herald vessels again, we could use the fighters' agility to force them into defensive positions while the Tokyo and Kanna complete their mission objectives. The Herald ships may be formidable, but they're not invincible—especially when faced with targets they can't easily track or predict."

Taiga nodded at her Cardassian helmsman. "You make some excellent points Jased," she said. "We have sixty starfighters on board. I believe we should deploy three squadrons, and leave one squadron on standby." She suggested. "Before we arrive, I want you to work with Commander Daxer and Lieutenant Kuchikukan on fighter deployment and tactical maneuvers." She said. "You should all go over the scans of the Herald ships we encountered, look for weak spots, blind spots, anywhere we can hurt them."

"Don't want to put a downer, but we have already seen what they do. Whether they can see us or not, the fighters will be just like flies. Nothing more than a nuisance." Thomas replied as he leaned forward. "When Jeff was interrogating me or asking questions, the one thing that he really kept focusing on, was the use of our transphasic torpedoes. It may be nothing, but perhaps, its an avenue worth exploring."

"Transphasic torpedoes are still very experimental. The only ones that we know actually work are those brought back by the Starshipo Voyager from their time in the Delta Quadrant." Taiga stated. "However, I disagree. The Starfighters give us an advantage, they are one of our biggest assets." She added. "Plus, the more weapons hitting any enemy ship will cause more overall damage."

"However, we're jumping to conclusions." Taiga said. "At the moment we don't even know if the Iconians will attack us and the Kanna." She looked around at her officers. "For now we escort them to Amerind. Once we're there we are to offer support. Captain Williams and I have agreed to use the resources of both ships."

Taiga switched the image of the planet to a holographic image of a strange Obelisk structure. "The Kanna will be sending down an away team of Science officers. I have agreed to add Security and Intelligence as well as our new Science Officer." she looked over at Daxer, Chisato and Quinn. She then looked over at Nezuko. "Do you wish to join them too Nezuko? We know next to nothing about their technology..."

Nezuko nodded. Given how well she did in accessing Iconian technology, she was probably the best person aboard for getting into Preserver systems. Presuming any survived in a useable state.

"There is another problem we must also address." Taiga explained. The image zoomed out to show a settlement nearby. It was mainly made up of wig-wam style structures. "The population on Amerind are pre-warp Humans. According to the Enterprise who discovered them in 2268, they were once Native Indians from North America, transported to those planet by unknown aliens hundreds of years ago."

Taiga looked over at Talia. "This is where I'm going to need you counsellor." She smiled. "I want you to research their customs, how they live, how their society works. Work with Commander Johnson." She then looked over at Thomas. "I want you then to build a small team of Humans to visit them. Keep them away from the Obelisk, but don't let them know who you are."

"Fortunately, Counselor, the information provided in the Enterprise's report should give you a bit of a leg up so far as researching the Amerind natives are concerned," Chisato added, gesturing to the PADD she'd set down in front of Talia.

Talia nodded as she looked towards Chisato. “That’ll be a great help, thank you Commander.” She gave Thomas a smile happy that they’d be working together on learning more about the natives.

Thomas returned her smile. This would be the first time, they would actually be working together.

Taiga looked around the room as it became quiet. "Does anyone have anything else they want to bring up?" she asked simply. She was essentially opening up the room for any other topics that may need addressing.

Chisato's hand shot up.

"Yes Commander?" Taiga asked turning to look at her.

"Right, then," Chisato began as she got up and made her way over the front of the table. "So, I'm a little short on sleep today, but I'll try and sum this up best I'm able; as you're probably all aware by now, we managed to recover a handful of the weapons utilized by the Iconians when they initially ambushed us. Now, after disassembling one of the better examples that we managed to recover and figure out how they work, Intel has made some... interesting revelations:"

She proceeded to furnish a small, cuboid mechanism, which she laid down on the table for everyone to inspect.

"This," Chisato elaborated, "Is an antiproton beam projector; evidently a bit small for its size, as I'm sure many of you will observe, but after cross-referencing an extensive (and, believe me when I say, extensive) database of all known mechanisms that we've managed to find out in the wild, an antiproton beam projector was the only one that seemed to match this in terms of overall function. So, with that being said, we can observe that a.) this is quite possibly the most compact- and working- antiproton beam projector we've yet encountered and b.) the level of complexity with condensing such a mechanism into such a small format indicates a high level of technological sophistication on the Iconians' part- probably not surprising, given they've had who knows how long to perfect the technology, but it's still nonetheless immensely impressive from our viewpoint."

“Impressive and exceedingly worrying” Talia added. “How do we fight technology like that?”

"To the bitter end if need be." Tom replied. "The Federation depends on us, in fact the entire milky way."

To be continued...

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