11.17 Alien Encounters: The Only Ship in the Quadrant

ALIEN ENCOUNTERS

THE ONLY SHIP IN THE QUADRANT AN ABRIDGED AND EDITED EXTRACT FROM THE VEJUR CRISIS BY CARLTON XAVIER (VEGA IX: NEW FRONTIER PUBLISHING, 2280)

This extract describes how the newly rebuilt heavy cruise r Enterprise (NCC-1701) wound up being the starship that intercepted Vejur on its approach to Earth in 2267.

Starfleet had over 1900 Class I combat-capable starships at its disposal throughout the Federation, yet only one had any prayer of intercepting the Intruder as it rolled across the Klingon border on a direct bearing for Earth. Without waiting for orders the dreadnought Entente (NCC-212O) had made an emergency launch from Starbase 27, leaving behind its escorts Tamerlane (NCC-510) and Revere (NCC-595 ) and was tearing across Federation Quadrant 2 at top warp speed. The dist ance that the Entente had to cross, though, weighed in favor of the Intruder. Despite its status as one of the fastest and most powerful starships in the fleet, Entente could not close the gap in time. Fleet Captain Michael Bradbury was betting on Starfleet being able to somehow slow it down before it reached Earthspace. His was a losing race, though, with the Intruder getting closer and closer to E arth with each passing hour. All Bradbury could do was relay reports and curse his luck as Entente tried in vain to close the gap between it and its goal. Between the Intruder and the Sol System were 15 Class I starships. None of these were as powerful as the K’t’inga class battlecruisers that the Intruder had wiped out of existence with so little effort. Entente might have had a chance but it would never get to Earth in time. There was talk within Starfleet Command of massing these 15 starships, mostly frigates, between the Intruder and Earth. This action was promptly overruled by Fleet Admiral Heihachiro Nogura, Commander-inChief of Starfleet. He had no desire to see Starfleet personnel die needlessly. Nogura was not about to throw away the lives of 15 starship crews on what he knew would be a useless gesture. If the Intruder had so easily batted away a trio of the Klingon Empire’s newest starships, along with the Epsilon 9 monitor outpost, then nothing available in the field (save perhaps the distant Entente) stood a chance. This left two starships, both in Earth orbit, with any hope at all of dealing with the Intruder. The possibility of using the strike cruiser prototype Decatur (NCC-2500) was abandoned almost immediately. It was a Clas s I prototype vessel fitted with new LN-64 linear warp engines. These were by far more powerful than anything Starfl eet had in service, outrating even the triple PB-47 circumferential warp engines of the mighty Entente. Decatur might have been a viable choice had she the weapons to match. The fact that Decatur had been converted from an unfinished tug, though, meant that it didn’t have photon torpedoes and only four phaser banks for armament. “That ship won’t last five minutes against that thing, let alone five seconds,” said Chief of Security Androvar Drake. “We need something with dreadnought firepower, and we need it now.” “What about the Enterprise?” It was Chief of Operations James T. Kirk who spoke those fateful words, relayed via secured comline. He had been vacationing at Gibraltar when the Intruder first appeared, and was speaking to his fellow members of the Admiralty from a private compartment inside a Starfleet airtram. Kirk was on his way back to Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco as fast a s the tram could take him; however, it would be another twelve minutes before he got there. Kirk was already a lege nd, being not only the most famous starship captain in Starfleet history but one of the youngest officers to earn his admiral’s stripes. Enterprise had been the ship that had brought him his fame. As the first Class I heavy cruiser to return to Earth after completing its five-year mission, it had been the first chosen fo r conversion to linear warp technology. It to o had new LN-64 warp engines; however, it also had the weaponry to ma tch. “What about it?” Drake said. “She’s faster and more powerful than anything in the fleet,” Kirk replied. “We might have a chance with her.” “Jim, she’s still in drydock,” countered Chief of Staff William Paris. “She hasn’t even undergone he r space trials yet, and you know as well as I what that means.” “Can you name me another ship in range with the power to stop that thing in time?” “We don’t even know if she can, provided she can launch!” “She will launch,” Kirk replied. “I know Mr. Scott. If anybody can get her out of that dock in time, he can.” “Admiral Kirk,” said Nogura, speaking quietly. “I have no doubt about Commander Scott’s abilities. Are you sure Captain Decker can handle this?” “It’s what he was trained for, sir. St ill, I’d like to talk to you about that when I get there.” “Agreed.” Nogura nodded to Kirk as the screen winked out, then turned to face the rest of his staff. “I concur with Admiral Kirk’s recommendation. The only starship with any hope of stopping the Intruder in time is Enterprise. Inform Captain Decker and Commander Scott to begin immediate preparations for an emergency launch. Dismissed.”

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