The Winning Entry to the Starbase 410 New Year Story writing Competition

by

Martin Ford

The Commander sat in the command chair on the bridge of her B'rel class Bird of Prey and glowered at the view screen. "quvHa' Ha'DibaH!" (Dishonourable dogs!) She spat the words as if they tasted sour in her mouth. "vay Hegh." (Fight to the death.) "yIbag! ghew vIgho' " (Kill them, squash the bugs!).

With that, the Master Gunner opened fire with the disruptor cannon and photon torpedoes. Seconds later, a silent plasma explosion lit the darkness of space like a solar flare, as three Romulan Warbirds were reduced to atoms.

Never again would they insult the House of LoDnI', and it gave Commander qu'bang sutai LoDnI' immense satisfaction to close the mouths of such petaQ!

"Incoming message, Commander."

"Show it to me then, you fool!" She barked.

The view of the stars was replaced by the Generals' face, a shadow of concern betraying his inner feelings. "Greetings Commander. Playing with the Romulans again?"

"Indeed, my Lord", she replied, grinning. She continued, "where are you, General?"

For his reply, he clicked his fingers. There was a shimmer of disturbed light and his mighty Negh'Var de-cloaked, four Kellicams off qu'bang's starboard bow, dwarfing her Bird of Prey the IKV mupwI' 'etlh (Hammerblade).

"maj', Follow me back to Starbase 410, I need to see some of the staff there in relation to the Romulan-Cardassian Alliance. veqlargh rur, bang! (you are evil as Fek'lhr, my love!) qu'bang grinned. Both ships entered warp and at 0315 hours de-cloaked at 410's docking area.

"May we join you, Anarita?" K'batlh asked.

"Of course, you know you don't need to ask, you stinking dog-fart!" The general roared with laughter. Not many people could say that to him and live, but Commodore Anarita Jat, Commanding Officer of Starbase 410, was one of the few who could.

Many familiar faces were gathered around the conference table; Ambassador Ke'reth Makura, the General, Anarita, T'Pina for the Vulcans, the Bajoran Ambassador Major Madia Amme, Lt.Commander K'Sqqwa SuDs'qan'ya and his bondmate beLuSbe, also present were Lt.Borda and Captain Leigh Brown - Commanding Officer of the USS Rage.

The General addressed the delegation. "Comrades, I have just returned from Kronos, where I have been in talks with General Martok, the Klingon Chancellor. Disturbing news. The Romulans and the Cardassians have been putting their ugly heads together and have decided to wage a war on this Starbase. This is because of the strategic location of 410, as well as, their view that threat is posed by the hardware located here. What may be of interest, is that quite a few of us have scores to settle with this scum. I'm sure the Major would like to get a certain Gul called Dukat, at the useful end of a disruptor." Madia grinned widely at the prospect.

"Anything you can tell us about when to expect them?" Leigh asked, pulling down his tunic front in regulation manner.

"Yes. They are due to bring their fleet alongside in 72 hours. I suggest that we all start to prepare for their arrival. Any questions?…. No?…. Good….. Dismissed."

Within the hour, lots of Ensigns and other junior Officers were suddenly very busy. Engineers, security and tactical staff were especially busy.

It was going well and an inverted polarian bubble had been set up around the Station to boost the existing shields. In Ops, Laura-Jean spoke, without looking up from her console. "Sir, two hundred and sixteen warp signatures, three light years away and closing, E.T.A. seven minutes." Startled, Anarita dropped her chocolate and cream éclair into her lap. She said a very rude word and then said, "Tell the senior Officers. Computer, where is the General?"

"General LoDnI' is not on board the Starbase."

"When did he leave?" she demanded.

"Immediately after the briefing. He left with qu'bang in the Negh'Var at high warp." Jat swore silently and thought "there's a time and a place for nookie and this ain't it!!"

With practised efficiency, the USS's Rage, West Point and Selene swung into a defensive stance, reinforcing the Klingon ship under Ke'reth's command. The attackers opened fire as soon as they were in range. The four ships countered, fighting hard. Taking serious damage all round. With the Starbase's shields and weapons down to ten percent, things didn't look good. The Klingon Ambassador shouted. "Today is a good day to die." The USS Selene replied. "We're with you, lock and load!" As the four ships came about for their final run, Cardassian and Romulan Ships began to explode from the undefended flanks of their fleet. Three Borg cubes had pulled up on one side, and were taking out the bad guys like nobodies business. While the General de-cloaked across from the Borg, along with 70 Vor'cha and 65 B'Rel Bird of Prey. It was over in seconds. Anarita smiled and said, nodding, "The General and 3 of 30, about blooming time too!"

A few prisoners were taken. In the holding cells on 410, the Major was taking great delight in shooting fingers and toes off a Gul whom she didn't like. She went to bed happily that night and the Gul was never seen again.