13
Glinn Dobran was just about to go off shift when his console suddenly began chirping. He ran a quick scan and smiled triumphantly to Gul Elan as he turned to face him on the Dinok’s bridge.
“Sir, I have them. A Federation ship, Defiant-class, has just emerged from the debris field and has jumped to warp. Their course will take them back to Terok Nor.”
He used the Cardassian name for the station which was now known universally as Deep Space Nine. He also saw the glint of delight in Gul Elan’s eyes as he ordered a pursuit course.
“Maximum speed! I want them caught before they can get close to
Federation space and support!”
And so the Dinok set off in hot pursuit of the fleeing Federation Starship. The pursuit did not go unnoticed on the Hunter that, because of her battle damage, could only manage a top speed of Warp 7. Jim was delighted that the replacement warhead was holding together, as well as the ship, but he was a little concerned at the shortfall in speed. A quick calculation showed that the harrying Cardassian vessel would catch them before they reached safety. So Jim began to search his mind, and the navigational database, for a suitable location to make their stand against the Galor. They knew that the Cardassians would not simply let them escape, nor would they give up the pursuit. No matter what trick they tried to shake them, Jim knew that the Gul commanding the Galor-class cruiser would not give up this chase.
The only place that would serve their purposes and was close enough was, oddly enough the same location that had caused the Cardassians so much trouble in the past, the Badlands.
The Badlands is an area of space, on the Cardassian/Bajoran border, that contains severe plasma storms. These storms can get large enough that they are a menace to any vessel attempting to navigate through the Badlands and also cause severe sensor disruption. The plasma storms are large enough to damage, or even, destroy ships that are unmindful of the danger.
Fortunately the Hunter , being a smaller ship than the pursuing Galor-class warship, could manoeuvre around and between the plasma storms with relative ease. This had been proven earlier by Captain Sisko and the USS Defiant when they had pursued the Maquis, the Federation colonists and former Starfleet officers who fought the Cardassians all along the Demilitarised Zone for their freedom, to one of their hidden bases there.
“Helm, alter course to the Badlands. Are there any plasma storms present at the moment?”
“Yes sir. A great-grandmother of a storm,” smiled Lieutenant Flynn.
The Hunter raced as fast as she could for the limited safety of the Badlands and managed to get there just ahead of the Dinok. The little starship danced around the plasma streamers as she tried to avoid the fire from her pursuer. Because of her small size she provided a very small target aspect ratio for the Cardassians to aim at and, consequently, many of their shots failed to hit the little warship. Several minutes later Jim decided that he’d had enough of a one-way firefight and that he wasn’t going to run anymore.
“Helm, get as close as you can to the largest plasma streamer ahead. When the Cardassians come abeam of it, I want the Hunter to circle around it as quickly and as closely as you can. Stand-by phasers and torpedoes! I want us to come around fighting!”
“Aye sir.”
The concentration on Ensign Jokana’s face was clear as she danced her fingers over the controls of the ship. Her expert control sent the ship in a turn so tight around the plasma streamer that the inertial dampers took a couple of seconds to react. As a result several crewmembers who were not seated were thrown violently to the deck. She broke out in a sweat which began to run down her face and into her eyes, she was concentrating so hard, but she did not let it interfere with her piloting skills. She did not want to let down her Captain, her ship or her crew.
The Hunter , being a smaller and more manoeuvrable vessel than the pursuing Galor, danced and jinked around the plasma streamer. She came so close that the streamer was only a few metres from the hull. Because of the severe sensor interference that is part and parcel of the Badlands the Dinok almost missed the Hunter’s evasive turn around the plasma streamer. The Galor-class vessel took longer to round the streamer because of her larger size and had to take drastic evasive action to avoid a collision with the particularly nasty and wholly unpredictable streamer that her quarry had just turned around. This unpredictability suddenly became clear when the Dinok’s evasive manoeuvre was not executed swiftly enough and she took a heavy hit to
her forward superstructure. Her speed dropped significantly as her helmsman tried to avoid any further collisions that might severely damage or possibly destroy them.
This gave the Hunter time and space to work with. She came around bringing her weapons to bear on the Dinok. As soon as they were lined up the Hunter flew in on a strafing run. Her pulse-phaser cannons tore into and brutally assaulted the Dinok’s shields. As she passed over the much larger Cardassian vessel she let fly with a quantum torpedo from her aft launchers. The shields of the Dinok could not withstand this assault and collapsed.
Unfortunately the Hunter ’s previous battle-damage was worse than they had first thought. Her own shields collapsed under the strain of the manoeuvres that she was put through. Until they could figure out a new plan of attack Jim ordered them deeper into the Badlands. Still hugging the plasma streamers, as closely as safety allowed, they began to mask their trail. The sensor interference, while it hindered their own tactical situation, served to hide the Hunter from the Cardassian sensors. Now it was a game of hide-and-seek where the victor would be the one left alive at the conclusion
of the game!
Slowly drifting through the currents and eddies created by the streamers and the plasma storm the two ships pursued one another. Neither knew where the other was and their sensors were extremely limited in their effective range. Even the viewscreens refused to operate fully. Any spike on a sensor scan could be the enemy vessel or it could simply be another product of the Badlands that served to confuse and dismay all sensors.
To Be Continued...
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