Star Trek: Wings of the Renaissance

A Star Trek fanfiction by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Trek is the property of CBS and Paramount. Please support the official release.

Orbit of Valo II

2371

Two standard weeks ago...

Commander Shran and Warrant Officer Matsunaga were not the only officers recalled to Starfleet Command after the Odyssey's destruction. Lieutenant Commander Serkanno too had been recalled, apparently for a special assignment with her people. As a result, overall command of Outpost 444 had fallen to the most experienced officer on base.

Unfortunately, that was himself. Though he scarcely qualified: He had only been an officer for two years longer than Lieutenant Gottschalk. Outpost 444 was meant as a waystation for most officers: Either they improved and went on to other assignments after having their issues resolved, or they left the service entirely.

That said, Suref's case was rather different from most officers. Not that he discussed it unless required to. It had earned him the callsign "Happy"-The contrast of the callsign with his temperament of course meant to be an ironic source of humor. Vulcans did not admit to emotions, but he could at least state honestly that as of late, he was not happy.

His last three months had consisted of filing reports, dealing with issues with the base personnel, and handling transfers and logistics. Nothing too taxing for him, of course. Vulcan discipline was an unappreciated asset when it came to the mundane but critical issues of command management.

That said, even a Vulcan could become... Restless. He would never admit to an emotional thrill about flight, but he did prefer to be flying than behind a desk.

This, Lieutenant Gottschalk seemed to understand instinctively. So when the flight lead had offered to have Suref lead a routine patrol, he had... Not leaped at the chance. But he'd taken to it with far less hesitation that one would expect of him.

And so he and the squadron leader were out in their Peregrines, Ensign Jin in his backseat and Lieutenant Gottschalk and Ensign Yuy and in the other fighter. It was a highly eccentric orbital path, out past Valo III and into the Oort Cloud surrounding the system. They were far apart, just within visual range, as they cruised at high impulse speed.

While Suref would not say it felt "good", it was more productive to be doing something he was properly trained for rather than suffering the emotional turmoil going on back at the base. The endless expanse of the stars seemed to stretch before them, and all that filled the communications channel was Jin's occasional updates on their course and speed.

It was out here in the blackness of space that Suref could truly appreciate the power of flight. The true, logical majesty of the universe. The silence.

The HUD lit up as a new contact entered sensor range. Jin was already analyzing it from the backseat, and he projected the new information onto the screens before Suref's eyes.

"Sir, one contact. Warp signature and transponder identifies her as the SS Argonaut, out of Sol Sector," Jin reported, sounding a bit bored. Suref studied the warp signature profile, and as usual compared it to the signatures in the database. He ran through the waveform and checked every detail. He raised a single eyebrow.

"Happy to Bran. The Argonaut seems early for their resupply run," he observed over the comms to Gottschalk. The lieutenant hummed thoughtfully over the link.

"Well, only one surefire way to confirm any ship identity, Happy. Let's close to visual range," he suggested.

"Agreed. Change course and accelerate to full impulse," Suref stated.

"Acknowledged," Bran replied.

Suref altered course, smoothly accelerating as the other Peregrine followed suit. They headed for the still distant Argonaut, only a blip on their sensor screens now. Still, it was close enough for contact.

"Argonaut, this is Alpha Flight out of Valos II. You have entered sensor range, please confirm," Bran sent in a clear, standard hail.

There was no response. Suref considered the possibilities, as Jin nervously shook his head behind him.

"Shall we try again, sir?"

The warp signature radically shifted, the smooth curves turning into sharp, jagged hills and valleys. The correlation in the database took a few moments, but he'd seen this warp signature before clearly.

"Jem'hadar Fighters!" Bran called out. The contact immediately changed course and accelerated for them, splitting into two distinct signatures. Suref armed weapons and raised shields as the two contacts closed on them at warp speed. Gottschalk's fighter did the same.

"Raise the Outpost, we need to warn them," Suref ordered.

"Already on it-! Outpost 444, we have Jem'hadar fighters! Jem'hadar fighters-!"

The warp signatures changed again… This time, to nothing in the database but certainly closer to the Federation's spectrum. The two contacts finally entered visual range, and Suref zoomed in on them.

What he saw was not what he expected. Jin breathed in shock behind him.

Two fighter-sized vessels dropped out of warp in front of them, white and black, and shaped like predatory birds. Warp engines burned bright blue and red on their ventral hulls, as small deflectors glowed in air ram ports. They slowed as they got close, and Suref lowered the impulse drive intensity himself. Bran slowed his own fighter too, shadowing him perfectly.

"What… What are those?" He asked. The Tullian received a beep on his console. "Sir! They're hailing us!"

"Sorry about the scare, Happy," Commander Shran said, "but Keiko insisted on a test of the Valkyries' warp masking collars. Seems like they work well."

"Commander?" Suref questioned. Bran had a different reaction.

"Valkyries?! Keiko?!"

The cheerful Japanese woman's voice came over the communications link, loud and clear.

"Hey honey, I'm home! And we brought back a little surprise for the Dominion!"

"Several surprises," Shran added. "They should be along on the Argonaut soon."

And then yet another surprise made itself known. A visual link was established. Behind the helmet was a cheerful, beaming face he hadn't seen in ages.

"Like me! Hey Suref honey!" The woman cried, raising her arm and waving it happily in the confined cockpit of the Valkyrie. Suref could see his commander smirk in the front seat.

He felt his own right third eyelid twitch slightly.

"Lieutenant Chai," he greeted politely, "it has been some time."

It's been a while and it's short, but it's a start.