Excelsior Season 1, Act I: Midpoint

by the Excelsior Development Team

19th February 2018

Since the Excelsior Campaign began, each headquarters has had different levels of success. Below is a storyline representation of tournament results in Act I so far, and it has been going well for one affiliation in particular...

 

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"Damage report!"

"Hull breach on Decks Four through Seven, starboard side; forcefields in place, damage control teams responding. Aft shields at twenty-three percent and falling, forward shields still offline. Weapons are still hot, but only port phaser banks and torpedo launchers are operational. Structural integrity is steady at seventy-three percent; auxiliary power is holding us together."

"And the Romulans?"

"Maintaining bearing 093-mark-215, distance approximately four million kilometers. They don't seem to be detecting us through the ionosphere, and their cloak is still offline. The warbird is still jamming our transmissions, but sensors show they are projecting some kind of pulsed anion beam toward Romulan space. Pulses are patterned, could be an emergency signal."

"Calling for reinforcements... we're out of our depth here. Engineering, what's our warp status?"

"Bridge, any warp speed is going to be problematic with a hull breach. Give us twenty minutes to patch-"

"We don't have ten minutes, much less twenty. Do what you can, and we'll break orbit once the Romulans move off."

"Captain, they've gone to warp!"

"Helm, get us out of here. Set a course for Starbase 247 and engage at maximum-" The commander's breath caught in her throat as a second warbird decloaked directly ahead of them, unleashing a deadly salvo that would claim the two hundred eighty-four souls aboard the Nebula-class vessel.

 

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"Scan for survivors, begin salvage operations." The order was perfunctory, and would probably be moot. The Federation vessel's core breach had vaporized everything but the largest hull fragments in the nearby surrounding space. There was a slim chance that one or two escape pods managed to escape the explosion, and the potential for intelligence was deemed a priority. The Romulan commander had nearly dismissed the possibility, when the science officer reported an almost imperceptible energy signature.

"Helm, come about, close to transport range, and bring it aboard. Security, report to Hangar Three with a debriefing detail." Their sister ship's withdrawal had provided this potential windfall of tactically relevant information; she had no desire to squander the opportunity. She made her way to Hangar Three where she could see Security had already responded with the efficiency of the Tal Shiar. Entering the bay, they arranged themselves in a semi-circle, anticipating the beam-in target. Their boots had scarcely stopped shuffling when the green shimmer of the transporter beam began to resolve a fully intact Federation escape pod. Two strokes of fortune in less than an hour were a bit too coincidental for the commander's liking, but she also was never one to refuse a gift from the universe.

Just as the countermeasure team had completed their external threat analysis, she was summoned to the bridge again. Frowning at the poor timing of the interruption, she gave orders to cloak the ship and distance themselves from the wreckage. Surely a third turn of fate was too much to expect?

 

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"Debris suggests a core breach, reading no survivors."

"Type of vessel?"

"Federation frigate, perhaps a light cruiser. Residual energy discharge has a high nadion count... the Romulans had their meal early today." The veteran weapons officer's conclusion was plausible, given their proximity to the Romulan border. They had been growing ever more aggressive in light of their recent victories, while Gowron had been pulling his forces homeward, intent on letting Starfleet bear the brunt of the Romulan offensive. It was not a strategy that the commander would have chosen.

Looking around the bridge of the venerable Bird-of-Prey, he took note that his crew had seen plenty of combat in recent days, and their weariness had begun to show through the warrior's facade. While under cloak, their presence could go unnoticed, and while his natural inclination was to strike, it seemed that their enemy had already withdrawn.

"Commander, our cloak is failing! Systems overloaded in engineering section!" He swore loudly at the news, then barked orders to prepare for battle before charging down the corridor to assess the damage for himself. Instead, he saw his lead engineer collapse in a heap, revealing his assailant with a d'k tahg still dripping with the engineer's blood.

"Glory to House Duras!" The commander found himself under attack, and quickly produced his own d'k tahg in defense.

 

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Hope you enjoyed the story! Will the Romulans continue their dominance? Will the Klingons or Federation rise to the challenge? Find out at your next local Excelsior event!

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