The Fires of Pharos

Battle with the Klingons!

Summary
In the Marrat Nebula… Lieutenant Tyler moves the USS Enterprise through evasive maneuver sigma-delta-one before turning the starship about to finish driving off the remainder of hostile fleet that had been attacking Starbase 13. With the starbase’s docking array damaged and communications out, a team lead by Captain Pike beams over the access the situation.

The team is greeted by Commodore Hal Wyeth, as Yeoman Cusack helps the medical personal set up a triage centre to help the starbase’s wounded the Commodore fills Pike and Spock in on the local situation; The station, originally built to help police the dangerous region, has it’s self come under siege in a response by local pirateers to another Starfleet plan to bring order to the region in Project Pharos, the building of a huge “lighthouse” on a nearby planet. What’s more whilst they were drilling the foundations for the lighthouse the engineering teams found vast amounts of extremely pure dilithium, and the Commodore fears this valuable find has been leaked when two hours earlier contact was lost with the engineering teams on the planet. Elsewhere in the Nebula… Klingon Commander Kaaj punishes one of his officers for doubting his command abilities and then takes his ship in pursuit of the Enterprise as she moves off from Starbase 13.

On the Enterprise Captain Pike informs a badly disrupted Commodore Wyeth of the Enterprise’s progress towards the Pharos siteworld and receives a word of warning from the experienced veteran of the region “expect the unexpected”. In response the Captain has Mr Tyler commence broadband sensor sweeps to locate the said unexpected. Meanwhile Spock finishes his analysis of the earlier brigand attack. The fleet consisted of an unusual combination of Orion, Arcturan, Khodini and renegade Human vessels. With evidence of a deadly criminal alliance Pike moves the ship up to Yellow Alert as the Enterprise reaches her destination. Number One leads a landing party to investigate the lighthouse and quickly find evidence of recent disruptor fire before coming under fire from Klingons themselves.

Above, the Enterprise is also engaged by the Klingons. Unusually efficient Klingons who take advantage of the Starfleet vessel’s weaknesses. Kaaj decimates main engineering before making himself known to Pike demanding a surrender.

Meanwhile below Yoeman Cusack attempts to lighten the mood by relaying a tale of his and Pike’s earlier encounters with the Tholians. Above Pike and Kaaj engage in a battle of words. Pike refusing to surrender whilst Kaaj threatens the Enterprise’s destruction and warns of his perceived Federation ploy to keep the rich dilithium deposits on the unclaimed world below to it’s self could lead to war. At a stale mate Pike looks for an alterative solution…

On the Pharos siteworld Number One successfully leads the landing party behind the attacking Klingons and defeats their opponents. Then upon finding survivors from the engineering teams beams back to the Enterprise. Pike having devised his new strategy arms phasers. Kaaj warns of escalating the situation to which Pike retorts that is exactly what he wishes to avoid, and fires… on the planet!

The planet ignites into a blazing beacon, which Spock estimates given the vast fuel reserves of the body will burn for decades to come. Detecting a new group of Federation vessels moving into the area, the Klingons depart, but not before Kaaj warns; Pike owes him a blood dept for his humiliation, ''“BortaS bir jablu’DI reH QaQqu’nay” (Revenge is a dish best served cold)…

Regulars

 * Christopher Pike
 * Number One
 * Spock
 * Phillip Boyce
 * Gabrielle Carlotti
 * Dermot Cusack
 * Moves-With-Burning-Grace
 * Sita Mohindas
 * Nano
 * Jose Tyler

Others

 * Hal Wyeth
 * Kaaj
 * Cayman
 * Kir
 * Raeger
 * Virka

Starships

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) - Constitution class
 * IKS Varchas - D7 class battlecruiser

Locations

 * Marrat Nebula
 * Marrat system
 * Starbase 13
 * Pharos siteworld

Species

 * Arcturan
 * Human
 * Khodini
 * Klingon
 * Lirin
 * Orion
 * Vulcan

States and Organisations

 * Klingon Empire
 * Starfleet
 * United Federation of Planets