Star Trek

The Canine Voyage

Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Iditarod. It's continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life, and new civilizations, to boldly go where no dog has gone before!

Balto Mandrell: Captain

Boris Goosinoff: Commander

Kaltag: 1^st Lieutenant

Star Henderson: Helmsman

Steele Karzon: Security Chief

Jenna Alba: Counselor

Doc: Doctor

Stella Rahssi: Nurse

Nikki, Muk, Luk, Kodi: Security personnel

Dusty, Sylvia, Dixie: Engineers

A year after Star Trek: First Contact....

Balto walked onto the bridge of the Iditarod and took a look around. Boris was sitting in the Captains chair, Jenna was sitting next to him, Steele was at his usual station right behind the Captains chair, and Kaltag and Star were up front driving the ship. He smiled to himself. He had been through thick and thin with this crew and he trusted any of them with his life. It was good that he trusted them with his life because they had saved it more than once.

“Excuse me Boris but I think you're in my chair.”

“Oh, hello Balto” said Boris as he got up from the chair. As Balto sat down Steele spoke up and said “Captain, just a few minutes ago we received a distress call from the Canine Outpost 4 out near the edge of federation space. They said a strange vessel dropped out of light speed and started to open fire. They had just enough time to send out a distress signal before they lost all communication.”

'Great,' thought Balto. 'Just what we need.' They were on a top priority peacekeeping mission between two species, the Piraka and the Toa, both of whom had just recently joined the Federation. They were transporting the Toa ambassador to the Piraka planet.

Balto said to Steele “Is there anyone else that can respond? I mean, we can't really delay this mission.”

“Yes, the U.S.S. Roddenberry” said Steele “But we could get there faster.”

Balto mumbled angrily. “Commander Boris,” he said “Do you think you could arrange for us to beam the Ambassador Nuparu to the Roddenberry so we can head for that distress call?”

“Aye aye captain.” And off Boris went.

“Steele,” Balto asked “You said the attack was near the edge of Federation space. Was that near the Neutral Zone?”

“I believe it was sir.”

“Captain,” said Jenna “You don't really believe it was the Romulans do you? We've been at peace with them for years.”

“I know we have.” said Balto “But we WERE attacked by the Borg last year, and that weakened our fleet severely. Maybe the Romulans have decided now would be a good time to strike.” The thought made the crew shudder. The Romulans were already powerful enough, but after the Federation was attacked one year ago, they were in no position to defend themselves. Soon, Boris' voice came in over Balto's communicator badge. He said “Captain, Ambassador Nuparu has safely transported off the ship.”

“Very good Commander Goosinoff. Mister Star Henderson, set a course for the neutral zone, warp 9. Engage.”

They arrived at Canine Outpost Four very quickly. They got the outpost on the view screen, and were shocked by what they saw. The small space station was a complete wreck. Debris was floating all throughout space, and the station itself was barely intact.

“Lieutenant Kaltag, scan for signs of life.” Kaltag did a brief scan of the station. When he finished he was silent for a moment. “None, sir.”

Steele spoke up “Sir! I'm picking up another distress call!”

“From where?” asked Balto.

Steele gulped. “From the Roddenberry!”

“Boris! Beam over to the Outpost with Muk and Luk to investigate! Star! Kaltag! Set a course for the Roddenberry as soon as they've left the ship! Warp 9!”

CHAPTER 2

They found the Roddenberry quickly, and there was a Romulan bird-of-prey firing on it. As soon as the ship picked up the Iditarod on their sensors, they cloaked and left. Balto immediately arranged an away team. Himself, a cadet named Kodi, Star, Nikki, Stella, and Doc. He figured he'd better bring a doctor and nurse. When they arrived on the ship, it was also in terrible condition. Wires were hanging from the ceiling, injured people were laying all throughout the hallways, lights were busted, and it was rapidly getting colder.

“Thank the great Larry Zonka!” shouted a dog in a Starfleet uniform. Balto saw three dots on his collar, meaning he was the commander.

“Where's the captain?” asked Balto.

“Sickbay” the Commander replied. “His legs got bashed up, his left shoulder is broken, and he has concussion. He is NOT in good shape. Say, aren't you the ones from the Iditarod?”

“Yes” replied Balto.

“The Ambassador wants to talk to you.”

Balto sent his away team to the sickbay so Doc and Stella could help the injured people, and so the captain could put the others to work repairing the ship. Then he went to the ambassador to see what he wanted. Fortunately all Nuparu wanted was to be transported back to the Iditarod. While Balto was there, he sent some engineers over to help repair the ship.

“Alright,” said Balto to his crew “I know a lot of our crew is off the ship, but we really need to get ambassador Nuparu to the peace talks. Jenna, contact Boris and tell him he'll be there for a while longer.”

“Yes sir.”

The Iditarod made it to the peace talks safely, but the trip back was, well, a different story. They had just picked up Boris and the polar bears from Canine Outpost 4. “Well Boris,” said Balto “What did you find out?”

“Well sir...” Boris got no further. He was interrupted by explosions and the shudder of the ship.

“Kaltag! View screens on! What was that?” Kaltag quickly brought up the screens. It was up just in time to see two torpedoes coming from a Romulan bird-of-prey and headed directly toward them. There was two more explosions and the ship violently shuddered again.

“Shields up! Now!” Balto shouted. “Steele, power up phasers and torpedoes! Fire as soon as possible!” The weapons were powered up almost instantly, and Steele immediately fired directly at the bridge of the Bird-of-prey.

“Two direct hits!” Steele happily shouted as soon as the torpedoes found their mark. “Hey! The Romulans are leaving! Ha ha! We got them! They're leaving!” Then he didn't sound so happy. “Um, sir. I just got the damage report. The four torpedoes that hit us before our shields were up got us very badly. Our warp core is almost destroyed, and levels 4 through 12 are reporting heavy losses. And all of our vital systems are at least damaged slightly.”

Balto sighed. “Star, what's the nearest place we could go for repairs?” Star said “Um, Deep Space Nine.” Balto sighed again. “Kaltag, let's go pick up our people from the Roddenberry and head for Deep Space Nine.”

CHAPTER 3

Finally, they arrived at Deep Space Nine. When they docked, they went inside, and were met by a large group of engineers. Nikki began explaining what had happened and what particular areas they needed to repair first. Nikki said to Balto “You know, I should probably stay behind and help out the engineers. I know this ship like the back of my hand.” “Alright,” said Balto “Have fun.” Balto turned and began walking out of the airlock, then heard a resounding 'Dong' as Nikki hit his head on the doorway.

“Come on Jenna, just a dinner.”

“No Steele. I'm not hungry.”

“Oh come on. They've got one of the best Klingon restaurants in the quadrant.”

“Klingon??” she replied in horror. “It makes my stomach lurch. Especially those wretched gagh worms.”

“Oh, fine. Maybe your taste runs more toward... Bashir.”

“Him? I'll have you know in the five minutes we've been on this station he's already asked me out twice!”

In Ops Balto was talking with Commander Sisko. “So how long do you think we'll be here? How long will repairs take on my ship? Already I've got three drunk security personnel in Quark's, fighting over who won the last round of Dabo.”

“I hate to tell you this captain, but probably it'll be another two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” cried Balto.

“You know,” he replied “Four precisely aimed torpedoes on an unshielded ship do horrible wonders. By the way, are you sure those were Romulans?”

“Am I... well, of course I'm sure they were Romulans! It was a bird-of-prey! And it cloaked! Only the Romulan and Klingon can cloak. Who else would it be?”

“Well, I just thought it was odd that they would wait a whole year after a fleet's destruction to do anything. And also, why would they leave as soon as your shields went up?”

“Hmm. That was odd.” With that Balto left Ops.

Balto was laying in the bed in his quarters, looking out the windows at the stars. The question of the bizarre Romulan attack still puzzled him. Why had they been severely damaging the Roddenberry, and yet they broke off attack as soon as our shields went up? I don't think they're afraid of us. Oh well, I guess it's over now. He was about to fall asleep when he thought of something. He grabbed his communicator badge. “Boris, as quickly as possible, I want a ship!”

“Um... sir, what exactly is the purpose of needing this ship?”

“I want to investigate something. Get me a runabout, the Defiant, anything!”

“Uh, is this a whim, a momentary, passing fancy?”

“No, it is an imperative and unyielding need.”

Boris sighed. “Very well sir. You're the captain.”

Fortunately, Boris Goosinoff was excellent at his job, and had arranged for Balto, himself, Star, Steele, and Nikki to take a ride in the Defiant. Accompanying them would be Julian Bashir, Ezri Dax, and Miles O'Brien to help them with the ship.

“Well captain, where to first?” asked Star.

“The last known location of the Roddenberry.” And they were off.

Soon they arrived. They found nothing.

“Well, that was fun. Back to DS9.” said Nikki.

“Not quite yet.” said Balto. “Lieutenant Dax, are there any energy trails we could follow? Remember, the Roddenberry was damaged, so it might have been leaking some energy.”

Ezri did a brief scan. “Yes sir. You're right, there is! It goes in a straight line, 2 degrees to our left.”

“Follow it.”

Four minutes later, they found something. O'Brien was the first to notice. “Sir, I'm picking something up on my scanner.”

“On screen.” The crew reeled in shock. Debris, strewn across the entire view screen and beyond. Limitless amounts of metal just frittering away. “Holy Shnykeebits.” said Balto. “Is it the Roddenberry?”

“Yes sir.”

CHAPTER 4

“Commander Boris, contact Sisko and tell him...” he sighed. “That the Roddenberry has been destroyed.” He then turned his attention to O'Brien. “Miles, see if you can beam any scraps aboard and study them.”

“Yes, captain. What are you going to do?”

“I'm going to record this in my log.”

Captain's Log. Star date something or another. I've just had the lousiest few days of my entire career. To sum it up, we had to ditch a very important ambassador, get him back after the other starship got attacked, got our own ship nearly crippled, then the other ship got destroyed! Great day, huh? Oh, and also, I probably helped in starting another war. First a Romulan crosses the Neutral Zone in direct violation of a treaty, then we fire on each other. Joy. Joy Joy Joy. Joy.

While he was writing, O'Brien's voice came in over Balto's communicator. He said “Captain, I found out something a bit... odd. I think you should come down to the cargo bay and see this.” Balto hurried down. “Yes, O'Brien, what is it?”

“Well, while I was looking at this debris in here, I noticed there wasn't many scorch marks on it. Then I realized that it looks like it wasn't shot to pieces, it seems it was... torn to pieces.”

“Torn to pieces? What are you talking about?”

“Just that sir. This ship wasn't blown up.”

“So you're saying that somebody went over to the ship and ripped it into all these... millions of pieces?”

“I know it sounds stupid sir, but I'm sure of it.”

Star's voice came in over the communicator. “Captain Mandrell, what's our next heading?”

“Deep Space Nine. I've seen enough.”

Later Balto was talking with Jenna in Quark's bar.

“I don't understand it. O'Brien said that the weapons that destroyed the Roddenberry were clearly Romulan. Why would a ship that crippled us need to rip a ship apart? It just doesn't make any sense at all.”

Jenna thought about this for a minute. “Have some more Klingon wine. I hear it helps you think clearly.”

“You've heard it helps you think clearly? Haven't you ever tried it?”

“I've never gotten the courage to try it.”

At that point Julian Bashir walked up to Jenna. “Hey, why don't you let me buy you a drink.”

“For the third time, no! Why do you keep asking me?”

Bashir shrugged “I'm a rebel.”

Balto clicked his fingers. “That's it! Thank you VERY much doctor.” And then he ran off.

“So what exactly does that mean?” asked Jenna “I'm a rebel?”

Balto was running down the hallway as fast as he could, heading for O'Brien's quarters. He reached the door, and knocked hard. O'Brien came to the door. “What?”

Balto said “I think I figured out why the Roddenberry was ripped apart.'

Balto began explaining his theory. “A group of renegade Romulans decides that their empire should have attacked us while we were weak. Since their empire didn't, they hijack a bird-of-prey, cross the Neutral Zone, and fire on the first Federation object they find. The Canine Outpost 4. When they realized a Galaxy-class starship, us, were coming to investigate, they run. They also know that the Roddenberry, a small Miranda class, was transporting an ambassador, so they attack it. We show up again, so they run. Again. Later they find us with our shields down, so they fire. When our shields go up, they run. Again. By time they find the Roddenberry later, they decide to finish the job. But while attacking, and after they destroy the Roddenberry's shield generator, they run out of torpedoes and their phaser bays have been destroyed. So they beam over to it, overtake the crew, and rip the ship apart.”

“That's a pretty wild story.”

“Yeah, I know it's far-fetched, but it fits! And if they keep this up, they'll get the entire Federation after them, a war between us and the Romulans begin, and their plot succeeds.”

“Yeah. Okay. I still say it's far-fetched.”

“Well, let's say I'm wrong. They've still destroyed a starship and an outpost. We still need to find them.”

“You've got a point there.”

“And we know one of their last locations.”

The Defiant was off! Manned by the crew of the Iditarod, and some from DS9, it was headed for the place where they had found the debris from the Roddenberry.

“Captain,” said Lieutenant Dax “I've got something on scanners. It looks like... a Romulan ship!”

“What luck. Returned to the scene of the crime. Mr. Henderson, arm quantum torpedoes. Mr. Karzon, shields up!”

The Defiant moved in on the bird-of-prey.

Ezri Dax spoke up “Sir, their shields are going up!”

“Should I open fire?” asked Star.

“No. Let them fire first. We want to be sure these are the guys we want.” Two torpedoes and a phaser volley gave them their answer. “Yup. Open fire.” Fortunately for the Defiant and crew, they had quantum torpedoes, and the Romulans only had proton torpedoes. So within about half an hour, the Romulans were in bad condition. Shields were down, phaser power was gone, and they were about as well off as the Roddenberry first time it was attacked. “Open hailing frequency.” Balto said.

“Hello, evil Romulans. Are you having a nice day?”

“Cut the crap.” said the Romulan captain. “What do you want?”

“I want to know why you attacked us, the Roddenberry, and the Outpost.”

“I'm not telling you nothing.”

“Steele, open fire.”

“No no no! Alright, fine.” And so began the captain, explaining why they had done what they did.

“ We decided that our empire should have attacked you while we you were weak. Since our empire didn't, we hijacked a bird-of-prey, crossed the Neutral Zone, and fired on the Canine Outpost 4. When we realized a Galaxy-class starship was coming to investigate, we ran. We found out, though that the Roddenberry, a small Miranda class, was transporting an ambassador, so we attacked it. The Galaxy class ship showed up again, so we ran again. Later we found it with its shields down, so we fired. When the shields went up, we ran again. By time we found the Roddenberry later, we decided to finish the job. But while we were attacking, and after we destroyed the Roddenberry's shield generator, we ran out of torpedoes and our phaser bays had been destroyed. So we beamed over to it, overtook the crew, and ripped the ship apart. We were wearing zero-grav suits, by the way.”

“An awful lot of effort to put forth, just to destroy a ship.”

“We wanted it to look like we were more powerful than we really were.”

Balto almost laughed.

Later, the Romulans had been shipped back across the Neutral Zone for a court martial by the other Romulans, for numerous crimes they had committed, including their hijacking a bird-of-prey and crossing the Neutral Zone, and the crew of the Iditarod went back to DS9.

“Well, that was an interesting field trip,” said Steele. He was playing Dabo in Quark's bar with Jenna, Boris, and Kaltag. “Not only did we trash our ship, we also stopped a budding war between the Romulans and Federation. All in a days work.”

At that point Bashir walked up to the table. “Say Jenna, I was wondering, would you like to go to dinner with me?”

Jenna paused before answering. “Well, alright.”

“What?” shouted Steele “You'll go to dinner with him but not me? Oh, fine! Be that way!”

Balto however, was in Ops once more, talking with Sisko, when Dax said “Sir, we have something coming through the wormhole.”

“On screen.” said Sisko.

The wormhole opened up in a dazzling display of light and color. What came out, however, was not dazzling or colorful at all.

“Borg.”

to be continued....