The Battle of Starbase 234 - Part 9 - The Price Of Survival

Posted on Tue Jan 20th, 2026 @ 3:01pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Thomas Johnson & Lieutenant Teneca Quinn & Lieutenant Ralen Trellis & Lieutenant JG Dana Monroe

1,750 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Return
Location: Starbase 234
Timeline: February 27, 2397

Counselor Ralen Trellis heard Commander Johnson's call for retreat and didn't hesitate. Jaret's combat experience supplied the lesson immediately: When the order to withdraw comes, you move. No questions, no heroics, no second-guessing.

Dana heard the retreat, backing off with the rest as she held onto the herald transporter device.

"Commander!" Lieutenant Trellis called out to Commander Johnson, firing his Herald staff at an advancing enemy soldier. "We need the Klingons to hold rear guard - it's the only way we make it out!"

He glanced at the corridor they'd fought through, now swarming with Herald reinforcements materializing behind them. The math was brutal and simple. Someone had to slow that advance, or none of them would reach a clear enough area for transporter lock.

"We need thirty meters of clear space from this structural damage for the transporters to get a lock," he continued urgently, helping a wounded operations officer to their feet. "The Klingons can buy us that time - they're the only ones equipped for a holding action."

Thomas looked at the klingons, there were still several dozen, something about these klingons... why were there so many, why did they not care about themselves. He looked at one slumped over. "Why is there so many."

"We are the cursed, those without honour, we die here to regain our families honour for our sons and daughters."

Looking around, all those klingons, were out here looking for a fight to die. To redeem their family name. "I will make sure all your houses are spoken once more in the great hall, and those before you are waiting for you in Sto'Vo'Kor."

"I thank you..." He replied as he reached out his hand.

Helping him up, he gave the klingon his weapon. "Die well."

Klingon just smiled. "For Kahless." He seemed to forget the wound in his chest and went charging after a herald.

The other Klingons joined him, they roared in unison as they held their Bat'leths high and charged at full speed towards the Heralds. "Today is a good day to die!" one bellowed as they ran towards what would turn out to either be a glorious battle, or a slaughter.

Thomas turned, and darted after his team. "Johnson to Tokyo... We are waiting for beam out, will be at the location in two minutes."

A few seconds later, Taiga's voice replied. "We've been critically hit Tom. I doubt we'll be back soon, if ever... Get as many people out as you can. You're on your own now. Good luck..."

“Orders Commander?” Dana looked at Johnson, knowing he had a family aboard ship she was aiming to keep his mind on the current situation.

"Commander," Counselor Ralen called out to Johnson, "we need to fall back to the starbase operations center - heaviest structural integrity, best defenses. We can seal access corridors, use whatever internal defenses are still operational to hold a perimeter."

"Operations center will also give us access to station sensors - we can coordinate with any ship that gets close enough for transport." He looked at Johnson directly. "It gives us a fighting chance until help arrives."

"Sounds like a plan." Teneca agreed. "We could even herd the enemy into a trap."

"Fine, lets do it." Thomas replied as he saw no alternative.

[Main Operations]

The doors of the turbolift opened to reveal what was left of the operations center. An emergency forcefield cut the room in half, preventing the atmosphrre escaping. The entire front section of the room was simply missing, blasted away by the Heralds. Twisted metal and debris floated where deck plates, consoles and screens once sat.

The remains of the crew were also present, many of them floating amongst the wreckage now exposed to space. Others were burnt or ripped to a state of being unrecognizable laid or were splattered over what remained of the room. The admirals office door was twisted and blasted open. It was the scene nothing short of a massacre.

Just outside the doors to the admirals office lay Rear Admiral Tempest, blood stained his uniform, yet one with a keen eye could see he was only just breathing. His Chameloid physiology must have save him somehow, after all he did have the ability to change shape and form into any creature, yet he chose a more Human look most of the time.

Dana moved across to the Admiral, “Commander!” She looked across to Johnson. In a rare show of emotion for Dana she removed her jacket, folding it and placing it under the Admiral’s head. “Hold on Admiral, we’ll get you back to our ship.”

"This place isn't going to hold much longer." Thomas surmised. Most consoles were destroyed, bodies all over the place. "Where's the nearest shuttlebay. Escape pods... we need to leave."

How is that man still alive? Lieutenant Trellis thought with something between horror and professional amazement. The injuries should have been fatal.

The Counselor's tricorder flickered as he searched for viable escape routes. "Nearest shuttlebay is... two decks down, section twelve. But the route shows heavy structural damage - we'd have to navigate through collapsed corridors."

He adjusted the scan parameters. "Escape pod clusters are closer - same deck, forty meters starboard. The corridor integrity reads as stable, and the pods should still have independent launch capability."

Then something outside caught Trellis' attention through the massive breach. Beyond the twisted metal and floating debris, he could see flashes of orange phaser fire and bright torpedo streaks - distinctly Federation signatures.

"Commander, look," he pointed toward the breach. "Those are Starfleet vessels engaging the Heralds. Multiple ships. If we can get to those escape pods and launch, one of them might be able to pick us up."

Better than waiting here to die when the forcefields fail. He thought grimly.

"We should wipe the Starbase's Computer core, before we leave, we don't want the Heralds getting access to the data." Teneca said.

"I can't believe I need to do this again." Thomas replied as he pressed the combadge. "Put what remaining power you have to the transporters, lock onto everyone you can thats still alive... make civilians, priority." He turned to the other officers. "Computer. set self destruct sequence Johnson Code, Thomas Alpha nine one three apple pie. Set destruct for five minutes, no audio warnings."

The computer responded with two warning beeps. "Unable to comply, the self-destruct sequence is offline due to damage to secondary command processors."

Pausing... "Well I guess we do it the old fashion way." Thomas replied as he looked around. "Explosives around the computer core should do the trick." Should only be a few decks down. "Everyone to the escape pods. Im heading to the computer core... they cannot get whats on that data base."

It was at that moment that Thomas' comm badge chirped. "Commander Johnson. This is Captain Forger of the Graf Zepplin." A mans voice with a slight German accent said. Just beyond the forcefield an Armitage Class starship, the same class as the Tokyo approached. NCC 91106 USS Graf Zepplin clearly painted on the hull and easily visible as the ship approached.

"Captain Aisaka has requested that we assist in the evacuation of the Starbase. We stand ready to assist you Commander. The Heralds are regrouping, so make this fast. Once they return we presume they aim to destroy the base." Forger explained simply.

"I was about to do the same thing, we can't leave anything for them to gather information on. The database, computercore we need to make sure we destroy it ourselves. Our self destruct is disablled. I will have to set explosives next to the core itself to make sure nothing survives."

Lieutenant Trellis looked at Commander Johnson with sharp concern. He gestured toward the ruined operations center and the structural damage visible throughout the station. "Sir, we have no idea what's between here and the computer core. Could be collapsed corridors, could be Herald soldiers still sweeping the lower decks. And there's no guarantee the Graf Zepplin will be able to get a transporter lock through all that interference and structural damage." He said.

"More importantly, sir - the Heralds came here specifically to destroy this base and everything around it. If they wanted the data in that computer core, they've likely already accessed it remotely or pulled it during their initial assault." He met Johnson's eyes directly. "Chances are they already have whatever intelligence was stored here." Lieutenant Trellis added.

His voice took on a harder edge. "Don't throw your life away for a symbolic gesture. Not when your crew needs you." He spoke not as a counselor, but as a Marine that had seen his share of officers throw their lives away on suicide runs. "Let the Graf Zepplin put a torpedo into the core from orbit once we're clear. Accomplishes the same objective without risking personnel we can't afford to lose."

"There is some things on power cores that can only be retrieved by a accessing it directly, and it takes a lot longer to get it. Based on its location, and the inability for it to be transported... It is still at its location." Thomas replied ashe looked at the Lt. "The shields of the core can with stand explosives in occasions like this. It needs to be done by explosives inside the core itself."

Thats where Captain Forger's voice intterupted them. "Commander. Have any injured beamed over to the Graf Zepplin immediately. Then focus on evacuation of the civilians and personnel. We can destroy the Computer Core with the ships weapons once we get everyone to safety. Your priority is saving lives Commander. The Heralds are regrouping, there's only so long we can defend you." he said sternly. "Thats an order Commander."

At that moment Admiral Tempest was engulfed by the familiar colours and sound of a transporter beam. He disappeared in a haze of blue and white dancing dots and lines. At least now he was on the Graf Zepplin where he was safer and could be treated by their medical staff.

"Aye sir." His disdain evident. "Alright everyone you heard the captain, lets get to the remaining survivors."

Posting by:


Commander Thomas Johnson
Executive Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Teneca Quinn
Chief Science Officer
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant Ralen Trellis
Counsellor
USS Tokyo

Lieutenant JG Dana Monroe
Operations Officer
USS Tokyo

Captain Loid Forger
Commanding Officer
USS Graf Zepplin
(Played by Cap T Aisaka)

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