Spin-off 3E

Forged in Something, Part V

The Vorcha-class I.K.S. B'Cnah enters the atmosphere of Dalor Prime and parks, in a hover, in the sky over the Klingon facility. An away team beams inside the command centre and steps over dead Klingon Defense Force officers. Menchez deactivates the planetary defense systems that were firing into space.

Menchez: "Menchez to B'Cnah. What is the status of the ship?"

#Ch'Tong: "We took heavy damage, but we have survived. Five to eight hours until we can restore main systems to full capacity. Nine, if we finish our impromptu blood wine celebration with Verticon."

Menchez: "Very well. It is never a good day to die by your own people."

#Ch'Tong: "Unless those people are traitors!"

Menchez: "True, but we do not have any information to base that on. Talk about conclusions, Ch'Tong? Anyway, continue repairs. We will follow up with you when we have more."

#Ch'Tong: "Qapla'! Oh, and all my hopes. No, wait, the first one was better."

Stepping into the outside yard, behind the facility, a few Klingon bodies are found on the ground. 

Derok: "This makes no sense! There are no wounds. How did they die?"

Terek, scanning: "Just like the others; their molecular structures have been altered somehow. Disturbed. I could go on."

Kent: "What do you think, Captain?" 

Menchez: "General Verticon is back on the ship, watching everything we do. I believe we must be successful or his trust in us, the crew he gave his ship to, will waiver."
Kent: "He has a weird smell. Like, not like a normal Klingon."

Walking further out, the away team suddenly approaches an odd visual disturbance, hovering off the ground. Terek scans it.

Terek: "It's a tear in space and time."

Derok: "What is that even supposed to mean? Didn't you hear how important this mission is from the Captain??"

Terek: "It's sciencey stuff, Derok. I don't have control over that. Besides, an investigation takes effort and focus."

Menchez: "Derok, he's right. You need to calm down."

Derok: "I am yelling the normal decibel of Klingon-yelling. Either way, Terek is too much of a thinker. He refuses to act when the time comes."
Kent: "I see something. Looks like Beta team has arrived."

Everyone glances over to see another group of Klingons in the distance, at the other end of the grounds. Another distortion could be seen there as well.

Menchez: "Verticon must have sent them down. It is his style to send multiple teams at once. Not that I find that annoying or anything."

They watch as the team in the distance scans their distortion as well. The officer scanning suddenly trips forward and falls into the distortion— suddenly, a shock-wave is produced, slicing through the team and knocking them to the ground.

Derok: "By the sword of Kahless! I did not see that coming." 

Minutes later, the group approaches the fallen warriors and begins scanning them.

Terek: "They're dead! Same way as the Klingons from the facility."

Menchez, Derok and Terek glance at each other and nod. They kneel down, place their hands on the dead bodies and cry out to Stovokor. Kent, being a Human-Starfleet exchange officer, just watches.

Kent: "Do you have to do that every time? You're scaring the wildlife."

Menchez: "Indeed. I am often surprised that Humans don't have a cry of their own."

Kent: "It's more for when we stub our toes."

Menchez: "Crying in pain? Seems odd. Anyway, the way these warriors died does not explain why planetary defenses were in full automation. The question is, what is causing these distortions?"

Terek: "They could possibly be naturally occurring. Temporal distortions have been known to exist in space and on little ships named Enterprise."

Kent: "That was a random observation. Also, I'm reading more distortions out west."

Menchez: "According to the schematics of this area, there is a manufacturing facility in that location. Let's take a look."

As the group approach another building, the area all around it is seemingly littered with the distortions.

Terek: "Seems odd for something naturally occurring."

Derok: "How do we get through them? We have to check out the facility before it's too late! Augh!"

Terek: "Thanks for escalating things, Derok. Perhaps we can transport in?"

Derok: "Impossible! The close proximity of the distortions would interfere with the confinement beams!!"

Menchez: "If we risk maneuvering them, we could end up like the other away team."

Kent: "According to my tricorder, the distortions have a 0.008 phase variance. I think we could modify our disruptors with phase discriminators and disrupt the distortions by firing into them."

Menchez: "Brilliant. I knew there was a reason we employed your kind. Oh, and the company is great too."

Derok contacts the B'Cnah and has the devices transported down. He then affixes them to everyone's weapons. Menchez takes the first shot, crippling the distortion, as hypothesized— but moments later, the distortion reaffirms itself.

Terek: "Perhaps they are permanent. There is nothing we can do to eliminate them."

Menchez: "No, but we can subdue them for a few seconds. Kent, you will fire on the distortions, sequentially, creating a path to the facility for the rest of us."

Kent nods and aims his disruptor. The other Klingons prepare themselves. 

Menchez: "We must work together once we are inside. Verticon is just one factor in this mission; we are the other. Those birds we scared off are a third, but ignore that."

Terek and Derok glance at each other, hesitantly. They then look over to Menchez who peers intently into the distortions.
Menchez: "vaj tagh maH!"