Deep Space Thirty-Three – Lengthy siege of the lone Starfleet outpost is finally over, the USS Excalibur’s timely arrival forced the Lattice Alliance to retreat; casualty and damage toll extensive.
Having outmanoeuvred the USS Ronin and USS Khitomer, the Lattice Alliance’s siege of Deep Space Thirty-Three, which entailed heavy bombardment and boarding the station, was finally over after twenty-two hours of hard fighting. The brave defenders of DS33, led by the Ronin’s XO Cmdr. Toryn Raga, was a mix of Ronin and DS33 security personnel. They managed to hold the station amidst intense close quarters boarding action by the combined Tholian and Sheliak forces. Even as the station itself was being fired upon by the vanguard of the L.A. fleet with only the support craft from the Akira class and the station as a screen against much larger vessels. Several members of the Khitomer’s crew were also on board solely responsible for the evacuation of non-Starfleet and civilian personnel from the station that saved countless lives. All this thanks to the skilled leadership of the Khitomer’s First Officer, Nolen Hobart.
Both the Khitomer and Ronin arrived after twenty hours of hard warp travel and immediately engaged the much larger Alliance fleet. Both ships managed to briefly turn the tide and their arrival bolstered morale of everyone on the station, yet the arrival of additional Alliance starships, which included some sort of super weapon ‘Gun Ship’ made it short lived. The aforementioned super weapon supposedly used a weaponized form of some previously unknown radiation. These S-Waves have a lethal impact on biological life and can cause devastating damage to inorganic material. Both Starfleet vessels successfully managed to counteract the initial attack fired from this ship, which still managed to inflict substantial damage to itself, the Ronin, Khitomer and the station.
While the exact number of Alliance forces committed to the siege of the station are uncertain as of yet, initial estimates suggest the station defenders were outnumbered a good five to one. And still managed to hold most of the station’s key sectors for twenty hours, before being forced to withdraw their remaining number to deck one in a last ditch defense of Ops during the final hour of the siege.
While the tactic of boarding the station was suspicious, given the nature of the Sheliak and Tholians, both capable of surviving in conditions that most other species cannot, it was suspected that their goal prohibited them from initially breaching the station to the vacuum of space or otherwise inhabitable for other species. What that goal is, remains unknown at this time but is further corroborated by reports from the station defense forces that the Alliance attempted to decompress the entirety of deck one during the final minutes.
While this despicable attempt was thwarted by a combination of Ronin and Khitomer crew on the station, the Excalibiur’s arrival and subsequent retreat from the system seemed to have prompted them to leave one parting gift. In the form of a quantum torpedo beamed on board the station. The torpedo’s detonation blew a hole through five decks of the main compartment, which resulted in numerous injuries as well as a few fatalities that included the station personnel who reportedly managed to move the torpedo away from the hull before it went off.
In the aftermath of the Siege and concurrent Frontier Day crisis, several California class starships have been tasked with repairs to the station. While two towed the Khitomer and Ronin to Deep Space Nine to undergo repairs. The near catastrophic damage done to both ships, more so the Ronin, are both a testament to their design and crews. Both crews have been given temporary lodgings on the legendary station while their ships are being repaired, which are likely to take weeks.
During which time both crews are on extended shore leave. And as they and the people who call DS33 home, and those of us on Earth recover, rebuild and mourn the lost a single phrase has been adopted by those who survived. A phrase of inspiration and resolve.
Taken from Cmdr. Agatha Stergis’s defiant transmission before the Alliance’s retreat, “Attention Lattice Alliance Forces, this is Commander Agatha Stergis, the commanding officer of this station. Your fleet has abandoned you and is currently in full retreat. You have no reinforcements or means of escape. No one else has to die here today. You are ordered to surrender and lay down your weapons. Surrender and you will not be harmed. Attack any of our positions or offer resistance of any kind and I promise you will be. This is our station. Thirty-Three Stands. You have two minutes to decide. Stergis out.”
Earth Stands. Starfleet Stands. The Federation Stands.
Thirty-Three Stands.
Written by: Toryn Raga
