Anti-Borg Task Force Engages the Borg
The Borg made a long awaited appearance in the Delta Quadrant and were engaged by all ships of the ABTF that could be made ready for the engagement in time to meet the Borg in battle.
The Borg were initially detected at a world nearly 50 ly's from the Delta Quadrant terminus of the wormhole assimilating what was believed to be a Kazon planet. The decision was made by the commander of the ABTF to move aggressively to engage the Borg as far away from the anomaly as was possible and all ships that could make Warp 9.5 or better moved in on the Borg fleet, which consisted of 8 Tactical Type Cubes.
ABTF commanders achieved tactical surprise in moving forward to engage the Borg rather than waiting to receive their attack. The allied force was comprised of 864 vessels, with Starfleet comprising the major hitting power of the force. The majority could and did travel under cloak, which seems to have muted the initial Borg response.
Admiral Cilpats from Starfleet opened the engagement with the Klingon and Breen forces pushed forward in a screen under the command of the Klingon XO General Hsur'Cpeed. The general operational concept was to prevent the Borg from surging forward against the more powerful torpedo firing ships to the rear and in doing so to smother them in long-range fire.
Initial results were spotty as the fleet traded damaged cubes for dead alliance ships. As they continued to close the range the volume of fire eventually began to tell on the Borg.
Federation ships fired an astonishing 69,000 quantum torpedoes in the brief engagement, with each Sovereign Class ship firing an average of 500 projectiles. On the whole the fleet fired nearly 100,000 torpedoes of all types against the Borg.
"What happened at the Battle of System Delta 4 was a product of years of research and millions of credits invested into developing a long-range, standoff capability designed to overwhelm the Borg with sheer volumes of fire," said Admiral Cilpats.
The Borg, clearly expecting to make an orderly and linear advance through the fleet quickly abandoned their tactics as the battle evolved through its middle phase and their losses mounted. They instead attempted to close with the more exposed forward screen of the ABTF Fleet in an apparent effort to avoid the ongoing torpedo fire.
"Our heaviest losses were among the screening ships under General Hsur'Cpeed of the KDF. Once the Borg rushed forward we moved our forward reserve up as rapidly as possible in support, pushing the Defiant Class ships, along with various Cardassian and Tholian types, up into the active area of battle," said Cilpats.
Losses were heavy as the battle pressed to a close. The Borg, having already lost five cubes, lost another 4 and had their final cube heavily damaged in this phase of close combat. The ABTF suffered the majority of its losses during this phase as well.
Analyst looked at the battle as a revelation on many fronts. Most immediately in regards to the Borg many believe they may have reached a plateau as far as their development goes and that weapons development in the AQ has progressed to the point that it can inflict damage on a scale at which the Borg cannot simply adapt.
Deployments and Losses are as Follows
Starfleet
60 Sovereign Class Battle-Cruisers (0)
24 Alliance Class Heavy-Cruisers (0)
108 Prometheus Class Light-Cruisers (4 Destroyed, 6 Damaged)
175 Defiant Class Destroyers (10 Destroyed, 32 Damaged)
Cardassian Navy
4 Keldon Class Cruisers (0)
3 Excelsior Class Cruisers (1 Damaged)
Tholian Navy
50 Tur'Loc Class Heavy Destroyers (3 Destroyed, 7 Damaged)
200 Tholian Attack Ships (12 Destroyed, 26 Damaged)
Klingon Defence Force
30 Negh'Var Class Battleships (8 Destroyed, 12 Damaged)
Breen Navy
10 Breen Battlecruisers (4 Destroyed, 2 Damaged)
25 Breen Destroyers (3 Destroyed, 10 Damaged)
175 Breen Frigates (25 Destroyed, 54 Damaged)
Borg
8 Tactical Cubes (7 Destroyed, 1 Crippled)
Ships were deployed as follows into the various task groups.
Group 1 Number @ Start
Sovereign Class 20
Group 2 Number @ Start
Sovereign Class 20
Group 3 Number @ Start
Sovereign Class 20
Group 4 Number @ Start
Alliance Class 12
Group 5 Number @ Start
Alliance Class 12
Group 6 Number @ Start
Prometheus Class 27
Group 7 Number @ Start
Prometheus Class 27
Group 8 Number @ Start
Prometheus Class 27
Group 9 Number @ Start
Prometheus Class 27
Group 10 Number @ Start
Defiant 35
Group 11 Number @ Start
Defiant 35
Group 12 Number @ Start
Defiant 35
Group 13 Number @ Start
Defiant 35
Group 14 Number @ Start
Defiant 35
Group 15 Number @ Start
Keldon 4
Tur'Loc 25
Tholian Attack 100
Group 16 Number @ Start
Excelsior Mk II 3
Tur'Loc 25
Tholian Attack 100
Group 17 Number @ Start
Negh'Var 15
Breen BC 5
Group 18 Number @ Start
Negh'Var 15
Breen BC 5
Group 19 Number @ Start
Breen Frigates 35
Breen Destroyers 5
Group 20 Number @ Start
Breen Frigates 35
Breen Destroyers 5
Group 21 Number @ Start
Breen Frigates 35
Breen Destroyers 5
Group 22 Number @ Start
Breen Frigates 35
Breen Destroyers 5
Group 23 Number @ Start
Breen Frigates 35
Breen Destroyers 5
Borg fragment sues for Peace
At the conclusion of the Battle of System Delta 4 the final crippled Borg cube broadcast a message of submission to the commander of the Allied fleet. From this transmission emerged an agreement with the Borg near the Delta Quadrant terminus of the wormhole towards peace in exchange for transit through the anomaly into Borg space.
The commanders and executive officers would not discuss the exact terms of the transit but it is presumed great caution will be taken in isolating and moving the Borg through known space.
The Alpha Quadrant powers gained in this transaction information regarding Borg Nano-probe technology from which much medical advancement can be expected. Additionally most local powers are expected to start working on an immunization to prevent assimilation by the Borg in the future, now that detailed technical knowledge has been obtained about the devices.
Finally the ABTF commander was sent copious amounts of information on the potential threat posed by the Hur'q, a species which many years ago overran the Klingon Empire.
Tax Revolt Spreads to Workers in Ferengi Alliance
Dis-satisfaction among the rank and file Ferengi business owners spread to the workers of the alliance as the government made no particular move to address concerns that prompted last years tax revolt. The general strike (believed to be the first widespread strikes not violently struck down under strict Ferengi anti-strike laws) have stopped all military production and slowed civilian production to essential items.
The workers and business owners have aligned around three primary claims against the Nagus and are demanding he step down.
1. A flagrant violation of the third rule of acquisition in regards to the purchase of the Gorn ships for an astonishing 15 million credits of public funds.
2. A flagrant failure to follow many rules of acquisition in regards to failing to develop trade markets for Ferengi businesses and thus allowing nearly 4.6 million credits worth of trade items to sit unsold without markets.
3. A failure to capitalize on the 34th rule of acquisition during the recent hostilities.
The strikes are expected to cost the Ferengi economy upwards of 35% of their annual production and tax revenue.
Tholian Government Collapses
Incompetence and neglect have done in the Tholian government, which has collapsed of its own lethargy over the past year. A long simmering crisis finally reached a boil when the government was unable to submit to a budget to the various guilds that comprise the empires power structure for the second straight year.
Unable to come to an agreement on power sharing in the wake of the collapse the various caste of Tholian society finally agreed to petition the Gorn Hegemony for what amounts to a merger of the two governments under the governing structure of the Hegemony with the understanding that all treaties negotiated by the two powers will be annulled with a view towards re-negotiation in a manner that best fits the newly combined entity.
The thorny issue of domestic governance was largely set aside as the two groups agreed to exist under a common taxing authority and military command structure which each planet being free to determine its own domestic laws.
The Gorn Ambassador to the Federation issued the following announcement.
"The Gorn would like to announce the dissolution of the Tholian Assembly and its absorption into the Gorn Hegemony. The union was a voluntary action on both sides, the result of a massive public unrest in the Tholian Assembly and a referendum vote in both Empires. As a consequence of our political union, the Hegemony is withdrawing from its current treaties. We are however willing to renegotiate treaties on a case-by-case basis."
It is expected by most that the Gorn will move swiftly to re-affirm their commitments to both the ABTF structure and the Non-proliferation treaty structure in order to protect trade and play a role in the defence of the wormhole close to their territory. Other treaties are much more up in the air at this point.