The following mission briefing contains spoilers for the short story "The Sacrifice".  The story is available for download free-of-charge at the following link.

STAR TREK: MAXIMILLIAN  THE SACRIFICE

It was originally written by Robert Lyon in 1997 to explain the switchover from Nebula to Sovereign class vessels of the Maximillian.

Spoilers begin below.

The Sacrifice

As the story opens, Captain Christopher Ryan of the U.S.S. Atlantis is completing a drill when telemetry data from a recon probe comes in from the Semtar system, detailing the existence and status of Semtar III, a new world roughly the same as late 20th century Earth.  They send the information to Admiral Robert Lyon on the Maximillian.

     Two weeks later on the Maximillian, Commodore Turock T'Kill is dozing off in front of an old Earth football game when Admiral Lyon calls him to the ready room.  There he also meets Captain Ryan, and is informed that the probe has also detected seven Jem’Hadar warships approaching the planet.  Admiral Lyon ordered the Maximillian, Chicago, Atlantis, and Mariner to Yellow Alert, and called a meeting between the commanding officers of each ship and the senior task force staff.  Korjac addresses the group, and informs them that if Semtar III falls to the Jem'Hadar, then there is a threat to the Bajoran Wormhole, Alpha Quadrant shipping lanes, and over twenty Federation outposts and Bajoran colonies.  Tamak reports on the technology of the Jem'Hadar, and states that new upgrades to the ship's defenses should provide some protection.  At this point, Lieutenants McGinnis, Kulas, and Cadet Daniels return to the Maximillian.  They had been living amongst the Semtarians for a week to perform a brief cultural survey.  They report that the Semtarians believe they are alone in the universe, and any disruption of that could spark a nuclear conflict.  Lyon dismisses the meeting, and sits with T'Kill attempting to decide what to do.  After discussing the possible risk, Lyon assembles the command staff and captains and informs them that they must stop the Jem'Hadar.  The Prime Directive does not apply.  While preparations begin, Lyon assigns Commodore T'Kill to make first contact with the leaders of Semtar III.  Lyon addresses the crew, and then orders the ship to the planet.

     With only a few minutes remaining, Lieutenants Richardson and Kulas begin to speak with their assigned leaders, VomalTor and KlaroMar.  Both talks seemed to go well, despite initial skeptisim.  Soon after, the Jem'Hadar arrive, and the battle begins.  The ships come out of warp speed near standard orbit, shooting around the planet, and take position.  From the planet, all that appears is bright trails.  The Chicago is destroyed quickly.  While the Maximillian is intact, it is damaged severely, and Ensign Wilcox is dead.  Lyon leaves for the battle bridge, and the Maximillian engages three warships.  As they are pursued, the Atlantis and Mariner arrive as backup.  One Jem'Hadar ship dives for the surface of the planet, and the Atlantis gives chase.  As the Olentangy rescues stranded Semtarian astronauts, Tamak notices that a conduit is cracked, releasing radiation.  He evacuates non-essential personnel, and shuts down all non-essential systems.  Mariner loses warp drive, and the remainder of the task force is two hours away.  The ship that had dove for the planet reengages the Maximillian, causing critical damage, and then in it's dying throes, crashes into the aft landing bay.  Turock goes unconcious, and the battle bridge had collapsed, pinning Lyon under rubble.  Lieutenant Ayers orders abandon ship, and as the officers leave, the Maximillian explodes.

The Federation claims victory at Semtar III, and negoiated a defense outpost on Semtar IV.  But both the Maximillian and Chicago had been lost.  T'Kill and the bridgecrew leave the Starscream for the hospital ship Galen, and meet with Lyon, just waking up, to inform him of the loss of the Maximillian.  On Christmas day, Lyon's closest friends including Blobbin meet with him in his hospital room, and inform him of the victory of his fleet, and that the survivors will be assigned to a new ship, now under construction.  Lyon is given his choice of duty.