Episode 4.2.13: Forward Assault

## S4, E2, Act 1: Going Hunting (Extended edition)

Commander Victoria Smith

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Fearless*

Stardate 2112.11

Victoria watched as Mayla entered the holodeck. When she reached the entranceway, she collided with the door. Confused, she stepped back and forward again but the door did not slide open. The nurse reached over to a nearby control panel and tapped it twice - Vree had locked the door behind her.

"You Trill b\*tch!" Victoria hissed softly under her breath in Trill before slapping the control panel one last time.

After a moment of tense silence, she looked back over her right shoulder at Gace.

"Ensign, please check on Lieutenant Beckett and then return to the jump ship to prepare the team for the upcoming mission. I will be there later."

Gace hesitated momentarily. "Ma’am, are you alright?"

"Ensign," Victoria repeated in a calm, almost familial tone as she struggled to conceal her displeasure with Mayla Vree. "Please return to the team."

Hixwir paused briefly before accepting the order. "Yes ma’am."

"Thank you Hixwir."

Will continued to watch Victoria as she stared at the door. After about a minute of silence, he finally spoke. "Victoria, I think - "

She raised her left hand in the air and signaled for him to be quiet. After another moment of not speaking to each other, she finally turned to face her ex-husband. Her green eyes were red and watery. Although it appeared as if she was fighting back tears, Will also suspected she was carefully keeping her temper and demeanor in check.

Will instinctively stepped forward to comfort her but the nurse retreated.

"No, Will. I’m not looking to be comforted by anyone." She hesitated for a moment. "At least not yet."

The Scot understood and stepped slightly back. "Talk to me. What are you thinking right now?"

Victoria softly scoffed at the question. "You don’t want to know."

"Try me."

"From where I’m standing, that entire training simulation was an abomination. It sent a message we’re expendable or in the way."

"Victoria, you’re being a bit protective of your team."

"They ordered a dangerous training simulation without consulting me." Victoria quickly countered. "I now have a warrant officer in critical condition onboard the Resurrection yet neither of them has even bothered to check on her status."

"Victoria, we just came off a combat situation. Besides, Union XII are the new kids on the block and Lazarus is going to test their readiness."

"Without my knowledge and in the middle of a mission?"

Will nodded silently in agreement at the point.

"It was negligence or worse, recklessness." Smith continued as she folded her arms, rocked back and forth on her heels and looked down the passageway. Again, she struggled to ensure the conversation remained calm.

"I’m sure you and Mayla can talk this over. Your team has only been here for a single mission and you’ve already saved three operatives. I’m sure that counts for something."

Victoria shook her head in the negative. "It doesn’t matter, I don’t want to speak with Mayla right now."

"Victoria, the two of you are family." Will protested.

"That’s just the thing, I’m not sure she sees it that way." Victoria answered. There was a tone of sadness in her voice. "To her, I will always be...a freak accident that ended up in her lap. Nothing more."

"You are taking this entire ordeal far more personally than it should be."

"Am I? I’m not so sure."

"Can I take you for a walk until you cool off?"

"The last time you and I took a walk I threatened your career." Victoria noted with a slight laugh. She wiped her eyes and smiled weakly at the Scot. "No. I’d rather be by myself. Besides, I need to return to my team shortly."

Will nodded silently. As he watched his ex-wife walk away, he looked over at the holodeck door and shook his head in frustration. After much hesitation he decided to wait for Vree to emerge from the training. He walked over to a nearby bench, sat down, leaned back against the wall, stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles. Every now and then he groaned as a part of his body ached.

"I left Caldos Colony for this crap." He complained to no one in particular.

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

*USS Fearless* Holodeck

Stardate 2112.08

Ryramorl made sure Reepchip had the proper armour, though it had to be light so the Muran could move around.  He also made sure Reepchip had a phaser, and a proper loadout of darts, including those tipped with drugs that could sedate Cardassians, poisons to kill them if needed, and some anti-electronic darts should they encounter drones.

"Remember, Reepchip.  Like the Khassa," he said.  "If you think you’re getting too close, fall back or hide.."

Ryramorl made sure he, too, had appropriate armour and weaponry.  With Reepchip as his scout, he slowly crept forwards, often sniffing the air, and keeping his ears up for enemy movement.

Reepchip stayed out ahead.  Concentrating, he mentally asked Ryramorl if the Olvern could hear him.

Ryramorl could, but it was faint.  Reepchip would have to use the subvoc or return to report, instead of straining his telepathy.

Reepchip soon slipped back, to report seeing a flock of birds suddenly take off.  Ryramorl was even more cautious as he crept forwards, to see what had startled them.  As the two looked over a cliff, they could see Cardassians in the valley.

The two Carnora crouched down, waiting for the Cardassians to go about their business.

Once they were gone, Reepchip slowly crawled down the cliff, scouting out what might be a good descent for the larger Carnora.  He crawled along the rocks until he found something that Ryramorl would be able to scale, and slowly the two made their way down.

Ryramorl had some difficulties concealing himself, but Reepchip, still inwardly rattled by being so badly inured, was more cautious than ever, exhibiting the shy nature of the mranrilla.  Even Ryramorl had troubles telling where Reepchip was.

When Reepchip came back to report, Ryramorl also asked him to scout out hiding spots for him.  They saw the Cardassians moving around.  Quietly, they watched, then carefully withdrew.

When they left the holodeck, Ryramorl gave Mayla a nod.  “Reepchip is getting the idea," he said with approval.

Commander Mayla Vree and Lieutenant Commander WIlliam McCulloch

*USS Fearless*, Cardassia Prime

Stardate 2112.11

Mayla followed the Olvern and Muran out of the holodeck and immediately headed for the transporter room. Instantly, Will McCulloch fell in line with her. The Trill glanced quickly over at the Scot.

"I see you're out of sick bay. What do you want, Lieutenant Commander?"

"Permission to speak freely?"

Vree hesitated momentarily before nodding with approval. "Go ahead."

"I may not know what I’m talking about…but if I were you, I’d take the time to talk to Commander Smith about the training simulation before this gets out of hand." He noted with a slight tone of exasperation. "She’s taking the entire matter personally, and honestly, I’m not sure I blame her. But then again I’m biased."

Vree studied the Scot in silence as Will continued.

"The last thing I’d want if I were you…but again I’m not … is for Union XII’s official report to Starfleet Medical regarding Fiadh Hannigan to come across as if it's begging for a review by a JAG officer. But then again, that’s my opinion so what do I know?"

She shook her head and let out a slightly exasperated breath. "JAG could go to hell."

His mouth agape, he even stopped a step and then hurried to catch up with her. "Is that an official statement, Commander?"

"Politics and regulations is what got us into this mess, and the last mess." She said clearly referencing the Jack Dark incursion. "I'm not going to coddle any member of our team, even Union XII. If they're going into the field with us, they'd better be equipped to handle themselves. That is what a combat medic needs to be if they are going to be in the thick of it when we need their help."

"I don't think that's quite fair to them. They are Starfleet regulars."

Now Mayla held up her hand and stopped him. "Let me put it in another way and maybe you can see it from a different perspective. If WE need help and medical assistance in the field, what do you think their chances are in surviving in that same field?"

The Scot shook his head at the sudden thought of Union XII in full combat mode. "That's not why they're here."

"And if we need medical assistance in the field, and they have to fight their way to us, what then?"

"JFC, Mayla, you sound just like your father."

"Some parts of it maybe." She continued the walk, but he noticed she took a turn away from the transporter room and towards sick bay. "And for your information, I didn't choose the sim. Granted it was my idea to have a sim, but Lazarus chose which one. Even I questioned him if he was sure he wanted to run THAT particular one. And it was one of Kyril's."

"Sh-----t." He said out loud, causing an ensign passing by to give him a quick glance before hurrying away. "His training holosims were brutal."

"You have no idea how much worse they were after you…the Black Watch incident." Mayla stopped short just around the corner from the sick bay entrance. "Kyril's holosims became much more difficult in all aspects of combat to prevent that from ever happening again. Almost as if he was obsessed with everyone's safety. You talk about overprotectiveness? He even had defensive programs implemented to protect the families of each member."

Will looked down with guilt and shame. The Black Watch had contingency plans on hunting down the Bravo Squad families in a systematic retribution. If that had happened, the situation HE had started would have gone completely and totally out of control. Then he realized that Bravo Squad, with Kyril Vree in command, would have done the exact same thing to Clan McCulloch.

As if she read his mind through the expression on his face, she just waved away his guilt. "I apologize for bringing that up as an example. I just wanted to explain that being blindly overprotective confines the options in the field that interferes with what needs to be done. No matter how difficult the choice may be."

"She's not willing to send any of her people to their deaths, if that's what you mean."

"And neither am I. But the enemy has other plans that often interfere with that outlook. This isn't some game where a gamemaster hands out our missions and we plan out what we're going to do, including using plot armor to ensure we survive the outcome. So far, every mission we've been on so far, the enemy has always been one step ahead of us. This universe would be a sick and dismal place if there really was a gamemaster toying with our lives."

Both Shadow operatives looked up towards the ceiling for just a brief moment to see if lightning would strike them down. Then Will cleared his throat and looked around the passageway to ensure the pair were alone. "May I continue to speak freely?"

"You may."

"A little advice commander?" He whispered in a low, calm voice. "After this mission is over, try working on your personal relationship with my ex-wife. She’s under what I hope is the mistaken belief that she is inconsequential to you. I think she could use your support and honestly, I think you could use her’s as well. Just a casual observation, Sir."

"I've always been there for her. Even when she had issues with this courtship you two are starting."

"What?"

"Well, that's something between you two, and I am not at liberty to say anything else. But she knows my feelings and what our relationship is. You don't spend months traveling together, looking over our shoulders the whole time, watching each other's backs, and not form a bond of some sort. She is as dear to me as family." She narrowed her eyes at him. "So you better not mess things up with her, Mr. McCulloch."

With that final say, she walked around the corner and into sickbay.

This conversation was supposed to be about her and Victoria. How did it become about HIM and Victoria? Damn, she's good.

Lt. Cody Beckett

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Fearless*

Stardate 2112.09

Two hours earlier…

Slowly, Cody drifted back into consciousness. His mouth was dry, and he felt a burning sensation in his chest area. His breathing sounded loud, and he was dizzy and nauseous.

"Hey red" he heard a soft female voice whispering, which he immediately recognized as the voice of Commander Smith.

He opened his eyes and looked at the face of commander Smith above him. She winked at him and gave him another hypo spray. The burning sensation, the dizziness and the nausea disappeared within seconds.

"Was this run as good for you as it was for me?" Smith continued. Cody was taken a bit aback by her approach.

"I guess… apparently you patched me up, so yeah… " Smith winked again at him.

"Can I have a glass of water? " Cody asked.

Smith gestured to the other side of the bed were a small side table held a small bottle of water and a glass. "Thanks" Beckett mumbled, as he poured the water in the glass and drank it. It was refreshing.

As he finished his glass, a nurse approached him. She looked pretty, and she smiled warmly at Cody as she checked some of the readings of his biobed "All looking good! " She said. You can get dressed and have a final checkup in Sickbay. You should be able to resume your duty after that. "

"Thanks nurse… " Cody quickly checked her name tag "Gace… thanks for all the good care and patching me up. " Cody grinned through his beard. "That's what we're here for" She replied, then turned around to look after another patient.

The Betazoid nurse passed her commanding officer en route to check on another crewman under her care.

"You shouldn’t tease him like that, ma’am." Ensign Gace stated softly to Victoria before looking back over her shoulder at the lieutenant.

Smith smiled slightly and nodded. "I know. But I was actually doing a preliminary testing on his responsiveness and alertness."

"Aye ma’am." Gace replied quietly. "But it looked like you were teasing him."

"He’s not a puppy Hixwir." Victoria responded with a slight hint of annoyance. "But for you I will check on him later to ensure he’s not hurt by my actions."

"Thank you ma’am."

Present time…

After his meeting with Vree, Will made his way to the Fearless’ sickbay to check up on Cody. When he arrived, he found the Union XII nurse, Ensign Hixwir Gace, doting over the lieutenant.

"You have got to be sh\*tting me." McCulloch scoffed as he leaned against a nearby wall and watched the Betazoid nurse flirt with Beckett as she twirled her long, brunette hair with her right hand. Gace occasionally giggled at Beckett’s answers to her questions before leaning in to be closer to him. McCulloch estimated the very attractive nurse was at most 25 years of age and far too young for the New Zealander.

"What the bloody hell is this nonsense?" He asked himself as he continued to watch the pair interact with each other before moving in to intervene. From the Scot’s perspective this interaction was nothing more than an awkward repeat of his encounter with the Thompson sisters when he was hospitalized on Earth.

Wow…the Thompson sisters…McCulloch longingly thought of the pair before chasing the impure thoughts from his head. He exhaled loudly and moved into interrupt Beckett’s encounter with Gace.

"Well, well Beckett, flirting with nurse Gace, hey? " Beckett heard a voice saying on the other side.

Beckett just grinned. "You really see things that aren't there McCulloch. A bit too much on the drugs still? "

McCulloch scoffed. "I bet Sara would see it exact the same way… "

Beckett shrugged his shoulders. "So? What's your point"

Ensign Gace interrupted the pair "Lieutenant Beckett! Stop quibbling! Get dressed and go for your final checkup in Sickbay! Don't make repeat myself! "

Cody couldn't help but grin very broad.

"Yes ma'am! On the double ma'am! " He replied.

"Ensign?"

"Yes sir?"

"Who will be conducting the final discharge exam?" Will pressed.

Gace blushed slightly before looking longingly at Beckett. "Well, me sir."

McCulloch sighed loudly. "Nope. Let’s go Lieutenant. Time for you to go."

"But I need to be examined!" The New Zealander protested.

"No, you don’t"

"Yes, I do!"

"Yes, he does." Gace interjected.

"I really don’t need Sarah Pickering blowing up my personal communications Cody!" Will communicated to Beckett over the subvoc. "I promise you I will tell her what you are up to!"

"You wouldn’t"

"Try me."

"Your ex-wife keeps flirting with me!" Beckett nervously announced to all those within earshot.

"What?" McCulloch demanded.

"Commander Smith kept winking at me while in recovery."

McCulloch chuckled at the spontaneous announcement. "She does that to \*all\* of her patients. She’s gauging your responsiveness to her actions. She’s been doing that since I first met her over a decade ago."

Beckett remained quiet as he reelected upon Will’s words. After a moment of awkward silence, Will grabbed Beckett by the scruff of his neck and hauled him off of the biobed.

"Let’s go big guy. The angry Trill is going to be looking for us sooner rather than later if we don’t report in."

"But my examination." He protested

"If you want I’ll examine you when we return to the Resurrection."

Beckett looked back at Gace and then at McCulloch to protest.

"Let’s go Lieutenant, she’s way too young for you."

"But…"

"No."

Lt. Cody Beckett

*USS Fearless*

Stardate 2112.13

Beckett realized there was no negotiation space. McCulloch pulled him from the bed and pushed him towards one of the change cabins.

"Get dressed Beckett. You can get your final checkup at the Resurrection's sickbay. "

" But… " Beckett muttered.

"No but's! " McCulloch countered. "Make sure this doesn't happen again. Like I said I don't need Sarah to blow up my communications if she hears about this"

"You're blowing this way out of proportion McCulloch" Beckett replied while McCulloch pushed him inside one of the cabins.

"No I am not. Believe me Beckett, I know Sarah. She won't be amused when she hears about this"

"Jeez you're pretending you caught me in bed with Ensign Gace"

"Technically, you were in bed" McCulloch snapped at Beckett.

Beckett sighed. "You are crazy McCulloch. Out of your mind. This is beyond crazy! " He replied while he started putting on his uniform that just was replicated.

"If Sarah gets… " McCulloch started again

"Then don't tell her" Beckett interrupted as he stepped out of the cabin.

"And I'm done with this conversation," Beckett stated. He was getting fed up with the patronizing behavior from McCulloch.  He passed McCulloch without saying another word and walked out of the Sickbay.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Elim Garak

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.10

"Go down to the surface? In the Wastelands?" Garak repeated everything Lazarus had just said to him, only as a question. "You can’t be serious, captain?"

"Oh, I am. You and me with Captain Kane, our Carnora friends and a security team," the captain said. "We’re going to find Tirlin Drajal and bring him to justice."

The look of astonishment on Garak’s face did not wane, "Captain…these people are stuck in the past. They don’t believe in the new society…the United Republic of Cardassia. These people chose to live in a desolate, barren wasteland rather than join the new republic we created. In fact, people from across the planet who did not agree with the work done during the Occupation relocated here just to be with other Cardassians who believe like they do."

"I understand that, but I’ve reviewed the data on the Wastelands and it sounds like the Occupation forces just swept the people who did not like the new government away, let them move there and just dropped food, supplies and medical equipment in to more or less placate them and keep them out of their hair while they rebuilt. They haven’t been a problem. No attacks on the outside world. No demands or aggression. I don’t understand the stigma surrounding them."

Garak sighed and folded his hands across his stomach as he sat in the chair across from Lazarus, "Spending as many years around humans as I have, I’ve studied your history, captain. Let me put it in these terms. You are familiar with 20th and 21st century Earth history?"

"Of course," Lazarus said bluntly.

"Then you know about the anti-government movement in your United States back then? Militias, conspiracy theorists, racial supremacists?" Garak asked. "Radicals who hated the government of the United States. People who prepared for years for a war against the government that ultimately never happened."

Lazarus nodded, "I’m aware. It was a dark time in our history which eventually led to darker times. All the division and decisiveness…it fragmented not only America, but the rest of the world. Eventually it led to nuclear war."

"My point is those who live in the Wasteland don’t like the new government and they really don’t like the Federation," Garak said. "If we go in there, we could be shaking a nest of Coriddean Hornets. They have been peaceful for 20 years…but their numbers have grown and they have been preparing for a fight."

"Surely, they won’t protect a criminal like Drajal?" Lazarus asked.

"Why not? For all we know they are supporters of the Sons of Cardassia. They aren’t going to want you there and they certainly aren’t going to want to see me there," Garak said.

"You are the epitome of selling your people out to the Federation," Lazarus said. "Not that what you did after the war was wrong. You stepped forward as a leader and you helped make change."

"I sold out," Garak added. "I was so sold on the idea of turning the Cardassian Union into a democracy after years of living among humans that I never considered what was best for my people."

"THIS is what’s best, for your people and the quadrant," Lazarus corrected Garak. "But you are right, many of them won’t want you there. But I need someone who knows the lay of the land and someone who knows what they will respond to and how they will respond to our presence there."

Garak sighed again and slowly nodded, "As you wish, captain. But I think this is a big mistake."

Lazarus nodded, "A former Maquis, a former president, two Carnora, an Orion woman and a team of assorted Federation security officers…what could possibly go wrong?"

Commanders Mayla Vree and Victoria Smith

Sick Bay, *USS Fearless*

Stardate 2112.11

While walking through the corridors with McCulloch, she didn't recognize or saw anyone she knew. Her status as a covert and solo operative for the past ten years didn't allow her any opportunity to 'meet' other people in Starfleet Intelligence. Echo Base was the only social sphere she had. And it only had a complement of about 50 personnel.

When she walked into Sick Bay, she glanced at the wounded from the recent battle. The staff and situation seemed to have settled down into its postoperative status. Now she did recognize a few faces and checked in on each member of the Resurrection crew who had been transferred over. She made note of the Union XII members and felt the cold shoulder they were giving her. She looked for a red cloud of hair in the dimmed light and walked toward her.

"Commander," Mayla said quietly. "The Resurrection is departing soon. Is your unit ready?"

Victoria whipped her head around when she heard the voice and her eyes glared at the Trill woman. Mayla recognized the look, but this time it was directed at her. This explained why the other members were giving her the cold shoulder. It had trickled down from the top.

"They are ready, Commander." She responded coldly.

Mayla looked at her with a grim smile and shook her head. "You need to calm yourself."

"I am calm." Victoria replied with an icy tone. "My warrant officer was seriously injured in your sim."

Mayla led her to an empty office and shut the door behind them. "And they would have been injured in the actual event, or worse. If you think for one minute I'm going to apologize for the sim, you've forgotten who I am." She didn't sit down, nor gestured to Victoria to do the same.

"The grim reaper?" Victoria shot back.

"If that's what you see me as. But I know you better than that. It's my responsibility to be sure everyone associated with Phoenix Squad is prepared for any eventuality. And as the CO of the Resurrection and of Phoenix Squad, Lazarus doesn't have to explain any of his decisions made in regards to your sim." Mayla kept her voice calm and quiet as she watched Victoria's reaction in her face. "And you, as Union XII's CO, should keep your emotions in check. If you fall apart because of a sim, there is the possibility you could do the same in real time."

"Clearly you don’t know me as well as you think you do. Or anything about my team." Smith interrupted as she stepped slightly towards Mayla and handed a padd to her. "There’s the report on Warrant Hannigan’s service during the battle. Don’t you dare question my capabilities or members of my team, Mayla."

"I don't want you to fail in any way, as a nurse, as our medical support, and as their CO. And I certainly don't want any of you to die. Hence the sim."

"I don't like my people being put through a sim without my prior knowledge," she said through gritted teeth. Damn those centuries of wisdom and experience this woman had. "You could have had the courtesy of informing me first, or even during. I had to find out through an emergency rally call from my second in command!"

"I'm only telling you this because you're my friend, not as a Starfleet officer."

"Oh we’re friends?" Victoria quipped. "It’s good to know there’s some semblance of a relationship between us. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to dump me on a remote planet like your father did. But since we’re friends, should we go on double dates now?"

Before Vree could respond, Victoria held up her hand. "Tell me Mayla, who ordered the sim?"

Mayla stoned herself against the bombardment and looked at her sternly. "It was my idea for a sim. But it was the Captain who selected the sim. It was one of Kyril's. It wasn't one I would have chosen due to the…emotional aspects of it. Especially not as your first sim. I deduce because he has never seen your team in action, he wanted to gauge your performance. Don't think for one moment he's not watching your team closely. It's our prior experiences that more often than not that dictates our actions."

"This feels too much like it was in Bravo Squad." She looked aside and shook her head. "And there's so much of your father in you."

"There's a lot more to me than just my father. But in his circumstance, he had to do what he had to do. In his view, he had the tremendous weight of the whole…" she stopped short before nearly revealing too much of what Kyril went through. "Let's just say his actions and decisions were far and wide reaching. The weight of that often gave him an obsessive singular focus."

"Just like what you're doing now," Victoria scoffed. "The team, the mission. What about people?"

"What about the people?"

"Are they just pawns to you? Do you really care about any of them?"

"Of course I care. But I can't let that detract my perception of what needs to be done." Mayla crossed her arms. "I cannot ever forget that I may be sending them to their deaths. That's what it means to be in command. You should know that by now, regardless of how protective you are of those under your command. You can't save everyone."

"Don’t patronize me." Victoria quickly answered as she mimicked Vree’s actions and crossed her own arms.  "I am well aware of the burden that comes with command, especially leading those under MY command."

"Do you?"

"Tell me Mayla, would those under your command voluntarily follow you into the fray?" Victoria countered. "Because I can say without hesitation my team would follow me to the gates of Hell if I asked them to. You think you can say the same about your entire team? People Mayla, not pawns."

"That's what makes you a good nurse. And why you were chosen for this position. But I also need you to remember all those times on our journey home from the Outer Rim that this," Mayla waved to their surroundings, "won't be at every mission. 'Your' people need to be able to function in a battlefield environment regardless if they blindly follow you through the gates of hell. Loyalty doesn't mean going blindly to their deaths just because you told them to follow you."

Victoria listened to Vree’s response and visibly rolled her eyes at the Trill.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Vree demanded incredulously.

"Yes, I did." Victoria sneered before tossing a second padd at the Trill. "Here’s my report to Starfleet Medical on Fiadh’s injuries. Feel free to edit it however you want. As a ‘friend’ I want to make sure it meets your expectations."

<Narrator’s voice: Yes, Victoria made air quotes with her fingers when she sarcastically said "friend".>

Vree scanned the report before looking up at Victoria. "This report doesn’t mention the training exercise. It says Hannigan was injured in combat."

"That’s correct." The nurse replied coldly as she turned slightly away from Vree.

"Why?"

Victoria looked back at Mayla. "Despite what you may think, I’m not an idiot. Like you, I have a long game to focus on. Besides, Fiadh begged me not to include the training exercise in the official report."

Mayla gave her a warm smile. "You know, I'd like to talk with your Union XII. I haven't had time to meet any of them in person."

Victoria recognized the smile Vree gave her. It was the same expression she used when the nurse was struggling with her newly implanted Trill memories. The gesture instantaneously disarmed Victoria, because it showed deep down the young woman's concern and feelings for her. And also that SHE was being protective of her, as it was on their travels together in the Outer Rim. Mayla was her protector, and those memories often eradicated whatever animosity or anger she had towards the young Trill.

"I can arrange that. I'm sure they have a few choice words for you." The nurse answered as she again folded her arms and tried to hold back the urge to smile back.

"And offer to them openings in our holosims if they want to increase their likelihood of survival when they have to fight to get to us in the field when we need medical attention."

"What? You're kidding me, right? My people in a sim with your people? With or without the holodeck safeties?"

Mayla shrugged. "It's up to you. But the offer is open ended. Any time they want to join us, they are welcomed. And so are you."

"Well, we did receive combat training from the 3rd Battalion of Starfleet Marines before we came here."

"All the more reason for your team to train with us. The one thing that will kill you is the one thing you've fallen out of practice from."

"I would really like that, Mayla. After the mission I’d like to see the two units train together." Smith warmly answered after finally smiling and relaxing her stance. "But I am still mad at you."

"I know. And that's okay." Mayla took a deep breath and let it out to cleanse herself of the memories and thoughts this conversation brought back to her. "Just be warned that anything could happen any time. Don't let your guard down for any reason. Even when you're on a ship like this."

"Can't ever relax, can you?"

The Trill stared out the window at the staff outside who still continued to steal glances at them. "Lazarus once was disabled and lost the Intruder. They were hijacked by a former Shadow operative thought dead, and left the crew marooned on a planet to fend for themselves with no life support supplies or equipment. The Intruder was then used to attack another ShadowOps ship and many people died. He's never going to forget that experience, nor let it happen again. Losing control of your own body, your ship stolen, and crew abandoned is one of the worst things that could happen to a captain."

"That's like Admiral Picard's story of Wolf 359," Victoria said.

"And he doesn't have the monopoly on that type of loss, helplessness, and guilt."

"I’m glad you came to me, Mayla. That meant a lot. And I’m sorry I called you a Trill b\*tch." Smith answered with a nervous laugh.

"Come again?"

"Never mind," Victoria answered with a wave of her hand before standing on her toes and hugging the much taller Vree. God she hated being short. But nevertheless it felt good to resolve this issue. "You’re too important to me Mayla. I don’t want to fight with you."

"Remember that the next time you get mad at me." Mayla said, giving her a gentle pat on the back in the hug. "Your people do good work and are dedicated. That's all I expect."

"And YOU remember that the next time you force them into a sim." Victoria pulled away and took a deep breath. "There is…one more thing."

"What?"

"There was an…incident…with Ensign Charatetet."

Vree cocked her head slightly to the side and stared at Victoria in confusion. "What do you mean by 'incident'?"

"Apparently part of the Muran healing process requires a link with a telepathic being. Ensign Gace, my Betazoid nurse, was assigned to that role. While Reepchip was in recovery and linked to Gace, I became telepathically linked to him as well. I believe it was unintentional, but it happened."

"What happened?" Vree pressed. There was a tone of concern in her voice.

Victoria's mood again became serious as she looked down towards the floor. "There was some sort of dream sequence, but it felt very real. At the height of the encounter, I was separated from the memories and experience of Jairin."

"It was only a dream sequence, correct?"

Victoria continued to stare at the floor as she kicked it with her foot. After a moment of silent reflection, she continued. "No….it was so much more. First, Jairin was outside my body, and then she was gone. Mayla, even after I broke away from the telepathic link with Reepchip, it took some time before I could sense her experiences and memories again. Even right now, I feel as if some of Jairin is missing from me. It terrified me! I won’t go back to the old Victoria before merging with Jiarin."

Now Mayla sat down. "I've read Kyril's personal logs on your merging and Meeka's underground updates while you were on Trill. I've even talked with him about your recovery. He didn't mention any serious long-term effects at the time. Could some recent event have triggered something in your mind for this to happen? Stress? Me? Will? Union XII?"

The red head shook her head. "I don't know. But to lose Jiarin now…."

"Maybe you need to reconnect with those memories that belong to her," Mayla said thoughtfully. "Perhaps talking with people who knew Jiarin might help. It may refresh those memories. I know Meeka is still on Trill. I'm sure he might know some people who might have some theories on the matter since you were a unique case, although not public."

"Meaning," Victoria said thoughtfully, "I can't go to the Commission or any official medical facility on Trill to bring this situation to light."

"I'm afraid not."

"Then I'll have to meet with Meeka face to face. I'll have to go to Trill."

"Yes. And if you do go, you should pay Leeli a visit."

Victoria perked up. "Mother is still alive? I mean, Jiarin's mother? I haven't talked with her in years."

"See, another reason to go to Trill."

"Will you come with me?"

"Of course, I will, if duty allows it."

"Bridge to Commander Vree and Commander Smith, the Resurrection is requesting for you and Union XII to return to the ship for immediate departure."

Mayla tapped her comm badge. "On my way to the transporter room now." She stood up and held Victoria by the arms. "We're now on the clock. This next mission sounds ominous. So Union XII must be ready."

"Ready and willing, Commander." Victoria gave her a short salute.

"Then let's go."

Victoria followed the Trill’s lead and ordered all but two of her team of medics and nurses to meet her in the transporter room. Afterward, she confirmed Union XII’s medical jumpship had been transferred to the Resurrection.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

Commander Victoria Smith

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.11

The four Union XII nurses and medics walked down the passageway as a group - Victoria in the lead, the other three behind her. All were dressed in black tactical suits and light armor. Full medical equipment packs and Type IV-a phaser rifles were strapped to their backs, while holstered Type-II pistols and ballistic helmets hung from their hips.

The group entered the Fearless’ transporter room to find a brooding McCulloch waiting to be beamed over to the Resurrection. The Scot gave a quick nod before studying Victoria in silence. There was once again an air of confidence about her.

"Are we ready to go?" The commanding nurse asked as she eyed Will suspiciously. She could tell he was in a foul mood.

"Yes Commander." McCulloch answered as he chewed on a fingernail. He was distracted by the recent argument with Beckett.

Smith waved everyone onto the transporter pad. Seconds later, the team materialized onboard the Resurrection. As the blue-white light faded away, McCulloch saw Lieutenant Gysyd Riisos, second in command of Union XII, and Lieutenant Commander Darva McGuire, waiting for them.

"Commander." McGuire greeted Victoria with a curt nod as the nurse stepped down off the padd.

"Ms. McGuire." The nurse answered with a slight smile. She remembered the security chief from the hospital incident involving the Thompson sisters.

"Sir, I will escort you and the members of Union XII to your locker area near sickbay. You can store your medical and field gear there. Afterward, I am to take all of you down to the armory so Union XII can turn in its tactical uniforms and light armor."

"What? Why?" Riisos asked in confusion. It was clear he was caught off guard by the announcement.

"I’m sorry, Commander Vree’s orders."

Victoria raised an eyebrow as she eyed McGuire. What the hell was Vree up to now?

"Explain." She demanded of the security chief.

McGuire paused momentarily before answering. "We’re upgrading your armor and equipment sir. Everything but the rifles. We’d issue you Type V rifles, but Commander Vree wants Colonel Jahkar to train you and your team before you take them into the field."

"Lead the way." The nurse replied as she tried to contain her joy. When Union XII had been dispatched to join Phoenix Team, they had been issued older protective gear and field uniforms. The earliest the unit was scheduled for an "upgrade" was eight months out. This gesture by the Resurrection and Phoenix Team only underscored the nurse’s desire to prove her team’s capabilities in the field.

As the group started to leave the transporter room, The Scot signaled for Victoria to stay behind. She gave him a sideways look before nodding in agreement. Once they were alone, Will continued.

"You speak with Vree?"

"We did."

"And?"

Victoria sighed before laughing. "It was a damn good conversation, Will. I’m glad we have it. We cleared the air."

"All is good?"

"It’s better than good."

"I’m glad to hear that."

"I appreciate you listening to me vent earlier, Will, that meant a lot."

"Anytime." McCulloch answered as he stepped towards the nurse. Victoria blushed slightly before backing away from him.

"What’s eating you Will?" She inquired as she looked out beyond the transporter room and saw her team making their way down the ship’s passageway. "C’mon…you let me vent, let me return the favor."

McCulloch hesitated momentarily. As Victoria batted her green eyes at him, the Scot finally relented and told her about the argument he had with Beckett. She took it all in and reflected upon what he had said.

Suddenly, she punched him hard in the right bicep. McCulloch winced. He could see the anger in her eyes.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Victoria responded with two more punches to the arm before addressing her ex-husband.

"He’s a good man! Since the two of you met, he has shown nothing but loyalty and you make a boneheaded, snarky comment about one of my nurses and him?"

"Here we go…" Will complained as he rubbed his arm.

"Here we go." Victoria mimicked with a deepened voice before continuing.  "Through thick and thin Beckett has ALWAYS had your back. Remember when I was a complete crazy b\*tch in the hospital after you were stabbed? Who stood up for you and got me to back off?"

"Cody." Will muttered softly.

"And perhaps the first member of Phoenix Team to accept you as a friend despite knowing about your background, including being the occasional drunken man whore?"

"I’m a what?" Will demanded as he felt himself getting heated.

"I’m quoting from a profile report I read on you before Sorvek’s funeral." Victoria replied matter-of-factly.

McCulloch was unsure how to respond. The nurse folded her arms and eyed Will knowingly.

"You want a second date with me?"

"I do."

"The I suggest you apologize to Cody. Until you do, no date."

"What?"

"You heard me." Victoria as she spun around and started to leave the transporter room. "That man gave you a chance when no one else would, including me. I want him part of whatever life you hope to rebuild between us. Smarten up."

As the nurse left, Will muttered "f\*\*\* me" underneath his breath.

"I heard that!" Smith announced as she continued down the hallway towards the Resurrection’s armory.

When she arrived, she found McGuire, Riisos and the three other members of Union XII standing around a table. On it were multiple black and olive drab jumpsuits, black cases that contained eye contacts and new ballistic helmets with face shields that more closely resembled Spartan warrior helmets from ancient Earth than anything she had worn before.

Victoria picked up one of the helmets and pushed on the face shield. It flipped back until it rested on the top of the helmet. She put the helmet down and looked more closely at the jumpsuits.

"Are these Type XIII armor?" She exclaimed as her hand ran over a shoulder patch. It was a red cross on a white field with "Union-XII" emblazoned in the center.

McGuire smiled knowingly. "Courtesy of Commander Vree. They literally just came off the replicator for you."

"Holy sh\*t!" Riisos exclaimed. "Tell us about the eye contacts?"

"The eye contacts will sync with all of your medical equipment, giving each of you a HUD of the patient you are working on." Darva reported. "The contacts can also be synced with each other, allowing you to share medical data and develop treatment plans while in the field."

Senior Petty Officer Gatc simply stared at the new equipment in stunned silence.

"What about the helmets? Tell me about them." Victoria pressed as Ensign Zalir moaned in frustration. He sensed his superior was going to reject the helmets.

"I’ve read the reports on your preference for ballistic helmets instead of the standard-issue combat headwear. Why?"

"It’s a field of vision issue. Each of my nurses and medics needs an unobstructed view of a patient as well as their surroundings."

"Then I think you’ll like these." The security chief answered as she held up one of the headpieces. "These are combat engineer helmets."

"Field engineer?" Riisos asked curiously.

"Like you, field engineers need an unobstructed view of their surroundings," McGuire answered. "When the face shield is flipped up, it acts like a traditional ballistics helmet. Flip the face shield down and the HUD display from your contacts transfers to the helmet. Better yet, because there are micro cameras throughout the piece, you can pull up a 360-degree view of your surroundings on your helmet’s HUD."

"Ma’am, please." Petty Officer Sis begged. "This helmet is perfect for what we do."

Smith was silent for a moment as she studied the new equipment. Finally she looked up at McGuire.

"Vree recommended all of this?"

"She did."

Victoria remained quiet again as she picked up the helmet again to feel its weight in her hand. It was far lighter than she expected.

"Can you get all this to Ensign Gace and Petty Officer Mendes?" The combat nurse asked. "They will be accompanying Captain Lazarus to the surface.  I’d also need two more for my jumpship pilot and his gunner."

"I will personally see to it."

Smith looked over her shoulder at her team and smiled widely. "Well, what are you waiting for? Suit up."

Colonel Jahkar

Lt. Tiri Sh’avelith

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.15

Jahkar was on his way to the armory to begin prepping everyone’s loadouts for the upcoming mission in the Gamma Quadrant. As he rounded a corner approaching the armory, a hand snaked out of the darkness of an open door and grabbed him, dragging him toward the entrance of cargo bay 2.

He almost moved to strike at the unseen aggressor, until he saw it was Tiri. The young Andorian pulled him into the bay and closed the door behind them.

"I almost put a palm heel into your face," Jahkar gasped.

"Glad to see you too," Tiri replied with a smile. She slipped her arms around him, and they stood looking at each other. Gradually, Jahkar put his arms around her, and they stood together in a surprising embrace.

Jahkar was a little uneasy at first, but suddenly he warmed up to this situation. They were alone. Since that kiss back on the runabout coming back from Bajor they had not really addressed what was going on between them.

"You know we’ve got to get ready for the mission," he told her, looking down at her bluish eyes.

"I know. It’s just that we haven’t had a minute alone together since this whole mission started," Tiri shrugged. "I just wanted a minute alone."

Jahkar smiled, "This…thing…between us. I’ve been trying to process it since we came back from Bajor."

"Me too," Tiri said, then looking away. "It’s a lot. I’m sorry. Maybe this is a bad idea?"

"No," Jahkar said. "It’s not a bad idea. Not at all. It’s just going to be difficult to explain."

"Commander Vree?" Tiri asked, grimly.

"For starters. And then there’s the team," he said. "Hell, McCullouch will have a heyday with this."

Tiri grinned, "Oh, I’m sure he will. But, so what?"

Jahkar nodded and drew her closer, "This does feel good. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to take time for you since we got back."

"Not looking for an apology. I get it," Tiri reassured him. "We have a mission. It comes first."

He liked the fact she understood that. Duty always had to come first; it was an unfortunate part of being in a unit like Shadow Ops. The fact she got that and was good with it was important if they were to try and make this work.

Jahkar leaned in and kissed her. It was a longer kiss than they’d shared on the runabout. Like the hug, it felt good and for a moment he could put the mission away…even if it was just for a fleeting second.

Tiri was surprised by the kiss, but she was not complaining. When they parted, she looked up at him and smiled, "We’ll pick this up again later, then this thing is over."

"Agreed," Jahkar added. They then parted and left the cargo bay together, continuing on to the armory.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Colonel Jahkar

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.16

Lazarus and Garak were outside the armory when Jahkar and Tiri arrived. Lazarus moved across the corridor to approach the Marine and Jahkar could tell he had something important to discuss.

“Sir?" Jahkar asked.

“Colonel, I want to discuss something with you," Lazarus said. “It's about Tajel."

Jahkar looked uneasy, “Is he OK?"

“He is. It’s about the mission Captain Rhikal and I are leading," Lazarus explained. “I’d like to bring Tajel with us. I’ve reviewed his records and he spent time in this Wasteland area when he was with the relief organization, pre-Starfleet."

Jahkar nodded, “I recall a letter from him indicating he had been there. A couple months I think."

“His familiarity with this place and the people there might help us," Lazarus said, before adding, “it also might give him a chance to do something that will help his defense at his court martial."

“Perhaps," Jahkar said. “But rather than asking me, captain, you should ask him. He’s a man now, and he’s the one who got himself in this mess."

Lazarus smiled, “You’re right. I’ll go speak with him."

“I’ll finish prepping the squad for our mission," Jahkar said. “Tell him I’d like to talk to him before he beams down with you."

Lazarus smirked, “It sounds like you expect he’ll go?"

“He’ll go. He needs this opportunity to try and undo some of this mess," Jahkar said.

The captain turned to Garak, who remained uncharacteristically quiet during the exchange between Lazarus and Jahkar. “Go ahead and get yourself suited up, I’ll be back after I speak with Ensign Tajel."

Garak gave a nod and headed into the armory to receive whatever gear he was being assigned for the mission to Cardassia. Meanwhile, Lazarus headed off to the brig. Jahkar turned and joined Garak in the armory where the others were getting their loadouts…

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.20

Ryramorl grunted as he and Reepchip suited up.

As they did, Ryramorl asked Garak about the people of the Wastelands, and listened carefully to what the former president said.  “So…  Khassa or even Seawalkers at best," he rumbled.

“...who?" asked Garak.

“The Seawalkers are an absolute mystery.  Their domain is in the oceans; they are only seen when they wish to make their presence known.  For many years, we did not even know what they call themselves.  The Khassa are Murans, like Reepchip.  The OverKings hold no sway over them whatsoever."  It was said even the Khyrrian Emperor himself had no authority over them, but Ryramorl kept silent about that–the Cardassian didn’t need to know that the Carnora as a race had masters.

Reepchip got his contingent of darts, including some darts that had been coated in nanites that would destroy technology, some that would drug or poison Cardassians, and those with miniature tags in case his superiors wanted to track something.  He did his best to ignore Garak’s look, like many, Garak seemed to see Reepchip as perhaps the team pet or the like.

When Lazerus came back with Tajel, Ryramorl sniffed–and remembered the scent from so long ago on Apachok Nor.  Meanwhile, Reepchip chittered in recognition of his former fellow cadet.

Ryramorl grinned, letting the tips of his teeth be seen.  “Well, well.  Look at the bird that just landed on our cookfire," he said–a jocular greeting common amongst his tribe.

Lt. Cody Beckett

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.20

Will watched as Victoria walked away. He rubbed his arm and shook his head.

“Bloody hell." he muttered to himself. He knew the nurse was right and that perhaps he had been too tough on Cody. Worse, he knew his poor attempt at humor regarding the lieutenant’s interaction with Gace had fallen flat.

McCulloch sighed and exited the transporter room. He went to a nearby computer panel, requested information on Beckett’s location on board the Resurrection and made his way to apologize to the officer.

Beckett walked out of Sickbay where he had had his final checkup. The EMH was satisfied with his condition and recovery and gave the greenlight to return to duty. In one hour they would start the next part of the mission in the Gamma quadrant. Beckett had already reported for duty with Mayla and Captain Lazarus and decided to grab a quick bite before gearing up and headed for the messroom. From the replicator he ordered a meal and a bottle of water and he sat down at a free table and started eating. He still was irritated about the conversation with McCulloch. Will treated Cody as if he was a teenage child, not knowing what it was all about. He shook his head and pushed away the thoughts, just as the door to the mess room slid open and McCulloch stepped in. He scanned the room until he saw Cody and immediately walked into his direction.

Cody saw McCulloch moving his way and sighed. Why the heck couldn't McCulloch leave him alone?

Will saw the icy stare that Cody gave him as he entered the messroom. The Scot felt his stomach churn, knowing he had to make amends with the lieutenant. As he made his way over to Beckett, he heard the New Zealander scoff.

At the last moment, McCulloch veered to the left and went to the first available replicator and ordered a hot tea. Afterwards he returned to Cody’s table. The lieutenant was focused on his meal and purposely ignoring Will.

After a moment of very tense silence, McCulloch cleared his throat and spoke.

“May I sit down?"

Beckett glared up at the lieutenant commander, snorted with contempt and then reluctantly gestured to the open seat.

“You can sit wherever you want, Will, I’m about to leave."

“Please don’t," Will requested as he motioned the lieutenant to stay. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chairs. “I would like to speak with you Cody."

Beckett studied McCulloch in sullen silence before carefully choosing his response. “Why should I? Do you need to use me as your punchline yet again?"

Will let his head sink to his chest. He deserved that. He looked back up at Cody.

“Cody, it has been pointed out to me that I have offended you." McCulloch humbly noted as he rubbed his arm where Victoria had punched him. “If that is the case, I am truly sorry."

Beckett continued to stare at the Scot. Will could see his face becoming flush with anger.

“Did Vree send you?" He demanded.

“No," Will answered.

“Jahkar?"

“No."

“Ensign Gace?" Beckett asked. Will noted there was a slightly different tone in his voice when he referenced the Union XII ensign.

“No. It was…"

“You owe Gace an apology as much as you owe me one." Cody demanded.

“I know. That was also pointed out to me."

Beckett eyed knowingly at McCulloch before leaning back in his own chair. “It was Victoria, wasn’t it?"

Will nodded his head quickly in the affirmative.

“Cody, I was out of line and I apologize. I assure you I didn’t mean to offend you and I will never do that again.

Cody took a sip of his water before he spoke.

"It's not only that. You behaved yourself like a father towards his teenage son. First of all, you're not. Second, I can make my own decisions. Even if they involve someone you know and care. What happens between Sarah and me is our business. Definitely not yours."

McCulloch bit his tongue. Cody had only been on two dates, if that, with Sarah Pickering and had turned to the Scot for advice from the start. If the lieutenant wanted to fly solo that was his prerogative and right to do so. But Will made a note to mind his own damn business if and when Sarah discovered that Hixwir Gace was batting her pretty ice blue eyes at the New Zealander. Will smirked slightly to himself…Sarah was going to eat him alive.

“What is so damn funny" Beckett demanded.

Will raised his hands as a gesture of surrender. “You are absolutely right Cody. I am out of line. I was only looking out for you but my approach was completely wrong and it offended you. Again, I apologize. I never intended to interfere in your personal life but it came across that way. I will never act that way again…"

Will trailed off momentarily. He smirked again at Beckett before continuing. “Even if Sarah eats you alive, it is none of my business. She is good for you, and I want the two of you to be happy. You have my word … no more poking my head into others’ business.."

Beckett studies McCulloch's face for a few moments before answering.

"Listen Will, I know you probably where just looking out for me. But I can, and want to be

able to handle this myself. And if Sarah 'eats me alive' because of a good-looking nurse that took care of me, I guess we need to reconsider our relationship. I am crazy about her, but if she goes ballistic every time another woman looks at me, I truly wonder if this, or any relation she has or had will work in the long run. "

McCulloch smirked, and raised his hands once more.

"OK. Fine by me. But don't come  complaining when things go south. " McCulloch replied.

"You're such a pessimist McCulloch" Beckett laughed as he got up.

"A realist, Beckett, a realist"

Beckett scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" He replied.

As he walked out of the messhall, McCulloch fell in line with him.

"Is everything ok again? " Will asked.

Beckett stopped and looked at the Scot.

“Yeah, we are ok again. You know I don't stay mad for long. And if you ever feel the urge to give advice, try a more tactful way. "

Beckett slapped McCulloch on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's see where they are sending us now. " Beckett said as the pair made their way to the armory.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Ensign Dara Tajel

*USS Resurrection*/ Cargo Bay

Stardate 2112.24

It wasn’t long after Lazarus left that her returned with Tajel in tow. The young ensign, short on options, decided quickly to come along with Lazarus and Garak. He felt he could be of some sort of assistance to them – though more than anything he just wanted to do something other than rot in a cell.

Security officers still escorted them, Tajel being a prisoner, but when they arrived at the Cargo Bay and walked in, Lazarus dismissed the escort.

“We’ve got it from here," Lazarus told them. “You’re dismissed."

The escort left and Tajel stood there, looking around at the group assembled there. Lazarus had chosen the cargo bay for the briefing based on the size of the team.

Phoenix Squad was there, everyone suited up in armor, weapons and gear. Joining them was Captain Vehakra Rhikal from the Fearless, and her security officers -- Milford, Th'vaarrar, Senek and Kalberg.

Most elements from Union XII were present, led by Commander Smith, and Lt. Commander McGuire from *Resurrection* in case Vree decided to utilize any of her people.

Lazarus was there, of course, joined by Garak and Tajel, who stood there next to the captain, looking straight ahead as he felt many of the eyes in the room upon him – his status as a traitor and prisoner weighing upon him now.

“OK, listen up," Captain Rhikal announced. “I will be leading a team to the surface of Cardassia Prime to locate the captain of the Cardassian ship we were ambushed by. His name is Gul Tirlin Drajal. He has beamed down into a place called the Wastelands. It is an inhospitable area on the planet, bombed heavily during the Dominion genocide here 20 years ago. He is believed to be hiding among an anti-occupation, anti-government enclave hidden in this mountainous region.

“My team will consist of Captain Lazarus, Mr. Garak, Ensign Dara, Lt. Ra’yral, Ensign Charatetet and Milford, Th'vaarrar, Senek and Kalberg from Fearless security," the Orion woman said. “Commander Smith will assign two medics to the team. We will assemble in the transporter bay in 30 minutes for transport to the surface."

She turned to Lazarus, who nodded then turned his own gaze to Phoenix Squad. “Commander Vree, you and the rest of your team will remain aboard *Resurrection*, which will leave *Fearless* here and jump to the coordinates of the Sons of Cardassia outpost called Forward Base, located in the Gamma Quadrant.

“Commander Vree, we have no further intel so when we arrive at those coordinates you will have to assess and decide on a course of action," Lazarus continued. “Coordinate with Commander McGuire regarding augmenting your team with security personnel if you deem it necessary. Commander Smith, assign medics if needed to assist Phoenix."

He looked around at the group, “Are there any questions?"

Back to top

## S4, E2, Act 2: Justice is Coming (Extended edition)

Commander Mayla Vree

Cargo Bay, *USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.24

"Are we purely on a S&D? Or are we to take prisoners?" Mayla asked.

"Destroying the base outright won't confirm that the Trinity device is there nor its destruction. We need some sort of confirmation it was there and accounted for, or else we might discover their survival the hard way in the future," Captain Rhikal said.

Garak gave a wave of his hand. "Trinity signifies three devices. They may have the remaining two there."

Lazarus nodded. "You'll have to move fast before they employ the use of them. Hit them fast and hard, find the two Trinity devices and destroy them."

"So, I'll ask it again," Mayla said. "What about prisoners?"

Rhikal shot a glance to Garak before addressing Phoenix Squad. "If you infiltrate, make sure you have your body cameras recording. We want to see who was there so we can identify them afterwards. Prisoners will be at your discretion."

Lieutenant Cody Beckett

Cargo Bay *USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.25

Cody listened to the discussion between Vree and Lazarus and weighed the situation that was described.

"Do we know what we're up against?

Any intelligence on the size of the base? Numbers of hostiles? I assume these Trinity devices will be well guarded. "

Captain Quentin Lazarus

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.25

“We don't know anything," Lazarus admitted. “The only confirmation we have of this place is what Mr. Garak has told me, and his full report should be available in your mission data. Garak only knows the Obsidian Order said Forward Base was located at those coordinates. The station, its SOC compliments, defenses – none of it is on record anywhere. All that data perished with the destruction of the Obsidian Order 20 years ago."

Garak then chimed in, “And the latest intel is known only by the Sons of Cardassia who have been there, which so far of the prisoners we’ve taken from the *Regnedor* that have cooperated, none of them have ever left the Alpha Quadrant."

Lazarus nodded, “It’s a crap shoot. You won’t know anything until you’re on site. I’m sorry. I wish I knew more, lieutenant."

Commander Victoria Smith

*USS Resurrection*/ Cargo Bay

Stardate 2112.24

“My team will consist of Captain Lazarus, Mr. Garak, Ensign Dara, Lt. Ra’yral, Ensign Charatetet and Milford, Th'vaarrar, Senek and Kalberg from Fearless security," Captain Rhikal “Commander Smith will assign two medics to the team. We will assemble in the transporter bay in 30 minutes for transport to the surface."

“Ensign Hixwir Gace and Petty Officer Joao Felix Mendes are at your disposal sir." Victoria immediately replied as she gestured towards the pair.

“New armor and equipment ma’am?" Mendes inquired quietly.

“The new armor, helmets and contacts. I also want full med kits, side arms and rifles." The commanding nurse answered matter-of-factly. “I’ll see the two of you off to the transporter room in fifteen minutes. Move."

“Yes ma’am." Gace replied as the pair of medics left the meeting and went to the Union XII locker area to kit out for the mission.

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.27

Ryramorl grunted as he was given another mission here on Cardassia, away from the more… fun stuff the rest of the team was doing.  On one hand, it did make sense that they’d want a hunter on this mission, as they were seeking this Tirlin Drajal

On the other…  Well, he wondered if the ghost of Sorvek had warned Vree not to take Ryramorl with them.  Somewhere, the Sons of Cardassia had the Female Changeling, and as much as the Federation wanted her back, The Khyrrian Empire wanted her for orchestrating the attack on the Antevas System, their sole foothold in this realm of reality, and Ryramorl would have been more than willing to deliver her into their judgment–after executing some of his own.

Pushing these thoughts out of his way, he asked Garak, “Is there any way I can get a sample of his scent?" he asked.

Garak looked at the Carnora in disbelief and chuckled, “There is no way to provide that, lieutenant, Tirlin has not lived on Cardassia Prime in years and any recent scent would have been left aboard the Regnedor, which was destroyed."

Lazarus cleared his throat, “Actually, we have his last known location, Ryramorl. It was the escape pod he used to transport down to the surface from. That last pod he beamed from is still in the cargo bay. It’s the only one we haven’t disposed of."  He looked to the Carnora, “Go have a look, see if you can find a scent."

As they spoke, Reepchip took another stock of his loadout–drugged darts, yep.  Poisoned darts, check.  Nanite darts, check.  Tagged darts, check.  Explosive darts, yep.  Blowgun?  He patted himself here and there before he found it and adjusted where he had it so he could reach it more easily.  He kept in his head the mantra, “The Khassa remain unseen, and never attack in melee."

Ryramorl glanced at Captain Rikhal for permission, and she nodded.

Ryramorl gestured to Reepchip, and they headed to the cargo bay.  Once in the escape pod, both Carnora breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the Cardassian.  It was mixed in with the scents of the crew who’d been in there, but Lazarus, in his wisdom, had kept that to a minimum, and Ryramorl would be a poor hunter indeed if he couldn’t tell one scent from another.  Ryramorl committed it to memory like the hunter he was.  Reepchip breathed deeply as well, meditating on the smell, the way it was in his nostrils and on his whiskers.  Finally, the two Carnora returned, Ryramorl giving Captain Lazarus a solemn nod.  “Thank you, sir.  I think I have the scent."

Colonel Jahkar

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.28

“Don’t know where we’re going. Don’t know what to expect when we arrive," said Jahkar. “Are we sure these coordinates won’t put us inside a star or planet or directly inside this Forward Base?"

The marine was used to missions where intel was limited. Not with Shadow Ops, but with the Marines it had happened many times. He understood there was no way to gather intel prior to going into this mission. It was in another quadrant, behind Dominion lines and another attack by the Sons of Cardassia was imminent.

He looked to the captain for any details or answers he could offer.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.03

Lazarus shook his head, “We have no idea. I’ve asked Commanders Sornax and Carmicheal to review the coordinates and any known intel about that system in the Gamma Quadrant. Hopefully we’ll know more before we’re ready to jump. There are undeniable risks."

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2112.31

Will listened to the briefing yet chose to remain silent. The questions he had were answered and admittedly, he didn’t want Vree, Lazarus or the Orion Captain hearing his thoughts on the proposed mission.

In short, the Scot felt the entire operation was going to be a very bloody mess. He instinctively knew he and his fellow operatives would be essentially going in blind and the odds against them were quite high.

Rather than raise his concerns and objections, McCulloch chose to remain silent. He knew they collectively had a job to do, and risks be damned, they better do it well.

The Scot occasionally stole a glance towards Victoria. Damn she looked very attractive in her new, form fitting Union XII armor. As his mind occasionally wandered towards impure thoughts, he felt the cold stare of the Trill bear down on him. He looked over towards Vree, only to see her shake her head in disapproval. In response, Will turned his attention back towards Victoria’s backside, which only caused Mayla to glare at him even harder.

Once the briefing concluded, McCulloch started to make his way towards the exit. En route, Jahkar intercepted him.

“Going somewhere Lt. Commander?" The marine inquired as he studied the Scot suspiciously.

“Aye, I have someone to see before the mission commences."

The colonel looked over his shoulder and back towards Victoria. “The cute red-headed nurse you were mentally undressing for the past twenty minutes is back there McCulloch."

“I need to see someone else."

“You comfortable with the mission parameters McCulloch or do I need to be concerned once we are deployed? You seem…distracted."

“You have nothing to worry about sir."

“I hope so Will. Dismissed."

McCulloch quickly left the hangar and made his way to the Resurrection’s medical bay. Once there, he looked about the facility until his eyes met the EMH.

“Lt. Commander McCulloch, can I help you?" The program quickly inquired.

“I’m looking for two of your patients…Thrice and Hannigan."

“Ah, the two you brought in for treatment during the battle."

“Yes."

“Ensign Thrice has been discharged. Curiously, she was a tad embarrassed when I informed her that it was you that saved her life."

“As expected, she is well?" Will pressed.

“She has fully recovered and has returned to active duty. I can recall her if you wish to speak with her."

“No, that is quite alright. I’m sure we will cross paths again in the very near future. Warrant Officer Fiadh Hannigan?"

“Ah, Hannigan." The EMH noted. “Commander Smith won’t release her until she conducts the final discharge exam herself."

“Oh?"

“Mr. McCulloch, Warrant Officer Hannigan should be dead. She exceeded expectations during the last battle but to her own detriment. Her kidney was punctured, and she lost a lot of blood when she was hit by that piece of shrapnel. She should be resting for at least the next 48 hours, but she insists on being returned to active duty."

McCulloch nodded silently. Hannigan’s conduct was consistent with the rest of Union XII… putting their own safety aside and going the extra mile to prove their worth to the Resurrection crew and Phoenix Team.

“May I see her?" Will inquired.

“You may." The EMH replied matter-of-factly as she pointed towards the back of the bay. “She’s sulking on the last biobed on your left."

The Scot made his way back to Fiadh’s location and found the Union XII nurse sitting up with her arms folded and eying McCulloch.

“You're daft if you think I didn’t hear what you said to the EMH Mr. Falkirk." Fiadh huffed in a heavy Irish brogue. “You’re not me Da."

“Fortunately, no I’m not your Da Ms. Cork." McCulloch retorted, referencing Fiadh’s city of residence on Earth. It had been an ongoing battle of words between the Irish woman and McCulloch whereby they referred to each other from their hometown rather than by rank or name. “If I was, I would have grounded your sorry ass years ago."

Fiadh scoffed before looking away from him. After a moment of awkward silence, she glanced back at him. “I suppose you want a thank you because you saved my life?"

“Technically I only carried you to the medical bay but no, I don’t need or want a thank you."

“What do you want then?"

“I want to make sure you are on the road to recovery."

The nurse studied Will in silence for a brief moment before weakly smiling. “Commander Smith won’t clear me so I can’t return to duty."

“She’s very protective of you."

‘So, I’ve heard."

“From what I can gather, Ensign Gace and you are her favorites."

“I know." Hannigan confidently sniffed. “But she’ll never admit it. Or that I’m much cooler than Hixwir."

“So, Victoria won’t clear you?"

“Commander Smith." Fiadh corrected. “No, not yet."

McCulloch nodded in silence before gesturing for the warrant officer to get off the bio bed. She slid off the table and lost her footing slightly. Will quickly seized Fiadh by the arm and steadied her. She eyed the Scot suspiciously.

“Why are you helping me Falkirk?"

“You want to return to duty?"

“I do."

“Well, if we get you up and about, you may be cleared sooner rather than later."

Fiadh continued to stare at Will incredulously. “Well, isn’t this bloody grand. You’re being nice to me to score points with my commanding officer aren’t ya McCulloch?!?"

“Perhaps." Will replied as he tried to contain a smile. He leaned towards the nurse and offered her his arm. “Shall we go for a walk around the deck. If you can do that, it may be just enough to get you cleared by Vict…Commander Smith."

Fiadh gestured for Will to lead the way. Moments later, the pair was out walking in a passageway.  She leaned heavily on the Scot as the pair advanced.

“The EMH told me that had you not brought me into the medical bay, I would have died."

“I doubt that."

“I told the EMH that as well," Fiadh quipped.

McCulloch laughed slightly. “You’re too much of a pain in my ass to die Warrant Officer Hannigan."

“Aren’t you the charmer?" Hannigan answered as the pair rounded a corner. Her lower left back still throbbed from where the piece of shrapnel pierced her. She cleared her throat and looked up at the Scot. “Nevertheless, a proper thank you is in order sir."

“There’s no need, we’re good Hannigan."

“You won’t even let me thank you? You really are a stubborn Scottish bastard aren’t you sir?"

Again, Will smiled. “That’s perhaps the nicest thing someone has said about me all week."

“Don’t get used to it sir." Fiadh replied with a soft laugh. She leaned again on McCulloch for support as the pair continued down the passageway. “And no stickers for you."

“I’m glad to hear that. That means more for Jahkar." McCulloch quickly answered.

Fiadh often slapped humorous stickers on her patients as a tool of distraction before commencing difficult and often painful treatment.

“Definitely no stickers for you." The nurse repeated as the pair continued walking.

Eventually her mind drifted away from the pain of her wound and instead focused on the conversation she shared with William McCulloch.

Commander Mayla Vree

*USS Resurrection*, above Cardassia Prime

Stardate 2112.25

After the briefing, she stopped by the armory's computer station and pulled up whatever information they had on Nixamar XII. All Stafleet cartography had on it was that it was a purple and pink gaseous planet unable to support life. Even the information from Cardassia's computers from the defunct Obsidian Order gave them scant more information on the planet, including the base they had built there. She accessed plans and schematics for as many other Cardassian bases that were built in similar environments and goals. At least it was something.

She forwarded what information there was to her internal AI and a copy to her quarters where her computer setup will help with collating and organizing the tactical data much quicker. When she got there, there was a colorfully wrapped package sitting on her desk. She stopped short at her door, staring at the package for a few moments before coming all the way in.

"Computer, who left this package here in my quarters?"

"The item was beamed on board with an upsilon phi sigma priority delivery authorization."

She cocked her head while listening carefully to the authorization code that sounded vaguely familiar. "Who is it from?"

"Unknown."

"Unknown? Where did it come from?"

"Unknown," the computer repeated flatly.

"Who authorized this delivery?"

"The name attached to the authorization is Unknown."

She shook her head and looked at her chronometer. It was Yuletide, and it was that time of the year again. A gift from her father.

"Lazarus to Vree, report to my ready room immediately."

"On my way," she acknowledged as she did an about face and hurried out the door. By the time the doors fully opened to the Captain's ready room, she saw him standing next to his desk with a small colorfully wrapped box opened in his hand.

When the door fully closed behind her, he turned and glared at her. "What the frak is the meaning of this? Is this some sick joke?"

Mayla stepped forward and looked at what lay nestled in the box. It was a small pendant made from a dark crystal she recognized as onyx with a shaped diamond offset from the middle. "What is it?"

He took it out of the box and studied it front and back with his artificial eye. For the first time, she saw his hand tremble just a tiny bit. "I gave this to my wife on our 10th wedding anniversary. It was lost when Osaka Prime was attacked, killing my entire family almost 40 years ago. There's an inscription on the back that tells me this is the real thing."

"It's pretty." Then she looked at the box again, which had the same wrappings as the gift in her own quarters. "Did you just receive it? In this?"

"It was sitting here on my desk when I came in here. The computer couldn't tell me how it got here."

"And you haven't seen the pendant since the attack?"

"I was taken on board the USS Goddard with injuries so severe from the metagenic weapon that it took me 2 years to recover." He stopped short remembering the painful memories that still occasionally haunt him. He thought the time that's passed allowed him to bury the feelings of immense loss and despair. He was not in a good place physically and mentally at the time. After his physical recovery, he joined the Maquis to continue the fight against the hated Cardassians who killed his entire family.

Mayla noticed the pause and knew from her childhood the pain her captain still bore. She changed the subject. "I think it's from Kyril. Today is Yuletide. I just received mine in my quarters. I haven't opened it yet." She looked around the office to see if there was anything amiss. "He sent us one last year on this day, remember?"

"What is he gaming at with this? I never knew your father to play practical jokes."

"No, he doesn't. And especially not to you."

He continued to study every bit of the pendant and the chain but stopped at the clasp. "Wait, there's something here on the clasp." He spied it closer, and his head jerked up a notch. "What the hell?"

"What is it?"

"There's a compressed barcode here, digitally coded to an old encryption Bravo Epsilon Seven used to use."

"Bravo EpSeven? That IS old." She thought back to the time before her father's team was redesignated as Bravo Squad. "What does it say?"

"All it has are a series of long numbers. Almost looks like coordinates, but too many numbers, and letters. It does look vaguely familiar."

"Can you image it and send it to me?"

Instantly, an image appeared in her eyes, and she immediately recognized parts of the message and what they could be for. But the revelation to the captain right now before a mission might distract him too much. "I can look into it for you if you'd like."

"You know your father best. I'll give it some time, maybe something else will reveal itself. Right now, I have a mission to lead."

"Good luck. I'll let you know if I find something. Merry Yuletide, Captain."

She could sense in him putting aside his emotions when he replaced the pendant and closed the box with a snap. She was still looking at the image when she left the bridge and wondered why there were Linea spatial coordinates on the pendant. And why use Linea cartographical coding? Was this Kyril's way of passing information that he knew only Lazarus and Mayla knew how to read? And what did the rest of the message mean?

What was Kyril trying to tell Lazarus?

She went straight to her quarters to open her own Yuletide gift. Maybe something else may be revealed there.

Colonel Jahkar

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.07

Jahkar and Tajel found a place they could talk outside the armory after the younger man finished donning his gear. Jahkar could not help himself from staring, seeing Tajel dressed in Shadow Ops armor and carrying team gear.

“What’s wrong?" Tajel asked.

“You…just look like a…soldier," Jahkar stammered. “It’s a good look on you."

Tajel smirked, “Enjoy while you can, next time you see me I’ll be in prison fatigues I’m sure."

Jahkar scowled at him, “Enough. You don’t know that."

“Captain seems to think me going along on this mission will go a long way toward helping my case with Starfleet," said Tajel. “I think he’s being overly optimistic."

“Just don’t do anything…"

“What? Crazy? Stupid?" Tajel asked. “I won’t. I think I’ve run out of stupid things I can do.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and take one for the team…you know, get vaporized so I can…"

“Stop it!" Jahkar barked. “Don’t talk that way. You go down there, you do as the captains tell you and you come back in one piece. We’ll sort this thing out when it’s over."

Tajel nodded and then looked up at Jahkar, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For this entire mess and for all the crap I’ve given you for all these years."

Jahkar was a little surprised to hear the apology, though he’d never expected Tajel to offer one.

“I know you and I never saw eye-to-eye, even before your mom died," Jahkar said. “I tried to do what I thought was right."

“You tried. I know. I should have tried harder myself," Tajel replied. “Don’t beat yourself up, I was a complete brat for all those years. I made myself this way…never giving you a chance, never appreciating the things you did for Kedanya and I. I’m really sorry Jahkar."

Jahkar reached over and grabbed Tajel and pulled him into a big bear hug. He held him for a long time, then with a solid pat on the back he released him and nodded toward the door, “See you when I get back. Go catch Tirlin, bring him to justice."

Tajel smiled and grabbed up his bag before turning and heading off to join the captain and Garak as they arrived in the corridor outside.

Jahkar watched him go and followed at a distance. It was time to let Tajel be a man and for him to go do what he could to fix the mess he’d made for himself.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.07

Resurrection was operational and ready to get underway, thanks to Tommy Carmichael and his team. Although not repaired 100 percent, the ship was ready to jump to the Gamma Quadrant and Carmichael and his team would continue with repairs in transit.

With the good word handed down by the chief engineer, Lazarus hailed the team. Team Two would beam over to the USS Fearless and join the rest of their teammates from that crew before beaming down to Cardassia Prime.

Lazarus and Garak arrived in the transporter room with Tajel, Ryramorl and Reepchip. All they needed were the two Union XII medics and they’d be ready to beam to the Fearless. Sornax and Vree were there, along with Jahkar who was saying his goodbyes to his son.

“You’re sure about this?" the Denobulan asked Lazarus. “There’s no reason you need to put yourself in danger down there. Rhikal can handle it."

“I’m fine, Sornax. I need to see this through," the captain said. He and Garak were both in armor with mountain camouflage, both carrying rifles. Tajel was also in full armor and gear. “Are you ready to take the Rez to the Gamma Quadrant?"

“Indeed I am," he said. “Carmichael has made some re-calculations to the coordinates we obtained, compared with starcharts we have of that region of space and we think we know where it will place us."

Lazarus raised an eyebrow, “And where is that?"

“A system called Nixamar," said Sornax. “The exact coordinates are somewhere near the twelfth planet there. It’s an out of the way, backwater system. Uninhabited and of little strategic interest to the Dominion."

“The perfect place to hide a secret base," Lazarus said.

Garak nodded, “Out of the way, but close enough to launch an attack with cloaked ships."

Lazarus turned from the Cardassian tailor and set his gaze on Sornax, offering him a smile. “Bring them back in one piece, commander. That goes for my ship, too."

“Of course," Sornax bowed slightly. “We’ll be back to pick you up in no time."

Lazarus shook his hand and then turned to lead his squad into the transporter room…

Commander Victoria Smith

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 22.01.07

Victoria led two of her medics to the transporter room but stopped short of entering. The combat nurse spun around and looked up at Gace and Mendes.

Damnit, why the hell did she have to be so short?

“Are you two ready?"

“Yes ma’am." The pair instinctively replied.

“Full med kits with tools for blood loss control and and diagnostic equipment?"

“Yes ma’am." Hixwir answered.

“Hyposprays and related cartridges?"

“Yes ma’am."

“Drag belts and isolinear tages?"

“Yes mom…ma’am." Gace answered as she corrected herself.

Victoria grumbled softly in Trill as she conducted a final visual and physical inspection of the two medics' armor and equipment. In addition to the medical packs, Type XII armor and upgraded ballistic helmets, the pair were carrying Type II pistols and Type IV rifles. She ordered Mendes to hand his rifle to her. She quickly inspected the weapon, checked the power cells and returned it to the petty officer.

“We’re going to be fine ma’am. We’ll make the team proud." Mendes announced confidently as he tried to mask his nervousness.

“Bring the Captain and his team back in one piece." Victoria answered. “And both of you come back to me safely. Understood?"

“We promise we will." Gace answered with a curt nod.

Smith led the pair into the transporter room and instantly made eye contact with Lazarus as she approached.

“Commander." He announced.

“Sir, your medics for the mission. Ensign Hixwir Gace and Petty Officer Joao Felix Mendes."

Both stood at attention before the Captain. Victoria continued.

“Ensign Gace is a Betazoid and will be helpful in the event the Muran is injured again. She is also a cardiac nurse with experience in emergency battlefield surgery. Petty Officer Mendes hails from Earth and is trained in extrication and emergency triage."

Lazarus studied the six-foot-two muscular Brazilian silently. Victoria immediately recognized what the Captain had picked up on.

“Sir, yes he can also drag an injured Lieutenant Ra'yral off the battlefield if necessary."

“Good." The Captain replied with a tone of approval. “Thank you commander. Dismissed."

Victoria nodded at her two medics, spun around and started to leave the transporter room. As she passed Reepchip she stopped briefly to speak with him.

“I expect my warrior to be careful out there." The nurse announced with a warm smile. “Good luck Ensign…give them hell for me."

Victoria left the transporter room and tapped her badge.

“Smith to Riisos."

“Riisos here ma’am." The Orion nurse and second-in-command of Union XII answered. “Orders?"

“Have the team start preparing the Resurrection’s medical bay to receive casualties. Also we should start setting up the Gentle Annie as a Combat Support Hospital (CSH). Inform the team the path of patient reception will be from the field to the CSH to the medical bay."

“Aye ma’am."

“Gatc is on standby with me for potential deployment with the assault teams. Hannigan will man the medical bay with the EMH. You, Sis and Zalir will take the CSH. Understood?"

“Yes ma’am"

“If the Gentle Annie is deployed, let Pyme know he is weapons free once the jumpship is free of the Resurrection."

“Affirmative Commander."

“Move. Smith out."

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.08

As Victoria left the transporter room, Reepchip uttered a growling chitter.  While he was grateful for the concern, her matronizing attitude towards him was beginning to irk; her tone all but named him “Charatet".  He wondered if he’d have to do something similar to her that he did to Tiri some time ago and eat in a disquietingly savage way.  Or something.  He remembered an Ithenite at Starfleet Academy having similar issues.

He tried to push that thought out of his mind, ignoring the look from Hixwir Gace, who could hear his thoughts.  He was uneasy about this whole mission, an unease that wasn’t at all helped by the fact that he had to work beside a Cardassian.

“Scenting something you don’t like?" asked Ryramorl over the subvoc..

“This Garak is hiding from me," said Reepchip.  “It makes my fur rise."

Ryramorl said nothing; he knew what Reepchip was talking about;  Garak’s mental discipline kept his mind closed off from Reepchip, and a telepath like the Muran would find that very suspicious.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.12

The team heading to the surface of Cardassia Prime transported off Resurrection and rematerialized aboard the USS Fearless, where they were greeted by Captain Rhikal and her team, which consisted of Lt. Gail Milford, Lt. Sohl Th'vaarrar, Ensign Senek and Ensign William Kalberg from Fearless security.

The Orion captain and her team were dressed the same as Lazarus, Garak and the rest of their people. Rhikal’s gaze immediately fell upon Tajel, with whom she immediately raised an eyebrow. She was not expecting to see him dressed in combat gear, carrying a weapon.

Vehakra at first wanted to pull Lazarus aside for a talk but decided there was no time. She decided she didn’t care if Tajel heard what she had to say or not.

“Captain Lazarus," said Rhikal. “Are you sure about bringing Ensign Dara along, armed and dressed as one of us?"

Tajel lowered his head and said nothing as Lazarus looked to him, then back at the Orion woman, “He is assisting this team and I want him to be able to defend himself and the squad."

Rhikal frowned, “You are aware of the charges…"

“I am well aware of the charges, captain," he said. “Ensign Dara is a member of this team. If you are uncomfortable with that, I will command the team and you can remain behind."

The Orion gave him a cold glare, then shrugged, “Fine. But if he steps out of line…"

“I won’t!" Tajel snapped, then adding, “Captain."

Rhikal looked back to Lazarus, “OK, let’s proceed. Ready for transport."

The squad stepped up onto the transporter pad and were transported to the surface of Cardassia Prime, where they materialized in the mountains of the Wastelands. It was dark when they beamed down, and a cool breeze blew through the valley where they had been set down.

“We’re about one kilometer from the last known location of the main encampment of Cardassians who live in these mountains, “said Rhikal. “Ensign Dara, input from the specialist?"

Tajel checked his tricorder and then looked around the valley and got his bearings. “This way," he said, pointing toward some rocky terrain west of their position. “If we walk that way we will come up on the west side of the Kentara camp. I spent time there when I was with the relief organization."

“Reepchip, scout ahead," the Orion woman ordered. “Ryramorl and Th'vaarrar take point, Dara right behind them. I’ll be next in our marching order. Lazarus and Garak in the middle with the Union XII medics. Milford and Senek next and Kalberg brings up the rear. Let’s move out."

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassia Wastelands

Stardate 2201.14

Ryramorl glanced around at the harsh terrain and rumbled softly to Reepchip, “As Hroljarus Andruvar would say, ‘the ground welcomes me home.’"

Reepchip chittered a bit at that.

“Remember, Reepchip.  The Khassa…"

“Don’t let themselves be seen," responded the Muran, and went forwards.  Before long, he’d disappeared behind the rocks, going in the direction that Tajel had indicated.  He frequently sniffed the wind to see if he could smell Cardassians, or at least the recent presence of them.

Remaining hidden, he slowly approached a cave, trying to remain hidden from view.

Inside the cave entrance, Reepchip saw a group of at least 50 Cardassians, with shelters set up inside the cave, fires burning outside their tents. Many appeared to be asleep, others were gathered in small groups talking and laughing.

These appeared to be the refugees who called these mountains home. He managed to slip past a couple of armed sentries and made his way up to a higher point I the cave where he could look down on the encampment and take it all in.

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Cardassia

Stardate 2201.15

Ryramorl looked at the scrub brush and barren rocks.  “As Hroljarus Andruvar would say, ‘the ground welcomes me home’," he said to Reepchip, comparing the harsh terrain to the mountainous homeland of the Andruvar Tribe.

They headed forwards in the direction Tajel had pointed; Ryramorl holding on tight to his rifle, ready for anything.

Commander Sornax

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.12

As soon as Lazarus and his team were off the ship, the Denobulan first officer took the captain’s chair and gave the order for Black Alert. The helmsman input the coordinates provided by Carmicheal and seconds later, the ship spun and then winked out of existence, leaving the Cardassia system behind.

A second later, *Resurrection* jumped into what appeared to be a pink and purple gas cloud. Vree was also on the bridge, and she stared at the holographic viewscreen with a perplexed look.

“What are we looking at?" she asked.

“Our destination, it would seem," Sornax said. Through the haze and swirling gasses of the atmosphere around them, they suddenly began to make out the shape of what appeared to be a space station looming directly ahead of them.

“Oh my," Sornax gasped. “Those coordinates put us right on it."

Vree looked to Dahrt at tactical, “Can they see us?"

“Our sensors are inoperable," the Iotian said. “Also, we cannot raise shields, activate the phased cloak or transport in this soup."

Sornax turned to Vree, “Sounds like the perfect place to hide a space station for 20 years in Dominion territory."

Commander Mayla Vree

*USS Resurrection*, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2101.12

"Better back us off, sir. They look out a window and they might see us." Mayla suggested to Sornax as she pointed to a panel on Darht's tactical station for Darht. "Get the computer to do a visual extrapolated image and identify anything it can compared to the schematics we got from Cardassian Intelligence."

"What's the plan on getting on to that thing?" Sornax said as he sent commands to the Helm to slowly back the ship off to a few kilometers.

"If they've had ships docked here, they must have some sort of beacon or computer guided system to bring them in." Mayla said absentmindedly. "And some sort of traffic control or else ships will be crashing into each other."

"They might have calibrated their sensors to see through this soup," Darht said as the computer worked up an outlined schematic of the station. "They could be seeing us now."

"Better get someone to see if they can get any of the systems to see through this atmosphere." Mayla contemplated Phoenix Squad's insertion. She keyed her subvoca to the teaml. "I need everyone on the Bridge."

Each member acknowledged quickly.

"Atmosphere is too thick for environmental suit thrusters," Mayla said. "We can parachute in, or use the scout ship to drop us off on the hull. It might be small enough to go unnoticed."

Colonel Jahkar and Commander Mayla Vree

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.14

Jahkar had arrived on the bridge and stood with Vree and Sornax as they studied what little data they had on the station. He listened to the suggestions and frowned. Using thruster suits would have been a good option.

Parachuting looked possible, but he wondered if they were too high up. There was also the possibility of taking the shuttle in and finding an access hatch somewhere.

Then there was a more daring option, one he wasn’t even sure he should propose. Then he figured he may as well say it, but knew the commander would likely toss the idea.

“I know jet thruster packs won’t work, but we could be shot out of an airlock heading directly at the station, find an access point and get inside from there," Jahkar said without emotion. He then watched Vree and Sornax and nearly laughed as he watched the Denobulan’s expression.

“You want to be shot out of an airlock," Sornax said. “You mean rapid decompression to propel you at a high rate of speed across the distance from Resurrection to Forward Base."

Jahkar gave a nod, “Affirmative. I’ve done it before…in simulations at the Recon Marine Training Center. We’d need to move back to visual distance, like where we were when the Resurrection jumped to its arrival point."

“You realize if you miss, there’s no course correction," Sornax stammered. “You’d bypass the station and keep on going."

Jahkar cocked a slight smile, “I guess I’d better not miss."

“What about everyone else?" Vree asked. “You want everyone to do this?"

“No. I can get inside and set up a transport enhancer," he said. “Set at maximum we should be able to transport the rest of the team through."

Sornax looked to Mayla. “You’re not going along with this I hope, Commander?"

Mayla returned his gaze. "We're all trained in suborbital insertions, this is no different."

"Except for slowing down without a chute."

"With the high orbit, we shouldn't pick up that much speed if we deploy, say, a few hundred meters out?" She walked over to the small secondary tactical deployment table at the rear of the bridge. Waving a hand in the air, she transferred data from her eyes to the table with trajectory and vector lines floating in the air. "We can use gas thrusters instead of a propellant to slow our descent. It shouldn't be noticed more than puffs in the gaseous clouds around the station."

Jahkar gave her a frown. "Face it, not everyone has had enough recent practice other than you and I since we've been in active service before rejoining SO. And between the two of us, as your 2IC, I am more-"

Mayla cut him off with a hand gesture. "None of us are more expendable than the other, Colonel."

Sornax saw the immediate conflict and dismissed it. The team was loyal to each other and would die for each other if need be. "The Colonel is correct though, Commander."

Mayla crossed her arms and made the act of contemplating an argument. She knew as a Marine, it would have been one of Jahkar's specializations. She made a few gestures and brought up an extrapolated image of the station that showed there was at least one Keldon class ship docked. "Can you get to the airlock of one of the docked ships? The station might have hull sensors if their sensors can't see through this soup."

"The SOC has been here for a while it seems, they may have already developed a method of using their sensors to see through the atmosphere." Sornax said.

"And they would already know that we're here and raised the alarm. The fact that we're not in a pitch battle right now tells us so," she said while still staring at the station's image. "With no sensors, they may also be monitoring the airlocks."

"If only Daryl was here, he can probably cook up some sort of virus to disrupt the internal sensors to hide the airlock access." Beckett said, who was standing quietly by Sh'avelith and McCulloch. His face was a bit pale while staring at Forward Base.

There was a moment of silence as the comment reminded them, they were still missing a team member and the guilt of not immediately looking for him settled in uncomfortably. Mayla could feel the pressure on her as it was her responsibility to the team to spearhead that search. But this immediate threat staring at them in the face had to take priority, despite how helpless she felt about Thompson's unknown predicament.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.14

“@#$% me," The Scot cursed softly to himself as Vree reviewed the situation with the team and Jahkar made the proposal that he be shot towards the station as if he were a glorified projectile.

“Do you have a better suggestion Mr. McCulloch?" Vree pressed upon hearing the Scot’s grumbling.

Will studied the view screen in silence for several long seconds. Afterwards he looked towards the Trill and shook his head in the negative.

“That station is going to be a tough nut to crack." He announced upon further reflection.

“Well, how would you gain access?" Jahkar inquired.

“Personally, I’d sneak in underneath their noses masking as debris. Once in range I’d hit a power source or the inhibitors preventing incoming transport."

“But how do we distract them long enough to achieve that objective?" Beckett asked.

McCulloch thought again for a moment before speaking. “Well, I’m sure they saw us. That’s enough of a distraction. We just need to keep the Sons focused on this ship while something non-threatening advances towards the station."

“Non-threatening?" Tiri questioned.

“Yes, something that is not going to catch their eye or cause too much concern…either debris, junk or something too insignificant to trigger their alarm bells."

The Scot studied his companions as they mulled over his thoughts. After a moment of silence he continued.

“Or, we could simply shoot the colonel out of a torpedo tube towards the station."

Jahkar looked at Will with a raised eyebrow while Vree once again shook her head in disapproval. McCulloch moved past the sarcastic comment.

“Has anyone bothered to speak with Ged Khit since I last met with him?"

“The teen prisoner you took back on Cardassia?" Tiri asked.

“The same one. He said he was trained for cybernetic warfare on an abandoned Cardassian station. It’s probably not this one but he may be able to offer some insight into the network grids of this station and its potential weaknesses."

Lt. Cody Beckett

*USS Resurrection*

Stardare 2201.14

Beckett looked at McCulloch with a somewhat shocked look on his face.

"You want to have that kid hacking that Cardassian station? Really? "

“I didn’t say he’d hack into the system." The Scot retorted as he kept his temper in check. “I suggested we speak with him about his knowledge of the station's network and its weaknesses."

Beckett looked around the table.

"I assume I don't need to elaborate on how this could go wrong on so many levels…I'd rather follow Jahkar out of the airlock and hack the systems directly via a hardlink. We have detailed schematics of these ships so we know where any computer system would be reachable from the outer hull. Once in there, it's a walk in the park to access the systems from the station. In the meanwhile, Resurrection could distract our Cardassian friends with some nice flares by igniting some of the gases in the direct space of the station. I've checked the composition of the atmosphere. It could provide some nice fireworks. It might also knock out or at least garble a few of their systems. That time can be used to get Jahkar and me towards one of the ships. We could use the shell of a quantum torpedo for that… ."

McCulloch snickered at the visual in his mind of Beckett and Jahkar inside of the shell.

Beckett shook his head but ignored McCulloch.

"It could work." Beckett ended and looked at Vree and the others to await their reaction.

Commander Mayla Vree

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.15

"No." Mayla simply said. "A forward bombardment or even a tactical distraction will alert them that we are here. As soon as that happens, they'll take action and maybe even evacuate the Trinity devices. They can't know anything is amiss until we can confirm the locations of the remaining trinity devices. Even if we can tag them and beam them off the station or attach transport inhibitors to it so they can't beam them away. This entire plan of Drajal's is well thought out and planned to nearly every detail. I'm sure they already have contingency plans if the station is assaulted in any way."

"But you can't just let Jahkar go at it alone." McCulloch nearly interjected with THAT tone to his CO.

"If Jahkar said he can do it, I have trust and faith in his ability to do it." Mayla said sternly.

Beckett chimed in to change the subject. "I can come up with something that can mask those sensors immediately surrounding the airlock door." Beckett said. "Low power directional EMP generator. After that last mission where we could have used something like that, I came up with the idea. But it'll only extend out to a few meters. It should just look like a glitch in the internal status sensors. While the Colonel is gaining entry, I can still get to a main hardline and create a distraction if we're compromised."

Mayla looked at Beckett carefully. "You think you can do the jump from here to there? Like the Commander of this vessel said, if you miss, you're gone."

"Bloody crazy." McCulloch muttered.

Lt. Cody Beckett

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.15

Beckett looked at McCulloch who was shaking his head, then back to Vree.

"Yes, I think I can. I did the orbital insertion back on the Andorian homeworld. I think I'm

good. We could use a mag-lev based grapplehook in case needed. So, yeah, this is gonna work." Beckett said with confidence.

"Madness! " McCulloch grumbled, still shaking his head. After a moment of sullen silence, he continued. “Well, someone is going to have to cover you two while the both of you do whatever the hell it is over on the station. I volunteer to be spaced as well."

Will folded his arms, shook his head and continued to mumble bitterly to himself.

Commander Victoria Smith

*USS Repulse*

Stardate 2201.14

Victoria visibly grimaced as she reviewed the status report Vree had forwarded to her.

The combat nurse immediately knew what was most likely going to happen next. Unless Phoenix Team adopted an unconventional method of insertion, she and Senior Petty Officer Iams Gatc would be deployed with the boarding parties while the rest of her team, minus Warrant Officer Hannigan, would be on board Union XII’s jumpship … which would act as a Combat Support Hospital (CSH).

Standard battlefield protocol dictated that her medical team would deploy a safe distance behind Phoenix Squad so patients could be beamed to them for treatment. However, given the bridge was reporting that the transporters were apparently inoperable, the CSH would have to likely dock at the station if it were to receive patients.

Understandably, that meant most of Union XII would be sitting ducks. The red crosses on the Gentle Annie’s wings, nose and belly would mean nothing to the Sons of Cardassia.

Victoria felt her stomach turn as Mayla’s probing question from hours earlier rang in her head … Would she order members of her team to their deaths if it meant saving members of Phoenix Squad?

Of course she would…don’t be so foolish, Jiarin scolded. Just do your damn job and do it well, the Trill memories reminded the nurse.

Smith straightened up and retrieved a nearby padd. She pulled up the schematics of the Gentle Annie, Union XII’s Arrow Class jump ship and quickly reviewed its weapons and armaments.

She sighed in frustration. Admittedly, the ship was mostly equipped with defensive weaponry to protect itself from surface to air, air to air and ship to ship attacks. It really didn’t have any offensive weapons.

Victoria only hoped Lieutenant Tusot and Corporal Pyme, the jump ship’s pilot and weapon’s officer respectively, would be creative enough to keep any potential attackers at bay.

“$#%^ me," she cursed, taking the common phrase uttered by William McCulloch when the crap was about to hit the fan.

## S4, E2, Act 2: The Emperor is Dead (Mirror Universe special edition)

*ISS Gambit*

Mirror Universe

Stardate 2107.24

Durham sighed. The plan they had was risky. But it was worth trying. If their plan worked out, it would change a lot. He sipped from his coffee, while he gazed at the holographic screen floating above the terminal. There was still a lot to do. Getting people in place. Transfer goods and weapons.

Once the news spread that Taryn Kane had become the new empress, turmoil would start, that was for sure. Then, suddenly, the door chimed and immediately swooshed open, and Smith entered.

"Commander, we need to talk. I ran some analysis on Thompson's brain activity, and

It seems he is already suffering from his transfer to the mirror universe. We might have even accelerated the quantum distortion effects, as there are fluctuations in the 6th and 7th quantum rift pockets in his- “

“Calm down, doctor" Durham interfered briskly, as he was irritated being pulled out of his concentration, the fact Smith just entered his room without asking AND she was blurting out a lot of information he couldn’t make anything from.

Smith fluttered with her eyes as if she only now realized what she had been doing.

“I am sorry Commander Durham. My apologies. But Thompson might suffer from this. He should get some additional meds to slow down the effects. But eventually he will start suffering from it and his environment will figure out something is odd about him. “

Durham exhaled deeply, while he stretched his shoulders, and moved his head from left to right to stretch his neck muscles.

“If all goes well, he should be back in his own universe within a few days, a few weeks tops. Is that going to cause a problem?" Durham asked. Smith quickly thought about it, and her eyes moved from left to right while she was gathering the information to answer the question.

“I guess that should not be a problem. Still, I want to flatten out any possibility so I’m asking permission to setup a medicine program for him to minimize the effects.:

Durham looked at Smith. He saw she was fond of Thompson. Inwardly, he smirked. Then, he nodded. “Ok, go ahead. But be discreet. Thompson is in his quarters. In one hour we reach the Emperor's station. Make sure Thompson is ready so he can make a good entrance so he won't look suspicious"

"Aye sir! " Smith answered.

"Good." Durham grunted. "Now get the

hell out of my office, Doctor"

Without another word, Smith hasted herself out of her superior's office.

A few minutes later she stood in front of The Hand's personal quarters and chimed the door.

The door slid open and revealed Thompson sitting behind the small desk, reading a data PADD.

"Routine checkup" She stated, and

entered the small room before Thompson even could react. As the door closed, Daryl looked up from his PADD.

"Routine checkup? You did that a few hours ago. What the hell is this? "

Smith shook her head and smiled.

"I merely said that in case anyone was eavesdropping… I just… " Smith hesitated. Daryl looked at her, surprised but also reluctant. Then, Smith moved forward and kissed Daryl. Or, at least, she tried, as Daryl saw this coming and quickly ducked away. Not fast enough, as Smith quickly countered and grabbed him by his uniform and pinned him against the wall. Once more Daryl was surprised. Smith was quick and pretty strong. The next thing he knew he felt her lips pressing against his. This had to stop. Daryl pushed her away, holding her on an arm's length away.

"Stop doing this. I am not interested in you. " Daryl said. Smith's facial expression was a mix of desire and frustration, as she wrestled and tried to come nearer again.

"Stop it! " Daryl hissed. "Or I'll have you thrown in the brig for insubordination. "

That, apparently, was enough. She stepped back, pushed away Daryl's hands, and straightened her uniform. She took her datapadd, made a few gestures and some data was forwarded to Daryl's account.

" I found this while analyzing your brain patterns. Read it. If you have questions, you know where to find me. "

She started moving. towards the door. In that split second, Daryl weighed his options. He should prevent that Smith became his enemy. In the few hours he was in the Mirror Universe, he had learned enough already.

Then again, he was The Hand. The most powerful man in this universe besides the emperor himself. Then again, this was only temporary. Still, he had to survive...and his gut feeling told him that making Smith an enemy wouldn't make his chances any better… yet… he didn't feel to betray Darva. So, he had to make a statement, as The Hand.

He moved quickly and blocked the entrance. He pushed Smith back into the room.

Now it was her turn to look surprised.

"Did I say you were dismissed? " He asked her with a stern voice. He pushed her against the wall and his hand slid around her throat. Smith didn't seem to mind it much, as she again had that predatory look in her eyes.

She seemed to enjoy it… then it hit him. Suddenly, memories flashed through his mind. Memories of passionate nights. With women he had never seen before, but also with the one standing in front of him. He felt a bit nauseous, and he pulled back his hand. His head spun and he had to sit down to prevent going flat out on his face.

"Hmmm. So, you do remember?" Smith purred. She took a hypo spray out of her med

kit and pressed it in Daryl's neck. Immediately, the nausea disappeared, and the spinning slowed down. Daryl exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment.

"What is going on with me? " Daryl asked.

"Nothing much. Yet..." Smith answered as she touched his cheek gently with her hand.

"Yet? What does that mean? " He asked, ignoring her caressing touch.

"Your brain is having difficulty coping with the memories of two lives. Certain memories are fighting over the same space in your brain," Smith giggled. “Well, not actually, but there are different memories with identical engram properties, and your braincells are flip-flopping from one engram towards the other. Eventually, the switching will stop, and only one memory will remain. Your nifty little processor handles this currently, so we have to see how this works out. So far, it does a splendid job.  In the long run you might forget certain memories. I can't say which, but it will settle eventually. It does mean that you could lose memories of your own life from your universe."

Smith shrugged. “But there's more. And that is what worries me. " She looked at Daryl. dramatically adding a few moments of silence.

"Well, and? " Daryl asked.

"Your quantum cohesion is fluctuating. "

Daryl gazed at her. “And … ?" he asked

Smith sighed. “Your own universe pulls you back. But, as often on the quantum level, this doesn’t happen in a linear or coherent way. It’s chaotic. Hence you might experience deformations of your body. Eventually, when you won’t return to your own universe, you will be torn apart.

“That’s really something to look forward to…." Daryl said, a worried look on his face. He looked at Victoria.

“Can it be cured? slowed down?" he asked her.

She shook her head. “No. There were some attempts nullify the effect via a transporter procedure. However, it was hugely unsuccessful, so the project was abandoned. Also, because the chance of a sudden visitor from the other universe was quite small. And another fact, not everyone seems to be affected. “

Daryl nodded, looking towards the floor.

“Guess I'm lucky then...How long do I have?" he asked.

Victoria looked at him, realizing Daryl wouldn't be long in this universe. Either he'd succeed in his mission and return to his own universe or would be killed when attempting to assassinate Jaeger. And even if he decided to stay here, he would have a short life ahead.

"In about 4-6 weeks the effects will become so intense that you won't be able to function. So, four weeks, max," Smith stated.

"Let's hope I have finished the job by then," Thompson muttered.

"And we still could have a good time together" Smith purred again, running her hand through his hair down to his face and grabbing his chin to point his face towards hers while she deeply looked him in the eyes.

Captain Taryn Kane

*ISS Gambit*

Stardate 2108.09

Kane guided the ship through the process of making the jump from the Mirror Universe back to their own universe in the Terran Empire. Only she and Durham knew the trick to pilot the ship through from one universe to the other and they had every reason to keep it that way. No reason just anyone should be able to make that journey whenever they felt like it.

For Taryn, jumping through rifts in space and time was nothing new. She had come from the Terran Empire’s past, the ship she served aboard, the ISS Bozeman, had gotten caught in a time rift while fighting a group of Klingon ships in 2278 and ended up being cast into the 24th century.

The crew of the Bozeman were captured, arrested and detained by the crew of a Klingon-Cardassian Alliance warship. They had arrived in a time where the Terran Empire had been defeated and was now ruled by the Klingons and Cardassians.  The Klingons who captured the Bozeman and her crew executed Captain Morgan Bateson for war crimes they said he committed 100 years earlier and sent the rest of the crew -- Kane included -- to the gulag on Rura Penthe.

After a couple of years, Kane and some of the Bozeman crew escaped and ended up joining the Terran Resistance. Kane excelled here and eventually rose through the ranks, ascending to command within the organization.

She helped Lars Naakon and Erik Jaegar along with the rest of the resistance defeat the Klingons and Cardassian and then helped re-establish the Terran Empire. She saw the tables turn when Naakon was double-crossed and murdered by Jaegar and joined him, rather than be put to death as a traitor. Secretly, she had conspired for years with other Naakon loyalists to someday oust Jaegar from power.

With the plan she, Durham and Thompson had hatched, she hoped they would soon be able to rid the empire of Jaegar and she could take her place on the throne.

Once the Gambit had crossed over to Terran space, Kane sighed in relief and gave the helm over to Ensign Dahrt. She stepped away from the controls and turned toward the bridge doors, “Take us into Terran orbit. Hail Imperial Command to inform them of our return, then await orders. I will be in my quarters."

Lt. Commander Daryl “The Hand" Thompson

*ISS Gambit*

Stardate 2108.20

As the *ISS Gambit* moved into orbit of Terra, as Earth was called in this universe, Thompson stood ready on the bridge, just behind the captain’s chair. He wore a standard Terran uniform, with Terran logo, the Earth with the Sword.

As he was “The Hand, the logo had hand holding the sword, making him stand out against the rest of the crew.

Daryl exhaled slowly and silently. While he had enough training with all his years of SO training to impersonate someone else, impersonating himself but from a different universe felt fairly odd.

Well, all he could was get the job done and survive. He pushed away the thoughts and focused on the big screen as the Ops officer opened a channel to the Emperor’s Citadel which was in orbit of Terra. The screen flashed once, and Emperor Jaeger appeared on screen.

“Long live the emperor! Long live the empire!" Thompson exclaimed, while he greeted Jaegar, moving his right fist to the left part of his chest, then extending his arm parallel to the floor.

Everyone on the bridge followed his example, and Jaegar nodded slowly, pleased by this display of loyalty.

"It is a pleasure to see you all back. Welcome home. " Jaegar spoke, as he looked around the bridge. As he eyed Daryl, he nodded slightly, almost respectful "Welcome back, Hand. Good to see you returned..." Jaeger said. Daryl nodded back, feeling just slightly uncomfortable.

"Join me for dinner" Jaeger continued. "Bring Kane and Durham along. We have a lot to talk about. " Of course. " Daryl replied, and without further ado, the screen went black as the communication was cut off.

Daryl exhaled. That didn't go too bad.

Daryl looked at Durham and Kane. “Join me in transporter room one in 30 minutes," he stated bluntly and walked off the bridge to his quarters to change into his dress uniform. Durham just nodded and Kane just gazed at him, not being fond of being commanded around on her own ship. But she knew better to go against the orders of the Hand, even though this wasn’t the real one.

Daryl entered his quarters and while he changed into his dress uniform, he pondered about the whole situation. While in a way he enjoyed seeing Greg Durham alive, the reason why was less enjoyable. But he had to make the best of it and see to get out alive. That also meant that he probably would have to do things against his nature…Darva’s face flashed through his mind. It was an awful thought to think about, but since he had to act as truthful as possible towards the original Hand, chances were he had to sleep with other woman to keep up appearances. Daryl lost track of the time, being occupied with all these thoughts when the door chimed. It was Durham

“You ready?" Durham asked.

“I am," Daryl nodded, looking in the mirror to check his uniform.

“Looking good, looking good," Durham smirked. “Come on, let’s go. We can’t have the emperor waiting, can we?" he grinned.

Daryl followed him out and they walked in a quick pace to the transporter room.

Kane was already waiting. She also had changed into her dress uniform and actually looked quite attractive.

The three officers walked on to the transporter pad. “Energize," Daryl said and the transporter room faded into a huge room, well lit, a shiny tiled floor, almost like a mirror. The walls were decorated with large, heavy drapes hanging onto the floor, kept in place by colorful ropes, laid in intricate forms around them. Paintings of all kind and other decorations, including torches, shields, weapons of all kinds of era’s, both human and alien filled the walls.

On one third of the room was a huge table, dressed up in a classic fashion with large candleholders on top, filled with candles, all burning. The table was being filled up with food, delicacies, and drinks off all kinds by a dozen servants. A few of them hasted themselves out of the room as they recognized Daryl as The Hand.

Daryl searched through his thoughts and cringed internally as he saw how the Daryl of this universe seemed to enjoy giving servants a hard time, or even torturing or maiming them. Daryl felt terribly, awkward. At that moment, he decided that the sooner he would do his job, the better it was for everyone. He didn’t feel to keep up his appearance by killing innocent people. He sighed softly and focused on the task at hand.

On the other side of the large room, or even hall was a large platform, a few meters from the floor they walked on, reachable by a broad stair. The platform itself was ellipsoid in shape, with the stairs following that ellipsoid shape. Because of that, the lowest step filled the complete width of the room.

The platform and stairs seemed to be made from some sort of granite. The wall behind the platform gave a good view on Earth and a part of the fleet of the Empire. Daryl was impressed and disgusted at the same time. How could someone, especially an emperor, have such a high thought of himself, such an arrogance, to justify these kinds of bombastic decadences.

Daryl registered every detail in the room. As he had to make his move here, he had to know what he was up against. He had read a lot about this room already, so he knew about the technical details, security levels and escape routes. He also knew that watchdogs from

On top of the platform was a large throne, a side table, a coffee table and three comfortable looking armchairs, along with a fireplace where a large fire was burning.

Jaeger was sitting on the throne, looking at a PADD, while two of his staff were talking in a soft voice to the emperor.

“Something is not right," Durham said over subvoc. “He treats us as equals…normally you would be sitting next to him, like a father and son reigning…but he has placed you in the same line as us…"

Greg then paused before adding, “Just stay in your role Thompson. He might just be testing us. We have been away for quite some time, and he probably is trying to test our loyalty. Stay in your role!"

Daryl didn’t respond. It felt tense. Best thing to do now was indeed play along.

As soon as he saw Thompson, Durham and Kane approaching, Jaeger put the PADD away and waved the staff members away, who both nodded and swiftly disappeared out of sight. He got up from his throne, his movement showing he was still well trained, despite his age. Thompson pondered that this Jaeger would probably also have augmentations for this, just as the Jaeger in his own universe had.

“Ahh! There he is…The Hand has returned!" Jaeger said, reaching out his hands to welcome him. His voice sounded amplified, as it boomed all around them. “...and bringing along with him two of the finest officers the Empire ever had! Ha! Today is a good day! I have prepared some good food and drinks for us to celebrate your return!"

Daryl stepped forward, and embraced Jaeger, giving him a firm hug. He had to hide his disgust for this man, who wasn’t to be trusted. Yet, Jaeger apparently trusted him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be The Hand.

Daryl stepped back, “It’s good to be back."

Jaeger grinned. “Let’s sit down and talk. It’s been a long time, son. I even heard you were in another universe to gain the upper hand in a battle! Come, sit down, tell me all about it!" Jaeger sat back on his throne, Daryl sat down in the first chair next to it. Durham and Kane took place in the remaining two seats.

The servants hurried to and from the platform, carrying small tapas like dishes but also large bottles with all kinds of beer and wine. Several brands of Bajoran root beer, Klingon bloodwine, and a whole series of beer from Earth, varying from Belgian white and dark beers, Irish ale to the more south European, sweeter and lighter beers.

Daryl started telling about everything that had transpired, sometimes with additions from Durham. Jaeger listened carefully, and sometimes asked a question. As the evening went by, and more beer was consumed, Daryl started feeling a bit more relaxed.

Finally, late in the night, Durham and Kane were dismissed, leaving Daryl lone with Jaeger. Jaeger got up from his throne and looked at the magnificent view of Earth and the large fleet in front of it.

He clasped his hands on his back and just looked at the view in silence.

Daryl got up too. This was a one in a million chance to kill Jaeger. No witnesses, and Greg had promised to shut down the security measures. Daryl walked up towards the viewscreen, next to Jaeger. They stood there in silence for a while when Jaeger turned his head towards Daryl.

"You are not the Daryl I know. You are not The Hand," he whispered in a heavy voice.

Daryl wasn't surprised. But now he would have to act quickly. He moved his wrist, and a knife slid into his hand. Daryl stepped forward and Jaeger moved backwards.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jaeger asked. "I know who you are." Jaeger cast a wicked grin at Daryl, completely ignoring the knife in his hand.

"You are the Thompson of that so called Prime Universe. And Kane and Durham brought you here because our Thompson got killed during the away mission," said Jaeger with contempt. He then shook his head. "Unbelievable, that my finest officers have plotted against me."

Jaeger turned back to the view screen. After a few moments in silence, Jaeger looked again at Daryl. There was no emotion in his face, yet his voice was different.

"You were like a son to me, Daryl. And I always thought you would be the heir to the throne, to become the next Emperor."

Daryl was conflicted internally. And all that beer he drank didn't help to make a clear decision. Yet, he had an agreement with Durham and Kane. They wouldn't go to such lengths to get him here and then betray him? Or would they?"

Jaeger saw the conflict in him.

"You still can turn this around to your advantage son. I will forgive you for your deception." A fine laugh played around his lips. "Others would have been executed. But I will forgive you and you will have a second chance, assuming the role of the Daryl Thompson who is my Hand."

Jaeger now turned around towards him, his arms spread open. Daryl's mind raced, then he realized what kind Jaeger was… he was a manipulating, ice cold killer. And here, in this universe, he was even worse.

In a split second, Daryl moved forward, the knife flashed in the light, and the next second, Jaeger grabbed his throat, blood flooding out of the wound through his hands onto his uniform and the floor.

Another move, and the knife cut through fabric and flesh, between ribs and into the heart. Jaeger made a gurgling sound and with a soft sound he fell onto the ground, reaching out with his hand to Daryl, then the last glimpse of life he held onto slipped away.

The emperor was dead.

Daryl fluttered with his eyes, coming to himself. He had to get away from here. He sheathed the knife inside his sleeve again and made his way off the platform. On the other side of the enormous hall a door slid open, and a dozen operatives of the Shadow Watch poured in.

Daryl hissed and hid behind one of the huge pillars near the wall. The pillars and the drapes there gave some form of cover. He quickly checked his surroundings.

"Spread out! He is still here, find him! But no killing! We want him alive" A voice sounded. The operatives spread out, rifles and phasers drawn…

A voice sounded over his subvoc. It was Durham.

"I'm sorry old friend. But this is for the greater good. We had to offer you so our plan can continue," said Durham. “Jaeger had become weak, and too fond of you. We couldn't let that happen. I truly am sorry."

Durham chuckled, "You really are nothing like our Daryl. That's why I killed him so we could get you here. You're so naive. But guess who will be the next Hand?"

Another chuckle. Daryl gritted his teeth, but said nothing, but his heart skipped a beat… he had been betrayed. But what choice did he have? He felt a nausea coming up, but quickly suppressed it, together with the seething anger he felt...first he had to get out of this mess.

He quickly assessed his possibilities. There weren’t many. He had to get into the open and try to fight his way through.

As he heard one of the soldiers coming near, he unsheathed his knife, and stood ready. The next pillar was about 15 feet away. As soon as he saw the barrel appearing, he stepped forward, grabbing the barrel of the rifle pushing it up and slashed two, three, four times from left to right into the torso of the operative.

The operative, caught by surprise, yelped, and fell on his knees, trying to stop the blood and organs from coming through the shreds of his uniform. Daryl grabbed the rifle, aimed and fired at the operative. The operative was stunned and fell on the floor.

Quickly, Daryl took cover behind the next pillar, but immediately, fire erupted from several directions as other operatives had seen the skirmish, responding immediately. Daryl quickly set the phaser to kill on the highest setting and returned fire, killing two operatives instantly.

Quickly he retreated to another pillar and checked again. Three down, nine to go…and about 150 feet to the exit, hopefully an escape route…

He quickly moved unseen to another pillar, but then he saw they had deployed drones.

Large ones. Probably with firepower. He quickly aimed and took out three of them while moving to the next pillar. Two of the drones exploded in the air, the third crashed, and killing two more operatives in the explosion that followed.

Chaos ensued; more drones were launched. Another door slid open, and more operatives came in, spreading out and blocking all exits.

Daryl cursed. This was not looking good. Another voice. It was Jahkar's voice

"Thompson, move 5 feet to the left and step backward. There is an alcove with a holographic wall in front of it. Use it as cover. We will get you out"

"And how do I know I'm not betrayed again?" Daryl responded.

"You don't. You have to trust me on that," said Jahkar.

Thompson scoffed but decided to find the alcove. He didn't stand much chance against all the operatives and the drones.

He quicky checked, poking with his rifle in the wall, and found the alcove and stepped in. The wall shimmered for a moment as he stepped through.

The alcove was about eight feet deep. At the end, it slid open, revealing two people, Darva and Jahkar. Darva had a rifle aimed at him and gestured with her head to follow her. Daryl sighed, slung the rifle over his shoulder and stepped forward. The door closed behind him. Darva took his rifle, slung it over her shoulder and pushed him forward.

"Move!" she hissed.

Daryl decided it was best to keep his mouth shut and obeyed, moving along behind Jahkar through the dim lit tunnel.

After a walk of a few minutes through what appeared a maze of corridors, Jahkar stopped, examined the wall on the right quickly, then pushed on a few stones. The wall moves aside and on the other side stood Smith and a few others. Jahkar stepped through the opening and nodded towards Smith.

"And so, we meet again" Smith said to Daryl. She winked at him.

Daryl didn't say anything. Earlier tonight she worked closely together with Kane and Durham. Now she stood here, helping the other side. It was obvious no one could be trusted in this universe.

Then it dawned on Daryl that it might be one big setup. But before he could do or say anything, Smith administered a hypospray into his neck and everything blurred and faded to black…

Sounds. Strange sounds. Yet very familiar. And that smell… a smell he had tried so hard to forget and hoped to never have to smell it again… and yet, here it was. His eyes fluttered open and it took him a few seconds to focus. As the blur disappeared, he recognized where he was…he was back on Rogaran IV, the prison colony.

It felt like an ice-cold hand grabbed his heart…it took all of his mental strength not to panic, as he realized he was back in hell…

Back to top

## S4, E2, Act 3: Preparations for Battle

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.23

Will watched as the team went round and round proposing various methods of insertion into the station and how to bypass its security system. The Scot rolled his eyes in frustration as Mayla, Jahkar and Beckett debated the merits of their respective ideas. From his perspective, each suggestion was steeped in madness.

The team needed more information and they needed it quickly. He stepped back and quietly started to exit the bridge.

“McCulloch, where do you think you’re going?" The Trill called after him.

Will sighed loudly. “Gathering research for you."

“I did not dismiss you Mr. McCulloch!" Vree announced angrily.

“I’ll be right back" He assured as he departed. Will he quickly made his way towards the ship’s brig. As he entered, a security officer charged with watching Ged Khit rose to meet him. Will brushed past the young female Deltan officer and walked directly towards Ged’s holding cell. He quickly deactivated the containment field, entered and seized the young Cardassian hacker by the lapels of his jacket, He hauled him up and off of his feet and pulled him into the common area of the brig.

“Sir!" Ensign Aurelia Sentaa declared with a tone of surprise, “What are you doing? The prisoner is not to leave the holding area."

“Your objection is noted." Will retorted as he leaned in and studied the teenage Cardassian boy. Ged’s eyes were wild with terror as he tried to retreat away from the Scot.

“Today is your lucky day, Mr. Khit." Will announced

“How…how so?" The boy nervously asked.

McCulloch smiled thinly before glancing over at Ensign Sentaa. It was obvious she was speaking with the Bridge or more likely, Darva McGuire, to report what he was doing. The Scot snorted in contempt before looking back at his young captive. “If Jahkar’s kid gets a second shot, I see no reason why you shouldn’t."

“Sir!" The Deltan security officer interjected. “You need to stand down and return to the bridge…now, Sir!"

McCulloch ignored the young ensign’s commands as he stared knowingly at Ged. “You are going to help us Ged. If you do the right thing, it may save your butt from a long and very unpleasant sentence on a penal colony."

“What…what….what do I need to do?" Ged stammered as he looked nervously about the room.

“I am taking you to the bridge of this ship."

“The bridge?"

“Once there," Will continued, ignoring Ged’s question, “you are going to provide my companions with any and all information you know about the station we’re currently parked outside of as well as any security systems and protocols you may know about."

McCulloch continued to stare at the Cardassian boy momentarily before continuing. “If you’ve been to this station before, you’re also going to tell us about any little nooks and crannies you may know about that your commanding officers either ignored or were oblivious to."

“Why?"

“Why do you think Ged?" McCulloch hissed as he pulled the boy even closer so they were mere inches apart. “Because I intend to kill as many Sons as I can find and I need an entry point if you know of one."

“And if I don’t cooperate?" Ged surprisingly demanded.

McCulloch pushed the young Cardassian away and eyed him carefully. After a moment of tense silence the Scot answered. “If you don’t cooperate I will gladly bring you to the nearest airlock on this ship and space you. And when this mission is over I promise you I will find the time to track your family down to kill them so they won’t feel shame because of your cowardice."

“You wouldn’t dare!"

“Do you wish to roll that set of dice Ged? Afterall, you really know who I am." McCulloch answered with a low, icy tone.

Ged whimpered before nodding in the affirmative that he would cooperate.

“Time to go Ged."

McCulloch seized the young Cardassian by the scruff of the neck and guided him towards the brig’s exit. As the Scot started to leave, he glanced over towards Ensign Sentaa and briefly nodded. He took a pair of restraints off of her desk and slapped them on Ged’s wrists.

Once in the passageway, Will started to forcefully guide the young Cardassian towards the bridge. Ged started to shake with fear and began to sob. He was convinced the Scot would execute him once his usefulness had passed. Softly he began to plead with Will that all he wanted to do was see his mother.

McCulloch grasped the center of Ged’s restraints and pushed Ged back into the passageway wall.

“Stop your crying Ged. Now is not the time for this nonsense." Will angrily growled.

“Lt. Commander William McCulloch!" A familiar voice called out from behind him. The Scot turned to see Commander Smith and Warrant Officer Hannigan racing towards him.

“What are you doing, Will?" Victoria demanded as Fiadh pulled Ged away from McCulloch’s grasp.

“This doesn’t concern the two of you. I’m taking the prisoner to the bridge."

Victoria stepped in front of her ex-husband. She spoke in a soft, disarming tone. “I understand that is what you say you are doing Will, but one of your commanding officers…and I don’t have to tell you who… is concerned about what you might do to the prisoner en route to the bridge. And from what I just saw, she may be right."

Will looked past Victoria and watched as Fiadh conducted a quick examination of the teenage Cardassian boy. Once satisfied he was unharmed, the Irish warrant officer handed Ged an energy bar.

“You should show this boy mercy." Victoria countered before waving to her Warrant Officer to bring the boy to the bridge. Will and Victoria followed.

“There is no time for mercy. Besides, a little fear would do this boy some good." Will argued.

“Or it could radicalize him even further. Besides, you said it best Will…he’s a boy…a child."

“Why are you and Hannigan intercepting me instead of Security? Will demanded as he changed the subject.

“We were the two closest to you when the call came in that you were going to murder this boy."

“Murder?"

“Well, that may be an exaggeration, but it was suspected you weren’t going to be exactly nice to him to get what you needed."

McCulloch scoffed at Victoria’s comments before gesturing for the pair of nurses to walk ahead of him with Ged.

“By all means, please lead the way." He announced with a tone of exasperation. Fiadh gestured for Ged to follow her. Victoria placed herself between McCulloch and the teenager as the group made its way towards the bridge.

When Fiadh entered the bridge, her attention was drawn to the viewscreen. She let out a low whistle as she studied the Cardassian station

“Now that looks like a really cool place to get killed." She announced to no one in particular.

“Quiet Warrant Officer." Victoria quietly commanded before turning her attention towards McCulloch. She leaned against a nearby communications station and held her breath as all eyes fell on Will to explain exactly what he was up to.

“Time to show them what you may have Ged." McCulloch whispered as he once again positioned himself next to the Cardassian teenager.

Ged nodded silently as he studied the view screen.

“Do you recognize this station?" Will demanded loud enough for everyone to hear.

The Cardassian boy delayed answering for several seconds as he studied the viewscreen …which seemed like an eternity to McCulloch. He took a few steps closer to the center of the bridge to get a closer look at the Sons’ base. Afterward he looked back at Will and nodded his head in the affirmative.

“When?" McCulloch demanded.

“I recognize the docking pylons. I was here sometime in the last eighteen months for advanced cybernetic warfare training."

“Eighteen months." Beckett muttered with a tone of disappointment. Will knew he was right. Eighteen months was a long time for changes to be made at a station. McCulloch wanted to curse out loud but chose not to.

“How long were you on the station for training?" Vree interjected.

“Three weeks at most."

“Did you have access to the station's computer database and networks?" Will probed.

“I had some access."

“Could you describe the station’s network security features and protocols if I asked you to?" Beckett asked, his curiosity now piqued.

“Yes and no." Ged replied.

“What do you mean?" Will pressed.

“The stations operated by the Sons do share similar network security protocols and firewalls, but each SOC station is also expected to maintain its own internal safety features…that way if one station went down, the others wouldn’t be affected."

Again, Will muttered softly to himself.

“Can you show me what you know?" Cody inquired.

Ged nodded in the affirmative. “I’ll try."

“Were you allowed to move about the station freely?" Jahkar pressed.

“Rarely, but the group of trainees I was with was allowed to move freely about when we were in Docking Pylon 4."

“Why that section of the station?"

“It was used for storing trash and discarded equipment."

“And what, you and your companions just played in that section of the station?" Jahkar inquired.

“Exactly." Ged replied matter-of-factly.

Will retrieved a padd from a nearby station and handed it to Ged. “Starting recording the answers on this pass regarding whatever Lieutenant Beckett or the others ask you about this station."

"What do you know about their network setup and security measures like firewalls, watchdogs and the likes? " Beckett asked. The boy frowned as he tried to remember details.

"Not very much. Our cyber warfare training was mainly simulated in a virtual environment. I.. I don't know much about the actual setup."

Beckett shook his head, slightly irritated and looked at Vree.

"We are wasting time here. "

Colonel Jahkar

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2201.25

Jahkar frowned. He trusted Tajel to do the right thing. But this boy, trained as a full-fledged terrorist? He did not like gambling the team’s welfare on a Cardassian kid, a terrorist, who McCulloch was going to press into service to get them aboard Forward Base.

The Marine turned to Vree and raised an eyebrow, “We’re wasting time, sir. Using this…boy…is a risk to the entire team. Hell, we don’t even know if the system has changed since he was last here 18 months ago."

Jahkar sighed and looked to McCulloch, “But, there is some merit to the plan. Time is my biggest concern. We don’t know how much of it we have."

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Cardassia Prime, the Wasteland

Stardate 2201.25

Lazarus and Garak, along with the rest of the team, gathered outside the entrance to the caves they found and waited in hiding while Reepchip went on ahead to check out the camp.

The captain signaled for Tajel to move over beside him and he leaned in close to speak in a hushed voice.

“What do you know of this place?" he asked.

Tajel shrugged, “It was a camp of refugees. They numbered about 500 or so when I was here a few years back. They were mostly farmers, civilian workers…simple people who didn’t trust the Federation or its allies. They refused to accept the new government and decided to stay here and live rather than rejoining the new society being built on Cardassia after the war."

Lazarus nodded, “There are more of these camps?"

“Scattered throughout these mountains, maybe five or six others," Tajel explained. “This camp is made up of Cardassians who just want to be left alone. They lost everything in the war and see nothing for them in the reconstructed world. They are not violent unless provoked."

“So would Tirlin Drajal even bother coming here?" Rhikal asked as she crouched down beside them behind a rock outcropping. “Sounds like we’re looking in the wrong place."

“They would not likely harbor him here," said Tajel. “But if anyone would know if he’s at one of the other camps, this group would be able to tell us. Their leader is a man named Tervak. He’s a good man who has sources in most of the other refugee camps. He makes everything that goes on here his business."

Rhikal said nothing, but turned and used her thermal binoculars to scan the cave entrance. “Do you know which camps we can trust and which ones we can’t?"

“I haven’t been here in awhile," said Tajel. “There is one to the south led by a self-proclaimed warlord named Lareth. They are a nasty bunch. I have my doubts he would harbor anyone…he hates outsiders – Cardassian and otherwise. Another group to the northwest of here calls themselves the Relgarin."

Garak smiled, “The Forsaken. I know of them, they are religious zealots. They claim the Dominion slaughter of our people 20 years ago was our penance for being a godless society. They were an underground cult before the war, but have flourished as an apocalyptic faith here in the mountains."

“Cardassian religion?" Lazarus scowled. “Your people believe those who worship gods are unintelligent. Hence your treatment of the Bajorans."  The captain glanced sharply at Ryramorl as all heard the Carnora’s deep growl.  “Stow it, Lieutenant."

“Sir," acknowledged Ryramorl, though his ears remained semi-flattened and he kept a smoldering glare at Garak.

Garak gave an almost embarrassed nod, “Indeed. Hence the Relgarin being a secret cult pre-Dominion War. We tried to accommodate them and others on Cardassia who wanted to worship a higher power when we wrote the new constitution, but fear of retribution by non-believers has kept most of them silent."

“These Forsaken? Do their motives sync with the Sons of Cardassia?" Rhikal asked.

Garak softly chuckled and looked to the Orion captain, “I would say they would probably embrace anyone who could bring the final destruction to Cardassia to see their prophecies of the end of our people come true. But the Sons of Cardassia, believing in the olds ways of my people, would not likely embrace them."

“Unless," Tajel interjected, “it suited the SOC to make friends with the Forsaken out of necessity. I’ve had a couple of interactions with the Relgarin when I was here and they would love it if the Breen or Dominion were to come here and finish the job started 20 years ago. They want to die and they want to see Cardassia perish in flames."

“Lovely," Rhikal muttered. “Two to one Drajal is hiding with these Forsaken. Probably making all sorts of promises to them about death and destruction."

Lazarus gave a deep sigh, “Once Reepchip is back with a report we’ll see about going in. I’m leaning toward going by myself, with Garak and Tajel. The rest of you will hold back here and wait. If there’s trouble we’ll signal you."

With an afterthought, he looked over at Rhikal. He should have just taken command of the team himself, because he was totally leaving the Orion out of the decision-making process for a team she was supposed to be commanding.

“Are you alright with that, Vehakra?"

She nodded, “Sure. If you get yourself killed, I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do to MacLeod and Vree."

They then turned their attention back to the cave opening and watched for signs of Reechip who was still in there doing recon…

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassia

Stardate 2201.30

Reepchip viewed the camp, eyeing it carefully.  He wished he knew Cardassian, but he didn’t, so he didn’t know what they were talking about.  He took careful stock of the sentinels, then slipped away from the cave.

At one point, he hid behind a rock, certain that the sentinels knew he was there.  After a bit, his sharp ears heard them moving away, so he continued his exit.

However, by their body language, they seemed suspicious, so he was extra careful to remain unseen.

As he made his way, he heard Ryramorl over his subvoc.  “Let’s see how well you sneak up on the group."

Reepchip didn’t answer, but got as close to the group as possible.  Ryramorl could scent him, but the bigger Carnora said nothing, letting Reepchip seemingly appear out of a bush.  Seeing Garak’s surprise, Ryramorl chuckled and laid his paw on Reepchip’s shoulder.  “You say those who believe in gods are fools, and yet are astounded by something the least Shaman can do with ease," he said.

Reepchip took his claw, and drew in the sand the basic layout of the camp.  “They keep some livestock here, and here.  Not much farming going on, though that might be because they don’t know some of the plants that grow here, or could be cultivated."

Garak looked at Reepchip.  “This place is a wasteland.  What COULD be cultivated here?"

Ryramorl spoke up.  “Lichens, mosses, even these bushes, if you’re willing to chew.  The South Arnor Hills are also a wasteland, but an Andruvar Ancient Tribe continues to live there and grow such crops as I described," he responded.

Reepchip chittered softly, and explained where the people had their tents.  Then he placed three pebbles, and concentrated, trying to move them in the pattern he’d seen the sentinels walk–except he moved the pebbles with his mind, so his paw wouldn’t get in the way.  His control was crude, but it would give them a rough idea of their movements.

The Wastelands

Cardassia Prime

Stardate 2202.06

Delgen Moset was the leader of the refugee camp hidden inside the cave system in the mountains the Shadow Ops team was staking out. The elderly Cardassian had taken fellow refugees from the war, 20 years earlier, and led them to this place to avoid the Federation-Klingon-Romulan Occupation after the Dominion had been defeated.

Today, an encampment of nearly 1,000 Cardassians, the group had set up a modest home in the caves, many of them occupying the central cavern where they had a tent city. Life here was a struggle, but Moset kept his people alive through some farming, raising livestock and the generosity of the Cardassian government he and his people had turned their backs on. Monthly supply drops kept them from starvation and safe from disease.

The mood in the camp was tense at present. Hours earlier a band of outlaws who were from another refugee faction had arrived demanding aid and assistance from the camp. They claimed they had a Cardassian freedom fighter among them who needed the support of all the Wasteland refugees to protect him, as he was being sought by the Federation.

The camp had rebuked the outlaws and their newfound friend. Moset wanted nothing to do with the trouble this outsider brought. As a result of their refusal to render assistance, several camp sentries had been murdered and the outlaw band had vowed vengeance.

Moset had ordered increased patrols and all of the able-bodied men and women had been armed and prepared for potential trouble…

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassia Wastelands

Stardate 2202.08

“Did they see you at all?" asked Captain Lazarus.

“I’m not sure.  They are heavily armed and suspicious, like a holding recently under attack.  I couldn’t get a read on their minds, but the patrols were serious.  Many of the villagers had arms near them as well.  They’re not seeking war, but are ready for it."  He looked at Garak, Tajel, and Lazarus.  “Be wary."

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Cardassian Wastelands

Stardate 2202.08

Lazarus took in Reepchip’s report and nodded to the Muran, “Good work, ensign."

He then looked to Garak and Tajel, “The three of us are going in under a flag of truce."

Tajel nodded, while Garak gave an expression of doubt and concern. Rhikal simply turned to Lazarus with her mouth agape.

“Captain, I have serious issues with that," said the Orion captain.

“As do I, captain," Garak said. “These people may not be the worst thing in the Wastelands, but they are not above shooting strangers who wander into their camp."

Lazarus frowned, “Ensign Dara, you said you remember these people from your time with the relief organization?"

Tajel offered a nod, “Yes sir. They are isolationists, and even though they are at a heightened state of alert, I think they will be reasonable."

Vehakra shot Lazarus a grievous look, “Sir, if they take the three of you hostage…"

“They won’t," said Lazarus. “Ensign, make a flag of truce."

Tajel broke out his pack and found a white t-shirt packed amongst his things. He looked around and found a long, broken branch from one of the few trees in the arid mountains and affixed the shirt to the end of it.

“Will this do?" he asked. Lazarus looked over to the ensign and nodded.

“That will do," Lazarus said. “Captain Rhikal, you and the team hang back here and wait. We’ll go in and try to work something out. They are nervous about something, maybe they can help us find our runaway Son of Cardassia."

Rhikal sighed, “Very well. We’ll give you 15 minutes. If you haven’t signaled by then, we’re coming in."

Lazarus looked to Tajel and Garak as he put down his phasers and knife. “Leave your weapons here. We don’t want to pose a threat."

“Oh, I forgot how much joy there is in working with Starfleet," Garak said, dropping his gunbelt to the ground.

“Are you ready?" Lazarus asked.

“By all means, captain. Lead the way," Garak said.

Together, Lazarus, Garak and Tajel came out from behind their cover and approached the entrance to the camp, Tajel waving the flag of peace over head as they neared the entrance to the massive cave.

Commander Mayla Vree

*USS Resurrection,* Nixamar XII

Stardate 2202.08

"I agree with the Colonel. McCulloch, you will escort the prisoner back to his cell immediately." Mayla said forcefully, inwardly shaking her head. McCulloch just revealed to the prisoner what they were about to do.

McCulloch let out a frustrated grunt and manhandled the young man off the bridge.

"There's something else going on between those two," Jahkar said. "Why would he violate protocol by bringing a prisoner to our mission briefing without our say so? Almost as if he was trying to prove something."

"If he jeopardizes the mission again, I'll relieve him of duty." Mayla turned her attention back to the extrapolated image of the Forward Base. "Colonel, I'll allow only Beckett to make the flight over to the Base with you. But only if you think he can do it without him killing himself. McCulloch, Sh'avelith and I will wait to beam over with the rest of your gear."

Jahkar smiled and looked over at the New Zealander, “Does this mean I’m taking the shuttle? Not getting blown out the airlock toward the Cardassian station? I mean, I can do it. Not sure Cody can. No time for sims."

She made a zooming motion with her hand and enhanced an image of one of the docked ships. "The computer has identified that ship as Keldon class, so there's a maintenance airlock here you might be able to get in. Once you secure the area and Beckett has masked the sensors, we'll beam on board. We'll use our personal cloaks or holographic imagers to get around the ship and see if we can locate the trinity devices. With the vague information we have about their make, maybe we can figure out some way of detecting a unique particle it has so we can scan for it. Commander Sornax, we will need a nested egg."

Sornax didn't flinch at the request for an armed photon torpedo. He'd gone through some of Shadow Ops' missions to learn the terminology used so he could better support the team. "What yield do you want it set to?"

"Maximum yield. We'll hide it at our insertion point with a holographic imager and use it as a distraction if we need one. You must prepare to attack the base and any ships that might be here. We can't leave the base intact."

McCulloch returned with a padd and promptly handed it over to Beckett's outstretched hand.

"Don't ever bring a prisoner to a mission briefing again without our permission." Mayla simply said without any preamble as to who she was speaking to.

"Nor to the bridge of my ship." Sornax added.

Lt. Tiri Sh’avelith

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2202.08

Tiri stared at Jahkar in disbelief. He wanted to be shot out of an airlock toward the enemy base? He was mad, to say the least and he’d be dragging Cody along with him. At one point during the briefing she and Jahkar made eye contact and she shot him a glare that told him she didn’t care for his plan.

The tension between Vree and McCulloch became evident after he brought the Cardassian prisoner to the briefing and she began to wonder how long before the Scot and the Trill would be at each other’s throats.

With nothing more to add to the discussion, Tiri listened and finished double-checking her medical pack given to her by Victoria, waiting for the mission to begin.

Commander Victoria Smith

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2202.08

Victoria looked down at the floor of the bridge and gently kicked a nearby station panel as she listened to Vree dress down McCulloch. As an awkward silence fell across the bridge, she glanced up and watched as the Scot retreated to a corner, sat down and glared at Vree. Victoria shook her head disapprovingly at Will.

The combat nurse knew it was only a matter of time before Will and Mayla would come to blows if the relationship continued to deteriorate. She softly cursed in Trill as she wondered if she was wasting her time trying to rebuild her relationship with this Scottish nitwit.

However, rather than dwell on the matter of William McCulloch, she made a mental note that she would speak to Beckett after the mission and ask for his help.

As Victoria returned her attention to the mission briefing, she again reflected upon her team’s role. She looked over at Warrant Officer Hannigan, who had been watching the briefing with complete fascination, and gestured for her to stand by Smith’s side.

“Ma’am?" Fiadh whispered as her eyes darted about the bridge.

“Report to Lieutenants Riisos and Tusot." Victoria quietly answered.. “I want the entire team assembled in the medical bay immediately."

“But ma’am!" Hannigan softly protested, “The cool station! Colonel Jahkar being shot into space and William McCulloch about to get murdered by Commander Vree! Can’t I stay for a few more minutes?"

Victoria eyed the warrant officer coldly before nodding towards the exit of the bridge. “Go."

“We never get to do the cool stuff." Fiadh quietly grumbled as she left the bridge.

As Vree and Jahkar finalized the mission plans, the nurse began to metally review how she would deploy her team. Best case scenario was Union XII remained on the Resurrection and treated casualties as they came in. A more likely scenario…and one Victoria feared… was the team would be deployed as a CSH in a support role behind Phoenix Squad and exposed to heavy enemy fire.

Vree’s pointed question rang once again in her head. Would she order those under her command to her death if it meant saving Phoenix Team?

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2202.08

Victoria was correct in her assessment. After his foolish attempt to give Ged an out failed miserably, the Scot had retreated to the back of the bridge, sat down and scowled at no one in particular.

It was a useless gesture that only resulted in highlighting what little value the Cardassian boy was to the mission at this point. Worse, the Scot knew his actions only served to undermine what little credibility he had among the members of Phoenix Team.

This mission, McCulloch’s first since his return, was starting to take a toll on him. He was stressed and starting to feel isolated. Worse, he was starting to ask himself what the hell was he thinking returning to the Shadow Operations program.

Will looked about the bridge and noted most, if not all of the team, was avoiding eye contact with him. That was, except Victoria. She simply stared coldly at him with her green eyes and occasionally shook her head with disapproval.

Will folded his arms and looked down at the floor. Quietly he waited for the order of dismissal so he could suit up for the mission.

Colonel Jahkar

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2202.16

Jahkar and Beckett headed down to engineering to meet with Lt. Commander Tommy Carmichael. The visit was to determine how to get the two over onto the Cardassian ship docked with Forward Base.

The Marine explained his plan to shoot him and Beckett out an airlock at the Cardassian Keldon-class ship and the engineer simply stopped and stared in disbelief.

“Do you want to die?" Carmichael asked.

“Tom, it’s the only way," Jahkar said. “We can’t transport in the soup of this planet’s upper atmosphere and a shuttle might be detected."

Carmichael nodded, “I get that, but shooting you out an airlock? That’s just crazy."

“Then give me another option," Jahkar insisted.

Carmichael grinned, “How about we put the two of you in photon casings and fire you out the launchers."

Jahkar stopped and slowly began to nod with a grin. “That’s…that’s genius. The speed, coordinates – everything can be programmed into the guidance system on the torpedo casing. The atmosphere shouldn’t interfere with the torpedo onboard systems or its propulsion."

“So shooting us out of the ship in photon torpedoes would be safer than shooting us out of an airlock?" Beckett asked. “Sure. Why not? The colonel here is determined to have us shot out of something, might as well be the photon launchers."

“How quickly can you have a couple of torpedo casings ready?" Jahkar asked.

“Thirty minutes and I should be ready to launch you," Carmichael said.

“Can you make it 15 minutes?" Jahkar asked.

Carmichael gave a sharp sigh and nodded, “Probably. I need to get moving now. I’ll take a couple of engineers and get to work. Meet me in the forward torpedo launchers in 15 minutes."

Jahkar turned to Beckett, “Come on, let’s suit up and go."

They then left engineering and headed back to the armory to get their armor and weapons…and also to let Commander Vree know about the change in plans.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

Commander Victoria Smith

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2202.18

As soon as Vree dismissed the team, McCulloch stood up, spun around, and quickly left the bridge. All the Scot wanted to do was suit up, complete the mission and move on. As this point he had started to question what the hell he was doing and whether he should simply return to Inverness. He knew bringing Ged to the bridge was a gamble that failed miserably.

As he made his way towards the armory, he could hear hurried footsateps coming up behind him. As the figure closed in, the Scot could see from the corner of his eye a red ponytail swinging from side to side.

“Lieutenant Commander!" Victoria barked as she closed in on the Scot.

Will turned to face his ex-wife and noted she had the same look of anger on her face as the day she assaulted him on Vulcan.

“Ma’am?" He quietly asked. There was a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.

Surprisingly, the combat nurse seized Will by his right bicep, spun him slightly and pushed his forward.

“On me." Victoria sternly ordered as she gestured for Will to fall in next to her. The pair started to walk towards the armory.

“You will address me as Commander or Sir." Victoria coldly warned. “You are not a member of Union XII and do not have the right to address me as if you were part of my team."

“Very well." Will replied as he looked straight ahead. He could sense Smith’s cold hard stare as she studied him in silence. After a moment, she continued.

“I am going to say what Commander Vree won’t."

Her Trill memories urged her to put Will in an airlock and release him into the cold darkness of space. She quickly checked herself, knowing the paperwork and reports that would be required following such a task would be daunting.

“For once use your %^&ing head instead of acting upon your emotional impulses." She hissed as she stared down the Scot.

“Victoria, I…" Will started to stammer.

“Commander." She sternly reminded McCulloch. “Damnit, you will address me by my rank or call me sir. I have had it up to my eyeballs with your antics since you returned to the program. You are going to do your \*&^%ing job, do it well and stop mucking everything up or I promise you \*I\* will request you be relieved of command."

“You will request I be relieved?" McCulloch scoffed.

“Without a doubt." Victoria countered. “I will not have you kill my team because of your impulsive or stupid decisions."

“Union XII is not part of this mission."

“Really Lieutenant  Commander?" She replied as she stopped and eyed the Scot. She maintained a formal yet authoritative tone as she spoke to him. “And where do you think my team will be once you deploy?"

“Here on *Resurrection*."

“You’re an idiot."

“Why?" Will pressed.

Victoria again checked her temper and stepped closer to the Scot. Her green eyes were wild with rage. She continued.

“Two minutes after your team is deployed, my medical jumpship…with most of my team and \*me\* aboard …will be deployed to hide in the gaseous clouds between that station and this ship."

Will suddenly realized the danger Victoria and her team would be in. Before he could answer, she continued.

“We are going to risk our collective asses to receive and treat wounded because that is our damn job. And we will have few defensive capabilities to protect us." She answered with an icy tone as she stepepd even closer towards Will. The Scot hesitated before taking two steps backwards to put space between the two.

“You will stand still!" Victoria barked. “Your little stunt of bringing that boy to the bridge just jeopardized this mission. If that boy escapes and reports his observations to the Sons of Cardassia you will have condemned Commander Vree’s team, my team and ME to a very ugly end you \*&^&ing village idiot."

“I…I…" Will again stammered as the consequences of his actions suddenly sank in.

“I did not give you permission to stammer!" The nurse growled. “You are going to get your sh\*t together, go do your job and maybe, just maybe you can come out of this mission with clean hands. Am I clear?"

“Crystal." McCulloch answered as he stared straight ahead.

“Dismissed. Get out of my sight." Smith barked before waving her had dismissively at the Scot. As she watched Will scurry towards the armory,  she suddenly sensed someone was watching her. Victoria looked over her shoulder and noted Vree was present … staring approvingly at her.

“How much did you hear?" The nurse quietly demanded.

“Enough."

Victoria straightened her uniform before continuing. “Well, someone had to say something to that jacka\*\* before he kills someone."

The Trill nodded again with approval. “I suspect if Lt. Commander McCulloch is going to listen to anyone on this ship it’s going to be you."

The combat nurse blushed slightly before changing the subject. She smiled awkwardly at Mayla. “I have to brief my team before we deploy the CSH. Promise me you’ll be safe."

“Of course Commander Smith."

“Drinks on me when we finish this damn mission." Victoria answered in Trill before departing for the medical bay where her team was likely waiting for her.

Lt. Cody Beckett

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2202.19

Beckett was discussing details with Jahkar as he heard someone outside of the armory, discussing, no, commandeering someone in a harsh, raised voice. He recognized the voice immediately. It was from Commander Smith, chewing out McCulloch. Again. Beckett looked at Jahkar, who shook his head.

"McCulloch needs to get his head straight. He jeopardizes the mission. " Jahkar grunted.

"Can't disagree with you there."

The conversation outside the armory ended and the next moment McCulloch entered the armory, ignoring Jahkar and Beckett.   Beckett sighed. Even though McCulloch messed up, he felt sorry for him. he looked at Jahkar.  " Give me a minute"

Jahkar nodded. Beckett walked towards McCulloch and sat down next to him. McCulloch ignored him, continuing putting. On his SO suit.

"You are an idiot, Will! ". Beckett opened the conversation. McCulloch didn’t respond.

Cody folded his arms in front of his chest.

“But you’re also my friend. And as a friend, I really need you to stop spilling the little credits you have with Vree….and with Victoria as well" Cody added. “You really are this close from getting booted from the team “ Cody said softly, as he held up his hand with the thumb and index barely from each other, indicating how little credits he actually had.

Will knew Beckett was right and silently nodded in agreement. What more could he say? He had acted impulsively and made a series of rash decisions hoping to bring this mission to a rapid conclusion and perhaps give Ged an out. Instead, he had failed spectacularly in front of most of the senior command of the *Resurrection* as well as his teammates.

He looked past his friend and noted Jahkar occasionally eyed the Scot disapprovingly.

“I have really mucked this up haven’t I?" McCulloch asked as he returned his attention to the New Zealander. He already knew the answer.

“When your biggest supporter is chewing you out, what do you think?"

Will again nodded in silence. After a moment of reflection, he looked up at Cody.

“Perhaps I should call it quits now?"

Jahkar laughed from across the armory.

“In the middle of a mission?" There was almost a slight tone of contempt in his voice. “No, you don’t get off that easy Will. As your ex-wife correctly stated, you have a job to do."

“Perhaps after the mission, I could quietly step aside?"

Beckett scoffed at the suggestion “And do what … Return to Inverness? Will, if you walk away any time soon, you and I both know Starfleet Intelligence will let Inverness know what happened. In a best-case scenario, Shess Ch'taolnos, Wenn Hikri, Sarah and the rest of that firm’s leadership team will move to cut you off."

Cody was right. If he walked away from the team after the mission, Inverness would not take him back…they couldn’t. If word of his foolish conduct reached Inverness’ client base, it would universally sour them against the intelligence firm. Reluctantly, McCulloch nodded in agreement. Beckett continued.

“You are trying to redeem or prove yourself too quickly  McCulloch and it's going to get someone else hurt or killed."

“You’re right. I know, I was wrong."

“You were stupid." Jahkar corrected as he closely examined his armor. “It’s time for the old William McCulloch … the one before the whole Black Watch mess … to start showing up to work. Do you think you can do that?"

“Aye." McCulloch softly conceded.

“Good, do your job and let’s finish this mission properly." Beckett announced as he gestured for McCulloch to suit up.

“I have a few questions," Jahkar asked.

“What?" Will responded with a tone of hesitation.

“Did Commander Smith really throat punch you on Vulcan?"

“Twice." Beckett answered before the Scot could.

“And she’s really that close to Vree?"

“She sees Commander Vree and herself as sisters Colonel."

“And now she’s leading a lightly armed medical jump ship into battle against the Sons to support and treat us if necessary?"

“Yes." Will conceded.

“You $%^& up again, I will personally step aside so I can watch her murder you. Am I clear?"

“Crystal sir."

Gul Oran Drajal

Gul Narvath Drajal

Forward Base, Lower Docking Pylon 3

Stardate 2202.20

Oran and Narvath dropped down inside the vessel docked to the station at lower docking pylon 3. Oran had been very secretive about what was docked there and to Narvath’s surprise, it was a rather confined space they had descended into.

“So, what is this, brother?" Narvath asked as he looked around, suddenly realizing there was a familiar polished black spherical device in the main portion of the vessel they had dropped into. He knew right away it was the other Trinity device, like the one he had transported here aboard his Keldon-class ship.

“Have you ever heard of a Cardassian ATR-4107 advanced unmanned self-guided tactical missile?" Oran asked. “Our military only made a few, the prototype was lost in the Badlands back in 2369. A couple more were made but never put into use. I’ve read some intel reports from Starfleet that the prototype turned up in the Delta Quadrant and was destroyed by USS Voyager while it was lost there."

“I remember hearing about that. They were operated by an AI and were determined to be too difficult to control," Narvath said. “The ATR-4107 was a completely adaptable, evasive, warp-capable vessel, capable of reaching velocities of up to at least warp 9 and carrying 1,000 kilograms of matter and 1,000 kilograms of antimatter – enough to destroy a small moon. The missile was also armed with its own defensive weaponry, including disruptors, quantum torpedoes and a thoron shock emitter."

Narvath smiled and looked around the inside of what was essentially a guided-missile. “Only you’ve removed the standard payload?"

“Effective as it may be, I felt it needed to pack a little more punch for what we’re hoping to accomplish," Oran grinned. “The plan will be to deploy this first then keep the Trinity device on your ship as a back-up, in case the dreadnaught somehow fails."

Narvath nodded, “You trust an AI to get the job done?"

“I do," Oran said. “And if it fails, I will personally pilot the ship delivering the third device into their homeworld."

“Let me do it, brother?"  Narvath pleaded. “I do not fear death. Basal did not when he punished the Breen. Let me do this."

Oran placed a hand on Narvath’s shoulder, “Let’s see if the ATR-4107 is successful first. Then we’ll talk about who will do the deed. Now, come along, let’s enjoy some kanar. We launch the ATR-4107 in three hours.

Back to top

## S4, E2, Act 4: Sneaking Aboard

Colonel Jahkar

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2202.21

Jahkar was about to meet up with Beckett outside the armory when Tiri appeared from an adjoining corridor. She shot him a harsh stare and shook her head.

“At least this isn’t as crazy as your original plan," she muttered. “Launching out a pressurized airlock through space to hopefully reach a tiny hatch on the hull of a Cardassian ship several miles away."

Jahkar grinned, “Guess that was sort of crazy. I could have done it, though."

“I’m sure," she said grimly.

“See you over on the Cardassian ship?" he asked.

“Maybe," she shrugged. “Be careful."

Beckett came out of the armory behind Jahkar and Tiri saw that as her cue to leave for the transporter bay to join the others. Jahkar looked to Beckett and he nodded toward the aft part of the ship, “Let’s go. Our torpedo awaits us."

Lt. Cody Beckett

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2202.21

Beckett and Jahkar entered the forward torpedo bay, finding the little room buzzing with activity as Carmichael and a few engineers were modifying the torpedo cases. Carmichael looked up shortly and nodded at the two SO officers. Jahkar looked at Beckett.

“Nervous?" he asked.

“Just a bit. “Beckett replied. “It’s not that I get launched through a torpedo launcher tube in a torpedo casing every day “

Jahkar grinned.

“I think this is more comfortable and precise than being blown out of an airlock."

Beckett had to admit that that indeed was the case.

“But how do we decelerate once we reach the Keldon class vessel?" Beckett wondered aloud. Carmichael heard the question and turned around to face Beckett and Jahkar.

“We’ve taken care of that. The casing has been modified with proximity sensors and we added a inertia dampening system for your convenience. The rapid deceleration might not be experienced as ‘pleasant’ I might say."

Beckett nodded. “I assumed as much. Just asking"

Carmichael continued. “We also added a grav module so that the casing holds on the outer hull of the ship. That should be enough. There is air for 5 minutes in the casing. Before the casing opens, you have 10 seconds to activate your oxygen mask. “

“Sounds good to me" Jahkar said. “We’re ready Commander Carmichael," one of the engineers said.

“Good work “ the Chief engineer replied and ran a diagnostics test of both casings to check everything was ready. After some moments, he nodded satisfied.

“We’re all set. Make yourself comfortable, we’ll close the lid. And good luck!" Carmichael said. Jahkar nodded and opened a channel to Vree

“Jahkar to Vree. Beckett and myself are boarding the torpedo case. Ready to launch in 5 minutes. “

“Copy that Colonel,“ was the response.

Both Beckett and Jahkar laid down in the torpedo casing. It was a tight fit with them both being quite big, the SO suit and their gear, but it was doable. Once the lid was placed on top of them, Beckett had to suppress some anxiety. He knew this was not without risk, and the cramped space and having to trust on the limited AI of the casing gave him the heebie-jeebies. He pushed it aside and focused on the mission at hand…

Lt Commander William McCulloch

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2202.21

Will remained seated in his chair as Jahkar and Beckett left for the Resurrection’s torpedo bay. As he struggled to adjust his gloves, he reflected upon everything that Beckett, Jahkar and Victoria had told him.

The Scot knew they were right, and he needed to stop acting so damn impulsive…and stupid.

He quietly cursed at himself as he reached into his locker to retrieve a collapsible military fork. As he began to sharpen the prongs, he didn’t notice immediately that Mayla and Tiri had entered the armory. The Scot could sense the Trill commander eyeing him, but he chose not to look at her…instead focusing on his weapon.

After another moment of reflection, he stood up and completed kitting himself out. He holstered his pistol, retrieved his Type VI Overwatch rifle, slung it over his shoulder and approached Vree. She again eyed McCulloch, but did not reveal any emotions as she did.

“A word Commander?"

Vree continued to study the Scot. “Anything you wish to say can be said in front of the lieutenant."

McCulloch softly exhaled and looked back and forth between Tiri and Mayla. “I promise you the nonsense is over. No more stupid, impulsive conduct on my behalf…I promise. Especially during the mission, you have my word. If the two of you want to shoot me out of the airlock when this is all over…very well, I deserve it.  But in the meantime, I assure you I will give you no less than my best on the mission."

Commander Mayla Vree

USS Resurrection, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2202.22

Mayla gave him a look of indifference, but inside she could sense a certain amount of turmoil still swirling around inside him. This renewed relationship with Victoria had no doubt put him back into the frame of mind of self-doubt and rash decisions based on emotions.

The same emotions that made him turn Black Watch against his former teammates in Bravo Squad.

McCulloch would have to tread carefully if he continued down this path of self-destruction. He'll not only lose the trust of his new team mates here, he'll lose Victoria, again. What darker path would that take him down where there may not be any way back? It already took Victoria years and a tremendous amount of time of self discovery and exploration to become the person she is now, even with Jiarin's memories and personality merged in with her own.

His declaration to her, in front of a secondary witness, puts him into a position to not only live up to his new resolution to her, but to Sh'avelith also. This…desperation to prove himself worthy of returning to Shadow Operations, to follow the daughter of the man he had once tried to kill, and a sense of self-redemption in front of his ex-wife, may be a burden too heavy for him to carry all the time.

But right here and now, she needed his head in the game. She herself had many years of experience in separating her personal life, feelings, and intentions from the mission and duty at hand. It made her cold and calculating, said the hundreds of bodies she's left dead in her wake. There was a time for everything. And everything had its own time.

"You were in a leadership position once, Will. Remember that? That cool headed operative who knew exactly what he was going to do and when, regardless of who or what was awaiting him after the mission. Performance in that mission will determine whether or not you will get back to that life to face whatever challenges you will overcome." She then noticed Sh'avelith looking down for a moment as if she shouldn't even be party to this conversation that sounded so personal to the lieutenant commander. It almost looked like he was going to tear up.

Tiri wasn’t sure what to say. She had been surprised by the outburst where Will dragged the young Cardassian into the classified briefing, but right now nothing really seemed to make sense.

McCulloch and his outbursts, not to mention his frequent clashes with his ex-wife. Jahkar wanting to get blasted out of an airlock and a Cardassian base located in Dominion territory, hidden in the atmosphere of a gas giant planet.

She just decided to stay out of it, gather her gear and get ready for the mission.

"You know what Kyril said to me when I told him you were on my team? He said that you would be fighting at a third chance at redemption. I asked him if it was for your own redemption. He said, 'No, he is fighting to redeem his past.' For the first time ever in my life, I didn't understand what he meant. He then said, 'William McCulloch is trying to do the impossible. He cannot go back into the past to change it. What done is done. Beg for forgiveness, and move on and live your life passionately. Do not live a life with the heavy burden of constantly seeking redemption.' Do you understand what he is saying to you?"

McCulloch was stunned at the statement. The man he had betrayed and tried to crush was providing him with an opportunity through his daughter. It was if a light above an exit door had just been turned on. However, rather than speak, the Scot just nodded sympathetically to himself … listening to Vree’s words.

"Look, you're not the only one with a past that begs for redemption or forgiveness." Mayla looked him in the eyes. "I may be younger than you, but don't let my age determine how much I've done and experienced. You don't have the monopoly on dark deeds, or a dark past."

“Jahkar to Vree. Beckett and myself are boarding the torpedo case. Ready to launch in 5 minutes. “

“Copy that Colonel,“ Mayla responded. She gave McCulloch one last look. "There is a tremendous amount of forgiveness directed towards you. And I believe for now, it should be enough to get you through this chapter of your life. Attack the obstacle when it comes, not when it may never come. Right now, all you have is your place here with the Team, and Victoria. Live the now. Not the yesterday. The team needs you. We are all counting on you. And not only me, but we all are going to hold you to your promise."

"Aye, ma'am," McCulloch said, slowly overcoming this feeling of melancholy and self pity that had gotten a hold of him during her speech. After a moment of reflection, he straightened himself up and nodded silently at Vree.

"Finish gearing up," she said to both of them. "And don't forget about Jahkar and Beckett's gear."

“No group hug?" The Scot asked, smiling slightly for the first time in a long time.

“I see you still have you sarcasm Mr. McCulloch."

"Aye, ma'am."

Commander Victoria Smith

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2202.22

The six combat nurses and medics, along with Union XII’s pilot and gunner made their way to the Resurrection’s hangar, where the Arrow Class jump ship, the Gentle Annie was berthed. The team was all wearing their new Type XII armor and were carrying medical kits, Type IV phaser rifles and Type II phaser pistols. The new ballistic helmets Commander Vree personally secured for the team were strapped to their hips and swung side to side as the group advanced down the corridor.

As the group entered the hangar Victoria raised two fingers into the air, moved them in a circular motion twice, and watched as Petty Officers Sis and Gatc instinctively broke from the group and trotted across the hangar. The pair stopped before stacked crates containing medical equipment and supplies and quickly began to haul the materials onto the jump ship.

“Hannigan," Smith barked. “On me."

“Ma’am?" Fiadh replied in a heavy Irish brogue as she fell in next to Victoria.

“Start uploading all medical profiles for the away teams to the ship’s computer. I also want real-time bio feeds for each member of Phoenix Team established. Move."

“Aye, ma’am."

As Hannigan dashed up the jump ship’s ramp, the remainder of the team, except Victoria, followed.

The combat nurse visually examined the Gentle Annie as she ran her hand along the hull and walked around the ship. The ship was sleek, fast and sturdy

She noted how the black and grey colors of the ship’s hull were only offset by the red crosses painted on the wings and belly of the vessel.. Smith was confident the Gentle Annie would do its job…and do it well.

When she completed a lap, she walked up the ramp and entered the interior of the vessel. After passing through a small staging area, she arrived in the ship’s medical bay. Hannigan was busy uploading the medical profiles of each operative while Lieutenant Riisos was cataloging and stowing away medical supplies. The remainder of the medics and nurses were busy preparing field equipment that would be used in the treatment of the wounded.

Victoria nodded with approval, left the medical bay and proceeded towards the cockpit. She passed through an equipment and weapon locker room before entering the cockpit.

There were three chairs inside the cabin - two side by side and a third, the command chair, directly behind. Lieutenant Tusot was seated in the left-hand chair. As the ship’s pilot, he was already deep in thought and carefully plotting a course from the Resurrection to a staging area where the team could safely receive the wounded when deployed.

Smith chose not to disturb her pilot and instead turned her attention to the ship’s weapons officer, Corporal Pyme.

“Status report corporal?" She demanded of the Trill marine.

“Defensive phaser banks and shields are at 100%, ma’am." He reported. There was a slight tone of fear in his voice.

“We’re going to be fine Mr. Pyme." Victoria reassured.  “All I ask is if anyone comes knocking that shouldn’t be, you deal with them."

“Aye ma’am."

“What about torpedoes?"

“We’re carrying six micro-torpedoes but I still need to adjust their targeting arrays."

“I suggest you get working on that sooner rather than later," Victoria cautioned before continuing. “Countermeasures?"

“We have more loaded than I care to admit to ma’am." Pyme answered with hesitation.

“But?" Victoria pressed.

After a moment of reflection, the Trill spun in his chair to face his commanding officer. “If I am forced to deploy countermeasures, there is a risk I could ignite the gaseous clouds surrounding that station and us."

“Well, let’s hope you don’t have to do that corporal. Get to work on those micro torpedoes."

“Aye, ma’am."

Victoria backed up and sat down in the command chair. She activated the seat’s display and four holographic panels appeared before her. To her left, the real-time bio readings of each member of the away teams were being uploaded for her review. In the center, two panels projected data and reports relative to the ship's medical and operational functions. To her right was a tactical display.

As she was reviewing diagnostic reports from the ship’s sensor arrays, Lieutenant Riisos entered the cockpit and cleared his throat.

“The team and ship are ready for your orders, Commander."

“We’re at red alert lieutenant."

“Red alert!" The Orion officer barked as he left the cockpit and returned to the medical bay. The lights of the jump ship dimmed. Riisos silently gestured for the nurses and medics to sit down in seats along the bay walls and buckle up. Afterward, he tapped on his head with both his hands for all to see.

“Helmets! Get those damn helmets on!"

“Put them on people! No time for bitching about whether or not you like them." Hannigan hissed as she looked around the room. Gone was the carefree behavior that the team often was known for. Instead, each appeared to be focused and at the ready.

“Show me your pistols! I want to see those toys fully charged." Riisos demanded as each nurse and medic held their Type II pistol up in the air to show their weapons were fully charged.

“We do our damn job today." The Orion officer demanded as he buckled himself into his own seat.  “If any spoonhead that tries to board our jump ship you kill them. If any operative or crew member is sent to our medical bay you do everything you can to bring them home alive to their spouse, children, parents or loved ones. Am I clear?

“Very clear sir," Gatc announced as the other nurses nodded in agreement.

“Commander, on your orders," Riisos shouted towards the cockpit.

Victoria nodded silently as she continued to review the ship’s sensor diagnostic reports. Once satisfied, she looked up and opened a channel to the Resurrection’s bridge and Commander Vree.

“We really need a call sign ma’am." Pyme quipped as he watched Lieutenant Tusot finalize his flight plan.

Victoria responded with a slight smirk and raised eyebrows before speaking.

“Havoc and One, Angels are ready for deployment on your command."

“The captain will never approve that call sign…too nice," Tusot announced without looking up from his flight plan.

“I actually like it." Pyme countered. “And my mother would approve."

“I’ll show your mother something she would appr…." Tusot snickered before Victoria interjected.

“Lieutenant!" She sharply corrected.

“Sorry ma’am."

“Just focus on your flight plan and not how hot Pyme’s mother is."

“Ma’am?!?" Pyme interjected.

“Oh come on Corporal, we’ve all seen her. Even I think she’s stunning." Victoria retorted, hoping the jab would take her gunner’s mind off of his nervousness.

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassian Wastelands

Stardate 2202.24

Ryramorl pondered Vehakra’s words. “If they do take these hostage," he said, “Reepchip may have to be every bit the sneak that he was in Starfleet.  Only this time, the stakes are very real."

Reepchip chittered quietly, looking at Ryramorl, then after the three who were leaving.

Vehakra frowned at the muran.  “What can he do?"

“I know there was hardly a room in his dorm he couldn’t break into, should they be locked up."

They continued watching Lazarus, Tajel, and Garak.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2202.24

Lazarus listened to Ryramorl and Rhikal’s exchange and then turned to Reepchip. “Ensign, shadow us out of sight. Any issues, report it back to the team and keep track of where we are. You may have to come to our rescue."

He then looked to Rhikal, “Stand by here and wait for either word from me, or if things go sideways, Ensign Charatetet."

The Orion woman nodded and then Lazarus joined Garak and Tajel and started into the encampment. Less than two minutes later, the trio was spotted by Cardassian sentries outside the camp, who came out from their hiding places with rifles trained.

“Halt!" one of the four sentries announced, his gaze settled on the white flag Tajel was waving. “Who are you and what do you want here?"

Lazarus stepped up and was about to speak when Garak suddenly moved ahead of the captain and spoke, “I am former President Elim Garak. We are here on an urgent mission and need to speak with your leadership as soon as possible."

The Cardassian guards were silent for a moment and then the leader of the group laughed aloud, “Elim Garak? Right, and I’m Gul Dukat. Turn around and get out of here while you still can."

Garak walked toward the Cardassian, hands raised, and he continued to speak, “I assure you, I am not joking. I am Garak and this is Captain Lazarus and Ensign Dara from Starfleet. We are looking for…"

“The terrorist fugitive," the Cardassia muttered. “I’ll be damned…you are Garak. Well, I can tell you the one you seek is not here."

Another Cardassian sentry spoke up, “But he was. He was not welcomed here. Neither are you."

“We must speak to your leader," Garak said. “I believe his name is Moset. Let us have an audience with him and we’ll go, peacefully. We just require information about this criminal."

The four Cardassians kept weapons trained on the three and all looked a bit uneasy as they regarded their leader and waited to see what he would do.

The Cardassian finally raised his communicator and opened a channel, “Zakal to base. I have ex-President Garak here with two Starfleet officers. ONe is human, one looks to be a Cardassian-Bajoran hybrid. They insist on speaking with Moset."

There was a long silence and then Zakal’s comm chirped. “Garak? Are you serious?"

“It’s him," Zakal confirmed. “Send him in or send him packing?"

“Moset is…intrigued," the voice on the other end of the comm said. “Send them in."

Two of the sentries fell in behind Lazarus, Tajel and Garak as they began to walk toward the huge cave entrance. Inside they could see the light from campfires and portable lighting units. Once inside, another half-dozen or so Cardassian refugees encircled them with weapons trained.

“Nice welcoming party," Lazarus said as two guards came up and began checking them all for weapons.

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassian Wastelands

Stardate 2202.26

Reepchip shadowed them quietly, straining his ears to hear what was happeneing.  From his hiding spot, he could see the three being checked for weapons.  Now he had a better view of the camp, and it hit him–did these people truly not know how to live in these lands?  Where was the retaining wall?  Why weren’t what plants that could be grown here cultivated and, if not eaten, then used to raise animals that could eat them, which would then be used for food?  Where was the cultivation of lichens and fungi?  He kept his mind on the mission, but the thought of sending them advice niggled in the back of his mind.

As Lazarus, Tajel, and Garak entered the cave, Reepchip took a moment to remove his boots, then carefully crawled along the underside of the roof, before reaching a ledge high up, unreachable by any but one such as he.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Elim Garak

Ensign Dara Tajel

Cardassian Wastelands

Stardate 2202.28

Lazarus, Garak and Tajel were cleared by the guards and the soldiers lowered their weapons, allowing them to enter the massive cave where they found the refugee camp set up. Many Cardassians – males, females and children – were standing around watching in surprise as the former Cardassian president and his Starfleet companions walked toward them.

Some of the refugees were happy to see Garak, remembered as a hero of the Resistance during the Dominion War. Others grumbled and spoke in hushed, angry voices about how he’d sold out the Cardassian people to the Federation and then just walked away from his responsibilities.

As they approached a Cardassian they assumed might be Moset, Lazarus leaned over to Garak, “Thanks, by the way, for completely going off script back there. You outing yourself immediately as the former president was not the plan."

Garak grinned, “I don’t think you were going to get very far with your ‘we come in peace’ speech."

“Let’s hope this works," Tajel added. “Otherwise we’re going to have a heck of time talking our way out if here."

“Oh ensign, talking my way out of bad places has become my particular set of skills over the years," said Garak. “Just let me do the talking."

The reached Moset, an older, heavy-set Cardassian, and he looked them over, his gaze settling on Garak.

“I remember you. We met the day you were installed as the puppet president of the Federation and its allies," Moset said. “I was at your swearing in. I represented the Dumir Provence. When we shook hands, I asked you not to allow yourself to be a pawn of the Occupation forces."

Garak’s mind raced back to that day, and he slowly shook his head, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember…"

“I suppose you don’t," Moset said dryly. “So, you’re here looking for the terrorist named Drajal? You actually thought we would harbor such a person?"

“You were our first stop along the way," Garak said. “Have you seen the man we’re looking for?"

Moset snorted, “He was here about three hours ago. Him and his friends from the Relgarin camp, looking for volunteers to help fight anyone who came looking for him. We told him we wanted nothing to do with Drajal and his terrorist group."

“Did they say what they are doing with Drajal?" Garak asked.

“They said they had to bide their time for now," Moset explained. “Something about supplies and weapons being provided to us by the Sons of Cardassia if we helped protect Drajal. Still, we refused."

Lazarus stepped up and interrupted the discussion between Garak and Moset, “Are they at the Relgarin camp?"

Moset looked Lazarus up and down, then nodded, “Last I knew that’s where they were heading. I think they felt the caves here were safer. They naturally block transporters."

“The Relgarin camp?" Tajel asked. “Is it still about a mile around the southern ridge?"

Mosrt regarded the younger Cardassian-Bajoran man and a glimmer of recognition flashed in his eyes, “I remember you. You were with the relief volunteers. You were here a few years ago. You worked closely with the leadership council."

“Dara Tajel," he said. “Yes, I spent about two years helping out there in the Wastelands."

“I see you have a new job," Moset muttered. “Decided to go from helping Cardassians to joining our oppressors?"

Tajel looked away, “For now. I won’t be with Starfleet long. It’s a…long story."

Moset gave a grunt and turned back to Lazarus and Garak, “We don’t want trouble. And we don’t want to see the Relgarin and these Sons of Cardassia stirring up trouble with our enemies. We’ll help you in any way you need, just say the word."

“We have a team outside the entrance," Lazarus said. “May we bring them in? We’d like to take a quick break here and regroup to press on to the Relgarin camp."

Moset sighed and nodded to one of his guards, “Take Starfleet here to gather his people. Allow them in. Weapons are to be holstered or slug over shoulders."

The guard took Lazarus with him and they headed back to the cave entrance to call for Vehakra and her team. After they were gone, Garak motioned for Moset to walk with him. As they walked slowly toward the camp, Garak looked over at the refugee leader.

“Haven’t you and your people been out here long enough?" Garak asked. “The Federation and its allies are almost completely gone. Soon, we will be back making our own decisions; running our own affairs. You could be a part of that."

Moset shot him a steely glare, “You ruined this planet. You let them change our way of life. You let them take away our identity and made us into something we are not?"

“And what would that be?" Garak protested, stopping to face Moset. “With respect to your opinions, Mr. Moset, you believe the war-mongering tyrants we were before the war is how we should have remained? That way of life is what got us involved with the Dominion and ultimately led to our near destruction.

“Rebuilding the Cardassian Union was no easy task, and a great deal of changes were necessary not only to appease our occupiers, but for us to change as a people to avoid repeating our past," Garak said. “Living here, in these mountains, is no way of life for a proud Cardassian like yourself."

“We manage here," Moset grumbled.

“With the help of the Federation," Garak corrected him. “Now that they are withdrawing, the new Cardassian government might not want to continue paying for a bunch of hermits who want to stay in hiding in the mountains because they don’t want to be a part of the new society we’ve created."

Moset frowned, “If it is so wonderful, why did you quit?"

“A fair question," Garak admitted. “I guess I quit because I felt I was too set in my own ways to really be an effective leader in this new world. I did my best to get things started, but when I left it was what was best for Cardassia."

“Hmmm," Moset grumbled. “Well, Mr. Garak, thank you but I think we will remain here. We could never fit into this new Cardassia."

A short time later, Lazarus and several Cardassian guards arrived with Vehakra and the rest of the team. Once inside, Lazarus came back to stand by Moset and he asked, “So, these Relgarin, tell us about them?"

“Zealots," Moset said with disgust. “Way in Cardassia’s past there was a cult, for lack of a better word, that worshipped something akin to a god. These people believed Cardassia would someday perish in flames and when the Dominion attacked, they thought their prophecy had finally come true. But the planet survived and the modern Relgarin followers came here after the war to hide out and wait for the end of world."

“And working with the SOC is going to get them their wish," Lazarus muttered. “How dangerous are they?"

“They are militant, armed and usually confrontational," Moset said. “For instance, when they were here a short time ago, they made threats and sore they’d bring down fire and brimstone upon us for not assisting them, but ultimately they walked away."

“So, in other words, they are full of hot air?" Garak smiled.

“For the most part," he confirmed.

“Captain Rhikal, gather the team," Lazarus said. “We should go soon, before dawn is here. We’ll hit the Relgarin compound and get Tirlin once and for all."

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Cardassia Wastelands

Stardate 2203.02

Reepchip (who’d retrieved and redonned his boots), and Ryramorl looked around the camp, impassively, listening to what Moset had to say about the Relgarin and the Sons of the Cardassians.

Reepchip (who was on Ryramorl’s shoulders) telepathically told Ryramorl what he’d seen and thought, seeing the camp.  Ryramorl grunted a bit–the Muran was a bit of a soft-hearted creature.  After Lazarus was done talking to Moset, Ryramorl saluted.  “Sir.  I wish to have a word with the Chieftain here.  It is about the encampment of his tribe."

“All right," said Lazarus, wondering what the Carnora might say.

Ryramorl took Moset aside.  “Chieftain, I would say, ‘let us share water,’ but I have none with me, so please believe the offer of peaceable meeting is here."  He pondered his next words.  “I hear that you are dependent on handouts to keep your people alive here.  That says you have difficulty maintaining your population."  He gestured to the growths on the cave walls.  “Are any of these plants edible to Cardassians?  Not necessarily pleasing to the test, but edible, giving sustenance?  If not, what about these crawling and roosting creatures?  Like that one on the large rock over there?"

Moset glared at him.  “Who are you, that you would give advice to me?"

“One who grew up in a tribe with stone spears and flint knives," responded Ryramorl calmly.  And indeed, there was something in the Carnora’s eyes that spoke of an upbringing far from the comforts of modern civilization.  “My brother is Chieftain of that tribe still, and such a life he yet lives."  Well, until recently, but Moset didn’t need to know that.  He then described the farming practices of the Gorasec Muran clans and the Andruvar Olvern, both of whom lived in the mountains and cultivated fungi, lichens, and mosses and raised small creatures for meat that ate what plants they themselves couldn’t eat.

“And shall I reduce my people to hunter-gatherers?" demanded Moset.

Ryramorl rumbled in his own language for a moment, then translated the saying for the Cardassian leader.  “Would you eat the Cardassian Vole you hunted yourself?  Or crawl for scraps from the Federation’s Banquet?" he responded.  He glanced over at Captain Lazarus, who was glaring at him.  “Forgive me, my Warchief grows impatient.  But if you wish, send me word however you can, and I shall pass on the wisdom of the Mountain Carnora."

He reluctantly rejoined his captain, having wanted to spend time here to teach these Cardassians to adapt to their harsh lifestyle.

Colonel Jahkar

Lt. Cody Beckett

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2203.03

Lt. Commander Carmichael had slowed the torpedo down considerably, so when they were launched the g-forces weren’t too bad. The two men, strapped in face-to-face in the tight capsule, would create one hell of a mess if the g-forces were too much and they vomited.

The launch was exhilarating, but Jahkar kept an eye on Beckett, just to be sure he wouldn’t hurl on him.

Remarkably, they both managed to avoid becoming too queasy and soon they were hurling toward the Keldon-class ship at a much slower speed than a typical quantum torpedo. As the pod approached the docked ship, the heads-up displays in their helmets activated and began to display video of their approach toward the enemy ship.

“She’s locked onto that hatch," Jahkar said as he checked the display. “Get ready to deploy in 20 seconds. The pod will open and we’ll float out. Use the thrusters to maneuver over to the hatch. I’ll get the access panel open, you get inside and hotwire that door open."

Lt. Cody Beckett

Colonel Jahkar

Cardassian Keldon class, outer hull.

Stardate 2203.07

Beckett floated out of the torpedo casing along with a case which held the transporter amplifiers and used his thrusters to maneuver to the hatch Jahkar had pointed out. Jahkar floated a few meters in front of him and reached the access panel first. Cody quickly checked around.

The view was magnificent, and all was quiet. Cody exhaled and waited for Jahkar to open the access panel. Jahkar placed a few micro explosives on the access panel and activated them. A series of tiny explosives made the access panel come off the hull.

“Get ready" Cody said to his personal AI. Jahkar turned around and gave Beckett a thumbs up. Cody went inside and opened another small access panel, revealing Cardassian computertech. Quickly, he hardwired an access point and the AI started scanning. Within seconds, the AI replied “Standard Cardassian security layer configuration on the ship…I am creating a crawler program disguised as a watchdog to get into the system itself. From there I can see how the security layers of the base are configured."

Cody nodded. “OK, go ahead. Give me terminal to the core of the Keldon class ship. “

“Here you are" the AI replied as another access screen appeared in Cody’s HUD. He checked some the parameters the Ai gave him and went to work. Quickly he navigated through the system and found the access menu for the hatch they needed to open. Another few seconds and the hatch opened. He made sure the AI had setup the watchdogs to intercept, modify and resend all the signals of the sensors. . No one would notice what had happened.

“We’re in" he said to Jahkar

“Good work, lieutenant," Jahkar replied as he readied his rifle and opened the hatch further and got inside after checking each side to make sure no one was there. Cody quickly followed and the next moment they were in a maintenance corridor of the Keldon class ship. Cody closed the hatch and the corridor was pressurized again. It was quiet, except for some machinery whizzing on the background.

Jahkar keyed his subvoc and contacted the others, “Phoenix Two to Havoc, we are inside. We appear undetected. Setting up the transporter enhancers."

He and Beckett then set to work setting up the pole-like devices to create a stable field where the rest of the team could transport in.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2203.07

Once Tiri and Vree were armed and kitted out, the trio made their way to the transporter room … The Trill and Andorian leading with the Scot close behind. In addition to his armor and weapons, Will also carried a case containing additional equipment and gear for Jahkar and Beckett to receive when they were transported over to the station.

Upon arrival, Vree and Tiri quietly stepped up onto the pad, weapons at the ready. McCulloch hesitated for a moment as he adjusted the straps on the case before slinging it across his back. Afterward, he readied his Type VI Overwatch rifle, closed his eyes, and listened as the weapon softly whined as it powered up. Once the rifle fully cycled, the Scot opened his eyes and stepped onto the pad. He nodded silently at his teammates.

Vree noted there was something different about the Scot. There was almost a cold yet focused look about him as the trio waited to be beamed over.

Lt. Cody Beckett

Cardassian Keldon class vessel

Stardate 2203.08

After checking the maintenance corridor was safe, Beckett placed the case on the floor and quickly glanced on his armpadd, checking the status of the AI.

It had been roaming through the network of the Keldon class ship and was now checking the status of the edge networks which connected the network and cores of the ship to the base. It would take some time for the AI to finish, so Beckett got to work to setup the amplifiers so the rest of the team could beam over.

He tapped in a few commands on the front of the case, and it opened automatically. Quickly, Jahkar and himself took out the five amplifiers and within a minute they had sat up the amplifiers.

Beckett opened a channel to Vree. “Amplifiers setup and connected. You can beam over," Cody said.

Back to top

## S4, E2, Act 5: Moving into Position

Colonel Jahkar

Cardassian ship

Stardate 2203.12

As Beckett sent the confirmation message to the team back on Resurrection, Jahkar deployed a couple of probes which cloaked and floated off to check the corridor and to see where it would take them. As the probes ventured forth, Jahkar brought up the video feed from both on his helmet’s heads-up display.

The probes reached a main corridor and slipped out an open maintenance conduit which allowed them to slip into the passageway and go opposite directions. Within a couple minutes the Marine surmised there was nothing more than a handful of Cardassians aboard this ship. The majority of the crew was likely over on the station.

In all, along this particular deck, Jahkar located no more than three Cardassians moving about the corridors. He moved back to the site he and Beckett had set up and waited to see if the team would be joining them soon.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

Cardassian ship

Stardate 2203.12

As soon as Beckett's confirmation came in, the Trill nodded curtly at the transporter chief. McCulloch, Vree and Tiri were instantly enveloped in a bright blue light. Seconds later, the trio materialized on the Cardassian vessel and within feet of Jahkar and Cody.

“Nanoprobes have been deployed." The marine reported to Mayla as Will unslung the case he was carrying, put it on the floor and kicked it towards Beckett and Jahkar. The Scot watched as it silently slid across the floor and stopped at Cody’s feet.

“Weapons, armor, and equipment for both of you." He announced over the sub-voc.

Jahkar nodded silently as McCulloch walked past the colonel and took up a point position near the corridor. He quietly withdrew his own nanoprobe, tossed it into the air, and watched as it darted down the hallway before cloaking. The Scot immediately brought up his own head’s up display and studied the probe’s feed as it continued down the corridor. When it came to a t-juncture, the device halted.

Will signaled with his hand that he had a live feed and the path was clear. Afterward, he snapped his rifle up to the ready and waited for orders.

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassian Wastelands

Stardate 2203.15

Reepchip again went ahead of the group.  From his hiding spots, he tried to keep an ear out for what was going on.  He then reported he could hear chanting–or perhaps someone preaching in a strange language, probably Cardassian.

Garak was surprised–they had to be at least a quarter mile from the reported campsite, but Tajel merely shrugged; Reepchip’s hearing had been the stuff of legend in the Academy–not as much as his pranks, but that was simply because his pranks were such a blasted headache back then.

The small muran then went ahead, keeping an eye out.  Peeking over a ridge, he saw the encampment off in the distance, and sent word over his subvoc that he’d sighted it.  While waiting, he wondered if his telepathic control over animals would work on alien creatures.  Being able to make an animal do your bidding was usually the first sign that someone WAS a telepath, He reached out with his mind and sensed a Cardassian vole nearby.  Reaching out to it he tried to get it to run one way, then another.  Hearing it move around, he grew hopeful.  He sent the image of a small plant, and put the suggestion of breaking off a leaf and bringing it to him in the being’s mind.  Soon, a small creature with the leaf in question crawled up to him, and dropped it on the ground.  Reepchip grinned—he had a plan in case a fight broke out, and now he knew the plan might work.  He let the vole go about its business.  Near the settlement, he could sense several nests of voles.  If he could influence them all…

Best to contact his Captain about this.  He spoke over the subvoc.  “Captain, there are hundreds of Cardassian voles near the encampent.  I’ve been able to control the actions of one vole already, and if things get violent, I think I can incite rage and hunger towards Cardassians in all of them."

“...You can control animals?" asked Captain Lazarus, surprised.

“Amongst the Carnora, it’s the first sign someone is a telepath, what we call a Shaman.  Give me the word, and I’ll unleash them."

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Ensign Dara Tajel

Garak

Cardassia Prime, Wastelands

Stardate 2203.18

Lazarus raised an eyebrow at Reepchip’s report, surprised the Muran had such an ability. He made a note of it in the back of his mind and replied back, “Copy that, Phoenix Six."

The group had set out from the Cardassian encampment in the caves and had begun the trip a couple kilometers toward the compound where Tirlin Drajal was reportedly hiding. They had several hours before sunrise, so the captain wanted to make this happen now, while they had the cover of darkness.

As they got closer, Reepchip would have eyes on the compound, while a couple of nanoprobes were hovering above the site transmitting back aerial footage of the Relgarin camp.

Rhikal received the feedback, as she was the one who deployed the probes, and transmitted it to the rest of team so it would be displayed on heads-up displays or wrist-PADD units.

She divided the team into two groups. She would lead Echo Team, along with Lazarus, Garak and Tajel, while Ryramorl would command Delta Team, which would include Reepchip and the rest of the security force.

“Echo Team will create a distraction 200 meters west of the compound," she said. “Meanwhile, Lt. Commander Ra’yral will take Delta Team over to the south end of the compound and enter through the vehicle bay doors located there. Once inside the compound, Delta will attempt to find and capture Tirlin Drajal. If he does not come willingly and cannot be stunned or captured, he is to be taken down with force."

Lazarus nodded, reinforcing Captain Rhikal’s directive. The Orion continued, “Once the enemy is engaged inside, Echo will transition from creating a distraction to infiltrating the compound through the main entrance on the north side. Questions?"

Gul Tirlin Drajal

Cardassia Prime, Wastelands

Stardate 2203.18

Drajal sat at an old communications console in the corner of a dimly lit common room inside the Relgarin compound. He was working to establish contact with someone, while keeping an eye on the motley assortment of Cardassians among the group known as the Forsaken.

Tirlin had to admit, he’d made an arrangement with an unsavory assortment of Cardassians, many of them older, all of them fanatical anti-government zealots who only wanted to see the destruction of Cardassia Prime because it would fulfill their doomsday prophecies.

He’d listened for hours to their relentless banter about how the Dominion had almost helped them realize their dreams of the end of the world, only to have the Federation and its allies step in and save the day.

Drajal pretended to believe in the same things these maniacs were promoting. He had promised them he and the rest of the Sons of Cardassia would soon destroy the planet, putting an end to the corrupt, evil Federation-controlled government. They had heard of the Trinity weapon that destroyed much of the Breen homeworld and days earlier, and Tirlin’s promise they would use another device on Cardassia Prime had brought them great joy.

It was, of course, a lie. But Tirlin needed protection right now and these blithering idiots were all he had. It wouldn’t be long until help arrived, and he would leave this place once and for all. He just had to keep one step ahead of the Starfleet commandos hunting him.

Dressed all in black, the fanatical Cardassians of the Relgarin were armed to the teeth, prepared to repel a Starfleet raid if necessary to protect Tirlin. There were nearly a dozen Relgarin guarding him directly, while another 20 or so patrolled the walls and grounds of the compound.

As additional protection, Tirlin wore a device that would scramble a transporter lock, just in case the Federation tried to beam him out of the compound. He wouldn’t turn that device off until his transportation arrived to get him off Cardassia.

Finally, the communicator sounded a chime which indicated his hail was being answered. On a heavily encrypted channel, a voice crackled through into his earpiece.

“Brother," a female voice responded. “Are you still at the coordinates you sent?"

“Yes," Tirlin replied. “Good to hear your voice Sabka."

“Yours too," she said. “We are on approach. Our ETA is about 10 minutes. I’ll signal you when we are in transporter range so you can drop the transport inhibitor."

“Acknowledged," he said. “See you soon."

Approaching Cardassia Prime in her cloaked Keldon-class starship, Sabka Drajal ended the transmission to her brother. Cut off from passing through the Bajoran wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, she had received a transmission from Tirlin indicating he needed help, so she diverted from Bajor and sped immediately to Cardassia to retrieve her stranded brother.

The Cardassian woman stood outside the cell holding the Founder after completing her transmission to Tirlin and smiled as she watched the creature wither on the floor, half of its body reduced to a liquid state, the other half barely able to hold its form.

The Changeling looked up at her as she watched from the doorway and it glared at her, “E-enjoying yourself…watching me die?"

“Very much so," Sabka said with a big smile. “It’s too bad you won’t be able to witness the destruction of your homeworld…the Great Link…or whatever you call it. Unfortunately, they cut off our only route to get there. But I will get to enjoy watching you die before this day is over. That’s my reward, in and of itself."

The Changeling smirked, weakly trying to lift its melting head. “You Cardassians are barbaric creatures. Someday, someone will finish what we started 20 years ago. I-in fact, maybe it will be my people once your brothers fail to destroy our homeworld. B-because if you fail, they will send everything they have to destroy Cardassia and anyone who gets in their way."

Sabka laughed, “You have great faith in your people. You know, the ones who accepted defeat 20 years ago and crawled home with their tails between their legs, leaving you, their great leader, to rot in a Federation prison."

The female Changeling managed a slight cackle, then lowered her head back to the floor where it continued to lose its form, puddling slightly where she lay.

“If you’re going to kill m-me, just get it over," the Founder said, her voice sounding tired and weak.

“Another hour…maybe two and you’ll be dead," Sabka said. “The toxin I gave you is breaking your body down gradually. For now, I have to leave you but I promise I’ll be back before this is over so my brother and I can watch you die."

Sabka blew the Founder a kiss before she turned toward the door and headed back up to the bridge to prepare for the mission to retrieve Tirlin.

OCC: GG: I selected your second option. My reason was really just to make the situation not so easy. It was a good option, though. If you want to use the voles in conjunction with an assault on the compound, I’d be fine with that.

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Cardassian Wasteland

Stardate 2202.27

Reepchip slipped closer to the vehicle bay, waiting for the rest of Delta team.  From his vantage point, he saw a few Cardassians exit the building, have a look around (a security check?), then reenter.  The keypad must have been very old, as each key beeped in a different tone when they entered the password.  How very convenient.

When Ryramorl and the others showed up, Reepchip rejoined them.  Seeing the keypad, Ryramorl asked the Ensign if he’d brought his lockpicking tools with him.  Reepchip grinned.  “Even better…" he said.  He pressed his ear to the door to hear if anyone was within, then when he figured it was clear, he went to work on the keypad.  It took a couple tries, in which he found which key had which tone, but soon he replicated the series of tones that matched the password, and the door simply slid open.  “I heard the password to the door," he said softly, as they entered.

Ryramorl sniffed the air, seeking Tirlin’s scent as the team went forwards.  As they approached, Reepchip climbed a wall and started to crawl along the ceiling, staying on ductwork when it was available.  Ryramorl had Tajel translate the maps on the walls of the compound, making the decision to start at the common area.  He told Reepchip to scout ahead.  As Reepchip peeked in, he saw that Tirlin was wearing a transport inhibitor.  Ryramorl frowned when Reepchip reported this over the subvoc, and responded: “Do you think you can get your voles to get it off him, then tag him?"

Reepchip relayed the situation to Captain Lazarus, asking permission to try.

“Negative, Captain.  My control over these creatures is tenuous at best; I can get them to steal the inhibitor by making them think it’s something they really want, but if he pisses them off, I’ve lost them–and I don’t know how to do auguries from vole dung."

Lazarus frowned–so Reepchip’s so-called control was marginal.  “Negative, Reepchip.  We want him alive if possible."

“Copy that, Captain.".  He remained up in his hiding space, watching him carefully as the rest continued to advance on him.

Commander Mayla Vree

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.19

Mayla released two of her own nanoprobes in stealth mode with a search criteria; elements used in the trinity weapon that may be detectable with a scan. It was a long shot considering the meager information Garak and Cardassian Intelligence could give them about how the weapon was created. One more nanoprobe was outfitted with a small brick of KV explosives which she programmed the probe to seek out the warp core of this ship and to remain hidden until activated.

"Are our lifesigns masked?" she asked Beckett while connecting the feeds from everyone's nanoprobes into her eyes.

"For the time being. I've included a sensor diagnostic feedback bot to ignore our lifesigns. Even if someone took the diagnostics offline, the bot will continue to mask us until someone finds the bot running hidden in their replicator system." She could almost hear the ingenuity in the tone of his voice.

"Very good. Two and I will go search for the trinity weapons. The rest of you get into the station and disable it. Maybe even take the ships docked here with it."

"Mighty tall order, One." Jahkar said. "The station is rather large."

"We might get lucky the nanoprobes will find them for us." Mayla said. She gave Beckett a sideways glance. "Is there any more information you can access from here?"

"From this terminal?" He shook his head. "This is just an access terminal. I'll need to get to a primary terminal someplace, maybe in engineering on this ship."

"Assuming this ship doesn't leave." McCulloch piped in.

"Then you three head to the engineering deck of the station and do it from there. This station has to be taken out. If we only had more people, we could sabotage each ship." Mayla said, then shook her head. They had to do with what they had. "Cloak and move out. Chess formation."

"Aye," came everyone's reply. Chess formation was their technique to verbally report their relative positions when they moved around while cloaked, like playing long distance chess. It required a bit of concentration to keep track of everyone's location and your own on the mental chessboard, but they had practiced it enough in their holosims over the past year.

They waited for the nanoprobes to show the corridor outside was clear before they filed out quickly and split up.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.21

Will found himself in the lead with Beckett behind and to his right and Tiri bringing up the rear. As the trio reached the t-juncture at the end of the first corridor, the Scot recalled his nanoprobe, quickly reprogrammed the device to seek out the engineering deck and watched as it zipped down the right-hand passageway.

The three of them silently made their way down the passageway…constantly shifting their positions and actions as part of the chess formation. As they advanced, the nanoprobe diverted the team down secondary passageways before reaching a dead end.

“You have to be kidding me." Beckett muttered over his subvoc before Will gestured towards a nearby ladder that descended to the decks below them. Cody stepped forward and peered down the shaft. He studied it in silence before straightening back up.

“The engineering deck should be down there." He announced.

“How many decks below?" Tiri countered as she took up a defensive position in the passageway.

“What do you see Will?" Beckett pressed.

The Scot studied the readings that appeared on his head’s up display in his helmet. After a moment of reflection, he answered Cody.

“Four decks below."

Beckett stepped forward to descend down the ladder but Will put his hand out to stop him.

“No," The Scot ordered. “I’ll go down first, you’re second, four last. We need you in one piece when we arrive in engineering."

Cody reluctantly hesitated before announcing over the subvoc “Very well Eight."

“Seven, you come down after me. Four, cover the rear." He ordered.

It felt weird for Will to be issuing orders again. He quickly brushed the uneasiness aside and slung his rifle across his back. He stepped up onto the ladder, slightly hopped up and placed his feet on the outside of the side rails. He slightly loosened his grip on the ladder and silently slid down into the darkened decks below him.

Commander Victoria Smith

Medical Jumpship “The Gentle Annie Etheridge"

Stardate 2203.21

“Phoenix Team has deployed ma’am." Corporal Pyme reported as Victoria refreshed the display of the bio readings of the team. She quietly studied each team member, noting the heightened pulse rates of most of the team. Once satisfied the five were healthy and unhurt, she leaned back in her chair.

“Lieutenant Tusot." The jump ship pilot instinctively answered.

“Ma’am?"

“Finish your pre-deployment check," Victoria ordered as she keyed the top center holographic display and sent functional commands to Resurrection’s medical bay. If the jump ship had to relay wounded to the Resurrection for surgery or additional treatment, the ship’s EMH’s would instantly come online.

“Are we deploying ma’am?" Pyme asked are he ran a final diagnostic of his tactical station.

“Easy marine." The nurse replied without taking her eyes off of her display. “ We go when we go."

“We can be in position approximately 25 seconds after Phoenix Team engages the enemy." Tusot quietly noted as he finalized his pre-flight check before stowing a padd in a netting pouch attached to his seat.

“25 seconds?" Victoria inquired, finally looking up from her holographic display. “I’d prefer 20 if possible lieutenant, but if that is the best you can offer it will have to do."

“I’ll recalculate our route." The pilot answered matter-of-factly.

The nurse knew that once Phoenix Team attacked, there would be a very narrow window of time where all eyes would be on the operatives rather than a tiny jump ship jockeying for an ideal position near the station to receive injured operatives.

Smith leaned back in her command chair, folded her arms and did what she and her team were used to doing…wait.

Colonel Jahkar

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.24

They watched McCulloch take his team and cloak around him as he engaged his own cloak. He and Tiri’s gazes met and Jahkar winked at her and she offered a smile back. He knew when they finished this mission they would need to find time to sit down and talk. There were issues here and he knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

Maybe this had all been a mistake.

As they left the staging area cloaked, Jahkar put his personal business out of his mind and he and Mayla separated from the team and he checked the incoming probe data, confirming the ship was sparsely populated. He’d counted about a dozen Cardassians on this deck of the Arluth.

The team made its way toward the airlock where the ship and station were connected, while Vree and Jahkar hung back. Jahkar keyed his subvoc and opened a channel to the commander, “We should sweep this ship and see if there’s a device aboard. My guesses would be the cargo bay, which is three decks above us, or main torpedo launcher, which is a deck below us and all the way to the forward compartment. I should have a probe at the cargo bay within the next 45 seconds. After that, I’ll send it to torpedo control."

He looked over to Mayla, who’s cloak gave off a shimmering effect through his visor, allowing him to see her while she was invisible. “So, where to?

Lt. Tiri Sh’aveith

CDS Arluth, Forward Base

Stardate 2204.24

“Cover the back," Tiri repeated. “Copy that."

McCulloch disappeared down the shaft and then Beckett got into position above him. Tiri maintained an eye on the corridor they’d just come down and waited for her turn to slide down behind Will and Cody.

As Beckett began his descent, someone suddenly appeared down the corridor walking in her direction. It was a Cardassian, who seemed oblivious to her standing there with her rifle trained on him, but he was approaching at a brisk pace – putting him about 10-12 seconds away.

“Seven, eight I have contact," she whispered into the subvoc, knowing she would not be able to speak again without risk of detection.

The Cardassian kept coming toward her, seeming intent on getting onto the ladder behind her.  Her mind raced – should she stun him, attack him physically or let him pass and allow him to get on the ladder.

At the last second, she made a decision. Tiri turned the rifle and brought the butt around slamming it into the Cardassian’s face as he walked straight into it. The blow was hard, cracking his nose and fracturing his skull in several places.

Unconscious, the Sons of Cardassia soldier dropped cold to the deck, a pool of blood gushing from his shattered nose.

“Neutralized," she followed up on the subvoc. She pushed the Cardassian into a dark corner before jumping onto the ladder and beginning her slide down.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.27

McCulloch heard a loud crack followed seconds later with Tiri sliding down the ladder.

“Four, we good?" The Scot asked hesitantly, wondering how badly the Andorian had disabled the Cardassian.

“We’re good." Tiri replied matter-of-factly.

Will was impressed with the lieutenant’s efficient method…whatever that may have been…in eliminating her opponent. After a brief moment of silent reflection, he calmly issued a simple command to Beckett and Sh’avelith over the subvoc.

“Move."

The trio moved down the corridor in a triangle formation. McCulloch on point, Tiri to his right and Beckett to his left. Occasionally, he would see a brief shimmer of light as Cody or Tiri would spin around, and walk backward as they checked their rear.

When the team reached a bend in the corridor, McCulloch issued a second simple command.

“Hold."

As his two teammates came to a halt, The Scot continued around the curve of the passageway. It was odd…the Scot seemed to be on alert and on top of his game. Gone was the nonsense and hesitation from previous segments of the current mission. It was if he was back with his team from the USS Renegade, or God forbid, on a mission with Taryn Kane’s mercenaries.

As Will slowly advanced, a Cardassian walked towards him. She was oblivious of the cloaked operative before him and instead engrossed in the padd she was reviewing. McCulloch slung his rifle, withdrew the combat knife strapped to his chest, flipped it 180 degrees and flung the blade towards his target. As the knife sunk into her neck with a soft squish, brown blood started to spray onto a nearby wall. The Cardassian slowly collapsed to the floor.

McCulloch unslung his rifle and waited to see if the woman would move…she didn’t. Once satisfied she was dead, he again contacted his teammates on the subvoc.

“Four, Seven…move."

WIll saw on his head’s up display that the pair was once again on his flanks. He signaled them to follow him. As the trio continued down the passageway, the Scot quickly reviewed the readings from his nanoprobe. Engineering was dead ahead.

“Decloak." Will ordered as he signaled for Beckett to double time towards the entranceway to Engineering.

Tiri quickly turned on her heels to the rear, knelt down, and snapped her rifle up to the ready. McCulloch followed the New Zealander to a nearby access panel and watched as the lieutenant withdrew a pair of tools from a pouch on his waistbelt.

As Beckett worked to gain access to engineering, Will withdrew a stun grenade, activated the device, and waited for Cody to give the all clear command so he could toss it into engineering.

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.27

Cody kneeled before the access panel and checked for the interface. These systems had no default config. He grabbed an isolinear scanner and performed a passive scan of the optical systems to see where he could gain entrance. While he waited for the scanner to finish the scan, he checked his wristpadd and requested the status of the AI. Immediately he got a response. It had gathered a lot of information of the ship’s computer and sensor systems and the connections of the ship to the station. He quickly hand-gestured a few commands above his wristpadd, sending the information of the ship to each member of the team and opened a channel over subvoc to the team.

“7 to team. The data I send you is a realtime sensor feed from my AI that is roaming through the systems. Use it to your advantage. 7 out" Then he opened another channel to Sh’avelith and McCulloch.

“As you can see, there about 6 Cardassians behind those doors. I can have my AI create a minor disturbance in engineering. A leaking plasma manifold or something. That gives us an opportunity to sneak inside and go from there. A stun grenade will eliminate our advantage and alert the bridge and thus the station. We still have enough juice in our cloak’s battery to pull this off without being noticed. Once we secure engineering I will be able to access the primary systems of the ship and create more feedback loops to mask our presence and activities. “ Cody grinned, as he awaited McCulloch’s response.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.29

Will eyed Cody in silence before deactivating his stun grenade.

“I never get to play with the cool explosive devices." He whined momentarily before unslinging his rifle and bringing it back up to the ready.

“Ready?" Beckett asked quietly as he issued commands to the AI to create a minor disturbance in engineering.

“Four, Seven … cloak." McCulloch ordered as the trio shimmered and then disappeared from sight. The Scot held his position and waited for Beckett to give the go order so they could slip inside engineering.

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2203.31

It only took a few moments for the AI to create the diversion. Within seconds angry yells were audible through the door. "Let's go! " Beckett said over subvoc, as he issued the system to open the door. It revealed the engineering room, filled with plasma gas, and Cardassian engineers running around to try and figured out what was going on.

The trio entered engineering and Cody issued the command to close the entrance door. The door closed behind them. They were in.

"Orders? " Beckett requested from McCulloch while he looked around, his rifle ready.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.03

"Orders? " Beckett requested from McCulloch while he looked around, his rifle ready.

“We need to take down this ship and eventually the station," Will announced calmly over the subvoc. “But first, you need to bring up any information you can find on the location of the Trinity devices and quietly transmit it to One and Two."

“On it." Beckett instinctively answered as he moved directly to an access terminal to his right. He quickly gained access and started tapping in commands. Sh'avelith looked over his shoulder now and then and wondered how Beckett could find his way in these outlandish interfaces.

"You understand Cardassian? " She

eventually asked in a whispered voice.

"Indeed" Cody replied, while continuing

inserting the search routine. "In the past I had to, as our family company did a lot of business with Cardassians. Worked on Cardassian barges and freighters. Also on a few of those ore stations like DS9. "

Tiri nodded slowly as she took in the information and looked around again to check their surroundings. The terminal finished the search and Cody nodded. Two locations. Herr quickly copied them to his wristlpadd and sent the info to Vree and Jahkar.

McCulloch looked around as a cadre of Cardassian engineers scrambled to address the fictitious minor emergency Beckett had created. Convinced that their opponents were oblivious to the trio of cloaked operatives lurking amongst them, he turned to Tiri.

“Cover Seven, I’ll be back."

Before the Andorian could object, he broke away from the group and made his way further into engineering. He halted and slowly backed himself into a corner as he neared the warp core. He studied the engineers for several seconds as they darted to and fro…barking confused orders designed to resolve Beckett’s false alarm. It was apparent that the New Zealander had fabricated a crisis that compounded upon itself as the engineers scrambled to resolve the matter.

After surveying his surroundings, Will reached out to his teammates via the subvoc. “Four, Seven, once you finish …to me."

What seemed like an eternity later,  McCulloch’s head’s up display alerted him that the Andorian and New Zealander were now positioned near him.

“You send what you need to Vree?" Will inquired.

"Affirmitive" Cody replied

“Cody," McCulloch asked before correcting himself. “Seven…questions. Do you think we can seize the flight controls of this ship from engineering?"

“Why?"

“If you tell me you can access flight control, we’re going to ram this ship into the station."

“You said you had other questions." Cody pressed. There was a tone of concern in his voice.

“Can you access the controls of the other ships from here to do the same?"

“A mass kamikaze attack?" Tiri asked

“If Cody thinks he can pull it off," Will answered.

“One and Two may be on the station." Sh’avelith understandably objected.

“And we’re here … exposed as well." Will countered as he glanced toward the engineers. The Cardassians were still distracted and confused. “Our orders were clear. Disable the station and take out some of these ships if possible."

“How do you propose we get out of here when the proverbial crap hits the fan?" Beckett asked.

“If the Resurrection can’t beam us out, we better hope those combat medical nerds from Union XII are in a position to receive us."

Cody chose not to answer. Instead he mentally reviewed the possible outcomes of McCulloch’s proposal.

“Do you think it can be done?" Will demanded, knowing time was running out.

Gul Oran Drajal

Gul Narvath Drajal

Forward Base, Lower Docking Pylon 3

Stardate 2204.05

Oran and Narvath left the airlock from the Keldon-class ship to Forward Base and started toward the turbolift that would take them up to operations when Oran’s communicator sounded. He stopped walking and activated the device, “Drajal here."

“Gul Drajal," the voice of one of his bridge officers reported. “Sir, there is some sort of unknown problem in engineering aboard your brother’s ship. Possibly a plasma leak."

Drajal cocked an eyebrow and looked to Narvath, “Odd. The engines are shut down. Any problems on the way here?"

“No," Narvath said, tapping his own communicator. “Drajal to engineering. What’s going on down there?"

It was silent for a moment, then the voice of the Cardassian engineer came through the device, “Not sure, sir. We’re working on it."

Oran looked rather uneasy, “See what it is, take a security detail with you."

“I’m sure it’s just a leak or malfunction," Narvath countered.

“Just go. I am concerned, we are too close," Oran said. “I’ll be in ops. I am going to see if we have company."

Narvath nodded and headed back inside the Keldon-class ship where he summoned a squad of Sons of Cardassia soldiers to meet him at engineering. Meanwhile, Oran ordered the airlock between the ship and station sealed and he placed more of his security on the airlock – just to be sure.

Up in operations, Oran ordered the launch of a dozen small probes to patrol the area around the exterior of the station. If there was a ship hidden in the thick gasses of the atmosphere, the probes would hopefully find it.

“Beam the Trinity device aboard the ATR-4107 advanced self-guided tactical missile, then launch it," Oran ordered his tactical officer. “Send it on its programmed course."

Back to top

## S4, E2, Act 6: Final Battle

Commander Mayla Vree

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.19

"You sweep this ship, I'm going on board the station," Mayla said as she silently moved forward with a speed that indicated her senses were on full alert. She was already through the airlock and into the station when Jahkar responded.

"You don't have another agenda here, do you?" He asked with a tone of suspicion. Her father sometimes did this, and it took him uncomfortably back to those memories of Kyril going about it alone on some damn secret agenda.

"Not that I know of. I'm going to look for the devices. And if I happen to come across whomever is in command, I'm not going to just walk by them." Her sky eye probe wasn't able to keep up with her in stealth mode as she moved quickly down the companionways and through open doorways. Whenever she did stop, it was never long enough for her probe to catch up. It will have to do its best while still passively scanning for elements used in the device.

She could almost 'hear' Jahkar shake his head. "You frelling better be careful and not do anything stupid." he growled, using the trill curse word on purpose to emphasize his point.

"Start sweeping, Colonel." In her eyes, the layout of the station was laid out as she headed to the command center. Hopefully there, she might be able to find out where the devices are if they aren't not on the station.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.19

As Will waited for Beckett to respond, an alarm began softly beeping inside his helmet. At first, the Scot ignored the repeated chime … waiting anxiously for Cody to report in. Realizing the lieutenant was still assessing his proposed plan, McCulloch responded to the alarm and quickly realized it was his nanoprobe reporting in.

The device had been zipping throughout engineering, but it had somehow exited the area within the last thirty seconds and was now retracing McCulloch’s steps back towards the insertion point. En route, it encountered a heavily armed security detail heading down to engineering.

"We’re about to receive company." Will announced over the subvoc to Cody and Tiri.

"What?" The Andorian demanded.

"There’s a security detail approaching." McCulloch responded quietly as he instinctively reached for the combat knife strapped to his chest. There was a brief pause as the Scot grasped at his chest twice. There was no knife…only an empty sheath. After a moment of reflection, he softly cursed over the subvoc.

"F\*&^ me."

"What?" Cody replied without looking up from the data he was analyzing.

"I must have forgotten to retrieve my combat knife after I killed the female Cardassian in the passageway."

"The security detail is going to find it, aren’t they?" Sh’avelith pressed. It was both a question and a statement.

"Aye." Will calmly conceded.

"F\*&^ me." The Andorian repeated.

"Options?" Cody asked. There was a tone of concern in his voice.

Will mulled over the various scenarios briefly for a moment. He looked around as Cardasian engineers were scrambling to identify and resolve the emergency Cody had created. It was obvious time was running out.

"Four, cover Seven. Cody, execute the kamikaze scenario I told you about." Will ordered.

"What about you?" Tiri inquired, concerned about what the Scot was about to do.

"I’m going to correct a mistake I made." He replied coldly before powering up his rifle. While remaining cloaked, he silently made his way back towards the exit. After a brief pause, he exited engineering and surveyed the passageway and adjoining rooms within his vicinity.

The Scot quietly cleared his throat and began to prepare for the fight that was coming to him.

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.19

In his HUD, Beckett saw the animated silhouette of McCulloch moving away from him and Sh'avelith.

"Sh\*t…Let's hope he doesn't do any stupid things" Beckett said, while his fingers still flew over the console. He was working feverishly, trying to get access to the other ships systems, without being detected. Luckily, his AI was a very helpful companion in this. From the total of 17 ships, most were docked, and a handful maintained some kind of stationary orbit around it. These ships would be the easiest to ram into the station, as they weren't docked at all. So far Cody had gained access to three of these ships and four of the docked ones. So far, so good.

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Relgarin Compound, Cardassia

Stardate 2204.19

Reepchip kept an eye on Tirlin.  From his position, he didn’t think he could nail the inhibitor with his dart gun either–he was too far away, and besides, if he shot now, he would alert Tirlin to something being amiss whether he hit or not.

He let the team know that Tirlin had been in contact with someone, though he couldn’t tell what they said due to not knowing Cardassian, but he had the look of one who was waiting.

Meanwhile, Ryramorl led the team forwards, asking Reepchip if he had seen any patrols.

Reepchip replied that he hadn’t seen any, but he’d heard a few.  Ryramorl acknowledged, then contacted Captain Lazarus.  "Captain, we’re getting close to Tirlin.  Where are you?"

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Elim Garak

Ensign Dara Tajel

Relgarin Compound, Cardassia

Stardate 2204.19

Lazarus, Rhikal and their team moved 200 meters west of the Relgarin compound to a rocky hillside where they ordered some of the Fearless security officers to plant a series of explosive device along the ridge there.

Once the devices were in place, the team moved to a hiding spot a little south of the hillside where they hunkered down in a ravine. After they heard from Delta Team, Rhikal gave the order to detonate the explosives and the security officer holding the detonator triggered the remote.

The hillside suddenly erupted in a blast of flames, spewing rocks and debris across the mountain landscape surrounding the compound.

Lights came on outside the compound and were directed at the site of the explosions. Shouts came from inside the compound and several Cardassian appeared on the wall and supporting towers, weapons directed toward the commotion.

"That’s our cue," said Rhikal. "Move out."

Echo Team moved from the ravine, running along some rock outcroppings as they worked their way around to the opposite side of the compound away from where the Relgarin’s attention was focused.

Lazarus heard Ryramorl’s communication, and he responded as they ran, "We’re on the move now, Phoenix Five. Our ETA is about two minutes."

The squad came up behind the compound and as they approached the rear door, it slid open and two Cardassians appeared, throwing grenades at the team.

"Grenades!" Rhikal shouted.

The Relgarians were perhaps not the brightest, but not completely stupid. They had determined the explosions were a distraction and they had acted appropriately.

Everyone dove for cover as the grenades exploded, spewing shrapnel around the area. A security officer was killed in the blast and Rhikal took a piece of shrapnel in the back of her neck – a flesh wound but still bad enough to cause her to go down, blood soaking the back of her neck.

"Echo to Five!" Lazarus called as he crawled behind some boulders where Garak and Tajel had landed. "We were made coming in the back door! Do what you have to! Get Drajal!"

Phaser fire began to spray from the back door to the compound and from up on the wall, pinning down Echo Team as they sought better cover and returned fire.

Inside, Tirlin Drajal and the leadership of the Relgarin moved together toward a safe room inside the compound. As they moved in a group, Tirlin opened a channel again to his sister.

"How long, Sabka?" he asked. "Things are getting bad here! The Federation has arrived!"

"Working on it, brother," he replied. "We’re almost in transporter range."

Lieutenant Ryramorl Ra’yral

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Relgarin Compound, Cardassia

Stardate 2204.19

"Five to Echo.  On it!  Five to Six.  Can you herd Tirlin towards us?"

"Six to Five!  Will try!"

Reepchip concentrated.  He realized Tirlin and the other leaders were heading towards a saferoom.  Trying to convince the moles that this room needed to be guarded failed miserably–until he implanted into their heads that it was prime nesting grounds.  He could feel the moles begin to swarm to defend their territory.  The rustling and squeaking grew louder as the very walls seem to move.  He barely had any control over them; he could only reinforce the idea that they had breeding grounds to defend.  And he thought ONE mole had been a trick to control!

But it was enough–Tirlin and the Relgarin’s leaders found themselves faced with a shrieking, crawling mass blocking their way to the safe room and swarming towards them.  There was nothing to do but run and find somewhere else.  The Relgarin’s leader called out to his followers, calling them to cover them.

Reepchip contacted Ryramorl.  "Six to Five!  They’re fleeing to a safer location."  He used his mental powers to give Ryramorl an idea of where they were going.  "...you’re gonna have company!"

"Five to Six.  Acknowledged."

Meanwhile, above, Reepchip scrambled over the ductwork to get into a good position.  He loaded his blowpipe with a nanite dart and took careful aim and blew.  The first sign Tirlin would get of Reepchip’s skill with a blowpipe was his transporter inhibitor sparking and suddenly disintegrating as the nanites tore its electronics apart.  Reepchip immediately began loading a tagged dart into his blowpipe.  The horde of voles could be heard shrieking not far away.  Reepchip could feel his control slipping–if he knew he was going to lose control, he’d make all hell break loose and call for an emergency evacuation.

Then he got a call from Captain Lazarus.  "Echo to Six.  We’re facing serious resistance here!  Can you send some voles to take these fanatics out?"

Meanwhile, Reepchip saw a horde of Cardassians take up defensive positions and start firing at Ryramorl and the others; one security officer took a minigun beam to the face, killing him instantly.  Delta Team was forced to back off to a safer position.

Reepchip chittered and concentrated.  He knew he didn’t have the skill to truly command them like the more skilled Shamans did back home–and these were Cardassian Voles, not the hive-minded Sekeera.  Suddenly a horrifying thought occurred to him as he remembered what Lazarus had asked him earlier.  He couldn’t prevent the voles from eating Cardassians alive–but he could make them do it–and this was a battle; sometimes horrifying things had to be done.  He concentrated, filling the voles with the scent of Cardassians, and trying to incite both rage and hunger in them–and he saw the voles start scrambling towards the Cardassians and swarming over the Relgarin, and in that moment, he’d lost all control.

He had to shut the voles out of his mind before the sensations overwhelmed him, and he reported to Captain Lazarus.  “Six to Echo.  I have lost control of the voles.  They’re in a feeding frenzy now."

Near the back of the compound, Lazarus, Rikhal, Garek, and the rest of Echo Team winced as voles seemed to crawl out of every crack in the walls, pouncing on the Relgarin, who could fire at the swarm, but it was like firing at water to hold back the tide; for each one they hit, a hundred came closer.

Reepchip winced as the Cardassian manning the minigun trying to mow down the voles realized too late the futility of fighting back as dozens swarmed over him, biting into him, and soon burying him under a hungry mass.

Ryramorl turned and saw more Relgarin coming down another hall.  It was clearly an attempt at a pincer movement, but Reepchip’s critters had thwarted that by tearing into one side; currently they were either ignoring or unaware of the other side.  Ryramorl ordered his team to open fire on them; two guards went down, while one managed to get into an alcove and start firing back.

Reepchip loaded a tagged dart into his blowpipe and took aim at Tirlin, but instead only hit one of the Relgarin leaders.  The second dart hit a Relgarin follower, but the third got Tirlin.  "Six to Echo!  I’ve tagged Tirlin!  Ready to beam out!"  He let out an ungodly shriek as Tirlin fired a phaser at him but missed, revealing to the Cardassian who had nearly deafened Nerad.

Ryramorl aimed another blast at the hiding Cardassian but missed; the Cardassian firing back and clipping the big Carnora on the arm. Ryramorl fell back, holding his injured arm, and a security officer nearby took a shot, taking out the Cardassian.  Between the voles and the phaser fire, the Cardassians were forced to fall back.

Tirlin disappeared in a swirl of light, but immediately his figure began to reappear, as if the transporter was malfunctioning. A voice came through the subvocal communicators of the entire team: “Fearless to Echo and Delta Teams! I’ve locked on to Tirlin Drajal but….I think someone else has locked onto him too and is attempting to transport him out."

Outside the main entrance, as the smoke cleared, Lazarus heard the transmission and glanced to Garak and Tajel, “Someone has come for Tirlin. One of his siblings must be unaccounted for."

“Sabka," Tajel said in a low voice. “Am I correct that she is unaccounted for?"

Lazarus nodded, “It’s her or Narvath, and having done the math she was further from the wormhole when the Bajorans shut it down."

“It’s her," Tajel said. “She won’t let him go. It’s one of her brothers. She fiercely loyal."

“His signal…it’s breaking up….if we don’t release him he’ll end up…" the transporter operator aboard Fearless said through the subvocal earpieces.

“Do not disengage!" Lazarus commanded.

“Captain Rhikal. The Cardassian will die…"

“Do as Captain Lazarus said!" Rhikal ordered as she regrouped with Lazarus, Tajel and Garak, along with the Fearless security team.

In front of Reepchip, he watched the swirling light display and suddenly heard a terrible shriek come from the flickering column of light. Right before him, Tirlin Drajal’s pattern began to distort and deform, until finally what remained of him disappeared completely.

Aboard the Fearless, transporter operator Chief David Lyman, turned away from the transport pad and had to cover his mouth to avoid throwing up on the console. Wearily, he reached over to the holographic display and tapped the virtual touchpad to open the channel, “Away Team…Tirlin Drajal is dead. We have maybe half of his remains."

Below, Tajel looked at Lazarus, “What does that mean, sir?"

“It means Sabka got the other half," Lazarus said, shaking his head.

Reepchip saw him disappear and started shaking.  He had to steel himself to come down from his hiding place.  The Cardassians were fleeing the voles gone mad.  He and the Madcaps had once tested what would happen if two transporters locked onto the same object, using a simple bed as a test item–the sound had been awful as the item was torn apart, and what had ended up on the two pads was barely recognizable as having been parts of a bed.  For this to happen to a living being…

Ryramorl radioed his captain over the subvoc, letting all hear him.  “Captain, whoever tried to take Tirlin will want our hides for garments, our hearts for snacks, and our heads for footstools.  We must be ready for a battle of vengeance."

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.20

McCulloch advanced down the passageway approximately 100 meters before halting. He quietly studied the readings his nanoprobe was sending back to him.

The Cardassian security detail was much larger than he anticipated…almost a dozen in strength. Worse, the team was closing in on his position quickly and would be in contact in under a minute.

The Scot cursed to himself.

It would be suicide to try and take on the entire detail alone. Will looked about his surroundings and he mulled over his options. He needed to buy Cody some time so the New Zealander could carry out his assignment.

After some reflection, Will approached a pair of access panels located on either side of the passageway and quietly opened them. He silently withdrew two additional nanoprobes and entered a series of commands. He watched as the two devices activated and quickly entered the left and right access tubes before halting approximately 10 meters inside. Satisfied the two probes were functioning within normal parameters, McCulloch closed both panel doors.

The probes had been programmed to start emitting disrupting noises…banging, scratching and knocks …before slowly retreating further into the access tubes … as the Cardassian security team passed. Hopefully, the noise would draw the enemy away from engineering and into the tubes.

Once finished, Will slowly retreated back towards engineering. Randomly he placed concussion grenades in obscure locations that would not be immediately noticeable byt he security detail. He programmed each device to alert him when an enemy combatant came within range. Once notified, McCulloch would either pull the trigger and detonate the device or allow the security team to pass.

As he positioned the last grenade, he contacted Beckett via the subvoc.

"Seven…Eight. We have a large security detail approaching your position. I’ve taken steps to hopefully delay them. I am en route back to your position. I’d be eternally grateful if you would tell me you’re just about ready to launch a kamikaze attack on the station."

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.18

Beckett worked as fast as he could. With the AI he had hacked 12 ships and taken over control, locking out any console. As he was initiating undocking procedures, the AI messages him back that it had taken control of the docking berths and clamps. Beckett grinned. This AI was awesome. He wondered how long it would take for the Cardassians to find out what was happening, as McCulloch addressed him.

"Seven…Eight. We have a large security detail approaching your position. I’ve taken steps to hopefully delay them. I am en route back to your position. I’d be eternally grateful if you would tell me you’re just about ready to launch a kamikaze attack on the station."

"Yeah, almost. Ships are starting to undock. We have about two minutes before we have to get the hell out. Full impulse sequences have been preprogrammed to ram into the station. " Beckett returned. "And I have a little surprise for the sec detail coming your way. Make sure your maglevs are activated."

Then he opened a channel to Jahkar and Vree and the Resurrection. "One, Two, Havoc, this is Seven. I've been able to hack 12 of the ships. They are currently under control by my AI. I'm going to ram them into the station. Undocking sequence is initiated. Within a few minutes, this place is gonna light up real good...Havoc, standby to beam us out. "

Beckett turned around to access the other terminal and froze as he looked straight into the eyes of a Cardassian. Cody cursed inwardly as the Cardassian, one of the engineers slowly came closer to examine what was going on.

Cody guessed the cloak had shimmered and had attracted the attention of the Cardassian. Cody swallowed and waited, nervously. Where was Tiri? He looked around, and saw, for now, the Cardassian was the only one, as the rest was still bustling about the fake engineering error Cody had created. Suddenly, the ship lurched back and forth, and the Cardassian engineer flew over the console Cody was standing at. Cody evaded the Cardassian by quickly stepping aside.

The Cardassian smacked into the bulkhead and sank to the floor, unconscious. Cody exhaled. The next second the alarm started blaring and a voice in Cardassian yelled over the comm. The engineers looked at each other for a short moment, then they each ran into a different part of engineering. Cody cursed, and quickly locked all controls on the ship.

Lt. Tiri Sh’avelith

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.20

Tiri had to deal with a couple of Cardassian who entered engineering, weapons ready, while Beckett was busy hacking computer systems aboard the Cardassian ships. They entered engineering, clearly looking to engage intruders, and passed right by Tiri who was shrouded.

She waited until she was in position behind one and attacked, plunging her ushaan-tor into the neck of the aggressing soldier.

As he sank to the floor, the life flowing from the stab wound to his neck, the other Cardassian, who was crouched advancing toward Beckett across the room turned and saw Tiri standing over his dead comrade. He started to turn toward Tiri to shoot, but she took the bloody ushaan-tor and flung it, the blade spinning end over end until it stabbed the Cardassian between his eyes, killing him instantly.

Tiri then saw the Cardassian advancing on Beckett and went to raise her phaser to shoot him, when the ship suddenly lurched, sending all of them tumbling to the deck.

From her sprawled position on the floor, she looked up and saw Beckett scrambling to a console while the two engineers bolted, one running past Tiri who came up into a crouching position and fired her phaser, stunning the engineer unconscious.

Looking after the other engineer, he disappeared into the forward section of engineering and out of her sight.

“Sorry," she yelled to Cody. “I ran into a little diversion."

Colonel Jahkar

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.19

Jahkar heard the report and shook his head. Sometimes he wondered why Shadow Ops or the Marine Corps were needed when someone could just hack a computer algorithm, alter programming or hijack an entire computer network and crash starships, make them fire on one another or self-destruct.

He keyed the subvoc, "Two here. Acknowledged."

Continuing down the corridor, he rounded a corner and something suddenly began to disrupt his personal cloak. He toggled the control for the device and cursed under his breath as it completely deactivated.

Jahkar moved to a doorway  where he checked the heads-up for personal cloak diagnostics and was surprised to learn some kind of polaron radiation had disrupted the cloak. He brought up the onboard tricorder in the HUD and scanned the corridor, only to find the entire corridor flooded with polaron particles.

"The Jem’Hadar found the disruption of their cloaks to be as annoying as you find it," a voice called from down the corridor. "The Resistance used the method many times to foil the Dominion in their missions to snuff out our people during the war."

Jahkar took his helmet off and looked out from the doorway toward the voice. Standing at the end of the corridor was Narvath Drajal, phaser in hand, a Jem’Hadar kar’takin sword slung across his back.

Jahkar brought his rifle up and aimed it at the Cardassian, who was now walking toward him. His finger tensed on the trigger, but as he watched Narvath, he saw the Cardassian slip the phaser back into his holster.

"Surely, you don’t want to end it that easily," he sneered. "You look like the warrior type. Let’s see if that is a correct assessment."

Jahkar slung the rifle and stepped out, drawing his Klingon hand axes from their hip sheaths. "Where are the Trinity devices?" Jahkar demanded.

"Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?" Narvath grinned as he drew the Jem’Hadar sword. "Perhaps if you can best me, I’ll tell you."

Jahkar circled Narvath, in a crouched stance, an ax in each hand. When the Cardassian suddenly moved, Jahkar brought an axe up and blocked it. The two engaged in a series of lunges and blocks, Narvath mostly on the offense as Jahkar countered with great skill.

"You know how to use that weapon?" Jahkar hissed as they circled one another.

"I took it off the body of the first Jem’Hadar I killed that day on Cardassia Prime, when they tried to kill my entire race," he said, probing at Jahkar’s defenses with the weapon. "I spent hundreds of hours practicing…using Jem’Hadar training programs."

Jahkar waited for him to attack, then blocked him again before swinging one of the axes and slashing Narvath across the chest with the edge of the metal head of the weapon. Gashed open, Narvath staggered back, looked down at the blood running down his chest, and he glared at the half-Romulan/Klingon before coming at him with another attack.

Commander Mayla Vree

Command Center, Forward Base at Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.21

Moving through the station silently was easy enough for Mayla. Her combat skills honed over years, or rather, centuries of memories of muscle memory, came into play which made her and her 'sibko' among the deadliest genetic warriors of the Linea. And she was part of the first generation of vats to be created. When the fifth generation was created, the Linea had determined after millennia of genetic experimentation and research, that they were the epitome of merging Linea genetics with Trill symbiont memory implantation. That was when it was decided all previous generations were to be 'retired'. Fifth generation killing squads were sent out to remove the 'genetic experiments' from existence. Only her sibko's commander, Cale, collected as many of their sibko as he could and fled.

Mayla, on the other hand, had been previously rescued by Bravo Squad before the killing squads were sent out. She avoided the massacre of most of her sibko; her gestation vat of brothers and sisters. Now, most of those who fled with Cale had found amnesty in the Federation with the help of her father. Except for her Echo Team, Cale and what remained of her sibko were now stationed at Blackthorn with her father. Her true nature and history had all been stricken from all records by Admiral Sorvek and her father. Only a handful of Bravo Squad, Sorvek, and Lazarus knew of where she really came from. It has been a long-standing secret to her origins. Let alone knowledge of the Linea.

She stopped when various Cardassians ahead of her suddenly stepped aside at attention. Silently she quickly moved around a corner. She checked in her eyes to see where her closest probe was. It was still too far away. Silence moved towards the hallway as a lone figure turned down a corridor with authority. After he passed, the personnel continued their duties. In her eyes, her AI had identified the man with 92 percent certainty as Oran Drajal.

She quickly followed without hesitation. As he entered the Ops command center, she stopped short and instructed her tricorder to passively scan the entryway. Any physical scan of her will show as Cardassian from her camouflaging nanites, even though visual sensors can't see her. But she still had to be careful. Kyril had once spent hours in the command center of a Linea command carrier without detection. She highly doubted she was going to do that here.

She drew her weapon and stepped through the threshold when an entering Cardassian activated the door.

She made note that this particular Cardassian had a weapon holstered on each thigh, like her. While she kept a wary eye on that one, she took in the command center with one sweeping glance. The Ops center was highly advanced, nothing like what the original designs implied. The three levels of the open-air operations center allowed from Drajal's vantage point on the highest level to see the two lower levels of Ops and every duty station that oversaw each function of the station. The station had been upgraded into a fully functioning, and dangerous, base of operations. It needed to be destroyed.

With one glance around, she located Oran Drajal standing at the rail just as he waved to an aid to receive orders.

"Send out whisker probes to patrol around the station out to 10 kilometers." He waited to receive an acknowledgement before walking over to a female Cardassian standing at the tactical station. "Beam the Trinity device aboard the ATR-4107 advanced self-guided tactical missile, then launch it. Send it on its programmed course."

At the mention of the order, Mayla didn't hesitate. She sprinted towards the woman, aiming her weapon with one hand and pulling out a brick of KV explosives from her pack with the other. She fired her weapon twice, once at the woman's head, and once at the console itself.

By the time her head exploded, Mayla had slapped the explosives onto the console and activated it with a one second delay, at maximum yield. She didn't have time to part out any number of explosives; all of it would have to do.

Even for Mayla, one second was too short for her to find immediate cover or to outrun the explosion. Those explosives at maximum yield would destroy everything within a 30-meter radius. Without losing her momentum, she tackled Drajal to one side and then without a nanosecond to lose, jumped over the railing just as the explosives detonated. Hopefully the floor deck plating would shield her from most of the blast as the heat hit her from behind.

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.21

Cody cursed. Their cover was on the verge of being compromised. The situation was getting out of control. The Cardassian engineers were getting anxious as they couldn't get into the systems. Then one of them yelled as he found the Cardassian Tiri took care of, in a pool if blood. Time for some action. "Four, Seven here. Get some KV explosives around engineering, max yield 3 meters, timer 10 seconds. Stay clear from the warp core. I'll distract the engineers"

"Copy that," Sh'avelith replied.

"Seven to Eight, what's your status? "

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.21

"Seven to Eight; what's your status?"

“Stand by," McCulloch replied tersely as he took a defensive position between engineering and the security detail closing in on him.

According to feedback from his nanoprobe, at least nine heavily armed Cardassians were advancing towards engineering. The Scot was certain that the security team would encounter the combat knife he had inadvertently left in his target at any moment. Once that happened, the Sons of Cardassia would be alerted and the hunt would begin.

As the detail continued to move towards his position, Will noticed his cloaking device flicker and then go offline.

“What the?" Will cursed softly as he tried to reactivate the cloak, only to find it had completely disengaged. The Scot cursed yet again. He quickly contacted Tiri and Beckett.

“Four, Seven. The Sons have the capability to disrupt our cloaks."

“What?" Tiri demanded over the subvoc.

“My cloak is offline." Will answered. “I simply can’t walk back into engineering."

“No…no you can’t." Beckett answered. There was almost a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

“Do what you need to do while I hold off the detail for as long as possible."

“Eight, don’t do anything that will get yourself killed," Cody warned.

“Of course. Eight out."

McCulloch fell back a few dozen meters and positioned himself in the shadows of a service alcove just off the corridor the detail was advancing down. Will had strategically placed four concussion grenades in a wide diamond pattern between him and the approaching detail. Once the detail entered the target area, the Scot intended to detonate the devices before attacking his opponents.

As McCulloch waited for the detail to arrive, he softly exhaled several times, trying to calm his nerves and reduce his breathing pattern. He closed his eyes and reminded himself he didn’t have to fight or kill off the entire detail. All he had to do was drive them away from engineering or stall them.

The Scot’s thoughts briefly drifted back to Operation Valkyrie…one of his final operations before retiring and launching the intelligence firm, Inverness.

Several years after the conclusion of the Dominion War, Admiral Sorvek had recruited Will to disrupt a Cardassian resistance cell that actively attempted to interfere with Federation reconstruction efforts. The mission resulted in the single-handed slaughter of over two dozen Cardassian terrorists and their families.

Admittedly, to this day McCulloch is unable to account for much of the mission due to the fact he was under the influence of alcohol and a variety of narcotics. Nevertheless, some memories of his actions occasionally surface to remind him of who he was…the singlehanded slaughter of an armed detail, the execution of a Cardassian woman and the cries of a young child.

Will’s reflections were interrupted when he heard the loud heavy thud of boots rushing down the hallway before slowing to a cautious advance.

The Scot quietly withdrew the dirk knife strapped to his right boot and raised it up at the ready. He could hear the Cardassians closing in on his position. He breathed deeply one last time before squeezing the trigger on the device remotely connected to the four concussion grenades he had placed in the passageway.

There was a brief whine as the grenades powered up. A security officer spotted the device and tried to warn his companions, but it was too late. The four devices went off in quick succession, causing most of the Cardassian detail to crumple to the ground or stagger about in confusion. More than one had brown fluid oozing from their ears.

Will silently stepped out from his position and closed the distance with the security officer closest to him. He brought his dirk knife up and slid the blade across the Cardassian’s throat. As the guard choked on his blood and collapsed to the floor, McCulloch seized his opponent's disruptor rifle.

Instinctively, the Scot flipped his dirk in the air, caught it by the tip of the blade and hurled it towards his next intended target. The blade sailed across the corridor and sank into the eye socket of his victim with a loud “squish". As the Cardassian howled in pain, McCulloch brought his captured rifle up to the ready and began to pour disruptor fire into the security detail. Two more targets crumpled to the ground, dead or severely wounded. A man apparently in charge barked a series of orders and tried to herd the remainder of his disorientated team back to a secure position to regroup.

McCulloch aimed his weapon and squeezed the trigger. The energy blast easily found its target...causing the man’s head to pop and spray brown ooze on a nearby wall with.

The remainder of the security detail team scrambled to fall back. Will slowly stalked the remainder of the detail, occasionally pouring disruptor fire into the disorientated and nervous pack of Cardassians. After toying with them for several seconds, he withdrew and then tossed the last of his last remaining concussion grenade as they rounded a passageway corner.

There was yet another loud bang. Confusion and panic set in as McCulloch followed and selectively fired into the group…killing one and wounding another. The remaining survivors dropped their weapons and broke into a full sprint as they retreated from the area.

Once the security detail had withdrawn, the Scot looked about his surroundings. He sighed loudly and then set to the arduous task of executing the wounded. Methodically, he shot each surviving Cardassian in the head so as to ensure they wouldn’t be able to reveal his position or the direction he traveled in.

Satisfied he was again alone, Will fell back and took up his post in the shadows of the alcove he had previously occupied.

“Four, Seven. The detail has been handled…for now. Status?"

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Engineering

Stardate 2204.22

"Our cover is blown. We are still cloaked, but I had to block their access. They are getting suspicious." Cody checked his wristpadd. Four of the ships that Cody had hacked with help from the AI had moved away from the station and were now turning towards the station. Four other ships were still detaching from the station, one of them being the CDS Arluth. Cody quickly tapped in some commands and on the screen, he saw the ships increasing in speed. There was not much time left. Since he couldn’t take control of the station, he noticed how shields were raised and weapons were activated. More commands, and all hijacked ships also raised shields. Cody exhaled deep to release a bit of tension as he opened a channel to the team and the Resurrection.

"First ships are getting into position to ram the station. In one minute, they will go to full impulse. Havoc, standby for beam out! "

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.23

"Our cover is blown. We are still cloaked, but I had to block their access. They are getting suspicious."

“Understood." Will calmly replied as he leaned his Cardassian disruptor against a nearby panel and unslung his rifle. He watched as the weapon powered up before bringing it to the ready.

In the distance, the Scot heard the familiar sound of boots against the corridor floor. From the sound, Will correctly surmised that the Cardassians had regrouped but had also brought in reinforcements.

“Just get the job done Seven. Take the bloody station down. Eight out."

Will wasn’t convinced a beam out would work. Something about this station spooked him….as if the Sons of Cardassia had a hidden surprise for the team. He again reminded himself all he had to do was stall or drive back the security detail long enough for Cody and Tiri to complete their task.

He briefly thought of Victoria and wondered if he’d ever be able to make things right with her. However, his musings were interrupted as a member of the reinforced security detail rounded the corner and approached his position.

Without hesitation, the Scot squeezed the trigger of his rifle and began to pour phaser fire into the unfortunate Sons of Cardassia, who were once again approaching his position.

Commander Victoria Smith

Medical Jumpship “The Gentle Annie Etheridge"

Stardate 2204.24

Victoria leaned back in her command chair and nervously drummed her fingers on her thighs. The combat nurse studied the holographic display before her that shared the real-time medical readings of each of the five operatives under her care.

Each of the five had similar characteristics…an increased heart rate, slightly elevated blood pressure, faster-breathing patterns, muscle tension and signs of stress. Victoria recognized the symptoms instantly and knew the operatives were in a combat situation. Her eyes darted between Vree and McCulloch several times before she checked herself. It was not fair to the others that she fretted over the Scot and the Trill…even from a distance. She sighed loudly and moved the medical display to her right. Seconds later, she brought up the ship’s ops display. She studied the flight path the Gentle Annie was to take once given the “all-clear" command to establish a combat support hospital (CSH).

“Lieutenant Tusot, have we received the go command from the bridge?"

“No ma’am."

Victoria sighed a second time and opened a channel to the bridge.

“Bridge, Smith. Union XII’s medical readings suggest Phoenix Team has engaged the enemy. Requesting permission to deploy the CSH."

There was a long pause before Lt. Commander McGuire replied.

“Union XII …  Stand by."

Victoria waited until the channel was closed before uttering a string of Trill profanities. Every second her medical team was not deployed was a wasted opportunity if one of Vree’s operatives was injured.

Commander Sornax

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2204.26

Resurrection held its position near Forward Base, awaiting communication from the team regarding their status. Sornax stood on the bridge, hovering over Dahrt at the tactical console, hoping to hear something soon regarding the team.

As the Denobulan waited, Lt. Dahrt suddenly turned his attention to an alert on his holographic tactical screen.

“What is it?" Sornax asked.

Dahrt studied the incoming data and scowled, “Hull sensors detect something that has attached itself to the ship’s outer skin."

“Attached? What is it?" Sornax asked.

Two more alerts went off and Dahrt raced to find out what they were. “Two more contacts with the hull. Metallic objects, they’ve magnetized to the ship."

“Damn it," Sornax hissed. “Options, Mr. Dahrt?"

Over on Forward Base, the Sons of Cardassia in the operations center took notice of the probes they’d deployed minutes earlier and learned that three of them had attached themselves to some sort of metal object near the station.

“Three contacts! There’s something out there!" the Cardassian at the tactical station reported.

“Lock onto those signals and launch a spread of plasma torpedoes," the acting station commander replied. “Now!"

A spread of six torpedoes launched from the station and headed directly toward the signals being given off by the probes attached to Resurrection. Blinded by the gaseous upper atmosphere of the planet, the ship didn’t see the threat coming…but Sornax suspected it was there.

“We could reverse magnetize the hull," Dahrt interjected. “That might make the probes release."

“Do it!" Sornax barked. “Then get us away from this position, full impulse!"

Dahrt carried out the command, the reverse magnetization of the hull causing the probes to release. Immediately, the helm took the Resurrection out at maximum impulse, putting distance between it and the incoming torpedoes which were still streaking toward the signals given by the probes.

The torpedoes reached their targets and detonated, the explosions rocking the surrounding ships and station. At the same time, Resurrection took some kick from the shockwave but otherwise managed to get clear.

Aboard Forward Base and the Cardassian ships parked there, alarm klaxons sounded.

At virtually the same time, explosions ripped through the station, the shockwave from the blast extending out away from Forward Base, rocking the Resurrection even more. Sornax steadied himself and heard Beckett announce they were standing by for transport.

“Lock on and get them out of there," Sornax ordered. In the transporter bay, the operator heard the order and began to lock on to everyone for transport, hoping everyone had a signal because it would be the only means of finding them with the gaseous atmosphere’s interference.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.28

As Will fired again at the security detail trying to press towards his position, he heard a dull metallic creak followed by the floor vibrating underneath him. Seconds later, the CDS Arluth jolted violently…knocking both the Scot and his attackers off their feet. There was a brief pause as a trio of Cardassians stared dumbfounded at Will.

“Something’s not right." One of them muttered loud enough for McCulloch to hear them.

“You think so? What gave it away?" The Scot retorted sarcastically as he glanced about his immediate surroundings before scrambling to his feet, leveling his rifle, and firing toward the three Cardassians. As the trio instantly fell back, the one closest to the Scot became enveloped in a shower of sparks as a phaser blast struck squarely him in the back. The other two successfully found shelter as they reached a corridor junction and dived out of view.

“Seven, what the hell was that? Have your kamikaze attacks commenced?" Will asked over the subvoc.

The was a brief delay before Tiri responded. “Negative, that wasn’t us."

Before McCulloch could respond, alarm klaxons began to wail throughout the corridor. The Scot looked around nervously as he muttered angrily to himself.

“This is definitely not good … not good at all.."

Colonel Jahkar

CDS Arluth, Nixamar XII

Stardate 2204.30

Jahkar and Narvath were engaged in an all-out battle when the explosions happened outside the ship, the blasts knocking both men off their feet. Jahkar got to his feet as Narvath rose, sword in hand, glaring at Jahkar.

Another larger blast rocked them as they were recovering from the first. This one sounded and felt much larger than the first.

Steady again on their feet, the two squared off once more.

“Thought you’d sneak aboard, kill my people, destroy our weapons," Narvath hissed. “We are too close to having our vengeance."

Jahkar circled the Cardassian, dual axes in both hands, “You’re no better than the Dominion…no better than the Breen. You’d plunge the Cardassian Republic into an all-out war with both of them to have your…vengeance."

“We are entitled to retribution for what they did... what they did to my family," Narvath muttered. “We will not be denied."

Jahkar lunged and swung one ax at Narvath’s head, missing him narrowly as he swung the Jem’Hadar sword, which Jahkar parried with the second ax. He then slammed his forehead into Narvath’s face, smashing his nose. The blow sent the Cardassian staggering backwards, blood gushing from his nasal cavity.

Jahkar seized the opportunity with Narvath stunned to move in and finish him, but the Cardassian had enough of his senses to dodge right, evading the attack, before using the pommel of the weapon to smash the Marine alongside his head.

Jahkar’s head recoiled from the blow, and he stumbled as Narvath pulled a hidden dagger out of the hilt of his weapon and attempted to stab Jahkar in the gut. Jahkar saw the hand bearing a knife coming at him and in a split-second reaction, he swung the ax downward, the sharpened edge of the weapon connecting with Narvath’s wrist, which he lopped off causing his hand, still clutching the dagger, to fall to the deck.

Narvath screamed, dropping the sword and falling backwards, his remaining hand clutching the bloody stump. His gaze fell upon Jahkar, a look of surprise and hatred both as he released his handless limb and reached for his sidearm with his remaining hand.

Jahkar considered trying to take him down with a tackle for a split second but seeing the phaser clearing its holster he decided there was no time. He took the axe in his right hand and threw it, the weapon streaking across the corridor to slam into Narvath’s forehead.

The Drajal brother stood stiffly as the phaser dropped from his grasp and clattered on the deck, his eyes still locked on Jahkar as the Klingon axe protruded from his forehead. Then, he slumped back against the wall behind him before sliding down to the floor where he remained lifeless.

Jahkar heard klaxons sounding ship wide and figured it would be seconds before Sons of Cardassian were heading his way. He didn’t know what had caused the explosions outside the ship but dared to venture it was Resurrection. Pulling the axe from Narvath’s head, Jahkar ran up the corridor, his rifle now unslung and back in his hands as he opened a comm-channel, “Two to Phoenix. Narvath is neutralized. Cloak is damaged," he reported. “Heading to check cargo bay two on the Arluth."

Halfway there, Jahkar was enveloped in a transporter beam and found himself aboard Resurrection…

Sabkra Drajal

CDS Oragagh

Stardate 2205.05

Sabkra Drajal screamed as she saw the mangled remains of her brother strewn across the transporter pad aboard the Oragagh. She nearly dropped to the deck, her body quaking in near physical pain as she realized her brother was dead.

“I…I tried to tell you Gul Drajal, if we didn’t release him from the transporter he’d be torn apart!" a young Cardassian crewman told her. “I was afraid this would…"

Sabkra looked up at him, glaring, as her disruptor came out of its holster and she blasted the Cardassian in the chest, the shot vaporizing him where he stood.

She turned and headed to the bridge, her pained scream from a moment earlier now seething anger. When she arrived, the Oragagh was still sitting in orbit above Cardassia Prime, cloaked, awaiting her next order.

All eyes were on her as news of the murder of Transporter Operator Zarerth spread throughout the Sons of Cardassia vessel. The Cardassian woman came to stand before the viewscreen and she was quiet a moment before his first officer spoke.

“Gul Drajal," he said. “Word from the brig is that the Founder is dead. What do you want done with the corpse?"

“Jettison it," she muttered.

“And then, what are your orders?" he asked. “The Federation and Cardassian forces will begin sweeping for us as soon as they realize we are here."

Sabka considered attacking the starfleet team on the surface. She considered drawing out the cloaked Starfleet ship and fighting it. But everything was beginning to stack up against her.

Then, the tactical officer announced he was unable to raise Forward Base…which meant either the relay on the other side of the wormhole was down, or Forward Base was unable to respond.

“Gul," the XO said. “Ma’am. What do you want us to do?"

“Go to warp," she said, her voice cracking slightly. “Get us as far away from here as you can. There was a secret reserve base Oran spoke of once. Do you know where that was?"

The XO nodded, “Yes, ma’am. Somewhere on the other side of the Nyberite Alliance. It will take us a couple of months to reach it."

“Go," Sabka ordered. “If you are able to raise Forward Base or my brothers, let me know. Otherwise, I will be in my quarters."

Lt. Cody Beckett

CDS Arluth, Engineering

Stardate 2205.05

Beckett nodded as he saw that the ships were in position. It was a mess. As he had locked out all systems on all ships he was able to hack, engineers ran around frantically, trying to find a way to get access to the systems. He checked his datapadd, and saw that the remaining ships not under his control where undocking and headed in an interceptor course. The ships that were hacked could initiate full impulse any moment now.

"Seven to Havoc, now would be a good time to beam us out and get the heck away from here! Ships will go to full impulse to ram the station any moment now! " Just as he said that, one of the Cardassian engineers appeared and immediately started yelling.

Cody muttered something, as he levelled his rifle and hit the trigger. The Cardassian was hit in the chest and slammed backwards against a bulkhead and slumped to the floor. More Cardassians approached, and Cody felt relieved as the blue light of the transporter started enveloping him…

Moments later, in space, the first of the Cardassian ships went to full impulse and rammed the station in the midsection with 0.5c….

Forward Base

Nixamar XII

Stardate 2205.06

In the moments after Vree tackled Oran Drajal, everything around the Sons of Cardassia leader erupted – literally – into a burning hell. He was just starting to sit up when the explosion occurred, sending a massive blast through operations.

Oran did not even feel the pain as his body was vaporized there on the floor in operations. The tactical officer who was beaming the Trinity device aboard the ATR-4107 advanced self-guided tactical missile was also vaporized, his commands unfinished leaving the Trinity device in the station transport buffer.

The rest of the ops crew were also killed instantly, and the blast proceeded outward, tearing through equipment, walls and the bulkheads. The vacuum of space was opened into the station and anyone in adjoining sections who weren’t already dead and incinerated were sucked out into the gaseous clouds of the upper atmosphere of the Nixamar gas giant.

A series of explosions then began to cascade through the station, set off by the intense blast at ops. What followed next was the systematic ramming of Sons of Cardassia ships into the structure of the station, causing what remained of Forward Base to begin breaking up – that was, those portions that weren’t already being consumed by explosions.

In the debacle, the ATR-4107 missile was destroyed and the Arluth, caught in the blast of another nearby ship, was also destroyed.

A micro-second before the chaos, the entire team was beamed out of their respective locations and found themselves standing in the transporter bay of the Resurrection.

“We’ve got them, sir!" Ensign Jala Thrice called into the comm as she stood at the transporter controls.

“Mr. Carmichael!" Sornax’s voice declared over the comm-system. “Get us out of here! Rendezvous with the Gentle Annie at the pre-arranged coordinates."

When Sornax realized Beckett was intent on ramming the Cardassian ships into the station, he’d ordered the Gentle Annie to move away from the station and to a set of coordinates that would put them a safe distance from the impending blast.

Resurrection then performed a micro-jump with the coaxial drive – appearing at the coordinates where the Annie awaited them.

Sornax opened a channel, “Annie…are you OK?" (OCC: I had to put that in there, sorry)

“We’re all fine, commander," Jackson reported, though clearly disappointed she had not been able to try out her mobile field hospital.

“Good," Sornax said. “Begin docking procedure and then we need to get out of here – before the Dominion shows up or one of those Trinity devices detonates in all of that mess."

Echo and Delta Teams

Cardassia Prime, Mountain Region

Stardate 2205.06

Despite Ryramorl’s dire prediction, no vengeance came.

Fearless and Cardassian patrol ships caught a brief sensor fluctuation in orbit of the planet, indicating the possible presence of a cloaked ship, but were unable to locate the source.

If Sabka Drajal had been there, she had aired on the side of self-preservation and decided to run for it. Perhaps vengeance could wait for another day.

On the surface, Cardassian troops arrived and began to help mop up the Relgarin survivors. Many had been killed by a vicious attacking vole swarm, leaving many more injured. The local authorities would deal with the Relgarin and would treat their actions aiding Tirlin Drajal as an act of sedition.

Immediately after the mission ended, Lazarus and Garak whisked Tajel away from the site. There were no explanations given, Lazarus simply took Tajel’s comm-badge and smashed it, then took him back to the refugee compound where they smuggled him inside dressed in refugee clothing.

Tajel asked many times what was going on, but there was no answer from either Lazarus or Garak. Just an order from the captain to keep his mouth shut and follow along.

Once they were back in the compound, ahead of the rest of the teams, they sat him down in a secluded room and spoke.

“Have you been thinking about what happens next, Tajel?" Lazarus asked.

The Cardassian/Bajoran man looked to the captain and shrugged, “I didn’t offer any great service to the mission. I didn’t capture a Drajal or break a code or provide helpful intel. I think my fate seems pretty clear. I’m going to prison, at best."

Lazarus sighed and folded his hands on the table in front of him, “Captain Melfis was in contact as soon as the mission ended. He wants you turned over immediately. Apparently, a deal is in the works to hand you over to the Breen."

Garak scoffed, “His crime was aiding the Sons of Cardassia in their infiltration of the old weapons depot. He said his access to intel on Breen border defenses was limited."

“Still," Lazarus said. “He was involved, and we only have a handful of Cardassians to hold accountable for the attack on the Breen. Most of them are dead. Unless Resurrection returns with a Drajal prisoner, Melfis believes Tajel here is the sacrificial lamb that will appease the Breen."

“That…" Garak said sadly. “Is most unfortunate."

The Breen were not known to treat prisoners very well and would likely execute Tajel for what they saw as his part in the massacre of their people. This fact weighed heavily on Tajel, who looked down at the table throughout the conversation.

“I haven’t reported back to Melfis," Lazarus said. “That was why we made our way back here ahead of everyone else. So, the team wouldn’t see you."

Tajel looked up and shook his head, “Why, sir?"

Lazarus looked his square in the eyes, “Because if you don’t want to go with Melfis, I think it will just be the three of us who know you actually survived the mission."

“Ingenious plan," Garak smiled. “Almost up to par with how the Obsidian Order would handle something like this."

“You want to fake my death?" Tajel asked in disbelief. “I…I don’t know what to say, captain. I…"

“You’d have to walk away from everyone and everything you know," Lazarus stated bluntly. “Garak has been tossing around the idea of a proposal to the Cardassian government to let him spearhead a plan to rebuild some of the destroyed Cardassian colonies near the border with Federation space," said Lazarus. “Colonies destroyed and abandoned long ago during the conflict with the Maquis. The leader of this refugee camp was onboard with the idea last night before we set out on the mission."

“What does that have to do with me?" Tajel asked.

“I could create a new identity for you, and you could help me establish those colonies," said Garak. “We would move not only refugees, but any other Cardassians who want to move there. It would be a great opportunity for you."

Tajel nodded, “I just feel like I should have to suffer some sort of consequences for my actions."

“You will," Lazarus said gruffly. “You will probably never see your sister, your grandmother or Jahkar again. Your name will not be cleared, and you will forever be considered a traitor."

Garak gave Tajel a scolding look, “You’ll also be condemned to a life stuck with me on some backwater planet."

“Dead," Tajel said. “Everyone I love will think me dead. That’s a lot to swallow."

“Telling Kedanya or Jahkar would be making them accessories to a crime," Lazarus said. “If this ruse is exposed, I will be the only one to bear the consequence."

“Oh, I intend to claim I was forced to go along with the plan," Garak said. “Lazarus threatened to withdraw support for my colony plan if I didn’t go along with this arrangement."

Lazarus rolled his eyes, “Thanks, Garak, for your support."

“I’ll do it," Tajel said. “Either way I’m dead. At least this way I can start over. My family will think I did something brave at the end."

Lazarus nodded and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder, “The refugees will hide you here until the troops and Starfleet have gone. Garak will arrange your new identity when he gets back to his shop. If his proposal to the Cardassian government is turned down, you will be stuck here with the refugees."

Tajel nodded. “What are you going to tell my sister and Jahkar?"

“I’ll have something figured out. It will be consistent with the story I tell Melfis," said Lazarus. “Don’t screw this up, Tajel. It’s going to break your family’s heart and I am going to have to keep a huge secret from them," Lazarus said. “If Jahkar finds out, I have no doubt he’ll be very angry with me. So, you see, I have a lot on the line."

“I won’t, captain," said Tajel. “Tell them I love them."

Lazarus nodded and then left the room to speak with Melfis. By the time he made it to the main compound, Melfis and the security team had arrived. The Benzite officer appeared quite angry as he stalked toward Lazarus, fists clenched at his sides, “Where is he? Your people said they haven’t seen him. His comm-badge signal is offline. Where is Dara Tajel, captain?"

“Dead," Lazarus said bluntly. “Threw himself in front of a phaser blast meant for Garak and I. He was vaporized on the spot."

Melfiis gasped. “No! There was a deal. The Breen wanted him. They would have considered that the end of the whole matter with the terrorist attack."

“I can’t change what happened, captain," Lazarus said, his hands thrown up in surrender. “Dara Tajel is dead.  Tell the Breen they can take pleasure in the fact both Dara and Tirlin Drajal are dead."

Melfis shook his head, “I knew it was a bad idea to let you take him along with you. I’ll tell you what, captain, he better be dead. If I find out you’re…."

“Are you implying I would fake the death of a criminal so he could avoid prosecution?" Lazarus barked. “I would watch what you say next, Captain Melfis."

Melfis stopped, glared at Lazarus, then grunted. “Fine. I’ll expect a full report when you’re back aboard your ship."

The Benzite and his security team then left, leaving Lazarus to break the news to the rest of the team here on Cardassia Prime.

Back to top

## S4, E2, Act 7: Delivering the News

Commander Mayla Vree

Ops, Forward Base at Nixanar XII

Stardate 2205.06

The explosion caught her just as she cleared the railing. The force of the explosion engulfed and propelled her into a downward trajectory, towards the center of the lowest level of Operations. All she could see through her helmet was fire and damage reports flashing from her suit. In a split second as the roar erupted around her, she tumbled in what seemed like in all directions.

The first thing she impacted was not as hard as she thought as she tensed up her body and braced herself. The second thing she impacted was much harder, and it tore the suit into the shoulder. She continued to brace herself as she suddenly felt a chill go down her spine and then hit the deck hard. Black smoke and fire swirled around her as she waited for it to clear. The sensors in her helmet reported damage and failures as it showed the back half of her armored suit was completely shredded and burned away before shutting down completely. The last glimpse she had was the status of the extensive injuries to her back. The force shielded helmet derezzed away and she choked on the acrid smoke coming from her smoldering suit.

She flexed her right hand and found she was still gripping her TR-390P pistol. Her mind became instantly clearer as she leapt to a defensive crouch when a shadow came at her through the smoke.

"Commander, HOLD!" the figure in front of her yelled out while holding out two hands in front of him to stop her.

Mayla blinked the sweat (or blood) away from her eyes as she continued to take in short breaths while scanning her surroundings, slowing her heart as she recognized the transporter bay of the Resurrection.

With her suit now completely disabled, the emergency field medical program built into the suit no longer administered meds for her trauma injuries. She felt the drugs dissipating as her vision dimmed. She took one deep shuddering breath as her pain receptors began assaulting her brain before collapsing unconscious to the floor.

The lieutenant who was standing by in the transporter room when the emergency transport occurred glanced at the overhead monitor that indicated who was appearing on which pad. He jumped into action with a standard medics kit, ready to assist in any way. But when smoke suddenly appeared around Commander Vree's pad, he immediately knew something was definitely wrong. He stoned himself through the smoke that the ventilation ramped up to clear the room. He saw the Trill taking a bead on him with her weapon.

When she collapsed forward, he saw the extent of the massive wounds to the entire back side of the Commander. No medkit was going to be enough. "Sickbay, I need immediate transport of Phoenix One to the Infirmary. Severe burn and shrapnel trauma to her back."

Lt. Tiri Sh’avelith

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.06

Tiri materialized on the transport pad and looked around, surprised to suddenly be here. Laying in a crumpled heap on the deck was Mayla Vree. Tiri gasped upon seeing her and moved to assist, but the commander suddenly disappeared in a swirl of light.

By the time she got to the spot where Mayla had been, she realized they’d transported her to the medical bay. Tiri looked back at the transporter pad and saw the others there, her gaze settling on Jahkar, who looked no worse for wear.

She then looked to Beckett and gave him a scowl, “You crashed ships into the station? Really? That’s a thing?”

Tiri then looked at the others, “So, is that it? Did we get them all?”

Lt. Cody Beckett

USS Resurrection, transporter room

Stardate 2205.07

Beckett exhaled after he materialized on the transport pad. He saw Vree lying on the transporter pad, severe burns on her back, her suit completely gone, parts appearing to be melted into her skin. Tiri immediately reacted, but within seconds, Vree was beamed over to medbay and disappeared in a swirl of light.

After a moment of silence, Tiri turned toward him and chewed him out.

Cody shrugged. "It worked, didn't it? And I didn't hear a different plan from you when I mentioned it. " He bit back to Tiri, a bit harsh. The adrenaline was still running through his body. He looked at McCulloch, who gave him a nod. "Well done, Lieutenant" He replied.

Beckett nodded and exhaled again, and slung his rifle over his shoulder. Then he checked his data padd. Of the 12 ships, 8 had rammed the station, taking along all other docked ships and the station itself. The other 4 were severely damaged, dead in the water and 2 had an imminent warp core breach.

Beckett addresses Jahkar, second in command now Vree was in sickbay.

"Four ships are left, severely damaged and imminent warp core breaches. Do we need to mop them up? "

Colonel Jahkar

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.09

Jahkar tossed aside his helmet and outer armor as he listened to Beckett’s report. After the report, he opened a commm to the bridge. “Commander Sornax, can we have a sitrep?”

“Massive damage to the station, based on the amount of debris and explosions coming from the planet’s atmosphere,” the Denobulan reported. “The question being floated around here on the bridge is the containment of the Trinity devices. Mr. Beckett’s telemetry from when he hacked their system shows one of the two devices was trapped in a transporter buffer while they were attempting to move it. That device’s molecular pattern was lost.”

Jahkar nodded, “That one would no longer be an issue.”

“Affirmative,” Sornax said. “Our concern now lies with the final device. It was believed to be aboard either the Arluth or Forward Base.”

“If the device detonates?” Jahkar asked.

It was Carmichael who responded, “Detonation isn’t really a factor. I’m more concerned that in all that destruction the remaining Trinity device’s ability to contain the quantum singularity within the casing will fail and it’ll open a rip in subspace right here.”

Jahkar frowned, “How do we confirm it is destroyed?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. We don’t know how the containment system of these devices are designed,” Tommy said. “Personally, I recommend we get out of here.”

“I concur with Mr. Carmichael,” Sornax responded. “We also don’t know how long until the Dominion shows up here.”

“Gentlemen,” Jahkar said. “We can’t leave without confirming that the thing is destroyed.”

Sornax sighed, “I’ve engaged the phased cloak. We can sit here for a while and monitor the situation.”

“That sounds good, sir,” Jahkar said. “Let me consult the team and we’ll see what options we can come up with. Commander Carmichael, will you join us in the War Room.”

“On my way,” Tommy said.

Jahkar then led the rest of the team to the War Room to discuss opinions….

Commander Victoria Smith

Medical Jumpship The Gentle Annie Etheridge

Stardate 2205.09

Everything had moved so quickly. One moment Victoria was sulking in her command chair, waiting for the go command. The next, Union XII had been deployed as a CSH between the Resurrection and the Cardassian station. As Beckett hijacked various Cardassian vessels and started to ram them into the station, Resurrection ordered Union XII to withdraw and meet at a rally point.

There was a sense of both disappointment and relief throughout the team as the recall order was given. Most of the nurses and medics were anxious about the prospect of sitting in a gaseous cloud like sitting ducks. At the same time, Union XII desperately wanted to prove itself to the members of Phoenix Team.

As the jumpship began maneuvering in line with the Resurrection, Victoria quietly reflected upon the mission. Given everything that she had experienced throughout both her life and Jiarin’s, today’s lack of serious injuries was a victory.

However, as the medical jumpship started its berthing run, the mission assessment was upended when the medical emergency transmission came in. Smith instinctively turned to her left and reviewed the live medical readings of the operatives under her command. It only took a millisecond before identifying who was in danger. The nurse swore under her breath before standing up from her command chair and furiously typing commands into the ops panel of her holographic display. This had better not be another sim.

“Roundabout! Execute roundabout, now!” She barked towards her jumpship pilot before repeating the order to her team seated in the medical bay of the ship.

“Confirming order of roundabout ma’am?” Lieutenant Tusot inquired as he began to increase the Gentle Annie’s speed.

“Do it!” Victoria barked at her pilot.

‘Roundabout’ was a standard maneuver of Union XII, as well as other combat medical teams in Starfleet. The action called for a jumpship to approach an insertion rate at a high rate of speed before reversing impulse at the last minute so medical personnel could be deployed to multiple locations both by transports and traditional jumps from the ship. The vessel would then hightail it out of the insertion zone as quickly as possible.

“Phoenix One is down with severe burns to her upper torso from a high yield explosive. Possible shrapnel penetration as well.” Victoria barked a status update, desperately trying to suppress her feelings of dread and sadness as she reviewed Vree’s medical live feed. “Hannigan and Zalir you are both beaming with me to the medical bay to assist the EMHs in emergency surgery and treatment. You have five seconds to retrieve any and all burn and trauma kits you can get your $%^&ing hands on. Riisos, take Gatc and Sis with you…I want you to high tail it to our medical locker off of the shuttle bay and retrieve all equipment and supplies for post surgery burn treatment. Tag it and transport it to us. Everyone understand?”

“Yes ma’am!” Riisos, Smith’s second in command, answered for everyone.

“Execute roundabout!” Victoria barked again as she, Warrant Officer Fiadh Hannigan and Ensign Tookal Zalir became enveloped in a blue light and disappeared from the Gentle Annie.

Lieutenant Tusot brought the Gentle Annie into the shuttle bay hot and quickly cut transmissions as the Resurrection’s bridge demanded to know what the hell he was doing. The Rigelian pilot quickly looked over his shoulder to see Riisos and his team ready for deployment at the back of the ship.

The Gentle Annie rotated 90 degrees as Tusot applied full thrusters and a bit of impulse power. The force and heat of the engines blackened the deck of the shuttlebay and warped nearby walls. Crewmen scrambled out the way as the jumpship continued to cross the bay…clearly on a collision course with the back of the hangar. Again, the lieutenant rotated the Gentle Annie ninety degrees and brought the ship down to six feet above the deck. As the ship continued to move backwards, the rear ramp door opened up. One by one Riisos and his team jumped from the Gentle Annie, landed, and rolled on the deck floor before rising to their feet and sprinting across the shuttle bay.

Once Union XII was clear of the ship, Tusot again reversed engines and quickly shot out of the hangar. Seconds later the Gentle Annie positioned itself on the portside of the Resurrection. The pilot smiled to himself and estimated it would take about ten minutes before the bridge would calm down enough to let him retry a berthing run.

Meanwhile Riisos and his two companions had reached the medical storage locker and began frantically searching for the supplies Victoria had requested. As each item was located, the Orion nurse would slap an isolinear tag onto it and request it be beamed directly to the medical bay.

When Victoria and her two nurses materialized in the medical bay, they began stripping off their armor and weapons. One by one, Fiadh soccer kicked their helmets and watched as they sailed out of bay and landed with a soft thud in the hallway. The team quickly gathered the rest of their combat equipment and threw it out into the passageway so it was not in the way.

A pair of security officers peered into the bay after witnessing the storm of clothing, armor and equipment being tossed away. Fiadh quickly shooed the pair off.

“What the bloody hell are you two looking at? Sod off!” She hissed in her heavy Irish brogue. The pair quickly ran from her.

Victoria steeled herself as she glanced towards the surgical area. A full team of EMHs had been activated and were prepping Mayla for surgery. She sighed slightly as she unzipped her jumpsuit and let the top half of the uniform hang around her waist.

“Let’s get to work.” The combat nurse quietly announced as medical equipment Riisos had been charged with securing began to appear in the bay.

Ensign Reepchip Charatetet

Cardassia

Stardate 2205.10

Reepchip chittered sadly as he heard what had happened.  He hadn’t known Tajel well, but they’d been cadets at the same time, and knew of each other, and he’d considered Tajel something of a friend.  Ryramorl was holding his arm where he’d been clipped by a phaser, his teeth bared in pain, and several others were in pretty bad shape; a few were dead.

Reepchip chittered.  <<Rotted birthing sacks with kits in them and stuck to the mothers!>  Reepchip snarled in his own language, < I should have mounted Agavan and just taken the shot earlier, instead of hiding in Marlehorus’s whorehouse and->

“Ensign!  Language!” snapped Ryramorl.

Reepchip growled, but held his peace.

Commander Victoria Smith

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.10

Despite her best efforts to prepare herself, the sight of seeing Mayla … her “sister” … in the condition she was, sickened and saddened her. An initial report from the EMH suggested the Trill operative had several broken and cracked ribs, fractured wrists, a concussion, bruised bones, multiple superficial and deep wounds from shrapnel and severe thermal burns to her entire back, shoulders, neck and scalp. In some areas, the burns were minor and superficial; in others almost all the layers of her skin were charred.

The Trill was face down and unconscious on a biobed. Most of her armor and uniform…or most specifically, what remained of it … had been cut away in preparation for surgery.

Burnt raisin oatmeal…that’s all Victoria could think about as she stared at Vree’s back. Most of her torso was nothing more melted flesh dotted with shards of shrapnel and warped spots. The combat nurse tried again to prepare herself for the task at hand. Throughout her career she had witnessed the ugly aftermath of battle more times than she cared to admit. While soldiers and officers were off celebrating their victories or hosting self-congratulatory debrief sessions, Victoria and her fellow nurses were the ones caring for the wounded and comforting the dying as they cried out in desperation for their mothers and fathers.

One would think by now she would be immune to such sadness..and typically she could. But this was different. This was Mayla. The long trip home from the uncharted region of the galaxy and the Trill memories of Jiarin only exacerbated the situation.

Victoria felt her breath grow shallow and her vision start to tunnel. Her mind raced as Trill memories came flooding in. She felt slightly nauseous, and her legs start to buckle but somehow she remained standing. There was a firm grip on her right arm that was helping her remain upright.

“On me.” Warrant Officer Hannigan softly and surprisingly ordered. The phrase was a common command Smith gave to those under her command when she wanted to address them, preferably in private. Yet here was her Warrant Officer giving the same command to her. The Irish nurse quietly led Victoria away from the treatment area to a location in the bay where the two were alone.

“I am not going to prance around the matter ma’am.” Fiadh gently warned. “But if there is anyone on this entire damn ship that Mayla Vree would want in that room right now it’s you. So with all due respect ma’am, I suggest you get your head out of your arse, stop letting your emotions get the better of you and do what you ask each of us to do every day…bring those we are responsible for home alive to their families.”

Victoria doubled over briefly to catch her breath. As she let her head clear, she muttered loudly enough for Fiadh to hear her. “I think I prefer the Scot over you right now.”

“Well, the Scot is an arse and he’s not here, is he now? But you are.”

The combat nurse nodded in agreement as she remembered why she recruited Fiadh Hannigan for Union XII.

"We need you in there ma'am…preferably with your head in the game." The warrant officer pleaded.

It took a few moments for Victoria to collect herself and calm down. After straightening herself up and exhaling twice, she nodded again. “Let’s get back in there.”

“Excellent.” Fiadh replied confidently.

The pair returned to the surgical area to assist with the procedures. There were a pair of EMHs hovering over the biobed examining Vree. Nearby Ensign Zalir was prepping surgical tools and equipment for the first procedure. The female EMH handed Victoria a padd as she approached the biobed. Quietly, the commander reviewed the data contained on it. Afterward, she looked up at the holographic doctor.

“Shrapnel and damaged skin first?”

The first EMH nodded silently before looking to the second EMH answered.

“We need to remove the shrapnel and charred skin before we can repair any nerve damage, heal her wounds and assess bone damage.”

“Can’t we use a medical transport device to remove the shrapnel?” Hannigan pressed.

“For some of the shrapnel yes. But for other areas, no. The heat of the explosion may have fused some of the shrapnel to her bones. We’ll have to conduct surgery to visually inspect and remove those items.

“Thermoplastic grafting will be the final step in the surgical process?” Victoria inquired as she started loading hyposprays with various pain killers and sedatives.

“Yes.” The female EMH responded matter of factly. “Commander, please establish a surgical stasis field around the patient and ensure the area is sterilized.”

Victoria nodded silently in the affirmative and set to her task at hand.

Approximately ten minutes later, the EMHs began the surgical procedure by cutting away at Mayla’s burned skin along her lower back. As they did, Victoria monitored the procedure to ensure there were no complications. Off to the side, Zalir continued to prepare surgical instruments for further stages of the procedure while Hannigan closely watched Vree’s biosigns.

"Commander, look at this," Fiadh walked over and held out a large padd with a scan on it. "The biobed reported a change in her condition."

She glanced at the scan and, and then down at her patient. "Wait, that portion of the nerve ending had been fused…earlier."

"Not according to this." She put the padd aside. "Does she have some sort of healing abilities we're not aware of?"

"I know she heals quickly," she said a bit absentmindedly as her mind searched for memories of Mayla being hurt when she was younger. "But with this much trauma and damage, I don't know what the extent of her healing abilities are." She took a deep breath and refocused her attention at the next task. "Have the biobed scan her every 60 seconds and project the status to a holographic monitor. I don't want to have to fix something I don't have to."

Lt. Commander Daryl Thompson

Rogaran IV, Penal Colony, Mirror Universe

Stardate 2205.14

Daryl jumped over the meter wide chasm. He turned around and caught the two plasma drillers that K'Chary had thrown towards him. She jumped easily over the chasm and landed besides Daryl. K'Chary was a female Orion. She had lived in slavery for most of her life and had been sentenced for life in prison after killing on of her 'masters' in an uprising. She was his cellmate and the one that helped Daryl out of his psychotic shock after he had realized where he was and mentally crashed.

The fact that he, once more, had to face the horrors he thought he had left behind was too much. The first few nights she'd attend to him when the nightmares came back in full effect. She soothed him and calmed him down. Most of the time, Daryl woke up in the morning with  K'Chary lying next to him, her arms wrapped around him. Because of this, they'd become quite close in the short time they knew each other. Still, Daryl felt awkward at these moments. K'Chary was a very attractive woman. But he was still with Darva, and loved her. Yet, in the days he had spent here in this Mirror Universe, he had spent time with other women. He had to, preventing to blow up his cover. And the thoughts and memories of his perished alter ego, still imprinted in his brain didn't help either. He mentally sighed at the thought of how to tell this to Darva.

"Come on sweet cheeks, those gas

fields don't mine themselves… ! "Sounded the voice of K'Chary, pulling him out of his ponderings.

Daryl grinned at her as she walked past him, and he couldn't help but look at her well-formed feminine curves as she climbed a small hill of large rocks in front of them.

The cave they were in was large. Large enough to house a family of Rogar'din, a native species of this planet, Daryl thought. They mostly resembled an arthropod, like a centipede, only higher on it's legs and with several pairs of longer legs on the front part of its body which were often used to grab or catch prey. They had some form of intelligence and they communicated by means of pheromones and a simplistic form of telepathy. Their bite was poisonous and could kill a human within minutes if not administered an antiserum. Daryl had run into them more than once on his previous stay on Rogaran. He had seen some of his fellow prisoners die a horrible dead because they didn't have the antiserum available. The poison would shut down the autonomic nervous system, causing the victim to slowly suffocate while slipping in some kind of feverish lucid state causing terrible pain and nightmarish hallucinations before slipping into a coma.

The Rogar'din where aggressive and very territorial so Daryl was careful to look around for signs of these creatures. However, for now, it all seemed ok, and he moved up the little hill, following K'Chary.

The next cave was smaller, and several others were already drilling holes in the nearby walls. The hissing sound of gas escaping overruled the staggering sound produced by the plasma driller.

K'Chary was already at the other end of the cave, setting up her tool to start drilling.

Daryl moved in her direction and readied his own plasma driller.

Within minutes, several holes were punched in the thick layer of rock where the gas field was below. Daryl smelled the sour and unpleasant scent of the gas and activated his respirator. Above them, he heard the large machinery to catch the gas and transport it further to the surface. Daryl checked his wristpadd. The shift was almost finished. About time,

Daryl longed for a shower and something to eat. The highlight of the day. As the nights were even worse than the days at the moment. Daryl sighed and pushed the thoughts away as he created another bunch of holes until he heard the sound of the shift end. He shut off the plasma driller and made his way to the elevators. K'Chary was already there. She winked at him.

Once above ground, they walked to their cell. A young human called Sol approached them. "Hey Thompson. There's a party tonight in the catacombs. You are invited. There's someone who wants to talk to you. " The young man said while his eyes checked every inch of K'Chary, a hungry look in his eyes.

Thompson nodded.

"Get lost Sol" K'Chary said shortly.

The young man grinned, showing bad teeth and turned around, but not before checking K'Chary once more, licking his lips.

"He is disgusting" K'Chary said.

Daryl nodded.

"He is. Hhe is a sneaky little rat.

I wonder who wants to see me tonight"

K'Chary's face looked worried.

"If you go, be careful. The catacombs are

bad place. " She said.

Daryl nodded. "I know. I don't even know if I will go. I'm tired. I'll decide after I had a shower and dinner"

K'Chary nodded. Even though the prison colony was on a backwater planet, each cell had a shower and a little kitchen with a pre-programmed replicator, although most of the inmates choose to eat in the main building where the food was of some better quality. So far, Daryl had chosen to eat in his cell as he didn't feel like gathering with the rest of the inmates. He had recognized a bunch of the prisoners with which he had been in the colony in his own universe. They had been bad news there, so he assumed they were worse here, in this universe.

Half an hour later, Daryl sat on the bench outside of the cell. He felt better now he had taken a shower. K'Chary appeared from the inside with two plates with a stew and mashed potatoes and handed one of the plates to Daryl.

"Thank you" He said and smiled warmly at her. She smiled back. They ate in silence, until K'Chary spoke

"So, you plan on going to the catacombs tonight? "

Daryl just scooped the last of the stew on his plate onto his spoon and put it in his mouth. As he chewed on the last piece of meat, he thought about her question. He was tired, yet curious who would want to see him. It might also be a trap. After all, he did kill the emperor. Apparently, most of the inmates didn't care about that fact as he actually was left alone. He actually expected he wouldn't be alive around now. Yet, there he was.

"I guess I'm gonna take a quick look"

K'Chary shook her head slightly.

“I don’t think that is a good idea” she said, looking at him.

Daryl gazed in the distance. He knew she was right. On the other hand, Durham and Kane put him here, so if they wanted anything from him, Daryl had no doubt they could get to him anytime, anywhere. That thought made him uncomfortable.

“I know. It’s a terrible idea. Yet, if they want something from me, they can get to me anytime they want. They put me here. So it’s no problem for them to reach out to me here, No doubt about that. “

K’Chary looked worried, afraid even. “I have a very bad feeling about this Daryl” she said, looking him in the eyes.

“Me too.” Daryl replied as he got up. “I’ll be back soon” he said, and gave K’Chary a hug. Then he walked across the courtyard, and disappeared in one of the buildings on the other side.

Inside the building, Sol was waiting with a few goons, more muscles than brain. He grinned again. “So, did your green chaperone let you go, big boy ?” he joked. Daryl ignored Sol, who was disappointed to get no reaction. He quickly moved to walk besides Daryl, who just continued his quick pace. Following several stairs downwards, the air got dank and the environment darker. A few lights gave some light, but it was getting pretty dark. Then Daryl heard the noise of cheering and yelling. Apparently the first matches had already begun. Eventually, after some more stairs downwards, he reached the entrance of the catacombs A bunch of guards checked everyone who had to go in. Daryl stopped to be scanned for weapons but could quickly continue his way. All the while, Sol had been walking behind him, breathing heavily, trying to keep up. Daryl walked up a large stair which guided him to a big platform where he could oversee a large chunk of the catacombs. He walked towards the balustrade and looked for recognizable faces. As he scanned through the room, he suddenly looked into the eyes of Greg Durham. He hissed and his eyes narrowed. He turned around, making his way quickly to the other side.He pushed aside people, resulting in lots of bad language. As he was on the other side, he caught a glimpse of Durham, again, almost out of reach, and again, he made his way through the masses. He saw Durham descending a stair into the darkness, and he hesitated as his conversation with K’Chary flashed through his mind. He pushed the thoughts aside, and continued following Durham. After a few tight corridors and some more stairs, he suddenly saw movement and he was grabbed from behind. Someone tried to blindfold him and instinctively, Daryl reacted. His elbow connected to something hard, possibly a jaw and he heard a low grunt as the figure staggered backwards. He then grabbed the hands which kept the blindfold and quickly got himself out of harms way, thereby breaking on of the wrists of the poor attacker, who yelped in pain. Then he got hit by something and he landed on the floor, only to be grabbed and pulled up again. More punches in the face. He heard someone in a strange language yell something, then Daryl felt a tingling sensation from a hypospray in his neck. Suddenly his knees felt as if made from rubber and he sank to the floor as the little view he had of his surroundings wore thin and everything became black….

Commander Mayla Vree

Infirmary, USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.14

The meadow wrapped around her like a comforting blanket as her hair fluttered across her eyes in the soft caressing breeze that blew across the field of grass and patches of flowers. The gentle swaying of the wispy willow plants seemingly entranced in the warm wind made it look like a wave of thick fluid that rolled dreamily across the dimming purple horizon of an approaching sunset. Just the slightest chirps of insects and birds created the perfect sanctuary of peace that was most certainly a surrealistic dream. She identified it immediately as such a place does not exist in her world.

She stood coyly as she often did when she was 10 years old, having a face of indifference as she maintained her youthfulness in appearance, if not in mind. Her eyes gazed across the vast fields beyond the meadow, but there was nothing to see. Her eyes settled on a spot in the willow that seemed to shimmer.

A woman rose out of the ground dressed in typical Trill outerwear and approached her without taking a step.

"Are you lost, child?" she asked in a semi-familiar voice.

Mayla shook her head. "I'm waiting."

"Waiting for whom?"

"For my mother."

The woman tried to hide her crestfallen look that seemed to ripple across the surface of her face, as if a swipe of a computer holographic monitor. She smiled sadly down at the little girl. "You know in your heart she is not coming back."

"My heart is uncertain, Lani," Mayla responded, now instantly recognizing the voice of the AI she received at Blackthorn Base. The image of the woman was one of her younger sister Nilani, aged into her twenties if she had lived.

Lani gave her a smile that seemed genuine. "Linsayla is gone."

"I know. But I will still wait for her here to take me onward." Mayla glanced around as if hoping to see if she could really see her mother approaching from any direction. Just the thought of seeing her again gave her some semblance of comfort.

"Take you onward?"

"To the next life." Mayla said, clasping her hands together in front of her. She looked down sadly at the hands of a 10 year old. Small in appearance, but large in responsibilities. Hands seemingly too small to carry the burden.

"You are not dying, youngster," a new voice said.

Mayla didn't have to look to see who the new voice belonged to. She knew the voice better than anyone's. "Maybe it is time."

Kyril Vree appeared beside Lani. "You are still needed here. The next life will have to wait its turn."

"Aye, Admiral." she said with a tired, dejected voice. "I will do as you ask."

Lani and Kyril each held out a hand. As she took them, a single tear rolled down her face. Taking one last look behind her, she saw looming in the distance were shadowy figures of a Linea army filling her horizon, just on the fringes of her mind and experiences. But a gentle tug from Lani and Kyril took her vision to the path that was laid out far ahead of her.

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.14

McCulloch shot a sideways glance at Tiri. He was a bit surprised by the Andorian’s comment to Beckett. Initially he thought of correcting the young lieutenant but decided against it. Beckett held his own and answered appropriately in response to Tiri’s observation. The trio had successfully completed their part of the assignment, regardless of the means. If the Sons were crippled in the process, then so be it.

As each of them stripped down their armor and gear, the order came from Jahkar to follow him to the war room for a mission review and discussion of what the next steps should be.

McCulloch fell into line next to Cody as the four made their way towards the war room.

“I thought it was a well-executed plan.” Will assured his friend. “You did very well.”

“You think?”

“You did.” The Scot repeated. “Granted, it wasn’t as glorious as my taking on the security detail single handedly, but I am sure the ladies will be enamored with how you took down a station by yourself.”

“Aye, they will won’t they?” Cody chuckled softly.

As the four operatives rounded the corner, they reached a junction in the passageway. As Jahkar and Tiri continued towards their destination, Beckett held out his arm to signal Will to stop. As the two stood there, Cody gestured down the right passageway and pointed to the pile of Union XII armor, weapons, equipment and helmets sitting on the passageway floor outside of the Resurrection’s medical bay. Seconds later, a crate materialized nearby. Ensign Zalir rushed out and quickly dragged it into the bay.

“You think they’re making progress with the Commander?” Cody asked.

“I hope so.” McCulloch answered quietly. “Because I really don’t want to start over and torment a new commander.”

“I’m pretty sure Commander Vree would come back to haunt you after her demise.”

As Beckett resumed moving down the passageway, Will remained behind, staring towards the medical bay.

Joking aside, he was very concerned about the condition of Mayla. Admittedly, the Scot saw her as a stubborn and sometimes inflexible commander, who almost certainly was going to be a colossal pain in the bahookie if he and Victoria continued to reconcile.

However, he also saw another side of her while outside of the Bing Bong store on Cardassia. He remembered there was almost an air of innocence and kindness about her as she stared longingly towards the store. He wondered momentarily if he would ever see that side of her again.

Will sighed and promised to himself that he would at least visit the Trill after surgery to ensure she was going to recover.

The Scot took one last glance towards the bay before slowly jogging to catch up to the rest of the team.

Colonel Jahkar

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.14

Jahkar and the team assembled in the War Room and he immediately brought up a holographic display showing Nixanar XII, a tiny three-dimensional depiction of Resurrection and what appeared to be a debris field in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant.

“This is what we believe the debris field left by the attack is believed to look like,” Commander Carmichael said. “Our sensors can’t penetrate the atmosphere, but there is some debris that has emerged from the gaseous upper atmosphere and Resurrection recorded this series of explosions just after you were all beamed out.”

He pulled up another holographic screen showing the view from the Resurrection’s forward sensors a few minutes earlier. The gas clouds surrounding the planet were flashing as Cardassian ships rammed Forward Base repeatedly, setting off a series of explosions.

“Do you think anything is left intact there?” Jahkar asked.

“Unknown, colonel,” Tommy replied. “Telemetry from Beckett’s hack of the Sons of Cardassia computer system confirms one Trinity device was lost in the transporter buffer of the station as it attempted to beam the device from the station to a missile.”

“So, does that render it harmless?” Commander Sornax asked, as he entered the room and heard the engineer’s briefing.

“Yes,” Carmichael said. “It’s the other device we have concerns about. If it was aboard the Arluth, it could be floating in that debris field. The ship could remain undamaged and it is just sitting there. Or, it may have been damaged and rendered harmless. Problem is, I don’t know what the containment system for these Trinity devices look like. If it is containing a quantum singularity, it could be volatile.”

Jahkar looked at Carmichael, then Sornax, “ Could we fire a couple of spreads of  torpedoes at the last known location of the Arluth and see if that will set it off.”

“Seriously?” Carmichael laughed. “You want to set the thing off?”

Jahkar shrugged, “We’d at least know the thing wasn’t going to be sitting there potentially going off when a Dominion ship happens along. Or worse, the Dominion shows up and tries to salvage it.”

Sornax shook his head, “Not sure that’s a good idea. A last resort, possibly. We may have to go back in there and retrieve it.”

Jahkar looked to the Denobulan in disbelief, “We go in there and that thing detonates, we won’t make it out.”

“Any other suggestions?” Sornax asked, looking around at the team and Carmichael.

Lt. Tiri Sh’avelith

USS Resurrection, near Nixanar XII

Stardate 2205.14

As they came out of the transporter bay and made their way toward the War Room, Tiri suddenly got the feeling she’d stuck her foot in her mouth when they beamed back from Forward Base.

She’d commented on Cody’s hacking of the enemy ships, meant to be a humorous quip, but apparently some of the team had taken it seriously, including Beckett.

The Andorian girl felt her stomach clench as they entered the War Room and she caught a sideways glance from McCulloch which suggested his displeasure with her as well. She thought about saying something, but there were more important things to deal with first – Commander Vree’s injury and this matter with the Cardassian weapon lost in the debris of the Sons of Cardassia base.

She listened to the exchange between the team, Sornax and Carmichael and she quietly agreed with Jahkar.

Blowing the thing up was the best solution, but considering the fact she’d already made a fool of herself with her comment, she decided to keep her mouth shut and go along with whatever Jahkar and Sornax decided.

Colonel Jahkar

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.14

Jahkar looked around and heard nothing from the team. He understood. They were in unusual circumstances without their leader and there was no easy way to figure this dilemma out. The marine finally nodded and looked to Sornax.

“Commander,” he said. “Can you launch a probe, send it in to recon the wreckage, see if we can determine what’s going on in there. Then have it bring back the data so we can check it out.”

Sornax nodded, “Certainly. I’ll get one launched and let you know when it returns with the data.”

Jahkar looked to the rest of the team, “Take a few minutes, get out of your gear and reassemble here in 30 minutes.”

Lt. Commander William McCulloch

USS Resurrection

Stardate 2205.14

Will listened to the discussion between the other officers but felt he really had nothing much to contribute. Jahkar was right….the last known location of the Arluth should be fired upon with timed torpedoes while the Resurrection and its crew got the heck out of the area.

As the brief debate continued, the Scot surveyed the room to gauge the position of the others. As he did, his attention was drawn to Tiri. She appeared somewhat anxious and embarrassed and was avoiding eye contact with the others in the room.

McCulloch cursed softly under his breath as he reflected upon the brief dressing down and glares he and Beckett gave the young Andorian after returning to the Resurrection. He cursed again as he reminded himself in the giant scheme of things Tiri was barely an adult in relation to Beckett and himself and perhaps they shouldn’t have been so tough on her.

After Jahkar dismissed the trio, Will turned his attention towards the Andorian.

“Lieutenant, walk with me.” He requested as the pair made their way out of the war room. The Scot gestured for the young officer to follow him as they took a less direct route back towards the armory.

There were a few moments of awkward silence as Will and Tiri made their way down the passageway. Eventually, McCulloch clasped his hands behind his back and broke the silence.

“Your actions were impressive during the last mission Ms. Sh’avelith. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

Tiri shrugged, “A lot of it was my Starfleet Intelligence training,” she said. “The rest was learning the ushaan-tor on Andoria when I was younger. My parents wanted me to take martial arts. I specialized in the traditional melee weapon of our people. My parents we’re too happy that I didn’t stick to just hand-to-hand combat.”

McCulloch listened carefully to Tiri’s answers and asked a few follow up questions to satisfy his curiosity. As the pair rounded a corner and slowly continued on their way towards the armory, the Scot cleared his throat.

“Lieutenant, about your comments when we returned to the ship.”

Sh’avelith started to explain that her comments were an attempt at humor but Will held up his hand. He continued.

“Lieutenant, I think your joke may have gone over our heads in the aftermath of the fight.” He started to explain before smirking at the young Andorian. “Mr. Beckett and I are old, cranky men who are easily threatened by energetic youth like yourself. Occasionally we may want to tell you to get off our lawn, but our bark is worse than our bite. Perhaps the three of us could start over and put that wee misunderstanding behind us?”

“I think I just come off as…how do you humans say…a wise ass,” Tiri said, smiling nervously. “And, as you said, you are all older than me…everyone on this team is. Commander Vree is the closest to my age. Sometimes I just think I really don’t fit in.”

McCulloch laughed slightly at Tiri’s “wiseass” comment. The Andorian eyed the Scot cautiously.

“If you are a wiseass lass, then I suspect you and I will get along quite well.” Will announced before continuing. “As for you feeling like you don’t fit in, I get it.”

“You do?”

“When I was your age,” McCullich paused for a moment…did he really just say that? He cleared his throat and continued. “When I was much younger…”

The Scot stopped again and cursed. After a moment of silence he smirked and continued. “There was a time too when I thought I didn’t belong. I was fresh out of Starfleet - which by the way I graduated only by the skin of my teeth.”

“Really?”

“Really. Three years after graduation, I was at a dead end in my career. I was posted to starship that had little to no use for me and I saw no opportunity for advancement. My crewmates were not fond of me and to get rid of me the ship’s commanding officer suggested I join the Shadow Ops program. I may have not been the best officer, but there was a time when the program gave me a sense of belonging and a sense that my contributions made a difference.

Will paused again as he reflected on his first posting with Shadow Ops onboard the USS Renegade. After a moment, he continued. “The point Lieutenant is I hope you find a sense of belonging within this group. I don’t care if you are the youngest in the group, from my perspective, I believe you add tremendous value to the team and play an important role in what we do. We’re lucky to have you.”

“Thank you, commander,” she replied with a smile. “I appreciate the encouraging words. I will take them to heart.”

There were other factors, factors she didn’t want to discuss with McCulloch or anyone else in the team right now. Jahkar’s confusion over their friendship. The fact that she had been brought aboard as team medic, but now there was an entire unit assigned to them specializing in field medicine. And then there was the friendships this group already had among themselves. There was history there for most of them – Beckett being the other exception, though he’d managed to be accepted by the others without hesitation.

None of it made sense to her. Maybe she just felt sorry for herself, and these feelings would simply pass.

Captain Quentin Lazarus

Captain Vehakra Rhikal

Cardassia Prime

Stardate 2205.14

“Dead?” Rhikal stated, a surprised look on her face. “You guys were in the clear…I thought. You’d just said you had no targets.”

Standing in the main area of the giant cave the refugee camps was in, Lazarus and the team were awaiting transport back to Fearless when Rhikal approached the Resurrection’s captain with her query.

“There was a straggler,” Lazarus said. “He fired on Garak and I. Ensign Dara threw himself between the phaser blast and us. It was over just like that.”

The Orion woman considered Lazarus a moment and she gave a sharp exhale, “I’m so sorry to hear that. He made a mistake, but I know he wanted to do what he could to make it up to everyone. I didn't think he’d have to give his life.”

“It’s a shame,” Garak chimed in, his voice dour.

Lazarus nodded and turned to the tailor and former president of Cardassia, “So, you’re staying here?”

“I am, for a few days,” Garak confirmed. “I’m going to see how many of these refugees are interested in forming a colonization group. Once I have confirmed a number, I’ll take my proposal to the Cardassian president and the council.”

“Have you selected a planet to colonize?” Vehakra asked.

“The Arawath colony,” Garak confirmed. “My father, Enabran Tain, spent his final years there. It was a retirement colony for Cardassian officials for many years, then it was destroyed in the Dominion attack. It was never rebuilt. I thought it would make a good place to start a new colony – one for all Cardassians, not just as a retirement resort.”

Lazarus nodded, “I wish you good luck with your endeavor, Mr. Garak. And I appreciate your assistance with this mission.”

“It was my pleasure, captain,” he said. “Thank you for helping me find a new purpose. I suppose with my tailor shop mostly destroyed, going back to that line of work would have been nearly impossible. I guess I’ll give colonist a try.”

“If you wish, Mr. Garak,” rumbled Ryramorl, “I shall offer you what I offered the Chieftain here:  scrolls documenting the lives of my people’s Ancient Tribes, for their more primitive ways may offer insight into how to rebuild from ruins.”

Garak gave Roar a nod, “I can use all the help I can get. Thank you, lieutenant.”

Their sub-vocal comms sounded with a transmission from Fearless. “Echo and Delta teams, prepare for transport in 30 seconds.”

Lazarus shook Garak’s hand, “I’ll be back to check on this colony of yours. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.” The captain gave him a knowing look, to which Garak gave a slight nod.

Lazarus then rejoined the others and they were all enveloped in a transporter beam that whisked them back to the Fearless still parked in orbit.

Empress Taryn Kane

Commander Greg Durham

Mirror Universe, Terran Empire

Stardate 2205.14

“Explain to me again why we want this Mirror Daryl Thompson kept alive?” Taryn Kane asked as a couple of Orion slave women finished dressing her and attended to putting on her crown and other jewelry.

Behind her, seated at a high table, sipping from a glass of Romulan Ale, Greg Durham watched as the new empress of the Terran Empire was preparing for her first appearance on Earth. Durham smiled when she asked the question and he poured himself some more drink.

“He has knowledge of the special ops group he belongs to back in his universe, Shadow Operations,” Durham said. “We may have to contend with them, and we know they have some sort of new warp drive that might be of some interest. I’ve asked the interrogators at the prison colony to begin questioning him daily to see if they can learn what he knows about this drive.”

Kane nodded, seemingly uncaring as she admired the ring and bracelet that now adorned her fingers and wrists. “Whatever you think, I just hope we don’t regret keeping him around.”

“There is now the issue of who will become Hand, my lady,” Greg said. “I have done everything you’ve asked of me. I helped you take the throne, now I’d like my reward.”

Taryn was looking in the mirror at her hair and makeup and then diverted her attention back at Durham. She considered him a moment and smiled, “Of course, you are my Hand. I trust you will serve me and look out for my best interests going forward.”

Durham nodded in satisfaction, “You have my loyalty, your highness.”

“Good,” the tall brunette said with a wicked smile. “I will be making my first speech to the people of the Empire. See to my security detail and when we are done here today, I want you to immediately see to this warp drive Thompson has knowledge of. Find out what will be necessary for us to go to the other Universe and take it from this Shadow Operations.”

Durham stood up and bowed to his empress. “As you wish.” He then snapped a salute to her before leaving to see to the security details.

Meanwhile, on Rogaran IV, Daryl Thompson had been placed in a chamber which closed around his body, leaving just his head visible through a window. The door slid open and a man in dark clothing casually strolled in and walked toward the booth Daryl occupied.

“How does it feel to know you were brought here by a guy who called you his friend, only to have him double-cross you, frame you for killing the emperor and then stick you in this place,” said the mysterious man. “On top of that, he gave me orders to get information from you. Information about a special warp drive aboard the ship you serve aboard in your universe. We want to know what this drive does and how well it is protected.”

The man stepped closer and stood face to face with Daryl. “Before we get started, my name is Jack Dark. I am the grand inquisitor of the Terran Empire. So, I will give you a chance right now to tell me everything I want to know…before things have to get ugly.”

Commander Sornax

USS Resurrection, Bridge

Stardate 2205.14

Sornax and Jahkar were on the bridge when the probe emerged from the gas giant’s atmosphere. Programmed to make a trip through the debris field, the AI aboard the probe would allow the device to check out intact ships as well as the debris.

As soon as it was out of the gaseous atmosphere, the probe began to send its data in a huge burst transmission which Resurrection intercepted and began to decipher immediately.

The images sent by the probe were grainy, sometimes even distorted, but the extent of the devastation was obvious. Most of the Cardassian ships were destroyed, their broken hulls and structures scattered around inside the planet’s upper atmosphere. The fate had claimed Forward Base.

Amid all the destruction, two partially intact vessels remained. One was the Arluth, its hull ripped open on the starboard side and fires visible on some decks inside through the portholes. The other was a SOC ship called the Banterak. LIke Arluth it was badly damaged.

“Any sensor data?” Sornax asked.

“Negative,” Dahrt confirmed. “As expected, only visual data came through.”

“So, no life signs, no radiation readings, nothing?” Jahkar asked.

“No, sir,” the Ioatian said.

Jahkar suddenly looked up at the holographic viewscreen as something caught his attention. “Probe went off course there…look,” Jahkar announced. They watched as the probe veered in toward the Arluth and seemed to be focused on a hole in its hull.

“AI must have taken over and decided to take a closer look,” Sornax said as they watched the images of Arluth grew larger and filled the entire holo-viewer. The probe got close to the open tear in the hull’s ventral side, glided in so it hovered just outside, then looked inside the ship.

“That’s the engineering section,” Jahkar said. “That’s not far from the cargo bay I was going to investigate.”

“Unfortunately, we have no control over where it went,” Sornax said.

The probe showed recorded images of the engineering compartment and then it started to move away. As the video feed panned across the compartment, Jahkar saw something and turned to Dahrt, “Stop! Back it up several frames.”

“Did you see something?” Sornax asked.

“Maybe,” Jahkar said. He keyed his comm. “Commander Carmichael, I need you to check out this feed. Dahrt will patch it through to engineering.”

The video feed backed up slowly until Jahkar called for it to freeze. The image was that of the ship’s warp core, caught in the video ever-so briefly, plasma evident billowing from several attached conduits.

“I don’t think we need Mr. Carmichael to identify what that is,” Sornax said.

“That core is going to breach at any time,” Tommy said over the comm.

Jahkar growled, “Commander, if that core breaches and the Trinity device in nearby, what could happen?”

“One of two things, colonel,” Carmichael responded. “One, it vaporizes the device and its gone. Or two, the containment device is breached also and the quantum singularity is released.”

Jahkar turned to Sornax, “We’ll have no time to get out of here if we stay.”

“Helm, take us to a safe distance,” Sornax said.

Lt. Commander Revu turned from the helm controls and looked to the captain, “SIr? What’s safe distance?”

“Commander?” Sornax asked Tommy.

“Outskirts of the system,” Carmichael said. “The first one nearly destroyed the Breen homeworld and it was several million kilometers away from the planet.”

“Get us out of here,” Sornax said. “Take us to the edge of the system, full impulse.”

Phased cloaked, Resurrection headed out and away from Nixanar XII after bringing the probe back aboard. Half-way there, alert klaxons went off throughout the ship and sensors began to squeal with warnings.

“Sir, monitoring a massive explosion in the upper atmosphere of Nixanar XII,” Dahrt said.

“Micro-jump with the coaxial drive,” Sornax said. “Get us out of here.”

The ship jumped away, arriving on the edge of the system. At the same time, the warp core breach aboard the Arluth detonated the Trinity device. Nixanar XII disappeared into what looked like a massive blackhole, which sucked in the planet and several surrounding natural satellites almost instantly.

The Resurrection began to shake. “Shockwaves,” Dahrt announced. “Massive gravitational fluctuation. Everything is being pulled toward that singularity.”

“Mr. Carmichael, can we jump?” Sornax asked.

“If you're going to do it, do it now, Tommy said. “I can compensate in the calculations to return to Cardassia, but as the gravitational fluctuations worsen I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.”

“Black alert!” Sornax said. “Engage!”

A moment later Resurrection jumped away from the Gamma Quadrant and reappeared near Cardassia Prime, leaving the mess that had been created in the Nixanar system behind them.

Commander Mayla Vree and Commander Victoria Smith

Infirmary, USS Resurrection above Cardassia Prime

Stardate 2205.14

She opened her eyes to discover she was lying on her stomach. She groaned and tried to move.

"Stay still, dammit!" A familiar stern voice scolded her. "I just patched you up. At least let the biobed regenerate your epidermal before you start thrashing about."

"I need a mission status report."

A face appeared in her view with eyes that burned. "I just replaced the fat cells in your bony butt that was completely burned away. It looked like you were almost vaporized. You're lucky to be alive!"

"I have you, I'll live." Mayla murmured.

A single tear burst out of the corner of Victoria's eyes as she held her forehead to Mayla's. "You are infuriating, do you know that?"

"Only to you. What was the damage? My suit briefly displayed a trauma report before it ceased to function."

Victoria let out a cleansing breath. "The back quarter of your body was cauterized, amongst the contusions and broken bones. The only part of you that didn't sustain much damage was your brain, and sometimes I wonder if that was already damaged before you went on that mission."

"My back itches." Mayla said, moving her shoulder, then her head, purposefully ignoring the quip. "The back of my head itches too."

"Because you have no hair back there. Gone. Bald."

"Oh no, not my hair," the trill said in a deadpan tone of unseriousness and closed her eyes. "No social functions for a while. What is the mission status?"

"You and the rest of the team were beamed out before the station was destroyed." Victoria stood up and began setting up a medicinal administration schedule to her patient's recovery. "We just jumped back to Cardassia Prime."

"Everyone on the Team alright?" Mayla asked.

"They are. You're the only one with major injuries. Want to tell me how you got hurt?"

Mayla nearly didn't tell her, but gave her a vague response instead. "I set off explosives and didn't get far enough away in time."

Victoria gave her a tightlipped look. "Look, when you feel better, we need to have a conversation about your…recovery. You're going to be sore for at least a week."

"I can live with that. Can I go now?"

Victoria threw up her hands. "Did you not hear me when I said the rear quarter of your body was nearly completely burned away?"

"I heard you. So when can I go?"

"You are infuriating," Victoria repeated. "You really could have died."

"I know. I have full trust and faith in your abilities to fix me up, every time."

Victoria bent down and looked her straight in the eye to give her a piece of her mind. But when she saw the depth in those dark lavender eyes, she knew exactly what Mayla was doing and couldn't help but to crack a slight smile.

"From the looks of things, in about an hour. That's extremely good considering the severity of your wounds. But there's something inside you that's accelerated some of the healing of the more delicate areas that usually take a longer time to heal, like damaged organs and nerves. And I'd like to talk to you about that sometime."

"It's a date. And I have no idea what you're talking about. Wake me when I can go." Mayla closed her eyes and promptly went to sleep.

Victoria leaned back up, crossed her arms and studied the Trill in silence for a moment. Afterward, she turned her attention to Fiadh. The Irish nurse was holding up a small padd.

“Ma’am,” She quietly stated. “Ensign Gace and  Petty Officer Mendes are back from their mission with Captain Lazarus. They’ll be rejoining us within the next thirty minutes.”

“Preliminary report from Hixwir?” Smith asked as she loaded a sedative cartridge into a hypospray and prepared to administer it to Mayla.

Fiadh paused for a moment. “There was heavy combat ma’am. Hixwir and Joao Felix are ok but there were casualties. And Ensign Gace is reporting Mendes is pretty shaken up about it.”

Victoria nodded silently as she reflected on the report. After a moment she injected Vree with the sedative.

“The Commander will be out for at least an hour, maybe more.”

“Maybe more? You told her an hour.” Fiadh mildly objected.

“My battlefield, my rules.”

Fiadh scoffed at the answer. “My God, you two really do act like sisters trying to outmaneuver each other!”

Victoria smiled as Fiadh let out a string of Gaelic profanities in objection. Once she was finished, the combat nurse continued.

“And one more thing, Ms. Hannigan. Do you still have your stickers in your kit?”

Fiadh hesitated. “Yes, why?”

“Please be sure to apply several stickers in the shape of a “V” on her bony ass before she wakes up.”

Fiadh stared in confusion at Victoria for a moment before answering. “Are you serious?”

'Perhaps." Victoria winked. "I will be checking on Gace and Mendes if needed.”

After giving Fiadh command of the medical bay, the nurse spun on her heels and exited the area in search of Gace and Mendes.

USS Resurrection

USS Fearless

Orbiting Cardassia Prime

Stardate 2205.15

Once Resurrection had returned from the Gamma Quadrant, Lazarus beamed back from the Fearless and asked Jahkar to join him in his ready room. The marine arrived, thinking it was likely for a debriefing on the mission, but when he walked into the ready room Jahkar immediately sensed something was wrong.

“Colonel,” said Lazarus. “Commander Vree? I’m told she should make a full recovery.”

“Commander Smith seems optimistic,” Jahkar said. There was a long pause and Jahkar looked nervously to Lazarus. “Sir, where is Tajel?”

“Sit down, Jahkar,” the captain said.

Jahkar hesitated, then slowly settled into the chair, his stare now directly locked onto Lazarus across the desk from him.

“Ensign Dara Tajel was killed in action on Cardassia Prime,” Lazarus said. “I’m so sorry, colonel. He gave his life saving mine and Garak’s lives.”

Colonel Jahkar

*USS Resurrection*

Stardate 2205.18

Jahkar could not respond at first as he considered Lazarus for a long moment. Then, slowly, a smile crossed his face, nervously.

“You mean you faked his death, right captain?” Jahkar asked. “We discussed that option before we went to the Gamma Quadrant, right?”

Lazarus looked down at the desktop. He hated this…hated that he’d have to lie to Jahkar and lie to the entire team to maintain this ruse. But, telling anyone would make them an accessory to his crime and could jeopardize the plan to keep Tajel hidden – away from prosecution or potentially a death sentence.

The captain shook his head, “I’m sorry Jahkar, but he really was killed. It was over quickly, the Cardassian who shot him has the weapon set to the maximum setting. He vaporized right in front of us.”

Jahkar searched Lazarus’ eyes, looking for some glimmer that would tell him the truth. Tajel had to be alive, this had to be some kind of plan by Lazarus and Garak to hide his stepson.

“You can tell me, captain. I won’t tell anyone else,” Jahkar said.

“Jahkar, he died,” Lazarus maintained. “I’m sorry.”

Jahkar shook his head, tears welling in his eyes, “No. I don’t believe you. This was part of the plan…it has to be. Please, captain, tell me the truth.”

Lazarus bolted up out of his seat and stared hard at Jahkar, “Colonel. Accept what I am telling you. Dara Tajel is dead. He’s not coming back.”

“If you faked his death…”

“If I faked his death then I couldn’t tell you the truth, now, could I?” Lazarus said sternly. “Jahkar, Tajel is dead. He died in the line of duty. Accept that and move on.”

Jahkar swallowed hard and nodded his head, “Yes, sir.”

“My condolences to you, Kedanya and your family,” Lazarus said solemnly “For what it’s worth, colonel, he died valiantly.”

Jahkar nodded, tears streaming down his face. Lazarus dismissed him and the marine left the room. He wiped his tears away as he walked along, heading back to his quarters.

Meanwhile…

The team had finished dropping their gear at the armory while Jahkar was in the captain’s ready room. On their way out the door, Ensign Grop came running in, late for the intake of the equipment. The young Ferengi looked around at the Shadow operatives, seeking out one in particular.

“Where’s Colonel Jahkar?” Grop asked.

“Called to the captain’s ready room,” McCulloch told him. “Is there a problem?”

Grop lowered his head, “I just wanted to extend my condolences to him.”

“Why?” Tiri asked, eyebrow raised.

“You haven’t heard?” Grop said, surprised. “Oh…maybe I was supposed to wait until it was announced.”

“Spit it out, ensign,” McCulloch snapped.

“Ensign Dara was killed in combat on Cardassia,” the Ferengi said in a hushed tone. “The captain must be telling him.”

At that moment, Ryramorl and Reepchip appeared in the corridor, coming from the transporter, both looking grim as they approached the group.

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