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LOG ENTRY
NINE
USS SOVEREIGN, FEDERATION STARSHIP
GEOSYNCHROUS ORBIT OVER PHAROS, ROMULAN SPACE
0510 HOURS SST
"The Enterprise-C?"
Sisko voiced the same thing on the minds of everyone on the bridge.
"Can't be," he muttered.
"It is, sir,"
Xioar said. "The transponder signal is pretty degraded but
still identifiable as the U.S.S. Enterprise. I've run counterfeit
check protocols, and they come up all clear. It isn't forged."
"Looks pretty
beat up," boKal muttered.
"Well, the
Battle at Narenda III was a fierce one. The Romulans reported
that they destroyed the Enterprise-C but I guess as usual,
they lied to us," Sisko declared. "Try hailing them."
Xioar sent out
a hailing signal. He looked up waiting for the response.
The response came
in the form of a weapons attack. Green disruptor blasts and red
phaser beams flew out from the saucer of the Enterprise,
slamming into the Sovereign's shields. Sisko grabbed onto
his chair, riding out the impacts.
"Return fire!"
Sisko commanded. He watched as several red phaser beams streaked
out from the Sovereign to hit the hybridized starship.
The resurrected Enterprise didn't seem to be harmed. Behind
the enemy ship, the base rippled into invisibility.
"Sir,"
Xioar called out. "Their shields are something I've never
seen before. If I had to guess, the shields are a mix of Federation
and Romulan technology."
"Well cycle
through the phaser frequencies. Don't treat that ship like a standard
Starfleet ship," Sisko called out.
"Aye, sir,"
Xioar replied, as the Enterprise fired at the Sovereign
yet again. The bridge rocked as the shields struggled to disperse
both disruptor energy and phaser energy. Several phaser beams
flew out from the Sovereign, impacting against the Enterprise's
shields, dispersing easily.
Xioar cycled through
the frequencies as fast as he could; the Sovereign fired
short bursts of phaser beams, feeling out the Enterprise's
shields. Suddenly, one beam caused a rupture in the Enterprise's
hull.
"Yes!"
Xioar hissed. He noted the frequency and fired again at the Enterprise,
destroying a green disruptor bank. He fired again, but the shields
dissipated it again. Xioar swore in his native language, and started
over, studying the shield readings.
The Enterprise
stopped firing, and started flying closer to the Sovereign.
Sisko ordered the ship to move out of the way as the Enterprise
flew past. Suddenly, the Sovereign was rocked by a series
of violent blasts. Sparks flew out of consoles, and a fire broke
out on the bridge, only to be swiftly extinguished by the onboard
suppression system.
"What the
hell happened!" Sisko asked. The Enterprise resumed
firing their energy weapons as more mysterious explosions rocked
the Sovereign. Xioar struggled to stand in the midst of
the violent rocking.
"I don't
know, captain! I think.. but couldn't be!"
"Spit it
out!" Sisko yelled.
"Cloaked
torpedoes," Xioar said.
"Huh... that
makes sense. That's why we're getting hit so hard. The computer
isn't reading the torpedoes and compensating for their impacts
with a boost to the shields prior to impact. That ship is full
of surprises," Sisko muttered. He looked at Xioar. "Run
tachyon scans, see if the cloaking is still similar to Romulan
cloaks. Meanwhile, keep up the counter fire."
Xioar nodded as
the Sovereign battled it out with the Enterprise.
USS CARPATHIA, FEDERATION STARSHIP
BREVAT SYSTEM, CONTESTED SPACE
0515 HOURS SST
Dax stood up tentatively.
It seemed as if the battle was over. The Carpathia hadn't
been rocked for a few minutes. The red alert klaxon still was
blaring over the com system. She surveyed the damage in the brig.
One wall was blown away, revealing the interior power conduits
and circuits. The security guard had left the brig after getting
a call over his combadge.
The klaxon abruptly
stopped. Dax wished she knew what was going on. Suddenly, the
cell became very small and confining. She sat down on the bench,
and waited. The comm system chimed in the security office. She
could hear Ensign Goldberg's voice faintly at this distance. A
security officer walked into the brig. Not the one who had been
guarding her before. This was another man.
Dax stood up.
The guard went to the console, and deactivated the forcefield.
He motioned for her to leave the cell. He opened a security locker
and picked out Dax's combadge. He handed it back to her.
"Thank you,"
she said to him. Her combadge started chiming almost immediately
after she put it on her uniform. She tapped it. "Dax here."
"Ah good,
they gave it back to you," Goldberg's voice said. "I
need you to come to the bridge, right away."
"Allright,
I'm on my way up." Dax walked over to the turbolift in the
security office. She saw a man lying next to the main security
desk. He had a gash on his forehead, and another officer was tending
to him. Dax continued on into the turbolift.
The first thing
Dax noticed after stepping out onto the bridge was the smell of
burnt electronics and burnt flesh. The bridge was dark, illuminated
only by backup lights. A light haze hung in the bridge. The viewscreen
showed that the ship was in warp, although it was hard to tell,
since the screen kept flickering on and off. The cause was easily
seen as she looked to the left of the screen, the entire wall
was ruptured.
Ensign Goldberg
stood up from sitting in the captain's chair. He looked up to
Dax. She shook her head, "What happened?" She looked
around for Lieutenant Hompa and the others. "Where's everyone?"
The ensign shook
his head in sadness. Sweat and grime coated his face and uniform.
He sighed mournfully, and looked down at his feet. "It was
awful. A disaster from the start. Lieutenant Hompa took the Carpathia
in to the Jem'Hadar construction site. Jellico was wrong. They
did have a defense system already installed. The minute we crossed
the orbit of Brevat IV, on the way to Brevat III, several orbital
defense platforms popped out of no where, and started firing torpedo
after torpedo at us.
"That slowed
us down, giving the Jem'Hadar warships time to get up into space.
Two came after us, and they, along with the defense platforms,
just tore into us." Goldberg sighed. He swallowed, and continued,
"A Jem'Hadar ship scored a direct hit on the bridge."
Goldberg pointed to the huge rupture near the viewscreen.
"The wall
blew out, and fire just roared over the bridge, along with shrapnel.
Luckily for me, I had fallen before it blew, and the tactical
station saved me. Everyone except for me and Ensign Yajson were
killed. Yajson's in the sickbay, what's left of it." Tears
started streaming down Goldberg's cheeks. "I've never seen
so many people die at once."
Dax walked down
to the lower level of the bridge. She saw Hompa's badly burnt
body lying near the first officer's seat. Several other bodies
were littered about the bridge. She put her hand on his shoulder,
reassuringly.
Goldberg sniffled,
and wiped way a tear. "Anyway, I crawled over to the helm
and put the ship in warp. We were able to get away. The Jem'Hadar
chased us but broke off after a while. I'm glad because I don't
think I could have handled the bridge all by myself..." Goldberg
trailed off. He looked at the bodies around himself and Dax. He
shrugged. "Since you're the only surviving ranking officer
on this ship, I had them release you from the brig. As you can
see, we're short on manpower."
"I understand,"
Dax said softly. "Allright. Let's try getting back to Starbase
375. It's closer. Goldberg, why don't you go back up to tactical,
see if it still is working. Try to give me a damage report."
Goldberg nodded slowly, and went up the ramp to the tactical station,
stepping over the corpse of Hompa. Dax frowned. He may not have
been injured physically, but he was a casualty. She sighed and
rolled up her sleeves and went over to the helm controls, and
set to work.
ROMULAN BASE, CODE NAME: PHAROS
APPIANOS SYSTEM, ROMULAN SPACE
0520 HOURS SST
Ironsides and
his men stealthily crept towards the large tunnel that Thane said
would lead them to the laboratory. There were considerably more
Romulan guards patrolling the area. Ironsides peeked around the
corner, then quickly ducked back into hiding.
What he saw was
a large set of double doors, big enough for shuttlecraft to pass
through. Two guards stood at what Ironsides guessed was the entrance
console. Three guards walked back and forth, protecting the tunnel
pathway. They'd have to take out the guards out before they could
raise the alarm. Ironsides looked at Odo.
"Time to
do your thing," he whispered. Odo nodded slowly. He stood
still, then his features rippled into a Romulan soldier. The changeling
walked out the hall, carrying a disruptor that Bogarde had pulled
off a dead guard. Fortunately, Garak had taught Odo some Romulan
while Odo was captured by the Tal Shiar.
Odo walked up
to the guard console. In a passable Romulan accent, he approached
one of the guards. "The sub-commander wishes to see you now.
I am to take your place."
"Really?"
the guard asked. "He just posted me here only recently."
Odo simulated
a deep sigh, since he didn't really need to breathe. "That
is what the sub-commander told me to tell you. I would not want
to disobey him."
"Perhaps
I should contact him and ask if the matter is urgent. You do know
that we are to be on the alert for the enemy?" The guard
reached towards a nearby communications link.
Thinking quickly,
Odo reached out a cautionary hand. "I think you better just
go and see him in person." Rolling his eyes, Odo said, "You
know these sub-commanders. Always eager to make their marks so
they want to make perfect decisions. What they end up doing is
swinging back and forth between decisions. Like a baby deciding
on what toy to play with."
The guard smirked.
"Yes, that is true."
"So you should
not contact him. I doubt he will enjoy you pointing out his poor
decision-making skills."
The guard's smirk
faded. "You do have a point. I shall see the sub-commander."
"You are
relieved," Odo nodded. The guard moved away from the door
station, and walked down the tunnel to where Ironsides's men laid
in wait. If Odo breathed, he would have been holding his breath,
waiting for the guard to cry out in alarm.
But Ironsides's
men were professionals. Odo did not hear any signs of fighting.
Ironsides's men obviously prevailed because Odo caught a fleeting
glimpse of a thumbs-up from the corner. He prepared himself for
their move.
It happened quickly.
The first guard nearest the hidden marines went down in a phaser
rifle blast. As soon as the guard hit the ground, Odo engulfed
the Romulan soldier, depriving him of oxygen, as he had done with
several other guards. The marines stepped out of the darkness
and took down the last two guards with well placed phaser hits.
There was no unnecessary shooting, which would have made noise.
Ironsides walked
up to Odo, who kept his Romulan disguise up. "Allright, now
how do we get in?"
Odo looked over
the door console. "I'm familiar with Romulan security techniques.
In fact, I'm familiar with the security techniques of most species.
This requires a handprint and retina scan from an authorized person."
"Let's try
that guy you got there," Ironsides suggested. Odo nodded
and picked up the unconscious Romulan's hand, and pressed it on
the handplate. The computer bleeped, signifying acceptance. The
retina scanner opened up, waiting. Ironsides helped Odo pick up
the body, and move it in place. The major pressed the head against
the scanner, and opened an eye. The computer bleeped again, and
a clank sounded within the walls.
The doors slowly
rumbled open. They dropped the Romulan to the ground. Odo kneeled
down and studied the Romulan's face intently. Ironsides wondered
why but he understood when Odo's Romulan face subtly rippled.
The cheeks shifted slightly, and the hair grew out longer to match
the unconscious guard's hair. Now Odo was a near match for this
guard, whoever he was.
"I'll go
in first, and divert their attention while you sneak in behind
me just before the doors close," Odo said. Ironsides nodded
his approval. The major looked up at the doors which were now
fully opened. The others had moved the bodies away, and hid out
of sight. Odo walked into the cavernous laboratory.
He saw a large
circular column in the center of the laboratory rise up to the
ceiling. It was most likely the computer core Thane had been speaking
of. A turbolift door opened on the side of the column, and a Romulan
stepped out. He wasn't wearing the usual grey uniform of a soldier.
Instead his outfit was vaguely civilian. Odo guessed he was a
scientist.
Scattered throughout
the laboratory were groups of scientists working on various projects.
Prefabricated white partition walls lined the floor, dividing
up the laboratory in several sections. Some sections had large
pieces of machinery surrounded by scientists. Some sections were
clearly computer stations, with scientists hunched over, working
on the computers. The occasional Romulan guard walked through
the groups, patrolling the area. Odo sniffed. Figures he
thought, they don't even trust their own scientists. One
of the guards looked at Odo, then waved. Odo quickly returned
the wave, and the guard resumed walking around the computer core.
The large doors
began rumbling shut. Odo stepped forward, looking for some sort
of leader. He listened, and heard the deep voice of someone talking.
Odo walked towards the sound of the voice, and passed a group
of scientists. He saw a regal man standing in front of a medium
sized viewscreen. Odo wasn't able to see who was on the viewscreen
since it was angled away from him.
However, Odo was
able to see who was talking. He was one of the more recognized
Romulan representatives, Tomalak. Stories had been told of his
confrontations with Picard and the Enterprise-D. Odo stood
nearby, satisfied that he had found a leader of this complex.
He listened in to the conversation.
"...and the
Ra'Kholh is performing well against this...how do you say...Sovereign
class starship. I wanted to commend you on the clever code name
for the Federation ship. The Avenger has a certain irony
to it."
"Save your
flattery," the screen said.
"Very well,"
Tomalak cleared his throat. "I believe this base has proved
it's worth now, as well as the ship. We should begin production
on our new technology."
The person on
the viewscreen spoke. Odo now could tell it was a woman. "Good.
It's about time that damned ship did something good for us. I
shall relay your report to my superiors at the Tal Shiar. What
of the intruders?"
"The intruders
should be dealt with soon," Tomalak said. "As of this
moment, my best men have been patrolling the base. They stand
no chance against the best the Star Empire has to offer."
Odo smirked, and
he knew that if Ironsides was listening, he would find Tomalak's
comment as amusing as Odo did.
"Really,"
the woman said flatly. "We shall see. If your men fail, then
you fail also. We have placed much trust in you, in giving you
command of this base and this project. I have to wonder how the
Feds learned of this base." The voice paused for a beat.
"You are sure you destroyed the shuttlecraft the prisoner
managed to steal under your noses?"
Tomalak chuckled
nervously. "Yes, I am sure. I saw it explode with my own
two eyes."
"I see,"
the voice said. "Well, if these intruders manage to escape
with stolen information, I would recommend you take enter your
personal shuttlecraft...yes, I know you have one, don't deny it...and
fly to the farthest star in the Romulan Empire, for the Tal Shiar
will be very displeased with you. And if the Tal Shiar is very
displeased with you, you may as well be dead."
Tomalak gulped
visibly. "I understand. And these intruders shall not escape.
I shall double my efforts."
"Good. While
factions within the government are leaning towards forming ties
with the Federation, the Tal Shiar shall use the weapons you are
developing to doom Starfleet and quiet down our own dissidents."
The woman chuckled. "I suppose my feelings are not all that
different from that detestable woman, Selari. She feels that we
should start dealing with the Federation. I feel that we should
have the Federation dealt with, once and for all."
"A very clever
turn of phrase," Tomalak smiled. "Rest assured your
trust in me is not misplaced. I shall succeed. Long live the Empire.
Tomalak out." He pressed the console in front of him, shutting
the link down. The Romulan commander straightened up, and called
for a nearby aide. He conferred with the aide quietly, so Odo
couldn't hear them. The disguised changeling looked around for
any sign of Ironsides and his men.
Unseen by Odo,
the marines were huddled behind a partition screen that separated
a workbench from another project. At the moment, no scientists
were at this project area. Thane was scanning the area with his
tricorder. Ironsides kneeled next to Thane.
"Report,"
he stated. Thane looked at the major.
"It's unbelievable.
We had no idea they would be in various advanced stages of developments.
Starfleet would love to learn the secrets contained within here.
Look, they have a hybrid warpcore powered with a quantum singularity,
that could theoretically sustain Warp 9.9 for an near infinite
amount of time! New cloaks, new weapons, they're all here. There's
so many things, I can't list them all."
Ironsides nodded.
"Allright. I want us to split up. Thane, I want you to find
a empty computer station and download as much information as you
can. Bogarde and I will be your lookouts. Worf, I want you and
Donahue to look for ways to blow the hell out of this place. Our
orders are to disrupt their plans here."
Ironsides looked
into the eyes of the men looking at him. Their faces were set
in grim determination. Ironsides gave a single nod. Worf and Donahue
paired up and left the partitioned off section. Bogarde went to
the other side of the section, and looked out at the rest of the
lab. He waved towards Ironsides and Thane, motioning for them
to move out.
Worf and Donahue
had made it several sections away from their hiding place, skirting
the small walls. Both men covered each other's back, watching
out for the occasional guard patrol. Worf whispered to Donahue,
"How much ordinance do you have?"
Donahue whispered
back, "Eight charges of Q-6. I doubt it's enough to blow
this place up. We need to look for places where we can generate
secondary explosions."
"I believe
our prime target should be the computer core. It would cripple
their operations badly," Worf suggested.
"I was thinking
the same thing," Donahue nodded. The two men fell silent,
scanning their surroundings. They eased their way past scientists
engrossed in their work. Once they reached a silent area, Donahue
smirked at Worf. "One would think those pointy ears of theirs
would pick up us walking around them."
Worf scowled,
which was an impressive feat since his face seemed to be perpetually
scowling. "Suffice it to say that I do not have a high opinion
of Romulan skills. The only thing they are good at is betrayal."
"Ah, the
good old Klingon-Romulan blood feud," Donahue muttered under
his breath. Worf narrowed his eyes at Donahue. For a moment, Donahue
feared for his life, but Worf turned his gaze away, searching
the area beyond Donahue's back. They continued on past the empty
section.
Worf held Donahue
back, as he heard a group of Romulans walking nearby. They flattened
themselves against the lightweight walls, readying themselves
for a confrontation. Fortunately, it didn't happen. Donahue looked
around the corner once the Romulans passed.
"Hey, I think
I have a good candidate here. Come on," he whispered. Worf
followed the other man around into the section that they just
left. Set upon a workbench was a large sized piece of machinery.
It wasn't recognizable to Worf, but even he could tell it was
only half finished. He could see into the interior of the machine,
with electronic devices silently blinking on and off. Long fiber
optic wires and sensors snaked in and out of the device.
"I do not
see what good it would do to plant one of your charges here,"
Worf said. Donahue was already peering into the guts of the device.
The corporal turned back to look at Worf.
"It's a bomb,"
Donahue stated.
"How do you
know that?" Worf asked.
Donahue gave Worf
a look. "Please. I eat, sleep, and breathe explosives. I
know what bombs look like, even if they're just prototypes."
Donahue pulled
a small purple block of clay-like material out of his utility
backpack. Then he pulled out a small electronic disk and pressed
it into the center of the Q-6 block. He reached into the device,
planting the charge gingerly. Donahue withdrew his arm, and nodded
to Worf. "Ok, let's move on."
Thane crouched
behind a computer station, listening to the Romulan speaking to
the computer. Ironsides and Bogarde were a short distance away,
looking for possible guards. Thane looked at Ironsides. The major
gave a single nod. Thane looked over at Bogarde. The sergeant
gave a single nod.
Thane drew a silent
breath, and gripped his phaser, setting it on low stun. He jumped
up and spun around, jamming the phaser's tip against the Romulan
scientist's temple. Thane pressed the firing stud on the phaser,
and a slight reddish orange light flared up at the tip. The scientist
moaned and started to fall down, instantly dead. Thane caught
him, and slowly set the Romulan into a nearby seat.
The brash corporal
leaned over the computer station, pulling his tricorder out of
its pocket on his uniform. With practiced ease, Thane flipped
open the tricorder and made a data link to the computer. He looked
up at Bogarde and Ironsides, checking for any warning signals.
Ironsides and
Bogarde were looking away from him, keeping their eyes peeled
for trouble. Ironsides turned back to Thane. He held up a questioning
hand, palm outward. Thane rotated his hand forward, indicating
that the information download was going along. Ironsides nodded
and shifted in his kneeling position, resuming his lookout stance.
Thane looked around
him, as he listened to his tricorder warble softly. He allowed
himself to smile. It looked as if they were going to be able to
get out of here undetected. He looked down at his tricorder, checking
the download status. A bootstep near him caused Thane to whirl
about holding up his phaser. Bogarde and Ironsides spun around,
raising their rifles.
Thane saw a Romulan
guard raise his hands and his disruptor pistol. He held himself
in a non-threatening pose. Thane smiled, "Damn, Odo. You
scared a year off my life. Why don't you keep watch for me while
I download data off this station?"
The disguised
Romulan nodded and stood near Thane, looking around the area.
Ironsides sighed, relieved that it was only Odo. He looked over
at Bogarde, who was shaking his head. The sergeant flashed a smile
to Ironsides, then turned around to keep guard.
Ironsides looked
at Odo. He seemed different somehow. It wasn't quite the same
Romulan disguise Odo had on. In fact, wasn't that a scar he noticed
on that face? A queasy feeling set in Ironsides's gut. He waved
to Thane, trying to catch his attention.
Thane looked up
to see the major waving rapidly. He looked at Ironsides with a
confused expression. Ironsides pointed to Odo, then slashed his
throat with his hand.
Thane spread his
hands as if to ask "Why?" Ironsides repeated the gestures
again, more insistently this time. Unfortunately, the Romulan
saw Ironsides this time. The soldier raised his disruptor at Thane.
The corporal raised his phaser in response. Both fired their weapons
at the same time.
Both energy beams
streamed out towards each other. Amazingly, the disruptor and
phaser beams struck each other. The resulting energy discharge
threw Thane over the computer station. He dropped the tricorder
and it skittered across the floor away from him. The guard flew
back to the floor. The explosion reverberated throughout the laboratory,
giving away Ironsides's location.
"Damn it!"
Ironsides yelled. He tapped his combadge. It was useless to maintain
communications silence now. "Ironsides to Donahue! Have you
finished yet?"
"Donahue
here. Yes, sir. What the hell was that? If I didn't know better,
I would've had said it was from a disruptor and phaser beam, but
the odds are impossible for that!"
"It happened.
Just get out of there now!" Ironsides yelled.
A second later,
Donahue contacted Ironsides. "Sir! Worf and I can't beam
out! We guess it might be due to electromagnetic interference
in this lab from one of these gizmos."
"Damn, well
just try and make your way out of the lab, get to the outer edges.
We'll do the same. If we don't get out in five minutes, just detonate
the charges."
"Uh, allright,
sir. Donahue out."
Odo heard the
explosion and shook his head. He now knew where Ironsides's men
were. He ran towards the noise, joining in with the other guards
that were running there. When he got there, he saw Ironsides kneeling
over an apparently dazed Thane, with Bogarde nearby. Several guards
were firing disruptors, keeping the marines hemmed in.
"What in
ch'Havaran's name is going on?!" Odo heard Tomalak yell out
from behind him. The Romulan commander ran up to the rear lines
of guards. "Is it the intruders? Don't let them get away
alive!"
Odo noticed two
other men running near the entrance doors. He recognized them
as Donahue and Worf. Immediately after he saw them, they vanished
in a blue haze of transporter lights. Odo looked around to see
if anyone noticed them. Apparently, Ironsides and the others were
drawing the attention.
Odo guessed that
since Donahue left, he must have completed placing charges. Which
meant this base had a very short time to remain standing. He looked
at the mass of guards in front of him.
Ironsides's men
couldn't last long pinned down like this, especially not with
a ticking clock. Odo stretched his arms out, and morphed them
into large clubs. He swung his arms back and forth, knocking Romulan
guards left and right, clearing a path. The changeling ran through
the opening, sliding on the floor to Ironsides.
"Ah, the
real Odo," Ironsides remarked to him.
"Hmm?"
Odo tilted his head, as the clubs reformed into arms. Ironsides
shook his head, waving it off. Odo shrugged and went on to tell
Ironsides that he saw Donahue and Worf beam out. Ironsides smiled
grimly, as he picked off a guard shooting near Thane.
Thane blinked
his eyes, and leaned up. "What... wait! The tricorder!"
"It's over
there!" Ironsides saw it only several meters away. Odo stretched
out his arm, trying to reach at the tricorder. A disruptor blast
tore through his rubbery arm. Odo yelled out, as his hand fell
down, bubbling and dissolving into ash. He drew the rest of his
arm back.
"Forget it!"
Ironsides yelled. "We gotta move to the perimeter to beam
out!"
"No!"
Thane yelled. He shoved Ironsides away, and dove across the floor
at the tricorder. He made it past the green hail unscathed. He
grabbed the tricorder and shoved it across the floor to Ironsides,
as he fired his phaser at nearby guards.
Ironsides grabbed
the tricorder and scooped it up, shoving it inside his flak jacket.
"Got it! Now let's get the hell out of here!"
"I second
that motion," Bogarde shouted over his shoulder. Odo stood
up, and held his right arm in front of him, and it stretched out
and flattened into a glassy beige shield that covered Odo's entire
body from head to feet, plus a meter across. He charged against
a row of guards that fired their disruptors at him.
The blasts struck
the shield, which rippled like raindrops hitting a pond's surface.
The blasts left an odd smell, the same smell the ash of the remains
of Odo's hand gave off. Ironsides and Bogarde saw what Odo was
doing, and they ran behind Odo. Thane scrambled to his feet and
started running, only a short distance behind the others.
Odo's makeshift
shield/plow got Ironsides and Bogarde to the curved outer wall.
Bogarde slammed his combadge, and quickly dissolved away. Odo's
chest brought his hidden combadge out to the surface, and he tapped
on it. He too, transported away. Ironsides looked back, waiting
for Thane to make it through.
He saw Thane trying
to run through the gap that Odo made in the ranks of the Romulan
guards, but the guards closed the gap, blocking Thane from the
major's view. Ironsides started to run back, to help Thane, but
more guards poured in through the large double doors, and started
firing at Ironsides. A disruptor blast whizzed by Ironsides's
ear, and he fired his rifle at the new arrivals. A disruptor blast
slammed squarely into Ironsides's chest, knocking him down to
the floor. Ironsides struggled to regain his breath, and the reinforcements
advanced at him. Ironsides looked back at the last place he saw
Thane.
All he saw were
Romulan guards advancing towards him too. Ironsides got to his
feet and ran in the only open direction which was behind him.
As he ran alongside the curving wall avoiding disruptor fire,
he tried find Thane, but to no avail. He thought to himself, Thane
must have been captured. He sighed, and told himself he couldn't
delay any further. Ironsides tapped his combadge, and transported
out of the place.
"Put the
prisoner in my shuttle!" Tomalak yelled, as he jogged towards
the secret shuttlebay he had built in the base. A sub-centurion
nodded, and rushed off to relay the order. Tomalak sighed, thinking
to himself. Perhaps this prisoner might appease the Tal Shiar.
He had the sinking feeling that this laboratory might go up in
flames any moment. Almost fitting, since his career might be
going down in flames, he mused. Tomalak increased his jog
to a run, hoping the Ra'Kholh had fared better against
the Sovereign.
LOG ENTRY TEN
USS SOVEREIGN, FEDERATION STARSHIP
ORBIT OVER PHAROS, ROMULAN SPACE
0525 HOURS SST
"How are
you doing with finding those damn torpedoes?" Sisko yelled
out, as he held onto the command chair. The former Enterprise
was still pounding at the Sovereign. Their unusual shields
were holding up well against the Sovereign's phasers. However,
the Sovereign was continually being bombarded by cloaked
torpedoes. The hybrid Enterprise-C fired their mix of phaser
and disruptors at the Sovereign from one direction while
hidden torpedoes would assault the ship from other directions,
wearing down the shields.
"Negative,
sir! You have to remember that we're dealing with a small object
about two meters long and one meter wide, moving at high speeds.
It's not as simple as finding a cloaked full size Romulan Warbird!
I even have several engineers working on modifying the sensors!"
Xioar answered back.
"Fine, just
stay on it! Find them and fast!" Sisko said. Sisko looked
over at Tobias. "Commander, any new developments on the base?"
The first officer
glanced at her seat's computer display. "I've been monitoring
their combadge signals. The sensor disrupting field is making
it hard, but I think there has been some transporter activity.
I--" Tobias's next sentence was drowned out by the noise
of an explosion. The two commanding officers looked over at the
site of the explosion, a sensor station.
Fortunately, the
crewman stationed there escaped injury. He rushed to a nearby
compartment and pulled out a fire extinguisher, and put out the
small fire that lit up. After the flames subsided, the crewman
started work on the sensors again, checking for damage.
"You were
saying?" Sisko prodded.
"Yes, sir,
I was going to say that I also think I detected communication
traffic on their special frequency," Tobias finished.
"Sounds like
things are moving quickly down there too. Keep an eye out for
the runabouts trying to return to us," said Sisko. Tobias
nodded, and turned her attention back to her screen.
The Sovereign
rocked again under a flurry of invisible torpedoes. Sisko muttered
under his breath, and looked over at the tactical officer. "Xioar!"
"We're working
on it as fast as we can, captain!" Xioar said. "Yes!
I've got something, captain!"
"Excellent,
what?"
"Their shields
seem to have a odd frequency cycling method. For a 5.6 nanoseconds,
there's a gap where we can get our phasers through." Xioar
shrugged. "I know, it will take a long time to bring that
ship down with phasers only."
"It's still
better than nothing at all. Coordinate fire correspondingly,"
Sisko answered back.
Sisko sighed,
looking at the viewscreen. This battle was reminding Sisko slightly
of one of Kirk's last great battles, against the prototype Klingon
Bird of Prey that could fire while cloaked. Only this time, the
situation was reversed. It was the weapons that were cloaked,
not the ship. The Sovereign was quickly approaching the
same level of damage the Enterprise-A received in that
engagement.
Sisko would be
damned if he brought the first Sovereign class ship back
to Starfleet in near crippled condition. But right now, there
was nothing he could do but wait for Xioar to find a way to detect
the cloaked photon torpedoes, and just pray that the ship would
hold together that long.
USS CARPATHIA, FEDERATION STARSHIP
BAJOR SECTOR, FEDERATION TERRITORY
0645 HOURS SST
"Carpathia
to Starbase 375, permission to dock requested," Dax
said as she sat in the burnt command chair. Ensign Goldberg was
at his tactical station and various other young men and women
were staffing the bridge. The corpses had been moved to the only
intact cargo bay, along with the other casualties from other parts
of the ship.
"U.S.S.
Carpathia, this is Captain Griskinov. Permission granted.
You look quite beat up."
"Oh, we are.
You might want to clear the area, we're having trouble managing
a theta radiation leak."
"Understood.
We'll send out a hazmat team to help shut that down and clean
it up," the captain said on the barely functioning viewscreen.
The ruddy faced captain looked over at an officer. The officer
whispered to the captain in his ear, and Griskinov nodded. He
looked up to face Dax, as the officer walked away.
"Uh, I'm
sorry. My first officer has just informed me that you are supposed
to be under arrest. Protocol states that you must surrender yourself
to this base's security office."
Dax gasped, "What?
Jellico's put the arrest record out already?"
Goldberg stepped
into view of the screen. "Sir, she's the highest ranking
officer on this ship, I need her to run this ship. Jellico's order
for Dax's arrest was a very poor decision. You'll agree when you
know the facts."
"Whatever
the facts may be, that's up to a board of review, not me."
Dax sighed. "Where's
Admiral Ross? He can override this warrant right away."
"I'm sorry,
but Admiral Ross is not on the station now. He's back at Starfleet
HQ. I'm the commanding officer here, and I don't have the authority
to override Admiral Jellico's warrant."
"Fine,"
Dax muttered. "Allright. Let me get this ship safely in dock
then I'll turn myself over."
"I can give
you that," Captain Griskinov shrugged. "I'm sorry. Base
375 out."
Dax stepped into
the cell, as a security officer activated the restraining forcefield.
She sat down on the sleeping bench. She looked around the brig.
The other cells were mostly unoccupied, except for one or two
other unsavory looking people. She saw a man lying on his side,
sleeping. Well Jadzia, she thought to herself. Here
we are again. If her arrest warrant was already in the system,
then Kira must know what Jellico did. And Jadzia didn't think
the major would stand still for that.
DEEP SPACE NINE, JOINT BAJORAN-FEDERATION
STATION
BAJOR SECTOR, FEDERATION TERRITORY
0700 HOURS SST
Kira stepped into
the cell, as a security officer activated the restraining forcefield.
She sat down on the sleeping bench, fuming. The brig on Deep
Space Nine was mostly unoccupied, except for one other person.
"Major! What
are you doing in here?" Quark asked.
"I got into
a...discussion...with Admiral Jellico, about his decision making
skills," Kira said through clenched teeth.
"Some discussion
that must have been. What did you say to him?" Quark asked
as he chuckled from behind the restraining forcefield of his own
cell.
"I... might
have said some things about his parental heritage. Also I might
have...said something concerning him and farm animals."
"Oh I see,"
Quark nodded.
"What are
you doing in here?" Kira countered.
"Oh me? It's
just a huge misunderstanding. A horrible mistake of epic proportions,"
Quark said, holding up his hands in an innocent pose.
"Right,"
Kira replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
ROMULAN BASE, CODE NAME: PHAROS
APPIANOS SYSTEM, ROMULAN SPACE
0535 HOURS SST
"Let's go!"
Ironsides shouted as soon as he fully materialized on the transporter
pad in the Amazon. Ruiz was at the pilot's station, and
she fired up her thrusters. Worf did the same for the adjacent
runabout, the Rhine.
"What about
Thane?" Jacoby asked, as Ironsides rushed over to sit next
to Ruiz.
"I lost him.
Couldn't find him. Probably captured, or killed," Ironsides
said. The major looked at Ruiz's back. He noticed that her flak
jacket and uniform overcoat was gone. She was wearing only her
undershirt and a large pad of medical patches over her wound.
The bandages were dotted with red. Ironsides assumed that Ruiz
had Bashir patch her up, nothing more beyond that. She seemed
to have difficulty breathing. She certainly was a trooper,
Ironsides thought. He hoped she'd hold up long enough.
The two runabouts
rose over the forest canopy, just as an explosion sounded out
nearby. The base was going. The runabouts whizzed forward at high
speeds, passing over the Romulan base.
Ironsides looked
down and saw the central buildings of the base sinking into the
ground. Good, he thought to himself. Less change of
salvage. More explosions sounded out below them as the marines
shot up into space. Now we can get out of here, Ironsides
thought to himself.
The Rhine
and the Amazon entered the blackness of space, racing across
the curve of the Romulan moon, only to see two ships battling.
"What the hell is going on?" Ironsides yelled as both
runabouts halted, holding position. In the distance, Major Ironsides
could make out several explosions flaring up around the Sovereign,
seemingly out of nowhere. The other ship, an ugly looking thing,
fired green disruptors at the Sovereign, then red-orange
phasers.
"Major, that
ship, it's the Enterprise-C!" Jacoby called out from
his seat at sensors and communications.
Ironsides looked
at the enemy ship again. The shape now registered in his mind.
Ambassador class, although with strange modifications,
most likely Romulans. That tied in with what he knew of the Pharos
base.
"Sir, if
the Sovereign's shields are up, we can't dock," Ruiz
said to Ironsides. As light flashed into the cockpit from the
explosions blossoming around the Sovereign, a thought clicked
in Ironsides's mind.
"Jacoby!
Get me Sisko!" Ironsides shouted. Within a few seconds, Ironsides
was looking at a beleaguered Captain Sisko on a small viewscreen.
"Having trouble with invisible torpedoes?"
"Yes, can
you do anything to help?"
"Would blueprints
and schematics help?" Ironsides asked, holding up Thane's
tricorder.
Sisko turned his
head, looking off screen. "Xioar! Hear that? Ironsides's
done your job for you!"
Ironsides heard
the tactical officer yell back, "Good for him! Now gimme
the data!" The major smiled and nodded to Jacoby.
"Private
Jacoby is uploading the data to you now," he said to Sisko.
"Got it,"
Xioar said, looking at Sisko. "Yes... yes... that's it! We
can modify our sensors to locate them!"
Sisko looked at
the tactical officer, smiling at the one ray of hope. "That's
great!"
"I'll go
one further for you. The data has a report on the weak points
of the torpedoes. This report tells us how to destroy them,"
Xioar grinned.
"Great, how?"
"It seems
that the casing they use is different from the standard casing
we all use, because it doesn't work well with cloaking devices.
The torpedoes are in a modified casing, which is susceptible to
certain forms of radiation." Xioar studied the computer readout.
"All we need to do is have the navigational deflector emit
a low level field of Zeta radiation, and the torpedoes will explode
prematurely several meters away from our shields, reducing the
damage by 97%!"
"Allright,
make it so!" Sisko said. He paused, hearing those words come
out of his mouth. He blinked, and shook his head. He shrugged
it off, and looked back at Ironsides. "Major, I think we've
got it." The constant rumblings and impacts eased up on the
bridge as Xioar modified the deflector.
Ironsides looked
on as the explosions that rippled throughout the shields on the
Sovereign shifted away from the ship. "Glad to hear
it, Captain." Ironsides paused for a moment. "Sir, the
Pharos base is actually a research laboratory base, using technology
off that ship to make hybrid prototypes. I've destroyed, or at
very least, crippled their operations there. I suspect the Enterprise-C
is a testing ship, and we need to destroy it too."
"That might
be a problem. You wouldn't happen to have their shield schematics
by any chance?"
Ironsides shook
his head, "No such luck. We were interrupted before finishing
the data download. I already looked."
"No matter.
Xioar has pinpointed a weakness but we can't really exploit it
well." Sisko described the nanosecond gap in the shields
that Xioar discovered.
"I understand
the problem. Even without the torpedoes, they can still hammer
away at you with their multiple energy weapons, and they could
cut and run, taking their new weapons and data with them."
"Excuse me
sirs?"
Ironsides turned
at the voice. Then he realized it was Donahue's voice coming through
the open comlink between the two runabouts.
"What is
it, Malcolm?" Ironsides asked.
"I think
I have an idea. I just ran a scan on the Enterprise-C,
and they still have their auto-destruct charges there. The Romulans
haven't moved them. They're still there, only deactivated and
disconnected from the other charges. I could beam aboard that
ship through that gap and access one of the charges and link it
to the others. Then I'll open a computer connection to you so
you can disengage the safety interlocks on that charge. After
that, I can beam off on the next gap, and then it'd only be a
simple matter of scoring a direct hit on the charge. Then boom."
"Sounds risky.
I wasn't aware that you could disengage the safety interlocks
on a self destruct charge from another ship. I thought there were
security measures in place that prevented that," Sisko said
as he finished listening to Donahue's voice.
"Trust me,
Captain. I'm an expert in explosives of all forms. Worf can back
me up here. I know how to do it, and I'll do it if the major orders
it," Donahue said.
"Still sounds
risky, but right now, it's our only option," said Sisko.
"Xioar, give them the gap timetable so Donahue can make the
beam over."
Ironsides leaned
forward against the comm console. He looked at Jacoby. "Can
you turn off Sisko's connection? I'd like to talk to Donahue privately."
"Sure, sir."
Ironsides spoke
again into the comm. "Malcolm?"
"Yes, sir?"
"There's
no way for the Sovereign to blow these charges via remote,
isn't there?"
There was a pause
before Donahue spoke again. "No there isn't."
"Then you'd
have to stay behind and blow them manually, missing any beam-out
windows."
"That's right."
Ironsides looked
out the cockpit windows at the monstrosity that was the Enterprise-C.
He sighed. "Corporal, you have a go," Ironsides said.
Donahue looked
at the comm system, after hearing Ironsides's command. "Yes,
sir," he replied quietly. Now he heard Sisko's voice come
through.
"Corporal,
we're going to lay down some diversionary fire so that the Rhine
can come in from behind, around the moon."
Donahue looked
at Worf, who nodded. "Understood. We're going to break off
now."
"Good luck,"
Sisko said. Donahue sighed, and looked at Worf again.
"Corporal,
this is a very worthy mission. I am sure you would be admitted
to Sto'vo'kor."
"That's the
Klingon place for dead warriors, right?" Donahue said.
"Correct,"
Worf nodded, as he set the Rhine into full impulse, heading
back around the moon, away from the two starships.
"I'll keep
that in mind," Donahue said. Lieutenant Jannsen stood up
and walked over to the transporter controls in the rear of the
cockpit.
"I'll man
the transporters," she said. Donahue nodded and got out of
his seat and walked down the corridor, and retrieved something
from his storage cubicle. He walked back into the cockpit, and
stepped onto the transporter pad.
He heard Worf
rumble into the comm system, "Approaching the Enterprise-C."
Through the windows, Donahue could see the aft section of the
Enterprise-C. The Sovereign opened fire with a flurry
of phaser beams and torpedo launches.
"Gap coming
in 2 seconds... one, now!" Jannsen said. Donahue disappeared
in a column of blue light. "Jannsen to Ironsides, the corporal
is away."
"Ironsides
to Sisko, the corporal is away." Ironsides said to Sisko.
The captain nodded, and looked at Xioar.
"Be ready
for Donahue's signal. It should come in the next gap." The
Naist nodded at the tactical station. More explosions flared up
around the Sovereign, now only annoyances. Apparently,
the Romulans hadn't given up on their new weapon.
The energy weapons
however, were still a large danger. The combined assault of disruptors
and phasers continued to wear away at the Sovereign's shields.
Sisko couldn't have the Sovereign counterfire as effectively
as she could for fear of interfering with Donahue's mission.
"The gap's
coming up now," Xioar said. Sisko waited for Xioar to announce
that the computer link had been established, as he rode out the
latest barrage of weapons fire. "Sir....no computer link
established. Only an audio signal from the Enterprise-C."
"What? Put
it through and patch it over to the Amazon," Sisko
said.
A voice crackled
through the comm system, Donahue's voice. "Just wanted to
apologize to the captain. I lied. There's no way to deactivate
the safety interlocks through a computer link. Everything has
to be done from here, on this ship. I've just done that. And even
if you were able to score a direct hit on the destruct charge,
it wouldn't be enough to set off an explosion. That's why right
now, a charge of Q-6 that I placed on one of the self destruct
warheads is about to explode. You guys better get away to a safe
distance. Oh, tell Worf I'm going to check out Sto'vo'kor. Donahue
out."
Sisko narrowed
his eyes in puzzlement. "Donahue? Donahue!" On the viewscreen,
Sisko watched as an explosion ripped through the bottom of the
Enterprise-C. "Xioar, can you get any sort of lock
on Donahue?"
"None at
all."
The explosion
on the Enterprise-C continued rushing outwards, drawing
Sisko's attention to the viewscreen.
"boKal! Get
us away now!" Sisko shouted. The lieutenant set the Sovereign
in full reverse as another explosion erupted in another location
on the hybrid starship. A full fledged chain reaction began, as
the former Enterprise blew apart in shards of green and
grey metal.
"Did the
Rhine make it away in time?" Sisko asked Tobias. She
nodded. Sisko watched as the hailstorm of metal and plasma blossomed
outwards where the Enterprise-C was. He noticed something
odd occurring. A cloud of plasma and metal collided with something.
He watched as space rippled to reveal the green pyramidal mobile
starbase that had vanished earlier in the beginning of the space
battle.
"Xioar!"
"I see it.
Target locked now."
"Fire,"
Sisko intoned. The Sovereign fired its phasers at the now
decloaked base. The base's weak shields couldn't hold up against
the full fury of the Sovereign's phasers. Soon, the base
collapsed onto itself, then exploded.
"Sir, I'm
reading something," Xioar said.
"What is
it?" Sisko asked.
"Never mind.
I lost it. For a second there, I thought I saw a Romulan shuttle.
Probably only afterimages from the base exploding," Xioar
shrugged.
"Allright.
Prepare to receive the Rhine and the Amazon. Have
Sickbay ready for the POWs," Sisko said. He looked out at
the cloud of debris.
"Xioar, beam
some samples of the Enterprise's hull as evidence. We never
really knew what her final fate was. Now we do. I'm sure Starfleet
Command will want more than just sensor readings as proof."
"Yeah,"
boKal said. "I'm not even sure I saw it myself. The whole
thing was so surreal."
Sisko couldn't
disagree. He heard Xioar report, "Locking onto the densest
area of debris. Beaming one square meters into Cargo Bay Three."
"Sir, the
Amazon has docked into Shuttlebay One," Commander
Tobias told Sisko. "The Rhine is coming in now. The
POWs have been beamed directly from the Amazon to Sickbay."
Tobias paused. "The Rhine is now docked. The POWs
are being transported now. Complete. All recovered POWs are in
Sickbay."
Sisko drew a deep
breath. "Xioar, take a final scan of the Pharos base. Lieutenant
boKal, set course for Federation space, then to Starbase 106."
boKal tapped his
fingers across the conn. "Course laid in, captain."
"Scanning
done," Xioar said.
"boKal, let's
go home. Engage." Sisko stood up and looked at Tobias. "You
have the bridge. Get damage control started."
"Aye, sir,"
Tobias said. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going
to talk to Major Ironsides."
Ironsides dumped
a backpack onto the sleek decking of the shuttlebay. Worf and
Bogarde were with him, helping unpack their supplies from the
runabouts.
"Major!"
Ironsides looked
up to see Sisko walking briskly towards him. The major stood up
and wiped his palms on his trousers. "Yes?"
"A word,
please."
Ironsides nodded
and followed Sisko as the captain walked to an empty corner of
the bay.
"This is
about Corporal Donahue, isn't it?" Ironsides ventured.
"Damn straight,
it is." Sisko turned and glowered at Ironsides. "You
knew, didn't you? You knew he'd die over there."
Ironsides shrugged.
"Yes. I gave him the order."
"Why didn't
you wait until we came up with another option? Another plan of
action?"
"Wait?"
Ironsides asked. "Wait for the other ship to make an getaway?
Until reinforcements came? No." He shook his head.
Sisko frowned.
"Still, you should have consulted with me before sending
him to his death."
"I didn't
want to run the risk of you agonizing over the decision, wasting
time. Look, all of my men are ready to die each mission. And I'm
always ready to order them to their deaths. You knew that, so
get over yourself. You're just angry that you lost him while he
was under your command." Ironsides raised his eyebrow. "Technically,
he wasn't even under your command."
"I've had
people die under my command before."
"Not really.
You've had people die on you, but not as a direct result of what
you ordered them to do, not very often."
Sisko sighed.
"True."
"I'm not
sorry I lied to you. It just seemed the most expedient way of
doing things at the time."
"Is there
anything else you've lied to me about, regarding this mission?"
"That's a
stupid question, Ben. If there wasn't, I'd say 'No.' If there
was, I'd still say 'No.' I'm just doing my duty."
Sisko gazed at
Ironsides. "You've changed a lot."
"It happens,"
Ironsides shrugged. "You have to change if you want to survive
in my line of business. I know you came down here looking for
a fight, but I'm not going to indulge you. These are the facts.
Now is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"
"No."
Sisko turned and began walking away. He paused and half-turned.
"Max? How many men have you ordered to their deaths?"
Ironsides looked
at the captain. "I learned it was better not to keep count."
Sisko nodded slowly,
and continued back on his way out of the shuttlebay.
USS SOVEREIGN, FEDERATION STARSHIP
FEDERATION TERRITORY
1100 HOURS SST
"Captain's
log. Supplemental. An update on the POWs. The combined might of
Dr. Bashir and Dr. Kobat have stabilized the conditions of all
the surviving POWs. Private Ruiz is in stable condition, and Bashir's
last report has her recovering completely with minimal scarring
on her right lung. The rest of the marines have only received
minimal injuries which were easily taken care of, I'm told. We're
nearly out of Romulan space. Fortunately, we have not encountered
any Romulan ships. I shall have to make a note to commend the
Intelligence division for drawing up an excellent flight plan.
Their plan has kept us out of trouble on the way to and from the
Pharos base.
"I am sure
Intel will appreciate the data that Thane retrieved from the Romulan
laboratory computer. Intel and the Engineer's Corps will be poring
over the data for a long time. Hopefully we'll be able to utilize
some of the Romulan advances for ourselves.
"I still
feel...I don't know, upset or incomplete about Donahue's death.
I also regret losing Corporal Thane. It saddens me, but after
talking with Max, I realized they were just doing their duty,
which is really, the only thing we all can do, and should do.
Their deaths were not in vain."
"In any event,
this experience has been a very interesting one, however, I can't
wait to return back to D.S. Nine, and get back into my
normal routine. End log entry." Sisko tapped on the desktop
computer. He massaged the back of his neck, and rolled his head.
His combadge chimed.
Sisko tapped it,
"Sisko here."
"Xioar here,
sir. I'm in Cargo Bay Three, sifting through the remains that
we beamed back. You asked me to inform you when we began surveying
the debris."
"Allright.
I'm on my way," Sisko said. He stood up and headed over to
the cargo bay. After a short trip via the turbolifts, Sisko walked
down the corridor leading to the cargo bay. Ironsides walked down
from the opposite direction.
"Hello, Max.
I guess you're here for the same reason as I am," Sisko said.
Ironsides nodded.
"Yeah. Just wanted to check out what's left of the
Enterprise-C...after all, it's a legend."
"Mmhmm,"
Sisko nodded as the two of them entered the large cargo bay. Piles
of metal and debris were scattered throughout the cargo bay, divided
into sections. Engineering crewmembers were going through each
pile with tricorders, recording data. Xioar was in the middle
of the bay, directing the postmortem process.
Sisko decided
to leave the tall Naist alone, he seemed busy enough. Ironsides
walked with Sisko, surveying the debris. Sisko came across to
one pile at the far end of the cargo bay. Something struck his
foot as he walked by.
Sisko looked down,
and saw a flat piece of rectangular bronze metal that was crumpled
up at one end. Curious, Sisko leaned down and picked it up. He
turned it over, to have his suspicions confirmed. Though it was
warped from the heat of an explosion, not to mention crumbled
up on one side, the piece of metal was clearly recognizable as
the dedication plaque of the Enterprise-C.
Sisko ran his
fingers across the upraised letters of the ship's name, "U.S.S.
Enterprise." Ironsides noticed Sisko standing still, and
walked over. "What do you got there, Ben?"
Sisko smiled slightly,
and held the plaque out to Ironsides. "Oh." The major
smiled. "The guys back at the Fleet Museum are gonna love
that. Bet Captain Garrett will be glad to know it's back in Federation
hands."
Sisko nodded,
understanding what Ironsides was referring to. Starfleet maintained
a museum that covered the history of Starfleet. The Enterprise,
in all its incarnations, had been an integral part to Starfleet;
so much that a special section had been made out in the museum,
dedicated to the Enterprises.
The dedication
plaques from all the former Enterprises was a popular attraction
in that section. The plaques from the original Enterprise,
and B and D were the actual plaques, while the others were only
replicas. The Enterprise-A's plaque had disappeared mysteriously,
and the Enterprise-E was in service now. The plaque for
the Enterprise-C was a replica as well, since the ship
had never been recovered. Until now. Sisko was sure that the curators
wouldn't mind the mangled look of the plaque.
Bashir walked
into the Sickbay. It looked a lot bigger now that the POWs had
been transferred off the ship to Starbase 106, a medical
base. He looked over at the CMO's office, and saw Dr. Kobat sitting
at his desk. He looked around the medical chamber and saw the
person he wanted to see.
Ruiz was lying
on a biobed, her arm in a restraining sling to prevent unnecessary
motions which would aggravate her back injury. She was performing
breathing exercises to help speed up her lung recovery. She looked
over to see Bashir walking towards here. A smile broke out on
her face.
"Hi, Julian."
"Hi, Amanda.
How're you feeling?"
"I've been
better. I've also been worse," Ruiz replied. "What's
that?" she asked, tilting her chin towards Bashir's arms.
They were behind his back.
"Oh this?"
Bashir brought his hands around to reveal a PADD. "Well,
I figured since we're going to dock at Deep Space Nine
in a matter of hours, I better give this to you before I got swept
up in the rush off the ship. Here."
Bashir handed
the PADD to Ruiz, who was sitting up now. She held it up, and
looked at the file list.
"It's uh,
all my notes I used to study for the entrance exam for Starfleet
Academy. I figured, uh, you'd like it. If you do decide to reapply
to the Academy," Bashir shrugged.
Ruiz smiled. "Thank
you. That's sweet of you. I'll hang onto this. You never know...I
might up and reapply. Ten years from now, who knows where we'll
be?"
"True,"
Bashir nodded. "Who knows?"
Bogarde sighed
as he looked out across the red plains below him. A pair of metallic
doors appeared out of nowhere, opening to reveal Worf. He stepped
into the holodeck.
"I was wondering
who was running my Fire Plains program. I suspected it might be
you," Worf said to the other man.
"Just wanted
to be alone for a little. To think things over. To deal with what
happened."
"I understand,"
Worf told Bogarde. "Donahue was an interesting person, although
I only spent a short time with him."
"Yeah. But
it's not just him. It's just the fact that he was about to get
out of here fine then he has to go on a suicide mission. He didn't
even have a good-bye letter written- he didn't even had time for
that. His family won't even know his final thoughts for them.
It could have easily been me." Bogarde kicked at a clod of
red dirt. "You know, you go through a string of missions
with zero casualties, you start feeling a little immortal. Then
someone dies on your squad and reality hits home. You really could
go at any time."
"You are
thinking about your son, correct?" Worf looked at Bogarde.
Bogarde nodded,
and rubbed his shaven scalp as he looked down at the dirt. "Yeah."
He looked up to Worf. "Hey, do you mind telling me about
that lateral promotion thing you mentioned earlier?"
DEEP SPACE NINE, JOINT BAJORAN-FEDERATION
STATION
BAJOR SECTOR, FEDERATION TERRITORY
1600 HOURS SST
The Sovereign
glided up an upper docking pylon, easing into place underneath
it. Runabouts and shuttles buzzed around the large ship, starting
the loading and offloading process.
The circular Cardassian
airlock rolled away to allow Sisko to step through. Chief O'Brien
stood there, waiting. Sisko hefted his shoulder bag and handed
O'Brien a large suitcase.
"Hey, Chief.
It's good to be home," Sisko smiled.
O'Brien smiled
slightly and shrugged. "Good to have you back, sir, but I
wouldn't say it's good to be home right now."
"Hmm?"
Sisko grunted, as he noticed that neither Dax nor Kira were there.
"I kind of thought there would be a bigger welcoming reception.
Not that I don't appreciate you showing up." O'Brien smiled.
"So where's everyone else?"
"Well...Dax's
in an holding cell on Starbase 375, and Major Kira's in
the brig in the security office..." O'Brien looked away from
Sisko, avoiding his gaze.
"What?"
Sisko asked. "What the hell is going on?" O'Brien looked
at his superior, and went on to explain.
Sisko stormed
into his office, and strode up to Jellico. He threw down his bags
by the desk.
"Ah, Captain,"
Jellico smiled as he stood up to greet Sisko. "Congratulations
on the--"
"What right
do you have imprisoning my best officers? Who the hell do you
think you are?" Sisko yelled at Jellico.
Jellico frowned.
"Captain...I think you better calm down. If you recall, I
am still your superior."
"Oh?"
Sisko shook his head. "What are you going to do then? Throw
me into the brig? That seems to be your pattern!"
"They were
both insubordinate to me! They were not doing their jobs"
Jellico shouted.
Sisko twisted
his face into a grimace. "What a crock! An absolute load
of crap!" Sisko jabbed a finger at Jellico. "I just
talked to Dax, and she told me everything that has happened. I've
also talked to Kira. I can't believe you sent innocent men and
women to their deaths only to further your career, only to capture
the glory of war!"
"I just came
back from a mission where a man died in the line of duty, and
another was captured. There was meaning attached to their sacrifices.
But... the crew of the Carpathia... there was no meaning
to their sacrifices."
Sisko shook with
livid anger. "Dax was doing her duty, doing her job properly
by voicing her mind which threatened you so you had her locked
up. And you had the gall to spread the warrant of arrest through
the system. Even when Ensign Goldberg contacted you, you still
left her in the brig rather than admit your mistake. You disgust
me. I have a half a mind to bring charges against you, and have
a board of review look into your conduct here on the station and
command of the Carpathia. Now you better withdraw the charges
against Dax and Kira."
Jellico's face
reddened. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sisko held up his
finger. "Don't. Don't try to defend yourself, or rationalize.
That would dishonor the memories of those who died under your
command. The only thing I want to hear from you is that you withdraw
the charges. Or I'm going straight to Admiral Ross, and all the
way back to Starfleet Headquarters. Why, you might even be charged
with criminal negligence in the deaths of the Carpathia
crew, and lose your rank."
Jellico's mouth
closed. He drew in a deep breath. "Allright. Allright. I
will withdraw the charges."
"Good. After
you do that, get the hell off my station. Now go into Ops and
contact Starbase 375." Jellico grudgingly walked out
of the office, passing Major Ironsides.
The major stood
near the door with his arms crossed. He looked at Jellico, shaking
his head. Jellico looked at the major, and frowned. Ironsides
walked into the office, to see Sisko sitting behind his desk.
Sisko looked into
a bag and pulled out a baseball. He tossed it up into the air,
and grabbed it. "Now it's good to be home," he said
to Ironsides.
EPILOGUE
ANCHOR BAR, SAN FRANCISCO
EARTH, FEDERATION SPACE
1735 HOURS SST
Ironsides leaned
against the bar, fingering his shotglass of whiskey. He shook
his head in disappointment as he reviewed the events of the morning.
He had talked to a panel of admirals, finishing his last debriefing
session. He asked the admirals what they planned to do with the
information that Thane given up his freedom, and possibly life
for.
"Nothing,"
they told him.
"What? Nothing?"
Ironsides asked incredulously.
"You heard
us, Major. While the technical data is very interesting, most
of the devices aren't suitable for Starfleet."
"But some
of these things, these weapons...if we started building them for
ourselves, this Dominion War might be over with quickly. Think
of the lives saved if that was done."
"These weapons
that you refer to, do not fit within the philosophy of Starfleet
and the Federation. We have an image to uphold. If we start using
these new weapons of mass destruction, our reputation would be
damaged."
Ironsides could
say nothing further. He didn't want to land into the brig. So
he just took his leave, and went straight to the nearest bar,
and started drinking. Wasted...all wasted, Ironsides sighed.
Now Thane's sacrifice had no meaning. And now what was the
point to Donahue's death? Ironsides thought darkly.
A man stepped
up to the bar, next to Ironsides. The major looked at him, and
recognized him. "Oh, hello Admiral."
The admiral looked
at Ironsides and shrugged. "You look upset." He leaned
back on the bartop.
"You're damn
straight I'm upset. I can't believe the other admirals are so
stupid as to pass up this opportunity. I mean, isn't it our duty
to do the best we can? To try and end this war as quickly as we
can?"
"I understand.
I feel the same, although I was but one voice among my fellow
admirals." The admiral sighed. "Some of it's actually
politics. Look at it this way, if the Romulans saw us using their
designs then they'd figure something's up. Starfleet wants to
maintain as neutral a relationship with the Romulans. They may
turn out to be allies against the Dominion. I know... I know...
politics are no excuse for the shameful disregard of Thane's actions,
of your squadron's actions. It's no excuse for not saving as many
lives as possible."
The admiral turned
around and leaned forward against the bar top. He shifted his
feet and looked at the bottles lining the walls behind the bartop.
"You know, Max...I still am a fan of yours. Still follow
your career. I have some friends I think you'd like to meet. Friends
who think the same way you and I do." He drew a deep breath.
"Now...I think you might have a suspicion as to who these
friends are. We can end this conversation right now, and I'll
ask nothing further."
Ironsides picked
up the shotglass and gulped down the whiskey. He set the glass
back down on the countertop. "Sure. I'd like to meet your
friends."
"Good. I
knew you would," the admiral slapped his hand on Ironsides's
back. "Have you ever been to Langley?"
END LOG ENTRIES.
SECTION ONE |
SECTION TWO | SECTION
THREE | SECTION FOUR
RETURN TO ARCHIVES
|
