Gamma Mission

[Teaos]

Teaos watched on the main view screen as the four forward turrets spewed forth a wall of phaser cannon rounds hemming in the final cruiser.

As the cannons scored hits across its hull pushing the cruiser further and further away from the mining facility the Daystrom banked away from its cover behind the Paladin followed by two full flights of its fighters.

"Sir enemy shielding down to 30% on aft side, Daystrom moving in for the final run on the cruiser" Teaos reported watching the phalanx formation break from behind them and make directly for the cruiser.

"Lets end this. Helm bring us about bearing 974 mark 2, I want that station square in our sights. Tactical keep our rare guns trained on that cruiser, give what ever support you can but don't get in the way of our guys" Fletchers ordered as the Paladin banked hard right and down resting her aft shielding which had been taking the brunt of the damage thus far.

"Aft shields at 53% sir, Re-directing power to recharge but we burned out several emitters under such a prolonged assault" Mark said scanning the status reports coming in for the relevant data.

"This girl sure can take a licking" Fletcher said quietly although his voice carried all around the bridge.

"Sir enemy station dead ahead, cannons, phaser and torpedo tubes ready to go, the lance is still non-operational though" Mark called out.

"Bring us in close, I want to see the whites of their eyes, fire on my mark" Fletcher intoned sitting back down in the command chair.

"Closing to 300 meters sir" Helm replied.

On the view screen the station took up almost the entire screen despite it not being under no magnification. Even with death bearing down on it it still continued to fire every available weapon, lighting up the forward shielding of the Paladin.

"Closed to minimum firing range sir" Helm reported with a slight edge to their voice, obviously concerned about the proximity to the station.

Several tense moments passed on the bridge as everyone sat poised for the order they all knew was coming.

"Mark"

[Mikey]

The Daystrom shivered slightly under a solitary impact. "Sternstrom?" Mikey growled.

"They're firing blind. They hit us by accident," the science officer replied.

"That hardly makes me feel better about it," Mikey said sarcastically.

"Shields down on the aft starboard quarter," Ge'haan announced.

"Engineering," Mikey barked, "priority on those downed shields. Helm, keep that cruiser in front of us."

Jon called, "Tigerfish reports the cruiser's forward shields are breached, and it's breaking pursuit. Paladin is making its run on the station."

"Moncano?" Mikey asked.

"One more spread..." Moncano answered, "There!"

The viewscreen glowed as the last salvo of torpedoes exploded through the battlecruiser's shields and rent the hull. "Phasers!" Mikey hollered, and three beams lanced into and through the metal of the battlecruiser's chassis. Anticlimactically, the cruiser simply fell dark and silent.

"Captain-" Ge'haan began before he was interrupted by the cruiser disintegrating in massive white flash. "Captain," he continued quietly, "I have transporter signatures in cargo bay 2."

Mikey sprang from his chair. "Seal the bay!" he yelled.

"Jem'hadar bio-signs contained," Moncano reported.

Mikey's eyes narrowed and his antennae pointed. "Vent the bay," he said evenly.

"Aye sir," Ge'haan said quietly. He operated his console, then went on, "Normal atmosphere in eight minutes."

"Have a security team meet me down there," Mikey said. "Jon, take the ship into position to support the Paladin from maximum range," he finished and swept from the bridge.

*************************

Twelve minutes later Mikey quietly returned to the bridge and sat down, holding a small parcel. "All hostiles... accounted for," he informed Hewer. "I have a crew, er, cleaning up now. Report."

Hewer answered, "We have nominal shields stretched over the aft starboard quarter. We've coordinated fire with Commander Rochey - we're outside range of optimum effectiveness, but we're softening the station up a bit and we're not getting hit."

"Excellent," Mikey said, produced a cloth, and began cleaning something in his parcel.

"Sir?" asked Jon curiously. "Nothing out of the ordinary?"

"Well," Mikey began slowly, "one Jem'hadar did escape containment." He finished cleaning what turned out to be the knife from his musical flabjellah. "And I promised Krem that I'd drink with him to our victory." He held up the other item he carried - the upturned top half of a Jem'hadar cranium - and said, "I thought this would make a fine toasting glass."

[Lt. Staplic]

"Blow it." Lt. Corrin ordered.

Kyfro tensed, he was going to be one of the first ones through. His species had much faster reflexes than humans as well as having superhuman strength and speed. This made him an excellent candidate for entry, as he'd have a better chance of dodging enemy fire and covering for the rest of the team. This was especially accurate since the majority of their unit was humans. Out of the thirty of them only five were of a different species: Kyfro, a Dazen, there was also a couple Andorians, and three Bolians.

The marine holding the detonator pressed the button, simultaneously detonating all the charges on the door, breaking it loose from the surrounding metal.

Kyfro was the first through the door, thanks to his reflexes. He aimed his first shot at the Vorta standing in the middle of the room. He didn't have time to see if it hit or not because the Jem'Hadar opened fire. Kyfro shot one of them while moving around trying to find some cover. The rest of the unit moved into the fire fight, two of them got shot before they could even raise their rifles.

It was then that Kyfro noticed where the first enemy shots had come from. There was a separate group of Jem'Hadar soldiers standing around the Vorta. Kyfro had hit one of them instead on his opening shot; the Vorta was still issuing commands to the stations. The stationed Jem'Hadar weren't paying the marines much attention, focusing instead on trying to destroy the Valkyrie and Ravage.

They must have called them up here when the shields went down as additional protection! Kyfro thought, taking aim at the firing soldiers.

"Aim for the working Jem'Hadar. Take them out before they get off another salvo!" Lt. Corrin ordered, yelling above the fire.

Kyfro turned from his previous aim of the defending Jem'Hadar and focused on the one that appeared to be at a tactical consol, or maybe engineering. He wasn't ever very good at reading starship command icons.

Within seconds most of the stations had lost their controllers, with a few of the previous firing team moving to take up the important ones.

Kyfro kept shooting, taking out one of the soldiers here and there, but they were beginning to suffer heavy casualties. Two men who had been right next to Kyfro were shot while aiming at the enemy, leaving them with molten stumps that should have been heads.

The Jem'Hadar seemed to abandon their previous tactic of trying to shoot them all down before they caused too much damage. The remaining Jem'Hadar had taken cover also, and they'd taken the Vorta somewhere else on the Bridge.

Kyfro moved along the back of the Bridge, keeping to cover as much as he could, narrowly missing being shot twice until he found himself next to the Lieutenant.

"Sir, we can't afford to sit back here much longer. We've got the numbers, but they've got the positioning to pick us off." Kyfro said.

"I know." Lt. Corrin said angrily. "This was supposed to go much faster." He thought for a minute then added, "Get your squad ready. When I give the signal, we'll give cover fire, you move to the upper part of the bridge, take out as many as you can along the way. From there, find cover, and we'll catch them in the cross fire!"

"Yes, sir." Kyfro said, quickly moving back to where he'd left his team.

"Listen up, on the lt. signal, we move to the upper part of the bridge. Be carful, cover each other, we'll have some cover, but the Jimmies will still be looking. Move quick, shoot faster." Kyfro explained after he called attention to his team.

Lieutenant Corrin looked over at Kyfro and nodded his head in his traditional go signal.

"Cover Fire NOW!" Corrin yelled to the rest of the men, as Kyfro's team moved.

They moved swiftly shooting off a burst at anything they even thought moved. They reached the other end of the Bridge, without loosing a single man. They quickly found some cover behind a few consoles and began shooting at the unaware Jem'Hadar from behind. Within five minutes all the remaining Jem'Hadar had been killed.

"Clear," Kyfro shouted.

Several "clears" were echoed from other areas.

"Hold up," Corrin asked, standing up with the rest of them. "Where's the Vorta?"

Several men looked through the bridge, then reported him missing.

"I don't see any other doors in here, and he didn't get past us, even if the Jem'Hadar cloaked and covered him. Shoot the walls!" Corrin ordered.

Instantly a Jem'Hadar, not ten feet from the Lieutenant burst forward from where he was standing hidden. Without pausing, James raised his rifle, and unloaded a triple burst into the soldier's chest killing him before he made it another foot.

There were two more Jem'Hadar standing around the Vorta where the original had come from. Two of the men shot the Jem'Hadar, and a team was assigned to watch the Vorta.

"Shoot him if necessary." James ordered. "Drop the Force field and hail the Valkyrie and Ravage, we've got the bridge."

[Mark]

USS Paladin-Main Bridge

"Mark" Fletcher ordered.

"Aye Captain." Mark acknowledged the order, touching the firing button.

A furious barrage of fire, the likes never before seen coming from a Federation Starship erupted from the Paladin. Phaser arrays streamed forth, lancing beams of destructive fury against the renegade facility. Pulse phaser cannons spewed forth volley after volley which pounded against the facilities shields. And finally, several spreads of quantum torpedoes launched in rapid succession, detonating with all of the explosive might they carried. As a testament to Dominion defensive technology, the shields managed to hold for several seconds, but very few things in the galaxy could stand against the sheer power of the weapons being unleashed for very long. However, they were finally simply overwhelmed and buckled all at once.

Explosions began to rock the facility, tearing huge rents in its hull, spewing forth various gases, materials, and crew before Captain Fletcher finally ordered,

"Cease fire."

Abruptly, all weapons ceased firing, yet the mining station continued to disintegrate before the eyes of everyone watching. Several small ships could be seen launching from dying station, quickly speeding off into the nebula seeking safety. Then, all at one, the station erupted in a blinding flash of light, as its main reactor breached. Everyone was forced to quickly avert they're eyes from the flash before the computer could respond and filter the light on the screen.

Looking at the scattering debris, Lieutenant Mark reported, "Target neutralized, Captain."

"All right people," Fletcher quickly ordered, snapping everybody back to the here and know "Let's go and see if the others need our help. Helm, bring us around. Mark, hail the Daystrom, the Valkeyrie, and the Ravage. See if anybody needs some assistance."

[Teaos]

The port shields of the Paladin glowed with an azure light as it threw off the remnants of the enemy station. The slowly expanding debris field was still giving off random explosions from failing equipment; the effect of the explosion on the surrounding nebula was thankfully minimal.

"We've cleared the majority of the debris captain; all enemy ships are destroyed or accounted for. The Valkyrie isn't reporting in but the Ravage reports that the marines have captured an enemy cruiser" One of the communications officers from the fleet command deck informed him.

"Excellent" Fletcher said more to himself than the others "How many prisoners?"

"Unkown at this time sir, the last report in after they had secured the main areas on the ship said that the surviving Jem'hadar seem to be practicing ritual suicide" The same officer replied.

"Well practice makes perfect I suppose our guys should try to capture as many as they can. Send orders to Captain W'trisk, he's to secure the enemy vessel and escort it back to base. He should deal with the POW issue with all due consideration" Fletcher ordered nicely washing his hands of the issue.

Walking back up to the fleet command bridge Fletcher quickly took note of the status of all the ships in the fleet.

"Get the Romulans an Klingons to patrol the nebula under cloak cleaning up any strays and observing any enemy patrols. The rest of the fleet should move back to base as soon as possible. Send word ahead to Grayling about the success of the mission and the capture of the enemy ship. Our boys will be itching to get there hands into it"

[Sonic Glitch]

USS Ravage, Cargo Bay 6

Taran'atar watched the battle progressing via the cargo bays LCARS station. He understood that above all the Federation crews were trying to capture the battle cruiser. He was glad to see his clandestine assistance had been helpful. He was monitoring the communications and found that a squad of Federation marines had managed to board the cruiser. At that moment, the intruder alert on the Ravage began going off. He saw a squad of Jem'hadar enter the engine room but he also saw they were well contained. When I return to the station, I must take a look at the files of Centurian or near Centurian aged humans in Starfleet. Most of the ones I've seen are quite formidable. He thought to himself. He also saw the security forces being diverted there. At that moment a squad of Jem'hadar appeared on deck four. He guessed their destination before they began to move and saw the nearest security squad was too far away.

-USS Ravage Bridge-

"Sir, the intruders in Engineering have been contained, a medical team is making its way there now." Reported Patel.
"Very good" replied Captain Lewis, "see what you can do about bringing those shields back up."
"Aye si-" she began, "Sir, more Jem'hadar appearing on deck 4. They are heading this way."
"Lock your stations, prepare for combat."
"Seal the doors." Finished Sinclair belatedly as the turboshaft blew open. A polaron disruptor beam flew across the bridge catching Lt. Gillteo in the back and damaging the secondary Mission Ops station.
"Everybody DOWN!" shouted Lewis and Sinclair at the same time. All officers on the bridge had their phasers drawn until they heard shouting and struggling among the group of Jem'hadar. It was Lorcan who remarked that it looked like one of the Jem'hadar had turned on the group. Sinclair and Lewis shared a look. When they crawled from behind their chairs, they saw Taran'atar had the Jem'Hadar First pinned through the torso with his own blade, but it was not a killing blow. He almost seemed like he was studying him.
"Will you kill me Elder?" The First used the term as if it were an insult, "complete your betrayal of the Dominion?"
"You know the Founders agreed to the peace, yet you refuse to follow their will. You threaten the order of things. Why shouldn't I kill you?"
"The Dominion doesn't exist! The Link has been dissolved. We are what remains, we are the true Dominion. The peace was forced upon us."
"But the peace is what is. The peace was blessed by the Founder herself.You threaten the order of things"
"We do not threaten the order of things. We seek to restore it."
Taran'atar studied the First a moment longer, before following through with the blow. The First dropped to the deck with a thud. Lorcan advanced from behind the helm console, his phaser raised. "Hold your fire" ordered Lewis quickly. "Mr. Taran'atar, how nice of you to show up."
"I monitored the fight from the Cargo Bay. Your security was too far away to respond in time. I followed this squad from deck three. These Jem'Hadar are young, inexperienced. They could not detect the shroud."
"I see, and just now? You looked as if you were looking for something."
The Jem'hadar paused. He looked uncomfortable for a moment, "I was looking for a sign of defect . This Jem'Hadar claims to follow his own version of the Order of Things. I used to think that those who protested the Founders will were deranged or defective. But I see no signs of defect in him."
Sinclair and Lewis looked at each other before Sinclair said, "Welcome to the world of individualism."

[Mikey]

"Lt. Hewer?" Mikey called into his comm badge. As soon as the heaviest of the fighting was over, the chief engineer had gone to engineering to oversee repairs.

"Well," he answered in a harried tone, "the SIF is operating nominally - as long as there's no more damage to the grid. Don't make any hard turns. The warp coils should be fully functional in 15 minutes."

"Make it 10," Mikey said and closed the channel before Hewer could respond.

"Incoming hail from the Paladin," Ge'haan announced. Suddenly, the image of an e-suited Tholian filled the viewscreen.

"Greetings, Captain W'trisk," Rochey said formally.

Mikey was about to remind Rochey of their history and the fact that the Tholian didn't need to address him by rank; but then he recalled Rochey's dedication to regulations and protocol, and let the matter drop. "What can we do for you, Commander?"

"The marines of the Valkyrie have taken a Jem'hadar battlecruiser. We believe you are best equipped to... take care of the prisoners and return the ship to base." Rochey paused a moment, then continued, "And don't call my ship a 'tub.'"

Mikey unsuccessfully tried to suppress a grin. "Aye, Commander. Daystrom out." He immediately took on a completely businesslike demeanor and began to bark orders. "Moncano! Prep the holding cells, double fields and full-spectrum monitoring at all times. As soon as the prisoners are aboard, flood the cells with anesthezine. Security teams at each cell. Ge'haan, coordinate with the marines - get positive tags for each Jem'hadar and beam directly to the brig. Jon, prep a team to get the battlecruiser functional and get it underway."

"Sir," Moncano began hesitantly, "if we're holding Jem'hadar..."

"If you have trouble with them, give them another dose of gas. As a last resort, go in when they're out, hit them all with a heavy stun, and remove the offenders' White tubes. And if there's a Vorta, make sure you hold him out of sight and hearing of the Jemmies." Mikey turned to find Commander Hewer eyeing him strangely.

"A word, captain?" Hewer said, indicating the ready room. Mikey silently turned and entered his office. Hewer followed and, as soon as the door closed, said, "About the prisoners..."

Mikey felt Hewer's heart race and temperature rise. The XO was clearly preparing for a confrontation. Before Jon could continue Mikey said, "Don't worry, Jon. They'll be treated as dangerous prisoners, to be sure, but as POW's nonetheless." Despite himself, Hewer glanced pointedly at the half of a Jem'hadar skull now resting on Mikey's desk. Mikey followed his gaze and said, "That was an enemy combatant. I didn't kill him so I could take his head; I killed him because he was attacking my ship." He paused thoughtfully for a second and continued, "I then just happened to have the opportunity to take his head."

Mikey's comm badge chirped. "We'll have warp drive in five minutes," reported Lt. Hewer.

Mikey gestured for Jon to precede him onto the bridge. "Now, let's get going."

As Hewer went to assemble a team for the battlecruiser Ge'haan called, "We're all set, but the Valkyrie is not responding."

A frown creased Mikey's forehead. "Inform Commander Rochey, and tell those marines to get set. Let's get this done and let them get back."

[Mark]

USS Ravage - Sickbay

Sickbay was filled to capacity as Captain Lewis entered. His heart have a lurch as he saw the various injuries the crew, HIS crew had suffered. Seeing the Ravages Chief Surgeon, Dr. Otaka he motioned with his head for her to join him in her office. After giving some brief instructions to one of her nurses, she handed over the PADD she was working on and joined the Captain.

"How bad is it?" Lewis asked.

"We have eight confirmed dead, Captain." The attractive asian woman reported. "Five dead when we arrived and we lost three more before we could stop the bleeding. Those damned Jem'Hadar were using there anti-coagulants again. We have a dozen injured as well, ranging from minor to serious. But the one I'm worried the most about is Chief Engineer McDuff."

Matt Lewis had lost people before, and it was NEVER easy, but hearing about McDuff gave him a sinking feeling, like a lead ball in his gut. He could simply NOT do without the crusty old engineer right now.

"How bad is he, Doctor?" Lewis asked.

"Well, Captain, the only reason that he's still alive right now, is because both his heart and his lungs are artificial, bio-synthetic implants. They were able to sustain more damage than normal human organs could, and keep functioning long enough to get him here."

"Well, that's good news, isn't it?" Lewis asked.

"Well, yes and no." the Doctor replied. "The good news is that it kept him alive long enough to get him here, but the bad news is that the damage is so extensive that it literally FUSED the melted components to the remainder of his good organs, like his liver and spleen. He's in complete stasis right now, Captain."

With an edge coming to his voice, Lewis asked "What is it that you're saying to me, Doctor?"

Looking the Captain directly in the eyes, she said "Quite simply, that I can't save him. I just don't have the skill. I would need a specialized surgical team and the medical facilities on either an Olympic class starship, OR a Starbase to even hope to successfully complete the surgery that he needs."

"So, he's going to die then." Lewis asked.

"I didn't say that, Captain." Dr. Otaka replied, in her annoying manner.

Frustrated already, Lewis snapped "Well Doctor, what the hell ARE you saying?"

With her own eyes flashing in irritation, she replied, "I said that I can't save him, but there is somebody that may be able too. Dr. Watson Holmes is the CMO on the Daystrom. It is entirely possible that he's one of the finest Doctors in Starfleet, and certainly the finest in our task force. If anybody in the Gamma Quadrant can save Master Chief McDuff, it's Doctor Holmes."

Spinning on his heel, Lewis tapped his combadge "Lewis to Sinclair. Hail the Daystrom, and inform Captain W'trisk that we have a medical emergency on the Ravage. Ask him if we can borrow his Chief Surgeon. From what I'm told, he's McDuff's only chance."

After a pause, Sinclair replied "Aye Captain. Hailing now."

[Monroe]

Munro flenched as the viewscreen shot sparks out around the captain and him. Everyone else on the bridge had been shot and lay bleeding or dead. Popping up for a quick shot he fired towards the Jem'hadar and ducked down just as quickly. He was keeping them pinned but couldn't hope to do anymore until security arrived. The Telerite he was with fired a few shots from the other navigational post but six more returned. "Munro to security what's your ETA we've got wounded."

"We're working our way through their rear guard. They've set up motion detector bombs along the way. We haven't seen anything like it."

Munro would sigh if he could. "We have transporters online?"

"Yes sir... but there's a dampening field." The reply came.

Munro peaked around the edge to see if he could identify which of his enemies had it. Behind the row of Jem'hadar under cover shooting towards him he caught a glance of two setting up a cylinder device. "Sir," He hissed towards his captain.

"What is it Commander?" <Name i forgot> asked as he fired another shot around the corner of his cover striking one of the attackers in the shoulder.

"Sir I think they are setting up an explosive. We've got to take down their dampening field. Can you draw their fire?" The telerite replied that he thought he could. "Sir, with your permission I'd like for you to make a dive towards the science station and use the edge there," Munro pointed to the piece of the station coming out of the wall, "As cover while I make for lieutiant Whull's phaser."

"Alright," The captain sighed and then muttered, "Good luck Breen." He then jumped to a standing position and fired towards the Dominion forces striking one between the eyes knocking the alien onto his back. The Telerite dove for cover but a percesion blast from a Jem'Hadar weapon struck him in the side making him collapse against the wall.

Munro had been bought the time he needed grabbing a phaser from the dead officer he set it to overload and tossed it towards the group of Dominion forces. As they turned their attention back towards Munro the blast exploded sending shrapnel and bodies throughout the bridge. Munro came running up through the smoke kicking the head of a now crawling Jem'hadar snapping the body back and opening fire on his shell shocked comrades. Jem'hadar were not known for surrendering but Munro would never give them the opportunity and blasted down each and every one.

"Munro to transporter get this bomb off the bridge soon as the interfence dies down." Munro replied and began shooting any suspicious looking Jem'hadar equipment. After a about half a dozen vollies the explosive shimmered in blue light before being removed.

Moments later the security detail arrived on the bridge followed by the medical personel.

[Thorin]

"Ge'haan, Sternson, you're with me," said Jon as Friedman took up the ops chair. Before they had a chance to get to the turbolift Friedman was already reporting on the situation.

"The Ravage says the Valkyrie's having some problems with its comms system but they've managed to get in contact with it via the transporter," he turned to Jon, "Commander, the marines have cleared out the battle cruiser's bridge and you should be safe to beam aboard," his console beeped, "We're being hailed, it's Commander Sinclair on the Ravage."

"On screen," declared Mikey.

Jon continued to the turbolift. "Gee'han, get to the armoury and hand out rifles to the team, check the transporters enhancers are ready to be taken across and the data downloaders are in place. I'll meet you in transporter room one in five minutes."



Liam Hewer was scrambling about in his office in engineering overseeing the last minute repairs as a familiar face appeared round the corner.

"Get that will you," said Liam to his older brother, pointing towards a screen with a schematic of the reaction chamber, "Two percent flow rate should get us to warp one, we'll give that a try." Jon may have been the executive officer of the Daystrom, but he was in his brother's territory.

"Listen, Liam, when you're done with that I'm assigning you to my team on the battle cruiser," Liam smiled and nodded, while at the same time the warp core suddenly came back online with a blue glow.

"Well, that's some timing there, I've just finished up," he followed Jon out of his office area and turned towards a nearby senior chief, "Morrell - you're in charge while I'm gone. The captain wants high warp available before 1800 hours."

Back in transporter room one a large away team of mainly security personnel and engineers prepared to beam across in a staggered pattern to all over the battle cruiser's bridge. The transporter chief confirmed they were within transporter range and began energizing.



As Lieutenant Corrin was patrolling the Jem'Hadar bridge checking his equipment, the recognisable blue glittering of a transporter beam appeared and from it emerged Commander Hewer looking down the sights of his rifle. Corrin immediately stood to attention, "Commander! Lieutenant Corrin of the 1st marine detatchment. Welcome onboard."

Jon stood down and replied to the officer, "Good work Lieutenant. Now, let's clean up the bridge. My team will need access to all these pannels on the back wall."

"Aye sir, we've secured all enterances to the bridge and cleared up the surrounding corridors. However there still could be several hundred Jem'Hadar on board, and they're going to want their bridge back."

"Understood, set up the transport inhibitors ASAP to prevent them from using site to site to surprise us. If possible barricade us in using the portable forcefield generators in our equipment case and anything else you can find."

The rest of the Daystrom's away team arrived and began unpacking, downloading, and awaited a final order. "Let's get to it."

[Teaos]

Sweeping out of the blue/green Nebula the USS Paladin was performing slow patrol duty looking for any possible enemy survivors of the battle or any other surprises the enemy may be holding for them.

Several kilometers out from the nebula the massive warship slowed down and eventually came to a total standstill on the edge of a debris field.

***

Footsteps echoed through the cargo hull, Commander Teaos was slowly walking through the remains off the USS Pegasus. Every so often and clatter would rattle around the hold as a burnt and twisted piece of metal was kicked aside.

He'd been wondering around the wreckage for little over an hour now, occasional stooping to pick something up or get a closer look at some burned out piece of equipment.

While passing by the site of the Pegasus' last stand Captain Fletcher had ordered the salvage of any sensitive equipment that may have survived the destruction of the science vessel.

Walking through the middle of the pile of scrap Teaos finally stopped and picked up a twisted bit of scrap, buffing it with the sleeve of his top he stood steering at it blankly.

"I didn't think the transporter crew would have salvaged that" A voice said from behind him causing Teaos to jump and turn around.

"Captain, I didn't hear you come it" Teaos said, his voice soundly oddly detached.

"I came to check on one of my senior officers, your 30 minutes late to shift" Fletcher commented taking a closer look at his science officer.

Teaos shook his head, unaware he'd been here for so long "Sorry sir, I'll get to the bridge immediately" He exclaimed still clutching the scrap metal.

"I got Lt Frayton to cover for you, take the rest of the day off, you don't look well" Fletcher said stepping to the side and observing the debris around them.

"I knew her you know" Teaos said quietly looking down at what looked like a power relay.

"What?" Fletcher asked looking at Teaos oddly.

"Captain Scott, we were at the academy together"

"Ah" Fletcher sighed with understanding "Yes, I recall you said the two of you had history"

"We went out a few times but it was never going to work, we were too competitive. Always trying to out do one another. Probably how we managed to get top positions in all our classes. Everyone else were trying to beat us, we were just trying to beat each other"

"You were still friends?" Fletcher asked.

Teaos hesitated not wanting to say 'no' but not thinking that 'yes' sounded right either "I suppose, we weren't as close as we should have been. One of the last times I heard from her was when she got granted command of the Pegasus, she sent me a message to gloat she got a command first, probably called me before her own family" Teaos recalled with a smile.

"Sounds like you were closer than you thought"

"We were alike, we used to get 'twins' jokes so much in the academy so much that I used it as my line for when I asked her out, prove that we weren't really related. I think in the end though we were to alike to ever be together"

"Did you see her? When the fleet formed at DS9?" Fletcher asked seeing that his officer, his friend, needed to talk about it.

"Briefly, I tried to get time to see her but we were both busy, I should have made time I always thought we'd have plenty of time latter" Teaos said his voice slowly rising as he spoke. He looked up from the debris and looked the captain in the eye "They were a bloody science ship, scanning a Nebula. They weren't a warship, they weren't hostile at all. They were bloody scientist!" Teaos said almost yelling now.

"Why the hell are we even here Andrew? We had them beaten, we won the bloody war, God knows it cost us enough, we had them beaten, we had them cornered. We could have wiped the bastards out! But no, the fucking galactic police couldn't let that happen, we couldn't let the homicidal race perish like so may Federation citizens. We had to be noble, and valiant, and see were its gotten us? Another destroyed ship, another crew lost, another war brewing"

"Is it worth it Andrew? Being noble, being the good guys. Where's it gotten us, war after fucking war, the Klingons, the Romulans, the Cardassians, the Dominion and now THIS? Why the fuck do we always have to be the good guys, why couldn't we just let those murdering bastards die when we had the chance?" Teaos said his entire body trembling with rage and grief.

"Genocide is the answer?" Fletcher asked softly.

"Is this?" Teaos said throwing the piece of scrap he'd been holding down at the captains feet before turning to leave the room.

Fletcher bent down to pick up the twisted piece of metal, the light glinted off it where it had been buffed clean:

USS-Pegasus NCC 76342

[Reliant121]

The doors of the Lacron's medical bay were virtually locked open. The strikes that tore into the port wing had done far more damage than the crew on the bridge had felt or determined. She held together well, and the shock absorbers of the ship had managed to hold the explosive tremor perfectly. D'Tyra knew this all too well. She saw it somewhat as a failing of the design. The wings could sheer off...and it wouldn't feel as dramatic as it should.

And as she walked through the doors, she knew exactly how bad it was.

Every single bio-bed, technology that had been 'acquired' from Federation hands, was taken by a dead, dying or seriously injured crew member. The floor was covered in mattresses with casualties upon them. The nurses and the doctor all had the same pained expression of exasperation played across their face. For D'Tyra, it was heart wrenching. She had never quite got the art of dealing with crew losses down to a tee.

She walked over to the closest bio-bed. She recognized the officer, she worked in engineering. Those eyes. So vibrant. Such piercing colouration, how could she forget? The commander stared down at the charred face. And the gaze was returned. A burnt hand lifted from the bed and reached for the commander. Immediately, D'Tyra took the hand, and held it in hers. The centurion winced as the grasp irritated the burns, but she stomached it.

"It...it has been an honour...la'ertanheif" Said the centurion. The hand grew limp, and the eyes gained that glassy, empty expression. D'Tyra slid her hand over the centurion's eyes, closing them for good.

Without a further word, she turned on her heel, and walked briskly from the room.

[Sonic Glitch]

{Authors Note: This post takes place prior to Thorin's arrival on the Jem'Hadar B.C. and after Lewis's stop in Sickbay. Cmdr. Sinclair has/is contacted the Daystrom to ask about borrowing their CMO}

After visiting sickbay, Lewis requested a direct site to site transport to his ready room. He wasn't quite ready to walk through the halls talking to people. He remembered from training that casualties were always a possibility, space was a dangerous place. But it was one thing for them to be caused by orders he gave. Now it homed in that in this job, a mistake was his mistake, their deaths were his responsibility. As he was thinking this he remembered a bit of wisdom from a 20th century Earth television show, "All I know is the 2 things they taught me in command school. Rule number 1, young men die. Rule number 2, Doctors can't change rule number one." He hoped the doctors could change the rules for at least one of the casualties, he was really starting to like the gruff old sunuvabitch of an engineer. Acting on a sudden idea, he sent a text message to Commander Patels station, requesting her prescense in his ready room.

Commander Patel saw the message box appear on her console, and got up as subtley as she could given that the viewer was transmitting visual. Lorcan noticed her action and shot her an inquiring look. She shrugged a little and indicated the captain's ready room doors. Lorcan smirked slightly and quickly clamped his mouth shut. If not for the viewer, she would've shot him a rude old Earth hand gesture....or just smacked him. She entered the ready room, "You rang captain?"

Lewis' mouth quirked upward for a moment before he rose from his chair and circled around to lean on his desk. "Yes, yes I did. I want you to put together a team of personnell to take control of the Battle Cruiser's bridge. And I'd like you to take Taran'atar along, have him work on the computers."

"Are you sure that's wise sir?"

"Of course I am, who better then a member of the Dominion to understand Dominion computer systems?" he asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. She smirked slightly at the comment but responded, "Aye Aye sir." and left the room. Down in the transporter room, she had her team assembled including Lt. Smith and Taran'atar. "Mr....Atar...? I suggest you shroud, some of those marines are liable to start shooting if you appear out of nowhere." All he did was nod and disappear on the transporter pad. "Chief, beam us directly to their bridge."

-Dominion Battle Cruiser-

Lt. Corrin tensed a moment as the transporter columns took shape in the middle of the bridge, but relaxed when he saw they ewre the familiar Federation blue and not Dominion Purple. A striking Commander in sciences blue appeared on the bridge, "Lt. clear your men off the bridge."

"Ma'am..?" The lieutenant blinked in confusion a moment, but promptly ordered the bridge cleared. The marines grumbled a little, but they went.


The commander made a waving motion with her hand and a Jem'hadar deshrouded in the midst of the group. Corrin had his hand halfway to his sidearm before the Commander said "Hold your fire, he's one of ours." He paused, but did not lower his hand.

"Lt. Corrin, Federation Marine Corp, meet Taran'atar, Dominion Ambassador to Deep Space Nine. I trust you can keep his prescense a secret." asked the commander with a raised eyebrow.

Corrin just nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"Thank you lieutenant. Smith, take over helm, Taran'atar, see if you can salvage anything from the computers."

-USS Ravage, Captains Ready room-

Lewis sat in his chair admiring the view from his ready room window, a Dominion Battlecruiser under Federation control. "Sure different than last time he thought...."

---Battle of Betazed, 2375---
USS Honshu, New Orleans class
The Tenth Fleet was massing just outside the Betazed system when word of the attack on starbase 19 reached them. Unfortunately the Jem'Hadar carved through the starbase like it wasn't there, and the fleet had little time to prepare. Lt. Lewis was serving as the intelligence liason for the 13th task group. Commander Vaughn was on the flagship as intelligence coordinator for the entire force. Unforutuantely the Honshu couldn't take the punishment and one particularly savage salvo brought down their shields and killed the helmsmen.

"I've got helm!" cried Lewis over the din of console explosions and various alarms. The captain wasn't able to give helm orders as he was preoccupied trying to fight the ship, so Lewis just flew as best he could. Pulling a few maneuvers he was sure weren't in any book. The security chief called out to the captain, "Sir, Jem'hadar! They're beaming through the weak points in our scrambling field." Lewis looked at the captain, who had a dejected faraway look in his eyes. He knew the battle was lost. "....All hands abandon ship he ordered." Lewis and the Tactical Officer looked at each other before heading toward a turbolift for an escape pod. Lewis turned around and saw the captain had seated himself at the engineering console. "Sir," he began, but the tactical officer pulled him into the lift. The last thing he saw from the escape pod was the Honshu blowing up and taking a Jem'hadar bug and Cardassian Hideki destroyer with her. The captains last act had been to set the auto-destruct, as soon as his crew got away.

That vision had stayed with Lewis many years after being picked up by the flagship... Lewis snapped from his reverie to hear his name being called on the intercom, "Commander Sinclair to Captain Lewis." Lewis cleared his throat, wondering how long the comm had been going off.
"Lewis here." he finally replied.

"Sir, I thought you would like to know, the Daystrom contingent has arrived aboard the battlecrusier."

"Understood, I'll be on the bridge in a minute." He stood and took one more look out the viewport. "No..." he said quietly to himself, "...not like last time."

[Mikey]

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR F*****G MIND?!" Mikey roared. "You have got a pair of grell'nors on you, boy!"

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to offend..." replied the bewildered Sinclair. "I thought-"

"I've got casualties of my own, and you want my doctor?" Mikey interrupted, his antennae splaying wildly. His comm badge chirped, and he said to Sinclair, "I have to attend to something. Tell Captain Lewis that I'll be in contact within two minutes." Sinclair began to protest, but Friedman cut the channel at Mikey's signal. Touching his comm badge he said, "Report, Commander."

"We've begun work on the bridge; we should be able to get underway in about half an hour," Jon answered. "But the marine lieutenant says there may still be active Jem'hadar aboard."

"Icy hells," Mikey cursed quietly. "What's the current marine disposition?"

There was a pause while Hewer consulted with Lt. Corrin. Finally he said, "There's a platoon on the bridge and two squads of spec-ops in engineering. A small away team from the Ravage has started restoring control systems. Someone there has pretty intricate knowledge of Dominion ships."

Mikey filed that last statement in his mental folder for interesting tidbits for later consumption. "Is your security detachment sufficient to secure the bridge?"

"I believe so," Hewer responded. "Preliminary scans show numbers of dead Jemmies in the taken or untenable positions. I guess some sort of failure-suicide or anti-capture idea."

"Good," Mikey said, "here's what you do. Send the platoon to engineering, conducting sweeps on the way. Then, have the spec-ops sweep the perimeter passages. Prioritize getting internal sensors online to assist the teams, and any internal area-denial capabilities."

"Captain..." Hewer sounded slightly hesitant.

"Remember what I told you, Jon. These aren't POW's, they're enemy combatants, and I fully expect you to use any means necessary to protect our people." Mikey let a tinge of steel enter his voice.

"Aye, sir. Hewer out."

Mikey tapped his comm badge again. "Dr. Holmes? What's the situation in sick bay?"

"You've provided me with plenty of work," Holmes answered dryly. "Mostly burns from the energy grid or simple impact trauma. Drudge work, medically speaking, but I'll muddle through."

"Thank you," Mikey said and cut the channel. He was in no mood for repartee. "Friedman, please get me Captain Lewis on the Ravage."

A moment passed before a haggard-looking Lewis appeared on the screen. "Ah, Captain W'trisk. You seem to have startled my first officer," Lewis said congenially.

"Your puppy of an XO asked me to send you my CMO," Mikey answered, his voice notably devoid of the same cordiality.

Lewis took on a businesslike tone. "On my orders, Captain. Dr. Holmes is, apparently, the only person available who can help my chief engineer."

"Explain," Mikey said frankly.

"Master Chief McDuff has been gravely injured... in the course of a terribly heroic act, may I add."

"McDuff..." Mikey mused, recalling his appreciation for the man's respect for protocol, his willingness to act, and his unflinching response to command. In fact, Mikey couldn't help but be reminded of his old friend CPO Kenny "Gunny" Sharkey.

"Yes," Lewis went on, "it seems that Chief McDuff's injuries affected a number of prosthetic replacements in conjunction with damage to organic systems, and it is my CMO's opinion that only your Dr. Holmes has the expertise to save his life."

A faraway look came into Mikey's eyes and his antennae sagged. He thought of Gunny's supposedly-secret artificial lung; of how Gunny had received the injury on Omicron Persei VIII attempting to save a young man in his platoon; of how Gunny had explained that the death's-head emblem on his Omicron Persei tattoo commemorated the loss of that boy's life - not Gunny's own life-threatening injury. Mikey sighed and said, "I need corpsmen more than surgeons right now, anyway. If you can send me a triage team to substitute, I'll send Holmes over."

Lewis smiled slightly. "It's a deal. Thank you, Captain."

The screen went dead and Mikey tapped his badge once more. "Dr. Holmes? It appears that there is an opportunity to better use your vaunted skills. Report to transporter room one immediately." He closed the comm and said, "Friedman, you have the conn. I'll be in my ready room. Have department heads send me casualty reports - I'll be writing communiques to the families of our dead."

[Lt. Staplic]

"Lt. Clear your men off the bridge." Said the new arrival to the bridge.

"Ma'am?" Corrin asked unsure why she wanted to be alone. He paused a moment before it became clear she wasn't going to explain herself, then with a wave of his hand he sent what was left of his platoon off the bridge.

The commander then waved her hand as if she was gesturing to someone, then a quick shimmer and a Jem'Hadar soldier appeared. James was fast and was almost to his rifle when the commander spoke.

"Hold your fire, he's one of ours." She said.

James didn't reach any further for his rifle, but he didn't put his hand back down either. He just stared at the Jem'Hadar.

"Lt. Corrin, meet Taran'atar, Dominion Ambassador to DS9. I trust you can keep his presence a secret?" the commandeer asked, raising her eyebrow.

Keeping his eyes trained on the solder looking for any sign of treachery James nodded his head then replied, "Yes ma'am."

"Thank you lieutenant. Smith, take over the helm, Taran'atar, see if you can salvage anything from the computers." The commander said.

She strolled around the bridge making sure every thing was going smoothly. Meanwhile James stayed where he was eyes fixed on the Jem'Hadar soldier. Finally the commander walked back over to where James was standing.

"You can stop worrying Lt. He's not going to go bad on us. He's been with us since the beginning of the mission. You are not to reveal his presence to anyone who doesn't already know. That only includes the
Ravage's command staff. If you wish to take his presence up with anyone, you'll have to transport over to the Ravage and talk to Captain Lewis." The commandeer spoke.

"Understood, I have no problems sir." James replied looking at the commander for the first time since Taran'atar had lifted the shroud.

"Commandeer, the Daystrom has arrived, they're preparing to send their party over." One of the men yelled.

"Good. We can use their help." The commander said looking at Taran'atar.

"I will teach the starfleet how to access Dominion computers." The Jem'Hadar said.

James started pacing the bridge thinking about the complications of what he'd just learned. The orders of secrecy had come down from Captain Lewis, of that he was sure. No one had the authority to over rule those orders say for the Commodore. There wasn't a Marine Colonel on the mission to even match the captain's rank. He'd stay quiet, he had to.

A moment later the transporter beams reappeared, James came to attention as Commandeer Hewer of the Daystrom walked forward.

------------------------------------------------------------

Cix walked onto the bridge seemingly just too late to be of any use. There were several dead and more injured. The XO Monroe seemed to be the only one left able to fight. Seth walked over to the XO who was still shooting at Jem'Hadar.

"Sorry sir, I got here as soon as was possible. May I ask the status?" Cix asked the Breen.

"There are only a few of us left alive," came the XO's voice from behind the environmental suit. "The captain was hit creating the distraction I needed to finish off the jemmies, Grundig was alive last I checked, but he suffered a severe injury to his chest. Most everyone else is dead."

The medical teams arrived on the bridge at just that moment. One of them saw Cix's arm and walked over to him.

"Let me see that." The medic said.

"I'll live." Cix growled. "The captain and Tactical officer are down go look at them!"

"Aye sir," The medic said, apparently scared out of his wits by the look Cix was giving him.

The rest of the medics franticly went around checking every body, leaving the dead for now to care for those who were still alive. Several of them were clustered around the bodies of Captain Tusk and Grundig. With several of them working one of the medics stood and requested a site to site transport to Sick bay. Instantly most of the medics and the two patients disappeared.

--Time Warp ahead-Sickbay-

Cix entered the medical bay as instructed by the acting captain. The Valkyrie was waiting for the rest of the fleet to take form before heading back for the station. Engineering teams had already started repairs and the Breen was catching back up on fleet affairs offering to help wherever they could.

"Lt. Cix, I was hoping you'd be down here." Came the voice of Lt. Ardghail the ships CMO. "Why don't you come into my office."

Cix followed her in and sat down when she offered.

"Now first thing first, Captain Tusk is going to be fine, he got a superficial injury from the battle is all. Munroe will be in command for the next few days or so until we get back to the station, by that time the captain should be on his feet." The CMO said with a slight smile. Then she stopped and her expression grew grim. "Unfortunately Grundig wasn't so lucky. He suffered sever injuries from multiple hits to the chest. We've got his bio signs stabilized, and it's still possible for him to recover, but not here, he'll have to be transferred to the station when we return, their sick bays are better equipped to keep him. There he'll hopefully be able to recover as well.

"Everyone that is still alive now, will probably make it. We're treating the most extensive injuries now, with at least another sickbay's worth getting treatment in the mess. There are still several crew men MIA but so far the total casualty rate is around fifty."

"Understood," Cix said. The news didn't shock him; he'd learned never to underestimate an enemy. He'd seen friends die before, and learned to cope without breaking down as many officers did. "I will inform the commander."