Gamma Mission

[Reliant121]

"Get that warp field stabilized, i want no less than a 0.04 variance! The micro-singularity generators took a pounding last time, the safeguard systems are a little ropey at best. I want a new set of safeguards put in, max priority!" Engineer Noraneth bellowed across the engineering section of the Lacron, watching as the throng of engineers conducted vital maintenance to the ship. He had asked that the ship get a space in the station to get some of the highly vaunted starfleet engineers to assist, but to no avail. All the engineering crews were busy working on the crippled Klingon ships. So much for Klingon combat ability he mused, running numerous diagnostics on the computer core.

Turning around, he spotted what looked like an officer of some form underneath a control panel, reinstalling a series of computer chips. Strange, since his team of engineers had no officers. Moving closer, he inspected the uniform more closely. It was the intricately decorated uniform that belonged to a bridge officer. Before he could ask who the hell was messing with his engineering deck, D'Tyra slid out from underneath the panel, he hands blackened with the soot from the shorted out computer systems. She looked at him, smiled, handed him a series of computer chips and then walked out calmly, as if nothing were amiss.

D'Tyra was secretly pleased with how well the repairs were coming. The port wing, which had been seriously damaged, had been almost completely rebuilt with assistance from Romulan engineers on the other warships. Much of the battle damage had been repaired. Her only concern was the shield grid. For some untold reason, emitters 12-17 were refusing to power up. That left a sizable gap in the ventral shields of the ship. The emitters had been replaced, the power couplings checked, even plasma conduits had been rewired. But they still couldn't find out the problem.

Reaching her quarters, she entered the access code and walked into the room. Immediately before her was the comforting environment she had created, turning the drab green-grey room into a functional, yet comfortable living space. A large fabric sofa lay within the centre of the room, with a elegant green coffee table in front of it. Concealed within the exotic marble like table was a computer outlet, sort of like the laptop style computer terminals in use aboard Federation ships. Concealed within another hidden compartment was a standard issue Romulan disruptor, as well as an assortment of bladed weapons from various cultures. Set aback from this, and near the food terminal was a large desk with a chair fixed to it, along with a standard desk computer. Also within this desk was another weapons locker, with two disruptors and a small, dagger like knife that her father had himself crafted for her upon her acceptance into the Romulan Star Navy.

D'Tyra sat down on the sofa, and accessed her terminal. Working her way through the intricate computer network, she sent a text only message specifically to the captain of the Daystrome. It read

Good evening Captain,
A fine Performance on the last battle. I was quite impressed with how well your...slightly antiquated torpedo cruiser handled itself. No doubt due to your excellent command, and a stalwart crew to uphold your decisions. Anyway, enough of idle pleasantries. I require a favour, which you may hold me repayable for should you wish. The Lacron, as you know, took a considerable pounding in the battle. We have managed to repair most of the damage, but we are struggling badly with the ventral shield emitters....This isn't an easy thing for a Romulan to do, but I am asking for your assistance with our shields. Starfleet vessels seem to fair far better when it comes do defenses than Romulan ones, so I figure you must be more capable with shields themselves. Besides, I am sure you're engineers would love the chance to examine a top of the line Romulan cruiser. Know thine enemy or some other human phrase. We may not be enemies. But Knowledge is still power, regardless of whom it is about.

Thankyou for your time captain.

Commander D'Tyra.

PS: I've been looking for excuse to break out my finer quality Romulan Ale, if you should catch my drift.

[Lt. Staplic]

-USS Valkyrie: Crew Mess-

Cix and Corrin arrived at the mess at the same time. They'd made plans earlier in the day to meet and have a few drinks after their shifts. As they sat down and ordered the small talk quickly developed into their norm, combat tactics. Cix could tell his expirience often suprised the Marine, who had no idea about his extensive background in that subject, but Cix was also often suprised at the level of maneuvering and stratagy the young, rather inexperienced officer was capable of.

"Alright, here's the scenario." Corrin said, taking his turn at their game. "Your unit is stuck cut off from reinforcements, communication, and resupply from your forces. Your surrounded by potential enemies, and you mission is to take down a faction that has been terrorizing the base for months. How do you find them, and how do you defeat them?"

Cix didn't even need time to think, he quickly replied laying out a plan to let his enemy come to him, let them ambush him as was their tactic, but have your own ambush waiting to squeze them between your two lines wiping them out.

"Nice." Corrin said, "Your turn."

Cix thought for a second then said, "This one, if you were in command, what would be your next move to find this rogue faction."

Seth watched as the marine set down his drink, clerly thinking about something,

"Funny you should ask that," He finally replied. "I've been thinking about that a lot. There's an old, old famous battle on earth from a civilization that died out. The Greeks, as they were called, were laying siege to the city-state of Troy. They had been warring for a decade and the Greeks had yet to break the walls, you see this was well before the inventions of gun powder in the Western World. Finally, one of the officers came up with the idea to pretend to surrender, offering up a gift of a large wooden horse as a prise. They did so using their wooden ships as supplies, and the Trojans, thinking the ships had sailed home and they had surrendered, opened their gates to bring in this magnificent prize of war. However, the "special forces" of the Greek army were secretely hiding inside, and after they were brought into the city, they broke out and reopened the gate for the rest of the Greek army to enter and destroy the city. The plan was dubbed the Trojan Horse. I was thinking of doing something similar with the Battle Cruiser."

Cix listened intently to the marine, then watched amazed at his answer as Corrin took another drink.

"How exactly do you mean to use the Cruiser as a, what was it?" Seth asked.

"Trojan Horse. Well, we transfer over all of the Marines, with a small trained crew to operate the battle cruiser. Then when we find a key base, we send in the Battle Cruiser pretending to be friendly forces, leaving the rest of the fleet just within communication range. Then once we're in we off load the Marines onto the base, We take the base, capturing several more prisoners, getting access to their computers, and possably getting more of their ships to keep continuing the pattern, until we've resolved the issue." Corrin explained.

Cix stared at James for a moment then took a long drink finishing off his glass, and said, "I rue the man that tries to fight you."

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

-USS Valkyrie: Main Bridge- The Next Day

Cix walked onto the Bridge ready to relieve Munroe and take the gamma watch.

"Hello sir," Seth said as he walked upto the Breen.

"Lieutenant, I leave the Bridge in your hands, please return it in the same condition." Commander Munroe said, standing.

"Aye, sir, but may I have a quick word." Seth said thinking of his conversation with Corrin.

"What do you need?" Munroe asked.

"Well sir, I was talking with one of the Marines the other day, Lt. Corrin, his platoon helped capture the Battle Cruiser if you remember." Seth began.

"Yes, go on." Munroe said.

"He suggested using the Battle Cruiser as a "Trojan Horse" a Marine Carrier brought into the enemy facility under friendly flags then used to offload the Marines on to the base, where they can quickly and effectively take it over, while the rest of the fleet takes down the rest of the enemy ships." Cix summerized.

"An intersting plan, I'll run this by the Admiral." Munroe said thinking about the prospects. "The Captain is going to resume active duty tomorrow, he'll relieve you at the beginning of alpha shift."

[Mikey]

"Cmdr. Hewer," Mikey called as he entered the bridge, "please compile status reports from all departments." Jon began to rise from the command chair but Mikey gestured for him to remain seated. "Forward a readiness and needs brief to Cmdr. Rochey. I'll be in my ready room." He entered his office, ordered a human beverage to which Friedman had introduced him - an "espresso dopio" - and sat heavily at his desk.

He sipped his drink while absently scrolling through the fleet's limited intel and specs of of the Jemmie battlecruiser. He wanted desperately to provide an answer, even an option, to Grayling; but no gestalt presented itself to him from the disjointed information. When he heard the intercom beep and announce the incoming message, he welcomed the interruption. A slight smile crossed Mikey's face as he read D'tyra's message, then tapped his comm badge. "Lt. Friedman - please put together an engineering team for shield repair, plus Lt. j.g. McKenzie. Meet me in transporter room one in ten minutes."

Mikey checked his appearance in the rest room mirror, smoothed his tunic, and exited to the bridge. "Send a message to the Lacron - our team will be on its way in ten minutes," he announced. "Jon, once Rochey's report is done, make sure we have requisitions filed to top off our expendables."

"Aye, sir," Hewer answered, unsuccessfully suppressing a grin.

"Something funny, commander?"

"No, sir, but..." Jon began, chuckling.

"But what, dammit?!"

"Well... would you be leading that engineering team yourself if the Lacron's captain looked like Krem?"

Mikey shot Jon an evil-looking glare, then began to smile himself. "Perhaps not. But don't be jealous."

Before Jon could respond, Van Pelt broke in. "Lacron acknowledges."

"Good," Mikey answered. "Inform Commander D'tyra that I'll expect payment on delivery."

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

After a few minutes catching up, Grr'lek assured Mikey that the Caitian would employ McKenzie's sensor skills in a diagnostic capacity and manage the engineering team. Satisfied, Mikey finally answered the summons to Commander D'tyra's quarters. The door opened at Mikey's button-push, revealing a living space spare of decoration but far less austere than Mikey had expected. "Thank you for your prompt assistance, captain."

Mikey turned to see D'tyra enter from a veiled doorway - a sleeping chamber or dressing room, he guessed. Interestingly, he felt that the severe Romulan uniform complemented the woman's appearance, rather than detracted from it - as if she was born to it. "Always a pleasure to help," Mikey said stiffly. "We can't have our most capable allies at less than 100%, can we?"

"You flatter me, Captain W'trisk," she replied. "Not that I'm above listening to a little flattery."

"Excellent," Mikey smiled, "because I'm not above giving it. And 'Mikey' will do."

The pair laughed, and D'tyra motioned for Mikey to be seated on an occasional chair opposite the sofa in the center of the room. He did, and D'tyra sat casually opposite him on the couch. They chatted about nothing in particular for a few minutes. "Now," she said finally, taking on a businesslike tone, "as to the matter of upholding my end of the bargain..." D'tyra rose and crossed to the curtained doorway, slipped inside and returned a moment later - carrying a tray with a pillar-like crystal decanter and two flute glasses. "As I said, one of the finest Romulan ales available."

"Romulan ale is still technically illegal in the Federation," Mikey said with mock earnestness.

"You are 'technically' not within the confines of the Federation currently."

"True," Mikey said thoughtfully, "and I suppose it's not a crime if I don't get caught."

"Your dark secret is safe with me," D'tyra teased as she poured. She raised her glass and toasted, "To victories."

"To new partnerships," Mikey corrected her, and emptied his glass. "Excellent," he commented. "I'll have to lay my hands on some Clan Barr'li Reserve Andorian ale, and return the favor."

"I'd like that-" D'tyra began before being cut off by Mikey's comm badge.

"Captain," came Grr'lek's voice. "I have some findings for you and the Commander."

"Go ahead," Mikey said heavily. "The commander is with me."

"Really?" Mikey could almost hear the arch of Grr'lek's brow in his tone. "*ahem* Yes, sir... Your decision to bring McKenzie was an astute one. The engineering team found the same thing as the Romulans - there was nothing wrong with any of those emitters. They were disabled, not damaged, and no diagnostic would have found out. The internal sensors were modified to cover the tampering. We're working on backtracking through those mods."

"Good work," called Mikey and D'tyra simultaneously. The two looked at each other gravely. Mikey said quietly, "I'm at your disposal if I can help."

[Mark]

USS Daystrom - Sickbay (Morgue)

Kasper walked into the dimly lit morgue, looking around. Taking into account that Daystrom had not yet suffered any fatalities of which there were any remains to be stored, there was only one explanation for the cloth covered form lying on the exam table. Walking up to the table, he drew the cloth back, revealing a pair of boots. Moving to the other end of the table, he drew back the cloth, to reveal Dr. Holmes snoring softly.

"Dr. Holmes." Kasper asked innocently "Why are you in the Morgue?"

"I'm dead." Was the grumpy response.

"Unlikely Doctor, otherwise you'd have a very difficult time informing me that you were, in fact, deceased." Kasper replied.

Without opening his eyes, Holmes replied "Ok then, I'm dead tired. Now go jump in the lake!"

Looking confused, Kasper asked "How should I do that, sir? We have no lake on board. Or are you suggesting that I create one on the holodeck? As a low grade enlisted man, my access to the holodecks is somewhat restricted. Although, I could reserve some time if it were a medical necessity. If you'd be so kind as to provide me with a written "

With a growl Holmes sat up and tossed the cloth to the floor. "Forget it already, I'm up. Why are you bothering me, again?"

"We had a lesson sir." Kasper promptly answered.

"Well, the least you can do is buy me breakfast for waking me up this early in the morning." Holmes decided.

"Doctor, its 1300 hours, ships time. I'm quite sure that this isn't considered early by the alpha shift." Kasper helpfully informed Holmes.

"Even better, you can buy me lunch." Holmes said.

"Doctor, there is no need to buy food or drink onboard the ship." Kasper began to explain "All our needs are provided for by the replicator system. That's a system by which matter is reconstituted and .."

"Kasper" Holmes interrupted.

"Yes, Doctor?" the young man asked.

"Shut up." Holmes ordered.

"Yes Doctor." Was the calm and un-offended reply.

______________________________________________

USS Daystrom - Ten Forward

"So, let me see if I understand this correctly" Holmes said around a mouthful of a Ruben on rye. "You want ME to teach YOU how to work and play well with others?"

"Very much Doctor." Kasper replied. "EVERYBODY on board talks about you. I believe that you may be the most popular person aboard, after the Captain. I often seem to be overlooked by others and often draw unusual looks from them when I try to strike up a conversation like I see others do. But you don't have that problem."

Still chewing, Holmes asked "People are talking about me? What are they saying?"

"Many things," Kasper replied "They often speculate from under what rock you crawled. They have helpful suggestions of where you should go, how you should get there, and what you should do with yourself. They often discuss your parentage, as well as why Starfleet hasn't tossed you out on your buttocks."

Swallowing his bite, Holmes asked "And this is what you want?"

Nodding emphatically Kasper said, "I want to be as popular as you, sir."

"Ok then" Holmes announced "Let the lessons begin. Now, the first thing to keep in mind is that people are morons. Except for you and me of course."

"You and I." Kasper corrected.

"You and I what?" Holmes asked in confusion.

Kasper brightly replied, "The proper grammar is you and I."

Holmes looked at the young Petty Officer like he grew a second head, "Ok, then. Now shut up and listen. Rule number one, everybody lies. Rule number two, people are morons. Rule number three, review rules one and two."

Kasper looked as if committing everything to memory "So, everybody is a lying moron then."

"For the most part." Holmes confirmed. "But the funny part is that most of them don't even realize that they're morons, so I've often found it helpful to remind them. But as I'm both a Doctor and an officer, I can get away with it a bit more than you. You'll only want to let people know that they're morons on special occasions."

"But shouldn't I make a point to try make people aware of their shortcomings Doctor" Kasper asked "That way, if I do, they can strive to overcome them, as I am."

"Excellent point, Petty Officer. That WOULD be instructional, as well as fun." Holmes chuckled, swallowing the last bite of his sandwich. "Come on, I've got a holodeck program that you may find educational."

"What is the subject?" Kasper asked as they both rose, Holmes painfully.

"It has to do with uhhh Vulcan slavery." Holmes responded.

Kasper, overjoyed at the news, spun and gave Holmes a big hug, causing Holmes eyes to widen in discomfort and surprise.

Holmes felt an odd emotion. He couldn't actually be starting to LIKE this kid could he?

[shran]

Personal log, fleet time 21:00

this was a very interesting day. Doctor Holmes showed me the Vulcan love slave program. A rather grim program, considering all the pain inflicted on the subjects, both hologram and non-hologram. It proved to be a most interesting experience to feel the heigthened gravity of Vulcan, combined with the dark atmosphere and the unusual behaviour of the Vulcans.
As I walked into the program, it seemed doctor Holmes likes using this program as well, as his version was running, which he promptly shut down the moment he noticed.
My version was a different one, apperently suited to a wider range of users. Less tools were hanging from the walls.

The first part seemed to include som sort of initiation ritual. Personal details however won't be included. It seemed a bit strange, but as it is with aliens, so it is with humans too. Those guys are really weird.

One thing continues to puzzle me. how come there are so many morons in this universe? Given my earlier experiences in the past, there seemed to be plenty of them on Earth, but I didnt get the impression yet there were as many morons on this ship. given, I do not know every person on this ship, but their public files showed a decent amount of education, increasing ever further as I went up the ranks. Would education have no influence on being a moron? it does indeed pose a large problem in that case, as it cannot be cured or otherwise removed. Which would take the solution to preventing the morons from breeding, which is said to be rather unethical according to the Federation and is indeed not deemed acceptable by the Federation. Yet it seems to be the only solution. I suppose I'll have to talk about this with doctor Holmes again about this.

[Sonic Glitch]

Taran'atar stood at a station on the bridge of the Jem'Hadar battlecruiser. He was alone save for the one security Lieutenant ordered to escort him around. Oddly enough, the other technical crews on the ship always found reason to be somewhere else when he was around. Nevertheless, he was not bothered. Jem'Hadar were never the most social of creatures and weren't given to missing the companionship of people who merely tolerate him. He was sorting through the ships computer core as the person with the most experience with Dominion Encrpytion. The lieutenant however refused to leave him alone to do his work and kept looking over his shoulder at the control panel. Finally, Taran'atar turned and asked, "Is there something I can help you with Lieutenant?"

"No Sir." the Lieutenant replied stiffly, barely keeping the contempt out of his voice. "I'm just making sure you're not trying to blow us all up."

Taran'atar blinked to hide the exasperated roll of eyes he had picked up from many of his human crewmates on DS9. "And what possible reason could I have to do that Lieutenant?"

"You're Jem'Hadar. You exist to kill, regardless of reason. What does it matter? All of us here are a threat to the Dominion. How do we know you won't renege on you're supposed loyalty to Captain Kira in the face of fighting against your own kind?"
Taran'atar took a threatening step toward the young lieutenant who raised his phaser in defense, but Taran'atar had already stopped. "Once again, the ignorance of the Alpha Quadrant astounds me. Did you serve in the war?"

"No, but my brother was killed on Betazed."

"Nor did I fight in the war, what do you know of Jem'Hadar? You're great "Federation" espouses equality and freedom and toleration of all species. Strange that I have only seen those qualities in a few Starfleet officers. That weapon will not be necessary Lieutenant. You see I, unlike you, seem to be able to control my baser instincts." The computer beeped signifiying it had hit upon one of the entered search terms. Taran'atar turned his back on the young officer and his face darkened as he read the file. He tapped his own combadge saying, "Captain Lewis, Commander Sinclair. This is Mission Specialist Taran'atar. I have found something you should see..."

[Lt. Staplic]

Helev slowly walked around the bridge of the Ac'ron. With a single glance at any station, his keen training saw anything unusual from the officer stationed there.

Commander Mer'an, had left the ship allong with the Subcommander for the joint debriefing on the station, leaving Helev in command while the ship patroled the space around the station.

As he was making his way back to the command chair, Helev noticed an alert light going on the engineers consol.

"Sir, the..." The officer started

"Cloak is going out of alignment," Helev finished looking past the officer at the consol. "Compensate, quickly."

The officer turned back around and began making rapid adjustments, clearly nervous. Helev turned back around and walked back up to the Command chair. He had just sat down when another light went off.

"Sir, the station is hailing, the debriefing is over, Commander Mer'an wants us to dock." Said the young officer.

"Decloak, begin docking proceedure," Helev ordered standing back up again.

The giant ship shimmered as it became visible once again and turned about to move back in with the station. As the ship docked, the Commander and Sub-Commander made their way from the station up to the Bridge.

As they walked onto the bridge Commander Mer'an issued a quick order, "SumCommander, you have the bridge, please resume patrol, Centurion Sovak, please follow me."

Helev stood and followed the Commander into a small debriefing room just off the main bridge.

"Centurion, are you aware of the recent success by the Federation Marines?" Mer'an asked.

"Yes, they were able to capture a Dominion Battle Cruiser during the last battle." Helev replied, the knowledge of the incedent had been purposely leaked after the Battle cruiser showed up and docked at the base to ease the tension.

"Good, It has been decided by the Admiral that we will transfer the Marines and a skeleton crew onto the Cruiser and use it as a...what was the phrase..."Trojan Horse?"...anyway it is some kind of trick to sneak past the enemies defences and then unload the Marines directly into the enemies base. The Breen Commander from the Valkyrie will command the ship, as he is already the Commanding Officer for the Marines. The Klingons will supply a second officer, and we will provide the third. I want you to go."

"Me sir? Why me, would it not be wiser to send the Sub-commander." Helev asked confused.

"No, no, I want you to be part of that joint ship." Mer'an replied.

Helev stared at the Commander, he like most of the commanders in the Romulan fleet had been briefed as to Helev's special position with the Tal'shiar. Most of whom now treated Helev as if he was scum to be scrubbed from the deck platting.

why would he want me to be the third in command, and representative of the Romulan Empire on that ship?

"I've already informed the Admiral you would be taking the position, you report at 0900 fleet time tomorrow for a debriefing with your new Commanding Officer, you may have the rest of today to ready your things to be beamed over to the Battle Cruiser." Commander Mer'an finished.

"Sir," Helev said standing and leaving, slightly suspicious about the Commanders motives.

[Mark]

USS Ravage - Turbolift

Master Chief McDuff was anxious. He had finally been cleared for light duty, and to him it wasn't a second too soon. Sitting back, and watching the battle damage from his ship be repaired by somebody else bothered him in a way that only another engineer could understand. Dr. Otaka had only cleared him about twenty minutes ago, just long enough to grab a shower, trim his beard, and toss on a uniform. He was out the door heading to Main Engineering before his jacket was completely settled on his shoulders.

He could only imagine what a mess he was walking into. He had no assistant, although from what he'd been hearing, Commander Sinclair was pulling double duty. McDuff laughingly remembered the old adage "You can take an engineer out of engineering, but you can't take an engineer out of the man." He needed to find an assistant engineer HE trusted. Burke has shown some mettle during the scuffle, but McDuff wasn't ready to give the man any kind of authority just yet. Maybe it was his recent brush with death, but lately he'd been wondering about the survivors of the Pegasus and how they were doing. He'd heard that they'd been mostly assigned to the station. Only McDuff seemed to have landed on solid ground. Laren Kyra was stuck as a transporter operator, Lt Cmdr Niles was acting as the stations 2nd officer after a last second beam out by the Tigerfish, and Sara Tucker, after being caught drinking again, had been assigned to a gamma watch security detail. It was a damn shame. They were all some fine officers and deserved better.

As the turbolift doors swished open, McDuff was startled to see the entire command crew, as well as all of his engineering team standing in dress uniforms. As he stepped off the lift in confusion, Sinclair called "Attention to orders!"

Every man and woman present quickly snapped to attention, except for Captain Lewis and Commander Sinclair. Both of whom stepped forward to McDuff who himself was rigidly locked at attention.

Commander Sinclair carried a PADD, an old fashioned certificate envelope, and a small box. He handed Captain Lewis the PADD, who began to read.

"Master Chief Donald McDuff, on Stardate 67005.47, during an attack on the USS Ravage in which Main Engineering was directly threatened by enemy boarding parties, you did, at grave personal risk, endeavor to safeguard the lives of this crew. Your actions directly lead to the prevention of the detonation of the ships antimatter pods, even though it nearly cost you your life. You acted heroically and without any thought of personal safety, and for that reason, you are hereby awarded the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor. Congratulations, Master Chief."

With that, Sinclair handed the box and the certificate to Lewis, who in turn passed it onto McDuff. McDuff looked in stunned amazement at the prestigious award that was just bestowed on a lowly enlisted engineer. As Lewis shook the Master Chiefs hand, Sinclair called out "Dismissed" and the room broke into cheering and applause.

With a grin, Lewis said "Master Chief, I want you to know that I owe you one."

"You mean that Sir?" McDuff asked

"Absolutely." Lewis replied "Why do you ask?

"Well sir, what with the fact that we lost some good people" McDuff began "I was wondering if we could find a place for some old comrades from the Pegasus."

"I think that could be arranged." Lewis said with a grin.

________________________________________________

USS Ravage-Transporter Room 2

McDuff stood in the transporter room waiting for his old colleges to beam aboard. Lt. Cmdr Niles wouldn't be joining them, but Laren and Tucker would be. Captain Lewis had technically assigned Lt. Laren as the Operations Officer, but in reality she would be McDuff's assistant Chief Engineer. She'd only be on the bridge irregularly or during an alert. Lt Jg Tucker had been assigned as Lieutenant Uzume's deputy Security Chief. It was hoped that working with a REAL Security Chief may inspire Tucker, who has again climbed back on the wagon. It would be good to see both women again, especially Kyra.

The transport beam coalesced into three distinct shapes. At first McDuff was confused, as he only expected Laren and Tucker, but as the third form materialized, he felt his blood pressure begin to go up again. On the pad stood Lt. Cmdr Tina Jordan, looking around at the Ravage like it was something unpleasant she just stepped in.

Putting on his best face, McDuff said "Welcome aboard."

Jordan sneered at him and said "Aboard what? This ship is a fossil. How am I going to upgrade THESE systems?"

Darkly, McDuff remembered a friend of his who had been locked in a forward torpedo tube for several days. If she found herself in that position, she better HOPE he wasn't anywhere near the FIRE button.

[Monroe]

"Commander on deck!" A lieutiant yelled as Munro walked onto what, in a few days, would become his own ship.

"Carry on." The Breen said toneless as he looked over the bridge structure. The last several hours had been a constant stream of briefings and new crew assignments. Several ships were being gutted of some of their best capable crew. And he understood a Romulan would serve third to him. That concept alone would make this an interesting trip. He wondered if anyone bothered to inform the luckless Romulan that her superior would be a Breen or the Klingon under Munro. There wasn't much love between Klingons and Breen either. But Munro had to respect both Empires. They often ran military ships more efficiently when they did not allow Klingon pride or Romulan politics to twist the situation.

"Hi sir, thought maybe you could give me some advice because of your experience ten years ago." A private with the marines said a little nervously as he walked up to the Breen.

"Make it quick." Munro said as he brought online the database for the ship learning where all the respective stations on the bridge were and only half paying attention to the marine.

"My commanding officer asked what we would do if our unit was seperated by home and surrounded by posible enemies on all sides."

"I'm your CO now. And I would unleash a neuro-toxin into the air." Boush said turning to face the private. "Ground engagement, correct?"

"Uh yes sir. But we don't carry pro-masks, wouldn't that kill all of the Federation troops too?"

Munro tapped the datapad he was carrying against his armored exo-suit. "Not all of the Federation."

[Mikey]

Sitting at the most isolated table which they could find in the officer's mess of the Lacron, Mikey, D'tyra, and Grr'lek reviewed the PADD's which McKenzie and Friedman had just handed them. Some Romulan engineer, whose name Mikey couldn't remember, stood stock still by the Starfleet men - indignation at requiring Starfleet assistance and shock at the fact of internal sabotage competed to bring the young man to motionlessness.

"Sir," Friedman began, "there are options-"

"Tell the commander and the lieutenant," Mikey interrupted. "This is their ship, not mine. I wouldn't tolerate anyone telling me how to skipper my boat, and I don't expect my people to do the same to anyone else."

Friedman straightened while the Romulan engineer glanced at the Andorian in mild surprise. The willingness to help without interfering was not what he had been led to expect about a Starfleet officer. D'tyra grinned imperceptibly while Grr'lek made a low purring noise. "I beg your pardon, commander," Friedman said, bowing slightly toward D'tyra. Indicating one of the PADD's he continued, "As I was saying, we have two options. The simple engineering solution is to make the emitters tamper-proof."

D'tyra glanced at the Romulan engineer, who commented, "It can be done... with these gentlemen's assistance." The words ground out as if painful for the young man. "However, it will make subsequent repairs to the emitters extremely difficult and time-consuming."

"Not an optimal situation, considering that we stand a very good chance of taking damage the old-fashioned way very shortly," D'tyra remarked. "Our other option?"

McKenzie stepped forward. "I can institute a sensor feed that will be difficult for a saboteur to detect, yet will show any attempt to interfere with the emitters. The only drawback is that the emitters will still need to be repaired normally if they are targetted again."

"But we can do that at normal speed, and will stand to uncover the culprit..." D'tyra mused. "I think that's the way to go, captain," she said, respectfully foregoing giving orders to Mikey's crew. Mikey nodded at his men, who headed off to effect the modification. "Loo-ten-ent, I'd like you to be the point for the sensor intel. We need to keep any info we derive - even the fact that we know of the sabotage - secret. If you need to go above your station for anything associated with this, come to me and me only."

"Aye, sir," Grr'lek said, rising. "I'll tie the feed into my console and comm, and create a protocol to immediately apprehend anyone found with his hand in the cookie jar."

"'Cookie jar?' Oh, I see," D'tyra said, completely at ease with her misunderstanding of the phrase. Thank you." Grr'lek left for the bridge, and D'tyra turned to Mikey and continued. "And thank you, Captain W'trisk, for your assistance. What do we know of our next steps?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," Mikey answered frankly. "As you know, the Jem'hadar battlecruiser is being outfitted to deploy combat troops, from all three parties. Intel is being derived as to the 'when' and the 'where' of our next target, but that's about as much as I know. I should imagine, though, that the Lacron would be honored with a role."

"I haven't been informed one way or the other, yet," D'tyra answered, "though I'd imagine the Daystrom would be so honored, as well."

"I'm not sure about that," Mikey sighed, visibly disappointed despite himself. "She's a bombardment warship, pure and simple... and doesn't have a cloaking device either."

"A shame if you and your ship aren't included," D'tyra remarked. "You've certainly proven your worth to all and sundry. Besides, I wouldn't trust anyone more than you to watch my... weakened emitters."

"I'd be honored to watch your emitters," Mikey quipped. Suddenly, his antennae stood up and his face took on a serious cast. "Perhaps I can... you've seen our auxiliary craft, the Tigerfish, in operation. I don't have a cloak, but it's small enough to perhaps rig a false signature and field configuration. Maybe we could make it look like a bug attack craft from outside visual range - it would be a simple escort for the cruiser. And," he continued, "I'd be onhand to watch your... unshielded quadrants." He stood, got two coffees from the replicator, and hit his comm badge while handing one of the drinks to D'tyra. "Jon?"

"Here, sir," came the static-filled response. "The shield work is interfering a bit. What can I do for you?"

"Have we gotten marching orders yet?"

"No, sir," came the response. "I filed the repair and re-stock status, and the only response was to stand ready - future disposition undecided."

"Fine. Get Carson, Taylor, and your little brother together. I have a little project in mind." He detailed his idea for the Tigerfish and concluded, "Get them on it, Jon. It needs to be ready by the time the battlecruiser and task group are ready to move out."

"We don't know when that will be."

"Exactly. We don't know if we'll need the 'Fish, either - but if we do, it better be ready. W'trisk out."

[Mark]

IKS Karam - Captain's Quarters

The doors parted and closed with a loud clang, as Nod entered Captain Krem's quarters. Captain Krem and Commander Nod's working relationship had been more difficult than usual since the nebula incident. Krem had been unusually disrespectful to his first officer since then, circumventing his authority and making disparaging comments to the crew. Nod had to beat two junior officers senseless who felt they could challenge him, and had been forced to kill the Karam's security chief, Kordoch, with his own D'K'Tahg during a botched assassination attempt. Nod loved battle as much as the next Klingon, but felt he was getting too old for such nonsense.

Captain Krem was staring out a viewport when Nod came in, again showing his disrespect for the aged warrior by showing him his back for a long moment. He then turned and asked, "What is your opinion of Commander Kragg?"

Kragg was the ships weapons officer, and in Nod's opinion, a complete fool. He lacked instinct and common sense. But of course, because HIS family honor was in excellent standing, he would command his own ship in the next few years, and likely lead several hundred warriors to a glorious death.

"He is a fool, Captain." Nod replied honestly. "One who should have spent more time as a junior officer, but he is adequate at his current post. However, I would be leery of him taking up his own command."

Nodding sagely, Krem replied "So, you're envious of HIM as well then. Your jealousy does not befit a Klingon Warrior."

Ever since he had first won a commission, Nod had endured similar comments from nearly every Klingon he'd ever served with. He'd come to expect them.

Not letting his impatience show, Nod asked "With all due respect, why am I here?"

Krem replied with a feral grin, "So I can tell you to your face that Kragg is my new first officer."

Nod stood there silently, shock filling every being. He had done NOTHING to deserve this! He had endured the disrespect, insults, and even blows by this Targ of a Captain. But now, he was being dismissed from his post! All of the honor he had fought tooth and nail for all of these years would be gone.

Krem continued "I've never made a secret of the fact that I didn't want you on my ship. I have no room for those whose families are without honor. Questioning me on my own bridge has finally given me the justification I need to replace you."

Nod began to speak, but Krem held up his hand and continued "However, I cannot simply dismiss the fact that you were right, and I was wrong. I have since learned that my decision cost those humans they're lives. I SHOULD have stayed at my post. Damn you for being right. Because of that fact, my own honor wouldn't let me simply dismiss you from your post, and besides even if it did I'm not so blind as to recognize the value of your experience. I would have kept you as second officer, and avoided your assassination attempts until we returned to the Alpha Quadrant, but it would have been a nuisance"

Again Nod began to speak, and Krem bellowed "SILENCE!!!"

Nod clamped his jaws shut and let his former Captain continue. "I have found the perfect solution. Our Federation allies will be using the captured Dominion vessel to infiltrate a rebel base. Grayling has suggested it be a joint operation for the purposes of unity. I think they simply want both the Romulans and us to share the risk. The ship's Captain will be Starfleet. A Breen if you can believe it. It is rumored that he has some skill in ground warfare. The Romulans are sending an envoy as well, as the second officer. YOU will be the Breen's First Officer! From what I understand, he has limited experience commanding a ship himself, and undoubtedly would greatly value your experience."

Nod finally spoke "Do you seek to honor me, or see me die?"

Krem looked at him for a moment "That depends on your success. If you die, I lose nothing. If you succeed, there will be honor enough for the both of us. You may almost be redeemed, and I will be seen as having given up my own first officer to ensure the success of the mission."

In a flat tone "When am I due to report?" Nod asked.

"You're already overdue" Krem said.

"Then as a bit of parting advice, I'll tell you this." Nod said, "You should kill Kragg now, before he solidifies his power. He intends to return to the Empire as Captain of the Karam. His assassins attempted to kill me, but failed. Without me to protect you, Captain ..they may very well kill you."

"YOU DARE!!!!" Krem hollered and swung a backhanded fist at Nod's face.

This time however, Nod didn't allow the punch to land. With reflexes tempered by years of experience, he blocked the blow, delivered a crippling headbutt to Krem's nose, spraying violet blood and eliciting a sickening crunch, and finally bodily picked the Captain up by his chin and slammed him down on his desk. Without a word, Nod spun and left, leaving Krem wondering if he had just made a bad mistake.

___________________________________________________

Dominion Battlecruiser (USS Trojan Horse) - Main Bridge

Nod entered the bridge looking around at the personnel scurrying around like vermin, from console to console. Shaking his head at the turmoil, he saw what must be this ships Commanding Officer standing in the middle of the deck looking at him, or so it seemed.

He walked up to the Breen, and reported "First Officer Nod reporting for duty, Captain."

The Breen said nothing for a long moment, and just locked gazes with the Klingon. Finally he simply said "You're late."

With a single nod, and not breaking eye contact Nod replied "Yes, I am. I have no excuse."

The two warriors stood for another moment seemingly taking each others measure before Munro finally spoke again. "It's good that you've arrived. I can use the assistance. See to the ships final repair and outfitting, while I address the marine's logistical difficulties. And when the Romulan officer finally arrives, send him or her to me at once."

With something between a grin and a snarl Nod replied "At once, Captain."

As he turned and began barking orders and issuing threats to the now timid repair crews, he thought how refreshing it was to deal with a Captain when they both seemed to understand each other perfectly.

[Monroe]

Munro watched in some satisfaction as Nod went about 'motivating' the diverse crew on the bridge of the Trojan Horse. "A moment of your time, Number One." He said motioning Nod over forgetting whatever rank the Klingon was. "I see that you're going to fit right in." Munro paused making sure none of the other bridge crew were near enough to listen. "We're going to be in enemy territory and I want all the soldiers on this ship to be more afraid of me, and by extension you, than the Jem'Hadar. To that end I will look the other way upon any disciplinary actions you take on Federation members. You will have complete authorization to penalize them in the same way that you would a Klingon officer."

Nod's expression showed a bit of surprise then a grin.

"If we're going to be ordering some of them to their certain death I don't want them to hesitate. And on Federation vessels the first officer usually has digression on handling punishments for infractions. I'm merely allowing you to handle them the way your culture would prefer. And we all know how the Federation does not like to step on other species' culture."

Nod let loose a bellowing laugh causing some of the crew around them to turn to look. "We wouldn't want to insult my culture."

"Exactly." Munro said and nodded towards Nod... which was an incredibly repetitive thing to type.

[Lt. Staplic]

Helev watched as the walls of the Dominion Battle Cruiser appeared before him. He was transporting over along with a contengency of other Romulans. It was still early in fleet time, 0832, according to the chronometer on the transporter consol.

Walking out of the Room, Helev ordered the other Romulans to report to their duty locations to meet their department heads and get their new orders. He then made his way to the Bridge.

Stepping through the doors, still scared with energy blasts, Helev quickly located the First officer, an aging Klingon Warrior busy yelling at a few of the Starfleet Crewman, dangerously waving around his personal disruptor.

"Sir, I was informed to report her-" Helev began.

"Your Late!" The Klingon Barked, looking at the Helev with disgust. "The Commander wishes to speak to you immediately." The Klingon finished pointing over at a tall figure wearing a Biosuit.

Helev walked over to his new Commanding Officer and spoke, "Arrain Sovak, reporting for duty. I was told to inform you that by order of Commander Mer'an and Admiral Grayling, I have been assigned to this ship as the Chief Tactical Officer, and as the second officer."

"You're late." The Breen said.

"Sorry sir, but I have to disagree, my orders were to report here at 0900, I am Early." Helev responded viewing another chronometer

"I don't care what your orders were, this is my ship, you will learn to searve under me, and follow my orders, or you will be returned to your fleet, and a replacement selected." Munroe answered. "Now report to your station, I want a dietailed report of the status of the Tactical systems on my "desk" by 1200 hours. I also want you to familiarize yourself with the controls, better than you know Romulan. If I order you to fire, it had better happen quick, and without hesitation."

"Yes sir, don't worry about that sir. I'm used to taking orders." Helev commented, thinking about his position here once again.

"Get to work ma'am." The Breen said turning back to his task, not giving away weather the ma'am was an accident or if it was ment as an insult.

Helev quickly found the Tactical consol and began to work on his tasks. A few hours later, Helev looked around to make sure both of his supirior officers were busy. Munroe was reviewing the Headset device, figuring out how to operate it over his helmet, and Nod had left for Main Engineering, presumidly to go shoot someone for not meeting his expectations.

Turning back to the consol Helev quickly typed out a message:

Position aquired, initial observations: The Commanding Officer is Breen, and is appearently battle expirenced, and ruthless. The Breen also appears to have trouble identifying gender. The First Officer is typical Klingon, with a shoot, threaten, terrorize, and torture method for persuasion. He does however pose a threat as he does appear to have a good charecter Judge...time will tell how effective. Awaiting orders as to next objective

He then encrypted the transmission, using several specialist technieques so no one would ever be able to identify the orriginal source of the document or the final destination, then sent it.

[Mark]

USS Ravage - Captain's Ready Room

Taran'atar entered the ready room to find Captain Lewis and Commander Sinclair already seated and waiting for him.

"What have you found?" Lewis asked.

"According to the data I accessed" Taran'atar began "the nebula mining facility was set up as the primary support facility for a Renegade manufacturing plant."

Sinclair asked "Were you able to discover its location?"

"Indeed," Taran'atar replied "It's in the Triaga system, quite some distance from here. The Triaga system is a binary star system, of unusual complexity and danger. Due to the unpredictable gravimetric shift of the twin stars, entry into the system is tricky at best. There seems to be only one or two corridors in, and even those approaches will not be easy. It is surrounded by an asteroid field, likely composed of the remains of the planetary bodies that were in orbit millennia ago. The station itself is of an older design. It IS however, of a comparable size to one of Starfleet's smaller Starbases, with a tactical capability that would be more than a match even for the Paladin, I would estimate. It would fall easily to the combined fleet, if we were somehow able to get more than one or two ships through at a time. I also have learned that an unknown number of renegade vessels have been assigned to the base for defense. I was unable to discover any exact numbers or even ship classes. A frontal assault would seem unwise."

"Were you able to determine what the mining facility was supplying them with?" the Captain inquired.

"It was mining a very rare compound called Tiradone." Taran'atar reported. "It is so rare in fact that we were not even aware it was found in the nebula until I discovered that the renegades were mining it. I was forced to have Commander Patel reconfigure the sensors to confirm its presence, which we have done. Even when found, it is rarely used as it is dangerously unstable to work with. However, if it is used properly it can increase manufacturing by a factor of ten or more."

Sinclair looked confused "Why would they choose a location like that as a shipyard? I don't get it. If this compound can increase production time of ships by so much, wouldn't they need a system with a lot more room to work with? You would assume it would be in a system with at least two class M worlds, with resources at hand instead of needing to be shipped in."

Taran'atar looked at Sinclair gravely. "You misunderstand, Commander. I said a manufacturing facility. Not a shipyard."

"Then what are they manufacturing?" Sinclair asked. "Weapons?"

Lewis read the expression in Taran'atar's eyes, which was no mean feat even for somebody with his unique training and background, and suddenly went cold all over.

"No Jorden." Lewis answered for the Jem'Hadar "It's a clone manufacturing facility. They are pumping out Jem'Hadar and Vorta to boost their numbers. How many are we looking at?" he asked Taran'atar.

"I am not a scientist or a mathematician, Captain." Taran'atar replied. "I can only give you an estimation. Taking into account the incubation facilities of that type of station, and estimating the cloning cycle with the effects of the Tiradone, I would judge them likely to field a force of nearly a million Jem'Hadar warriors in the next several months. Of course, that would be with ideal logistical conditions."

Sinclair went slightly pale, "If those growth numbers remain unchecked, and if we assume this isn't their ONLY facility, the renegades will outnumber the Dominion proper in the span of a few years."

"Not to mention that we have no idea how long this facility has been operational for already," Taran'atar added. "If they were able to produce enough clones already, those warriors could already be at work building additional ships. There could be a force out there to rival any we've yet seen."

"This is bad, but let's not go borrowing trouble yet. As usual, we need more information. We need to get aboard that station, sooner rather than later." Lewis said as he keyed his comm terminal. "Lewis to the Bridge. Get me the Admiral on subspace. Priority one."

[Sonic Glitch]

It took a minute to get the Admiral on the comm, and when the office finally responded, his aide reported that the Admiral was eating lunch and had left orders not to be disturbed. Lewis and Sinclair shared a look and bit back their exasperation.

"Ensign, if it isn't too much trouble, please put me through to the Admiral."

The ensign stammered a reply, "Uh, I'm sorry sir but he left quite explicit orders not to be disturbed during lunch. It would be my head if he were."

Lewis and Sinclair shared another look before Lewis said, "Alright, if he makes an issue of it tell him I pulled rank and threatened to drum you out of the service." To forestall the next question, "Yes it is that important."

"Oh thank you sir." replied the Ensign and they were connected to the admirals office. The admiral looked up from the middle of his egg salad sandwhich, a dropping of egg marring his otherwise pristine uniform.

"Lewis! How the hell'd you get through here? I said no calls until after lunch."

"Yes sir, yes you did." The only sign that he noticed the egg was a twinkling in his eye that he stifled as best he could. Sinclair had ducked out of range of the viewer to hide his smile, only Taran'atar remained expressionless. "Ens. Riley was quite adamant about that, it's not his fault sir. I threatened to through him out of the service."

Greyling grunted what may have been an acknowledgment or not, "Is it important son?'

"Yes, sir. Quite important. We've discovered the location of the Jem'hadar base."

Greyling leaned forward,the sandwich forgotten, "How?"

Lewis turned to Taran'atar, "Tell him everything you just told me."

Taran'atar turned to address the Commodore, "I was reviewing the communication logs of the battle cruiser in hopes of learning the position of the main Renegade base. There is an older starbase located in the Triaga system."

"The Triaga system?" Asked Greyling, "I'm unfamiliar with it."

"It is a binary star system, quite complex and dangerous. Due to the unpredictable gravimetric shift of the twin stars, entry into the system is difficult to say the least. There seem to be only one or two safe corridors in, and the approach is not easy. Surrounding the base is an asteroid field, and no doubt heavily guarded."

"What other defenses will there be?"

"The station is an older type, probably the equivalent of one of you're smaller Starbases with tactical capabilities to match the Paladin. The combined power of the fleet would be more than sufficient, but I do not know how we would be able to get in more than one or two ships at the time. Also, there are definite ships assigned to defend the base."

Greyling looked grave for a moment before replying, "Alright. Thank you for your effort son. Captain, I may be calling the captains together to discuss this. Be prepared."

"Aye sir," Lewis nodded. "Also there is one more thing, this facility is believed to be a Jem'Hadar hatching facility. Which is enhanced with an element mined in the nebula to increase production. Possibly increasing production by at least a factor of ten.."

"Jesus" the commodore said quietly, "alright thank you. Greyling out."

The screen went blank and Lewis turned to the men with him, "Thank you Taran'atar, you're dismissed. I need to speak to Commander Sinclair." Taran'atar nodded and exited the room. "Alex, I wanted to talk to you about crew positions. I'm placing Lt. Tucker as Second-in-Command to Uzume, hopefully she'll get into shape. Also, see if you can get someone to talk to her. She's been cured of alcoholism 3 times now, we can do that in ten minutes, but there seems to be a deeper problem." Sinclair nodded his assent "As for Commander Jordan..." the two men shared a look, "I'm placing her in Operations. I'm sure Lorcan can find some way to deal with her." Both Sinclair and Lewis sent a silent apology to Lorcan for sticking her with him.

"Seems like the best we can do sir... I'll draw up the appropriate rosters." Sinclair said, Lewis smiled briefly, "That's exactly why I told you commander. Dismissed."

"Aye sir" as Sinclair left the room Lewis leaned back in his chair feeling the approach of a tension headache like never before.