Michael had been working to help with the repairs of the Tesla, when he got a priority message from Commodore Marshall-Bennett. It had been a lot of work to get the Tesla back into shape due to the attack of the D’Ghor. He had been catching up on his reports when the message came through he immediately stopped what he was doing.

“Ryder to Savik, I have to go to an important meeting so you’re currently in charge until I return.”

“Copy that, Captain,” Savik responded. “Do you wish to remain apprised of the repairs on the ship throughout your meeting, or shall I wait for your return to update you on any issues?”

“You can wait till I return. I don’t want to be interrupted, as this meeting is important. I will be wanting to meet with you when I return before speaking to the rest of the crew.” Michael replied as he prepared to head out of his office.

“Understood, Captain.” Savik knew better than to question the purpose of the Captain’s meeting, but her mind couldn’t help but wonder if he was being provided with details concerning their next mission. After their latest encounter with the D’Ghor she was anxious to get back out in the wilderness of space, and hoped it would not be long before they were once again deployed on an assignment.

Returning her mind to the task at hand, her fingers slid around the hologram projection from her PADD to rotate and zoom in and out of every nook and crevice in a thorough inspection of the image of the ship’s warp core. Tapping on the PADD she highlighted areas that would need attention, dictating repairs and routine maintenance to the busy team in the bay below her. If they were to go on another mission soon, she wanted to ensure the ship was in top condition to handle whatever may come their way.

After getting the affirmative from Savik, Michael quickly made his way to the shuttlebay. After a small journey he arrived on the Discovery after being cleared to land. Ryder immediately made his way to the commodore’s ready room and waited for approval to enter after the crew notified the commodore of his arrival.

“Come in.” Bennet answered via the intercom.

Ryder heard the familiar voice of the Commodore. He entered the room and waited to be acknowledged before proceeding any further.

It was just a few hours before the entire fleet would launch and Commodore Marshall-Bennet was reviewing the latest round of orders he had issued. Looking up from his desk, he automatically swiped the holographic display to off and smiled at his guest. “Come on in Michael.” He welcomed his former chief strategic operations officer.

“Thank you Sir, it’s good to see you as well.” It was funny that not too long ago Michael was on the ship with the Commodore, though that did not last long before Bennett surprised Michael with his own ship. The Tesla had already been put through her paces in the last mission. A surprise that Michael had not expected, but one that made sense given the current state of things during the campaign.

“It’s good to see you again commander.” Bennet said as he rose from his chair and offered the Tesla’s skipper a handshake. “How’s it going in the big chair?” He asked. “Are the upgrades to the Tesla complete yet?”

Michael returned the handshake and grinned slightly at the questions. “I’m sure you heard the adventures from my report. The chair isn’t bad, just been busy from the start. I do like being busy though it reminds me of my days in Security. As to the upgrades we received, the Tesla should be ready for deployment in the next day or so. It’s been quite a bit of work, but the crew has worked hard to get her finished and ready again.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear she will be back in action and ready for our mission to the Delta Quadrant.” Bennet remarked as he found the PADD with Ryder’s new orders. “Here you go.”

Michael grabbed the PADD and began to look through the information. He had never actually been into the Delta Quadrant, but he was excited for this assignment. It looked like the Tesla would finally be doing what she was supposed to do. He couldn’t wait to tell Sophie, as he knew she would be excited. He looked up at the Commodore as he began to explain the mission.

“There’s a few planetary systems near to the mouth of the Barzan wormhole that I want you and your crew to go and explore. They are all uncharted systems and none of them were visited by Voyager. They were just detected as they flew by on their way home.” Bennet shared as he let the commander read through the PADD. “There’s an M-class world we want you to start at first and then go from there. Use whatever resources you need and make sure you have everything from Starbase Thirty-Eight before we depart. Any questions?”

As Michael read the information he saw that the plan was for the Tesla to survey the three planetary systems nearest each other close to the wormhole. Michael knew that the Delta Quadrant held secrets still to be discovered. Michael nodded as he listened. “Well, I see these systems are different from the others, but is there anything we actually know about this M-class world?”

Shaking his head, the commodore elaborated further. “In theory it should be an easy ride and a good chance for Tesla to put its science based tools to the test.”

Michael stopped for a second and raised an eyebrow “Are you saying that this could be a simple survey mission? In and out with no issues?”

“We hope so, but Discovery and others in the expeditionary force won’t be that far behind to help you if it’s urgent.” Bennet said. “That said I want regular updates from you. I don’t want anyone else taking advantage.”

Michael was not optimistic at the fact that this mission could be so simple. He knew things never seemed to be simple when he went on any mission. Even when he was just a junior officer he seemed to always find trouble, but it was a good experience for him and helped him to learn thinking on his feet. He nodded back at the Commodore.

“Well I hope that the ship doesn’t require any backup, but it’s good to know that people will be there. I will make sure that we send updates as often as allows. I don’t plan to let anyone make a fool of me or my crew.” Michael said strongly. “Are there any enemies that we know of in that vicinity?”

Shaking his head, Bennet responded. “Not that we’re aware of but it could change. Make sure you use that tactical brain of yours until reinforcements arrive.”

Michael smirked “I will make sure that I do just that! If there is any opposition I will make sure it’s not easy for them. Is there anything Sir?”

Smirking at Ryder’s optimism, Bennet signaled for the Tesla’s captain to leave. “Dismissed.”_

Michael nodded and departed from the Commodores office. Immediately making way back to his shuttle so he can head to the Tesla. He wanted to make sure the ship was officially ready for the departure of the entire task force.

Michael returned to the Tesla with Savik standing there waiting for him. He wasn’t quite sure why she was waiting on him, but he hoped it wasn’t unneeded delays.

“There was an issue with a few of the materials for repairs. They were damaged upon delivery and unable to be used, but we were able to get replacement materials ordered and work on other preparations in the meantime. So overall we should still come in on schedule, just had to make a few rearrangements,” Savik reported quickly.

“I’m glad it wasn’t anything to delay the repairs, but I do need to meet you in my ready room as soon as you make sure that Engineering is ready and set for the departure.”

“I’ll be there shortly, Captain,” Savik nodded smartly.

“Very good Commander” Michael replied nodding as he headed to his ready room.

Michael made his way towards the turbolift when he was stopped by his chief of the boat Hallih Sahal. It was the first he had seen her since before the Archanis fight. Hallih was brought in as a new member, but her prior experience was impressive.

Hallih had been moving between the decks overseeing the repairs which had been a busy time for her, but as she had just regenerated she is more energy than most would have in a situation like this. She was heading for deflector control when she ran into the Captain. A man she had met once his demeanor and look demanded respect. She stopped and was surprised to hear the Captain speaking to her.

“Master Chief Sahal, it looks as though you’re working hard. I haven’t had a chance to talk to you, as your chief of the boat I need to hear your assessment of the enlisted crew here on the ship.”

Sahal nodded “Captain it has been busy making sure we are ready for the next mission. I can meet you at your earliest convenience, but I can tell you that the crew here is extraordinary. They are devoted to you and that keeps morale high. However Sir, not to be rude but I need to make sure that these repairs are completed for the refit.”

Michael was impressed with Sahal’s demeanor and could see why she had been recommended as Tesla’s chief of the boat. He would definitely have to record that in his logs.

“Very good Chief, we will try to meet as soon as I can. We will be departing for our next assignment as soon as the ship is ready. So the meeting may not be till after this mission, but we will see if I get the spare time. Keep up the great work Chief!”

Sahal smiled and nodded as she headed off for deflector control.

Michael watched her walk off and continued making his way to the Bridge. Upon his arrival to the Bridge he was greeted by the voice of Ruvok.

“Captain I’m getting an encrypted message. I am not quite sure who or what it is, but I can send it to your ready room.”

Michael stopped with a puzzled look and rubbed his beard. That was not what he was expecting especially as they were docked. “Put it through to my ready room Ruvok.”

Ruvok nodded “It is waiting for you.”

Ryder nodded and headed into his office as he activated the screen he saw black. And heard a voice that seemed to be altered.

“Captain you look well, which is not what I want.”

Michael perked his eye up and replied “Who are you and what do you want?”

The voice laughed and then after a short silence replied “You don’t remember me, do you Captain?”

“You expect me too?” Michael replied back.

The screen suddenly lit up and revealed the person behind the call, which made Ryder’s jaw drop.

“Jonathan? Is that you?” He said in shock.

The man scowled and slammed his fist down “You have a lot of nerve calling me that after leaving me to die. Your own brother…”

Michael shook his head “I did not leave you to die. You did not listen to me.”

“That’s Crap and you know it Mike. Look at me this is your fault! I will repay you for what you’ve done.”

Michael looked closely seeing some major scarring on his brother’s face. He was at a loss for her words but tried to say something. “I can’t believe you’re blaming me for this. I am just shocked you’re alive. Relieved would be a good word to use.”

Jonathan sneered “Oh yeah I’m sure. Say what you want Michael, but this is your fault and I will make sure you get what you deserve.”

The image cut and Michael slowly sat down trying to process what just occurred, when the door chimed and brought him back to reality.

“Come in.” He replied.

The door slid open and Savik stood there in the doorway with a smile on her face and a new confidence that Michael had not seen.

“Our lady is ready and raring to go, Captain.” Savik delivered the news smoothly, but held a pride in her tone that betrayed her new found connection to the ship. “The Tesla is prepped for whatever lies ahead. Did you receive new orders in your meeting?” Savik’s eyes narrowed as she took in the Captain’s appearance, noting the lines creasing his forehead and a slight tension in his demeanor. “Are you well, sir?” her tone quickly changed to one of uncertainty and concern.

“I’m ok, not something I want to discuss right now, but we have something else to discuss. Our next mission is going to take us into the Delta Quadrant near the Barzan Wormhole. We have been tasked to survey an M class planet than go from there. I was told this should be a simple survey mission, which I feel will not be the case. Do you have any questions or concerns before I continue?”

“What planet are we headed for, Captain, and why do you believe the mission will not be simple?” Savik questioned.

“The planet’s name is Ryex and it’s not really that I don’t believe it won’t be simple. It’s the fact that I have dealt with situations like this before. I have learned you never underestimate the mission or the possibility of danger.” Michael replied informatively.

“Understood,” Savik nodded in agreement. “Hope for the best and plan for the worst. We will make sure the Tesla is ready for whatever may come.”

Michael nodded as he realized his second in command was learning quickly which he was proud of. Savik had started off rocky, but he respected her opinion and she had to learn the way he liked things to be done.

“That’s right! Well the mission is supposed to be a simple survey mission. Land on the planet and explore. After exploration is complete we move to the next cluster of planets. We will be in constant contact with Commodore Bennett. Any other questions?”

“I believe that covers everything, sir.”

“Very well then let’s go and brief the crew before departure with the entire Task Force.”

Michael led the way out of the office and headed for the conference room to meet with his senior staff to discuss what came next.

To Be Continued….

The low murmuring of voices silenced as Ryder and Savik entered the conference room. The senior staff of the Tesla was already gathered around the large hologram table, waiting to be instructed on their upcoming mission. Savik took her seat at the right-hand side of the captain’s chair and began tapping on the controls to bring up an image of the M-class world Ryex.

“Delta Quadrant,” Dorner quietly stated in recognition. “Close to the Barzan wormhole.”

Tahir was listening closely to the others, but decided to just see where the conversation was to go. He had learned sometimes it was best to just keep his comments or opinions to himself.

Riru Sareth who sat next to Tahir just gave a loud snort, seemingly unimpressed by their Chief Flight Officer’s uncanny ability to recognize a planet’s origin simply from a holographic image. 

“Delta quadrant worlds generally have distinctive properties making them fairly easy to identify,” the El-Aurian humbly shrugged it off, choosing not to acknowledge the derisive noise that had come from Sareth’s nose. 

Savik continued to throw up the rest of the information the Voyager scans had gathered on the planet Ryex.

“Captain Ryder has received the details for our next assignment from Commodore Bennet, a survey mission to an M-class planet called Ryex in the Delta Quadrant,” Savik informed them.

Amanda had been ignoring the other conversations in the room trying to focus only on what the command of the ship had to say. Having a chance to ask a question she began “My first question is do we know what we are surveying exactly?”

Savik turned to their Captain for the answer to this question.  

Michael had really began to trust his crew and allowed them to talk before the briefing, but as they quieted down he began to listen to Tia start the brief. He had decided to let her lead as to give her a chance to really get settled in her new position. When he was deferred too he nodded and replied “Truthfully Amanda we’re not sure of what we are surveying, but that’s part of the fun.”

“Since little to nothing is known of this planet we will need to be prepared for anything,” Savik agreed. “From what the Voyager picked up as they were flying by, there was some strange interference with some of the readings from their scans. No life forms were positively detected, but there seemed to be some sort of anomalies that affected the readings, so it is uncertain how accurate these readings are. Since the planet is M-class, it is entirely possible we may meet some indigenous species native to the planet. It is assumed if there are any life forms on the planet, they are likely not to be highly advanced or we would have had some form of contact with them during our travels.”

Ruvok decided to ask the obvious question, but the most logical. “So this mission is purely us exploring the planet looking for lifeforms or proof of civilization?”

Savik nodded in agreement. “Yes, our mission is purely exploratory to gather intel and research. If there are indigenous species on the planet, we will try our best to steer clear of them to avoid any possible contamination of their natural civilization.” 

Michael nodded with the information given by Tia. “Correct we will not contaminate the planet or change the natural order of things. You all know the Prime Directive. We will follow it.”

“Any further questions?” Savik looked around the table to see if anyone would speak up but the senior members of the Tesla seemed content with the briefing. Savik noted Sareth’s fingers drumming an impatient tempo on the surface of the table and decided to wrap things up. “If that’s it, then everyone will report to your stations and ensure the ship and crew are prepped for travel.”

Moments later, Savik had completed her rounds and finished inspecting every station to her satisfaction. She stepped on the bridge with a sweeping glance around to make sure everything was in order. 

Michael looked at Tia upon his arrival back to the bridge after stopping by the bar to talk to Felicity for a moment. “What’s the status?”

“The Tesla is prepared for departure, Captain,” Savik updated him.

“Excellent! Has the course been plotted Dorner?” Ryder asked.

“A course has been plotted, Sir,” Dorner answered.

“Is Engineering all set, Sareth?” Ryder questioned.

“Our girl is ready to go,” Sareth responded. 

“Let’s do it!” he ordered.

The ship glided out and whirled into warp. The crew busily checked their screens for operating updates as the Tesla started off on her journey and soon Dorner gave the all clear.

“All systems are reading normal, sir. We should be arriving in the Delta Quadrant in twenty-seven hours.”

Michael nodded and folded his arms behind his back. “Then I leave the bridge in your capable hand Commander Savik.”

The Tesla was smoothly slipping through the galaxy on her way towards Ryex when Savik decided to allow herself a break and drop by to visit an old acquaintance who she heard had just joined the Tesla. Making her way towards the Scarlet Fire Brew House, which was already making a name for itself among the Tesla crew, Savik’s step quickened at the anticipation of once again seeing a friend. Tia didn’t know many people who she would consider a friend, but the lively bartender she had known since the academy who was a good talker and listener as well as someone who knew how to keep a secret, was as close to a friend as Tia could claim. Felicity Bowen had broken through Tia’s prickly defenses with an easy smile and patient demeanor that Tia could not resist. Felicity knew far more about Tia than most, and Tia was comfortable in the knowledge that Felicity would never betray her confidence. Tia prided herself on her ability to read people, and over the years at the academy Felicity became one of few people she trusted with details concerning her private life. 

Tia entered the brew house to find it already bustling with activity, several officers seated at the wooden tables and lined up along the bar, enjoying a brief respite as the Tesla was auto locked on course. Tia approached the bar in time to overhear Riru Sareth cut off Franklin Dorner as he seemed to be discussing how the Barzan wormhole sometimes caused strange anomalies on planets in close proximity.

“You know, if you listen really closely you can hear the sound of me not caring,” the sassy little engineer cut him short and with a swish of her ponytail she turned away from the bar. 

Franklin grinned with a short laugh, showing nothing other than amusement at Riru’s rude behavior. 

Tia’s teeth biting into her lower lip displayed her displeasure, but she held her tongue till the Chief Engineer had left.

“Why do you put up with her attitude?” Savik questioned the laid back Chief Flight Officer. “I would think it would take just once to put her in her place and she wouldn’t continue to disrespect you so.”

Franklin Dorner only grinned. “Other people’s attitudes fail to affect me,” he stated calmly. “I’ve realized the only attitude I can truly control is my own.”

Tia allowed these words to sink in, realizing she somewhat envied his relaxed demeanor. 

“Besides, she’s still young,” Franklin brushed off the issue.

“Aren’t we all young in your eyes?” Tia pointed out.

“Some act younger than others,” Franklin informed her with a warm smile.

With a raise of her brows and a shrug, Tia gave a silent agreement to this statement. Then her annoyance at their spitfire of an engineer faded as she caught a flash of red hair and spotted Felicity making her way back to the bar. 

Felicity had been very busy lately and the bar had been one of the more popular areas on the ship now. She had been so busy she didn’t pay attention to the current argument happening, but the glance of the orion at the bar had her quickly make her way back to behind the bar.

Tia’s eyes lit up and a smile brightened her normally serious features. “It’s good to see you, Lissy. It’s been too long.”

“Hi T, it’s been far too long since we have talked. I didn’t know you got a command position here until the position was shown to me.” She smiled before filling the drink order next to Tia.

“Oh I know,” Tia answered with wide eyes. “I have so much to fill you in on since the last time we met.” Tia noticed that Felicity seemed busy with all the customers currently in the bar and didn’t want to monopolize the time of the bartender. “We really need to catch up sometime when you’re free. Let me know and we can meet up and talk.”

“I will make some time on my schedule and let you know. Can I offer you a drink? Perhaps the usual old fashioned?” Felicity asked, knowing Tia’s regular order from the past.

“Yea, I’ll take an old fashioned,” Tia accepted her offer for a drink. 

“Coming right up.” She said as she turned to begin mixing the drink. 

Tia’s eyes scanned the crowd at the bar as Felicity struck up a conversation with another regular at the bar while she mixed Tia’s drink. 

The brew house was filled with officers and enlisted alike, everyone enjoying this taste of home aboard the Tesla. Tia figured that Felicity would do well here, with the Scarlet Fire offering a niche service that most other places could not provide. 

“Here you go T!” She said as she handed the glass to Tia with the very popular drink.

“Thanks,” Tia thanked her with a smile. She had just picked up her drink to take a sip of the smooth concoction when she felt a lurch of the ship that almost knocked her from her barstool. 

Sirens began to blare and immediately everyone in the bar began to check their comms. Franklin gave Tia a knowing look from a little way down the bar and with a short nod they both headed for the bridge. 

When they arrived on the bridge, most of the senior staff had already relieved the secondary crew, and Franklin Dorner’s fill-in gladly stepped to the side to allow the more senior officer to resume his position at the helm. Franklin bent over the console where Riru was already busily attempting to assess the situation.

“What is going on?” Michael asked upon his quick arrival to the bridge.

He had been trying to get some reports done when the ship lurched, throwing his reports everywhere. 

The small crease of skin between the brows of their Chief Engineer betrayed her confusion at the readings she was receiving, and she hesitated to respond. A speechless Sareth was not something they were accustomed to, and it was Dorner who fulfilled the Captain’s request for information.

“The readings are nothing I’ve seen before, Captain. But it seems the Tesla is caught in a forcefield that is now controlling the ship’s trajectory. The field was powerful enough to drop us out of warp and is now pulling us towards the planet at a slow but steady pace.”

“Are the engines struggling as well?” he asked, looking around the bridge.

“The engines are giving it all they have and we can’t break free,” Riru answered. “But it’s funny,” Riru gave a shake of her head. “It doesn’t seem to be any sort of man-made force field and I can’t find a way to counter it.”

“Is it possible that it’s a natural anomaly caused by the Barzan wormhole?” Tia asked, recalling the information she had just gathered from their Chief Flight Officer in the bar.

Riru pursed her lips together, also reminded of how she had just brushed off Dorner’s voluntary lesson concerning such an incident. 

“It’s possible, Commander Savik,” Franklin answered. “And if that is the case then we may be in serious trouble. Such a naturally occurring phenomenon will be impossible to predict and we have no way of knowing how to counter act.”

“We do not want the ship to crash on the planet! We need to make sure that the ship stays in orbit.” he ordered.

“It looks like it is drawing us into a heavily wooded valley on the planet. Our scans say the area is uninhabited, but much of the data we are getting seems to be corrupted due to this force field, so there is no way to be certain,” Franklin answered. 

“And we may be in for a rough landing if I can’t get the engines to counter some of the pull from this force field,” Riru added. 

“Is it possible we are being strategically drawn in by an unknown enemy to some sort of trap?” Tia voiced her concerns aloud. 

Franklin shook his head in the negative and began to answer. “It seems unlikely-,” he began to explain but Riru cut him off as they started to speak at about the same time. 

“There’s no way this force is man-made,” she stated confidently. “Any designed energy barrier would have some sort of pattern in the particles and emit a consistent level of density throughout the field, but this is all random.”

Several more alarms began to blare and Riru’s face grew darker. The engineer busily began to swipe her fingers deftly across the screen, but her features were grave as the bells continued to ring. 

“Report!” he ordered trying to stay calm at the chaos unveiling around him. 

“The force is growing stronger. Still pulling at a steady rate but it’s beginning to exert a large amount of force on the ship itself,” Riru updated them. 

Tia broke away from the Captain’s side to step forward and lean over the console with Riru, examining the readings coming from the engineering console. 

Tia turned to the Captain, her features calm but innerly her heart was in turmoil. “Captain, the atmospheric pressure outside seems to be growing the closer we get to the surface. It’s beginning to crush the ship inward. We have no way of knowing if we will even make it to the ground in one piece.”

Michael’s heart leaped to his throat and he began to look at every option. He immediately started combing through the past experiences. As he began to try and build a plan the ship stopped. He looked at the display. The ship had been released but it was currently disabled above the planet. 

“What is going on?” he thought.

TBC…

((Aboard shuttle 3))

Tia surveyed the ground swiftly passing beneath them as they skimmed over the surface of the planet. From the sky, Ryex looked to be very similar to earth in some aspects, boasting lush greenery and rolling hills with thick forests that occasionally broke into wide-open fields. The planet was a beautiful one from her position in the air, but she wondered what untold secrets were being hidden within its vast and unexplored plains. They had already spent most of the day traveling at a snail’s pace to make passes back and forth to provide cover for the ground crew before Tia decided to take the shuttle on ahead a little ways to check on the location of the life signs.

“Coming up on the grid reference for those life signs,” the master chief spoke up.

Tia heard the chair behind her creak and saw the doctor leaning forward to peer out the window with a searching gaze. Tia had initially been surprised at the Bajoran doctor’s appearance, but as she studied the medical professional she appreciated the woman’s confident bearing and well-built physical form for someone so slight. The doctor handled herself in a way that gave Tia the impression she would be able to handle herself well during high-stress situations and severe combat. Tia’s eyes turned back to the terrain beneath them as the shuttle broke the crest of a hill to look down on a sprawling village in the open plains of the valley below.

“Looks like we got natives,” Richardson observed. 

“I’ll update the Captain,” Tia murmured as she leaned over the console. Pressing a button she hailed the bridge of the Tesla. “Come in Tesla, this is Shuttle Three.”

Franklin hadn’t been doing much when the call came through from the XO. He usually wouldn’t answer the transmission, but the Captain had wanted him to monitor for the XO. “This is the Tesla what do you need Commander?”

“Is the captain on the bridge?” Tia wanted to verify that the CO would hear the transmission.

Michael was sitting in the Captain’s chair observing the situation around them the ship was stuck and though he had been trying to discover a solution currently he was waiting for Savik to check in. He smirked as she asked for him. “I am here Commander report.”

“Captain Ryder, we have observed signs of an intelligent life form on the planet. There’s a village at grid reference 12SUF98600687, close to the river and approximately nine and a half clicks due east of the Tesla’s location.”

“You know the orders do not do anything that will not follow the Prime Directive. That being said maybe observe and see who they’re as we do not know this area.” Michael said sternly.

“Copy that,” Tia confirmed, cutting off the transmission with the Tesla. 

Richardson was just circling back to take the shuttle down for a closer pass over the inhabited area when they heard the faint sound of a boom in the distance and felt an aftershock that shook the shuttle in the air.

“What was that?”

Almost immediately after, the comms crackled to life and Lieutenant Chung’s voice was heard shouting over the channel. “Shuttle 3! Shuttle 3! Ground team’s been hit! Taking heavy fire! Request immediate evac!”

“Ground team, confirm your position,” Tia requested over the comms as Richardson was already turning the shuttle about.

“Position is totally bullocks!” The response came back.

“No worries, mate.” Richardson pulled up the screen to display their beacon. “I got your location. Exfil inbound.”

Richardson seemed tense as he sped the shuttle back in the direction of the ground team, but he controlled his rising adrenaline well and maintained a steady hand on the controls of the aircraft. Tia glanced at the doctor to see how she was handling the stress of upcoming conflict and found the junior grade lieutenant leaned back in her seat, bag in hand, calmly waiting for the moment when her skills would be required.

“Prepare for a hot exfil,” Richardson warned them both.

As they neared the location of the ground team’s beacon, Tia could see the occasional streak of phaser fire through the foliage below, but much of the devastated ground beneath them was covered in billows of black smoke that rose from a tangled mass of fallen trees. The team must have run into a pretty serious set of explosions to cause that much damage. Tia searched for a place where they could land the shuttle in the chaos below to provide support to the ground team, but her uncertainty was short-lived. Suddenly the shuttle was rocked by a heavy blast. Richardson barely managed to maintain control of the aircraft, and immediately began switching the gears to prepare the ship for landing.

“We’ve been hit!” He informed them. “Going down hard!”

Tia pulled the seat harness over her shoulders and saw the doctor follow suit behind her, both of them quickly strapping themselves in. The landing was a whirlwind of blaring alarms and flashing lights as the shuttle protested Richardson’s actions the entire way down. Before Tia knew it, the master chief was flipping the switch to open the rear shuttle doors.

“On me,” Tia called as she pulled her phaser from her belt to hold it up. The master chief grabbed his type 3 phaser from its place by his seat and quickly took up position across from her, his phaser raised and covering the opening door. The doctor unstrapped herself and knelt behind them, her pack in her hands, ready to assist where needed.

The shuttle doors opened to chaos. The screams of wounded men filled the air and the smell of smoke and burning flesh invaded Tia’s nostrils. They immediately began to take phaser fire from multiple directions. Tia returned fire and the flashes to her right signified that the master chief was doing the same. Tia searched the ground before her to find suitable cover, prepared to press forward to push the enemy back so they could gain enough ground to recover their wounded, but it was Richardson who moved first.

“Moving!” he shouted out and Tia quickly switched her phaser to a multiple beam spread to provide cover.

The master chief charged down the ramp to slide behind a fallen tree, taking up position and quickly resuming his steady suppressive fire on the enemy.

“Wait here till the ground is secure,” Tia shouted over her shoulder at the crouched doctor, before yelling out to the master chief. “Moving!” she informed him. Richardson kept the enemy combatants pinned down with steady cover fire as Tia ran out to his position to leap over the fallen tree he had stationed himself behind and press forward to advance on their enemy. Once she had taken up position behind an outcropping rock, she then resumed firing.

“Covering! Push! Push!” she updated the master chief on her position and she heard him shout out from behind her.

“Moving!”

In this manner they slowly advanced on the enemy, cutting down several of their foes as they pressed forward to push the attackers back. A few soldiers who had not taken significant damage during the attack rallied behind them and began to assist in the effort to defend their position.

Tia could barely make out their attackers in the thick underbrush, only catching the occasional glimpse of a quickly moving form before they disappeared. Every once in a while she would hear a yell as a Starfleet phaser beam made contact with the enemy, but the wounded opponent was then protected as a rain of fire hailed down upon the Starfleet officers, and Tia was forced to take cover before being able to advance on the injured foe’s position. She had hoped to take one alive to determine their adversary’s identity and motive but their rival’s current tactics thwarted her plans. Once she saw that the tide was turning and they seemed to have their enemy on the run, she made plans to pull back.

“We need a hostage!” she shouted over to Richardson who had remained close to her throughout the firefight. “I’m going to assist the doc!”

He pulled his lips back in a face that clearly stated he would rather give every one of their antagonists a quick phaser beam to the head, but his mouth professed submission. “Copy that, boss!”

Tia waited for Richardson to lead the team past her location and then she turned back to make her way down the hillside to where the doctor was currently assisting those wounded by the blast. The doc and a few of the soldiers who had not been badly injured by the blast had managed to move the more severely injured men beneath a rough outcropping of rocks hanging from the side of a cliff that provided some sort of rough cover. Tia counted two wounded soldiers who were assisting the doctor and four men who lay incapacitated on the ground. With six of their men down that was half the team she had brought.

“Report,” she requested an update from one of the officers who was assisting in moving the injured men.

The soldier quickly came to attention. “One KIA, three immobilized, two out of action, the remaining six suffered minor injuries. One of the immobilized is Lieutenant Chung.”

Tia scanned the disabled soldiers to find the Lieutenant laying with his back propped up against a rock, tightly holding his belt as a tourniquet around the upper thigh of his right leg. He sucked in a deep breath and straightened as the XO approached him. She admired his resolve to maintain a professional attitude despite his current situation, and her features softened as she crouched down to speak with him at his eye level.

“How you doing, Lieutenant?” she asked in a gentle tone that was not compliant with her usual sharp cadence.

“Having a bloody good time,” he responded with a light tone and a forced laugh. “One of the men tripped an explosive device. Took him out immediately and wounded a few others. We began taking fire from multiple xrays. Barely held ’em  off till you came.”

“Master Chief Richardson and a few men are pushing the enemy back. We’re gonna get you and your team out of here,” Tia didn’t believe the words as she spoke them, but she forced the confidence into her tone. However, the Junior Grade Lieutenant was not one to be propped up by false hope. Glancing over to the downed shuttle he called her bluff.

“Doesn’t look like the bird will be going anywhere anytime soon,” he recognized. “If this planet houses a hostile life force, it’s your duty first and foremost to warn the rest of the crew, regardless of who you may have to leave behind.”

“We leave no one behind.” This time Tia was not bluffing, and the Lieutenant knew better than to question it.

 *******

When Richardson returned with his group, Tia was inspecting the damage to the shuttle. The Master Chief set his crew of six up around the doctor’s location, and after checking in on Lieutenant Chung he approached the busy XO.

“Can you get her back up and running?” he asked as he stepped onto the ramp. The addition of his weight on the ramp caused the entire shuttle to shift with an echoing moan that left both Richardson and Tia standing on uncertain feet.

“Oh, I doubt she’ll be running anytime soon,” Tia informed him, holding up a halting palm that warned him not to make any further sudden movements. “But if I can just get the comms up I’ll be happy with that.”

“Call the Tesla for backup?”

“And warn them of a potential attack,” Tia added. “If there’s a hostile force on this planet, home base needs to know of it.”

“Copy that.”

The familiar phrase brought back Tia’s memory of her previous orders. “Did you get me a hostage?” she asked.

A quick intake of breath sucked from between tightly compressed teeth betrayed the answer before he spoke it. “Couldn’t quite manage that, boss. They’re wily this bunch.”

“Understood.” Tia couldn’t help but convey her disappointment. She had hoped to be able to provide some sort of tangible intel for the Tesla concerning the enemy they now faced. She continued to pull wires from the control panel which had taken a direct hit from a phaser beam and attempted to sort through the tangled mess to determine what materials could be used to repair the damaged comms. Their short-range personal comms would work among their group, but without the comms aboard the shuttle, they would not have the range to reach the Tesla.

She heard the Master Chief let out a sigh and glanced over to see him turn away to scan the skyline. “You got a plan for the team?” he asked her frankly. He knew all too well what they both realized. The top priority was to warn the Tesla of imminent danger, but beyond that, getting the wounded soldiers back to the home base would likely prove difficult.

“Working on it,” Tia informed him as she mulled over the problem in the back of her mind.

“You realize that village we spotted earlier is far closer than the Tesla,” he stated the obvious.

“And they could also be responsible for the attack we just repelled,” she countered.

He shrugged and chewed on his lower lip before shaking his head slowly. “I don’t think so.” He sounded far from certain but they needed some sort of plan. “They didn’t seem to be coming from the direction of the village and they didn’t head that way when they cleared out,” he surmised.

Tia nodded her head as she processed this information. Rising from where she had been laying on her back beneath the flight deck, she brushed her hands off on her pants. “Well I’m afraid I don’t have the necessary materials to fix these comms,” she stated. “So we are on our own till we get word back to the Tesla.”

The Chief nodded, realizing how that changed their position.

“If the doc says she can patch up the wounded enough to move, then we’ll give her as much time as we can before heading back to home base. I’d prefer that we stay together in case of another attack. But if the doc says we can’t move them before nightfall, then we’ll have to send a small force ahead to warn the Tesla while the rest of us remain back to protect the wounded.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Richardson accepted, hopping off the shuttle ramp to head for some rocks he had spotted which provided a good vantage point over the area.

 *******

Moments later, Tia was receiving not so pleasurable news from the medical professional.

“We may be able to move a few of them before sundown, but certainly not those two.” The doctor nodded her head in the direction of two soldiers who remained unconscious on the ground. “If we try moving them that much of a distance without at least giving them till sunup tomorrow then they won’t make it.”

“XO, we got inbound,” Richardson called to her from his perch in the rocks above them.

The doctor’s visage was grim as her eyes met Tia’s. Were their attackers coming back for another round?

Tia quickly made her way to meet with the Master Chief who was crawling to a better vantage point and the other unwounded crewmen moved to follow suit. Crouching down, she slid through the rocks to his position behind a fallen tree. The Master Chief pulled up his TR-116 and resting the barrel against the tree he peered down the scope to determine the identity of the group. Tia pulled her binoculars from a pocket in her vest to do the same. Tia’s heart sank as the approaching forms came into focus.

The figure that moved towards them through the underbrush, had his arms raised to signify that he was unarmed and meant no harm as he steadily advanced on their position, but it was the features of his face that instantly killed the XO’s hopes for assistance. The creased and ribbed features of the skin flowing in unique designs across the face made the newcomer’s identity unmistakable.

She heard John swear under his breath.

“They’re damn Hirogen,” he spit out.

“I can see that, Richardson. But they’re signifying that they’re unarmed, so I think we should hear them out.” The XO’s neck was strained as she stated this opinion, realizing that regardless of the race’s penchant for homicide, they had little choice but to parlay with the approaching group. 

The Master Chief swore again but realized the same as her. With the wounded ground crew unable to move and their current position being indefensible, they were out of options.

Sirens continued to blare on the bridge of the Tesla as the ship lay stranded above the now seemingly dormant planet.

“What the hell?” Riru seemed to voice what everyone on the bridge was thinking. She began scrolling through an endless list of alarms and readings, attempting to decipher the gibberish, but she had never seen readings quite like this before.

“What is going on? Someone report.” Michael said clearly agitated. 

“It seems as though whatever had a hold of us decided to let the Tesla go,” she reported. “But we are dead in the water.”

“How were we immobilized by a force field?” the XO questioned.

“It’s hard to say for sure, but it seems like it’s somehow blocking the reaction between deuterium and antideuteriam in the dilithium crystal matrix. M/ARA’s completely out of juice.”

“So it disabled or siphoned the antimatter in the warped core? I’ve never even heard of anything that could do that.” Tia was perplexed. 

“It didn’t siphon the antimatter,” Riru clarified as she continued to inspect the readings on her screen. “But it seems to have broken down the chemical makeup of the antideuteriam. Until we find a way to recharge the particles in the pods we aren’t going to have warp capabilities.”

“And to perform a quantum recharge would require us to let down the magnetic containment field.” Tia surmised.

Riru threw their XO a glance that held a mixture of surprise and respect, a rare look for the Chief Engineer. She was unused to having someone else understand the complexity of a warp core’s mechanics and fully appreciated Lieutenant Savik’s knowledge of engineering matters.

“And the impulse engine ?” Tia questioned.

“Our deuterium pump took some damage. Till it’s repaired we’ve got nothing.” Riru shook her head in frustration. “We are down to basic thrusters and even half of those aren’t operational at the moment.”

Michael listened closely trying to make sense of what happened to his ship. The whole situation troubled him. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t make a determination of what it was. He had never heard of the same situation in any prior ships. He looked at his XO. 

“Commander please go and pull up any files that seem similar to this incident. I feel like there’s more to this.” He paused before speaking again. 

“Copy that, Sir.” The deep creases in Savik’s brow betrayed that she too was curious as to how such havoc had been wrecked upon the Tesla. 

“Frank do you think you can get us to the planet’s surface…safely?”

Their chief flight officer slowly nodded his head, his features calm and thoughtful as he considered. “I believe I can safely maneuver the ship to the planet’s surface with what little thruster capabilities we have,” he affirmed.

“Slow and Steady.” 

“Yes, sir,” Frank responded smoothly, turning from the CO to focus his full attention on the controls before him.

“Code Blue! All stations prepare for landing.” He ordered as the bridge was bathed in blue. 

After the captain had called the code blue, the first officer then began circling the bridge and handing out orders. “Lieutenant Sareth, ensure Dorner has as much thruster capabilities as possible and get to ensure the landing struts and inertial dampeners are operational. Lieutenant Commander Kra’vaak, please get what you can from the scans to see where we will be putting down. If we are headed into more trouble it would be best to know in advance. Lieutenant Kennedy, ensure we have a team on standby for landing. The ground needs to be secured the moment we put down. We don’t want any more surprises.” Tia’s face was taut as she turned back to the flight bay, observing Franklin Dorner’s carefully calculated manipulation of the controls. They would have a rocky road ahead of them working to repair the damage to the ship with what limited resources this unknown planet likely had to offer, but for the moment she pushed these future issues to the back of her mind as she focused on the issue at hand. No sense worrying about repairing the ship till Dorner got them safely to the ground.

The chief flight officer’s deft fingers handled the controls of the conn with the skill of one intimately familiar with the flight control station. His calm demeanor almost made the task look easy to those watching, but to attempt a planetary landing with minimal thruster capabilities was no easy feat. With the plasma vented and Sareth directing all available power to what few atmospheric thrusters they had available, Dorner commenced landing procedures. Everyone on the bridge held their breath as the descent began. Dorner managed to keep the ship at an acceptable trajectory, but it took every skill he had to maintain the declining glide without sending the Tesla into an uncontrollable spin.

Kra’vaak was not used to the take charge attitude of the XO, but there was something about it he liked. In fact he felt like she had some honor to her. Regardless he scanned the surface and saw they were headed for a clearing. “Well the ship is headed for a clearing, but too short or long and we may all be going to Sto’Vo’Kor.”

Michael gave Kra’vaak a glancing look and returned his gaze to the viewscreen. Franklin was doing well with what little control he had over the ship. Michael still had no idea what was going on, but the uneasy feeling was getting worse by the minute. 

Amanda had immediately prepared teams as she was ordered a quick procedure and some orders later she spoke up. “Capn the away teams are ready ta go.” 

Michael nodded as acknowledgment. 

The chief flight officer then spoke up. “The crew may want to brace for impact. This landing will be rough.”

Michael nodded “Everyone brace!” 

Tia took her seat on the bridge and strapped in. The faces of the crew around her were tense, but every one of them was ready to face whatever may come. The surface of the planet loomed on the screen before them, drawing closer at a rather alarming rate. Tia had only ever experienced planetary landings from the safety of a holodeck, and never even then with a ship that had taken as much damage as the Tesla had. She glanced over to see their chief engineer cross herself and in that moment she was jealous of those who had a god to pray to.

The wooded forest of the planet below grew larger and Dorner gritted his teeth, unable to change their course to look for open ground. They would have a rough landing indeed. As the ship hurtled forward, the harsh branches of several treetops could be heard scraping against the hull. Dorner grimaced but maintained a steady hand on the controls. 

It all became a whirl as the left side of the Tesla struck the ground, careening the ship around and throwing the crew members roughly about in their seats. The loud snapping of metal beams being rent in two penetrated Savik’s ears, and then the ship settled into her bed of broken limbs and uprooted trees with an echoing groan and chilling shudder.

Kra’vaak was the first to speak up. “I think you overshot it, Dorner.” He chuckled as he stood up wiping himself off. 

The Chief Flight officer threw him a grin, thankful for the experienced Klingon’s easy humor in such a tense situation. “Perhaps by just a little,” he good-naturedly acknowledged, glad they were all alive. 

Michael rolled his eyes and grimaced as he stood a sharp pain coming from his shoulder. “Is everyone ok?”

Riru groaned, favoring her right shoulder as she unstrapped herself from her seat to lean forward and inspect the controls. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” she reported.

“That’s an understatement, Chief.” He replied. 

Amanda stood up and surveyed the bridge seeing the once perfect area to be well less than perfect. 

“Captain, should I take a team and scout out the area?” Savik suggested.

Michael thought for a moment. “In most circumstances I’d say no, but this isn’t normal. Prepare a team, but stay in constant contact. That’s an order Commander.”

“Yes, sir,” she nodded her head in agreement and reached up to switch over her earpiece. “Lieutenant Chung, report to me with a team of twelve and a medical officer at shuttle bay three.”

 ((In the shuttle bay))

Tia approached the group of waiting crew members in the shuttle bay, recognizing one member of the team as Master Chief Richardson from her previous encounter with the Klingons. It was somewhat reassuring to see a familiar face after all the chaotic events of the day.

“Chief Richardson, you will accompany me and the doctor aboard the shuttle. We will survey from the air and provide support to Lieutenant Chung’s team who will scout out the area from the ground.” Tia turned to the Lieutenant. “We have some data that was pulled from the ship before we went down. A gathering of life forms was detected to the east of our location. Could be nothing more than a herd of animals, but a little ways past them the terrain shows a valley that may contain a river. If getting the Tesla back to fully operational proves to be a difficult task, we may have need of a freshwater source. You and your men determine if we can forge a safe path to the river and investigate those life signs on the way. Richardson and I will scout ahead with the shuttle and provide support if you run into trouble.”

The Lieutenant gave a quick nod, conveying that he understood the orders. Tia glanced down at the datapad on her wrist to see what doctor had been assigned to this mission.

“Medical Officer Kula?” Tia requested the doctor to identify themselves.

“That’d be me.” A young woman stepped forward and threw a finger up.

“You’re the doc?” Richardson spoke without even thinking, a habit that was customary for him, his eyes running up and down the slight form of the medical professional. Tia had to admit that she shared the master chief’s surprise. Kula was not what she would have expected from someone in medicine, but the Orion female had learned not to judge based on appearance, as people so often did in her own case.

The doctor pushed back a mass of long blonde dreadlocks with a tattoo-covered hand to glance over in the direction of the master chief. “That’s what I said,” she responded with a drawling accent that sounded somewhat like an earth Australian accent, but Tia recognized the cadence as one native to some parts of Bajor.

“Good to have you with us, Doctor Kula.” Tia quickly pulled the conversation back in the direction of professionalism. “Do you need any assistance loading medical supplies on the shuttle?”

“Just got my bag.” The girl tapped the black duffle at her side and Tia nodded in approval.

“Then let’s prepare for departure,” Tia ordered, turning to lead the way into the shuttle.

Lieutenant Chung circled his finger in the air and then pointed it eastward. “You heard the XO, soldiers. Move out,” he commanded. 

(On the Hirogen Ship)

Tidac had been watching carefully as the ship had been trapped by the planet’s little trap. This was hunting grounds and it had been a while since the Federation was the prey. The ship hadn’t detected him or his crew and that made the hunt even better. The ship had hit the planet and according to Tidac’s scouts, it was in bad shape. 

This was the time he had been waiting for. The hunt was about to begin and the prey was about to experience their deaths. Though it wasn’t possible to see the news excited Tidac. As Alpha, he was the one who led the hunt and to start they would began by taking some gullible fresh prey. 

Tia watched the Hirogen male steadily approach their position, his steps slow but unfaltering. A voice at her ear broke her focus on the advancing figure.

“Crewman Jenkins is our fastest runner. Most likely to make it back to the Tesla on his own.” As she heard John voice this information in a low undertone, Tia appreciated his foresight. If they were to fall under attack from this approaching force, this may be their only opportunity to get someone out to warn the crew back at the Tesla.

“Crewman Jenkins,” Tia made a quick decision and softly hailed the soldier over the comms. “Covertly make your way back to the Tesla and provide Captain Ryder with an update. Time is of the essence.” She saw the crew member discretely begin to slide back down the rocky hillside towards the valley below. Then Tia turned back to face their new threat. “You got me covered?” she placed the question to Richardson although she already knew the answer.

“Always,” he assured her.

Tia swallowed hard as she rose to her feet, revealing her position to the Hirogen. The Hirogen halted in its advance, and she raised her hand to display her phaser before shoving it deep into the holster on her thigh. As she stepped forward, the Hirogen followed suit and they both made their way through the field of large boulders. The Hirogen began to draw near and Tia raised her left hand as her right dangled close to the ever-ready sidearm.

“That’s close enough,” she warned him.

The Hirogen lifted both hands and nodded slowly in compliance. “We mean you no harm.”

Tia could not be sure, but she thought it sounded as though the Hirogen was attempting to make his voice sound gentle, though any delicate undertones were lost in the harsh gravelly voice.

“Forgive me for being skeptical, but goodwill is hardly common for your kind,” the XO spoke forcefully, hoping to give the appearance of a much stronger front than her tiny force could realistically muster.

The Hirogen bowed his head in what looked like a gesture of shame, but Tia knew better than to believe every indication of such a ferocious species. “I am Sovto,” the male placed a hand on his chest as he introduced himself. “I and the fellow members of my group only wish to help. We are not like others of our species. There are few of us who do not hold to the old homicidal ways but have accepted that many other species are far too developed to be merely hunted as prey. We have seen that other races can provide insight into useful advances in civilization, and wish to establish relations with any who would be able to accept such an advancement of peace from our kind. As a gesture of goodwill, we extend to you whatever shelter and aid our village can provide,” the Hirogen who called himself Sovto finished this eloquent speech with another deep nod. Ass

“Thanks for the offer, but I think we’ll be fine on our own,” Tia rejected the proffered assistance from the Hirogen leader.

Sovto sighed deeply but opened his mouth to speak again. “Your choice is your own, and if you so desire we will leave you without further interference.”

Tia waited for the other shoe to drop, certain that it would not go quite this easily in negotiations with a Hirogen.

“However,” Sovto continued, “I must warn you that my group is not the only one of our species on this planet, and there are several bands of hunters who traverse these areas often and set many traps like the one your group stumbled upon. If you wish to make your way on your own, I will make no further attempt to asway you from your intentions, but I feel compelled to warn you that you stand little chance of survival if you are to rebuff this extension of a helping hand.”

Tia’s fingernails dug into her palm. She could not discern if these silky words were a genuine offer of abetment or simply a veiled threat, but she knew she needed to choose her next words carefully. She sucked in a deep breath before she spoke.

“Very well.”

A wide smile broke across the rough features of their new associate as she conceded.

“If you are willing to house our wounded till they can be safely moved, then we will accept your hospitality.”

“We gladly welcome you to whatever humble aid we can offer.” The Hirogen was beaming, yet Tia held her reservations.

“Master Chief Richardson!” she called for John to approach.

The crewman warily made his way towards them, refusing to remove his finger from its place at the trigger of his rifle.

“Order the medic to prepare the wounded for transport. We are taking them to the village,” Tia instructed.

“We brought stretchers and bandages with us,” Sovto eagerly spoke.

“We’re going with them?” the question was forced from between tight lips as Richardson refused to let up on the fierce gaze of distrust he had directed towards the scaled creature.

Tia opened her mouth to enforce her orders but it was the Hirogen who spoke first.

“I realize the widely known butchery and carnage of my kind is a difficult stigma to overcome, but if you can find it in your heart to give us a chance, we would like to show you that not all Hirogen are the same.”

The Master Chief only responded to this eloquent plea with a guttural grunt before turning away to head towards the outcropping of rocks where the doctor and wounded crewmen were holed up. Tia moved to follow him. Sovto motioned for his group to approach and hung back as he waited for them.

“A Hirogen pacifist? I’m not buying it.” John placed the question to Tia under his breath once they were out of earshot of the Hirogen.

“Not a bit,” Tia responded in agreement. “But a firefight here with that large of a group will only result in the death of us all. Even if they do mean to betray us, we stand a better chance of some of us making it out alive if we play along for the moment.”

“Understood,” John growled, glancing back over his shoulder to keep an eye on the Hirogen group.

 *******

The doctor took the news without verbal comment, but her eyes spoke volumes as she eyed their would-be benefactors.

“I need to finish up a few more tourniquets before they’re ready to move,” was all the medic said.

“Come on, Doc. Fast would be better than slow.” John snapped his fingers, clearly on edge due to the strain of their situation.

“I’m getting it,” the little doctor shot back in annoyance.

In a short amount of time, the medical professional had finished preparing the wounded crewmembers for transport, and with the assistance of the Hirogen, they had been loaded onto the waiting stretchers.

“Lead the way,” Tia invited Sovto to direct them towards his village.

Hours later they broke through the thick underbrush to look down a rocky hillside upon a sprawling village consisting of houses and shops and surrounded by bountiful farmland. Tia took a moment to study the layout of the town from their vantage point atop a hill to the east of the bustling village. She noted John’s scanning eyes doing the same as he carefully made his way down the hillside with a stretcher in tow.

 *******

John helped carry his wounded friend into the temporary clinic that had been provided by the sympathetic villagers. Akeno released a grunt as he was laid on the wooden table, but the clench of his jaw as he focused his gaze on the roughhewn rafters of the primitive saloon warned John not to comment on the groan of pain.

John gave a quick snap of his fingers without looking and turned his gaze just in time to see the blonde doctor with dreadlocks throw him a glance of annoyance. He returned the glare with a sneer of equal irritation and the doctor spoke after giving John’s patient a quick glance.

“He requires far less attention than some of the patients here. He can wait a minute.”

Richardson, being unused to such off-hand treatment, tensed up and moved to confront the busy little medical professional, but Akeno stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“She’s not wrong,” the wounded friend noted with a glance around the room at the numerous other unfortunate convalescents. John ground his teeth together for a moment, but when his eyes met those of his longtime friend, he relented with a quick nod.

Approaching the preoccupied doctor he asked her, “Anything I can help with?”

“You can hold him still while I remove this shrapnel,” she responded without pause.

Without hesitation, the master chief reached out to pin the writhing patient to the bed as the skilled doctor proceeded to remove the shards of metal from the ribs of the pained individual. John assisted the doctor with several patients before she finally turned her attention to Lieutenant Chung who waited patiently on the table.

“So what got you into medicine, Doc?” Akeno could normally have cared less about the history of a doctor as they operated on him, but he wanted something to keep his mind from the prodding forceps.

“I figured I should know how to fix something if I’m going to break it.” Jovi pushed a blond dread back from her face as she leaned in to locate a piece of shrapnel amongst the torn flesh.

“That’s why you became a medic? So you could fix things that you break, meaning human beings?” Savik’s brows rose at this unorthodox reasoning.

“Yea, that’s pretty much why I studied medicine in the first place.” Jovi gave a slight shrug of her shoulder as she latched onto a particularly large piece of shrapnel and jerked it from Akeno’s leg. Akeno gave a grunt but otherwise betrayed no indication of the pain. Jovi continued to talk as the busy forceps resumed their task. “I figured I owed it to people, if I was going to break them, I should know how to fix them. I don’t think you should inflict damage unless you fully understand the extent of the damage you are inflicting and the repercussions to the person you’re inflicting the harm on. So I studied medicine so I would understand exactly the extent of the damage I was doing. Just a moral thing I guess. Didn’t feel right to hurt someone without knowing how to heal them.”

Savik allowed this new knowledge to sink in as her opinion of the young doctor shifted somewhat. This girl was not a bleeding heart as Savik would have labeled their Chief Medical Officer Al-Assad, but she seemed to be more of a wild card whose conscience had kept her from becoming someone potentially far more dangerous.

John didn’t consider Jovi’s philosophy quite so deeply. “I just point a gun at people and it goes boom.”

“Yes.” Jovi threw the Master Chief a brief smirk. “I’m sure you do.”

The doctor produced a chem-wrap from her bag and pulling off the transparent adhesive she began to carefully apply the bandaging treatment to Akeno’s leg. A wounded crewman began to regain consciousness and started to cry out in pain from a few beds over.

“Is there anything you can give them to keep them quiet?” Tia asked, concerned about the roving party of hunters the village leader had warned them about. Where unfriendly Hirogen to happen close to the town, they would likely overhear such a noise due to their advanced level of hearing.

“It’s not like I brought an endless supply of morphine with me,” Jovi responded.

“I can put them to sleep,” John offered.

“Thanks, but nah,” Jovi quickly shot that idea down, rising from her knees to gather up trash and stuff it into her bag. “I don’t really need either of your help so if you’d like to go play lookout somewhere that isn’t here, that would be great.”

“I’m good here,” John stated with a  shrug.

Jovi’s gaze rose to glare directly at Tia and John. “Well I’m not good with you here, so go be somewhere else.”

John gave a short chuckle and turned to Akeno. “You good?” he asked, looking down at his injured partner.

“Yea, I’ll make it.” Akeno pushed himself to his elbows with a suppressed groan, reaching for his gun belt which hung off the back of a chair to his side. “Get outa here and see what kind of mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

John nodded and looked towards Tia. The XO and Master Chief shared a knowing glance before they moved to depart, both of them sharing the same thought. They needed to question their savior further to determine a strategy moving forward. 

 *******

It was late into the night when Tia rose to her feet to wave her arms about, trying to keep the chill in the air at bay. Sovto had failed to answer her and John’s questions to their satisfaction, instead insisting that they needed rest and pushing further conversation till the next day. So Tia now stood watch outside the darkened tavern, watching for any sign of betrayal on the part of their Hirogen hosts. However, the only sounds that broke the still silence of the night were the occasional groans of the wounded men inside the tavern. Tia sighed as she took a seat on a bench outside the establishment, glancing up to check on John’s position on a rooftop across the street. A short wave of his hand let her know that he was still alert and keeping an eye on her through his scope. She was thankful for his experienced backup on this mission which had turned into so much more than they had expected. She sighed and allowed her head to lean back against the mud wall of the building behind her and her mind wandered to the fate of the crewman they had sent out to warn the crew of the Tesla. She only hoped Jenkins had been able to make it through, and that the Tesla was already bustling with activity as Captain Ryder prepared a group for dispatch.

Tia and John got no rest that night, and as daybreak broke over the sleeping village, Tia was thankful that the night had proven uneventful. The XO was dragging as she notified the doctor she would be going out to speak with Sovto and then crossed the street to meet John who was making his way down from his overhead perch. The Master Chief came bounding down the stairs to meet her with his rifle strap slung over a burly shoulder. With a short nod and wide grin as greeting, the strapping figure lifted his arms wide and leaned back till a resounding crack was heard from his back.

“Aaaaahhhhh!” he expelled a loud sigh as he relaxed from his stretch. “I’m giving this hotel a one-star rating,” he groaned. “Their beds are terrible.”

Tia rolled her eyes and jerked her head in a motion for him to follow her. He fell in step next to her as she started down the road in search of the village leader. “You seem perky.” Although annoyed by his seemingly boundless energy, she found his unrelenting canty attitude to be contagious.

“I’ve certainly had better sleepless nights when watching a woman’s back,” he stated with a devilish grin accompanied by a twinkle in his eye. “But we’re still alive so I can’t complain.”

Tia was glad to see Sovto approaching them from across the village square. It seemed a good sign that the Hirogen leader would seek them out rather than make them search for him.

“Good morning,” Sovto greeted them with a low bow as he drew near.

“Good morning to you also.” Tia returned the bow politely, but John simply chose to hook his thumbs into his belt as he eyed the Hirogen with a narrow gaze. Tia opened her mouth to speak further but Sovto had turned away from them before she could speak, inviting them to follow him with a wave of his hand.

“I would be honored to take you on a tour of the village.” His excitement shone through his polite and reserved tone.

Tia bit her tongue but fell into step beside him, noting the beaming smile on the face of their host. It was a strange expression to see on the rough features of a Hirogen, and she determined to simply spend some time in observation as she attempted to discern the character of the town leader.

Sovto kept the conversation light as he introduced them to the layout of the valley hamlet, leading them through the village square to display their numerous shops with diverse wares and detailing the foundation of commerce in the village. Tia noted that he asked them no questions regarding the size of their force or the location of the Tesla, and as the conversation progressed, she began to wonder if perhaps they had achieved what no one would have previously thought possible. Perhaps they had stumbled upon a group of pacifist Hirogen who would help to establish a revolutionary peace with a race that had solely been seen as a scourge upon the civilized galaxy. 

But Tia’s hopes were short-lived as their tour of the charming town was cut short by a figure racing down the street towards the small group. John’s hand quickly moved to his gun as the Hirogen raced towards them, and Sovto quickly stepped forward to meet the approaching figure. 

“What is wrong?” the village leader pressed the messenger. 

The breathless Hirogen struggled to catch his breath “A hunting party is approaching. It’s Tidac’s men.”

Before the messenger had finished delivering the news of approaching Hirogen hunting party, John’s sidearm was in his hand, his unamused eyes glaring down the barrel at the Hirogen village leader. A taunt finger was lightly resting on the trigger of the phaser, waiting eagerly for the order from his commander to take vengeance on their betrayer.

Sovto’s form stiffened but he made no attempt to go for his own weapon, instead, holding up a calming hand to dissuade the surrounding Hirogen villagers from taking action in defense of their leader. Sovto calmly turned his focus back to Tia.

“The hunters will doubtless search the village. You must get your crewmen out while you still can. If you allow, I will assign a team to assist with the wounded.”

“How did they know we were here?” Tia voiced the obvious question.

Sovto sighed deeply. “A lack of trust was to be expected, but I promise you, they do not know you are here. It is likely that their search for you has led them here, but I trust every member of this village and I vow to you with the surety of a man who does not give his word lightly, that no one here has betrayed you.”

John took a step closer to the beseeching governor, the ready phaser separating the distance between the two combatants. “The hunters will think twice if we have a high ranking hostage,” John spoke to Tia, choosing to ignore Sovto’s eloquent plea.

Sovto turned his eyes on John to throw the master chief a slightly nettled glance. “I assure you, I would be of no value as a hostage. The hunters of Tidac have no love for me.”

John’s jaw clenched and his fingers tightened around his phaser’s grip. The Hirogen governor calmly stared down the barrel of the phaser, refusing to be rattled by the menacing weapon.

“Richardson,” the XO reigned him in. “Let’s head back and get the crew ready to move.”

Out of respect for the seasoned soldier, she neglected to put the statement in the form of an order and John knew better than to argue with the chain of command. Yet the glowing coals of fire in the master chief’s gaze did not relent as he lowered his weapon.

“Governor Sovto,” Tia’s polite tone sounded forced. “We appreciate your offer of assistance but my team and I can manage the exfil on our own.” Tia could not hide the coldness in her tone. She was still not certain of the Hirogen leader’s role in all this, but she could hardly find it in her to be warm towards him considering their circumstances.

Sovto turned to her with a confusing expression on his face. Being unfamiliar with the Hirogen she found it difficult to read the small intricacies of their facial expressions, yet she detected a hint of sorrow in his tone when he spoke.

“Hopefully we may speak again under better circumstances. My people and I will do what we can to keep the hunters from pursuing you.”

“Thank you,” Tia ended the conversation quickly, abruptly turning about to head back towards the tavern with her waiting crew. They needed to move quickly to put as much distance between them and the bloodthirsty Hirogen hunting party.

“You think this is the best route?” John asked in a low tone as they departed the village square.

Tia pondered for a moment as she considered the motivation behind her decision. At times she found it difficult to explain her thought process as quick decisions sometimes required a purely instinctual act, but she had learned even instinct was based on a complex process of discerning through observation.

“Based on the way he reacted to the news and his manner when introducing us to the village, I believe there is a large probability that his intentions to overcome the stigma of the Hirogen are in earnest. Whereas there seems to be a very high chance that taking him hostage would end badly for everyone involved.”

“So after careful calculation, you think our odds are better trying to make our way back to the Tesla?” John surmised.

“I believe so.”

John gave a shake of his head with pursed lips but voiced his support. “I’m with you.”

They entered the tavern to find Jovi bent over the head of a passed-out patient. The master chief did not mince words and cut directly to the point.

“We have a Hirogen hunting party inbound. We’ve gotta get this show on the road.”

Jovi gave a shake of her head. “I’m right in the middle of draining the access cerebral fluid from this man’s skull.”

“How long?” Tia pressed.

“Ten more minutes,” the busy medic supplied.

“Well, we have enemies closing in. You need to wrap this up, Doc,” John urged her to hurry.

“I am literally performing brain surgery in a tavern with the most rudimentary materials,” Jovi shot back without breaking stride.

“If you could just finish up sometime before next week, I’d really appreciate that,” John threw this comment at her before heading back out the door to secure their exit route.

Jovi’s only response was a short and mirthless laugh, refusing to look up or be distracted from her task.

“Lieutenant JG Chung,” Tia addressed the officer. “Are you well enough to command the unit?”

Chung pulled himself up to sit straight in his chair. “I may not be the strongest in a firefight,” he noted, “but I can see that orders are carried out and get the crew back safe.”

“Good.” That was all Tia needed to hear. She knew due to the Lieutenant’s injury he would not be spearheading an assault but she trusted his level-headed judgment to make the best decisions necessary to get the team back. She leaned in to speak with him softly. “I don’t trust the villagers not to betray our route. Head south before cutting back to the west to return to the Tesla. Do all you can to cover your tracks. John and I will remain back to cover your retreat. We will do what we can to give you time should the hunting party head after you.”

“Understood.”

 ********

Tia and John escorted the team out of the village and remained with them for a short distance before cutting to the east for a way, careful to leave a prominent trail in their wake. The long shadows of dusk had begun to stretch across the valley when they finally cut back to return to the village. Approaching a building on the outskirts of the town, Tia peered around the corner, her phaser type 3 poised and ready for action.

Tia felt a light tap on her right shoulder and knew John had taken up position. Gliding across the alleyway to hug the wall on the opposite sides, she began to make her way towards the village square. John rounded the corner behind her and hugging the opposite wall he walked backward keeping his weapon trained on their six, staying abreast of her as she moved down the alley. She greatly appreciated his combat training and his ability to move as a team. There were not many soldiers she found it so easy to fall into such a rhythm with, but he made these movements seem smooth and effortless.

Tia pressed her back against the wall to face John as they neared the end of the alley where it met a larger street that led directly to the market square. John turned to do the same and Tia crouched low so he would have a clear view of the street behind her as they both leaned to the side to inspect the pathway.

John gave her a short nod as he surveyed the street over her shoulder, notifying her that the street at her back was clear.

She returned the nod to signify the same. With her right hand, she motioned down the street behind him and he followed her direction, slipping around the corner to make his way down the street.

Tia followed close behind him, turning back every so often to check behind and scan the rooftops above, but the streets remained clear. As they neared the square they began to hear voices, the strained arguing growing louder the closer they got.

They reached the corner of the building where the edge of the street opened into the market and John lowered the barrel of his gun as he slowly crept to the corner to peer into the square. Tia marveled at the way such a large form could move with such cat-like stealth, sinking into the shadows like a ghost you would barely catch with the corner of your eye.

The voices in the square-cut through the chilly night air with stark clarity, and Tia could clearly hear the Hirogen commander questioning the village leader.

“Where are the outsiders? We know you are hiding them?”

“They’re not here,” Sovto answered.

Tia saw John’s bicep tense as his hand slid subtlety back to rest on the handle of his sidearm. She knew if the village leader attempted to betray the location of the fleeing team members then he would do so with his dying breath.

“They came several days ago and we turned them away. They headed east towards the river,” Sovto lied. “We would not be so foolish as to assist your prey.”

Sovto reeled as the Hirogen hunter struck him across the mouth. “You lie!” the huntsman spit out. “We already harvested one of their group not far from where they stumbled upon our traps. He refused to give up where their ship had landed, but before he died he did reveal that some Hirogen had approached his group. I know you offered them aid in a recreant attempt to realize your misguided conception of forming relations with vermin.” 

“I know nothing of what you speak!” Sovto continued to deny the allegations placed against him. “We are loyal to the guidance of Alpha Tidac. We would never harbor fugitives from his righteous wrath.”

The hunter again landed a blow to Sovto’s face, knocking the village leader to the ground. Leaning over the fallen form he spit his words of vindication down at the crumpled figure. “Your cowardly deceit disgusts me. You and your kind are no better than the very specimens we hunt.”

“I would not jeopardize my people to protect the creatures you hunt,” Sovto continued to profess his innocence and shield the fleeing Starfleet crewmen with a staunch resolve.

Tia had heard enough. She reached forward to light brush John’s elbow. He leaned back and she whispered in his ear.

“We need to fall back. They’ll search the village. We need to get to higher ground.”

He nodded in agreement and they both turned to slip away from the village square and towards the safety of the brush at the outskirts of the town.

 ********

Tia and John had been set up on a hillside overlooking the village with rich undergrowth to provide good cover. The two had been stationed there since daybreak, and the Hirogen hunting party had not moved from their position at the center of the town. The hunting party had continued to interrogate their hostages till the break of dawn, and now as the sun began to loom high in the sky Tia wondered how long it would take for the hunters to move.

“We need them to head east.” Tia gritted her teeth, knowing that their only hope of getting the slow-moving group of wounded soldiers back to the Tesla lay in deceiving the Hirogen hunting party. “If they don’t fall for Sovto’s falsehood, then we need to eliminate them before they determine the truth,” the XO stated.

John’s eye pulled back from the scope as he shook his head with a deep sigh. “A lot of innocent civilians will most certainly be caught in the crossfire if we attack now.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Tia’s question was terse.

“Well, it may not be a great idea, but fewer people will die,” John offered.

“What’s your plan?” Tia was willing to hear any alternative at this point.

John pushed himself to his knees and picked up his rifle. “Hold my gun.” He handed the treasured weapon to her and rose to his feet. Tia reached forward to take the weapon and as she focused on the rifle, he swung his pistol from its sheath to blast her in the ribs with a stunner.

Tia woke minutes later to find the master chief already halfway down the hillside headed towards the village.

“What is he doing now?” She spit out in apprehension, knowing that he didn’t stand a chance against that many enemies alone, and also aware that several civilian prisoners could be killed if he were to attack the captors. She dropped down to a prone position and pulled up the rifle to find the rogue soldier with her scope.

“What are you doing, Master Chief?” She hailed him over their earpiece.

She got a light chuckle and then a non-informative response. “That stun didn’t knock you down long at all. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“Oh, you’re already there,” she warned him.

“Fair enough,” he easily conceded.

He was already nearing the edge of the village.

“Master Chief John Richardson!”

He knew the XO must be mad by her tone and use of his full rank and name.

“What are you doing?”

“I got this sorted,” he reassured her. “Just let me get these nutters headed in the right direction and you get the team back to the Tesla.” With these cryptic instructions, she saw him pull his earpiece out and toss it to the ground.

“God damn it, John!” Her fist struck the ground in frustration. Then she lowered her eye back down to the scope, determined to assist her soldier in any way she could.

As he broke through the brush surrounding the village he raised his arms in the air. Savik wasn’t sure if this was a ploy to gain the hunters’ confidence, but if he hoped to get close enough to engage in hand-to-hand combat she feared they would never give him the chance. Every gun in the village square was trained on his burly chest as he strode towards the instigators. Savik could see that he was talking with the Hirogens but could not make out what was being said. John seemed to be waving at the hostages as though attempting to negotiate their release. Savik jerked as the Hirogen leader struck John a heavy blow across the face with a closed fist. Her finger shook as she ached to pull the trigger on the TR-116 rifle and take out as many Hirogen as she could, but she knew the cost of such actions would be detrimental to the village.

 ********

John knew to shoot the CO with a stunner would be considered an act of gross insubordination, and one he would be punished for if he ever made it back to the Tesla crew alive. But he also knew she would never agree to his plan, and he couldn’t allow her to stop him. The people of this village didn’t have much but gave what little they had to help strangers in need, despite knowing the risk it posed. Even when taken captive they had refused to sell out the Tesla crew. John would not allow that bravery and kindness to go unrewarded. Plus with an injured Akeno among the escaping crew members, John was determined to buy them as much time as he could.

 “What are you doing, John?”

John laughed as he heard the CO’s voice in his ear. She was one tough lady for a woman who couldn’t weigh over a buck twenty. He responded with something in his typical cheeky tone, but he certainly hadn’t expected her to be awake this soon and hoped she wouldn’t try to interfere. Then she called him by his full rank and title and he knew she was pissed.

“I got this.” He tried to sound far more confident than he was as he instructed her to leave it in his hands and meet up with the retreating team members. Then he pulled the earpiece from his ear and flung it to the side. He didn’t want the Hirogen knowing he had anyone else with him, and he also didn’t want her attempting to talk him out of this suicidal path.

He raised his hands in a sign of peace as he strode boldly into the camp, plastering a grin on his face to hide the tension in his jaw.

“Howdy,” he called out in greeting as he neared the village square. Immediately every Hirogen warrior turned to cover him with their weapons, but he continued on his path with confidence, not faltering in his step. “I heard you all were looking for me,” he greeted the Hirogen who seemed to be in command. “Now that I’m here, how about you let these lovely people go?” He suggested, waving his arm towards the hostages.

The only response he received was the closed fist of a metal-gloved hand striking him across the jaw.

“Disarm him!” The Hirogen commander barked as the enemy soldiers closed in around him. John’s fun belt was removed from his waist and he was kicked to his knees. Both arms were pulled behind his back and restraints were produced.

“Is this really necessary? I gave myself up willingly?”

Another blow to the face was his answer.

“Where is your herd?” Hot saliva sprayed across the master chief’s cheek as the interrogator screamed the question into his face.

 ********

Hirogen commander Kotak adjusted his left vambrace as his gaze swept over the bothersome traitors who cowered before him. He partially wished they had killed the defectors when they first announced their intentions to ignore the long-standing traditions of the Hirogen, but he supposed the commander was correct in asserting that they would prove better as a trap to lure in unsuspecting prey. 

With a thick finger aimed at the timid gathering of turncoat Hirogen, he ordered his soldiers, “Destroy the vermin.”

Pointing their weapons at the huddle of innocent villagers, the obedient Hirogen hunters prepared to obey. Kotak turned his back to the scene, prepared to drink in the satisfying sounds of the carnage he knew was about to occur, but his glance caught sight of something which brought about a change of direction in his current path. One of the hunted varmints was approaching their position, hands in the air as though the male human could ever pose any sort of a threat.

The deranged human delivered an imbecilic greeting and proceeded to prattle on in an attempt to negotiate but the Hirogen commander barely heard the words as he strode forwards to deliver a crushing blow to their elusive prey. Ordering his party to disarm their prisoner he waited till the animal was bound before striking him again. He was going to enjoy extracting the desired information from this fool. 

The captive’s head jerked to the left once again as Kotak continued to lay heavy blows upon the prisoner. The vermin spit blood from his mouth and looked as though he was going to speak, so Kotak paused for a moment, giving the pest a chance to betray the whereabouts of his team.

“Listen, my afternoon’s pretty booked. Could we wrap this up sometime soon?”

The prisoner’s glib nonchalance anger the Hirogen commander even further. He struck their prey’s face several more times before taking a step back.

“Line him,” Kotak ordered. An obedient Hirogen stepped forward to produce a device with a short needle on the end which he proceeded to jab into the human’s neck. 

“Ah!” their quarry growled in protest. “I hate needles,” the unregistered prey spoke. 

The Hirogen had invented a new way to log the records of their most prestigious kills, and since so many breeds had become almost common to hunt, it was undesirable for a Hirogen commander to be involved in the harvest of any animal which was not unique to the Hirogen database.

“What do we have?” Kotak pestered the hunter to provide him with the origin of their latest catch. 

“This is strange,” the Hirogen stated. “According to the bloodlines he is half human… and half Acamarian.” The accessing hunter’s brows rose as he delivered this news, surprised to have encountered such a rare specimen. A cross-breed was considered a catch in any Hirogen’s book, and a human hybrid was always a coveted prize. 

“Hahaha!” Kotak released a string of deep laughter from within his barreled chest. “They sent a mutt to negotiate the release of an entire village?” The Hirogen commander threw back his head and released another round of heavy guffaws as the mongrel prisoner gritted his teeth. Kotak leaned down to grin at his latest victim, proud to add such a rare kill to his collection. He would be the envy of the clan to bring such a rare specimen back to the tribe. “Give me the location of your comrades.” Kotak’s hand moved forward to lift the mutt’s chin so their gaze’s met. Kotak saw no fear in the eyes of their latest catch, only fierce defiance that he would have almost admired had he been capable of seeing other races as anything more than uncultured swine. 

“Say please.” The creature’s irreverent tone matched the look of rebellion in his gaze. 

Kotak was finished with this animal’s gross disobedience. The Hirogen thrust his head forward to spit his threats directly into the face of the mulish prisoner. “Tell me or I will kill every villager here.” The beast’s gaze did not break. “Their blood is on your hands,” Kotak pressed. 

“Nah.” A soggy patch of red hit the ground as the loathsome creature turned its head to expel a mixture of blood and saliva from its mouth. “You can’t pin that on me, man.”

Kotak’s fist clenched tightly. Angered by the vermin’s continued refusal to comply, he delivered yet another blow to the battered face of their captive. The tedious half-breed’s head swung to the left with the force of the punch, but the prisoner’s face swung back with a crimson smile plastered across its face and a raspy laugh grated against the ears of the Hirogen leader.

“You can’t blame your crazy on anyone other than you,” the mongrel proceeded to speak. “Every creature makes their own decisions. Nobody made you shitty other than yourself.”

This bit of wisdom was met with another blow. With a snap of his fingers and a motion of his hand, Kotak commanded one of his officer’s to bring forth a villager. A young female was selected from the crowd and pushed to the ground before the human swine. Kotak gripped a handful of hair to pull the female to her knees, slowly sliding a knife from his belt to place it at her throat. 

“Will you find comfort in that philosophy once they are all dead?” Kotak could almost feel the beat of the vein in the female’s neck pulsing against the edge of his knife and running up his arm. It always sent shivers down his spine when he was this close to stealing the ghost of another. “Last chance,” he hissed.

The air around them was toxic. Everyone hanging on the moment, breathlessly awaiting the outcome of this clash of two compelling forces. One defiant half-breed standing against the overwhelming force of a relentless Hirogen hunter. One lone mongrel human versus a pack of the galaxy’s most elite hunters. 

Kotak’s lips curled back as he studied his prey. He was unused to such resistance, but he would bathe in the blood of every member of this village before he would admit defeat. 

“East,” the enslaved beast finally caved. “They went east to reach the river.” Their prey confirmed the story of the village elder. Finally, they had a reliable bearing. Kotak released his hold on the female Hirogen defector and she slowly crawled back to the group of loathsome pacifists. 

“Four of you stay back in the village,” Kotak growled his orders. “The rest of you with me.”

                                                                      *******

Tia gritted her teeth as she observed Chief Richardson being led from the village by the majority of the Hirogen hunters. She had stuck around long enough to see how the scene would play out, deciding not to intervene unless absolutely necessary. She assumed the splitting of the forces and the Hirogen leader heading to the east was John’s doing, and she determined that John would survive long enough for her to make it back with reinforcements. The Hirogen would likely keep him alive as long as they thought he may prove useful to them. She silently slipped away to the west to pursue the retreat of her Starfleet comrades, throwing the strap of John’s rifle across her shoulder. 

It was a bit of a trek through some thick underbrush to catch up with the rest of the crew, but Savik was able to overtake the cavalcade of wounded soldiers far more quickly than she had hoped. They would never reach the Tesla in time if the Hirogen realized their route and started after them. Tia called out to announce her approach and the soldier at the rear lowered his ready weapon as she drew near.

Tia called for a quick rest and the soldiers carrying the stretchers gladly laid down their wounded comrades for a break.

“The Hirogen have Richardson. We’re going back for him,” Tia curtly informed them. “As few as are needed will take back the wounded, the rest come back with me.”

“Shouldn’t we get back to camp and return with reinforcements?” The doctor had no issue questioning the commander’s decision. 

“We’re not leaving our man behind,” Tia stated with no uncertainty. “And we’re not leaving that community to suffer for their generosity. If we attack now while they’re split up then they will never see it coming. We have the element of surprise on our side. We can take them.” 

“I’m coming with you.” Akeno pushed himself to shaky feet. Unable to bear his own weight he almost fell but managed to catch himself.

“You can’t even walk,” Tia protested in a tone that clearly indicated she was not to be questioned. 

“With that rifle I won’t have to walk,” Akeno nodded at John’s rifle hanging on the XO’s shoulder. “So you can either help me get close enough to make a difference, or I’ll be crawling there on my own.”

As Tia studied the determined lieutenant’s face, she knew he wasn’t going to be refused with his friend’s life laying on the line. 

“Fine,” she gave a short nod of consent. Turning her attention to the doctor she asked, “How many can you spare?”

“If you take four soldiers the rest of us can continue on. It’ll be slow going but if your plan to take out our pursuers works out, then I guess we can afford to be a little slower. But if you guys fail in taking out the hunting party…” Jovi didn’t finish her sentence but they all knew the outcome.

“We’ll take care of the Hirogen… and bring Master Chief Richardson back.” Akeno’s statement was final. 

                                                                      *******

Richardson meanwhile was leading the small group of Hirogen as far away from his Starfleet comrades as he could manage, hoping to cover a decent bit of ground before they realized his ruse and inevitably ended his life for the trickery. He figured the odds of him escaping this situation with his life were rather slim, but he did not falter in his march towards certain death. John had long ago learned not to wallow in the self-pity that would so often attempt to drown you when your situations became dire. He had grown up with little and learned to make the most of it, accepting that his life was not of considerable value to most and could potentially meet an abrupt end on any given day. 

A shove to the back of his head cut into his self-reflection and Kotak’s voice grated in his ears. “I will find your crew and I will take pleasure in cutting their flesh from their bones as you watch. I will find your ship and I will destroy it and everyone on board before any of you have a chance to leave this planet, and you will bear witness. Then, for the finale, I will see how long I can keep you alive as I remove your organs one by one.”

John’s eyes rolled and he released his breath in a deep sigh. Wouldn’t you know he would get stuck with a captor who liked to talk. “Well,” John drawled laconically. “I’d sure rather you didn’t.”

“Keep moving,” the Hirogen growled with another shove, and John continued on his forced march through the brush.

                                                                      *******

A lonely Hirogen on a rooftop grumbled to himself as plopped down on a rusty bucket and produced a half-eaten leg. This particularly unlucky Hirogen was part of the group left behind by Kotak to keep an eye on the pacifist village leader they had thrown in a cell and just in case their hunting quarry should return. He had drawn the short straw and been delegated with first watch on this fine evening, as his comrades lay sleeping peacefully in the inn below. The unhappy Hirogen took no notice of the sharp cool evening that had called forth millions of stars from the sky, each sparking with their own brilliant beauty. He took no joy in the peaceful quiet that rested over the sleeping village, the calming sound of the breeze floating over rooftops as the fountain in the village square calmly bubbled. A Hirogen took no joy in such niceties. A Hirogen’s only pleasure was in a successful hunt and the claim of a fresh kill. He growled to himself as he chomped on his leftover meat. 

“Stay back with the village. There is great honor in this responsibility,” he quoted the lies Kotak had fed them with a snarl. “Kotak leaves us behind as he pursues our prey. There will be no trophies left for the rest of us if Kotak finds the ship first,” he mumbled thickly around an oversized bite. “I should have just sign-,” and that was the end of the unlucky Hirogen’s complaints as a heavy hand clamped over his mouth and a phaser was shoved into his back. Once again, silence reigned over the village, and the stunned Hirogen was softly lowered down to lay snoring on the rooftop. Tia would send someone back to secure him once they had taken the lockup and subdued the rest of Kotak’s forces. 

Tia crept on silent feet back to the edge of the rooftop to lower herself back to the balcony she had used to find unguarded access to the rooftop. After taking the one Hirogen on guard down, the jail below would fall easily to her team. She motioned for the crewmen below to move forward and they quickly made their way to the jail house door as she slid down a low rooftop to land next to them. 

“Prepare for a breach,” she spoke softly and two soldiers quickly placed small charges on the door hinges, the group then taking a step back. Tia lifted her rifle and nodded to the tech holding the detonator. A quick pop later and the door was hurled into the entryway of the jail. The three sleeping Hirogen inside did not even get a chance to retrieve their weapons before finding the end of a phaser in their face. 

“I didn’t expect to see you all back.” Sovto spoke from behind the iron bars of the jail cell. 

One of the soldiers rummaged through a desk draw till he produced a key which was tossed to a crewman standing close to the cell door. 

“You remained true despite the scorn and judgement of your own race,” Tia told the Hirogen village leader. “That type of loyalty and dedication to what is right cannot go unrecognized.”

Tia could not be certain since the facial features of the Hirogen will still entirely new to her, but it seemed as though her words had deeply moved the pacifist Hirogen. He reached out to offer a firm hand and she took it. 

“You have great honor.” His voice broke a bit but he held his head high. 

One of the StarFleet crew members brushed past them, shoving a struggling but bound Hirogen who he had retrieved from the rooftop into the now empty cell.

“Put the rest of them in there with him,” Tia ordered her men. “They’re your prisoners to do with as you see fit,” Tia determined to leave them to Sovto’s judgement. “I’m going after my Master Chief.”

“I would offer assistance, but I am certain your path holds not but violence ahead of you, and that is simply a way I and my people avoid at all cost. If we are to change the ways of our kind, we must determine to follow a different path.”

Tia nodded in understanding. “I will work to ensure that my people are aware of your actions here,” Tia promised. Sovto held out his hand and Tia took it with a firm grip. 

“Perhaps we can achieve that the entirety of a race will not be judged based on the actions of some,” Sovto voiced his hope. 

                                                                      *******

John groaned as he both heard and felt the crack his neck produced when he shifted his weight. He had been bound to a lone tree in the middle of a mostly desolate valley all night long as the Hirogen made camp and took turns sleeping. His confinement along with a lack of water and food was beginning to weigh on him. With a dry mouth and chafed wrists, it was difficult to keep up his cheery banter with his Hirogen captors. 

The one they called Kotak was now approaching and by John’s reckoning he did not look happy, but then John couldn’t really recall ever having seen the Hirogen commander looking happy. John had seen Kotak send out a few Hirogen earlier that morning to scout the area, and after they had returned with their report, the Hirogen commander had seemed enraged. Watching Kotak now stride towards him, John prepared himself for what would at best be a harsh beating, but may in all likely hood be the end of this wild goose chase he had brought them on. 

“My men have searched the surrounding area and see no sign of your fleeing pack. Surely you know better than to have led me astray.”

John’s head rolled to one side as he eyed the irate Hirogen. “Maybe they’re shit trackers.” 

The fist that cracked into John’s temple came as no surprise. Kotak bent down to rest on his heels, eye level with his prisoner.

“Have I not been merciful in allowing you to live thus far? You crossbreed such as yourself is considered a rare prize even amongst my commanders, and yet I have allowed you to live in exchange for your assistance. You do know the price for deceit, do you not? What use have I for a dog that will not hunt?”

“Well I don’t hunt my own,” John drawled, “and I’m not your dog.” 

There were several times during the moments that followed in which John came close to allowing the darkness to overtake him. The beating that Kotak laid upon him took him to the brink of consciousness, only to have the Hirogen splash water in his face and pause long enough to bring him back. By the time his captor took a step back, breathing heavily and stroking his raw knuckles that dripped with the master chief’s blood, John was barely able to hold his head up, his ribs burning with each breath. 

“I will provide you with one final opportunity to save your own worthless life. Where is your group? What direction did they head in?” 

“Several of my crewmates died in your attack on our ground team. I’m more than willing to do the same to keep you from finding them.” John’s chest rose and fell in harsh pants of breath as he stubbornly refused to relent to his captors. 

“Very well then,” the Hirogen commander was finally done arguing with this relentlessly stubborn captive. Raising his sword in the air, he sent it crashing downward towards the bound master chief. However, the blow never fell as the blade was halted in its treacherous path by a small red dot which was placed on the Hirogen attacker’s forehead with a force which rocked the large warrior. The remaining Hirogen hunters stared at their stunned commander in bewilderment for a fraction of a second before the resounding noise of a shot reached their ears. John’s opponent faltered on uncertain feet for a moment, swaying back and forth before falling to the ground with a thud as the remaining Hirogen around him dove for cover. A dull thwack in John’s right ear and the loosening of his restraints told him that a bullet had sliced through the bonds around his right wrist. 

“Of course dying wouldn’t exactly be my first choice,” he informed the Hirogen hunting party as he pulled the blade from the Hirogen commander’s belt to cut the bonds on his left hand.

As John cut himself free, Tia and a few crew members rose up from where they had been crouching behind the crest of a hill, and began to fire down upon the Hirogen hunting party. John reached out to grab a Hirogen who stood close by, choking the hunter out with a tight grip around its throat. The master chief then quickly rolled around behind the tree that had previously held him captive, taking cover amid the chaos that reigned in the small valley. It was over in a matter of minutes, with the Starfleet crew receiving only minor injuries as the Hirogen’s scattered and fell before the ambush. Tia and her team slowly made their way towards the decimated camp, keep a close eye on their fallen foes for any sign of movement. John rose to greet them, and then collapsed back against the tree, his legs weak beneath him as the blood surged back into his limbs. Akeno slowly limped down to approach him, giving John a short nod and tossed him a full canteen.

“For an ugly bunch, you all sure are pretty,” John conceded as he wiped his dripping mouth. 

“Good to see you too, buddy,” Akeno grinned as he slung John’s rifle from his shoulder to give it back to the master chief.

John accepted his rifle back, and then his face lit up with a smile as the XO approached them. “I got a live one over there.” The excitement in John’s tone could not be hidden as he expected to deliver on his XO’s previous request for a hostage.

Akeno approached the prone form to kick the Hirogen in the shoulder, rolling the hunter over to display glazed over eyes and a gaping mouth. “Maybe he was alive before the phaser beam hit his heart,” Akeno observed.

“Damn it!” John shuffled over to view the deceased Hirogen. “He was alive five minutes ago.”

“A lot can happen in five minutes.” Akeno laughed and gave his friend a clap on the shoulder which made the master chief wince.

“No worries,” Tia brushed it off. “I believe we gathered most of the intel we need from the Hirogen in the village. Team!” Her voice grew louder as she addressed everyone. “We need to get back to the doctor and then return to the Tesla. Let’s move out and keep a sharp eye for any scouting Hirogen hunters.” The group moved to follow their commander’s orders, and Tia reached out to grab John’s arm as he moved to walk past her. Speaking in a low tone she confronted him. “You ever shoot me with a stunner again-.”

“Yea, yea, I know. Never again.” The master chief made a promise that they both knew he would break the moment he found it beneficial for the team. 

Their XO turned to 

“You shot the XO with a stunner?” The mixture of excitement and shock in Akeno’s tone was similar to when they had accidentally blown up the toolshed as children when John designed his first homemade IED with household products from the kitchen. 

“Didn’t think I’d live long enough to receive a reprimand,” John whispered back so the intimidating little first officer wouldn’t hear them.

“I need details,” Akeno demanded.

“Save it for later,” John growled as Tia threw a look back over her shoulder. This silenced the lieutenant for the time being, but John knew his friend would want a full explanation once they returned to base.