Tiffany walked out of her ready room sipping a cup of tea, her duty jacket open to reveal her undershirt underneath. The Alita had just finished a three hour pursuit of a Rigelian pirate smuggling weapons to an elusive arms dealer known only as The Gentleman in The Triangle, and she was exhausted. Alpha shift ended in half an hour and she couldn’t be happier to be contemplating a sonic shower and crawling into bed to enter something resembling a coma for the next eight hours. 

“Status report, Miss French?” She called to her chief engineer. 

“Nothing much to report, ma’am. The one Photon Torpedo that detonated near the nacelles caused a bit of superficial damage to the starboard side of the port nacelle and a bit of the saucer section, but I’ve already got damage control teams down there. They’ll have us back to one hundred percent within two hours,” The Engineer replied. 

“Thank you,” Tiffany said, giving the other woman a nod and a smile as she sat casually back in the center chair and sipped at her tea. 

“The Ruthridge sent us a communication that they’ve secured the pirates and they’re taking them back to Starbase 94 for trial,” Lt. Commander Melody Richards added from her post at the Security/Tactical console, “And Gerber Colony confirmed that the S.S. Maelstrom is on its way to start salvage operations on the pirate’s ship.” 

“I love it when a plan comes together all nice and tidy,” She said, smiling tightly. She sighed heavily and rolled her head back for a moment, trying to release the tension in her neck. “Lieutenant Vlex, if you’d be so kind to set us back on our normal patrol route along the board, please.” 

“Yes ma’am,” The Betazed woman at the Helm said, with a smile. She turned back to the console and started laying in the course. 

“Warp 5, Lieutenant,” Tiffany added. 

“Warp 5. Engaging,” Was the reply. 

Tiffany smiled as the stars stretched out in front of the viewscreen. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and looked over to see her XO’s fist hanging in the air. She chuckled and bumped it with her own and both women made an explosion sound with their mouths and mimicked the blast as they quickly opened their fists. 

Tiffany let out a wry laugh and looked over at Commander Frankie Juarez, “You’re a piece of work lady, you know that?” 

Frankie laughed, “Oh, I know.” 

“Oh… Ma’am?” Blake called from the Ops station, “You’ve got a priority one communication coming through from Starfleet Command. It’s encrypted. Alpha One,” He said, looking over at her with a hint of apprehension in his eyes. 

“Priority One, Alpha One?” Tiffany repeated, looking back at the man. He nodded a confirmation. 

Tiffany looked at Frankie for a moment, who eventually just shrugged and gave her an apologetic look. Tiffany turned back to Lieutenant Blake, “Patch it through to my ready room,” She said, standing. “Commander Juarez, with me,” She added, turning and making a bee-line to the ready room. 

“Commander Richards, you have the bridge,” She called over her shoulder. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Melody replied, already starting to step away from her station to the center chair. 

Frankie was hot on her heels as they passed through the door to Tiffany’s ready room and it slid shut behind them. Tiffany adjusted the monitor so both could see and tapped on the waiting commlink. 

“Please enter command level authorization,” The computer replied in its usual singsong manner. 

“Black, Alpha-Delta-Nine-Eight-Theta,” Tiffany recited, looking over at Frankie. 

“Juarez, Zero-Delta-One-Seven-Bravo,” Her XO put in. 

“Confirmed,” The computer replied, and suddenly the Starfleet logo was replaced by the stern face of Commodore James Priest, someone Tiffany had known for years now. He’d been one of her teachers at the academy and had helped her find her footing. The stern look was not one that she was used to seeing. Normally his steel blue eyes were twinkling with mischief and crinkled with laugh lines and his scowl was replaced with a warm, toothy grin. She’d always found him quite handsome, but right now his expression betrayed his years. The man looked exhausted and… she’d dare say a little worried. 

“Tiff, Frankie. Good to see you guys… I… Wish it was under better circumstances,” He said. 

“What’s going on, Commodore?” Tiffany asked as she and Frankie took seats on either side of her desk. 

The Commodore seemed like he was trying to find the correct words, “I feel almost… insane… saying this, but… The Dominion has taken Sevury,” He replied. 

Tiffany blinked twice slowly as she tried to process that statement. Her brain didn’t seem to want to allow it to pass into factual information for her, “I’m sorry, James,” She said, slowly, her eyes losing focus a bit. “I’m going to need you to start from the top, okay?” 

Frankie was staring attentively at the monitor, but in truth her mind was racing. That couldn’t be true. There was no way that the Dominion was back. No way at all. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she waited for the more information. 

“About twenty-four hours ago, a massive Dominion fleet that had apparently been lost while going through the wormhole during the war suddenly appeared and began attacking Federation space,” He explained. “These are the same ships we fought before with the same crazed Jem’Hadar and Vorta crew. And they are absolutely convinced that the war is still on and they’re key in it,” He explained. “They were caught in some sort of… wormhole stasis I guess. Nothing has changed for them, years haven’t passed for them. They’re back and they’re at war with us.” 

There was a pause in the conversation, an awkward silence in the room. Frankie was still trying to make what she’d heard settle when Tiffany let out a quick huff through her mouth.

“Okay,” She said, pointedly, as though putting a period on the end of her confusion. “Right. So. Where do we go? How can the Alita help?” 

The Commodore nodded, “You’re familiar with Sevury?” He asked. 

“It’s one of the Federation’s chief Tritanium sources,” Frankie piped in, finally finding words. 

“Correct,” James said with a nod. He sighed and continued, “And without it, we will have a difficult time maintaining ship production and repair. We believe that’s why the Dominion have established a foothold there. They showed up so fast and struck so hard that the people in the colonies there didn’t even have time to activate their planetary defense grid,” He explained. “I believe you have a Lieutenant Commander Melody Richards aboard, correct?” He asked. 

Tiffany nodded, “Yes, sir. She’s my Chief Sec/Tac.” 

“She’s why we chose you. Her advanced training from the Academy in Field Operations and Weapons Handling makes her a uniquely qualified candidate to run this operation on the ground,” He explained. “You’ll need to go to Sevury, drop in and deliver a strike team without alerting the Dominion forces to your presence, infiltrate the Federation HQ building that they have occupied and fortified, and activate the planetary defense grid from there to clear out their ships in orbit,” a beat, “Oh, and rescue any hostages you find.”

“Oh, is that all?” Tiffany replied, dryly. 

“This… is a joke, right? We caught a pirate, we’re rolling up on the anniversary of the Ali being commissioned or something? And you guys are playing a joke?… right?” Frankie asked, sounding like she was tryin to convince herself more than anyone else. 

“I wish it was, Commander,” The Commodore replied. “But unfortunately, it’s as real as it can be.”

Tiffany shook her head like she was trying to clear cobwebs, “Okay… You’ll send the full mission briefing?” She asked. 

“Of course. We’ve got a few Federation ships in orbit keeping the ships up there busy. They’ve been trying to provide ground scans and updated intel as much as possible, but that’s not easy with Dominion fighters crawling down your back side,” He replied.

Tiffany nodded, “Understood. We’ll take what we can get. Understand that it’s going to take us almost nine hours to get there from our current position,” She explained. 

“I understand, Captain. The Starfleet presence there currently is enough to keep them at bay for the time being. We figured that would give you ample time to come up with a plan to liberate the planet,” He explained. 

Tiffany nodded again, “We’ll do our best, Commodore.” 

“Of that, I have no doubt,” He said, offering a smile at last. “One last thing, Captain. The Dominion presence in our side of the galaxy is highly classified. Starfleet has gone to great lengths to cover this as a Breen insurgency, and until you hear otherwise from the Fourth Fleet, this mission should be considered highly classified, even from other groups of Starfleet. Understood?” 

Tiffany squinted at that, but nodded anyway, “Understood, sir. Not a problem,” She offered.

“Good. Then I’ll get the data transferred over and you guys can be on your way,” The Commodore replied, offering a salute. 

Tiffany returned the salute as the feed ended and then sat quietly for a moment. Her brain was struggling to grasp with idea of out-of-time Dominion forces taking over a planet, but here we were. The data was already starting to stream in from Starfleet. She couldn’t deny that it was happening no matter how much we want to. 

“This can’t be real,” Frankie said, incredulously. 

“Sorry, Frankie. I think it is,” Tiffany replied, rubbing her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. “Come on, XO,” She said, standing and motioning for Frankie to follow, “Let’s let the crew know. We don’t have any time to waste.” 

Tiffany stepped out from her ready room and caught the eyes of her Chief Sec/Tac and chuckled a bit, “Oh, Richards… Have we got a doozey for you…” 

Frankie and Melody had forced Tiffany to go get some rest about the fifth time they caught her dozing off in her conference room chair. Her dreams of an eight-hour coma were supplanted by a three-hour cat nap, and calling what she managed to get ‘sleep’ was an exercise in hyperbole. Still, she did feel a bit more alert when she awoke so she threw her uniform jacket back on, open, and tossed her hair up in a ponytail… repeatedly, until it looked something that resembled respectable, then replicated a cup of café con leche and headed back to the conference room. 

She stepped through the doors to find a large chunk of her senior staff still in the same position she left them: Leaned over the table pouring over the scraps of intel that Bravo had provided them, “Okay, Commanders, how are we looking?” 

Frankie looked up from the readouts and gave her CO a wry look, “You want the honest answer there, or the optimistic one?” She asked, flatly. 

“Well,” Tiffany said as she took her seat again, “Now that my confidence has been thoroughly renewed, let’s go with the honest one,” She said. 

“Not good, Captain,” Melody offered. “We’re running on barely any intel here, and there’s no way to fill the gaps except with assumptions and best guesses,” She explained. 

“Not the best way to run an op,” Tiffany replied, nodding. 

“No ma’am. In our favor, these are the same Dominion forces we dealt with a couple decades ago, so we know their tactics inside and out. I’m hoping that’s going to give us the edge,” She offered, “But… we’re still flying pretty damn blind.” 

Tiffany pondered the situation for a minute, then took a deep breath and sighed heavily, “Okay… What have we got?” 

Melody looked over to Frankie, who motioned for Melody to explain it, “Okay,” The commander replied, brushing a lock of auburn hair out of her eyes as she stood up and tapped the key for a holo projection of the terrain map and the data they’d plugged in, “So… First, the conjecture,” She said as she pulled up estimated troop counts. 

“We don’t have a clear picture of how many troops are on the planet due to the irregular intervals of our areal recon data, but we do know firmly that there’s only four Dominion ships currently in the system. It’s their fighters, so that means they should have a compliment of one Vorta and between forty and forty-five Jem’hadar. We’re assuming that these guys were probably stuffed for an all out offensive, so we’ve called it fifty Jem’hadar, just to be safe,” She explained. “That means we’ve got a maximum of around two-hundred Jem’hadar in the system.”

Tiffany’s face noticeably tightened at that count. She knew that the strike team wasn’t going to be above fifteen people, and fifteen against two-hundred didn’t sound fair. She let her Chief continue, though. 

“We’re assuming they’d have left between fifteen and twenty Jem’hadar behind on each ship to act as crew, boarding parties or defensive troops should the need arise, meaning only around one-hundred and forty on the planet,” She explained. 

The holo display faded two red, concentric circles overlaid on the map around the city, “If they’re following standard protocol from the war, then they’ll have two patrol rings of four squads each around the city, so we’re talking a little over one-hundred troops in the city itself,” She said. 

“We think the brunt of them are here,” She said, swiping her hand to rotate the holo of the city and point to the prefabbed Federation HQ building, “Fortifying our target,” She said. 

She rotated the holo slightly again and indicated a warehouse-like structure, “The next major concentration is here in this building. Based on our intel we have reason to believe this is where they’re holding the hostages, so it will be a target for us as well.” 

“We’re assuming the last twenty or so are patrolling the city, but we won’t have to worry about them initially since we’re be coming in from underground,” Melody explained. 

That made Tiffany’s eyebrow arch, “Underground?”

“Yes, ma’am. That was Lieutenant Blake’s idea,” Melody replied, nodding to the younger man. 

Blake smiled awkwardly and gave a little nod, “Yes, ma’am. See, all of these Federation colonies have underground aqueducts in the original construction to help keep things moving before proper water services are in place,” He explained. “There’s a maintenance tunnel that is accessible from outside of the city. It’s console locked, but I’m pretty sure I can crack into it,” He explained. 

“Pretty sure?” Tiffany replied almost immediately. 

Blake smiled. He hated to sound boastful, but he knew every word was true when he said, “I can crack into it.” 

Tiffany gave him a grin and a nod, “Good. We’re sure these tunnels are still accessible? And can get us inside?” 

“Most of them wind up getting converted into storage later and are still used from time to time,” Blake explained. “But even if they’re not, we’ll be bringing some cutting phasers to get us through any sealed junctions.” 

Tiffany nodded, “So you’ll beam down to the entrance, crack the console and raid the base?” 

“Well… no,” Melody replied with a sheepish grin. 

Tiffany chuckled, “I thought that sounded too easy. What’s the catch?” 

”The problem is that the Jem’hadar have setup transporter inhibitors all around the city and their range goes out almost a klick in any direction,” Melody explained, bringing up the inhibitor locations on the map and turning on an overlay that showed their range.

Melody rotated the map to an areal view and then zoomed out, revealing a topographical map of the region, “The closest place to beam in would be this wooded area here, right outside of the inhibitors range, but if it were me–”

“That’s exactly where the patrols would be,” Tiffany interjected, finishing Melody’s sentence. 

“Bingo,” Melody replied with a nod, “And since I don’t want to beam down right in the middle of a Jem’hadar patrol, I’m recommending this area here,” She said, indicating a mountainous region just beyond the other side of the woods. “The hike is going to feel a lot longer than it is while we avoid patrols, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Only about two klicks total,” She explained. 

“The trick is going to be hiding the transporter signal,” Nadine said from her perch on the side of the table. “We’re assuming that the Jem’hadar will be scanning for Starfleet to beam down ground forces – we would, in their shoes – so we have to cover the transport in with enough energy the prevent them from seeing it,” French explained. 

“How are we accomplishing that?” Tiffany asked. 

“By dropping out of warp so close to the planet that we drift into the mesosphere,” Lieutenant Vlex replied, sounding tired. 

Tiffany looked over at her with wide eyes, but French picked up the train of thought, “Correct. Between the energy burst from exiting warp and the friction energy created by the atmospheric burn, we’re very confident that there won’t be any way for the Jem’hadar to detect the transport to the surface,” French replied. 

Tiffany looked around the table at all of the expectant eyes for a moment, then closed her eyes hard and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “Okay, let me make sure I’ve got this straight… We’re going to hot drop out of warp into a planet’s atmosphere, transport a ground team down to the surface of the planet while we’re trying not to crash into the planet, then go on to engage the Dominion forces in orbit while our team of–” She stopped and opened her eyes and looked back over at Melody, “How many, Commander?” 

“Twelve, ma’am,” Melody replied, sounding like she didn’t want to. 

“Twelve,” Tiffany repeated, staring at the table for a minute before she scruntched her eyes shut and pinched her nose again, “While our team of twelve on the surface goes up again about one-hundred and forty Jem’hadar troops in an entrenched position,” She said. She let that hang for a minute, then opened her eyes again and looked at Melody, “Do… I have that about right, Commander?” 

“Broad strokes, ma’am, but… yeah,” Melody replied. 

Tiffany let out a long sigh, staring at the table for a moment before she shrugged and shook her head, “Sounds fun, let’s do it.” 

There was a murmur around the table as everyone started to really contemplate what this mission was going to mean, but Tiffany raise her hands, and everyone settled down, “This is… insane,” She said, letting that hang for a moment before she continued, “But if there is one crew in Starfleet that can do it, it’s us. I have had the pleasure of serving with all of you for over a year now and I could not be happier that you are my crew. I could not have more confidence in you, and I couldn’t care for any group of people more than I do for you,” She told them earnestly. “What we’re about to do is hard, but it’s not impossible. We’re going to have to trust each other like we’ve never trusted each other before. We’re going to have to rely on each other like we’ve never relied before. But we can. I know we can. We’re going to do this. We’re going to win. And we’re all going to come home, yeah?” She said. 

There were nods around the table, but Tiffany stood, “We’re all going to come home. Right?” She reiterated, more firmly this time. 

“Yes ma’am!” Came the shouts from around the table. 

Tiffany smiled at her crew then nodded after a moment, “Good. We’ve got five hours to get to Sevury. Get ready, get some rest… We’re in for the fight of our lives.” 

As everyone stood to leave, Tiffany caught Lieutenant Vlex by the arm, “You okay?” She asked not used to seeing the odd look that was in the young Betazed’s eyes. She couldn’t quite place it, but it didn’t look good. 

Vlex forced a smile, “I’m okay, ma’am. Yes, just tired.” 

“You sure?” 

“Positive. Just want to get some sleep, ma’am,” Vlex replied. 

Tiffany gave her a smile and nodded, “Rest well, then, Lieutenant.” She said. “It’s going to be a long day.” 

Vlex walked from the conference room without another word. She avoided eye contact, hiding her gaze behind her long bangs as she made her way down the hallway. She had one goal, and only one goal and that was her quarters. She’d lied to her CO. She was tired, yes, but it was so much more than that. Her Betazed empathic abilities were being overloaded. 

She stepped through the doors of her quarters and let them slide shut before she fell back against it and buried her face in her hands, “No, no no… NO…” She squawked. Betazeds felt things stronger than most, feeling the emotion and intention of those around them, and Terani was no different. She lacked, however, the ability to easily cut off from the emotion as many of her peers could, especially when it was the deep dark emotions. 

The word “Dominion” had fallen into the rumor mill and the ship was rife with fear and trepidation that had been threatening Terani’s resolve. 

She stumbled over to her bed and sat on it, pulling her blanket tightly around her and trying to focus. She’d gotten into racing because of this. When she focused on the race, everything else was faded away and she could find piece. But when there was no other focus, it was difficult. 

There was someone aboard that was so buried in a deep, penetrating darkness that Terani couldn’t pull her consciousness away from it, like a tragedy unfolding before your eyes. But these wounds were old and so deep. The recent news had set them aflame again and the feelings we’re burning in Terani’s brain.

Someone was suffering, so deeply. 

Maggie’s legs were trembling as she walked to her quarters, but she hid it well. After all, she’d learned to do that well so many years ago now. She refused to lose herself to this again. She refused. They wouldn’t understand. She had fought so hard to find her peace and her heart again after the War. They wouldn’t recognize her the way she was before. 

But they’d said it. Straight from the CO: The Dominion was back. 

Stepping into her dark quarters sent her heart rate up, and she said “Lights, full.” As calmly as she could before the doors slid shut behind her. The Dominion weren’t just nameless boogey men to her. The Jem’hadar weren’t just legendary warriors. They were captors, they were beasts, they were nightmares. 

She stood at the doorway for a long moment, scanning the walls for any hint of movement, any flicker of bent light that might betray a Jem’hadar skulking around her quarters. Her logical mind told her that she was being silly and that of course she was in no danger aboard the Alita, but the louder part of her mind, the part of her that was still fighting the grasp of PTSD, told her she damn well better make sure. 

She still remembered the start of it. When her life change. When she lost herself. 

Maggie was serving aboard the USS Bali when it had been destroyed during the Dominion War. The ship had been disabled by the Jem’hadar, who had quickly boarded and began taking hostages for intel and negotiation. Maggie had been unlucky enough to have been in a corridor where a plasma conduit blew during the initial boarding. Caught in the blast, she found herself mangled and caught be ship debris and was counting down the seconds to her death. 

She still remembered the corridor… A1138, Junction 5, section C. Plasma Conduit A14 had blown. The most useless information, but it was forever etched in her mind. She could still hear the hissing of the ruptured airline, the drip drip drip of bleeding out on the deck. She could almost feel the press of the support beam on her back, blocking out her breath. 

Then she saw them… The Jem’hadar were walking down the hallway dragging a young Ensign. 

Maggie’s eyes flicked to the side as she tried to remember… what was her name? She could see her face so clearly, but her name escaped her. That sent a pang of guilt through her heart. She could see her face… She’d never forget her face. 

The young girl had seen Maggie and cried out in desperation for help. Maggie’s training kicked in and she snatched her phaser from her belt, barely able to get a grip on it around the rubble, and brought it to bear. The Jem’hadar were already turning back to face her and raising their weapons. She was raising it to kill the first of the boarding party, but time seemed to slow as it all registered in her brain. 

She could never kill them all in time. They’d shoot her before she could kill them all. 

To this day, after extensive therapy, she couldn’t remember making the decision consciously, or even the movement that brought her phaser to bear on the Ensign. She just remembered her face. In that last moment as she realized that Maggie was about to take her life. She’d never forget her face. She’d never forget the gasp. Never forget the stifled scream that ended abruptly as Maggie’s shot rang true and she was disintegrated in their hands. 

She vaguely remembered the feel of the phaser’s emitter on her temple as she tried to prevent her own capture, but the Jem’hadar were too fast, and they dragged her from the wreckage and took her instead. 

That was the start of her personal hell. For the next six months she was at the mercy of the Jem’hadar, and they had no mercy at all. Some of the scars she received from her mistreatment at their hands couldn’t be removed even after multiple dermal regenerative treatments, and the scars they left on her mind she didn’t think would ever heal. 

She remembered vaguely the pain of dislocating her thumb to get out of the shackles they kept her in. She could still smell the dank, moldy aroma of the prison block she was thrown every night. She’s torn a short piece of metal off of her bunk – or the slab of metal that was supposed to be a bunk – and laid in wait by the door for the Jem’hadar to return to torture her more, and then she struck. 

She remembered very little of her escape. She remembered opening all of the prison doors on the way out. She remembered that she didn’t escape alone. She remembered killing Jem’hadar. Three with her makeshift blade, before she found one of their weapons, and the rest suffered a fate at the hands of their own technology. And she – a doctor, who’d sworn to do no harm, who’d pushed for fair treatment of Jem’hadar prisoners, who’d insisted that the Federation must never lose their humanity – savored every kill. Each one fueled her rage until, by the end of it, she was barely even aware of where she was. 

Months of rehab and therapy followed. She tried to find her footing, but she struggled. It had been almost a quarter of a decade since then and even now she wasn’t sure she had her footing fully. 

Although tonight, she was acutely aware that she did not. She could still feel the gun in her hands, that Jem’hadar phase rifle. Her eyes flicked to the medium sized lock box sitting below her desk, tucked away out of sight. She stared at it for a long moment, but then abrupted moved over to it. 

She tapped in the clearance code and pulled the lid free, revealing the Jem’hadar rifle she’d stolen. Maggie pulled it from the box and looked it over. The weight was familiar in her hands, each scratch on the casing teased a dark memory in her mind. She wasn’t supposed to have kept it, but she needed something to remember it was real, and by the time she’d gotten away, the rifle was all she had. The rescue teams said she’d clutched it like a teddy bear all the way back to safety. 

She tapped the prime and listed to the power cell power up with a high pitched whine, and fought the darkness as the corners of her vision. 

She gripped the weapon with white knuckles and stared at the cold, metal casing. She found herself choking back tears, but she let out a huff and cleared her throat, then slid the phaser under her arm and walked over to her bed and lied down on top of the blankets. She slid back until her back was against the wall and clutched the gun like a lifeline and stared, looking for the movement of invisible killers in her room. 

It was going to be a long mission. 

Terani shuffled in her bed, pulling her blanket tighter. The terror had dimmed, faded to a cold fear that she could pull herself away from. She needed a better focus, something calm, something… She found an uncertain mind. Anxiety, nervousness, doubt. No fear, though. Confidence, but shaken. 

She tried to focus on that for a moment, another buoy in the emotional seascape of the ship. She closed her eyes tightly and swam through it, looking at every nuance and letting it pull her further from the dark. This she could at least navigate and find her way out of. 

Tiffany wandered through her quarters, quietly pondering the mission at hand, trying to find holes in the plans, trying to account for everything. The cup of tea in her hand had gone cold a while ago, but she hadn’t noticed. Her mind was spinning and she felt disconnected from everything. This was the most harrowing mission she’d been assigned and she wasn’t nearly as confident that all of her people would make it home as she’d made it seem in the meeting. 

She sighed heavily after a while and sat her cup down on the table, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger for a moment. 

“Computer… open a channel to two-eight-alpha-nine-six-one,” She called. 

The open channel screen appeared on her holocommunicator on her desk and she sat down in front of it, adjusting her nightshirt so she at least looked somewhat presentable. 

A moment later a concerned older woman – with a very familiar shade of red hair – appeared on the screen. “Tiffany?” The woman said, sounding a bit worried. 

“Hi, mom,” Tiffany replied with a smile. “I’m sorry, I know it’s late.”

“No, no, honey, it’s fine! Are you okay?” Her mother asked, putting on her glasses and wrapping her robe tighter around herself as she took a seat at the communicator. 

“Yeah I just…” Tiffany trailed off for a minute and looked a bit distant before fixing her expression and smiling more warmly, “It’s just one of those nights where I need my mom. That’s all,” She admitted. “I know you have to get up early though, so I won’t keep you long.”

“No no, actually I took the day off tomorrow, so you picked a good night to wake me up,” The other woman replied with a warm smile. Tiffany wasn’t sure if that was the truth or a lie, but honestly… right now she didn’t care. 

“I’m having a rough day,” She said to her mother. 

“Just a normal rough day? Or Starfleet orders that we can’t talk about because it’s classified and dangerous rough day?” Her mother asked, knowing well what Tiffany’s job entailed. 

“Option two,” Tiff replied with a wry chuckle. 

“I see,” Her mother replied, looking over her daughter’s face intently, her smile fading a bit as her expression grew more serious. “Is this a… Might not be seeing you again call?” She asked, her voice sounding strong but with a hint of concern. 

“I don’t think so,” Tiffany replied. “I’m just… I’m worried. About my people. About what’s happening. About… everything,” She admitted. 

“What’s happening, hon– No, nevermind. You can’t tell me. Forget I asked,” Her mother replied, raising a hand and laughing a bit. 

“I just need my mom, that’s all,” Tiffany repeated, her voice tight. 

There was something in Tiffany’s tone, a note of desperation, when she said that. Her mother regarded her for a long moment, appraising the strong young woman before her on the comm screen, and her smile broadened, “Your father used to say when you were little, ‘It never matters how much trouble that little girl and her friends get into, she always finds a way out,’” She told her. “And he meant every word of that, Tiffany. Every word. If there is one person in the galaxy that will see whatever you have in front of you through, it’s you. You are strong, you are capable, and you are wise, and those people who are trusting you have their faith in exactly the right place,” She said. 

Tiffany sat quiet looking down at her hands in her lap. 

“Right now, you need to rest. You need to trust your people, like they trust you,” Her mother responded. “You’re going to do fine, and everything will work out okay,” She said, as if there wasn’t a doubt in the universe. 

Tiffany was quiet for a long moment before she spoke again, “Can we talk for a bit? I know it’s late.” 

Her mother smiled, “You know we can.” 

Tiffany got comfortable in her chair and smiled gently at her mother, “How’s dad? Did he ever got those Vulcan Hydrangeas blooming?” She asked. 

“Oh don’t get me started on those hydrangeas!” Her mother exclaimed with a laugh. 

Tiffany sunk down in her chair, just listening to her mother delve into the story, trying to find a little bit of hope in the darkness. 

Hope… Contentment, but still fear. Still anxiety. Terani searched for something better, some last stepping stone to find her way back to safety, back to the light. 

Finally, she caught a hint of love. Not passionate love, but maternal love. Family love. She tried to relax her shoulders and focus on that…

Melody sat on the couch in her quarters, snuggled under blankets with her daughter, Samantha, watching an old earth movie about lions and meerkats. Her daughter giggled as they watched the cartoon animals eat bugs and sing songs. Samantha never failed to her mother so much hope, even in the darkest nights. She felt her husband’s loss that much more on the even of dangerous missions, but something about Samantha made it… just a bit better. 

“Did you enjoy dinner?” Melody asked, giving her little girl a squeeze. 

“Yeah! Pizza!” Samantha exclaimed happily. “It’s my favorite. I love it!” She said. 

“I know,” Melody replied with a chuckle. “And you know what else is good?” 

“What, mommy?” Samantha looked up at her mother like she was some sort of goddess, promising the secrets of the universe. 

“Rocky road ice cream with rainbow sprinkles!” Melody exclaimed, playfully scratching at her daughters stomach and eliciting a high pitched squeal from the little girl as they both laughed together. 

Melody got up and walked over to the replicator and placed the order for the ice cream.

“Mommy?” She heard from behind her, quiet and thoughtful. 

“Yes, baby?” She called back over her shoulder. 

“Are you worried you’re gonna die?” The little girl asked, sincerely. 

Melody’s heart pricked at that. Her daughter was so young, but so perceptive some days. It made her proud, but frustrated her that she couldn’t as easily hide the real pain of the world from her daughter anymore. She  picked up the two bowls of ice cream and turned back to her daughter, walking over with the treat, “Why do you ask that, baby?” 

“Because we have special nights when you think you might die,” Samantha replied with all the innocence of a small child, looking up at her mother with big eyes. 

Melody never lied to her daughter and she didn’t intend to start now. She could only imagine the fear she must have after losing her father so early in her life. The thought of losing Melody too must have been staggering, “I’m about to go on a dangerous mission, yes,” She said. “And even though I’m not afraid I’m going to die, I always want to make sure that if anything ever happens to me, the last memory you have with me is a good and happy one,” She explained.

“But I have no intention of dying,” She said, smiling, and poking her daughter on the nose as she handed her her ice cream, “Because I have a beautiful little girl that I have to watch grow up,” She explained, in a matter-of-fact tone. “And I very much intend to do that.” 

“And you’re a super hero,” Samatha replied, giggling excitedly. 

“AND I’m a super hero!” Melody replied, tickling her daughter and laughing with her, barely catching the ice cream before she dropped it, “Careful, little one!” She said, laughing happily. 

They snuggled back together and Melody kissed the top of her head as they dug into their ice cream, “Everything is going to be just fine, kiddo.” 

“I know, mommy.” 

There was something in that ‘I know’ that set Melody’s heart to rest. That was it. Samantha knew everything was going to be fine, and so was. Melody snuggled in closer to her daughter and smiled. Everything was going to be just fine. 

Terani’s entire body relaxed, the wave of peace and love and happiness flowing into her from whoever it was. She finally felt the last shackles of fear and anxiety fall away from her mind and her heart rate returned to normal. It was like being buried in a warm burrow, safe from everything. 

She sighed heavily, letting the last of the tension in her shoulders go and wrapping her blanket around her tighter. Maybe now, sleep could come. Next time the fear rose, she’d have a ships controls under her hands, and that would keep it at bay.

Tiffany walked onto the bridge looking like posterchild for Starfleet. Every button, every pip, every seam was perfectly in place on her uniform. Her hair was up in a tight bun on the back of her head, the only unfettered bits being a lock on each side of her face, framing it in crimson. She walked with her head held high to the center chair, “Sitrep.” She called. 

“Ten minutes out from Sevury, Captain,” Vlex replied from the helm. 

“Good,” Tiffany replied, sitting down and crossing her legs, and straightening her duty jacket. She tapped the shipboard channel and the familiar bosun’s whistle chimed out. 

“Attention all hands, this is the Captain speaking,” She said. Tiffany always spoke with a calm, confident tone, but right now she was using what Frankie had dubbed her “Captain Voice”. It was a touch deeper, and she spoke slower, with just a bit more enunciation than she would normally. She only used it when things were dire, and she needed people to listen. 

“We are ten minutes from dropping into the upper atmosphere of Sevury. Dropping out of warp will be dangerous, and the ship will experience an impressive amount of turbulence. After we get out of that, we’ll be engaging the Dominion in ship to ship combat while our away team beams down and attempts to liberate the surface,” She said, laying out the mission in brief. “This will be a harrowing time for everyone involved. The risks are high and the stakes are even higher. Each of us has a role in this mission, whether you’re Starfleet or civilian.”

She turned her tone lighter, more empathetic, “We must remember that we have each other and that we’ll persevere if we work together. We will get through this, we will win this fight, we will liberate Sevury, and we will send the Dominion home with their tails between their legs. Good luck, to all of us.” 

She cut the feed and took a deep breath, “Commander Richards, now would be a good time to get that transporter room.” Tiffany said over her shoulder. 

“Yes, ma’am. En route,” Melody said, turning and heading toward the turbolift, Blake and French falling in behind her. 

Tiffany snatched her XO’s wrist as she stood to go with Melody, “You better bring your ass back, Commander. I put way too much time into training you to not annoy me for you to let some twenty-five-year-stale Jem’hadar burn you,” She said, narrowing her eyes at the other woman. 

“You kidding me, mija? You wish. You can’t get rid of me that easy,” Juarez replied, with a lopsided grin. 

“Be careful down there,” Tiffany said, more seriously. 

“You too,” Frankie replied, squeezing the CO’s shoulder, before heading on to the turbolift. 

Tiffany watched as Melody and her team disappeared behind the doors of the turbolift, trying to ignore the errant ‘you might never see them again’ that flitted through her thoughts. She looked back to the viewscreen and spoke to her helmsman again. “Vlex? How we lookin’?” 

“One minute to destination,” Vlex answered. 

Tiffany nodded as she pushed back into her chair. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her palms were sweating, and she felt like her eyeballs were vibrating in her head. She stared down the viewscreen as the stars zipped by at high warp. In less than a minute, they’d be there. There would be no dread, no second guessing or concern, just adrenaline and gut instinct. 

“Thirty seconds,” Vlex called. 

Tiffany tapped her commbadge, “Black to Richards. In position?” 

“In position,” Melody replied, quickly. 

“Good luck, and godspeed,” Tiffany said, leaving the channel open. Tiffany set her jaw, still staring out the viewport as if she could see the enemy in the distance. Her knee bounced slightly as she white-knuckled the arms of her chair… this was going to be rough. 

“Ten seconds.” Vlex called. 

Tiffany started counting down in her head, ticking off seconds before the drop. She knew she’d never dropped out of warp like this before, and hopefully never would again. She had a mild idea in her brain what the drop out was going to be like and she wasn’t quite sure she was ready for it. 

“Five!”

She put both feet on the floor in front of her chair, bracing herself. 

“Four!” 

Tiffany gritted her teeth unconsciously. 

“Three!”

She took a deep breath and held it.  

“Two!” 

Tiffany gripped the arm rests on her chair so hard, she was certain she left dents in it. 

“ONE!” 

Suddenly, the ship lurked and the planet was right there, so close that Tiffany gasped suddenly, instinctively jamming her feet on the deck plating in front of her chair and pushing herself back into. A half second later, her brain turned back on and she yelled into the open comm channel, “Energize!”  

The ship rattled and lurched, deck plating and structural supports groaned under the strain of staying in flight when gravity really wanted them not to. A plasma conduit ruptured behind Tiffany but she stared straight ahead. They were slowing, the planet was just approaching now, instead of rushing up. Alarm klaxons were firing and somewhere over the din she heard herself yelling, “Red alert!” 

As the shields rippled to life around the ship, the re-entry turbulence lessened. She could feel the ship shifting back toward the stars. They were so close to the surface that she could make out the various colonies and towns dotting the surface. 

“Lieutenant Kint! Did the Dominion forces on the surface detect our team beaming down?” She asked the young Bajoran at the science station. 

“If they did, ma’am, they haven’t mobilized anything. Between the re-entry burn out and the initial energy burst of us dropping out of warp, I could barely detect the transport, so the likelihood that they picked it up from the surface is almost none,” He explained. 

Tiffany brushed one of her free locks of red hair from her face, “Good. Then, Lieutenant Vlex, bring as about and get us into that firefight,” She called. “Lieutenant Hamlin, load all forward torpedo launchers and ready phasers. We’ve got some bullies to handle,” She said, grinning broadly. She watched as the view of the planet drifted quickly away and the space battle between the Dominion ships and her fellow Fourth Fleet allies came into view. 

“Send a message on all Starfleet channels. The Alita is here to help, form up on us and let’s take these Dominion bastards down,” She called to the communications officer. 

She smiled as the ship shot forward, the Dominion fighters in her sights and bullets in her gun. There was no way another Dominion war was happening. Not on Tiffany’s watch. 

The phasers fired, the torpedos spread out in front of them, and they were in the thick of it.

Melody laid on a rock outcropping, scanning the tree line silently. The beam in had been good, right where they’d needed to be. So long as the Alita didn’t crash into the surface somewhere, things were going according to plan. Part one was done, now for the real hard part. She looked back down at her crew hiding in the rocky terrain below: Juarez, Blake, French, and eight of her best security officers. Twelve people against an army. What could possibly go wrong? 

“I’m not picking up anything, Commander,” Blake whispered from his position next to Melody. “No life signs, no nothing. See anything?” 

Melody turned her attention back to the tree line for a moment longer before finally shaking her head, “Nothing so far. I think we made it down safe,” She replied. 

The two of them scuttled back down from the rock outcropping they’d been using for cover and found their way back to the crew. Melody was proud of these men and women with her, their eyes were wary, but the held themselves with confidence and determination. Melody could work with that. She knew they were all trained, but she also knew that she had much more understanding of battlefield tactics than any of them. 

“How we looking, Mel?” Juarez asked, stepping over to the other woman. 

“Clear, so far. I think we can make it to the tree line without being spotted. After that, it’s hide and seek through the trees,” Melody reported. 

“Bien,” Juarez responded. She turned back and looked at the other people standing there, “I want to make something perfectly clear. I’m ranking officer on this mission. Any hard decisions come, it’s my call. But everything else is Lt. Commander Richards’ game. You listen to her like a CO. Follow her lead, follow her orders. That’s what I’m going to be doing. Got it?” 

Everyone confirmed and Melody smiled at the XO, “Thanks, ma’am.” 

“Mija, you’ve got the experience here. I can sling phasers with the best of them, but that ain’t this,” Frankie replied with a laugh. “I’m counting on you to keep my head on my shoulders.” 

“No pressure,” Melody teased. 

“Nah, just that the Cap will probably kill you if I don’t come back alive,” Frankie said with a wink. 

Melody rolled her eyes playfully and raised a hand in the air for a moment to get everyone’s attention, “Okay, listen up. I’m hoping you all read up the Jem’hadar and Vorta before we saddled up this morning. Since we’re out in the field, we’ll most likely be dealing with Jem’hadar. I wouldn’t expect to see Vorta until we get inside the compound, and maybe not even then,” She explained. 

“The Jem’hadar have the ability to cloak themselves, and it makes them almost impossible to see unless they’re moving. Even then, in the thick of the forest it’s going to be tough to make them out,” She said, looking around to make sure that everyone was paying attention. 

“How are we going to avoid them if we can’t see them?” French asked. 

“That’s what’s going to make this two-klick hike feel like a marathon,” Melody replied. “We’re going to have to go slow and take our time. All eyes and ears present and listening. If we run across a patrol, take them out, and disintegrate the bodies. We don’t want to leave any evidence. If we do, the likelihood of us getting inside drops dramatically,” She explained. 

“What about ambient ground temperature?” Blake asked, suddenly. 

Melody looked over at him and cocked her head to the side, “Sorry?” 

“So, if the shroud hides them from sensors and stuff, does it keep them from transferring heat into the ground they’re standing on?” Blake asked. 

Melody shrugged, “I’m not sure, but have you got an idea on how to make that useful?” 

“Maybe… My tricorder is equipped to detect micro changes in temperature for when I’m working in the computer core. I could modify it a bit to look for changes in ground temp. Use it as a confirmation if we think we’ve spotted something?” He offered. 

Melody thought about that for a moment, then nodded, “Do it.” 

Blake smiled and set to work as Melody looked up to the rest of her team, “Alright, form up. We’re rushing down the mountains, and then low and slow through the woods. Hand signals only as much as possible,” She said.

“Move out!” 

The dull grey sky had given way to a misty rain, drenching the strike team in short order. Melody had brought all-weather active-hue camo trench coats along, but the mist permeated the air in a way that seemed to even make its way through those. It was cold and damp, but it softened the ground and made the foot steps of the approaching strike team difficult to discern against the light white noise of the rain. That was exactly the kind of luck that Melody was hoping for as she lead her team into an unknown woodland, potentially teeming with Jem’hadar shock troops. 

They were approaching the thickest part of the woodlands, which Melody assumed was the most likely place that they’d encounter Jem’hadar troops. They hadn’t gone very far from their original beam in location, but it had already taken them most of an hour. Slow and steady, that was the only way they’d spot the Jem’hadar before the Jem’hadar spotted them. 

Blake slid in next to her and showed her the read out on his tricoder, “I think I’ve eliminated all of the ambient heat signatures,” He said quietly, showing it to her. 

Melody glanced down, then back up at the man, “There’s nothing being displayed.” 

“Right,” He whispered, “Well… I’m hoping that it will display something when we get near a Jem’hadar,” He explained. “Because… that won’t be what I’ve excluded.” 

Melody stifled a laugh and shook her head a little, “Well, here’s hoping you’re right, Mr. Blake.” She whispered, turning her attention back to the woods ahead of them. 

The one problem with the rain muffling her team’s noise was that it also muffled the Jem’hadar’s noises as well, leaving her reliant on only sight… and allegedly Blake’s tricorder. 

She smirked a bit to herself as she brought her range finder back up to her eye, moving a lock of hair out of her eyes as she did so with her free hand. This was the worst part of the process, the waiting. She could feel the tension building in the back of her neck just as it was building for the people there with her. They all sat stock still and absolutely silent as she looked for any evidence of the Jem’hadar. 

This was the riskiest part; They could afford to have a firefight once they were inside. At that point, they’d breached the outer defenses and found their way in. Cover, return fire, advance. Piece of cake. 

But right now, out here, if they were spotted and word got back to the compound that a strike team was on planet, it’d be all over. The Jem’hadar would reinforce their perimeter and they’d be dog food before they could even got close to the entrance to the tunnels. They had to be absolutely sure that they did not get spotted, or if they did that it wasn’t for long enough for anyone to get a message off. 

Melody finished her slow sweep of the ridge in front of them and motioned that everything was clear. There was a barely audible shuffle as the team all went prone behind her and started the slow advance to the ridge itself. From what she could tell from here, it looked like it was an old river bed. There was a solid chance they’d find their marks there, and have their first bit of fighting. 

There was a piece of Melody’s mind that was ready for it, hungry for it almost. All of this sneaking and tension, it would feel good to take it out on someone. Especially some Jem’hadar who’d come here for the sole purpose of enslaving and murdering people. She couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of the gift of a phaser blast between the eyes. 

On the other hand, there was a part of her that was worried for this team. They were all capable, she knew that. She’d hand selected everyone based on academy scores and weapons training. She knew they all could do it, technically. But ending a life was ending a life, and the first time you do that… 

It’s different. There was no room for stuns on this mission. Set to kill, then disintegrate to prevent discovery until -hopefully – they were inside. It was cold, it was calculating, but it was necessary for the success of the mission. 

She worried that the mental and emotional aftermath that would have on the team could be a lot to bear. She’d have to remember to ask Terani to loop through all of the strike team members after they got back. She may have been their pilot, but she was good at getting through to people. 

Finally reaching the lip of the ravine, she raised her hand and immediately heard all noise cease behind her. They might not have her training, but dammit if these weren’t some of the best officer’s she’d ever served with. She pulled her range finder out again and began her scan of the ravine. 

It was cut short a moment later by a pebbled hitting the side of her head. She looked over, trying not to look too annoyed, and found Juarez looking at her. Frankie pointed to her eyes, then down in the ravine, opposite of where Melody had been looking. Melody brought her range finder up again and pointed it in that direction. 

At first she was confused, she didn’t see anything… and then it clicked.

The rain wasn’t hitting the ground. It was hitting something, but not the ground. 

She zoomed her range finder back out and could clearly make out the forms of four bodies making their way slowly through the ravine. She quickly tucked her range finder away and turned back to her team. She motioned to her eyes, then held up four fingers, and pointed in the direction of the Jem’hadar. She pulled a smoke grenade off of her belt, then pointed to herself and the grenade in succession, the back at the team and gave the ‘lock and load’ hand gesture. She got a series of nods and gave them a smile before turning back to the ravine. 

The Jem’hadar had gotten closer now. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Frankie readying her phaserifle. Mentally, Melody was already running through the muscle memory of slinging hers around and getting it ready once the smoke grenade was lobbed. She’d made a few modifications to hers which made that easier, but she still didn’t want to waste time. 

She watched the rainless blobs approach, closer and closer. 

Not yet… not yet…

Melody thumbed the control on the grenade over to explode on impact, not a timer.

Not yet…

Now! Melody lobbed the smoke grenade through the air and it landed precisely at their feet, exploding with a muffled ‘pop’. The immediate presence of an unexpected smoke grenade was far more effective than Melody had anticipated. The vacant forms of the Jem’hadar troops could be seen wildly flailing in the smoke, trying futilely to get their bearings. 

Melody didn’t exactly remember getting her gun, but it was in her hands and aimed at the Jem’hadar. She fired off several rounds, dropping two who’s shroud immediately failed as they collapsed to the ground, and forcing the other two back to cover. Frankie took her shots and managed to pin them down. Suddenly from behind them, all hell broke loose, and the remaining Jem’hadar went down amidst the fire. 

Melody wasted no time launching over the edge of the ravine. She slid down the muddy bank and walked over to the first body. The smell of singed flesh and scorched ketracel-white filled the air. Thumbing her phaserifle to full, she disintegrated the first body, then the next. She heard someone else doing the same and looked up to see Frankie looking over at her. 

The two women exchanged a nod, an unspoken agreement that they’d handle the cold parts as the leaders of the mission. By the time the rest of the team got down to the ravine, there was no carnage left to see, just disintegrated carbon slowly soaking into the soil in the rain. 

“This should be the outer most ring of patrol,” She said, quietly, as the others approached. “My guess is the next ring will be in that open area closer to the city, but I’m hoping they’ll be tucked into the woods so we can discretely handle them.”

“Couldn’t we just try to bypass them?” Blake asked. 

“No, I don’t want to risk them spotting us. It’s going to be hard enough making the run to the aqueduct entrance as it is, without having to worry about troops behind us as well,” She explained. 

Melody looked away for a moment. Something was off… she knew more questions were being asked, but something was off. The ambient noise had changed. She knew that the rain had picked up over the last few minutes, the light misting turning to a decent downpour, but that wasn’t it. There was something more. something deeper. Lower pitched. Something…

“Shit,” She spat, her eyes suddenly snapping back past the team, further down the ravine. 

“Everyone out of the ravine, now!” She barked, bolting to the nearest bank and frantically starting to climb up. 

Down was much easier than up was. The mud and rocks gave way beneath her feet, but the flash flood was only getting louder. Something must have given way further up stream, but it really didn’t matter what caused it. She and her team had to get out of the ravine before…

She barely felt the initial blast of mist in the rain, but the hard current and tree branch that caught her she definitely felt. She was knocked under the sudden wall of water, but kept her wits about her enough to get back to the surface. She spun back around in the current, finding eleven other heads being carried along with her in the rapids. 

She got battered into the banks a time or two before she was able to kick herself further into the middle of the raging river. Defiantly fighting to keep herself above the surface, she checked again… Eleven heads, still there, frantically trying to stay afloat just as she was. She couldn’t even track how far they’d gone, only that they were way off the path to the city. 

The front of the flood had far surpassed her, but the current had only slowed a little, she was still being dragged along at a breakneck speed, but she knew eventually it’d slow and they could track the river back. 

She had almost found peace in that thought when another strange shift in sound caught her ears. Her heart sank and her gut when cold. She turned around and saw that the river banks abruptly ended just a few hundred feet in front of her. 

“Waterfall!” She screamed, not knowing how tall it was, but fully processing and understanding that she saw the tops of trees beyond the banks and there was no way to not go over.

Before she could do anything else, before she could even think, she was in the air and staring at a lake below. She couldn’t process the height or how fast she was dropping, just that the lake was approaching at alarming speeds. She stiffened her body, feet first, and closed her eyes. She heard a few screams above her as other members of the team were thrust out into freefall, and then…

She plunged into the icy depths of the lake. 

The cold, the pressure, and the pain all threatened to overwhelm Melody as she plunged into the lake. She forced her eyes open in the water, and pressed her fist into her broken ribs with her other arm. The sharp jab of pain was enough to stave of blacking out, and the sudden surge of adrenaline from needing oxygen carried it through. 

Melody looked for the sunlight filtering through the water to make sure she didn’t swim the the wrong way, and kicked off, toward the surface. Her lungs burned as she pushed forward, everything in her mind screaming that she needed to inhale, water be damned. In her head she cursed the waterfall for being high enough to send her sinking like a stone into the icy lake. She had a moment of doubt as to whether or not she’d make it, but finally she burst through the surface. 

As she finally broke above the water, she gasped in a breath of air and a fresh burst of pain causing her to cry out as her lungs expanded. She kept herself above the surface, just barely, shaking the water out of her eyes. She heard splashing around her and finally found the mental clarity to look around and found more heads bobbing up out of the surface trying to find their bearings. She let out a tiny whistle, and saw the heads swivel back toward her, then she motioned everyone to follow her to the shore. 

It took a solid twenty minutes to get everyone to shore and somewhat settled, between exhaustion, cold, and pain, but the finally did it. As soon as she’d done a headcount and made sure everyone was alive, Melody stumbled over to a tree and collapsed against it, clutching her side. Frankie was by her side a few minutes later, “You okay, jefe?” She asked, concerned. 

“Nope. Definitely something broken,” She replied through gritted teeth. With the pain overwhelming and the adrenaline waning, she felt fear. Not the healthy kind either, the kind that made you panic and make mistakes, and that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. She grunted and looked over at Frankie, “Sitrep, Commander.”  

Frankie started her med scan with the tricorder she’d brought over, “You just worry about resting and–”

Melody abruptly clutched her arm and looked her dead in the eye, “Sitrep. Right now. Please.” 

Frankie immediately understood and nodded, “Yes, ma’am. All present and accounted for. Looks like Yang lost her demo kit when she dropped into the lake, but we’ve still got the one in French’s kit, so we should be okay there. All other supplies are accounted for, just water logged, but we can work with that.” 

Melody listened to the report and let her mind focus on the details, the logistics, the strategies, and that set her at ease. She was able to push aside the cold panic and move to a productive adrenaline rush, which was exactly what she needed right them. 

Frankie frowned, looking at the readout, “Yeah, you’re busted Commander. Two broken ribs, six bruised. I’m going to grab the osteoregenerator. Stay put,” She said, running off quickly. 

“Yeah, not planning on going on a hike,” Melody quipped, going back to clutching her side. “Blake! How far off course are we?” She called to the Ops officer, who was already fervently looking over his tricorder trying to figure out that. 

“About three klicks to the east of where we should be, commander,” he replied. 

“Great,” Melody said, grumpily. “How far from here does this cliff face end?” 

“Let me see,” Blake replied, setting to work on his tricorder. A moment later, he frowned, “About forty klicks to the north at the ocean shore and about seventy klicks south at the other shore,” He said, sounding apologetic. “And unfortunately, this is the shortest height as well,” He added. 

“Great, I was hoping I could climb a rock face with broken ribs today,” Melody quipped, letting out a chuckle. “Climbing gear still good?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Blake replied. “It’s all here and accounted for.” 

“Good,” Melody said with a sigh as Frankie returned.

“The break’s bad enough that we’d need a couple hours to get you sorted out, but I think we’ll be able to get you functional in about twenty minutes… it’s still going to hurt, though,” Her XO explained. 

“Hurts I can deal with. Get me functional. Everyone can dry out and get ready to move in the meantime,” Melody replied with a nod. 

“Hey boss?” Blake called. “I think I’ve got an idea,” He said, walking back over as Frankie went to work on her ribs.

“Let’s hear it,” Melody said. 

“There’s a bunch of magma vents around here. It looks like there’s a web of caves from old lava flows. There’s a risk to it, because some of them are still partially active, but looks like there’s a cave entrance near us, and one close the compound, and they’re connected,” He explained. 

“How close?” Melody asked, wincing a bit as the osteoregenerator started to knit her ribs. 

“The one here is about ten meters that way,” he explained, pointing, “And the one at the compound is like, close close,” Blake said, pulling up a holoprojection of the compound with the lava vent highlighted, “It’s about ten meters from the eastern wall of the compound. We’d still have to make our way back around to the maintenance hatch, but I think it’s doable and we don’t have to climb a cliff,” He explained. 

Melody put her hand on Frankie’s arm to stop her for a moment as she looked closer at the holoprojection, “What’s that?” She asked, pointing to a small indent on the compound wall near the vent. 

Blake spun it and looked more closely, “It’s a drainage duct it looks like,” He explained.

“We go in there, then,” Melody replied. 

Blake gave her a skeptical look, “It’s only about a meter wide, and with all the rain, it will probably be flooded.” 

“We’ll push through,” Melody replied. “Trying to make our way to the maintenance hatch from there is too risky,” She explained. 

Blake nodded and pulled up the schematics, looking over them again, “Looks like there’s a heavy-duty grate about halfway through.” 

Melody pondered that for a minute as Juarez went back to work on her ribs, “Hey! French!” she called. 

The Engineer hopped up and made her way over, “Yes, ma’am?” She asked. 

“Best way to take out that grate?” Melody asked, pointing to the schematics. 

French turned her attention to the schematics that Blake was looking over and took a closer look at the grate. After some hushed conversation with Blake she turned back to Melody, “According to the specs it’s a tritanium alloy. We’d probably want to put some pulse charges on the mounting joints. It’ll be a little bit noisy, but they’d have to be right on top of us to hear it,” She explained.

“Even if they do, we’ll be too far in to stop at that point,” Melody replied with a confident nod. “Sounds like we’ve got a new plan, guys,” She said with a grin. “Get set, get dry, and get ready to get on the move again. As soon as the XO gives the go for me, we’re back on the road,” She said, confidently. 

— –

The trek through the magma vents had been surprisingly uneventful, the Jem’hadar probably not considering them a big enough risk to guard or patrol. Other than a few risky jumps over active lava flows far below, it had been just about a walk in the park. Now, the away team found themselves staring at the compound from the cave entrance near it. There, thirty feet away, stood the drainage duct. It was just as narrow as Blake had said, and just as flooded, but it was doable. 

“Move in quick and low,” Melody said, finally satisfied that there were no shrouded Jem’hadar troops in the vicinity. “Try not to make anymore noise getting through the water there than you have to. There’s not enough room for us to all fit in that tunnel until the grate is blown, so hug the wall until we’re clear, understood?” 

Everyone nodded and one by one started making their way to the wall and pressing up against it. Frankie pulled in next to Melody before she pushed across and put a hand on her shoulder, “You okay?” she asked, seeing the other woman rubbing at her ribs. 

“I will be, just sore right now,” Melody replied with a grin. “Don’t worry about me, just go get into cover.” 

Frankie nodded, and bolted across the short open area, with Melody close on her heels. They pressed in close to the wall and Melody nodded to French who pushed in past the rushing water to get to the grate. The flow was strong enough that Blake had to press his back against French and dig his heels in to help her stay in place. 

There was just enough underbrush at the wall to keep them mostly hidden, which was good. So long as they could avoid detection until the grate was blasted, they’d be fine. 

Everything happened in a blur next: French set that charges on a ten second timer and activated it, she tapped Blake to let her go and get to cover, and he did so. Almost as soon as French was clear, Frankie rapped Melody on the shoulder hard and jabbed a finger back toward the cave they’d just come out off. Another set of hollow rain forms were walking by, not 5 meters away. Melody’s eyes grew wide as she saw it.

“Fuck…” She muttered, just as the charges blew. 

“Get in the duct! Now! MOVE IT!” She barked, already firing on the Jem’hadar troops who’d deshrouded just as the grate came flying out of the drainage duct.

Everyone pushed in, fighting against the rushing water as Frankie and Melody took up the rear, firing wildly on the Jem’hadar soldiers as they fought hard against the rushing drainage water to walk backwards into the aqueducts below the compound. Their cover was blown, but they were in. It wasn’t ideal, but at least they were in. Melody could work with that. 

Jem’hadar disruptor blasts dug into the duracrete walls as they struggled to find a clean firing line with Melody and Frankie firing wildly at them from the tunnel. Finally, they saw the walls of the interior of the aqueducts and pushed the rest of the way through the drain water, and into the relative calm waters of the water control system below the compound. Melody hopped up on one of the raised platforms with a wince and caught her breath as she leaned against the wall. 

“We’re in,” Blake said, grinning. 

“Yeah,” Melody said between pain gasps, “But you can damn well know they’re not going to make it easy now that they know we’re here,” She said, sounding frustrated. 

“What now, ma’am?” Blake asked. 

“Lock and load… We’re running and gunning,” Melody said, grimly sliding her phaserifle up to the maximum setting. 

The Alita’s bridge was filled with smoke and sparks as they came around again trying to find the firing pattern of the Jem’hadar fighter they were chasing. Terani was at the top of her game, solely focused on her mark. The other ships in orbit with them were doing their part, and it seemed like they’d take this soon. It was just a matter of allowing the ground team time to do their tasks. 

Tiffany regained her seat after a relatively close blast from a Jem’hadar torpedo. Even with all of the advances Starfleet had made in the last couple decades, these Jem’hadar fighters packed a punch. Tiffany had lost some of her shine that she’d started her bridge shift with, the hair wrapped up in the bun had pulled free in places and more of it was loose around her face that was now thoroughly soot covered. 

“We’ve got a torpedo lock!” Terani called out. 

“Fire!” Tiffany barked without hesitation. 

The familiar pulses of the photon torpedo launcher filled the air and a grin curled Tiffany’s lips as she saw it find her mark. Sure enough, the torpedo sparked a chain reaction in their engines and the Jem’hadar fighter went down in a blaze of fire and shrapnel. 

Tiffany pounded her fist into the arm rest happily, “Nice shooting! Target the one on the Wasp,” She called, standing up and walking toward the view screen. 

“Alita to Wasp, we’re targeting the fighter on your six, blow the one in front of you as soon as you can, Commander Burgess,” He called. 

“Yes, ma’am!” The older man called back. 

Tiffany watched as the Wasp adjusted it’s heading to get a better firing solution on the Jem’hadar fighter they were chasing. Tiffany shored her footing on the deck plating and narrowed her eyes at the viewscreen, the Jem’hadar fighter catching on and starting to take some evasive maneuvers while it continued to chase the Wasp.

“Captain,” Sureth called from the science station, “One of the other Jem’hadar fighters is breaking off and heading straight for us,” He called. 

“Fire a cover pattern to cut it off,” Tiffany called to the helm. “And lock torpedoes on the ship that’s trailing the Wasp,” She called. 

Her crew operated perfectly, like a well oiled machine. She heard the dull hum of the phasers going off, and the positive chime of the torpedo lock. Terani didn’t wait for the order this time, letting the torpedoes fly as soon as the lock was strong. Tiffany smirked as the torpedo volley slammed into the Jem’hadar ship and ended its existence. 

“Wasp, you’re all clear to–” Tiffany was cut off as more Jem’hadar fighters emerged from warp unexpectedly just beyond the Wasp.

The lead of the fighters fired a volley at the Wasp, and though the ship didn’t explode, a wide swath was gouged out of the back end of the ship and the nacelles went dark. Tiffany scowled as she watched the Wasp start a lazy roll, before barking “Evasive maneuvers! Tac, gimme a sit rep now!”

The young woman at the Tactical console was frantically scanning the data in front of her, “Four new ships, two to Starboard and two to Port. The remaining fighters we’ve been engaged with are falling back and regrouping with the new ones,” she explained. “Wasp and Zhukov are dead in the water, but the Cobourg and Missouri are still with us.”

The Alita shuddered and Tiffany reached back to steady herself on the center chair, “What’s the status on our friends?” She called to Kint.

“They blew out the majority of the Wasp‘s EPS conduits, but they’re structurally sound. Life support is online. Zhukov was hit in the nacelles and it looks like they’ve had a cascading power failure. They’re adrift, but they firing as they can. Life support is down, but they should have several hours before we run out of oxygen,” he said quickly, looking over the remote readouts. “Cobourg and Missouri are generally fine, but Missouri took a rough hit and her shields are down to thirty-six percent.”

Tiffany had been watching the view screen as Terani took them through a series of mind numbing dives and loops to avoid the fire of the Jem’hadar ships. She was always amazed at the way these massive hunks of metal could maneuver in a vacuum. Even as she marveled at that, she took in the details that her officers were feeding her.

“Thatcher to bridge!”

“Go ahead, doctor!” Tiffany replied.

“We’re getting more wounded every minute, lots of broken bones and crush injuries. We’re going to be out of crew if we keep this up much longer,” the woman said, fear tangible in her voice.

“Copy that, doc. I’ll put an end to this as soon as I can,” Tiffany replied. 

Straightening her back, she nodded, open a channel. Encrypted to all Starfleet vessels here with us,” she said, her voice unwavering.

“Channel open, ma’am!”

“Cobourg, Missouri, group up on me, and let’s keep the Wasp and Zhukov in one piece. No one is getting taken out today,” She said, firmly. Over the open channel she got a couple of affirmatives and a couple thank yous, then nodded to shut the channel again as she made her way back to the center chair. 

“Helm,” she said, bracing herself against another jarring shudder, “Weapons free, evasive maneuvers. Let’s hope our people on the surface get their job done ASAP,” she said.

“It’s getting a little hot up here.”

A couple of hand lights flicked on and Melody hissed, motioning for people to shut them off. After a moment of confusion, the lights were turned off. She tapped the scope of her gun in the dim light still filtering in from the drainage grate then slid the targeting mode back until her scope glowed faintly green: Night vision. Melody peered down the corridor. She couldn’t see much in the dim light. It wasn’t completely dark, but the lights were dim and few and far between. She lifted her rifle and looked for and flickering movement through the scope. She saw nothing, but didn’t know if she’d even be able to detect the flicker motion of the Jem’hadar through the night vision filter anyway. She sighed and shook her head. No time for what if’s now. 

“Kutav, Gates, take the rear with Juarez. Stanil, Kartyk, you’re taking point with me, the rest of you fall in,” She said, whispering as loudly as she dared over the sound of the water.  “Get out of the water as soon as you can so we make less noise,” She said, motioning everyone to move toward the service platforms in front of them.

She hoisted herself up onto the nearest one, moving forward into the darkness, crouched down low . She heard the sounds of others coming out of the water behind her. It wasn’t long before the sounds of the drainage reservoir faded and they were left with the light sound of flowing water and dripping pipes. He stared down the scope of her phase rifle like a lifeline, feeling like the darkness of the tunnel was laying on her like a cloying shroud. 

French slid in beside Melody and squeezed her shoulder, “I’m not sure if the light in this tunnel is a blessing or a curse. The schematics that Blake is showing me says there’s a junction box… Do you want it completely dark in here?” The other woman asked. 

Melody pondered that for a moment. At the moment, there was enough light that the Jem’hadar would see them coming, but not enough that Melody or her team would be able to see them before it was too late. It seemed counter productive, but if the Jem’hadar were going to be invisible… her team might as well be, too. 

“Do it,” She said, making room for French to move ahead to the junction box.

She turned back to everyone and motioned for quiet, then mouthed out “going dark” and tapped her scope again, then turned back the way French had gone. A moment later, there was a slight rumble, followed by darkness enshrouding them completely. 

Melody’s heart raced as she stared down the night vision optics of her scope. She ran through in her mind why this was logically and tactically a good call, but something in that tiny lizard brain part of her head kept telling her about all the monsters hiding out there in the shadows, and unfortunately for her… she knew some of them were very real. 

She started moving forward and motioned for the rest to follow. If she remembered the map Blake had shone her, there’d be a cross way that would take them to the central corridor where they’d have originally come in from. Once there, it would be a straight shot to the corridors that would take them into the city. As long as things stayed quiet, this would be a relatively easy mission. 

They’d only gone a few dozen meters when they heard voices behind them: Jem’hadar, griping about the lights. She heard some shuffling behind her, but she snapped her fingers and motioned forward again. They were not her problem, they were not the folks in the middle’s problem. Juarez and company would alert them if anything was important from the back. The best thing to do was keep moving, slowly and quickly. 

After a few moments, there was an odd scramble behind her and a hand grabbed her shoulder abruptly. She almost let out a yelp, but slowly turned back to find Blake pointing at his tricorder. She checked her scope forward and saw nothing, and looked back and Blake. He offered his tricorder and pointed at the screen, then forward, an urgent look on his face. Melody took it and held it forward… and sure enough, a faint heat signature was registering where there just shouldn’t have been one. She mouthed “Jam’hadar” and Blake grinned, nodding his head wildly. 

A slim grin came on Melody’s face as she went belly down on the ground and balanced her rifle on her arm. She aimed carefully for where the blob had been and fired. There was a yelp, followed by a Jem’hadar dropping it’s shroud and falling to the water below. Blake tapped her back twice purposefully, and she fired two more shots, resulting in two more downed Jem’hadar. 

Behind them there was an alarmed shout from the first batch of Jem’hadar, “They’re coming hot!” Juarez hissed from the back.

“Fast and low!” Melody called back, moving forward quickly again after giving Blake a ‘good job’ pat on the shoulder.  

Five meters. Ten. Fifteen. Finally, the intersection was in front of them. The Jem’hadar behind them were approaching, but carefully and cautiously. Melody motioned Blake forward and he scanned in front of them. Six signatures showed up on his tricorder. Melody scowled but motioned her people forward. 

She gave quick hand signals: six, spread across the hallway, set to kill. The crew acknowledged. The other group of Jem’hadar wasn’t far behind and she was not going to pinned now. She held up three fingers. 

Two. 

One. 

“GO GO!” She barked, leaping from around the corner and unloading on the unprepared Jem’hadar. One fell, and two. Soon she was joined by the rest of her crew, and then last four were dead on the floor. 

“Move! move! Into the corridor, go go!” She called, already setting off at a sprint into the corridor. Once everyone was with her, she turned back and dialed up her phase rifle all the way and starting firing at the entry support struts. The other crew of Jem’hadar rounded the corridor just as it came down on their heads. 

Melody allowed herself a grin, but just for a moment, before turning around and heading further down the corridor as quickly as she could, motioning for the others to follow. It wasn’t long before they’d reached the final junction that would take them into the city. A few more Jem’hadar had attempted to stop them, but there was enough concentrated phaser fire that they never stood a chance. 

“I’ll jam the door,” French called up to her once everyone was in the smaller tunnel. The engineer ran a few quick commands and the door panel parked and exploded. “There… mechanism is completely jammed now. They’ll have to blow it to get to us,” She explained. 

“Good, let’s go,” Melody said, heading up the stairs that would take them up to the final run of corridors into the city. 

Except… it didn’t. Melody emerged onto a catwalk on the edge of a massive cavern. Everyone was confused as they came out, trying to figure out where they were supposed to go. 

“This… wasn’t on the schematic,” Melody quipped. 

“Nope, it definitely wasn’t,” Blake replied. 

There was a pop-hiss behind them, and everyone turned to find this door slagged as well. French looked at everyone and shrugged, “Better two doors than one,” She said with a grin. 

“I think you just like burning things,” Melody replied, returning the grin. 

“Looks like a natural aquifer, Commander,” Starnil offered, shining his hand light over the guardrail in front of them, down into the cavern below. “They probably didn’t know it was here when they started building and simply build around it,” He explained. “It was very likely an early source of potable water for them.” 

“That’s all well and good, but where do we go from here?” She asked. 

Blake had flicked on his hand light as well, shining it both ways down the catwalk, “There. Stairs up,” He said, pointing at the metal stair’s at the end of the walk way. 

“Alright, people, let’s move,” Melody replied, already starting to make her way to the stairs. She didn’t like this. Not at all. They were far too exposed and this was far too dangerous. And now stairs? They’d be sitting ducks while they were trying to make their way up, but what other choice did they have. She grumbled as she launched up the first set of stairs, but the only way out was through. 

As the team got about halfway  up the stairs, her worst fears came to fruition as a blast slammed into the stairs in front of her. She blurted out a curse as she almost lost her footing, but she caught herself before she could fall. She called back, “Return fire! Keep ’em busy and MOVE!” 

Her team followed their orders perfectly, peppering the edge of the upper catwalk with enough fire to force the Jem’hadar back and stop their onslaught of fire. The twelve of them rapidly made their way up the stairs, dodging the few shots that made their way through the cover fire. It was a brutal and dangerous climb, but one by one the team made it to the top and engaged the Jem’hadar. 

Melody unclipped a flashbang from her belt and tossed it over to where the Jem’hadar were waiting, grinning at the sound of them screaming out in surprise. As soon as the loud pop sounded, she yelled out “Go! Now! Engage!” And fell in with the rest of her team. They quickly overran the last of the Jem’hadar soldiers and made their way up the last flight of stairs. 

There was a intersection of corridors and Blake stopped short, studying his Tricorder for a moment, then looking down on of the corridors for a moment. “Commander?” He called. 

Melody stopped and turned back, “What’s up?”

“This is it. This passageway should take us to the warehouse where they were keeping the hostages,” He said. 

Melody looked down the tunnel and nodded, “Take Miller, Stafford, and Kutav with you,” Melody replied with a nod. 

“Yes, ma’am!” Blake called, already heading down the cooridor with his assigned Security team.

“Good luck!” She called after them, then turned back to the people remaining with her, “Alright team… get ready for a firefight. This is the final push.”

The Jem’hadar had definitely been alerted to their presence. By the time Melody and her away team made it up to the lobby of the Federation HQ, they were greeted by an onslaught of disruptor fire. Kartyk lobbed a flashbang out into the lobby and everyone hunkered down. The popped was muffled by the ear pieces everyone had in, but it was enough to let them know to push forward.

“Generator should be in that far room, there!” French said, pointing as they darted through the lobby. 

The Jem’hadar were already recovering, but Frankie and Melody had already turned back and were providing cover fire, “Starn! Gates! Kartyk! Take cover over there and keep these bastards off of us!” Melody yelled, motioning for Frankie to fall back with French into the generator room. 

Two quick bursts of phaser fire from Frankie and the two Jem’hadar that were guarding the generator were down. Frankie stopped in the doorway and motioned French past her, “Get in there and get everything back up and running and under our control,” She told the other woman. 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

Melody fell back to take cover across from Frankie, “Schematics said that the controls for the planetary defense grid are up in the CIC,” She said over the sound of phaser and disruptor fire, jerking her thumb upward.  

“It’s going to be a hell of a trick getting up there at the rate we’re going,” Frankie replied, bluntly. 

“Yeah, I noticed,” Melody yelled back. 

Melody fired another volley, then looked around and tried to find any way to get around the Jem’hadar. After a moment, something caught her eye. “Hey, how crazy are you?” She asked.

“Depends on who you ask,” Frankie replied, still firing wildly at the encroaching Jem’hadar. “Madre says I’m a damn angel, but pretty much everyone else thinks I’m a bat out of hell.” 

Melody ducked behind cover again as a barrage of disruptor fire peppered the barricade they were hiding behind. As soon as the fire let up for a split second, she spun back around and fired back, taking down two of the braver troopers that had moved in closer. 

“Are you ‘grab a high tension wire and let it sling you up two floors and hope if goes well’ crazy?” Melody asked, taking some cleaner shots and forcing some of their assailants back, and nodding toward a massive Federation banner and that line that was securing it. 

Frankie ducked back into cover and looked over the whole contraption, following the line up and letting a grin creep across her face, “Oh, girl, I might be,” She said, laughing and then going back to firing. 

“Good. Grab the zip line clamps from your bag and get ready to move in as soon as French gives us the all clear,” Melody. 

Inside, French was inventing a few dozen new expletive combinations, “These stupid Jem’hadar bastards have gummed up all of the back end code in the bootup sequence. There’s random bullshit everywhere,” She spat. 

“How long, Frenchy,” Frankie called from the door. 

“I need a minute!” French replied, hotly. 

“You’ve got 30 seconds, chica!” Frankie bit back. “These fuckers are closing in!” 

“All due respect, boss, but I hate you right now!” French replied back. 

“Get in line!” Frankie called back. 

The firefight continued outside the door while French typed furiously away at the generator’s console, quietly cursing to herself. Suddenly, she whooped and the generator fired up, “We’re in business, boss!” French yelled from her post at the generator, already working on rerouting the power to the defense grid controls. 

“That’s what I’m talking about, chica! Good job!” Frankie replied, laughing happily. 

“Hold this position,” Melody called to her crew, motioning for Frankie to fall in with her as the other three security officers fell into position holding the generator room.

As soon as she was in good cover, she shouldered her phase rifle and snapped the zipline grip to the cord attached to the banner, “I’m hoping this is heavy enough for both of us,” She said, looking up at the banner. 

Frankie snapped her zip cord to the line next and gave Melody an odd look, “Now is when you think this?” She said, pulling out her phaser and shooting the line. 

The next moments were a blur. The banner fell and the two women found themselves in flight. Neither of them were absolutely sure that this was going to work until they found themselves dropped unceremoniously on the top floor of the compound. Both women scrambled to their feet as the Jem’hadar who’d been guarding the top floor turned quickly to try and end their existence before they could recover. 

Melody and Frankie barely made it into cover before the onslaught of disruptor blasts threatened to pulverize the wall they were hiding behind. 

“Well… What now?” Frankie asked, pulling out her phaser again. 

“Listen… I figured out how to get us up here. I never said I had a plan after that,” Melody replied. 

“That’s probably good,” Frankie replied, as the onslaught of fire continued, “Because I think we’re gonna need a miracle,” She said, pulling back further into cover. 

Tiffany sat in the center chair, sweat dripping down her soot stained face, giving a steely glare to the view screen. The ship rocked again as one of the Jem’hadar fighters made another pass. More panels blew and a plasma conduit ruptured above the bridge. The forcefield held, but chunks of bulkhead rained down on the bridge, causing most of the officers to duck out of the way. 

“Status report, Vlex!” She called. 

“Our other ships are disabled and adrift, ma’am, crew status unknown… we’re all that’s up,” She replied. 

“How are we looking?” 

“Not great. Primary weapons systems are down, but we’ve got auxiliary going to two photon torpedo launchers and our secondary phasers. Shields are at thirty-five percent and the structural integrity field is running around seventy-five percent,” She rattled off while maneuvering around more blasts from the Jem’hadar. 

“Those Jem’hadar will destroy the other vessels if we don’t do something,” Tiffany said, flatly. “Put us in between and unload everything we can into those bastards. We’ve got to give Mel more time to get that grid up,” She said, seriously. 

“If they don’t, they’re not going to have a ride home,” Vlex replied, looking worriedly at the readings in front of her. 

“If they don’t, we’re not going to have a home to go back to,” Tiffany cautioned. 

“Full impulse, Cap. Bringing us in between the Federation ships and the Jem’hadar,” Vlex said, carefully moving the ship to stand in the gap. 

“C’mon, Mel,” Tiffany whispered to herself. “Where are you?” 

======

Melody spat out a curse as more Jem’hadar disruptor fire caused debris and dust to rain down on her and Frankie, “This isn’t going the way I planned,” She grumbled. 

“What were you expecting? A walk in the park?” Frankie retorted with a wry grin. “We got up here, jefe. Now we just gotta get into the control room,” She said, “Which might be easier than you think.” 

Frankie nodded to a large door just opposite of where they were hiding, “Smoke bomb and we can run across and take cover,” She said. 

Melody fired back at their assailants, then ducked back into cover and looked over at the door, which seemed almost welcoming compared to the rest of the facility right now, “Holy hell. Okay, yeah… Let’s do it. We can close the door and lock it and then take control of the grid,” Mel said, nodding. 

“Exactly! See? This is why you brought me along,” Frankie said with a laugh, already pulling a smoke grenade from her belt. 

The XO tossed the smoke bomb out and it let lose with a satisfying pop before the two women bolted across the platform and into the control room. Frankie immediately turned around and smacked the door controls… which bleated in a complaining tone and did exactly nothing. 

“What in the…” She smacked the controls again and scowled as they beeped a negative again and failed to close the door. 

“Frankie?” Melody asked, already working on the console. 

“Door won’t close,” Frankie replied, trying to work the control panel more aggressively. “God damned Jem’hadar must have screwed with the system.” 

“I got problems here too, looks like I’m locked out,” She said, grimly. 

“Dammit!” Frankie exclaimed, ducking back into the room as a disruptor blast hit the doorway, “Jem’hadar pushing in!” She called over to Melody, firing wildly out the door trying to keep the Jem’hadar troops at bay. 

“Richards to French! I’m locked out up here, and we’re running out of time,” She yelled into her comm badge desperately. Forget comm silence, no secret they were here now.  

“She’s aware, Commander!” It was Kartyk’s voice. “She took a hit and I’m patching her up, but she’s working on it, she just needs more time,” He said. 

“Is she okay?” Melody asked back. 

“Jem’hadar disruptor, ma’am. No, but if we can get her back to the Alita soonish, she’ll be fine,” He said. 

“Okay, just tell her to hurry!” Melody bit back, letting out a scream as a disruptor blast made it’s way into the room. She could see the grey skinned warriors outside the door now, their keen eyes full of rage and lust for blood. She ducked behind the console to avoid any more incoming fire, and a moment later, Frankie ducked in with her. 

They both took turns firing wildly around the console, doing the best they could to keep the Jem’hadar at bay, but it was no good. The soldiers were in the room, and slowly pressing in.

“Commander, just wanted you to know–”

“Shut up,” Mel snapped back. “Don’t do that,” She hissed. 

“You shut up. It’s been an honor, Mel, no matter how this turns out. A damn honor,” Frankie spat back, firing wildly around the corner. 

Melody gave a tight grin, “You’re just asking for us to die, you know that?” She quipped back, but then, softer, “Honor’s mine, boss.” 

Without warning, one of the Jem’hadar stepped around the console. Melody tried to swing her rifle around, but the muscle bound soldier kicked it away and leveled his rifle at Melody with an overconfident smirk. Next to her, Frankie was having a very similar experience. To their surprise, the Jem’hadar didn’t kill them, but instead jerked them up on their feet and pushed them back against the console. 

“I am the First,” One of them said over the sound of phaser fire in the building, “And my Vorta will be proud of me, because I have caught the leaders. You Federation types never did learn. You have no concept of combat and war. You’re all too weak, too… soft. I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t have the strength to take on the Dominion.” 

“I think I’d rather bleed out to one of your disruptor blasts than listen to this speech,” Frankie quipped. 

The Jem’hadar put the butt of his rifle right into bridge of her nose, immediately causing it to spray blood down her face and knocking her to her knees. 

“AH! Piece of shit!” She hissed out. 

“STOP! Stop!” Melody hissed, stepping in front of Frankie before the Jem’hadar First could do any more damage. 

“She’s got a big mouth, but she’ll do what you say. We both will. It’s fine, okay? No stress,” She said, putting on her best reassuring voice. 

“Of course you will,” The First replied, grinning an oily grin. “You are incapable of victory and you were from the start!”

“The war is over,” Melody spat. “It has been for 25 years. Stop this, we’ll get you home, it’ll all be fine. It doesn’t have to go this way.” 

“Beg. It’s wise at this point, so close to the end of you–” 

The Jem’hadar was cut off by a loud explosion down stairs. He looked back around his shoulder as the phaser fire started up again, but faster this time, more hectic. 

Then suddenly, from downstairs, dozens of voices in unison shouted, “For Sevury!!” 

Without warning, Frankie shot up from the floor, catching the distracted Jem’hadar under his rib cage and tossing him over the console behind him. He landed with a loud crack from his neck and went limp. The First tried to swing around to stop her, but caught a hard left hook to the jaw from Melody before he could do anything. He reeled and tried to regain his footing, but Melody had already grabbed his disruptor from his hands and turned it on him. He let out a blood curdling scream as his chest was opened by the blast, and then dropped to the floor in silence. 

The two women ran out of the control room and looked over the balcony to the lobby area below. Blake and several dozen prisoners – now armed to the teeth – were securing the area and wrapping up the last of the Jem’hadar forces embedded down there. 

Blake saw them and grinned, “Hey! I found a couple folks!” He said, playfully. 

“Blake, I could kiss you!” Frankie called down to him. 

“Ma’am, that’s a violation of the Officer’s Code of Conduct. I am appalled!” Blaked yelled back with a grin. “Glad you guys are okay! We got this down here. Get that grid up, Commander!” He called, giving a salute. 

“On it!” Melody yelled back, disappearing back into the control room. 

======

“Shields at five percent!” Vlex yelled. 

Tiffany compressed her lips into a thin line, defiantly staring at the approaching Jem’hadar ship on the viewscreen. 

“Fire control is offline, ma’am! I’ve got limited control of one set of phasers in the aft section, but we’ll have to come around. 

“Put everything into the rear deflectors and that phaser bank, Lieutenant! If today is the day we go down, we’re going down swinging,” She bit. 

“Yes ma’am!” Vlex replied, firmly, already swinging the ship around. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Tiffany knew this was it. This was the end. They had almost no shields, their weapons were gone, and one of the meanest alien species the human race had ever encountered was bearing down on them with intent to kill. The single phaser bank wouldn’t be enough, but she and the crew of this small but damn mighty ship were going to make them fight for every inch they could. 

Vlex started firing, causing a shimmer to ripple across the shields of the Jem’hadar fighter as it approached. Another blast and another did almost nothing to slow the ship. She stood and walked forward toward the view screen, crossing her arms defiantly as the ship approached. 

“They’re arming their torpedoes. The lance weapon is charged, Captain,” Vlex said, her tone somewhere between peaceful and defeated. “They’ll be firing soon.”  

“Fire first. Fire more. Fire, Lieutenant,” Tiff replied. The rest of the bridge crew had stopped making their call outs and had all staggered down to the helm to watch the ship approach now. Eight people, watching the end of their lives fly in smoothly on the stars to destroy every last atom of them. 

And to watch it be battered by a massive phaser blast from the planet. 

The Jem’hadar fighter lurched as the planetary grid’s phasers slammed into the bottom of the ship. The shields sputtered and died after the first blast. In the distance, the two other ships began receiving fire from the ground as well. Two hits, three. One of the fighters exploded, and then the next, and finally, the one that seemed so damned certain to be the end of the Alita’s story… exploded in a fiery rain of shrapnel. 

The bridge of the Alita was dead silent. No one spoke, they barely breathed. Red alert klaxons were still going off in the background as they all stared out the viewscreen at the debris fields where the Jem’hadar had been. 

Suddenly, Tiffany threw her fists in the air and yelled, “YES!” 

That was all the motivation the rest of the bridge crew needed: More woops of victory flooded forth, hugs were given, tears fell. Across the Alita word spread like wildfire: The grid was online, the Jem’hadar had been defeated. The celebration had started and no one could stop it now. 

“Captain! Priority one message from the surface! It’s Commander Richards!” The Comms officer yelled. 

“Put it through! Open channel!” Tiffany called back. 

“Richards to Alita, the grid is up! Repeat: The grid is up!” Melody’s voice rang through. 

“We saw commander!” Tiffany replied, laughing. “We saw, and your timing couldn’t have been better! It was getting a little concerning up here!” She said. 

“Well, glad we could help. We had a few dozen friends who’d been cooped up down here who could probably use Thatcher’s help, if she’s able,” Melody explained. 

“I’ll send a medical team down as soon as we can get transporters and shuttles back online,” Tiffany explained. “Congratulations, Commander Richards. You and Frankie performed a miracle today,” Tiffany told her. 

“All in a days work, Captain,” Melody replied with a laugh. “Richards out!” 

Tiffany put her hands on her hips and looked around at her crew with a grin, “Alright people. Fantastic work, but we’re not done yet. Let’s get this beautiful piece of engineering back up and running and start relief efforts!” 

Everyone on the bridge cheered again, and immediately returned to their duties, working hard to get everything back online. 

Melody smiled as she watched them work so tirelessly, and turned back to the viewport, looking in awe at the debris drifting in space where death had once been. It had been one hell of a day. She couldn’t have been more proud of her crew today. 

“The god damned Breen?” Frankie spat. “It wasn’t the damn BREEN.” 

Tiffany raised her hands to hold off any further arguments and protest, “I understand, Commander. I do. These orders come from the highest levels of Starfleet. As far as anyone can know, this issue was orchestrated by and executed by the Breen and no one else. We are under strict orders, under penalty of dishonorable discharge and charges of treason, to not make any mention of the Dominion or their involvement in this,” Tiff explained. “I don’t like it either, but I’m hands are tied here.” 

Frankie sat back with a huff and glared off into the distance, “You know I got recruited by Starfleet Intelligence to be a field operative and I said no to avoid exactly this kind of cloak and dagger bullshit,” She grumbled. 

Melody had been quietly chewing her lip, contemplating the information that Tiffany had just given them. Finally, after another stretch of silence, she spoke, “Why hide this though? I could understand not wanting anything to get out while it was going on, but at this point… why hide it? It feels like they’re trying to cover something up,” She said. 

“I don’t know, and frankly I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole trying to figure it out. We’re not allowed to talk about it, and that’s it. End of discussion, alright?” Tiffany asked, getting reluctant nods from the two women. 

If she was being entirely honest with them, she hated it too. It felt wrong to lie about what had happened, and she couldn’t make sense of the order’s logic, but at the end of the day… She knew if something was going on, she could do more about it from the center chair than from a jail cell. She was definitely tucking this one in the back of her mind. She had a feeling it would make more sense in time. 

“Okay,” Tiff said, turning her hands palm down and moving them slowly downward to ask for calm. “So, where are we on the ship?” She asked. 

“Looking good, sir. French’s team has been working around the clock to get our systems back online. She’s requested permission to take a small detachment to the other ships and help get them back up and running. Hope you don’t mind, but I figured you’d authorize that and went ahead and let them go,” Frankie explained. 

Tiffany nodded, “Good call. Faster we can get those ships back up and running, faster we can get back to our assignment. I’m all for it.”

“Exactly,” Frankie replied with a nod. “We’ve got warp 7.8 sustainable, our structural integrity field has gotten back up to ninety-six percent and all weapons systems are back online. There’s a few power fluctuation issues because of some of the blown EPS manifolds, but Chief says those will be resolved pretty quickly here,” The XO finished. 

“Any dry dock time needed?” Tiffany asked. 

“Not right away, boss. Frenchy says that the next time we’re in for a resupply we can get more of the cosmetic fixes done if you want to get back out on the line. She said everything else we can fix ourselves,” Frankie explained.

“Sounds good,” Tiffany replied, nodding and turning her attention to the other red head in the room, “What about the relief efforts?” 

“Going well,” Melody replied. “Team on the surface has been working with Blake and Ops to go over every inch of data and computer core memory to make sure that the Jem…. Breen,” She said, correcting herself grumpily, “didn’t leave any logic bombs, or backdoors, or other malware in place. French send down some engineers too to help shore things up and get everything at least generally repaired. Thatcher is handling medical ops down there… She’s struggling with that, but she’s doing okay. I’ve got two of my guys following her everywhere to make sure she feels protected. Her history with… you know… stuff. It’s still in there,” Melody explained, tapping her temple. 

“Yeah,” Tiffany said, sounding distant for a moment as she thought about that. “Yeah, I’m sure it is. Well, we’ll make sure she’s good once she’s back. I got word a couple hours ago that the USS Nightingale is on its way here now with a full disaster recovery crew and a large contingent of SFI operatives to manage this situation,” She explained.  

“SFI?” Frankie said, bitterly. “They going to interrogate the victims now?” 

Tiffany shot her a look, “No, Commander. But they are going to provide training and a framework so the colonists can remember the story,” She explained. 

“I hate this,” Frankie bit back. 

Tiffany sighed, “Circle of trust? Cone of silence in here right now?” She asked. 

The other two women nodded. 

“I hate this, too,” Tiffany griped, smacking her hand into her desk. “This whole thing smells of horseshit to me, but there’s nothing I can do about right now. I know you’re frustrated. I am too. I want to wring someone’s neck and demand answers, but we won’t get that. So right now, we have to put on the brave front and try to keep the crew in one piece, okay?” She asked, looking between the two women. “I need you to have my back right now, no matter how frustrating it is. We have to be a united front on this, alright?” 

Melody and Frankie looked at Tiff, then at each other, then sighed and nodded. 

“Sorry, boss. You know how I feel about dishonesty. Coming from the brass, it just feels extra bad, you know?” Frankie replied. 

“I know,” Tiffany replied. “How do you think I feel? Not only am I having to be dishonest, I’m having to tell my whole crew they’ve got to lie with me. This isn’t a fair situation, but it’s the one we’re in.” 

“Tiff… I’ve got some contacts. Can I like… very quietly sniff around? See if I can find out any information about the why we’re having to lie?” Melody asked. 

Tiffany worked her jaw for a minute, considering the potential consequences of that request. Finally she shook her head, “No. At least not yet. Let me chase official channels first and then if that fails… then we’ll see what your friends can get us. Sound fair?” 

Melody nodded. 

Tiffany sighed and leaned forward, “Guys, I know these orders are tainting everything but… this really is a cause for a celebration. We drove back… damn it, we drove back the damn Dominion. We took on some of the fiercest warriors we’ve ever had to fight and we won. We saved a whole damn planet and that’s worth celebrating, right?” She said, grinning. 

Melody and Frankie both gave reluctant grins.

“Yes, boss,” Frankie replied. 

“We are kind of bad asses, huh,” Melody said with a grin. 

“We are total bad asses,” Tiffany responded back confidently. “C’mon,” She said, standing. “Crews are in place. Let’s take a few hours of down time and have some drinks and celebrate.” 

The other two women stood to join her, “Can’t complain about that order,” Frankie quipped. 

The three women made their way through the bridge and into the turbolift, all pondering the outcome of the day. It was definitely the most harrowing mission to date and they’d come through it. They’d grown stronger for it, and that’d pushed the bonds of trust they already had even deeper for it. Despite the misgivings around the rest of it… today was a good day. 

“Hey boss,” Frankie said, letting her fist hang in the air between them as they got on the lift. 

“What?” Tiffany asked, looking over at her XO. 

“C’mon,” Frankie said, shaking a fist a little. “C’mon, you know you love it.” 

Tiffany hesitated, but eventually laughed and fist-bump-explosioned her XO, shaking her head as she did

Melody laughed as the turbolift doors closed, “You guys are idiots.”