“You have been staring at the board for twenty minutes, you do remember it is your move.”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it.” Ginell replied snarkily, leaning forward in her chair as she continued to study the chess board. She had known Savar for years, both of them serving together on board the captain's previous command, the U.S.S. Bonchune. Yet in all that time, she had only ever managed to best him once - a feat that Savar downplays severely. 

Kosev sat at the table with his ale in hand, smirking as they went head to head for the hundredth time. 'I will say this for Ginell, she doesn't give up' he thought to himself as he continued to watch them study the board. 

“There. Your move.” Ginell said confidently as she finished moving her rook into place. Savar raised his right eyebrow slightly and took no more than two or three seconds to examine the board before moving his knight down a level to counter her move, saying only, “Check.”

The look of dismay on Ginell's face made Kosev start to laugh under his breath, “I don't know why you keep coming back for this punishment, you know it always ends the same way.” 

Ginell shot him a death glare, “I've beat h-” Kosev joined in and finished her sentence together, mockingly, “-im once. Yes, I remember… once… in nine years.” He laughed again, taking another sip of his ale as she jokingly waved him off and went back to studying her next move. 

=^=Bridge to Captain Thiren.=^=

Kosev, still relaxed and observing the match, recognized the voice of Lieutenant Commander Jack Sanders, who currently had the bridge during gamma shift, “Thiren here, go ahead.”

=^=Sir, we are approaching Farpoint Station.=^=

“Very well, signal the station of our arrival and assume standard orbit, Savar and I are on our way. Inform our crew transfers on the surface to prepare for transport, Commander Daan will meet them as they come aboard. Thiren out.” He set the glass down on the table and got up out of his chair, throwing his hands up, “Well, duty calls.”

“Then this game doesn't count.” Ginell said proudly, getting up and straightening her uniform before heading out towards the transporter room. Savar only exhaled, the Vulcan equivalent of rolling his eyes, as he got up and walked with Kosev as they made their way to the bridge. 

Stepping on the turbolift, Kosev issued the command ‘Bridge’ and the lift began moving towards their desired destination. “You know, you could let her win now and again.” Kosev said, turning to look at his Vulcan tactical officer. 

“I could, yes.” Savar replied dryly. 

“But then, that would ruin all the fun you're having, wouldn't it.” He laughed and exited the lift onto the bridge before Savar had a chance to protest. “Report.”

“We are in orbit of Farpoint Station, our officers are beaming aboard in a few minutes. Commander Daan is in the transporter room waiting for them.” Sanders said, getting up out of the captain's chair and moving back towards his post. 

“Very good Mr. Sanders.” He turned his attention to Savar, “After Commander Daan sees to our officers, I want to schedule a br-” He didn't get a chance to finish his thoughts before the computer cut him off.

=^=Captain Thiren, Priority One message from Starfleet Command coming in on secure channel.=^=

“In my ready room. Savar, you have the bridge.” He said before turning around and heading into his office. Reaching his desk, he sat down and activated his computer terminal, “Computer, Key Access 8-1-6-mark-3-7, Thiren, Kosev, Starfleet Priority Code Gamma… Decode.” He watched the terminal shift between a scattered mess of pixels into the Starfleet insignia before saying, “Display message.”

“What the hell..” He mumbled out loud to himself as he read the report. He almost didn't believe what he was reading. If it hadn't come in on such a secure channel, he might have assumed this was some kind of scam or prank, but the signatures from Admiral's Ramar and Beckett were genuine. As he continued to read over the documents, including the high priority mission they've assigned to the Pioneer, he got to the bottom where it said directly from Admiral Beckett ‘Trust only the Fourth Fleet.’ 

Kosev leaned back into his chair, bringing his hand up to his chin as he stared out the window towards the planet. The more he thought on it and processed the information, the more he couldn't accept what he just read. The only thing that kept repeating in his mind: How? How are they here? And why now? He shook his head, trying to discard those unhelpful thoughts, as he pulled up closer to his desk and began studying their mission plans. 

“Welcome to the U.S.S. Pioneer. I'm Commander Daan, ship's executive officer.” She said just as the re-materialization process completed, leaving Lieutenant's Evani, Broll, and Edren standing on the transporter pad, their belongings slung over their shoulder. She greeted each of them with a hand shake as they stepped down, then continued, “Well, if you'll follow me, I'll show you each to your quarters so you can get settled in.”

She moved out into the corridor with her entourage in tow, “If you all haven't already, I suggest you begin to familiarize yourselves with the schematics and specifications of the Intrepid-class starship. The Pioneer may be old, but she's just come off of a year long retrofit, bringing her internal systems and sensors to current date 2401 Starfleet technology.”

Stepping into a turbolift, she issued the command to the computer, “Deck six.” And the lift began moving towards their destination. Just as the doors closed, Alia, after looking at Cassian, turned towards Daan and asked, “Actually, Commander, I wanted to ask if you've heard any news about this sector?”

Confused, Ginell met eye contact with the Lieutenant and replied, “What do you mean?”

“Well, while we were at Farpoint Station, I overheard some officers talking about several sectors going dark, some have been cut off for days without contact being reestablished, but yet no one on the station seemed all that concerned.”

Cassian also spoke up, “On the contrary, I could feel a lot of tension among the senior staff. Something was bothering them, but no one would tell us anything. We turned on the Federation News Network and they are reporting business as usual.”

Now it was Naran who spoke up, “Not all business as usual. I did see a report while in medical that there was some kind of Breen attack along their border.”

“Hostilities with the Breen are hardly news, it didn't justify the feelings I felt from the senior staff. They almost felt… worried, scared." Cassian said, moving his look from Broll to the Commander. 

Ginell took in all of these reports before she finally chipped in, “I can tell you, I haven't seen any news regarding any incursions into this sector, Breen or otherwise. You have my assurances I will bring your concerns up with the Captain. In the meantime, get settled into your quarters. Here are your cabin assignments.” She handed out small PADDs to each of the officers as the lift doors opened, “Dismissed.” The young officers nodded as they exited the lift together.

The lift doors closed, Ginell issuing the destination ‘Bridge’ to the computer and the lift started moving once more. She didn't want to admit it, but what those officers said spooked her a little. If it were just one of them, that would have been a little easier to dismiss, but all three of them? She had a bad feeling there was something more going on. 

The lift stopped and Ginell walked out onto the bridge, giving Savar an uncharacteristic look that made him start to wonder what was wrong, as she walked directly towards the ready room, pressing the chime. “Who is it.” She heard from the other side. 

Confused, as usually Kosev lets her in on the first ring, she said, “Commander Daan.” 

A few more seconds went by before the doors opened, the captain sitting at his desk, his look and mood completely darkened from just a little while ago. After hearing what those young officers just had to say, and then seeing Thiren's face, it sent a chill down her spine. 

“What? What is it?”

“Close the doors, we have a lot to go over.”

“Do you think that Commander Daan already spoke with the Captain about what we said?”

Cassian shook his head as he sat with the chief medical officer in his small office, “I'm not sure, but she did seem like she listened to what we had to say and took it seriously.”

“I don't know why you just didn't read her mind and make sure.” 

“You know I don't do that unless I have permission.”

“You did it on Farpoint Station well enough.” Naran quipped back. He wasn't trying to intentionally antagonize the counselor, but he could feel it in his gut that this situation was something more serious that people were behaving, and it was frustrating to him that no one seemed to want to act with any kind of urgency. 

“Reading people's emotions and their private thoughts are two entirely different things.” Cassian knew he was starting to feel frustrated, and he would be lying if he didn't admit to at least himself if he wasn't feeling the same way, but they had to be careful in their approach. “Right now, all we have are suspicions, nothing more. If this all turns out to be nothing-”

“Do you honestly believe that.” Naran interrupted. 

“All I'm saying is we don't have enough information," Cassian started again, this time more firmly, “and we need to be extremely careful. I suggest we wait for Commander Daan to speak with the Captain and hear what he has to say.”

“Well, she's been on the bridge for over an hour, you would think we would have heard something by now." Naran paused before going on, “Maybe this is all just nothing.” Cassian was about to speak up when he heard the ship's speakers activate.

=^=Daan to all senior staff, report to the briefing room immediately.=^=

The two men, after looking up and listening to the message, returned their eyes to one another. They said nothing, but yet they didn't have to. In that brief instant, before they got up to make their way to the bridge, they knew what the other was thinking. Betazoid senses or not, they could both feel the tension and nervousness inside each other and the nervousness in the commander's tone, but at this point, all they could do was wait hope for the best. 

Kyth was last to arrive, walking into the briefing room to find everyone sitting around the table except for the Captain, who was standing near the window, his arms crossed while looking down towards the planet, and Commander Daan, who was standing at the wall terminal imputing data for the briefing. “I apologize for my tardiness, I was detained in the shuttlebay.” He shot off quickly before taking his seat. 

“Now that you're all here, for those of you who do not know me, I'm Captain Kosev Thiren.” He slowly turned away from the window and stood in front of his chair, uncrossing his arms and grabbing the back of his seat. “I apologize that this is the first meeting we are all having together as a new team and crew, this is not how I envisioned us starting this new journey together. Unfortunately, the circumstances are rather urgent and unavoidable.”

Cassian and Naran both looked at each other from across the table, almost as if they had confirmed their apprehensions and misgivings they had, before turning their looks back towards the Captain. 

Kosev pulled out his chair and took a seat before continuing, “A short while ago, I just received some urgent news and orders from Admiral's Ramar and Beckett." He pressed a few controls on the table in front of him and the holographic interface in the middle of the briefing room table came to life, displaying the details of the transmission for all to see. 

“As you can see, the Federation is under attack by the combined forces of the Breen," Kosev paused for a couple seconds, then pulled his head up from the console, looking at his officers and continued, “… and the Dominion.”

Everyone around the table, after scanning the reports on the display in front of them, looked at each other nervously before returning their attention to the Captain, “Dominion forces caught several Federation worlds and facilities totally by surprise and they have been overrun almost immediately."

Kosev pressed a few more controls and changed the holographic images before going on, “We don't know how they got here, but we do have a pretty good idea of why they're attacking us. Scans that Starfleet ships have taken of the Dominion fleet during their retreats seem to all confirm that these ships are from the year 2374.”

“The Lost Fleet.” Jack said aloud before he even realized it, “They're the Lost Fleet.”

“I'm sorry, what's the ‘Lost Fleet?’” Kyth asked, confused. He studied the Dominion war in history classes at the academy, of course, and felt ashamed he didn't know, but asked the question nevertheless. 

Commander Daan moved away from the wall terminal and made her way towards her seat, “The Lost Fleet was initially encountered by the U.S.S. Defiant in the Bajoran wormhole. According to the official statements from the crew of the Defiant, they just seemed to vanish right before their very eyes.”

“It was the Prophets,” Lieutenant Evani offered, confidently, “Captain Sisko was our people's Emissary, he made contact with the Prophets inside the wormhole and they removed the entire fleet from existence. I remember hearing the stories on Bajor.”

“Captain Sisko's official logs would seem to support your assertion.” Savar said, looking directly at Alia. 

“That's great that they intervened and saved the day, but how did the fleet reappear in the Deneb sector and why didn't they reappear in the wormhole?" Beya asked, “And for that matter, why did they reappear at all if the Prophets got rid of them?”

“Unfortunately, we don't know.” Commander Daan spoke up, “All we know is that this fleet has reappeared as if no time has passed at all, and they still believe there is a war on.”

“Would it not be prudent to send a ship into the Gamma quadrant to make contact with the Founders so they can officially end this conflict.” Savar asked, looking directly towards Daan. 

“Admiral Ramar has already done that, the Pioneer, however, has been tasked with a different mission of great importance." Kosev said, then he pressed a few more controls and shifted the holographic display. “Fourth Fleet Intelligence has discovered that the Dominion has reclaimed a rouge planet that they have dubbed Saxue. 

Unknown to the Federation alliance forces at the time, this planet contained a Ketracel-white production facility, which at the time was only a minor installation. However, given the current situation, Fourth Fleet Intelligence estimates it has enough manufacturing capability to support and grow the Jem'Hadar forces into unimaginable numbers.

The one piece of good news is that they appear to be slightly overconfident in their position, long range scans suggest no more than a dozen Jem'Hadar attack vessels scatters inside the nebula." Kosev shifted in his seat, “Our mission, officially, is to find this rouge planet, confirm the facilities location, and bring this information back to headquarters.” He clasped his hands together on the table while looking at his officers, “Unofficially, our mission is to find the facility and destroy it, if possible.”

“I don't understand," Jack spoke up, looking at his captain.

“I do. It has to do with what Cassian and I observed on Farpoint. If this is a major coordinated strike by the Breen and the Dominion, why are we just now learning about it? It should be all over the Federation News Network, but yet it isn't. And what little they are showing of this sector suggests that it is only minor border skirmishes with Breen forces.” Naran said, shifting his gaze from Cassian to Ginell. 

“Exactly.” Ginell said, acknowledging Naran and Cassian before going on, “We're not sure why Starfleet is reluctant to acknowledge this threat, but it is clear they are attempting to cover it up as nothing more than a minor border skirmish. They are insisting that Task Group 514 has the matter well in hand when the truth is they are completely overrun on all fronts and in full retreat.”

“Which is why Admiral Ramar has used his personal authority to mobilize the entire Fourth Fleet to combat this threat ourselves.” Kosev looked around the room and he could tell that his officers were worried, hell he was probably the most worried of them all, but they had a job to do and, like it or not, they've officially entered into a state of war. 

“This is precisely why we need to destroy that facility at all costs. With only the Fourth Fleet engaging the combined Breen and Dominion forces, we need to capitalize on every advantage we have to put an end to this conflict as quickly as possible. Once we destroy this facility, it will severely dampen the Jem'Hadar's ability to function, and it will hinder their ability to continue producing additional troops without the drug they need to sustain their forces. This is a break that the Fourth Fleet desperately needs to continue this fight.”

“I believe the main challenge will be getting through Dominion occupied space to reach this facility.” Savar pointed out, “Saxue, as the Dominion call it, is well behind enemy lines according to the most recent intelligence.”

“We had a thought about that.” Kosev said, nodding towards Ginell.

She pressed a few commands on the table and the holographic display molded again, revealing the image of a shield bubble, “It's called ‘Refractive Shielding.’ During our retrofit, I brushed up on the Intrepid-class design and the notable ships of her past, which lead me down a rather long rabbit hole. This technology, first discovered by the U.S.S. Voyager while they were stranded in the Delta quadrant, is of Devore design. Captain Janeway, after successfully using the technology themselves, put the specifications in her log. It won't work at close range, but it should provide ample cover from Jem'Hadar sensors, enough at least to get us to the nebula.”

“However, we must proceed with extreme caution. Let's not forget that the Jem'Hadar were adept at compensating for cloaking technology during the war.” Savar offered.

“Agreed, but we will take every advantage we can get. I have no doubt the Dominion will eventually compensate for these shields, but hopefully it will buy us enough of a running start to get to the nebula. Once inside, we will be invisible to the sensors.”

“There's also the problem once we're inside the nebula,” Beya said, looking through the mission briefing again, “it appears to be a standard Mutara class nebula, once inside sensors and shields will be very limited, but not totally disabled. I estimate we will not be able to scan more than ten thousand meters at most.”

“Timing will be critical, ten thousand meters does not give us a lot of time to avoid detection from the Jem'Hadar ships.” Savar said, this time looking at Kyth. 

“It shouldn't be a problem, sirs.” Kyth said, confidently. 

Kosev stood from his chair and looked around the room at his officers warmly, “I have the utmost confidence in each of your abilities. Why you ask? Because I hand picked you personally for this assignment.” He smiled, and received smiles from them in return, save from Savar, “If you haven't had time to read up on the history of this vessel, the Pioneer served with distinction in the Dominion war, winning every engagement she was apart of. Now, she finds herself again across the battlefield facing down this familiar foe. She will not fail us, and we will not fail her. We may not know each other very well yet… but I do know that there is no other officers in the fleet that I would rather have my back.”

Everyone around the room nodded as they met Kosev's eyes, finally landing on Ginell last, “We're with you, Captain.”

“Prepare all departments and inform the crew. We are at Yellow Alert until further notice. Savar, I want to prepare for the possibility that this ship may be boarded, ensure all crew are armed at all times. Naran and Cassian, prepare sickbay for the same. Alia, continuous long range scans, I want to know the second we detect any Breen or Dominion forces. Commander,” Kosev looked directly at Beya, “you and Jack have until we reach the Dominion border to bring the refractive shielding online. Ensign Nakav, set course for Saxue, maximum warp.”

As the mission briefing concluded, the senior staff got up and headed out to complete their newly assigned orders. Ginell was quick to get up and, instead of going out through the bridge with everyone else, she exited the briefing room through the side turbolift entrance, unnoticed to all except for Cassian. 

“I was thinking we could start with converting cargo bay 2 into a triage center, then checking-” Naran was cut off before he could go on any further, “I'll join you in a minute, I'd like to check on something first.” Cassian said. Naran nodded, and continued on his own to sickbay to make the necessary preparations. 

Kosev made it to his ready room, throwing the PADD on his desk before plopping down on the couch. He let out a deep exhale before turning and facing the window behind the couch, resting his head in his hand, looking out into space as the Pioneer warped towards their destination: Saxue. If he was being truthful to himself, he felt more than a little nervous about this mission that they've been assigned to. So many lives depended on their success, and he was just now starting to feel the weight of all those lives, especially those of his new crew, on his shoulders.

He thought about what he said about the Pioneer's history in the last Dominion war, and he was proud to have chosen this vessel for his new command, especially given the current situation. He couldn't speak for the rest of his crew just yet, but to him, knowing that the Pioneer triumphed in all the battles it fought in during the last war, he hoped it would help the crews morale going into this new conflict deep behind enemy lines. Knowing that their ship was victorious in all it's previous battles may just inspire the crew to do something extraordinary, at least that is what he'd hoped. 

Kosev's mind began to wander as he continued watching the stars speed passed in the window, going back to when he was just a kid during the last war. He was protected from the brunt of the news, but every so often he managed to activate the Federation News Network and get the latest updates. After all, it was incredibly frustrating not being told anything about the war when you knew that people you cared about were out their on the front lines putting their lives at risk. His eyes began to well up as he felt a tear stream down his cheek, but he didn't care. He still sat there, watching the stars go by. 

The door chime rang, bringing Kosev out of his trance, but he still hadn't moved from the couch where he laid. “Enter.”

In came Savar, arguably Kosev's closest friend of many years and confidant. He raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight of Kosev on the couch, then walked up to the chair near the replicator and took a seat himself. “I wanted to check on how you were doing with this news.” He said plainly, his hands holding the arms of his chair as he looked at Kosev. 

“This mission… there is a lot riding on our success.” Kosev mumbled, blinking a few times as another tear fell down his cheek. “I've felt pressure before in my career, but none quite like this.”

“Indeed, there is a significant number of lives depending upon our success.”

“You're a big help.” He said wryly, finally turning to face Savar.

“And you're not telling me the whole truth.”

“Perhaps because you already know the whole truth, besides it's not like I'm thrilled to have to say it out loud.” Kosev reached for the table and took a sip of the now cold raktajino that he had left there this morning before the mission briefing. 

“Nevertheless, it might help you to talk about it. It's been some time since we last spoke of this subject.”

“And there's a reason for that, I don't like to relive it.” He felt himself starting to get annoyed, but as soon as he felt it he let it go. He knew Savar was here trying to help, and Kosev finally relented, “My parents and I were extremely close. When I got the news that their ship had been destroyed during one of the battles in the war, I just broke down and couldn't function.” He shook his head, moving his look from Savar to the ground.

Savar didn't say anything, he only kept his look trained on Kosev, clasping his hands together in his lap. 

“My parent's closest friends, a couple of humans, took me in and moved me to Earth soon after. They were incredibly supportive and thinking back I was very lucky to have them, but in that moment, the only thing I wished for was that I had died with them on that ship because I didn't want to have to live the rest of my life without them in it. They were all the family I had.” He felt another tear stream down his cheek. Kosev got up and grabbed a tissue from his desk before returning to the couch. 

“I just can't believe that now, after all of these years, I'm finding myself in a position to face the same enemy in a new war. Part of me is terrified that we won't make it, then there's another part of me that wants nothing more than to rip them all to shreds for what they've done.” Kosev pulled his head up to look at Savar and managed a little chuckle, “Sometimes I envy you and your logic, my friend. Days like today, I would give almost anything to purge myself of all of these emotions. This is not what this new crew needs from it's captain.”

“I know sharing these memories is difficult. But often enough, working through the trials of our past is the best way towards making a new and better future for ourselves. This crew needs to lean on their captain, particularly now. I am just here to remind you who you can lean on." Savar said as he slowly got up, starting to turn for the door.

“I know you suppress your emotions, but just once I wish you could feel how much I appreciate and care for you my friend.”

“I shall let you 'feel' it enough for the both of us.” He nodded slightly, putting his hands behind his back as he started for the door again.

“You know, at least one good thing did come from all of this.”

“And what is that?” Savar said, stopped to face Kosev once more.

"If my guardians didn't move me to Earth after taking me in, I would've never met you the next summer."

“Indeed.” Savar replied, a smirk appearing in the corner of his mouth for a microsecond. He nodded to Kosev again before turning and leaving the ready room to finish his orders from the mission briefing. 

Ginell barely made it to her quarters as she stumbled and gasped for air through the corridor once the lift stopped on her deck. She was sweating profusely, her heart racing to what seemed like a million beats per minute. Her hand was shaking so bad that she could barely touch the right wall control to open the door, but she managed and made her way inside her quarters. She stumbled over to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror attempting to get her breathing under control with no success. 

‘What the hell is happening to me’ she thought to herself. Unzipping her uniform, she took her jacket off in a desperate attempt to cool down, but again with no success. She stood there staring at herself in the mirror for what felt like an eternity before she her the door chime. Ginell's first instinct was to push whoever it was away, she was in no shape to be seen like this, especially since she was the ship's executive officer. But as her heart continued to race and unable to catch her breath, she relented and barely managed to mumble, “Enter.”

The doors opened up and revealed Cassian standing in the doorway. He was going to ask for permission to enter, but after seeing the Commander and the current shape she was in, he ran right to her, “Commander, are you alright? Commander?” He asked again, a look of concern washing over his face. 

Ginell tried to answer, but she couldn't catch her breath to say anything at all. Cassian, though he usually waits for permission first, used his telepathic abilities to briefly read Ginell's mind and emotional state, then grabbed her hands, “Commander, you're having a panic attack. You need to focus on slowing down your breathing. I want you to take slow, deep breaths. In and out.” He said as he demonstrated for her with deep breaths of his own. “That's it, nice and slow, in and out.”

Ginell began to calm down slightly, but her heart was still racing, so Cassian went to work on another method, “We're going to start counting out loud to twenty, count with me, one… two…” Her grip on his hands began to soften as they started to count higher and higher, her breaths becoming more and more regular. “That's it, deep breaths in… and out. You're doing great, Commander, in… and out.”

Ginell finally managed to catch her breath as Cassian took the towel from the rack and wiped her face from the sweat. He led her to the couch where she took a seat; he sat on the coffee table across from her, still helping her through her breathing. “That's it, you're doing great. Almost there, deep breaths.”

Cassian got up and got her some water from the replicator, then took a seat in the chair near the couch and watched her for the next fifteen minutes or so as she slowly recollected herself. With her breathing and heart rate finally back to almost normal, she finally spoke up, “I appreciate you coming here to check on me, Counselor, but I'm fine now. You can go.”

“I'll stay, when you're ready, we need to talk about what just happened, Commander.”

“I said I'm fine, now you can go. Dismissed.” She fired off, defensively. She didn't want to admit it, but not only was she was deeply embarrassed that he had witnessed that, but she was also incredibly scared, especially since that had never happened to her before. She wasn't the kind of person that got panic attacks, she was the one you went to when you needed someone to control a tense situation.

“I don't want to upset you, but we need to talk about what happened,” He paused as he considered his next words carefully, but he felt this was the only way she would accept his help, “or I'll have no choice but to report this incident to the Captain and Chief Medical Officer and have you relieved of duty.”

“This ship is about to enter a combat situation with far reaching repercussions. I don't have time for this, we don't have time for this."

“We will make the time, Commander. Like you said, this ship is about to enter a combat situation, and this crew is going to need their first officer performing at their best.” he said warmly, trying to ease the tension of the moment. 

Another fifteen minutes of silence between the two of them went by, Cassian looking down at his hands in his lap, twirling his thumbs. It had seemed like an eternity had gone by before Ginell finally began to open up, “After the briefing, I started to think back to the war and began to remember Yuriel. He was my fifth host, and my host during the war.”

“And you are host number six?”

“Actually, I'm the seventh.”

“Oh, my mistake, I apologize. Please continue.” Normally Cassian reviews the personnel records of his patients before their appointments to familiarize himself with details and previous therapy sessions, if any, but seeing as how he had just arrived and didn't plan on this session, he was going in a little more unprepared than he would've liked. 

“I don't like to talk about him, neither did Naiella, my previous host.” She knew that Cassian was going to ask her why and press, and when she picked up her head and looked at him, she saw that question about to come out of his mouth, so she intervened, “I died during the war.”

“I'm so sorry.” Cassian offered, finally putting the pieces together.

“I was captured defending a ground installation on a planet no one has even heard of before. The Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians attacked in the middle of the night and somehow managed to evade our lookouts and disable our perimeter alarms. By the time any of us knew what was happening, half of us had holes in our chest and were laying lifeless on the ground.”

She paused, tears coming down her face as she thought about that day over again. Cassian offered her a tissue, but she acted as if she didn't even see it, continuing to stare across the room emptily. Cassian put the tissue down and sat back in his chair, “Were you shot when they invaded?”

She took a few seconds to respond, but when she did, it was with a newfound quiver in her voice, “I don't know how I didn't get hit. As soon as they entered the command center, I immediately began to fight back. I managed a few good hits on the first two Jem'Hadar before I was stabbed in the leg and knocked unconscious.” 

She grabbed the tissue on her own this time, wiping her tears away before continuing, “They needed to keep someone alive to help them break the encryption code on the control consoles. The worst part is, I had no access to whatever it was that they wanted. I was only a field medic and had just arrived a few days prior." Ginell pulled her legs close to her chest, wrapping her arms around before continuing, “For the next several days… I was beaten and tortured for information I didn't possess.” 

“I'm so sorry you went through that, Commander.” Cassian offered, even though he knew it couldn't possibly come close to making up for what she went through. “Did you tell them who you were and-”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I did, I told them a hundred times.” She could feel the hurt and the rage starting to come back to the surface, “I wish I did know what it was that they wanted because believe me, I would've given it to them. I begged, I pleaded, I cried… and then, with a sharp twist of a blade, it was all over.”

Cassian never wavered his look from Ginell as more tears ran down her face, then she continued, “It's a miracle I survived. The U.S.S. Canterbury, after rescuing several refugees from a neighboring sector, returned when they had heard our post had been overrun. Apparently someone managed to get a message off before they were killed. They then drove the Jem'Hadar out of the compound and found my symbiote barely alive. If it wasn't for Naiella being one of those refugees, the Daan line would've been over.”

Cassian let five minutes or so go by before he said anything, “This is a trauma that, since you're a Trill, will be with you for the rest of your lives. It is completely understandable that the mission briefing dredged up these old memories and feelings to the surface, but you have to remember that you are Ginell Daan now, not Yuriel Daan. The best and most effective way to deal with this pain is to confront it, like you're doing now. The more that you bottle up inside, the more you'll be prone to additional symptoms like the panic attack earlier.”

She nodded, looking down at the ground, listening and taking in everything that he was saying, “You have nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed of, Commander. We will get you through this, together.” He smiled, trying his best to reassure her. 

“Thank you, Counselor. I will make it a priority to schedule additional time with you in the future, but now, this ship needs it's executive officer.” She got up and grabbed another uniform jacket that wasn't soaked in sweat and put it on, “We have our orders, and we don't have a lot of time.”

Cassian knew he didn't want her to push herself too hard, but given their current situation and where this ship was heading, there wasn't much other choice. All he could do for now was continue to monitor and support her the best that he could. 

Cassian sat staring at his empty glass in the mess hall, the stars going by at maximum warp in the window beside him. It had been an grueling day in sickbay helping Naran with the preparations, sixteen hours to be precise. He knew he probably shouldn't be pushing himself this hard, but it was easier to stay focused on the task at hand than wait for the inevitable confrontation. Besides, even though he was a counselor and should know better, he was never comfortable with the clam before the storm.

“Thought I'd bring you a refill.” Naran said, approaching the table and extending his arm to offer the full glass of what looked like some dark color Bolian drink. 

Cassian took the glass and looked down at the liquid, “Thanks, though I try to make a point of knowing what I drink before I actually drink it." He tilted the glass a bit, watching the thick liquid barely move.

“Why ask the question when you could just-” Naran motioned towards his head with his pointer finger, “-pop in and find the answer?”

"You know I don't do that unless I have permission." He looked down at the thick liquid again, “But even if I did have permission, I'm not convinced I'd want to know what this is.” Cassian laughed as he put the glass on the table in front of him and sat back in his chair. “Did you finish the last of the triage kits?” He asked. 

“Yeah, we are all set. Now comes the hardest part, the waiting.” Naran took a sip of his drink, then looked down into the glass. 

Cassian, though he didn't read his mind, knew what Naran was thinking and what he was feeling. He felt it too. “The calm before the storm.” He said softly, looking out the window at the stars going by. 

Naran nodded, “Without a doubt, the worst part of the job.” He took another sip of his drink.

Cassian got up and put his hand on Naran's shoulder, “I'm going to turn in, goodnight my friend.” He managed to catch Naran's nod before he headed out of the mess hall for his quarters. 

“Report.” Ginell said as she entered engineering, walking up to Beya. 

“You're just in time, we are just about set here, Commander.” The chief engineer said, furiously working away on the console. Beya had done some truly remarkable work in her career, but this may have just been the most important, not to just the Federation, but also to her very life. After all, one ship alone against the entire enemy fleet wasn't exactly how she saw her life ending. Getting these refractive shields online before the Pioneer entered Dominion occupied space was almost an impossible task, but through hard work and determination, her team managed to pull it off. 

Hitting a few more controls, the modifications were completed. Beya turned towards Ginell and said, “Refractive shields are ready to come online.”

“Great work, Commander. Active the shields.” Ginell ordered through a smile. 

Beya pressed a few more controls on the console and within milliseconds, the Pioneer's shields rose. Pressing a few more controls, she began to modulate the frequency of the shield generators to emit the refraction technology, projecting the refraction into the shield bubble itself and effectively rendering the ship invisible to all incoming sensor scans. 

“Refractive shields are online and operational. The Pioneer will be invisible to all incoming sensor scans, the only way someone would be able to tell we are out there is if they look out a window.” Beya said wryly. 

“Well, I suppose it's a good thing those Dominion attack ships don't have any.” Ginell laughed, patting Beya on the shoulder, “Truly excellent work everyone, well done.”

Cassian rubbed the side of his neck as he exited the turbolift, heading down the corridor to his quarters. It had been such a long day, he was itching to get in the sonic shower and then crawl into bed. Normally he'd read a while or work on his appointment schedule for the rest of the week, but today he was just plain tired. 

He entered his quarters and kicked off his shoes, then undid his uniform jacket. He made his way into the restroom and just managed to get his shift off before the door chime rang. Letting out a short groan, he gave a small shout to enter to whoever it was at the door. Rounding the corner, he saw Jack Sanders entering his quarters, the door closing behind him. 

“Oh, good evening Commander.” Cassian said, “Apologies for my appearance, you caught me right before the shower.”

Jack said and did nothing, save for stand there in the middle of the room and stare at him. Cassian raised an eyebrow, “Are you alright?” 

“Are you alone.” Jack appeared to look around the room, stoically. 

Cassian blinked and took a few more seconds to answer than he normally would, “What is this about?”

Under normal circumstances, Cassian would never invade someone's privacy and read their minds without their consent. But, this was damn peculiar, and the more Jack stood there, the more Cassian couldn't help feel unsettled. He used his abilities and attempted to peer in to Jack's mind, but something was wrong. For some reason, he couldn't read him, which didn't make sense since he's never had any trouble reading humans before. And then it hit him. 

“Who the hell are you. Where is Commander Sa-”

He never got the chance to finish before Jack's arm extended clear across the room and wrapped around his throat, squeezing so tight it was cutting off his airway and ability to speak or scream. Cassian's first reaction was to try and loosen the grip of the arm, or hand, whatever it was that was squeezing around his throat, but it was no use. The grip was so strong, he couldn't fight it or break free. 

Slowly, Jack started walking towards Cassian, grabbing a small needle from his jacket pocket with his other hand. Cassian did everything he could to fight back but in the end he just wasn't strong enough to break free, and there was nothing within reach that he could grab to help fight off his attacker. He could do nothing as Jack took the needle and injected the liquid substance into his arm. 

Only a few seconds went by before he immediately started feeling groggy, his eyes feeling so heavy he could barely keep them open. A few seconds later, Cassian was unconscious. Jack released his grip and just let Cassian fall limp to the floor before turning around and exiting the counselor's quarters. 

Naran yawned as he entered sickbay this morning, saying hello to his duty nurse on the way in. He wasn't ready for another full day of waiting before arriving at the nebula, but he supposed it was better to have all this time to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. Looking around sickbay, he noticed he didn't see Cassian anywhere. He walked out of his office and said to the nurse, “Have you seen Counselor Edren? He was supposed to meet here this morning so we can continue the preparations.”

The nurse shook her head, “No doctor, I haven't seen him since he left yesterday.”

“Hmm, that's odd. He was supposed to be here before me this morning." He tapped his comm badge and continued, “Broll to Edren.” A few second went by with no response, so Naran again tapped his comm badge and repeated himself, also with no answer. “Computer, locate Counselor Edren.”

=^=Counselor Edren is in his quarters.=^=

Naran nodded to his nurse, “It may be nothing, but this isn't like him. I'm going to head over there.” The nurse acknowledged him as he left sickbay and headed for Cassian's quarters. 

The turbolift doors opened and Naran made his way down the corridor to Cassian's door, pressing the chime on the wall. He waited a few seconds and then pressed it a second time, again with no answer. “Computer, confirm location of Counselor Edren.”

=^=Counselor Edren is in his quarters.=^=

“Override door lock, Authorization Broll six two beta charlie.” He waited as the computer acknowledged his orders and authorized his request, opening the doors to the quarters. Naran entered, and found Cassian on the floor, unconscious. He rushed over to him and knelt down, shaking Cassian and attempting to wake him, “Cassian? Are you alright? Cassian?” With no response, he yelled to the computer, “Broll to sickbay, medical emergency in Counselor Edren's quarters!”

“Captain on the bridge.” Kyth said aloud when he noticed Kosev walking off the turbolift. Kosev smiled and put up his hands, “At ease, but thank you.” He made his way over to his chair, standing in front of it and then said, “Report Ensign."

“We have officially crossed into Dominion occupied space, Captain. We are just passing Sevury now, still en route to Saxue at maximum warp.” The eager young Orion said, struggling to not stand at attention. 

Kosev smiled, then took a seat, “Very good, Ensign, carry on.” He turned his attention to his science officer next, “Lieutenant?” 

“No contacts on long range sensors, sir. So far so good.” Alia reported, tapping a few more controls on her console. 

“And how is our new shield modifications hold up?” He asked, now turning his attention to Savar. 

“Refractive shields are online and fully operational.” Savar reported dryly, returning his attention to his console. 

“Very good. Let's hope it works, otherwise this may be the shortest mission we've ever gone on together.”

Alia and Kyth both laughed a bit at the captain's remarks, going back to work at their stations. Savar simply didn't react, or even acknowledge Kosev's banter, which then made Kosev laugh quietly to himself. 

=^=Broll to Thiren, report to sickbay immediately.=^=

Kosev's smile slowly started to fade, and he looked over his shoulder to Savar, who was also raising an eyebrow at the request from the doctor. He stood up from his seat and replied, “I'm on my way.” He looked at Alia and said, “You have the bridge." Kosev made his way to the turbolift, motioning for Savar to follow him.

Kosev entered sickbay, and immediately noticed Cassian on the bio bed with Broll and his duty nurse hovering over him performing scans. “Report.”

Broll turned his attention to the captain, slowly closing his tricorder, “Cassian was supposed to meet me here this morning to continue preparations for the mission. When he didn't show up, I went to his quarters and found him on the ground unconscious.”

“Do you know the cause?” Kosev asked, walking closer to the bio bed and looking at Cassian. 

“We've identified some kind of sedative in his system,” They walked over to the console in front of the primary bio bed and Naran pressed a few commands to pull up the diagram of the chemical, “my guess is it's a distant cousin to Dylamadon.”

“Can you wake him?” Kosev asked, looking up from the console.

“I've tried all the conventional means, but so far nothing has been responsive to this compound. But we did find something else.” Naran walked them both over to the bio bed once more, then pulled the sheet down a bit, revealing Cassian's torso. “Look at these bruises on his neck.”

Kosev gave a shocked look to Savar, then refocused back on the counselor. Savar moved his attention to the doctor and said, “Judging from these marks, you are hypothesizing that the counselor was attacked in his quarters.”

“Unfortunately, it's more than a hypothesis at this point. We also found this.” Naran paused as he pointed to the small wound on Cassian's neck, “Whatever this compound is that he was injected with, it was delivered here.”

“But why the counselor, what is the motive for this attack? He just reported aboard at Farpoint Station.” Kosev asked out loud, to no one in particular. 

Savar raised his eyebrow, then refocused his attention on Kosev, “Captain, I recommend we go to full security alert. We should begin our investigation into this incident at once.”

“Agreed. Take all necessary precautions and begin your investigation immediately, this is the last thing we need right now. I also want you to also contact Farpoint Station, it might be prudent to determine if he had acquired any enemies there before coming aboard.”

Naran spoke up to his Vulcan colleague, “Commander, I believe I might've been the last person to see Cassian before he entered his quarters, we were sharing some drinks after our shifts in the mess hall last night before he turned in. I'll prepare my statement for your review.”

“Very good doctor, I will follow up with you shortly.” Savar said, turning to leave with Kosev. As they both approached the turbolift, Kosev starting to think out loud, “I'm struggling to understand a motive to attacking a counselor of all people before a mission like this. Let's assume for the moment that this attack is related to our mission on Saxue, what possible reason would there be to attack a counselor? You would think that they would go after someone on the command staff, or maybe someone in engineering if they wanted to sabotage this ship.”

“Unless the attacker is attempting to hide without being caught. Edren is the only Betazoid onboard and full telepath, and there are no species on board that are resistant to telepathic abilities. If they were attempting to hide, he would be the logical first choice target.”

Kosev stood there in the lift thinking for a moment about what Savar said about ‘resistant to telepathic abilities’, then his eyes widened to double their size as he started to realize what was happening. “Savar, please tell me you're not thinking what I'm thinking."

Savar put his hands behind his back and returned his attention to the door, “Given our mission and who our enemy is, it would be logical to assume we have a changeling on board.” 

Ginell sat up on the edge of her bed as the voice of Captain Thiren woke her in the middle of the night and told her to report to his quarters immediately. The sound of urgency in his voice is what really startled her awake, otherwise she might have shuffled there in her nightgown. She proceed to get dress in her uniform, then headed out down the corridor to the turbolift. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but in all the time she’s known the Captain, if he had that urgency tone in his voice, she knew it was going to be something she didn’t like. 

Finally arriving at Kosev’s door, she hit the door chime and was told to enter. Walking in, she immediately saw Kosev sitting at his desk, and Savar sitting at the chair across from him. They both stood to greet her as she entered, which made her raise an eyebrow, “Captain? What’s going on?”

“Take me through how we met, Commander.” Kosev asked, now facing directly towards Ginell. 

“Why? What is going on?” She asked again. 

“We insist, Commander.” Savar said, drawing his phaser and pointing it at the first officer, “Answer the question, please.”

Ginell couldn’t believe what was happening right now. Not only was one of her closest friends holding a phaser pointed directly at her, but Kosev, someone she’s grown to trust and respect over the years they’ve served together, wasn’t reacting to stop it and had the most stern look on his face that she had never seen before. Seeing no other option, she obliged and answered their question.

“Stardate 62392, U.S.S. Proudmore, though of course I was Naiella Daan then. We served together for three years on that ship before I was fatally wounded on an away mission in 2388.”

“I could’ve read that in your service log, tell me something that only we would know.” Kosev said coldly, Savar still pointing his phaser at her.

Ginell looked equal parts worried and annoyed, then relented, “What no one knows is that you stayed with me and held my hand the entire way back to Trill. You could see how terrified I was, so you dropped everything and stayed with me until the very end. That’s something I’ll never forget and that I’ll always be grateful for, especially for our conversations on the way to Trill.”

Kosev immediately relaxed and was so relieved, motioning for Savar to put away his phaser. He sat back down behind his desk, and motioned for both of them to sit as well. He was so elated that the two people he trusted more than anyone were both cleared, but it didn’t make their next task any easier. Ginell took her seat, and immediately roared, “Now that whatever that little show was is over, you mind telling me what the hell is going on?”

“I’m sorry, Daan, but we couldn’t take any chances.”

“Chances about what?”

“There is a strong possibility that there is a changeling onboard the Pioneer.” Savar said, not even shifting his gaze or raising an eyebrow. 

Ginell was so stunned that she paused for what felt like an eternity. ‘Oh great, this is just what we need’ she thought to herself. She took a few more seconds before she said, “What do we know so far?”

Savar spoke up again, “Unfortunately, at present, not a great deal. We discovered Lieutenant Edren unconscious in his quarters. Further examination revealed that the counselor was attacked a drugged with some kind of chemical agent that Doctor Broll has, so far, been unsuccessful at counteracting.”

Kosev then sat up and put his hands together on his desk and interjected, “We don’t have a lot to go on at present, it’s true, but the pieces seem to line up perfectly. There is no logical reason why the Counselor would be a target for an attack like this, unless the perpetrator was attempting to hide.”

“I’m not sure I’m following that line of… logic.” Ginell said as she watched the Captain.

“Edren is the only Betazoid on board. If there is someone on this ship that would be attempting to sabotage this mission, he would need to be dealt with before the saboteur could make their move, otherwise Edren would easily read them and they’d be discovered.” Kosev said, hoping he wasn’t sounding as crazy as Ginell’s face made him seem. 

“Given the nature of our mission and our enemy, it is logical to assume, for the moment, there is a strong possibility of a changeling infiltrator on board.” Savar said, putting his hands together in his lap.

“I can see where you’d come to this conclusion, but I would have appreciated more concrete evidence if I’m going to have a phaser pointed at me in the middle of the night.” She snapped, giving Kosev a stern look before continuing, “I do agree that it is highly probable, but I also think we really don’t have enough to go on presently.”

Kosev nodded, “Agreed, this stays between the three of us for now. I don’t want to alarm the crew unnecessarily before we even get to Saxue if this all turns out to be some enemy Edren made before reporting aboard, but under the circumstances we cannot afford to take any chances. I want each of you to keep your eyes open for any irregularities among the crew. If anyone is late for their duty shift, or if they’re not acting like themselves, maybe forgetting details or past conversations, we need to know immediately. There is too much at stake for the Pioneer to fail this mission.”

Beya stood from her desk in engineering and stretched, not knowing the amount of time she sat there working on the several diagnostics of various Pioneer systems before their arrival at Saxue. She knew that these diagnostics were redundant, but it couldn't hurt to be extra prepared, especially given how dangerous their mission was. She decided to complete the rest from her quarters and collected the couple PADDs on her desk before making her way for the exit. 

On her way out, she seen Ensign Tyler still furiously working away at his console, so she decided to make one last stop before leaving for the night. “Ensign, I think we can call it a night, she's as ready as she's going to get. Why don't you pick this back up in the morning?”

Tyler shifted his look from his console to the chief engineer and said, “Aye, sir, there's just this odd power drain that I cannot localize.”

Her curiosity peaked, Beya walked behind him and took a look at his console as he continued, “There seems to be some kind of malfunction in one of these EPS conduits-” He pointed to a junction in one of the Jefferies tubes, “-but for some reason it doesn't seem to respond to my commands. I was just about to go and take a look.”

Beya let out a sigh, knowing that her bed was going to have to wait until they investigated this issue. She nodded to Tyler and put down the PADDs on his console, “Alright, I'll go with you. Hopefully this is nothing, we just completed a diagnostic in this section two days ago, I can't imagine anything would have failed so soon.” Tyler stood up from his post and grabbed an engineering kit, then followed the chief through the junction into the Jefferies tubes. 

Crawling through the tube and down a few decks, they both finally arrived at the junction where the power drain was located. Beya grabbed the access door and pulled it free from the wall, “Alright, let's see what we've got.” She said, setting the hatch on the ground beside her. Giving the terminal a once over, she immediately spotted the problem, then shot a confused look at Tyler.

“Look at this.” She said to Tyler, motioning towards the circuits in the wall. He took out his tricorder and began scanning the junction, then spoke up, “Commander, these circuits appear to have been cut.”

“Cut? Are you sure?” She said, pulling her head away to look at the tricorder with him.

“The cut is too fine, looks like it was done with a laser tool.” He closed the tricorder and looked at Beya, confused, “Why would anyone disable this junction deliberately? All this section regulates is routing secondary and emergency power backups." 

Beya shared his confusion for a moment, then it dawned on her, “What systems does this junction tie into for secondary and emergency power?”

“Food replicators, gravity control, shield generators, replicators, ext-”

“Wait,” Beya said, holding up her hand and cutting him off, “that's it. Hurry, pack up the kit, we need to move." She said, reattaching the access panel to the wall, then tapped her comm badge, “Beya to Savar, bring a security team and meet me on deck eight immediately.”

Tyler fumbled to put the tricorder in place to close the kit, then scrambled to catch up to Beya who was almost running through the Jefferies tube towards the exit.

Reaching deck eight, Beya and Tyler rounded the corner to find Savar and two of his security personal in one of the junctions further in the corridor. Savar was first to speak, “What is the problem, Commander?” Beya motioned for them to all follow her as she hurried down the hall and into the auxiliary control room. The doors opening, she looked stunned to find Lieutenant Commander Sanders handling the controls on the far console. 

Beya looked to Savar, then spoke up, “Commander Sanders, what are you doing in here?”

Sanders turned around, confused, “Running a diagnostic on the lateral sensor array, I noticed a power drain so I wanted to check it out before it became an issue. What's going on?”

Beya walked toward him, looking around at the console, relaxing, “We noticed a power drain in the secondary and emergency power systems, we came up to investigate. What have you found?”

Sanders was about to answer when Savar interupted, “Commander, it is nearly 2330 hours, you were off duty hours ago. When did you notice this power drain? And why did you wait so long to investigate its origin?”

“I had some stuff to take care of after my shift, I came straight here as soon as I was free. Is there a problem?” Sanders asked, plainly. 

Savar shot a look at Beya that she hadn't seen before, but she knew Vulcans well enough to know that look means something's up. She slowly made her way back towards the security team and away from Jack, then Savar spoke up again, “Even so, Commander, you should have reported this power drain immediately upon noticing it. Why did you keep it to yourself and not make a note of it to your superior officers?”

Jack didn't answer, this time just rolling his eyes and turning back to the console to continue entering his commands. “Move away from that console.” Savar commanded, this time more loudly that he had been previously. Jack ignored him and continued pressing the controls, almost as if he didn't hear the Vulcan issue the command, or simply that he didn't care. 

Savar pulled his phaser, his security team doing the same, and pointed it at Jack, “Move away. Now.”

Sanders stopped what he was doing, then turned around and raised his hands, a wide grin beaming from his face. Beya, though she hadn't known the Commander for very long, immediately felt uneasy, looking to Tyler who couldn't move his eyes from what was going on. 

“I'm finished anyway, and so are you.” Jack said, grinning.

“You will come with us.” Savar said as he and his security team moved forward slowly. 

“Your time is almost up, Vulcan. Die well." Jack fell to the ground in a pile of goo, heading straight towards the air duct behind Tyler. Tyler dropped his engineering kit on the ground in shock, and Beya tackled him, moving him out of the way of the incoming changeling. Savar and his security team began to open fire, but not enough shots landed before the changeling could escape. 

“W-w-was tha-” Tyler said, shaking. 

“A changeling, yes.” Savar answered, then tapping his comm badge and calling for Captain Thiren. 

Beya moved over to the console while Savar filled in the captain and she pulled up what Jack, or rather the changeling, was working on. She gasped slightly, but loud enough for Thiren to hear from the comm, “Beya, what is it?”

“The changeling has disabled the shield generators; they have just gone offline. Without the secondary and emergency power systems in place, we have no way to get them back up.” She said, shooting a horrified look at the security chief, “Without the shields, we've also lost the Refractive shielding.”

Savar looked at Beya, holstering his phaser, “Which means we're in the middle of Dominion occupied space, alone, and detectable.”

“Beya, we need those shields up now, use whatever you need to get them operational as soon as possible; we're sitting ducks without them. Kyth, are we picking up any Dominion ships on long range sensors?” Thiren said, turning his attention the the Orion at the helm. 

“No, sir, there are no Dominion vessels on long range sensors.” He said nervously, still working away at his console double and triple checking his answer. 

“Keep monitoring all long range sensors for Dominion activity. Continue on course to Saxue, we will proceed with our mission until we are no longer able to do so. Tactical, as soon as Dominion activity is detected, charge phasers and load quantum torpedoes. Without shields, we'll need to do our best to avoid a fight if possible, but if it comes to that I want the Pioneer to be ready.”

Thiren took a long pause and thought about what he was going to say next, but then ultimately decided that nothing he could say would make what they needed to hear any easier, so best to just come out with the truth. “Attention all hands, there is a changeling saboteur on board the Pioneer. At last sighting, he was impersonating Lieutenant Commander Jack Sanders, but it is highly unlikely he will stay with the same face now that he knows we've seen him in that form. From this time forward, everyone will operate in pairs until the changeling threat is neutralized. Report to the bridge immediately if you spot any sign of the infiltrator.” 

He was going to end it there, especially given that the changeling could hear everything he was saying, but he knew he crew was scared, and with that fear would come distrust of one another. So he decided to say a few more words, “I want you all to arm yourselves. My priority orders to each and every one of you is to protect one another. The changeling is going to try and use this opportunity to instill distrust and bring out the worst parts of ourselves in the name of fear. We must rally and have each others back. Work together to find and end this threat, we still have a mission to complete. The Pioneer has never faltered in it's long history, and it will not start now. Thiren out.”

Kosev walked across the bridge to one of the aft bridge monitors to attempt to track the changelings movements and perhaps determine the next target destination, then tapped his badge once more, “Thiren to Broll.” He waited a few seconds and then heard the doctor report in, “We need a way to detect this changeling, whether that is blood screenings, phaser sweeps, anything. Start working on a way to detect him and set it up immediately, use whatever resources necessary.” 

“Acknowledged, Captain. I have already started work on a detection method, I will update you as soon as I have any new information, Broll out.” The doctor said, tapping his comm badge to close the channel. He made his way into his office and began reviewing the information on the changeling biochemistry that was collected during the war to try and devise some sort of detection method. 

A few moments went by before he heard the doors open to sickbay, Lieutenant Evani walking inside. Immediately, Broll turned to face her, “Lieutenant, where is your partner? You know you aren't supposed to be moving about the ship alone.”

She crossed her arms, then began to make her way towards him, “Sorry, Doc, I was already out in the corridor by myself when that call came over the comm. I figured you could use some help coming up with some way to counter the changeling threat, so I came here.” She seen that he was suspicious of her, so she relented, “If it would make you feel better, go ahead and take a blood sample.” She then held out her arm to the doctor, offering him to take her up on her word. 

“It's nothing personal, Lieutenant, I hope you understand.” He said, grabbing a hypospray and taking the blood sample. After collecting the blood, he moved it around the vile a bit and seen that it did not revert back into the liquid state that changelings are composed of. He sighed, looking down as he placed the vile on the counter, “Sorry Alia, I guess I'm more on edge than I'd like to admit.”

“It's fine, doctor, I understand.” She said, then taking a deep breath, “Let's get to work.”

Beya and Tyler continued to work on the shields in the controller room on deck 4 while she sent an engineering team to repair the severed connections in the Jefferies tube. Savar was standing guard with his security team, just in case the changeling were to come back and sabotage their efforts to reactivate the refractive shielding. A few moments later, Ginell and her security team entered the room, much to Savar's surprise. 

“Commander, wanted to check in on things here, how's the repairs coming along?” She said, her arms crossed. 

Savar raised an eyebrow, “Not well, Commander Beya estimates at least a few hours before she can successfully purge the corruption installed by the changeling. The engineering team estimates even longer to replace the severed connections in the Jefferies tube.”

She nodded, “I'm on my way to engineering now, hopefully I can speed things along down there. We just came from Sanders quarters, he didn't make it. The changeling strangled him, we found his body in the closet.” Savar said nothing, only letting out a long breath. 

She paused for a second, then looked around the room, “So, the changeling went through that junction when it escaped?”

“Yes, we managed two shots on it before it disappeared. The way that it fell apart when changing form, it did not look like the liquid state from the historical records during the war.”

Intrigued, she asked, “How do you mean?”

Savar put his hands behind his back, then answered, “The changeling looked more like bio matter than it did a liquid, I am not sure if it was intentional by the changeling or not, but it was curious that it was different.”

“Well, something to keep in mind, I suppose.” She paused for a minute, then looked back at the junction where the changeling disappeared, “Where does that junction lead?”

“It is the central air shaft for the entire deck. About ten meters ahead, it leads down to deck five.” He said, looking at her and wondering where she was going with it. 

“What could be on deck five that would pose a potential target?”

Savar thought for a moment, then said, “Holodecks, crew quarters, sickbay, transporter pattern buff-”

Ginell cut him off, “Wait, that has to be it Savar.” She pointed to Savar's security team, “You two stay here and guard Beya and Tyler, Savar with me.” She pulled her phaser and headed out of the room towards the turbolift. 

“It looks like phaser sweeps at this setting should be sufficient to trigger the changeling back to it's gelatinous state.” Broll said, pointing to the data on the monitor as he and Alia went over the data together. They had discussed blood screenings, but they weren't really that viable an option given that a changeling could easily replace someone right after they were screened.

“Phaser sweeps do seem to be the best option available.” Alia said, then she tapped a few controls on the console and scrolled down through the data a bit, “The specifications for the sweeps that they had installed on Earth are in these files. We could replicate them and-”

“No, that would take entirely too long to set up and install. I think the best course of action would be to modify the phaser rifles and go deck by deck looking for the intruder. So long as the rifles are set to a high enough setting, it should be enough to trigger the changeling's matrix long enough to be discovered.” Broll said. 

Alia nodded, “You're right, that does seem like the best option.” 

“There may also be a way to modify the sensors to detect their composition, I would need a recent sample of it to perform an analysis.” Broll said, he was about to head back to his office when he heard the sickbay doors open again, revealing Ginell and Savar entering the room with their security team. 

“Commanders.” Broll said, greeting them both. “Report doctor.” Ginell asked, and the doctor brought them both up to speed on the current plan to modify the phaser rifles with the appropriate phaser setting and sweep the ship. Savar nodded in agreement to the plan as well. 

“Daan to bridge.”

“Bridge here, go ahead Commander.” Kosev said.

“Savar and I are in sickbay, the doctor and Lieutenant Evani hav-”

Thiren immediately jumped out of his chair, pulling his phaser and pointing it at Alia. Kyth also stood from his console, and pointed his phaser at the science officer. Kosev cut Ginell off, “Evani is on the bridge as well, Commander. Take her into custody, immediately.” Two officers that were manning the tactical and operations consoles walked over with phasers, grabbed Alia's arms as she raised her hands.

Savar and Ginell took their phasers out, pointing them directly at Alia in sickbay, who also raised her hands. Broll walked over stood between the phasers and the science officer, looking directly at Daan who was already yelling, “Move out of the way now, doctor!”

“This is ridiculous, the changeling is on the bridge, I took a blood sample.” He picked up the vile containing Alia's blood and swished it around for them to see, “Look, it's not h-” He couldn't finish his sentence before there was his own blood coming out of his mouth. Broll, now coughing and choking, turned his head back and saw one of Alia's arms transformed into a sword and stuck him straight through the chest.

Savar and Ginell, both taken back by what they just witness, hesitated only for a moment before they both began to open fire on the changeling, the security team behind them opening fire as well. Alia threw Broll's body across the room, the sword end of her arm sliding out of his chest as she tried to maneuver and evade the phaser fire, but it was no use against four of them. The changeling took too many hits, and was neutralized. 

Ginell rushed over to Broll while Savar grabbed a medical tricorder, but it was too late. The damage was too extensive, and Broll was already gone, his eyes still open, blue blood dripping from his mouth. Ginell sighed, grabbing his hand and closing his eyes. Savar closed the tricorder and tapped his comm badge, “Savar to bridge, the changeling has been neutralized, however Doctor Broll has been killed.”

Thiren started to gasp, but then realized that all eyes were on him, then closed his mouth just as it started to open. He motioned for the officers to released Alia, and he walked up to her, patting her on the arm in an apologetic way before replying, “Acknowledged, I'm on my way down. Alia, send word to the crew that the changeling threat is over, you have the bridge. Kyth, keep an eye on those sensors, I want to know the minute we detect any Dominion activity.”

Both of them nodded as Kosev entered the turbolift. The mission hadn't even begun and already he had lost people. Losing people wasn't new to him, he had been in Starfleet a long time, and losing people was unfortunately inevitable, those risks came with the uniform. But it never got any easier, and perhaps he was most thankful that it never did. 

The turbolift arrived and he made his way through the corridor and entered sickbay, finding them starting to move Broll's body and clean up the changeling mess. He walked over to Broll and put his hand on the corpse for a moment, then stood and looked to his two closest friends, “Good work, both of you.”

“Not really a time I feel like being congratulated, sir.” Ginell said, holding her arms and looking down at Broll's body. She didn't know him long, but she did feel an instant connection with him when he reported aboard. She regretted not being able to save him, and regretted not taking more time to get to know him. 

Kosev looked to Savar who was looking directly at him, “How're you holding up?”

“I am puzzled, Captain.” Savar said.

“Oh?”

Savar walked over to the ground and retrieved the vile with the blood sample inside, then handed it to the captain. “Right before he was killed, Broll mentioned that he took a blood sample of this changeling. However, the sample did not revert back to a gelatinous state, it kept it's composition.”

Kosev examined the sample with Ginell, then she asked, “How could this be? They always reverted back in samples during the war.”

“I'm not sure, but we'll have to report this to Fourth Fleet Command as soon as we get back. We cannot risk sending a message now and be discovered, especially without the refractive shielding.” Kosev said. He put the sample on the counter, then looked at them both, “Do what you can to assist Beya with those repairs, we need those shields operational as soon as possible, we are only a few hours out from Saxue.” He started out of the room, “Then the real hard part begins.”

Captain’s log, Stardate 78173.9, with the changeling infiltrator found and neutralized, the Pioneer continues on course to Saxue to find and destroy the ketracel-white facility. Repairs on our shields are nearly completed, Lieutenant Commander Beya estimates another thirty minutes until they are operational again, which also means we will have our refractive shielding advantage back. The crew feels the loss of two of our senior officers, Lieutenant Commander Jack Sanders and Lieutenant Broll, but have found new determination and drive to ensure this mission succeeds. Not only for the ones we lost, but for everyone else out there that’s fighting this new threat as well. The Pioneer will succeed, as it always has in its past… it has to. 

“Captain, we are approaching the nebula, ETA for arrival five minutes.” Kyth said, pressing a few commands and still plotting trajectories and course changes. 

“Understood.” Kosev said, then tapped his comm badge, “Bridge to Engineering, we are five minutes out from the nebula. Report.”

Beya and her team were practically bouncing off the walls, moving from console to console, doing everything they could to get the repairs completed as soon as possible. Hearing the captain on the comm overhead, she tapped her badge to respond, “Beya here Captain, we are almost ready down here, standby.” She turned quickly around to Tyler who was working the console behind her, “Is that diagnostic complete?”

Tyler pressed a few commands on his console before replying, “Diagnostic complete, primary shield generators have been reset and are ready to come back online.”

“Excellent.” She gave him a quick smile, then tapped her badge, “Beya to Daniels, report.”

“Daniels here, sir. The severed lines have been replaced and are ready for main power activation.”

“Perfect! Excellent work everyone.” She pressed a few more commands, then smiled and tapped her badge once again, “Engineering to Bridge, shields are online and at maximum. Refractive shielding has also come back online and is operating within normal perimeters.”

“Great work Commander, compliments to the entire team.” He looked over at Ginell who was sitting beside him, “Now comes the hard part.”

“Especially since we’re down two officers, let’s hope we don’t lose anyone else.” She said, 

Kosev nodded, then refocused back to the main view screen where the Pioneer dropped out of warp in front of the Mutara class nebula, Saxue somewhere deep inside hiding. He stood from his chair and walked towards Kyth’s station, “Mr. Nakav, take us in.”

“Aye, captain.” He said, pressing a few commands and activating the ships impulse engines. The Pioneer moved forward at half impulse, and disappeared behind the cloud of the nebula. A small shake occurred just as the ship entered, prompting Kosev to look back at Savar for an update, “We have officially penetrated the nebula. Shields and sensors are at reduced capacity, but are still functional. However, we can expect the technology of the Dominion to be more outdated than ours, their shields and sensors may not function within the nebula.”

“I’ll take every advantage we can get. Alia, are we reading any Dominion contacts?” Thiren said, now changing his focus to the operations station that Alia took over from Jack. 

“No, sir. So far, no other additional contacts on sensors.” She paused while Kosev also asked about the planet, to which she replied, “No, sir. We also do not have the planet on our sensors, either.”

“Alright then. Kyth, let’s set up a search pattern, we need to find this planet as quickly as possible. Alia, keep scanning for Saxue and Dominion contacts, and do whatever you can to boost sensor efficiency to cut through the interference. The faster we complete this mission, the faster we can get the hell out of here. Put a sensor overlay on the far side of the view screen for reference.” He heard an ‘aye, captain’ from them both before he went back to sit down in his chair. 

Ginell stood and made her way to the rear of the bridge at the aft science station, doing what she could to assist with finding the planet as well. She didn’t know how long they would be at it, given the sheer size of the nebula, but one thing was for certain: she couldn’t wait for it to be done and over with. With Cassian still out of commission, no one knows what she went through in her previous life, not even the captain.  She vowed to herself that she would keep her self under control and her emotions in check for the duration of the mission, for the good of the ship and crew. 

Almost an hour went by, and still, they had found nothing. No Dominion ships, and no planet. Kosev sat in his chair, leaning on the right arm with his hand on his chin as he studied the display. Feeling anxious, he got up and went to Savar’s station and looked at the console with him, “Report.”

“Still no sign of the planet or any Dominion vessels.” Savar said calmly, working at his normal pace and keeping his eyes on the sensor readings. 

Kosev shook his head, “This just feels too easy, where is their attack wing? You would think that they would be patrolling the nebula around the planet, especially given how important this facility is to their entire operation.”

“I see two possibilities; either the intelligence provided by Fourth Fleet Command was incorrect in the numbers patrolling the area, or perhaps Dominion technology does not function properly in this nebula as we suspected. If  that is the case, it would explain why they are not inside, but it would also mean that whatever force is here would be concentrated around the planet.” Savar said, picking his head up and looking at the captain. 

“If they have all their ships tightly focused in one area, that’s going to present a whole new problem for us to overcome. All our intelligence to date has suggested they were patrolling the entire area. If they are all in orbit of the planet, we’ll need to devise some way of drawing them into the nebula or this mission is going to fail.”

“Anything yet?”

Kosev was leaned forward in his chair, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands as he continued to study the view screen. It had been nearly two hours since the Pioneer entered the nebula, but still they had not yet found Saxue, or any other Dominion presence for that matter. Could the intelligence provided to them from Fourth Fleet Command be wrong? Maybe the intelligence didn’t even come from command, maybe it was planted by that changeling as a deliberate ruse to lure them out here, in the middle of no where, where they’re all alone with no hope for reinforcements or rescue. 

He knew that at least Savar had considered the same possibility, he could see it on the Vulcan’s face. Kosev’s known Savar long enough to know when he suspects something is up, and the more time that passed during this mission, the more it seemed like a trap over a critical mission. But regardless, they at least had to see it through to confirm either their orders or suspicions one way or another. 

“No, sir. We have searched twenty seven percent of the nebula, but so far no sign of the planet.” Lieutenant Evani reported from the ops console. 

“No Dominion activity either, this is damned peculiar Kosev.” Ginell said, sitting next to him on the bridge. 

“Maybe Savar was correct, perhaps their systems don’t function in the nebula and they are all concentrated at the planet itself.” Kosev said, throwing an idea out there. 

“If that’s the case, when we finally do reach Saxue and confirm the facilities existence, how are we going to lure those ships out of orbit so we can move in and destroy it?” She said again, a little louder this time so the rest of the bridge crew could pitch any ideas they might have. 

Alia spoke up first, “What about setting up probes in the nebula cloud to emit Starfleet warp signatures and lure the Jem’Hadar inside and away from the planet?” 

“That’s an idea, but I’m a little concerned about putting Jem’Hadar ships in our escape path. Once we destroy that facility, you can bet we will have all of them on our tail. We don’t need any of them in front of us either.” Ginell replied, looking around the room for more ideas. 

“There’s just too many variables and unknowns to make any concrete plans, lets put a pin in this until we locate the planet.” Kosev said, everyone around nodded and going back to their respective consoles. He tapped his badge and said, “Bridge to Engineering, any luck on cleaning up some of this interference and boosting sensor effectiveness?” 

“Beya here, Captain. Unfortunately, no. Sensor technology has come a long way, but we are still unable to filter out all of the interference. Sensors will only be able to scan within a radius of ten thousand meters while we are inside the nebula.”

He shook he head, but he understood that he couldn’t expect any miracles. He was just anxious to get this mission completed, or at least confirm the facilities existence and that this wasn’t some wild goose chase set up by their changeling saboteur. He leaned back in his chair, still staring at the view screen for any signs of the planet or other Dominion ships. 

Another hour went by, Kosev was now checking some of the Pioneer‘s systems on his chair’s control panel when he heard Alia speak up, “Captain, possible contact, bearing 270 mark 320. Range, ten thousand meters.”

Kosev immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at Alia as she was speaking, then turned his attention to Kyth, “Ensign, change course for those coordinates. Savar?”

Savar picked his head up to meet Kosev’s look and said, “Still no Dominion vessels on sensors.”

The Pioneer streaked across the nebula towards the new coordinates, and then emerged from the nebula cloud and into the calm pocket of space that contained the planet. Everyone was quiet for a moment as they took in the rare sight, then reality set in when they saw the several little specs in the distance moving around in orbit. Kosev, without taking his eyes off the view screen, only uttered, “Magnify.”

Pressing a few commands, Alia enhanced the image to show what they all feared. A dozen Jem’Hadar attack ships in orbit, all in various locations around the planet, ready to intercept any would be attackers. Ginell looked towards Savar and asked, “Any indication that they’ve detected us?”

“No, Commander, the refractive shielding appears to be working to design specifications. They are not showing any signs that they have detected our presence.” Savar said, returning his attention to the view screen. 

“Alright people, we need options and we need them fast. Refractive shields are working for now, but we still need a way to get to that facility on the surface. Thoughts?” Kosev said, looking around the bridge at his officers. 

Savar was the first to speak, “I’ve completed my scans of the facility on the surface, aside from the ships in orbit, there does not appear to be any planetary shielding or armor. I estimate the entire complex can be neutralized with six to eight photon torpedoes.”

“Could we fire them from here?” Kyth asked, shrugging his shoulders.

“They would never make it all the way there without being shot down by the ships in orbit, at which time our presence will have been revealed to them.” Savar said. 

“So our best bet is to try and lure them away from the planet somehow. Maybe probes? We could modify them to emit Starfleet subspace signatures and make them appear like starships?” Alia suggested. 

“Unfortunately, that won’t work.” Beya said over the comm, listening to the conversation, “We would need to leave the probes on the far side of the system and then move the Pioneer to the other side to give us a chance to get to the planet, the interference from the nebula would prevent us from sending any remote piloting signals to those probes, we’d be too far away.”

“So let’s not use probes, let’s use shuttles.” Ginell said, looking at Kosev who was raising his eyebrows. 

“That could work, Captain. I can modify the shielding systems on our shuttles to emit signatures to fool the Dominion ships into thinking they’re much larger Starfleet ships. It wouldn’t take them very long before they realized the error, maybe thirty seconds at most.” Beya said.

“Thirty seconds is still plenty of time for those Dominion ships to leave orbit and make it all the way across the system before they discover the ruse.” Ginell said, looking at Kosev. 

“I would advise against this plan, the shuttles will not be able to outrun the Dominion vessels and they will not be able to take more than four or five shots at most until their shields fail.” Savar pointed out. 

“Then we can install the refractive shielding subroutine on the shuttles themselves. Once they grab the Dominion’s attention, then can slip back into the nebula cloud and disappear while the Pioneer come from the far side to destroy the facility.” Ginell suggested.

“That could work, Captain, the refractive shielding can be installed on the shuttles as it was on Pioneer.” Beya said over the comm. 

Thinking for a few seconds, Kosev gave a quick nod before issuing his orders, “Alright, let’s do it. Beya, begin the modifications to the shuttles. Savar, scan the facility and determine the optimal targets for the photon torpedoes, set them to the highest possible explosive capacity, we will only have one shot at this. Kyth, I want you to head down to shuttlebay, select three pilots to fly with you, you will command the shuttle distraction while we destroy the facility and engage any Dominion ships left in orbit, Ginell will take the helm in your absence.” 

He looked around the room, all officers still focused on him, “We don’t have a lot of time, people, let’s get to work.”

After spending the last few hours reviewing the mission data, Kosev turned off the monitor on his desk and got up. He walked over to the window of his ready room, looking out at the nebula and thinking about the mission before him. It was incredibly risky, and all depended on the Dominion taking the bait because if they didn't, there would be no way to get the Pioneer past twelve of their attack ships. He crossed his arms and sighed, standing there a while before he heard the door chime. 

“Enter.” He said without moving, still looking out into the nebula. 

He didn't have to turn around to know who entered the room, he could hear her moving around the room and sitting at his desk. Kosev smiled and said, “You know, once you accept a command of your own, they'll give you your own desk so you don't have to keep stealing mine.” 

Ginell smiled, leaning back in the chair and putting both her feet up on the desk, “I don't know, I rather like this one. Maybe we can find somewhere else for you to go when we get back."

“That'll be the day.” He laughed quietly to himself, “I found her first, you find your own.”

He both chuckled to themselves and then sat quietly for a few seconds before Ginell spoke up, “I'm sure you know why I'm here. Knowing you, you've probably gone over the data a hundred times already trying to find a better solution.”

“But there isn't one, at least none that I can find.” He said, still arms crossed and facing the window. 

“Estimates project, even with the decoys, there will be two or three ships left behind in orbit while the rest go after the shuttles.” She said, taking her feet off the desk and putting her hands in her lap. She never liked serious conversations like this, but this is one that needed to be had, “Savar thinks the refractive shielding will get us most of the way to the planet undetected, but once he fires those torpedoes, we're going to light up on their sensors like a supernova.”

“And then we'll have two or three Jem'Hadar attack ships bearing down on us as we attempt to escape.” He said, looking down. “Not to mention having to rendezvous with the shuttles inside the nebula, bring them back on board and run like hell back to Federation territory.”

“Are you absolutely sure that there is no possibility for reinforcements from the Fourth Fleet?” Ginell said, optimistically. 

“No.” He said, now turning around to face Ginell, “It was made clear in their transmission that the entire fleet is engaged elsewhere, and that this was up to us.”

Ginell sighed and paused for a moment, then got up and looked Kosev straight in the eyes, “Well, then let's do this thing. We're ready out there when you are, Captain.”

He managed a small grin and nodded, then motioned for her to lead the way to the bridge. Nodding, she obliged and headed out, taking her place at the helm. Walking out onto the bridge, he stood in front of his chair and looked around at everyone, then looked to Ginell and said, “Patch me through to the crew.”

Ginell hit a few commands on her console, then nodded and acknowledged the channel was open, the comm making the familiar whistle. He crossed his arms, and then began, “Attention all hands: as you know, we are about to make our bombing run on the facility. We are anticipating most of the enemy fleet to pursue the decoys, but there is no guarantee how many ships will fall for the deception and break orbit.” 

He paused a few seconds, looking around the bridge at his officers, then continued, “We have a lot of people counting on us to take out that facility, and we're only going to have one shot at this, but I know from experience that when we put our minds together there is nothing the Federation cannot achieve. Let's go and remind the Dominion who they're dealing with, and who won the war. Red alert.”

“Thiren to Nakav, your clear to launch. Once you're on the other side of the system, communications will be cut off and you'll be in command of the mission. Take your wing in at 1830 hours, once you draw them away, we'll start our approach.”

Kyth nodded on the view screen, “Aye, sir.”

“No heroics, Ensign, I except all of you to come back in once piece. Meet at the designated rendezvous coordinates, we'll pick you up on our way out. Keep each other safe. Thiren out.” He walked over to his chair and took a seat, looking at Savar over his shoulder and then back to Ginell at the helm, “Nothing to do now but wait.”

“Alright everyone, you heard the Captain, let's go and get this done and all come back in one piece. That's an order.” Kyth said over the comm to his shuttle pilots. 

As the channel closed, the last of the shuttles launched from the Pioneer, then they all started their journey to the far side of the system together. Kyth was both honored to have been chosen to lead this important part of this mission, especially since he is only an ensign, and also terrified. He didn't know why the captain decided to put him in charge of this mission and not a more senior officer, aside from his renowned piloting skills, but he was honored to have been chosen and trusted by Kosev. 

An hour went by as quickly as Kyth had ever seen, and 1830 hours were nearly upon them. Over here on the far side of the system, they were cut off from communicating with the Pioneer due to the interference from the nebula, so if something went wrong, they were truly on their own. Not that there would be much that the Pioneer could do about it anyway, given the odds. It was up to them whether or not this mission succeeded or failed, and Kyth was not about to let his captain down on the first assignment trusted to him. 

He watched the time changed to 1830 hours, then activated their secure channel, “Nakav to all ships, engage!”

Four shuttles and a runabout streaked out of the nebula cloud heading for the planet, all of them rigged to emit warp signatures and subspace signals of Sovereign class vessels. It only took thirty seven seconds for the Dominion to respond and divert their forces to intercept them. Kyth opened their secure channel again, “You know the drill, once they get within ten thousand meters, turn and run like hell back to the nebula. Slow to one quarter impulse power, let's give the Pioneer as much time as possible.”

“1830 hours, Captain.” Savar said, continuing to press commands on his console as the red alert klaxon blared behind him. 

“Full impulse.” Kosev said, and Ginell acknowledged. Pressing a few controls, the Pioneer emerged from the nebula cloud and rushed toward the planet. Once out of the cloud, the sensors started to function properly again, and Savar conducted a scan of the system. “Two ships remain in orbit of the planet, the other ten vessels are en route to intercept the shuttles."

Kosev nodded, and looked to Ginell, “Well, better odds than we were initially expecting.”

“Every little bit helps.” She said, refocusing on the view screen with a smile. 

“Savar, once we are within optimal firing range, don't wait for my order, launch torpedoes. Make sure it's enough to incinerate the entire facility, we won't have the ability to make another pass. Once we fire, it's going to take everything we have to make it back to Federation territory in one piece.” Kosev said, moving to his chair and taking a seat. 

Savar acknowledged his orders, and Kosev sat and watched the planet grow so much larger by each passing second, until they were nearly in orbit. He heard Savar announce he was firing the torpedoes, and Kosev watched as ten photon torpedoes, rigged to their highest possible explosive capacity, streaked to the planet below. Ginell also didn't wait for the order, and immediately reversed course at full impulse power and headed straight back towards the nebula cloud. 

Kosev watched on the view screen as the torpedoes hit their designated targets and exploded, the yield of the explosion surprising him as he didn't realize just how powerful those torpedoes could be rigged to detonate. As the explosion continued to grow on the surface, he looked at Savar who nodded his head, “Scans confirm, the facility has been totally destroyed captain.”

Kosev smiled, “Great wo-” Before he could finish, several shots from the Jem'Hadar vessels in pursuit impacted the shields, violently rocking the bridge and knocking down an ensign who was standing at the aft science station. Kosev looked to Savar and said, “Phasers!” Savar obliged, and with a few controls, sent several shots with the port and starboard phaser arrays to the Jem'Hadar ships that were along either side of them. 

More shots from the Dominion vessels continued to impact the shields, sending sparks flying from the conduits in the ceiling. The next shot saw the engineering console explode, sending the young lieutenant to the ground screaming in agony. Kosev screamed over all the noise, “Time to the nebula perimeter?”

More explosions rocked the ship as Ginell said, “Two minutes, Captain!”

“Shields are down to fifty five percent.” Savar said, continuing to work furiously at his console. 

“Savar, attack pattern Thiren four! Target the flanking attack ship! Fire!”

Savar pressed his commands and redirected all phaser fire to the flanking ship, with all beams targeting the nacelle strut on the starboard side. As the continued phaser fire weakened their shields, two aft quantum torpedoes launched and impacted the Jem'Hadar vessel, completely tearing the nacelle off the ship. More shots from the surviving attack vessel came in, prompting Savar to announce, “Captain, shields are at thirty nine percent.” 

“Only one target now, Savar. Quantum torpedoes, get them off our tail.” Kosev said, staring at the view screen. 

The aft torpedo launched fired torpedo after torpedo until there were four separate streaks of blue flying towards the Jem'Hadar ship. Kosev watched as the torpedoes impacted and the small attack vessel exploded. Cheers erupted around the bridge, Kosev included, as the Pioneer continued forward at maximum impulse towards the outer nebula cloud. Kosev looked to Alia, “Full scan, are you able to pick anything up from the shuttles?”

Alia worked her damaged console, attempting to circumvent the areas that were shorted out, and then pulled up the requested information, “Sensors confirm… debris, Captain, near the outer edge of the system just before the nebula cloud.” She did her best to finish her report, but was completely deflated at the prospect that one or more of the shuttles didn't make it. Kosev stood from his chair, looking to Alia, “Can you confirm the density of the debris? How many shuttles didn't make it?”

A few moments went by as Alia worked on the console, then she shook her head, “Unable to determine from this distance Captain, but if I had to make an educated guess, I would say between two and three of the shuttles didn't make it, sir.” 

Kosev, without skipping a beat, looked to Ginell, “Continue on course for the rendezvous coordinates, there still may be survivors. We will wait there as long as we can, then we'll run like hell back to Federation space.” Ginell nodded, turning around in her chair and facing the console once more while Kosev tapped his comm badge, “Bridge to Engineering, work on reassembling the shields, first priority is to get the refractive algorithm back online, otherwise it will be a short trip out of the nebula.”

“Aye, Captain, we're already working on it. We estimate that shields will be online and available as soon as we reach the outer perimeter of the nebula.” Beya said, her entire team running frantically around attempting to patch the damaged systems back together. 

“Sir, we're coming up on the rendezvous point.” Ginell said. Kosev crossed his arms, still standing in the middle of the bridge, “Full stop, continue scans for the shuttles.” Several minutes went by, Kosev now taking a seat in his chair. He rubbed his chin, continuing to look out at the view screen, but still there was nothing. Savar felt obligated to point out, “Captain, if they had survived, they should have arrived to the rendezvous point well ahead of us.” 

“I'm aware of that, Commander, but I want to give them a little more time.”

“Captain,” Ginell said, looking down, then back up to Kosev, “we can't stay here much longer, the Dominion are actively patrolling the nebula, it's only a matter of time before we're discovered. We… we have to go, sir.”

Kosev was prepared to fight and stand his ground, refusing to give up on his officers, but he knew that she was correct. The longer they lingered there, the greater the chance that they would be discovered, and then they would have the full force of ten attack vessels bearing down on them, something their Intrepid class ship just couldn't handle on its own. He looked around the room, his eyes finally landing on Alia who reluctantly was nodding her head, then Kosev relented and sighed, “Take us back to Federation territory, full impulse until we're clear of the nebula, then punch it up to maximum warp.”

Ginell nodded, and as she was entering the commands, Savar called out, “Belay those orders, Commander.” Kosev stood, looking over at Savar who finally looked up from his console and motioned to the view screen, “Starfleet shuttlecraft approaching aft, on screen Captain.”

Kosev turned and watched on the view screen the shuttle approaching the bay, and noticed by the markings that it was the same craft that Ensign Nakav took out. He then asked out loud, “Lifesigns?” 

Savar raised an eyebrow, and almost gave a small smile from the corner of his mouth for a microsecond before saying, “Sensors confirm, four lifesigns, Captain. All shuttle pilots are accounted for.”

Cheers again erupted from around the bridge, Ginell standing to hug Kosev, who was smiling from antenna to antenna. After letting her go, she sat back down, and said, “Shuttle is aboard, Captain. Executing original orders.”

Several minutes went by as the Pioneer neared the outer nebula perimeter, and the turbolift doors opened to reveal Ensign Nakav. Applause, started by the Captain with the rest of the officers following suite, broke out as the young Orion made his way to where the Captain was standing. Kosev put his hand on Kyth's shoulder, “Excellent work, Ensign. Well done.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Kyth said, smiling.

“How did you-?” Ginell started, but Kyth cut her off, “The Jem'Hadar ships were faster than we expected and we couldn't out run them, so I programed the other three shuttles to continue on autopilot and begin firing phasers as soon as they were in range, then beamed the pilots to my shuttle. Had to do a bit of evasive maneuvers, but we managed to make it back in one piece."

Patting him again on the shoulder, smiling and nodding, Kosev motioned Kyth to the helm, “Take your station, Ensign.” He happily obliged with a yes sir, then relieved Commander Daan, who then got up and called down to engineering. 

“Engineering here Commander, refractive shielding is back online and operational. Now that the Dominion knows about it, they will no doubt work to counter the technology, but it should still get us most of the way home.” Beya said. 

“Excellent work Commander.” Ginell said, who then looked to Kosev who appeared to be reflecting in his thoughts. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder, “What is it?”

“I just wish we were able to bring them all home, but we're going home two short.” He said through a smile. She grabbed his arm and said, “None of them would be going back home if it wasn't for you.”

“For us, you mean.” He smiled. 

“And don't forget it.” She laughed. 

“You have the bridge Commander, I'll be in my ready room working on the report to Starfleet, and the messages to our officer's families.” He was on his way to the ready room, then stopped in front of the dedication plaque on the wall, and touched it, then turned to the crew, “Yet another engagement for the Pioneer, and she didn't let us down.” 

“Alright, try it now.” Kosev yelled down to Beya while laying on his back in the Jefferies tube. While the Pioneer was en route back to Farpoint station after completing their mission, he decided to keep himself busy by helping complete some critical repairs. Their mission, while successful, was costly to say the least, and he wanted to be ready should they find themselves in another combat situation before they arrived at their destination. 

In truth, he was here helping in engineering to avoid his real duties: writing to the families of Jack Sanders and Naran Broll. Every time he started to write the letters or record any messages, he constantly kept going back and erasing what he had done because he wasn’t satisfied with the way it sounded, like he didn’t know them very well. And truthfully, he didn’t. They had only just come aboard, and he lost them before he was really able to even speak with each of them one on one, and now he was tasked to talk about them to their families who knew them best. 

He shook his head trying to purge the thoughts from his mind and focus on the work in front of him. He knew, given enough time, the words would come to him, but it just wasn’t easy. He supposed he was thankful that it wasn’t easy, every time Kosev loses someone, he vows they’ll be the last, but he knows that’s a promise he cannot keep. 

“Receiving signals from the power conversion matrix, Captain, nicely done!” Beya said in the junction down a ways from where Kosev was. “Only thing we have left to do is to head over to junction J-25 and repair the ODN conduits, once that’s complete that should power on this entire section.”

“Good.” Kosev said as he exited the Jefferies tube into the junction where Beya was, readjusting his flashlight on his forehead, “This headband is starting to aggravate my antenna.” He smiled as he grabbed his engineering kit and led the way to the next junction.

“Report.” Ginell said, coming out of the ready room and walking over to Savar’s station. 

“Sensors confirm Dominion and Breen ships in multiple sectors.” Savar said as Ginell looked at his console over his shoulder.

“Have they given any indication that they’ve detected us?”

“No, however, there is something troubling about their heading.” He pressed a few commands and pulled up a trajectory of their course, “According to our sensors, all Dominion and Breen ships within sensor range appear to be converging on the same coordinates. The Deneb system.”

Ginell looked up from the console and to Savar, paused for a couple seconds, then said, “They’re going after Farpoint.”

“I have reached the same conclusion.”

“Kyth, how long until we reach Farpoint station?” Ginell said, putting her hand on Savar’s console to support herself after realizing the Dominion’s new strategy. 

“We’re on course for Farpoint at maximum warp, estimated time till arrival thirty minutes, Commander.” Kyth said. 

Ginell raised an eyebrow, “Well, at least we will beat them to the party.” She made her way to her chair and tapped her comm badge, “Daan to Thiren.”

=^=Thiren here.=^=

“Estimated time to Farpoint station is thirty minutes, Captain. Unfortunately, it appears the Dominion and Breen fleet won’t be too far behind us. Sensors confirm a large force of ships are converging on the station.” She said, taking a seat. 

=^=I’m on my way to the bridge. Hail Fourth Fleet Command.=^=

“If we hail…” Ginell voiced.

=^=I know, they might discover us, but we have to be sure they know the attack is coming, regardless of what happens to us. If they’re unprepared and the Dominion take Deneb, the entire sector’s defense will collapse.=^=

“Aye, Captain.” She tapped her badge to close the channel, then looked to Savar again, “Open a channel.”

Kosev turned his light off and took it off his head, putting it into his engineering kit, then handed it to Beya. “You’ll have to complete this last one without me, try not to have too much fun.” He chuckled. She grabbed it from him and nodded, then crawled head first into the next Jefferies tube and proceed to the junction to finish the repairs. He could tell that she was worried after what she just heard over the comm, hell, he was worried too. They had just barely survived a pitch battle with the Jem’Hadar, and now they were being chased back to Farpoint by an even larger force.

He made his way through the corridor to the turbo lift and uttered ‘Bridge’, then watched the lights go by as the lift moved to his destination. He was almost in a trance and didn’t realize the time had passed by before the doors finally opened and revealed the bridge. Snapping out of it, he walked out and around the bridge to his chair, “Report, Commander.”

“We made contact with Fourth Fleet Command, they are aware of the incoming attack and have ordered us to form up with the rest of the fleet and mount a defense.” She said, pressing some buttons on the arm of her chair and pulling up the diagram on the view screen. 

“From what we can tell, the bulk of the Dominion and Breen forces have committed to this last attempt to take Deneb and Farpoint station. The admirals have gathered most of the Fourth Fleet to combat this threat, as well as elements from Task Group 514.” Ginell said.

“Captain, approaching the Deneb system.” Kyth announced, slightly looking over his shoulder.

“Drop out of warp and take us into position with the rest of the fleet.”

“Sir, we are receiving an incoming transmission from Admiral Dahlgren.” Alia said from the ops station. 

“Put it through.” He said. She pressed a few buttons, then put the transmission over the speakers.

‘It’s not often that this much of the Fourth Fleet gathers together in one place with a singular mission, but today our duty is clear: we must hold the line and keep the combined Dominion and Breen fleet from taking Farpoint Station. They have committed the bulk of their forces to this assault, so if we defeat them here, the conflict is over. We have one more battle. One more hill to take. This is a desperate assault on our enemy’s part, as we have superior numbers, better training and the heart to come out on the other side. We can and we must stem the tide here and now. More important than anything else, we have each other. We will hold the line together. All units have their orders. Squadron and Strike Group Commanders are authorized to engage at their discretion. Dahlgren out.’

Kosev looked around to his senior officers, all of them looking to him and smiled, which in turn caused him to smile. He knew that he didn’t need to say anything, that the admiral’s words had inspired them plenty to take on this new threat, so instead, he said only one thing, “Red alert.”