“The time is zero-six-thirty hours.”

Thaustin slowly opened his eyes, feeling extra warm than usual. He turned his head and saw Lukiz beside him, still sound asleep. Thaustin couldn’t help but smile as he watched Lukiz breathe peacefully, feeling content and happy that he was there with him.

He leaned in to gently kiss Lukiz’s forehead, causing him to stir slightly. Lukiz’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled sleepily at Thaustin.

“Good morning,” Thaustin whispered, his voice still groggy from sleep.

“Morning,” Lukiz murmured back, snuggling closer to Thaustin.

They lay there for a few moments, simply enjoying each other’s company and the peacefulness of the room. Thaustin couldn’t help but feel grateful for this moment, knowing that he was lucky to have found someone like Lukiz.

“I suppose I best get up, or I’ll miss the oh-seven hundred shuttlecraft back to the Odyssey.” Lukiz groaned.

Thaustin nodded before he pulled Lukiz in for a kiss. “Last night was a lot of fun.”

“It was,” Lukiz agreed. “But next time, you need to get the shuttle to me.”

“Agreed,” Thaustin said, still smiling. “However, with the communication interference of the Black Cluster between our ships, I’m sure I won’t be able to wait that long.”

“It’s only for a few more days, Thaustin,” Lukiz replied before motioning to what lay under the sheets between them. “Keep it under control, commander!”

As they started to stir and get out of bed, Thaustin couldn’t help but feel excited for what lay ahead. While Lukiz pulled on his clothes, Thaustin wondered where this fling with the Odyssey’s chief operations officer would go.

“Canção to Thaustin,” spoke the captain over the intercom.

Reaching for his combadge, the Triton’s first officer tapped it and answered his superior. “Go ahead, ma’am.”

“Sorry to wake you early,” Canção said sincerely, “but can you join me in my ready room in fifteen minutes.”

“Aye, ma’am.”

Canção didn’t close the channel then. “And tell Lukiz he doesn’t have to rush back to the Odyssey so quickly. We’re heading to meet with them now.” 

Thaustin sighed heavily. The two of them had tried their best to avoid their relationship coming in between their work. Thaustin had certainly not wanted his captain to know yet. “Understood, thank you, ma’am. Thaustin out.” He closed the channel and turned to Jen. “I’m sorry; I thought we kept your arrival a secret.”

Lukiz Jen just shook his head and smirked. “It’s okay, but if I’m not sneaking off, I’ll definitely be using your sonic shower.”

Leaning close to him, Thaustin smiled at the fact that Lukiz was staying longer. He got close to his ear, “Well, maybe I’ll join you.” He seductively suggested. 

Lukiz smirked, “Or you could make me some nice breakfast.” He quickly gave Thaustin a peck on the cheek before rushing to use the sonic shower across the room. 

Moaning in frustration, Thaustin fell backwards onto the pillows before pushing himself to get up and ready for the day ahead. 

Commander Belire Kazlaf was utterly engrossed in her work as she floated in the zero-gravity environment of the stellar cartography laboratory. Her Elaysian physiology was enjoying the lack of any force pulling her down. Away from her skeletal support frame, this was almost heavenly for her. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe as she gazed at the multitude of collapsed protostars surrounding her, each one a glimpse into the mysteries of the universe. Her nimble fingers danced across the holographic controls, expertly manipulating the data as she delved deeper into the intricate patterns and formations of the protostars.

Studying the rich and complex data, her mind raced with endless possibilities and questions. What secrets lay hidden within these enigmatic and collapsed stars? What discoveries could be made from this research? The possibilities were both exhilarating and overwhelming, and Kazlaf couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement mixed with a hint of trepidation. 

But with unyielding resolve, she continued her diligent study, determined to unlock the secrets hidden within these mesmerising stars. For Kazlaf, this was more than just scientific research – it was a passionate pursuit of knowledge and understanding, a chance to unravel the mysteries of the universe and push the boundaries of what was known. And as she floated through the expanse of the laboratory, surrounded by the collapsed protostars, she knew that she was exactly where she was meant to be.

Kazlaf looked up from her work and saw Captain Rio Canção entering the lab earlier than usual. Curiosity sparked within her as she wondered why the captain was there at that time.

“Good morning, Captain,” Kazlaf greeted her with a polite smile. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Canção looked around the lab, taking in the piles of data scattered on Kazlaf’s workstations. “Actually, I was hoping to hear about your progress,” Canção said, her voice laced with interest. “What have you found so far?”

Kazlaf eagerly shared her findings about the collapsed protostars’ mapping mission, hoping to impress the captain with her and her team’s hard work in updating Starfleet’s records of the Black Cluster. It was a job that someone hadn’t done in almost a decade.

Canção listened intently, nodding in appreciation at specific points. “Fascinating,” she said. “But unfortunately, our mission is coming to an end. We need to meet up with the USS Odyssey. Fleet Captain McCallister has sent the recall signal. I’m not sure as to why yet, but I didn’t want us to start moving out and rip you away from something important.”

Kazlaf felt a wave of annoyance and frustration wash over her. She had been so close to uncovering new insights that their mission was being cut short. However, she understood that these were their orders, and they had to follow them.

“Understood, Captain,” Kazlaf said, trying to hide her disappointment. “I’ll start finalising our data for Starfleet Cartography right away.”

Canção gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement before turning to leave. Kazlaf watched her go, feeling a mixture of emotions. She was annoyed that their mission was ending prematurely, but at the same time, she was grateful for the opportunity to work on such a project. Especially alone. 

Kazlaf appreciated being alone when working on a project, as it allowed her to focus without distractions. Her disability of being unable to walk in normal gravity was one of the reasons why she preferred to be by herself. 

In a way, her stern demeanour with her fellow crew resulted from her condition. She didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her or treat her differently because of her disability. Kazlaf was matter-of-fact regarding her work and expected the same from her colleagues. Besides the captain and first officer, she found many of her comrades somewhat frustrating to work alongside. Kazlaf was a driven and intelligent individual, who faced a multitude of challenges while working with her colleagues. Her disability was just one of the hurdles she had to overcome on a daily basis. Despite her physical limitations, Kazlaf’s unique perspective and exceptional intellect made it difficult for her to communicate effectively with team members who shared a different level of knowledge and expertise. They just didn’t get how she thought; over the years, she hadn’t developed any social skills to deal with it. She was just quite blunt when she found someone annoying or unable to understand her thinking (unless it was a superior officer). Slowly, she adjusted herself to descend towards her anti-grav chair and concluded her work before the lateral sensor array was no longer available. 

She hoped that whatever was interrupting her work was worth it.

Canção briskly made her way down the corridor of her ship to get to the bridge on time. After leaving Stellar Cartography, she smirked to herself at how well she had dealt with her chief science officer and second officer. She loved working with Kazlaf; her mannerisms had a certain charm, but she knew that McCallister wouldn’t send the recall signal unless something vital happened. So, Canção knew she couldn’t have Kazlaf in a lousy mood for her work being cancelled. A softer approach to make her understand before  something happened was always the best course of action.  As she turned a corner, she unexpectedly collided with her chief medical officer, Doctor Kamra Uknare.

“Good morning, Doctor,” Canção warmly greeted Kamra with a smile. “I’m sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush.”

Uknare nodded in understanding. “No problem, Rio. Is everything alright?”

Canção felt a tinge of regret as she replied, “I’m afraid I have to cancel our breakfast meeting in the private dining hall. We’ve received the recall signal from the Odyssey, and I need to be on the bridge.”

Uknare chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “I understand. You don’t want to keep the bridge waiting. But you’ll be missing out on the perfect scrambled eggs that Chef makes every morning.”

The captain smiled wistfully, already regretting her decision. “I know. I’ll have to make it up to you another time, Kamra.”

As Canção continued her hurried trek down the corridor, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. She cherished the time she spent conversing with Uknare, and the prospect of missing out on breakfast together was a disappointment for both of them. However, she knew that her duty as captain superseded her personal desires.

Meanwhile, Uknare watched Canção disappear down the corridor and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of melancholy. Of course, she valued her conversations with the captain, and breakfast together was always a highlight of her day. But she understood the significance of her duties as captain and recognised that cancelling their breakfast meeting was a necessary sacrifice.

As Kamra walked away, she couldn’t help but imagine savouring those perfect scrambled eggs all by herself, but the thought offered little comfort.

Upon arriving on the bridge, Canção was greeted by Lieutenant Th’vohless, who reported that they were slowly making their way out of the Black Cluster to the rendezvous point where they planned to meet the Odyssey. He then asked if she knew why Fleet Captain McCallister was recalling them. Canção shook her head, indicating that she had no idea. The mystery plagued them all. 

As she took her seat, Commander Thaustin finally arrived on the bridge. “Commander Thaustin, glad you could join us.” She said with a smirk at her first officer.

“My apologies, Captain. I was held up with some personal business,” Thaustin replied.

“That’s alright, Commander. It’s an early start for us,” Canção said reassuringly. She knew that Thaustin, at some point, would give her more details about his evening with his date. “But let’s get down to business. Lieutenant Th’vohless, what’s our status?”

“We’re on track to reach the rendezvous point in about two hours, Captain,” Th’vohless answered.

“Well, we’ll find out why we’ve been recalled soon enough. But, in the meantime, let’s keep a close eye on our sensors. We don’t want any surprises,” Canção instructed.

As the crew went about their duties, Canção finally got down to speaking to Thaustin about his date with Lieutenant Commander Lukiz Jen.

“So, how was it, Commander?” Canção asked with a smile.

“It went really well, Captain. I think I’m starting to like Lukiz a lot,” Thaustin whispered back.

“That’s wonderful news, Thaustin. I’m happy for you,” Canção said genuinely, reaching out to grab his arm. 

“I just hope I don’t mess things up,” Thaustin admitted.

“Don’t worry, Thaustin. Just be your charming self, and everything will work out,” Canção advised. 

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a heavily damaged Breen scout. The captain called for red alert just before the scout exploded. It was a close call, but they managed to avoid the blast.

“Damage report, Lieutenant Th’vohless,” Canção ordered.

“We’ve sustained minor damage to the port nacelle, Captain. However, the shields held up well,” Th’vohless reported.

“Good work, everyone. Let’s get those repairs underway,” Canção said to the crew. She turned to her first officer. “Now, where the hell did that Breen scout come from?”

Thaustin shrugged his shoulders from where he was sitting to her right. He was checking the sensors and couldn’t find any answers to provide her with. “One minute they weren’t there, and the next they were.”

“It may have been interference from the Black Cluster,” suggested Th’vohless. 

“They seemed to have taken a beating; any chance we could work out from what?” Canção asked.

Thaustin declared he might have an answer and quickly changed the image on the main viewer. As the crew of the Triton gazed out into the vast expanse of space from the bridge’s main screen, they caught sight of the USS Bellerophon, the Intrepid-class starship from their squadron, swiftly approaching their vessel. Despite the evident battle damage on the Bellerophon, the Triton crew sensed a confident and purposeful movement emanating from the approaching ship. Wondering if the Bellerophon had just engaged in a fierce battle with the Breen scout, the Triton crew couldn’t help but wonder what had just happened. 

Curiosity filled Canção’s thoughts, as she and her crew watched with bated breath as the ship drew closer, eagerly wanting to know what happened. “Ethav,” She called her operations manager. “Hail the Bellerophon, I want to know what just happened.”

A volley of phaser fire and a spread of quantum torpedoes illuminated the dark void of space. Unleashed from the USS Artume, their targets were the Breen raiders they were now facing off against. The exchange of fire was intense, with both sides expertly manoeuvring their ships to gain the upper hand. The Artume’s phasers were firing non-stop, the bright beams of energy smacking into each of the Breen frigates. Attempting to defend a remote trading outpost in the Hatelon system, the USS Artume would not give up. The battle between the two factions was intense, with both sides sustaining significant damage. Despite sustaining considerable damage to its hull and shields, the Artume held its own against the Breen frigates. The crew worked tirelessly to keep their ship operational. Suddenly, a Breen raider made a daring move and rammed into the Artume’s hull, causing severe damage and leaving the ship vulnerable. The situation looked bleak, with only one Breen ship left in the fight and the Artume losing power to its weapons. The captain had sustained severe injuries and was taken to sickbay, while the senior staff were either incapacitated or dead.

In the face of this dire situation, Lieutenant Junior Grade Thaustin found himself in command. He quickly assessed the situation and worked with the remaining junior bridge crew to devise a plan.

“We need to act fast and decisively,” Thaustin stated. The young lieutenant was not the best when it came to interstellar tactics. He was only the Gamma Shift Officer of the Watch (where nothing rarely happened), and when he wasn’t doing that job, he was the assistant chief diplomatic officer. However, the latter had changed since he had just seen his department head be thrown across the bridge as their station blew up in their face. Walking over to the tactical station, Thaustin knew enough to be able to read what the sensors were telling him. “The remaining Breen ship has lost power to its engines but still has weapons. We need to disable it before they can do any more damage.”

“But how can we do that without our weapons?” Ensign Patel asked from the helm.

Thaustin felt his hands shaking as he continued to work out the best way forward for them to win this day. So many people were counting on it. If the Artume were lost, Breen mercenaries would overrun the outpost. He wasn’t prepared to allow that to happen. 

“We’ll have to send a computer virus into their systems,” Thaustin replied after he noticed that the Breen’s defences were also heavily damaged.

“But their systems are highly advanced,” Ensign Patel added. “Breen’s” We’llHow can we create a virus that can penetrate them?”

“We’ll have to work together and come up with a plan,” Thaustin said. “We don’t have much time, but I know we can do this.”

The crew worked tirelessly to create a virus that could penetrate the Breen’s computer systems. Finally, after several tense moments, they succeeded. The virus took hold, and the Breen raider was disabled, allowing the Artume to take its crew into custody. The moment Patel announced that the Breen ship was powerless and they could start beaming them into their brig, Thaustin gave out a massive sigh of relief. 

USS Bellerophon (NCC-74705), en route to Divinum, Deneb Sector, Alpha Quadrant

Stardate: 78194.2 (Present Day)

“And that’s the first time I found myself in the centre chair in the middle of a battle,” Thaustin shared with a smirk. “I vowed on that day never to let my lack of experience be a barrier to being able to deal with any crisis I found myself in.”

“Remarkable,” Commander Kazlaf muttered in a dry unimpressed tone. The Elaysian science officer had not diverted her attention away from her console while the first officer shared his incredible tale. Though she had nothing against Thaustin personally, she didn’t think much of anyone who used a lot of bravado to impress others.  

Hearing her comment, Thaustin looked over to Kazlaf. “Come on, Belire; you must have a treasure trove of moments in your career that you can share with the rest of us?”

“Yes, please, commander, I’d be most interested in your recounts,” spoke Ensign Andar from the helm. One of Andar’s scarlet-eye stems moved to show they were now focusing on the helm readouts and his superior officer.

“Did you serve in the Dominion War, commander?” Lieutenant Lonar asked from behind Thaustin. The young Cardassian woman was standing at the tactical station that arched around the command pit. 

Kazlaf shot a look at the lieutenant. “I’m not that old, Natima,” she replied, emphasising that she was much younger than presumed. “I joined Starfleet almost a decade after the war ended. I was only eleven when hostilities ended. Thankfully, my homeworld was not affected by it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to suggest that you were-” Lonar started to stumble out with her words of apologies but was interrupted by Thaustin.

The first officer had suppressed a chuckle at the exchange between the science officer and security/tactical officer. “I’m sure Commander Kazlaf wasn’t insulted by that, lieutenant.” He looked at Kazlaf with a look that said, ‘I get you’re pissed at her, but let’s keep morale in a good place before we go into battle’.

Getting the hint and realising having their security and tactical chief nervous before a possible huge battle ahead was not a good idea, Kazlaf sighed and told the Cardassian woman to forget it before returning to her readings. She adjusted her exoskeleton support frame before tapping away at the holographic controls. 

The captain’s ready room door then opened. Captain Rio Canção stepped out with Counsellor Naef-Oron behind her. The tall, bulky Brikar appeared to swap quiet pleasantries with his superior as they moved across the bridge towards where Thaustin was sitting in his chair. Thaustin enjoyed spending time with the counsellor. He found Brikars so fascinating. Their unique exoskeleton structure was one notable physical attribute that made them stand out against other races. In addition, their rugged, chitinous exterior provided exceptional protection against physical harm, making them a formidable force in battle. They were also known for their incredible strength and agility, which allowed them to move quickly and efficiently in any environment. With their keen senses and sharp mind, the Brikarians were a force to be reckoned with. However, Oron’s personality was the complete opposite of his actual physical prowess. Though he was sharp-minded, his soul was gentle. He was kind and caring. It was rare not to see him without a smile. Everyone on the ship adored him for his generosity and devotion to his job. Many sought his wisdom; he knew how to make someone feel safe—the perfect counsellor. 

“Report?” Canção asked as she stopped just before her chair.

“We’re almost in the Divinum system, ma’am. All hands report ready,” Thaustin replied.

Carefully she sat down, and at the same time, so did Oron. “Okay, everyone, listen up. The moment we drop out of warp and come into contact with whatever awaits us, I want you to keep your focus, keep your heads in the game and ensure you’re ready for anything.” She looked at Oron and smiled before finishing her little pep talk. “You can do this; I know you can, so let’s ensure we remain calm and do our best.”

A series of ‘ayes’ rang through the bridge from everyone else. 

Thaustin leant into Canção, “Great speech, ma’am; it almost gave me a shiver.” He whispered.

Oron did the same on the other side, “Thaustin’s right, very moving, captain.”

“Oh shut up, you two,” She murmured as she straightened her back, ready for Andar to announce their arrival.

Though it was not standard procedure for the captain to be on the away team, investigating an empty Presidium-class station required almost every able person available from the Triton to be involved. As a result, Captain Rio Canção found the closeness of her environmental suit only adding to the already uncomfortable situation she and her crew found themselves in. The entire station, which was geared toward supporting the colony’s incoming traffic and providing maintenance to smaller crafts, was in complete darkness. Since her Hazard Team had arrived ahead of everyone else, they had not been successful in attempting to find a way to bring the power back online or discover why every hatch and airlock was exposed to the cold vacuum of space. 

Standing in the centre of the station’s ops, Canção was using her tricorder to see if she could find just some clue, just something that could direct them towards some answer to discovering where the one thousand Starfleet officers (and the civilian population) had gone. It was like nothing she had seen before. The El-Aurian captain wanted to scratch her head, but her helmet prevented that.

The communicator built into her suit went off, and her operations manager’s calm, friendly voice followed the beep. “Ethav to the captain.”

Tapping the button on her chest to respond, Canção hoped the Andorian had good news to share. “Go ahead, Ethav; please tell me you have some good news to share. That’s an order!”

A nervous chuckle echoed through her helmet. “Sorry, ma’am, I must disobey and instead share something quite bizarre,” Ethav replied. 

She had sent him and several others down to the engineering compartment of the station to find out why they couldn’t access any computer control and power up the station. “Well, don’t leave me in suspense, lieutenant.”

“I’m afraid, ma’am, the primary computer processor is not here,” Ethav reported. “And it’s not the only component of the computer core which is missing. Several other key parts have been removed, rendering the entire computer core useless.”

“Are you serious?” Canção checked; she couldn’t believe that. She had fought the Dominion and Breen during the war; such an act was never their style. They would just move in and blow things up without seriously considering the need to be precise in their attacks. A former first officer of hers had described their actions as going all in when they had the advantage. She then paused and considered what it could mean, and before her operations officer could reply to her, she issued more orders. “Ethav, comb the entire computer core. I want an inventory of what was removed.”

“We already are doing that, captain, but the computer core doesn’t appear to be the only thing removed.” He replied.

“Clarify, lieutenant,” Canção said.

“On our way down here, we noticed a range of consoles, equipment and other systems missing. There were no blast marks; it was almost as if someone knew how to disengage them from the station’s structure and extract them almost surgically.” Ethav reported. “It’s almost like they knew what they wanted to take.”

“Very well, we may have to start to consider a wider check to see what else is missing. But, for now, focus your efforts on the computer core; I’ll speak with the Odyssey to see if they can send over one or two of their S-C-E teams.”  Canção ordered. 

“Will do, ma’am; it might be worth informing Lieutenant Commander Jayshon, too; he might not be able to bring any of the reactors online without proper computer control,” Ethav stated. “That’s if they’ve not removed all of the reactors.” 

Moments later, Canção had spoken with Lieutenant Naef Oron on the Triton, whom she had left in command of her ship. The counsellor was more than happy to sit in the captain’s chair. He was a capable bridge officer, and the size of the Brikarian would make it difficult (not impossible) for him to move around all of the station. Most of the corridors weren’t configured for larger humanoids like him. She had updated Oron with what Ethav and his team had discovered and told the counsellor to request backup for them from the SCE unit on Odyssey. 

“I’ll speak with the Odyssey shortly,” Oron had shared. “However, I think they may be preoccupied with what has happened on the planet’s surface at the moment. And from the looks of it, the others are very busy too.”

“Understandable, but do let my former protege know what we’ve found; it may help him with his investigation,” Canção said with a smirk just as she saw her first officer and chief engineer arrive via one of the access tunnels into ops. Reminding the counsellor that Fleet Captain McCallister was once one of her students meant that Canção was trying to use some of her former influence to get his help quicker. Thankfully she didn’t have to fight for it, unlike other squadrons. McCallister had been lucky that Command had given him her, his former first officer and brother, to join him in forming the Odyssey squadron. Since the formation of the Odyssey Squadron, Canção had found her friendship with Cambil easy to resume while getting to know Horatio McCallister a somewhat delight. He was certainly different in some areas from his older brother, but she had concluded that they were alike in most things (however, she was sure they would never admit it).

Without the station’s gravity plating working, she had popped her tricorder back into her utility belt before walking over slowly to meet with Thaustin and Jayshon. Like her, they, too, were weighted down by their EV suits. “Gentlemen, please tell me you have some good news.”.

Thaustin shook his head before answering. “To quote my good friend, Shaka, when the walls fell.”

Jayshon agreed with the commander’s assessment. “More like Zinda, his eyes red.” The Tamarian chief engineer gave out a sigh. He was certainly talking fast, which meant the universal translator was lagging in changing his language to Federation standard. “Mirab, with sails removed. The power reactors have all been taken, including the emergency back-ups.”

Canção wasn’t surprised at their news. But, after hearing from Ethav, she started seeing a pattern here. “It would seem that whatever happened resulted in the station being stripped of its primary systems. Ethav reported that key components, including the computer core’s primary processor, were removed.”

“I can’t see how we’re supposed to get this station operational,” Thaustin admitted. “With no way of blocking up the holes without forcefields, this entire job will take a lot of effort. It’s almost like the chicken and egg conundrum. Which one do we deal with first? Restoring power or replacing all of the hatches and pulling the airlocks closed?”

“I’ve already requested the presence of the SCE unit from Odyssey to help us,” Canção shared before she sighed. “I’m not sure where we start with all of this.” She flew her hands up in the air as she looked around the station’s Ops again. None of the stations were operational. Not a single light was active. The only source of light came from their suits. 

“This is, without a doubt, a new tactic we’ve not seen the Dominion take before,” Thaustin said. The Xindi-Primate shared his captain’s frustration with what they stood among. Starfleet would want to know more, and they had no answers to give them.  

“Bazminti, when he pulled back the veil,” Jayshon muttered. “The Dominion typically plan for the long-term. It is their hidden agenda.”

Curious to understand what Jayshon was suggesting, Canção turned to him. “What do you mean, commander?”

“Sokath, his eyes uncovered,” Jayshon started. “Dominion strategy is ​​they want something even more valuable in the long term.”

“You’re right, Jayshon,” Thaustin agreed with his colleague. He appeared to understand what direction the engineer was going with his train of thought. He turned to his captain to explain it further. “During their failed attempts to negotiate with the Federation shortly after Deep Space Nine was recaptured, they tried to play the long-term card with us. They were considering the bigger picture. They weren’t bothered about what would happen tomorrow; they were considering how things would pan out over a longer period of time. They were trying to gain the advantage by planning and predicting what may happen in their favour.”

“So, why gut out a Federation station?” Canção questioned Thaustin. “Why not assume direct control and use it against us now? I don’t see the logic or long-term gain there?”

“Uzani, his army with fists open or closed?” Jayshon asked Thaustin.

Thaustin once again understood his Tamarian colleague well. “Possibly both, Jayshon,” He returned his focus to his captain. “The Dominion, and I’m sure the Breen have helped them with this raid, will most likely return to take control of this system. Somehow they’ve removed the ability for us to retake it so quickly, and without the people here, it’s an easier target for them. This Lost Fleet needs as many strong footholds in this area of space if they are to survive. They need worlds to exist on. The infrastructure to support their campaign. I reckon they think by doing this, we would leave the system eventually, as we wouldn’t have the resources to fully restore what has been lost. They know we would want to press on and engage them in battle in other locations. While that’s happening, they can return here and take over behind our backs.”

“I suppose by being supported by the Breen, they wouldn’t be in any rush to seal the hatches and airlocks. The Breen could are used to working within their suits and freezing conditions. Instead, they could install their own computer processors and other key systems to modify the station to their specifications.” Canção theorised. “I suppose that explains why the orbital weapon platforms came online when we approached them.”

“Most likely, ma’am, they’ve probably uploaded a backdoor virus into their systems to give them access at a later date,” Thaustin suggested. “We should ask the SCE team to look into them at some point.”

“Doctor Uknare to Captain Canção,” spoke the Haliian medical officer over the intercom.

Gesturing for Thaustin and Jayshon to pause their discussion, Canção responded. “Go ahead, Kamra.”

“Captain, Lieutenant Lonar and I have discovered something quite astonishing in our search of the station,” Uknare stated.

Scoffing at that with a slight chuckle, Canção replied. “You’ll need to get into a queue, I’m afraid, doctor. Tell me, what have you two found?”

The Cardassian chief security and tactical officer answered. “Ma’am, we’ve been conducting a forensic scan of the sections we’ve been visiting, and there is a strange and unusual common pattern that we are seeing.”

“Let me guess, you’ve noticed that key systems have been surgically removed from the station?” Canção attempted to get ahead of them with their response.

“Well, yes, there’s that, ma’am, but something else perplexes us. We want Commander Kazlaf to join us if she can,” Lonar stated.

Curious to know what they were seeing that required their chief science officer to be involved, Canção pressed them for the information. “What is it that you’ve found?”

“Captain, there’s no trace of any form of DNA on the station, what’s so ever,” Uknare declared.

Thaustin then chimed in. “Surely that’s expected, doctor. The station’s internal settings have been exposed to the vacuum of space.”

“Not like this, Thaustin,” Uknare replied confidently. “Where rooms were closed off by emergency bulkheads or doors when we entered them, there’s no trace of any microbes. I’m talking fingerprints, plants, hair – I’ve done a cellular analysis on different surfaces. There’s nothing there. Even in the vacuum of space, these things aren’t automatically removed. We would detect some sort of trace.” 

Perplexed by their mystery, Canção frowned at hearing their revelation. Then, she started to conduct her own forensic scan from her tricorder of Ops. “Any possible theories as to what has happened?”

Lonar replied. “We’ve exhausted our options and cannot determine what has caused it, captain.”

“Hence why we would appreciate Belire’s input on this,” Uknare stated. “I want us to consider the bigger picture here.” 

“I’ll send her your way shortly,” Canção said before closing the channel. She turned to both men before her. “The beast at Tanagra is certainly upon us.”

“With Darmok on the ocean,” Jayshon said in agreement. 

Canção couldn’t disagree with her chief engineer; they, indeed, were on their own with this mystery to solve.

Jonarom had never stepped onboard a Luna-class ship before (in fact, he hadn’t stepped on board many different classes), and as a result, he was highly impressed with the facilities on board the Triton. Compared to the Bellerophon, it was like a scientist’s true dream had come true. The young science officer, who had devised the squadron’s theta-band detection system, was now working with the others from across the squadron to develop a method of delivering the antidote for the metagenic weapon. 

Using one of the many laboratories on the Triton, the ‘Odyssey think tank’ (named to the group by Lieutenant Commander Jen) were assembling for the first time. They had met the night before for preliminary introductions and presented with the information they had so far on the antidote released by the Breen vessel. Feeling quite timid by those who were assembled, Jonarom wasn’t sure why he had been selected. He had even been told by Odyssey’s chief operations officer that Fleet Captain McCallister wanted to put him in charge of the project; however, concerns about others and their seniority were being shunned. Jonarom had been glad he hadn’t been nominated as the group leader. There were so many here that were experts in their fields. He was timid by them all.

First were those from the Triton: Commander Belire Kazlaf, the ship’s chief science officer and second officer. The Elaysian woman, who was currently bound to an anti-grav chair, was quite fierce in personality. She came across as stern, very professional and wasn’t too keen on engaging with Jonarom when they met the night before. She looked him up and down, almost inspecting him to see what made him so important to be considered by their squadron commander to lead this project. Jonarom soon realised that he wasn’t the only one who noticed that about her after hearing a few of her subordinates grumble about her in the mess hall while he was getting his breakfast.

With her was also Lieutenant Commander Jayshon, the ship’s chief engineer and one of the few Tamarians serving in Starfleet. He seemed friendlier than his colleague, but as he was the first Tamarian that Jonarom had met, he had yet to fully understand all of the metaphors he used in his speech when the universal translator was too slow to keep up. 

Another two members forming the think tank were Lieutenant Commanders Trev Brashlend and Abbej from the Themis. These two seemed more straightforward to get along with than their Triton counterparts. Abbej, the Boslic, was more approachable, and her relationship with Jen was apparent. The two had served on the Odyssey for a long time. Trev, on the other hand, wasn’t as argumentative as most Tellarites were. Instead, he was more interested in the problem and would use his focus on the issue instead of insulting someone. Jonarom had wished that T’Penni had joined him, but apparently, she wasn’t needed. 

“Okay, good morning, everyone. I hope you all have had time to review the data and are prepared with ideas on how we can replicate the Breen delivery system for the antidote,” Jen said, starting the meeting. They were all assembled around the flat-top cone-shaped console in the centre of the room. Holographic images were floating near to them of the various pieces of information that had been shared. 

“Without a doubt, the one thing that failed on the Breen’s system was them not preparing for them being so backlash against their organic components,” Kazlaf stated. “So whatever we develop, I would suggest we consider how we ensure every ship that uses bio-neural computer circuitry is protected.”

Trev agreed with a steady nod. “Yes, yes, that’s a good point, commander. Even if one part of the antidote is released onto any of our ships, we don’t know what it could do to the gel packs. A lattice network of force-fields around each compartment containing gel-packs would protect them from unnecessary exposure.”

Jen liked that idea and wrote it down on the PADD he held. “I think we would need to consider the other organic component to our ships,” He looked at Kazlaf. “Our crews.”

“Well, of course, that goes without saying, commander,” Kazlaf said as she crossed her arms. “I’m just not sure we have the time to build a theta-band device prototype that could deliver the antidote.”

“Why can’t we use the one we salvaged from the Breen?” Abbej asked the group. “Surely, we can repair it and adapt it to one of our ships?” 

Jayshon shook his head. “Gramble, his throat slit by his mistress,” He waved his hand off at that idea and took a moment to slowly respond so the translator worked. “That will leave us at a tactical disadvantage with only one ship using it.”

“Jayshon is right,” Jen said as he looked at the information before them. “If we want to use such a device, then any ship in the fleet should be able to use it, even our Cardassian allies.”

“Cardassian technology can be clumsy at being compatible with our technology, let alone Breen,” Trev stated as he scratched one of his tusks. 

“Wait,” Jen said as he pulled up a report from the Themis. “Didn’t we discover that the Cardassian ships with us have several systems of Dominion origin?”

Abbej confirmed his question. “You’re right, Lukiz; they may be able to adapt their system easier than we thought.”

“So, that still brings us back to the original problem,” Kazlaf stated as she pointed to the schematics of the Breen device they had recovered. “How do we go about building our own one that doesn’t kill our crew, our computer system and can be adapted for the Cardassians? I mean, none of us have ever built a theta-band device, and it would appear that’s the only way to deliver the antidote so quickly.”

Jonarom frowned and then taped something in his PADD. “Who’s to say we must use a theta-band device to deliver the antidote?”

Everyone turned to look at Jonarom and stared at him as if he had said something controversial. 

Jen smiled at him. “What do you mean, ensign?”

“Well, why does the delivery have to be theta-band based?” Jonarom almost repeated.

Uknare pointed to the hologram of the device. “As that’s how the Breen effectively delivered it.”

“And?” Jonarom questioned again. “None of us are experts on them, and from the sound of it, they cause a lot more issues for us.”

“So what would we use?” Jen challenged.

Jonarom pressed something on his PADD and activated his own floating hologram. “We use photon torpedoes.”

“Torpedoes?” Jayshon repeated. He then nodded. “Sokath, his eyes opened.”

Pleased he had one ally in the room, Jonarom continued his explanation. “The antidote is loaded into the warhead of our torpedoes, and the moment we believe a metagenic weapon has been released, Use the concussive force to start the reaction of counteracting what’s happening in the atmosphere.”

Jen smirked. “Our ships would have to adjust our shielding and structural integrity fields as they would have to fire them in a low orbit, and it would require multiple detonations.”

“It would work,” Kazlaf agreed reluctantly. 

Everyone else agreed too. They would still need to do some more work, but it was undoubtedly the safest way. Jen tapped his combadge. “Jen to the bridge.”

“Go ahead, Lukiz,” replied Commander Thaustin. “How’s it going down there?”

“We think we may have an idea, Thaustin,” Jen answered before realising how he had addressed the ship’s first officer in such a formal tone. He cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, commander, informing Captain Canção, I would be grateful.”

“Certainly, commander, I will tell her, and that’s great news. We just heard from the Themis that the antidote is ready. It would seem Doctor Slyvexs and her team have worked throughout the night to prepare it. The captain will be with you shortly,” Thaustin said, noticing the change in Jen’s tone and use of his rank. 

“Thanks, Jen out.” The joined Trill tapped his combadge. “Okay, we may need a few more experts with us, but let’s get started with this plan.” He looked at Jonarom. “Ensign, lead us through your thoughts.”

Grinning, the young science officer started to share his idea on how they could adapt their torpedoes to deliver their rescue plan in case the Dominion Death Task Force took another swipe at one of their worlds.

Sitting quietly and alone in the laboratory, Ensign Jonarom felt a bit homesick from being away from the Bellerophon. He was missing his colleagues, whom he had grown accustomed to since joining the ship. Though the think tank had done its work, and Triton would rendezvous with the Bellerophon later this afternoon, there was still so much about the Divinium colony mystery that plagued him. He was reworking all the data gathered so far, trying to see if they had overlooked anything. 

Initially, he reviewed the scans the Bellerophon took of the debris field of the Breen suits and the organic matter lost on the Breen cruiser. All of it confirmed their original hypothesis. The antidote had somehow leaked among the Breen crew, and traces of the metagenic weapon had killed the Breen and the organic components of their ship.

Next, he reviewed the data from the Triton’s away team, and again the lack of DNA found on the station may indicate they were exposed to the metagenic weapon; however, not all areas of the station could confirm this as a good number of the internal compartments were exposed to space.

This was followed by the scans taken by the Odyssey of the tree branch discovered by their Holographic Away Team. Their exocomps had searched further after the initial find to locate pockets of other organic matter (trees and plants) damaged or killed off. The antidote was also found among them, especially in the soil samples Doctor Slyvexs took. 

Finally, the data shared by Gul Jacet of the Dominion Death Task Force and confirmed by Starfleet Intelligence showed that the Dominion were experimenting with such weaponry and other advanced technology. This group of Dominion ships were the best of the best (at the time). 

Pushing the data onto floating holographic screens before him, the ensign considered them and everything else he had before him. The scans of the tree branch showed a sophisticated metagenic weapon was used. Still, it wasn’t entirely successful, and the antidote was only discovered in a particular area. Could the Dominion’s test have been a failure? 

The lab door opened, and Lieutenant Commander Lukiz Jen walked in carrying two mugs of coffee. “Ensign, I heard you were still down here working. Fancy a drink?” He offered as he approached the workstation Jonarom was at.

“Oh, yes, please, sir, thank you,” Jonarom replied as he took the mug and a sip. “That’s an interesting blend.”

“It’s a Trill blend, more potent than Human but not as rugged as a raktajino,” Jen answered as he drank some of his. He looked at what the ensign was working on. “Doing some extra homework?” He smirked.

“Something like that,” Jonarom said with a few nods. “There just seems to be a lot of unanswered questions, I feel, that doesn’t make sense about what happened at Divinium Four.”

“That’s understandable, ensign,” Jen agreed as he studied further what Jonarom was looking at. “You think we missed something?”

“Or jumped the gun,” Jonarom remarked before looking closely at a few sensor readings. Back and forth, he looked at them a couple of times. One was the scans he took when he was asked to look for theta band emissions, and the other was over the soil samples. Something looked familiar. He instructed the computer to run a comparative analysis on them and showed the similarities within a few seconds. “That’s strange.”

“What do you mean?” Jen asked as he looked at the results and then saw them himself. “Wait, is that what I think it is?”

 Jonarom nodded. “Computer isolate the dormant energy frequency that isn’t linked to the theta band emissions and confirm its identity.”

“The energy frequency is consistent with a subspace frequency linked to a transporter carrier wave.”

Jen and Jonarom looked at one another, confused. 

Why would there be a transporter frequency in the theta-band device?” Jen asked aloud. 

Jonarom shrugged his shoulders before an idea came to him. “Computer, can you identify if this carrier wave is consistent with Dominion technology?”

“Confirmed,” the computer replied, which made both men appear even more intrigued by this revelation. The computer continued to report what it had found. “The carrier wave is consistent with a long-range Dominion transporter.”

“Long-range?” Jonarom asked. “Why would the Dominion use a long-range transporter?”

Jen was utterly confused by that. “Check the scans the Triton away teams took of the station; confirm if those carrier waves are present there too.”

The ensign complied and, after a few seconds, nodded his head. “They are,” Jonarom stated. “They’re faint, almost hidden within the theta band emission.”

“But why?” Jen challenged. “What would they be transporting to the colony?”

“Or away from the colony?” Jonarom countered.

Their train of thought was stopped by the arrival of Commander Kazlaf. Her anti-grav chair glided in. “Someone told me you two were still using one of our labs. Is everything okay?” Triton’s chief science officer asked.

Both men were surprised but hid it well that Kazlaf didn’t appear as curt as she had been earlier. “Commander, come join us. Ensign Jonarom has found another mystery.”

“What another one?” Kazlaf asked, sounding almost annoyed at the possibility. “What is it?” She moved across the room, stopped before the workstation, and looked at the data floating above the console. “A Dominion transporter carrier wave. Where did you find that?”

 “Hidden within the theta-band emissions,” Jonarom shared. “There’s quite a few of them.”

“We were just trying to work out what the Dominion had either beamed to or from the colony when you entered,” Jen explained. 

Kazlaf chuckled. “I knew there was something fishy, as the humans would say, about this entire metagenic weapon. It doesn’t make sense why the Dominion created an antidote and how it could quickly counteract the metagenic weapon’s effects.”

Jonarom looked back at the data. “So are we saying we don’t think what we thought happened has happened?”

“That’s a confusing remark if I’ve ever heard one,” Jen stated. “However, Jonarom, I think you’re right. We may need to reexamine everything. I just spoke with Commander Tomaz, who is on the Bellerophon. He said they were off to capture a Dominion attack ship. Still, they had a theory that the Dominion may have been storing the metagenic weapon elsewhere.”

 “Capturing a Dominion ship from this Death Task Force would help know more,” Kazlaf agreed. “But, if their theory is right, these transporter carrier waves must be investigated. As you said, what were they beaming in or out.”

 It then dawned on Jonarom the answer. “Not what but who.”

The two commanders looked at the ensign, intrigued by his idea. 

“Who?” Kazlaf asked.

“The colonists,” Jonarom said. “Over a billion people had to be wiped out, right? But, even with a sophisticated metagenic weapon, there would have been more examples like the tree branch across the colony, and there wouldn’t be a complete way of purely just targeting humanoid matter. Other organic matter would have been infected. And there’s no evidence of that. What if the Dominion didn’t launch the weapon at the whole colony? Just that part we found? Almost like a threat? What if they somehow transported everyone off.”

Jen considered the idea for a moment and nodded. “Dominion long-range transporters of that era could only beam across not further than three light years. But that’s a lot of people to beam off. And where would they take them?”

“We do know this Death Task Force is sophisticated. Maybe they had a powerful power supply to operate their transporters and somehow expanded their buffer capacity to the maximum?” Kazlaf suggested. “Maybe the idea of them wanting the planet for long-term gains is the right idea, and taking over a billion people as prisoners to become slaves is one thing the Dominion are known to do.” 

“A workforce,” Jonarom speculated. “Maybe Commander Tomaz’s theory about a base is right and the colonists are there?

“Perhaps-” Jen was interrupted when the intercom went off.

“Red Alert! All hands to battle stations!” shouted Commander Thaustin over the intercom. 

“Bridge to science lab four,” spoke Captain Canção. “Belire, can you bring Commander Jen and Ensign Jonarom to the bridge immediately.”

Kazlaf tapped her combadge. “Of course, ma’am. Is everything okay?”

“No, the Dominion ship the Bellerophon was after has escaped them. The Themis is responding to aid Fleet Captain McCallister. Still, we’re joining Gul Jacet and the other Cardassian ships to pursue the battlecruiser,” Canção informed her.

Jen tapped his combadge. “Captain, Ensign Jonarom and I have uncovered something that may explain a few things, but we must return to the Odyssey at once.”

“Can it wait, commander?” Canção asked.

“Ma’am, we have evidence that the Dominion may have transported the colonists off their planet. If so, we must return to the Divinium system immediately.” Jen shared.

There was a slight pause from Canção’s end before she agreed to Jen’s request. Jonarom then spoke up. “Captain, is the Bellerophon okay?”

Canção changed the tone of her voice. It was softer as she replied. “I’m sorry, ensign, but the answer is no. She is badly damaged.”

Jonarom appeared upset almost immediately. Kazlaf replied. “Captian, I’ll be on the bridge in a moment. Kazlaf out.” She tapped her combadge and looked at the other two. “Both of you go now and get back to the Odyssey.” She looked at Jonarom. “Jonarom, the moment I know what has happened to the Bellerophon, I will get a message to you. I promise.”

Jen had comforted the ensign by putting an arm around his shoulder. Jonarom nodded in thanks before he and Jen left the science lab with Kazlaf. They went their separate ways. She headed to the bridge while they moved quickly to the shuttle bay.

Governor Nicola Laurent had been enjoying a pleasant early evening meal with her husband and children when the colony’s militia had disturbed her. They had reported that the planet’s long-range sensors had detected a massive subspace distortion on course for Divinium Four. Their tracking stations had identified the warp profiles belonging to Breen and Dominion ships. The latter was more surprising as she, like everyone else, was only aware of the Breen border dispute and their constant recent raids on Federation assets in the Deneb Sector.

The governor was not a timid woman, far from it. Governor Nicola Laurent was a well-respected and accomplished leader who had dedicated most of her later life to public service. She was known for her strong work ethic, her commitment to fairness and equity, and her ability to bring people together to solve complex problems. She and her husband had moved to Divinium Four almost seventeen years ago. They had served in Starfleet for most of their early adulthood, and after witnessing what happened on Mars, followed by Starfleet’s response, the two had walked away from it. Instead, they had relocated to the Deneb sector, hoping to leave that and the horrors of the Dominion War behind them. They had earned several battlefield promotions because of that conflict. Ultimately, Starfleet had become too consuming for them, and they wanted more to their lives. Divinium Four appeared to be the best escape.  

Now she was escaping from more danger. Though she had practised such an event as part of regular drills with the colony’s militia and the Starfleet presence, she had never expected during her tenure as governor she would be faced with such a crisis. 

She was taken to the operations centre after her family had been secured in the Starfleet base’s bunker. With her advisors on either side of her, she entered the room to find what was usually a relatively peaceful and calm space to be the complete opposite. She hadn’t seen this many Starfleet officers rushing around since she had taken on the governorship almost two years ago. 

Her eyes landed on Captain Sturok, the Vulcan man who commanded all the Starfleet forces in the Divinium system. Sturok stood tall and proud, with an air of discipline and logic that was unmistakably Vulcan. His features were sharp and angular, and his dark hair was neatly shaved. Though he appeared to be in his forties, rumour had it he was almost double that age. His eyes were deep and piercing and seemed to hold a wisdom that belied his years. Despite his stoic demeanour, there was a sense of warmth and compassion that stemmed from him, a testament to the strength of his character. He was a man of great honour and integrity, and his unwavering dedication to logic and reason made him a formidable ally and a fearsome opponent. 

On many occasions, Governor Laurent and he met and built a formidable working relationship over the last two years. Laurent respected him, and the same could be said for him. As a former Starfleet captain, she knew the protocol and understood why the base was now on red alert and the colony’s defence procedures were at their highest levels. Walking across the room to the centre where Sturok was, Laurent asked for an update.

“We have identified at least one-hundred and fifty-one enemy vessels on approach to our system,” Sturok reported. “That is the first wave of enemy vessels. Their reinforcements appear to number in the thousands, governor.”

Surprised that Sturok left that information to last, Laurent sighed. “So, we are looking at an all-out invasion force, aren’t we, captain?

“Indeed, Madam Governor,” Sturok replied calmly. “Though we have adequate orbital weapon platforms, the use of Divinium Station, planet-based phased ion cannons, and three-thousand and forty-seven starfighters, I calculate that we will still be overrun by the incoming Dominion forces.”

“Are there any Starfleet forces nearby to help us?” Laurent said after telling one of her aides to get her a large glass of water. Hearing that their homes were about to be overrun by Jem’Hadar made her feel queasy, to say the least. 

“We are picking a squadron of ships heading to Starbase Five One Four,” Sturok replied. “It is led by the U-S-S Odyssey.”

“Send a distress call to them and any other ships in range who could help. Tell them what we may be facing and the devastation we expect,” Laurent ordered. 

 Sturok nodded in acknowledgement and instructed his communication officer to devise the message immediately. In the meantime, Laurent told her chief of staff to issue a planet-wide state of emergency and that she was issuing the orders to implement the continuity of government procedures. She also wanted all civilians to report to emergency shelters; she would also declare martial law. 

“Madam Governor, may I remind you that though we have an extensive Starfleet presence on Divinium Four, we do not have sufficient numbers to aid the local militia with martial law implementation,” Sturok shared with a raised eyebrow.

“I know,” Laurent confirmed. “However, if the Dominion do succeed in by-passing all of our defences and land troops, then I will not leave our people defenceless while we wait for reinforcements.”

“That is your constitutional duty, ma’am,” Sturok replied with a slight bow of his head.

“When will they hit the first line of our orbital weapons?” Laurent asked as she looked up at the large holographic display. 

“In three point two minutes,” Sturok said with accuracy. 

For a moment, Laurent considered her next decisions carefully as she watched the dots of the incoming enemy vessels move across the display. “Captain, open a channel to the lead Dominion ship.”

Sturok’s left eyebrow popped up, curious about what she would do, but he complied nevertheless by nodding to his communication officer to do as the governor ordered. 

The moment she got the signal she was on, Laurent took a quick sip from the water she had been handed by one of her aids before speaking up. “This is Governor Nicola Laurent of the Federation colony on Divinium Four to the approaching combined Dominion-Breen armada. You are in violation of the Bajor Treaty of twenty-three-seventy-five, and your aggressive actions against Federation space will not be tolerated. If you approach this world any further, you will see that we are committed to defending our world with the full might of its military. Stand down at once and agree to meet with us to discuss this matter in a more amicable manner.”

Initially, there was no response, and then the holographic display changed to show a Vorta woman with a Dominion headset on. “Good day, Governor Laurent. I am Kalani, the Vorta in command of this Dominion fleet. We are here to accept your unconditional and immediate surrender of your world.” Kalani said in a sweet, almost high-pitched voice and smug and annoying-looking smile. 

Laurent looked at Sturok, almost expressing her inner thought as if this Vorta was serious. “I’m afraid that won’t happen. And do you really want to risk losing your ships against our advanced defence perimeter?”

Kalani continued to grin. “We are not afraid of anything, governor. You see, we will reduce your world to nothing and enslave your population if you do not agree to my terms. I have the conviction and power to see my threat through, do you?”

“Oh, the people of Divinium Four have no qualms in fighting an enemy we defeated before,” Laurent said, not repaying the smile. 

“Well, isn’t that great to hear? However, I think you may reconsider my offer shortly.” Kalani then closed the channel.

Sturok looked down at the tactical display. “A small force is entering the system on a standard attack vector. They are approaching the first set of orbital weapon platforms.”

“Fire at will, captain,” Laurent ordered. 

On the system’s outer edges, the orbital platforms were already powered up. They took hold of their targets and started to open fire. The combined Dominion-Breen group evaded a few shots but was hit in some locations. The Breen ship soon fired multiple shots at the platforms they were near.  

“The Breen ships have deployed their energy-dampening weapons; our orbital platforms are struggling to maintain their systems,” Sturok reported.

“How? I thought we were immune to that weapon?” Lauren quizzed the Vulcan.

“It would appear they have made some modifications since the war,” Sturok replied before ordering one of his officers to shut down the platforms and recharge their power systems using the backup emergency generators. He looked back at the governor, “Though their systems will require a hard reboot, we will be able to update their operating systems and use them for any other incoming vessels.”

Laurent understood the engineering concept behind what he was saying, but she was still confused by the fact that the Dominion wasn’t sending all their forces in yet. She squinted at the readings for the rest of the enemy forces and immediately noticed something. “It’s a trap!” She shouted.

“Ma’am?” Sturok asked for clarity.

“Those other sensor readings are not real ships, but sensor echoes. Have our tracking stations recalibrate their sensors, and they should see they’re not actually there,” Laurent told the Vulcan.

A few seconds later and it was confirmed the Dominion invasion force was not there, and it was a complete ploy. While that was happening, the incoming group of enemy ships deployed their energy-dampening weapon on more orbital weapons. It was now approaching the Presidium-class station that sat in orbit of the colony.    

“We’re being hailed!” declared Sturok’s communication officer. “Kalani wishes to speak with the governor.”

“Put her up,” Laurent told her. She knew Sturok would not object to her response, overriding him among his crew.

“Governor, it would seem you have detected our subterfuge,” Kalani said, still grinning like a Cheshire cat. “However, my following action is no deception. Stand down, surrender, and I will forgo killing your people.”

“You’re outgunned and outnumbered; once you reach orbit and our platforms come back online, I promise you that your task group won’t survive our onslaught!” Laurent said, jabbing her right index finger at the Vorta. “Why don’t you surrender instead?”

Kalani chuckled. “It’s not in my nature; however, I will demonstrate to you what I mean.” She nodded to someone off-screen, and Sturok displayed a visual of the enemy ships. 

The only Breen ship fired its energy-dampening weapon at the station, which was now opening fire at them. Unlike the other bolts from the Breen ship, this one appeared more robust. When it struck, the station’s shields seemed to fizzle out, and a power drain began. Over the communication channel, voices could be heard coming from the station as its crew scrambled to restore systems. Orders were being given to secure the station’s main processor core, and its commanding officer declared they were having trouble using the backup generators. Sturok ordered them to begin removing critical systems to avoid them and others being infected by the energy-dampening effects, while at the same time, he was instructing his engineering team to prepare to send up replacement parts and power generators.  

Laurent then witnessed Kalani take her next step as the lead Dominion attack fighter appeared to use its forward deflector for something. It seemed so subtle and minor. The science officer then reported detecting a high amount of theta-band emissions. Confused by that, Laurent couldn’t work out what they had done. Instead, she looked at the timer that indicated how much longer until the weapon platforms were back up and running. She had also noticed that the Dominion ships had parked themselves just slightly out of range of their phased ion cannons. However, another indicator on another display showed that shortly, thanks to the planet’s natural orbit and turning on its axis, they would be in range if they stayed where they were. 

The operation’s speakers were then filled with screams of pain from the Divinium Station. Shocked by the noise, Laurent covered her ears as Sturok attempted to assess what was happening. His science officer then announced they were detecting a metagenic virus airborne on the station. Without hesitation, Sturok ordered the station’s commander to implement quarantine protocols; however, there wasn’t anyone left on the station. They were either dead or dying. Instead, Sturok accessed the emergency remote controls and opened every hatch and airlock. Effectively he dumped the virus into outer space. 

The death of so many shocked Laurent. The governor picked up her glass of water, her hand trembling from the aftereffects of hearing so many die so gruesomely was shocking.  

Kalani hailed them again. “Now, will you surrender, governor?”

“No,” Laurent said, shaking her head. “What you did just there wasn’t warfare; it was pure murder.” She resisted the urge not to cry. “How dare you kill so many people so carefree.”

“I have my limits, governor, and I know you are stalling to allow your weapons to come online. So I will show you my resolve again and that I can be merciful.” Kalani said. Her grin now turned to a smug one. “You saw how quickly my metagenic weapon reduced those on the stations; what do you think will happen to your planet?”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Laurent stated. “You want my planet for a reason, so killing so many people does not serve your long-term strategy.”

“The governor is correct; there is no logic in you killing us all,” Struok added.

Kalani just smirked and closed the channel again.

“She is taunting us,” Sturok assessed.

Laurent nodded. “You’re right, captain, but I won’t let her small task group intimidate us. There’s no way that Breen energy dampening weapon can knock out our entire planetary shielding. We just need to wait another minute or so before our weapon platforms are operational again.”

Sturok agreed. “Once our platforms are functional again, we will open fire.”

“Have the platforms and phased ion cannons programmed to open fire when they get a clear shot,” Laurent commanded. 

The visual of the enemy ship then showed them moving into a tighter formation as they came into orbit; they were moving fast to avoid being targetted, and then all of them (besides one fighter and the Breen ship) fired powerful tachyon bursts against the planetary shield grid. This was followed by the Breen ship launching its energy-dampening weapon. The combination of the two attacks forced a section of the planetary shielding to collapse.

“They have taken out shielding around the capital!” Sturok shouted.

“Can we adjust the other shield emitters to compensate for the gap in the grid?” Laurent called back. 

“We can try,” Sturok replied.

However, they weren’t quick enough as the other Dominion attack fighter that had originally launched its metagenic weapon against the station did the same thing again. As it fired, the Breen ship fired something from its belly too.

Sturok tracked the multiple launchers before they hit a section of the city, and instantly he called that a metagenic virus was detected. In an instant, it killed everything within a certain radius; however, he saw the release of an antidote after that. It didn’t stop the devastation to the people and other organic life in the range of the metagenic weapon. 

They were all dead.    

The proximity alarm then went off as it registered the arrival of more ships.

“Who are they? More Dominion ships?” Laurent asked.

“Yes, one of their battlecruisers. They remain on the edge of our weapon’s range, but I am detecting a high energy output from them,” Sturok answered. “Curiously, their shields are down, and power is routed from their transporter systems to their main deflector. I believe it has been reconfigured to act as a large transporter targeting array.”

“For what purpose?” Laurent asked.

Sturok shook his head. “I am unsure.”

More alarms went off, and one of the command division officers nearby reported that they were detecting a number of transporter beams passing through the planetary shield grid (which the Dominion task group were now bombarding with their weapons). Whole swaths of the civilian population were being removed.

“That battlecruiser is using Dominion long-range transporters to remove our people,” Laurent determined. “But why?”

Sturok had just ordered for every weapon the colony had to open fire on those enemy ships they could hit before he replied to the governor. “I would summarise they wish to take the planet without causing too much destruction; otherwise, they would have brought more ships. They want our infrastructure intact.”

“Captain Sturok, I think you’re spot on, but I won’t let them take our planet without a fight. Tell all of our forces to make it impossible for the Dominion to take control of our defences. If we’re going to go down, then I don’t want to make their attempts to use our systems against our own kind. Let’s just hope the Odyssey arrives soon!”

Before Laurent could say anything else, she saw that the Dominion task group in orbit was smashed to pieces, but not before they unleashed their last barrage, somehow taking out their planetary shielding, and she felt the cold fizzle of a Dominion transporter beam take hold of her.

USS Triton (NCC-80106), Deneb Sector, Alpha Quadrant

Stardate: 78195.75 

“Captain, we will be within weapon’s range of the Dominion battle cruiser in less than two minutes,” announced Ensign Andar from the helm.

“Captain, that cruiser appears to be heavily modified compared to the standard Dominion battle cruiser of its era,” reported Lieutenant (JG) Lonar from behind her captain. “I’m detecting an unusual deflector configuration.” 

Curious to hear that Captain Canção glimpsed at her first officer, he looked at her two, and they shared a sense of concern. They were about to engage the ship that had tricked the Bellerophon with their Cardassian allies, and they didn’t want any last-minute surprises themselves. “Ethav, can you determine what the changes are for?” She asked her Andorian operations officer.

It took him a few seconds, and then he turned around. “Captain, it’s a massive transporter targeting array.”

“Why would they do that?” Commander Thaustin asked anyone.

“Oh my,” Kazlaf uttered from the science station. “Ensign Jonarom and Commander Jen were right. The Dominion did transport something off the colony.”

“Belire, clarify,” Canção asked her science officer as she got up from her chair and walked to the science station.

Kazlaf raised her index finger as an indicator for her captain to wait. It was almost outright disrespectful to tell the captain to pause, but then Kazlaf was known for her blunt responses. “I’m detecting Federation life signs on that ship, captain.”

“How many?” Canção asked, ignoring Kazlaf’s earlier rude gesture.

“Over a billion,” Kazlaf said. “Stuck in their transporter buffers.”

“How?” Counsellor Naef-Oron inquired. The large Brikar had been sat next to the captain and was shocked like everyone by that revelation. 

“I don’t know,” Kazlaf admitted.

Silence fell over the bridge.

“We’re coming into weapon’s range,” Lonar reported.

Canção knew she had to do something. “Andar, drop us back out of range, gradually. Then someone get me Gul Jacet, and the other captains in the squadron.” She moved to sit back down in her chair. “We’ve got an entire colony to rescue.”

“Captain, I still think this is a bad decision,” Commander Thaustin protested as he followed Rio Canção into transporter room two.

“And what feels like the forty-seventh time, commander, your objection is noted,” Canção stated as she walked in to find her away team standing there, ready for her. All of them, like her, dressed in the combat EVA suits. 

Thaustin sighed, hoping he could convince her not to go on this suicidal mission. However, he couldn’t. He looked at his mentor. “Then make sure you come back in one piece.”

She chuckled at him as she put her helmet on. “Well, that would be spoiling all the fun, commander.” She popped the magnetic seal, and her helmet was fixed on tight with the backup clicks activating too. The away team consisted of not just the captain but she was also taking with her a well-armed detachment of security officers (some of whom were using the other transporter rooms) that Lieutenant Lonar was leading. Alongside them were also Lieutenant Commander Jayshon, Doctor Uknare and Counsellor Oron. The latter was there for his strength, while the engineer and medic would be crucial in ensuring they could succeed in their mission.

Stepping up onto the platform, Canção looked at her first officer. “The ship is yours commander,” She looked at the transporter chief as she raised her phaser rifle, “Energise.”

Thaustin wished them luck as they vanished within the transporter beam. He looked at the transporter operator, who confirmed they had made it on Gul Jacet’s ship. 

Minutes later, Commander Thaustin stepped onto the bridge and relieved Commander Kazlaf. “I take it our teams are safely on board the Jorrene?” She asked as she used her anti-grav chair to return to her science station. Though she was technically the acting first officer now, her expertise was needed at the science station.

 “For now,” Thaustin answered as he slipped into the centre chair. “Ethav, is our graviton pulse ready?”

The Andorian at the ops station nodded first before replying. “It is, commander.”

“Then signal the Jorrene we’re ready on our end,” Thaustin ordered. He still wasn’t sure about this plan of Canção’s. He gripped tighter onto the chair’s arms, knowing what would happen next.

Jorrene, Deneb Sector, Alpha Quadrant

Gul Jacet welcomed his visitors on board very quickly. Time was of the essence, and they needed to get going sooner rather than later. “Captain Canção, are you sure about this plan?”

Canção rolled her eyes as she watched the Cardassian finish getting himself ready in his EVA suit. “Have you been discussing this with my first officer?” She questioned with a light tone. “We need to move fast if we’re to secure that Dominion ship; the graviton pulse followed by the quick attack by the Triton and your ships will be enough of a diversion for us to beam in using your transporters. Are your teams ready?”

Jacet finished with his suit and picked up his rifle before tapping his communicator on, “As long as your teams are?”

“They are,” Canção said over her suit’s intercom. She hadn’t stepped off the much larger transporter platform they had used. “Canção to all teams, get ready to implement Operation: Light Brigade.”

Lornar, who smiled at Gul Jacet when he and his team joined theirs, sent a message to Thaustin to activate the graviton pulse. She hadn’t met many Cardassians face-to-face since she joined Starfleet. “Lornar to the Triton, you are good to go, commander.”

“Pulse activated,” Thaustin reported. “They’re dropping out of warp; all ships open fire!” 

“Energise,” Jacet ordered, and the Dominion transporter system came to life. Every single member of the assault team was wrapped by the long-range transporter system and was deposited on the Dominion ship.

Dominion Battlecruiser

The transporter cycle seemed to have taken longer than Canção had expected, but she found herself and her team onboard the Dominion battle cruiser before long. Using the Jorrene’s more advanced transporters was Canção’s idea. Hopefully, they would get some time before the internal sensors detected them. Instantly the team threw their combined smoke grenades and stun grenades, just in case any Jem’Hadar troops were shrouded. Fortunately, there were none. Then the intruder alarm sounded. So much for extra time. 

“Let’s move people,” Canção ordered. 

The conflict between Starfleet and Cardassian troops pitted against the formidable Jem’Hadar soldiers aboard the Dominion’s battle cruiser was nothing short of a fierce and gruelling battle. The air was thick with smoke, and the sound of phaser fire reverberated ominously throughout the ship’s corridors. The Jem’Hadar soldiers proved to be formidable foes, but the Starfleet and Cardassian forces were resolute in their determination to seize control of the vessel. Canção was impressed that as they moved through the corridors, each team that had beamed on board was on track to reach their targets. A team was sent to take their engineering room, another was to head to the primary shield generator, and another was sent to secure the hanger bay while her team was going to secure the multiple transporter buffers that contained the life signs of the Federation colonists.

“Alpha team in place,” Someone announced over the secure communication channel. “Engineering is ours.”

“Upload the compute virus,” Canção commanded the team leader. “And begin locking out the bridge once you can.” 

“We’re doing it now, ma’am,” came the response.

As they dodged more fire from another squad of troops, the call from Bravo team came through to announce they had taken the shield generator room. 

“We seem to be slacking,” Jacet announced as he fired his rifle down the corridor, taking out a Jem’Hadar. “We should pick up the pace a bit more.”

“Agreed,” Canção stated before she called on Lornar to get them to their destination. 

“It’s just around the corner, ma’am,” Her chief security and tactical officer shared.

More grenades were thrown, and their path was cleared. As they entered the room, they were surprised to find that it was a converted cargo bay filled with transporter buffers. All of them were active. 

“Get to work, people,” Canção ordered both Jayshon and Uknare. Between the two of them, they would check the life signs for degradation and set up the transporter enhancers to give everyone something to lock on to.

“Triton to Delta Team, Mumma Bear and Pappa Bear have arrived,” Thaustin’s voice could be heard through the speakers built into their helmets. 

Canção smirked as the ship rocked hard from one side to another. Thaustin’s code was to announce when the Themis and Odyssey would arrive. She was impressed with their timing. After acknowledging the update, she closed the channel and then turned to see both Jayshon and Uknare frozen in their work. “What’s wrong, people?” She asked.

The Haliian doctor answered. “Ma’am, the metagenic weapons are also being stored in the transporter buffers.”

“What?” Jacet asked, surprised to hear that revelation. “They’ve done it on purpose.”

“Zinda, his eyes red,” grumbled Jayshon. “We will have to purge each buffer of the weapons before we beam the colonists out and into our buffers.”

“That will take time,” Jacet said. He turned to Canção, “Time we do not have.”

Canção couldn’t agree more with the Cardassian leader. She turned to her chief engineer. “Is there another option, commander?”

Jayshon accessed the transporter controls and attempted to determine what he could do. He then nodded and grimaced. “Shaka,” He muttered. “If we use their system, we could beam the weapons out and into their theta band device.”

“But that would give them a weapon to use against us and any of our unshielded ships,” Uknare stated. 

The Tamarian shook his head. “No, not if we set everything to go off simultaneously. The Beast at Tanagra.”

“Get to it then, commander,” Canção ordered her chief engineer.

It only took him a minute, but the Tamarian was again showing off his miracle worker efforts. “Ready!”

“Do it!” Canção ordered.

The process started, and straight away, the colonists’ transporter patterns were transferred from the Dominion ship and into each of the other vessels. Then there was an explosion at the doors they had closed. Jem’Hadar troops started to rush through. Ducking out of the way, the team all started to return fire. 

“Keep going with the process,” Canção told her engineer and doctor while she and Jacet moved ahead to support their forces in defending their position. 

Between the exchange of fire, it appeared the Starfleet and Cardassian side was winning, but then several Jem’Hadar scored a few direct hits against the controls Jayshon and Uknare were using. Both of them flew backwards as the explosion caught them off guard. Canção rushed to their side and automatically called for the Triton to beam them back as they were injured. Jayshon tried to protest, but Canção told him to hang on as they were taken back. She went over to the controls, avoiding the enemy fire. Pulling out her tricorder, she saw they had three more buffers to clear. There were so many life signs within them; she couldn’t let them perish here. Peering over the top of the controls, she saw they were about to be overridden by more Jem’Hadar troops. So she quickly tapped away at the console when Jacet and Lornar moved to her side.

“What are you doing, captain? We need to get out of here.” Jacet told her as he fired his rifle a bit more.

“We’ve got three more buffers; I’m not leaving them behind,” Canção replied. 

“Ma’am, he’s right. We’re up against the odds here,” She fired her phaser rifle some more and took out three troops. “And they’re starting to activate transporter inhibitors. We’re going to be trapped if we don’t get out of here.”

Canção paused and had an idea. “All of you beam back now; I’ve got an idea.”

“No way, not without you.” Lornar protested.

Ignoring her, Canção disabled her transporter enhancer before ordering Triton to beam the assault teams off the Dominion ship. 

Seconds later, Thaustin crackled over her intercom. “Captain, what the hell are you doing?”

“It’s called poetic justice, Number One,” Canção answered as she hid behind the console and activated the last sequence to beam the colonists’ final set of transporter signatures to the Themis. At the same time, she beamed the final metagenic weapon into the cargo hold she was in. “And tell James it’s been fun!” 

The metagenic weapon then appeared in front of the Jem’Hadar troops. Their leader told them to cease fire. Canção noticed she needed to buy herself a bit more time, so she raised her weapon against it and stood out in front of the Jem’Hadar. Seeing that she needed another few more seconds before the transporter buffer was clear of transporter signatures. She smiled at them all. “Hello, boys,” She smiled at them. “I take it you realise what that is?” None of them replied, and then she saw the buffer had been emptied. She fired her weapon at the device. In that moment, a sense of satisfaction rolled across her face, and finally, she knew she had done her duty. She had no regrets. It was all fun!

Her weapon hit the device and exploded – instantly, what it contained spread like wildfire throughout the ship, targeting every piece of organic matter it came into contact with. 

USS Triton (NCC-80106)

“Fire torpedoes!” Thaustin commanded as the Triton flew across the Dominion battle cruiser and destroyed it. The young commander realised what his captain had just done and knew what he had to do to avoid any more of the weapons on that ship from falling into anyone else’s hands. Thaustin watched the enemy ship explode into a million pieces, and a lump hit the back of his throat. He felt a tear roll down his cheek. 

“Thank you, Captain Canção,” Thaustin said with a sigh of disbelief.