Feeling a mix of anticipation and caution, the away team quickly checked their surroundings after materialising in an empty but cramped storage room. Taf, her heart pounding, had her tricorder out and was flooded with relief to see that they had found a place to use to sneak in quietly. 

“I’ve located our away team,” Parin relayed, his voice tinged with worry. “But Tate’s life signs are fading.”

Feeling the weight of the situation, Taf swiftly stowed her tricorder away into one of her pockets. “Alright, you and Tom, move out and save him.”

“What about you?” Hawkins, his voice filled with concern, checked.

“I’ll go find Sturok and Captain Levy,” Taf replied, her voice laced with a heightened sense of urgency. She pressed a button on her tricorder and activated her holographic mask. Her appearance as a Trill instantly vanished, replaced by a female Caatati. “Let’s get underway,” she ordered her words carrying a weight of importance and haste.

The other two activated their holographic disguises, and with it, their appearance as Caatati refugees was complete. 

Moving in the opposite direction of her colleagues, Taf made her way through the crowded corridors of the Caatati ship. She could hear a range of voices but couldn’t discern any one specific conversation. Pressing through, Taf, with a profound sense of empathy, knew from many lifetimes how difficult things could become when an event could flip the entire galaxy on its head and force people into uncomfortable situations where their lives hung in the balance. She felt deeply for these people. The harshness of their reality was unfair and deeply upsetting. She was driven to help these people; Taf knew that the Federation would be open to helping the Caatati without hesitation if they weren’t in this current situation. However, taking a Starfleet captain and her away team captive would not help them. Nevertheless, she was hoping that Admiral Jaret would be able to pull some strings. 

Climbing up an access ladder, Taf looked around the new deck and was pleased to see there weren’t as many Caatati. Checking her tricorder discreetly, Taf found where her two colleagues were being kept. It was a small room with one person standing outside, most likely another storage cupboard. Continuing to make sure she was not noticed, Taf tapped the subdermal comm unit that was placed under the palm of her hand. 

“Taf to Parin,” She whispered.

“Go ahead, Lenara,” Parin replied in a similar hushed tone.

“I’ve found the room where Sturok and the captain are being held; how are you getting on with finding Tate?” She asked. 

“We’ve found him, but we’re going to need to think carefully how we don’t make a scene,” Parin replied.

“Or we make a scene to get out,” Hawkins offered.

“Either way, get him out of there as quickly as possible. I’ll see you back on the Formidable,” Taf told them before closing the channel. 

Pausing to consider her options, Taf wondered how she would get past the guard. Noticing no one else was around, she went for the old classic that she hoped would be brand new to the Caatati. Moving slowly past the guard, Taf pretended to feel faint. The guard, witnessing her actions, stepped forward to help, and within a few seconds, Taf smirked and pinched the Caatati guard’s shoulder. He fell to the ground instantly. Several lifetimes ago, one of her hosts had a Vulcan Kolinahr master as a mentor, so knowing the famous Vulcan nerve pinch had become something she had known since joining. A few times, Sturok had given her pointers on her practice. The moment the guard fell, she opened the door to the storage room and dragged the guard in before closing the door behind them. Searching around the room, she found both Levy and Sturok behind some containers. 

Rushing over to tend to them, Taf removed her tricorder from her hidden pouch and deactivated her holographic disguise. She crouched beside Levy first, her fingers working quickly to untie the ropes that bound the captain’s wrists.

“Dawn, it’s Lenara,” she whispered urgently. “I’m getting you out of here.”

“Counsellor,” Levy said, in a hazed but relieved reaction. Levy was barely conscious.   Her injuries now stained her usual crisp and diplomatic presence. Her uniform, usually pristine, was torn and stained with blood and grime. A deep gash stretched across her forehead, and blood had matted her dark hair to her skin. Her face was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes, evidence of the pain and exhaustion she had been battling. 

Sturok was in a similar state. It was clear he was struggling to stay conscious and alert. 

“Tate,” Levy groaned as Taf finished untying the two officers. “Where is he?” She struggled to ask.

Taf placed a reassuring hand on Levy’s shoulder. “Jowain and Tom are rescuing him.”

Levy exhaled heavily. “We need to find a way to calm the situation down with the Caatati,” She pushed herself up as Taf helped Sturok get to his feet.

“Captain Horin is dealing with them; we need to get you out of here,” Taf insisted. 

Levy shook her head. “No, we’ve got to make sure they see that all that’s happened here is a misunderstanding.”

Taf sighed. She knew that Levy only wanted the best, and Taf wanted the same. “We’re trying, but they’re not listening. We must remove you, Sturok and Tate from this situation to help calm everything down.”

Levy was in no state to argue. She just nodded at Taf.

Taf contacted Hawkins and Parin and told them she had rescued Sturok and Levy. “Do you need an extra pair of hands to get Tate?” She asked.

“No, I think we’ve got an idea,” Parin answered.

“Good, don’t be too long, Taf out,” She closed the channel after tapping her palm.

“How are we escaping from here?” Sturok asked groggily. 

Putting her hand in her pocket, Taf pulled out the emergency transporter units. Within a few seconds, she attached them to both Levy and Sturok before placing one on herself. Tapping the controls on her tricorder, she activated all three. They beamed instantly back to the Formidable.

Parin tapped his subdermal comm unit once more before looking up at Hawkins nervously. Even through their holographic disguises, Parin could see the same look of concern that he had was plastered across Hawkin’s expression, too.

“Do you really think deceiving Lenara is a good idea?” Hawkins asked in a low hush tone. 

“We’re not deceiving her,” Parin whispered half-confidently. “We’re still assessing our options.”   

Hawkins rolled his eyes as he looked out of the small alcove they were hiding in. It was a close, cramped nook near where Tate was being held. They had pushed themselves into it after following a large crowd heading towards the larger room where Tate was being held. Now, they were more stuck, not just in this cavity but also in how to free Tate with a huge audience watching them.

“We could come back when it’s quieter,” Hawkins suggested as he looked over to where Tate was being held. 

Parin peered around the edge to look at Horin. From where he was standing, he could make his own visual diagnostic. Horin was hanging from a metal hook; his wrists were bound tightly with a rope that appeared to be rubbing harshly against his wrists. His arms were stretched above his head, his weight pulling at his shoulders. The pain was itched across the young man’s face. Blood trickled down from the abrasions, mixing with the sweat and dirt covering his body. His head lolled forward, barely conscious, and his breaths came in ragged, uneven gasps. One eye was swollen shut, and a deep gash ran along his cheek, seeping dark blood. His lips were cracked, and with every shuddering breath, he winced in agony. Bruises and cuts marred his bare torso, displaying the relentless brutality at the hands of the Caatati.

Shaking his head, Parin knew they had to act now. “He hasn’t got time.”

“So what do we do?” Hawkins asked.

Parin surveyed the room one more time. Everyone was cheering as others prepared to have another ‘go’ against Horin. They were chanting several anti-Borg slurs. 

“We rush him,” Parin decided.

“Rush him?” Hawkins asked. “And then what?”

Parin pulled out the emergency transporter units in his hands. “I say we run at him, tackle Tate to the floor and activate the units before they realise what we’ve done.”

Hawkins chuckled. “You really think it will work?”

“You got a better plan?”

Hawkins shrugged. 

“Follow my lead,” Parin told his friend as they left the confines of their nook and moved through the crowd. 

The two men passed through the crowd, shouldering between those who wanted to hurt Tate further. Eventually, they got to the front of the crowd. There was only one armed guard. 

Parin nodded to Hawkins, and they ran forward in the blink of an eye, tackling Tate. Grabbing hold tightly around Tate’s torso, Parin yanked him off the hook and with a thud, Tate landed on the floor with both Hawkins and Parin on top of him. In their haste, their holographic disguises disappeared.

“Tom?” Tate checked as he tried to focus on his friends on top of him. He was in agony. “Jowain?”

“We’re here, Tate, hold on,” Hawkins told him as he pulled out his transporter unit.

“Quickly, Tom,” Parin warned as he noticed the crowd around them was now enraged by their actions. 

They activated their emergency transporter units without hesitation and were beamed off the ship instantly.

USS Formidable (NCC-74207), Kovar System, Alcott Sector, Beta Quadrant

The moment they appeared on the transporter platform, Hawkins and Parin stood up. They helped Tate get up to his feet. Hawkins placed Tate’s arm over his shoulder. 

“Bridge to transporter room, status report?” Captain Horin asked over the intercom.

Parin tapped his combadge. “Mission accomplished, sir, we have Tate. We’re taking him to sickbay now.”

“Is he…is he okay?” Horin asked.

“We’ve got him, sir,” Hawkins assured his superior. 

“Sir, we’ll deal with Tate; you deal with the Caatati,” Parin said as he helped Hawkins carry the young man to sickbay. “I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Horin replied.

Tate looked at both of his comrades. “Thank you,” He coughed up in between tears.

“We’ve got you, Tate; you’re safe,” Parin promised as they carried him from the transporter room to sickbay. 

Nodding at them, Tate let them take him. Parin knew the ensign would recover from his physical injuries, but the mental injuries would be long-lasting.