Their plan to have B.L.A.D.E transfer to the Cardassian vessel had worked out perfectly – thus far. Both away teams had been returned and beamed straight to the bridge of the Cupertino, where Captain Nassar promised them an update by Lieutenant Sydin on what had happened. When Lieutenant Vargas had disclosed her half-Cardassian heritage – and with it given an explanation as to what had Gul Dan make up stories about a spy on his ship – the Captain decided that she had done the right thing in getting her away team back rather than attempting to negotiate. The Gul’s reaction seemed almost random, but there was one thing she knew about Cardassians – they always had a reason. 

Part of her wanted to find out what that reason was, but when Ensign Leski let her know that the Cardassians were hailing them, her focus shifted immediately and completely to how the other vessel would choose to react to the successful rescue attempt. 

“On screen.”, said Saffiya and once more took a seat in the centre chair. 

The face of the Gul was contorted in anger, and she could see that it had taken a dark grey tint. He snarled, and slammed his fist on the console in front of him, and Saffiya was almost sure that she could see little bubbles of foam around his mouth as he spoke. If you could call it ‘speaking’. Yelling was probably a more accurate description. 

“How did you do that?”, he spat. 

“I did tell you I wanted my away teams back.”, Nassar reminded him, and chose to remain as calm as possible. No use to enter into a screaming-match. 

Gul Dan’s eyes narrowed. “You deceived us, Captain. We had an agreement!”

Saffiya Nassar remained unfazed, and her tone measured. “We had no such agreement, Gul Dan. You decided to keep our away team on your ship and I got them back. I don’t care about your fabricated stories of spies.”

“Fabricated stories?” his voice rose to a near roar. “You brought a half-Cardassian onto my ship! A spy and a traitor! Return her here at once!”

Saffiya leaned forward slightly. “Lieutenant Vargas is a valued member of my crew and I will absolutely not return her to you, and I am getting tired of your baseless accusations. We retrieved our people because you left us no choice. If you still desire help, we will need to find other means of lending it.”

His nostrils flared. “You think you can just waltz in and take what you want? There will be consequences, Captain. Remember what kind of vessel it is you are commanding, and then consider what I can do it!”

“We are not seeking conflict, Gul Dan. We only wanted our people back. We can still resolve this peacefully.”

The Gul’s lips curled into a sneer. “Peacefully? There is no peace between us now, Captain. You will pay for this!”

His face contorted further with rage as he slammed his fist down once more. “Charge weapons! Prepare to fire on my mark!”

“Captain!” Ensign Leski’s called. “The Cardassian vessel is charging weapons!”

Saffiya stood up from the centre chair, her voice firm. “Red alert! Shields up! Ready phasers and photon torpedoes.”

Within a split second, the crew sprang into action. The red alert klaxons blared, and the lighting shifted to a dim red.

“Gul Dan,” Nassar addressed him one last time. A final warning. “If you fire on us, we will defend ourselves. Stand down, and let’s find a way to resolve this peacefully.”

But the Gul’s face twisted into a malicious grin. “It’s too late for that, Captain. Fire!”

The screen abruptly cut off as the Cardassian vessel launched its first volley, and the Cupertino shook violently under the impact, but it seemed that they were spared the majority of the damage. 

“What’s happening?”, Saffiya demanded. 

“It seems their aim is off.”, replied Silveira on the tactical console. 

“B.L.A.D.E…”, Saffiya whispered. It had to be. The other vessel was far too advanced, and they were far too close to them to have a targeting problem. 

“Return fire!” Captain Nassar ordered “Target their weapons systems. We need to disable them, not destroy them.”

“On it.” There was a moment of silence. And then… “Direct hit. Not enough to disable them, but we’re getting there.” 

The Cardassian vessel fired again – and missed once more. 

“Ensign Leski, open a channel to the Cardassian ship,” she commanded.

“Channel open, Captain,” Leski replied.

“Gul Dan. Clearly this isn’t working. I encourage you again to reconsider this course of action.”

The screen remained dark, but the Gul’s voice boomed through the bridge. “It’s only a matter of time, Captain. We found your little program and purging it from the computer as we speak.” 

Saffiya bit her lip. B.L.A.D.E was part of her crew, and she had promised to protect them. All of them. 

Leski interrupted her thoughts.  “Captain, sensors are detecting an ion storm approaching. Estimated time of arrival: five minutes.”

An ion storm could wreak havoc on both ships’ systems, and if they were caught in it during battle, the results could be catastrophic. Or perhaps they could use it to their advantage?