They had retrieved their away team, with only one member remaining aboard the Cardassian vessel – BLADE. Saffiya wanted to make good on her promise and get them back, but as the ship began opening fire, it turned out preferable to have the program on board. The Cupertino was hardly able to stand against the Cardassians, but BLADE seemed to throw them off.

But things had started to take a very… interesting turn. Not only did the Cardassians discover BLADE and tried to purge it from their systems. In addition, an ion storm was heading their way. That could potentially destroy both ships on a good day, but would definitely be a death sentence if they kept pouring the already limited resources into their weapons. 
 

“Gul Dan. An ion storm is coming our way. If we continue this nonsense, both our ships could be severely damaged.”

The screen remained dark, but the Gul’s voice ripped through the bridge. “Do you think I’ll fall for another one of your tricks, Captain?”

“This isn’t a trick, Gul Dan. Check your own sensors if you don’t believe me,” Saffiya responded “We don’t have time for this.”

“We will confirm this ion storm. If you’re lying, Captain, I swear-….“

“This is not the time for threats, Gul Dan,” Saffiya interjected. “We need to act now. Leski, how long until the storm hits us?”

“Four minutes, Captain.”

There was a pause from the other side.  “Fine. What do you propose?” 

“A ceasefire.”, responded Saffiya, rolling her eyes, since the Gul couldn’t see it anyway. Leave it to a Cardassian to ask as stupid a question as that. 

“A temporary ceasefire.”, he responded, stressing the word ‘temporary’. “But if you try anything-…”

“We won’t,” Nassar assured him. She was about to end the transmission when a look from Silveira stopped her. She walked over to him and assayed the readout of his console, pleased to see that BLADE seemed to be transferring back. So she had to keep the channel open. 

“How do your shields look like?”, she asked the Gul. 

“Holding.”, he snarled. “I will be sending you my science-teams specifications. Hold on.”  Saffiya was unhappy about sharing that information, but every second counted. Finally, Silveira gave her an affirmative nod.

“Let me know if you-…”, she started, but noticed Silver’s eyes widening. “They are charging weapons again!”

“… Really?”, asked Saffiya to no one in particular. How could anyone be so completely stupid? “Leski, end transmission.”

“Captain.”, interjected Vargas. “I’ve been working with their engineers. They have firepower, but their propulsion system took severe damage. We can outrun them.”

Saffiya nodded and turned to her crew. “Divert power from the shields. Ensign Leski, plot a course to navigate us out of the storm’s path. Maximum warp. Lieutenant Sydin, monitor the Cardassian ship’s movements.”

“Aye, Captain,” Leski and Sydin responded in unison.

Faster than they had any right to, the minutes ticked down. The ion storm was now visible on the viewscreen as a swirling mass of charged particles and electromagnetic energy.

“Course plotted and laid in, Captain,” Leski reported.

“Engage,” Nassar ordered.

The Cupertino’s engines came to life, moving the ship away from the approaching storm. On the viewscreen, the Cardassian vessel fired again, and with BLADE gone, this one hit true. The Cupertino lurched violently. 

“Damage report!”

“Shields are holding, but down to fourty percent. We can’t afford another of those.”, replied Silveira. 

“Ca-…”, started Sydin, then paused and blinked. “The Cardassian vessel was hit, weapons are offline.” 

“Hit by what?”, asked Saffiya, tilting her head. 

“Some debris was moved by the storm.”, she explained, concentrating on her console. “Analysing… Pathfinder class. It doesn’t belong to the SS Belladonna.” 

Pathfinder class. Were they stuck here too? Or were they long gone, destroyed by the Cardassians or the treacherous terrain?

“Scan for any additional fragments, I would rather avoid getting hit by them.”, Saffiya ordered. 

“What about the Cardassians?”, asked Vargas. “They can’t move. And with the damage, they will be destroyed.” 

For a moment, Saffiya didn’t care. She didn’t care that there were people on board, people who were probably not entirely awful. They had tried to kidnap members of her crew, and attacked her ship. They could sort it with the storm, for all she cared. 

But it only lasted for a few seconds. Then, she remembered that this wasn’t how Starfleet did things, and not the Captain she wanted to be. 

“Open a channel to Gul Dan. Maybe he’ll feel like talking now.”