“This is going to be hard.” Scott said to the table full of Captains sitting before him. They had been joined, in the days since his return to the Leif Erikson, by the three civilian captains that had agreed to help them free the seized citizens of Stardust City. Captain Scott Bowman sat at the head of the tiny conference table, his elbows resting on the glossy surface and his fingers tented in front of his face. “First, we have to get into orbit. Then, we have to locate the Vaadwaur ship, presumably without long range sensors, and then we have to figure out where they are keeping the hostages. My guess is the shields on that Vaadwaur ship will impede our ability to transport, so we will have to knock out their shield generators first.”

Tholak leaned forward to rest his arms on the table as well. “Dathasa and I should be able to handle that.” He said.

“We will also run interference.” Scott said, “As the civilian ships are lightly armed,” he nodded to the table, “You three should focus your efforts on retrieving as many captors as possible. Captain Lowrey, Lieutenant Beckett is currently working to modify your transporters to accept organic tissue.” Captain Lowrey nodded, followed by the others. Scott pulled up a map of the planet’s surface and pointed out a set of coordinates on the opposite side of Stardust City. “Here is where we will meet. Once we’re clear of the planet, we will come up with the next stage. Dathasa is working on something right now, she says she will meet us at the designated spot.”

“Let’s get to it then.” Captain Howe said, standing. “We should stagger our launches to try and avoid detection. I’ll go first, and meet you up there. Hopefully.” she added, with a note of concern in her voice. 

“I’ll come with you.” said Matthew Winters, also getting to his feet. “The Ellinor has a few tricks up her sleeve that might keep us safe.”

“Good luck, Captains.” Scott said as the pair left the conference room. “Tholak, how are the repairs coming on your ship?” he asked, turning back around.

“Quickly.” Tholak replied. “ You’re engineers have been a great help. We should be ready to fly in a few hours.” 

“Excellent.” said Scott, “We need all the time we can get.” 

“Captain, if I may.” Tholak said, cocking his head curiously to one side. “You seem well versed in the art of clandestine operations.”

“This is not my first war against a conquering force, sadly.” Scott replied softly. “It is an experience I wish I did not have.”

“But you do have it, Captain, as do I.” said Tholak, in a tone that conveyed understanding. “I daresay your experience will serve us well to free the people of this planet, however traumatic was its acquisition.”

“I hope you’re right.” Scott said, sitting back down in his chair.

“You fought in the Dominion War.” said Captain Lowrey, running a hand over his grey, but impressively large moustache. “I used to run supplies to the front on a Federation Contract.” 

“Well then, gentleman,” said Scott, “may I suggest we retire to the lounge for a drink? I have a special bottle of old earth vintage bourbon that I only share with veterans. It’ll put the fire back in your belly.” 

The three men sat in the lounge, sipping Scott’s ancient whiskey and telling war stories. Eventually they were joined by Bema, who had overseen the last of the repairs to Tholak’s ship while he was in the Captain’s meeting. “The Kite is good to go, Tholak,” he said, flopping himself down into one of the comfortable chairs that surrounded the small table. 

“Thank you Commander.” Tholak said, getting to his feet. “Captain Lowrey, you and I should be the next ones to leave.”

Douglas Lowrey finished his glass, then heaved a heavy sigh and pulled himself from his chair. “I suppose, you’re right.” He turned to Scott, giving a casual salute with two fingers, “See you in space, Captain.” He turned and left with Tholak. Bema grabbed an empty glass, and filled it with some of the bourbon. “Fellow veterans?” he asked, taking a sip. 

“Yep. Felt right, considering what we are about to do.” Scott replied, draining his glass. 

“Pick a fight, presumably with a much larger and more powerful ship, with nothing more than one wee Nova, two Fenris Rangers and a handful of civilian craft?”

“Precisely,” said Scott, getting to his feet. “Has Garion checked in?” 

“He got back just after I did. Met him in the turbolift. He said he was going to catch a shower.” Bema laughed. 

“Excellent.” Scott said. “Report to the bridge, Number One. Get us underway as soon as possible, please. I’ll be in my quarters.”

“Aye aye, Captain.” Bema responded obediently. He finished his glass in one, then left the lounge. Scott sat there a while longer, musing about the Dominion War, and its parallel to their current situation. They had been forced to the ground then too, but that was a far worse experience than this had been. Not wanting to dwell too long, Scott stuck the stopper into the bourbon bottle, and took it back to his quarters. Sleep when you can, he thought, when the conflict starts, there won’t always be time to shut your eyes. He laid down on his bed, still in his uniform, and closed his eyes. 

Before long, Bema was ringing at his door. “Captain, we have arrived at the coordinates. Dathasa is here, and you should see what she has brought us.” Scott got up and straightened his uniform. He crossed to the door and it slid open. “She’s in the Shuttle bay.” Bema added, stepping back to allow Scott to lead the way. The trip to the shuttle bay was a silent one, with Scott pondering what Dathasa could have possibly brought, and Bema knowing his captain well enough to remain silent, allowing his thoughts to fully mature. Scott, however, was not prepared for what would be waiting when the doors to the shuttle bay opened. Squeezed into the tiny space, was one of the Vaadwaur fighters. 

“Dathasa, how in the hell did you…” Scott began, but then cut himself off. “Wait, do  I want to know?”

“It didn’t involve torture, if that’s what you mean.” Dathasa said, a playful smile curling the edges of her lips. “But there are a few less Vaadwaur for the city to worry about.”

Allowing this detail to go unnoticed, Scott asked, “So, what is your plan for this little ship, now that we have it?”

“Well,” she started, “I think we can use it to get into the Vaadwaur vessel, or at least use it to piggyback comm traffic to find out where the prisoners are being held. It has a transporter, which means it must have a log somewhere.” 

“I don’t think we will have the time to dig through the Vaadwaur coding to find its transporter log.” Garion said, poking his head out of the cockpit, causing Scott to jump a little with surprise. “But it seems easy enough to fly.”

“That makes sense.” said Bema, “But who is going to fly this thing? It can’t be Ezra, he’ll need to fly this crate.”

“And I’ll need you here, in case something happens to me, Bema.” Scott added. “Tom is an accomplished pilot. We should ask him.” He tapped his comm badge, “Lieutenant Sargent, can you report to the shuttle bay, please?”

On my way, Captain, replied Tom’s deep voice over the comm. Within minutes, Tom had arrived, and was briefed on the plan.

“Naturally, I will agree to the plan, Captain.” Tom said dutifully. “When should I be ready to go?” 

“As soon as you can, Tom.” Scott said. “But once you leave, we will be unable to communicate with you, so we won’t know until it’s too late if you get into trouble.”

“I understand my duty, Captain.” Tom replied. “I will attempt to return in 24 hours with the information you require.” He shook Scott’s hand, then Bema’s before climbing into the pilot’s seat. Garion gave him a rundown of the controls. Then, just as he was about to close the cockpit, Dathasa leapt up into the rear seat. 

“Hang on, big guy, I’ll come with you.” she said, buckling herself in. “It’ll be a lonely 24 hours if you don’t have company. Plus, I’ve flown this thing before. I can be of help.” She was talking to Tom, but it sounded to Scott like she was asking him, making a case for why she should go as well. Scott nodded, and Tom closed the canopy. It hissed itself sealed, and the two backed slowly out of the shuttle bay. Scott, Bema and the other crew on the hangar deck waved to them as they turned the small ship around, and sped out of view. 

“He’ll be alright, Scott.” Bema said, placing a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “He’s stronger than either of us.”