Prentice and Kondo stood in the shuttle bay as Chief Katsumi did her final inspection on their suits.  She looked to each of them, “You’ll need to manually activate the frequency jammers once you arrive in the sector.  You’re going to need to be quick.  I did a little adjusting with the propulsion system to help you make those turns, Prentice.”  He gave a thankful look.  She looked to both of them one last time, “Hit them hard, hit them fast, and fire until the bay’s empty.  Greer supercharged the torpedoes, so they’ll have a good punch.”  She glanced up to shuttle control and gave a thumbs up, “Good luck.  Give ‘em hell.”

Prentice entered the runabout and found his way to the helm seat while Kondo did his final checks outside and then came inside, sealing the door behind him.  He fell into the tactical seat.  They worked in silence until the console alerted them they were clear to depart.  The Mackenzie dropped from warp, and the shuttle bay doors groaned open.  De La Fontaine sighed, “You ready to fly like a bat outta hell, Will?”

Prentice tapped at the console, and runabout New York rumbled off the floor and slowly slipped through the massive doors, a quiet grin on his face, “I’m ready for some fun flying.”  A moment later, they went through the list a final time…and he tapped the console, sending the New Atlantic class runabout off in a flash.

They arrived ten minutes later.  Prentice tapped the frequency settings into action and glanced at the scene before them.  It had once been an operational outpost for Palasa Transport group. Still, it now resembled a glowing green planet with numerous ships glowing in various shades of green hanging in space, watching them.  Prentice chuckled, “They’ve noticed us.  Let’s do this.” Kondo tapped his console and started setting targets as the New York jumped into full impulse, dodging and diving from the attacking ships.  The ship shook as Will sent them into a careening turn that tested the limits of the restraints that had slipped on when they’d arrived.

Kondo noted, “I’ve got four targets – they appear to be power operations centers. Here, here, here, and there. I need to hit those.”  The runabout shuddered under the spits of weapons fire that they were taking.  The suits, scramblers, and coating on the runabout were keeping the Arretans out, allowing them to take the fight to them.

Prentice gritted his teeth, “We’re on the way.”  He swerved the runabout left, then right, and then dove away from blaster fire from another Palasa ship.  Sweat began to appear on his forehead, “Targets in sight.” De La Fontaine fired three modified torpedoes at the sites, and the runabout took a wild turn as he watched the impacts on his console.  They flickered…and then exploded in a burst of fire and debris.  Prentice remarked, “Greer really did supercharge those things.”

Kondo grimaced as the runabout rumbled from both Prentice’s moves and weapons fire hitting them.  “We decided it wasn’t about disabling the Arretan’s power…we needed to destroy it.  Speaking of, we’ve got a tail.  One more power substation to go.”

Will glanced at the sensors, “That would be their Cardassian ship…probably with T’saath at the helm.  She’s as good as I am…maybe a little better.”  He worked at the controls trying to get them into the range of the last of Kondo’s targets, “She’s taking potshots at us – thought Vulcans weren’t violent.”  On the tactical console, Kondo activated the phaser controls and proceeded to harass the Cardassian ship as Prentice ducked and dodged, pushing the minimal inertial dampeners to a breaking point.  Will grumbled as the Cardassian vessel grew closer, “Must go faster…must go faster.”  He calculated the distance to the last primary target, “Hold onto something….”  He tapped the console, and the New York jumped to warp, appearing on the other side of the sector.  “Now, let’s have some fun.  Lining up your shot, Kondo.”

The tactical chief smiled widely as  Prentice got his target right where he needed it.  He fired two torpedoes as the helm officer swerved out of the way of the various phaser blasts.  Watching his screen, De La Fontaine saw the impacts as the power distribution system blew out and the planet’s uncomfortable green glow flickered and then faded.  The runabout shuddered as the Cardassian ship let loose.  Kondo nodded to Prentice, “Shields are at 75% – but we need to take out that ship.”

Prentice protested, “We have to save her and the Gul.”  The runabout shook, and sparks erupted from the wall EPS modules.

Kondo looked him in the eyes, “I’ll try everything I can, Will…but they are trying to kill us, and we’re not big enough to take these hits over and over.  I can spread the pain around, but you know you can’t keep shaking her – her Vulcan mind is going to work out your pattern sooner or later.”

Will growled, “Let’s do some damage and see if we can hold her off a little longer.”

“Fowler, report?”  

Sadie kept her eyes on the screen as her hands tapped out slowly on the console.   She replied to her captain, “The main power conduits have been destroyed – the charged Jade Dilithium on the planet is no longer active…all that’s left is the ships.  I can’t get a read on New York as she’s broadcasting her interference protocols.”

Harris sat in the command chair.  Henry Wyatt sat to his left, working on the console, “I think I have a solution, Captain.” Ambrose gave him a nod.  “They fear El-Aurians the most.  You’ve got torpedoes similar to the ones your runabout has?”

The CO picked up on his thought process, “We do – they’re not supercharged…they could do a lotta disabling work.  We broadcast the interference protocols and let loose with the torpedoes.  And we put you on the screen….”

Wyatt smiled deviously, “I get to add to my list of Arrettans that I’ve threatened and beaten.”

Harris nodded to Prentice, “Red Alert – battle stations.  Set us a course and engage.  Atega – find me a uniform for Mr. Wyatt.”  He slipped his rank pips off his own and handed them to the El-Aurian, “Captain Wyatt, the ship is yours…for a very short time.”

Atega pointed the quartermaster’s assistant to Wyatt, and they stepped into the ready room to change.  Harris turned to the crew, “For the moment, I’m going to be…Commander Harris – executive officer…again.”  The quartermaster’s assistant returned and, after a brief conversation with Ambrose, returned with commander rank pips which he helped attach.  He was gone a moment later, and Wyatt approached the center chair.  Ambrose took the right-hand seat, “Don’t get used to it, captain.”

Wyatt chuckled, “I’ll keep it warm, commander.”

The helm reported they were coming into the sector.  Henry Wyatt leaned forward, “Drop us from warp, helm.  Hail the damn Arretans.  Tell them…Captain Henry Wyatt is asking for their surrender.  Tactical  – lock onto every enemy ship you can find..and prepare to fire on my command.”

The Mackenzie arrived in the sector, and the ships shifted from the attacks on the runabout.

Atega spoke up, “They are responding.”  The screen flicked to the scene on the planet where the bodies that held the Arretans stood, shaking.  None of them looked like they were doing well.  Sores, bleeding, and rashes were spread across the skin.

“What is the meaning of this?  You…YOU.”  A man stumbled forward, “I am Rimush…son of Sargon.  You…escaped?”

Wyatt stood, “I was released…and promoted to Captain to lead these Federation forces to stop you.  You know who I am.  You know what I can do to you.”  In the right chair, Harris got his first real good look at the human bodies the Arretans were occupying.  They looked ghastly as if whatever was inside was going bad.  He stood cautiously and approached Wyatt.

Rimush trembled, his lips cracking and his eyes drooping, “You cannot stop us.  We have the power!  WE HAVE IT!”

The El-Aurian glanced at Harris and turned back to the screen. “You have no power, Rimush.”  The body that held him shouted at the screen.  Wyatt motioned to Atega to mute the channel as Harris stepped closer.

“They look…as if they’re dying.”  Ambrose and Wyatt faced away from the screen as he continued, “Either when we knocked out their power structures, we did more damage than we thought or….”

Wyatt shook his head, “I didn’t imagine it would happen so quickly.”  He explained in response to the curious look on the face of Captain Harris, “The Jade Dilithium…it was both a power generator…and a slow poison.”  He gave a nod to Atega and returned his focus to the man on the screen who had been shouting in defiance of being muted.

Rimush, in the body of a Palasa officer, stumbled as he walked towards the screen, “I can still control you.”  His eyes were growing redder by the minute.  “I just…need a little…of what you took…from…*gack*… from us.”  The body that held the Arretan threw up and collapsed to his knees, “What is happening?  Did…you…do this….?”  The other Arretans were starting to struggle as well, and they looked accusingly at the El-Aurian, who pursed his lips.

Wyatt felt the cold slave of revenge soothing his simmering anger at the Arretans, “I have done…next to nothing.  It’s just that the time on your clock has run out – far sooner than I expected. I remember when they began to experiment on you on The Island.  I remember your desires.  I remember that which you wanted so badly.  The Vulcansah found a way to test you…and it is what has led you to this moment.  You see…they needed something to experiment with…and I provided them with Jade Dilithium…well, I didn’t…but my Mirror Universe captors did.  I merely…helped them see how it could…help control you.”

Rimush wiped his mouth and tried to stand…but found he couldn’t.  “You did this to us…you…did this?”

Wyatt remained standing by the tactical station, “It wasn’t intentional at first…but as I started to listen to them, I discovered that there was a poison in the Jade Dilithium…a poison that infected pretty quickly…but it took repeated usage over years and years….for it to become effective.  It is why the Vulcansah died.  They tried to prolong their life and their power.  Just as you have done.”  He turned to Harris, “Commander, I think you will find that most of the controlled ships are standing down as their master’s power wanes and fades.”

Atega spoke up, “I’m getting a message from Gul Hasara that he has subdued Commander T’saath.  Her ship is lowering weapons and shields.”

Wyatt returned to the screen, “It doesn’t just poison the body…it poisons you…your being, Arretan.  You wanted power, and it gave it to you..but it will take you slowly and painfully from this universe into whatever passes for your next life.”

Rimush gurgled, “What of these bodies?  Do you not care for them?”

Henry slipped off the rank pips and handed them to Harris, “I don’t have to care – Captain Harris will be the one to determine the fate of the Palasa Syndicate you’ve infected.  I wish I could have stood against you and given you the justice you deserved.”  He gave a quiet nod to Ambrose, “I stand relieved.”  He returned to the left chair and sat, staring at Rimush and the others on the screen.

Harris stared at the screen for a moment longer.  His head was still reeling from the revelations – and the impact it was all going to have.  He tapped his badge, “Harris to Reid – I need a full medical team, including triage and trauma, beamed down to the planet immediately.  Your standard security team will meet you there.”  He returned to the screen, “We’re coming to help, Rimush…don’t give me a reason to regret this.”  The screen blinked, and Ambrose stared at Henry Wyatt.  “My ready room.  Now.”