Siobhan strode confidently on the bridge of the Los Angeles, like she had many times before. She was used to getting posted on the bridge, and and yet, somehow, it felt different. The ship was still at yellow alert, combat teams were roving the halls; in short, the ship was ready for a fight. But at the same time, nothing happened. It was…calm; an oasis in the middle of storming seas. Ever since Captain Oteng had made it clear to everyone that they had a patrol mission, the ship bristled with preparations. She had overseen some of it, particularly running tactical drills in the small holodeck on Deck 8. As the ship’s Operations Officer, she was in charge of ensuring that the ship fulfilled its mission, whether it was hunting for criminals or patrolling a war zone. Siobhan took her post, then began reading the logs while maintaining sensors at maximum. The reports read like a boring novel…nay, they read like that one textbook she was thrilled to vaporize back at the Academy – Microbiology. Biology of any kind had not been her strong suit growing up, and that class had been her proverbial mortal enemy. At the end of the year, she had vaporized the PAAD containing that stupid textbook in celebration; it was long, tedious, and painful to read. As she wrapped up her tedious task, the new Ensign from Echo Shift (graveyard, as it was known onboard) rushed onto the bridge.

Recently, Ensign Nolan had been promoted from Echo shift to the coveted Alpha Shift (0800-1600 hours), and so he still wasn’t used to waking up early. But he had barely made it on time, so he just walked to his post and called out the relevant information.
“Captain, we’re currently on a heading of 022 mark 315, positioned about 200 km away from the Dominion border. All systems nominal, sir.”
“Very good, Mr. Nolan. Very good.”

Siobhan continued scanning, looking for any evidence of incursion. The hastily deployed border sensors were not detecting anything, but she continued the scans. Her best friend at the academy had warned her that patrolling was lots of boredom with seconds of adrenaline. And so it was.
“Captain, nothing to report.”
“Oh I know, Mr. Spencer. It’s the calm before the storm. But we maintain our vigilance; for if these cross over, they can cave our flank…”
“Captain, contacts, bearing 077, moving towards the border. They’re Jem’Hadar fighters! A squadron just crossed into Federation space.”
“Acknowledged, Ops. Continue tracking. Helm, move to intercept, maximum warp.”
“Aye sir, course laid in.”
“Red alert, battle stations!”
The bridge lights dimmed as the alert lights started to glow red. The klaxon started to sound, and well, everyone sprung into action.

Siobhan continued tracking the movements of the incursion ships, still on a course towards one of the main outposts that was not too far from the border. It seemed to her more as a raid than an actual invasion, but the Los Angeles could and would not let the incursion go unanswered.
“Captain, Jem’Hadar ships coming into visual range in about 90 seconds; weapons range in 180 seconds!”
“Affirmed. Phasers ready, torpedoes hot when in range.”
“Thank you both. Mr. Spencer, unleash hell when in range.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Ships in range now!”
“Fire at will!”
Phaser beams begin flying forth as the ship shudders from enemy fire. The shields glowed blue with every hit. The Los Angeles, however, was giving as good as she got. With another phaser hit, one of the enemy vessels exploded in a brilliant flash.
“Splash one, Captain!” Thomas cried out with glee.
“Well done Mr. Spencer. Well done.”

With one of the fighters gone, the other three ships promptly returned fire and began to withdraw. Everyone was taken aback by the actions, since Jem’Hadar were not known for retreat. Something odd was going on, but for now, everyone was glad the Jem’Hadar retreated, since it defused tension on the bridge.
“Okay, that’s kind of weird. Miss Pearse, please compile a report on our engagement here. Everyone else, stand down red alert, maintain scans and patrol.
“Aye, sir. Standing down red alert. The bridge lights came on, though the light bars went back to their default yellow alert status. Saoirse started downloading all sensor data onto a PAAD for further study. Something was off here, and she was determined to find out what.