Tiffany sat in the center chair, sweat dripping down her soot stained face, giving a steely glare to the view screen. The ship rocked again as one of the Jem’hadar fighters made another pass. More panels blew and a plasma conduit ruptured above the bridge. The forcefield held, but chunks of bulkhead rained down on the bridge, causing most of the officers to duck out of the way. 

“Status report, Vlex!” She called. 

“Our other ships are disabled and adrift, ma’am, crew status unknown… we’re all that’s up,” She replied. 

“How are we looking?” 

“Not great. Primary weapons systems are down, but we’ve got auxiliary going to two photon torpedo launchers and our secondary phasers. Shields are at thirty-five percent and the structural integrity field is running around seventy-five percent,” She rattled off while maneuvering around more blasts from the Jem’hadar. 

“Those Jem’hadar will destroy the other vessels if we don’t do something,” Tiffany said, flatly. “Put us in between and unload everything we can into those bastards. We’ve got to give Mel more time to get that grid up,” She said, seriously. 

“If they don’t, they’re not going to have a ride home,” Vlex replied, looking worriedly at the readings in front of her. 

“If they don’t, we’re not going to have a home to go back to,” Tiffany cautioned. 

“Full impulse, Cap. Bringing us in between the Federation ships and the Jem’hadar,” Vlex said, carefully moving the ship to stand in the gap. 

“C’mon, Mel,” Tiffany whispered to herself. “Where are you?” 

======

Melody spat out a curse as more Jem’hadar disruptor fire caused debris and dust to rain down on her and Frankie, “This isn’t going the way I planned,” She grumbled. 

“What were you expecting? A walk in the park?” Frankie retorted with a wry grin. “We got up here, jefe. Now we just gotta get into the control room,” She said, “Which might be easier than you think.” 

Frankie nodded to a large door just opposite of where they were hiding, “Smoke bomb and we can run across and take cover,” She said. 

Melody fired back at their assailants, then ducked back into cover and looked over at the door, which seemed almost welcoming compared to the rest of the facility right now, “Holy hell. Okay, yeah… Let’s do it. We can close the door and lock it and then take control of the grid,” Mel said, nodding. 

“Exactly! See? This is why you brought me along,” Frankie said with a laugh, already pulling a smoke grenade from her belt. 

The XO tossed the smoke bomb out and it let lose with a satisfying pop before the two women bolted across the platform and into the control room. Frankie immediately turned around and smacked the door controls… which bleated in a complaining tone and did exactly nothing. 

“What in the…” She smacked the controls again and scowled as they beeped a negative again and failed to close the door. 

“Frankie?” Melody asked, already working on the console. 

“Door won’t close,” Frankie replied, trying to work the control panel more aggressively. “God damned Jem’hadar must have screwed with the system.” 

“I got problems here too, looks like I’m locked out,” She said, grimly. 

“Dammit!” Frankie exclaimed, ducking back into the room as a disruptor blast hit the doorway, “Jem’hadar pushing in!” She called over to Melody, firing wildly out the door trying to keep the Jem’hadar troops at bay. 

“Richards to French! I’m locked out up here, and we’re running out of time,” She yelled into her comm badge desperately. Forget comm silence, no secret they were here now.  

“She’s aware, Commander!” It was Kartyk’s voice. “She took a hit and I’m patching her up, but she’s working on it, she just needs more time,” He said. 

“Is she okay?” Melody asked back. 

“Jem’hadar disruptor, ma’am. No, but if we can get her back to the Alita soonish, she’ll be fine,” He said. 

“Okay, just tell her to hurry!” Melody bit back, letting out a scream as a disruptor blast made it’s way into the room. She could see the grey skinned warriors outside the door now, their keen eyes full of rage and lust for blood. She ducked behind the console to avoid any more incoming fire, and a moment later, Frankie ducked in with her. 

They both took turns firing wildly around the console, doing the best they could to keep the Jem’hadar at bay, but it was no good. The soldiers were in the room, and slowly pressing in.

“Commander, just wanted you to know–”

“Shut up,” Mel snapped back. “Don’t do that,” She hissed. 

“You shut up. It’s been an honor, Mel, no matter how this turns out. A damn honor,” Frankie spat back, firing wildly around the corner. 

Melody gave a tight grin, “You’re just asking for us to die, you know that?” She quipped back, but then, softer, “Honor’s mine, boss.” 

Without warning, one of the Jem’hadar stepped around the console. Melody tried to swing her rifle around, but the muscle bound soldier kicked it away and leveled his rifle at Melody with an overconfident smirk. Next to her, Frankie was having a very similar experience. To their surprise, the Jem’hadar didn’t kill them, but instead jerked them up on their feet and pushed them back against the console. 

“I am the First,” One of them said over the sound of phaser fire in the building, “And my Vorta will be proud of me, because I have caught the leaders. You Federation types never did learn. You have no concept of combat and war. You’re all too weak, too… soft. I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t have the strength to take on the Dominion.” 

“I think I’d rather bleed out to one of your disruptor blasts than listen to this speech,” Frankie quipped. 

The Jem’hadar put the butt of his rifle right into bridge of her nose, immediately causing it to spray blood down her face and knocking her to her knees. 

“AH! Piece of shit!” She hissed out. 

“STOP! Stop!” Melody hissed, stepping in front of Frankie before the Jem’hadar First could do any more damage. 

“She’s got a big mouth, but she’ll do what you say. We both will. It’s fine, okay? No stress,” She said, putting on her best reassuring voice. 

“Of course you will,” The First replied, grinning an oily grin. “You are incapable of victory and you were from the start!”

“The war is over,” Melody spat. “It has been for 25 years. Stop this, we’ll get you home, it’ll all be fine. It doesn’t have to go this way.” 

“Beg. It’s wise at this point, so close to the end of you–” 

The Jem’hadar was cut off by a loud explosion down stairs. He looked back around his shoulder as the phaser fire started up again, but faster this time, more hectic. 

Then suddenly, from downstairs, dozens of voices in unison shouted, “For Sevury!!” 

Without warning, Frankie shot up from the floor, catching the distracted Jem’hadar under his rib cage and tossing him over the console behind him. He landed with a loud crack from his neck and went limp. The First tried to swing around to stop her, but caught a hard left hook to the jaw from Melody before he could do anything. He reeled and tried to regain his footing, but Melody had already grabbed his disruptor from his hands and turned it on him. He let out a blood curdling scream as his chest was opened by the blast, and then dropped to the floor in silence. 

The two women ran out of the control room and looked over the balcony to the lobby area below. Blake and several dozen prisoners – now armed to the teeth – were securing the area and wrapping up the last of the Jem’hadar forces embedded down there. 

Blake saw them and grinned, “Hey! I found a couple folks!” He said, playfully. 

“Blake, I could kiss you!” Frankie called down to him. 

“Ma’am, that’s a violation of the Officer’s Code of Conduct. I am appalled!” Blaked yelled back with a grin. “Glad you guys are okay! We got this down here. Get that grid up, Commander!” He called, giving a salute. 

“On it!” Melody yelled back, disappearing back into the control room. 

======

“Shields at five percent!” Vlex yelled. 

Tiffany compressed her lips into a thin line, defiantly staring at the approaching Jem’hadar ship on the viewscreen. 

“Fire control is offline, ma’am! I’ve got limited control of one set of phasers in the aft section, but we’ll have to come around. 

“Put everything into the rear deflectors and that phaser bank, Lieutenant! If today is the day we go down, we’re going down swinging,” She bit. 

“Yes ma’am!” Vlex replied, firmly, already swinging the ship around. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Tiffany knew this was it. This was the end. They had almost no shields, their weapons were gone, and one of the meanest alien species the human race had ever encountered was bearing down on them with intent to kill. The single phaser bank wouldn’t be enough, but she and the crew of this small but damn mighty ship were going to make them fight for every inch they could. 

Vlex started firing, causing a shimmer to ripple across the shields of the Jem’hadar fighter as it approached. Another blast and another did almost nothing to slow the ship. She stood and walked forward toward the view screen, crossing her arms defiantly as the ship approached. 

“They’re arming their torpedoes. The lance weapon is charged, Captain,” Vlex said, her tone somewhere between peaceful and defeated. “They’ll be firing soon.”  

“Fire first. Fire more. Fire, Lieutenant,” Tiff replied. The rest of the bridge crew had stopped making their call outs and had all staggered down to the helm to watch the ship approach now. Eight people, watching the end of their lives fly in smoothly on the stars to destroy every last atom of them. 

And to watch it be battered by a massive phaser blast from the planet. 

The Jem’hadar fighter lurched as the planetary grid’s phasers slammed into the bottom of the ship. The shields sputtered and died after the first blast. In the distance, the two other ships began receiving fire from the ground as well. Two hits, three. One of the fighters exploded, and then the next, and finally, the one that seemed so damned certain to be the end of the Alita’s story… exploded in a fiery rain of shrapnel. 

The bridge of the Alita was dead silent. No one spoke, they barely breathed. Red alert klaxons were still going off in the background as they all stared out the viewscreen at the debris fields where the Jem’hadar had been. 

Suddenly, Tiffany threw her fists in the air and yelled, “YES!” 

That was all the motivation the rest of the bridge crew needed: More woops of victory flooded forth, hugs were given, tears fell. Across the Alita word spread like wildfire: The grid was online, the Jem’hadar had been defeated. The celebration had started and no one could stop it now. 

“Captain! Priority one message from the surface! It’s Commander Richards!” The Comms officer yelled. 

“Put it through! Open channel!” Tiffany called back. 

“Richards to Alita, the grid is up! Repeat: The grid is up!” Melody’s voice rang through. 

“We saw commander!” Tiffany replied, laughing. “We saw, and your timing couldn’t have been better! It was getting a little concerning up here!” She said. 

“Well, glad we could help. We had a few dozen friends who’d been cooped up down here who could probably use Thatcher’s help, if she’s able,” Melody explained. 

“I’ll send a medical team down as soon as we can get transporters and shuttles back online,” Tiffany explained. “Congratulations, Commander Richards. You and Frankie performed a miracle today,” Tiffany told her. 

“All in a days work, Captain,” Melody replied with a laugh. “Richards out!” 

Tiffany put her hands on her hips and looked around at her crew with a grin, “Alright people. Fantastic work, but we’re not done yet. Let’s get this beautiful piece of engineering back up and running and start relief efforts!” 

Everyone on the bridge cheered again, and immediately returned to their duties, working hard to get everything back online. 

Melody smiled as she watched them work so tirelessly, and turned back to the viewport, looking in awe at the debris drifting in space where death had once been. It had been one hell of a day. She couldn’t have been more proud of her crew today.