Natalie’s right hand rested on the phaser that was strapped in a holster on her belt.  The two Hazard Team Members were moving ahead of her, phaser rifles at the ready.  Her left hand held a silenced Tricorder that she was using to scan the cargo ship as they walked quietly from the back end toward the front end.  Harris whispered that there was only one biological life sign, and it was certainly Vorta.  Nothing else.  She was wondering what that meant.  Florin moved them through the maze of equipment and came to a halt.  He turned, “One Vorta at the consoles.  Nothing else.”

Gonzaga contemplated that thought for half a second, “That seem odd to you?”  The engineer nodded, and the science officer wondered, “You think they’re starting to lose out there…and going for broke?”

Finlay wasn’t sure, but he also knew one thing, “Victory is Life is a powerful motto for any Dominion force.  I suggest we try and take him.”  Chances were good that the Vorta would hear them coming and trigger his suicide device.  He was about to jump out when Harris pulled at him.  She whispered out her idea.  He checked with his partner.  Conlan was ok with it.  They would be ready to respond if things got out of hand.

“Hey…anybody here?”  Natalie had dirtied up her face, clothing, and even her shoes.  Her hair was a mussed-up disaster, and she stumbled as she walked.  She crashed into a crate or two in her haphazard travel toward the open area at the front of the bridge.  “Anybody here?  Helllloo?” She walked out into the open and found a tall Vorta aiming a disrupter at her, a look of annoyance on his face.

“Where did you come from?”  He didn’t move and kept his distance.

She coughed and groaned, “Well, I was taking a nice old nap in the back room of this hunk of junk until recently…they hadn’t done much of anything with it, so I figured I’d be safe.”  She stretched out her muscles, “Clearly, I was wrong there.  I’m Nat.  Who the hell are you…weird lookin’ man?”

The Vorta looked offended, his weapon still raised, “I am Joasa, a divine creation of the Founders.”

She almost smiled at his practiced speech.  Almost.  She had a part to play in this, and damn it; she was going to play it well.  “The hell is a Founder?  If you’re a ‘divine creation,’ I must be god herself, you know?”

“Shut up.  I am on a mission from my Founders, and I cannot be interrupted.  So, you must die.”  He moved his finger to the trigger, and she screamed.  He stopped, frowning.

She did her best, “Look, I don’t want to die…maybe I could help you or something?  Who are we doing something to?  Did you say some kinda mission?”

Joasa’s frown didn’t lessen, nor did the distance of his finger to the trigger.  “I am going to destroy the colony ahead with this ship’s weapon.”  He shifted his feet nervously, “My first attempt did not…bring the Victory I was hoping for…it was…less than Life.”  He looked behind her, “You sure you’re alone?”

Natalie did her best with a sad face.  It wasn’t hard, “I’m always alone…Joasa.  Always pushed out of my city – I’ve been on the run for a while.  Nobody wants to hang out with…well, a murderer.”  She felt that thrill returning.

The Vorta’s frown lessened, and he cocked his head, “You…killed someone?”

“That they know of.”  She said it with a devious grin, and he seemed placated by her story.  “You gonna kill some people too?”  As she said it, Harris tried to make it sound more conversational than maniacal.  His acceptance of her story was her reward.

“I am going to kill lots of people, Nat.  Would you like to help?”  She nodded and followed him.  He turned his back as she stepped ahead of him when he directed her with the disrupter.

Then the Hazard Team struck.  Joasa yelped as the heavy stun blasts hit him in the back, and he fell forward, unconscious.  Finlay moved to secure him with restraints and looked up at Natalie, “That was a performance, Harris.”

She stepped back as the two Hazard Team officers secured the Vorta and went to work on taking control of the ship.  She’d just stood toe to toe with a Dominion Vorta.  Had she discovered something about herself at that moment?  What did it mean for her?”

Gonzaga reported, “It’s a pretty simple ship – not much to her.  The device is plugged straight into the systems – not much finesse.  They could use some LCARS lessons.”  He tapped at the console, “Looks like was going to target Kija Colony with a bigger hit.  We got lucky at Jolla – he was figuring out how to use it.  We need to get this thing back there and figure out how to make this thing less able to cause planet-wide chaos and more able to help people.”

Finlay returned from a corner of the ship, “McKee will escort us back to the Olympic.  Harris – plot us a course and get us on our way.”  He turned to the Vorta, “We’re going to keep a close eye on this bastard.”