Acting Captain’s Log, Supplemental. With the help of engineers from the Challenger, Lieutenant Armstrong made sufficient repairs to allow the Higgs to get underway. The rest of our journey to Galadkail Manor was uneventful. While the Higgs assists in completing the upgrades to the planet’s defence platforms, the Challenger and Cernan have joined the Cardassian/Federation battle group.

Upgrading the computer systems that controlled Galadkail Manor’s defence platforms was easier said than done. What Calvin Armstrong had anticipated would take a few hours had turned into a twenty-hour job, and it would be a few more before they completed the work. That meant, instead of completing the upgrades before the Dominion arrived, work continued while the battle raged at the edge of the Galadkail system.

“Could you hand me the optronic coupler?” The requested tool didn’t appear in Armstrong’s view. “The optronic coupler?” Still nothing. He slid out from underneath the console to find the civilian engineer assisting him, Polx Broslo. 

The Bolian stood by the room’s large window with a view over the island’s south coast. On the horizon, Armstrong could see clouds so dark they were virtually black, laden with unshed rain, moving slowly towards them. Below them, waves crashed violently on the rocks as the wind picked up. Armstrong whistled softly, “That looks like a nasty storm.”

“I’ve never known a storm this bad,” Broslo muttered.

Armstrong watched the storm brewing for a few brief moments. “Maybe we’ll get lucky, and it’ll pass to the east.”

Broslo hummed in agreement, though he sounded less than confident.

“Come on,” Armstrong gently removed the optronic coupler from Broslo’s hand, “we have work to do.”

They spent the next two hours working on completing their upgrades, with the two men sharing occasional snippets of conversation. Broslo was a competent engineer but a rather gloomy man whose disposition worsened in the face of the oncoming storm.

The PADD at Broslo’s elbow had no sooner begun to emit a shrill warble than the muffled voice of Lieutenant Commander Mitchell sounded through Armstrong’s commbadge. “Higgs to Armstrong.”

“Your Captain is certainly punctual,” Broslo commented.

An impatient sod, more like. Armstrong tapped his commbadge, “Armstrong here.”

“Status report, Lieutenant.”

“We’re almost done,” Armstrong replied. “The platforms should be online in thirty to forty minutes.”

“Understood. Higgs out.”

Broslo reached for his PADD and tapped a control, “Resetting the countdown timer, twenty minutes.”

Armstrong smirked and opened his mouth to deliver a witty retort, but a low rumble filled the room, cutting him off.  “The storm’s getting closer,” Armstrong commented as his fingers darted across his console, inputting one command line after another. 

The Bolian engineer didn’t reply. Armstrong didn’t need to look at Broslo; he could feel the tension radiating from the other engineer’s body. They worked in silence, the tension increasing with every rumble of thunder. The shill warble echoed around the room again, but the chirp of Armstrong’s commbadge didn’t come, nor Mitchell’s voice demanding another update.

“Where is he?” Broslo asked.

Armstrong shrugged. He wasn’t concerned by Mitchell missing his usual check-in; he was grateful not to have the Higgs’ acting captain breathing down his neck yet again. Broslo wasn’t as accepting.

“Your captain has been punctual; he’s contacted you every twenty minutes for the past two hours,” Broslo grumbled. “I believe humans would describe him as ‘like clockwork’.” He paused. “What if something’s happened? What if your ship has been destroyed? What if the Dominion got them?”

It was challenging to bite back a sarcastic retort. “Any Dominion ship approaching the planet would’ve set off the proximity alarm,” Armstrong assured him.

“Well, what if they’ve warped away? Maybe the Dominion has broken through the defensive line?”

Thunder rumbled in the distance again. There were plenty of reasons why Mitchell was late in contacting them. Speculating served no useful purpose. “Can you pop up to the roof to check on the transceiver assembly?”

“I, uh,” Broslo hesitated, “is there a problem?”

No, Armstrong thought. “Yeah, the diagnostics are giving me some weird feedback.”

Broslo stalked out of the control room, grumbling something under his breath. As soon as he was out of sight, Armstrong let out a relieved groan. The peace and quiet didn’t last. Less than a minute later, Lieutenant Commander Mitchell strode into the room. “It’s been almost half an hour, Lieutenant. How close are you to bringing the defence platforms online?”

“I just need a few more minutes, sir,” Armstrong told him. “There are a few final diagnostics to run, and Broslo is on the roof doing some last-minute checks.

Mitchell nodded, “Alright. Good work.”

“Higgs to Mitchell.”

The acting captain tapped his commbadge, “Go ahead, Commander.”

“Incoming transmission from the Challenger,” Pezara announced. “Patching them through.”

There was silence for a few seconds before Fleet Captain Forrester’s voice emerged through Mitchell’s commbadge, “Dominion forces are in retreat. It’s over.”

For now, Armstrong added silently. That thought was quickly followed by worry that Broslo’s pessimism was beginning to rub off on him.

“That’s good news, sir,” Mitchell replied, beaming from ear to ear. “What’s the battle group’s status?”

“Cardassians lost two Galor-class ships,” Forrester replied. “Cernan and Blackbird sustained heavy damage. We’ll return to Galakail Manor and begin to effect repairs.”

Armstrong wondered briefly if he’d be asked to assist the Cardassians with repairs. Would they even want our help?

“Understood, sir. We’ll see you when you arrive. Higgs out.”

Broslo wandered back in, looking less gloomy than he had when he left. “The Transceiver assembly’s fine.” He reported. By Broslo’s standards, his tone was practically cheery. “And the wind’s changed direction. The storm’s going to pass us by.”

Armstrong shared a knowing look with Mitchell, “You can say that again.”