As an epic battle for space superiority raged hundreds of kilometres above, Hathaway used her new systems to support an atmospheric launch of her starfighters. Strafing high above her target, her massive bay doors parted and the twelve starfighters that made up the Hellhounds squadron quickly barrelled towards the planet’s surface. Hathaway soon ascended to the heavens to rejoin the fight to liberate the Ungeat home worlds, leaving the Hounds to their business, a venture they were uniquely qualified for.

Like a swarm of bees, the dozen fighters dropped through the clouds at incredible speeds before forming up in their respective flights. Through the morning clouds, their targets came into view; five towering structures totally out of keeping with the rest of the landscape around them. Dilithium refineries churning away in a bid to power the Dominion’s continued war effort.

“Hounds, you know what to do. Hammer the defences and create a perimeter for the away team,” the Andorian squadron leader reminded his people, despite knowing they had committed the plan to memory and were more than capable. The reminder was for his own sanity, rather than theirs. His people knew their mission, and their preparations were impeccable in the run-up to launch day.

With smoke billowing from the chimney stacks of the refineries, the targets were now in plain sight. At their base, dozens of automated weapons emplacements activated, their turrets trained on the advancing swarm. In the intervening seconds before the weapons turrets unleashed their fury, the men and women of the Hellhounds had a final moment to prey to whatever deity they chose to believe in, but once the turrets had them in their sights, all hell broke loose. It quickly became abundantly clear that the defensive systems had had a Dominion-inspired upgrade; their shields were stronger, their weapons high powered and full of energy. And instead of the phased energy they had been briefed on, the Hounds now had to face the reality of polaron-based beams and torpedoes, making their mission much harder.

“I don’t recall any mention of those in the briefing notes…” was a sentiment shared across the squadron as they hurtled towards their destination. For some, it would be their final destination.

Mere seconds later, enemy weapons were unleashed upon the advancing squadron with furious anger, creating a flak screen that rendered both sensors and windows obsolete. Engulfed by angry and terrified voices, the Hounds’ comm array threatened to overload until their Andorian unit commander stepped in.

“Can it!” He barked. “Get through the protective screen and make every shot count. You can do this…” he trailed off, the final thought reverberating through his mind, his cranium and his helmet as the Valkyrie-class fighter rattled beneath him. Like his pilots, he was highly trained, but this was something new. Terrifyingly new.

For what felt like an eternity, the flak continued until one of the starfighters from Gold Flight broke into pieces and exploded in a ball of light.

“POINTY’s gone…” a concerned voice came across the channel. The Vulcan pilot wouldn’t be the last to perish on that fateful day.

Emerging from the worst of the protective fire, the starfighters finally had their targets in weapons range. Strafing run after strafing run ensued, torpedoes and pulse phaser fire absorbed by the Dominion-reinforced shields for what felt like an eternity. But just when it felt like resistance would be futile, a massive explosion from one of the defence turrets signalled that there was hope to be had. For a time anyway. Until Hounds 6 and 8 burst into flames anyway, ploughing their fighters into their targets to cause maximum damage in the ultimate sacrifice. From then on it was a free for all. Formations went out the proverbial window and chaos ensued until one by one the turrets began to cease and the flak fire stopped.

The starfighters had done their job, at a heavy price too, and now it was the turn of Lieutenant Tuca and his security team.

Thousands of miles from the epic battle raging around the Uviri Dilithium refineries, aged, yellow bricks were lit up by the trademark hues of Federation transporter technology. Open air tunnels, enclosed from all but above were filled with the figures of armed Starfleet officers. As per the mandate assigned to them by their new security chief, the security teams swept the ancient corridors for any signs of life, including using tricorder adaptations learnt from the first war to scan for any sign of the infamous ‘Houdini’ mines. Only authorising the mission to proceed when they were happy that no booby traps had been laid, Or’uil stepped forward and headed down the tunnels.

A thing of Ungeat legend, the Eerie Mountains had been awe-inspiring enough, but to have the opportunity to finally explore the fascinating ruins of the early settlers was humbling. It was something the adolescent had prayed for his entire life, and in a fashion, Starfleet had made it happen. As had the Dominion. It was strange to find oneself being thankful for one’s enemy but on this occasion, he couldn’t help it – it was highly likely that without the conflict, he’d have never come home again, let alone investigated some of the most peculiar ruins on the planet.

“Hey!” A gentle hand grazed the Ungeat’s arm and drew his attention back to their environment. “You ok?” Commander Noli asked her successor at tactical.

“It is… surreal,” Or’uil confessed, his bulbous eyes glancing at the Bajoran, then down the tunnel again. “Ungeat dream about exploring these regions, and here I am, living the dream as the sector explodes around us,” he grimaced, looking to the heavens, imaging the raging battle high above them.

“Dreams are to be fulfilled my friend,” Noli put a gentle arm around the youngster. “I’m glad I can help you to achieve yours,” she grinned.

It was not wasted on the young Ungeat that this was a version of Noli far removed from the ‘Bajoran Badass’ persona she had cultivated in the last year or so, but he greatly appreciated the positive touch she was now showing. It made the transition, however brief, easier to achieve.

Together, they led the away team along the open-topped tunnel until the Ungeat spotted the first worrying signs; scorch marks from weapons impacts on the stone walls indicated a recent fight, made all the more real by the sudden appearance of bodies – Ungeat, Starfleet and Dominion alike – littering the walkway towards the final chamber.

“I’m counting at least twenty-five bodies,” Or’uil informed the team before stepping aside and waving his security team ahead of them.

Phaser rifles drawn, prone crawling forwards, the ‘soldiers’ scoured every inch of the tunnel network for any threat, but the bodies simply mounted in what appeared to have been some sort of running battle that had taken place. Even when they launched the final assault into the Sanctum itself, they faced no resistance of any kind. Aged computer consoles that had been jury-rigged to work with Starfleet technology sat idle, their displays dimmed and their sensors offline. Bodies littered the room and more phaser burns showed the severity of the resistance that had been put up by the Ungeat operators and their Starfleet colleagues.

With the security team securing the area, Noli and her Ungeat friend were left to survey the damage done. It was clear that the two opposing forces had annihilated each other, neither side willing to give ground in their pursuit of victory. It was strange, after witnessing so much death, but it kind of felt like the Starfleet forces had been successful; they had kept the listening post out of Jem’Hadar hands, and the new teams from Hathaway would be able to not only secure it but put it to good use once again – or so Or’uil hoped.

Since his team were busy setting up a perimeter, the Ungeat made a beeline for the main computer in the facility. It was a fusion of two species coming together, and it was a technological marvel. His swift analysis indicated that nothing was wrong with the system, simply that it had been deactivated when the Dominion advance on the Sanctum began, and the absence of any Ungeat or Starfleet survivors meant there was no one to reactivate it.

“Where would you like me to direct the receiver?” The Ungeat looked to his commanding officer for guidance before activating the machine once again.

“Direct it into the Deneb sector. We need to find out what the situation is at Farpoint and beyond,” the Bajoran instructed, joining her colleague at the controls to the sensor array.

Putting his years of operations experience to good use, the Lieutenant input all of the appropriate commands in order to activate the system, and waited for the final nod from Noli before activating the massive sensor array. When permission had been given, a final flick of a switch sent lights pulsing up the antennae of the receiver array. It took mere seconds before the initial telemetry came in, and the news they received was not good. Not good at all.