Ferengi Bridge

Wallace took out his Tricorder and began scanning for Trill life signs, Dr Xan surely couldn’t be far and he hoped to at least pick up her trail. As he took his first readings, his attention was drawn to the shadow lurking in the corner of his eye.

His head snapped around and he focused his vision, but nothing was there. He went back to checking his scan only to feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight as he realised that something was definitely moving in the room. He closed his Tricorder, returning it to his pocket as he began investigating more thoroughly. 

He approached the area he last saw the shadow with caution, his phaser drawn. He felt the pit in his stomach wrench with every step he took, as he could no longer ignore the feeling that he wasn’t alone.

As he approached one of the consoles towards the rear of the bridge, his eyes became locked on his own shadow; cast by the glow of the forcefield containing the hologram of Dr Xan. Following his own, only a moment later, was another distinct shadow. Wallace paused and took a moment to prepare himself. He knew now for certain that he was not alone in the room and whoever or whatever it was that was stalking him, clearly had no intention to engage in small talk.

He discreetly increased his phaser to a higher setting, just shy of ‘Kill’, and prepared himself to fight as the shadow moved closer and closer to his own.

At the same time – USS Thyanis Bridge

An initial impact of weapons fire from the Jem’Hadar ship rocked the ship, staggering everyone that was standing. The Thyanis had no shields and evidently, she was at a disadvantage because the enemy ship was somehow capable of using its energy weapons inside the anomaly.

“Defensive Pattern Epsilon Six!” Harris ordered as he instructed the Helm officer to take the Thyanis into a steep dive relative to the enemy, taking them deeper into the anomaly.

“How are they managing to track us so effectively!” he said, phrased more of a statement than a question directed at anyone in particular.

“I think it’s the tachyon pulse sir, we’ve become saturated due to our proximity to the Ferengi!” Garcia suggested while fighting the change in inertia as the dampers lagged.

“We need to put some distance between us and the Ferengi, over time our signature should dissipate!” She added. 

“Helm, full impulse, get us away from the Ferengi ship!” Harris Immediately ordered.

The helm officer acknowledged as he increased the ship’s speed to maximum, though now she was being bombarded by tiny bits of debris that sounded like raindrops bouncing off the hull.

Another volley of disruptor fire grazed the hull, the Jem’Hadar were becoming less accurate by the minute, suggesting that their plan was working.  After a few minutes, the weapons fire ceased completely and there was a brief moment of calm while the crew worked out their next move.

“Suggestions?” Harris asked openly, hoping that someone would have a brilliant idea to give them the edge in this fight.

“The tachyon pulse will still work sir, but we will have to be much more conservative if we want to stay undetected. We also need to keep moving to avoid the Jem’Hadar Tri-angulating our position.” Garcia mentioned, “Now if I could only work out how they managed to get their targeting sensors to work, I might be able to give you a chance to shoot back.” She added.

Harris reviewed the situation for a moment, then, in a sudden moment of clarity, an idea presented itself to him. “Maybe we don’t need to,” he said calmly.

“Sir?” Garcia said, not quite understanding the Commander’s statement.

“Fighter pilots in the 20th century had a similar problem because their engagements took place at such long ranges, the primary weapons at the time were stand-off missiles that could use the launching aircraft’s radar for initial guidance but then switch to its own, internal guidance as it approached the target.” Said Harris, with as much enthusiasm as a school history teacher.

“How does that help us?” Garcia asked curiously.

“Would it be possible to modify a few torpedoes to emit their own Tachyon pulse?” Harris asked. 

“And what, turn them into homing torpedoes? Sure!, but we wouldn’t be able to control what they hit when they start tracking!” replied Garcia, trying to suggest that it wasn’t a great idea.

“We won’t need to… how long?” asked Harris.

Garcia did the numbers in her head, “Ten minutes to modify the guidance package, another five to reprogram the firmware… call it twenty minutes,” she said.

“Have Martin meet you in the magazine to assist you, I want two torpedoes modified and ready for launch in that time, then I want you to prep me two more!” Harris instructed, hoping that the Chief could help speed the process.

Lt Garcia nodded as she made her way off the bridge, handing her console over to another crew member but not before giving them a crash course on how to work the Tachyon pulse.

Harris then approached the Ensign at the helm and began delivering a lesson of his own, “Okay ensign, I’m going to talk you through an old Fighter tactic called the F-Pole manoeuvre…”

Meanwhile – Jem’Hadar Bridge

“The human ship has disappeared from our scope, they are going deeper into the subspace anomaly, do we pursue?” the Jem’Hadar first queried his Vorta superior.

“Follow them at one-half impulse and keep scanning for Tachyon emissions.” The Vorta responded, removing his visor so he could speak to one of his colleagues; a female Vorta.

“Have you reviewed the design of the Oppenheimer device?” He asked his colleague.

“We have, the design schematics are now stored in our data banks, and we should have no trouble building a second device, the Trill woman seems to have attempted to sabotage the prototype, but the Founder managed to provide us with sufficient information to reverse her alterations… we now have a fully operational prototype for deployment!” The Vorta scientist replied, smirking with pride at her work.

“Excellent, well I say that now is as good a time as any for a test fire. Go and prime the device, and inform me when you are ready to deploy!” The Vorta superior commanded.

Ferengi Bridge 

Wallace turned sharply and aimed his Phaser, but when he did so, he found that there was still no one there. “Enough games Tal!, Show yourself!” he shouted, growing tired of the pathetic nature of the Ferengi’s teasing.

While Wallace was still looking to the front of the bridge, behind him crept up a mass of grotesque fluid that quickly assumed the form of the Ferengi Daimon.

“As you wish Captain!” the changeling spoke as the Ferengi Daimon.

Wallace, startled by the suddenly manifesting voice turned again and pointed his phaser directly at the Daimon.

“Your weapon won’t work Captain… I have erected a dampening field around this room.” The changeling said as he began pacing.

“What have you done with my crew member Tal!” Wallace asked, frustratedly.

“She’s safe and unharmed I assure you.” replied the changeling, forming a smile with the facsimile of a mouth it had replicated.

“I want to see her now Tal!, release her, then you can get down to whatever business you have with me!” demanded Wallace.

“You are in no position to demand anything from me Captain, such a human trait… to believe that one is superior to everything else, ignorant of your shortcomings and vulnerabilities.” the changeling retorted.

Wallace began to recognise that the way the Daimon spoke was slightly off, unlike the Ferengi he first met a few weeks ago. It was almost like he was speaking with a completely different person.

“Who are you?” Wallace asked with some trepidation.

“Ah, finally, you are beginning to put that squishy little brain of yours to good use!” the changeling chuckled as it finally felt the time was right to reveal itself.

At first, the changeling considered reverting to its gelatinous form but instead thought that assuming the likeness of Commander Jones would be far more impactful. The changeling began to morph, replicating Wallace down to the finest detail.

Wallace wasn’t as surprised to encounter a changeling as he thought the creature might have hoped. If anything it made more sense to him that the Daimon was an agent of the Dominion all along, curiously he felt his faith in the wide-lobed beings moderately restored as he learned that his foe had been an imposter.

“There never was a Daimon Tal was there?” Wallace suggested.

“There was… Up until a short time ago, when I killed and replaced him. He was as gullible as he was greedy… not like you Captain…no, you are truly a uniquely resilient specimen.” the changeling spoke, assuming Wallace’s voice. Behind its back, the creature began to form a sharp spike with its hand, preparing itself to deliver a surprise, fatal attack when it was done amusing itself.

“I do mean this when I say, it’s a shame to have to end your existence Captain.” The changeling suddenly struck out, attempting to stab Wallace through the heart but missing and piercing the display of a nearby console as the commander dove out of the way just in time.

Bolts of electricity arced around the changeling’s form as it screamed in pain, unable to maintain its form as the energy from the console coerced through. After a moment or two, it managed to retrieve its appendage, now completely gelatinous it quickly regained its composure in pursuit of its prey.

Wallace had managed to make his way across the room to a command console and had gotten to work trying to disable the dampening field. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against the changeling unarmed, he needed his phaser to have any hope of survival.

Just as the changeling freed itself from the arcing console, Wallace managed to isolate the correct subroutine but didn’t have time to proceed any further, as the changeling was now bearing down on him ready to strike again. Wallace briefly recited his last rites and braced himself to be struck down. 

The changeling wrapped its grotesque form around Wallace’s neck, choosing to asphyxiate him rather than risk damaging another console and injuring itself. The creature felt satisfaction as it began to feel the joints in the commander’s spine pop under the pressure; a delightful appetiser to the main course of crushing his bones.

Wallace flailed his limbs in an involuntary response to his trachea being crushed, he couldn’t breathe and the build-up of carbon dioxide in his blood was forcing his body into a state of panic, along with the pain of the increased blood pressure in his head; he clawed at the changing instinctively as the only rational thought that went through his mind was the worry that his head might simply explode under the pressure before he passed out from the strangulation.

His vision began to fade, colours at first, and then his sensitivity to light as he began to slip away into unconsciousness. 

As the commander’s fate appeared sealed, a petite hand adorned with eloquent brown spots picked up where Wallace left off and deactivated the dampening field from the console. She then picked up the commander’s phaser, set it to its highest setting, and fired at the beast.

“Let him go you ugly son of a bitch!” Molly screamed as she let off a second shot. She too was wounded, nursing a broken arm and a nasty head wound. Alas, she had just enough spunk left in her to fight back with a ferocity that would arouse a decorated Klingon warrior.

The creature released its grip on Wallace, not a gesture of obedience, but distraction as it was affected by the phaser blast, if not wounded.

Wallace gasped uncontrollably as his air supply was restored, he felt an immediate recovery and as fresh oxygen reached his brain he regained his vision and sense of awareness, but needed a moment or two to regain his composure.

Molly kept firing keeping the creature at bay as the doors to the bridge opened again and in flowed the away team; rifles aimed. They quickly assessed the situation and began opening fire on the changeling.

The combined volleys of phaser fire sent the creature into a frenzied panic, it clawed out and screamed as each blast injured it further. It was in distress but the phasers were not having enough of an impact to kill it.

With the last of its strength, the creature slithered itself into a nearby air vent and fled the room looking for a place to recover.

“Sir, are you alright?” said Molly as she limped her way over to commander Jones.

With a painful raspy voice, he managed to force out some words, “I’m fine, Took you long enough!” he jokingly said as the away team moved in to provide first aid.

“That…thing came back from the Jem’Hadar ship, Sir they have the energy device!” Molly said with concern in her voice.

“Wait….what?…Jem’Hadar?” Wallace sounded surprised.

“You didn’t know?” said Molly

Wallace shook his head, “Got to warn….Harris!” he said, coughing.

One of the away team members immediately took over the communications console but found the Thyanis to be nowhere in range. “Okay, I’ve got bad news and really bad news,” he said.

“Out with it Petty officer!” said the team leader.

“Sensor logs show, Thyanis broke away from us, pursued by the Jem’Hadar ship… and I’ve just been locked out of the controls… I think our changeling friend is still in control!” the petty officer responded.

A short time later USS Thyanis Bridge

“Bridge to Torpedo Magazine, Give me some good news Olivia!” Harris said as he stood next to the helmsman who himself was still trying to retain the walkthrough the commander had given him.

“Torpedo one is in the tube, I need another couple of minutes to finish up on torpedo two,” Garcia responded.

“Good work, Tactical give me a tachyon pulse, single ping! Helm get ready!” ordered Harris, looking forward to kicking some Jem’Haddar butt. 

“Ping initiated!” responded the tactical officer as she focused eagerly on her screen waiting for a return. “Contact! 3-3-5 mark 2-1-0 – Seventy-Five Thousand Kilometers!” she added a moment later.

“Helm, off-set that bearing forty degrees to starboard, three-quarter Impulse!, Tactical repeat tachyon pings every thirty seconds!” ordered Harris. So far so good he was confident his tactic would work against their foe. The was designed to make it harder for the enemy to track their position, as lateral movement would reduce their closure rate and make them appear to be moving slower than they were.

“Range now forty thousand kilometres, They’re taking the bait!” said the tactical officer a few moments later, not hiding her excitement.

“Helm come to port eighty degrees, increase to full impulse!” Harris ordered. Changing their direction was the next step, adding a little confusion to the mix as they closed the distance from a different direction.

“Range now twenty-five thousand!” reported Tactical. 

“Come nose on at fifteen K, fire at Ten!, then skate 1-8-0 degrees and cease all further pulses!” Harris instructed, taking the centre chair and preparing himself for a wild ride.

“Garica to bridge, two torpedoes locked and loaded!”

“Fifteen thousand Kilometres Sir!” the tactical officer said one final time.

“Now Helm!”

As Harris gave the order the helm the ship entered a steep 90-degree bank to starboard, using maximum performance to point the nose directly at their target. As soon as the turn was complete, the tactical officer signaled their weapons employment distance of 10,000km and Harris ordered her to fire. 

Two torpedoes one after the other left the tube at high velocity, before taking their own 45-degree offset course into the vertical. Meanwhile, Thyanis rolled inverted over her central axis in a full rotation to port and performed a high-performance dive into a ‘split S’

On the bridge, the tactical officer, in addition to trying to hold onto her lunch was busy scanning for the Jem’Hadar ship and also monitoring the torpedo’s guidance system.

“Torpedos are ‘Pit-dog’! Sir!” she said, butchering the phrase.

“That’s ‘Pitbull’ Ensign, It means the torpedoes are guiding themselves! Nice try though. Keep an eye out for anti-matter explosions!” Harris corrected, despite this being a deadly serious engagement, he was amused that the younger crew were eager to impress by using the correct terminology he tried to teach them.

Meanwhile – Jem’Hadar Battleship Bridge.

“First!, I’ve lost the Thyanis’s Tachyon signature, they’ve disappeared again!” one of the Jem’Hadar bridge crew reported.

Before anyone could respond, an alarm sounded at the tactical station. 

“Incoming Torpedos!, They’re right on top of us!” yelled the Tactical officer moments before being flung across the room by the shockwave that propagated through the ship when the first warhead detonated. 

Without shields, they were vulnerable and the sheer velocity of the warheads caused catastrophic damage to the Jem’Hadar vessel upon impact.

The Vorta in charge of the bridge was killed instantly by a falling support beam, which, crushed his head like a melon. Several other Jem’Hadar soldiers were either maimed or lay deceased following the blast, as command now fell to the surviving Jem’Hadar first.

“Damage report!” the First requested aggressively

“Disruptors are offline, Hull breaches on almost all the upper decks!” replied Second as he unceremoniously kicked a dead Jem’Hadar out of his way.

‘Cargo bay to the bridge! what’s happening!’ The voice of the female Vorta blared over the internal communications.

“Starfleet has managed to disable us! I will instruct the pilot to ram our ship into their vessel!”

‘Stand down Immediately!, any more damage could destabilise the human device, I have already begun the initiation sequence, a singularity is forming….take us to the edge of the anomaly immediately we must transmit our data to the remainder of the fleet!” The Vorta ordered.

First stood torn between his engineered instincts to obey the Vorta and his engineered instinct to crush the enemy. He ordered internal comms to be disabled and decided to disobey and set his ship on a collision course.

“Victory is Life!” he called aloud.

“Victory is Life!” replied the remaining Jem’Hadar on the bridge in one, unified statement of defiance. They could not in good conscience turn their backs on a fight, they were bred for only one purpose, to fight and this is how they chose to end their existence.

Moments later – USS Thyanis

“Registering two good hits… sir!, the Jem’Hadar ship appears to be still moving, Distance: twenty-seven thousand kilometers and closing!” reported Tactical, her joy suddenly turning to a more serious expression.

“Helm, recommit on the Jem’Hadar warship! Offset forty degrees to starboard, engage at fifteen! Tactical, increase tachyon pulse intervals to twenty seconds, let’s make this next hit count!” said Harris, eager to deliver a crushing blow. As the bridge crew carried out his orders, Lt Garcia transmitted again over the intercom. 

‘Garcia to bridge, I’ve got you one more torpedo in the tube, but we’ve encountered a problem with the next, I need some time to prep a new warhead’

“No time Lieutenant, one will have to do!” Harris replied as he oversaw the bridge crew in delivering the killing shot.

“Fifteen thousand Kilometres!” reported Tactical. 

“Nose-on again Helm, Tactical, Fire when ready!” Harris ordered.

For a second time, Thyanis maneuvered like a fighter half her size and launched a follow-up photon torpedo. The warhead behaved exactly as before where it pitched up vertically before going active and crashing back down on the Jem’Hadar ship’s dorsal section directly hitting the command centre and sending another shockwave through the ship.

Her hulk began to drift for a moment, rolling over as if she lost the ability to control her pitch and yaw. She began to tumble bursting into flames as plasma fires erupted from her hul like fireworks.

Moments later she began to disintegrate but only briefly before imploding in on herself. A blinding white light consumed her before she was torn apart by the gravitational forces that birthed a monster from her hull – a self-sustaining black hole, it consumed the debris from the ship and immediately began feeding on the surrounding environment of dust and stellar material.

On the Thyanis bridge, the crew was able to recognise the destruction of the Jem’Hadar ship but the interference on the screen made it difficult to make out what was happening beyond that. Despite this Harris had grown used to trying to make out the image behind the static and began to form an image in his mind of what he should be seeing.

“Is that a…” He began to ask

“Black hole, yes sir! responded Tactical. The moment the singularity formed, the anomaly’s subspace interference began to dissipate, and the crew soon began to realise that sensors were beginning to pick up more data as the black hole consumed more matter.

Harris felt a fool for not considering it, the Jem’Hadar must have had the stolen energy device aboard their ship, there was no other explanation.

“Sir sensors are coming back up, I have the location of the Ferengi vessel… They’re too close to the event horizon to escape under their own power!” reported the tactical officer.

“Can we tractor them away?” Harris asked.

“Thyanis is too small it would be like an ant trying to move a rock on its own!” she said with a disappointing tone. 

“Sir, there’s another problem!… I still can’t get shields back online until we clear the dust cloud, but the black hole has begun accelerating the surrounding matter into its orbit. If we don’t get out of here soon sir, Thyanis will be cooked by the friction generated by the accretion disk!” she added.

“Tan to Catterick!” Harris said as he tapped his com-badge.

“Martin here, go ahead”

“Chief, we need the warp engines back online as a matter of urgency!” Harris Instructed.

“I had a feeling, I’m already working on it, but like I said to the Captain, there’s a chance the injectors might have welded shut as they cooled.” 

“Well, you better un-weld them chief, because if we don’t get warp power soon, we’re going to be getting very intimate with a black hole!” Harris stressed.

“Duly noted sir… Miracle coming up sir, aye!” The channel closed, which Harris took as a sign that the Chief was now aware of the urgency and working on the problem without delay.

“Helm, lay in a course for the Ferengi Ship, Tactical try hailing the away team and the captain!” Harris commanded as he became entrapped at the beauty and the horror of the image that was now appearing on the view screen. As the static faded away he watched in awe as the black hole continued to feed on the surrounding environment, it was only small at this point, but it was growing at an alarming rate.

Meanwhile – Ferengi Bridge

The away team watched in horror as the Ferengi view screen began to resolve an image of the black hole forming ahead of them. They were locked out of almost all controls and were unable to even get sensor readings to the bridge. 

“Molly!, Tell me that’s not what I think it is!” Wallace stated, hoping his science officer would correct him.

“Okay, That’s not what you think it is sir…” Molly replied, trying to stay light-hearted in the face of a pretty dire set of circumstances. “The Jem’Hadar ship must have tried to activate the energy device, but it shouldn’t have allowed a self-sustaining singularity to form… my best guess… they reversed my sabotage but were destroyed while the device was powering up!” she added.

The situation was not Wallace’s best day at the office. He was trapped on an alien vessel- that they couldn’t control, being pulled into a black hole with a murderous changeling running about the ship. Just when he was about to suggest something, his com-badge chirped.

“Thyanis to away team, come in Away team!” The voice of Lieutenant Commander Harris Tan had never been so soothing to anyone in the room, everyone looked out of the view screen and was immediately filled with joy and pride as their ugly little ship suddenly looked a whole lot more beautiful as it approached.

“Jones here! We’ve got Molly! Nine to beam up!” Wallace croaked through the rasp in his throat. He had never been so relieved to hear his X.O. tell him to stand by for transport.

Thyanis Bridge – Moments later

Wallace entered the bridge to a round of applause as he safely delivered Molly back home. She was a little beaten up and was still nursing an injury but she had decided to show her face on the bridge before taking herself down to sick bay and having the EMH patch her up.

“Harris! What is it with you and the centre chair? You nearly kill me in a transporter accident last week, now….this!” Wallace quipped with a smile on his face as he pointed to the viewscreen.

“Glad to see you’re alright captain!” Harris smiled as he gladly handed over the captain’s chair back to its rightful owner. As he stepped away his eyes met Molly’s once again and his heart skipped a beat. 

Without hesitation, Molly threw her good arm around the back of Harris’s head and planted a kiss on his lips. “For a moment, I didn’t think I’d see you again!” she said.

There was an awkward moment as everyone on the bridge witnessed this display of affection, but nobody could say they were surprised.

“Mister Tan, Take the helm if you please!” Wallace said, smiling that he had just gained an enticing talking point for his next poker game.

“Yes sir, Sorry sir” Harris composed himself.

“Garcia! Begin beaming the Ferengi survivors into the cargo hold! Erect a level ten security field around the compartment, including crawlspaces and air ducts, I want it completely isolated! Then post an armed security detail at the door!” Wallace ordered he knew he was taking a risk beaming the survivors on board, he had no idea how many might be changelings but his conscience wouldn’t let him condemn them all to die.

“Transport complete, security fields are in place!” Garcia reported. 

Satisfied that he had done his duty, Wallace gave the order, “Harris get us out of here!”

Harris engaged impulse, warp drive was still offline, but it became obvious that even at full impulse, the gravity of the black hole had become too great to escape. 

“No use sir, we can’t escape the black hole’s gravity, we’re being pulled in!” he said, desperately fighting his console for more power to the impulse drive.

“Engineering to bridge, Sir I need just a few more minutes to get the warp engines back up!” Martin’s voice boomed over the intercom.

“You don’t have a few minutes Chief! We need those engines now!” Wallace yelled, the situation was now becoming desperate as the monster depicted on their view screen began to fill more and more of the field of view.

“Standby bridge…”

The seconds ticked by and the view screen was now a majority black.

“Warp power at your command!”

“GO GO GO!” Wallace ordered desperately.

Harris instinctively reached over to the engage command and punched it so hard with his finger, he nearly cracked the display screen.

Everyone was gripping onto something like their lives depended on it, clenching their behinds as an emotional response until, to their relief, the viewscreen switched forward and displayed to everyone in the room; the familiar violent blue light show that preceded the manifestation of the warp field 

A unanimous sigh of relief cast across the deck as everyone released the tension in their bodies and truly relaxed for the first time in days.

“Warp two and holding sir!” Harris reported.

“Great work!…everyone…I couldn’t be more proud of you all!” Wallace commended, taking a moment to shut his eyes, for the first time in days.

“How about you go get some rack time sir, I can take it from here!” Harris offered, seeing that his commanding officer was exhausted.

“And risk another interstellar catastrophe? Not on your life commander… Im staying right where I’m from now on!” Wallace smiled in jest as he folded his arms and got comfortable.