The Xoval was traveling at low warp, heading for the shipyards. The infiltration team was assembled in the shuttle bay, and the Romulan shuttle they would be using sat nearby.

Collins checked his weapons. He was carrying a modified phase rifle, a hand phaser, and a combat knife.

A trio of Romulans entered the shuttle bay. Commander Tomarah scanned the assembled Federation officers and approached Jeter. “Commander,” Tomarah greeted in typical Romulan fashion. ”These two will be accompanying you. May I present Sub-Lieutenant Thalor and Major Tovarik of the Tal-Shiar.”

Jeter cast an eye over each of them, “Sub-Lieutenant Thalor and Major Tovarik, it is a pleasure to meet you both, though I must say I thought most of the Tal-Shiar were lost in the attack on the Founder’s homeworld.”

“Not all of us,” Tovarik replied without giving anything away.

“Were you planning on only having two officers infiltrate the yard, Commander? I had expected several more for your team?” Jeter asked as he glanced back at the other officers from the Denver.

“A smaller force is sometimes more effective,” Tomarah observed.

Jeter smirked, “Too true, Commander. I am sure that Sub-Lieutenant and Major will provide more than enough support. We best get everything in order.”

Cezear looked up at hearing Tal-Shiar, gave a raised eyebrow look toward Commander Jeter, and then went back to checking his gear.

Ming was the pilot for this mission; however, he wasn’t about to go into this unprepared. He was checking his own gear like his comrades. Type 1 phaser, type 2 phaser, spare power supplies for both, two wolfram brass-style knuckles, and a stylized combat blade. The garrote he kept hidden on his person. He liked to hedge his bets, so in this case, if a fight came about, he planned to fight dirty and with finality.

Collins felt that the team should have been dressed alike, in non-descript clothing, so as not to let the Romulans know who attacked them. His clothes were plain and didn’t have anything identifiable on them.

“I have other duties to attend to,” Tomarah said to Jeter. Turning her attention to the rest, “On behalf of the Empire, ‘Falor hael. May your path be cloaked in victory.’”

Ming waited for a few heartbeats before looking up toward the Romulan commander and saying, “Falor hael… May all of our paths be cloaked in victory.”

A wide grin spread over Jeter’s face as he looked at Tomarah, “I always like to think, ‘Who Dares, Wins.’ We will get what is needed.”

Tomarah gave Jeter a smirk, turned, and left the shuttle bay.

Marcus was used to the cockpit, but he knew enough about Romulan traditions to know it’d have been bad form not to return the sentiment. He was much more than a pilot, though, and realized he knew enough about this mission to realize he was going to have to draw from his off-the-norm experiences and training to date.

Stepping into the Romulan shuttle, Jeter stopped just behind Marcus, “You all set? I should be sealing up the doors any second.”

Marcus paused and nodded to Jeter, “I’m glad I have a working knowledge of basic Rihansu; otherwise, I might have issues with the controls. Since I can, I am about as ready as one can be.”

“I am impressed a human can read our language,” Thalor replied, sitting next to Ming in the co-pilot’s seat.

Marcus smiled slightly as he started work on the startup and pre-launch checklists. He replied coolly, slipping into a passable version of the Romulan language, “I had my choice of languages at Starfleet Academy. I started with Vulcan, but Rihansu seemed a bit more exotic, and, well, I presumed it might come in useful someday. This is not quite what I imagined, but here we are.”

Jeter nodded and turned back to others, “OK, everyone. Get on board. We have a bit of a ride ahead of us to the shipyard.”

Collins, carrying his phaser rifle, entered the Romulan shuttle and took a seat near the back. Viat, his phaser rifle reverse-slung for faster deployment, followed Collins. Load-bearing vest loaded with type 1 and 2 hand phasers, spare cells, and a replicated Khukri sword to replace the ritual blade he loaned on the last mission.

Tovarik was the last to enter the shuttle, his eyes scanning the assemblage with suspicious eyes. He took a seat next to Collins but didn’t speak.

Collins leaned over and whispered to Tovarik, “I guess you don’t trust them either.”

“What makes you believe that?” He asked without giving anything away.

Jeter stepped past them and hit the controls for the rear hatch. As it closed behind him, he cast his eyes on Collins and Tovarik, “Start thinking of ways we can use our varied skill sets together; we have a bit of a ride ahead of us.” With that, he made his way past them to the cockpit, “We are all buttoned up. Ready to go as soon as we get the go-ahead from Commander Tomorah.”

“Strike Team, we are in position, and you are cleared to launch,” Tomarah’s voice broke over the com.

“Alright. As we say on Earth, it’s time to put our game faces on. Commander, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate your assistance keeping an eye out for bogies and any freak navigation hazards. I’ll be watching as I go and attempt to telegraph and communicate as much as possible. All I am asking for is support and the same if you would,” Ming said.

The first two sentences were in Federation Basic, with the rest being in Rihansu for the Commander’s benefit. He had little doubt about the universal translator’s ability, but he was knowledgeable enough about the other’s language that he felt it better to translate directly.

“A sensible precaution,” Thalor replied in Federation basic.

Ming offered a bit of a grin as he started the launch sequence, which went smoothly, and set the prescribed vector toward the target of the mission. It was going to be an interesting ride for which Ming was quite comfortable with. He hoped his confidence was warranted, but he aimed to do his part so that it was.

Thelos – 12 Hours Later

“That is quite the sight,” Jeter said as he looked out the main viewport at the extensive bulk of the Thelos ship foundry. “Just look at all those construction bays. There easily are a hundred Jem’Hadar fighters there and several cruisers.”

“All the more reason for this mission to succeed,” Thalor replied.

Viat offered a Rihannsu phrase. First in English, then in the proper Rihannan dialect. “Let the Elements turn my Fire into the steel I need to defeat my enemies.”

“Okay, get us into position, Ming. We need to get on board, raid their systems, and get out without them suspecting there is a fleet planning an attack,” Jeter remarked as he looked back at the rest of the team. “We will be going in as quietly as possible.”

Cezear quickly checked to make sure that his gear was in its proper places. “Not exactly known for being quiet, careful yes, quiet not so much,” he said with a smile.

“Understood, Mr. Jeter,” Lt. Ming replied as he complied with the order. He smoothly and unobtrusively got the vessel where the game plan prescribed. He verbally confirmed with, “In position,” when the maneuver was complete.

Jeter looked up at the shipyard that was now less than five meters from their position, “Good work, Lieutenant.” With that, he patted Ming on the shoulder and turned to the two Romulans, “The boarding collar ready? We are in position by one of the emergency hatches.” He then looked at the others, “Gear up; one way or another, we are boarding this station.”

Thalor nodded, “It is.”

Cezear did one more check on the shuttle’s sensors. “Showing in the clear, nothing near us, nothing coming this way. Better make this quick.”

“Perfect. Hold us steady, Lieutenant,” Jeter said as he looked towards Thalor. “Over to you. Once the seal is formed, we move out. Fast and quiet.”

The Romulan shot Jeter a contemptuous look but didn’t say anything as he entered commands into the terminal. “The seal is complete.”

Ignoring the look, Jeter simply nodded, “Alright, let’s go.” After a quick check to confirm the presence of atmosphere, he opened the hatch, stepped out, and made his way through the boarding collar, stepping up to the airlock on the other end. Entering a quick set of commands on the control panel, he couldn’t help but smirk, “At least the Cardassians still work under the sense that an emergency airlock should be opened in an emergency.” Stepping back, he raised his rifle as the door swung open, revealing an empty room inside. “Everyone in.”

Viat took point, going a few meters to his left, then had other members leapfrog behind him as they all filed in. A simple non-descript corridor. Taking out his tricorder, he planted it on the wall console and brought up the screen. “A facility this large will usually have a simple map for the many not to get lost.”

Ming pointedly covered the rear. It was, in the past, the position where he often was the most good, plus it allowed him to double back to the ship in a hurry if needed. He’d put on one of his knuckles and had his type 2 Phaser drawn at the ready.

Marcus knew there were Jem’Hadar and, likely, some Vortas lurking around. A Changeling or two would be all sorts of luck… He couldn’t decide if that’d be good luck or bad. Either way, he had no intention of being snuck up on and kept actively looking for danger.

Cezear looked at his tricorder and then toward Jeter. “Looks like this corridor splits in about sixty meters; I’m showing several doors on either side and possibly a large room on the port side. Reading at least two, maybe more life signs in that same direction.“

“No prisoners,” Major Tovarik said softly, “And no stuns. Their internal sensors will likely detect directed energy fire and draw the whole base down on us.” To emphasize his point, the Tal-Shiar agent drew a long black dagger in a backwards grip.

Jeter sighed quietly and nodded, “I would say no energy weapons, a prisoner or two could be useful to take back.”

“While I am not opposed to a prisoner ‘interview’ Jem’Hadar are notoriously impossible to glean valuable information from, and dragging prisoners around is a massive liability,” Tovarik replied. “I don’t recommend it.”

“True,” Jeter remarked, “I had been thinking a Cardassian or a Vorta myself, but that is not a mission. Focus on clearing the room.”

He glanced back at the others and down at the map, “Based on our intel, that room is our first target. It is meant to be an auxiliary control room for this section. We should be able to access their systems from there. When we enter the room, move fast. Viat and Collins, you take point; we will be right behind you. Clear the doorway quickly.”

Collins moved off the others, scouting out the area, his rifle raised and ready.

Viat came behind him. He was slinging his rifle muzzle down and unsheathing the Khukri sword. Taking the opposite wall, then leap-frogged in front, allowing Collins to cover him, while Gus took point. The no-energy weapons added complexity to the mission. If they had to shoot their way out, phasers probably weren’t going to cut it. Still, it was a huge critical error in the intel of the mission as well as poor planning on both teams that it wasn’t considered.

Ming scowled at the discussion about no phasers. It made sense, but he didn’t like it all that much. He holstered his phaser but adorned his second set of Tungsten knuckles. If he had to go hand to hand, he wanted to have every edge he could muster. This was a war, not some friendly sparring. He had arranged his phasers and blade where he could easily grab any in a tight spot. He was quite glad that he planned ahead on that score.

Thalor glanced around, checked his Romulan tricorder at the entrance to the control room. “I have three life signs. Two Jem’Hadar, and one indeterminate. The two are standing across from the door while the third is two meters to our right.”

Taking out his own tricorder and multi-tool, Gus Viat scanned and then pulled the access panel from the door to the room. Setting up a feed, he carefully added a micro transmitter around the data conduit. The low power of the device should prevent the triggering of any alarms. Capturing a view of a similar door with two Jem’Hadar outside guarding the door, he set up a loop that would override the data from outside this control door. Gus explained what he had in mind, “Collins and I will take the Jem’Hadar. I hope to lure them close to the door by creating a malfunction. Certain actions in most races are semi-autonomous. Non-functioning equipment annoyance is most universal. Lieutenant Ming, the third occupant, is your target.”

Ming nodded as he drew his blade. He grabbed it so that the blade was downward facing and the sharper side of the blade out. The handle fit in his hand so that it would reinforce his Tungsten knuckles if he punched someone, assuming he opted for that as opposed to using the blade. He kept his eyes sharp as he got ready to move.

The data feed was in place, and Gus triggered the door chime. He heard a muffled voice respond to enter, but the team held their place. Waiting…he triggered the door chime again. The voice was a bit louder. Still, they held their place. Finally, Gus knocked on the actual door, sword in his open hand.

A tense moment passed before the door opened, and a Cardassian soldier stood there, “What do you want….” he began to say before trailing off, seeing not a Cardassian or Dominion soldier there but a Vulcan.

Acting on instinct, Gus one-armed the Cardassian officer, sending him toward Marcus. Disabling the first person would only do so much. Better to get him out of the way. The Jem’Hadar were already on the move towards them. Smartly they too, had polaron disruptors carried muzzle-low and ready as he would. Since he was in the room first, Gus took the farther of the two, thrusting his sword from right to left, diagonally up and into the center mass of the soldier.

Ming smoothly took the handoff from Gus. He reversed his blade and, as the Cardassian officer careened toward him, the Starfleet officer rammed his blade into the other sentient’s throat, cutting off his windpipe followed by the spinal column. The surprised look on the Cardassian’s face, Marcus thought, was comical in a very macabre way. The expression was momentary and became slack in death as the newly minted corpse dropped to the ground limply.

Collins already had his rifle raised, so as soon as he had a clear shot, he took it. Two Jem’Hadar took the blasts to their chests and fell to the floor.

Immediately alarms filled the base in response to the phaser fire.

Jeter stepped through the doorway a second after Collins and was about to shout a warning not to fire as a reddish-orange bolt of energy shot forth. He braced himself for the inevitable alarms to start sounding as he pushed further into the room and quickly realized it was empty. “All Clear.”

“Thalor, start the download. Collins and Gus, you watch the door. Beattie and Ming, check those bodies to see if they have anything useful. They may know we are here, so let’s be quick about this.”

Gus switched to his phaser rifle; he also took out a cricket phaser, setting the device up to do a rapid overload. Just in case they needed a large distraction.

Thalor nodded. After a quick examination of the consoles, the Romulan stepped up to one and started entering commands, “Download in progress. I am accessing internal sensors.” There was a pause. “I have sent the internal sensors into a diagnostic loop. I sent a message to the command center informing the Vorta on duty that the weapons discharge was a false alarm, and that we are diagnosing the problem.”

Gus replied to Thalor. “Inventive.” There was the slightest head tilt that he knew Thalor would pick up as a sign of respect.

Major Tovarik scowled at Collins but didn’t say anything. He would keep an eye on the man. Perhaps he was a Dominion spy. Using his phaser in this situation was idiotic at best. To the Tal Shiar agent, it looked like intentional sabotage.

Still keeping Collins in his field of view, he pulled off his backpack and opened it and removed a round device. It had a dark grey outer shell and when Tovarik pressed a series of buttons, a green ring of hash marks illuminated in the center. Affixing it to the underside of a console, he closed his backpack and slid it back on.

Ming was rifling through the uniform of the Cardassian he had killed. Disruptor, standard issue blade, knickknacks that appeared to be equivalent to a pocket chronometer and pendant, and three data rods. He confiscated all of it figuring it could be useful and it deprived the enemy of gear. Even if it were a minimal inconvenience, it was an inconvenience. He usually wasn’t a fan of taking war trophies but it’d do as a reason in a pinch. He said out loud, “Three data rods on mine. No outward indications of what they are that I can see. Could be anything from battle plans and passcodes to family photos.”

“If we have to fight our way out, is there anything in a map of this facility that might cause something of a more immediate larger threat than our team? Fusion reactor, warp core, something…expensive to replace.” Gus asked genuinely. Then added, “Maps of a facility this large are rarely kept secret long. People have to know how to get around.”

Ming nodded and said, “I’ll see what we have got,” before moving to one of the wall panels with a screen and port for the data rods. One was, as he’d expected, family pictures. The second seemed to be recipes, some of which at least, looked like they had potential at a glance. The third turned out to be technical readouts… Including that map that Gus had mentioned. He just hoped the luck would keep on going.

Marcus looked at Gus and said, “Ask and ye shall receive. This looks like the map you’d hoped for?”

Collins checked the area, making sure no Jem’Hadar or Cardassians were around. He wasn’t paying attention, and he scratched his arm on a console… he started bleeding… a lot.

Jeter looked around briefly before he stepped up to Thalor, “You get everything?” Before Thalor could respond, Jeter’s eyes fell on Collins. “Beattie, get a bandage on that cut now. We need to clean up that blood as well. As soon as we get the data we need to make our escape.”

He looked over at Gus and Ming, “I am not sure we can get access to one of those key systems without alerting them that we are here but if need be we will do what we must.”

“I have all the data we need,” Thalor replied to Jeter.

“Where is the station’s fuel tanks?” Tovarik asked his compatriot.

Thalor glanced at his PADD, “Two decks down and four sections over.”

Tovarik nodded solemnly. “Very well.” Tovarik steeled his expression and paused next to Jeter, looking straight ahead, not looking at the commander. “Do not wait for me. I have orders higher up than my captain or yours. Note that your Mr. Collins and his reckless use of a phaser has sealed my fate. If all goes well, neither the Empire nor Starfleet will have a need to send in ships.” With that, the Tal Shiar agent ran out of the room without looking back.

Jeter glanced at him, understanding exactly what he intended, and simply nodded.

Ming watched in disbelief at Tovarik’s final statement and departure. Ming glanced at the remaining Romulan and then turned his attention to Jeter and Collins. “Shall I go after him or help wrap things up here? Your call.”

“No,” Thalor announced. “Not enough time. The Major is buying us all time to get out of here. I suggest we don’t let his sacrifice be in vain.”

Ming looked toward Thalor as he spoke and scowled a bit when he finished but nodded. He knew enough about Rihannsu psychology that it clicked. He said, “Understood. Are we ready to move, folks? If so, I’d suggest collecting our gear plus any data rods within reach for later analysis.”

Marcus stowed the data rods he had in a cargo pocket in his slacks and looked at the Cardassian weapons. He said, “I’d suggest grabbing some of the Cardassian weapons. They won’t need ’em anymore; it’ll deprive them of weapons in the short term anyway. If we need to fire, which is still an absolutely do-or-die last resort, I’d venture to guess it might go over better than if they happen to check the signature of the weapons fire. That’s just a guess, of course, but hedging our bets wouldn’t hurt, I’d think.”

“Agreed,” Jeter remarked as he picked up one of the Cardassian phasers, a weapon he was all too familiar with from years before. “Let’s move; we need to get back to the shuttle yesterday!”

Ming grabbed a few errant data rods and stowed them in the leg pocket with the others. He’d already cleaned and re-sheathed his knife and was now wielding one of the two disruptor pistols he’d grabbed. The pilot moved toward the door and said, “Suggest Mr. Jeter takes point with me, followed by all of us getting the hell outta Dodge.”

Jeter stepped up to the door and glanced outside. “Hallway is clear; let’s go.” With that, he stepped into the hallway and began to retrace their path back to the shuttle and the breached airlock. The next couple of minutes passed in tense silence as they made their way through the maze of passageways before he called a halt just before they reached the final junction. Before them was a Vorta with two Jem’Hadar guards inspecting what appeared to be a Cardassian maintenance crew as they worked on a power coupling. Moving back so they were out of earshot, he pulled out a PADD with the map of the station. “I don’t think there is a way around. We may have to go through them.”

“May I suggest,” Collins leaned over and whispered. “Our rifles are equipped with a ‘silence’ option. We can kill or stun them all, use our knives to kill the Jem’Hadar, and take the Vorta and Cardassian prisoners for questioning once we get back to the ship.” In fact, he was trying to redeem himself from the earlier fiasco. Nodding at the suggestion, Gus offered, “They are unlikely to ignore a second weapons malfunction. However, a distraction may be available.” Pulling up the map on his tricorder, he pulled an access panel and checked the power coupling. Asking Ming to hand him a Cardassian phaser, he set the power cell to shunt its energy back through the coupling. A shower of sparks and a series of Cardassian expletives later greeted the team’s ear.

Ming gave a not-quite-suppressed grin at Collins and Gus. Not the worst ideas regardless of the potential to backfire. He adjusted the settings on the remaining Cardassian disruptor he still had, grateful he grabbed two. He slung it and adorned the Tungsten knuckles once again. He also pulled out his blades. The Cardi blade was in an upward position in his right hand, while the one he brought was downward in his left. Incapacitate vs. kill options were now both open. He also started to loosen his movements. Drunken Boxing was one of the martial arts he was trained in, and he felt it would be a good opening gambit here. He remained ready, despite his demeanor, for the inevitable pending encounter.

When a Cardassian rounded the corner right in front of the Starfleet officer, he smoothly rammed his arm upwards into a Tungsten-reinforced uppercut into the breadbasket. As the Legate doubled over, Ming slid his hands on either side of the other man’s head to draw it down to his rising knee, which connected in short order. As he crumpled, Marcus used the momentum to shove the unconscious form to the side. Things were getting more real than he liked as he heard others around the corner where his victim came from, and he used hand signals to indicate it.

Jeter stepped around the corner and looked down at the bodies and shook his head. “Had to be done. Let’s get to the shuttle.” With that, he waved the others forward and quickly made his way around the last couple of corners until he found himself in front of the airlock.

Turning to Ming, he spoke, “Get it powered up. Everyone strap in.”

“On it,” Ming said before sliding into the pilot’s seat, deftly strapped in, and started an expedited startup, keeping a wary eye on the readings as he did so. Now would be one of the worst times for a surprise.

Thalor slid into the co-pilot’s seat, his fingers moving over the console. “Inter-mix chambers are coming online. Cloak is on standby.”

“Confirmed. Fire up the weapons too. While the best bet is to launch, cloak, and get gone, we need to be ready for anything,” Marcus said in his best Rihansu to his Romulan copilot as he finished his end of the startup.

Thalor frowned. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. We’re no match for a single Jem’Hadar fighter, let alone a squadron.” He entered commands. “Disruptors are charging.”

“True perhaps, but I’ve found it wise to keep my options open. ‘It’s better to keep your options open than keeping your eyes closed’ is an old Terran saying that I am partial to,” Ming replied as he wrapped up the abbreviated checks.

Collins strapped into his seat and waited for the ship to leave the station.

“Buckle in, folks. It’s go time,” Marcus said as he initiated the launch. As the ship cleared, he activated the cloak, engaged full impulse to maximum safe distance, and went into warp to rendezvous with Xoval. He checked the sensors and said in Rihansu to Thalor, “I don’t see signs of pursuit. Do you concur?”

“I think they have bigger problems,” Thalor said. He brought up the video feed from the external sensors. The base had erupted in flame, and as a chain reaction, ships exploded one by one, intensifying the ball of fire and ripping apart the dry dock facilities. “We in the Empire have our issues with the Tal Shiar, but the Major just saved a lot of lives today.”

Ming glanced at the scanners covering the aft for a brief moment, and his jaw all but dropped. “Damn…score one for the Tal Shiar and the good guys, I should say.”

The pilot said to everyone in earshot, “We’re looking good for a clear shot home at the moment, everyone. The enemy base appears to be out of commission thanks to the Tal Shiar and the Romulan Star Empire. In the words of the 20th century, ‘smoke if ya got em.’ We will watch for surprises; however, if you’re hungry, we should be okay for food, and if anyone needs a cat nap, it‘s as good a time as any to do so.”