Prisoner 6655 stared stupefied at the Jem’Hadar pistol in his hand.  He woke up this morning a man without hope. A literal dead man walking.  He had been technically alive as 6655, but he wasn’t living. Now, he had a weapon. The body of a Jem’Hadar guard lying at his feet with an improvised knife made from a torpedo casing embedded in his neck. 

Greene was surprised at how peaceful and innocent the Jem’Hadar looked in death. Alive they were always full of malice. An unmitigated threat that at any time could make you beg for mercy or snuff your life out. Now, he could see the child that had become the man. An innocence ripped from his being too by the Founders just as his had been.  The Jem’Hadar wasn’t his enemy.

“I am Ensign Charles Greene,” he announced to the corpse. “And I forgive you Eight Zek’Xor.”

“Very big of you, Ensign Charles Greene.” The voice was sarcastic and laden with a little malice of its own. It belonged to prisoner 3436, a pale, slight woman with black and purple hair currently rather messed up from beatings and solitary. She was armed with a tool brandished like a shiv, having passed the Jem’Hadar rifles so-far liberated to security personnel. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

Xarin gestured with his pistol, his uniform torn and blackened in a few areas. “If I remember correctly, the way we came in was from over here.  Perhaps we could backtrack, attempt to steal a small craft of some sorts.”  Having said that, he fell into a coughing fit. “Sorry, dust everywhere, you know?”

“No, I don’t, ” Charles replied. “Are you okay sir?”

“I will be once we get out of here.” He coughed again, “As much as my people can operate on land, we much prefer an environment that is more… liquid.”

“Sir, let’s get out of here before you start worrying about baths…” There was a pause,  “The shooting has stopped.”

“Though the thief of a small vessel would be good, I would not feel right not taking this chance to help others escape,” came the voice from the crowd as a blonde woman, prisoner 8472, stepped forward with a cold and serious smile on her face. “This facility was clearly attacked, which means the Federation, Klingons or Romulans arrived and I cannot see any of them abandoning prisoners.”

“Romulans?” Greene asked in surprise. “I thought they had a non-aggression pact with the Dominion?”

She reached down and picked up a heavy crowbar-like tool used to attach the outer shell of the torpedos in place, “Not any longer, just after Betazed fell the Dominion killed one of their senators so the Romulans jumped in on our side. Their opening act gave the Dominion hell.” Prisoner 8472 looked around and then nodded towards Greene and 3436, “I made sure I got to see the base whenever they dragged me to solitary and such. The facility relies on keeping us separate more than anything to control us. There are not a large number of Jem’Hadar or Vorta here from what I have been able to determine.” 

“No I don’t think there are,” 3436 agreed. “If we’re going to surprise them and gain control of the facility now is the time while they’re distracted.  Then whatever this is we’re all free. So arm yourselves if you’re not already and let’s move! People with rifles in the front, unless that bothers you or give the rifle to someone who’s ok with it. I can be someone who’s ok with it. And for pity’s sake, people at the back watch our six. Let’s go!”

Greene nodded, “I’m not okay with it, but considering this is life or death… I’ll have to be.”

Almost immediately, a figure appeared in the doorway, firing on the group.  One of the prisoners was struck, dissolving into ash, but Xarin paid him no mind, returning fire with the pistol.  If they didn’t either get out of here or take control quickly, that’d be all of them.

Runabout Rappahannock…

Tavana got out of the runabout and looked around and nodded decisively. She grinned at Cheon and said “I’m going to look around for a good spot to set up triage.” Her grin broadened. “I might even get some samples of local flora to study!” she announced. She walked away without waiting for an answer.

When she found a big enough tree a little ways from the craft, Tavana took off her comm badge and threw it to the ground. Crushing it with her foot, she frowned. “I won’t need this anymore.” She tossed the tricorder into the trees and threw her med kit in another direction. Tavana walked away from the area, her heart in her throat. ‘Forgive me Malax. It’s necessary.’ she asked silently.

The Denobulan toed off her boot and pulled a strange instrument from it. After putting the boot back on, she tapped on the instrument.

==Gul Devek, I’m here at the Rendezvous Point.==

==Acknowledged. Be ready to receive.==

==As you ask, so shall I do Gul.==

As the connection was cut, she wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing up and down. Suddenly, there was a tell-tale shimmer and a Cardassian materialized before her.

“Report Denobulan.” he told her tersely.

“Yessir.” she replied and told him what was required.

Away Team…

Cheon watched intently as the doctor walked away, her resolute steps leaving tracks in the dusty, barren soil. Her determination was evident in every stride. He couldn’t help but shake his head in response to Tavana’s stated intentions.

The planet they found themselves on seemed desolate, a seemingly lifeless world of arid landscapes and desolation stretching as far as the eye could see. The barren terrain was punctuated only by jagged rock formations and the occasional gusts of wind that kicked up tiny clouds of reddish-brown dust. It was a far cry from the lush, vibrant worlds they had explored in the past.

But Cheon knew that appearances could be deceiving. He had learned over the years that even in the most desolate of places, there can be hidden treasures or valuable knowledge waiting to be uncovered. And so, he couldn’t help but entertain the idea that there might be more to discover here.

Despite his reservations, he respected Tavana’s determination and expertise. As the doctor ventured further into the unknown, Cheon allowed her the freedom to wander, knowing that her keen scientific eye might find something of importance amidst the apparent desolation. The crew’s safety and the potential rewards of their journey hung in the balance, and only time would reveal what secrets this enigmatic planet held.

Riandri watched the doctor wander off to collect samples before glancing at the XO and others, ‘Hmm, interesting…’ As she did she checked her rifle and pulled out her PADD to check the layout of the prison. She turned to look out at the surrounding area and set to work. She stopped as her PADD flickered, the link to the Denver vanished and a crackling filled the air as a localized planetary shield snapped into existence above them. She glanced up and then back to the rest of the away team, “That should have happened. The signal from the Denver has been cut off.”

Cheon’s focus was on the task at hand, reloading his rifle with a fresh power cell, when he heard Riandri’s voice. He looked up and moved over to where she stood, glancing down at the PADD she held. As he read the information on the screen, a sense of urgency washed over him.

His hand snapped up to his combadge, and he urgently stated, “Away Team to Denver.” But all that came back was an eerie silence mixed with static, a clear sign that something was amiss.

A determined and resolute look crossed his face as he turned to Riandri. “This just got interesting,” he remarked, his voice tinged with a mix of concern and readiness. Cheon knew that they were facing an unforeseen challenge, and he was prepared to face it head-on, with the safety of his team and the success of their mission in the balance.

The away team was led into the base without incident.  The corridors were empty and guards not present. The only sound was the eery Dominion klaxon. Cheon nodded to Riandri and they took a corridor down the left with their weapons at the ready.

Riandri was relaxed as she made her way through the corridor, the prison based on its size shouldn’t have too many guards and the lack of encounters only reinforced her knowledge. Looking at her tricorder she ran through several quick scans, as she pinged the local computers. “They know we are here so no point being shy. Let’s see if I can get anything.”

Further down the corridor…

The group of prisoners had grown considerably as veritable who’s who of Alpha and Beta Quadrant species.  There were even a handful of Cardassian political prisoners. Most of the prisoners were armed with improvised weapons being brandished as crude clubs.

Encounters with the Dominion forces were few and far between just as prisoner 8472 had predicted.  They pushed down a corridor.  Greene,  Xarin, and 8472 in the lead.  Hearing footsteps coming from an intersecting corridor Greene motioned for everyone to stop and raised his weapon. As they came into view Greene swore.

Standing before them was a small group of heavily armed Jem’Hadar soldiers and a Vorta. “Shoot them!” prisoner 8473 shouted as she raised her newly acquired rifle and fired just missing the Vorta and taking one of the soldiers square in the face. The shot caught them off guard but the soldiers quickly raised their rifles and took aim.

There’s no denying it, the Jem’Hadar are fast shooters.  Xarin was faster.  He got off a shot right as the Vorta finished saying them.  What the Jem’Hadar beat Xarin in was accuracy.  Right after his shot missed the Vorta, one of the Jem’Hadar’s shots nailed him in the shoulder.

Greene swore, and hit the Jem’Hadar. Grabbing Xarin by his uniform he drug him out of the direct line of fire and ripped open Xarin’s uniform to reveal the wound.  “Hold still!” He snapped as he unzipped his uniform jacket to reveal a marginally cleaner under dicky. Using a stolen Jem’Hadar knife he cut strips of cloth.  Shoving a wad of mustard cloth onto the wound he wrapped the strips around it holding it in place. “Their weapons have an anticoagulant agent in them. This won’t stop bleeding until we get you to a medical facility.”

Though the prisoners had some captured-range weapons they were still few and they started to fall back under the concentrated fire of the Jem’Hadar. 8472 took another shot as she ducked behind a support beam and just missed her target. She watched as several of the soldiers looked towards her, their rifles coming to bear. ‘Wasn’t how I thought I would go Ja….,’ she thought but was interrupted when phaser fire erupted from behind the Jem’Hadar cutting them down where they stood, exposed in the hallway. As they fell she could see a small group of familiar Federation officers move forward checking the side passages as they approached the fallen soldiers and prisoners.

She let out a laugh and stepped forward. “About bloody time,” but stopped as an all too familiar face looked back at her and phasers were trained onto her.

Xarin was in pain.  He’d been burned a number of times over his career, but this one felt different. Did I get hit by the faulty plasma conduit on the Benimaru again?  He opened his eyes, still somewhat blurry from pain and the flash.  He was not on the Benimaru, he was at that Jem’Hadar camp.  He looked up just in time to see the Starfleet reinforcements entering the room.  “Hey 8472, your twin made it.” He managed to wheeze out.

She looked over at Xarin and then back toward the officers from the Denver. “I don’t have a twin,” she growled and slowly raised her hands letting the captured rifle call to the floor. “Cheon, glad to see you though I am sorry to report that you seem to have an imposter in your midst.” 

Greene swore as he raised his captured weapon on Riandri, “A goddamned Changeling!”