— Cardassian Prison —- 

The shimmering lights indicative of a transporter left fifteen soldiers on the deck of the station’s command bridge. They wore no logos and no insignia and moved quickly. Lieutenant Sylvia Voosha had been training for this for months. The layout of the bridge, the number of surprised Cardassians, and even the position of the guards had all been worked out back in training sessions in the Federation. Phaser fire cut down the Cardassians, technicians or guards they were all stunned. Once the last Cardassian hit the floor Voosha slung her phaser rifle over her back and headed to the nearest console, shoving a Cardassian body to the ground.

She read Cardassian so did not need translation, she located their target and said, “Cell block D, level 3.”

Beneath his mask Lieutenant Commander Jake Dornall nodded, “Open ’em up, all levels. We’ll make our war down in the chaos, get our guy and get out.”

”Opening up all of cell block D,” Voosha confirmed. 

“Okay Lieutenant we’re going down, we have approximately an hour before the Cardassians send a ship, get the Seattle here and pick us up,” Dornall said leading the rest out the door. 

Left along Voosha disabled the external scanners, and hailed the darkness of space, “Captain Cruz please pick up the shuttle and prepare to beam back our team.”

The human face appeared on screen wearing a red command Starfleet uniform, “Understood. We have nothing on long range scans yet.”

”Good,” Voosha said, “I’ll contact you again for extraction.“

Voosha began to open the duffle bag that had been transported onboard along with the extraction team, and began to set explosives about the area. Not enough to kill everyone but enough to permanently disable the station, and the prison, causing the Cardassians more of a headache than they could handle and allowing the USS Seattle to make her escape. 

—- Ready Room —- 

”I’m still mad they didn’t take me,” Commander Th’risris said. The Andorian was one of the most capable fighters that Captain Cruz knew, and aside from the fact that pulling off a mission without leaving evidence of Starfleet involvement got a lot harder because Andorians did not just fit in masks with their antenna, there was no reason the Captain would not have sent her.

If it was her mission. 

”Not my mission,” Cruz said not wanting to argue about it, “Maybe next time we break into a Cardassian prison you can go.”

Shraa snorted but didn’t argue. She knew that Cruz was just as hand tied as anyone else on this mission, she had been directed where to go and how to get there by Starfleet Intelligence. Its officers and some of the crew of the USS Seattle were right not retrieving a Cardassian big wig of some kind. They were deep into Cardassian territory, a fact that was clearly making the Captain nervous.

”I’d better get out there,” Cruz said with a sigh as she stood.

—- Cardassian Prison —-

Lieutenant Junior Grade Hume was enjoying this. The security officer had not seen a great deal of action lately, and so to be included on his and to be taking out Cardassian guards was fun. It made him feel closer to his departed father who had been killed during the war with the Dominion. Sure they were not actively at war with any part of the confusing array of Cardassian entities, but this was simple and straight forward. Get their guy, and get out. 

Lieutenant Commander Dornall lead the group, he was the one who knew the layout of the prision, and his way deep into cell block D. He was the one who spoke with an elderly Cardassian and then gave the signal to withdraw back to the station’s bridge. The station’s security was divided between the intruders who were still masked and the sudden prison breakout that they found going on around them. The prisoners, for their part, were more focused on the guards. Some had been dissidents of the government, others had been criminals and petty warlords. None seemed to pay much attention to the unknown soldiers who moved through the hallways heading towards the bridge.

On the bridge they hailed the Seattle and beamed aboard, setting off the explosives that Lieutenant Voosha had laid out.

—- Bridge, USS Seattle —-

“We have four warships appearing on long range sensors now,” Lieutenant Claudia Jara said as the ship’s shields rose, and it pivoted away from the station. 

Captain Cruz nodded, “We’re about five minutes away from them identifying us as Starfleet, so let’s book it. Looks like out only route is deeper into Cardassian territory, at least until we can get around them. Pr’Nor plot a course and keep us as far away from those ships as possible.”

She did not like running but this was not a fight they could win, and even being seen here was an act of war. So they would run, far and fast. 

—- Chief Intelligence Officer’s Quarters —-

Jake Dornall was laying in bed, wishing he were drinking. He had managed not to lose anyone, but that was not always the case and in the moments after something like this the ghosts always visited. But they did not usually ring the door chime. He sat up, “Come.”

”Ah Counselor, what do I owe this visit to,” he asked as Yuhiro Kolem stepped in and the door whooshed close behind her. 

“I wanted to check on you. For the first time ever I feel something from you,” Kolem said, sitting on the bed next to Dornall.

”Oh what is that?” Dornall asked.

”Pain, loss,” Kolem said, “Normally you’re so controlled.”

”Normally I am, but after a fight, I get the adrenaline going,” Dornall said, “The Cardassian’s and old intelligence office. He worked for my father as a double agent, my dad died protecting him. So getting him out was a bit more personal than usual.”

Kolem nodded, “I’m sorry. It’s hard losing people important to you.”

Dornall nodded, “No attempt to relate your pain to mine? Your dad’s dead too.”

”True my father died but not doing anything like that. Nothing I can avenge of make right. We all suffer loss, it’s what you do with the pain that matters,” Kolem said, “So I feel your pain, but I can’t tell you what to do with it.”

Dornall nodded, and took Kolem’s hand, “I can think of one way of numbing it. The pain that is.”

”More base emotions,” Kolem smiled, “I’m not used to feeling that from you.”

Jake Dornall leaned over and kissed her on the half-Betazoid lips, then along her jawline to her neck. Then down her neck and he heard a soft feminine sigh. He reached for the Counselor and felt her melt into his arms.

”You didn’t even show me your idol,” Kolem gasped as he pulled away, working to catch her breath. Jake smiled and reached under his bed pulling out an organize engraved idol.

”Here it is,” he said setting it on the shelf looking at the bed.

Kolem looked at it, she was not an expect in the gods of Risa. 

“Which one is that,” she asked.

”Your soon to be favorite god,” Dornall said, “Let me show you.”

He pushed her back onto the bed and then setting his hands on her hips began to show her.