Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 28

[Founder]

-DSG, OPS-

Jones cast a dissapointed look in T'Sa's direction. Mainly over the wormhole. He had hoped it would be stable. The station could not feed power forever. It would die out. He cursed at himself for not noticing the weak matrix of the wormhole.

"Good catch captain." He told her.

She seemed disturbed by what Blake had done, but this was war. Jones didn't mind at all.

"Those systems are inhabited by the enemy captain," He explained, "The amount of radiation they will dump? That'll affect a lot of systems. May not kill them, but would force them to leave..."

[Valathous]

~ Ops, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake remained calm, though he wanted to yell in victory at how fortunate an event occured while he was in charge. Having Lieutenant Jones agree with him was always an added bonus, which he picked up from the tone of the Cyborg's voice. Captain T'Sa seemed less than impressed, though.

Blake turned and face the Vulcan woman with a solumn look on his face. "I'm afraid it's not, Captain," Blake started, "Inhabitants have hearts. Those coordinates are nothing but cold desolation."

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Ops-

T'Sa rose an eyebrow. "I would not be one to disagree, how ever lowering our selves to their level and commiting Genoside is not the answer." T'Sa showed no emotion in her voice. What Blake was planning was unethical. End the war surly was a good course of action...but mass murder? Isnt that something Fito would do?

[Valathous]

~ Ops, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake scowled at being compared to Fito. Blake did in fact have a conscience. It was shrouded in deeds that needed to be done for the greater good, but he never rejoiced the killing, only the victories.

"I believe your people said it best, Captain, what they said 'The needs of the many far outweigh the needs of the few'," Blake started, "The sooner Fito's empire is stopped, the less people that will inevitably die. The Federation will live on and the innocent colonies incapable of protecting themselves from Fito's raids will be safe once more."

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Ops

T'Sa didnt move, she didnt react, she only spoke. "Indeed, however, this is not a situation were the 'many' have needs outweighed by the 'few', you are speaking of genoside of an entire race. I was not aware that the Federation partook in biological warfare."

[Valathous]

~ Ops, Deep Space Guardian ~

"Oh, but it is such a situation. It is a battle for survival, Captain. They wish to annihalate us, should we sit back and let any oppertunities for survival pass us by because it is deemed unethical? The victors are always the ethical ones in every war throughout history, Captain. The victors write the history," Blake said quite firmly, "And no, the Federation does not partake in biological wars, nor will it have after this for theta radiation is radioactive not biohazardous. And in all honesty, I highly doubt this will be the end of the entire species, but if it is, at least we can be happy it wasn't us who sat back and became those on the receiving end."

[Republican_Man]

--Vega System, Nautolian Listening Post, Cell Block--
A few hours later�
Special Forces Major Kyle Katran awoke to a bright, blue light that, as he opened his eyes and began to glance around, appeared to be a force field of some sort.
He glanced around the small room he was in and saw only one other person, Brenn Tantor, in the area with him. He then realized, after a moment to allow his pain to subside and thought to take hold, his location. He was within the confines of a Nautolian prison cell within the confines of a Nautolian brig on the Nautolian listening outpost station on the fringes of the Vega System.
First Lieutenant Brenn Tantor awoke on a metal bed nearby, much to the unfortunate disappointment of seeing himself and his commander within the confines of a prison cell.
Katran stood slowly, shaking his head as he did so and stretching out his arms slightly. �Lieutenant,� he said, looking at the man.
�Oooh, my head,� Tantor said, rising up his torso and head. �What happened?� he questioned the major. His memory was foggy. He remembered arriving on the station and being apprehended by the Nautolians, but he could recall little else.
�I�I don�t quite know,� Kyle replied. �We arrived on the station, near a storage chamber and their version of Ops. The next thing we knew, a Cardassian entered the small corridor and announced our presence. We were brought out into Ops. We were questioned, I didn�t give solid answers, and then it gets fuzzy. I believe we were forced to remove our helmets prior to the questioning. My file was pulled up.�
Tantor nodded slowly as Katran reported his recollections. �I think we were taken to another part of the ship, forced to remove our armor, and ended up in the clothes we�re in now,� the major continued, observing the clothing they currently sported. �I remember everybody else being separated, and you and me, revealing ourselves as being the team leaders, being segregated from the group and tortured into answering questions.� He then thought hard to remember more, but couldn�t. �And that�s where my memory blanks out. I don�t remember anything beyond that--how we ended up here, where everyone else is, etc.�
By now Kyle had gained full baring, as had Brenn. Tantor moved towards the force field and glanced outside. He could see three other cells on the opposite side of the cell block, each housing a different individual. One of them, on the far end, looked to be an Andorian. Could that be Shorn?
The First Lieutenant then noticed a single Cardassian security guard posted to guard the brig. He was pacing across the area, and neared the third of the area at which their brig cell was. There was no doubt in his mind that the console had controls for the prison cell. The only problem was, how could they get to the console to disable the force field preventing them from escaping the cell block?

Katran noticed the guard pacing in their direction. Quietly he signaled for his second to take his place back on the bed so that the guard wouldn�t notice that they were awake.
The Cardassian crept over to the force field management console, glanced at each of the cells on either side of the console, turned, and headed down to the to the other end, where there was a container of food and other supplies. His goal this time was to actually eat some of the food, assuming that none of the prisoners were currently awake.

Judging that the guard was once again far enough away, Katran stood from his bed on the left side of the cell, were a person to look at it from the outside perspective, to the other on the right side of the cell.
There he quietly said to Tantor, �We need a plan to deactivate the force field, eliminate the guard, gather up the troops, and get outta here.�
�I noticed,� Brenn began to speak, �that the other cells contained everyone else too. Basically, if we can all get out of here, we can assault the guard, storm a storage closet, grab some weapons, and go from there.�
Kyle, who had not yet seen the others, moved silently over towards the force field, both to look for the others and check on the current position of the guard.
He saw the Cardassian on the far end of the cell block, perhaps even outside the cell block.
There were the six cells and then a hallway curving in either direction. Then there was another area which contained several storage containers, including, apparently, food. The Cardassian was sitting on top of one of the containers, nourishing himself with food, a half-smile on his face, despite his apparent boredom.
Katran now felt a sense of security, taking comfort in the fact that, at least for now, the guard would not see them conferring with one another.
He glanced at the three other cells in view of him and recognized some familiar faces.
In the far cell he saw an Andorian, no doubt Thy�ror Shorn, the team�s explosives expert. The cell across from his cell lay within it a sleeping Bajoran, definitely, without a doubt, Kevel Naron, the team medic.
He guessed that the two cells to the left of his cell contained Miguel Hernandez, the weapons officer, and Brian Johnson, the tech officer. He was sure that no member of Shadow Team was in the center cell on the opposite side, as there were two aliens he did not recognize, both Romulans, asleep there. No doubt they were sent here to investigate reports of the listening post as well, and just got a little to close to the site.
What ran through Katran�s mind now, however, as he rejoined Tantor at the subordinate�s bed, was the question, and thoughts towards compiling an answer to that question, �How can we get out of this brig cell?�

After he reported his sites to Tantor he asked the man that very question, to which he replied, �I don�t know, sir, but there�s one thing I do know: that we need to get out of here, and fast. Who knows how long we�ve been here? The fleet could be long gone by now.�
The two Federation Special Operations officers glanced about their cell, from left to right and right to left and front to back and back to front, for any hint of a potential method of escape from the cell, and then, thereafter, the brig. But for now the concern was on the force field, and how to deactivate it.
�This is gonna be one hell of a tough thing,� Katran remarked.
�It sure is,� Tantor replied, glancing around in thought. �It sure is��

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Ops-

T'Sa sighed in the vulcan way. This person, this man this...human was presistant. He was interesting though. The way he handeled the Malon. "Perhaps..." she went silent. She ran scans of the wormhole. She hesitated then spoke. "Commander..." she looked over to blake."I am aware of what..he did when he attacked, I was present...."

[Founder]

-DSG, OPS-

Jones had listened to his superior officers debating what Blake had done. The cyborg had seen nothing wrong with it, but T'Sa's vocal oppositions did make him wonder for a moment.

"Captain T'Sa," He said, "I was the first to be attacked by Fito when he declared he was...Obsidian. I didn't see what he did while on the station, but when I awoke....so much death. The Nautolians and the Cardassians are a brutal and oppressive people. What commander Robitaille did may have bought the Federation, which is in shambles, some time..."

[La Forge]

Deep Space Guardian, OPS

Melina, who had arrived in OPS via the Turbolift about ten minutes ago, now stood in a dark corner, with her arms folded across her chest, listening, intently, to the conversation currently going on between Commander Robitaille, Captain T'Sa, and Lieutenant Jones.

Ethical decisions? What do they know about 'ethical decisions'? During her time in the Bajoran Underground during the First Occupation of Bajor, Melina was forced to make ethical decisions all of the time. Some of them good...Some of them bad...In fact...Many of them were bad. The Occupation was...a tough time...for everyone.

At last, after Jones had spoken about Sit Fito's attack on the station, the attack that started the war, Melina finally spoke, to announce her presence.

"What Commander Robitaille did was perfectly ethical, Captain T'Sa. It is exactly what I would have done. This is war, Captain. Do you understand war? You have to make these 'ethical' decisions, day in and day out. Some of them may turn out well...Some of them may not. But, what's done is done. It cannot be changed. But, what Commander Robitalle did was necessary. Would you rather have those filthy Malons dump their theta radiaton on the planet or perhaps even the station? No...I don't think so. But, sending the radiation into enemy territory...It's like killing two birds with one stone. We get rid of the radiation, the enemy has to deal with some unwanted radiation. So...why don't you just drop the 'Vulcan' *beep*, Captain. I've never liked Vulcans all that much. Especially the ones like you. And...comparing someone...comparing anyone...to that bastard, Sit Fito...That is...That is bad...No one is like that man. No one is as sick as that man. And, that is coming from a person who wasn't here for his attack on this station...Although...I was there for his assault on Deep Space Nine. I was there...I have the scars to prove it."

At that, Melina pulled up her right sleeve of her Bajoran jacket, revealing a long, dark scar, that went all the way up her arm. She quickly showed it to the Vulcan Captain, before covering up her arm, again.

"And, I have more than that. Some worse. Now...Captain...Please...stop talking."

Melina let a heavy sigh escape from her lips, before she turned to face Commander Robitaille and Lieutenant Jones.

"Oh. Commander Robitaille. I'm sorry if I have suprised you. I know, I am not on duty at the moment, but, I heard that something big was going on up here, so, I just had to come up here and check it out. I'm sorry if I had disturbed you." Melina explained her sudden appearance to Commander Robitaille.

[Founder]

-DSG, OPS-

Jones was taken aback by Melina's forward comments. He had never seen someone speak so disrespectfully towards a Starfleet captain. His hand idly went over the console, with little to do. He wondered what T'Sa's reponse would be towards Melina. Jones walked towards another console and suddenly he remembered the governor and his convoy...

[Republican_Man]

--Vega System, Nautolian Listening Post, Cell Block--
Katran and Tantor had spent the past five minutes in silent thought, contemplating their situation and how to make due with it. For two minutes they tossed around a few ideas, but nothing good came up. That is, until Brenn developed the best idea yet.
�What if,� he began, �we act like we just woke up, or that one of us just woke up. What we�d do is pretend to fight with one another. We can toss a few punches, exchange a few words, and what have you. The guard will be forced to open the force field and stop us, and then we�ll be posed to take him out, grab his weapon, and get the team together.�
Kyle considered this suggestion for a moment, and then came to a decision. �Let�s do it,� he said. �You can be the first to �wake up.� Act as though you think it�s my fault that we�re in our current situation, and we�ll go from there.�
�Aye, aye, sir,� Tantor replied. The first lieutenant laid down on his bed as the major walked to the force field to check on the guard. The Cardassian was still at the other end, enjoying the food provided to him by the containers.
With that check Katran returned to his bed, laid down, and closed his eyes.

Action began a moment later when Brenn �woke up.� He made a loud waking sound as he stretched his arms so that the guard would be alerted to his current state. The Cardassian heard the sound and began to finish eating.
As the alien snacked, Tantor stood, stretching once more and glared at his commanding officer. He walked to the man�s bed and, upon arriving, rubbed his right hand against Kyle�s shoulder.
�Major,� he said, trying to whisper, but purposely making that nothing more than an attempt. �Wake up.�
Katran acted as though he was just awakening. He stretched out his arms, let out a big yawn, and sat up, scratching his back slightly. �What happened?� he inquired. �Where are we?�
�We�re in a Nautolian brig cell, I think,� Brenn reported.
�I told you to act!� Kyle whispered forcefully. �If you had pulled the trigger when I told you to we would have been in a much better position--�
�But sir!� Brenn replied, this time quite loudly. He toned down his voice, yet not quickly enough to quell suspicions from the Cardassian. �You know full well that you didn�t give us the order! It was all your fault!� The whisper was gone. �Now our mission is going to fail, and it�s because you gave Jacobs the wrong coordinates to beam us onto the station! Who knows what information we gave them, because I sure as hell can�t remember!�
Kyle stood tall, staunchly, and forced his hand against the other man�s mouth. �Would you shut up!?� Kyle said in a loud whisper. �There�s bound to be a guard out there, and do you want that guard to have to come over here?�

The Cardassian set down his food and grabbed his disruptor, slowly starting to rise and tread in the direction of the two bickering officers.

Tantor tore the hand off his mouth with brute force and pushed his superior officer down, gently, but believably gently.
Katran fell back, exaggerating quite a bit, and rose to his feet. �Why you son of a bitch!� the major proclaimed. �We may be in the brig, but I�m still your commanding officer!�
�God damn Starfleet!� Brenn replied, readying for a fight. �We�re in this goddamn prison cell all because of it, and you!� He then threw a punch at Kyle, who responded with a low round kick which caused Tantor to fall to the ground.
�Stop it, damn it!� Katran shouted. The Cardassian neared their cell. �We�ve got to get out of here, not fight!�
But Tantor �didn�t listen.� Though he was literally hurting, the man, actually somewhat angry at the man, despite their agreement on carrying out the fight, rose slightly, let out a deep breath, withdrew another one, and charged after Katran, grabbing hold of his thighs with his arms and taking him down hard.
The first lieutenant quickly moved into a mount and grabbed the major�s collar, tugging on it hard.
The Cardassian arrived at the cell and, fearing that one of the prisoners might kill the other, which would hurt him considerably, shouted, �Stop!�
The two immediately halted their movements and slowly looked up at the guard. Yet while Brenn was still looking at the alien, holding Kyle more loosely, the Betazoid pushed the human up, pushed him over, and got him into the weaker position.
�You�re going to pay for your insubordination!� Katran proclaimed, ignoring the Cardassian�s order. He then began to grab hold of Brenn�s collar area with great strength, tugging on it in a manner that appeared to be hard and removing him of breath, but was really not so much.
The Cardassian, unsure of what to do, charged over to the security console and deactivated the force field.
With swift action he returned to the cell, pointing his disruptor at Katran, and ordered him, �Let him go.�
The half-Betazoid gulped, nodded at the human, though trying to make it seem as though he was nodding at the Cardassian�s order, which was successful, and released his grip.
�Stand up,� the guard ordered. Katran slowly did so, and was then ordered, �Hands up.�
With that command he slowly rose his hands, but in doing so turned back swiftly and knocked the disruptor right out of the Cardassian�s grip.
Kyle slid to his left side so that Brenn could get a charge at the Cardassian, and Tantor followed in doing so. He kicked his legs up quickly enough to stand on his two feet. Following this swift move the lieutenant round-kicked the Cardassian in the shin with his right foot and then back up slightly and pounded him in the chest with his left foot, causing the alien to fly back and fall to the ground.
Kyle dived to his side, rolled, and when he came up had the disruptor in his hands. He immediately positioned the disruptor in the direction of the fallen alien and prepared to fire.
And yet Brenn realized something. What if they had an alarm that, like on any Starfleet vessel or station, would go off whenever phaser or disruptor fire was detected?
He whispered that question to Kyle who replied, �Good point.� After thinking for a second he quietly replied to the other officer, �Take a look at the console and see if you can figure out how to activate the force field. I�ll move him there when you�re ready.�
Tantor nodded in response and made his way for the console, which he observed and whatnot. As he was observing he heard Katran state, �You fool. You really thought that we were fighting, didn�t you?� He smirked. �Now you�re going to get your turn. If we don�t figure out how to use the force fields, we�ll kill you.�
The Cardassian was frightened, yet realized that if they did so it would be suicide. However, they had other plans in mind.

Once he figured it out Tantor gave a nod towards Katran which the Cardassian could not see. The major motioned for the guard to stand up and slid the weapon behind him, pressing it up against his back. �Move,� he ordered, directing the Cardassian towards their cell.
The two entered the cell and Katran pushed the Cardassian�s back hard with the weapon, forcing him forward. He stepped back quickly, still pointing the weapon at the Cardassian, and exited the chamber.
Upon doing so the prison cell�s force field was once again activated, holding the Cardassian there.
�Hey!� the guard shouted. �What do you think you�re doing!?�
�You think we�re stupid?� Kyle said, smirking. �Did you actually think I would kill you, with all those alarms around? We�re smarter than that. Now enjoy your prison cell, Jack.�
He nodded towards Tantor who pushed another button which caused a gas to be released within that cell. The Cardassian collapsed, unconscious, and Brenn returned a nod in Kyle�s direction.
�Good work,� the major said after the nod.
�You too,� Tantor replied.
�Now let�s get the team up and out of those cells so that we can get off this rock,� Kyle remarked.
�Gladly, sir,� Brenn replied, smiling slightly. He then proceeded to deactivate the force fields of the cells of the other Shadow Team members, preparing to awaken and retrieve them once the devices were deactivated.

[Valathous]

~ Ops, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake, who had been caught up in the entire situation, followed by the civil argument with Captain T'Sa, had been oblivious to the entry of Melina. While he was not really all that surprise, her sudden outburst was not expected in the slightest. He watched the Bajoran woman as she went on her rant to Captain T'Sa. He was glad to hear that she was, in fact, on his side in the matter. That made it three officers to one, thus far. What the Captain would think would be a different story, though. That was no matter right now, though. Blake needed to quell the situation on the bridge now.

"Thank you, Colonol, for your support of my decision in that matter. I appreciate it greatly," Blake said to the Bajoran woman, "However, while I am in charge of the station I would ensure that you regard Captain T'Sa with the respect she deserves, given her rank. After all, a Captain does slightly outrank a Colonol, especially on a Starfleet station."

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Ops-

T'Sa rose an eyebrow and nodded slightly at Blake. Melina was irrational. Many Bajorans felt no one else had suffered horrors like they had. Indeed the occupation was a horrendus experience, she read many, many reports from those that escaped and, read reports on the situation after Starfleet went into assist. Melina erred in judgement, but that was something an emotional being would do. T'Sa saw more then her share of war, more then anyone should ever see. Whether your Bajoran, Cardassian, Human, or Vulcan. "I was simply pointing out the moral implications of Commander Robitaille's decision. While I understand his implications, and reasoning, I still fail to see where the death of those that have no choice but to follow the courrpt governments are justifiyible." T'Sa looked down at the scanner, the alien ships were ready to leave for the cordnates. Then there was the matter of the 'governer's' ships in the stations docking bay. She looked up and back to Blake. She rose her eyebrow again. For the time being, there was no logic to justify Melinas outbrust and arrogance with a responce. It was clear, the racial prejudice that was within Colonel Melina. There was no logic and hating one for their genetic make up....Then: "I...apologize for....the comparism Commander...."

[Founder]

-DSG, OPS-

Jones felt a pang of guilt for a moment. Perhaps T'Sa was right, he thought. Many of the officers are simply obeying Fito because they would be killed if they didn't. Was it right to kill them too? The lines between good and evil are always blurred in war....

"Commander Robitaille," Jones said, "The governor is hailing us once more, demanding an explanation."

He moved over to another console and awaited Blake's response.

[Valathous]

~ Ops, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake turned away from the bold Bajoran woman, of whose personality he actually found similar to his, in a more lashing out kind of manner. Blake did share the same views as her, only was more capable of remaining calm. Blake turned to the Vulcan captain, T'Sa, who was apologizing.

"Apology accepted, Captain," Blake started, "I understand your concern and critisism for my actions as I expect many others to do. I simply could not turn down a chance to tilt the war in our favour."

Blake's attention was once again brought to someone else, Jones, who declared that the civilian governor was demanding an explination. Blake wasn't very fond of demands but felt it necessary given the circumstances to answer the man.

"On screen," Blake ordered.

[Founder]

-DSG, OPS-

Jones gave a quick nod and opened a channel, routing it to the viewscreen.

"Aye sir." He said.

The viewscreen changed to reveal the face of a very annoyed looking man. Governor Ahmad Fadi Al-Firdos was not one for being put on hold.

"Mr. Robitaille," He said, "I don't know what occured and quite frankly, I don't care. I want to go to the planet. Some of these cargo vessels are carrying volatile equipment. Some are carrying animals. Some are carrying special plants that must immediatly be planted into the ground. We are on tight schedule sir, I formally request that we be allowed to land."

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Ops-

T'Sa stood, wondering what she should do. It was clear that her opinion was voiced, but was not going to matter. The Governer was making a plead, or a request rather to land. He seemed rather insistant....

[Valathous]

~ Ops, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake was rather annoyed at this man. He seemed insistant and annoying. He would settle for no less than his own way. Blake would have gladly allowed them to land on the planet to have landed on the planet to have one less issue to deal with, but that was not currently an option.

"Governor, as much as I would like to issue you the clearance to land on the planet, it is not an option at the moment, nor is it within my authority to do so," Blake began to explain in a sympathic tone for diplomatic purposes, of course, "For you see, Captain Xavier made a deal with one of the inhabitants of the planet not to allow colonization. In fact, I believe one of the terms was even to move the station in due time. As I do not know the current status of this arrangement and whether or not it is still in effect, and that the inhabitants are fairly hostile and incredibly powerful I must request that you and your convoy remain docked with the station until the Captain returns from his vacation."

[La Forge]

DSG, OPS

Melina stroked her chin for a moment, in thought, before speaking, again. This time, she addressed Captain T'Sa.

"Well..." Melina began, with a concealed smirk. "I'm sorry...Captain T'Sa. I'll try and stay in line like a good little girl from now on...if that will make you happy." Melina said, obviously sarcastically.

With that, Melina nodded to both Lieutenant Commander Robitaille and Lieutenant Jones, before she spun on her heel and began to walk towards the exit; the Turbolift, still wearing that smug smirk from before.

Just as she was about to enter the Turbolift, Melina cast a glance over her shoulder at the Vulcan Captain.

"Ugh...Vulcans..." Melina muttered to herself, before she turned around and entered the Turbolift.

DSG, Turbolift

Inside of the Turbolift, Melina ordered the Turbolift to take her back down to her quarters, seeing as she wasn't welcome in OPS. Who would expect her to be, though? Not after what she had done the last and probably only time that she was in charge of the station...

Melina simply scoffed, before she leaned back against the wall of the Turbolift, as it made its way towards the proper deck, folding her arms across her slowly heaving chest.

Seconds later, the Turbolift doors opened, revealing a long, narrow, empty corridor, lined with doors...one of which was Melina's.

Melina sighed, before exiting the Turbolift and began to make her way down the hallway, towards her quarters, whistling an old Bajoran tune, all the while.

[Talking Rain]

DSG, Ops

Shanna had entered Ops to look for Commander Blake. Apparently he felt like quoting Starfleet protocols to her, when she knew them frontwards and backwards. He told her to use his rank and surname and that was exactly what she had done.

She saw him standing by himself looking at the relay system. "Commander Blake, I believe when you talked to me last, you were out of line. I did in fact use standard Starfleet protocols when I addressed you. I feel that quoting starfleet protocols to me is highly illregular because I follow them every single day." Shanna said as she stopped for breath. "ANd I apogoloise for being out of line." Shanna said as she straightened her shoulders.

[La Forge]

Deep Space Guardian, Sickbay

Juliana sat behind her desk in her dark office, holding a PADD containing worthless information about theta radiation in her hand. The radiation crisis was over. The Malon ships were heading back into the wormhole to the Delta Quadrant.

"Good riddance, I say..." Juliana thought to herself, as she tossed the PADD back onto her desk. With that, Juliana kicked off her boots and put her feet up on her desk, after letting out a heavy sigh of relief. She didn't have to worry about the radiation, anymore. Juliana placed her hands behind her head, to calm herself. Now, relaxed, Juliana closed her eyes, about to sleep after a tough day.

Suddenly, Juliana's combadge rang out. It was Nurse Hajiro.

"Doctor? I'm sorry to disturb you, but, you have a baby to deliver."

Juliana immediately awoke and instinctively tapped her combadge, to reply to the nurse's statement.

"A baby!?! Would you mind telling me whose baby I am to deliver, Nurse?" Juliana replied, obviously suprised and slightly annoyed. She was just about to relax.

Nurse Hajiro's response came a moment later.

"That would be Missus Anton Valeria of Bajor." came Nurse Hajiro's voice.

Juliana sighed, heavily, obviously annoyed.

"A Bajoran? Bajoran births are tricky..." Juliana thought to herself, before tapping her combadge, to reply to Nurse Hajiro.

"I'll be right there, Nurse. Roberts out." Juliana concluded, tapping her combadge, at last, to end the conversation.

With that, Juliana stood up out of her chair, pulled her boots on, and pulled her teal overcoat over her uniform, before she left her office, off to deliver a baby.

Deep Space Guardian, Promenade

Caroline Marzuk, along with her Ferengi servant, Quack, as she so affectionately referred to him as, stood in front of a rather large building on the Promenade, smiling, proudly.

Above the building, was placed a sign, which read:

"Marzuk Trading Emporium"

The building belonged to Caroline. She had transformed the once vacant piece of trash into a lovely little shop, selling oddities and rarities from all across the galaxies, trinkets that Caroline had found in her travels. Caroline believed that her prices were quite reasonable, for such rare objects.

The El-Aurian woman, who was now wearing an elaborate dress, made up of exotic alien furs from across the galaxy, clapped her hands together, in excitement, before making a step forward, towards her shop. She spun on a heel, a very expensive heel, to face Quack, her beloved Ferengi servant.

"Isn't it magnificent, Quack? My own shop!" Caroline burst out, excitedly. She turned back to face her shop. "Ha!" Caroline laughed, happily.

The little Ferengi, who was wearing an extravagent Ferengi suit, cracked a false grin, which revealed his ugly little yellow Ferengi fangs.

"Yes, Mistress! Your shop is wonderful! The latinum is going to be rolling in anytime, now!" Quack lied, in an effort to make his master happy. "Which brings me to my next point...About my wages..."

Caroline, who was happy seconds before, spun about to look at Quack, with a fire raging in her eyes.

"What did you say, Quack? Wages?" Caroline spat, angry at the Ferengi's words. Quack cowered in fear, at his angry master.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Mistress! Forget I even brought the matter up!" Quack muttered, trying to cover up for his incompetence.

Caroline let out a heavy sigh, as she pushed a hand through her head of hair and scratched the side of her head, apparently frustrated.

"Good..." Caroline muttered to herself. "And...if you ever bring up the matter, again, I will stick my boot so far up your ass that you will never be able to walk straight, again, got it?" Caroline threatened the little Ferengi, before changing back to her former giddy state, in a second. "Let's go check out the store, shall we Quack?" Caroline proposed, happily, as she entered the store. Quack immediately followed, not wanting to make matters worse with his master and employer.

Deep Space Guardian, Quarters

Melina sat on her bed, asleep, lost in her nightmares of the Occupation, yet, again. Seconds later, she awoke from her horrible dream. Ever since the incident with Dicot, she had been plagued with dreams of the Occupation, most notably of her own acts during the Occupation, including the torture of the Cardassian family, at her hands.

Melina immediately jumped out of bed, her nightgown soaked in sweat. She slowly made her way towards the replicator, where she ordered the machine to make her a glass of ice cold water. Seconds later, a glass of water appeared in the tray. Melina immediately snatched the glass up and downed it in an instant.

Now, feeling slightly better, Melina turned around and headed back for her bed. She slipped into the damp bed, once, again. She sat there, in the darkness, motionless and completely silent, except for the shaky sound of her own breath, trying to fall back to sleep. Sleep was the only thing that she could do at the moment.

Ever since the Dicot incident, she had been pulled from duty. She had nothing to do, anymore. Although, even if she was on duty, she really had nothing to do. Sometimes, Melina just felt like baggage for the crew of the station. She had nothing to do, really. The only thing that she really wanted to do was help out on the station, but, how was she to do that? She fought with everyone, constantly. No one liked her, although, that was most certainly her fault. Her attitude was the cause of that. Although, you can't change yourself to please others. But, the thing that bothered her most of all was that no one trusted her, especially not the Captain. She should have expected that, though, especially after her acts during the Marine incident...She was useless...Absolutely useless...Better off if she just...went away...It would be better off for everyone if she just went away...if she just...disappeared...

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, Melina feel into a deep sleep, once, again, only to be lost...trapped...in her memories...her nightmares...once, again.

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Ops-

T'Sa spoke to her quietly, she seemed to have not noticed that blake was rather busy talking to someone on the screen. "Ensign, the commanders sure name is Robitaille..."

[Ziona]

Risa, Quarters

Ziona nodded in agreement.

"Yes... call... call the authorities." She hugged her arms around his chest and shut her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady herself. That was, by far, the most disturbing and strange thing that had ever happened to her in her life.

[Founder]

-Risa, Quarters-

Ian was taken aback by her hug, but quickly returned it, grateful that she was unhurt. He was also glad that she wasn't holding the Orion slave girl thing against him.

"I don't know about you," He whispered into her ear, "But I want to go back to the station. There is always the holodecks to get away..."

-DSG, OPS-

The governor went from looking angry to defeated. It wasn't like his convoy could force their way into the planet. He bowed his head.

"As you say sir," He said, "May we please remain within your station until your captain returns?"