Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 38

[Founder]

-DSG, Ops-

Ian contemplated firing at the Nautolian ship from within the atmosphere, but that was dangerous with the shakey sensors. It could possibly hit the continent itself and kill anyone on it, including the wildlife.

"Ziona I wa-" He said, but was interrupted by the station being attacked.

He looked at the viewscreen and noticed nearly one hundred fighters attacking the station. Ian stifled the urge to laugh at the sight. They would never win, but they would certainly distract them from the Nautolian ship and Merik himself. He had to let Archer deal with the ship itself, but Merik was another story.

"Sophia," He said loudly, "Do you have any idea as to why Merik would choose to land on the planet, instead of going straight into Nautolian space."

"Crash land sir." Jones corrected.

Ian looked back at him and nodded, realizing that Merik being on Elerra Prime was some kind of mistake. That is why only one Nautolian ship was sent. This wasn't an attack, it was a retrieval mission.

"Ziona," Ian said, "Destroy those fighters, fire everything we have."

It would probably be somewhat difficult for her, since the fighters were small and fast, but he had no doubt she would be accurate and her shots true.

+ 4 good details with the size of the fighters, compaired to the Stations weapons
-Lord Borg

[Ziona]

DSG, Ops

Ziona nodded quickly to Ian, cracked her knuckles and set to work, leaning close to her console as she went to work. The fighters moved quickly, darting around in patterns that were hard to follow but she was determined to take them out, with minimal damage to the station itself.

A nearby console beeped in information which Ziona checked from time to time, checking to see how shields, weapons and systems were holding. Everything was going well, much to Ziona's surprise. The fighers didn't seem to be as well trained as she had hoped. She had been hoping for at least some tactical meanuvers on the fighter's parts but they seemed to be, instead, attacking at will.

"80." Ziona spoke up as she took out twenty ships. She bit her lip and continued working, switching between various phaser arrays on the system. A beep, a bit more distressed from the rest, alerted Ziona that she'd lost a phaser back somewhere near the top of the station but she didn't pay much attention.

A few moments later, 63 fighters continued buzzing around the station. They were like gnats buzzing around someone's head. They were an annoyance, but with one swat, they were destroyed. The only problem Ziona had was that the fighters were small and fast. They were managing to get past a lot of her defenses and were taking pot shots at the station.

A frown crossed Ziona's lips and she turned to look at Ian.

"Any chance of getting any assistance?"

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-Space-

The U.S.S. Radical, a Defiant class ship rushed to the scene, heading for the station. It doged enemy fire and fighers as it moved for the station, to protect any blind spots it might have. It opned a burst of pulse phaser fire towards a group of fighters.

Monarch, Bridge-

Archer nodded at the report.

"Have the fighters from the station engage them, let the ships worr about that cruser. Lock weapons, and fire"

[Founder]

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

The chief tactical officer hesitated before firing, sharing a look with Emma. The first officer, knowing Archer the best out of everyone on the ship, looked at him.

"Sir," She said, "Would it really be wise to open fire from here? We risk not hitting the target and potentially damaging the wild life and any crewmen below..."

She hated second guessing the captain of any vessel, but she didn't want to risk hurting other Starfleet officers.

-DSG, Ops-

As soon as Ziona requested assistance and before Ian could contact the Fifth fleet, the USS Radical fired on fighters attacking the station.

"You got your help." Ian said.

Ian clutched the main console in Ops and continued to watch the battle, but part of his vision was on Sofie and how she was reacting to all of this. She hadn't even ever been in Ops. DSG in the mirror universe is very different. It was a K-7 class station, rather then Ournal II. The commander center over there must have seemed so...small.

[Ziona]

DSG, Ops

Ziona smiled quickly and watched as the USS Radical swept in. She laid down a nice cover fire for the ship before returning to her own duties of taking out each fighter individually with its own personal torpedo. She wasn't worried at all about running out of ammo. For that matter, for every fighter she shot out of the sky, it usually hurled through space and hit another fighter, taking out two with one stone. Now that the Radical was on the scene, it wouldn't take long for all the fighters to be destroyed.

"57." Ziona spoke up, giving the count to Ian of how many enemy ships were still out there.

+ 2 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-Space-

The Radical did a manuver, causing the ship to flip backwards into a 180. Whoever the person was at the helm, was handeling the ship with skill, the ship was preforming like an oversized fighter. The Radical fired pulse phasers and torpedos at several differnt targets, destroying 5 of them, and flying though the explosion. The ship harryied and came about for another pass, and manuvered to allow the station room to fire weapons.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Archer thought a moment and agreed. He had just attempted to give a foolish order.

"Any ideas on how to lure them out?"

[Ziona]

DSG, Ops

Ziona continued her work, every once and awhile laying down a nice cover fire for the Radical but the ship seemed to be holding its own anyway. With a quick readjustment, Ziona managed to get three fighters in a quick sweep, followed quickly by another seven.

The last fighter was trying to sweep around behind DSG to make another pass but Ziona simply sat back, waiting for the Radical to take care of it.

"Enemy eliminated, sir." Ziona smiled, turning to look at Ian.

+ 3 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

(Founder, it was an assault rifle, not a phaser rifle.)

-Elerra Prime, Unknown Continent-

Kiris fell to the ground. He�d been stunned by Merik kicking him the face. Clearly Merik was better trained then he. Kiris lifted his head. He was angry before but now he was furious. Rust colored blood ran down his face. A product of his unique physiology. He didn�t bother to wipe it away. Kiris felt that his nose may have broken. He reached up and felt it. Sure enough, broken. It wouldn�t be the first time Kiris had had a broken nose. He�d fought many times with people over him being a �freak� and had gotten into conflicts over the pettiest of things. Kiris, half not thinking, brought the Quantum Burst around and lobbed a few shots in the direction that Merik had taken off in. Kiris turned back to Caroline.
�I suggest you leave this place at your earliest convenience.� With that Kiris took off after Merik. He hadn�t the slightest idea where to look this time. There were no footprints and he hadn�t brought a tricorder with him. So it would make tracking Merik that much harder. Kiris had no intention of breaking his word to Caroline about their hiding in the woods but it would be better for them if they got away from there as soon as they could.

+ 2 Dilithium. Good detal.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-DSG, OPS-

Sophie looks around in wonder. She had never imagined it would be so... vast. She takes a few steps closer to the viewscreen. "Wow," she admires under her breath. She silently watches everyone as they work hurridly and efficiantly.

The officers were another wonder all together. Only moments before, these people were at a party, laughing, drinkng, being people... now they were almost machine like. Serious and in control. They were all so skilled. She watches is awe as Ziona takes out the flying pests. She's obviously brilliant at her job, and looks stunningly graceful doing it. No wonder Ian is drawn to her...

Sofie feels foolishly inadaquate watching everyone at work while she has nothing to offer. All these people.... working together, making a differance. They all seem so important... so impressive to her. She has felt like a fish out of water often over the past year, but never so much as she does now.

+ 3 Dilithium. Good detail.

Founder

[Founder]

-DSG, Ops-

Ian nodded to Ziona, grateful for her amazing accuracy and speed. The station wasn't in danger anymore, but Merik was still one the loose. Otherwise, the Nautolian ship would have left by now.

"Contact the listening post in the Federation colony," Ian ordered, "I want to make sure they're ok."

Jones nodded his head and quickly sent them a message to which they promptly responded.

"They're ok," He confirmed, "For now..."

Ian rushed towards the communications console, taking the empty spot and trying to hail Blake's shuttle. Sensors did not reveal anything and for all Ian knew, Blake was dead as was his team. There was no one to stop Merik...

"I'm going down there." He said.

He looked back at Sofie, "I...could use your help tracking Merik."

Jones fidgeted nervously, "Sir, are you sure about that?"

Ian nodded, looking at Ziona.

"You're in command until I return." He told her.

He was determined to stop Merik, no matter the cost. Ian felt like a failure letting Fito get away, he would not repeat that mistake.

"You're not going alone sir." An officer said.

Since the party ended, various officers had returned to Ops and other departments across the station. Two security officers had apparently found their way there.

"Alright ensign," Ian said, "You two can come with us."

Jones tapped on his console, "Shall I prepare a shuttle?"

Ian shook his head, "No. We're beaming down."

The cyborg nearly fell out of his seat in surprise.

"What?" He asked, "Sir, they are not on the Mythani continent. There are no transport inhibitors. I don't know if I can beam you all down there intact."

Ian nodded, "I understand, but if we fly down there in a shuttle, we'll be blown out of the sky."

Sofie hadn't answered him yet, but that was mainly because Ian was too busy barking orders to everyone. Jones looked back at the quiet Juliana.

"I'm gonna need your help on this," He requested, "I'll need you to try and help me keep their transport signitures intact the entire time..."

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Emma shook her head, "I'm not sure. I don't think there is anything we can do to lure them out if they have a mission down there. However, we can send some of our ships into the planet to attack the vessel..."

She didn't like her own idea personally. Mainly because it meant a few ships against over 100 fighters and a large Nautolian capitol ship. The odds were not good at all. She wondered why the colony had not activated it's defenses.

+ 4 good details
-Lord Borg

[ILoveHarry]

-DSG, OPS-

Sofie looks at Ian in shock when he asks her to join him. How could she possibley be of help? "Iyyyy... O...OK," She answers finally. She looks around to see if anyone other than her appeared to be confused by the request.

[Lord Borg]

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer thought a moment, it was a sound plan in theory. Indeed, the Defiant, Nova, Intrepid, and Prometheus ships could enter the atmosphere, and attack the ship. The fighters though, would attack them. If the damned fighters from the station would get here, then they could engage the Nautolian fighters. Archer looked over to Creed.

"Contact the station. Tell them we need those damn fighters, and the watch commander risk his career if I dont get them ASAP. When they get here, have the Bailly, Discovery, Cerberus, and the Radical enter the atmosphere, and attack the Nautolian Cruiser."

Archer looked ahead at the screen and sighed. He hoped this had a postive outcome.

+ 2 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Sam Kenobi]

-DSG, Ops-

Derek sits at the operations console, completely engulfed in his work - one thing he excells at. He hears the Captain deciding to beam over.

"Sir, I'm going to have trouble keeping a lock on your patterns down there. There's quite a bit of interference."

[Spellbinder Marik]

-DSG, Promenade-

N�Tran turned to Laura. His request to Xavier would have to wait.
�I�m heading back to the ship. You can stay if you want.� Laura shook her head.
�No, I�ll go too. I�m expecting new orders anyway and I want to see if they�re in.� N�Tran took Lauras hand and headed for the door. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. Ensign Taylor greeted him with the bottle of Romulan Ale on the table. N�Tran accepted the bottle.
�Leaving so soon?� N�Tran nodded.
�Yes, I wanted to talk to your commander but he seems to have vanished. Business, I can�t really blame him for that.� Tessa approached Cory.
�I�m going back to our quarters.� Cory took her hand.
�I�ll help you.� She pushed his hand away. For a moment he thought she was angry.
�I�m not an invalid. I can still make my way around.� Cory let her go.
�Would now be a bad time to talk?� N�Tran looked to Laura who only shook her head and then back to Cory.
�Not at all. We were transporting to my ship though.� Cory nodded.
�I understand.� The trio set out for the transporter room.

-Salara, Training Bay-

Trip had completed the construction of his weapon. It wasn�t the exact same design because he�d had to extrapolate in some places because of the Romulan components and him not having a blueprint. Trip bolted the weapon to the socket over his shoulder and linked it to his armors power supply.
�I am ready.� V�Resh nodded.
�Just a moment. I�m increasing the shielding and dampeners in this room.� The lights dimmed and V�Resh looked to trip and nodded. Trip turned around and activated his targeting sensor.

He aligned it with a target on the wall and fired. V�Resh fell backwards because of the concussion wave produced as a secondary effect of the weapon. Trip turned around and disengaged the weapon.
�I do believe that we should consider that a successful test.�

-Elerra Prime, Unknown Continent-

Kiris continued in the direction Merik was headed for. His body was riding totally on instinct as his mind seemed to be overrun with thoughts he hadn�t felt in many years. He wanted to hurt Merik and wanted him to feel the pain. Death would be too easy. He�d feel the pain but he wouldn�t suffer. Then again if Kiris did kill him perhaps he�d feel better. Merik had made him look like a fool. Taking advantage of Kiris as though he was some first year cadet. Kiris slowed and stopped at a nearby stream. He cupped his hands together and drank some water. Was it safe to drink? He didn�t care. He had to find Merik and stop him. As long as he survived that long nothing else would matter. Just as Kiris was taking another drink he noticed some muddy boot prints leading out of the water. Kiris finished the water in his hands and set out to follow the tracks. He soon discovered that the mud and moister wouldn�t have lasted long. It didn�t matter though. At least he knew he was on the right track.

+ 5 Dilithium. Great detail with Kiris.

Founder

[Founder]

-DSG, Ops-

Ian approached Derek's station in Ops, "I understand ensign, but I know you all can do this."

He walked over to Sophia, grateful that she agreed to help him. Stopping Merik was monumentally important and as far as Ian knew, there was absolutely no one else that was attempting to do so. He felt a pang of guilt by the look on her face. She seemed so confused, so taken aback by it all. The last thing she knew, she was simply attending a party with the governor of the Federation colony. Now, she would assist in the manhunt of a fellow being from the other universe. He wanted to tell her that things would be ok, that nothing would happen to them. However, he didn't know if that was the truth. Hell, they were having an issue with a simple matter of transporting.

"Commander," Jones said, "Let's at least becareful about this. Two at a time."

He hoped that both Juliana and Derek could assist him with this transport. Ian could only nod to Jones in agreement. He was still really focused on Sofie and the sad look of confusion on her face. A part of him felt like a terrible commander for dragging a civilian to the planet an effort to stop a dangerous man while Nautolians were everywhere. Elerra Prime, while beautiful, hid a dangerous mother nature. Ian can't recall how many time he has nearly been killed on that planet from the wildlife alone.

"Energizing." Jones announced.

Ian shut his eyes, hoping that when they reopened, he would be in one piece. Jones fingers, not moving as fast as they usually did, carefully locked onto the commander and Sofie, then beaming the down. He watched their transporter patterns carefully, beaming them to the surface. Carefully, he rematerialized them piece by piece...

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Emma nodded to Archer and immediatly obeyed his orders, relaying them to DSG and the fleet.

"Fighters are being launched." She reported to Archer.

The Monarch shook as several fighters made a mad dash and attempted to attack the large and powerful ship. Nautolians, while bloodthirsty and evil, were renowned for being excellant pilots like the Hydrans. It made them all the more difficult to destroy. Thankfully, the Fifth fleet was getting some help. Small Federation fighters launched from the station and attacked the Nautolian fighters, all several hundred of them.



"The USS Bailey, Discovery, Cerberus, and the Radical are heading towards Elerra Prime captain." She reported to Archer.

The Nova, Intrepid, Prometheus, and Defiant class starships broke away from the protective blockade the Fifth fleet had around DSG and moved to enter the planet's atmosphere...

-DSG, Ops-

Jones sighed in relief when he noticed their transporter patterns rematerialized completely, but unfortunately, that could simply be bad sensor readings. Communications weren't about to work, so it was pointless to try and contact the commander. He wondered just how it was the Elerrans got past all of this intereference. Then again, from what he heard from Juliana, the Elerrans were a pretty advanced race. It isn't a surprise they probably figured out just how to get past it all. He looked up at the viewscreen and watched the Fifth fleet blockade pick off various fighters. Elerra Prime was in the backround of all of this. It was a shame that an expeditionary force was never sent to explore it in full detail. The planet was filled with amazing wonders and not just natural ones either. There must have been so many ruins to uncover. Jones knew for a fact that the Elerrans were not indeginous to the planet. Not even the Zalbogians were. They had claimed other species before them had come to the planet. Jones couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about Elerra Prime...it was special and he had a feeling that it would play a part in all of this...soon...

"Lieutenant," One of the security officers said, breaking his thoughts, "Please beam us down. The commander could be in danger."

Jones quickly nodded and followed the same pattern he had done as before. Slow and careful. He looked over to see the two dissapear in a bath of light.



-Elerra Prime, Unknown Continent-

Ian and Sofie rematerialized on the planet surface in the center of a very damp and wet forest area. As soon as they finished the transport, Ian ran his fingers over his face and body to check if he was fully intact. He felt that he could see, hear, and breath normally, so everything was probably intact internally. Ian looked at Sofie and saw she was ok too, although her dress would definitly be ruined here. Sadly, there was no time to change.

"Looks like the transport was a success." Ian said to her.

He sighed in relief, grateful that they were alive. As they waited for the security officers, Ian could hear the very loud sounds of explosions and phaser fire in the distance. The loud roar of the Nautolian's engines could even be heard from their location, even though they were not near the Nautolian vessel.

"Doesn't sound good." Ian whispered.

His eyes scanned the sky, searching for Blake's shuttle. He saw nothing except for dozens of Nautolian fighters whizzing by at unsafe velocities. Various trails of smoke were in the sky and for all Ian knew, one was coming from Blake's downed shuttle. He shook the thought from his mind, not wanting to think of his friend hurt like that. The sounds of a transport could be heard and Ian looked back to see the two security officers beam down.

"Finally." Ian said.

He took a step back in surprise when one of the officers began to scream violently and collapsed to the ground. As soon as the transport was complete, Ian rushed to the fallen officer and recoiled in disgust when he saw that his body was mixed with the local fauna of the planet.



Rocks, twigs, and leaves were embedded to his skin and he was without a doubt dead.

"Delroy?" The other officer asked in concern.

Ian looked up at him in sadness and shook his head, implying the man was dead. Once more, dead officers were piling up and Ian couldn't help but feel responsible. He wanted to hunt Merik and beat the halfling for all the problems he had caused. Ian couldn't even fathom why Merik even wanted to work with Fito. Why would anyone? It was painfully obvious that Merik was new to this universe. Fito was as evil as they came and joining him was essentially suicide. Ian would have thought Merik knew that since the MU Fito was almost exactly like this one. He remembered vividly that his Fito was obsessed with killing the other one and stopping his evil reign.

"Oh the irony." Ian thought to himself.

The commander stood up, unable to do anymore for the dead officer. Ian was about to order the others to move on, but a light rumbling sound could be heard in the distance and caught his attention.

"What is that?" Ian asked, squinting into the hundreds of trees.

The rumbling grew louder and the sounds of animal cries could be heard.

"Commander," The security officer called, "We need to go...now!"

Ian turned and grabbed Sofie by the arm, prompting her to run with them.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" Ian shouted.

The sound of a loud animal could be heard roaring behind them and smaller trees crashing. Ian looked back to see over a dozen species worth of animals charging their way. Several types of bird like species flew over them, cawing madly. While large quadraped beasts groaned from all the heavy running. Ian didn't know what prompted the stampede, but it was no doubt because of the Nautolians. They probably frightened the animals with their technology. A two legged, giraffe looking, animal ran past Ian and Sofie, nearly crushing them. Ian pulled Sofie to the ground and used his body as a shield over hers. Lucky for him and her, the animals rushed past them, jumping over their immobile bodies. The security officer had stopped running when he realized Ian and Sofie were no longer with him. He turned around and fired his phaser rifle on a light setting, forcing some of the animals to rush around him.

"Commander!" He shouted.

Ian had his eyes shut the entire time until finally he heard the stampede clear and no animal was left. He opened his eyes to see his face was mere inches away from Sofie's.

"Whoa," Ian said, moving off, "Sorry...."

He helped the poor woman up to her feet, just in time to see one last, small animal run past. It was no doubt playing catch up. It harmlessly avoided them and ran towards the stampede. The security officer rushed towards the two.

"Are you two ok?" He asked.

Ian nodded, slightly uncomfertable with the situation that had just occured between him and the mirror universe version of his former chief helm officer. He could only imagine how much weirder that was for her. After all...he is the mirror version of her deceased husband and father to her son...

-DSG, Main Engineering-

Bengali was rushing back and forth in main engineering, trying to ensure the shields and weapons were in good shape for the battle. So far, the Nautolians had not even made a dent in the station's shields or hull. The young officer intended to keep it that way.

"Rodriguez, Chan, J'IsuO?" He called out, "I want you three to stay on the shields and keep a channel open to Ops."

The three engineers nodded and dashed off. He looked around, wondering just where the hell Kiris was. Afterall, it was a battle and the man was the chief of engineering. For some reason, he was no where to be found. He tried contacting him through his combadge, but there was no response. His hand grabbed a young officer's arm, stopping her from heading towards her station.

"Crewman," He asked, "Have you seen lieutenant Ditex?"

She shook her head, "No sir."

He sighed and let her continue on towards her destination.

"Computer," He called out over the loud sounds of engineering, "Locate lieutenant Ditex."

The computer calmly responded, "Lieutnant Ditex is not onboard the station."

Bengali looked around in surprise, taken aback by that. Although, it did explain why the man was not in engineering during this critical point.



"Just what the hell is going on?" He asked, no one.

-Terra Nova, Starfleet R&D-

Some time had gone by since T'Sa suggested a huge reformation on the weapon plans. The others hated it, but they realized that she was right. They were putting too much into it and getting back too little. It was obvious they needed to take a step back and figure out just what they were doing wrong here. Lieutenant Conrad had worked diligently, not stopping to rest or eat for a single moment. He knew what was needed, but writing it out and implementing it was what was hard. It was like a splinter in his mind, slowly driving him mad. Finally, he had figured it out and rushed to find T'Sa.

"Captain! Captain!" He shouted, "I did it!"

He found her taking a well deserved break in the rest area. The Vulcan woman worked just as hard, if not harder then the others. She knew there was no rest to be had with all the work that was needed.

"Captain," He said, laying the PADD in front of her, "I figured out the accuracy problem, based off of your initial improvement designs."

Conrad fought to catch his breath and sat next to her, waiting for a response. If he was right, then that meant the weapon problems were solved...

-Elerra Prime, Open Field-

Merik had been running for what felt like forever. He hadn't stopped for a single moment, fearful that Caroline and her crew or Kiris were on his tail. He didn't want to risk it and didn't care. All the time spent working out and running were paying off monumnetally at that exact moment. Merik slipped, but caught himself on a nearby tree. His boots were covered in wet mud as earlier he had run through a stream. He pushed himself off the the tree and continued to run through a wide and beautiful open field. What Merik saw in the distance made him smile widely. A Nautolian shuttle was sitting in the center of the field, while a team of Nautolian and Koinian officers were spread out, searching for him.

"Finally!" He said.

It seemed like Merik would definitly be able to make it back to the empire. He pulled off the black and grey shouldered overcoat, revealing the dark crimson shirt underneath. Merik didn't want to risk they would kill him on sight for wearing a Starfleet uniform.

"OVER HERE!!!" He yelled, waving his arms as he ran.

He was too far away to be heard, but that did not deter him. Merik took what little energy he had left and ran as hard and fast as he could. The sound of animals making a strang chirping sound caused him to look back in surprise. Fearful of all the loud sounds, the Nautolians and Koinians opening fire, and pretty much all of the chaos, the local wildlife was running for their lives. Merik looked back to literally see a wave of animals run behind him.

"Oh no..." He said.

He threw himself under a random log sitting out in the field and hid, clutching his body tightly.



The animals promptly ran over the log and continued on. Merik stood up, dusting the grass off of his clothing.

"I hate this planet so much." Merik seethed.

The wilfelife on Elerra Prime in his uuniverse had been brought to extinction through hunting and orbital bombardments. He missed that version of Elerra Prime a lot. A smile crossed his face when he realized that in a matter of days, possibly hours, Fito would annihilate the planet thanks to the intelligence he was bringing him. Unfortunately, Merik did not get a good look at everything on the PADD before Kiris had destroyed it. There was some information he would be unable to relay. Merik vowed that Kiris would die when he returned leading a fleet of Nautolian ships. He continued to run, thought of Kiris' death dancing in his head, towards the Nautolian ship. One of the Koinians noticed him and signaled towards the others.

"IT'S ME!" He yelled, "MERIK NARUUL! HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!"

Merik couldn't hear what they yelled back because the loud sound of ships roaring past them could be heard. To his utter shock, he saw the Nautolian shuttle explode from a torpedo, killing all those around it. The force of the blast even threw Merik backwards, even though he was not next to the shuttle. Merik dropped to the ground in pain and cried out. After a few moments, he weakly pulled himself up and saw what was once a beautiful field, tarnished by the presence of an ugly Nautolian shuttle was now a giant crater. All the Nautolians and Koinians had been completely killed. He looked towards the sky in time to see a Defiant class, a Nova class, a Prometheus class, and an Intrepid class starships dashing overhead and heading towards the behemoth Nautolian ship. They were firing torpedoes and destroying the shuttles that were on the ground.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Merik screamed in fury.

His salvation, his ticket off this planet had been destroyed and Starfleet was making a onscientious effort to stop him. He had made a dire mistake in revealing why he had done all of this. Now, Starfleet would not rest until he is stopped. Little did he know the many people there were after him. Merik stood up from the ground and ran towards a much older looking forest in the distance, hoping to find a shuttle somewhere...

-USS Discover, Bridge-

The bridge of the Intrepid class starship was a buzz with activity as officers rushed back and forth. Lieutenant commander Skolorr sat back in the captain's chair, barking orders to the others. Once more, his ship was put into the mix of things and being forced to fight the Nautolians. Lieutenant commander Reed of the Hippocratic Oath was acting as his FO and had been for some time.

"Report." Skolorr demanded.

Reed tapped at the small console on the arm of his chair.

"Formation gamma is being ordered for use." He relayed.

The Andorian nodded, knowing what that meant immediatly. The Radical would fly with them while the Cerberus defended the Bailey.

"Understood." He replied.

He clutched his seat and stared into the viewscreen just as the hovering Nautolian ship was appearing. His jaw dropped in surprise when he saw the ship itself. It was massive, much bigger then the Intrepid class starship and there had to be nearly 1,000 fighters flying around it. No doubt for this mission, they jam packed the ship with fighter squadrons and shuttles. As they were approaching the capitol ship, the Federation quartet had destroyed random shuttles that was landed and searching for Merik. Their efforts seemed so pitiful now since the Nautolian ship had more then enough back ups. His eyes widened when he saw a massive wave of fighters, literally a black and grey wall of ships approaching them.

"Oh no..." He whispered.

-USS Radical, Bridge-

The Bajoran captain of the Defiant class vessel, Chein Sojah, did not fear the wall of fighters as much as his counterpart, Skolorr.

"Fire everything we have," He ordered, "Punch a wall through it."

The tactical officer nodded and unleashed a volley of torpedoes and phaser fire against the Nautolian fighters. What was good about them is that they were shieldless, unlike Federation or Cardassian fighters. That is why the Nautolians compensated by making so many of them. The vessel shook as it slammed into some of the debris of the ships and took incoming phaser fire.

"Shields are down to 79%. The tactical officer reported.

Chein nodded, "Continue towards the Nautolian ship, that's all that matters!"

The Radical, flying alongside the Discovery, broke away from the other two ships and continued towards the dreaded "wall". Chein's FO, a Human female, looked back at the Bajoran with a fearful gaze.

"Captain," She said, "We could use a little of that religious inspiration..."

Chein looked at her sadly, not having anything to say. After the sheer horrors he had seen since being stationed in the Fifth fleet, he had lost his faith. Famous for soothing the fears of his fellow crewmen with words of inspiration, Chein was always looked to when it came to such matters. Especially before the heat of battle. However, he had nothing to say anymore.

"Mind your station lieutenant commander." He simply told her.

With an apprehensive nod, she looked back at her station. The mood on the bridge was somber as they continued forward...

-USS Cerberus, Bridge-

The Prometheus class starship flew alongside the Nova class vessel as they continued towards the incoming wall of Nautolian ships. Captain Saij Ut eyed the incoming ships closely.

"That...is...a lot of ships." The chief helmsman said.

The Rigillian captain smiled, undetered by the worrisome sight.

"Blue alert," She said, "I think the MVAM would be very useful right now."

One of the officers nodded and activated the MVAM, causing the vessel to split in three parts. Even though that gave the Federation vessel better odds, it would not be enough...

"Here..." One of the officers said.

-USS Bailey, Bridge-

....they come!" An officer yelled.

The wall of fighters crept closer and closer to the Federation ships. Captain Soto shut her eyes, listening to the officers yell and explosions erupt from the phaser and torpedo fire from the various ships. Her ship, as did the others, rammed through the wall of fighters causing the ship to shake violently. Soto clutched the arms of her chair, struggling to prevent herself from being knocked out of her seat.

"Hang out!" She yelled.

The fighters blocked out the bright blue sky and convered one each ship. Thankfully, they were shieldless and weak and the continuous phaser and torpedo fire took out many of them.

"Continue towards the Nautolian capitol ship!" She ordered.

She wasn't sure the official class of the ship. The Nautolians were xenophobic and did not reveal a lot of personal information on their species, including tech. information. The small, nimble ship fired a torpedo at the hovering and immobile ship only to have a strong phaser blast ram them. The divided parts of the Cerberus flew past them and fired everything they had in response.

-DSG, Ops-

Ensign Mark Bengali stepped off the turbolift and entered the command center of the massive station. He looked past the busy officers, wondering if commander Xavier was onboard. The assistant chief of engineering felt that someone should know about the missing Kiris. He had attempted to speak to the chief security officer, lieutenant commander Robitaille, but the man was no where to be found. The ranking officer onboard Ops was lieutenant commander Andreas, standing at tactical.

"Excuse me ma'am," He said to her, "May I speak to you for a moment?"

As he awaited a response from the busy woman, he looked towards the viewscreen and watched the battle continue. This had been a terrifying day for him. First, he and Kiris had nearly been killed by criminals in Guardian city and now the Nautolians were attacking. Of course, he was oblivious to the fact that all of the involved a former occupant of the mirror universe.

-USS Discovery, Bridge-

"Hull breach on deck 4!" An officer shouted over an explosion.

Skolorr cringed as a shower of sparks flew down at some officers, including himself. Things were going badly for the crew. There were so many fighters and the Federation ship was so big in comparison that it could not help but ram into them. The constant explosions against the shields rapidly deteriorated them. The shuttles, which were larger then the fighters, were slamming into the hull and causing severe damage. To top it off, the Nautolian ship was opening fire at the others. The only good thing about this was the number of fighters and shuttles were dropping dramatically. The Intrepid class ship was no longer at the site of the battle anymore. Engine control had been lost and they were zooming through the air at an unsafe velocity.

"Stabilize the helm!" Skolorr yelled.

The helm officer was slumped over the console, dead from a rough explosion. Reed jumped over an injured officer on the center of the bridge and rushed towards the helm. He slammed his fist against the console in frustration.

"I can't!" He said.

Skolorr looked at the viewscreen and realized they were no where near the area they had formely been in. They were quickly approaching the frozen north of the unknown continent they had been fighting in. Moutains, rocky ones, were filling up their view.

"PULL UP!!!!" The Andorian captain screamed.



Reed managed to take hold of the helm and narrowly avoid a collision with the mountains. They were slowly going down and close to crashing when suddenly the ship jerked and pulled up from the ground. Skolorr looked towards the helm in surprise. He thought there were going to slam into the ground...

"Nicely done lieutenant commander." Skolorr complemented.

Reed shook his head in confusion, unable to understand it.

"It wasn't me." He replied.

The Andorian squinted his eyes in confusion, not understanding it. The OPS officer explained the situation.

"It's the Radical." He said.

The Defiant class starship was towing them in a tractor beam, narrowly saving them from a painful crash landing. Skolorr sighed in relief and lay back in his seat. There was little more they could do. It was up to the Cerberus and Bailey now...

-DS9, Ops-

Gul Oyet had been standing on Ops, bored to tears from the inactivity. Problems still occurred on Cardassia and Bajor, but the Nautolian commander sent to take charge had been dealing with it. Oyet was more of a figurehead now, rather then an actual leader. He didn�t really care though. With Melina chained to his desk, like an animal, he was momentarily content with the situation. He had tried to open the way for Melina to be freed and restart her rebellion, but stupidly she thought it was more important to back talk the Cardassian.

�That�s strange.� Jeilor said.

The Nautolian commander, Din, cocked his head to the side.

�What is it?� He asked.

The Cardassian second in command moved towards another console to try and confirm his readings.

�The Nautolian sensor array in the Gamma quadrant has gone dead.� He said.

Oyet�s interest sparked at the information. Fito had been adamant about allowing some type of Nautolian presence in the Gamma quadrant. He had quickly warned Fito that the Dominion was dangerous and involving them would complicate matters. Fito has settled with placing a sensor array at the mouth of the wormhole on the other side.

�What destroyed it?� Din asked.

Jeilor shook his head, �I don�t know��

Din looked at Oyet for a suggestion, but the Cardassian had retreated to his office�

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Space was much quieter then it was on the unknown continent on Elerra Prime. A few dozen fighters would attempt to attack the blockad of ships, but fail and be destroyed. Emma wondered how the ships inside of the planet's atmosphere were doing. The colonies anti-ship canons had not been activitated. Even though it was on different continenants, the canons could still be used. Their range was far and the other continent was a neighboring one. It could possibly make the distance.

"Captain," She said to Archer, "Since the DSG crew seems to be busy with this...rogue officer problem, perhaps some of us should beam down to Mythani and attempt to activate the defense system?

She was unsure if he would agree to such a thing, but she couldn't wait here anymore. The others were in danger, Merik was closing in on a Nautolian ship, and the fleet was left sitting there...something had to be done...

+ 10 Dilithium. Amazing post. Very life-like! Or... As life-like as acting out a fictional show can get!

Valathous

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Elerra Prime, Open Field-

Kiris had heard weapons fire from where he�d been in the forest a ways back. They weren�t hand weapons. He caught what he thought was the glimpse of Starships fighting in the upper atmosphere. He shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him. Very few Starship classes were designed for atmospheric maneuvering. Kiris entered a clearing and noticed Meriks discarded overcoat near an overturned tree. Kiris paused for a moment. He didn�t bother to notice the other things going on around him. It was like something else was controlling him. He was still there but felt so distant. He looked to a spot of ruffled ground. He noticed a phaser rifle power cell. Kiris sincerely doubted Merik would have ejected it and left him self defenseless. Kiris picked up the cell and looked at it. It had scratch marks on it. The eject button must have accidentally been hit when Merik rested here. Kiris placed the cell in his pocket and stuck his nose into the air and sniffed. A scent was there. It was unmistakably the smell of sweat. Merik must have been running hard. Kiris was too but his field clothing kept it contained. Merik had removed his overcoat and given Kiris another trail to follow. The still conscious part of Kiris knew Merik was quite resourceful and wouldn�t let a powerless phaser slow him down. No doubt he had some other insidious plan in the works. Kiris turned and without thinking shouted a battlecry he�d heard many years ago when he was at the academy. It was during his combat training.
�Kadima!� Kiris then continued to follow the scent. He would succeed. He must succeed.

+ 4 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer thought a moment on Creed�s request. It was risky, due to the combat with the Nautolians, however the cannons could target the large cruiser and take it out relatively fast, combined with the Starfleet ships firepower. The fighters could also be cleared out by the rather large weapons arc of the cannons to. Archer looked over to Creed and nodded.

"Take a team, access what ever cannon systems you can. Make sure they only target the Nautolian ships."

Archer looked down to his armrest, and looked at the display status. He ran a quick scan and saw that there were some shuttles and fighters within a safe target range for the larger ships.

Finally Jon thought to himself, We can be of use...

Archer smirked and looked up to the screen. He made a motion towards the front of the ship and spoke to the bridge officers, issuing his orders.

"There are some Nautolian shuttles and fighters in the safe target range for us to fire. Tactical, please, let�s give the Federation fighters a hand."

The officer at the tactical station looked down and responded to Archer telling him that he was complying with his orders. The tactical station made a noise which signaled the weapons were ready.

-Space-

The Monarch moved though space, passing over the north region that was a frozen winter land. Suddenly, the phaser array on the underside of the saucer lit up, from both ends, with a charge building up as it lit around the entire array, meeting at the center. A beam erupted from the center, down towards the planet, which struck a target which was a shield less Nautolian shuttle. The ship fired another phaser burst towards another Nautolian craft, and fired two torpedoes.

The Galaxy class USS Quasar came up next to the fleet flagship and followed suite, firing phasers at the small Nautolian craft as it was able to safely target them with out worry to the planet, or any people bellow.

The rest of the ships that could not enter the planets atmosphere also fired on craft they could get to. The fighters in the upper atmosphere, and the ones that had almost cleared it were being cleared away, giving more room for the fighters from the station to fight their own battle.

-DSG, Promenade-

Alicia stared at an empty glass the contained some Andorian Ale. The ice was melting, creating a small puddle in the bottom of the glass. There was a slight condensation as the drink with ice had chilled the drink container, and the Promenade was warm, particularly with so many people in it. When the red alert had gone off the station officers went to their station, or rather most of them did. Alicia recognized faces in the crowd that remained that were people she had seen working in the corridors before.

The civilians that had showed up from the planet had also stayed, not having much else of a place to go. Alicia wondered about the officers, were they like her? Can�t go to duty? Perhaps they are being rebellious and refused to leave, due to the food, drink and company.

Alicia made a small grunt and moved to stand. She stumbled into the table slightly and shook her head. She let out a small giggle of embarrassment and then walked towards the center of the room. Not knowing that she should stop, as she had slipped back into the darkness and was on another binge, Alicia wanted a drink, and was going to find a way to get one.

-Terra Nova, Starfleet R&D-

T'Sa let out a small sigh as she placed a hand on her neck and applied a slight pressure. She had her eyes close and was in a corner in the rest area, finally deciding to take a real break from her work before she moved on to other parts of the project. T'Sa's eyes shot open when she heard Conrad yelling that he had done it. She looked over to see him rushing over with the PADD. She deduced he had done something to the project, as he was displaying such an outburst of emotion. T'Sa raised her eyebrow when he said he solved the acuatcy problem, they hadn't done that far, due to the work on the energy problem. She looked at the PADD and called up the schematics. Indeed, it did seem that he had solved the problem with the acuatcy. The next step was to finish the work on the power taps.

"Indeed," she said in a vulcan like voice, "It seems you have done it, Lieutenant."

T'Sa took in a small breath of air and pursed her lips.

"Very impressive, it seems that you have a...'knack'" T'Sa said, usng a human term, "For this."

T'Sa set the PADD down and looked up to the Human Lieutenant. Conrad had just impressed T'Sa with his dedication and work to the project, something not easily done.

"We have much more to do, however, you have also solved many problems."

+ 7 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Salara, N�Trans Quarters-

The three of them entered N�Trans quarters. Laura disappeared into a back room. The first thing N�Tran did was to remove the necktie and throw it into a corner. N�Tran looked around. His quarters had begun to look like a cargo bay. When he left Romulus he took all of his families possessions. It wasn�t much but it made his spacious quarters seem a lot smaller. N�Tran sat behind his desk and pulled up the message T�Rell hadn�t been able to continue on. He looked up and saw Ensign Taylor stranding there. N�Tran made a motion with his hand for the young man to sit. Cory sat down and wasn�t sure how to proceed.
�You know aside from Laura you�re the only human who�s ever been in these quarters.� Cory looked up. A way to break the ice? He�d take advantage of it.
�Kiris is half human.� N�Tran nodded and sighed.
�That he is. He�s also half Romulan. He�s been brought up to hate everything about his heritage, at least that on the Romulan side of things. We�ve done a lot of bad things, I�ll grant you that but we�ve done just as many good.� Cory wasn�t sure what N�Tran meant.

�What are some of the good things that Romulans have done?� N�Tran paused for a moment. He hadn�t counted on that question. I suppose anything good the Romulans ever did was different depending on the interpretation of the individual doing the evaluating.
�Well, there�s the Dominion War and we introduced the Klingons to the Cloaking Device�� N�Tran trailed off.
�I guess there really aren�t that many good things.� Cory wasn�t sure what to say. His grandfather had been killed by T�Rell years ago. He�d felt hated toward Romulans for so long he found it difficult to even think anything but hate and vengeful thoughts toward them. Cory looked up.
�Humans have a saying,� He said, �Your time will come you just have to be patient.� N�Tran heard the words and understood the meaning but he couldn�t fathom how humans had a phrase or something philosophical for most if not all situations.

�Romulans too have a saying,� N�Tran said, �From the shadows we work, From the shadows we strike, From the shadows we observe.� Cory was confused.
�What does it mean?� N�Tran knew things of this nature were open to interpretation.
�What it means to me is that Romulans will never get �our time� if all we ever do is hide and plot.� Cory nodded.
�I see.� N�Tran tapped a control on the console and pulled up a file.
�You wanted to talk about what I remembered from being a father?� Cory nodded.
�If you have the time. I don�t want to be a bother.� N�Tran shook his head.
�No bother. Where to begin��

-Salara, N�Trans Quarters, Back Room-

Laura responded to a few messages from friends, the ones she had left and then opened the one from Starfleet containing her new orders. After inputting her credentials the message opened and began playing.

�Commander Laura McKnight, this is Admiral William Perry. Your request to be transferred to the Elerran sector has been approved. However, there are some conditions. Number One and perhaps the most important, Any suspicious behavior on the part of the Romulans orbiting Deep Space Guardian is to be reported at once. We expect you to use professional judgment and not allow your personal feelings to become involved. Number Two, We understand you�ve been residing on the Romulan Vessel Salara and providing service when necessary. We cannot order you to remain away from your family but if for any reason Deep Space Guardian needs assistance your orders are to report onboard immediately. Number Three, Commander Ian Xavier is the ranking officer in that sector and his orders will take precedence over anything you may be doing for the Romulans. If he has orders for you you�ll be expected to follow them. With that, I wish you good health and Godspeed.� The message ended and displayed a graphic showing that a copy of the relevant contents of the message had been transmitted to the station as well. No doubt because they wanted Xavier to know he could call on her if he needed to.

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[La Forge]

Deep Space Nine, Captain's Office

Melina had simply sat there, chained to Gul Oyet Bocal's desk, after the Cardassian figurehead had retreated from his office to the adjoining Operations Center or OPS. She had given up her chance to escape, after finding it impossible to escape from her chains without the key needed to unlock the shackles binding her legs. Now, she simply sat and thought over her situation, thinking over her thirty some years of life, about the people she knew, the places she's been, the things she had done in her life, ectetera. What was there left for her to do while she waited for something...anything...to happen. That something would happen sooner than she had expected...

Gul Oyet re-entered his office, some thirty minutes later, though, the captured Bajoran Colonel couldn't tell for sure, seeing as she had lost her sense of time after being stuck in Oyet's office for so long. Melina looked up at the Cardassian, her eyes gleaming, at the sight of the hated Cardassian. Something was...different about Oyet, though. The Cardassian almost looked...worried. What had happened?

"What's going on?" Melina asked the Cardassian Gul, sternly, curious as to what had caused Oyet to worry. Something that made Oyet worry would surely be something to make Melina happy.

+ 4 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Founder]

-DS9, Captain's Office-

Oyet ignored Melina, not responding to her query. Apparently, now she wanted to talk to him. He eyed the Cardassian guard at the door, the one that watched Melina while he was gone. Oyet was not about to leave her alone in his office to tamper with anything. He turned to look at the viewport, wondering what was causing all the trouble in the Gamma quadrant. There had been absolutely no Dominion activity for a while. He doubted it was them, but he did believe the missing DS9 crew had a part to play in it.

"Bocal." A voice said.

Oyet sighed and looked back to see the Nautolian commander standing there, robes tightly wrapped around him.

"Commander." Oyet said in a neutral tone.

Din looked down at Melina and recoiled in disgust. After a while of not bathing, she probably did not smell very nice.

"Glinn Jeilor managed to recover the last scans of the destroyed sensor array," He said, "It was a Cardassian shuttle that destroyed it."

Oyet's eyes squinted, "Cardassian?"

The Nautolian nodded, his eyes staring at Oyet in an accusing manner.

"Yes," He said through gritted teeth, "Cardassian. If I discover that you or your pitiful race is attempting to undermine Imperator Obsidian's reign here? Then you are sadly mistaken and you'll be the first to die. Understood?"

Oyet, surprisngly enough, began to laugh at the Nautolian. The Nautolian commander growled in annoyance and walked out.

-DSG, Ops-

While Bengali was awaiting a response from Ziona, Jones was rushing back and forth.

"Lieutenant Roberts," He said to Juliana, "I could use some help in trying to clear up this interference."

He hated the idea that so many of his crewmates were on the planet and in danger and he couldn't help them.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Emma nodded and motioned for some officers to follow her. They made their way towards the transporter room...

-Terra Nova, Starfleet R&D-

He shook his head, "No. We did. I think we can show this to admiral Ross, don't you?"

+ 4 good little details!
-Lord Borg

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime. Unknown Continent-

Sofie lets out a scream when Ian pushes her to the ground. Partially due to the fact that it quick movement surprises her, and partially because of the oncoming stampede. She closes her eyes tightly due to the damp dirt flying every which way.

Ian's, "Whoa," prompts her to open them. She becomes aware of their positioning and feels herself blush. His hot breath hits her neck, prompting a familiar stirring in her chest; the same feeling she would get when her husband kissed her. The feeling is misplaced and unwelcome.

Sofie moves to push him off her at the same time he began to move on his own. He must have mistaken her gesture as a request for assistance, for he takes her hands and pulls her to her feet. She reminds herself that he did not put them into the compromising position on purpose, and that he was simply trying to protect her.

"Thank you," she says as she attempts to rub the pain out of the shoulder she fell onto. She looks away quickly unable to fully look at the former Captain. She silently wonders if he perhaps led her here in hopes to leave her behind as some sort of twisted revenge for the mayhem she caused with her arrival. He is involved with Ziona after all. Perhaps their relationship makes the thought of raising Demetrius more appealing now. She tries to shake the thought out of her head. Don't be absurd, she scolds herself.

+ 6 Dilithium. Good job with Sofie's reaction.

Founder

[La Forge]

Deep Space Guardian, OPS

"Lieutenant Roberts. " Jones had addressed Juliana, who was seated at her console, opposite the cyborg. "I could use some help in trying to clear up this interference." Jones had asked, referring to the troublesome interference of Elerra Prime, which tampered with technological equipment, such as scanners and transporters.

"Yes, sir." Juliana answered, simply.

Juliana nodded, in reply, as she set about to comply with his request, tapping a few buttons here and there on her console before her, in an effort to clear up the interference.

While she was genuinely worried about the Nautolians and the crew trapped on Elerra Prime, including the Captain and the traiter Merik, Juliana was preoccupied with her duties to think much into the matter. She could do those things at another time and by the way the battle looked to be going, the Nautolians wouldn't be a problem for much longer. The Fifth Fleet was performing magnificently. On the subject of Merik, the traitorous hybrid would surely be caught. After all, Lieutenant Commander Robitaille was an efficent security officer and could get the job done. Things looked to be going well, all in all, however, because of the interference, she couldn't be sure how the away team was doing on the surface.

After a moment or two, Juliana managed to clear the interference, a fraction, enough to get a manageable reading on the status of the away team, at least.

"That should help..." Juliana muttered under her breath, as she continued to work.

Deep Space Nine, Captain's Office

Melina shot a dirty look at Oyet, after the Cardassian hadn't replied to her question, however, she simply shrugged the thought off. After all, she wasn't in the position to be asking questions. Seconds after Oyet had arrived in his office, a mysterious robed Nautolian Commander whom Oyet had called "Din" entered the office. Melina chose to sit in her place in the shadows, chained to the Gul's desk, silent, watching what ensued.

After this "Din" had reported that some sort of sensor array had been destroyed, by the Cardassians of all people, Oyet had begun to laugh. Why, Melina couldn't tell. After all, the deranged Gul was mad, now. Still, if Din had been talking about the same sensor array that Melina was thinking about...Cardassian, though? So many questions ran through her mind...

+ 6 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Shuttle, On route to Earth Spacedock, 2356-

Kiris had been escorted home from school again. This time for deactivating the stabilizers on the school playground equipment and causing a classmate to break his arm. Laura and Kiris were going to see N�Tran. The shuttle turned toward the Spacedock.

Kiris was sulking and not paying attention as the shuttle touched down inside the bay. N�Tran worked on the other side of the docking ring. He�d been working with some of the Starfleet Engineers on one of the new Galaxy class ships. They�d been in production for about 3 years. Of course N�Tran being a Romulan wasn�t allowed to see all the technical specifications but he had been allowed to install components, software and run diagnostics under supervision.

-Spacedock, Development Center 2, 2356-

N�Tran was running a diagnostic on the U.s.s. Sentry main deflector. Luckily it was in the Sol system when it failed and they could be towed back to spacedock. One of the Starfleet engineers looked over to N�Tran who was running his diagnostic. �You probably sabotaged it.� N�Tran didn�t respond. He�d gotten used to his human coworkers remarks. The supervisor spoke next.
�Shut up Quincy, he works just as hard as the rest of you.� The supervisor walked over to N�Tran.
�Sorry about that. It must be difficult for you to come back here day after day getting treated like that.� N�Tran looked up from his panel.
�Not as much as you�d think. Since I married Laura I�ve gotten used to being stared at and hearing whispers behind my back.� The supervisor sat beside N�Tran. He�d been decent to N�Tran since he�d begun working here. N�Tran felt that it was generally good old fashioned concern. A supervisor or commander isn�t a good one unless he tends to the needs of his people and addresses problems when they arise.
�You shouldn�t have to get used to it though. It�s the 24th century and humanity isn�t the belligerent race we were 400 years ago.�

Laura and Kiris entered the place where N�Tran worked. Kiris ran pass the people and toward the window. He saw a ship being worked on outside. He�d always wanted to fly one. Laura approached N�Tran who was talking with a supervisor. The supervisor looked up.
�If you�ll excuse me.� Laura seated herself next to N�Tran.
�He got in trouble again.� N�Tran nodded.
�Same cause I�m guessing?� Laura nodded.
�It has to stop. We need to get him some counseling or something.� N�Tran looked over to Kiris who peered out the window. If they�d been on Romulus right now Kiris would be in the Romulan training academy and wouldn�t be treated like he was less of a person because of his mixed background.
�I�ll talk to him if you�ll finish up this diagnostic.� Laura took over the work N�Tran had been doing. N�Tran walked over to Kiris and tapped his shoulder. Kiris turned around and smiled. He was always happy to see his father.
�Is that the ship you�re working on?� N�Tran nodded.
�Yes, but we have something to talk about.� N�Tran led Kiris into a small multi-user office just off the DC. N�Tran sat behind the desk.
�Want to tell me what happened this time?� Kiris looked up.
�They were making fun of me and calling you a spy again.� N�Tran placed his hand on his forehead. It seemed that any trouble Kiris got into revolved around the same causes every time.
�You know son you can�t keep letting it get to you. You�ll never change their minds if you keep acting out like that.� Kiris looked at a broken PADD on the desk and then back to his father.
�Why don�t we go live on Romulus? I look more like you then I do like any of them.� Kiris pointed to the door.
�We can�t go live there because they�d never accept your mother. I couldn�t do that to her.� Kiris was confused.
�So you won�t force her to live there but you�ll force me to remain where people hate me?� N�Tran shook his head.

�That�s not it son. You aren�t forced to stay here. If you can convince your mother to move I�ll support you but I seriously doubt she�ll drop everything she has here for the tantrum of a 10 year old.� Kiris stood up and shouted.
�I�m not just a kid! I�m faster and stronger than anyone else in my school! I can fight!� N�Tran remained calm.
�Kiris, a man wouldn�t shout at his father the way you just did and as for you being faster and stronger it�s all for nothing if you don�t have a level head.� N�Tran paused.
�What do you want to do with yourself son? Any plans for the future?� Kiris sat back down.
�I want to fly a starship and shoot things.� N�Tran cracked a small smile.
�It�s not all about that you know. There�s a lot of work involved. You don�t just get to fly and shoot things.� Kiris was eyeing the PADD again and looked back to N�Tran.

�Why don�t you join Starfleet father?� N�Tran resumed a neutral look on his face.
�I�m a little to set in my ways to go through the academy.� N�Tran didn�t want to tell his son about him being in the Tal Shiar. It was the Romulan intelligence division but he wasn�t here as a spy. He simply wanted to be near his family. Though it appeared his son was suffering because of his lacking presence. Kiris had began messing with the broken PADD.

N�Tran watched as Kiris messed with the PADD.
�I�ll tell you what son. You can have that if you can promise me you won�t get into trouble at school anymore. When I get home tonight we�ll talk more about this ok?� Kiris smiled and took the PADD.

-Salara, N�Trans Quarters, Present Day-

Cory listened intently as N�Tran talked about Kiris.
�So did he ever get into trouble again?� N�Tran shook his hand in the gesture that meant so-so.
�There were some minor incidents and one serious. He always listened to me when I told him things. At least he did when he was a kid.� Cory noted the look on N�Trans face. The look was familiar. Cory had seen the same look on his fathers face when he said he was leaving to serve on DSG. It was the look of a father who missed his son.
�Maybe we should go find him and have a guys night or something.� N�Tran smiled. A guys night. A human tradition.
�I�m not sure that�d be a good idea. I don�t want to move to quickly. I just got him talking to me on decent terms and I don�t want to push him away.� Cory put his head down for a moment and then looked back up.
�Did you ever have to punish him?� N�Tran nodded.
�I was called about a situation with him one time after a Parrises Squares match��

-Warehouse, Kenya, 2359-

Kiris had managed to convince his parents to allow him to join a Parrises Squares team. Actually it was more of him convincing N�Tran and N�Tran convincing Laura. He�d said that Kiris with his strength and stamina would make a hell of a player and he did. He�d made a team and helped them to the finals in Nairobi, Kenya. After they�d assured their place in the championship the team went to an abandoned warehouse in Mombasa to celebrate. The team Captain was older than most of them and had managed to get his hands on some assorted beverages, some that they weren�t technically allowed to have. There was Cardassian Kanar, Klingon Blood Wine, Chech�tluth, Romulan Ale and Vulcan Spice Tea. Kiris knew that the human players on the team accepted him because without him they wouldn�t have made it. There was a Vulcan female and a male Ktarian. They�d been his only true friends here because they were alien to this world too.

Kiris knew it wasn�t right to drink under age but he thought since he�d had Romulan Ale with his parents before and since this was a special occasion he�d let caution out the window. Kiris poured himself a glass and looked at it. The team captain came along with two of the female human players hanging on his arms.
�Go ahead and drink Ditex, we couldn�t have done it without you.� He raised a glass to Kiris.
�Three cheers for Ditex!� Kiris felt actually needed and smiled as the group cheered him on.
�Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!� Kiris downed the glass. He sat next to the female Vulcan. She was called L�Sar. He�d been attracted to her since they�d met several months ago when he�d joined the team. He never said anything about it because he knew she could never reciprocate. She sipped her tea and looked over to him. Kiris fumbled to find the words to express himself.
�It was�a good game.� She nodded.
�Indeed. The Captain was correct. We couldn�t have done it without you.� Kiris smiled but quickly tried to hide it.
�Well, I try.�

The night continued to go on and Kiris ended up drinking a little more. He�d begun to feel the effects of it. He wasn�t sure what he was feeling now. Everything felt hazy and not quite in sync. The last thing Kiris remembered was hearing L�Sar speak.
�Someone help me! He needs a doctor!�

-Starfleet Medical, 2359-

Kiris woke up with a whopper of a headache. He looked around and saw his father holding his mother in his arms. He didn�t know what time it was or how long he�d been out. He tried to move. There was barely any sound made but when Kiris stopped he noticed his fathers eyes open and he nearly jumped out of his skin. N�Tran nudged Laura. She woke up and ran to Kiris�s side.
�Are you alright?� Kiris�s headache was pounding now.
�I have a headache otherwise I believe I am ok.� She pulled him close and hugged him. When she pulled away her expression had changed.
�What the hell were you thinking?� Kiris wasn�t sure what she meant. He responded to her question with one of his own.
�What happened?� Laura turned around. She�d never expected to have this conversation with her son. He�d always been outgoing but it was beyond her why he�d do this.
�If your friend hadn�t called Starfleet Medical when she did you would have died from alcohol poisoning.� She paused for a moment.
�I�m very disappointed in you.� She walked out of the room and left N�Tran to deal with Kiris.

N�Tran sighed and walked to the bedside.
�I�m removing the authorization I gave you to play Parrises Squares and you�re grounded until further notice.� Kiris sat up.
�Father! The championship is in Two Weeks! The team needs me!� N�Tran lowered his head in disappointment and turned to walk out. He stopped just short of the door.
�You should have thought of that before what you did.�

-Salara, N�Trans Quarters, Present Day-

N�Tran paused again for a moment.
�He never forgave me for not letting him go. He actually tried to sneak out and I had to bar his window and lock his door.� Cory wasn�t sure how to respond.
�It sounds like it is tough being a father.� N�Tran nodded.
�It is but there are just as many good things about being one. I�ll tell you about one if you want to hear it.� Cory nodded and listened intently as N�Tran began speaking again.

+ 7 Dilithium. I enjoyed the family past. Kiris was a trouble maker! I knew it...

Founder

[Valathous]

~ Unknown Continent, Elerra Prime ~

Blake got to his feet slowly, not knowing where he was at the moment, or even who he was for a friend period. His vision was rather foggy and glazed as he looked around trying to identify anything that he could recognize. He could see several forms moving slowly and could barely make out that their mouths appeared to be moving. The loud ringing in his ears prevented him from being able to understand what was being said, though he could hear the muffled sound of phaser fire, engines, and several explosions. A warm sensation came down across Blake face; he wiped the blood away with his sleeve that came from a cut on his head.

Blake's pulse was slightly higher than normal and it echoed in his head along with the ringing that persisted for several more moments. His vision began to clear and he looked around at what was their crash site. Fire and debris covered their general area however, for the most part the team had survived the crash. They had stumbled out of the shuttle after the crash only to have a Nautolian fighter take a shot at what was left of it, destroying it and with the force of the explosion, knocking the team unconscious for a short period of time.

Blake finally regained his senses and began to recollect the scenario. The shuttles had been looking for Merik's crash site when they were ambushed by Nautolian fighters. Apparently his rescue team had arrived far sooner than Blake had anticipate. No doubt a ship within the newly acquired Romulan system. One of the three security team shuttles had been immediately destroyed and Blake's had been damaged, forcing it to crash to the planet's surface. Blake did not know what happened to the third shuttle of officers. He figured, in all probability that they were dead. However, unbeknownst to him the shuttle had been saved by one of the Federation ships flying within the atmosphere and had landed just a mile and a half away safely.

Blake now stood up. The ringing in his ears from the explosion slightly subsiding. He looked to his side and noticed the phaser rifle that he had slung across his back for the mission. The strap had ripped from the crash and when the shuttle was destroyed and Blake sent flying, he had undoubtedly let go and it continued in a similar projectile path as Blake. He stooped down and picked it up. Blake looked around to see the rest of his team regaining their consciousness and standing up. Blake looked into the sky where a battle was raging, undoubtedly over the recovery of Merik and whatever information he possessed. As Blake watched, a Nautolian fighter flew overhead but was being pursued by one of the Federation ships, who fired and destroyed it. Unfortunately for the security team, several pieces of debris flew in their direction.

"Get down!" Blake yelled to alert his team as shards of flaming metal flew in their direction.

Blake moved to the side and ducked just in time as a large piece of outer hull came spinning towards him. He evaded it, though ensign Bacashihua was not so quick as the flailing metal struck him on the left side, removing his arm, shoulder, and a large portion of the side of his face and head. Blake, being in close proximity, like the foliage around him, was hit by the large spread of blood spatter from the ensign; he was undoubtedly dead. The team watched in horror as their collegue was killed in a grusome manner. His body lay on the ground as a large dark puddle of liquid formed around him, ungulfing the green grass.

Blake wiped the spatter from his face as he looked down at the unfortunate officer. There was nothing that could be done. Blake did promise himself that when all this was over, he'd come back for his body out of respect for the family. Blake considered removing the upper portion of his uniform as it was coted in both his own blood and that of his ensign but realized his yellow undershirt would simply not suffice as cover in the thick of the forest or the an open plain but would rather have quite on opposite effect, drawing things toward him with it's bright fabric.

Blake turned to his team who were demoralized by the whole event. Several officers on this shuttle were injured or dead and an entire other shuttle, maybe two to their knowledge. had been destroyed.

"Let's not sit here to be picked off by Nautolian ground forces. I realize these aren't the circumstances we wanted for this recovery mission however if we do not locate Merik before these Nautolians do, a lot more of your friends or family will die," Blake said attempting to regroup the team and give them some will to continue on. "We'll come back for our unfortunate collegues but for now, lets go find the bastard that caused all of this."

Blake grabbed his rifle by the handle and withdrew his tricorder that had fortunately remained on his belt. He nodded to his team and headed into the thick of the unknown continent's forest in hopes of locating the Merik Naruul from the mirror universe and showing him just how Starfleet, and Section 31 dealt with people like him...

+ 8 Dilithium. The detail on Blake's condition was amazing.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Archer watched several officers walk to the turbolift and entered. He looked back to the screen. He let out a small sigh, and hoped everything went alright. The battle on the screen was going at a fast pace. Archer HATED the idea of simply sitting by and watching the battle, and he ordered people to thier deaths/ He realized the larger ships had shuttles and runabouts, they could offer a support. Dangerous and risky for sure. However, he'd be damned if he was going to order people to die, and sit idely by and watch. There was several options in small craft. The scoutships were an ideal choice, at Ian's request, when some shuttles are changed out for fighters, the scouts will definitly be one of the ones that say just in case. They can also be of use.

Making his decision, Archer stood and moved for the turbolift. He looked over to the officer at tactical, who was about to be the highest ranking officer on the ship.

"You have the bridge, I'm going to the shuttlebay, and taking the Blalock"

The officer looked to Archer in surprise, that craft was a one person scout, he was at odds of leting Archer go period, let alone go in such a small ship. Though, they are slghtly larger then a normal shuttle. Archer held a hand up before the officer could object.

"Before you object, Others can go along with the combat capable craft, same with the other ships, that way we can do something."

The officer nodded and entered the commands to order people to report to the shuttlebay. Archer entered the turbolift, and called for the shuttlebay.

-Terra Nova, Starfleet R&D-

T'Sa looked over the PADD again, and picked up one that was on a stand next to her, that had information she had recorded on it. She looked to Conrad, he was right, it was a team effort. It was good to see that so many people calmed down and started working on the project. They just needed a fresh clam voice, it seemed.

"Indeed we can, Lieutenant. You may come if you wish. If not, take a break, eat a meal, or a snack. You more then earned a break."

T'Sa moved for the door, double checking the PADDs in her hands. Hopefully, Ross would be pleased with the turn of events.

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder