Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 39

[ILoveHarry]

-IKS Jo'tal, Science Lab-

"Let's take a trip to the bridge, Miss Xavier," Monroe says as he makes to leave the room.

"But," Sofie starts to say in protest. Deflated, and quietly she continues, "I mean no harm to the Fedaration."

Terrified to remain in the room with the woman so intent on killing she and her child, Sofie walks quickly to keep up wit Monroes sturdy gait.

[Founder]

-IKS Jo'tal, Bridge-

Monroe, Sophia, and Demetrius quietly strolled the corridor and had taken the turbolift to the bridge. He had ignored her pleas and focused on the mission at hand. As much as it pained him to hurt a woman that looked exactly like the woman he had loved, he would finish it. The lift doors opened and Monroe pushed Sophia onto the bridge, away from the lift in case she attempted to run. Not that there was anywhere she could run to. By the looks of it, the ship had dropped out of warp and was back in the Elerran System.



It shouldn't have taken long anyways since the Dragoon system was near the Elerran one. Monroe motioned towards of the officer.

"Hail DSG." Monroe ordered.

The Klingon communications officer growled, annoyed to be taking orders from a Human, and obeyed. The science officer checked her controls in curiosity.

"I do not detect a space station in orbit of the planet." She said.

Monroe shot Sophia a suspicious look, then looked back at the Klingon.

"What?" He asked, "How is that possible?"

The communications officer turned in her seat and looked at Monroe.

"She is correct," She reported, "I am only detecting a satellite and it's emitting a looped message."

Monroe stepped forward next to Lurta's seat in the center of the bridge, which was empty with Lurta in the science lab.

"Put it on the comm." He ordered.

The Klingon nodded and activated the message so they could hear it on the bridge.

"For Earth...for Vulcan....for Andoria....for Tellar....and for all the worlds that fell to the Colony. We fight and we'll never stop fighting. For Earth....for Vulcan....for Andoria-"

Monroe listend as the message continued to repeat itself, not sure what that was about. He didn't understand where the K class station was. He wondered if the defeated Nautolians had assaulted the station, but no debris had been detected. It was only the satallite. Had the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance defeated all those worlds? He looked back at Sophia as if he was demanding an explanation.

"Director," The science officer called out, "I'm detecting a rather large presence of life-forms on the planet surface."

Monroe was completely baffeled by these reports. According to scans from the Guardian-A, Elerra Prime was a barren waste land. Now it was heavily populated? This made absolutely no sense.... What had happened?

+ 4 Good post!

Lord Borg

[Lord Borg]

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Jon shifted nerviously in his seat, he knew by all rights he had to follow Ni's orders. However, those 81 Starships, while they would be able to do some damage, many of the ships could not get out of the battle. If perhaps the Monarch could attack from this side, then the enemy forces would have a differnt front to worry about, the more ships brought out, the better.

Jon looked down at his consol, and wondererd what the Hydrans werer doing, and hoped that soon, they would do something, like instead of watching the battle, why not send those ships in? What ever Ni had said, it must have been powerful.

Archer looked over to Emma then nodded and looked back to the screen. This would probably get him yelled at.

"Ready all torpedo bays, have each torpedo target a seperate vessel, and charge phasers to maximum intensity. Perpare to attack the fleet, we need more to fight the Nautolians."

-USS Nile, Cockpit-

Burns looked to the consol and saw that a Federation Starship was hailing them. Burns sighed slightly and brought the face of the Captain on screen.

"This is Lieutenant Suzie Burns, medical officer stationed on the Starbase, Deep Space Guardian, may I be of assitance?"

-DSG, Couselors Office-

Emorie was working at her computer, Alicia had gone home a while ago to get some sleep. The two would have to talk in the future. Hearing the door chime ring, she looked up.

"Enter"

+ 3 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-IKS Jo'tal, Bridge-

During the walk to the turbo lift, Demetrius had begun to whimper again, as if detecting his mother's woe.

Sofie stumbled when Monroe shoved her onto the bridge, and shot him an annoyed look. She couldn't understand why he was being so rough and harsh with her when she was doing her best to cooperate.

"I do not detect a space station in orbit of the planet." Came the reply from the Klingon officer to Monroe regarding DSG.

Sofie shoots a look at the officer, then to Monroe, and back to the officer. Not There...? Is that even possible?

She crosses slowly in disbelief to stand next to Monroe. She stares open-mouthed at the viewscreen.

"Director," The science officer called out, "I'm detecting a rather large presence of life-forms on the planet surface."

Sofie gapes at the news. How could it possibly be heavily populated? "I don't understand," Sofie says rhetoricly.

+ 2 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Founder]

-DSG, Chief Engineer's Office-

Ensign Mark Bengali looked up when Laura entered the room. He had been trying to find a PADD regarding items that were needed to be sent to the Hippocratic Oath. She had asked if he had seen Kiris. Quickly, Bengali shook his head.

"The last I saw of him was in sickbay ma'am," He said, "And he rushed out of there for no reason. I don't know where we went, I'm sorry."

-USS Trek Bridge-

Jacob arched an eyebrow when the officer on the runabout asked if they could be of assistance.

"No..." He said, "However, I must warn you that you're about to enter Gorn space. That area of space is highly contested and long range sensors have picked up light Nautolian activity. What are you doing?"

He was completely baffeled at the fact that a Federation runabout from DSG, commanded by the son of his old commanding officer, was attempting to enter Gorn space. It didn't seem like a smart thing to do.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

The helmsman from the Hippocratic Oath, lieutenant Cruz, reluctantly looked back at Archer as he ordered the ship to return to the battle. She didn't like the idea of disobeying the fleet admiral over sentemintality. Archer said that it was because they would need every ship, but she had a feeling it was more because he didn't like to leave anyone behind. He was famous for that during the Dominion war. She sighed and turned the large ship about, thrusting it back into the Cardassian/Koinian fleet...

-USS Jaguar, Bridge-

Ensign Jora looked from the helm and turned towards fleet admiral Ni.

"Sir?" She said, "The Monarch has turned back towards the ships that were left behind."

Ni looked at the helmsman, confused by the tactic.

"Are they damaged?" He asked.

Jora shook her head, "I'm reading minimal damage."

Commander Tiin looked over to face Ni.

"Captain Archer willingly went back." She said.

Fleet admiral Ni sighed at the loss of a Sovereign class starship. Hopefully, they'd be able to make it back.

"Are the Hydrans in place?" He asked.

The halfing first officer nodded after checking the console.

"Yes sir." She said.

Ni turned to looked back at the viewscreen.

"Here we go." He said.



-IKS Jo'tal, Science Lab-

Sophia had made the annoying response of not understanding what was going on and Monroe was fighting every urge in his body to not kill Demetrius in fury. It seemed the political structure of the mirror universe had changed considerably. However, there were a lot of unanswered questions. Lurta entered the bridge, looking around in confusion. Monroe quickly explained their situation.

"It seems that we have come a long way for nothing." She said, waving the multi-dimensional transporter around.

Monroe stepped forward and snatched it from her hand. He was about to admonish her when the science officer spoke.

"I'm detecting something....many somethings leaving the atmosphere of Elerra Prime," She said, "Whatever it is....it's heading for us."

Monroe squited his eyes at the viewscreen.

"What is that?" He asked.



Hundreds of alien objects, non-humanoid, flew towards the Klingon vessel.

"Are those ships?" Lurta asked.

The science officer shook her head.

"No," She said, "They're reading as...life-forms."

"They're coming straight for us..." Monroe said.

+ 6 Good post, nice details.

Lord Borg

[Spellbinder Marik]

-DSG, Counselors Office-

The doors parted and Kiris walked through. Kiris stared at Emorie for a moment.
�Umm�excuse me. I have a problem�� Kiris wasn�t comfortable asking for help.
�I have to see a counselor before they�ll let me back on duty.�

-DSG, Chief Engineer�s Office-

�Thank you Ensign.� Laura walked out of the office. Why had Kiris been there and why would he just rush out?
�Computer, locate Lt. Kiris Ditex.� The computer beeped.
�Lt. Kiris Ditex is on the Medical Level in the Counselor�s office.� Laura was confused now. She and N�Tran practically had to drag him to see a counselor and now he was going to one of his own free will? She stepped into a nearby lift and called for the Medical Level.

-Ferex, Corridor-

N�Tran walked along the corridor nodding to various officers as he did. He could see that they were homesick. So was he. The war had changed them all and would likely affect them more as it went on. N�Tran stopped and leaned against a wall. He closed his eyes. He began to see things. Thing�s he'd already seen but hasn�t really seen. He heard a brief statement.
��remember the future�� N�Tran opened his eyes. Where have I heard that before?

+ 3 Dilithium. I like the Romulans feeling the loss of Romulus.

Founder

[La Forge]

Dominion Flagship, Bridge

Odo considered Kira's words for a moment, knowing there was nothing the Changeling could do to change the strong-willed Bajoran woman's mind. At length, the Founder reluctantly nodded his head, in response. After all, what right did Odo have to stop Kira from fighting for her home?

"I understand, Nerys. Do what you must. I'll be here...to protect you." Odo said, after a moment or two, with a curt nod. At this, Kira cracked a wide smile and hugged Odo, happy to have his understanding.

"Thank you. I knew you would understand." Kira whispered, into his ear, as she embraced him, warmly, happy to have Odo's consent. The Changeling was taken aback by this, at first, however, eventually, returned the hug.

Garak, who was now standing on the transporter pad with Melina, awaiting the two; Kira and Odo, called out at the two, visibly annoyed. Apparently, Garak was just as anxious to get down to the planet, as anyone else, which was suprising from somone as Garak.

"Alright, you two. Would you care to break it up and step onto the transporter pad, please?" Garak called out, in his traditional calm and cheerful demeanor. Melina, who was watching the two, Kira and Odo, with a faint smile on her pale lips, happy to see her old friends happy, nudged the Cardassian and former Obsidian Order member with her elbow.

"Shut up." Melina snapped, angrily. As always, the Bajoran Colonel was displaying her own...affection...for the Cardassian people. Garak, not wishing the woman's wrath, silenced himself. This Colonel Ryder seemed to be quite unpredictable. Not somone to mess with.

At length, Odo and Kira pulled apart and the two stepped onto the transporter pad, with the others. Moments later, the group disappeared, in a beam of light, their molecules being broken apart, piece by piece, to be reassembled...on the surface of Bajor.

Bajor

A few seconds later, the group consisting of Kira, Odo, Melina, and Garak, reappeared, on the surface of Bajor, along with a group of Jem'Hadar soldiers, including the Jem'Hadar First, from the Dominion flagship.

"Where are we?" Garak had asked, looking around his surroundings, which consisted of a vast beautiful plain, with billowing reeds flowing in the gentle breeze. Bajor was a beautiful place, though, Garak couldn't tell. Melina, who had spent her entire life on Bajor and knew the planet as if the back of her hand, briefly scanned the area, before quickly responding to Garak's question.

"Hill Province. We're a few kilometers outside of Jo'Kola. There is a moderate-sized Resistance detachment in Jo'Kola. We can meet up with them there and get into the fighting." Melina explained, quickly, before she set off, eastward, towards the city.

+ 7 Dilithium. Wonderful detail.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Counselor's Office-

Emorie studied Kiris for a moment. She wondered what it is that he needed from a Counselor. What ever it was...

"Um, ok...Well, I'm free right now, would you like to sit down?"

Emorie gestured towards the couch as she rose from a desk and walked over towards a chair. Emorie reached out with her empathic part of her abilties, and tried to read his emotions, she could sense discomfort, and something seemed to be bothering him.

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Jon gripped the arms of his chair as the Monarch headed for the battle again. He'd face the music later, leaving those people to die, was just not something he could do. Even though some of those ships could end up destroyed period, the situation they were in, there was no chance.

"Prepare to fire!"

Archer glanced at Creed then back to the screen. As the Monarch flew into a 'gap' of ships, Jon gritted his teeth.

"NOW!"

-USS Nile, Cockpit-

Burns looked to the Captain that she was speaking to. She figured they were probably wondering why the tiny Runabout was heading for Gorn Space.

"We are answering a Gorn disress Call. It would seem they require help right away, we have a message for their government if we cannot get to them on time."

From there, Burns recited the message, and for good measure even transmitted a copy of the record to the Trek

+ 3 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-DSG, Counselor�s Office-

Kiris accepted Emorie�s invitation to sit. He clasped his hand together and stared into the floor for a moment.
�I was in a battle down on Elerra Prime not long ago. I killed a man to prevent him from sending vital data to the Nautolians.� Kiris felt a shudder go down his spine. It bothered him intensely to even think about it.
�It was either him or me. If I failed to stop him many more would have died.� It was all coming back to him now.
�Merik approached me as a potential friend. Even after I found out about him and where he was from he continued to try and turn me over to his cause. I have to admit that for a time I was tempted to join him. I�ve faced ridicule and racial slurs for many years.� Kiris kept talking.
�Merik was like me, a hybrid. Human/Romulan. I haven�t ever met another. I suppose it was that fact that made me consider his offer. �and now he�s dead. Whenever I close my eyes all I see is the look on his face after I stabbed him. It was a look of awe and confusion all at the same time. It�s haunting me��

+ 3 Dilithium. Good post with Kiris.

Founder

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Counselor's Office-

Emorie sat in her seat, with a PADD in her hand as she listed to Kiris. It would seem the man had some troubles indeed, she had right away noticed his Romulan features. It was differnt, the vibe she got from Kiris was human, usually hybrids had some sort of mixture. Perhaps the Romulan parent was not around in his early life.

Emorie jotted down a few notes on her PADD as Kiris spoke about killing Kiris, and the whole deal about the ridicule he had faced over the years.

"Um.." Emorie paused a moment and studied Kiris, trying to read his emotional state, "Is this the first time you have killed someone?"

[Spellbinder Marik]

-DSG, Counselor�s Office-
Kiris nodded.
�Yes. I don�t understand. I did the right thing� Why does it feel as though I�ve done wrong?� Kiris paused. He had done a lot of wrong in his life but nothing overly serious.
�I don�t know why I feel this way. Merik was the enemy��

-Salara, Holochamber-

Trip had began running another of the Klingon programs on file. It was called �The Day of Honor�. It was a simulation where a warrior evaluates his deeds for the past year to see whether he has been honorable or not. Trip entered a cavern lit only by candles and oils burning in pans.

�Qupla! What warrior goes there?� Trip turned around to face the voice.
�I am called Trip, from the Yautja clan of waseck!� The holographic Klingon moved closer.
�You come to have your honor challenged?� Trip nodded.
�Yes.� Trip held his confidence.
�Are you willing to see the ceremony through until the end?� Trip nodded.
�I never leave a task unfinished.� The Klingon studied Trip for a moment.
�It will be a lengthy ordeal. First you must eat from the heart of a sanctified Targ.� Another Klingon brought forth a bowl with pieces of meat in it. Trip took one and dropped it into his mouth. The Klingon nodded and smiled a toothy grin.
�The heart of a Targ brings courage to one who eats it.� Trip continued to stand his ground.

�Next, you will drink Mat�Lach from the grail of Kahless.� Another Klingon offered Trip a golden grail. Trip accepted it and began to drink.
�Drink to the glory of Kahless, the greatest warrior of all time.� Trip finished and handed the grail back to the other Klingon.
�Kahless defeated his enemies on the field of battle and built a mighty empire. How have you proven yourself worthy?� Trip thought about what to say. He wasn�t sure how a Klingon would respond so he responded the way he would.
�I have come across the galaxy at my fathers order. I destroyed the passage so that the rebellious elements of my people would not affect this quadrant.� The Klingon seemed unimpressed by his reply.

�A pitiful reply.� Trip began to feel anger. His reply was the truth. In the Yautja culture following the directions of ones father and elder was considered a most honorable deed. The Klingon began speaking again.
�A warrior must endure great hardship. To test your mettle you will endure the ritual of twenty pain sticks. After that, you will engage in battle with a master of the bat�leth. Finally, you will traverse the sulfur lagoons of Gorath.� The Klingon motioned for Trip to proceed through an opening. Trip walked through and was followed by the Klingon.

-IRW Ares, On Rout to Romulus-

T�Rell looked around at the small bridge. There were four others besides himself. He was normally used to seeing at least six. An officer spoke up from behind.
�Admiral, may I present a suggestion?� T�Rell turned around to face him.
�Alright.� The officer brought up a schematic.
�I have been working on a way to improve the Romulan cloaking device and I believe I may have finally achieved an improvement.� T�Rell had heard this story many times before. Although he wasn�t about to dismiss this officers suggestion. After all, he may just have something.
�Explain.� The officer replaced the schematic with a diagram of the ship.
�By using our secondary deflector I can simulate an altered hull geometry and that in conjunction with the main deflector should allow us to travel at maximum warp and not give off the subspace variance. It should also eliminate the sensor echo effect on navigational sensors.� T�Rell thought about it.
��and this modification will be applicable to all of our ships?� The officer shook his head.
�I�m sorry sir. I�ve based the design on this class of science ship. It might work on others some day but for that to even be considered this test would have to be successful first.� T�Rell accepted that.
�Apply your modifications. Helm, as soon as he�s done proceed to maximum warp.� If this worked it would be another technological improvement for the Romulans. If it failed it would likely get them detected and killed.

+ 6 Dilithium. Nice detail with the Klingon program.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-IKS Jo'tal, Science Lab-

Sofie watched in horror as the object flew closer and closer to them. In her recolection, she had never seen such lifeforms. What they were, and their reasoning for their visit, was beyond her. Not that she'd of expected anyone here to believe her. In fact she fully expected some wild accusation from Monroe or Lurta illuding that this was somehow her doing.

She was trapped with maniacs, of that she was quite sure. Maniacs that probably brought her here to dangle her in front of more manical maniacs. The questioon was; What had become of the later maniacs?

[Sam Kenobi]

-DSG, Holodeck-

"Ensign," Ian finally said, "I want you to go to Ops and try to locate her. She could be lost somewhere on Mythani."

Derek stared at the commander for a short moment, taken aback slightly by this new information. He shakes his head slightly, coming out of the bit of shock. "Um... Yes sir. I'll.." he points his thumb back as he starts walking off, "I'll get right on that." He leaves the holodeck.

-DSG, Ops-

Wholly unaware why, yet completely conscious to the fact that finding this woman is suddenly important to him, Derek enters Ops catching his breath. He had broken into a run outside the holodeck. He pushes the current occupant out of the operations console, not caring about his earlier inner struggles with dealing with his operations crew. An innate feeling that time is the major factor in finding the woman and her son safe drives him as he initiates a first, general scan of the continent.

The console beeps a negative result.

"Come on," he says, running a more detailed scan, this one taking a few more seconds. There's another negative result before he tries one final scan, using DNA results from the woman's transport onto the ship earlier in the week for the party. Nothing. Derek slouches in his chair, hitting his combadge.

"Ensign James to Commaner Xavier. She's not there," he says, as his futile scans continue, this time in a raduis of the governor's home itself. "I..." he taps a few more panels, "I am picking up residual signs of transport, though. Definatly not one of ours that got her to and from the station."

He shakes his head again. "That's all I'm getting though," he says with a few more runs of the scan. He furrows his brow, waiting the commander's reply, frustrated the his actions couldn't have been more useful.

+ 5 Dilithium. Great post.

Founder

[Founder]

-DSG, Holodeck-

Ian had been pacing the grassy field of "Japan", while Ziona continued to meditate. He wondered what was taking ensign James so long and realized that it the station was massive. It would take a while to go from there to Ops. Finally, Derek spoke over the comm. line.

"Ensign James to Commaner Xavier. She's not there, I... I am picking up residual signs of transport, though. Definatly not one of ours that got her to and from the station."

The commander was about to ask if he could boost the signal to get more, but James continued to speak.

"That's all I'm getting though."

Ian sighed, frustrated with the information. An alien transporter beam took Sophia. This...certainly complicated mattered.

"What about the child?" Ian asked in concern, "She had a baby with her."

-IKS Jo'tal, Science Lab-

Monroe watched in horror as the alien life-forms continued towards the K'i'tinga class starship. He heard their strange tenticales running against the hull. Out of habit, he ducked down as if he was avoiding them from touching him. There was a moment of silence and suddenly the Klingon starship began to shake violently.

"What's happening!?" Lurta demanded.

The Klingon science officer checked her console for an answer.

"Some type of...acid is being poured onto the hull," She reported, "It's burning through it."

Monroe's eyes widened in shock as he realized that these alien's had some kind of method of destroying the hull.

"Get us to the planet," He ordered, "FAST!"

Lurta looked at him in surprise, "What!? No! We need to return to our universe! There is no army here."

Monroe, furious and obsessed with completing his task for SI, shoved the helmsman aside and set a course for Elerra Prime. Before Lurta or any Klingon could protest, the sound of the acid burning through the roof of the bridge could be heard. The bubbling sound cause Monroe to freeze in fear...

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

The Sovereign class starship zoomed past damaged Federation ships and fired on the nearest Cardassian and Koinian starships. The sheer strength of the phasers and the brunt of the quantum torpedoes caused the enemy vessels to explode and drift away, dead in space. Emma checked the tiny console on the armrest of her chair.

"The Kyoto has been cleared." She reported.

-Bajor, Hill Province-

The distant sounds of explosions could be heard, rocking the nearby area. Odo looked at the waiting group, eager to get a move on.

"We should go," He said, "I have a feeling the Nautolians are causing a world of trouble for the Bajorans and their allies."

-USS Trek, Bridge-

Jacob listened to the message, fearing the absolute worst. Fito was attempting a coup of the Gorn government through the Black Claw. If the Gorn joined fully, that could sway the war to Fito's favor. Before he could respond to the runabout, Nile, a warning klaxon was heard.

"Captain," An officer reported, "I'm detecting an incoming group of ships, Gorn and Nautolian."

Sebastian stood up to see ten ships approaching them. No doubt, they found the message and were attempting to attack any ship that recieved. Most of the ships were troop transports, no doubt to march into the Gorn Command and take control.

"Runabout Nile," He said, "Get to the Gorn home world. My ship will attempt to hold off the Black Claw. Go!"

+ 4 Once again...details...

Lord Borg

[La Forge]

Bajor, Hill Province

The group, consisting of Bajoran Colonels Kira and Melina, Founder leader, Odo, and former Obsidian Order spy, Garak, along with a detachment of Jem'Hadar warriors, at the behest of Odo, started off, through the waist-high, reed-filled field, towards the nearby city of Jo'Kola, which also happened to be the hometown of Colonel Ryder. The sounds of bombs and explosions could be heard coming from all around. Distant screams could be heard, faint and soft, coming from high up in the nearby mountains. The battle for Bajor had already began, it seems. No doubt the Resistance was leading the fight on the planet's surface, as requested.

The group marched on through the field, eventually coming to a beaten and worn dirt path, which was almost invisible to the naked eye. However, Melina, who knew Bajor and all of it's land as if the back of her hand, had spotted the trail, which led to Jo'Kola. The group continued on towards the Bajoran city, following along the dirt path. The sounds of the explosions were growing closer, as the ground began to shake, violently, with every step the group made towards Jo'Kola. The sounds of screams, both Nautolian and Bajoran, could be heard and the screams were growing louder and more defined. The agonizing screams, cries of pain and suffering...these would be absolutely unbearable for those uninitiated to violence and warfare. However, for someone who had seen enough war, enough suffering, enough death, as Melina and the others, the sounds hardly phased them. Instead, the sounds spurred Melina on. She longed to get into the fight, to help fight for her homeland with her comrades. The group were close, now. Only about a ten minute's walk awaited them, before arriving in Jo'Kola. There, Melina would receive her wish.

At length, the group eventually arrived in Jo'Kola, however, the city was in complete chaos. Raging fires had erupted all over the city, engulfing entire buildings in flame. People lit aflame ran about, screaming, while desperately trying to put out the flames, by tearing off their burning clothing, to no avail. Corpses of the dead, both friend and enemy alike, littered the cobblestone roads of the beseiged city. Blood soaked the earth, as a river of crimson red flowed down the side of the road. Nautolian fighters swooped above, overheard, laying down suppressing fire on the city, from above. Bajoran Raiders, piloted by Resistance members, were attempting to combat the Nautolian fighters. However, the decrepit old Raiders were no match for a top of the line Nautolian fighter and were quickly destroyed. At least the Raiders were keeping the Nautolian fighters occupied. Luckily, the Jem'Hadar reinforcements were beginning to arrive, to assist the remaining Bajoran Resistance members, in the fight against the Nautolians. Despite this fact, the fight for the city and for all of Bajor was far from over. Melina and the others had arrived at exactly the right time.

A young Bajoran male, a member of the Resistance, rushed over to the group, standing at the city gates, after noticing the group arrive, only moments ago. The man dodged phaser fire, with explosions erupting all around him, as he ran. Luckily, the man had succesfully crossed the road and survived. Breathing heavily, the man approached the group, dirt, mud, and blood covering his ashen face. From the looks of it, the fight had been going on for some time, now.

"Colonel Ryder! You've arrived! With friends, it seems." the Resistance member cried out, happily, after catching his breath. "Good. You've arrived at the right moment. The fight is going well, at the moment, with the help of the Jem'Hadar, at least." the man reported, with a tired smirk. "Though, those damned Nautolian fighters are definitely a pain in our ass. Our Raiders are no match for those. We've got an AA gun mounted on the east side of town, though, Nautolians are crawling all over that area. All of the roads that way are blocked. It would be suicide to try and get over there by foot, but...we really need that anti-aircraft gun." the man explained the dire situation, grimly. Melina listened to the man's words, going over his dilemma, for a few seconds, before replying.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it. I'll get that gun." Melina promised the boy, who couldn't be any older than thirteen and a member of the Resistance, with a faint smile and a pat on the shoulder.

However, before the boy could reply, a phaser shot rang out from the rooftop of a nearby building, the phaser shoot blasting right through the boy's forehead, killing him, instantly. The Bajoran boy fell to the ground, with a gaping hole in his head, blood spilling out of the fatal wound as if a fountain.

"Get down!" Melina shouted, pushing Odo and Kira to the ground, to protect them from the sniper. Garak ducked for cover, on his own. As if Melina would help a Cardassian, anyways. The sniper continued to fire at the group, who had crawled over to hide behind a battered wall, for cover. Several of the Jem'Hadar had been killed, by the sniper. Melina, who sat with her back to the stone wall, breathing heavily, with dirt covering her chest and the boy's blood on her skin, fumbled around for her phaser. She quickly pulled it out of her holster, whispered a quick prayer to the Prophets, and arose, spinning about and coming out of hiding. She peeked around the side of the wall and spotted the Cardassian sniper, atop a nearby building. She quickly fired, with precise and pin-point accuracy. The Cardassian sniper was killed, almost instantly, with a shot right through the shoulder. The limp Cardassian body of the sniper fell over the side of the building, crushing a Nautolian soldier in the process.

After the sniper had been taken care of, Melina darted out of cover and rushed over to the boy's body, to see if he was still alive. She checked the boy's pulse. The boy was dead. She was foolish to believe there was any chance of survival, for him, especially after such a hit. She silently cursed under her breath, at the sight of the dead boy, unhappy to see another young Bajoran killed, before she arose, wiping the dirt from her hands, as she did so. She looked to the rest of the group, who stood a few feet, nearby.

"You heard what we need to do. Let's do it." Melina snapped, her mindset completely focused on the fight.

+ 9 Dilithium. The detail is amazing.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Sofie lets out a small yelp at the sound of the melting ship. "I'm with her," she says indicating Lurta with her thumb. "We should definatly go!" She looks to the other faces of fear on the bridge before resting on Monroe. "Before we're all killed. Including you!"

[Sam Kenobi]

-DSG, Ops-

"What about the child?" Derek was already shaking his heas when he heard the question, yet he continued with every scan he could think of. "She had a baby with her."

"I'm sorry, Commander, I've already checked. The child isn't there.." He was finally able to centralize scans in the house on Elera Prime as he continued speaking. "The woman I talked to, the aide, she said that they were both gone when she went to check."

His console beeped a short frenzy. "Hold on," he said, deterring anymore conversation while he checked what his most recent scan had found.

"It looks like..." he tapped a few more panels. "Yes.... Someone beamed in to the house some time before she and her child were beamed out."

He paused momentarily, realizing what happened. "Somebody kidnapped her."

+ 2 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Founder]

-DSG, Holodeck-

Ian's eyes widened when he heard the grim report from ensign James. Kidnapped Sophia and the baby? He began to pace through the serene Japanese field. Ian couldn't comprehend why anyone would do that. All sources pointed to SI, but again, there was no real reason for them to do that. He couldn't seem to pinpoint it at all.

"Ensign James," Ian said, "You've done well, but I don't think there is much we can do from this end. Try and pinpoint the source of the transporter beam and I'm going to try and talk to Starfleet Intelligence. Keep my posted. Xavier out."

He shot a look towards the quiet Ziona, but said nothing. She had yet to respond to the promotion due to the interruption.

-USS Trek, Bridge-

Jacob ordered the channel to be closed and for the Nebula class starship to assault the incoming Gorn-Nautolian ships. There were ten starships altogether, the majority of the Nautolian ships were troop transports. No doubt, they would beam those troops into the Gorn command center and kill whatever leader the Gorn may have. He watched the runabout rush past the border and enter Gorn space.

"Good luck." He whispered.

He looked towards the helm officer.

"Full speed ahead ensign," He ordered, then looked at tactical, "Ready weapons. We have to buy them time."

The ship rushed forward at full impulse and an intercept course was plotted.



-Bajor, Hill Province-

Garak stood off to the side, not pleased with Melina's rather chaotic plan. The AA gun wasn't that close and they had to cross through a battle field to get there.

"Odo?" Garak whispered, "Can't you turn into a Vorian pterodactyl and just fly to it?"

Odo grunted in his familiar tone.

"Yes," He said, "Because the Nautolian fighters will ignore a Vorian pterodactyl..."

He looked back at Melina, "How are we going to do this?"

-IKS Jo'tal, Bridge-

The Klingon vessel was spiraling towards Elerra Prime as the strange aliens burned through the hull in an effort to get to the crew. Monroe watched as the planet continued to grow larger as they neared it.

"We're going to crash!!!" Lurta screamed.

Monroe ignored her while simultaneously turning towards Sophia. The frightened woman was clutching her baby.

"There are too many!" The tactical officer yelled.

The ship fired its disruptors repeatedly but was unable to hit the aliens on the ship.

"We're going down!!!" The helmsman yelled.

Monroe rushed towards a console as the ship began to spiral down the planetary atmosphere. He locked onto Sophia's transporter signal and his own. Lurta saw what he was doing and attempted to stop him. Before she could, however, Monroe, Sophia, and Demetrius beamed off the ship and onto the planet...

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

The trio beamed down to an unknown location on the planet. As soon as the transport was complete, Monroe looked around at his surroundings. He was baffeled at where they were. His intentions were to beam down to where the Federation colony was, but by the looks of it, they were in some type of rugged mountain terrain.

"Where are we?" He asked no one in particular.

He looked up towards the sky and saw the Klingon starship spiraling towards the planet surface.



+ 4 Good post and detail, being so many isnt easy!

-Lord Borg

[Lord Borg]

-U.S.S. Nile, Cockpit-

Burns looked to the Captain she was speaking to, she was surprised that she was being rushed off while they would go attempt to hold off the Black Claw. She was about to speak when the screen shut off and was replaced with a Starfleet symbol.

Sue adjusted her controls and set a course for the Gorn Homeworld. She decided to transfer power from systems they would not need, the replicators, and the auxillary power systems and engaged at warp speed.

"I've set a course for the Gorn Homeworld..."

Though all of this, she had to wonder where Commander Robitialle was, and why he had not come to the cockpit.

Burns looked the controls over and made an attempt to hail the Gorn homeworld, to see if she could get the Trek any sort of help. One good thing about their course, they would go by that craft they had gotten a signal from, and could check for surviors, if it was even still there...

-U.S.S. Monarch, Bridge-

Archer held on to the arms of his chair as the ship shuddered. He looked over to Emma, who reported that the Kyoto has thankfully, cleared the battle site. Finally, he had recived some good news. The ship shuddered from weapons fire, thankfull the shields were still doing their job.

Jon looked to Creed, if the Kyoto had made it, perhaps some of the other ships did to.

"Send a message to all traped ships, if they find a way out, go for it."

Archer looked down to a display screen and checked a status and looked back to the image of the battle on the viewscreen. If it was done just right, the remaining ships combined fire power could take care of these vessels then they can go attack the Nautolians.

"Prepare another barrage of phaser and torpedo fire, fire when ready."

-DSG, Counselors Office-

Emorie looked down to the PADD and made another note. She then looked over to Kiris.

"Taking a life, any life no matter what the situation is always hard. You are not the only one to be bothered like this, its quite normal, especialy if its the first time."

Emorie shifted then continued.

"I can't say why you feel it is wrong, maybe inside you might think you could have resolved the situation with out killing him?"

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[La Forge]

Jo'Kola, Bajor

"How are we going to do this?" Odo had asked Colonel Ryder, voicing the concerns of the others in the group; Melina, Odo, Kira, Garak, and some Jem'Hadar soldiers. Melina thought over the question for a moment, as she, herself was unsure as to how she was to capture the anti-aircraft gun, on the other side of the enemy filled city, with Nautolian fighters blasting anything that moves, from above. She had agreed to the plan only because of her desire to jump into the fight and due to the urgency of the situation. However, she knew she had to go through with it, no matter the danger. That boy had just died, because of the damned Nautolians and Cardassians. She was obligated to carry out the task given to her by the boy, in his honor.

"Listen to yourself. You sound like a Klingon." Melina thought to herself, with a grim smirk. It was true, though. She wasn't going to let that boy's death be in vain. After all, he was so young...so very young. And, his life? Wasted. Wasted...for what? Because of the damned Nautolians and their thirst for...conquest? Their thirst for space, for power, for revenge? How absolutely ridicuolous did that sound? For space? For goddamn space? Wars were pointless. Absolutely pointless. Millions of people died and for what? Nothing. Some black...empty...space. Why couldn't people just get along? If the galaxy is as big as the scientists say it is, shouldn't there be enough space for everyone? There should be...but, for some bizarre reason...there isn't. There will always be war. Without war, there can be no peace. However, Melina still hated the war part. She hated every damn second of it.

After thinking over the risky plan for a moment or two, with some cautious glances over her shoulder, around the battlefield that was the town plaza of the once peaceful and beautiful city of Jo'Kola, her hometown. She noticed a warehouse complex, up a ways, on the left side of the main street. The place was huge and the series of warehouses would provide cover from the Nautolian fighters above. If the city was the same as she could remember, those warehouses ran down the entire east side of the city and would lead them to the location of the AA gun. She and the others would have to be careful, though. The warehouses were crawling with baddies, no doubt. Not to mention the flames which engulfed the surrounding area. It would be dangerous, for sure.

"Over there." Melina replied, at length, pointing to the warehouses down the street, with one delicate pale finger. "We'll go through those buildings until we come to Banka Street. If we follow Banka Street, we should come to the building the boy was talking about. The warehouse walls should provide cover from the fighters, but, I'm sure the place is crawling with those bastards with head-tails. We'll need your Jem'Hadar to get us out of there in once piece." Melina explained, to the others. She suggested using the Jem'Hadar for cannon fodder purely because that was the purpose of a Jem'Hadar. After all, the Jem'Hadar were killing machines...purely bred only for one purpose...to kill...to fight for the Dominion. The Jem'Hadar were easily cloned. Who would care if one of those things died, anyways? Melina wouldn't shed a tear, that's for damn sure.

+ 7 Dilithium. Great detail.

Founder

[Sam Kenobi]

-DSG, Ops-

"Ensign James," the commander had said, "You've done well, but I don't think there is much we can do from this end. Try and pinpoint the source of the transporter beam and I'm going to try and talk to Starfleet Intelligence. Keep me posted. Xavier out."

Derek had opened his mouth, about to agree when the commander cut the transmission. He sat like that for just a moment, considering how out of character this whole last half hour had been for him. Trying to contact the governor out of the blue, speaking confidently to the commander... he was so rarely like this. Derek took a deep breath before rubbing his eyes quickly and going back to work.

In the midst of beginning a general molecular scan of the house that would take almost an hour to run through completely, Derek looked up from the console with an idea. He stood, letting the scan continue and moved to the back of Ops to the secondary Operations station.

"Fillion," he quietly asked the subordinate officer manning the station. The officer didn't look up and Derek felt the rush of adrenaline that had been keeping him going since he saw the woman in sickbay surge again. He took Fillion's shouder and turned him around.

"Fillion," he spoke, finally in the tone of a superior officer. The man looked at him surprised.

"Sir?"

"Take Ops. Keep running that scan until I get back, contact me if anything out of the ordinary shows up. Got it?"

"Yeah," the officer replied, somewhat flippantly. Derek ignored it as he walked out of Ops to catch a turbolift to a transporter room. He hit his combadge again.

"James to Xavier, sorry to bother you again, sir." He entered the turbolift. "I'm taking a team down to the planet, I'll be able to get more precise readings with a couple tricorders and some good eyes."

+ 7 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

Without warning, Sofie and Demetrius rematerialize in another new location. She follows Monroe's eyes with her own.

A wave of compassion for the Klingon crew washes over her. "They'll all be killed," she says with a horrified gasp.

Only moments ago, she had been terified that the very crew that was now plummeting to their deaths, would be the cause of her own untimely demise. Now however, she finds herself to be deeply saddened to know their lives would be ended in an instant.

She was confused by her own saddness. In her old life, beside her Ian, she'd barely of batted an eye. She found it more difficult to retain memories of her former self these days. She was hardly the same person. If her husband were still alive, he would be appalled at what and who she had become. Then again, if he wre still alive, she would STILL be the old Sofie... living her old life. She never would have sought refuge in the RU. She certainly wouldn't be in her current situation...

+ 3 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Ferex, Corridor-

N�Tran remembered he�d written a log by hand because there was always a chance he�d forget something or that a computer record could be purged. He walked to a nearby panel.
�Ditex to Salara, Bring me home.�

-DSG, Corridor-

Laura McKnight stood outside the corridor from the Counselor�s office. She wanted to catch Kiris when he came out. Many things wandered through her thoughts. Why was Kiris seeking counseling? Was he in trouble again?

-Salara, Holochamber-

Trip had continued the �Day of Honor� ritual. He�d found that the pain sticks were not as intimidating or as painful as they looked. Then again the Yautja were resistant to most forms of torture. He now stood in a circular room holding a bat�leth. His next test was to beat the master. He�d already trained with the bat�leth and found it an adequate weapon.
�Defend yourself!!� A voice shouted from behind. Trip had turned just in time to parry the blow. He found he liked this Klingon culture more and more. Some day, if he had the chance he�d have to meet the real ones.

-IRW, Ares, Bridge-

They�d gone to maximum warp with their enhanced hull geometry and cloaking device. They had yet to know if it worked but they�d know when they entered the Romulan star system.
�ETA to Romulus, 1.6 hours present speed.� T�Rell nodded.
�Acknowledged.� He wasn�t looking forward to seeing his home battered and destroyed. However, seeing things you didn�t want to see was an unfortunate side effect of war.

-DSG, Counselor�s Office-

Kiris noticed Emorie working with her PADD. No doubt noting his tone of voice, body language and things he was saying to deduce his psychological state. Kiris listened as she continued to talk.
�I think I know what the thing is that might be bothering more than anything�� Kiris knew what he was about to say could very well get him off duty forever.
�Part of me took pleasure in killing him��

-Salara, N�Tran�s Quarters-

N�Tran entered his quarters and sat down at his desk. He pulled the bottom drawer out and then pulled a false bottom panel loose revealing a hole in the floor. N�Tran pulled a box out and opened it. Inside were a few things he considered precious. He opened it. Inside was a log book and several things humans would call �knickknacks�. N�Tran sat the log book down and pulled a jeweled necklace from the box. It was a gift from N�Tran�s grandfather to his father on his wedding night. He held it gently. He opened it. Inside were two pictures. One of Levek and one of Tayvor, his father and mother.
�I wish you were here dad. Kiris could benefit from your wisdom the same as I did�.�

+ 5 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder

[Founder]

-USS Monarch, Bridge-

Emma nodded and relayed the orders to the rest of the bridge crew. The vessel rushed past the debris that continued to mount in the battle field. The first officer cringed as the ship took a direct hit from a Koinian torpedo. Despite the hit from the explosive, the ship's shields held and showed how brilliant Starfleet engineers truly could be. The ship lived up to it's name and continued to fire at the enemy vessels with quantum torpedoes.



The USS Radical was fighting alongside the Sovereign class starship and assisting to push enemy vessels aside. The Quasar was taking a beaten and had lost it's shields. Emma quickly sent the message to the ship, ordering it to flee as soon as the Monarch cleared the way. She only hoped their communications was still active...

-Bajor, Hill Province-

Odo felt uneasy about how Melina simply wanted to discard the Jem'Hadar in such a way. He remembered vividly trying to help a young Jem'Hadar break his forced bonds with the Dominion and failing. If everyone continued treating them like mindless soldiers, that is what they would always be. He quickly shook his head in disagreement.

"No," He said, "I'll draw their fire. The Jem'Hadar will go with you all."

-DSG, Holodeck-

Ian heard the voice of the young ensign who had reached Ops. He tapped his combadge quickly.

"Acknowledged," He replied, "Good hunting, ensign."

He hoped the officer would find some clues. Despite the fact that Sophia disliked him, he wished no ill will towards her or her baby.

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

Monroe watched as the Klingon ship crashed, hopefully killing those strange aliens that had attacked the ship. He heard Sophia comment on their imminent deaths, but didn't respond. Monroe felt no loyalty towards the Klingons Imperial Intelligence network and simply used them to assist in his suspicious. Sadly, it cost them their lives. He recoiled at the horrible smell of the area they were in and noticed something in the distance.

"Follow me." He demanded.

He had taken a Klingon disruptor with him and clutched it within his hand in paranoia. Monroe took a few steps forward and climbed down the side of the large rocky terrain they were on. He stopped when he noticed a figure lying in the dirt.



"What the..." He said.

The uniform looked strange to him, but the figure was definitly a Human. Before he could ask Sophia about the dead man, a massive explosion about two miles away.

+ 3 Awesome post, nice details.

Lord Borg

[ILoveHarry]

-Elerra Prime, Unknown-

Sofie closed her eyes tightly, and shielded Demetrius' face into her chest. The crash happened quickly afterward. She silently paid her respects to the crew, despite the fact that they were her captors moments before.

"Follow me," Monroe barked.

Not wanting to be left alone in this unfamiliar territory, Sofie quickly obliged. She winced as the rocky ground cut at her bare feet, yet she managed to keep a steady pace.

Monroe stopped suddenly and Sofie's eyes fell upon the fallen officer. So much death lately...

Almost immediately, there was a mungo explosion close by.
Sofie let out a shriek and instinctively made a small leap forward. She grasped at Monroe's back as if it would subside her anxious fear.

+ 4 Dilithium. Good post.

Founder