Deep Space Guardian: Season II-Episode 27

[Lord Borg]

-DSG, Captain's Office-

T'Sa relaxed slightly. there would be no use fighting him on the quarters, He'd insist to the point where SHE would grow tired of aruging. "Thank you..." She started for a moment and squinted. Something was bothing him. "Are you alright?"

[Founder]

-DSG, Captain's Office-

Ian stared at the obsidian stoned desk that sat in front of him, contemplating her question.

"I'll be ok," He said, "I will be..."

An awkward silence fell in the room as the two old friends sat once more...

-DSG, Marine Deck-

Alexendar had been overseeing the arrest of the marines, something he detested. Ten transports had to be set aside to fit all of the marines. The field marshal was absolutely furious. He had spoken to Dicot before the Pendari was placed on the ship. There were two names that were repeated: Robitaille and Archer. Those two would pay dearly for this. Field marshal Andreas would make sure of that. The marine HQ, now almost empty of marines, was easier to navigate. Andreas turned to leave when one of his marines whispered in his ear. His eyes became bloodshot with anger and he looked in the direction the marine was pointing. A security officer was standing there, talking to various officers, medical and security alike. Andreas approached him, flanked by his two large marines.

"Lieutenant Commander Robitaille?" He asked.

[Valathous]

~ Marine Deck, Deep Space Guardian ~

It had been several hours since the room had officially turned into a crime scene with the officers collecting evidence, taking pictures, taking the wounded to sickbay, along with escorting the marines off of the station. Soon it would be time to close it down and clean up. Not something anyone was particularly looking forwards to.

Blake had been talking to several other officers about the completion of compiling all the evidence and when clean-up crews should arrive. Blake told them to hold on at least a couple more hours just in case there were any tidbits they missed.

Blake noticed as a high ranking marine... a very high ranking marine approached him, flanked by two other marines. The man had the insignia of a Field Marshal. He addressed Blake.

"Yes, sir," Blake replied, "That would be me."

[Founder]

-DSG, Marine HQ-

Field Marshal Andreas, rubbed the close cut beard on his mouth. He stared at Blake and then spoke suddenly.

"Oh I see," He said, "I was hoping to catch you and captain Archer, but you'll have to do...."

His calm and quiet demeanor immediatly changed and he shoved Blake against the wall, pinning him there. His face moved within inches of Blake's.

"You've made a big mistake with this investigation," He threatened, "I hope you now that you won't be an officer in Starfleet any longer. You'll be lucky to serve on a Ferengi garbage scow after this is over. Pathetic security officer...you're all the same."

He let Blake go and took a step back, composing himself and straightening his uniform. Other security officers stepped closer to assist Blake, but said nothing until he ordered it...

[Valathous]

~ Marine Deck, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake smirked at the Admiral as he let go. Blake straightened his uniform, closed his first and put it up to his mouth and coughed to clear his throat. He stepped close to the Field Marshal with his hands behind his back and whispered to him.

"And you'll be lucky to survive the day should you attempt that or attempt to injure me again," Blake said in a vicious tone in his whisper but calmed down, "No law. No conscience. Sir, there is no stopping me. Pathetic, simple marine."

With that Blake drew his head back and nodded to the Field Marshal, whiping the smirk off his own face. Blake lived a life far more dangerous than that of a high ranking marine...

"Now, I'll compile my evidence and plan to be there for the trial to present it," Blake said in a normal tone so all could hear, "Shall I see you there, Field Marshal?"

[Founder]

-DSG, Marine HQ-

Field Marshal Andreas, leader of the entire marine corp for the UFP, almost fainted right there in the corridor that was never meant to exist. He survived fighting the Federation-Klingon war, a Breen attack on Earth, and the entire Dominion war. He survived because he was smart, not stupid. Alexander nearly stumbled into one of the marines standing behind him. The marine reached to help him, but Alexander shoved his arm away. He looked back at Blake, with a much more subservient look in his face.

"M-my apologies," He said, "I don't know what came over me. I hope that this...can be forgiven...."

He didn't even answer his question about the trial. Andreas would stay as far away from that trial as possible if Blake would be there. The security chief's words, echoed in his ears.

"No law. No conscience. Sir, there is no stopping me."

There were only one group of people who uttered those words. Words more fearsome than the cries of a Jem'Hadar's "Victory is life!" or the Borg threat of "Resistance is futile." Section 31. Very few knew of their existance, but some did. Andreas was one of them. He knew that crossing them meant immediate death, nothing more, nothing less. He just had the sheer audacity to threaten one. They had not known heirarchy. For all he knew, an ensign could be the head of S31. For all he knew....Blake could be.

"I...will not be attending the trial," He stammered, "Due to...pressing matters with the war...."

[Valathous]

~ Marine Deck, Deep Space Guardian ~

Blake laughed on the inside but remained calm on the outside. He straightened his uniform once more where the wrinkles began to return from the Field Marshal's grip.

"You should watch your step, that blood is slippery. But now I can't really walk around with all this blood you kicked on my pants, but don't worry about it. I'll just replicate another pair..." Blake said to Andreas, "That's really unfortunate, Field Marshal. You seem like such a great guy. I was looking forwards to talking to you again at the trial. Oh well. Have a safe flight back to Earth."

With that Blake turned away from the man and resumed his conversation with his officers, shrugging off the questions they asked acting like it was nothing big.

[Founder]

-Akira Class Starship, Sickbay-

Colonel Harfin Dicot lay on the biobed, dreaming of his colony world in the Beta quadrant. They had been there for only a century, less actually. They fled their planet due to differences in political ideology. It took them 65 years to finally settle on a planet at the edge of the Beta quadrant. Dicot was raised to be strong for his people, since he would be one of the few that would go out into the quadrant. Dicot wanted to go to his planet soon. He missed it and hadn't been there in some time. The Pendari planned to go sometime that week. A mock trial would be set up and he would be let off on minor charges. Field Marshal Andreas said he would take care of that. His reverie was interrupted from the bright lights of sickbay. Dicot opened his eyes and looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes wouldn't focus due to the bright light all around him. All he could hear was the hum of a man.

"Where am I?" He said, straining.

The man, chief medical officer Allen Paxton, spoke softly and replied.

"In sickbay." He replied, not really going into detail.

The man was 90 years old, but didn't look a day over 60. He had a large family back on Lunar colony. His rank was lieutenant commander. He had served as a chief medical officer his entire life, not wanting to leave this post. He loved to go swimming in the artificial pools back home. His favorite dish was pasta. The most important, yet hidden, thing about him was that he was a Section 31 agent.

"You obviously don't remember what happened..." He said in his calm voice.

Dicot tried to blink to get his vision to focus, but it simply wouldn't. Meanwhile, Allen toyed with an empty hypospray in his hand.

"You came into sickbay for your checkup that all prisoners recieve," He explained, "We want to make sure our prisoners are in good health and well treated, unlike some others I can name..."

Dicot sneered at his comment and shut his eyes.

"Shut up you fool," He said, "I'm tired of explaining this. If you want to keep your commission, you won't speak again."

Allen twirled the hypospray between his fingers and walked over to the biobed, a large smile on his face. Not that Dictot could see it.

"What is with these lights!?" He yelled.

Allen's eyes widened in mock sympathy.

"Oh are the lights bothering you?" He asked, "I never heard of that side effect, but that is interesting. I will definitly note that in the medical log."

The Pendari tilted his head to the side and stared at the doctor, who was still smiling.

"Side effect?" He asked, "What are you talking about?"

Doctor Paxton shrugged his shoulders and gently placed the hypospray on a medical tray, filled with other tools.

"You know in my day," He explained absent mindedly, "We didn't have all those...fancy holograms and EMHs and whatnot. If the doctor was injured? The nurse took over. If she was injured? Well...there is a reason we ALL take medical courses at the academy. That technology is so unreliable! I mean...take you for instance."

He picked up the hypospray and held it up for Dicot to see.

"I was unable to calm you down for you examination, so I had the EMH assist me while I held you down," He said, "The hologram grabbed a hypo and filled it with Cyalodin. Unfortunetly, he was supposed to use Improvoline, a standard sedative. Cyalodin is a substance I was studying in a nearby tray. Unfortunetly....it is deadly to humanoids."

Dicot rose an eyebrow in suspicion. He vividly remembered coming to sickbay, but not anything with the EMH. While his memory was blurry about what happened AFTER sickbay, he didn't remember an EMH anywhere.

"What EMH?" He asked.

Paxton leaned back in his mobile seat and continued.

"The one that I will say poisoned you." He said.

Dicot was by no means a very intelligent being, many could vouch for that. But he didn't need a Soong type droid to explain what the doctor meant. The chief medical officer poisoned it and would lie about it.

"What is going on?" He asked, "First me, then Archer and Melina, then Blake? Xavier was right. Starfleet was corrupt!"

"Is that right?" He asked calmly, "So you killed me? Why...?"

Paxton stood up from his seat and walked to the side of Dicot, not fearing him. The Pendari's system was flooded with so much poison, that it would be impossible to move. Most humanoids would be dead by now, but Pendari were incredibly strong.

"Because people like you will hurt the Federation if it suited them," He said, "I love the Federation and will do anything to protect it. If it means killing and violating the hippocratic oath? So be it. Good-bye Mr. Dicot."

Dicot's eyes shut as he felt his body go completely numb and his mind shut down. He felt memories escape him and clutched one, holding onto it.

"I did it for the Federation..." He whispered, "It was all for the Federation..."

Paxton stared at the body, not sympathetic in the least.

"Time of death," He said, staring at the chronometer, "0800 on the dot."

He turned away from the body and began to work on the medical log...

[Republican_Man]

--Vega System, Space--
The battle raged at the Nautolian listening post on the fringes of the Vega System, unnoticed by those at Deep Space Guardian.
The Hawk-class starcraft of Shadow Fleet concentrated their fire power on the listening post�s defenses. The station was strong, its two disruptor banks powerful, its shields still holding.
The Valiant-class starship, the Crusader, which housed Major General Matthew McDoogle, threw potshots at the different snub fighters and unmanned disruptor and torpedo weapons platforms surrounding the small station, diverting the focus of the platforms away from the smaller ships, though that goal wasn�t as successful as he would have hoped.
Commandant James Arnold�s craft, the Bastille was being pelted by the snub fighters ordered to protect the station. The fighters, unlike the weapons platforms, were concentrating their fire less on the big ship, which they were able to tell was currently less of a threat, and more on the smaller ships.
The fighters, however, contained primarily Koinians assigned to the service of Black Sun, which ran the Vega System Listening Operation, as it was called.
As one fighter kept a tail on Arnold�s ship, firing away, there was a loud explosion signaling that one of the station�s two disruptors was destroyed.
This prompted Commandant Kenobi to announce to the other two ships, �Concentrate all fire power on the external shield generator array. If we can disable that, then we will, in the gap time, be able to beam over the away team.�
The Bastille and Genoa acknowledged the message, and did as the mission�s second commanded.

--Starcraft Hawk--
Second Lieutenant John Siradore received the message from Kenobi�s ship. He relayed the news to the Major, which notified him that their mission was soon about to begin.
The Hawk would now fly out of its hiding place, still in stealth mode, and get into a position which would enable its crew to be transported over to the station.

--Vega System, Space--
The Crusader left its diversion position and shot in to the battlefield, firing quantum torpedoes at the station�s shield generator, while the other ships fired their ion cannons in the instance that that might have a greater effect.
Neither had the greater effect, however, as the external shield generator suddenly became disabled, the blame unable to be put on any specific effort.

--Starcraft Hawk--
�This is it!� Corporal Josh Johnson, helmsman of the once-experimental craft, the first to come into service, proclaimed, his head turned in the direction of the cockpit�s exist. �We�re moving out, Major!�
Katran, farther back, heard the man�s proclamation and immediately grabbed his phaser rifle. He wished he could work out with the lightsaber he had received on Akiama, but it was, unfortunately, not compatible with the armor he now wore.
The Major lead the team down a small hallway to the right, leading them to the small transporter room which could beam over six people at once. He looked down at his wrist and tapped a key which contacted the helmsman, stating, �ETA, Mr. Johnson?�
�One minute, sir!� the officer replied.
Katran nodded, stepping onto the transporter device, looking over at Officer Brian Jacobs, team Strategic Operations Analyst. The man, often not required on assignments, frequently served as an odd-man for the regiment, partaking in odd-job activities required of him.
At this time his job was to operate the machinery that would send the away team, dubbed Shadow Team for this mission, over to the listening post once the craft entered the proper position.
Shadow Team consisted of the maximum number of occupants for the small craft�s transporter pad. It consisted of six team members: Major Katran, team leader; First Lieutenant Brenn Tantor, team second officer; Second Lieutenant Brian Johnson, tech officer; Kevel Naron, the Bajoran team medic; Miguel Hernandez, weapons officer; and Thy�ror Shorn, the Andorian munitions expert whose specialty was in explosives, the reason for placing him in Special Ops and on Katran�s regiment. The rest of the team would remain on the ship to prepare for Shadow Team�s return to the Hawk, when the chargers were in place and the station would be ready to be disabled.
With the station�s shields temporarily disabled, the Hawk had no more than a minute remaining to beam Shadow Team over to the station. If they were too late, then the internal shield generators would be fully active, deeming the mission a failure.
The craft housing Shadow Team, however, was in stealth mode, and was therefore undetectable by the Nautolian technology. Once they got within range, they should be transported over there quickly enough.

--Vega System, Space--
Meanwhile, Shadow Fleet swooped about, firing at the station�s defenses continuously.
Commandant Kenobi�s starcraft, the Defender, fired ion cannon after ion cannon, phaser after phaser at one of the platforms, causing it to soon explode.
The Hawk was almost caught in the crossfire, even in its stealth mode, as unadulterated phaser-disruptor fire shot back and forth.

--Starcraft Hawk, Transporter Room--
Shadow Team stood on the transporter pad of the ship�s cramped transporter room. Corporal Jacobs stood at the transporter equipment, ready to pull the lever when told to do so by Johnson, the pilot.
�Five seconds!� Johnson proclaimed into the comm unit at his console. The announcement sounded through the transporter console�s comm unit, heard by all.
�Four��
�Ready eapons,� Katran ordered.
�Three��
�Chargers secured,� the Andorian team member reported.
�Two.�
�Medical equipment prepped,� the Bajoran medic stated.
�One.�
The Hawk was now in place for beam-in.
With that last number, Jacobs pulled the lever on the console in front of him. The six Special Forces operatives dematerialized, leaving the ship for whatever fate awaited them on the other side.

--Vega System, Nautolian Listening Post, Outside the Storage Room--
Shadow Team rematerialized on the small Nautolian station on the outskirts of the system that was home to Deep Space Guardian.
The team was at a difficult point. Unfortunately their internal intelligence on the station was thin at best; they were unable to obtain much of a layout of the post on their previous trip to the location.
They were up against a wall which appeared to have, behind them, a storage chamber. There was nothing ahead of them but a small hallway. Kyle slowly, quietly crept on ahead, alone, down the hallway, giving his team the �stay here� motion with his right hand.
At the end of the small hallway he noticed a bustling area of Nautolian and Cardassian officers, uniformed and all, tapping keys and carrying out their business in a fashion which reminded him of the Operations Center on any given Federation station.
�Internal shields online,� he heard a Cardassian officer report.
�Very good, Lieutenant,� a Nautolian commander, appearing to be the leader, reported.
Katran was amazed that the Nautolians had not yet sensed the team�s presence on the station, or that its internal sensors hadn�t picked them up. He assumed, from his previous lessons with Master Vaj Taris, that they would have done so.
And yet they didn�t. Could it perhaps have something to do with the fact that they were consumed with the Darkness? Taris had remarked to him about this occurrence in the past, discussing how, unless one is absolutely strong, in the consumption of the Darkness, one�s senses are not as attuned as they are in the consumption of the Light.
With regards to the internal sensors not picking them up, the station was still undergoing final construction. It was not forgone to conclude that the station�s internal sensors weren�t up to par at this juncture.
Katran stepped back and rejoined his officers, stating, with concern, �This isn�t good, boys. It looks like we�re at their version of Ops.�
Tantor looked at him in shock. �Ops? We�ve been transported to Ops? Jacobs��
�That bastard,� Tech Officer Johnson remarked.
�Enough,� the Major ordered. �We had limited information, and this is the best we could have done. It�s not Jacobs�s fault that we�re where we are. It�s the fault of nature that we are where we are. We�ll have to make the best of our situation.�

--Vega System, Nautolian Listening Post, Command Center--
A Cardassian officer bearing a Nautolian uniform walked past the hallway, bringing fear to the small band of Starfleet officers standing in the back of an all-too-small hallway.
Luckily the team wasn�t noticed, but to their despair the Cardassian was given an order.
�Corporal, I need a power coupling,� an engineer stated, directing his attention towards the Cardassian, since he was the closest. �Get one from Storage, will you?�
The Cardassian nodded cordially, stating, �Yes, sir. To Storage it is, then.�
He turned back around, making his way for the small hallway which contained Shadow Team.

--Vega System, Nautolian Listening Post, Outside the Storage Room--
The Andorian munitions expert, having an increased level of hearing, despite the helmet he bore, which put pressure on his extended ears, heard the footsteps of the Cardassian in the area. He also heard him state the words �Storage Room,� prompting a curse by the Special Forces operative.
�They�re coming here,� he said.
�Damn it,� Katran breathed. �Stay alert and be ready.�

Just then the Cardassian Corporal, Nautolian Empire rank, entered the hallway and immediately noticed the officers. Each of them had a phaser rifle pointed at his head, except for the Bajoran, who had a simple phaser in one hand and a medical kit in the other.
�Don�t say a word,� the Major ordered, quietly.
However, the Cardassian, not fearing death and knowing that he would die, regardless of what he did, proclaimed, �Intruder alert!�
As the Nautolian and Cardassians in the command center turned their attention towards the storage hallway, Shadow Team shot down the Cardassian, causing him to collapse to the floor immediately, dead.
Four Cardassians and two Nautolians ran to the hallway, disruptors and laser swords at the ready.
They immediately noticed the armored aliens, and upon doing so, the Imperial officers put their weapons up in an offensive-defensive position, pointed at them. �Drop the weapons,� Katran commanded.
�You are in no position to be making orders,� the Nautolian commander, having ended the conversation with his superior moments earlier, scoffed. �I suggest that you drop your weapons�immediately.�
What choice did they have? If they didn�t drop their weapons, they would die. If they dropped their weapons, they would die. It was a lose-lose situation faced by Major Kyle Katran.
If they dropped the weapons, they would at least have more of a chance at fighting back; yet if they didn�t drop their weapons, they would be killed instantly.
Reluctantly, the Special Forces Major dropped his phaser rifle, prompting the same response from the five other team members.

--Vega System, Nautolian Listening Post, Command Center--
The team stood, unarmed, somewhere between the center of the station�s command center and the hallway they had just been in, the other side of which stood a command deck storage room.
The situation was grim. The weapons of Shadow Team were no longer in the team�s possession; they were in the possession of the Nautolian slugheads that had taken them prisoner.
The team was prisoner.
All Katran could do was pray that the Imperial officers would show the Federation citizens some level of mercy and not kill them then.
But that was all the members of Shadow Team could do right now, in their current position: Pray and hope.

-END EPISODE-