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"Play the Delta Blues" A masterverse story by knightraider6 and Patrickngo
knightraider6
Member Posts: 396 Arc User
((authors note. This is a longer one, more Patrickngo's than mine to be honest, dealing with the Kobali system in the Delta Quadrant. for my self I didn't care for the Kobali that much, and I really don't think he did either. Still it's what was going on in the game at the time, parts of this were started almost 3 years ago, before that pesky RL thing kept getting in the way. The main characters in this are mostly Patrickngo's, with some of mine and a few cameo's by some of Sander233's, mainly General Ssharki. going over this reminded me how much I miss sander being around-that said, check in on your friends if you aint' heard from them in a while, and always tell people that you care about that you care about them. with that said, and now our feature presentation. ))
I'm on the front line
don't worry I'll be fine
the story is just beginning
I say goodbye to my weakness
so long to the regret
and now I see the world through diamond eyes
Jenolan Sphere, Joint Operations Command…
Forty four khaki-and-olive-drab forms assembled into a rough square formation. Subcommander Yhea stared at the new arrivals as they did not mill around like tourists.
Cool, quiet efficiency seemed to radiate off of them, and for a moment, it was almost like seeing the old Romulan Navy’s cadet corps again.
Only not quite.
“Technically, they are civilians.” Lt. Commander Hdaen reminded her.
“I know. Civilian security personnel.” she almost spat the words, “Mercenaries.”
A Fussily dressed Ferengi hurried out from the docked D’Kora’s lock, to consult with the blonde human female that seemed to be in command of these mercenaries, as the Republic’s officers approached.
“They’re young.” she muttered. Her Reman colleague chuckled coldly, and she glanced at him with concern.
“Show your permits!” her Reman colleague announced.
The Ferengi Daimon hurriedly drew out a PADD and offered it. “Everything is in order, Subcommander.” he promised.
“What’s your mission in the Delta Quadrant, and I’ll need your itinerary…”
She let her reman colleague handle the details, while she studied the human mercs the Ferengi brought with him.
Ready, wary. Their weapons were visibly in good condition, not standard issue for Ferengi, Klingons, or the Federation. she noted. Squat-looking projectile weapons and long-barreled disruptor rifles with an underslung grenade launcher, projectile pistols worn low on the hip, bandoliers of ammunition and supplies, basic protective battle dress armor under cloth uniforms-a low-profile arrangement more suited to a deploying MACO squad.
Heavily armed for a trading ship.
The other thing that was disturbing, was that the crew were apparently not Ferengi, but more of these humans.
Her Reman partner stopped, looking at an open document form.
“What’s wrong?”
He turned, “This is an FCA issued Mercenary’s bond.” he said.
She bridled, “Wait, What are you selling?”
The Daimon straightened, “Not goods. Services.” he said.
“There a problem, Daimon Boss?” the blonde spoke up.
“There might be…” he said.
“Oh, there’s a problem alright!”
The girl turned on the Ferengi, “You said you’d be able to handle the paperwork!” her tone was accusatory, “You’re gonna negotiate this, right?” the human fem’s hand was straying close to a weapon on her hip.
“It’s a small issue.” her Reman counterpart said it quietly, but with a ‘reverb’ of authority, “Stand down, miss. It’s just a snafu, no need to get violent.” He turned to the Daimon, ‘Who’s your client?”
“Well…” the Ferengi looked uncertain.
“We’re looking for work, he’s supposed to find the clients.” the girl chirped up.
[expletive!!] mercenaries looking for work!! “I want inventories and manpower figures, I have to contact my superiors, Daimon, you’re coming with me!” Subcommander Hdaen barked, she looked to her Reman partner, “Can you get these...people in a secure billet until we’ve unfucked this mess?”
“I’ve got it.” he said.
Command decks, Jenolan Dyson Sphere, Delta Quadrant…
“You brought a hundred forty four unstable mercenaries into my area of operations without a Contract??”
“They’re humans, shouldn’t be a problem if we bring in the Federation liaison officer…”
“They’re not Federation humans.” the Daimon interrupted.
“Really...I thought they were having a civil war.”
“Not every hoo-mon wants to fight their own kind.” the Daimon stated.
“Are they at least a subsidiary of Evanscorp?”
“No.”
“If they’re mercs, then they’re not under KDF jurisdiction either…”
“You, Ferengi, sit. I have to get my Commander on this.”
Barracks Deck…
“Vendetta, they gonna try and ship us back?” Azrael Cooper asked.
Former Sgt. Vendetta Osmet shook her blonde head, “No.” she said, “We’re not under anyone’s official jurisdiction unless they wanna try to claim us as Earthie property.” she asserted, “Everyone’s discharges were legal, it’s lawful work back home, as long as we can make payroll, they don’t have hooks.” the nineteen year old hadn’t even passed basic officer course before Discharge Day, but she’d learned a lot on the job while serving in the 14th Battalion, and she had a stack of correspondence courses to back up her experiences, along with a Journeyman’s rate won the hard way while contracting with one of the Nausicaan clans last year, out on the rimward side of the Klingon Empire. Those jobs were bandit hunting, and it was good work, but the work dried up.
Not that there wasn’t more work, but the Klingon Empire started cracking down on ‘underage’ and ‘unregulated’ mercs-and the Nausicaan Clans fell in line, barring apprenticeships for non-Nausicaans, they’d let her go with a decent severance-almost as much as she’d racked up in the 14th Battalion before Discharge Day.
It was enough to pay for the ads, and to contract with a Ferengi who needed a new product. That product was ‘service work’, and she knew enough others who couldn’t fit into peacetime.
“Not so sure, Osmet.” Kismet TRIBBLE said, tearing open a ration bar from the small replicator their hosts had kindly provided them while they waited for Daimon Fleg to get the transit paperwork straightened out and contact some potential clients.
“Heard the Benthans are pretty good fighters. Maybe there’s no work out here.” Kismet added, swallowing his snack.
“You think this is gonna bust.” Vendetta asked.
“It’s possible.” he agreed, “How’s our finances?”
“Three more months?” she shrugged, “we’re not gonna make shares though-no bonuses unless we find work, but living expenses and this year’s taxes are already divvied from the investments.”
“Assuming your Ferengi doesn’t rob us blind.” Kismet pointed out.
“Listen, you stood me up for the leadership, Kis, you want the job, call the other NCO’s and we’ll have it out. I said we’re covered, and we’re covered.” she snapped.
He held up his hands, a placating gesture, “Look, I’m just saying, maybe we need to look at other options, while we’re here.”
“What kind of options?”
“Small jobs, maybe? You get three people in close quarters, someone’s gonna want someone else dead, right, or want someone else’s stuff?”
“We’re not going pirate.” she snapped.
I'm on the front line
don't worry I'll be fine
the story is just beginning
I say goodbye to my weakness
so long to the regret
and now I see the world through diamond eyes
Jenolan Sphere, Joint Operations Command…
Forty four khaki-and-olive-drab forms assembled into a rough square formation. Subcommander Yhea stared at the new arrivals as they did not mill around like tourists.
Cool, quiet efficiency seemed to radiate off of them, and for a moment, it was almost like seeing the old Romulan Navy’s cadet corps again.
Only not quite.
“Technically, they are civilians.” Lt. Commander Hdaen reminded her.
“I know. Civilian security personnel.” she almost spat the words, “Mercenaries.”
A Fussily dressed Ferengi hurried out from the docked D’Kora’s lock, to consult with the blonde human female that seemed to be in command of these mercenaries, as the Republic’s officers approached.
“They’re young.” she muttered. Her Reman colleague chuckled coldly, and she glanced at him with concern.
“Show your permits!” her Reman colleague announced.
The Ferengi Daimon hurriedly drew out a PADD and offered it. “Everything is in order, Subcommander.” he promised.
“What’s your mission in the Delta Quadrant, and I’ll need your itinerary…”
She let her reman colleague handle the details, while she studied the human mercs the Ferengi brought with him.
Ready, wary. Their weapons were visibly in good condition, not standard issue for Ferengi, Klingons, or the Federation. she noted. Squat-looking projectile weapons and long-barreled disruptor rifles with an underslung grenade launcher, projectile pistols worn low on the hip, bandoliers of ammunition and supplies, basic protective battle dress armor under cloth uniforms-a low-profile arrangement more suited to a deploying MACO squad.
Heavily armed for a trading ship.
The other thing that was disturbing, was that the crew were apparently not Ferengi, but more of these humans.
Her Reman partner stopped, looking at an open document form.
“What’s wrong?”
He turned, “This is an FCA issued Mercenary’s bond.” he said.
She bridled, “Wait, What are you selling?”
The Daimon straightened, “Not goods. Services.” he said.
“There a problem, Daimon Boss?” the blonde spoke up.
“There might be…” he said.
“Oh, there’s a problem alright!”
The girl turned on the Ferengi, “You said you’d be able to handle the paperwork!” her tone was accusatory, “You’re gonna negotiate this, right?” the human fem’s hand was straying close to a weapon on her hip.
“It’s a small issue.” her Reman counterpart said it quietly, but with a ‘reverb’ of authority, “Stand down, miss. It’s just a snafu, no need to get violent.” He turned to the Daimon, ‘Who’s your client?”
“Well…” the Ferengi looked uncertain.
“We’re looking for work, he’s supposed to find the clients.” the girl chirped up.
[expletive!!] mercenaries looking for work!! “I want inventories and manpower figures, I have to contact my superiors, Daimon, you’re coming with me!” Subcommander Hdaen barked, she looked to her Reman partner, “Can you get these...people in a secure billet until we’ve unfucked this mess?”
“I’ve got it.” he said.
Command decks, Jenolan Dyson Sphere, Delta Quadrant…
“You brought a hundred forty four unstable mercenaries into my area of operations without a Contract??”
“They’re humans, shouldn’t be a problem if we bring in the Federation liaison officer…”
“They’re not Federation humans.” the Daimon interrupted.
“Really...I thought they were having a civil war.”
“Not every hoo-mon wants to fight their own kind.” the Daimon stated.
“Are they at least a subsidiary of Evanscorp?”
“No.”
“If they’re mercs, then they’re not under KDF jurisdiction either…”
“You, Ferengi, sit. I have to get my Commander on this.”
Barracks Deck…
“Vendetta, they gonna try and ship us back?” Azrael Cooper asked.
Former Sgt. Vendetta Osmet shook her blonde head, “No.” she said, “We’re not under anyone’s official jurisdiction unless they wanna try to claim us as Earthie property.” she asserted, “Everyone’s discharges were legal, it’s lawful work back home, as long as we can make payroll, they don’t have hooks.” the nineteen year old hadn’t even passed basic officer course before Discharge Day, but she’d learned a lot on the job while serving in the 14th Battalion, and she had a stack of correspondence courses to back up her experiences, along with a Journeyman’s rate won the hard way while contracting with one of the Nausicaan clans last year, out on the rimward side of the Klingon Empire. Those jobs were bandit hunting, and it was good work, but the work dried up.
Not that there wasn’t more work, but the Klingon Empire started cracking down on ‘underage’ and ‘unregulated’ mercs-and the Nausicaan Clans fell in line, barring apprenticeships for non-Nausicaans, they’d let her go with a decent severance-almost as much as she’d racked up in the 14th Battalion before Discharge Day.
It was enough to pay for the ads, and to contract with a Ferengi who needed a new product. That product was ‘service work’, and she knew enough others who couldn’t fit into peacetime.
“Not so sure, Osmet.” Kismet TRIBBLE said, tearing open a ration bar from the small replicator their hosts had kindly provided them while they waited for Daimon Fleg to get the transit paperwork straightened out and contact some potential clients.
“Heard the Benthans are pretty good fighters. Maybe there’s no work out here.” Kismet added, swallowing his snack.
“You think this is gonna bust.” Vendetta asked.
“It’s possible.” he agreed, “How’s our finances?”
“Three more months?” she shrugged, “we’re not gonna make shares though-no bonuses unless we find work, but living expenses and this year’s taxes are already divvied from the investments.”
“Assuming your Ferengi doesn’t rob us blind.” Kismet pointed out.
“Listen, you stood me up for the leadership, Kis, you want the job, call the other NCO’s and we’ll have it out. I said we’re covered, and we’re covered.” she snapped.
He held up his hands, a placating gesture, “Look, I’m just saying, maybe we need to look at other options, while we’re here.”
“What kind of options?”
“Small jobs, maybe? You get three people in close quarters, someone’s gonna want someone else dead, right, or want someone else’s stuff?”
“We’re not going pirate.” she snapped.
"It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
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“Yahoy, Mister Evans.” The woman on the screen was someone Jacob Evans knew mainly from reputation and one or two short meetings. Her olive-drab skin, framed by auburn hair and sick, red eyes marked her as an Orion suffering a long term wasting disease.
“Is it Brigadier yet?” Jake asked. He and his wife were not on the bridge, well Nola knew what to do on a starship bridge but Jake knew his limitations. He was the guy who paid the bills, and thus was in his office, just off the bridge on the Risan Cruiser.
D’Moj just laughed, “I think I’ll be retiring as a colonel-eventually. Got a hot tip for you…”
“How hot?”
“Hot enough I’m under orders not to get involved.” she said, “Of course, those orders come from bureaucrats very worried indeed about maintaining appearances now that we’re all playing nice with Starfleet...and their...allies.” Her lip curled in distaste, “They’ve actually put my unit under a Federation commander. I think I miss commanding a wing more every day.”
“What’s the tip?”
The Orion didn’t smirk, she said, “Open the file attachment on non-networked hardware.” Jake couldn’t really read the woman’s ‘tells’ but her word-choice indicated she was skirting very, very close to outright defying an order...by keeping tightly within whatever that order’s written form had taken.
Nola ‘Tan’ Evans had the file open, and she was white.
“I’d take care of it personally, Mister Evans, but I lack the discretion I had when General Ssharki was in command out here.” D’Moj continued, and gave a significant glance to the left. “Whatever you do, don’t get caught in the Temple, on sublevel three.”
Nola picked up on movement in the periphery of the screen, a door opening.
“Why?”
“Because it’s...not permitted.” D’Moj told her, “Under Starfleet general order number one, for Starfleet Personnel to impact the cultural development of any species…”
“I’m not Starfleet, but I’ll keep that in mind, Colonel, thanks for the warning.” Jake answered, spotting what Nola did-a pair of Starfleet officers in the background of the KDF vessel.
“Do be careful, kids.” D’Moj told them, “Out.”
And the signal terminated.
Jake frowned. “She didn’t look good.” .
“Colonel D? Nah. she didn’t.” Nola said quietly. “You spot the minders on her bridge?”
Jake ran the image back through his mind instead of ordering the computer to replay the message.
“Yeah. Klingon Ship, but Starfleet door-guards. Those were Security Muscle, not standard Liaison officers.” He opened his eyes, “Something is going down...Christ, you look almost as bad as D’moj, just what did she send?”
His wife turned the file-reader around so that Jake could see it..she had several windows open on it simultaneously, but the important one brought chills down his spine.
“According to the Starfleet report, it’s a religious artifact.” Nola said, “Which is interesting, because the Kobali are avowed atheists.”
“We’ve seen those before.” Jake said darkly.
“Yes, yes we have-you’ve seen it from Monroe’s report, and I saw it in person at Objective Kilo.” she stated, “Mind you, the one at Kilo wasn’t hooked up to anything, and they had a fifty thousand year old corpse chained to it…”
“It’s bigger than a bread-box.” Jake observed, “And according to the Colonel’s notes, it’s well guarded...is she sure of what it is though?”
“Colonel D is a walking encyclopedia of Orion history, ritual and culture, Jake...she wrote most of the briefings that Admiral LaRoca and General Ssharki used for laying out Mountain Road. If she says it’s a Sshohlwuak, that’s probably what it is-if she couldn’t get in to destroy it, it’s because she’s being kept on a leash.”
“Wonder what they’re using for leverage.”
“Has to be something major.” Nola observed, “Something they can seriously hold over her-I can’t imagine what, except that she’s in deep TRIBBLE and can’t get out of it on her own-but she sent this because it’s important-more important than a call for rescue.”
“How do you know that?” Jake asked.
“Did you watch her eye movements?” Nola asked.
Jake did use the replay function this time.
“Morse code.” he said.
“Don’t...come...for...me...just...get...rid...of...it.” Nola translated out loud, “command...is...infiltrated...ship...is...lost?”
“TRIBBLE.” Jake caught something else, when the image of Colonel D’Moj glanced left, a twitch in her normally placid cheek. “Bluegills?”
“Yeah, that’s code.” Nola said, “She’s f**ked, and we’re f**ked.”
Jake Evan’s gray eyes narrowed, and for a moment looked semi metallic. “Like Hell.”
IKS Neruul, Qib Class second prototype, clearing Kobali prime…
“Colonel, who were you communicating with?” Commander Lincoln Izard asked.
“Civilian supply and support contractors.” D’Moj replied smoothly, “I sent them the monthly unrep documents, You do understand logistical necessities on a long term deployment, right?”
The Starfleet officer momentarily looked confused, then he relaxed, “Of course. You should have discussed it with me before you took the initiative on that.”
“Commander, you and your men are guests.” She said quietly, “Here as a courtesy to our allies in the Federation. I hardly think subjecting yourself or your admin officer to the niggling details of Klingon supply contractments and requisition forms, and yes, we do use them-would be of interest to your men, or efficient use of time and resources. Perhaps you would like to inspect the gagh when it arrives, or check over the mess hall Targs for parasites?” She watched as another confused look crossed his face.
His apparent indecision done, he beamed, “Of course not. Your people are trustworthy enough to handle that…is the ship ready to rendezvous with the Benthan group?”
“Imminently.” she said, “We’re adequately stocked for the next three weeks-assuming your men don’t double-dip in the ration canisters.”
“I so wanted to meet your infamous doctor, Colonel.”
“Doctor Moriarty is currently on sabbatical.” she countered, “With her pardon, she’s free to travel, and she’s accrued sufficient leave-time that I felt no strong urge to prevent her from taking some of it off-but she does have a minder along-you know Mad Mary and her strange habits from the files you’ve studied. I can’t have my personal physician being arrested for running an ad-hoc science project, now can I?”
“I think you should give mine a try.” he said.
D’Moj cocked her head, “Ah, No. One of the ways I’ve avoided being put before a punishment ritual on an Orion ship, is that I don’t let just anybody play with My body, Commander. If there is a call for it later, perhaps...but for now, the cancer is in remission and I’m fit for duty, now, if you will excuse me, Orions may need less sleep than humans, but that doesn’t mean no sleep.”
“Of course.”
She pushed past him, walking confidently past the pair of human Starfleet guards, nodding to several new crew as she passed, and into her quarters.
Once the door was closed, she let herself collapse. Wish you were here, Mary, Kobor, or Kogh, or B’Tara, or ANYONE I could trust.
The thing inside her had died several days ago. The suppressants she’d been relying on for over twenty years now, the ones that have been poisoning her, had killed the bluegill within hours of it’s infestation of her body. She’d felt the intrusion, and she’d been a prisoner in her own body for nearly a day before the foul thing was dead.
Raising the alarm wouldn’t do any good-her KDF security chief, chief engineer, and the young scion of J’mpok’s house were all infested, along with several other key officers...and most of the Starfleet contingent on board.
On a ship the size of a Qib class, that amounted to several dozen people turned enemy agents-but not so many that they were willing to risk openly speaking or identifying their presence. Yet. It was only a matter of days before enough were turned.
She pulled out a hypospray, and injected the toxic soup that suppressed her Pheromone glands and impeded the release of Slua, the same soup of toxins that were feeding the cancers.
figure out their plan and a way to stop them first, survival comes second...if at all.
Civilian Ship Frontier
Time, speed, distance. Even in the 25th century, those age old restrictions got in the way so many times. With the Quantum Tanglenet coms, slipstream drives, and other technologies that could be cut down-but never Eliminated. Jake swore under his breath as he looked at the map projected on the screen of their position, and where they needed to be.
Of course, the advantage of the Quantum com system is that communications were almost instant-but that did a heck of a lot of good when one should be acting instead of talking. Even then, it took several hours for the people he needed to talk to were found, favors were traded for information. What he learned wasn’t good. Colonel D’Mojena’s task had been to shadow the large Vaadwaur fleet, so that Alliance forces could coordinate and deal with them. Instead, it seemed that her crew had been taken over by the same parasitical life forms that may be behind the Vaadwaur-and had nearly taken over the Federation back on Stardate 41775.5.
His source for that bit of information was just as grim faced as Jacob. ”If the IKS Neuurl returns to the Dyson sphere-the infestation could spread through the alliance.” ‘Captain’ Franklin Drake, not from Section 31, honest, growled on the screen. ”Fortunately the Colonel knows this, assuming she can stay free of the parasites and can stay alive she may self destruct the ship and solve the problem for us.”
“Big if’s there.” Jake said “I’m hoping she pulls it off-it’s just the other live grenade she dropped in my lap.”
”If Ssharki was still in the Delta Quadrant, we could have help for you on that one. He’s done too good a job and got promoted though, and his replacement..” Drake shrugged ”isn’t worth one scale of Ssharki. The alliance has almost everything down near the Yontasa sector, hardly anything other than the USS Rhode Island near Kobali Prime.”
“And they probably can’t help me get the artifact legally.”
”Exactly. And I don’t have any assets in place to help you with that either I’m afraid.” The agent reached over on the screen, and pressed something on his desk. ”this may help cover your rear though, especially if the Benthan Guard starts giving you trouble”
Jake looked at the form coming through “this has to be the first one of these in what, five hundred years?”
”Something like that at least for the Federation. The Klingons have used them more recently.”
Jake looked at the Letter of Marque and Reprisal, with the Federation, Klingon and Romulan Republic seals. “Your bosses don’t know about this, do they?”
on the screen Drake grinned “We’ve used Civilian contractors before-just in our own space. Out there, well just don’t wave it around too much if you can help it.”
“No worries Captain. If things go right, the Kobali won’t even know we were there, and I’ve also got an idea on how to help the Colonel.”
”Her message said not to try to rescue her...but I know you’re too much of a white hat not to at least try. Good luck with that, I’ll do what I can to get you the information you need, and cover you from this end as much as I can.”
“Thanks, Stay safe Captain.”
”you too, and good luck.”
He leaned back in his chair as the connection was cut. Reaching over, he picked up one of the guitars near his desk, idly strumming it as he thought. That was the easy part...the hard part would be convincing his wife to let him go alone.
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“Allied Traffic Control S-2313421, This is CivCon ident E-4774321 requesting approach lane, Over.” Nola intoned it over the contact frequency directly-both for voice-print identification, and stress analysis-standard protocols in a conflict zone, even though the Vaadwaur had yet to attempt a false-flag insertion.
Sometimes the easiest way to get in the door is to knock.
For example, having a valid “Civilian contractor” identifier linked to the Joint logistics effort between the Republic, Klingon, and Federation fleets.
”CivCon Ident vessel, stand by for confirmation and routing, Over.”
“Roger that, standing by.” she glanced at Jake in the command chair, and then to the passive sensor boards, where two of their ‘discharge kids’ were studying visible light imagery of the planet.
“They’re definitely routing traffic away from grid 25467612, Epsilon. But there’s no shimmering from holographic camouflage, and nothing is pinging EM freqs for other stealthing...wait...there it is. There’s a transporter jamming over the target location, and looks like a string of trench networks to defend it.”
Piper was another ‘officer model’ like Nola, she’d done her tour of duty on the Confederacy’s leased Vo’Quv carrier as an analyst in the sensors department before getting discharged with the rest of the underaged at the time kids.
“Okay, so beam-in is out.” Jake surmised.
“Completely sir. And Overland’s possible, but I’m seeing a ton of Vads and Starfleeters between the official portage we’re gonna be routed to, and the target. Overland infil is gonna be a problem.” Piper’s specialty had been targeting analysis for surface insertion.
“What about an airborne?” Nola asked.
“Do-able, but we’ll need to be coming in from suborbital and we’ll need a distraction-even with shielded pods the ADA’s bound to be thick, the Vads use a drop-pod transporter system as well, so the Allied guns are likely to paint an’ pink a shuttle or regular pod, and suit’s are tough-but not Jon-117 tough-we’ll need minimum a shielded pod with tropos grade stealthing. Personally I’d rather we had an old mark one B’rel for this.”
Jake mused, “Overland it is, then.”
“Just remember I won't be there to pull you out of the fires.” Nola said quietly, “Sien, did you finish prepping Little TRIBBLE?”
The Reman crewman grunted assent.
“I hate making you do this.” Jake said.
“You’re not making me. Someone has to fly that half of the mission, and it’s a deep-space interception of a cloaked ship.” she shrugged, “It’s me or Annie Cu’ong, and she’s in the bleeding Gamma Quadrant for House K’Tirr...besides, I wanted to see how well one of Schrodinger’s toys really does compared to a warpmod Tu’doj.”
“It’s going to be pretty tight..” Jake noted for the thousandth time.
“My team’s going small.” Nola told him, “Besides, I’m leaving you the glee club, Laura, and Piper. Along with the transport crew, you’ve got almost a full company. And they ALL have strict instructions to not let their paycheck get scragged.” his wife grinned with more enthusiasm than she felt. “ As for me, I’ve got Sien, and Lisa-she’s been reading Colonel D’s books, and is enthusiastic about getting her out in one piece.”
Nola stood up, and Laura Saenz, whose false memories were from the Canh Tho arcology, took the helm and comm rig from her.
“I have to go preflight and get my team ready-typical approach to Kobali prime is six hours, and they’re going to want to do a health and welfare screening, so we need to be cloaked and gone by the time the Benthan cruiser pulls up along-side.” she stood up on her tip-toes, and gave Jake a kiss. “Get it done, I’ll see you on the flipside.”
Jenolan Dyson Sphere-customs and inspections…
Commander Aldous Wilder looked at the PADD, and then peered over it at the dark-skinned blonde. “These are discharge papers.” he said.
Vendetta nodded, “Right you are. There’s a business license on the next page, issued by the Nha Tranh chamber of commerce on Moab III, we’re an incorporated partnership.”
“You’re nineteen.”
“Yeah. So? I have my taxpayer ID number and receipts, everything we do is above-the-board.” she insisted, “No black market dealing.”
“And the Daimon is…”
“He’s an employee.” she stated, “He works for us, finding work for the firm and negotiating contracts-he’s our business agent and chief financial officer. My lawyer says the licenses are legally binding under the Federation’s reciprocity agreement with the Empire and the Republic.”
“If you weren’t a federation civilian that might be true-”
“Citizenship, Sir. I'm not a Federation Citizen.” she insisted, “Nobody in the company is.”
The Starfleet security officer looked like his sinuses were about to explode as he palmed his face. “Wait here, I need to run this by the Judge Advocate…and the Klingon Empire Liaison officer.”
Transport Huomaamaton, on approach to Kaboli Prime…
The Benten Guard check had gone far easier than the kids had thought it would. Part of that was Jake's preparation. Upon arriving in the Delta Quadrant, one of the first things he did was contact the Guard-and simply ask for a list of what they considered contraband. It took three people two days to go through it all-but by the end of the time they were able to send ships and people into Benten areas without fear of breaking any of their laws. Staying on the side of law and order helped with Kerberos and its mission.
This however necessitated their choice of weapons in case something went wrong. While in Benten (or benten controlled) areas it was frowned upon for civilians to carry weapons, except when duly deputized, hollow metal tubes with spiral grooves cut inside them and boxes of ‘machine parts’ weren’t even looked at, and along with their ammunition could be replicated in seconds. At the end of a fight, it didn’t matter if the enemy died due to molecular disruption from a phaser or Disruptor, or multiple extra 7.62mm holes in their vital bits. Vacc rated Armor was even easier to explain. The cargo ship was rated by the Benten as equipped to service mining colonies on inhospitable worlds as well as standard freight. The fact the suits were similar to Moab marine power was purely a coincidence. Honest.
“We’re clear for approach” Lara said as she flared the ship, lowering the landing jacks.
“Right, take us in. once we’re down, I’ll check in and get the cargo signed for”
Piper looked over at Jake “Just why are we bothering with cargo on this anyway?”
“Because the Kobali don’t let just anyone in here, with the situation with the Vaauduar. We’ve got a contract with the Alliance for bringing in supplies, sometimes the best way to sneak into somewhere is to have a legit reason for being there.”
“If we get burned, they’ll know who to come for though.”
“Yeah I know.” Jake said, as the transport settled down, systems winding down. “Can’t be helped, if the report didn’t say that the Kobali were going to poke at the thing we could have had more time to plan.”
Jenolan Dyson Sphere, Customs Dock 4…
Commander Kroghnuss looked over the paperwork, and then the grouped personnel. “Looks fine to me.” the KDF’s duty liaison said, “Everything from the Empire is in proper order, licenses, permits, origin papers and destinations.”
“They’re-”
“They are civilian contractors on legitimate business.” the large Klingon said, “The only part unusual, is that their business representative is a Ferengi instead of an Orion or Lethean.”
The Romulan and Federation officers had that constipated look he’d seen before when dealing with things they didn’t like. “You can delay them though.” he stated.
“How?”
“Medical clearances.” Kroghnuss stated, “none of these humans has a current and up-to-date medical exam, it should buy time for your people to come up with another excuse to delay their entry into the Delta Quadrant-if that is your intent?” he straightened, handing the data PADD back to the Federation’s man, “You’ll only get a few days, at most a week, more likely one to two days for the whole group, unless you find a reason for medical quarantine. Their papers are filed properly under their home system’s laws, and subfiled under Klingon Empire statutes...and I can state, unequivocally, that these people are citizens of a Klingon Protectorate, they are not Federation citizens until or unless they make the claim otherwise or an amendment to the Khitomer Accord of 2410 is passed and ratified by all governments.”
“But...but they’re humans!” the Romulan insisted.
“There are full blooded Klingons serving in Starfleet, your point?” the Klingon noted. “They claim citizenship in a Klingon protectorate, that makes them, for all intents and purposes, Klingon citizens out here, with all the rights and responsibilities.”
“Did you see the list of weapons?”
“I suggest you give the weapons back. They aren’t yours to keep, or to seize, and I don’t want to have to take them from you and give them back myself.”
Somewhere in the Kotara Sector
If there had been someone around to see it, a small ship appeared in a bright flash of light. It didn't give off the usual emissions of a warp core or similar engines, just one minute nothing, the next…
Tan was still getting used to the ship, dubbed a Raptor by Michelle Schrodinger. It was small, less than nine meters long by six meters wide-barely big enough for its two crew and one passenger. Looking out through an actual clear canopy was something else that took getting used to. Their target was something that in theory they had no way to find. Except for Drake’s assistance, and Sien sitting at the console behind the pilot’s seat.
“Got it, 153 kelikams, bearing 132.” The IKS Neruul was running cloaked, and not even moving at the moment, maintaining position. There was no way that the sensor officer could have picked it up-if the Reman telepath had been using sensors. “Something is definitely strange over there. There should be several Letheans-I can sense their minds, but it is if they are not awake..” Sien said, shaking his head.
“Well that fits if they’re infested with bluegills.” Lisa replied, the human wearing a pressure suit like the others. “Any sign they know we’re here?”
He shook his head “negative-though I am getting…” he winced and put his hand to his head “I found the colonel, someone isn’t happy with her…”
Interrogation chamber, IKS Neruul...
She looked at the thing that used to be the ship’s second doctor. “So you can’t use his abilities.” D’Moj said smugly, “You can puppet his body, but you don’t have access, not really.”
She was strapped down. The Bluegills needed codes from her that their suborned Starfleet officer, and her own junior officers, didn’t know.
“And if you kill me, you won’t get them.”
“You would be amazed at what you can live through.” the thing said with a lethean’s beaked mouth.
“Not really-UGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” the pain sticks were set to medium strength, and they were being applied to some of the more sensitive areas of Orion anatomy.
“What are the verification codes for access to the navigation database?” it demanded again.
“Go...TRIBBLE...yourself, maybe you’ll find them there.” she huffed, “You’re not...going to spread if you can’t find the route home.”
She’d made damn certain of it. Destroying or corrupting the actual files, then putting a code-lock on the now useless files. It would take them too long to find the necessary keys, and once they did, they’d have to, at minimum, rewrite the Delta quadrant data from scratch. Never mind the Alpha and Beta quadrant data.
He applied the devices again. She screamed-and felt something let go, a spreading wetness and uncomfortable fullness in her underwear. She laughed.
“We’re all going to die out here!!” she barked, “You won’t get it from me, your hosts will waste away and you’ll starve to death. in empty space, lost forever!!”
IKS Neruul
‘Commander Izard’ was furious. “She told you nothing?”
“Not only did she not break...we tried to get into the data ourselves. Brute force hacking worked-but the information we need had already been destroyed-possibly days ago.”
The being infesting the human swore. “Dammit. We can not rendezvous with the others, nor can we achieve our secondary objective if we don’t know where we are!”
The ‘lethean’ nodded it’s head “however there may be an alternative. Long range sensors have picked up a commercial starship-we could call for assistance, and not only get the information we need, but possibly have another means of transport.”
Izard thought “it would be better than this scow, that is for certain. Make it happen.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
Captain Kei Akiyama sipped her cola quietly, her bridge crew busy with their tasks. Technically they weren’t supposed to be here-but then the oddly crewed cruiser tended to be in a lot of places they weren't expected to be at times.
She glanced around at her bridge crew-some ex-starfleet like herself, with a few Klingons, a couple Romulans, a Talaxian, and even a Vorta. They were ‘technically’ on a goodwill tour of the Delta Quadrant, carrying artists and performers from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, and even a small group of artists from some of the client races of the Dominion, showing that the inhabitants of their side of the galaxy weren't all like Janeway. Technically.
They also had another task, finding planet killing weapons of mass genocide that had been scattered across the galaxy by the so called ‘good masters’, and destroying them in the nearest black hole. Something that the New Saigon born captain could really appreciate. At least the Dominion had cleared the Gamma Quadrant almost a hundred years ago of Warseeds and the like so the Dominion said. There were even rumors in Kerberos that the entire Dominion war was due to the Founders being alarmed of how casually the races in the Alpha quadrant treated dangerous artifacts. Whether or not that was true She wasn’t sure, but it did make sense.
The Vorta at the communications station suddenly spoke “Kei, I’m picking up a distress call.”
Kei sat her drink down. “From who Trana?”
“IKS Neuurl-it says they’ve had a computer systems failure, and need assistance.”
The captain raised her eyebrows. “That’s odd..especially in light of Tan’s excursion right now.”
“We’ve received no signal from Mrs Evans” Trana said “all telemetry from her ship is still green. It’s a trap for someone else I’d say.”
“Most likely,” Kei agreed. “How far are we from them?”
“About…” the former Tal Shiar subcommander, Davron looked at his helm console “two hours at this speed.”
The captain bit her nails, bad habit she knew as she thought. “Plot an intercept course, and increase to warp six.”
There was a change in the ship's feel as it accelerated. “Should I tell them we’re coming?” Trana asked.
“No.”
“In case it’s a trap?”
She just grinned “oh it’s a trap. The boss has a source who has fleet movement info-the Neuurl’s reported position is down by the main fleet. Either they’re not where they say they are, or someone wants us to think that.”
“I agree, it does seem odd. Especially for a Klingon ship to be asking for help.”
Hull approach, IKS Neruul
Nola checked the seals on Lisa’s suit, “You’re ready for this?” she signed, keeping radio emissions to a minimum this close to a ship that was supposed to be fully cloaked.
Lisa gave her a thumbs-up, crouched over the airlock panel, and took her glove off. A cloud of vapor crystallized, but the fingers didn’t swell or freeze as she made her fist.
Nola had heard about this. But she hadn’t seen it, not even for the twenty minutes she was at Starbase 132 during the emergency.
Lisa anchored her mag boots on the hull, drew her arm back, and plunged it-with all her strength-into the armor plate that had been welded over the shipyard access point’s manual control.
Eleven millimeter tritanium/neutronium alloy shattered like glass. It was, on the whole, about an hour saved in forcing the cover plate off and getting to the valve-point.
Nola stepped carefully over to examine the damage.
The plate had broken, leaving a bit more than a head-sized hole, and the access valve assembly was exposed.
Lisa, meanwhile, was putting her glove back on and restoring the seal, while the vacuum didn’t hurt her..it did make her skin itch.
Dockside, Kobali Prime…
Piper cradled her arms close, as if chilled, under the pale orange light of Kobali Prime’s sun, while her boss spoke with the Federation’s cargo inspection teams. The smells were familiar-plasma burned soil, rotting meat, a waft of alien vegetation.
Aside from the curtain wall, the city was, in her opinion, not defensible terrain. It sat too low in the valley, with nearby hills overlooking the site, and the Vaaduwaar had apparently held the same opinion, since that was where they’d sited their artillery.
Eventually, Mr. Evans motioned her over.
“Sir?”
“Commander Fireize here needs to look over the cargo, and manifest it.” he explained.
She nodded, “Aye sir...sir are we going to get authorized shore time? Some of the guys are getting a little antsy after four months in the can, sir.”
It was a semi-scripted exchange, and Jake’s pained expression was entirely for the Starfleet Officers benefit. “It’s a warzone, chief.” he reminded her.
“Not much of one.” she’d countered, “Canh Tho was worse.”
The Federation officer gave her a shocked look-almost perfectly to script. “You’re a Moabite?” he asked.
Uh oh. Jake could tell the Commander wasn’t buying it. she’s TRIBBLE IMPROVISING!
“Discharged, thanks…” she passed it off casually, “Civilian now, see?” she held up the F.C.A. certification, “Able Spaceman, not a soldier, but we still need to get shore time, and the galley needs replenishment with something besides Nutrient Supplement Fifty-twos.”
“This is a warzone, Miss...ah…”
“Piper.” she said brightly, “I know warzones, I also know from flying in that someone’s failed to secure the reverse crest of the hills ringing this city, and I got a pretty good look at the Vads’ LZ on the way in. the one on the east side.”
“There’s no Vaaduwaur landing zone on the east-”
Jake’s nerves pinged. They’d seen the Vad staging area, on the way in, and he was still trying to work out how to get around it…what the hell is she doing?
“Yes there is.” she crossed her arms, “i have to admit morbid curiosity is part of my wanting to take a day trip-not every day I get to see a Starfleet defense bungle it as badly as we did on Fek-Day, should be educational.”
And Jake realized what she was doing. Solving the extraction problem, and the entry problem.
“The Kobali insist that it’s just a scout force-”
“TRIBBLE. Wanna see my video?” she asked, setting the hook.
“Video?”
“Eyeball recon, recorded.” she clarified, “It’s an old game-count the privies. The Vads have a staging area east of here, maybe division size.” she rolled her eyes dramatically, “Might be the only chance I get to see this city before they sack it.”
Jake could read people-especially humans. The Starfleet officer was hanging on Piper’s words and delivery like he’d been dosed by Orion Slua pheromones. officers got charisma boosts…
“Of course, if you want me to show you, gonna need guns, it is a warzone, after all.” she added.
“Jesus, if what you’re saying is accurate, we don’t have enough troops-”
“I brought some friends.” she said seriously, “actually, Mister Evans brought some of my friends. Hook us up with someone to play liaison, and we’ll get your tac data updated-for a reasonable fee...or we can dump the cargo and shag-TRIBBLE offworld ahead of the asskicking you are about to receive. I’ll give you our imagery free of charge in either case, but you guys aren’t going to hold twenty hours if you don’t figure out how to secure that eastern approach.”
“I need to speak with my superiors.”
“Do that.” Jake interjected, “I’d suggest you hurry.”
And Piper added, perhaps unnecessarily, “ticktock, daylight’s burning.”
It was a good con. Getting the marks not only to let you in, but to invite you...but it made things more complicated if the Allied command took the deal. In the recess of his mind, Jake wondered if this wasn’t also a little bit of the discharge kids’ bloodlust coming to the front.
As the Commander hurried up to the headquarters area, Jake looked his employee over. “You better be damn glad that the Benthans bought off on your ‘pressure suits’.” he said.
“Counting on it.” she said, “He’s sold, he’ll sell it to the bureaucrats in charge, unless the zombies have something to hide that they’re willing to break their alliance to keep secret.”
“You’re confident?”
“Looking Confident is ninety percent of the job, sir-you do it without thinking, people like me have to work at it.”
“Start the offload.” Jake told her, “Just in case we need to go to plan C.”
“Aye sir.”
IKS Neruul
Nola was really, really glad her suit wasn’t a softshell Starfleet style pressure suit. Hand-sized bugs were crawling all over the interior of the ship now. True, her blood nannies could probably protect her-but she really didn’t want to put that to the test.
“The word ‘infested’ comes to mind, is this Colonel chick even going to be herself?” Lisa asked.
“Maybe. There are ways to de-infest someone if they’re not too far gone.”
“Lovely.” Lisa cracked, stepping over a prone body. Nola dropped to a knee, and ran a tricorder over the dead alien. “Well, that’s interesting.”
“What?”
“Apparently they don’t like the taste of Ferasan.” she looked at the display on her visor, “See? There’s the wound-track where it entered, but the guy died pretty quickly. Something about how the felinoid brains are laid out.”
“Maybe chemistry.” Lisa suggested, “earth cats have some freakyweird stuff going on with theirs, like a natural kind of LSD thing-or that’s what my junkie friend used to say.”
Nola simply nodded. Sometimes Quentin came across like a smarter science officer, and sometimes the woman believed the most ridiculous TRIBBLE.
“Hang on.” Nola said, and plugged into a datapanel. A few seconds showed that the ship’s AI had been, well, deactivated.
“Looks like they lobotomized the ship’s systems.” she noted.
“They’d have to, wouldn’t they?” Lisa asked, “I mean, KDF doesn’t use ‘em much, but they seem paranoid enough that they’d have good Stranger Protocols.”
A map of the decks came up, with feed from what remained of the ship’s internal security systems.
“Ew.” Lisa commented, “Looks like the Fekkies aren’t alone in bizarre and horrible reproduction methods.”
A few of the crew were still mobile, but a lot of them in areas like the mess deck and fitness areas, were clearly there to act as incubators, puking up groups of the parasites.
“Engineering is active, bridge, and weapons stations, but internal services aren’t.” Nola described, “I would say this is a late stage infestation.”
“Burn it?”
Nola nodded, “We need to blow the ship-as to how?”
“I have some ideas.” Lisa said, “Did you find the gal we’re here to rescue??”
“Sick bay, looks like they’ve got her restrained, she’s definitely not playing host. We’re about sixty meters lateral from there, if we could go straight.”
“And following the corridors?”
“Half a klik?” Nola suggested, “Several bulkheads between here and there, and security stations…”
“Walls.” Lisa said, “Which direction-Meaning straight line?”
Nola pointed.
Lisa took the suit off, folded it up, and stuffed it into a carry sack. “Walls...are not going to be a problem. We don’t need the ship intact, after all.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
Kobali Prime, Command Center
It was starting to get dark. Good for them Piper thought as she hung out outside, her boss in with the fed rep talking with the locals. Knowing him, they would even be getting paid for something that they were already planning on doing for free, whether the locals wanted it done or not. ‘Never Again’, after New Saigon, there wasn’t a Moabite who wouldn’t do anything to stop what happened to them from happening to someone else.
“So what did you find out?” she asked Bao Petersen, who had been wandering around the city, picking up what he could.
“For a warzone, it’s almost like a major holiday. Every Kobali I talked to is happy, almost giddy about something. I asked a few what was going on...all I got was ‘something wonderful’.
“Good for them-if they’re celebrating something they won't be in our way, and hopefully the Vaauduar will-” She looked up at the darkening sky and blinked, as flashes began to streak in, a few first, then faster. If I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing… she thought, cursing the fact that their smaller ship had landed, and not still in orbit.
She turned and ran into the room “HEY! Are you expecting any visitors?” She yelled, the Kobali General and the Starfleet Liaison both looking wide eyed at the monitors.
Piper frowned. “I’ll take that as a ‘no, miss, we weren’t expecting the enemy to reinforce’ and we’ll go with it.”
Jake swore as he looked at the monitors. Time was up. “I need answers General, Why are they so damn interested in here? No offense, but this world isn’t in a strategic location, there are uninhabited worlds with more resources-why here?”
The Kobali general looked warily at his aide. “This it not the time for it”
“True, I’ve seen your troop numbers” Evans replied, prompting a raised eyebrow from the Starfleet liaison. “If even half of those ships are fully crewed with Vaadwaur ground forces, you’re easily looking at being at a four to one disadvantage.”
”won’t be outnumbered for long” the General’s aide muttered under his breath. Unfortunately for him-just loud enough to be heard.
“What the hell does that mean?” Jake Said with a glare. “Look, I’m not playing games here-this isn’t jungleball.” As he said the last word, Piper and the others slowly slid their hands down towards their weapons, unnoticed by the others, watching the argument between their boss and the General.
“I don’t know what you’re-”
The Kobali general was a large sophont, well over two meters, and easily a hundred twenty kilos, not counting his armor. Thus he was quite surprised when the much smaller human trader spun around, grabbing him by one hand and lifting him off the ground, a wicked looking meter long blade seemingly appearing out of nowhere in his other hand. His aide almost went for his weapon-only to find himself covered from two angles by Evan’s ‘crew’
Jake almost snarled “I’m about ten seconds from declaring a Case White, if you don’t give me some Gorram Answers! Are you using an Ho’ghulau Down there?”
The Starfleet commander found his voice “uh..you don’t have authorization for that?”
Jake nodded to Piper who handed the Commander a PADD, with the letter of Marque from Starfleet. “oh.. I guess you do. This makes you an Admiral, or General, depending on which one you’re using.”
The General was stubborn..but his aide wasn’t as much. “Dr Wexler said it would wake all the ones in stasis down there, and awaken them as Kobali.”
Jake looked stunned, then just groaned, dropping the General with a thud. “You freaking IDIOTS! They’d awaken all right..but not as Kobali. Probably hordelings, and some ravagers, or even worse. Then they’d swarm out and EAT everyone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve heard of New Saigon?” The generals aide paled..that was something he had heard of, and read up on.
“You can’t mean.. Oh ####.”
As Jake lowered the sword, Piper and the others lowered their weapons. “Are you going to call a Case White?” The Starfleet commander asked.
“No..not yet. Ageaon, is that thing active?”
The hulking android that accompanied Evans seemed to freeze for a moment as if checking something. “I’m not detecting it, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be soon.”
“They weren't going to activate it until sundown” the aide said shakily. “And what is a Case White?”
“Extinction level outbreak event. Ever since New Saigon. well, the Klingons started prepping after the Fek’ihri attacks in 04. But a Case White means that everyone, the Klingon Empire, Federation, Romulan Republic, Pentaxians, Denali, hell even the Dominion, Breen, and Tal Shiar have pledged to to send whatever forces they have to do whatever is necessary to stop it up to bombing the planet with the outbreak down to magma if it gets out of control.”
The general looked even paler at that, as Jake pondered the timing. “Sundown, that gives us a bit..Piper, the incoming, they beaming down or dropping in?”
She turned away from them, holding up a hand in a ‘stay’ gesture, and tabbed her comm, checking “Dropping in, i’m reading a metric asston of drop pods. Boss? We’re going to need the party favours.”
She cocked her head as if listening for a moment, then turned to the Starfleet Liaison, “unlock your replicators, we’ve got some patterns, and looks like you’ll be needing them...and you wouldn’t happen to have a couple spare fuel containment vessels for a Runabout?”
“What are you going to do with Deuterium cans?” the Starfleeter asked.
“Not that fuel, I want two antimatter cells-we’re going to be making fuller’s soap charges-you’re not going to break that many enemy tanks with little bitty quantum turrets and phaser emplacements-I figure we’ll only need about ten thousand grams of antihydrogen matrix, which coincidentally is the capacity for a hot-swappable antimatter fuel cell for a Mark Eight shuttlecraft...and I guess you’re buying sapper work too, unless the KDF guys have some trained engineering rates who can handle the job. We’ll also need the duterium for the suits-we mainly have them for diaster relief-this goat TRIBBLE is definetly a disaster.”
“They aren’t buying anything Piper. It’s all on the house. Get linked up with the engineers and start churning stuff out. I need the suits broken out and get them set up with the defenses, as well as ECM and Jamming. Odds are the Vaaud are gonna try to neutralize the city’s defenses on their way in.
“But Sir...you need the suits for-”
“They need them more for civil defense. I need an ETA on when they might be in orbital bombardment range, and when their landers are due in.”
“How many do you have? The Starfleet Lieutenant commander asked.
“Enough for the crew-they also make good protective environment suits. I’ve got about thirty people on my ship who can use em.”
“That’s two platoons…”of Moabite troops. On the one hand..they weren’t starfleet..but on the other...he’d been a Lt at Goralis on the Smedley Butler. He knew what they could do. “Thank you for lending them to the defense-there are over four million people in the city here.”
Piper swore under her breath. Tan had made her promise not to let him go off alone. But, she could see the growing number of pips on the incoming plot. There wasn’t going to be any safe space in a very short time. “Aye Sir” she replied, knowing she’d be more useful here. “About eighteen minutes..”
“Are transporters up?” Jake asked. The Generals aide checked “there are inhibitors close to the temple, but there is a station about two kilometers from there.”
Evans nodded ”Petersen, get your gear. Ageon, you know what to bring. We’re going to try to beat them to the temple, blow the door behind us, and get down to the Ho’ghulau and make sure they don’t set it off.”
Piper’s expression turned ‘blank’. “You should call the case white now, sir.” she cautioned, “Glass the site before it goes active.”
“I’m not going to do that.” Jake told her, “you aren’t either, understand me, Marine?”
“Aye sir.”
“Follow your orders.” He turned to the Starfleet rep. “Who’s the ranking officer on the planet?”
“That would be Captain Kim, commanding the USS Rhode Island.”
“Can you get him on the line?” Jake asked.
“I can try..he beamed down earlier to head to the Temple area himself to ‘check out a hunch’ he said.” After a moment..”II can’t raise the Captain, the Rhode Island or the KDF ships or the Two Benten Guard ships in orbit. TRIBBLE..make that one guard ship…” he muttered, as one of the icons on the big display winked out, destroyed by incoming Vaaduaar fire.
Piper looked up from where she was typing on a PADD “does he have a QT com?”
“I think so..”
“Two seconds…” her fingers flew over the keypad “there...fortunately he’s listed.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
It was a good thing they weren't trying to save the ship Tan thought to herself, because little Miss Juggernaut was tearing through hull plating, life support conduits and even power relays as if they were cardboard.
By now alarms were blaring, and they were beginning to get some resistance. Not effective resistance-because they were not expecting someone to be punching through the hull, or able to punch through it.
“You know,” Tan said “we should talk to Michelle Schrodinger. She could probably come up with some nanoweave or something that you could wear and survive you doing this kind of thing.”
The now naked Lisa just shook her head “Tried megamesh back home. Maybe if it was only a few molecules thin...but anything I tried just disintegrated. Besides” she said with a smirk “at least when dealing with humans, it is distracting.”
“If they were not controlled by bluegills maybe” Tan replied, dropping one controlled Bekk with a short three round burst from her AK pattern weapon. Sometimes the simplest tools were the best for a situation.
“Point. Here we go, this should be Sickbay.” not wanting to accidentally injure the colonel they had come to rescue from flying wall shrapnel, instead she stepped back while Tan stepped in with a tricorder, hooking it into the maintenance terminal.
“locked down but not shielded. Two seconds…” There was a hiss and the door opened. Phaser and disruptor fire lanced through the opening.
“Told ya” Lisa smirked.
Tan rolled her eyes as the fire hit the wall across from her. “Well they are just bluegills, not exactly vast intelligences we’re working with here.”
“Well they’re definitely not expecting this. HEY @##holes!” Lisa stepped into the doorway
Phasers and disruptors focused on her, the radiation splash would have been fascinating to most Vulcan engineers, and hotly denied by most respected scientists. Even personal shields don’t do what her unprotected skin was doing under the bombardment.
She held her hands up, and flicked her fingers in a ‘come here’ gesture. “Hey boys, I’m all dressed down and nobody to dance with me, let’s dance.” her tone was flat, toneless and slightly sad when she said it, her steps were quick, sure, and focused.
The reaction was immediate, and should have been lethal.
Nola watched the fractal energy patterns spall off Lisa until she’d backed them into the far side of the sick bay, before she slipped around and reached the Colonel.
“Th’ hell is that?” D’Moj slurred.
“That? That’s Lisa...can you stand?”
“y..I think so.” D’Moj murmured.
Nola half-dragged the Orion back to where Lisa left her pressure suit in the hallway. “Suit up, we’re getting you out of here.”
“What about..her?”
“Lisa can survive a hard vacuum, you can’t...there’s only one thing I really gotta worry about with her.”
“What’s that?”
“Sometimes she’s a little suicidal, and there are antimatter fuel cells less than twenty meters from here.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me...but being she should have been vaporized over two minutes ago..I don’t think you’ve got to worry about that...wait, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Saving your rear” Tan replied, helping her into the pressure suit. Fortunately Lisa was close to the Orion woman’s size. “Jake’s handling the Kobali side of things, don’t worry. We’ve got enough assets to do both at the same time. Trust me Colonel, we’re not dropping the ball on that one.”
Kobali Prime
At least we didn’t drop the ball… was Jake’s angry thought looking at the tactical situation. The impromptu Kobali holiday meant that many of the Kobali garrison troops were not at their posts. Especially the AA artillery crews. Landing pod after landing pod touched down unopposed other than scattered fire from the Starfleet and Klingon training staff.
Even now they were beginning to converge on the temple. He had been able to find Captain Kim’s QT code, and made contact, however…”We’re getting a heavy push from Vaauduar forces, I’m not sure how long we can hold here.”
“Fall back into the temple Captain. We’re on our way with what we’ve got. Stopping the Ho’ghlulau from being activated is more of a priority. If that thing goes live-”
“The What?””
Of course. He didn’t know. For not the first time he cursed Huntington, Quinn, and every cultist in existence. “Captain Kim, Reader's digest version is it’s a planetary scale weapon of mass destruction”
”and on what authority are you taking command?” Kim asked. It was a legit question, Jake sent the document to his com. “These.”
”huh. You realize Mister Evans, or should it be Admiral? Either way, this technically gives you authority, but there will be a lot of people from Earth, Qo’nos and new Romulus wanting to ask a lot of questions when this is over, including myself. Anything else I should know about?”
“I may have threatened the Kobali general staff with calling Case White. While I technically can do that..”
Kim looked even more shocked than he was moments before “Case White? Damn..if it’s really that bad, I’ll officially do it, don’t worry. Everything that is at the Dyson Sphere will probably be scrambled...it will be a couple days until most of the fleet can get back here though.”
“Roger that. We stop the Kobali from activating the widget that won’t be an issue. We’re coming up to the transporter pad now, hang in there Captain.”
Kobali temple entrance
From behind one of the stone blocks of the doorway, Captain Kim grimaced “Not much choice in that, Kim out.” he put the com down then opened fire at a tech commando that stuck his head up over one of the shield generators. There was a scream and the commando fell-one down, several thousand to go. It only took a few seconds to compose the text message to Alliance Command and hit send-text was good enough, it had his authorization code, and if he actually talked to them they would ask questions until the Vaads overran them. Not to mention they’d want even more information about this letter of Marque signed by the all three alliance government heads. Right now he was worried about keeping his own peoples heads.
“There’s no way help can get to us Sir, is there?” the young ensign asked him.
“There’s always a way!” Kim barked.
“But the nearest place they could beam in that isn’t interdicted is almost two kilometers-and more of those pods are landing between there and us!”
“You guys wanna duck now. Incoming fire mission on your southeast quarter. Stand by.” the voice over the comm was cool, calm, and female.
“What??”
A series of thumps sounded, just barely louder than the distant fires.
And to the southeast, there was a flash and a Skooom sound so loud and so deep it made the ground vibrate even with the distance of the blast. Wind kicked up-first away from the flash, then returning to fill the vacuum caused by it.
Then it happened again.
Harry peeked over the parapet, the treeline was gone, several hilltops were as well. Harry Kim, at least, recognized the tactics. Who called in Moabite troops? Everyone had the technology to do that, but most civilizations, even the Vaaduwar, didn’t quite think of antimatter warheads as an ideal weapon for ground combat, much less as a close-support weapon.
It requires a level of crazy to use that you don’t normally run into. Harry had a short list of people who would use that-it didn’t include the Kobali, Starfleet, or the Klingons.
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“Hey, I cleared your flank, cheer up or I’ll give you the cheerslap!” Piper snapped. The Kobali General was aghast at the aftermath of the first salvo.
“There were bodies we could have used!”
She regarded him coldly, “Not. my. job.” she said, “my job is to clear your flank and provide covering fire for my boss, which in short form means removing enemy troops from the field, not helping you expand your population with corpses. Everyone played it your way, and this thing’s gone on for months with no end in sight, now, we’re here, your people are playing with Case White materials, that means it’s no longer up to you.”
He was a head taller than she was, and considerably more massive, and she had him backed up against a console. “My people do one thing, we do it really well. We win wars...aside from that little Pentaxian thing, anyway, we win, we win because we kill the enemy, which is what we have been indirectly hired to do here...now sit down, and shut the phekk up or I’ll remove you from this command post myself. The really awesome part of working for Jake Evans, is I don’t have to be nice to incompetents.”
She let that sink in “First Platoon, Report!”
”Ellzee Zulu South is cleared, rad levels are still above safe limit for Vads and humans, they’re redirecting their drop-pods twenty six K further southeast to try and skirt the blast zone, Over.”
“Roger that. Estimate time for them to cross the blast zone from their new position?”
“Those walker tanks aren’t fast, estimate an additional hour from their new ellzee to the HVT site, Over.”
“Concur. Mortar section, long range four bag,Northeast quadrant, one CAM dusting followed by airburst, focus on Ellzee Zulu North-East., let’s see if we can’t finish taking the TRIBBLE out of the Vad envelopment and get some maneuver for friendlies.”
She swatted a hand that was reaching for her and turned to face the Kobali officer, “TRIBBLE off, once that burst goes, there’ll be plenty of dead enemy for you.” she snapped, “It’s just gonna do a little gamma pulse, a shockwave, and burn up the oxygen in a two klick area over their landing ground. The ones that don’t die from the shockwave will suffocate, alright? You should’ve been doing this months ago-it’s not like you don’t have the gear.”
Comms crackled in a collective howl of static as the bombardment went off, as soon as it cleared…
”Fire director, adjust shot six mils, the initial shot fell short.”
“Casualties?” Piper demanded.
”Negative friendly casualties, but the beaten zone is off by one-one-five-zero meters, northeast by east, dusted what used to be a forest, tango forces are still active in the target zone, over.”
“Roger that, prepping fire mission.” Piper snapped, slapping the Kobali General’s hand away again like an annoying insect as she used his software to adjust the fire of the artillery emplacement, then sent the command. “Shot out, stand by for splash.”
She turned on the general, “Did you motherfuckers even consider calibrating your TRIBBLE guns? That shot should’ve been dead TRIBBLE center and it’s off by over a goddamned kilometer in clear weather!” her voice was as full of dull nothingness, yet it carried a weight that made the other headquarters staff cringe.
“You changed the loadout.”
“TRIBBLE you.” she turned, “three two one…”
The ground shocks registered on seismometers in the bunker. “First platoon, BDA?”
”Confirmed, they had a shield up, it’s gone now. No friendly casualties, Over.”
“A...TRIBBLE shield.” she said, “Good thing I didn’t adjust that shot, isn’t it?” she stared at the Kobali general, “because if I had, you’d have a lot of dead Klingons to use for new recruits, get. Out.” she pointed at the door. “NOW. you are relieved of duty.”
The Kobali officer raised his hand, and she raised a pistol. “Two…”
He backed away, toward the doorway. “You-”
“I can kill you or you can leave.” she said, “I think I know why this thing’s ground on for months now.” she tabbed the general comms. “Advise all KDF, Republic, and Starfleet forces, Kobali commander has been relieved of command pending investigation for treaty violations under the General Armistice and revised Khitomer accords, the charge is gross negligence and, Sabotage in a war zone, and possible conflict of interest. also known as stabbing his allies in the back for bodies. This site is now under allied jurisdiction. The mission remains to protect existing civilian assets, but Kobali military officials are not to be trusted under section 12 and 14 of the Joint Forces Agreement until such time as a thorough audit can be conducted.”
”Under whose authority, who is this??” the voice of a Starfleet officer demanded.
“That would be the authority of the Moab Confederacy Marine Corps. We’re here as allied forces under contract to Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force, contract article 17 applies. they broke the TRIBBLE treaty and almost caught 19th Kiron Brigade with an area-impact bombardment in the face of the enemy. Over.”
Nearing the Temple…
Jake winced. Contract article 17? that was a provision for dealing with intentional contract breaches. she’s invoking article 17, which means...oh. It means the other signatories are required to intervene to stop a massacre...
He poked his head up out of the trench, and spotted a group of Vads who’d been lucky enough to be in a blastwave shadow and enclosed in their pod when the FAE went off. contract article 17-in the event of a major contract breach such as attempting to eliminate an allied unit, the rest of the alliance forces are obligated to seize control of the situation and if necessary, employ immediate deadly force to enforce the contract. in other words, if someone decided their cheapest move was to outright kill the friendlies, everyone was supposed to gang up on the violator.
she’s calling a contract violation...in the middle of a battle. TRIBBLE. “Confirm that last transmission, Piper!” he demanded.
”The Kobali Military authority is in breach of contract article 17, and I am sitting on the proof.” she said it with a hell of a lot more emotion than she’d shown making the initial call. ”Intentional betrayal of allies while in combat is a violation of both the Joint forces agreement, and Contract provision 17, and has been ongoing for months, Over.”
“Can you confirm premeditation?” he demanded, “because if it’s just incompetence-”
”I am looking at proof of premeditation, sir. Per the article, command of the theatre moves to the ranking allied officer not-implicated in the breach.”
“I know the contract, dammit.” who’s the ranking officer left? Kim. fuckballs. “fire mission, one oh five, my pip, HE and Frag-firecracker, repeat repeat, repeat.” he ordered.
”Fire mission out. Stand by splash in three, two...one…”
The incoming High Explosive shot hammered the landers, followed by a wave of anti personnel fragmentation, followed by another drop of high explosive, followed by frags, followed by another salvo, and then, the zone was cleared, and the hillside had been rearranged.
”Request BDA, over?” Piper’s voice was cool and calm again.
“Zone cleared, stand by three tubes for on-call.” Jake ordered.
What had been a sheltered overhang was now a gentle slope, and there was only a little bit of hamburger in the pall of dust ahead as Jake and his team advanced.
“Lass has a good eye” Ageon muttered as he poked one of the sensor eyes over the edge of the trench they were in. “nicely aimed.”
“Except for that group by the gates that had shielding up.” Petersen commented
“Well they’re right up pressing against Captain Kim and his people.”
“Maxim five, aye Sir.”
“Hopefully they’re not smart enough to realize that..”
outside the Temple
The Vaadwaur Overseer cursed. Someone on the other side had gotten smart. Now their crusade to save their sleeping brethren from being turned into abominations was in peril. “Get me the fleet. We need everything possible done to silence that artillery!”
“Signal sent overseer, reinforcements are being prepared.” They had come with a small force-hoping that with the bulk of the aliens' ships lured off, a small group could do what the main force could not. It seemed that was no longer an option. It was better to risk annihilating their brethren than letting them be profaned by the Kobali. “We advance. Get in close with the smoothskins and we will be safe-they won’t fire on their own.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“She’s barricaded the door and locked us out of the network.” the Kobali technician said, “I swear nobody should be able to hijack our technologies like this!”
The General glowered, “She’ll make a fine addition.” he said, “Send in the assault team.”
“Sir...what if they do declare this ‘case white’?”
The general shook his head. “They’re bluffing. That would violate their prime directive. No we’ve suffered those fools too long. Once they are reawakened, they will thank us.”
Inside, Piper was cursing. Data was coming in fast “orbitals are picking up a massive Vaad group warping into the system, twice as many as before..”
”..TRIBBLE. how long to reload for MAM warheads and fire on the temple entrance?”
“Two minutes...Sir you can’t-”
”We’ll be inside by then, I need this entrance sealed-both to keep them from getting in, and if we TRIBBLE the pooch it will keep things from getting out. That’s an order, acknowledge.”
Damnit “order acknowledged, you’ve got two minutes thirteen seconds till time on target”
“Cutting it a wee bit close there,” The android muttered. “We still have that Vaaud group between us and the entrance, yer going to be a bit exposed.”
“Can’t be helped.” this was going to suck..Jake knew it. He really didn’t care for the boosts that the Malta group had put in him before he turned thirteen-but they had their uses. “Petersen, fall back to the main location. If this doesn’t work you and Piper will need to make sure word gets out.”
“Aye Sir.” Petersen didn’t like it-but he knew the op had changed. He saluted, which Jake returned then bounced off towards the city. There, that was done, now there was one thing left. The command didn’t need to be vocalized, at least not externally. “Command, CCP live. I tell you three times.”
He could feel it kicking in. displays forming in his peripheral vision, his skin beginning to take on a more metallic sheen as the nanotechnology soldier boosts in his body formed an armor underlayer, the Combat Co Processor implanted in his skull supplementing his reflexes.
two minutes, six seconds to projected impact the nannies displayed helpfully in his vision. He reached out his left hand, a shimmer of nanoparticles formed around his fingers, forming a hilt and blade of a monomolecular edged sword. “Let's do this.”
Command post bunker…
Like most everyone else, the Kobali love their wireless networking. Right now, someone was trying to jam/penetrate the net between the fire direction console, and the guns sited outside.
“Oh, you’re good...but I’m better.” Piper muttered. The Kobali relied on Federation and Klingon gear almost as heavily as they were using their own, and that meant the systems had to rely on interface patches.
“Boss, I’m losing the Kobali’s guns.” she said over the comm, “we’ve still got the lend-lease stuff from the Federation and Klingon suppliers.”
”What??”
“They’re trying to cut me off from the main batteries. I’m gonna need to use Two Squad Third platoon to secure the rest, but it’s going to be tight for a while. What’s your ETA on the target zone?”
”about a minute, what do you mean they’re trying to cut you off?”
“I don’t think they liked me relieving their ‘general’, sir.” Piper confided, “Thirty Seconds to shot, it isn’t going to be as heavy as you asked for, sir.”
An acrid smell of burning polyalloys and ozone warned her. “Firing solution set, “ the door banged open behind her, “Executing, Shot away.”
She side-swept the pistol from where it lay on top of the console as she turned to face them.
No monologue, no demands, no threats. Piper’s mind went into the ‘no place’ of her training.
The first magazine emptied before the first cartridge case hit the floor, and three Kobali assault troopers toppled in slow-motion as she swapped mags and ducked to the side, drawing her fighting knife, using the doorway itself as a firing port and cover.
An object crossed her vision and with her mind in the no-place, she reacted, sending it tumbling back through the doorway into the faces of the assault team that hurled the concussion grenade in.
The first empty round hit the floor with a ‘tink’ as her hearing struggled to recover.
Another movement, and she sent another bullet.
Someone screamed around the corner, it was a panicked scream, full of pain and confusion, a target that never expected to be hurt was yelling and sobbing just out of sight..
At the temple…
It was getting bad. The Vaadwaur had started beaming in close, dangerously close in a few instances, the short screams of the few unlucky soldiers who partially materialized inside the rock wall by the temple sending chills down every Starfleet officer. They may be enemies..but no one wanted anyone to die like that
Still even with that artillery from earlier..the Vaaud’s were too close. There wasn’t much else left to do but keep firing until the phasers went out, or they fell-”What the hell?”
Two figures moving impossibly fast, cutting through the Vaaud forces. No way they were human, especially with the look of the larger of the two. The smaller one was almost a blur as it streaked through the attackers from behind, cutting them down...with a sword? What the hell?
“Tank, three o'clock!” one of the Vaadwaur walkers stepped up out of the trench. The first round from the mech sent Kim sprawling for cover as stone shattered over his head.
“I’ve got it.” The smaller figure said in Evan’s voice. There wasn’t any way..and there was something even more disturbing than what was coming over the com. He watched as Evans ran towards the Vaaud walker, diving underneath it and lashing out with something that was sharp enough to penetrate the hull. The walker shuddered then stumbled, before exploding in a fireball that there is no way that anyone should be able to be stepping out from, yet a figure did. A surviving Vaaduar trooper managed to get a shot off that should have at the minimum wounded him-instead Evans just glowered and jumped close to ten meters, punching the lone survivor hard enough to crumple the pollycarbon armor. With a final burst of automatic phaser cannon fire from the hulking android there was momentary silence.
Jake stepped past the dead Vaadwaur and helped Captain Kim to his feet. “You alright?”
“I’m fine, Mister Evans.” Kim was upset, angry, and shocked. Kim had a tricorder in his hand and was looking wide eyed at Jake. “You’re Borg.”
“Not exactly, it’s a long story, and we’ve got bigger issues to deal with than that right now.”
Quick timer check...forty two seconds till impact. “We’ve got to get inside.” he said, between him and Ageon grabbing and bodily carrying the Starfleet officers deeper into the temple entrance than they could have made on their own. After half a kilometer of turning passages they stopped, and put Kim and his surviving team down. “There..just made it.”
“Made wha-”Kim started to respond when the ground lurched, a flash of energy outside the door in the distance that vanished when the forward part of the temple was pulverized and came crashing down. The building shook, dust filling the air, everyone who needed to breathe was coughing.
“That was a wee bit closer than I’d like” the Android said, scanning back the way they came.
“No worry bout pursuit on that end now.”
“No TRIBBLE..” Kim replied with darkly amused understatement. He reached for his combadge, attempting to call the Rhode Island..but before he could Piper had left her channel open, and there were screams and gunshots on wide-band broadcast.
“Son of a TRIBBLE…”Harry had picked up enough kobali to know what they were saying...and he knew where they could get more kobali. “He’s bitching because they can’t get to her and he wants her in one piece for reanimation.”
“We can deal with that after we deal with this.” Jake promised.
“I heard rumours Sir,” the Lieutenant said, “I mean, we’ve all heard them, about them. Even saw a couple of incident reports with exchange personnel…” he said shakily,
“Not rumors...but they had told us that they weren't using our people for their population, it was one of the stipulations for us helping.” Kim replied “our first contact with them was when they found the body of a friend of mine, and she tried to come back to Voyager.” His com beeped and he answered the hail “Kim here.”
”Captain, the last Benthan ship just fell, it’s getting harder to keep in one piece up here” Kim’s xo reported. “ Shields are down to sixty percent. If we’re going to get you out of there-”
“You’re not. Dump everything you can and get out of the system-get word to Alliance command both about the Vaaduwar and tell them we’ve got a Case Yellow in progress.”
The XO didn’t sound happy but…the Case protocol orders were known by command staff. “Aye sir. Good luck.”
“You too.” He ended the communication and glanced upwards for a moment. “I guess we’d best get moving. I don’t suppose you can give me some explanations?”
“Well it is going to be a bit of a walk.” Jake replied “and I don’t want to waste any time getting the warseed deactivated.”
“You can talk and walk can’t you?”
Jake had to chuckle “of course Captain. Let's get moving. It starts with the Orion gods they called the ‘Good Masters’...”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“No.” the Reman officer stated in flat denial, “I should be arresting you, ‘general’, for gross incompetence, I won’t send good Romulans and Remans to arrest one human you couldn’t control.”
“WHAT? This is a mutiny, you’re endangering the entire alliance!”
“She’s a moabite. They’re weapon systems, more than people.” the Reman explained, “Mass produced, conditioned, sentient and self-aware weapons. You failed to use the weapon correctly, so no, I’m not going to waste my men shutting it off, not while it’s still useful as a weapon directed at your people’s enemies, and it’s not my place to interfere in what is obviously a contract dispute with mercenaries.”
With that, the Reman cut the channel, leaving the Kobali general staring at the com screen.
He tried to contact Captain Kim again, but the signal interference was still preventing it, and the KDF officers, he understood, were likely disinclined to help ‘dead things’ against one of their race’s allies. Especially when she was still busy dropping artillery on their enemies.
“She’s got the defensive field back up on the bunker, sir.” A Kobali Lt. said, wiping streaks of gore from her face. “Permission to use breaching charges?”
“I told you I want the body intact.” the General said coldly.
“Eleven of our finest died in that doorway, sir.”
“Imagine what that kind of capability could do for us.” he insisted.
Inside the control complex…
“You’ll...be...going dark in a few more steps, sir.” Piper breathed, “Knock ‘m dead for me, hey?”
”What’s your condition, Piper? Do you need backup?”
She reached down, and tasted the blood flowing from her shattered abdomen. “Not as much...as the troops outside. Maxim twenty, sir.” she said, “Knock ‘m dead, I’ll keep up the cover as long as I can, but pro..promise me you won’t let the TRIBBLE have me when I’m gone...okay?”
She reached over and smeared blood across the control interface, sending another pre plotted volley. “Out-going, sir...shot away.”
It was hard to keep breathing, her vision was blurring, taking every bit of will to keep her eyes open, she punched in coordinates and salvo orders to the semi-automated batteries.
how did it get so cold here? her fingers fumbled at the plot.
“D-doing..m-my best, sir…” she gurgled. She felt so heavy, so tired...
At the Temple…
“...out-going, sir...shot away.” her voice on the comm was clear enough to hear the blood-bubble pop.
“Hang on there, Piper, I’ve got help coming for you.” Jake ordered, “Hang on, until you’re relieved!”
“D-do m’ best, sir..[hach]..”
Piper’s status monitor flatlined in the corner of his vision.
When you’re a good person, there are some things you just don’t get ‘used to’. Jake turned his eye to Kim, “Let’s go…keep in mind, captain, there’s going to be a reckoning about this.”
Outskirts of the Kobali walled city…
The landing forces hadn’t expected an attack from outside the city.
To be fair, the Vaadwuar hadn’t expected anyone else to be fielding armor, either. A platoon of Moabite suit-troops isn’t exactly a tank column, but it’s close enough when you factor in close-coordination algorithms, unjammable communications, and the level of training and conditioning difference.
A four-legged ‘walker’ really isn’t a stable platform. See, legs put center of gravity at an elevated point, it requires a lot of energy and very fast compensation to keep something like that upright.
Two legs really aren’t any better, but there’s ‘scale of movement’ to consider, along with just how much disruption a potential fall from a standing position is going to do.
Walkers may be impressive as hell, but they’re tippy beasts, especially when your opponents aren’t bothering to shoot at the big, overbalanced upper hull, but instead, concentrate their fires on the ‘stepping zone’ around the feet.
Petersen activated the detonator, and lobbed a CAM shell-roughly half a microgram of antimatter in a magnetic containment slug, at the walkers ahead of them.
The blast-shock did two things;
One, it disrupted the ground at the feet of the walking tank, while damaging the legs.
Two: because it was a ground-level burst instead of an airburst, the shockwave went up in a cone-and outward. In this case, the concussion wave flattened the Vad infantry company screening behind and below the walkers. Anyone not in full-pressure protection capable of handling a 200 atmosphere pressure wave for at least five seconds would be pulp for about fifty meters…
Vads wear soft trench coats and coal-scuttle helmets, sometimes with goggles and soft body-armors.
This also lifts the walker upward on the shockwave-not so much it gets airborne (well, from the side anyway. The walker directly under the shot went straight up probably 100 meters, then came down on its stumps-tumbling randomly away like the cleat-kicked can it really was.)
There’s also the side-effects. In roughly one detonation, a 400 meter hole was blown in the siege line close to the city, redirecting part of the river into the crater.
“That’ll be a nice pond.” Lance Corporal Abaddon Lien noted, “When it cools, I mean.”
“Yeah. plant some trees, maybe stock it with mock-salmon.” Petersen agreed, “Let’s move out, looks clear to the gate.”
“We goin to get Piper out?”
He looked at a display in his suit. Everyone had bio monitors, (well except for the Android) and he pushed back the anger and tears for now as Piper flatlined. “No. Orders are to get off planet, and get word out to the Alliance in case things go Case White.”
“Oughta let it...zombie TRIBBLE deserve to get eaten-”
“Maybe-but the rest of the quadrant doesn’t. Let’s move.”
Elsewhere…
“Sorry there’s no showers.” Lisa said, “it’s not exactly built for long-range operations in the manner you’re used to..”
“That’s less of a problem for me.” D’moj said, “I’ve seen this shuttle before, Ssharki was looking at a bulk purchase for the 19th, but they didn’t meet our specs and the rather...unique fuel requirements meant they weren’t compatible with our operational planning. Burning a kilogram of Latinum to jump 15 light years gets expensive damn fast.”
Nola Tan was already releasing the locking clamps. “our Ferengi partner gets drunk every time we use this ship. Time, Lisa.”
“Right.” Lisa helped the Orion colonel into her seat. “First time you’ve lost a ship?”
D’moj nodded glumly. “My career is phekking toast now.”
Outside the polarized windshield, the infested cruiser’s surface weapons ports were opening.
“Running now would be good, Nola.”
“Takes a few seconds to spin the jumpdrive up.” Nola muttered.
“Yeah, and that’s a collection of sensitive sensors and we didn’t waste the time to TRIBBLE them up… how much to bet the bugs are able to use the crew’s skills?”
“No bet.” Nola said. “Hang on.”
“How did you get in again?” D’moj asked.
“Through the hatch ship’s heat exchangers, why?”
“No reason…” the Orion colonel looked over the EW systems of the Evansco vessel, and tapped in a series of commands, “But since one of the things they were trying to get from me, is my overrides…”
“What’s that?”
“I told the warp reactor that the coolant lines are overpressuring.” she said, “It’s going to vent them on the next spike in power, I don’t suppose you’ll be kind enough to give them a reason to start shooting right now?”
“Drop a couple decoys.” Nola suggested, and the Reman reached over and activated the releases.
The response was immediate, and for a few moments, they were held in a tractor beam, as the cruiser’s weapons went active.
“Three...two…”
“What did you just do?”
“Scuttled the warp core. You might want to activate that fancy drive of yo-”
[Blink!!]
From sixty light seconds out, the flash of the IKS Neruul’s warp core breach was still blindingly bright when it caught up to them, the Raptor shaking slightly.
“Bang. You’re dead.” D’Moj said grimly, “I don’t suppose you’ve got enough fuel to the Dyson Sphere?”
“I can get us back to the Frontier.” Nola said.
“Good enough, my career is totally TRIBBLE, but High Command needs to know about this threat before they get in.”
“Hang on, we’ve got company.” The Reman operating the sensor station said-two seconds before the board chirped an incoming vessel warning “Relax, they’re friendly.”
The Colonel didn’t until the bulk of the Risan cruiser Frontier dropped out of warp and hailed them. “looks like we’ve got good timing.”
Tan just chuckled “you’re early to be honest.”
”The Neruul was broadcasting a distress call, figured it would be better if we started heading that way before someone else picked it up.”
“They called for help?” D’moj chuckled wearily “Guess I messed up their plans more than I thought.”
Tan brought the small ship around to the hangar deck of the Risan cruiser.
On the hangar deck of the Frontier Tan dug into her flight suit pocket, and produced a small box, which she offered to D’Moj.
“What’s this?” the Colonel asked.
“Souvenir, show we haven’t forgot’cha.” she said with a grin.
The Orion opened the box. A single gold loop-type earring glittered up at her.
“Gold?”
“Silver’s for shipwrecks, gold’s for losing a ship to enemy action.” Tan explained, “You qualify now, I’d have reppied a coin, but those require paperwork and I’m not technically active-duty...the Risan’s’ll love it.”
There were medics waiting as they exited the shuttle which D’moj waved off. They didn’t seem to mind or be surprised by that-but then orions were hardier than many species. “What’s going on with the situation on Kobali prime I told you about?” she asked as they headed to the bridge.
“Jake’s handling that end, I’ve been out of the loop in getting you out.”
“Just why did you come after me anyway? I thought I told you not to attempt it.”
Tan just gave her a look. “You were at Son Tay, same as I was. We don’t leave people behind.”
“Guess I should have expected it,” the Colonel replied. They emerged from the lift onto the bridge “nice setup you’ve got here.”
The bridge of the Risan ship looked less like a gigantic luxury vessel and more like something that Section 31 or KI might employ. There were many races represented, Human, Klingon, and… “you hired a Vorta? How did you manage that?”
“Not so much hired, she’s working with us…” Tan replied, turning to the human woman in the center seat. “Any news from Jake’s op?”
“Not so much from him...but..”
Trana, the Vorta female at the communications station, spoke up. “I’ve nothing ‘official’ yet-but something hit the Kobali system hard in the last hour. Freighters are scrambling out of there..hang on. “ The alien peered intently at her boards. “This doesn’t look good.”
“What doesn’t?” Tan asked, visions of her husband getting caught dancing in her head.
“Report from a Talaxian transport...massive Vaaduar attack.”
There was a silence on the bridge for a second, broken by something vile enough in orion Tan didn’t understand it. “So that’s what they were up to!”
Tan’s eyes seemed to gleam, and her lip curled into a snarl. “And what is the reaction of our alliance overlords?” she hissed.
“They are scrambling forces-”
“I bet.” Nola said, her voice even, expression neutral. “They will arrive too late, because that’s what they do, with their conferences and their diplomacy. How many groups do we hold the bond on in the Delta Quadrant? Fifty? A hundred?”
“What is she talking about?” D’Moj asked.
“Evans Industries has been dabbling in finance.” Lisa explained, “the mechanism is fractional-reserve banking, loans to create assets by leveraging debt, in this case, insurance loans and bonding for Ferengi and FCA affiliated merchies working in the Delta.”
“How is that going to help?” D’Moj asked.
“Simple. If Jake Evans dies on Kobali prime, those loans come due.” Nola said, “Immediately. Most of them can’t afford to pay it off immediately, and since it’s guaranteed by the Ferenginar central bank…” she turned back to the captain, “Inform our debtors that their finances are in peril, Jacob Evans is on the ground at Kobali Prime, and if he dies...they will be in default, and let their consciences guide them, then set course for Kobali Prime, and start fabricating torpedoes.”
“That will still take time, more time than perhaps we have.” Trana said even as she nodded approvingly. “I also took the liberty of updating the Founders-”
“Wait what?” D’moj said in shock. “You’re working for them?”
“Not at all. It is more of an alliance of mutual benefit” Trana replied.
Now the Colonel was confused as the Vorta continued “there is a group of artisans from various races from the Dominion on board-”
“How did you manage that? They never agree with cultural contacts.”
Nola just smiled “Jake asked politely. And also remarked since we were going into the Delta quadrant, and they still had lost founders from the one hundred who were sent out...if we happened to run into any of them it might be nice for them to have someone to relate to.”
“So you’ve got a Founder on board?”
“Unfortunately no-however I can contact them via Quantum link.”
“Of course you can.”D’moj shook her head “everyone else has those, why not the Dominion too? So what assets do you have?”
Trana smiled “Sixty Jem’hadar in stasis. Not much I know but enough for an appropriate honor guard should we find one of the missing founders.” The Vorta turned to the Colonel “Ambassador Odo is in agreement-if the filth is awakened on Kobali Prime, it is a threat to everyone, including the Dominion. They are yours to command in this.”
Yet another shock for D’moj. “Mine?”
“Your books are distributed in the Dominion, and you are known and respected as a formidable warrior.”
“And now that you mention it…” the Captain spoke up. “I may be ex starfleet, and from Moab-but I never served in combat. I think we’d have a much better shot at this if you took command Colonel.”
D’moj thought for two seconds, then turned to the Vorta, “wake ‘em up.” she said, “I’ll need to speak with your First and his senior people, you present of course, they’re going to need as full a briefing as I can give them before we go in. I’ll need our weapons status and loadouts, and anything else you can get me.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“Is their Latinum good?” Vendetta asked for the thousandth time.
“It’s being paid by a third party broker, but the broker’s good.” Daimon Truk insisted, “it’s the first contract we could get that the Alliance was willing to let us out of holding for, you should be happy-your people are making share value and getting paid.”
“I’m happy about the money, not so happy about the conditions or the intel brief.” Vendetta scolded, “They’ve been at this for months and the scale of the order of battle you showed me suggests it’s being run by an incompetent TRIBBLE. We’re here to fight for money, not provide body-bag filler for idiots.”
A thin Ferengi burst in, “Daimon!! You must see this!!”
The Daimon frowned, and accepted the holocrystal.
As he read the content of the message, he began a keening cry of outrage.
“What the TRIBBLE?” Vendetta demanded.
The Daimon’s grief-filled howl stopped, and he held out the display for her to examine.
“This is going to put us in poverty!!” he shouted.
“Shut up, grab your belt, and put your damn negotiating pants on.” she snarled, “This is Opportunity-the Kobali are paying us to fight, and Evans Industries, the guys holding our bond, want us to fight on Kobali prime-this isn’t a disaster, Daimon, it’s getting paid twice.”
“But we won’t make the rendezvous!!”
She scowled, “Make the ship go faster, and send an RSVP to the source of the transmission with a read-receipt, reserve us a spot, and ask about contractor bonuses, kill bonuses, and objective bonuses-you’re supposed to be a Ferengi, act like one!”
He looked uncertain, “The ship-it’s all I’ve got, and we’re-”
“You didn’t bring it in for service, did you?” she asked.
“No.”
“Well, better hope they can fix whatever we break getting to the job-site then.” she scolded him, “but...I’ll contribute a generous portion of my shares to repair costs-if we make it there on time...and more if we’re early.” she reached out, casually stroking his sensitive ear. “Now make the call, Daimon, get us bonuses, and see if you can’t wrangle some payment from the Rihannsu and the tH’lingana. Remember, war is good for business”
With that, she strode off the bridge, to the troop deck, “Let’s break out the armor guys, it’s going to probably be a hot drop after all...and we’re arriving early.”
She matched actions to words, breaking out her own Mark One suit, an armor she’d earned, bought with her muster-out pay before she had a chance to wear it in battle.
Frontier…
“...FCA bonded mercenaries aboard the Jozagle’s Purse have responded.”
“FCA, so Ferengi mercs?”
“Their Daimon has a list of requests, but the mercs aren’t Ferengi.” Nola frowned, “Discharges.”
“DIscharges?”
“Discharge kids...like me.” she said, “looks like quite a few ground war vets from the Fek war, and according to this...yeah, most of them were Discharged under the Act, and went on the ‘for hire’ circuit before they could shave-so trained, some experience, but by MCDF standards mostly regulars at best.”
D’Moj mulled this over, “And how many are underage still?” she asked.
Nola shrugged, “Probably half.” she stated, “the Government back home cut them loose, and they’re not claiming MCDF, so they’re safe from charges, they took the payout-but if there’s one over the age of twenty I’m a TRIBBLE Q. Their leader’s a field-promoted first Sergeant from 14th brigade.”
“Field promoted?” the Jem’hadar first asked.
“Means everyone above her on the local chain of command died, and she kept most of the people under her alive.” Nola said, “NCO rank’s easier to get without formal education, since even a butterbar’s got to have at least two hundred credit hours of formal school.”
“The Fourteenth...that’s…?”
“Haiphong, about eighty six kilometers north of Xiao Loc, the Fourteenth took heavy casualties in the first weeks.” Nola filled in, “they held the perimeter from Da Nang to Khe Song and contained the Fek breakouts along their sector for three weeks until the counterattack was ready. The unit took eighty three percent casualties, the survivors were rolled into the second class of Suit units in training at Devil’s Canyon, most of them were kicked on Discharge day along with the bulk of three companies of basic trainees they were being integrated with-most of them scattered into merc-work to pay bills.”
“Bills?” the Vorta asked.
“Okay, check this-only taxpayers can vote, so you gotta have an income to cast a ballot, right? And voting? It’s kind of important, so getting a job is important, now I was lucky-I can fly a ship, a shuttle, navigate, do warp calculus. These are infantry, right? Some technical, and no formal education outside the military and basic education as it was before independence-they have ONE skill set, one thing they’re good at and they know they’re good at.”
“So they went mercenary…”
“Some signed up with Nausicaan clans, a few tried to get into the KDF directly, or applied for Ty’Gokor to keep a billet open.” Nola explained, “But the Klingons, right? Not gonna take ‘child soldiers’ because they’re making nice with the Federation, and the Empire’s got the Clans by the mivoks, so when the Empire says, ‘no apprentices outside your race’, they listened and kicked the ones they picked up loose-that’s our girl, Sgt. Vendetta Osmet. She looks like she’s either an AA or AB, the skin colour’s too dark for her hair colour, and you don’t see a lot of african-descent or asiatics with naturally blonde hair.”
“Where’s she from officially?” D’Moj asked.
“Um, Canh Tho is on her records, but if she’s a Muslim, I’m the bloody queen of Siam.” Nola observed, “Orphan too, so I’m thinking she’s AA, probably Officer strain type four-uses African bone and body structure with some Northern European genes for cold tolerance. The coloring is probably a defect in the processing.”
“You sound like...I don’t understand these terms.” the Vorta said, and her first nodded in agreement.
“Mad Admiral Leyton tried to start a project to make a ‘Federation jem’hadar’ using human augments and stolen technology.” D’moj said, “it wasn’t entirely successful- the freedom fighters on Moab III restarted the damn thing and got it mostly right, luckily, the facility was destroyed.”
“We blew it up.” Nola contributed.
“What was wrong with them?” the First asked, “Were they defective?”
“The concept is...flawed with humans.” D’Moj stated, “among other things wrong with it, humans aren’t psychologically adapted to the idea of mass-producing sentient beings as weapons, though some exceptions exist, the people they grew have severe difficulties adapting to civilian life, but in order to be the best soldiers they could make, they were decanted at an age that is considered morally repugnant to deploy in combat throughout most of the human worlds.”
“There are strong taboos against child soldiers.” Nola contributed, “I was forced out of service because my physical development and aging was not within what is considered morally acceptable limits for a combat officer-so were the bulk of these.”
“Fascinating.”
“Not the word I used when I found out my past was a lie designed by social scientists looking to create an ideal soldier.” Nola explained, “I was horrified when I found out what I was, and I think they’ll be horrified too, if they find out. It’s something of an open secret at this point, the Denali are trying to get some protections for these kids into the Alliance treaties, and an acknowledgement from the Federation Government for funding this atrocity-but it’s slow going, the folks back home involved with making the decision are dead.”
“Can they be trusted?” the Vorta asked.
“About as much as anyone.” Nola said, “they’ll fight, they’ll fight on our side, but these are free contractors, not soldiers to a state...and some of them have had a taste of private military contractor work.”
“So their conditioning was incomplete then.” the Vorta analyzed.
“Yeah, you could say that.” Nola agreed, “we didn’t get ‘loyalty coding’ because while Leyton was a nutjob, the people he hired were not-at least, not entirely...which kinda makes sense since the same training methods were used on baseline humans to try and make the forces seem...natural.”
“It would be intriguing to fight them.” the First mused.
“Yeah...you don’t wanna go there.” Nola assured him, “We aren’t exactly ‘honorable’ fighters-lots of training in fighting dirty, imprints on most known species’ biology and weaknesses with the imprinting process, along with an understanding of xenobiology focused on hurt, harm, and kill-and I’ll say I’d rather be on your side, than against you in a fight-because one on one, one of us would lose to one of you...and Jem’Hadar don’t fight stupid or pointless battles, so one on one isn’t going to happen, and I’d estimate three on one you’d still win.” she gave the alien a faint smile, “Unless you think you gotta prove my point?”
The Vorta looked appalled, and the First boomed with laughter.
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“...dispatches for immediate hand-delivery, get out of my way.” a phaser bolt struck Petersens’ chest plate, and a bit of paving melts from the wasted heat.
He responds, by turning the shooter-a Kobali in officer’s uniform, into a grayish spray from the neck up.
“I said, Get out of my way.” the polaron weapons flash from the rest of the detail, and if he’d been relying on conventional shields, he’d be in trouble.
MCDF issue Mark III armor is called armor, because it’s Armor. Layered shielding, conductive layers for particle and plasma impacts, kinetic sinks, heat sinking. Each suit cost as much to make, as a Toron Shuttlecraft, and the standard-grade weapons firing at him do about as little to him, as they would do to a Klingon military transport.
Which is not much.
Still, it’s enough to bother returning fire. In close urban, you don’t use CAM rounds, unless it’s Xiao Loc during the Fek war when they didn’t have them.
Petersen shoulders the KDF issue heavy disruptor rifle, and picks them off in single fire, his drone remotes and augmented displays marking the targets right through their thin concealment and light cover.
The intersection clears in moments, as the wounded are a bit too busy dealing with missing legs and arms, to bother trying to stop him on his errand.
“Pip, alert allied medical there’s a squad of Kobali with serious wounds at this grid location.”
“Status on the rest of my fireteam?”
The display overlaid a corner of his vision-they were finished clearing the improvised barricades put up around the ship’s shuttle.
“And second team’s mission?”
“The ones that have been failing to provide overwatch fire, or adequate counter-orbital defense?”
The headquarters bunker complex was just ahead, and panicking soldiers were trying to seal the main entry.
Body signatures in the area indicated recently spilled Vulcanoid blood, mixed with Gorn and Klingon, a few bodies with rising temperatures were nearby.
“Oh, someone is going to pay for this TRIBBLE.” it didn’t take a genius to figure this one out-the corpses of staffers and advisors being converted to Kobali ‘recruits’ were visible, as were Kobali ‘medical teams’ trying to drag the recent corpses away for indoctrination.
“Pip, link me into the general freqs, broadcast mode, civilian and military networks.” he said, and popped a ‘hullcracker’ at the bunker’s doorway, the C-18 charges are dial-a-yeild rounds, this one set to four-capable of penetrating four centimeters of Monotanium plate.
if Piper had her suit, I wouldn’t have to be doing this. he glared as the armored door sheared from the blast.
“Override all feeds, show what we saw coming in, with scanner data and timestamp.” he ordered. “Add inquiry; ‘Was this approved by the Kobali government, or is the local commander out of control?’ Send on repeat until someone responds.”
The suit’s primitive synthetic management software interface acknowledged the order and obeyed.
Carver and Moss can get to orbit and get the word out. Piper was Petersen’s girl, and he wasn’t about to abandon her body in the land of the awakened dead.
[Jake’s ship, boarding ramp…]
“F*ck, they’ve got a cruiser on overwatch and they’re jamming, how much you wanna bet they’re gonna shoot while we’re lifting?” Carver said with a grim look.
“Why aren’t the Kobali shooting at them?” Moss asked
“Because” Lara replied “They’re staying out of Vaad weapons range, being patently useless.”
“What’ve we got for a plan B?” Moss speculated.
“Fleetbook.” Carver said. “Kinda weird checking the range like this, but theoretically it’s untraceable, unjammable, and theoretically infinite range, right? QT comms?”
“Pretty TRIBBLE thin chance.”
“It gets the word out if we fail on lift.” Carver stated.
“We ain’t gonna fail.”
“What do you mean? The only ships left in the system are either on the ground like us, that Kobali chickenshit ship and Vads. Maybe if we had the bosslady flying, but I'm nowhere near as good as she is.” Carver stopped suddenly as he entered the shuttles cockpit “oh hell...I thought we didn’t have a key for that?”
On the panel was a red button that was normally covered by a locking shield. Only the boss or the Captain had a key for it, at least he thought. “Did you unlock this?”
“Neg, bossman sent the signal. He wants us to didi mau our asses out of here..”
“That..that helps.” He toggled the com “Petersen!”
”Bit busy here, you ain’t lifted yet?”
“Get your girl and get to the ship. We don’t have to lift, you savvy?”
“I understand, hold for another ten mikes, then un-TRIBBLE if I don’t make it.” Petersen ordered, “also set one of the elint recorders to the civil channels, I saw something and it needs an answer.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Piper wasn’t wrong on the seventeen, but they should probably find out if it’s sanctioned. The TRIBBLE zomboys killed their advisors here to make more, over.”
“What’s your backup plan, Pete?” Carver demanded.
”I’ve got a couple CAM rounds left, I’ll cleanse the site if we can’t get out before the deadline. They won’t get either of us.”
Carver’s heart dropped into his gut, “Okay....” the shuttle’s prox alarms went off.
“We’ve got company!”
”Cancel that wait, Carver, mission first. I’ll hold out here for as long as practical, go get our backup.” Petersen ordered.
“Not doing that.” Carver said.
”that Shuttle’s not immune to damage, lift before you can’t, I’m tying Pip into the battery control systems here, if you lift you’ve got cover fire. Get to jump distance and hit the shiny button, I’ve got this.”
“Piper said that.”
”Piper didn’t have her suit, or she’d still have this.”
“How did she go?”
“Blood loss, are you going yet?”
“Hatch sealed...we’ll be back for you.”
”I’ll try to be here then.”
Risian Cruiser Frontier...
“Why haven’t you guys put those in mass production?” Lisa asked.
“Cost.” D’moj answered before Nola did, as they headed down to the shuttle bay. “The fuel is incredibly expensive stuff.”
“Yeah, burn a kilo of Latinum every time you use it. The fuel tank for one of those is worth more than the chassis.” Nola added, “literally. Heh, the emergency jump drive in the shuttle Jake took to deal with the Kobali mess uses enough to pay for a small cruiser. Hence why it’s emergency use only.”
“Put the accountants on suicide watch??” Lisa asked.
“You got that right.” They reached the bay’s control booth.
“Handshake sent, they’re at low altitude ma’am.” the tech at the console announced.
“Pressure equalized with outside, energy dampeners up, inertial at full.”
The flash in the bay was almost anticlimax, except on instruments, as reality flickered and the depressurized bay was suddenly pressurized to the same as the troposphere of Kobali prime.
“Pressurize up to full.” Nola turned, “Trana, First, Let’s go, you want to meet these folks.”
To the First, they looked strikingly ‘ordinary’ for humans. He’d seen enough humans to know, roughly, what passes for ‘ordinary’.
But there was a focus in their movements that was almost graceful. They were not in uniforms as such...but many of them had a similar insignia, some a patch on a jacket, one a tattoo, one on a chain around their neck of a three headed canine of some sort.
“Mum, the boss sent us out to get word out-TRIBBLE’s gone bad, mum.” the darkest of the boys said after rendering a hand-salute and putting his helmet aside.
“How bad?” Nola demanded.
“Bossman’s locked in a temple with the artifact, Piper’s dead, Petersen’s trying to secure her body from the damn zomboys-and th’ everfuckin’ Zombies are killing allied troops to refill their ranks. It’s in the pot, Mum.” He handed her a holographic record stic. “Orders from the bossman’s to get the report to Alliance High command, and then prep for possible Case White.”
“okay...Piper dead is new.” she said, “I take it the rest of the team couldn’t make their shuttle?”
“No ma’am. 1st and 3rd squads are linked up with KDF advisors, and second squad’s embedded with the Rommie Republic boys along the south ridge at last report-th bossman sent our squad back, first to try an’ back up Piper’s call, then when she flatlined, mission turned to getting diddee-mau up here to report in.”
“Get your fireteam cleaned up and report to Briefing 3 with your lunches, you have twenty minutes. The tinbenders can take care of the shuttle.”
“Aye Mum.”
Carver turned and Nola commented, “Well, we’re definitely going to need the mercenaries.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
“Holy TRIBBLE%* Harry.” Stasis pods, thousands of them. “Did they tell you about this?”
Captain Kim shook his head, “No...there are thousands of them...Vaadwuar pods.”
Jake looked at him, “you’re sure.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve seen these before.”
“I think that explain what the Vaadwaur are after, don’t you?” Jake asked.
A Kobali scientist peeked from around a corner. “Are they gone!?” he asked.
Jake stepped over, and lifted the alien by his tunic. He handed the Kobali scientist to Kim, who, being a normal man, had to let the man land on his feet. “Keep him here, get a deposition.”
“Evans!” Kim was about to say something.
“They’re going to want his testimony for the war crimes hearing.” Jake added, “I’ve got a different job here.”
The detector pinged deeper into the complex. In the corner of Jake’s vision 1st and second squads link up with the KDF were advancing from the west, while 3rd squad was with the romulans.”
It would have been nice to have the suits inside with them he thought...but things couldn’t have been helped. Would have been better if he could have gotten Kim and his people out as well before the entrance was sealed. Ageaon as an android was impervious to any infection. Himself, probably more than most. The kobali scientist on the other hand..
Threat. Eliminate the programming from the Combat Co-processor implanted by the Malta group at the base of his skull helpfully suggested. Which he of course ignored as usual. “how far down is the object?”
“Si..six teen levels.”
“Of course it is” Jake sighed . “Just once I’d like to be able to recover one of these things easily.”
“I thought the one you recovered from Feringinar was easy to get to?” Ageon commented.
“If you call buried in a fifteen hundreed year old Ferengi septic system that was still in use easy...you’re lucky, you can turn off your sense of smell.”
Captain Kim looked puzzled “If these things are so dangerous, what are you doing with them when you get them?”
“Tossing them in the nearest black hole. Closest thing we have to reality’s trash compactor.”
FCS Jozagle’s Purse
“What’re you reading?” Timms asked.
“The Winchester diaries.” Vendetta said, “Look, I know it’s cheesy fiction but…”
“But we’re going to a planet, being invaded by aliens, whose residents are zombies.” TRIBBLE dropped onto one of the benches, “Kobali die like everyone else, you don’t have to cut their heads off and burn ‘em.”
“So what’re we looking at?” Vendetta asked, as Timms set up a player.
“Broadwave, one of ours with Evanscorp put it on Fleetbook with an ‘all eyes' tag.” He said, “Looks like we’re going to have to either save the zombies to get paid, or kill them to save the world.”
Vendetta frowned, “We need a third option-we can’t kill a whole world, and we need to get paid.”
Timms sighed, “We also need an option that keeps our credit rating-if we skunk the zombies, that forfeits the bond, and if we try to skunk Evanscorp, that skunks the bond too.”
“Hmmm. We get Evans out regardless...and his people.” Vendetta asserted, “It’s a command decision-the Kobali are questionable clients and maybe we can get our bondholder to cover the loss on skunking the contract, but we don’t stick around on a potential war crime right in front of the Feds.”
“Problem, it’s a joint op, we’ll be doing it in front of the KDF.” TRIBBLE pointed out.
“Yeah, but we can claim Family.” Timms said, “I think it’ll stick, and there’s Honour to consider-the vid shows the zombies killed a bunch of their Klingon advisors, that might fly with Starfleet, but it won’t fly with the Empire.”
“What’s our exit clause on the Kobali contract, Daimon?” Vendetta said it as the Ferengi entered the troop room.
“Exit clause?”
“Actions by the client that nullify the contract-what did you negotiate?” she said, “I know you did, and I assume there’s penalties, what are they?”
Frontier, Wardroom…
The Vorta studied the documents. “This is their contract?” she asked.
Nola nodded. “Yeah, the negotiator did a good job, sidesteps most of the usual ‘killing the paymaster’ mistakes.”
“That being why you’re not worried.” D’Moj said from the corner of the boardroom, “do you think they understand it?”
“I do.” Nola shrugged, “if I understand it, then I’m betting any officer-phenotypes in their company do-it’s a good contract. The Daimon knows his business there, right down to Klingon laws that it’s written under.”
“Will the Benthans understand it?” D’moj pressed, “That’s really what we’re talking about here.”
“The Kobali clearly didn’t...or they would have had a better negotiator.” the Vorta observed, “these ‘exit clauses’ and penalty scales-”
“What, you don’t have businessmen where you’re from?” Nola asked.
“We do, but it’s hardly the job of a Servant of the Gods to dabble in such matters, and for military work, well...why have mercenaries when the Dominion will provide?”
“Rougher galaxy out here.” Quentin noted. “Okay, so they’re covered on their exit, and these logs say Piper invoked the right portions of the joint forces agreement. Now what?”
“Starfleet might have objections.” Nola said. “A couple of these are blatant violations of their Prime Directive, especially the sections outlining technology transfer and chain of command rights, but the big one is the penalty clauses for betrayal in the field.”
“How could they object to that?” Quentin asked, surprised, “I mean, those were pretty standard even back home, when dictators or countries hired freelance capes…”
“The Federation has a bit of a problem with Mercenaries working in the same area of responsibility as Starfleet personnel.” D’moj pointed out, “They’ll want them in front of a Tribunal if they carry out most of these, especially since we’re talking about human Mercenaries. Nola still has her Reserve commission from Cold Butte after the Coup attempt, most of our kids were on Goralis for the last couple years….but these kids have been in the wind, and they’re Discharge Kids, means they don’t have even faint government backing-by Fed standards they’re just about one step up from pirates, and it’s real easy for a legalist from Starfleet’s IG to decide they are pirates, especially since they’re not covered by a recognized government, unless the Empire claims them, or the Republic.”
“Can’t we claim ‘em?” Nola asked, “say, put them under contract to Evans Industries?”
“They’re already registered freelancers in the Empire, Starfleet could run right around that using the Khitomer Accords, and the accords are a higher priority in J’mPok’s administration than they are on the border...plus, there are Great Houses that would like to put a black eye on Woldan and Methos with an incident like this.”
“Hm, Platoon of Lawyers on this?” Quentin suggested, “I mean, that’s why we’ve got a legal department, right?”
“It’ll work on the short term, we’ll put Legal on the case for pre-empting any hostile legal actions by the Federation.” Nola said, “That takes care of the legal end, what about the tactical?”
“I want to meet them.” the Vorta said suddenly, “These soldiers-for-hire. At least over video conference.”
“I’ll arrange it, is there a reason?”
“Third options.” the Dominion alien said, “Your pardon, but your legal department may be good, however legalities are often influenced by public perception, and as you said, they’re not backed, currently, by a recognized government.”
“Supplementing your forces?”
The Vorta smiled, “I only have sixty Jem’Hadar, and the Delta Quadrant is large...but it will depend greatly on their performance in combat.”
“Link established mum.”
On the screen, a dark-skinned girl with improbably strawberry-blonde hair sat, wrapped in a longjon like undersuit, connectors visible and armor pieces laid out nearby.
“You know who I am?” Nola asked.
“yeah. Coolness. I see you’ve got Colonel D there, but I don’t recognize the rest, is that a Vorta?”
“I am.” the Vorta said.
”do you need rescuing too, Nola?”
“They’re friendly, so are the sixty Jem’Hadar being detanked for the mission.” Nola said bluntly.
”Wow...Dominion support, that’s TRIBBLE rockin’. How many ships is she bringing to the fight? Because I’m thinking it’s gonna be full-court press before we hit dirt.”
“Well…” Nola sighed, “it’s just the sixty Jem’Hadar.”
”okay, so how are we getting to orbit then??”
Kobali Prime, Temple, level nine
It had been slow going. Not so much due to resistance, but geting Kim and his people down safely over some of the obstacles. Power was cut, so the elevators the Kobali put in were not operating.
Of course the smart thing would have been to leave them by the entrance, but Jake had pushed Kim pretty far already with his shaky authority. He knew Frank Drake was going to have a stroke when he heard about it. But then, not like he had any other cards in his hand at the time other than the letter of Marque.
Still having the Starfleet away team along was good for other reasons. “I’m detecting some life forms ahead...that’s weird.”
“What’s weird Lieutenant?” Kim asked
Lieutenant Susan Weathers looked at the readings on her tricorder. “They’re Kobali..and they’re not.”
TRIBBLE. At least the away team was in Armor. Starfleet may in Jake’s mind be charmingly naive at times in regards to threats-but they’d learned. “Think they activated it?”
“Possible, warseeds release weaponized biogenetic nanites. Kind of like the Borg assimilation probes, but over an area. Check your seals.”
Captain Kim just nodded “we’re good, and personal shields too.”
Up ahead the android stuck one of it’s antennas around the corner. “target...it’s kobali..and not..and barely moving.”
That caused Jake's eyebrows to raise “just changed?”
“Nae, looks like a hordeling...but wrong.”
They cautiously eased around the corner, weapons ready. “Huh.”
It was hard to tell if it was a guard or scientist, not wearing much of a uniform of any kind...but instead of a fast moving and dangerous hordeling…”they’re not usually that color.”
“The joints are wrong..it’s why it can’t move.” Ageon pointed out. “Lieutenant, can ye get a scan from your tricorder? We didn't have time to grab scientific gear.”
Lieutenant Weathers looked to her captain who nodded. Taking a deep breath, she moved closer, the tricorder humming. “That’s weird...there is something in it’s biochemistry that is fighting the Fek’ihri conversion from the warseed.”
“The Kobali resurrection process.” Kim said, snapping his fingers. “We know they can take dead humanoids and re awaken them as Kobali. It’s fighting back against the Warseeds nannites.” He looked at the science officer “Any in the air?”
“Checking Sir…” She scanned “Negative.”
“Which means it’s not actively spewing yet-it also means that this guy was deliberately infected.”
Lt Weathers looked closer at the data on her tricorder “there's bits of a third DNA here too as well.”
“Possibly whatever original species he was before he died the first time.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
Kobali system…
The Jozagle’s Purse was an older-model Ferengi ship, her Daimon bought her at nearly scrap rates, because the ship wasn’t as capable as D’Koras even as much as fifty years younger, very few block one D’Koras even still exist. Getting the combat systems up was a chore, and they were out of time.
The Frontier, on the other hand, was built in the Risa system by expert shipwrights less than 20 years ago, and she’d seen yard time less than five years ago with annual updates to all her systems, since becoming the property of Evans Industries.
“What a piece of junk.” the Vorta commented, looking across at their first ‘wingman’.
“I won’t say she’s got it where it counts-because she doesn’t...but she’ll do for this job.” Nola and her Dominion colleague turned around, as their guest stepped into the room. She was wearing a modified skinsuit with the name “Osmet” stenciled over her left breast.
“What should I call you?” Nola demanded, “You were a Sergeant, now you’re commanding a full company of troops,but you mustered out as an NCO.”
Vendetta shrugged, “I’m not the captain.” she said, “Chu-Sa works, it’s different enough from regulars, but carries the same connotation.”
“Japanese?” Lisa Quentin inquired.
“Yeah. seemed like enough separation at E:30 in the AM after a few rounds of Jero wine and watch-me’s...Let’s go over the plan.”
“We need to crack the enemy’s blockade, or there is no plan.” Colonel D’Moj added, “that bucket of corrosion isn’t going to do that.”
“I’ve been reading the reports.” Chu-Sa Osmet said casually, “The little ships are tough and fast, but they rely on the big ones for their heavy fire, and they like to fight in close order formation. I think we can take one of the big TRIBBLE fire-support ships, if we can get shuttles in close enough for a horizontal drop.”
“A what??”
“It works like a vertical envelopment, but in microgravity.” D’Moj contributed.
“I’m banking the Vads are like everyone else, and consider the move stupid and impractical.” Osmet added.
Nola was nodding, “Like the Orions over Moab back in the independence war?”
“They probably haven’t heard of it.” Osmet suggested, “and nobody, not even those guys, use physical boarding assaults from outside against shielded targets-everyone uses transporters or transport pods.”
The Vorta was aghast, “That’s insane! You’ll all be killed!” she straightened, “I won’t sacrifice my Jem’Hadar in such a stupid manner!”
“Keep thinking that, because you won't have to-your guys aren’t trained for it.” Osmet stated blandly, “We were, and my company’s been brought up to current.”
“Okay, let’s say you board-what then?”
“We either cripple it, blow it in place, or take it over depending on enemy resistance.” Osmet said calmly, “We’ll be taking CAM rounds and antimatter breaching charges, full loads of scatter shot and pulsewaves for backup.” she shrugged, “Worst case, we’re the distraction while you manage your extraction. It’s a deep boarding op, in a live fire zone, so I will ask for an increase in our rates, and a signed death bennies contract, with standard Salvage rights if we do succeed in taking the damn thing in operational condition.”
“I’ll give your company half rights on the salvage.” Nola stated, “Three fourths pay on your Confederacy rates for death bennies, plus a repair chit for your ride-and I want a Platoon held for ground action.”
Vendetta frowned, “Sixty forty, our favour on salvage, our gear’s not cheap and we’ve got specialized expertise.”
“Half on salvage, and you can give me your repairs at fifty percent what it costs on the market back home, and I’ve got more and better medics than you do.”
“Health care?” Vendetta asked, “Full medical or no dice.”
“Done.” The girls spat on their right hands, and shook.
“You’ve got your own shuttles?” D’Moj asked.
“Yeah, we’ve got a few. The actual boarding assault’s going to have to be done crab-wise, I can only get twenty at a time across.”
The Orion’s lips skinned back in a feral, teeth baring smile, “I have a better idea-the shuttles are for the ground assault…” she turned, “Captain, I assume you’re in contact with USS Rhode Island?”
“THey’re not gonna be rigged for our deployments.” Osmet said doubtfully.
“You’ve got mag-clamp compatibility on those suits, they’re mark Ones, right?”
Osmet nodded, “yeah, but the TRIBBLE things are a pain…”
“So how much more money?” D’Moj demanded.
“No extra charge.” Nola interjected, looking at the darker girl harshly.
“Right…” she tabbed her PADD, “Okay, word’s passed to my people, where do we do the handoff?”
The XO of the Rhode Island did not like the plan.
However, in this case, said officer had no vote after getting a confirmation of the op-order from Dyson Command. For her part, Nola was kind of nervous about the deception, but Osmet’s ex-Radioman was good at slicing, and a fair hand at fraud.
“Perfidy, those codes are good, right?” Osmet demanded.
“Perfect codes. I’ll drop a worm in the system that will make it look like it originated in the Allied Command section.” Perfidy wasn’t coming on the boarding, Nola snagged her for commo duty as soon as the USS Rhode Island started sending shuttles over to the Purse and the Frontier to take on the boarding teams.
“This better not TRIBBLE up our paycheck.” Osmet cautioned, the deck boys finished fuelling the latest of the Starfleet shuttles to arrive.
”It won’t. Truth says the Starfleet systems will follow it back to an ICE wall belonging to Langley Station-they’ll assume some black-ops boys from Starfleet Intelligence bought off on the plan.”
“God, was it really that easy?”
“Easy?? Are you TRIBBLE kidding me? No it wasn’t easy...mother of gods, it was a stone TRIBBLE, but I left a spike in a panel on the Dyson base, just in case we needed it, and one of Truth’s subroutines has been picking up headers and tags and indexing them...but don’t tell Mrs. Evans, she needs to see this as a miracle save or she’ll get nervous and blow the con.”
“I won’t be talking-as long as it works, if it doesn’t...”
“Got it covered, I’m quite prepped to fall on my sword to cover the unit...as long as my shares are still good.”
Vendetta stepped up onto the Port Nacelle, near the canopy, locked her mag clamps to the alloy and knocked on the window, indicating to the Starfleet pilot that her team was embarked.
The shuttle lifted, and banked out of the Frontier’s shuttle deck.
The target wasn’t hard to identify. The Vaads were out, but the shuttles were small, and the camouflage systems were coordinated between the suits, reducing their signature to look like small bits of debris from the destroyed picket-line, while the Rhode Island’s tinbenders and knuckledraggers had installed the latest in Starfleet’s signature masking equipment to conceal the contrails of the dozen or so shuttlecraft speeding indirectly at the enemy battleships.
The enemy wasn’t looking for them, that was a bonus.
“Lock Synch.” Vendetta ordered, matching her order to her actions.
Eighty armored infantry were speeding in to do what the books say standard boarding shuttles would fail at.
“It’s a suicide plan.” First said, watching the shuttles depart.
“Yeah, the ground action might be.” Nola said, “the boarding op? Not so much. We’ve all had training in it, and some of us-including the teams that just departed? Have experience at the boarding...but landing the suits means win-or-die. Nobodys’ got a good way to extract Mark One suits, and Transporters wind up not working right.”
“Which is why both Starfleet, and the KDF don’t insist on being able to procure them.” D’Moj contributed.
“It’s part of the shielding and dampener designs, we think.” Nola said, “Something in the interactions screws up targeting on transporters-they can’t get a lock at range, and they’re inaccurate as TRIBBLE on deployment-the safeties on the Nighthawk kicked in and that squad wound up dropping forty meters because the transporter couldn’t put them down near any significant solid or liquid matter safely. It was that defect that lost Ngo Industries the MACO contract, and why Starfleet went to the Silverbacks instead.”
Chu-i Jyestha looked up as the senior officers spoke. “It’ll work.” she broke in. Like Nola, she looked ‘mostly asian’, at least from the part that could be seen with her helmet off. Nola knew exactly why as well-Jyestha was grown from the same combination of genetic material she was-a cousin, if you will, but more distant than Marissa was, and another ‘officer model’ like Vendetta. For some reason, the system that created them assigned her another highly inappropriate name, like Vendetta’s as well-naming her after the Hindu goddess of misfortune.
Jyestha was a ‘younger’ Siegfried, late model and among the last ones grown before the facility was put out of operation.
Nola still hadn’t figured out how to bring up the subject of that, or the false memories implanted to give them personalities and make them functional. Or even if she should. While the Federation did come clean about that program, as well as the fact the Confederacy government continued it-they did not release any names. IF someone wanted to find out there was a way they could contact and see their history. Some did, many were happy with the memories they had, false or not. She still felt guilt over what happened when she told her ‘cousin’ Marissa. Keeping her mouth shut was the smart thing.
“It’ll work.” the girl said again, firmly and confidently. “If it doesn’t work, we’re all screwed anyway, so it will work.”
Trana, the Vorta, looked at the girl sitting patiently in her armor, “You understand, once you arrive at the drop zone, you can’t be extracted?”
The girl shrugged, “Yeah, so? We hold until either reinforced, or a shuttle makes it, or we don’t hold and everybody dies. Eleven Marines held on at Damar City long enough for the Cardies to retake it, and Fekkies are hella tougher than Vads.”
“They had a company of Starfleet and Denali special operations troops with them, and only one of them was in condition to walk out.”
The girl shrugged, “pays your chances.” she said stoically, “We’ll hold the drop zone and we’ll get your guys out. After that, it’s mai-tais on Risa, just like Son Tay, only with less running and screaming.” she grinned a familiar overconfident grin-Nola saw that grin in the mirror from time to time.
“Mai-Tais?” Trana asked.
“It’s a high-alcohol fruity drink, served cold.” Nola commented back, “Something you only drink if you’ve got a few days of leave to recover from drinking it.”
“Ah. What was Son Tay?” Trana asked.
Nola shrugged, “We get through this, and I might even tell you the story over drinks.” she shot Jyestha a warning look.
The younger woman held her hands up, “I wasn’t there, not my story to tell.”
“Too right….timeclock?”
“No hostile fire, so I’d say if the shuttles aren’t out of fuel, they’re less than five hundred kilometers off their target.” D’Moj stated.
Perfidy, in her suit, connected by an adapter to the bridge console, nodded, “They’re eyeball range and ready for the drop.” she said, “suits are in lock-synch, and the Vads appear to have no idea they’re about to get visitors...here, I’ve got feed from the lead suits, composited with sensor data. Tell me what you want screened out.”
FIrst watched as the holoscreen composited a series of 2 dimensional diagrams and a flat-rendering image.
“Why the two dimensional feed?” He asked.
“Oh, we’re using Quantum tanglement transcievers, data pipe’s too tight for tridee.” Perfidy said, “tridee’s possible-but the gear to do it is the size of a TRIBBLE shuttle.”
Trana sighed contentedly. “It’s nice to know we’re still ahead of you technologically then.” she said with satisfaction.
“Yeah, we’re just the raggedy TRIBBLE barbarians.” Perfidy said it with an ironic tone, “Of course these guys? They’re worse.”
But the Jem’Hadar, unlike his Vorta ‘handler’ was entranced as the plot and image showed the landing.
“How did they get through the shielding?” he asked.
“Flicker the suit’s inboard shielding and ride the deflector signal in.” Perfidy said, “his shields repel objects, but they’re particle-frequency shielding, so you match and invert the signal and it pulls you in instead of pushing you out.”
“Can it be done on a torpedo?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Perfidy said, “but the method’s picky, we can do it easier with a spread and distributed intelligence programming, but it takes a fair number to get enough processor to do it.”
“How many?” he asked.
“Ten suit-size processors, unless you want to try a continuous data pipe to the launching ship.” Jyestha piped up, “it’s expensive as TRIBBLE to do it, too. Cheaper for boarding parties, and it’s not quick. In a ship-to-ship fight, your target’s more likely to be moving out of the way before the synch’s achieved-because they know you’re shooting at them. It takes multiple readings from different angles to get the right spread, and then to react as the shielding pulses and inverts to prevent charges from building on debris in the area and doing exactly what the company’s trying to do.”
“Does it scale?” the Jem’Hadar First asked.
“Yeah. More in the network, better the response time is.” she shrugged, “We learned a lot about spreading processing power out on civvie grade hardware for military applications.”
“Got it….there’s their pulse modulation. First squad is boots to hull and establishing their ellzee.”
“Won’t the enemy hear them?” Trana asked.
“Not unless they do something stupid. Hulls for warships are loaded with kinetic sinks in the plating as a matter of course.” Nola said, glancing to D’Moj, who nodded agreement. “They’ll hear it in a minute when our people start breaching, but minus a paranoid ship designer who imagined anyone would attempt this, the enemy’s fat dumb and happy inside their armored flying fortress.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
The Kobali had managed to cut the power to the systems. Petersen had a few incendiaries with him, and he could see Piper’s body graying, the Kobali virus was starting to infest.
He lifted her onto the console, and laid her out.
An antipersonnel mine went off in the corridor behind him. They were coming.
He unscrewed the warhead’s primer, and dumped the black dust on her corpse.
promise me you won’t let the TRIBBLE have me when I’m gone she’d said.
Petersen armed a grenade fuse.
They’d had to burn bodies in piles during the Fek war-the Fek warseeds would turn recently dead bodies into grubs, which would attack and burrow into living flesh.
He didn’t have the words.
He dropped the igniter, and she blazed.
The first Kobali through the door screamed a denial.
And why not? The combusting corpse had been on the verge of being ‘reawakened’ by their reproductive virus.
“Tại sao nó, người ghét bạn??” he asked conversationally, he didn’t give the creature a chance to answer before he put a round through their face. “bạn nghĩ gì là lý do?”
The next ones he shot just as casually, “là bởi vì bạn ăn cắp mọi người?”
His pistol was out of rounds, so he dropped it, and drew the combat blade mounted to the front of his armor. “hoặc làm người ghét bạn bởi vì bạn nói dối với họ?” phaser energy splashed off his armor. “vì anh phản bội họ?”
The twenty eight centimeter blade cleaved through the next one’s chest, striking downward and spilling internal organs, broken ribs, and purplish blood.
Doorways make good pinch-points, and the corridor was burrowed into the ground, making a narrow channel that was good defensive terrain.
He caught one as he ran forward, the rest were running away, firing desultory phaser and polaron shots at him as he dismantled the one he caught, while speaking calmly, “Anh đã đưa cô ấy ra khỏi tôi, rồi anh đã cố chuyển nó thành một trong các bạn…”
He didn’t stop, he tossed the pieces at them, and emerged.
The Kobali ‘General’ was nowhere to be seen, but the infantry outside were reacting to a new threat, as Vaadwaur pods hit the city.
“None of those are the real answer.” He muttered, “it’s because you’re dicks.”
He kicked the boosters and rushed a group, catching the officer, “Where is ‘general’ Q’nel?” he demanded, “I have business with him.”
In Orbit…
The Vads didn’t post a solid watch-their Assault ship’s shielding was designed to block transporter signals,including internally, a reasonable defensive measure in a universe where ‘boarding parties’ routinely use matter transmission to attack ships.
However, despite being nearly a kilometer long, the ship’s crew could only be described as ‘skeletal’, and like nearly every other civilized race, they kept the whole thing pressurized to shirt-sleeves conditions.
Killing the crew was a non-trivial task, until the group’s coordinated suit computers brute-forced the environmental systems, laying down a pattern that told the ship there were internal fires, while simultaneously blocking cross-communications that would suggest a fault.
Suffocating the crew was the simplest method, and Vendetta didn’t see any reason to waste ammo. Interrogating survivors wasn’t the mission, the mission was killing the enemy.
“Assault element to Rhode Island, Target Alpha is secured, To Frontier, no EPW to report, have your prize crew in pressure suits for now, the atmo’s been vented. Over.”
“Frontier to Assault element, copy that. Can you run the ship’s weapons, over?”
“They’re simple enough.” Osmet stated, “permission to conduct a demonstration, over?”
“Granted, Assault element, Try not to hit William, Over.” Colonel D’Moj’s voice on the link was cool, but the in-joke was one unique to human culture, ‘fire at Will’ was essentially the same as ‘weapons free’ but tended to result in random, uncoordinated discharges.
She smiled in her suit, “Acknowledged, only valid targets.”
Her suit AI, Charity, had already digested the Vaadwaur’s rather simplistic targeting and IFF algorithms. Overlaying from Frontier’s astrographic data and the plan, she laid out the first pattern.
Most of the Vad ships were running light on crew-their crews were down on the surface, participating in the conquest, but three of the medium size boats were pulling full picket as a quick reaction force.
She targeted those, first, laying in the trackplots and locking the queue. The rest, were dispersed in a fairly concentrated formation, but the lack of networking was a surprise.
“TRIBBLE’ amatuers…” she muttered under her breath, laying in a pattern that would disrupt the enemy’s ability to mutually support, while also disrupting any effort to get their crewmen back from the surface.
“Ready all batteries?” she asked.
Charity displayed in the corner of her vision.
“Execute fire mission.”
A civilian, on Earth, would call it murder. Osmet didn’t intend to give them time to respond, or a fair fight, or even any warning, nor adherence to ‘rules of engagement’ or any sort of ‘fair fight.’
Fair fights? Are for earthborns playing sim games on a regulated recreational holodeck.
“Fireworks….looks just like landing day fireworks.” she commented, as thousands of enemy found their vessels under attack by their own support ship.
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
"We Die Young"
Scary's on the wall
Scary's on his way
Watch where you spit
I'd advise you wait until it's over
Then you got hit
And you shoulda known better
And we die young
Faster we run
Down, down, down you're rollin'
Watch the blood float in the muddy sewer
Take another hit
And bury your brother
And we die young
Faster we run
Scary's on the wall
Scary's on his way
Another alley trip
Bullet seek the place to bend you over
Then you got hit
And you shoulda known better
Faster we run
And we die young
Alice in Chains-”And we die young”
Temple
Finally. It was just ahead. A large alien looking object on a plinth in the middle of the room surrounded by intricately carved stone columns. There was a pile of bodies strewn around the object as well.. “It seems the Kobali virus and the Warseeds do cancel each other out” Captain Kim remarked “that wasn’t a fluke the one we found on the way.”
“Thank God for small favors. It’s not fully live yet, I'm not sure how.”
“How do those things turn on anyway?”
“You need either a key, or if it’s armed, DNA contact.”
“A key, Like that box there on the other side?”
TRIBBLE.
“Ok, everyone back off, Ageon is the only one of us that can’t be turned by it.”
“I thought your nanites could protect you Mister Evans.”
Jake grinned at Kim “In theory-i’m in no hurry to test that myself.”
Kim had to chuckle “I Completely understand. So now what?”
“Now? We dodged the proverbial bullet.” The Android began dropping the large pack he had strapped to his back and pulling out familiar looking equipment. “We set up a temporary containment field, and wait for the fracas upstairs to be resolved, then beam this out with appropriate safeguards, before tossing it in the nearest singularity.”
“There’s already one partially set up,” Captain Kim remarked as he looked over the chamber warily. “That will cut down on how long it takes to secure it I’d think. Now all we need is a black hole.”
“There’s one twenty seven light years from here, “ Lieutenant Weathers said helpfully as she began to help set up the gear along with Ensign Roko.
“One problem” Kim said, frowning “What if our side up there doesn’t win?”
“Then…” Jake considered sugar coating it-but no. They were Starfleet officers. They knew the risks. “Then we destroy it ourselves. And unfortunately us too.”
Captain Kim just nodded. “I agree. I assume you have charges necessary for such?”
“So to speak. An insanely stupid grenade that Moab developed.”
“Lemme Guess. Antimatter?” all three Starfleet officers' eyes widened. “And you’re carrying it on you?”
“Nae Sir, “Ageon replied “I’m carrying it ‘in me. Tis safe unless armed, and I am in nae hurry to end my existence just yet.”
USS Raven, entering the Kobali system.
“God what a mess.” Captain James Randall wasn’t even supposed to be here. His ship was on the other side of the galaxy, at the Solanae dyson sphere when the Romulans sent out the emergency request. Every ship in the area was sent through to the Jenolan sphere in the Delta quadrant, due to a Case Yellow in progress on Kobali prime. The main Alliance forces already in the Delta quadrant had been lured hundreds of light years away, and would take close to a week to get there. While he, and the other ships could make it there in hours.
The only thing from this being the proverbial goat rope was the Gorn General who was nearby, and assumed command. No one protested. When someone with a reputation like General Ssharki steps up to the plate on your side...it means your chances of surviving this got much higher.
The Raven was one of the few cloak capable Starfleet ships, being one of the later Sao Paulo block 50s, it was also faster than most of the allied reinforcements. Hence their orders to get in and see what’s happening before the rest of the Allied force arrived. The General who gave them the orders was on the screen, the imposing gorn’s calm helping Randall’s. “how bad is it? General Ssharki asked.
“It’s a, uh, clusterfuck on the first order if you’ll pardon the expression sir. I’m counting seventeen different Mercenary ID signals, A risan cruiser that had captured one of the Vaad’s artillery ships, and several hundred Vaad ships engaged against everything from Ferengi Marauders, Nausicaan Ravagers, hell even salvaged Breen, Xindi and Jem’hadar ships.”
Ssharki didn’t groan audibly, but he did cover his face with his palm momentarily. “That fits with the intel that hit the nets. You say a Risan cruiser? Are they in charge?”
“It’s listed as the Frontier, It’s owned by the people who called in the Merc’s.”
“Contact them, and connect me to them. I’ll explain that we’re taking over this battle once we arrive.”
Captain Randal looked over his shoulder at his com officer, who nodded, “already done sir.”
IKS Norgh'a'Qun
General Ssharki had been cursing since the call went out, someone pulling in the markers for ‘mercenary’ units and sending them to an already delicate Kobali system. There were still a dozen mercenary ships being held by Romulan Authorities at the Solanae sphere, that otherwise would have blocked Alliance ships from transiting to the Delta quadrant. And almost all of them were filled with Moabites. Things had blown up in the Delta quadrant since he was reassigned. True it was a promotion, but still. He was angry enough to almost literally rip the idiot civilian’s head that started this mess on the Frontier off as his communication officer informed him they were on screen. Only to see the last person he expected to see in the captain's chair on the Risan bridge-and hope that this might not be a complete disaster. “Colonel! How in the hell...can you tell me what is going on?”
Frontier
Seeing Ssharki, even with him angry, was a relief for D’moj. “You don’t know how glad I am to see they sent you Sir. As for why I’m here..my starfleet ‘advisors’ were infested with bluegills. I managed to get a message out after the crew was infested, and Nola Evans and a few people got me out of there”
“How did you not get infected?”
“I did. But luckily...the bugs didn’t like my meds and died.”
Ssharki nodded, he knew of Colonel D’moj’s medical condition. “Is it true that there is a warseed on the planet?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I contacted Kerberos to get it taken care of, their bad luck that the Vaad’s hit when they got there.”
“Agreed. Still the case yellow declaration has pushed them into the light now, there are many people coming behind me with many questions. Of course,” he rumbled with dark amusement “if we don’t secure Kobali prime and neutralize the device that will be moot. Link us with your Tacnet, we will be arriving in a few minutes.”
Behind her the Vorta’s hands danced over the controls. “Link code sent Colonel.”
Ssharki’s eye ridges raised as he noticed the figures in the background “you’ve got vorta, and Jem’hadar on board?”
“Who I have command of in this situation.”
“Yes, we’re definitely going to have to endure long Starfleet-style meetings after this is over. Damnit.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
Ensign Roko frowned as he checked the power couplings on the portable field generator again. There. He definitely heard something. A whisper, calling to him. No, not a whisper, a song, a beautiful song...fading in and out of his hearing, almost hypnotic. Dropping his sonic driver, he turned towards the pile of dead kobali, unnoticed.
On the other side of the room Jake Evans and Harry Kim were setting up the control unit that had been knocked over by a dying Kobali. “So how did you get into this mess?” Kim asked.
“I saw New Saigon. I’ve got money-which isn’t worth anything unless it’s used for something worthwhile. And ridding the galaxy of these things is worth every darsek.”
“So the music, the cultural tours, that’s all a front?”
“Naw.” Jake replied “That’s more important in the long run. This is just disposing of dangerous trash we find along the way.”
“How would you say that’s more important?” Lieutenant Peres asked.
“Because, someone seeded these here. If life is going to survive, we have to work together. And the first step is to see each other as people. Humans, Klingons, Romulans, Even the Dominion and groups like the Tholians.”
“I wouldn’t think the Tholians would be into cultural exchanges.”
“They’re not, yet. They were surprised when I asked, and said they’d think about it. Maybe someday.”
The ensign blinked, running his hand over his eyes. Where were these voices coming from? He’d never heard anything like it before...his mother was half Betazoid, and had the talent, but he never had anything...yet there it was, the song getting louder.
The Kobali city…
The Vads were between him and the place. Petersen scooped up a tripod-mounted assault gun and shook the pieces of soldier off it. The weapon was fully charged. “Sorry man.” he told the half-charred corpse in Klingon leathers, “I need this and you don’t.”
His mind kept cycling on feelings of anger, loss and a desire for revenge. On his status monitor, sections of the armor’s torso were blinking red, meaning compromise. He dismissed it, and rose up behind the wreckage of a low wall, cutting loose with the heavy disruptor cannon.
Green light firehosed the Vaadwaur troops gathered around the low building, shredding their armored greatcoats and combusting their bodies in sprays of steam and people-bits.
“Sorry boys, you’re in my way.” he said, stepping over corpses.
A couple of Starfleet personnel-who were still starfleet personnel, poked up from the broken windows, and one pointed at him.
“General..” he felt slower. Petersen couldn’t quite figure it out, like his armor was shorting? Did they hit the powerpack?
Well, he could last long enough to make the TRIBBLE pay for killing Piper, for dragging this war out for the bodies...
Make them pay.
He reached the door as a Starfleet officer with Lt. Commander’s tabs tried to step in his way. The Caitan officer’s pupils went wide, and the tan fur stood up on his tail in alarm as pupils contracted and whatever the Lt. Commander was about to say was strangled in a mewl.
“What? Where’s ‘general’ Q’nel?” Petersen demanded.
“He’s not here...how are you moving?”
“What?”
“How are you speaking?” the felinoid’s alarm was joined by an ensign, and by the kobali subaltern with them.
run Diagnostic.
It wasn’t that bad, couldn’t be. He felt fine, no heat…
“Software must be broken, I didn’t think it could do that.” He said.
Then the Lieutenant Commander pointed at a mirror, and Petersen got a good look.
The armor was breached all over. The faceplate in the reflection was shattered and open, and the skull leering out was charred and stripped of flesh.
“The TRIBBLE infected me?”
“You’re too far gone, Marine.” the blue of the Ensign meant sciences or medical. “The virus can’t fix that, not and have you mobile...how are you seeing?”
He reached up with a hand, and used the tactile-there was no sensation.
“Oh jesus, he’s dead in there.” the medic was holding a tricorder up.
“I’ve gotta go.” Petersen said, “Where’s Q’nel?”
“Why? What are you going to do?” the Caitan got his tongue back.
“I’m taking him to hell with me, to hell for his sins.” Petersen told them. “We lost this because of that son of a TRIBBLE, so I’m gonna make sure he comes with me to pay for his sins.”
“I can’t let you do that!” the Caitan officer said, “the prime directive-”
“Doesn’t apply to me, sir...besides, what are you gonna do, shoot me?” this time, Petersen raised the broken frame of his visor, “I’m already dead sir.”
In his vision,
He felt the world going dark, fading…
Ensign Kaitlyn Bremmer held up a spanner as the Lieutenant Commander stared at the now dormant armor.
“What did you do?”
“Pulled his plug, sir.” she said, with a heavy sigh, “cut the power to the suit’s computer, the guy inside’s been dead for hours, there’s rigor in the corpse and it’s starting to bloat in there. The only part of the guy inside, is whatever programming was bled over to the onboard AI, same thing happened to that kid who took on the terrorists at Starfleet Academy a couple years ago, only she survived, but her damn suit was in storage thinking it was her.”
“And you know this because..?”
“Because I was an intern on the medical team that handled her after the incident.” she explained, “Senior year.”
She fished around the damaged foyer and came up with a grenade.
“Lieutenant, what are you doing?”
“This guy’s pissed at the Kobali, I take that as an implied non-consent, so I’m making sure his body can’t be turned into one of them.” she explained.
She undogged the armor’s chest-what was left of it, and opened the layering, to expose the ruined corpse inside.
“Wait, let me.” Lt. Commander M’rath said,stepping forward and dialing his phaser all the way up past ‘extra crispy’ to ‘disintegrate neutronium’ and firing, removing the corpse and all biological trace matter.
“We’re not going to put this in our report.” He said.
“No sir. Not going to tell a damn soul.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
Kobali system, VSV Vozroz
“Contact all forces not in ground combat. Pull back, and prepare to leave the system.”
Gaul could feel the eyes on the bridge turn towards him, “But commander, we still have numerical superiority-”
“Which we will not have much longer. Besides, the ground forces have achieved their objective. They have fortified their location, the Kobali will not allow these ‘Alliance’ to bomb our forces from orbit, and they can begin chemical production immediately.”
His second in command could see the logic, but still, to run from a battle…His commander could tell what he was thinking by his expression. “We are not running from them. We came, we succeeded in our mission, now we withdraw”
Nodding, the second gave the orders. “What is our course sir?”
“Tell the fleet to rendezvous in the Kartella system. There is much we have to discuss with the others.”
Risan Cruiser Frontier
“The Vaads are pulling back!”
The sensor tech was flabbergasted. True they’d been punching far above what their perceived weight class was for a ‘civilian’ ship, and inflicting heavy damage on the enemy formations, especially with the famed Colonel D’mojena Manassa in command. But even with the few ships that were arriving in the system, they still were heavily outnumbered. “It doesn’t make sense?”
The Colonel wasn’t as enthusiastic about the Vaaduaar sudden retreat as some on the bridge. “No, it doesn’t. Which means they got what they wanted, the only question is what was it?”
“That’s a good question.” Nola Evans replied.
“Perhaps we should contact your husband, find out how the situation with the warseed is going?” Trana asked.
Nola shook her head “I know better than to bug him when he’s working. If he’s got a problem, he’ll contact us. Till then best to wait till he’s done. Not to mention the fact that they’re deep in the Kobali temple.”
“Quantum tangle-net coms can reach in there.” the Vorta on the com station suggested.
D’moj shook her head. “I agree with Evans. Dealing with a Sshohlwuak without setting it off is dicey under the best of times. Let's coordinate with Ssharki, get the mercs under control and try to get the situation stable.”
Kobali temple complex, sublevel sixteen
“Are these jobs of yours always this complicated?” Captain Kim asked as he passed over the connector to the control unit, the Starfleet officers assisting getting the containment field up and running.
“Usually no. If it hadn't been for the Kobali poking at this thing, at the same time the Vaaduar showed up in another attack wave, we would have probably reconned the area, quietly snuck in and replaced it with a copy. That way they’ve got the ‘historical artifact’, and we dispose of the dangerous one safely.”
“How many of these have you done?”
“Two, three hundred. A lot of them were collected by Cultists of the Masters, some were in private collections, and some were in museums.” Jake chuckled ruefully in remembrance as he plugged in the power connector. “The one in the Vulcan Science Academy was the worst-getting it out was easy, getting the replica back in was a nightmare. Ambassador Piccard had horrible timing to visit the museum.”
Lieutenant Weathers looked puzzled “But if they’re so dangerous, why did you have to sneak them out? Why not just tell people?”
“Because, when we started this....well you know about the Undine in Starfleet right?”
Kim and Weathers both nodded. It had been a shock when it was revealed during the Moab Confederacy peace talks that their civil war had been fueled by the Undine, as well as conflict between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire. They had surrendered to the Alliance at the talks, and their leader was currently in a Pentaxian prison.
“They at the time were working with the ones trying to activate these things. So being you couldn’t know if the person you were dealing with was what they seemed...it was better to keep it under the radar as much as possible.”
Kim shook his head “I don’t understand though, why would they suddenly surrender like that?”
“Because,” Weathers replied, “ the Trung-Schrodinger device used at Goralis saved fluidic space from eventual collapse and saved the Undine from extinction.” Kim blinked and looked over to the Lieutenant. “I took a class last year by Nova Rri’orr-Schrodinger on quantum dimensional theory.” she replied.
Both Jake and Harry shook their heads “I have enough problems with three dimensions some mornings. Anyway I think we’re ready for the power Ensign. Ensign Roko?”
The song was louder as he got closer. Roko could hear the voices, an almost celestial chorus, coming from under the body of one of the Kobali scientists. There. It was small, small enough to fit in one’s hand. He reached out, and curled his fingers around it.
Kim had taken two steps towards the ensign, when suddenly the android let out an extremely loud “Aww TRIBBLE!” The captain had almost reached his young crewman, hand reaching out to grasp his shoulder, when Evans grabbed Kim from behind and pulled, bodly throwing him across the room-and out of range of the sudden explosion of now DNA activated warseed spores.
“FIELD UP NOW!” Jake shouted as the spores swarmed over Roko, expanding as they devoured his form.
“But you’re still in the field area-” Weathers started to say before her voice fell off, the horror of the situation beginning to hit her. Still, she managed to dive for the power connector and slam it into place, the blue emergency forcefield snapping into place even as the cloud of spores obscured Evans, and nearly reached her, before being deflected by the energy field.
Ageaon was cursing a blue streak-the android double checking the field status “it’s holding...that’s the good news.” He motioned with his head towards Captain Kim, unconscious against the wall “check on yer Captain, I’ve got this lass.”
“Is he…”
“One thing at a time. Make sure the captain didn’t get any-if he did…”
She nodded and pulled out a tricorder. Other than a bit of bruising from where he hit the wall, and a bump on the back of his head that knocked him out…”he’s clean.”
“Thank tha good Lord for small favors then. Now for the bad news…” if he breathed, he’d have taken a deep breath before contacting the Frontier. Specifically the ship’s AI. “We’ve had a problem.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
”We’ve had a problem”. A well known phrase at least among humans, dating from the earliest days of manned space flight.
One of the benefits of having a custom designed chassis, instead of the standard Soong type body, is that certain improvements could be made. Such as multiple channel internal communications, using everything from standard hailing frequencies to Quantum Tangle Net. Thus two conversations were going on at the same time.
”Kusanagi? Ageaon. I’m invoking Protocol Zero, stand by.
Heard only by him, the AI on board the frontier got busy…
On the main channel, there were multiple voices from the Frontier at once-overridden by one his memory listed as Colonel D’mojena Manassa. Well they had gone to rescue her, guess that op went good. And someone with her rep, Kei would have put her in charge in a combat situation. Fortunately, the Colonel had worked with enough humans, to know what that phrase meant.
“How bad is it?”
No sense in sugar coating things. Of course, he could ‘see’ the bridge of the frontier on the com channel, but they didn’t have visuals. Thankfully. Unfortunately, they were in range; they'd also have telemetry… “one of the Captain Kim’s crew got pulled in..may have had a Betazoid in his family tree. It went active, almost got Captain Kim before we got the force field powered up.”
Of course, the lass would know. Tan had been accidently infected by Evan’s blood nannies, due to her doing something stupid. They’d nearly killed her, before Dr Schrodinger and Choblik cyber-techs had managed to reprogram them to her DNA. at this range, she could tell where he was...and worse, how he was.
Bridge, Frontier
Nola knew exactly how her husband was-and where he was. The last place she ever wanted anyone-even people she hated, much less loved. Her own nanites allowed her to monitor his status...There were concerned looks from the crew, as she burst into tears, sobbing quietly “No...nononononono..”
At the center seat, the Colonel didn’t need a datalink to know the truth. The Frontier had good sensors, even better than some of the top of the line Starfleet gear. Even that far down, they could detect life signs, both outside, and inside the force field.
Evans being converted would have been bad enough. But from the sensors…”something is resisting the warseed spores.”
Temple complex
There were red warning indicators in Jake’s peripheral vision. System integrity, power loss..on the one hand it would have been easy to jump back and let Captain Kim meet the same fate as his late ensign. But then he’d never have been able to look at himself. Still, he was still himself. Time to take care of a few things while he still could. “Frontier, Status report?”
Bridge, Frontier
It was muffled, but definitely Evans. D’moj hit the button on the arm of the chair. “Vaads are pulling out from orbit, and your wife got me out of the mess I was in.” She was thinking fast “Ssharki showed up with reinforcements from the other side of the Jenolan dyson sphere, there’s some Starfleet ships in the mix, might be able to pull your rear out of the fire-”
“No. Systems...are compromised. The Ensign getting infected, changing and attempting to chew on my leg didn’t help either.”
“How did it happen?” Trana’s voice asked, even the Vorta seeming subdued by the circumstances.
“Could have done the smart thing. Instead I did the right thing. Boots are holding...but running low on power to keep the infection at bay. You need to beam everything in the field up, then into deep space-”
“NO!”
Everyone on the bridge turned to look at Nola. Her face was white, and streaked with tears...but resolute. “You can’t.”
“Nola, if he’s infested-” D’moj began
“No, warseed spores can survive in vacuum. The only safe way...is to beam you up” she almost choked but kept her composure as best as possible “...not rematerlize, then slag the pattern buffer.”
There was a silence on the bridge, broken by a rasping chuckle from the com. “Have I told you I love you today?” Jake asked.
“Just Today?” Her voice didn’t break, but it was close.
“Always. Do what you have to do.”
Kobali temple, sublevel 16
Lieutenant Weathers watched her captain carefully as he regained consciousness. “W..what happened?”
“Ensign Roko activated the warseed somehow...Mister Evans threw you clear before the field went up.”
“That explains the lump on my head...wait...where is he?”
She pointed at the forcefield barrier, on the other side… “what the hell is that?”
“Enough warseed spores to turn every non kobali on this planet and the Jenolan sphere to Fek’ihri” Ageaon replied, the Android monitoring the control system.
Kim got to his feet, leaning against a stone column, supported by the Lieutenant “Christ...Where’s Evans?”
“In there” the Lieutenant replied sadly.
“Oh my God, I..”
”Don’t worry Captain Jake's raspy voice came through the swarming cloud trying to get through the forcefield “It’s part of the job.”
“You’re not Starfleet though, we’re supposed to keep civilians safe..”
There was a rueful laugh haven’t been one of those since I was in sixth grade technically. It’s ok, really.”
“There’s no possible way to reverse it?”
“if gotten to soon enough, in theory...of course with my ‘enhancements’...well Starfleet wouldn’t be prepped to handle them.
“They’ve got a transporter lock,” Ageon said quietly.
“What are they going to do?” Weathers asked.
“Beam everything organic in there up, hold it in the pattern buffer then slag it.”
She was appalled “But..that’s murder!”
“I’m already dead-seriously, which way would you rather go? Turing into one of those things...or just blipping out?”
She bit her lip, and started to say something-then shook her head. “Yo..you’re right.”
There was what could have been a movement, of something close to the edge of the forcefield. Then there was a hum, that could be heard over the field generators, and the familiar light of a transporter beam began to fill the enclosed space. It got brighter, then dimmed, as all the organics inside were converted to energy and beamed out...curiously there was a shape still there..no more of a cloud…
Before Captain Kim could say anything he felt another transporter beam on him-beaming up both him, Lieutenant weathers, the android and man-shaped cloud as well. Seconds later they were in a starship transporter room-at least the three of them. Behind the controls was a familiar looking woman, who he couldn’t place.
“I have them in holding, I’ll need your override on the phase discriminator.” the purple haired asian looking woman said from the console.”
“Have who, where are we?” Kim demanded as they stepped off of the transporter pads. Looking around he could tell it was a medical transporter, bio beds and other facilities waiting for emergency cases, similar to what one would see in a hospital ship.
“You're Kusanagi Wilson” Kim looked at Weathers, blinking “I saw her in concert last year.”
“I hope you enjoyed it,” Kusanagi replied, moving aside as the Android stepped up to the console, then passed through it.
That caused both of the Starfleet officers to blink. “You’re a hologram?”
“AU technically” she replied, her hands flying over the controls too fast to follow. “Have them walk or just bring them here?”
“Easier to bring them here” Ageaon responded.
“Energizing.”
The transporter flared to life again-from the posture the two subjects being brought in were not expecting to be transported. Tan was looking around, and the Colonel it seems was still seated at the time, only good reflexes kept her from landing on her rear.
“What the hell?” Tan shouted.
“Clear the pad please” the hologram replied “Ageaon stand by, Protocol Zero initiating.”
Curiosity and self preservation got them moving, as the pad began to flare again. The transporter sounded different this time
“It’s fighting it, being it’s an old pattern.”
“Compensate, enhance power to the molecular imaging system”
A form was beginning to emerge, though this one wasn’t standing. Tan began to shake her head, she recognized the silhouette before anyone else did “no..you can’t-” she said, starting for the console-only to be blocked by the Android, and two Choblik cyber-medics.
“Lass, let us be. Worst case, if this dunnae work...you’ll have a body to bring home for your in-laws to grieve over.”
The beam faded, and the body, for that’s what it was, flopped to the biobed . “Good, you beamed him in without clothes” one of the Choblik said, scanning the copy of Jake Evans “no bio energy detected.”
“Of course not!” Lieutenant Weathers sputtered “it’s a copy from the last pattern buffer, without the heisenberg compensator it’s not alive. Do you have any idea how illegal this is?”
“If they were Federation members maybe” Kim replied, a knowing look on his face as he put things together. “Let them work Lieutenant.”
There was another sparkle of transporter energy, as the nanotech that was beamed up with them, materialized just over the body on the platform. It fell like a silvery snow, then it began to shimmer, as it worked its way into the skin.
The Choblik quickly snapped a level four containment field around the bed, despite himself Kim moved a bit closer. The cloud of nanites had faded, leaving a faint greyish smudge on the dead looking skin. “You think it will really work?”
“Not a clue.” Kusanagi replied. “I know there’s a chance, and that’s all the reason I needed.”
“It has to work…” Nola Evans was close to sobbing again. “I can’t lose him twice in one day..”
Oddly, the holographic figure showed remorse on her face “I am sorry Tan-chan. But after all that he has done for us, it was only right that we do the same for him.”
Something clicked for the Colonel. “You were on the USS Wolfram at Goralis, weren't you?.”
“I was known as Raging Heart then, yes.” Kusanagi replied. “I don’t know how I was freed, but I was offered a job by Mister Evans, at a very generous salary.”
D’moj blinked “what would an AI need paycheck for?”
“Because,” Ageaon answered, “He believes that if you’re sentient, and work for him, you get paid. Anything else is slavery. I’ve given most of mine to charity, and have got a good size share of a tribble ranch as well.”
Weathers was confused, while Kim was bemused. “Why would you raise tribbles?”
“The Gorn see them as a delicacy. I believe it fits the same food group for them that deep fried foods at cultural fairs do for humans.”
All of the humans in the room looked slightly ill. , Lieutenant weathers more than the others. “Eww. I’ve had deep fried Twinkies before. Gross.”
“Anyway…” continued Kusanagi, “I’ve been here since I’ve reawoken. Not as a ship’s AI, though I’m in the systems. I’m saving my pay for when the tech gets there I can transition to a physical body.”
“Lieutenant Weathers was still doubting. “It’s not going to work-”
Just then some of the readouts on the systems begin to change. “Initatite triox-” one of the medics said, the little deer like cyborg looking pleased with himself. “-should have thought of that, blood was not pre oxygenated.”
“Affirm” The other medic replied. “Starting to get activity-life signs coming back up.”
“Wait-it can’t be that easy.” Weathers said, her eyes widening.
“The bio bits? That’s simple” Kusanagi responded. “Protocol Zero is where it gets tricky. That’s when we try to do the restore.”
Kim put it together first-but then he did have more experience with the Borg, after spending years serving with Seven of Nine. “the nanites backed his mind up.”
“In theory...never been tested.” the AI replied. “But being that they were originally designed to spread their core personality to a target, in order to make disposable assassins…”
“Dr Schrodinger turned that off though,” Tan said “After I accidently got contaminated.”
At the look from the Colonel she shook her head “not like that...I was stupid, he was trying to explain why he was trying to promote me away from him when he started getting feelings for me-and I stupidly cut my hand and put it in the sample of his blood he showed me.”
Kim shook his head wide eyed “You’re right, that was stupid.”
“It was...fortunately Doc S fixed it before it could rewrite my dna and memories, and disabled it. She’s not going to be happy with you reactivating that you know Kusanagi.”
“I know-but it’s not a full dna rewrite-just memory backup.”
“W..hat if it doesn’t work? I mean..he’s sorta alive now…” Tan asked nervously. The readouts were not great...but blood pressure was coming up, oxygen level rising..
“That, is a possibility, there could be...issues with restoring from backup. Despite it working on positronic brains, the nanotech in him wasn’t as advanced in some ways.”
Mrs Evans took a deep breath. “Well I did say for better or worse.”
Colonel D’moj looked at Captain Kim. “Well there’s not much more we can do here Captain, and I’d imagine there are probably a lot of people wanting to talk to both of us.”
“Both yours and mine,” Kim agreed. “Go stall them for a bit?”
“Sounds like a plan. Let us know if there is any change, I know the General was upset when I was talking to him-he’s probably furious at my disappearing.”
“Sorry about that,” Kusanagi said, “but well, I felt that under the circumstances witnesses were needed, just in case the Alliance gets the wrong idea.”
Kim sighed “I still have no clue what to tell them. And what General was that?”
“S’sharki. The alliance tapped him for joint command.”
“Oh boy. Yeah, I think we better talk to him asap. What do we say when they want to talk to Evans?”
“Injured, condition guarded at the moment works for me.”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
General S’sharki’s anger had faded, some. As the Vaaduuar pulled back, and the alliance forces retook some of the ground, more information was coming out. And it wasn’t good.
It was a near thing. Both his own ship, as well as some of the first Starfleet vessels on the scene had the ability to detect warseeds-and an active one had been found on the Kobali homeworld, justifying the Case yellow. Technically, a Case White. But it had been destroyed, and teams had gotten through the rubble into the temple to confirm. It was sheer luck that the Kobali were immune.
The Kobali. That was another can of worms. Their treatment of allied dead, and attempting to purposely under some accusations to make more, just to be able to revive them as Kobali was damning. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how one looked at things, the general accused did not survive the battle, falling against the last Vaaduar push. There would be re negotiations going on about the status of the ‘training advisors.”
Then there were the Mercenaries. While the Empire tolerated them to some extent..the Federation on the other hand was less than thrilled. Even more so that with just one com call a small private army almost larger than a standard KDF squadron was put together in the space of a few hours. .
Ssharki wasn’t a fool. They put together a respectable force very quickly...if this turns into a trend, it could destabilize more than one conflict.
If Evans could do it, someone else can. Without some formal control, such a trend could spiral out of control. While the Empire had social controls that prevented the private armies from growing too large, and legal requirements that included at least a formal oversight by the KDF, what Nola Tan-Evans had pulled…
And could pull again, don’t forget that…
“I need to speak with the Federation Ambassador.” the Gorn General said, “in person. soon.”
72 hours later
The Federation was, to use the human expression, ‘pissed’. Starfleet less so, and honestly out here their opinion weighted a bit more than the bureaucracy. Evan’s crew had saved Kobali Prime-and dropped unexploded ordnance in his lap, metaphorically. S’sharki had managed to tamp down most of the danger, the Mercenaries were still on contract to Nola Evans, and she had them supplementing Kobali City’s defenses until more Alliance forces could take their place.
The Vaaduar were still too numerous to eject from the planet-at least without a major offensive that neither the Kobali or Alliance were keen on doing at the moment. Especially with the bulk of their forces temporarily pulled back. Even with the mercenaries there weren't’ enough allied ships to deal with that. Yet. At least some things were going better, as he entered the Norgh'a'Quns medbay
“Good morning General.” Colonel D’moj was looking a healthy green this morning. It was a good thing he had picked up her medic, Dr Mary Morarity had taken leave to investigate a possible cure for the Colonel’s long running medical issues.
“You’re looking better, up for a visit to the Frontier?”
“She can” Dr Morarity replied “Still needs to be on light duty, and we’ll need a fortnight soon for the Colonel’s course of treatment.”
“Noted, you’re fine other than that?”
The colonel grinned “still on suppressants-but Mary’s managed to change up the formula enough not to leave me nauseous.”
“Not nauseous is good” The general agreed as they entered the Transporter room. Reddish Klingon lighting faded, replaced by a bright almost sunny white, if there was any doubt of the Frontier being a civilian ship the Transporter officer was a blue mohawked Bajoran clad in a rock band t shirt that said ‘Merely Mortal.’
“Welcome aboard General, Colonel” the Bajoran said “the Federation and Romulan representatives arrived just before you. If you’ll follow me please?”
Kobali Prime, memorial site...
Vendetta Osmet raised her glass, and intoned,
‘Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries, by AE Houseman.
These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth’s foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead."
"Skol!" one of the boys said, and they took a drink before she continued.
"Their shoulders held the sky suspended!
They stood, and earth’s foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended!
And saved the sum of things for pay."
"Amen!" Radioman Perfidy said, "Well said, Ven, well said."
"I don't think the Alliance or Starfleet are going to have the same opinion." Vendetta commented, "But, between the prize money for that bombardment ship, our drop bonuses, and getting-paid-twice? I think we did pretty well, Well enough, that Evanscorp is offering us a long-term gig, and so is the Dominion."
"Which should we take?"
"I'm letting our Ferengi negotiate the contract offers, we'll need to have a staffer to review them and a vote of share-holders to decide which offer looks best. We've lost family on Kobali prime." she gestured at the pictures of Piper and Petersen, and a few others. "They weren't working for us, but we're kin on a deeper level, and they will be missed."
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
It is a TRIBBLE lie to say that these
Saved, or knew, anything worth any man’s pride.
They were professional murderers and they took
Their blood money and their impious risks and died.
In spite of all their kind some elements of worth
With difficulty persist here and there on earth.
-Hugh MacDiarmid, 1935
"...attacked our Kobali allies and put the entire relief operation at risk!" the diplomat was irate.
"The Kobali Government was clearly in contract breach, Admiral, further, we have evidence that they were also in breach of treaty obligations." General Ssharki rumbled in response. "And had been for months, including drawing out the ground action to bolster their numbers with the bodies of allied dead. Evans and his security contractors resolved a situation this office had allowed to persist for months-the result is obvious. The end-state shows a cessation of offensive action by the Vaadwuar, the guilty have been punished, the treaty remains in force."
"General, you can't tell me you're pleased with having freelance military forces loose in the Delta Quadrant."
"I'm not." Ssharki said, "However, their licenses are legal, issued by the Klingon Empire and the Dominion, their actions were reasonable when interacting with KDF, Romulan, and Federation units and personnel, The Benthans have already stated an opinion that their operations are within acceptable local guidelines and practice." the Gorn general crossed his arms, "Therefore, unless or until a policy directive is issued from the Alliance Joint Command? I see no reason to interfere in their operations."
“Sorry I’m late,” a familiar voice said as the door opened. The last time D’moj saw him, he was mostly dead according to the Choblik medics, and all the way dead to accepted medicine. He was a bit thinner than before, not that Jake Evans was big to begin with, and leaning on a cane. “Physical Therapy ran a bit longer than usual, or I would have been here to meet you when you arrived.”
She could see S’sharki’s carefully neutral expression. The general knew exactly what had happened on sub level sixteen in the Kobali temple. Still this wasn’t the time for questions, especially ones that the bureaucrats didn’t need to know to ask. Captain Kim knew of course-but had kept the matter private. The arrival of Captain Drake immediately following the task force from the Dyson Sphere probably did much to keep things quiet on the Federation side of things.
“Good to see you up and around “the General said “I heard it was a bit, rough, down there.”
“That’s the understatement of the year. I’m sure you all have a lot of questions for me, let's start at the beginning…”
Later that evening, Starship Frontier, owners Suite
Tan was nervous. True, it’s not like he didn’t give her permission to run side jobs that she came up with , but it had seemed like such a small thing at first. Just securing loans to help out other discharge kids like her. That they ended up in merc work, well that was sorta not a surprise, being the fact that’s what the majority of them had been fracking designed for by the Federation, and then put into use by Moab.
It had snowballed, and for a time made money, but then this happened. Now everyone was breathing down her husband's neck, and he didn’t even tell her about the meeting with the Alliance representatives. Probably because he knew she’d throw herself on her metaphorical sword to keep the blowback from this off of him.
Now, the cat was not only out of the bag, but the bag was shredded. Her loans were exposed, worse, Kerberos was exposed. Billions of lives saved, and thanks to her, the program was in jeopardy.
Worse, he wasn’t even mad at her over it. He’d seemed the same after the Protocol Zero backup that she didn’t even know was possible. Not that he claimed he knew it was either. So even if she planned on taking an Ia Drang shower to remove the damage she was doing to Jake’s cause, odds are she might just wake up later. Lisa was oddly the only one not shocked by what had happened. But then the crazy universe she came from, that was probably mild.
She heard the door open, and steeled herself. She had to take responsibility for this somehow, to take the blame. “How did it go?” she asked.
“Better than I thought, the fact that one of the Fed representatives was from Betazed helped, and he could tell that I wasn’t exaggerating the risks. Ssharki of course knew from the beginning so didn’t have to convince him of anything.”
Tan nodded “so what happens now?”
“The Federation , The Empire and the Republic will be assigning liaisons to us for oversight-”
There was a crash as Tan threw the bottle she was holding, shattering it against the wall
“I TRIBBLE it all up didn't I!?”
He could have caught the bottle before it broke-but wisely figured she needed to break something right now. “The timing could have been better, yes-” he said, moving closer before she wound herself up further “but I’m really happy with how it worked out.”
Confusion worked better than confrontation in calming her down “wait what?”
“The Romulan republic has pressed the Federation into agreeing that we need oversight-”he could see her start to get upset again “which we needed from the beginning. But with the Undine infiltration, that wasn’t an option then.”
“Wait..the Federation is going to be poking it’s noses in our business and you’re HAPPY about it?”
Jake opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of root beer. “They’re taking it seriously. Ssharki had thought it would take more to bring them around, but with the events of the last few months, plus what happened here,” he took a sip of the bottle. “Between the Quinn impostors confession and everything else of late, Kerberos will have more resources.”
“But...I thought our neutrality was the thing that was most important.”
“It is, and that’s not going to change. But it means that should we find something big that we need back up on, we can get it, without having to resort to mercs.”
Tan frowned “and what are they going to do now? That work-”
“That you never told me about?” Jake replied mildly.
“I...I didn’t know how you’d react.” Tan replied, looking down at the deck.
Now it was Jake’s turn to look sad “I thought you knew me better than that.”
“It’s just-if you didn’t know, if it went south, I could take the blame I thought and shield you from any fallout” She slumped down the cabin wall until she was sitting on the floor. “God i’m so stupid.”
“No, you’re not.” he knelt down beside her “uneducated yes, the Federation rep said and I have to agree with. You didn’t do what you did out of some desire to make a private army,”
“No, I wanted to take care of my friends. Yeah I didn’t serve with all of them, but we all got cast to the winds.” Tan sounded bitter “And now they are again.”
“Not exactly.” When she looked confused “with the peace treaty, and with most of them being technically now old enough not to ruffle feathers, I made an offer that Cold Bute and Moab couldn't refuse.”
“What did you do..and do we have to put Nora on suicide watch?”
Jake had to laugh at that, “no my frerengi partner isn’t doomed for the Vault of eternal destitution. She had to sign off on the sale-”
“Sale? Jake WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“I signed over all rights to QT tech to Moab. Cold Butte held the other half of the assets. We’ve still got the music side of the house, and the news network.” At her wide eyed expression “don’t worry, while i’m no longer the wealthiest non Ferengi in the FCA, we’re still in the top ten.”
“And she agreed to this?”
“She got half the stake, and is going to Moab, both to run the Quantum com business on that end, and I think to be a bit closer to a certain Ferengi Starfleet Captain. Captain Nog will be working with the Moab militia to bring them closer into Starfleet secondaries.”
“And what about the other Discharge kids?”
Jake grinned “that’s the beauty of it. The Cardassians made sure they got at least high school, now depending on where they want to go, they’ll either go to college in the Confederacy, the Empire or the Federation, paid for by the QT revenue. From there they can sign up in one of the Alliance forces, if they still wish to serve.”
“Alliance forces-so the Confed is joining the Alliance?”
“I don’t think openly-but they’ll work with them, same as Denali and some of the other smaller worlds out there.”
Tan had to chuckle “I’d imagine Odelaw had a bit of a fit, disarming the militia had been one of his platforms with rejoining the Federation.”
“Probably-but he realizes that the Federation can’t be everywhere, and if you want to sit at the table, you gotta be ready to help with the dishes.”
They sat quietly for a moment. “So where does that leave us? Us US, not us kerberos. I’ve seen some of the newsies, there are folks in the Federation who want my head.”
“well…”Jake got up, and went over to his desk, shuffling through it and pulling out three files. “I managed to calm down the Feds, but Ssharki did say as things go at the moment, you do have to make a choice.” he held them up. “You’re not stupid. You just didn’t think of the consequences, because you didn’t have a real education. So, choice A, six months on Qo’nos at the KDF allied officers course, and a commission with the Confederacy or Empire.”
“What’s B and C?”
“B, is two years, the Starfleet Academy prep and exchange officers training, followed by signing up with the Moab Starfleet Reserves.”
“Huh.” Tan smirked “Starfleet didn’t want me?”
“Oh they do-but Moab wants you more.”
“What’s the third option?”
“Four to six years, full ride college, no obligation to anyone. Both the Cardassians and Denali have both offered scholarships to Discharge Kids, yourself included who don’t take the Alliance up on their offers, or any university you want in the galaxy on our dime.”
“But that means I’d have to be away longer.”
“Yeah, there is that. But the question is, what do you want? I know you’ve been frustrated at not being more in the thick of things, part of that is my fault, I just wanted to keep you safe.”
“I know, and I’m not mad at you over that.” she pondered for a moment before reaching out and grabbing one of the files. “While these two options would have more action, to be honest, I was tired at being told what to do when I was a Marine.” Tan grinned impishly up at him “lemme guess, the Fed bureaucrat guys were really pushing for me to go to to the Academy.”
Jake laughed “they were trying to come up with a legal framework to outright draft you and the others. The Romulans and the Empire shot that down, and La Roca pointed out that establishing a claim that the discharge kids were federation property, at least the Siegfrieds, well that was a whole nother can of worms that they backed away from real quick.”
Tan laughed “so how long till i have to go to Denali?”
“The next ship from the dyson sphere to that neck of the woods is due in two weeks or so. Any idea on what you’re going to study?”
“I’m thinking about interstellar law. They were worried about me before, I’ll give them a reason to worry.” as he laughed she put the padd aside “in the meantime, I’ve got to get some snuggles in before I have to go…”
Several hours later, Starship Frontier.
Tan was sleeping, sprawled out in their bed as he quietly closed the door. He didn’t sleep much, didn’t need to with the boosts and frankly there was something else that needed to be checked that was fully functional after the protocol zero process basically resurrected him. The cane in public wasn’t just for show, it took time for the neural processors to integrate with the ‘new’ body. As he often did late at night, he made his way to the soundproofed compartment next to their cabin, a full studio setup inside.
After the first fiasco using a fork after Kobali Prime, he hadn’t so much as touched a Guitar until the nanites managed to fully rebuild the boosts and rewrite memories, both regular and muscle. This was his favorite space on the ship, the shield doors were usually open revealing a transparent aluminum window showing the bow of the Frontier and the scenery outside it, in this case the Jenolan Dyson sphere.
Picking up an instrument at random, he sat near the window, fingers idly testing the tune. That much works...catching a glint of light in the window he smirked and began to see if he could still play.
It came back easily, and he picked it up a bit into something appropriate.
“Didn't know what time it was, the lights were low
I leaned back on my radio
Some cat was layin down some rock 'n' roll
"Lotta soul," he said
Then the loud sound did seem to fade
Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase
That weren't no DJ, that was hazy cosmic jive”
He turned from the window and regarded the figure, no figures that had appeared. One he recognized, Q, who would probably have laughed by now if not for the annoyed look from the human looking woman next to him also in a Starfleet Admiral's uniform, probably Q also.
“There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie.”
Q did laugh now, as Q rolled her eyes, her arms crossed. Jake played a bit of the outro then set the guitar back down “Welcome, can I get you anything? I was honestly expecting you to show up earlier.”
Q looked even more annoyed, as Q simply shook his head .”I don’t understand why you and your sister constantly offer us refreshments” she said.
“Because I was raised to be polite to honored guests?” Jake replied, going over to the replicator and getting himself some coffee.
Q just snorted as she shook her head. Q walked over and had a seat on the couch. “Picard never saw me as such, nor many others.” he said.
“Well some people don’t like the idea that we’re not the top of the food chain.” he took a sip “anyway I can guess why you’re here, Kobali Prime.”
Q nodded and almost grinned with glee “the Adversary is fit to be tied, that was their last major hope at building a beachhead into this reality.” he said.
Q on the other hand was less enthused “it was extremely messy, and came close to succeeding.” she said grumpily.
“I did have to improvise a lot thanks to the Vaaduar.”
Her eyes narrowed. “In more ways than one, that trick you pulled with the nanites? That will not work a second time.”
“I honestly didn’t think it would work the first time.” Jake replied.
She seemed flabbergasted “...and you still willingly infected yourself with the Warseed?”
“If I didn’t, Captain Kim would have gotten it.” At her look he just chuckled “It was the right thing to do. I never said it was the smart thing.”
Q exchanged a look with Q before Q continued. “Nevertheless, it won’t work again.”
Jake nodded, and said at the same time Q said “we’re not ready for immortality.”
“You’re not ready for immortality.”
At that she frowned again, as Q laughed “perhaps they’re not as far from it as we thought.”
Q shook her head “I don’t think so, maybe, in a few millennia.”
“Well that’s good, because while I appreciate not being dead, I don’t think I’m ready for it.”
Rolling her eyes, Q stood “Regardless, the Continuum has decided that you will be allowed this one time.”
Now it was Q’s turn to roll his eyes “Fine, I’ll take credit for it. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“That you took credit for something you didn’t do?” Q said with amusement.
Q sputtered. “It was all part of the plan. If you’re going to use a dangerous savage child like race to do one’s dirty work, you’ve got to be prepared to cover for them.”
With that Q simply shook her head and vanished in a flash of light. “Don’t mind her, She still thinks that it should have been the trilobites that rose to be the most advanced species on your world.”
“You mean instead of the Dolphins?” Jake grinned?
Q just laughed, then vanished. Finishing the coffee, Jake picked up the guitar again.
“I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be Heroes, just for one day”
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
A couple of grammar and spelling issues, and places where punctuation and such could be cleaned up a bit - if you'd like, I could run an edit on that for you, but only with your permission. (I'm not doing a lot else right now, and anxiety's been so high for the past year or so that I'm completely blocked on the STO/Fallout 4 crossover I was working on. BTW, do you think Starfleet would insist that the Prime Directive applies in a completely different universe? I was going to use the defense of the Green Wall against super mutants in 2180, with the team's phaser rifles inspiring the Minutemen's design of those rather silly laser muskets, as a plot point, but if the PD applies, then the team wouldn't want to use advanced tech where the locals could see it.)