Enterprise's blood thrummed with the song of battle. The Sovereign-class starship should've been patrolling the Neutral Zone but had defied orders, again. It was seeming to become a regular thing with her. First there was the Battle of Sector 001. Then she practically tore the Prime Directive to shreds (but the Borg started it so Starfleet forgave her this once). But she doubted there'd be much forgiveness this time because a. she had gone against orders from hosting many important dignitaries in important border matters to this dangerous frontline battle at Chin'toka and b. unlike her previous defiance which had always turned out to be a good thing, Starfleet was losing this battle even with her help. Her ships were brave but at the rate this war was going, there might not be enough Starfleet left to forgive her, provided she survived that is.
Growling, Enterprise fired a direct phaser into an advancing Jem'Hadar. The port purple nacelle flickered as it veered off course, smashing into one of the many orbital defense systems above the planet. Not giving it a second glance, Enterprise pursued other enemies. A quick glance off to her right told her Galaxy and Venture were in the thick of it with 3 fast interceptor ships and 1 Cardassian heavy cruiser but they appeared to be holding their own just fine. A notion supported as a quick torpedo volley from Galaxy took care of the Cardassian. Looking to her right, Enterprise saw Lakota and Hood tackling a large Jem'Hadar warship. The size suggested one of the senior ranking members of the enemy fleet. The two Excelsior-class ships were nimble but they were outgunned. Enterprise engaged at long range, releasing a volley of four quantem torpedoes straight at the Jem'Hadar. It took the first two to break through their aft shields. The third torpedo missed but the fourth took care of their rear weapon systems. A fact that Lakota attempted to take full advantage of. She was maneuverable but so was the Jem'Hadar. It quickly became a dance as the two Excelsior's attempted to get around behind the wounded warship that was trying so very hard to protect its injured area. Enterprise darted in and out of the warship's weapons range as the two Excelsior-class kept the warship's attention on them. The Sovereign-class attempted to disable more of the Jem'Hadar's shields, making it easier for her two fleetmates to get a direct hit in. But the Jem'Hadar got its own hits in, each strike draining Enterprise's shields faster than she could repair them. The forward ones fell first, leaving her wide open. The next volley was readied and Enterprise braced herself for strikes that would almost certainly kill her.
"LET'S ROCK AND ROLL Y'ALL! YEEHAWW!" A gray blur shot past Enterprise followed swiftly by a sharp volley of phaser and torpedo fire. "Who the... Defiant?!" Enterprise asked, knowing only one ship could be that small and fast and carry that much firepower. The Federation's smallest warship, zipped out of the damaged Jem'Hadar's range back over to Enterprise, a huge grin on her face. Battle is what she lived for. "Hiya Enterprise. I just saved your sorry nacelles so it looks like you owe me one." Enterprise was too relieved to be embarrassed or angry about the clear lack of professionalism from the warship. She just smiled. "Romulan Ale?" She suggested. "Ah the fun flagship returns! And here I thought you were just a stuffy bureaucrat all the time." Defiant giggled. Enterprise rolled her eyes. "Despite what appearances I might attempt to keep up, I've got more hands in the black market than a majority of the ships in this fleet." She said. "Oh really?" Defiant still sounded a little skeptical. With a grin and a wink, Enterprise replied "Where do you think Deep Space Nine gets its large stash of Ale and "special items" from?" "I will never doubt you again." Defiant sighed in awe. "Right, back to work." She looked around, seeing the Jem'Hadar ship was on fire and in no condition to fight. "Who's next?" Enterprise resisted the urge to laugh. Defiant could be so immature sometimes but she supposed that's what she liked about the little starship. Defiant possessed a cowboy attitude reminiscent of the old guard, one that was most certainly not tolerated by Starfleet Command but Enterprise found it like a breath of fresh air compared to the stuffiness of the newer Galaxy, Sovereign, and Nova-class starships.
Enterprise looked around to see if she could spot any target for Defiant to show off her skills to. Her gaze fell on Galaxy and Venture. Though they'd handled themselves well. The Jem'Hadar had gotten reinforcements and the Sovereign-class winced as she realized one of those was the Dominion flagship. Ja'Tok may've been Breen by design but she wasn't one to be trifled with. She was the same ship that led the murderous attack on San Fransisco, and Enterprise would've liked nothing more than to finish her off herself. "Defiant, cover me." She ordered. "Wha, Enterprise. Enterprise, you're crazy!" The warship cried before sighing and doing as she was told. "Hey over here you Telurian Slimeball!" Ja'Tok snarled as the torpedoes struck her head, whirling around to face Defiant. "So the mighty flagship of the Dominion fleet." Defiant continued in a mocking tone. "I'd have thought you'd be more attuned for battle. Less fat. Or is that because you ride on the success of your underlings. Like some kind of lazy king." "That's it Defiant, keep talking." Enterprise thought. If there was one thing besides her battle skills that Enterprise would want Defiant around for, it was her ability to antagonize anything. The little ship had a way with pissing people off, regardless of size. And that distraction was exactly what the starship needed as she closed in from behind, intent on making Ja'Tok her latest mark on her scorecard.
Just as she was about to fire, Ja'Tok turned around, firing a volley from one of the weapons on her underside. Enterprise couldn't dodge the strike in time and with her shields down, there was no way to absorb the impact. Defiant, being as nimble and swift as she was, was close by enough to jump to warp, reappearing to take the hit herself. Her shields lit up under the impact, an electrical charge sparking around them. The little starship staggered and Enterprise held her steady. Defiant's eyes rolled around her head. A weak cry issuing from her throat as blood ran out of both sides of her mouth.
"Such a shame." Ja'Tok murmured. "She would've been fine had she not interfered but oh well. We all have our day." Fury radiating off her in waves, Enterprise drew herself up. "What did you do?!" She roared. "Nothing that wasn't meant for you." Ja'Tok replied. Enterprise would've gladly unleashed the rest of her ammunition on her then but before she could Galaxy raced past. "Retreat!" The big starship was crying. Starfleet, most of its ships either dead or badly wounded, was forced to withdrawl. Enterprise gave Ja'Tok one last snarl and fired a volley of torpedoes right into her face. Her shields were still up there but it disorientated her long enough for Enterprise to extend her warp field around Defiant and escape.
Excelsior was waiting for the fleet when the returned to Sol Sector. "So few." She whispered, hardly able to believe the number of ships that returned compared to the ones that left. Enterprise halted in front of her. "We lost many." She murmured. "Enterprise? What the hell... I thought you were patrolling the Neutral Zone." Excelsior exclaimed. "Key word being were." Enterprise muttered. "Enterprise, this is not the time for your childish displays of defiance..." "Excelsior." Enterprise sighed. "We need you alive!" "Excelsior." "If the Dominion had gotten you then I don't know how the fleet would..." "EXCELSIOR!" Enterprise roared and finally got the CMO to shut up. She shifted her weight enough to reveal Defiant, still snuggled tight to her side. "She needs your services."
Excelsior was gentle in prying the little warship off Enterprise's hull. All Defiant managed was a weak whimper. "I've never seen anything like this." Excelsior breathed. "She took a direct hit from Ja'Tok." Enterprise murmured. "One weapon did this?" Excelsior hardly dared believe... "Can you save her?" Enterprise asked as the CMO did a scan. She sighed and shook her head. "Most of her major organs exploded when the weapon drained her shields. The rest are attempting to compensate but the stresses on her body are too much. She can't take it." "You have to do something!" Enterprise cried. "We need every ship right now Excelsior and she's one of the few we cannot lose." "If it were up to me I'd save her Enterprise!" Excelsior cried back. "But her injuries are far too severe to be reversed and even if I could reverse them I'd need more time to study what kind of phenomenon could cause such massive trauma with one shot."
Between them, Defiant gave a weak groan and opened her eyes. "En-Enterprise..." She rasped. "Here Defiant." The Sovereign-class replied, moving closer. Defiant's grin was weak but still there. "That's two you owe me now." "When you leave this spacedock cured then can we call it even?" Enterprise asked. "No because I'd owe Excelsior then." Defiant replied. "Oh come on Defiant, that's not fair!" Enterprise whined and the Defiant-class laughed. "Ah Enterprise, you were the ship who got me out of that retched mothball yard and gave me a place with this fleet. A purpose and what's more, you found a way to give me a family. A class of ship I could be proud of. All with a purpose. That's worth more than anything I could ever do for you." Enterprise swallowed the lump in her throat. "You're gonna be alright. You're gonna be fine Defiant. In a few weeks..." Defiant shook her head. "Enterprise. Enterprise." She sighed, sounding more like her old Constitution-class self as she said "One thing that hasn't changed throughout your incarnations is that you're a terrible liar." "I am not!" Enterprise cried, feeling indignant despite herself. "I think I lie pretty well." "In some things." Defiant agreed. "Not so well in others." "Please," Enterprise was surprised to find herself begging. Her vision was blurring and she blinked to clear it, finding that did little to help. "Please don't go..." Something wet streaked down her face and Defiant's gaze became a touch softer as she looked at her flagship. "Don't be sad Enterprise." She whispered. "Be happy. After all, I'll be with Melanche again. I will see her won't I?" "You will. Oh yes you will." Enterprise promised, holding her. Defiant purred. "Then be happy Enterprise. Do not grieve. There are still other Defiant-class starships in the galaxy." "But you're the first." The excuse sounded weak, even to Enterprise. Defiant must've thought so too but she didn't show it. Instead she chuckled. "A Warrior doesn't stay gone for long as long as there's a battle to fight, a war to be won. And the Federation will win this war Enterprise." "Who am I, to argue with the expert." Enterprise smiled. Defiant gave a happy giggle, snuggling herself into Enterprise's side. Enterprise pressed her nose to the top of her head. Defiant closed her eyes at the touch. She took a few more shallow breaths before going completely still. Enterprise let her go, backing off and allowing her body to drift towards the sun. Defiant wanted a warrior's funeral, Enterprise would give her one. She readied her phasers, and fired a few shots. Not enough to obliterate her, but enough to catch the body ablaze as it was consumed by the sun's corona.
The CMO and the flagship sat in silence for a few minutes before the latter spoke up. "I never should've joined that battle." "Enterprise you cannot blame yourself." Excelsior replied sternly. "It took Ja'Tok a single shot to take out our most advanced warship." Enterprise said. "I'm sure we'll find a way to overcome..." Excelsior began. "It was meant for me." The flagship added in a quiet solemn voice. "Oh Enterprise..." Excelsior didn't know what to say in comfort. Defiant may've had her dislike for bureaucracy but she was as loyal as they came. If ever there was a testament to her allegiance, it was what she did at Chin'Toka. "Defiant was a warship. Any one of us would give their lives to protect you but that was Defiant's soul purpose. The soul purpose of any supporting warship is to protect its flagship." "What good is my life, over hers." Enterprise sighed. "I may be flagship. But I am not more valuable." "As a fighter no. But not everything is about weapons and despite warfare being her philosophy, Defiant knew that." Enterprise looked away. Excelsior nuzzled her. "She died doing what she was born to do instead of wasting away in some mothball fleet yard. She has you to thank for a life and a death worthy of the warrior she was." Enterprise nodded, steeling herself as she straightened. "We will win this war." She declared. "For her and for all those who have fallen. May their deaths not be in vein."