The Beauty of Godless Spaces
by tremor3258
For the Unofficial Literary Challenge on the main forums #46, prompt 2: 'For the Dominion' – cover a Dominion Crew
*
Space was bright, cluttered with smears of color from nebula concentrations diffusing the deadly radiation from a globular cluster. It covered light years to be visible from here, light years filled with irradiated planets, sudden mass concentrations that could interfere with warp, and young stars with few heavy elements.
It was clear they were very far from godly space.
Kleian, commander of the attack ship JI235, glanced at his First, Lixian, who had just made an oddly content noise. Both had their viewers activated.
"I'm surprised a view of a toxic, blasted wasteland would elicit such a reaction," Kleian said drily, "But I do strive to better lead, so please explain."
"The colors are quite spectacular, Overseer," Lixian said, eyes down.
The Founders had in their boundless wisdom given the Jem'Hadar a sense of aesthetics, to better identify, and remove, leadership in species with the same frivolity.
"Do you feel a base would be set here?" Klein asked, "As a monument or oubilette? It could be a useful place for an ambush if it was closer to something."
Lixian looked forward again, considering. The First had a considerable eight standard years of experience, much of it as part of a ship's crew.
"The signal's EM component matched the germanium absorption band, Overseer," Lixian said, "I would assume its termination would be a spaceborne relay of some kind, but the nebular cluster is large enough a new civilization could be present, and the records indicate the Alphas have very good shielding and life support technology, hiding from the gods. They would not need a star for one of their stations."
"So many foolish and uniformed," Kleian agreed, "I would rather it be the latter and involve less violence." His voice hardened, "Alas, we will see - begin the segmented neutrino scan, First. I will conduct an inspection."
*
Several hours later, they had found... nothing. A large nothing, admittedly.
"A dead rock?" Kleian summarized.
"No subspace emissions found, a slight amount of latent heat remaining above background. No sign of the rock being worked, but several useful minerals in large quantities," Lixian said, disappointed.
"And no sign the signal may have bounced somewhere else?" Kleian said. The First shook his head. "Perhaps it was an errant stellar emission in the subspace range, but let us confirm no one threatens the Dominion's safety. Arrange the signal to be reproduced, and deploy probes to confirm it terminated here."
Lixian's art critiques aside, he was a good First and anticipated the request. "At once, Overseer," he said, nodding to his Third. A brief working of a console and the little fighter hummed; probes leaving torpedo ports, visible as brief glints from station-keeping thrusters. Another moment and a capacitor trilled as the signal went out.
The Third shook his head, "No detection on probes, First."
"Well, I suppose bring them back - align a full navigational fix," Kleian said, "Some day this asteroid will serve the Gods as part of our armory."
"Yes, Overseer," Lixian said, and went to work. Kleian, a tad bored, went to inspect the fuel consumption levels before turning at a sudden intake of breath.
"Report," he said, moving to stand by Lixian, and pulling the First's displays to his own viewer.
"Background heat level on the navigational fix did not match our earlier scan," Lixian said, "Ready weapons and shielding, battle standby."
"Well done," Kleian said loudly, then much quieter, "The asteroid is primarily germanium - a pizeoelectric reaction from our beam?"
Lixian spoke even quieter - Kleian was quite proud of his hearing. "No, Overseer, it is general to the rock, our effect could not spread so fast."
"Alert: point thermal sources detected," the Third said. Both could see it, sections of the rock were warming much faster now.
"Shields," Lixian and Kleian said together.
"It is done," the Second said.
"Send standard challenge in wide short-range," Lixian said after a moment.
"Addendum. Communications: send position and recent ship log to Sector Command on tightbeam. Recommend again a ship sent to observe the signal origin," Kleian said.
"No response, signal sent," the Fifth said.
"Gravimetrics showing changes in asteroid density," the Third reported, "Detecting magnetic fields."
"It's falling apart?" Kleian asked Lixian, who shook his head, baffled at the readings they were getting. Fissues were appearing, rocks - mountains, really - apparently drifting away from the main rock.
"EM fields harmonizing - impulse signature! Correction- signatures multiplying!" the Third said. Displays lit up with more readouts as energy began to pour - they weren't rocks, they were ships of some sort.
"No communication?" Kleian asked.
"Negative Overseer," the Third said.
"Destroy them, First," the Vorta ordered, dismissive.
"Full spread - nearest enemies priority - bring us to half impulse, bear away and come for a full attack run! Victory is life!" the First ordered, eyes alight.
Phased polarons spat from the forward emitters as the small ship's engines came to life, cutting short as they impacted the wildly separating rock.
"There is a depressing lack of debris," Kleian observed mildly.
"Some sort of decoy system," Lixian surmised, "Compensate." The attack fighter lurched, and Kleian's eyes widened as there was brief squeal of escaping atmosphere before the heavy thud of a bulkhead.
"Three breaches through inner hull, damage to port nacelle and impulse," the Second stated, "Power dropping. Heavy damage to coils." The ship lurched again. "Total damage to coils."
"Phaser fire originating from multiple vectors," the Third said, "Power is considerable. Shield grid near overload, complete collapse on third quadrant."
"Overseer, we are significantly outnumbered by threat vessels," Lixian noted, gripping his console.
It was also getting worse all the next, Kleian noted - parasite craft were departing the larger rocks, and the patchy scan return through the decoys and damage showed they were as large as their own ship.
"Communications?" Kleian asked.
"None to us, but local subspace is beginning to fill," the Fifth said, "It is...noise."
Kleian closed his eyes briefly, and wondered if there would be another him. He'd rather like to think so.
"First Lixian," he said, "We have no warp capacity and lack the power to communiate to Sector Command this threat. Our remaining duty is to diminish this threat."
"Agreed, Overseer," Lixian said, "Second, all power but forward shields and targeting to engines. Intercept course on largest enemy vessel, maximum possible speed."
"It is done," the Second said. Kleian gripped a railing by Lixian's console, his knuckles white.
The ship howled forward, shields flaring in defiance as hull plating evaporated. Kleian closed his eyes...
And opened again a moment later. "First, I am disappointed to be able to state I am very disappointed," Kleian said.
"Yes, Overseer," Lixian said with real anger, "Third, why have we failed?"
"A tractor beam of great complexity and power overwhelmed our forward shields, First," the Third said. "And we are now being boarded," he said without surprise.
"Enemies within engineering," the Fifth added.
"Very well," the First said. "Overload the warp core if possible." He unstrapped his holstered sidearm and checked the charge. When the Second shook his head, Lixian nodded.
"This enemy is clever," Kleian said, "Scramble the computer cores and we will head to antimatter containment." The bridge crew nodded, drawing their armanents. Each had served in the Founders' glorious ground forces before being worthy of ship duty, and knew their job.
Lixian clasped Kleian's shoulder, and Kleian's protest died in his mouth as he looked the First on squarely. There was real kindness in the First's eyes. "Overseer, we all know you serve well, there is no need for you to suffer pain in this fight, no decisions left to make; your place with the gods is secure."
Not sure what to do with the hand that had been reaching to pluck the Jem'hadar off, he instead patted Lixian's hand. "Thank you, First," Kleian said. Somewhere, there was a scream, pitched well above a Jem'Hadar throat. "But do we have a moment more?" The First's concentration switched to his headset, then he nodded.
Kleian went to a wall and opened the bio-coded lock there, bringing out the precoius vials. "A final gift from the Founders, for your loyalty to death. May it keep you strong."
The Jem'Hadar crowded for the vials, and then left the bridge, shrouding as they went.
Kleian watched them go, then went to stand at his post. When the Dominion conquered these people, and if something was salvaged of the ship, he'd prefer his next clone could take some pride. He wondered if he should say something, but the computers were down. No matter.
With a quick gesture to his head, he activated the final gift from the Founders: escape from true peril, without pain.
There must have been something wrong with the implant - it certainly hurt, but was otherwise working as advertised. Kleian's head hit the deck, resetting his viewer to some functional subsystem still showing the exterior.
And there, for a moment at the end, he saw the beauty in it.
Author's Note: Set sometime before the Victory is Life expansion.
Someone had to be the one to figure out if the Hur'q lure worked.
A Founder checked off a box, and no one gave the ship or the crew another thought any more, of course, just disposable troops. I suspect Odo didn't even give it much thought. :(