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Chapter 1: Graduation Day

2409 AD – San Francisco, Earth - Starfleet Academy

'I've had enough of this place's bullshit to last me a lifetime.'

This was the thoughts of one Cadet Jaden Takeo as he walked out of one of the many buildings of Starfleet Academy, wearing a standard red-trimmed Starfleet Cadet uniform. He was about 20-21 years old with short spiked black hair and crimson red eyes. As much as Jaden liked being in Starfleet - upholding the family tradition - he was starting to see what his great grandfather was almost always bitching about how their standards had greatly deteriorated since his time back in the 23rd Century.

At first he thought he was just being the 'crotchety old man' some called him, but he soon found out it was not too far from the truth as a lot of people in Starfleet… barely knew anything. It always felt too easy for Jaden, he actually had to go to his own family to help him train and study just so he could feel something of a challenge. He didn't want to graduate Starfleet with a bunch of amatuer marks, he wanted to actually feel like he accomplished something, like it wasn't just some stupid cakewalk.

Of course, today was the day where he could hopefully prove that it was all worth it. He saw someone waving their hands, calling out his name. Jaden recognized her as one of his fellow cadets - Elisa Flores, a young woman about his age with short auburn colored hair and brown eyes. "Finally!" she said. "I was beginning to think you forgot what today was!"

Jaden sighed but smiled a bit. "How could I forget, you've reminded me every blinking moment of every blinking day for the past blinking month!" he said. "So, did you get your assignment yet?"

Elisa smirked a bit "Of course, I was first in line!" she said, before she paused for a moment. "Oh, before I forget, I think Razkii is just up ahead, I think he wants to thank you for helping him cram for the astrometrics finals."

"Right, thanks," Jaden said, nodding. "See ya in space, Elisa." Elisa said goodbye as she left, before Jaden headed down the walkway, where he soon encountered a Saurian male, who glanced at him and smiled.

"There you are!" Cadet Razkii said, "I wanted to thank you for helping me with the Finals… and for all the other times you've helped me."

"Hey man, we're friends aren't we?" Jaden asked with a small smirk, "Of course I'd help ya out."

"Yeah, glad we could be friends to begin with." Razkii said, "I've always admired you a bit, how you seem to just… throw yourself into studying and everything."

"Don't have much of a choice, remember?" Jordan said. "My whole family is filled with Captains and Admirals of Starfleet, heck my great grandpa served onboard not just the Enterprise, but also onboard the USS Reliant, Exeter, and Ptolemaeus with Captain Pinkerton. It's a reputation that kinda sets your future for ya."

"Yeah, man it would've been awesome to know the Captain Pinkerton..." Razkii said "Some of our Klingon classmates still tell ghost stories about him, how he'll come back one day… it'd sure as hell make sure the Klingons stay away from Federation Territory if he did, that's for sure… so do you know what ship you'll get assigned too?"

"Haven't gotten my assignment yet..." Jaden said with a sigh. "I'm just hoping they don't assign me to some archaic ship like those NX Replica's… just anything better than a Miranda would be nice - no offense to the class, but it's not like a Connie."

"Connie?" Razkii asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jaden chuckled a bit. "Oh yeah, I never told you," he said. "It's what my great grandpa calls the Constitution-class for short. It's something that sticks after a while."

"That makes a lot of sense," Razkii said. "Though we really don't know much about that guy: all of his academy records are sealed for some reason-"

"Cadet Takeo, please report to the duty officer outbuilding. Captain Taggart wants to see you."

Jaden sighed. "Well, duty calls," he said. "See ya later Razkii."

"Sure thing," Razkii said, "Oh, and once you get back, try to find T'Vrell, I think she wanted to talk to you 'bout something."

"I will, thanks." Jordan said nodding before he left and headed towards the duty officer outbuilding.

Jaden made sure to stick to the path: hologram or not, NO ONE FUCKED WITH BOOTHBY. Even when it was a simulation created by the Undine, if it was Starfleet Academy, you stuck to the paths or faced the arate groundskeeper. Jaden entered the building, coming face to face with an older woman wearing the 2373-era uniform with black hair and heterochromatic eyes. "You must be Cadet Takeo." She said, "I've heard about you."

"Yes Ma'am," he said with a short salute.

"We're not a military, Cadet, no need to salute," the woman said.

"Sorry Ma'am, it's a family thing," Jaden said, looking a bit sheepish, "The Takeo family has always kinda stuck with most military traditions since the 21st Century. It's… something that tends to stick."

The woman smirked a bit, "My grand-uncle would like you." She said before she sighed, "If he were still around. I'm Ayame Virgillia Pinkerton, Captain of the Damascus."

Jaden blinked at that "Wait… Any relation to THE Captain Pinkerton?"

"He's my grand-uncle." Ayame said, "My pop used to call him the Fleet Killer. At least until...359."

Jaden winced a bit, knowing damn good and well what she was talking about. "I see… my dad lost his parents at Wolf, too," he said. "Onboard the USS Niagara and USS Tolstoy…"

"At least we don't have to deal with the Borg anymore." Ayame said, before nodding her head over towards the door. "Taggart's waiting in the back office. Don't keep the Denobulan waiting."

"Thank you Captain, Ma'am." He said, before he saluted again. "It was nice to meet you." Ayame smirked slightly as she returned the salute somewhat before Jaden approached the back office door.

"Come," A male voice spoke, as Jaden opened the door. Inside there was a single man, a Denobulan wearing a white/grey version of the Starfleet uniform.

"Ah, Cadet Takeo," he said, as he stood up. "I've been wanting to speak with you for some time. Your record is, shall we say, terrifying. Only five cadets have matched your records, and one of them is redacted from the records entirely! You, my boy, are destined for great things."

Jaden blinked in surprise at the praise, sure he admitted he was a bit better than most of his peers thanks to his family training him, but only five cadets matching his records? That wasn't something he expected. "Uh, T-thank you sir." He said.

"That being said, you still need to go through the phaser range course," Taggart said, "I know, I know: you shouldn't HAVE to, but it's part of your finals. And as soon as you're done, I will have your assignment for your training cruise."

"I understand sir, I'll be finished with it soon." Jaden said nodding before he saluted, "Thank you again, sir."

"Head to the holodeck for your drill...Number One." The Captain said, causing Jaden to do a double-take.

"E-Excuse me?" he asked, as Taggart smirked a bit.

"Well, no need to keep you in the dark I suppose." He said, "You are going to be assigned to my ship - NCC-31200 USS Protector, a new line of Ship Starfleet has just commissioned… and I'll be making you my first officer once you finish your drill."

Taggart glanced to the side, where a model of the USS Enterprise-D was placed on display "Working onboard the Enterprise taught me to see good talent and skills in people… and I can see it in you." he said, "I'm looking forward to working with you, Jaden."

"I, Uhh… thank you sir!" Jaden said, as he smiled a bit "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't," Taggart said, as he returned Jaden's salute before Jaden left the office.

The holodeck was a welcome addition to any starship, as crews no longer needed specialized rooms to work out, entertain themselves or simply relax. One room did it all. This also allowed people to train on one world while mastering them all. And this was where Jaden would be undergoing his final exam.

"I actually checked, and it looks like most of our class all got assigned to the USS Protector," Elisa said, as they approached the room where Holodeck 2 resided. "I've actually seen some of the specs on it, it's not a half bad ship. It looks like it's going to be a Science vessel, or scout ship."

"Personally would've prefered a more… combat oriented ship, but we can't be picky, I suppose." Jaden said as they reached the locker room. "And considering our class size, it only makes sense to put most of us on a small scout ship - they require just a minimal crew after all."

"Yeah, though the Protector is a bit bigger than most scout ships," Elisa said, as each of them picked out Type-2 Phaser Pistols. "It's about the size of a Cruiser actually, could easily support a larger crew."

"As long as we can fly the damn thing, we'll be good," Jordan said with a smile. "Though I'm just glad I'm heading into space with people I know and trust, Elisa."

"Still, some of the older teachers are comparing you to some dead guy," Elisa said. "Sure, the Klingons are scared shitless of him-"

"Probably with good reason, cadet."

Elisa jumped at the voice of Captain Pinkerton, who was standing behind her. "HOW THE HELL?!"

"It's a gift," Ayame said, shrugging. "Just thought I'd give you a heads-up, Cadet: as soon as your training flight is complete, your ass is MINE."

"Really?" Jaden asked, blinking in surprise. "Not that I am complaining, ma'am… but, why me?"

"Kid, I see the makings of your grandfather in you," Ayame said. "My grand-uncle picked your grandfather as his XO for a reason. That reason is simple: he impressed him. You are impressing ME. Now, get in that range, kick enough ass that the holodeck screams in fear and makes the holograms run out of the place."

"Wouldn't that lead to them not existing?" Jaden asked, and Ayame smirked once more.

"Better that than facing you."

Jaden blinked, but chuckled a bit. "Alright, then… let's do this," he said as he walked into the Holodeck as the simulation began shortly after, as the holodeck took the form of the bridge of a Klingon bird-of-prey. The moment he passed through the door, he was up against several Klingon warriors who drew out their disruptors, but Jaden was faster as he fired two quickdraw shots, nailing the first two Klingons easily, knocking them on their ass.

He then ducked and rolled under another Klingon's attack, taking cover behind a console before rising up, firing at the third Klingon, taking him down easily. He heard screaming behind him, as Jaden turned around, and moved left to avoid being attacked by a Klingon wielding a Bat'leth. The Klingon growled as he swung the sword again, but Jaden jumped back, avoiding the strike.

The Klingon then charged at Jaden once more, however this time Jaden had his fists ready as he punched the Klingon in the face, dazing him for a moment. That moment was all Jaden needed as he grabbed the Bat'leth from the Klingon's hand, and yanked it out, kicking the Klingon to the ground before finishing him off with his own sword.

Then several more Klingon warriors began to spawn in, attacking Jaden both with Disruptors and more Bat'leths, however Jaden just gunned down the ones at a distance, while using his confiscated Bat'leth to deal with any that got too close. This continued for three whole minutes, until finally Jaden tossed his Bat'leth into the torso of another Klingon - penetrating him, and sticking his body against the interior of the bridge, limp.

The last Klingon however, didn't fight… instead he went running out of the holo chamber, where he quickly disappeared from existence, saying something about a windstorm.

All were speechless. Except Ayame: she was on the ground, laughing so hard they would think she'd gone insane. "Well… that was new." Elisa said, blinking.

"And a perfect score," Taggart said, looking at the PADD. "The only ones to ever get that in the combat exercises were in the days before the holodeck. And Captain Pinkerton over there."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

This was the sight Jaden was welcomed to, as he walked out of the holodeck, blinking as he saw Ayame rolling on the floor laughing her ass off. "So… how'd I do?"

"P-perfect score," Taggart said, shaking his head. "I knew you had talent… but this is ridiculous..."

"And awesome!" Elisa said, grinning. "Did you even see yourself? You just annihilated those Klingons! Sure they were just holograms, but still!"

"Well, I believe it's time to get going," Taggart said.

"Wait, what was the windstorm thing about?" Jaden asked. "He was screaming like no tomorrow about it."

"That was what the Klingons referred to Captain Ronald Pinkerton as," Ayame said as she got back onto her feet. "It's from an old Klingon legend. He became a mythological figure after he disappeared. Most of his records are still sealed to this day."

"Geez… I'd hate to see how real Klingons will react to this, then…" Elisa muttered.

"They'll run away pissing their pants, thinking you're his reincarnation," Ayame said. "Now, I have to get back to my ship. And you have a training cruise to complete."

"Yes ma'am," Jaden said nodding, "Looking forward to working with you after my cruise."

Ayame spun on her heel, walking out of the training area. "Is anyone else scared by her?" Elisa asked.

"She's one of the most lethal people to come out of the Academy," Taggart said. "I think there are few things in the universe NOT scared by her." He then sighed as he looked at Jaden. "Anyways, I believe this more than qualifies you, once you're ready head for the shuttle bay… Number One."

"Yes sir," Jaden said. "Looking forward to it." Taggart nodded before he left the shuttle bay.

"Well, first officer, eh?" Elisa asked with a small smirk, "Guess I should start calling you 'sir' now, eh?"

Jaden groaned. "Oh please, don't start that..." he muttered.

"I'll see you on the Protector." Taggart left the two alone, with Jaden wondering what path his career would take after this.

Class-2 shuttlecraft en route to USS Protector

The Class-2 shuttle, commonly assigned to the Intrepid-class, was a rare sight away from their motherships. "Look at that! The USS Vesta, first of her class!"

"Yeah, she looks nice…" Jaden said, as the Vesta left the Starbase heading out into space. "Doesn't hold a candle to the Odyssey-class, from what I've heard, though."

"True," Elisa said, as she looked out the window. "And there's our ship." The ship in question was in a dock beside a Miranda-class frigate. THAT was a nightmare in and of itself. They just. Kept. EXPLODING. 'Never boarding a Miranda willingly. Ever.'

Once they moved away from the Miranda, they got a clear view at the vessel that would be their new home for the foreseeable future. It was a bit different from standard Federation designs, instead of having a large saucer section, most of the ship was centered around a large oval-like hull area, attached to either side were a set of curved-inward engine nacelles, a very different design compared to normal federation engines which are generally more straight.

"USS Protector, one of only two of her class so far," Elisa said. "Crew space for 600, but can operate with a minimal of just 150. I've heard there was a lot of debate as to what the ship's actual classification was going to be… from Scout ship, to explorer, science vessel, even a Cruiser… I've heard they've settled on calling her a Scout Cruiser I believe."

"Anything is better than a Miranda," Jaden said with a sigh as the shuttle approached the hangar bay of the Protector.

Once the shuttle touched down, the two exited the shuttlecraft, joining the rest of the cadets. "This thing's barely out of the NX-stage," Elisa said. "No wonder it's being used as a cadet trainer."

"At least we're actually using a new ship, and not something that should be in mothball," Jaden retorted as they approached a woman in a golden Federation uniform.

"Name and position?" The woman asked.

"Cadet Takeo, acting first officer." Jaden said, as she glanced through her PADD.

"Ah, I have your name and record here, sir," she said. "Welcome aboard the Protector. The Captain is waiting for you on the bridge."

"Thank you, I'll be there ASAP," Jaden said, glancing at Elisa. "See ya later, Elisa."

Jaden headed towards the turbolift, however he was stopped when he heard a voice speak up. "Jaden." He glanced back, and saw one of the Cadets approach him - a Vulcan female with long wavy shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes wearing a science officer uniform.

"Oh, T'Vrell!" Jaden said, "I forgot Razkii told me you wanted to see me!"

"It is all right," T'Vrell said, maintaining her stoic face as usual. "I… just wanted to thank you for convincing me to retake my finals in Linguistics. You… realized I wasn't at my best that day, even though I was willing to accept my current results… my score increased by twelve point eight percent on my second attempt. Now I am qualified to act as both a science officer, and a communications officer."

Jaden smiled and nodded. "You just needed a bit of motivation, T'Vrell," he said. "You know the old Earth saying - if at first you don't succeed, try try again. I'm glad we'll be working together here."

"As am I, Jaden," she said as she raised her hand in the vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper, Jaden." Jaden returned the salute, before entering the turbolift. "Bridge," he said, as the door closed and he was sent to the bridge.

The bridge, like the rest of the ship, was not atypical Starfleet, but it was perfect. "Ah, Number One. Take your station: I was just about to give the order to move out."

"Captain, message from the Damascus." T'Vrell said, "She's requesting permission to escort us during our cruise."

"Give her my permission - It'll be nice to have some escort for now," Taggart said. "Number One, could you give the order to disable the tractor beams and close the shuttle bay doors?"

"Aye sir," Jaden said, as he took his seat next to the Captain, using the command consol to disable the tractor beams. "Flores, close the shuttle bay door, T'Vrell, get clearance from traffic control for the Protector to head on out of the gantry."

BGM: clear all moorings from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

"Earth Traffic Control has cleared us for departure, sir." T'Vrell said.

"Shuttle Bay doors are now closed, sir." Elisa reported.

"Very good, Number One." Taggart said, "Potter, take us out - one quarter impulse."

"Uh, Captain?" Jaden said. "I'm pretty sure Starfleet regulations say thrusters-only while in the vicinity of spacedock?"

Taggart smirked a bit. "Just making sure you're listening, number one," he said. "Potter - take us out, maximum thrusters."

The prototype starship left the dock, with the massive Galaxy-Class Damascus following the Protector. "Protector, this is Damascus: we'll keep you covered in case the Klingons try to pull what they did with Utopia Planitia. That ship's a prototype."

"Understood, Captain. Don't worry, I'll keep your prized catch safe," Taggart said. "Let's start with something easy - Helm, set course for Vulcan."

"Course laid in sir," Anna Potter said, as the Protector jumped into warp, with the Damascus following shortly after.

Roughly half an hour passed, and so far it seemed to be an easy flight. "Sir, I'm picking up a transmission. It's a distress call from a freighter, the S.S Break Even. It's a Ferengi-operated ship, audio only."

"Put it through." Taggart said, "And remember rule of acquisition One-Eleven: Treat people in your debt like family-"

"Exploit them."

"Exactly. That way, they can't abuse our generosity. Put them through."

"This is the S.S Break Even!" A voice said on the comm, "Our Warp core is failing and we are in need of assistance!"

"Let them know we are on our way," Taggart said. "Potter, lay in a rendezvous course."

"Altering course sir, ETA three minutes." Anna said.

"Sir, sensors can't pick up anything in the area of the Break Even," the man manning sensors stated.

"Communications are out in the area as well." T'Vrell said.

"Keep trying to hail them, T'Vrell," the Captain said, before glancing at Jaden. "What do you make of it, Number One?"

Jaden hummed in thought. "I am going under the assumption this isn't a planned event to test us?" he asked.

"Absolutely not! The Protector and Damascus are the closest ships to the Break Even, so it is our duty to assist them." Taggart said.

Once again, Jaden paused to think for a moment. "It's a bit odd they only contacted us audio-only," he said. "A failing warp core wouldn't affect communications… and my Kobayashi Maru senses are tingling. I recommend going in with shields up at the very least. This could very easily be a trap."

"A wise precaution, Number One. All hands, stand to yellow alert. Any other recommendations?"

"Post security personnel in the transporter room," Jaden said. "Just in case."

"Good," Taggart said as he tapped his comm badge. "Chief Ingersoll, report to transporter bay with a security team and medical personnel, prepare to receive wounded… and prepare for any funny business."

"You got it sir, heading down now," the reply came.

"Number one, head for the transporter room - I want you to oversee the rescue efforts from there," Taggart said, as Jaden nodded.

"Understood sir, I'll head there now," he said, as he saluted before heading towards the turbolift.

Once the doors closed, he headed on his way down as he hit his comm badge. "Transporter room, begin beaming over the crew."

"Aye, sir. I'm having difficulty getting a lock… come on you piece of - AHA! Got i - uh-oh."

"This vessel is now property of the Sarris Dominion!" a gravelly voice shouted out. "Surrender and die!"

"Red alert!" The trademark alarms began blaring throughout the ship. "Number one, get a rifle and join the defense! Get them off my ship! Damascus-"

"We're sending security teams over now, Taggart! Takeo, don't get yourself killed!"

Phaser fire greeted Jaden once he got down to deck 5, where he saw security personnel doing their jobs and kicking ass in the process. Of course it wasn't without their own casualties as several crewmen were already dead on the floor.

"Get the armory open!" One of the security personnel shouted as they fired from cover at the attacking aliens. Jaden headed for the console as he finally got a good look at whoever was attacking them - they looked like a reptilian-humanoid species, wearing what almost looked like organic body armor, and wielding large rifle weapons (1).

'Never seen these guys before,' Jaden thought as he opened the armory, as he ran inside, soon joined by several personnel nearby as they grabbed the closest Type-3 Phaser Rifle they could find, and arming themselves. "Set Phasers to kill - these bastards ain't going easy on us, no need to treat them any differently." He told the two security officers.

"Yes, sir!" Phaser fire shot toward one of the hostiles, taking it down after a number of shots.

"Holy shit. If that's what it takes to kill them, what's it take to stun them?" one of the officers shouted.

"At least they can be killed!" Jaden shouted. "Move up! Head for the transporter room!"

The three men moved up through the corridor until another alien appeared before them, however they didn't need to worry about him before an explosion behind him caused a hull breach, sucking the alien out into space before a force field appeared around the breach, preventing Jaden and the others from being sucked out as well.

"Brand new ship, and she's already getting battle scars…" Jaden muttered as the reached the door to the transporter room. They opened the door to find the Security teams already fighting the aliens - said aliens having their back turned to them. The team used this to their advantage as they got behind the aliens, and unleashed a hail of Phaser fire, combined with the teams up front quickly bringing down their armor, and turning them into little more than ash.

"Rraak!" Jaden shouted as he crouched next to the wounded Caitian transporter chief. "You alright?"

"Could've been worse, but I'll live," the Caitian said, hissing a bit. "I've locked the transporter down so they can't come in from here, but there's still a lot more across the ship."

Jaden nodded before he looked at one of the medics. "Get him to sickbay, and take one of the security officers with you," he said. "We're gonna have a lot of wounded over there soon."

More phaser fire was heard from the other door, followed by one of the beings crashing through… with a chinese dao shoved through its' neck. "If you want something done right…" The form of Jaden's future CO (if she had a say in it) walked into the transporter room. "You've got to do it yourself." She took the sword out of the being's neck, then looked at Jaden. "Cadet. Thought I'd find you here. Got a present for you."

Jaden blinked but chuckled a bit. "Well, I've never said no to a present," he said.

She tossed him a sword with an Arabic-type hilt and grip, as well as a recurved and weighted tip. "That used to belong to my grand-uncle. It's called a kilij. It's made of duranium and tritanium, plus it's monomolecular so it'll hack through those sons of bitches in half with ease. Try not to break it: it's one of a kind."

"I think I like it," Jaden said with a small smirk as he strapped the holster of the kilij to his hip. "We're gonna need to help the Captain a bit if we're gonna hold these guys off. There must be quite a bit of enemies out there if they're giving us this much trouble. If I can get to the weapons bay, I can modify our weapons to have a bit more punch against these guys. I might also be able to do some modifications to the shields and structural integrity."

"I'll lead the way and make sure you get through," She pulled out a modified TR-116B, with a seemingly extended magazine and no scope. "30 rounds, full auto. Let's see who wins." She gestured him to follow, firing her rifle at anything not wearing a Starfleet uniform in the process. Thankfully, headshots still worked. "Set those phasers to maximum! No fucking mercy!"

"Already told 'em that," Jaden said as they followed the Captain through the Protector's corridors, firing their Phasers with Ayame, gunning down any attackers as they headed to the weapons bay.

A pair of enemy troops were shot before Jaden drew the ultra sharp kilij and shoved it into the third one's head, surprised by the absurdly sharp weapon of mass cutting destruction. "I really like you know." He said with a small smirk before pulling it out of the alien's skull as he put it back in its holster. "Weapons is right behind this door… looks like they sealed it shut with a force field, and they're probably waiting for us on the other side."

"Oh, I can EASILY solve that." Ayame pulled open a panel, then began reconfiguring the isolinear controls.

"What are you doing?"

"Causing a plasma coolant leak." Jaden paled. Plasma coolant LIQUEFIED organic material ON CONTACT. "Oh, don't worry: I can get that shit back where it belongs."

Jaden then sighed. "Do it, it makes our life easier, anyways," he said.

"And leaking." Screaming was heard inside for a moment, including someone yelling something akin to 'Oh God MAKE IT STOP!'. "And suckin' back in. There. room's clear."

"…You are one sadistic bitch." one of the officers said.

"It's a gift."

"Alright, I got the door." Jaden said as he pressed a few commands, as the force field went down allowing them entrance. Inside there was no resistance… just several pools of goo where the would-be defenders would have been.

"I'll get the weapons modded up!" Jaden said, paying no attention to the goo as he ran towards the first terminal to type in the commands. "This should give the Captain some more firepower up there…"

"JADEN!" Elisa yelled over the comms. "THEY JUST GOT ONTO THE BRIDGE! THE CAPTAIN'S BEEN TAKEN!"

Ayame looked at the cadet. "Consider yourself promoted. You have the conn. You're in command."

"OH SHIT OH SHIT! HANG ON!" Jaden shouted, the moment he finished he headed right for the Turbolift running as fast as he could. "My ass, bridge, NOW!" he shouted to the computer.

The lift took him to the bridge as quickly as it could, but the lift was too slow. By the time the lift arrived, Elisa was a mess. "Jaden. The Captain…"

"Damnit…" Jaden muttered, quickly pulling out the medical case he took from one of the medics. "Hang on Elisa, you're gonna be alright…" he used every ounce of the medical training he learned to patch up Elisa's wounds as best he could - it wasn't perfect, he was by no means a Medic, but she was gonna live at least.

The moment he was finished with her, Jaden approached the only other member of the bridge crew who was still alive, but barely - T'Vrell. She looked as if she had been stabbed by a knife-like weapon in her shoulder, and for the first time Jaden had known her, a flurry of emotions were on her face - most notably a pained expression as she looked up at Jaden.

"J-Jaden… I… s-sorr…" she tried to say, but Jaden just focused on her wound.

"Just… don't talk, T'Vrell," he said. "It's not that bad… it looks like whoever stabbed you missed anything vital, just hang in there… you're not dying on me, alright?"

The Vulcan simply nodded. "The captain… was taken by their leader." She said, "Brushed us asi-" The console beeped. "We're being hailed."

T'Vrell moved her arm to respond, but Jaden stoped her. "You, rest. I'll take care of it." He said, before he hit the console. A few moments later the front screen of the vessel displayed the bridge of an alien vessel, possessing almost organic interior with a dark green and light green lighting. And standing before him was a figure with dark green skin and armor, a very reptilian yet still humanoid alien with what looked like a spiked eye patch over the left half of his face.

"I am General Rath'h'ar Sarris, leader of the Sarris Dominion and bringer of your doom!" The Alien spoke, "You have killed my soldiers, but you have not won. Our ship shall not be detected by your sensors! Surrender now, and I may yet spare your lives!"

Jaden's eyes narrowed as he let out a growl. "You attack me and my friends, attack my ship, and you expect us to surrender?" He snapped back, "Go fuck yourself you damned fucking lizard!"

"Gah, perhaps your captain will change your mind!" Rath'h'ar declared, as he reached for something off the side of the screen before pulling into view Captain Taggard. "Order your crew to surrender now, Captain, or I will blow them out of the stars!" The general smirked. "Do you want to see these children die? It's your choice."

The wounded and battered Captain looked at the alien, before sighing. "Number one… you are the Captain now." He said, "As… as my last order…" he glared at the general for a moment, before he hurriedly spoke "You are to lock onto my combadge and burn this son of a bitch!"

"Fool!" The General shouted as he drew out his knife and stabbed the Captain in the gut, causing Jaden's eyes to widen as he fell to the ground.

"Make… me proud… Number… one…" was the last words the Captain spoke, before he fell limp on the screen.

Jaden's fists clenched and his teeth bared. "Eat Torpedoes you son of a bitch!" He shouted as he locked onto the Captain's comm badge, and fired a trio of Photon Torpedoes which homed in on it.

The torpedoes pulled what was affectionately called the Khitomer Maneuver. They circled. They homed. They impacted with one HELL of a boom. And at that moment, Jaden channeled his inner Hikaru Sulu. "Target that explosion and FIRE!"

"Music to my ears!" The Protector fired its phasers and torpedoes at the sight of the explosion, as did the Damascus, the larger ship inflicting the most damage, as it tore the General's ship into pieces. For a brief moment they attempted to regain cloak, but it did not last long enough as one last torpedo from the Protector resulted in a catastrophic explosion from the ship, reducing it into molten slag.

"And once again, Starfleet demonstrates its' ability to make shit explode," Elisa said.

"Sir, a ship managed to escape from that… thing before we 'demonstrated our ability to make shit explode'," T'Vrell said, having sat up and gotten back to her console. However, she blinked when she saw Jaden and Elisa looking at her with wide eyes.

"…did you just make a JOKE, T'Vrell?" Elisa asked.

"No," she said a bit quickly before looking at her console. "Also, we're receiving a hail from the USS Renown."

"They're certainly late… on screen." Jaden said.

"Captain Taggart, this is...You're not Captain Taggart. What happened, Cadet?"

'The Vulcan ability to state the obvious still works.' Jaden thought to himself before he spoke. "Captain… Taggart was killed by… unknown aliens," he said. "The Captain's… last orders put me in command of the Protector. We've taken a lot of casualties and heavy damage."

"I see. Cadet, we will need your assistance: we have lost contact with the Khitomer in the Pollux system. Repair whatever you can en route. I have no doubt we will see combat once more."

Jaden sighed. "We'll do what we can," he said. "We need to do some repairs to our plasma injectors before we can enter warp however."

"Not anymore," acting chief engineer Zarva spoke on the comm. "The Damascus just beamed over some of their spare replacements, and I've already installed them. We can enter warp whenever you want sir."

Jaden shrugged. "Scratch that, we can follow you now." he said.

"Captain Pinkerton is known for being overly prepared. Follow us, Captain. Renown out." The screen replaced Va'lok's image with that of the Regent-class Renown.

"So, out of the frying pan, into the fire?" Elisa asked with a small smirk.

"That's Starfleet in a nutshell," Jaden said with a sigh, as he looked at the Captain's chair. He hesitated for a moment, before he sighed once more and sat down. "Engage." The Protector jumped to warp, followed by the Damascus and the Renown.

While the three ships made their way to the Pollux system, repairs on the Protector were beginning to move along more steadily now. Thanks to a few engineers sent over from the Damascus, the ship was returning back to normal functions, as the sickbay was also relieved to have some more help treating the many wounded they got.

Jaden was now in the private captain's quarters - which once belonged to Captain Taggart, now apparently his. He sat behind the desk, as he looked at the spare Captain's badge he had been provided with… for Jaden, none of this felt right. This was suppose to be Taggart's ship, not his.

"Captain, we have an incoming message from the Damascus." T'Vrell's voice spoke on the comm. "It's Captain Pinkerton. should I put it through?"

Jaden sighed as he activated the monitor. "Go ahead." He said. However A buzz was heard a second later.

"Cadet."

Jaden jumped at the sound of Ayame's voice from behind him. "But - how-"

"Holocommunicator." Ayame said, shrugging. "Figured you'd want to talk face to face instead of via a monitor. How're you doing, kid?"

After Jaden settled down a bit, he sighed. "Well… I'll be honest… this isn't how I wanted to become captain of a Starship…" he said. "This is Taggart's ship… not mine. Nothing feels right about this… and I doubt I'll ever get use to dead crewmen… fuck, I knew most of the people on this list… now I gotta write letters to their families…"

"I didn't exactly ask for command, either." Ayame said. "Back in '63, I was just another XO, and I was content in my post. Then my captain decided to put me up for command, and not just any command. I was put on The List."

Jaden rose an eyebrow. "The List?" he asked, and Ayame chuckled a bit.

"Right, you don't know," she said. "The List is just a name for a list of captains fit to command a certain starship. I think you can guess from the registry." She smirked. "NCC-1701."

Jaden blinked a bit. "Wait, you were on the list to become captain for the Enterprise?" he asked in surprise.

"Yup. Picard won out due to his greater experience, but I was VERY close." Ayame said, "So they put me in command of the first Block 2 Galaxy after the Odyssey left the yard." The first six Galaxy-Class ships, including the prototype, the Enterprise, and the long-destroyed Yamato and Odyssey, were referred to as 'Block 1 Galaxies' as they were the first of their breed. Block 2s were highly improved Galaxy-Class starships, adding extra phaser arrays and a more efficient power distribution system. The most famous example was the first USS Venture, which was the second ship of the subclass. "And because my ability to make shit explode was pretty close to my uncle's, I was sent to the Romulan Neutral Zone. Then Wolf 359 happened."

"A lot of things changed after Wolf 359…" Jaden said with a sigh.

"I blamed Picard for years," Ayame said. "But after the Dominion War, and barely surviving T'Uerell, I finally realized it wasn't his fault. The people who died under your command might have been your responsibility, but it's not your fault they died."

"Maybe… but this whole thing still doesn't feel right…" Jaden said shaking his head. "But… all I can really do now is… keep moving forward."

"Then I'll see you on the bridge." Ayame's hologram disappeared, followed by the comm beeping.

"Captain, we've arrived at the Pollux system are we're dropping out of warp. You're needed on the bridge."

"I'm on my way," Jaden said, standing up as he headed for the bridge.

The Renown, Protector and Damascus left warp as they arrived finally at the Pollux system, and it didn't take them too long before they found the Khitomer in the space above the planet.

"This doesn't exactly look normal. There's NOTHING here that could've damaged the Khitomer, yet she looks like she's had the living shit beaten out of her!"

"Let's stay focused, shall we? Take us in and open a channel to the Khitomer." The tiny scout cruiser (compared to the 690 meter long Renown and monstrously bulky Damascus) moved toward the third biggest ship in the area. And once more, Jaden felt small.

"Why couldn't we have gotten a bigger ship?" Elisa asked with a slight sigh.

"After what just happened a few hours ago? I'm glad we still have this ship," Jaden said.

"Sir, I'm picking something up a few thousand kilometers from the Khitomer." T'Vrell said from the science station. "It's a subspace distortion."

"Yellow alert and take us in." Jaden said, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

BGM: Borg Engaged - ST:TNG OST

However, as the Protector moved forward, suddenly what looked like a rip in the middle of space appeared… and a split second later a very large cube-shaped object appeared from the rip.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships." What sounded like multiple voices spoke at once. "Your biological and cultural distinctiveness will be adapted to serve us - resistance is futile."

"...She HAD to say we wouldn't be dealing with these assholes, didn't she?" Jaden shouted.

"At least it's only one-" T'Vrell began to say, before A MASSIVE fleet of probes, spheres, tactical cubes and even a fucking DIAMOND appeared out of the hidden conduit seconds later.

"You were saying?" Elisa asked, before the fleet jumped to warp, heading out of the system, leaving only a few spheres and a squadron of probes behind.

"Red Alert NOW!" Jaden shouted as Klaxon alarms began ringing throughout the ship. "Target the closest Borg ship and open fire! Cycle through Phaser settings so they can't adapt! And someone figure out where that damn fleet's going!"

The probes began to fire at the Protector, at which the shields began to do two things: one, they glowed bright as all hell, and two, weaken to the point where the Borg could start beaming over. "Hey, Borg! Remember me?!" The probes began to suffer from exploding issues when the Damascus began torpedo spamming them, drawing their attention toward the Galaxy-Class ship. "Get out of here, Takeo! they're heading for Vega, and we still need to get the Khitomer out of here!"

"But-"

"GO!"

Jaden cursed, but he knew she was right - they needed to warn the Vega colony, and now. "Set course for Vega! Now!" he ordered. "Maximum Warp! T'Vrell, get a message out to Vega and Starfleet - We've engaged the Borg, and they are en-route to Vega!"

The ship jumped to warp, and MORE Borg ships came out of the conduit. "Well. BRING IT, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Vega system

The Vega Colony was one of the Federation's earliest colonies, being only ninety light years away from Earth itself, with Vega IX being home to over 2.8 million inhabitants. As such, it was an adequately defended colony, currently bearing host to a small Federation fleet of twelve Federation starships, mostly escort and science vessels. Though there were a few privately owned vessels making pitstops, most notably being a T'liss-class Light Warbird, and a K't'inga-class Battlecruiser.

Within the Federation fleet, maintaining its patrol around the system was a Sao Paulo-class Tactical Escort, slowly moving through space. On its hull, the title, 'NCC-108597 USS Raging Tempest' was written for all to see.

On the Bridge of the ship, the ship's captain was seated not in the center chair as would be normal, but at the Helm Console - a side effect of having been a helmsman and left as the Senior Ranking Officer of another ship during the early days of the war.

Said captain was a human male, around 22 years of age - he'd turn 23 that July - with dark brown hair done in a buzz cut, a fairly bushy moustache, and amethyst eyes. He wore the standard 'Odyssey' Uniform that was becoming established as the primary uniform for Starfleet, as did the rest of his crew, though he'd gone with the Long Jacket Option - typically only used by Admirals, but some skilled and decorated Captains had earned the right to wear it - like he had. The only other variation, which was shared among all of the uniforms on his crew, was that they used golden rank insignia instead of silver, and used the 2370's-era Combadges as opposed to the ones that were more commonly issued with the uniform.

He sighed as he continued guiding the ship. "I know patrol duty's important, but this is rather dull," he remarked. "I'd much rather be at the front lines, helping keep the Klingon Empire from expanding any further."

"I know, Takeshi," said a redheaded, blue-eyed human female two years older than the captain seated at the secondary Tactical Station, her hair falling down to around her shoulders, Commander's Rank Insignia adorning her uniform. "And we'll get back there soon enough. But we did draw the short straw when it came to patrol duty this month." She smiled. "Besides, this means we're a bit closer to Earth, so if we come off shift we can make a trip back home to see Larcei."

Takeshi Yamato nodded, smiling as he thought of his daughter, only two months old at the moment. Both he and the redhead, Linda Allster-Yamato, felt raising a child on a warship like the Raging Tempest would be counterproductive, so they had, with permission, left her with Takeshi's younger sister Ryoko, who was serving as an aide in the Federation Council Building, as she prepared to run for a seat on the Council itself.

"Very true," he said. "Glad Ryoko-Imouto agreed to care for her for us. Still, might as well keep at it." He turned to the Sensors Station, manned by a brunette. "Anything unusual on the scanners, Kim?" he asked.

"Nothing, as usu - wait. There's a ship approaching at warp speed. It's the Protector."

"Taggart's ship?" Takeshi asked. "Wonder what they're doing out here - they were starting their training cruise a couple days ago."

"We'll find out soon enough," replied a Bajoran woman at Ops, with Ensign Rank Insignia. "They're hailing us."

"Put them through, Rina," Takeshi replied.

The front screen flashed on, however Takeshi was surprised to see it wasn't Taggart sitting on the bridge, but a young man. "This is Acting Captain Jaden Takeo, of the USS Protector to the Vega Colony!" he shouted. "You have a FUCKLOAD of Borg ships heading your way! Get your fucking asses in gear!"

Takeshi's eyes widened. "Oh, jeez…" he muttered. "Well, there goes the boredom… Rina, pass the message on to the colony - have them begin evacuation procedures immediately!" He faced forward once more. "Red Alert!"

Klaxon alarms started ringing across the ship, as did the alarms of every other ship in the system as they cancelled whatever it was they were doing before hand, and formed up around the nearby starbase. The few independent vessels among them, knowing well and good enough they didn't have the time to run from the Borg - threw their lot with the Federation Fleet.

BGM: Red Alert from Star Trek First Contact

The Borg fleet dropped out of warp, and the lead ships began their assault on the defense fleet. A trio of probes fired on one of the few cargo ships that couldn't escape the system, downing the shields and beginning boarding actions. Screams were the only thing heard from the boarded craft… then suddenly silence. But that was not the worst part. Pyramid-shaped craft began landing on the planet, using the larger ships to distract the defenders. Vega was doomed, and they didn't even know it.

"Isn't anyone going to shoot down these Landing craft?!" Jaden shouted, as the Protector opened fire on said landing craft, doing what it can to thin out their numbers while the rest of the fleet focused on the main Borg fleet.

"With all these ships, it's difficult enough to handle the capital ships, let alone the landing ships." T"Vrell said, before she looked at the sensors again, "Sir, I'm picking up additional borg lifesigns on the surface. Those things aren't landing craft… they're assimilators. They're assimilating the planet."

"What?!" Jaden shouted. "We're still taking the ones down up here! How have they gotten to the surface already?!"

"Too many."

"Can you be more specific?" Jaden asked.

"Sir, the Borg are using a nanovirus to assimilate everything down there," T'Vrell said. "It's slow, but it will doom everything down there unless we evacuate the colonists outside the landing zone."

Jaden closed his eyes, considering their options before speaking again. "We need to prepare an away team to help with the evacuation," he said. "We won't be able to save everyone, but we can save as many people as we can. "

"Transporter room is standing by." The Protector entered transporter range, right before Jaden left the bridge, followed by the ship shaking. "What the hell was that?"

"One of the Borg ships just fired on us," T'Vrell said. "I'm going to remodulate the shields in order to let us beam you down, but we're going to have to break orbit after we send the team down there."

"Just make sure you'll be ready to pick us back up," Jaden said. "Getting assimilated is not on my to-do list."

"Captain… please be careful." T'Vrell said.

Vega colony surface

The trees were leafless, and showed signs of assimilation. The ground was baren, and it looked like the world was… dying. This was the sight Jaden and his away team beamed down to see as they arrived at the evacuation station. "Remember, these weapons need ammo, but they can't be adapted by the Borg," Jaden said, as he and his team were all equipped with TR-116B's.

"How the hell did they do this so quickly?"

"Remind me to show you what they did to the Enterprise-E back in '73. That took less than an hour, and they didn't have what they have here." Dead and dying plants lined the path, and they finally encountered their first drone near the outskirts of one of the smaller settlements. Consequently, it was the first drone seen out of a classroom in decades. It had grabbed an Andorian woman and disappeared in a shower of green light with its' victim.

Jaden's eyes narrowed. "Keep your heads on a swivel," he said. "There's bound to be more of these damn things nearby, don't let them surround us."

One of the landing craft, or assimilation craft really, was seen in the distance, symbolizing the death of the colony. "Move!" Screaming was heard in the settlement, forcing them to move faster. A number of drones were going after several civilians who were trying to open a gate and escape them. Thankfully though, the Borg did not notice them moving behind them.

"Take them down." Jaden said, before the group al opened fire, aiming for headshots as they easily mowed down the unsuspecting Borg Drones, whose bodies were enveloped in green light as they were transported back to the ship.

"Everyone here alright?" Jaden shouted as the team moved towards the civilians. "Anyone here hurt?"

"No, but the Governor is trapped in the settlement up ahead." one of the civilians said. "I thought the Borg were gone; that Starfleet wiped them out!"

"You know what they say about plagues: you can't wipe them out, it's the other way around. There's a lot of drones in-town. Hope you got a lot of tritanium bullets, Captain."

"Wouldn't be down here if we didn't," Jaden said, before he tapped his comm badge. "T'Vrell, we've got ten civilians here, in need of transport. Can you do it?"

"Most of the borg fleet is focused on engaging the defense forces: I can lower the shields for a short time, but then I will have to raise them again to prevent another boarding action. And if the Enterprise-E has taught us anything, it is that it takes a great deal to force the Borg off a ship." It took KILLING A QUEEN to get them off the ship; 'a great deal' was an understatement.

"Alright, make it quick then," Jaden said. "Make sure you have security teams armed with TR-116B's in case any borg do try to board the ship. Beam them out."

"Understood sir, lowering shields… energizing." A few moments later, the civilians vanished in short pillars of light. "They're onboard sir, and shields are back up."

"Good work - we're heading in deeper into the settlement, the governor is still trapped inside - we'll keep you posted." Jaden said.

They opened the sealed gate leading into the colony, seeing more people getting kidnapped by the Borg. It was too late to shoot the drones or save the colonists: they had already disappeared in green light. "DAMN IT!" A dozen drones marched toward one of the buildings, one occasionally falling to a phaser bolt to the chest.

"Move in!" Jaden shouted, as the team advanced forward, firing their rifles at the Borg Drones, their Tritanium bullets easily killing the Borg attackers. The Drones turned around to open fire, but Jaden picked this particular away team for a reason - they trained relentlessly for Anti-Borg combat in simulations for years during the academy, always knowing it was possible the Borg could someday come back. As such, they had a fairly good idea how to deal with the Borg - sticking to cover, remaining calm, conserve ammo, and only use Phasers as a last resort due to how easy it was for them to adapt to them.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!"

"Kolez, don't be stupid. They're Starfleet." An older woman gestured a Saurian ensign to lower his weapon. "Thank you for saving us, Captain. But I think our problems aren't over yet."

"Oh?"

"The Borg are setting something up outside the settlement. I'm not sure what it is, but it's blocking our local transporters."

"An inhibitor," Jaden said. "That means we have to destroy it."

"There's a lot of Borg between here and there," she said. "And according to the tricorder readings, the air's starting to become toxic: whatever the Borg are using, it's even assimilating the air."

"Damnit…" Jaden muttered, "What are our options? We need to find a way to get everyone here off the planet and onto the Protector before Vega really turns to shit."

"We've been working on a way to get around the interference field," she said. "We think a pattern enhancer will do the trick, with that we can transport the remaining citizens to your ship."

"The enhancers are inside. I'll go get them so we can get the hell off this planet," Kolez said as he ran into the building, before the sound of transporters was heard. The Borg were launching a final assault.

"Move it people!" Jaden shouted, as he armed his rifle once more. "We gotta hold them off long enough for them to set the enhancers up, so we can GTFO! Conserve your ammo, make your shots count, and don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes!"

The drones began their approach, then paused. "What are they doing?" one of the Away team members asked.

"Probably trying to figure out if they can survive engaging us." Jaden said with a small smirk.

The drones began to fall back, but they didn't get far as a phaser beam from above turned them into little more then vaporized matter.

"Damascus to Protector away team: sorry we took so long, but the bastards brought in a tactical cube. If you need to get out of there, I can send down a couple of shuttles."

Jaden sighed. "Jaden here, thanks for the support, Damascus," he said. "We're about to use a Pattern Enhancer to beam as many civilians as possible from the settlement back to the Protector; this shouldn't take too long… hopefully."

"We'll unleash fifty different kinds of hell of them to keep the Borg away from your position. Now - son of a bitch; here comes tactical cube number two! We'll take on what we can! Pinkerton out!"

Jaden turned around as they came back with the enhancers. "You better be ready ma'am, 'cause we don't have much more time left," he said.

"We're remodulating shields now! Get them into position!"

"We're moving, Damascus!" Jaden said, "Why is she ordering us around?"

"She's got the bigger guns, that's why! Starfleet Regulation-"

"That was rhetorical!" He shouted back, as what few civilians that hadn't been taken ran to the pattern enhancers, which had been set up.

"Here they come!" Jaden warned out. "Enhancers are active! Time we got the HELL out of here!"

The civilians began beaming up, beaming up in groups of 20 every 15 seconds, and the last one to leave was the governor. "Good luck with your mission, Captain," she said as she disappeared, as one of the officers looked at Jaden. "You know, she didn't even know you aren't a commissioned officer yet."

"Not exactly something that matters right now," Jaden said. "The Damascus and Protector will take up as many civilians as they can, once they do we beam back ourselves."

"That's… not going to be as easy as you think."

"What?"

"That Borg inhibitor's fully active. Even with the pattern enhancers-"

Jaden groaned. "You have GOT to be shitting me. Are you telling me we need to get over to that thing and blow it up?"

"Exticentally? Yeah, I kinda am."

"Alright, everyone form up and let's move out," Jaden said. "The sooner we take out the generator, the sooner we get get off this planet before it becomes Borg Central."

USS Damascus

"And THIS is why I hate Borg. THEY DON'T KNOW WHEN TO DIE!" In over five decades of service (and one near-brush with death thanks to a certain Vulcan whore) there were few things Ayame Virgillia Pinkerton hated more than the Borg. "Where the hell are our reinforcements?!"

"The Odyssey will be here in two minutes, ma'am!"

"Well, at least the Borg won't stand a chance in hell against THAT son of a bitch. Contact the Raging Tempest."

The image of the Sao Paulo's Bridge - like the original Defiant's, but with more modern LCARS Displays - appeared on the screen. "Raging Tempest here," Takeshi said. "Any word on reinforcements?"

"Well, I think the Borg will be forced to piss their pants in another minute or so." One of the defense ships took a major hit, causing a warp core breach in a matter of seconds, turning it into nothing but a cloud of fire. "Status on the Protector?"

"She's not going to be leaving drydock for a while: the Borg are focusing most of their attention on three ships: us, the Tempest and the Protector."

"Guess they think we're going to be pulling the second unholy trinity if we survive this."

"Captains…" came Rina's voice from offscreen, "…we're getting a transmission from outside the system - no text, just data. And I'm not quite sure what it is." The screen then seemed to split - on top, the image remained on the Raging Tempest's Bridge; on the bottom, a diagram of the space around Vega appeared, with signals designating all the Starfleet, independent, and Borg ships… and what seemed to be a red wireframe cylinder, which looked like it was coring through the Borg formation.

"I think I know what that is," Takeshi replied. "That's nav data - basically telling us to steer clear of that cylinder - I think someone's going to warp in and fire some kind of Lance weapon."

"We can't GET clear, Captain. We're scattered to hell, just like the Borg! The only thing we CAN do is let the Odyssey do what it can when it arrives!"

"Shouldn't be too hard, though," Takeshi replied. "There's a lot more Borg out there than us - and that cylinder seems like it's coring through most of them without coming close to a majority of our ships - one or two might be close enough to receive some residuals, but it looks like it won't hit anything but Borg."

At that moment, the Odyssey warped in - alongside it was an Aventine-Class Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer. Though it looked like there was a non-standard hatch open at the bow of the Aventine's saucer, with a cylindrical barrel of some kind sticking out - from which a massive beam of energy erupted, red at its core and blue-white around the edges, blasting through the Borg formation. When the beam faded, several Spheres and Probes had been outright vaporized, while a few Cubes in the beam's path had pieces missing, and began exploding - the beam had even cored through a Tactical Cube.

"Well, that's a one-trick pony." It worked the first time, but the Borg now knew it existed, and they were likely already putting a good percentage of their resources to making it a non-factor. That was the thing about the Borg no one seemed to remember. As long as it was connected to the Collective, even in death, a drone's knowledge would be passed on to the greater part of the Hive Mind. And there was a planet FULL of Borg below them, so, yeah, it was useless. "Status?"

"The Protector's beamed up the last unassimilated people on the surface."

"That answers that. Time to GTFO. Helm, set a course to Earth, maximum warp!"

The fleet began pulling out, using the impromptu channel created by the Aventine-Class ship's Lance Weapon to avoid the incoming Borg as they sped through to the outskirts of the system.

Earth Spacedock - Admiral Quinn's office

The Trill commander-in-chief of Starfleet looked at the three commanding officers before him. One was a cadet, and his ability to keep together impressed Quinn. "You did well, Mr. Takeo," the Admiral said. "Your report was very clear on the circumstances resulting in your acting command of the Protector."

"Thank you sir, I simply did what I was trained to do at Starfleet Academy." Jaden said. "And what my family had taught me over the years had helped as well. "

"Unfortunately, the Protector's going to be spending a LOT of time in spacedock: the Borg trashed her, not to mention her previous actions against these… new aliens." The Admiral said.

Jaden mentally groaned, fully expecting to be thrown back into the Academy for this.

"I can overlook that, seeing as you aren't to blame, Lieutenant Commander."

Jaden blinked. "Wait, what?" he asked, not sure if he heard that correctly.

"I'm promoting you," the Admiral said with a small smirk. "Is that so hard to understand? I'm also giving you and your crew command of one of the block 5 refit Constitution-Class ships currently in the yard: the NCC-20045 USS Yorktown. Her captain recently retired, and her crew was reassigned. And… I will be giving you your first assignment."

Jaden was actually in a loss for words - he was honestly expecting he'd just remain as a cadet. But now… now he was being given command of a starship, and not just any starship - but a Connie - one of his favorite Federation starships.

"Now, your assignment." The Admiral said with a small chuckle "I think you might like this. Your grandfather would. I'm sending you to the border between us, the Klingons, and the former Romulan Star Empires. you're going to put an end to a mystery, Commander."

Jaden finally found words as he spoke. "Uhh, a mystery, sir?" he asked.

"In 2293, we lost contact with one of our ships on patrol," the Admiral said. "Your grandfather - and Captain Yamato's - objected and demanded to search, but Command vetoed them." He pulled up a file with a diagram of a modified Excelsior-Class starship. It appeared to be a stepping stone from the prototype to the Enterprise-B. The file's title was 'USS Ptolemaeus NCC-2185'.

Jaden - as did the other Captain's in the room - blinked as the recognized the ship. "Wait, isn't that Captain Ronald Pinkerton's ship?" Jaden asked.

"It is," the Admiral said. "We lost contact just before Praxus did its' thing."

"Explode and cause a subspace shockwave that ruined Captain Sulu's day?" Ayame asked.

"Exactly," Quinn said. "We have no idea what happened to him and his ship. We want you to go to the borderland. Find out what happened."

"Sir… with all due respect, it's been over a century since the Ptolemaeus disappeared," Jaden said. "What are we hoping to find over a hundred years after she went MIA?"

"A sign," Quinn said. "The Starfleet Technical Intelligence Group has been working on intercepted transmissions from the Klingons for months. They think he's alive. And they think they know where he is."

Jaden was, of course, very skeptical about this - after all, just because a bunch of Klingons thought the man they called Windstorm might still be alive doesn't make it true. The more reasonable possibility would be that some independent Klingons have been spreading ghost stories about the Captain's exploits, make him out as some sort of Boogyman to always look out for, and motivate other Klingons to fight the Federation for a chance to fight - and defeat - the Windstorm, and bring eternal honor to the house of the one who kills him.

However, he knew that this would be something his Grandfather would have done either way, and probably would be doing if he hadn't retired. Plus, this would be a good mission for he and his crew to get accustomed to their new ship. "Understood, sir," he said with a salute. "Once my crew gets situated on the Yorktown, we can leave immediately."

"I would ask captain Pinkerton to join you, but the front lines are calling for her again. The Klingons don't like her very much."

"B'vat can kiss my ass, sir. I'll head out as soon as I'm resupplied."

The eldest captain left the office, and Quinn turned his gaze on Takeshi. "You're going with him. Your sister practically demanded that you be assigned to this mission. And the President approved. As soon as your crew is ready, you're going to the Triangulum sector. Dismissed."

Later that day - USS Yorktown

As promised, the Constitution-class starship USS Yorktown was brought to the spacedock, as the former crew of the Protector moved their belongings over to their new starship. Jaden would be the first to admit he personally prefered the Connie over the Protector. As good of a ship it was, it clearly wasn't a vessel meant for prolonged combat, unlike a Constitution. So long as he was never placed in command of a Miranda, he'd be happy. And so far, it looked like the crew agreed.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Elisa said, now sitting at the navigation position as she spun her chair around. "A Constitution-class Cruiser! These things are legends in starfleet! Same class as the Enterprise-A! Perfect ship for the class of 2409!"

Jaden chuckled a bit. "Couldn't agree with ya more, Elisa," he said. "Something just feels right about this ship."

"I think it should be said that this is the only class to have two ships named Enterprise," T'Vrell said. "They could have assigned the name to an Excelsior. Instead, they renamed a ship Enterprise."

"Which one?"

"USS Yorktown, NCC-1717."

Jaden smirked. "So, what do we know about this place?"

"Only that it's the only sector to border Klingon, Romulan and Federation space," Elisa said. "We haven't bothered to patrol there since the Ptolemaeus disappeared: the Klingons and Romulans think the place is cursed."

"Cursed by the ghost of the Windstorm," Jaden said with a small chuckle. "He must've left quite an impression on both the Romulans and Klingons if they'd avoid a whole sector just on the chance he could be here."

"You really think we'll find anything, Jaden - err, I mean Commander?" Elisa asked, and Jaden chuckled a bit.

"Just Jaden, Elisa, please," he said, before he sighed. "To be honest, I doubt it… but it is worth investigating, at least… it'll help get some closure for my Grandpa at the very least, and I owe him that much. Well, if everyone is ready - Anne, max thrusters out of the starbase, take us out and meet with Damascus and the Raging Tempest."

The Constitution-Class heavy cruiser began moving out, following the same route the Enterprise-A did when she left for her rendezvous with Kronos One. "Message from the Damascus: heading for Neutral Zone to head off Klingon fleet." T'Vrell said, "Sorry, kid, but duty calls."

"How long until we get there?"

"Three weeks at maximum warp, but a hop through the transwarp gate'll get us within 50 light years." Anne reported.

"Inform the Raging Tempest we'll take the transwarp gate," Jaden said. "The sooner we get there, the better."

"Message sent." The Yorktown moved toward the transwarp gate, followed by the Sao Paulo-Class escort. The gate flashed for a moment before forming a transwarp conduit, and both ships jumped into it.

Triangulum sector - 12 hours later

"How the hell did we miss THIS?!"

T'vrell simply gave a very human shrug. "It was not in the database." She said.

"You're telling me Starfleet Cartography missed a BLACK HOLE being here?!"

One of the few star systems in the sector was supposed to have five planets, with a healthy G-type star. Instead, there was a black hole.

"I am simply telling you what the charts and intel say sir," T'Vrell said. "I am as in the dark as you are."

Jaden sighed, shaking his head. "Run a few scans T'Vrell, see what we can find out 'bout this thing," he said, "Look for anything out of the ordinary… aside from the fact there is a black hole where there shouldn't. "

"Sensors will be hampered by the gravitational distortions, and…" T'vrell raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating. I am detecting several tritanium signatures near the edge of the accretion disk."

"Push it up on the screen." The screen zoomed in on one of the objects. It was blurry and dark, but it WAS spherical. "A Borg sphere. They were involved in blowing this system up."

"Sir, the sphere is on the verge of destruction," T'Vrell said. "Time dilation has prevented it from exploding immediately, but it is in process of a warp core breach."

Jaden whistled. Borg ships were NOT easy to blow up in any century. "I am also detecting a photon torpedo in flight, heading toward the sphere. A Class-III Mk V, to be exact."

"Mk-V?" Jaden asked, "That's a 23rd Century Torpedo… can you trace its point of origin?"

"Yes." T'Vrell reported, "Another tritanium signature. If the sensor readings are correct, it is an Excelsior-class starship."

"That's too easy," Jaden said.

"It would, if the Ptolemaeus was the only Excelsior-class ship lost in this general area," T'Vrell said. "Five ships, not including the Ptolemaeus, disappeared here in the 20 years before we ceased patrols here."

"So… Ronald Pinkerton may very well still be alive on that ship… with his crew…" Jaden said, a look of disbelief on his face. "Grampa's not gonna believe this… any ideas how we can get the Ptolemaeus out of there?"

"The ship is slowly moving out of the black hole's gravity well; in a few months, it will clear the dilation effect," T'Vrell said. "I recommend using a tractor beam to speed up the effect."

"Make it so." Jaden said nodding. "Move us to minimal tractor beam range and pull her out of there - let's try to avoid being caught in that dilation effect ourselves. Inform the Raging Tempest what we are doing, and tell them to stay clear just in case. Once you do that, prepare a hailing frequency to the Ptolemaeus. "

The Constitution-Class ship moved into maximum effective range, which was barely outside the dilation effect of the black hole. "Tractor beam engaging." T'Vrell informed, "As soon as they are within 6000 kilometers, engage impulse engines to begin towing the ship out."

"Got it, tractor beam is on... We have the ship in tow." Anne said, as the bluish tractor beam field surrounded the Ptolemaeus. "Impulse engines are on - heading out at full impulse."

The Yorktown dragged the ship out of the gravity field, and the time dilation faded, showing off the ship's hull markings and registry. "Captain, according to sensors, most of the Ptolemaeus' scanners are offline." T'Vrell informed.

"Meaning?" Jaden asked, before the Yorktown shook from an impact.

"Meaning they don't know we're Starfleet!"

"Oh son of a…" Jaden muttered, "Open hailing frequencies! All channels!" T'Vrell quickly did so. "This is Lieutenant Commander Jaden Takeo of the Starfleet vessel USS Yorktown, contacting USS Ptolemaeus! We are not hostile! I repeat: we are friendly!"

"No response," T'Vrell said as she looked at the sensors. "And I know why: his communications system is shot. The Borg did a number on him before they got trapped by the black hole."

"So, we're up against who could probably be the most lethal son of a bitch in the universe and he's half-blind?!" Jaden shouted.

"We DO have a technological advantage," T'Vrell said.

"This guy was going toe-to-toe with Brog and FLEETS, that doesn't comfort me much!" Jaden shouted before the ship shook again. "Their sensors are out, but do they have visuals? If we can get close enough we can show them our hull number and name! At the very least someone should see it through a window!"

"How close?"

"Point Blank! Anne, can you do it?"

The ship helmsman looked a bit hesitant, but nodded determined. "Yes sir," she said, as she flew the Yorktown closer.

The ship rocked again, this time from a photon torpedo hitting the shields. "Shields are at 64%, but they're starting to fail!" Elisa shouted. "If that guy keeps pounding the crap out of us-"

"Worry about that later!" Jaden shouted. The Yorktown turned towards the older starship before inverting, showing off her name and registry imprinted on the dorsal half of the saucer section. A few moments later, the rattling across the ship stopped.

"I think he saw that," Elisa said with a relieved sigh. "The Ptolemaeus is coming to a full stop, 120 kilometers off our port stern."

Jaden let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Well… that was close," he said. "Try to find a way to speak with them - hopefully now they're trying too fix their comm's."

On the screen, one of the ship's navigational lights began flashing rapidly. "Morse Code." Jaden said, recognizing the technique. "Tie in the computer: let's see what he's saying."

"Done," T'Vrell said. "He says: 'Yorktown, this is Ptolemaeus Actual; sorry for the shooting spree, but I just ran into a bunch of assholes that turned that star into a black hole. Stardate'."

"Tell him…" Jaden began, before he sighed. They were about to drop quite a bombshell on them. "Tell him it's the year 2409 AD. Stardate 86024."

"Sending reply." The navigational lamp on top of the bridge flashed, sending its' message to the Excelsior-Class ship. A minute later, they got a reply. "'Lowering shields; transporter room 1'. I believe we are being sent an invitation."

Jaden sighed as he stood up. "Well let's go meet our time travelers," he said. "T'Vrell, your with me. Elisa, you have the deck."

"Is there anything we need to know about captain Pinkerton, sir?" T'Vrell asked as they entered the transporter room.

"Why ask me?"

"Your family is deeply linked to the Ptolemaeus and her crew," she said. "It was only logical to ask."

Jaden shook his head. "Grampa respected the man, but never said why." Both entered the transporter room, stepping onto the pad. "We're locked onto their transporter, sir."

"Alrighty then - energize," Jaden said, as the Caitian transporter chief activated the transporter, as the two were soon enveloped by light.

They reappeared in the transporter room on board the Ptolemaeus, facing a woman who looked much like a younger version of Ayame, only with blonde hair.

"You must be Captain Takeo," she said. "I'm Lieutenant Riza Pinkerton." The only helmsman to outfly just about everyone in the fleet, flying a ship twenty times bulkier than what they were piloting. "Welcome aboard the Ptolemaeus."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Jaden said, nodding. "Though I am not a Captain, just Lieutenant Commander. And this is my XO, T'Vrell."

"I'll take you to the bridge." Riza said. "And watch your step: damage control parties are all over the place. Sensors, communications, and just about everything that isn't involved with life support, the defense systems, or propulsion is heavily damaged. Then again, we DID take on about 70 starships at once."

Jaden and T'Vrell both blinked at that "70… You mean you fought 70 Borg ships ON YOUR OWN!?" Jaden asked incredulously.

"So THAT'S what they're called," Risa said. "We've been wondering what to call them for almost nine years now. My brother just likes to call them 'cockbiting assholes that destroyed my first ship'." Riza walked out of the transporter room, leaving the two stunned officers behind.

"70 ships?" Jaden asked. "23rd Century or not, taking on 70 Borg ships is-"

"Highly unlikely," T'Vrell said, nodding. "However, when you consider his general reputation and abilities…"

" I think I know why the Klingons are scared of him now," Jaden muttered.

Riza's head popped back into the room. "Are you coming or not?" she asked.

"Sorry, coming." Jaden said as he and T'Vrell followed Riza through the Ptolemaeus interior - just as Riza had informed, the halls were a mess with shorted out panels and parts everywhere, and damage crews doing their best to fix the damage.

"The result of three hours of combat," Riza muttered.

"THREE HOURS?!" Jaden exclaimed. "Most ships don't take this much damage in MONTHS!"

"Most ships don't run into a fleet of 70 ships with blood on their minds," Riza retorted. All three walked into a turbolift. "Bridge."

The ride up too the bridge was silent for the most part, and quick as a few moments later the doors opened revealing the interior of the bridge. Looking exactly like and other 23rd century era Excelsior-class starship bridge.

"I just got the ODN line reconnected, boss!" A woman said. "We should have short range sensors back in a minute or two."

"I'm more worried about warp drive, Sonja," the man sitting in the command chair said. "Tell the damage control parties to focus on the main deflector and the warp nacelles: I want to be able to get to the closest starbase within a few days." A woman wearing a black engineering vest and an ochre turtleneck entered the opposite turbolift as a man replaced the panel at the science station before kicking it, activating the console.

"Captain Pinkerton, sir?" Jaden spoke, catching the man's attention as Jaden saluted. "Lieutenant Commander Jaden Takeo, USS Yorktown. It's an honor to meet you sir."

"Lieutenant Commander?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow. "What, did Starfleet's standards lower while I was gone, or did you impress Command to such a degree they couldn't promote you fast enough?"

"All hands, this is Commander Henderson: we're restarting the main EPS network. Standby for the inevitable exploding consoles."

"Well, when the captain of your training cruise gets abducted and killed by a bunch of unknown aliens, and then get thrown right back into the gauntlet against an armada of invading Borg… it causes things to happen," Jaden said with a sigh. "All of that in the span of… one week."

"I faced off against a Klingon armada in a Miranda-Class starship, blew part of it up and a few days later, took my first command back from the Romulans." Ron said with a bit of nostalgia in his voice. "Interesting times."

He turned his gaze to T'Vrell. "Well, you almost had me fooled there for a minute," he said. "I was almost convinced you were an ordinary Vulcan."

Jaden rose an eyebrow at that, glancing at T'Vrell. "Sir?" he asked.

"The almost-unnoticed eyeroll, the slight frown, and the narrowing of the eyes gave you away," Ron said. "You're not suppressing your emotions: you're just masking them."

T'Vrell glanced at Jaden for a moment. "I… don't know what you are talking about, Captain." She said, though anyone who paid attention could see she was getting a bit nervous.

"Nothing to be ashamed of: Commander T'pol couldn't suppress her emotions after the Delphic Expanse Incident." Ron said. "I see the reason for wanting to hide it, Ensign, but take it from someone who can tell the difference: hiding it from someone who knows Spock is not possible."

T'Vrell glanced between Ron and Jaden for a few moments… before she let out a loud and long sigh. "Goddamnit…" she muttered. "You have no fucking idea how hard it is to pull off the 'Zero Emotion' thing. It gets really stressful, believe me."

Jaden blinked in surprise at the sudden… explosion of emotions from his friend, whom he always viewed as being rather stotic. "Uhhh… wha?" he asked.

"Uhh… yeah Jaden… I'm not from any… well, official Vulcan colony that you probably know," T'Vrell said, scratching the back of her head. "I doubt you've ever heard of the Vahklas?"

"Vulcans who don't repress their emotions," Ron commented. "A VERY distant offshoot of the same principle that caused the formation of the Romulan Star Empire, only less… violent. Captain Archer from the NX-01 Enterprise encountered them before."

"Yes, well… since then, after years of traveling through space, the crew of the Vahklas managed to find a planet which could easily support Vulcan life," T'Vrell said. "We've grown a bit since then… mostly staying out of any Vulcan, Romulan, or Federation affairs, though we do welcome any Vulcans and Romulans who wish to leave their ways and join us… after making sure none of them are Tal Shiar, of course."

"Wait… then why did you join the Federation?" Jaden asked, still a bit confused.

"I just… wanted to see what Starfleet was like in person," T'Vrell said. "Though… I had to make it look as if I were just another Vulcan because… honestly, we don't know how either the Romulan or Vulcan governments would respond if they discovered our existence. I just thought that Vulcans would just look down on me for being so… well, free with my emotions."

"The Federation wouldn't've done shit." Ron said, "We kinda take the 'not getting involved unless we've been asked' thing very seriously. It's a policy that works."

"All hands, all hands, stand by: we're reactivating short range comms and sensors. There's going to be a hell of a buzz."

"I'd get you earplugs, but there aren't any handy," Ron said, before an annoying buzz was heard throughout the ship, making everyone, especially the Vulcans, wince. "So, why the hell are you here? It's been a century: I thought we'd be presumed dead by now."

"Well, you were… but Admiral Quinn said the Klingons and Romulans have been spreading rumors about you still being alive," Jaden said. "It was worth investigating… plus I wanted to help get some closure for my great grandpa."

"Well, I wondered why you had Ishmael's last name-" Ron began to say, before Jaden's commbadge beeped.

"Yorktown to Commander Takeo: we're picking up a contact on sensors, moving in at high warp."

Jaden tapped the badge. "Do we have an ID?" he asked. "Romulan, Klingon, or Borg?"

"The warp signature is Klingon, sir." Elisa said, "And you're not going to like it."

"Well?"

"It's a Vo'quv-Class dreadnought carrier."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "So, still at war with the Klingons. at least some things never change."

Jaden groaned. "Oh, fuck me with a scimitar…" he muttered. "Captain, we need to get the FUCK out of here - now. A Vo'quv is not to be fucked with - especially with just a 23rd Century era Excelsior, a Refit Connie, and a Sao Paulo. "

"Well, if you say so."

"Wait, what?"

"Problem is, Captain, my ship's warp drive is barely operating," Ron said. "My chief engineer, who was the lovely lady on the intercomm if you were curious, told me we can't make Warp 1.8. So…"

"We can tow you out in warp!" Jaden said. "Elisa, we need to pull the Ptolemaeus out of here in warp NOW. Warn Captain Yamato, so we can get the hell out of here!"

Ron chuckled. "Captain, under Starfleet General Order 104, I'm going to have to ask you to give me command of your ship. I'll take care of your big, bad carrier. Riza?" He was insane. He was planning on taking on a Vo'quv carrier with ONE ship?! Then again, he WAS the fleet killer, so it might just work.

Jaden groaned. "Alright, fine," he said. "Elisa, prepare to beam me, T'Vrell, Captain Pinkerton, and Lieutenant Pinkerton over to Yorktown."

"Yes, sir, but… why?"

"The crazy son of a bitch wants to take on that carrier. And he kinda relieved me of duty."

USS Yorktown

The Yorktown bridge staff were not expecting three red-jacketed officers from the Ptolemaeus to walk on with their commander and science officer. "Ms. Flores, you're relieved. Riza, take the helm; Sonja, engineering controls!"

"Excuse me, " Riza said as she gently shoved Anne out from the helm controls. "Looks like they haven't changed the controls too much, O'nii-san."

"Hard about," Ron ordered. "Let's see what this new Connie can do."

From the engineering post, Sonja scoffed. "Makes the Exeter look like a relic." She said.

"Klingon dreadnought entering visual range." T'Vrell reported, taking her usual station. "We can still run."

"Not happening," Ron said. "On screen, and open a channel to the Raging Tempest."

"Channel open, sir," T'Vrell said.

Takeshi's image appeared on the screen. "Raging Tempest here," he said. "I assume since we're not running that you have a plan, Jaden?" He then noticed who was on the Bridge as well. "Ah, Captain Pinkerton, I presume?"

"That I would be. Captain, I want you to get the Ptolemaeus out of here as fast as you can under tow."

"Didn't I say we could do that?!" Jaden shouted.

"We would be limited to Warp 6," Ron said. "That thing can do Warp 9, at least. Common sense, Commander: they'll catch up easily. I'll delay them as best I can until you're clear."

"Understood," Takeshi replied. "Will be a good chance to use our Tractor Beam, to be honest - we don't get much use out of that thing under normal circumstances." He then smiled. "Also, it's good to meet you in person - heard a lot of stories about you from Grandpa Shirou when I was younger."

"Hope he told you what I can do. Yorktown out." The screen cut out, and Ron chuckled. "Red Alert! All hands, stand to battle stations! Riza, take us in, Attack Pattern Pinkerton Lambda."

"Hope there's a few old friends on that carrier," Riza said, as the Yorktown moved quickly, causing several crewmen to lose their balance at Riza's maneuvers.

The Yorktown half-looped, then shot toward the carrier at full impulse, using 'half-pipe' zig-zagging to throw off their aim before looping over the carrier's dorsal section. "Fire phasers, standby to vent warp plasma and arm aft torpedo launcher," Ron said. "Here's hoping they remember this."

"They probably will," Riza said, as the Yorktown fired a hail of phasers upon the Vo'quv, impacting against its shields before the vessel flew forward as plasma was vented out of the vessel.

"Ok, genius, now what?"

"Aft torpedo, fire at a location 6 kilometers from the carrier, then fire phasers at it and the plasma." The torpedo left the aft tube, and as soon as it was 6000 meters from the carrier's starboard side, the aft phaser array fired at the torpedo, creating a photonic shockwave that nudged it into the plasma field. "FIRE!" The second beam hit the plasma, igniting and burning through the duranium composites in the carrier's hull.

"WHOA SHIT!" Jaden shouted. "That's new!"

"You haven't seen anything yet. Sonja, resonance pulse. Target his port nacelle. Tactical, stand by on photon torpedoes. dispersal pattern Sierra." The Yorktown's deflector fired off a blue-red beam of energy, destabilizing the shields before Elisa fired off a full volley of torpedoes, all of which hit the carrier's port warp nacelle and blew it off. "Commander, the ship is yours."

Jaden's jaw was agape - as was the rest of the class of 2409. They had just watched what should have been the ultimate mismatch between an old Connie, and an advanced Klingon carrier/dreadnought… and yet they managed to come out not just on top, but by barely taking any damage from the enemy ship themselves.

'Who the hell IS this guy?!' Jaden thought.

"Commander?" Ron sighed. "Look, I KNOW it's impressive and all, but this is what I do. Riza, set course for wherever the hell the Tempest ran off to with my ship. Sonja, take a good long look at the specs for this thing: I want to know what they've done over the years."

"On it, boss."

Ron walked up to Jaden before flicking him in the forehead. "You have the conn."

Jaden finally snapped out of his trance. "R-right," he said. "Lets get out of here before any more Klingons show up."

The Yorktown jumped to warp, heading for the transwarp conduit that would take them back to Earth.

Earth Spacedock

"He's ALIVE?"

"Alive… and still apparently capable of kicking as much ass as he could in the 23rd," Jaden said on the comm. "He disabled a Klingon Dreadnought with the Yorktown."

"A dreadnought?"

"Vo'quv-Class."

"…Commander, it is official." The Admiral muttered. "Captain Pinkerton scares me. I think I know why STIG decided to ask you to pick him up."

"Sir?"

"They knew he was alive the whole time," he said, shaking his head. "They had to know."

"Sir are you telling me they've LET Ron and his crew stay in that damn dilation field for over a hundred years?" Jaden asked incredulously. "Why would they do that?"

"I believe in the 21st century, they referred to it as 'sealed badass in a can'," While humorous, it was SO true. "They didn't pull him out for the Dominion War," he mused. "They didn't even use him for what happened at Narendra III. Why NOW?"

"It must be the Borg, sir," Jaden said. "It's too well timed - we lose Vega colony to the first major Borg offensive we've seen in a long time. Considering the size of the fleet they sent, we can assume the Borg have successfully regained a large portion of their former strength. And it's not just them, since we still have Klingons, Romulans, and Dominion aplenty to deal with as well. If what my grandpa says about Ron is true - and so far it seems very true - we need a fleet killer like Ron now more than ever."

Quinn sighed. "Commander, you are now the fastest person Starfleet has promoted."

"Admiral?"

"I'm promoting you to Captain: no doubt Captain Pinkerton will demand it." The Admiral said. "And I'm going to run a few tactical simulations. Quinn out." He ended the call, and pulled up the classified files. "Computer, run a simulation of Captain Pinkerton and USS Ptolemaeus. Location and time: Wolf 359, January 1st, 2367."

"Analysis in process. Please stand by."

USS Yorktown

Jaden walked back onto the bridge with a shocked look on his face, which did not go unoticed by his friends. "Jaden?" Elisa asked. "What's wro-" she then looked and saw that he was now wearing a Captain's badge. "Wait… did you just-"

"Admiral Quinn just promoted me… again," Jaden said, still not believing it as he sat down in the Captain's chair. "I just went from cadet to captain in the timespan of a week… just… just what the hell, man?"

"You deserve it, sir," T'Vrell said, smiling a bit - now feeling a bit more free to express her emotions around her friends. "We probably wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you."

"So, now what?" Elisa asked.

"Well, as soon as I was promoted officially, it said something about Level-11 clearance." Jaden said, "If I remember correctly-"

"Commodore level intelligence." All eyes turned to a new arrival: the man that nearly blew up a Vo'quv. "Clearly, they expect you and me to work together for a long time. Of course, there's shit that I have higher access to: Omega level."

"That's, what, Fleet Admiral clearance?" Elisa asked.

"GRAND Admiral."

"…shit…" She muttered. "The hell kind of stuff were you involved with?"

"If he told us, he'd probably have to shoot us," Jaden retorted, half serious and half sarcastic.

"Partly true." Ron said, "Directive Zero, subsection 1, paragraph 1B kinda states one of two things. One, your career ends and you work for SI. Two… you end up in a penal colony for the rest of your days."

"Then don't tell us anything," Elisa said, waving her hands. "I don't wanna work with SI, and I sure as hell don't wanna spend the rest of my life in prison!"

"Too late for your CO." Ron said. "I have to brief him on some freaky shit. Like Lantaru. Note to self: find Vulcan whore. Make Vulcan whore PAY."

"…okay…" Jaden said. "Anyways, until we get new orders, I believe its best we head back to Earth… there's someone there who I think would like to see you again."

"Then it's time to go home." Ron said, "It's going to take a while to get back to Earth."

"Not if we use a transwarp conduit." Jaden said with a smirk, causing Ron to blink.

"Wait, what?" He asked, as the Yorktown arrived at the gate, where the Ptolemaeus and Raging Tempest were waiting.

"Yorktown to Raging Tempest, ready to head home?" Jaden asked.

"Definitely," Takeshi replied.

"Take us through, Anne." Jaden informed, as the helmesman nodded as the Yorktown continued towards the gate with the Tempest and Ptolemaeus.

The gate's interior flashed on before the ships flew into it, sending them on their way to earth.

117Jorn: And there you have it everyone! The Ultimate Rewrite of Star Trek: Frontier!

Ron the True Fan: Blame me for this one. We were pulling a Farmer when we should've pulled a Fishbed. (Gets confused looks) We needed to start fresh! Christ, no one studies aircraft design history anymore...

Takeshi Yamato: And this time, we've used the revamped STO Fed Tutorial for Jaden's Origin story! With a few tweaks, of course.

117Jorn: And for those of you who've seen the movie Galaxy Quest, yes the Protector is the same as it is from the movie. So until next time…

Everyone: Ja Ne!