The klaxons were ringing on the bridge of the Vigilant. The crew was bathed in the flashing red lights overhead. In front of them, the viewscreen was littered with Jem'Hadar, Cardassian, Federation, and Klingon ships. Bolerov clapped his hands together and smiled to his first officer. "It looks like a beautiful day for a victory, eh, Mister Keating?"

Commander Nicholas Keating stared incredulously at the chaos on the viewscreen and shook his head with a smile. "If you say so, Sir."

Lieutenant Commander O'Neill turned his head back to the captain. "Captain, the Hood is accelerating."

"Match speed and course, Aaron." Bolerov stated matter-of-factly. "Whatever they do, we do." He turned to Lieutenant Iieria. "Whatever they fire at, we fire at." Iieria nodded and turned back to her weapons console. Bolerov leaned forward. "From this moment on, the Hood, the Repulse, and the Vigilant are all one machine." He looked briefly at the viewscreen before issuing one more order. "Mr. O'Neill, remember to stay low and back off the Hood's port side. That way, she'll have a clear shot at anything we pass."

"Aye, aye, Captain," O'Neill replied without even turning around.

"Captain Bolerov, this is Commander Kirk. We have an emergency."

The voice seemed somehow disjoined from his dream. Sleepily, Bolerov opened one eye to see his room flashing in red light. The klaxons he heard in his dream seemed to have some odd residual sound in this semi-conscious reality. It took him several moments to realize a red alert. His first sensation was of a dull, throbbing pain in his head. His second sensation was of a kink in his neck. Apparently, he had fallen asleep on his chair again. Dropping the empty vodka bottle and rubbing his neck, he tapped his comm badge. "Why are we at red alert?

"Captain," Bolerov finally recognized the voice as Commander Kirk's, "the Corvettes came under attack by a Jem'Hadar warship."

The Corvettes, he wondered. When last he remembered, they were still looking for them. "I thought we lost contact..." The pain in his head fought with his ability to fashion complete thoughts.

"Captain, the Manta Ray escaped. We intercepted them en route to the Orias system. We're about nine minutes out. Sir, the Sting Ray is still out there."

Ah... they found the Corvettes after all, he thought. Bolerov was about to compliment the whole group on a recovery job well done, when a previously spoken word jumped back into his mind. "Did you say there was a Jem'Hadar ship involved in this?"

"Yes, Sir." Kirk's voice sounded a bit annoyed. "The Marine ships encountered it while they were investigating the Orias system. According to the pilot of the Manta Ray, they were attacked." Bolerov felt a bit put off by Stephen's attitude. After all, Andrei had been off duty and asleep for several hours after pulling a double shift. He had the right to be a little disoriented. "And we're heading to the Orias system, right?"

"Yes, Sir... we are... under your orders." Kirk sounded downright snippy with that last answer.

"Yes, yes," of course he remembered that was his order... didn't he? His memory was still a bit fuzzy, but he thought he remembered giving the order. No matter... there was no excuse for a subbordinate officer to get mouthy with the captain. He'd have to have a talk with him once this was over. With a sigh, he added, "I'll be right there." Staggering out of his chair, he continued to rub his neck while he searched for his boots.