The Hour of The Wolf
Chapter Twenty-Seven

Captain Edward Jellico was a stern man. Word around the fleet said he was very by the book. Strict and uncompromising. He'd risen through the ranks methodically before stopping at Captain. While some officers were sighted for exceptional acts and rose quickly with a chest full of commendations and medals Jellico had made it this far without bending or braking any of the rules. Which was impressive in itself. Over the last few years word was he'd been on three ships. Replacing former Captain's that had retired or been promoted. By the time he left the ships were models of efficiency.

He was a very different kind of man than Will Riker, and a very hard man to read. Elizabeth Shelby on the other hand was young and ambitious. She knew that about herself. She'd worked hard for this position, especially at her age. She had planned to make Captain and then Admiral, proving that the old adage that Starfleet command was boys club was wrong once and for all.

As the Bridge crew filed in for their first briefing under their new Captain Elizabeth looked at them. Over the last ten months she'd gone from seeing them as individuals to a team. Captain Picard had chosen is crew based on individual merit from their records, but he had quite obviously seen something more in each of them. While dedicated to their professions they still worked as a group. Knowing each others strengths and weaknesses almost instinctually and compensating for them without patronising.

Even the boy, Wesley Crusher, who she had all but dismissed when first coming on board had proven himself in ways she couldn't have believed otherwise. A capable pilot, scientist and engineer he was already far ahead of those that would have been his classmates in the Academy. Only now he looked lost, the whole Bridge crew looked lost.

They were missing two important members, Lieutenant Worf and Captain Riker. Both were being investigated for what had to be trumped up charges. Both their usual seats were empty, in a vague mute protest. There was no way a Federation Court would charge either of them, but Retired Admiral Satie had the full support of two current Admirals and was currently pouring through ships logs. Rumour was she was even tying to get hold of personal records, which were inadmissible in every civilised court since the infamous rigged Klingon Trial of Captain Kirk before the signing of the Khitomer Accords.

Before she could dwell on what that meant Captain Jellico walked in to the observation lounge. He stopped at the door and waited for a moment before Ensign Crusher realised what he as waiting for. Jumping to his feet Crusher came to attention and announced; 'Captain on deck.'

Elizabeth hadn't realised just how much she disliked that protocol until now. It was nothing more than pointless pandering to an ego. Riker hadn't had any time for it, neither had Picard or Admiral Hanson and in that moment she swore when she to made it to Admiral she'd abolish it there and then. Still for now she'd follow the procedure. Standing up with the rest of the crew they waited for Captain Jellico to sit down. He sat square at the head of the table. Riker had originally left that seat empty out of respect for Picard, but there was no mistaking Jellico's intentions.

He wanted them to know who was in charge. He wanted to replace Riker and Picard. 'Be seated.' He said officially. Quietly they did so and waited for him to start the meeting. 'I've been fully briefed as to your recent missions by Admiral Nechayev. For the time being we are holding position so there shouldn't be any problems, however that doesn't mean we can become complacent.'

He looked around at them before nodding. 'I plan to make some changes around here and now will be the best time. Make this ship the pride of the Fleet again. I am aware some of my decisions will not be popular at first, however that is not my problem. I believe everyone here is a professional and I expect them to behave as such. We will start from the top down.' He turned to her. 'Commander Shelby, while I respect your achievements to date your record shows that you have very little field experience. Spending most of your more recent career at Starfleet command. As such I have decided to reassign you as ship's Second Officer, with no reduction in rank. My own choice for First Officer is already on the Bellerophon and will be on board in a few hours.'

Elizabeth felt gut punched, it wasn't a black mark on her record but it sure wasn't a promotion. 'Captain Jellico, Lieutenant Commander Data is ships second officer.' She reminded him.

'Again with little actual experience, Commander Data will however remain as ships operations and science officer.' He said off handedly. 'Now for the position of security chief and tactical officer, I've gone through the records. Chief Petty Officer O'Brian has the most experience on board. I will be assigning him to the position for the foreseeable future. I am also investigating the position of main helmsman, I am willing to entertain suggestions. If you have any please have them to me by the end of the day.'

He stood up. 'That should be enough for today, dismissed.'

One person at the table wasn't going to be dismissed so easily. 'Captain. The Enterprise already has a main helmsman, my son.'

'Dr Crusher, while I have every respect for your medical opinion the Bridge of the Federation Flagship is not a school. Mr Crusher's field commission has been rescinded. I'm sure his experiences will help when he does apply to the Academy, but right now he does not belong in uniform.' He said strictly. 'On that note, Counsellor Troi, I expect you to be in uniform on the bridge and in meetings such as this.' With that he turned and left the lounge, leaving the bridge crew very nearly shellshocked.


Roe'met'felcon limped down the corridor to the main briefing room. The durasteel pole that replaced his lower left leg driving into raw nerves with each jarring step. He'd lost it at the end of the battle of Qu'lan, crushed under the rubble of a falling building.

By all rights he should have been executed, his body vaporised and equipment redistributed to his unit. That was before. Qu'lan was the first real victory for the Dominion in this war, but it wasn't the last. Since then they had liberated two colonies and one homeworld.

The battles had been costly. Thousands of Jem'Hadar lives, Vorta, even Founders had fallen, but victory was now possible and both sides knew it. Cylon attacks had tapered off. They had begun fortifying their positions. The war had entered a new phase.

Roe'met'felcon and a handful of other wounded veterans had been given a new mission. To pass on what they had learned through bitter experience. This latest briefing was going to be his most difficult so far.

The door opened and Roe'met'felcon found himself staring into the broad chest of another Jem'Hadar. Resisting the urge to straighten up he waited for the much younger, fitter, warrior to move. Eventually he did. Limping into the room Roe'met'felcon called on every muscle in his face to remain frozen. The latest batch of the Dominion's troops had been redesigned, with his and a few others input. Much larger, stronger and more resilient the latest Jem'Hadar were bruisers. Harder, faster than his breed. They were specifically made to crush the Cylons. Unfortunately that had made them arrogant and prideful. He was going to have to change that.

Stepping up to the head of the room, where the main monitor and holographic projectors were Roe'met'felcon stood his ground. The largest of the new breed, the same one that at first barred his entrance, was still standing there. 'I am the First.' He announced loudly and the unit turned to see Roe'met'felcon's response.

It as usual for young Jem'Hadar to resent veterans. Often the First was picked at birth as the most suitable to lead during training. They were then separated into new units. As it stood he was the outsider here and to them he didn't belong. 'You are the First.' Roe'met'felcon acknowledged. 'You serve the Founders. It is by their will I am here. I have seen battle, you have not. I have won, you have not. Victory is life, obedience brings victory. Obey the Founders, heed my words and you will achieve victory.'

The new First glowered at him for a long moment. Eventually stepping back into formation with the others. Roe'met'felcon realised he would have to make an impact if they were to hear his advice. Pressing a button on the projector controls a life-size hologram of a Cylon appeared in the room.

Taller than him, the lifeless image in chrome and black machine stood immobile 'This is your enemy. Known as a Centurion their numbers are countless. Hundreds if not thousands per command ship. Each ship capable of building as many more as are needed. Yet they are not invincible. Listen, learn their weakness's. That is where you must strike.'


Will was in his quarters, trying to correctly word his official objection to Admiral Satie's demand for both his and Worf's personal logs. He could end this with one Subspace transmission, but that was exactly what Nechayev wanted him to do. he had no idea what her long term goal was but he damn well wasn't going to hand it to her on a silver platter.

That left the game of bluffs, she was calling his bluff that he would contact Starfleet and he was calling her bluff that she was exceeding her authority. There could be no doubt about it, as much as she was damaging his career right now what she was doing to her own was almost crazy. The problem was she was convinced she was right and felt that proving herself to be would vindicate her.

That wasn't going to happen, Will knew that Starfleet were pouring through The Galactica's records and if the Borg sacred them the Cylon Empire was so much more. After the panic one Cube made across the Federation another threat like that could be chaotic.

So right now he was trying to derail, or at least slowdown the multiple ploys Nechayev had created so that it all collapsed in on itself. As he wrote another sentence the door chimed. Deactivating the screen Will sat back. 'Enter.'

He was expecting a summons by one of the three Admirals currently onboard, just not this soon. The door opened it was the last person he expected. 'Captain, have you got a minute?'

Will got to his feet, 'Wes, come in. I would have thought you were on the Bridge?'

'No sir, I've been relived.' The boy shrugged before picking at his uniform. 'I was just on my way to my quarters to get changed when I realised you needed to know.'

'Jellico?'

'Yes sir. He said the Bridge wasn't a school and that he would be needing a new helmsman. I… He's already reassigned Commander Shelby to second officer and put Chief O'Brian in charge of security. I think he's here to stay.'

Will shook his head. 'The good Captain doesn't waste any time does he? I've done some reading on him. He specialises in getting jobs done and making his ships run efficiently. He's also got the reputation for stepping on peoples necks. Crews run his way or not at all.' Truth was Will's decision to let Jean-Luc's commission of the boy stand had been criticised, but Wes's record was spotless. This was just another part of the power play.

'I better get changed.' Wesley turned to leave.

'Wes… Ensign, I haven't dismissed you yet.'

Wesley blinked. 'Sir?'

'Attention.' Will snapped and the young man came to his full hight. 'Ensign when this is over I will personally see to it that you are reinstated. Until such time you will consider this period a leave of absence. Conduct yourself to your usual high standards and everything will be fine.'

'Aye sir.' Wesley nearly saluted and left, his head held high. No sooner had he gone than the door chimed again.

This time it was Geordi. 'Sir, we need to talk. About Captain Jellico.'

'Wesley's already told me. How's the crew handling it?'

'I wouldn't know. I'm not going to know. Jellico made a surprise inspection of engineering. He reassigned half my staff to maintenance and then ordered a complete overhaul of the Warp core. Apparently he felt the intermix efficiency I've spent the last three years perfecting was too high. I wouldn't be surprised if he asks me to craw inside there with a toothbrush next. I'd be pulling double shifts even without my team crawling around every Jefferies tube looking for god only knows what.'

Will gaped at his friend, this was unbelievable.

'What's worse is he said he's going to be making more of these unscheduled inspections, until he decides we're up to standards.'

That was ludicrous, the Enterprise was already well within all the perimeters set by Starfleet. Getting a hold of his temper Will took a couple of deep breaths. 'I'll see what I can do. Until then do what he says, he is the Captain after all.'

The door chimed again, this time it was Shelby. 'Commander. I take it there is another problem?' Will sighed.

'Yes sir, it's Commander Data. He's been assigned a special project sir and… It's not…'

Will didn't like the sound of that. Shelby might have calmed down since he knew her but she was never one to mince words. 'What is it?'

'He's been assigned as communications officer, directly answerable to Admiral Nechayev.'

Will saw what she was getting at. 'Including private messages?' She nodded. 'What about when he's off duty?'

'Admiral Nechayev has made it so Data is always on duty sir.' She told them.

Will quickly came to a decision. 'I see. Well then I need to have a word with the good Admiral. She want's to know how far she can push this, I think we've past the limit.'

Geordi looked to Shelby who nodded back. 'Captain, Will, I think you should know. Some of us were talking earlier and all this kind of confirms what we were saying. We want you to know, whatever you decide, we're with you.'

That made Will freeze. 'Whatever I decide?'

'Yes sir.' both Shelby and Geordi said in a tone of voice that spoke volumes. If he chose to disobey the Admiral, to take Command again, they were willing to mutiny right along side him.

Mutiny, unheard of on a Federation ship. In less than a day Nechayev's actions had some of the best people Will had ever worked with speaking the otherwise unthinkable. With deliberate slowness Will straightened his uniform. 'Then do your duty. Follow your orders and I will deal with this.' he headed out of the door. 'And if I hear any rumors to the contrary I expect you to set them straight.'

'Yes sir.' they agreed. Will had to stop this and soon, before the ship lost control for good.


He limped back and forth in front of the unit. He couldn't stand sill for long, or the pin would start to dig deeper into his ruined knee joint. Roe'met'felcon at least had their attention now. 'The Cylon Centurion is a machine. Methodical, direct, soulless yes, but it is far from a mindless drone. It learns from others mistakes, it can predict your tactics and will try to counter them. Use that, never repeat a successful attack immediately. Innovation, surprise, creativity. These are your allies. Attack from above or below without warning and without mercy and you will confound them. Outflank them and victory can be yours.

'Their numbers make them bold, marching to their target without the need of cover or support. They will continue on mission despite losses. use that stubbornness against them.'

Again he limped up to the hologram. 'When you do engage them in battle remember that their armour is tough, but not unbeatable. Low powered shots and glancing impacts can be defected by their plating. Keep your weapon's output set to high power and never leave one whole. If you are uncertain they are deactivated, shoot them again or remove their heads.'

'Close combat, hand to hand?' One of the unit asked boldly.

'No, not unless you are absolutely sure of victory or defeat. They are stronger, resistant to physical damage and most importantly can sense Jem'Hadar even when camouflaged.'

'When you were camouflaged, we are better.' The First called out.

'Take that risk if you will' Roe'met'felcon warned. 'But if you are wrong you risk defeat. Our own arrogance cost us much early on in this war because we underestimated our foe. They now underestimate us. Soon that may change, when that happens you will be ready.' he pressed a different control and the image wavered. Instead of chrome the Centurion was now golden, almost copper coloured. ' These are the Commanders among the Centurions. Their Firsts. Rarely seen and rarely encountered. They are more intelligent, more cunning and more dangerous than the others. They are no tougher than their companions, however I have witnessed them react faster than others would have, even to the point of avoiding shots and finding cover. Ordering the rest of their forces to do the same.

'When they lead a unit that unit becomes faster, more efficient and more dangerous. They must be destroyed at all costs. Once that is done the Centurions return to their standard tactics.'

Another control. This time the hologram changed drastically. Instead of the solid armour and sharp angles this one wore a long robe over it's wide body and had a small cone like head. 'Finally these have also been seen. They are non-combatants, yet the Centurions will often sacrifice themselves for their protection. As such we believe these are their Vorta. They are not suited for battle and will try to retreat. If possible try to capture them, but do not risk taking them back to your command. Recover their parts if nothing else. The Vorta and others will be able to recover whatever they can from the remains.'

Roe'met'felcon limped forward again. 'Study what we have learnt. What your fellow Jem'Hadar did at the cost of their lives and you will achieve victory for the Founders.'


Will barged into the Ready Room. He wasn't surprised to see both Admiral Nechayev and Captain Jellico were both inside. What was surprising was Admiral Haden, he appeared to be in the middle of something but Will was in no mood to play. 'What the hell do you think you are doing?' he demanded of Nechayev.

'Captain Riker. Now is not the best time…'

'I don't care if you think now is the best time or not. I've given you long enough to come to your senses, but now you and your attack dog have turned this ship upside down for your witch hunt!' Will shouted her down. 'I will obey every legal order you can come up with, but when you start bringing my crew, my friends, into this you better both be ready for the consequences.'

'Consequences Captain?' Nechayev asked archly 'What are you suggesting?'

'I'm suggesting that you're making a very large mistake. You've already ruined your career, I won't let you take my friends with you.' He turned to Jellico, 'You will reinstate Ensign Crusher, then you will stop interfering in the actions of my chief engineer. You might as well get used to it, you are a caretaker here Captain and as soon as I am back in command I will rescind every order you have given.'

'Assuming you will be back in command of this ship.' Nechayev pointed out. 'Let's be honest Captain, that's not looking very likely right now.'

'Isn't it?' Will shot back. 'You've already exceeded your authority. It's only a matter of time before someone gets word of what's happening here and calls you to the carpet.'

'Then why don't you tell them. If you're so certain I'm wrong prove it. Have me brought to the carpet, as you put it.' She challenged.

Will frowned, there was something in the way she said it. She was betting he would have folded by now. That's why she was pushing things. 'What are you after? You might not like me, but if you wanted me off this ship I wouldn't be here. Investigation or not.'

'Cards on the table Riker? I like poker too. Okay, I'll make the first bet. Stardate four one, seven seven six. Mean anything to you?'

It took a second. 'Seven seven six, The Horatio. What's that got to do with anything?'

'You don't see it? The USS Horatio was destroyed by sabotage when a parasitic race we know as the Blue Gill infiltrated Starfleet to the highest levels.'

'I remember, Captain Keel had suspected as much and warned Captain Picard before he was killed. We headed back to Earth.' Will outlined. 'When we got there Admiral Quinn came aboard and we found what was happening and that he was infected. Captain Picard went down to headquarters and with my help exposed them.'

'Captain Keel wasn't the only one to notice, the odd things going on back then. There were a few others. Myself and Admiral Haden were among them. When you pulled back the curtain and revealed the truth we saw just how close the Starfleet came to being torn apart swore never to let that happen again.'

Will could feel himself blink. 'Why are we going over this?' he asked

'The Horatio and her crew weren't the only casualties' Admiral Haden said darkly. 'Several other ships were lost. As well as a number crewed outposts. They were all waved off as accidents, ion storms and, in the Horatio's, case crew error. No investigations. That was the first clue we had something was wrong.'

Jellico lent forward. 'Riker, nine months ago a number of resource shipments, including industrial replicators, ear marked for colonies up and down the Cardassian border were reassigned. Admiral Hanson requisitioned them and they just vanished. Ships and all. We can't find a trace of them. All requests for more information are blocked.'

'There's more, some of the best scientists, researchers and officers in the Federation are following them.' Nechayev continued. 'Every investigation leads to one man Admiral Hanson. All this happened after the Borg attack.'

'I get it.' Will shook his head. 'you're worried, but trust me what you're all looking into is Classified for a reason.'

'So you do know why.' Nechayev said victoriously. 'We weren't sure until now. This is a direct order…'

'No. Admiral Hanson still out ranks you and you Admiral Haden.'

'We've just told you whats at stake here, if Hanson is working against Federation interests we have to stop him.' Jellico said seriously.

'We will stop him.' Nechayev insisted. 'And you're going to help us.'

'I am?'

'If you don't want to be arrested and charged as an accessory you are.' she told him.

'You're asking me to disobey a direct order, on nothing more than your vague hunch. A hunch that I know is wrong.' Will outlined it for them.

Let me put it this way Captain. Contact Hanson, have him come here immediately or you'll spend the rest of your short career in the brig.' Nechayev told him.

End Chapter Twenty-Seven