Tyr had been standing at tactical for some time now. It reminded him of his post on the Andromeda, except for the LCARS system. He hated that. It seemed to come easily enough to the real crew of the Enterprise, but it still confused him.
"The tachyon scans still aren't picking up anything," Rev informed them, "I think we're safe."
"How long did Data say it would take him to finish that resonator?" Beka asked.
"About five hours," Andromeda responded, turning from the science station at the back of the bridge, "It'll take some time to analyze the information collected from the original device."
Beka sat back down in the captain's chair. It was comfortable, but she would gladly give it up to return to her position as first officer of the Andromeda, or even captain of the Maru.
Trance seemed a little uncomfortable herself as she attempted to learn the Enterprise ops system. Beka knew Tyr was having a hard time too, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to appear weak. Rev had his usual placid attitude, but even he was feeling stressed. Beka knew she had to get her crew back where they belong as soon as possible.
Andromeda was the exception. She actually seemed to be enjoying her work aboard the Enterprise. Of course, she wasn't entirely on the Enterprise. Harper would have enjoyed it too, if he could…
"Tyr, do we know how strong those alien weapons are?"
"Strong enough. Even the Enterprise and the Andromeda combined couldn't hold out against them."
Beka shook her head. She had to do something.
"What about a Nova Bomb? There aren't any inhabited worlds near the radiation band anymore."
"I don't think we should use a nove bomb until we've at least asked Dylan," Rev responded, "Besides, it wouldn't close the vortex, so nothing would stop more of them from coming through."
"Trance," Beka said, "Do you know if there any more of those creatures?"
"I only felt one, but there coul…"
"There's another Magog ship out there," Tyr said, "Its hailing us."
"Where are our ships? What have you done with them?" The furious creature demanded.
"They were destroyed by the same thing that attacked us," Beka answered, neglecting to mention the ship that attacked the Enterprise, "We should work together to…"
"How could you survive an attack by something that destroyed an entire battle group?" The captain snarled.
"We aren't sure. It broke off its attack for no appearant reason."
"Nonsense! We will capture you and find a way to make you cooperate."
Beka ran out of patience, and signaled for her crew to cut communications, "I don't think he wants to listen to reason. Tyr, what's the fastest way to disable a Magog battleship?"
"The phasers should be able to cut a hole into their engineering section. Andromeda could then fire into the opening and detonate their fuel."
"Andromeda?" Beka asked.
"It should work," Andromeda answered.
"Good, do it."
The Enterprise quickly moved below the Magog vessle to hit the underbelley: The target nearest engineering. Andromeda moved toward the front to intercept the incoming missles.
Three full-power phaser bursts burned a precise hole in the enemy hull.
"Moving into position," Andromeda said, as the Commonwealth vessle maneuvered near the Enterprise, "Missles away. Target destruction in 5…4…3…"
"The Magog ship is starting to move erradically," Tyr warned them.
"2…"
"They must be on to us," Beka said, "I just hope the missle guidance systems can keep up."
"1…" Andromeda finished. The crew held its breath, then suddenly the screen was lit up by a gigantic explosion from the Magog ship.
"Well done. I'm sure Starfleet would have been proud."
After another few excruciating hours, Data was ready. The resonator looked nothing like the ancient Vulcan device, but theoretically, it should have a somewhat similar effect. However, rather than tuning the device to violent thoughts of the target, the healing thoughts of the user would be focused.
"Trance, I will require you to hold this and attempt to project your thoughts to the rest of the crew."
"Wait," Andromeda said, "Dylan isn't on the Enterprise."
"I will beam him aboard immediately."
Data quickly walked to a science station and entered the commands. Captain Hunt appeared on the bridge of the Enterprise.
"We are ready," Data informed them.
Trance held the device in both hands and closed her eyes. She could feel waves going out from her. Beka soon noticed the that she felt much healthier than she had in a long time. Rev almost felt giddy, whereas Tyr struggled to maintain his usual stern demeanor. And one by one, the enTyre crew woke up.
When it was over, Trance opened her eyes. Beka walked over to congratulate her, but before she could speak, Trance's eyes began to roll, and Beka barely managed to catch her as she collapsed.
"What happened?" Beka asked.
"The mental effort seems to have weakened her," Data responded, running a medical tricorder over her, "However, she should recover in time."
"Still, we should get her down to the medical facilities," Rev suggested.
"Agreed," Data touched his com badge, "Data to sickbay. Please report."
"We're ok here. What happened?" Dr. Crusher answered.
"We will explain momentarily," Data told her, "But we require medical assistance on the bridge."
"Understood," She answered as Data ended the communication.
"Mr. Data," Captain Picard said, his head clearing, "I take it you are responsible for reviving us."
"Yes sir, though the crew of the Andromeda was instrumental."
"Well done," Picard replied.
"How did I get to the Enterprise?" Dylan asked.
"Sir, with your permission, I would like to send a general adress to the crew explaining the events following the collapse of the crew."
The Captain agreed, and Data explained everything. A meeting of the senior staff, including the crew of the Andromeda was convened immediately.
"I recognize this species," Picard explained.
"You do?" Harper asked, surprised.
"Yes," He answered a bit irritated by the interuption, "Rather, my Borg nanoprobes recognize it. They have no name that we are aware of, but the designation is Species 8475. They are a highly advanced race from a region known as liquid space, and are believed to be an offshoot of another species in that area. The Borg have not been able to assimilate them, but they are able to kill the ships, and so stop attacks, using biological weapons."
"Like the modified nanoprobes from the planet?" Geordi asked.
"Precisely," Picard said.
"So, all we have to do is locate the ship with one of these tachyon fields, fire the nanoprobes at it, and get out before we're destroyed?" Captain Hunt asked.
Riker nodded, "That should stop the ship. Then, we can take the Enterprise back through, and find a way to close the vortex."
"Sounds good so far," Beka said, "But how can we close the vortex?"
"Whenever a vessel has attempted to traverse the gateway, the area was saturated with mesons. I believe an anti-meson pulse could close the vortex permanently," Data suggested.
"What sort of threat do they pose?" Tyr asked.
"Like the Borg, they are able to steal technology by injecting microscopic organisms into their victims," Picard explained, "However, rather than assimilating, the cellular probes are lethal. As a result, Species 8475 has collected a vast array of technologies, including the ability to travel to any place or time, advanced cloaking, energy weapons, high yield missles, and adaptive shields. However, they have not yet been able to counter the Borg bioweapons."
"A direct confrontation will be dangerous," Worf noted, "How will we block the mental attacks?"
"We should be able to put patch the psionic resonator into the shields," Geordi commented.
"It should be pretty easy to recalibrate it to reflect telepathic waves," Harper spoke up.
"I think we're as ready as we'll ever be," Dylan answered.
"Geordi, I want you to send an engineering team to install defensive shields and a resonator on the Andromeda. They will need the extra defense."
At that moment, Harper was almost happy about the alien attack.
"If there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned," Picard said, standing.
The Andromeda flew silently beside the Enterprise as the two ships prepared to engage Species 8475. At the right moment, the Enterprise would separate, and the Maru would be sent out. Hopefully, the additional targets would limit the damage taken.
The four ships got into position, and simultaneously released a tachyon burst. The ship was found, it was moving to attack. Bio-warheads were released from each of the vessles as soon as a weapons lock was obtained. Three of the weapons missed, but one landed, and that was all they needed.
However, the effect wasn't instant. The ship fired, rocking the Andromeda. Its shields went down, and another blast would have destoyed. Quickly, the battle bridge positioned itself between the damaged ship and the enemy, giving the Andromeda and the Maru time to escape into the slip stream.
The battle bridge was rocked by the full force of the next blast.
"Shields are down!" Worf informed them as he fired torpedos uselessly at the enemy.
"Hull breaches on decks 1 and 15," Data added.
The saucer section attempted to distract the ship with phaser fire, to no avail.
"Take us out! Maximum warp!" Picard ordered.
The ship raced away from the battle, narrowly evading the blast that would have easily destroyed them.
The ship turned to the only target left, the saucer section. The saucer had already gone to warp, but the bioship was not about to be shaken so easily. It came through a slip stream only a few kilometers behind the saucer section, and immediately matched its warp speed.
"I say we give them something else to shoot at," Riker said, watching the other half of the Enterprise as it attempted to escape.
"Shields are only at 13%," Lieutenant Bashal warned, "We won't survive another hit."
"I don't plan on getting hit," Riker responded, "Bring us in directly below the saucer, and fire a full torpedo spread at the bioship."
"Aye sir."
"They're targeting us," Bashal said, "Impact in seven seconds."
"Evade, pattern delta," Riker called out.
"They missed, sir."
"Johnson, can you drop us out of warp for a split second, and get us behind the enemy ship?" The commander asked.
"That'll put a lot of stress on the warp engines. I'm not sure they can take it after the beating we've had."
"If we don't find some way to delay them, that'll be the least of our problems."
"We should be able to move in and out of warp quickly enough."
"We've got another incoming."
"On my mark, three…two…one…mark!"
The battle bridge seemingly vanished, reeppearing behind Species 8475. Phasers lanced out from the vessle, attempting to cut through the rear deflector shields of the enemy. As predicted, the bioship swung around at attempted to bring its forward weapons array to bear against the new threat.
"Attack pattern Gamma," Riker ordered.
"Sir, they're slowing down."
'Finally,' Riker thought as the battle bridge raced past the enemy ship, "Ensign, take us back to the vortex."
Soon, the four ships reached the rendezvous point. The Maru was brought aboard the Andromeda, while the two sections of the Enterprise were reconnected.
"Andromeda, is your anti-meson field generator online?" Picard asked.
"Yes, we'll close the vortex as soon as you've gone through," Dylan replied.
"It was an honor working with you, captain," Picard said.
"We learned a lot from you. Good luck."
Picard nodded, "Good luck."
Communication was cut, and Captain Picard gave the order to prepare for travel through the vortex.
"Metaphasic shielding is online," Geordi said as he continued to check consoles in engineering, "Shields at 83%. I've set our shield harmonics to follow the wave patterns inside the vortex, so the ride should be easier this time."
"Captain, the Andromeda is hailing us."
"On screen," Picard ordered.
"We've got an intruder on board," Dylan said urgently, "We haven't been able to get a clear image, but I think we both know what it is. Any information you have on stopping Species 8475 would be appreciated."
"They are imune to Borg nanoprobes. You'll have to use conventional weapons. They regenerate quickly from wounds, and are physically superior to humanoids. They prefer fighting in melee. I would like to send you a security team to help you deal with this situation."
"I'd appreciate it," Dylan responded. Immediately, Worf and three of his security officers beamed to the Andromeda.
***
Tyr gripped his force lance firmly. Andromeda had tracked the creature to a location nearby. Unfortunately, it had somehow been interfering with her systems, and she was unable to deal with it herself.
Worf didn't like working with the Neitzchian mercenary. He obviously didn't trust the crew of the Enterprise. Still, he had to get rid of the alien.
"He's up ahead," Tyr whispered.
Worf nodded, and motioned for Ensign Hirs to set up the signal boosters. They should be able to overcome the creature's intereference capability and allow the Enterprise to beam it to the brig.
He set the beacons in adjacent rooms so that it wouldn't notice them. The alien seemed too busy examining Andromeda's circuitry to pay any attention anyway. When they were ready, the Enterprise began the transport. Immediately, the creature looked up from its work, and began to look for the source of the beam.
Worf's com badge chirped, "You're going to have to keep it busy for awhile, we're still having trouble getting a lock."
"It will not escape," Worf assured her, then closed communication.
"What's the plan?" Hirs asked.
"We shoot it," Tyr responded.
Worf nodded, "It is a good day to die."
"Not for me," Tyr smirked, then charged into the hall, his force lance blazing.
The creature immediately began to run in his direction. It was struck by numerous effectors, but it didn't seem to notice. Hirs and Worf were close behind, but their phaser compression rifles were also ineffective against it.
Soon, the creature was upon them. Tyr tried to strike with his force lance, but the creature snapped it with one blow. At the same moment, it struck Hirs, throwing him against a wall. Worf, sunk his knife into its arm. It made a gurgling sound within its throat, then swept at Worf. The Klingon jumped back, evading the slash.
Tyr got behind it, and planted a bone spur in its shoulder. The creature swiftly threw him down. While it was distracted, Worf slashed across its face with his weapon. Tyr kicked its feet out from under it, and again struck with a bone spur. It flailed for a moment, throwing them both back.
It stood and once again bore down on its attackers, but suddenly Worf's com badge issued forth three words, "We've got him."
As the two surviving warriors watched, it screamed, then vanished in a blur of blue light. Neither of them really liked the idea of taking prisoners, though they had very different reasons. Still, this time they were glad that they didn't have to face the enemy in a battle to the death, as it would have liked.
"I give up," Harper said, "This shield generator is fried. I can't believe we met the Enterprise, and didn't get anything out of it."
"Don't worry about, Harper. I'm sure we'll get along without it," Dylan tried to cheer him up.
Andromeda leaned over and whispered to him, "Besides, we didn't exactly get nothing out of it."
Harper looked up hopefully, but Andromeda didn't have a chance to explain, at that moment, their security detail returned. As Tyr and Worf entered the bridge, the rest of the crew were shocked by a sound they hadn't heard before: Tyr was laughing.
"…So, I put my boot on his face," Tyr said, finishing his story, "And told him that he should practice learning a person's name the next time he tried something like that."
Worf's forceful laugh added to Tyr's, while the crew of the Andromeda watched in amazement. They hadn't even realised that Tyr had a sense of humor. Soon, Hirs limped in behind them.
"Worf, the Enterprise is ready for you," Harper said, "Hey, nice job with ugly. I saw him when they beamed him in. He'd lose to a Nightsider in a beauty contest."
"Understood," Worf responded, ignoring the editorial, then tapped his badge, "Worf to Enterprise, two to beam up… Energize."
Then, the Enterprise disappeared into the vortex, and the Andromeda quickly closed it behind them. Finally, life returned to normal. The crew of the Enterprise was home, and the Andromeda could continue with her primary mission.
--- Epilogue:
Harper sat down and watched the screen. He was glad to return to his usual pass time, aside from tinkering with the ship.
"What's that?" Trance asked as she sat next to him.
"They call that Babylon 5," Harper answered, "It's a space station trying to bring peace to the galaxy."
"Oh, that's nice," Trance responded, "Is it real?"
"The tachyon scans still aren't picking up anything," Rev informed them, "I think we're safe."
"How long did Data say it would take him to finish that resonator?" Beka asked.
"About five hours," Andromeda responded, turning from the science station at the back of the bridge, "It'll take some time to analyze the information collected from the original device."
Beka sat back down in the captain's chair. It was comfortable, but she would gladly give it up to return to her position as first officer of the Andromeda, or even captain of the Maru.
Trance seemed a little uncomfortable herself as she attempted to learn the Enterprise ops system. Beka knew Tyr was having a hard time too, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to appear weak. Rev had his usual placid attitude, but even he was feeling stressed. Beka knew she had to get her crew back where they belong as soon as possible.
Andromeda was the exception. She actually seemed to be enjoying her work aboard the Enterprise. Of course, she wasn't entirely on the Enterprise. Harper would have enjoyed it too, if he could…
"Tyr, do we know how strong those alien weapons are?"
"Strong enough. Even the Enterprise and the Andromeda combined couldn't hold out against them."
Beka shook her head. She had to do something.
"What about a Nova Bomb? There aren't any inhabited worlds near the radiation band anymore."
"I don't think we should use a nove bomb until we've at least asked Dylan," Rev responded, "Besides, it wouldn't close the vortex, so nothing would stop more of them from coming through."
"Trance," Beka said, "Do you know if there any more of those creatures?"
"I only felt one, but there coul…"
"There's another Magog ship out there," Tyr said, "Its hailing us."
"Where are our ships? What have you done with them?" The furious creature demanded.
"They were destroyed by the same thing that attacked us," Beka answered, neglecting to mention the ship that attacked the Enterprise, "We should work together to…"
"How could you survive an attack by something that destroyed an entire battle group?" The captain snarled.
"We aren't sure. It broke off its attack for no appearant reason."
"Nonsense! We will capture you and find a way to make you cooperate."
Beka ran out of patience, and signaled for her crew to cut communications, "I don't think he wants to listen to reason. Tyr, what's the fastest way to disable a Magog battleship?"
"The phasers should be able to cut a hole into their engineering section. Andromeda could then fire into the opening and detonate their fuel."
"Andromeda?" Beka asked.
"It should work," Andromeda answered.
"Good, do it."
The Enterprise quickly moved below the Magog vessle to hit the underbelley: The target nearest engineering. Andromeda moved toward the front to intercept the incoming missles.
Three full-power phaser bursts burned a precise hole in the enemy hull.
"Moving into position," Andromeda said, as the Commonwealth vessle maneuvered near the Enterprise, "Missles away. Target destruction in 5…4…3…"
"The Magog ship is starting to move erradically," Tyr warned them.
"2…"
"They must be on to us," Beka said, "I just hope the missle guidance systems can keep up."
"1…" Andromeda finished. The crew held its breath, then suddenly the screen was lit up by a gigantic explosion from the Magog ship.
"Well done. I'm sure Starfleet would have been proud."
After another few excruciating hours, Data was ready. The resonator looked nothing like the ancient Vulcan device, but theoretically, it should have a somewhat similar effect. However, rather than tuning the device to violent thoughts of the target, the healing thoughts of the user would be focused.
"Trance, I will require you to hold this and attempt to project your thoughts to the rest of the crew."
"Wait," Andromeda said, "Dylan isn't on the Enterprise."
"I will beam him aboard immediately."
Data quickly walked to a science station and entered the commands. Captain Hunt appeared on the bridge of the Enterprise.
"We are ready," Data informed them.
Trance held the device in both hands and closed her eyes. She could feel waves going out from her. Beka soon noticed the that she felt much healthier than she had in a long time. Rev almost felt giddy, whereas Tyr struggled to maintain his usual stern demeanor. And one by one, the enTyre crew woke up.
When it was over, Trance opened her eyes. Beka walked over to congratulate her, but before she could speak, Trance's eyes began to roll, and Beka barely managed to catch her as she collapsed.
"What happened?" Beka asked.
"The mental effort seems to have weakened her," Data responded, running a medical tricorder over her, "However, she should recover in time."
"Still, we should get her down to the medical facilities," Rev suggested.
"Agreed," Data touched his com badge, "Data to sickbay. Please report."
"We're ok here. What happened?" Dr. Crusher answered.
"We will explain momentarily," Data told her, "But we require medical assistance on the bridge."
"Understood," She answered as Data ended the communication.
"Mr. Data," Captain Picard said, his head clearing, "I take it you are responsible for reviving us."
"Yes sir, though the crew of the Andromeda was instrumental."
"Well done," Picard replied.
"How did I get to the Enterprise?" Dylan asked.
"Sir, with your permission, I would like to send a general adress to the crew explaining the events following the collapse of the crew."
The Captain agreed, and Data explained everything. A meeting of the senior staff, including the crew of the Andromeda was convened immediately.
"I recognize this species," Picard explained.
"You do?" Harper asked, surprised.
"Yes," He answered a bit irritated by the interuption, "Rather, my Borg nanoprobes recognize it. They have no name that we are aware of, but the designation is Species 8475. They are a highly advanced race from a region known as liquid space, and are believed to be an offshoot of another species in that area. The Borg have not been able to assimilate them, but they are able to kill the ships, and so stop attacks, using biological weapons."
"Like the modified nanoprobes from the planet?" Geordi asked.
"Precisely," Picard said.
"So, all we have to do is locate the ship with one of these tachyon fields, fire the nanoprobes at it, and get out before we're destroyed?" Captain Hunt asked.
Riker nodded, "That should stop the ship. Then, we can take the Enterprise back through, and find a way to close the vortex."
"Sounds good so far," Beka said, "But how can we close the vortex?"
"Whenever a vessel has attempted to traverse the gateway, the area was saturated with mesons. I believe an anti-meson pulse could close the vortex permanently," Data suggested.
"What sort of threat do they pose?" Tyr asked.
"Like the Borg, they are able to steal technology by injecting microscopic organisms into their victims," Picard explained, "However, rather than assimilating, the cellular probes are lethal. As a result, Species 8475 has collected a vast array of technologies, including the ability to travel to any place or time, advanced cloaking, energy weapons, high yield missles, and adaptive shields. However, they have not yet been able to counter the Borg bioweapons."
"A direct confrontation will be dangerous," Worf noted, "How will we block the mental attacks?"
"We should be able to put patch the psionic resonator into the shields," Geordi commented.
"It should be pretty easy to recalibrate it to reflect telepathic waves," Harper spoke up.
"I think we're as ready as we'll ever be," Dylan answered.
"Geordi, I want you to send an engineering team to install defensive shields and a resonator on the Andromeda. They will need the extra defense."
At that moment, Harper was almost happy about the alien attack.
"If there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned," Picard said, standing.
The Andromeda flew silently beside the Enterprise as the two ships prepared to engage Species 8475. At the right moment, the Enterprise would separate, and the Maru would be sent out. Hopefully, the additional targets would limit the damage taken.
The four ships got into position, and simultaneously released a tachyon burst. The ship was found, it was moving to attack. Bio-warheads were released from each of the vessles as soon as a weapons lock was obtained. Three of the weapons missed, but one landed, and that was all they needed.
However, the effect wasn't instant. The ship fired, rocking the Andromeda. Its shields went down, and another blast would have destoyed. Quickly, the battle bridge positioned itself between the damaged ship and the enemy, giving the Andromeda and the Maru time to escape into the slip stream.
The battle bridge was rocked by the full force of the next blast.
"Shields are down!" Worf informed them as he fired torpedos uselessly at the enemy.
"Hull breaches on decks 1 and 15," Data added.
The saucer section attempted to distract the ship with phaser fire, to no avail.
"Take us out! Maximum warp!" Picard ordered.
The ship raced away from the battle, narrowly evading the blast that would have easily destroyed them.
The ship turned to the only target left, the saucer section. The saucer had already gone to warp, but the bioship was not about to be shaken so easily. It came through a slip stream only a few kilometers behind the saucer section, and immediately matched its warp speed.
"I say we give them something else to shoot at," Riker said, watching the other half of the Enterprise as it attempted to escape.
"Shields are only at 13%," Lieutenant Bashal warned, "We won't survive another hit."
"I don't plan on getting hit," Riker responded, "Bring us in directly below the saucer, and fire a full torpedo spread at the bioship."
"Aye sir."
"They're targeting us," Bashal said, "Impact in seven seconds."
"Evade, pattern delta," Riker called out.
"They missed, sir."
"Johnson, can you drop us out of warp for a split second, and get us behind the enemy ship?" The commander asked.
"That'll put a lot of stress on the warp engines. I'm not sure they can take it after the beating we've had."
"If we don't find some way to delay them, that'll be the least of our problems."
"We should be able to move in and out of warp quickly enough."
"We've got another incoming."
"On my mark, three…two…one…mark!"
The battle bridge seemingly vanished, reeppearing behind Species 8475. Phasers lanced out from the vessle, attempting to cut through the rear deflector shields of the enemy. As predicted, the bioship swung around at attempted to bring its forward weapons array to bear against the new threat.
"Attack pattern Gamma," Riker ordered.
"Sir, they're slowing down."
'Finally,' Riker thought as the battle bridge raced past the enemy ship, "Ensign, take us back to the vortex."
Soon, the four ships reached the rendezvous point. The Maru was brought aboard the Andromeda, while the two sections of the Enterprise were reconnected.
"Andromeda, is your anti-meson field generator online?" Picard asked.
"Yes, we'll close the vortex as soon as you've gone through," Dylan replied.
"It was an honor working with you, captain," Picard said.
"We learned a lot from you. Good luck."
Picard nodded, "Good luck."
Communication was cut, and Captain Picard gave the order to prepare for travel through the vortex.
"Metaphasic shielding is online," Geordi said as he continued to check consoles in engineering, "Shields at 83%. I've set our shield harmonics to follow the wave patterns inside the vortex, so the ride should be easier this time."
"Captain, the Andromeda is hailing us."
"On screen," Picard ordered.
"We've got an intruder on board," Dylan said urgently, "We haven't been able to get a clear image, but I think we both know what it is. Any information you have on stopping Species 8475 would be appreciated."
"They are imune to Borg nanoprobes. You'll have to use conventional weapons. They regenerate quickly from wounds, and are physically superior to humanoids. They prefer fighting in melee. I would like to send you a security team to help you deal with this situation."
"I'd appreciate it," Dylan responded. Immediately, Worf and three of his security officers beamed to the Andromeda.
***
Tyr gripped his force lance firmly. Andromeda had tracked the creature to a location nearby. Unfortunately, it had somehow been interfering with her systems, and she was unable to deal with it herself.
Worf didn't like working with the Neitzchian mercenary. He obviously didn't trust the crew of the Enterprise. Still, he had to get rid of the alien.
"He's up ahead," Tyr whispered.
Worf nodded, and motioned for Ensign Hirs to set up the signal boosters. They should be able to overcome the creature's intereference capability and allow the Enterprise to beam it to the brig.
He set the beacons in adjacent rooms so that it wouldn't notice them. The alien seemed too busy examining Andromeda's circuitry to pay any attention anyway. When they were ready, the Enterprise began the transport. Immediately, the creature looked up from its work, and began to look for the source of the beam.
Worf's com badge chirped, "You're going to have to keep it busy for awhile, we're still having trouble getting a lock."
"It will not escape," Worf assured her, then closed communication.
"What's the plan?" Hirs asked.
"We shoot it," Tyr responded.
Worf nodded, "It is a good day to die."
"Not for me," Tyr smirked, then charged into the hall, his force lance blazing.
The creature immediately began to run in his direction. It was struck by numerous effectors, but it didn't seem to notice. Hirs and Worf were close behind, but their phaser compression rifles were also ineffective against it.
Soon, the creature was upon them. Tyr tried to strike with his force lance, but the creature snapped it with one blow. At the same moment, it struck Hirs, throwing him against a wall. Worf, sunk his knife into its arm. It made a gurgling sound within its throat, then swept at Worf. The Klingon jumped back, evading the slash.
Tyr got behind it, and planted a bone spur in its shoulder. The creature swiftly threw him down. While it was distracted, Worf slashed across its face with his weapon. Tyr kicked its feet out from under it, and again struck with a bone spur. It flailed for a moment, throwing them both back.
It stood and once again bore down on its attackers, but suddenly Worf's com badge issued forth three words, "We've got him."
As the two surviving warriors watched, it screamed, then vanished in a blur of blue light. Neither of them really liked the idea of taking prisoners, though they had very different reasons. Still, this time they were glad that they didn't have to face the enemy in a battle to the death, as it would have liked.
"I give up," Harper said, "This shield generator is fried. I can't believe we met the Enterprise, and didn't get anything out of it."
"Don't worry about, Harper. I'm sure we'll get along without it," Dylan tried to cheer him up.
Andromeda leaned over and whispered to him, "Besides, we didn't exactly get nothing out of it."
Harper looked up hopefully, but Andromeda didn't have a chance to explain, at that moment, their security detail returned. As Tyr and Worf entered the bridge, the rest of the crew were shocked by a sound they hadn't heard before: Tyr was laughing.
"…So, I put my boot on his face," Tyr said, finishing his story, "And told him that he should practice learning a person's name the next time he tried something like that."
Worf's forceful laugh added to Tyr's, while the crew of the Andromeda watched in amazement. They hadn't even realised that Tyr had a sense of humor. Soon, Hirs limped in behind them.
"Worf, the Enterprise is ready for you," Harper said, "Hey, nice job with ugly. I saw him when they beamed him in. He'd lose to a Nightsider in a beauty contest."
"Understood," Worf responded, ignoring the editorial, then tapped his badge, "Worf to Enterprise, two to beam up… Energize."
Then, the Enterprise disappeared into the vortex, and the Andromeda quickly closed it behind them. Finally, life returned to normal. The crew of the Enterprise was home, and the Andromeda could continue with her primary mission.
--- Epilogue:
Harper sat down and watched the screen. He was glad to return to his usual pass time, aside from tinkering with the ship.
"What's that?" Trance asked as she sat next to him.
"They call that Babylon 5," Harper answered, "It's a space station trying to bring peace to the galaxy."
"Oh, that's nice," Trance responded, "Is it real?"