"Captain's log, stardate 53315.7... The Gilgamesh has come upon what appears to be an abandoned Dominion outpost. I have notified Starfleet Command, and they want us to have look around. Maybe we can find something that might give us an edge should they ever decide to darken our doorway again."
"So they've been here about a month, eh?" Apollo mused, stroking his beard. He motioned for Scotty to play the next log.
"Captain's log, stardate 53319.4... We sent an away team down to the outpost to investigate. Although the station appeared abandoned, Commander Stonok reported seeing some signs of habitation. Whatever they are, they don't show up on our scans. I told him to keep looking, but be careful. We never know what booby traps the Dominion could have left behind."
Scotty looked a little sorrowful. "It only gets worse from here."
"Captain's log, stardate 53321.0... Our away team has been wiped out. Unknown creatures. Incredibly strong, incredibly fast. They don't show up on sensors. Smart buggers, too. We didn't realize a couple of them had impregnated our men, and by the time they were on the ship, those things hatched... burst right out of their chests. I'm haven't sent any more people down there, yet somehow the bastards keep coming up, and we don't know how. Trying to subdue the ones here.
"Captain's log, supplemental.... My God... those things are intelligent..." Sam smiled in triumph at Apollo, who gave her a glare, "...and deadly. They somehow figured out the transporters... started bringing up more of them." Apollo returned the favor... Sam no longer looked so smug. "I had to lock myself in the battle bridge after they stormed the main bridge. Three men died before we could make it to the turbolifts, and I found out that turbolift 2 never made it down. Those bastards got in and ripped those people apart."
Apollo noticed that the captain's face looked decidedly haggard, as though he had been in a state of terror for so long, his face simply stayed that way, but wearied of maintaining it. The man was definitely was definitely clinging on his last desperate thread of sanity.
"If any ship gets this, be warned. Do not, I repeat, do NOT board this vessel. If you do, you are putting yourself and your ship in grave danger." Metal could be heard sizzling and tearing in the background. "Warn Starfleet of this threat before it's too late!"
The log kept running as he turned to face something offscreen. "You bastards won't get me and my ship without a..." Then the screen went blank.
Apollo immediately contacted Security. "I want guards placed in the transporter room. Anything that tries to enter, I want you to shoot first and ask questions later." He closed the link, folded his hands, and made eye contact with every officer at the table. "Comments... speculations?"
"Could these beasties be some type of trap left behind by the Dominion? A sort of doomsday weapon?" Scotty asked.
"Their way of thumbing their noses... or whatever... at us?" Circe added. "'You may have won, but we'll have the last laugh?'"
"It wouldn't be the first time a race has done that," Sam said. Look at where the Doomsday Machines came from. Look at the Promethian booby trap. They were both products of wars that were designed to wipe out the other side regardless of the war's outcome."
"And it unfortunately proved their undoing as well," Apollo said. He thought silently for a moment. "No, I certainly wouldn't put it past the Dominion to do that to us. Send these creatures into our midst, decimate us some more, soften us up, so that the next time they try to come here, they don't get as much resistance."
"But they'd have to deal with their own creations," Sam observed. "If these things really did come from the Gamma Quadrant."
"I'd like to say if they came from the Alpha Quadrant, we'd have heard about them. Yet for as far as we've explored, there's still a great deal we haven't seen yet. As easy as it would be for us to point a finger at the Dominion, I don't think we can credit them for this yet."
As the meeting carried on, the crew not on shift were actually having a pleasant time in the cargo bays and recreation lounges. Lieutenant Simmons left her friends to take care of some personal business. As she approached the head, she heard someone in there, so she wasn't worried about being alone. As the doors opened though, she shrieked and scampered away as a bloodied head came flying towards her. She saw the creature that had decapitated the poor crewman, and suddenly she didn't have to do any business anymore.
Then a security guard rushed up behind her. "Over here!" he shouted. He took aim and shot at the creature. But it was fast, and dashed back into the head. The guard waited until two others showed up, then they stormed the room. But by then, all that was left in there was a headless corpse.
Three other guards were in Transporter Room 3. One lounged on the console and another sat on the platform, while a third paced in the small room. Suddenly, the ceiling caved in, and the monster landed on the pacing guard. But the other two were quick, they had their rifles up and shot the creature. One shot missed; the other struck it dead on, but only staggered it. This gave the third guard time enough to get to his feet and get his rifle positioned. The time, all three shot and struck the creature, hitting it with a sustained blast until finally, it crumpled to the deck. The guard by the controls touched a key on the console. "Reynolds to Bremmel. We've got it. It's in Transporter Room 3."
The meeting was just breaking up when the com chimed. "Bremmel to Admiral Racer."
"Racer here."
"Sir, we caught it trying to break into the transporter room. It took all three of us with our rifles at heavy stun, but we managed to subdue it."
Apollo broke into a triumphant grin. "Good job. Since it wants to use the transporter so much, have it beamed to Sickbay and kept in stasis. I'll be right there."
"Aye sir. Bremmel out."
He looked at his senior staff. "Now we get some answers." They left the conference room, Apollo and Kellara heading for the lift while the rest of them took their stations. When they arrived in Sickbay, a nurse came over to them.
"Doctor, we have the creature in stasis, and surrounded by a level 10 forcefield," the nurse said.
"Nothing like overkill, I always say," Apollo commented.
"With the havoc it caused, I don't think we can afford to take chances," Kellara said.
"True."
They reached the chamber the creature was kept in, and were surprised to find it moving. "Nurse, are you sure you have this thing in stasis?" Kellara said.
"I'm positive I did!"
Apollo paced around the chamber at a distance, but gradually moved closer. Kellara could clearly tell he was at war with his emotions. Finally, taking a deep breath, he approached the forcefield, until he could feel the hairs of his beard start to tingle with the energy. "Doctor," he said, "release the stasis field."
Kellara was shocked. "Are you sure that's wise?"
"No," he said. "Increase the forcefield to level 15."
She looked at him skeptically, but gave the appropriate commands. The forcefield flared around the chamber while one winked out around the creature. It immediately sprang to its feet in front of Apollo. It pounced, and was promptly knocked backward by the forcefield. Apollo flinched, but stood his ground. The alien pounced again, and again hit the field and bounced back. This time Apollo didn't even budge.
Finally, it crept toward Apollo and stood there, face to face. He gave it his coldest glare, eyes narrowed to slits, while the thing just stood there as they studied each other. It opened its jaws, saliva dripping from its mouth. Without warning, a second set of jaws shot forth and struck the forcefield. Everyone jumped save Apollo, who had his bearings solidly under him.
"Fascinating," he said, raising an eyebrow, "a secondary set of jaws, which telescope out at amazing speeds. This must be how Nash met his death."
"It would... certainly seem consistent," Kellara said.
Apollo continued staring at the creature. "I can sense its intelligence. It loathes us. It wants so much to tear us to shreds. Well, sorry to disappoint you, pal. Your mission failed."
It pawed the ground with its feet, but a level 15 forcefield covered the floor as well as the ceiling. It was effectively encased.
"I wonder if there's some type of hierarchy with this species. Are they some type of soldiers? Do they follow a general, or..." Apollo paused, as an image flashed through his head, "... or a queen."
The creature was visibly agitated. He turned to Kellara. "Doctor, this thing is intelligent! It knows what I'm saying! It was able to make the connection between a general and a queen as types of leadership. And what's more, it's not all that pleased that I learned they follow a queen. Well, guess what, Sharkey. As soon as we find that queen of yours, she'll get what's coming to her." For effect, he sent the image he received, followed by some colorful images of what he planned to do to the queen.
This enraged the creature. It charged the forcefield, slamming into it again and again and again. Kellara and her staff backed up. Then, amazing as it seemed, the creature actually put all it had into a lunge, and broke through the forcefield with an ear-piercing scream. It tackled Apollo, but the admiral already had his legs up, and he used the creature's momentum to shoot it up and over him. It flew across the room, slamming into the wall. It quickly got up and charged again. This time, Apollo braced himself, and stabbed the creature with his optic blasts. It froze in place, it's head glowing from the barrage. Finally the creature's head exploded, sending flotsam everywhere. Some of it hit Apollo, sending Kellara immediately rushing to his aid. The creature fell to the ground, thrashed about for a moment, then lay still.
The doctor examined Apollo. It seemed that he was only hit on the side of the chin. She immediately grabbed an acid neutralizer and a cloth. She sprayed the neutralizer in the area of the burn and wiped away the excess. Then she took a dermal regenerator and went to work. To the admiral's credit, he didn't make a sound, though the look on his face told her he was in pain. "Well, serves you right. That was a stupid thing to do." She sighed. "You'll be fine, but that beard is going to look funny with a bald patch on your chin."
"I can... take care of that. In the meantime, you have an autopsy to perform. I think my own abilities can finish the job." He rubbed his face, still tender and sore. "Let me know what the results are." He turned and walked out of Sickbay.