CHAPTER TEN
A Cardassian warship orbited a medium-sized, rather nondescript planetoid in what used to be a planetary system before its sun went nova, breaking up the inner planets into very large asteroid field. The gas giant closest to the star ignited under the nova conditions and became a star in its own right. Although its two neighboring gas giants never themselves combusted into stars to form a tertiary system, the gravity from the new sun pulled tendrils of matter from these planets to feed the star. At a certain distance from the star, these tendrils ignited, looking as though the star had a fiery moustache.
There was one planet, once covered entirely of ice. However, due to the second sun, that ice had melted away, and the water formed had collected in natural pockets to form oceans. The planet now resided well within the standards for Class-M planets. But it was the asteroid belt close to the planet that saw most of the activity.
A pair of Jem'Hadar ships would enter the system on patrol, then lurk off again. The Cardassian ship was there to provide the manpower necessary to run the mine down inside the planetoid. The surface didn't have enough gravity to hold an atmosphere, however, there was an oxygen-nitrogen pocket trapped deep underground. The Cardassians had calculated that the envelope would last just long enough to extricate the materials needed to produce the ketrecel-white that the Jem'Hadar depended on so much.
As in any mine run by Cardassians, this one's labor was furnished solely by slaves and prisoners. People from a wide variety of races toiled in the mine, in various states of health. Basically, anyone who was capable of work, did. Those who weren't capable, died.
One human was no exception. Though she hadn't spoken since they found her, and she showed little indication that she was fully cognizant of the events around her, those soldiers who got a good look at her would say that they could see eyes filled with hatred and cunning. Those eyes darted back and forth, taking in every detail. Some of the soldiers merely dismissed her as mad; those that were down on the planet where she was captured would claim otherwise. But they didn't care what mental state she was in, as long as they got work out of her.
She wasn't that attractive, for a human, they would say. However, one of them made the mistake of trying to take advantage of her. As far as they knew, he was still up in the ship's medical bay, writhing in agony. The doctors said they never could fully restore the bodily function in his nether regions. After that incident, they pretty much left her alone, though the other slaves and prisoners suffered from the soldiers' frustrations.
She didn't know why she knew what she did. Rather, she wished she could regain the rest of her memory. Every night, her sleep was fitful, as tantalizing glimpses of memories would flash through her dreams, peeks at earlier, happier times, though she couldn't exactly place it. She wouldn't be able to remain asleep; each time it ended with a huge explosion, and she would wake up, drenched in sweat. Half the time, she would catch a face; it was the same face each time. Though it always looked the same way, flashing a smile, sometimes it seemed, warm, caring, while other times it mocked and taunted her. When the guards came to take her to her assigned work area, she vowed that if she found the owner of this smile, she'd either kiss him or wipe that smile clean off his face.
~ * ~
Apollo shook the hand of his new CMO. "Thanks again, and welcome aboard, Dr. Kellara," he said. She smiled warmly at him, then turned and clopped into the next room. Apollo turned and left sickbay. Circe, his ersatz first officer, followed him. He was still trying to get over the fact that he managed to acquire a centaur for a medical officer. "She's something you don't see every day."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? And I suppose 350-year-old admirals with glowing blue eyes are commonplace where you come from?"
He chuckled. "Well... they should be." This elicited a smile from Circe. "All right, Commander. You've got me there. It just seems that this ship is quickly becoming staffed with legends and representations of myths."
"Oh, please explain."
"Well, there's Scotty, obviously. Kellara looks as though she came straight from Greek mythology. You're named after a Norse goddess..."
"And you're named after the Greek god of music. Your point?"
Apollo stopped and looked at Circe. "I was named after the Earth's first manned moon missions... but now that I think about it, you're right. Heck, though, all we need now is Emperor Kahless himself to request a posting, and we've pretty much clinched it."
She chuckled. The Highlander had managed to pick up an Edoan for their Con position, and he just happened to be descended from an Edoan, Arex, that not only served aboard the Valiant with Apollo, but before that, Arex had also served aboard the Enterprise with Jim Kirk. Ops was currently filled by Circe; she ran both Ops and Tactical from the Ops station on the bridge. It was decided that in the case of an involved combat, that would require intense concentration from both stations, a junior officer would be pulled to fill Tactical; or, if no junior officer was available, Apollo himself would man Tactical. That suited Apollo just fine; ever since being put in the position of commanding a starship, he didn't like the notion that the captain would just sit there and bark orders; he needed to actually do something. So far, though, they haven't had to test their plans.
But at least save for Ops, his crew was staffed. Now they could get down to business. Apollo and Circe entered the bridge. Upon seeing Apollo, the bridge crew nodded their greetings. The Edoan at Ops, Gex, raised his middle hand and waved. As Apollo acknowledged everyone, he said, "Mr. Pa'arvalis, contact Starfleet. Let them know we're as ready for action as we're going to be, and we'll be awaiting orders."
"Aye, sir," Circe said as she slid into place at Ops and sent out the communication. Apollo strolled over to his chair and slowly sat down. The two positions on either side of him remained powered down, as no one on any shift manned them at this time. He kept busy by scanning through status reports, noting with a small grin that Scotty had already proven how fast a learner he could be, by increasing engine efficiency to 108%, with a footnote that after a few more adjustments, he could get it up to 110%.
Engineering, Tactical, Environmental, Medical, they're all rarin' to go, Apollo thought. Now all we need is a mission. Barring nothing else to do, Apollo decided that now would be a good time for a log entry. He tapped a control on his chair arm to start recording.
"Cap..." he shook his head, realizing that his normal log opening wouldn't be appropriate in this case.
"Ship's log, stardate 51837.4. Admiral Racer recording:
"The USS Highlander has nearly a full crew now; only the Ops and first officer positions remain unfilled. Commander Pa'arvalis had volunteered to double as Ops officer until we can find someone. We're currently awaiting orders from Starfleet so we can get underway."
He paused, not exactly sure what else to say. "It's been a while since I was in command of a starship. I certainly didn't expect to hold the position with a flag rank. Well, no sense looking a gift horse in the mouth."
While he was trying to decide if he should add anything more, Circe turned to face him. "Admiral, we're getting a communication from Starfleet."
He nodded. "On screen."
As they just sat there, all he saw as evidence of a viewscreen was a large oval frame, through which he could see the bulkhead beyond it. Now an image of Admiral Nechayev winked into existence within the frame. "Greetings, Admiral Racer," she said.
"He nodded again. "Admiral. The Highlander is ready to go and awaiting orders."
She smirked. "Very well, Racer, though let me give you some advice. As an admiral, and head of Starfleet Intelligence, you will be empowered to select your own missions based on Intelligence reports you receive, unless you receive a higher priority from Command."
Apollo stuck his tongue in his cheek and put on a small, sheepish smile. "Ah, my apologies. I'm ah, somewhat new to this admiral business. Never had the ability to make my own orders before."
She smiled in understanding. "That's quite all right, Apollo. You'll probably also be surprised to know, then, that the starships Phoenix, Scarlett, and Orion are also under your command. As you were waiting for me to give you orders, Captains Son, Belanger, and Paradox have been awaiting your orders."
Paradox? Interesting name, Apollo thought. He blushed. "Gee, thanks, Alynna. You've made me feel so much better."
Nechayev's grin grew. "I think the orders I'm about to give you will make it somewhat easy for you. We need you, ironically, to gather intelligence. Since the Jem'Hadar have been cut off from their Gamma Quadrant supplies, they have to be getting their ketrecel white from somewhere here in the Alpha Quadrant. Not only do we need you to find out where these supply bases are, we also want you to use any means necessary to neutralize these bases."
Apollo mulled the orders through his head. "I think I can handle that. And you're right, that does make it easy for me. Thank you. Highlander out." When her image disappeared from the screen, Apollo told Circe, "Commander, please contact the Phoenix, Scarlett, and Orion. Relay our orders to them. Let them know they have but to report when they find something. How they deal with it will be entirely up to them."
"Aye, sir," Circe replied.
"Mr. Gex. Set course for the Cardassian border, warp four." He paused, and caught an image that sprang up in his mind, when he saw Picard give orders on the Enterprise. Unable to resist, he gave Gex the same two-fingered gesture that Picard uses. "Engage," he said.
~ * ~
They didn't get far before they saw some action. "Admiral," snapped Circe. "Two Jem'Hadar warships just entered sensor range!"
Apollo muttered, "Here we go." Then he spoke up. "Activate cloaking device. Let's see how close we can sneak up to them."
Circe nodded. The bridge lighting subdued to a low blue hue, into which Apollo's own vision blended. He felt a slight uneasiness at the base of his spine, but it quickly subsided. He fought an urge to shiver; as he looked around, he concluded that he was the only one who had the sensation, so he kept it to himself.
The Highlander glided towards the two Jem'Hadar ships. As they watched, Circe half-whispered, "Sir, what are we going to do? Take them out, or see what they're up to?"
"Commander?" he whispered in reply.
"Yes sir?"
Apollo then raised his voice to its normal volume. "Why are we whispering?"
Circe practically jumped out of her seat. She looked at him, a deep blue blush forming on her face. He smiled at her. "We'll follow them for a bit, Commander, to see what they're up to. Who knows? Maybe we got lucky, and they're due to stop at a supply base."
Circe simply answered by nodding, and setting the controls for a parallel course above and behind the two ships. They stayed that course for an indeterminate time. At one time, they passed a Cardassian scout's position. After being assured that a Cardassian ship's sensors aren't as sophisticated as those aboard a Jem'Hadar ship, they passed a mere eight hundred kilometers in front of the Cardassian's bow with nary an indication that they were detected. Apollo was left to shake his head and wonder how the heck the enemy was able to so easily infiltrate Federation space.
"The war has taken quite a toll on Starfleet as far as ships are concerned. We are spread a bit thin in this sector." It took Gex's reply for Apollo to realize that he had vocalized his thoughts. Apollo absently acknowledged Gex with a nod, and the Con officer turned back to his controls.
~ * ~
She found it painfully easy to use the mining tools the Cardassians gave them to cut through the bonds that held her. Though she had lost a bit of weight in the past few weeks, she still had her strength. Now she was prowling through the mine, holding her drill as if it were a gun of some sort, without even realizing how she was supposed to hold a gun. She shook her head again, as though it might help jog her memory, help her to remember who she was. But it was no use; everything before her abduction was an annoying foggy haze. She didn't much like that the first memory she could recall was that of pain, either, like she was being turned inside out. Or rather, like she was already inside out, and something was returning her to normal.
She stopped suddenly, and ducked into a niche in one of the walls. Two guards, a Cardassian and a Jem'Hadar walked by. She didn't think she had ever seen one of them before this, and she wished silently that she didn't have to see anything like them again after this.
At first, she had thought of bringing as many prisoners along as she could. But they were too cowed with fear to listen to her. They were afraid to stay, but they were even more frightened of what might happen to them if they were caught trying to escape. So ultimately, she decided she would be better off if she just got out on her own, and brought back help later on. The problem was, even if she did escape the mine, she had no idea where she go from there. She couldn't fly a shuttle, or even if she could, she didn't remember how. She thought she knew someone who was a good pilot, better than any she had seen. Except she couldn't remember who he was, or where.
Lost in her thoughts again, she didn't notice the Cardassian round the bend until she almost ran into him. He reached for her, and opened his mouth to sound an alarm. That's when she shot him in the face with the drill. With his brain splattered all over the mine floor, effectively rendering him mute, she ran from the scene. Too late she realized she had forgotten that they traveled in pairs. The guard's partner soon found his remains, and sounded the alarm. Now her senses were heightened by adrenaline. The fear of getting caught that was felt by the others was now fully felt by her. She crouched down, taking slow but distantly paced steps, attempting to stay in the shadows. She soon found out, though, that Jem'Hadar didn't need much light to see, and quickly pointed her out. Suddenly she was running like hell, avoiding energy blasts from what seemed to be every direction. If she could only find some place to hide.
Ironically, it was one of them who saved her. She rounded a corner, only to have her face collided with the butt of a disruptor rifle, as she staggered back, a shot that was meant for her screamed past her from behind and struck her attacker, knocking him lifeless against the wall. Grabbing his weapon, she started to run again, but this time she was slower, more sluggish. She would turn and shoot, then while they would duck for cover, she would run further.
A near miss hit the rocky wall and debris splintered out, catching her from behind. She grunted in pain and fell to her knees. As she tried to get up, a blow to the back of her head sent her plummeting into darkness.
~ * ~
At first, Apollo wondered why he couldn't see through the darkness. His vision in its current state was capable of seeing much more than normal vision would allow. After a while, he would realize that he couldn't see anything through the darkness because he seemed to be in some vast chamber. Neither walls nor ceiling was visible, and while he could feel that he was standing on something firm, the floor was pretty much invisible to him as well. He tried calling out, but there was no echo, so could gauge distance by that. The darkness swallowed up the sound, engulfed the light. He turned this way and that, frantic to find a direction to go, but it all looked the same, he was alone.
Just as he was about to give up hope, Apollo heard a voice from far away. "Admiral," it said to him.
That baffled him a little. Admiral? I don't know any admiral. Do they mean me? But I'm a captain....
"Admiral?"
The voice, combined with a gentle shake to his shoulder, brought him awake. He straightened suddenly in his chair, causing Circe to step back a pace. "Huh? Wha-"
"Sir, we've stopped. The ships have met up with another pair. We think it's some kind of changing of the guard," Circe explained.
Apollo shook his head slightly to clear it of cobwebs, and looked at the screen. Sure enough, he saw that the pair of ships they were following had joined up with two more. They just hung there in space ahead of them. "Uh, status report."
Circe had by now taken up her position at Ops again. "We're at full stop and we're still cloaked. We've staged about 4700 kilometers away from them. So far, they haven't given us any sign that they've detected us, sir." Her console chirped, and she took a look. "Another vessel just coming into range." She looked at the screen, and then to Apollo. "Sir, it's a Cardassian freighter."
Apollo had now risen from his chair, and walked over to the side of Circe's station. "Hmmm... Curiouser and curiouser." He squinted at the screen, obviously considering their options. Aw, hell. We have to take risks sometime. Scan the freighter. I want to see their cargo."
Circe thumbed a control, cycling her board into Tactical mode. "Scanning," she said. After a moment, she added, "they don't seem to have any cargo, sir. But they did carry something; I'm picking up numerous DNA traces in their cargo bay."
Apollo raised an eyebrow. "They carried people? Fascinating. Mr. Gex, prepare to..."
"Uh, oh."
Apollo's head whipped back around. "Uh, oh? What uh, oh?"
"They've picked up our scans. They're attempting to triangulate our position now."
"Evasive."
Circe shook her head. "No good, they've found us. Their shields and weapons are powering up."
"Oh well. I hated sneaking around, anyway," Apollo said as he headed up to the Tactical station. "Go to Red Alert and transfer control of Tactical to me."
Circe could have pointed out that there were junior officers available to take the Tactical station, but she merely said, "Aye, sir."
As the Jem'Hadar ships pivoted around into attack position, the Highlander wavered into existence, shrugging of its cloak in favor of its more effective shields. As soon as the ship was visible, the fighters accelerated to meet their foe.
Apollo started punching in commands. "Gex, get us moving. I don't want to just sit here and let them pound on us."
"Gotcha, sir," Gex said smiling, as he sent his hands fluttering over his controls. There was a sudden jar as the ship shifted so suddenly that the inertial dampeners couldn't completely compensate. The maneuver also caused the Jem'Hadar to miss their target as they shot the area of space where the Highlander used to be.
Apollo was a bit more accurate. Phasers and photon torpedoes lanced out and struck two of the ships. One ship suffered a glancing blow, but the other was struck directly amidships. There was little damage, but it knocked the ship off course, and the other three were so close together that the damaged ship collided with one of them. It exploded with the tremendous force of a warp core breach, while the ship it hit suffered major damage. It limped off, out of the fight, but Apollo sent a quantum torpedo on its trail, to finish the job.
The Highlander rocked as it received hits from the other two Jem'Hadar. Apollo barked out orders as his fingers flew across the Tactical station, punching in intricate maneuvers. Phasers pulsed and torpedoes slammed into shields with a one-two punch. At one point, Jem'Hadar got off a torpedo that headed straight for the underside of Highlander's primary hull. Seeing this, and reacting fast, Apollo sent all the shield strength into that area, bringing that shield up to 300%. "Gex, forward dorsal and aft ventral thrusters. Full short burst, now!"
The ship swung down on its x-axis. The torpedo connected with the strengthened shield, but instead of impacting, it was batted back toward the Jem'Hadar ship that fired it. Its own torpedo tore off its port nacelle.
"Good job, Gex," Apollo said, giving the Edoan a thumbs-up while re-equalizing the shield strengths. Gex responded in kind.
They were giving chase to the remaining Jem'Hadar ship, when suddenly, the ship was pounded again. "That wasn't from our prey up ahead," Apollo snapped, "that was from behind!"
Circe checked her readouts. "Sir, it came from the Cardassian freighter."
Apollo chuckled. "You have got to be kidding me."
She shook her head. "No, sir. The freighter is definitely pursuing us."
The admiral chuckled. "He he. We'll see about that." He touched a couple of controls.
Two torpedoes streaked out from the Highlander's aft launcher. One curved down and came up under the freighter, giving it an uppercut and hitting at just the right spot where it overloaded the freighter's shield generators. The second torpedo arced around, cut through the weakened shields, and punched into the freighter's propulsion system, effectively crippling it.
Circe looked at her readings of the freighter, then looked back at Apollo with what was obviously a look of newfound respect. Apollo shrugged. "I've had to deal with pursuits before. I was actually surprised it only took two torpedoes. This ship has some powerful stuff." He smiled.
Apollo had intended to let the last ship go back as a warning, but apparently, the Jem'Hadar had other plans. "Admiral, the last ship has taken up a collision course."
"They wouldn't," Apollo said incredulously.
"Uh, sir, they've taken out a Galaxy-class starship with such a move," Gex said.
"Galaxy-class?" Apollo replied. He did a quick recall about that ship, which he read up on while he was on the Enterprise. He let out a low whistle. "Well, we, can't have them give us a repeat performance, now can we?" Apollo targeted the ship and hit them with full phasers. He maintained the lock and contact with a sustained phaser blast until they finally overwhelmed the Jem'Hadar's shields; the ship blew up as much from the feedback to their shields as from the phaser blast.
The Highlander swung around in a graceful arc until it faced the freighter. Then he ordered scans on it as he returned control of Tactical to Circe and went to his chair; he figured any trouble from here on out could be handled from the Ops station.
"The ship is disabled, sir. They're not going anywhere, and they won't be shooting at us," Circe said.
"Cool," Apollo said. "Tell them to prepare to be boarded, and that any resistance caused me to be very unhappy. I'll take
Dr. Kellara, some security, and whomever she may wish to bring, and go over there. If there aren't wounded, she'll still be able to analyze the DNA traces in the cargo hold. Commander, you have the conn." Apollo headed into the turbolift and went below.