Chapter 3 (In Which We Find Out What the Hell Admiral Hoya Was Thinking)
Captain Janeway lay flat on her back, feeling sweat pouring over her body. She could see Mertois standing over her, smiling, his own body equally slick. Exhaling through clenched teeth, she pushed up, forcing the bar she held high over her chest one last time.
"That's ten, Captain. Nice work." Janeway allowed Mertois to help her guide the bar back to its resting place above the bench. Climbing to her feet, she accepted the water bottle he offered, and took a long drink before towelling her face and neck off.
"That's the last set, isn't it?" Janeway asked. The end of their workout meant it was time for her to return to her cell.
"I'm afraid so, Captain. Unless you'd like to continue with the bench press…?"
Holding her hands up in defeat, Janeway shook her head. "No Lieutenant, I think I've taken all the punishment I can handle for one day."
Mertois smiled, and led the way from the gym and back to the brig, flanked by Janeway's two ever-present guards. Their faces might change, but their expressions never did; they always looked like they were cut from stone.
Janeway stepped into her cell and turned to face Mertois.
"Until tomorrow Captain." Mertois bowed his head slightly, and turned to leave. Janeway watched him leave before heading into the relative privacy of her bathroom. Though there was no door to the room, it was situated in such a way so as to be out of the guards' line of sight. As soon as she entered the area, the computer began monitoring her vital signs, a precaution against suicide.
Janeway entertained no thoughts of taking her own life. Instead her mind was occupied by the prospect of a nice shower to ease her aching muscles. She was in the process of striping off her tank top, when she heard a voice. It wasn't until it repeated a second time that its presence filtered through into her consciousness.
She stopped in mid-strip, her shirt up around her breasts, exposing her stomach and lower back, to see Chakotay above her, crouched over a hole in the ceiling of her cell. She could see his eyes were averted, obviously a little self conscious of the idea of seeing her naked. Janeway smiled to herself at the thought. Jails were designed to be dehumanizing now matter what century they were in. Janeway had lost her sense of modesty sometime in the past month. Endless routine had worn away at her more than she would have liked to admit. Her crew had not come to visit her, and she'd hoped they'd been returned to Earth. Seeing Chakotay above her proved otherwise.
Realizing he was in no danger of catching her naked, Chakotay extended a hand. "Come on Captain, were getting out of here."
Not waiting for a second invitation, Janeway reached up and grasped his hand. Holding tight, she hauled up and grabbed the edge of the opening above her. Her work in the gym was not in vein, it seemed; newly toned muscle propelled her upward with ease. Even the soreness from her most recent workout didn't slow her down significantly, and in moments she was in the Jeffery's tube above the brig, only her legs dangled below her. Chakotay placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place while he reached into the hole and attached a small device to the ceiling of the brig.
"It'll mimic your vital signs. C'mon." Chakotay handed Janeway a phaser before crawling through the narrow space above the brig. Without hesitation she followed him.
Starfleet had done its best to prevent the kind of escape that Chakotay had arranged for her, making the repair crawl way above tight and disorienting. There was only one entrance into the system, located inside the Chief of Security's office. Tuvok however, had spent the past week monitoring activity around the security office. He had determined that Lieutenant Mertois, who currently occupied the office, waited an average of seventeen point three minutes before returning from the gym facilities.
Crawling out of the hatch, they were surprised to find Mertois standing before them, still wearing his workout clothes, hands raised high over his head in surrender. Seeing Mertois, Chakotay levelled his phaser, but held off firing. He was curious about what the Lieutenant was doing there unarmed and alone.
Seeing that he was not about to be shot, Mertois addressed the renegades. "Nice rescue Commander."
Chakotay just grunted.
"Would you like some help?" Seeing that neither of Voyager's command duo had an answer ready, he pressed on, "As soon as security realizes you're missing, officers will occupy the shuttle bays and transporter rooms across the station. Long-range communication has been shut down manually, by disassembling the communications arrays."
"We're not planning on giving up." Chakotay's voice was firm.
"I'm not suggesting you do, but rather that you set your sights on a bigger target. Steal a starship."
"A starship?" Janeway couldn't believe what he was suggesting. The last person to successfully steal and hold a starship was Kirk.
"Yes captain, the Indomitable, Secord, Pearson and Churchill are all still docked. Both the Pearson and Churchill crews have been moved off ship to prevent security leaks. Only the Secord and Indomitable remain fully staffed. The Churchill has new security protocols that would make its capture problematic. The Pearson, however, is an older ship. It could be taken over easily by a small group."
"How do we get onboard?" Janeway was impressed. Having only known the man for a short time, she was nonetheless convinced of his integrity.
Mertois smiled. "Commander Gomez has the command codes. We can meet her at the short-range transmitter on deck 107, and use the Pearson's transporters to get aboard."
Janeway glanced at Chakotay, trying to gauge his feelings, but his expression was impassive; he'd go along with whatever she decided. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Alright, let's get moving."
Wasting no time, Mertois tapped his communicator, "Mertois to Gomez. I'm done with that report about Loupes IV you wanted."
"Thank you Lieutenant, would you like to discuss it over dinner?"
"That'd be perfect. The mess hall, 18:00?"
"I'll see you there."
As soon as the channel was closed, Chakotay activated a sub dermal communicator in his forearm and spoke. "Alpha to all groups. I have the package. Maintain your position and wait for further instructions. Alpha out."
"Are you ready?" Seeing Chakotay nod, Mertois led the way out the door, and round a corner to a Jeffries tube. Wasting no time, the three began to climb.
*
Exactly 13 minutes into their ascent, red alert klaxons sounded.
"You've been missed Captain."
"I'd prefer to keep it that way, Mr. Mertois," Janeway replied dryly.
"So would I. We're here." Mertois stepped carefully off the ladder and walked over and opened the hatch. Janeway and Chakotay followed and found themselves in a small room, walls covered with computer equipment. Gomez was waiting for them.
"Took you long enough to get here, Patrick."
Mertois cracked a grin. "You didn't have to take the stairs," then continued seriously, "Have you got access?"
"Yeah." Gomez turned toward Chakotay. "Commander, I can overload the station's sensor when we transport to mask our departure, but it'll only be temporary. The more people we can beam over in the first wave, the better."
Chakotay nodded and pulled out his tricorder. Entering a few commands, he uploaded the frequency of the sub dermal communications devices his cohorts were using. "Alpha to Beta, Delta, and Gamma. Stand by for transport." Chakotay didn't want his people getting beamed somewhere without their knowledge.
Without waiting for further instructions, Gomez entered a final command and the familiar tingle of a transporter took hold.
*
They materialized on the bridge of the Pearson. Gomez walked quickly to ops, Mertois to tactical. Janeway sat in the Captain's chair, and Chakotay took the helm.
"Station sensors are still off-line Captain," Gomez reported.
"Can we beam anyone else onboard?" Janeway didn't like the idea of leaving her crew behind while she made a break for it.
"Secondary transports are commencing." Chakotay had his tricorder open again, uploading more data.
"The Indomitable and Secord are powering up, they've seen our transporters."
"Get our core online!"
"Chakotay to Torres, get down to engineering and get us online now!"
"Torres here, we're powering up right now, Chakotay, but these old systems take time to warm up."
"The Indomitable is charging weapons. They're firing phasers, 60% strength. They'll be in transporter range in 15 seconds."
The ship rocked under the onslaught. Rarely had they felt the teeth rattling impact of unshielded phaser fire.
"Transports complete."
"Torres, can you give me any shields?" One more hit without shields could finish them.
"Shields at 40%" This came from Gomez. Torres, up to her elbows in unfamiliar engines didn't bother to respond.
"The Churchill is powering up," Gomez reported grimly.
"Chakotay, get us out of here. Mertois fire at the Churchill and Secord. Concentrate on their engines. I want to keep them out of the fight. Gomez, what's our communication status?"
"We've lost subspace capability."
"What about a general distress signal?"
"Emergency communications are still working."
"Initiate distress signal."
The ship rocked as the Indomitable fired again. There was no doubt the Indomitable was up to full strength. The aft turbolift opened to reveal Tom Paris, Harry Kim, Tuvok and Seven of Nine.
"Churchill and Secord disabled, Captain," Gomez reported before ops to Kim. Seeing the bridge stations now fully manned, Gomez headed for the turbolift. "Captain, I'm going to Engineering to help Lieutenant Torres."
Janeway nodded her acknowledgement and continued giving orders, "concentrate your fire on their engines. Give them everything we've got. Harry, get working on communications. I'd like to get a message through."
"Captain, we're being hailed by the Indomitable."
"On Screen."
Admiral Hoya's face filled the viewscreen, framed by the Indomitable's bridge. Though the ship was under red alert, damage seemed to be minimal, a far cry from the state of the Pearson's bridge.
"Captain Janeway. I urge you to surrender."
Janeway smiled tightly. "Tuvok, fire."
The Indomitable's bridge shook under the onslaught.
Hoya shook his head slightly. "That was a dumb move Captain."
Once again the Pearson shook, though this time it was clear the Indomitable was holding back, hoping to take the Pearson intact. The tactical console exploded behind her, throwing Chakotay, Mertois, and Seven backward. Only Seven got back to her feet. The viewscreen flickered and died, leaving the bridge lit only by a few flickering panels.
"Captain, another ship is approaching."
"Can you identify it Mr. Kim?"
"Sovereign class, but I can't get a fix on its transponder."
Had the Churchill come to finish them off? She couldn't be sure, but as the ship rocked again, she realized she didn't have many options left.
"B'Elanna, do we still have warp power?"
"I can give you 30 seconds at warp 2, but we'll probably have to dump the core after."
"Understood. Stand by to go to warp on my order." Janeway's fingers flew over her console as she entered course information directly into the helm "Tuvok, ready phasers. Fire on the Churchill once we clear their shields. Now Tom."
Tom didn't hesitate as he engaged the warp drive, taking the broken ship toward the intruder at 10 times the speed of light. The Picard manoeuvre; the classic last-ditch move. Tuvok's hands hovered over his console, bracing for the inevitable impact with the other ship's shields. There was a reason the Picard manoeuvre had never become widely used; improvements in shield technology had made it a next to impossible proposition.
The impact never came.
"Mr. Kim, report!" Things should have been over one-way or the other by now.
"We've been caught in a tractor beam. The Churchill is firing on the Indomitable – correction, it's the Enterprise!" Kim glanced at Janeway in disbelief before returning his attention to his controls. "The Indomitable is surrendering. We're being hailed by the Enterprise."
"Put it through." Though the viewscreen no longer functioned, the audio came over loud and clear.
"This is Captain Picard of the Starship Enterprise. To whom am I speaking?"
"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway, formerly of the Starship Voyager. My crew and I have been unlawfully detained on Starbase 4 since our return to the Alpha Quadrant."
"So I've heard. Captain, we're reading a build-up in your warp core. How may we be of assistance?"
"If we jettison it, can you tow us to a safe distance?"
"Of course. We'll wait for your signal. Enterprise out."
"Janeway to Engineering."
"Gomez here Captain."
"Where's B'Elanna?"
"She's trying to keep this ship from going up like a firecracker."
"Don't bother. Tell her to dump the core. I think the Cavalry just arrived."
*
Janeway held onto her station as the ship shook one last time. A small disturbance compared to the earlier fight, the shockwave from the Pearson's warp core easily overcame the ship's damaged inertial dampeners.
"Tom, how are they doing?" Janeway had taken the helm to allow Tom to see to Chakotay and Mertois.
"I'm fine Captain." Chakotay's groggy voice answered.
"I'm afraid Lieutenant Mertois is in much worse shape. He needs immediate medical attention."
"Janeway to the Enterprise. I have injured crewmembers on board. Can you send medical assistance?"
"Of course Captain. Lower your shields and prepare to receive boarding parties."
Janeway nodded at Kim, and stood to meet the boarders. With the Pearson in the Enterprise's tractor beam, there was really no need for anyone to be at the helm. Within moments, the familiar blue shimmer lit the darkened bridge, revealing six figures.
Captain Picard stepped forward immediately; hand extended while the rest of his away team scurried off to help stabilize the ship and crew. "Captain Janeway. It's a pleasure."
Janeway took the offered hand. "Likewise, Captain. That was some incredible timing. Another couple of minutes and we would have been dead in the water. Thank you."
Picard smiled slightly. "Not at all Captain. I'm glad we could be of assistance."
"Captain," Dr. Crusher called from aft, "I need to beam this man to sickbay."
Picard glanced at Janeway before responding, "Of course doctor."
Chakotay made his way down to the centre of the bridge now that Mertois had been safely transported. The gash on his face betrayed the severity of his injuries, but his held himself upright and was damned if he was going to go to sickbay while their situation was still uncertain.
"Captain," Picard turned back to Janeway, "we will be docking at the Starbase in a few moments. I ask that you and your senior staff join me on the Enterprise at that time. I'll send additional engineering teams to assist in repairing the Pearson. I'm sure it would be better for all concerned if Captain Dago didn't find his ship in this state."
Janeway smiled. No captain would have liked to find their ship in the condition of the Pearson, but Captain Dago's temper was legendary.
"I'll wait for you on the Enterprise then. Picard to Enterprise; one to transport."
Janeway turned to Chakotay as soon as Picard dematerialized. "Let's see if we can get our transporters online before we dock. I find the Enterprise's timing a little too convenient."
"Aye Captain."
*
Twenty minutes later, Janeway, Chakotay, Paris, and Gomez materialized onboard the Enterprise. Though the invitation had originally been extended to Voyager's entire senior staff, Janeway had opted to leave Tuvok, Seven, Torres and the Doctor behind under the pretence of making repairs. The reality was Janeway had decided not to trust anyone until her feet were firmly planted on Indiana soil. To that end she and the rest of the away team boarded the Enterprise with phasers on their hips.
The addition to their uniforms did not go unnoticed by Captain Picard when he met them in the transporter room, but he chose not to comment, understanding that this Captain and her crew had every reason to be jumpy after spending the last month under lock and key.
"Captain Janeway, welcome to the Enterprise."
Janeway inclined her head and stepped off the platform to introduce her officers. "Thank you Captain. This is Commander Chakotay my first officer, Lieutenant Paris my helm officer, and -"
"Sonya Gomez." Picard interrupted, "Good to see you again, Commander is it? You've done quite well for yourself, and made the Enterprise proud."
"Thank you Captain, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"Excuse me Captain Janeway, Commander Gomez served aboard Enterprise some time ago."
"I spilt hot chocolate on Captain Picard the first time I met him."
"I see." Janeway really didn't see at all.
Deciding to get the situation back on track, Captain Picard gestured toward the door. "Shall we adjourn to the conference room? Perhaps then we can get this situation sorted out."
"Agreed."
*
A few of Picard's own senior staff awaited them in the conference room, while the others dealt with the situation at hand. After brief introductions were made, the two crews settled down to the business of sorting out the events of the past month. Picard held the head of the table as the Captain of the ship. Though strange for Janeway not to be leading the meeting, old instincts drilled into her during her years of 'Fleet service took over, allowing her to follow Picard's lead.
"Captain Janeway, why don't you start us off; how exactly did you come to be back in the Alpha Quadrant?"
"We entered a borg transwarp conduit and emerged at the outskirts of the Terran system. After contacting Admiral Paris at the Pathfinder project, we were hailed by Starfleet Command and ordered to stand by. Admiral Hoya gave us orders to proceed to Starbase 4."
"Captain Janeway," Picard softened his voice before telling her his version. "Starfleet recorded a catastrophic warp core breach shortly after you contacted Admiral Paris. There is no record of a transmission between Voyager and Starfleet Command. Your ship was declared lost."
"What?" Janeway's ears started to ring.
"I'm sorry Captain. We had no idea you were still alive."
"I see. Have our families been told of our 'demise' yet?"
Picard grimaced. "I don't believe so. Admiral's Nechayev and Paris should be arriving from Starfleet command aboard the U.S.S. Hermes within a few hours. They should be able to answer your questions." Seeing Janeway nod, Picard continued, "What happened after you were ordered to Starbase 4?"
Focusing again on the matter at hand, Janeway continued Voyager's story. "Admiral Hoya was under orders to develop the future technology Voyager had used to get through the Borg transwarp hub. My crew and I agreed that it was unlikely we'd be allowed to leave the Starbase before the technology was fully developed. We decided to destroy it instead.
"After its destruction, my senior staff and I were confined to the brig. I was transferred to Starbase 4, and have spent the last month there."
Picard passed a PADD to Janeway. "Captain, does this image look familiar to you?"
Janeway examined the image of her in restraints flanked by security officers. "It must have been taken while I was being transferred to the station." Her eyes came to rest on the caption. She and her crew are being held indefinitely on Starbase 4 – Sonya. She turned to look at Gomez, and the missing pieces started to fall into place; why Gomez and Mertois had been so willing to help their escape, why the Enterprise had arrived when it did.
As understanding dawned on her, Janeway once again reached for control of the situation. "Captain, I trust Admiral Hoya has been taken into custody?"
"My officers boarded the Indomitable. It has docked, and Commander Riker has taken command."
"And Lieutenant Mertois?"
"Dr. Crusher says he's resting but should make a full recovery."
"Excellent. Then perhaps my officers should head back to the Pearson to continue with repairs."
"Indeed. Would you care to join me in my ready room, Captain Janeway?"
"Of course."
*
"It's wonderful to have coffee again Captain, even if it is replicated."
Picard smiled as his counterpart inhaled deeply before taking a sip of the brown liquid. "I take it your treatment on the Starbase was not all it could have been."
Janeway grinned in return. "Rations and water only I'm afraid. Not even any news vids."
"Captain, did Admiral Hoya give any indication whom his orders came from?"
Thinking back, Janeway dredged up the memories of her first conversation with Admiral Hoya. "Fleet Admiral Jellico, I believe. Why?"
"Captain, have you ever heard of something called Section 31?"
"Section 31?"
"Yes. It's a group within the Federation that operates outside of Starfleet, outside of any specific mandate." Picard leaned back in his chair, "Mostly it's a rumour that surfaced during the war. Promising officers would disappear, and their squad mates would talk about Section 31. Ships were sent on mysterious scouting missions, and ordered not to speak of what they'd seen. Even if such an organization exists, the stories have been so distorted as to make impossible the division between fact and fiction."
"And yet you bring it up. Do you think Admiral Hoya's orders came from Section 31?"
Picard paused before answering. "I have been warned by friends at Starfleet command not to cross Admiral Jellico, and in fact to avoid contact with him as much as possible.
"Captain, I know I have made enemies in the fleet, but I don't consider him to be one. I believe him to be a dangerous man. It worries me that he might be involved in this mess."
Janeway considered this before answering, weighing her situation and the character of the man sitting before her. "Captain I am far, far out of the loop concerning matters in the Alpha Quadrant. I have every intention of wearing this phaser until I'm back on Earth, because, quite frankly, I don't have the information needed to make a judgment on who is trustworthy and who is not.
"However, I cannot fight this battle alone. If Starfleet decides my crew is to remain on Starbase 4 indefinitely, I have no doubt that we will indeed remain there. Captain Picard, I respect you for being open with me and my crew, and thank you for coming to our rescue. I would like to consider you an ally."
"As would I you. But I must tell you; my orders are to ensure no ship leaves Starbase 4 until the Hermes arrives."
"That's fine with me. Neither Voyager nor the Pearson are in any shape to leave."
"Very true Captain. Though it might not be a bad idea to get those ships in fighting form quickly."
"Agreed."
"I'll see if we can spare another engineering team to assist you with repairs."
"Bridge to Captain Picard," the disembodied voice halted the conversation inside the ready room, "we're being hailed by the U.S.S Defiant."
Picard's brow creased. "Put it through here Commander Data."
An attractive woman in a Commander's uniform appeared in Picard's computer screen.
"I'm Commander Kira of the Defiant. We're responding to a Starfleet distress signal in the vicinity."
"I'm Captain Picard of the Enterprise. The distress signal was from the Pearson. We've towed it back to Starbase 4 and are helping with repairs."
"Can we be of assistance?"
"Thank you, but that will not be necessary. The Station's crew are more than capable of handling the task."
Commander Kira clearly didn't like his response. Deciding that Picard may well be part of the force detaining Voyager, she decided to dispense with the subterfuge. "I see. Captain, please be advised that the Defiant will rendez-vous with Starbase 4 in seven minutes."
"Commander, I cannot allow that. I am ordering you to reverse course immediately."
"I'm afraid I can't do that Captain. I have reason to believe that Starfleet officers are being held against their will on that station."
"I can only assure you Commander, that that is not the case. Do not approach this station."
"That is not acceptable, Captain. Prepare to receive boarding parties."
Janeway chose that moment to step around Picard's desk and Kira's line of sight. "Commander Kira, I thank you for your concern, but I assure you the situation is under control."
"Captain Janeway. We received a report that you were being held captive."
"As of a few hours ago, that was indeed the case. With the Enterprise's help, however, the situation has changed."
"Perhaps you'd better come aboard once you arrive in system, Commander." Picard was now required to detain the Defiant as well.
"I'll beam over shortly. Defiant out."
No sooner had the Commander Kira's image disappeared from the screen, then another comm link opened. "Riker to Picard."
"Picard here. What is it Commander?"
"The Indomitable has been secured. I've got shields back up, and weapons are at 90%. One of the aft torpedo tubes was destroyed. It won't be operational again without a dry-dock, but otherwise, she's ready to go. I've got a tractor beam on the Secord, but she hasn't moved. Just a text message offering unconditional surrender."
"Good work Will. Return to the Enterprise at once."
"Aye Captain."
Picard turned once more to Janeway. "Captain I do not like the way this is playing out. Things are becoming disorganized very quickly. I suggest we meet with Commander Kira and try to get some priorities set. If an attack comes, I would prefer to be prepared for it."
*
Faced with a bad situation, but graced with many talented officers, Janeway and Picard wasted no time dividing their resources to try and tackle as many problems as possible. Although it had been suggested that teams should be formed along ship affiliations, the lack of trust in the hasty alliance forced a more diversified approach.
The group's quick decisions had led to Nog's current state, as the engineer assigned to the main boarding party on the Secord. With him were Lieutenant Commanders Data and Tuvok, as well as Seven of Nine. Never was there a more logical or efficient group. It left Nog screaming for humans, nonsensical as they might be at times.
The four of them had beamed onto the bridge of the small ship along with two security guards from the Enterprise. Five crewmen sat at cramped stations arranged in a ring around the empty captain's chair. It took Nog a moment to notice in the dim light, but the men weren't wearing standard Starfleet uniforms. Though they wore the black and grey pants and jacket, the turtlenecks were all black and lacked rank insignia.
"Who is in command of this vessel?" Commander Data had been given command of the mission.
Silence.
Seven of Nine had gotten frustrated with people not responding to polite inquiries while still on Voyager. She moved quickly to one of the stations and moved the crewman aside.
"Commander, I believe the controls will respond only to the voiceprint of the crew."
Data considered this for a moment. "That is unfortunate, I do not believe the crew is willing to speak."
"No matter," Seven extended microtubules from her hand, "I have broken their decryption."
Data smiled. "Computer, transfer all command functions to Lieutenant Commander Data. Authorization Data seven gamma bravo Charlie."
"Command functions transferred."
The Secord's crew were shocked. They didn't have long to dwell on their ship's capture, however, as the turbolift opened revealing a security team wearing Voyager's uniform, along with three engineers. Tuvok dealt with them quickly, assigning the four security officers to take the eight captives to 'quarters' on the Station.
"Lieutenant Nog, please go to engineering to determine the status of the ship." Data didn't wait for his response. "Commander Tuvok, hail the Enterprise."
"Channel open."
"Data to Captain Picard. We have secured the Secord."
"Excellent work Commander." Picard was indeed surprised; the entire operation had taken less than ten minutes. "Proceed to rendez-vous point Alpha."
"Aye Captain. Secord out." Data moved to the helm. On the Secord, everyone preformed more than one function, though it is doubtful that they accomplished it with the ease on the new crew. "Setting course for rendez-vous point Alpha. Engaging at Warp 3." Their orders were now to get away from the electromagnetic interference of the station and start listening for other ships as they approached. Picard and Janeway wanted to have some warning if anyone unexpected showed up.
*
Janeway herself took the task of finding Captain Dago of the Pearson and Captain Reinhart of the Churchill in the hope of enlisting their support. From what Gomez had told them, they been running on sensors alone for the trip from the Terran system to Starbase 4, ensuring they didn't know who they were escorting. Janeway figured it was high time they found out.
Janeway glanced at her PADD again and stopped outside one of the multitude of anonymous doors in the corridor. Glancing at her companions, she spoke, "looks like this is it."
Commander Riker nodded in agreement. He'd come along as a recognizable representative of Captain Picard. Gomez motioned to the six security officers they'd brought with them from the ships. Wordlessly they took up defensive positions. Most of Admiral Hoya's troops were still unaccounted for and presumed to be on the station. The Admiral had also fused the stations shield grid before leaving; they could turn them off, but they might not come up again. As a result, away teams to the station had to enter through the docking hatches. An escort through the station seemed like a reasonable precaution.
Happy that the area was indeed secure, Gomez opened the door.
A long metal pole swung around, narrowly missing Gomez's head. The blond woman had obviously been expecting someone taller, still if Gomez hadn't dropped to the ground, she would have been in a world of trouble.
Janeway didn't wait for the woman to set herself; instead she launched herself at their attacker, performing a textbook tackle. Riker, initially surprised by the speed of the attack, stepped over the two captains to grab the pole.
Janeway got to her feet, offering a hand to the other woman. Taking it grudgingly, the blond rose to her feet. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the starship Voyager."
The other woman seemed to look at her for the first time, recognition quickly crossing her features. "Captain Janeway, I am Captain Astrid Reinhart of the Churchill. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Janeway took the offered hand and turned to Riker and Gomez. "This is Commander Riker of the Enterprise, and I believe you know Lieutenant Commander Gomez."
Reinhart focused on Gomez. "Yes, I know that Scheißekopf. She worked with Admiral Hoya on this ridiculous mission."
"Indeed Captain, she did. However, I believe you're missing some information that might make things a little clearer for you. May we?" Janeway gestured toward Reinhart's quarters.
"No you may not. I've spent a month in those quarters. I'll be damned if I'm going to spend anymore time in them."
"Fair enough. Would you prefer the Enterprise or the Pearson?"
*
While Janeway was bringing Reinhart up to speed aboard the Pearson, Chakotay was facing an altogether different problem. He had been assigned to evaluate Voyager. No one knew how much damage the ship had sustained when the deflector had blown. He'd been given both Torres and LaForge to try and rig up a deflector, but before they could even start on repairs, he had to get onboard the ship.
Chakotay's team had made it from the Enterprise to Voyager's docking hatch with out incident, but Torres and LaForge were now labouring over the encryption protocols the Admiral had been kind enough to leave them.
"Got it." Torres had her arm in the panel beside the airlock, and had finally tripped the right switch.
Slowly, the hatch inched open. One Centimetre, two centimetres, three centimetres. The door stalled at six centimetres. Torres turned to Chakotay. "I'm sorry Commander, I think the power supply's shot. We'll have to open it manually."
Chakotay gestured to the two security guards with them. "Gilmore, Anderson, we're going to need your help for this."
After half a minute of pulling and cursing, the five officers pried the airlock open to reveal…another airlock. This one belonged to Voyager, but they quickly determined it had the same type encryptions as the previous one. LaForge swore under his breath.
Chakotay just laughed. "Computer open hatch."
"Unable to comply."
"Computer recognize Chakotay, Commander."
"Error. No match found."
"Computer, perform level 7 diagnostic."
LaForge frowned. There was no such protocol. Torres just smiled.
"Standby." A pause. "Diagnostic complete."
"Restore command codes, authorization Chakotay Omega two three."
"Command codes restored."
Chakotay pressed the button beside the airlock, opening it. After walking through, he took a quick look, making sure no one was waiting for him before turning to face the other officers. "Coming?"
"How the Hell did you do that? That's not possible!" LaForge couldn't believe his eyes.
Torres guided him through the door, explaining, "Old Maquis trick. Always make sure you can override your ship's command codes. Of course Seven made sure the program was well hidden and secure."
"Level seven diagnostic?"
B'Elanna shrugged. "It seemed appropriate."
*
"Commander Data, I am picking up increased electromagnetic activity. Bearing 239 mark 5." Seven of Nine was bent over one of the stations onboard the Secord.
"Can you identify it?"
"I'm picking up a transponder beacon now. Nebula class. It's the Hermes."
"What is its ETA?"
"3 hours, 13 minutes."
"Excellent work. Commander Tuvok contact subspace beacon Alpha and inform the Enterprise of the Hermes' arrival."
"Aye sir."
*
"Captain, we're receiving a message from subspace beacon Alpha. It's the Secord sir. They've detected the Hermes. It will arrive in just over 3 hours."
"Thank you Lieutenant Castle." The Enterprise's beta shift was on duty, leaving Picard with untested officers at the controls of his ship. "Hail the Pearson."
"Onscreen Sir."
Lieutenant Paris was in command with Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok all off ship. "Captain Picard, what can I do for you sir?"
"Is there any word from Captain Janeway regarding her 'negotiations'?"
"There is Captain." Janeway emerged from the turbolift trailing Captains Dago and Reinhart. "Captain Picard, this is Captain Reinhart and Captain Dago." She gestured to the tall blond woman and the short, decidedly feline male. "They're both in."
"Excellent. I've just received word from the Secord. The Hermes is expected in system in three hours."
"Then we'd best get to work, eh Captain?" Dago was already moving toward the Captain's chair.
*
"Get away from my engines." Chakotay's group had made their way uncontested into Voyager's engine room, but found Dr. Brahms working over the console by the warp core.
Dr. Brahms spun around, startled. "Lieutenant Torres…Geordi!" Wasting no time, she ran over to hug the Enterprise's Chief Engineer. "You got my message!"
"Yeah I did. What are you doing in here Leah?"
"Admiral Hoya ordered me to review the engineering logs. I'm supposed to look for anything that might be useful for future ship development."
"Find anything?" LaForge was curious about what other modifications Torres might have made to Voyager.
"Geordi, I'm only three months into their time in the Delta quadrant. I can't believe some of the things they've tried."
Torres cleared her throat.
"I'm sorry B'Elanna. I've gotten pretty caught up in my work I guess."
"I see. How's she doing?"
Brahms smiled. "She's in good condition. I've repaired the damage from the micrometeorites, but she still needs a deflector dish."
"The Enterprise has an extra, the big question is whether or not we can modify it for Voyager." LaForge was worried that the larger deflector might be too much of a drain on Voyager's smaller warp core.
"Let's get it over here and see what we can do. If we can integrate it into the bioneural circuitry, I can get enough power for it." Torres wasn't going to let a silly thing like recommended power-usage stop her.
*
"Captain, the Hermes is approaching." Thankfully, Picard's senior staff was all back on board aside from Data on the Secord. "We're being hailed." Gilmore's voice was confidant from tactical.
"On screen."
Admirals Paris and Nechayev appeared on the screen. They were on the bridge of the Hermes, sitting in the centre chairs of the bridge. Nechayev stood and approached the viewscreen. "Captain Picard. I trust you have the situation under control."
"Yes Admiral, the station and accompanying ships have all been secured."
"No one has left the area?"
"No sir." Picard didn't like being questioned like some first year cadet.
"Good. Assemble the senior officers and prepare to receive us."
With those parting words, the screen returned to the familiar view of the star field.
Taking a breath, Picard glanced at Commander Riker to his right. "Commander contact the other ships. Let's get this circus started."
"Aye-aye Captain."
*
The crowd gathered in one of the Enterprise's auxiliary conference rooms read like a who's who of Starfleet's best and brightest. Admiral Alynna Nechayev alone had helped direct Starfleet policy concerning the Cardassians, Borg, and Maquis. Captain Janeway of Voyager had brought a lost crew back across 70,000 light years in seven years. Captain Picard and the Enterprise had repealed two Borg attacks, and stood as the symbol for everything good in Starfleet. Commander Kira was a hero of both the Bajoran and Cardassian resistance movements, and the Defiant was one of the most celebrated ships of the war.
In order to accommodate the senior staff from the Enterprise, Voyager, Defiant, Pearson, Churchill, and Hermes, Picard had chosen to use one of the larger rooms aboard the Enterprise. Thirty-eight officers were now gathered around a six-sided table, waiting to hear from Nechayev and Paris.
As soon as everyone was seated, Nechayev started without preamble. "Starfleet command has become divided in the course of the war. Some feel that our ideals are preventing us from exploiting resources. Resources, like the technology Captain Janeway acquired from the future could have sealed our victory against the Dominion without nearly the casualties suffered by both sides. However, our rules are in place for a reason; to protect ourselves and others.
"This is not the time for debate, however. Fleet Admiral Jellico has seized upon Voyager's return to press his point; he intended to exploit the new technology and be forever rid of the temporal Prime Directive. Now that it's clear that the technology no longer exists, he will try to destroy the evidence of the mission.
"Everyone in this room is at risk. Admiral Paris and I are here to ensure that when the attack comes, and it will, we are ready. I understand that Commander Data, Commander Tuvok, Lieutenant Nog and Seven of Nine are already on board the Secord. They will remain there. Command crews for the other ships will be handed out to commanding officers.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us people, let's get moving."
*
"Commander, I am detecting a large electromagnetic disturbance approaching."
"Can you identify it, Seven?" Data and the Secord had been warned to expect an attack.
"It appears to be a fleet. Twelve ships in total."
"What is their ETA?"
Seven's response was a splash of cold water. "Less than 30 minutes."
"Why did we not detect them sooner?"
"I believe the traveled through the Ungarru Nebula. The hydrogen would have distorted our readings."
Data nodded. "Commander Tuvok, contact subspace beacon Alpha."
*
"How are we doing B'Elanna?"
B'Elanna straightened up, arching her back and pushing a strand of hair out of her face before answering. "The deflector's got enough power, but there's no guarantee it won't overload half the systems on the ship. I've had to reroute just about every system. If we missed even one connection, this could be a big dud."
"Then let's hope you got it right. I have no intention of sitting around while the other ships are out there fighting for us."
"Captain Janeway to the bridge." Paris's voice came over the comm system.
"On my way Tom." Janeway squeezed Torres's shoulder gently before heading up to the bridge.
"Captain, we're being hailed by the Indomitable." Tom spoke as soon as the turbolift door opened.
"Put them onscreen."
The compact bridge of the Defiant-class starship appeared on the screen. Admiral Nechayev was seated in the Captain's chair.
"Captain Janeway what's your status?"
"Instillation of the new deflector is complete. We're preparing to form up with the rest of the fleet."
"Excellent news Captain. Good luck."
Janeway replied in kind, "and to you Admiral," but her eyes strayed to the helm officer. Commander Chakotay had been reassigned to the Indomitable as helm officer. Good pilots were always hard to come by, and the Admirals had decided Voyager could afford to spare Chakotay more than the Enterprise could Commander Riker. As a result, Janeway would have to manage without her first and second officers.
*
On the Indomitable, Commander Chakotay nodded in return before Admiral Nechayev cut the screen. "Commander Chakotay, take us to the rendez-vous coordinates.
"Aye sir." Though he didn't like being away from Voyager in a fight, he marvelled at the responsiveness of the Indomitable; this ship had been designed to be manoeuvrable in battle. Under his fingers, the ship gracefully slid into position beside the Enterprise.
"The Enterprise is signaling. They're ready." Lieutenant Mertois, recently released from the Enterprise's sickbay was manning tactical.
"Good."
*
The Enterprise was a hive of activity. Picard held the latest status report from Engineering. His ship was as ready as it could be, but he didn't relish the idea of going into a battle outnumbered. Twelve ships in top form versus eight, most of which had suffered some sort of damage.
"Captain, the fleet has entered sensor range. Time to intercept: five minutes." Gilmore reported from tactical.
Riker's voice rang out over the quiet bridge, "raise shields, ready weapons."
*
Admiral Paris looked at the approaching fleet with wonder. What could drive a man who'd sworn to uphold the laws of the Federation to abandon them in such a violent way? A small part of him wondered if given the right circumstances, he might do the same thing. Kathryn Janeway had evidently done just that, travelling back in time to alter the lot of her crew. And her present self had accepted the technology.
In her case it had been for the good of her crew. Admiral Jellico had no crew to protect; what might be his motivation?
Shaking off the unanswerable question, Paris glanced down at the panel on the side of his chair. Four minutes to intercept.
*
"Commander," Dax was at one of the sensor stations, "They're deploying short-range fighters."
Kira swore under her breath. They'd fought beside short-range fighters in the war. The manoeuvrable and powerful ships had been a thorn in the Dominion's side. "Anderson, make those your first priority."
*
"Lieutenant, what's the state of the reactor?"
"Just another couple of minutes sir," came a harried voice from below.
"A couple of minutes and we're sitting ducks, Lieutenant." Captain Dago had already left several claw marks on his chair waiting for a report from Engineering. Without their warp core, the Pearson wouldn't have enough power to withstand an attack. Fortunately, the old excelsior still had a fusion reactor.
"Engineering to Bridge, we've got fusion down here Captain! We are good to go."
"Helm, take us into formation." It had been far too long since Dago had gone hunting.
*
"Captain, they're not slowing down."
"Target weapon systems on those two Defiant-class ships. Wait for the Hermes, but be sure we get the second shot off." Reinhart knew a few good shots from one of those heavy cruisers could ruin your day.
"Aye Captain, targeting weapon systems."
*
"Hail the lead ship Lieutenant." Admiral Paris decided to try one last time for a peaceful solution.
"No response."
Sighing, he accepted the inevitable. "Signal the rest of the fleet; we attack." He would rather have waited for them to take the first shot, but with the odds stacked against them, they couldn't afford such frivolous chivalry.
*
Paris needn't have worried; the opening shots were fired simultaneously as soon as the ships entered weapons range. At first the two armadas battered each other savagely, trading blow for punishing blow. Gradually, however, the ships broke formation, pursuing individual targets, trying desperately to obliterate the opposing forces.
*
"Dranno, bring us around to 125 mark 7. I want to finish off that fighter." Commander Kira and the Defiant had destroyed two short-range fighters right away. They had expected to be ignored in the initial conflict in favour of the larger ships. Kira knew that if they didn't dispatch them quickly, they'd still be around to pick off the larger ships later.
"I'm locking on; firing." Beads of sweat were running down Anderson's face as she tried keep the small ship locked.
Four phaser bolts lanced out from the Defiant, contacting the smaller vessel and reducing it to dust.
"Direct hit. No other fighters in range." Dax was working hard to keep a fix on the buzzing fighters.
Kira looked down at the console beside her. There was a Sovereign-class vessel dead ahead marked in red on her targeting screen. "Dranno, take us in to strafe target Alpha. I want us less than 20 metres off their hull. Dax, find us some more fighters."
The Defiant slide gracefully underneath the ship, sweeping back and forth to avoid phaser fire. Aft torpedoes and phaser cannon fire mixed to weaken the craft's shields. As the Defiant peeled away, they saw Voyager come in to join the attack.
"I've got us a fighter; 098 mark 3. It's attacking Voyager."
"Set a course Lieutenant."
Shields on both Voyager and the enemy ship shimmered under the weight of the attack. The fighter buzzing Voyager did nothing to help matters, but was quickly eliminated by Anderson's deft hand.
"Captain Janeway sends her thanks for our assist."
Kira turned to Dax, wondering what Janeway was talking about, when Voyager breached the other Sovereign's hull. Escape pods jettisoned in all directions.
"Dax, get me another fighter."
*
The tide was turning the other way for the Pearson.
"Shields down to 40%. Boogie Delta one is coming around." Boogie Delta one was the first of two Defiant-class ships in Admiral Jellico's fleet.
"Ensign, heading 254 mark 6." Dago ordered the Pearson to run at targets Mu one and two, a pair of old Miranda-class Starships. "Contact the rest of the fleet, see if anyone can give us a hand."
The Pearson rocked again as Delta one came about, phasers firing. Panels in the rear of the bridge exploded, showering Dago with sparks.
"Captain, the Churchill and Enterprise are moving to engage Delta one."
The two sovereign-class vessels moved to block off Delta one's attack. Seeing its opportunity to finish off the old Pearson blocked, it instead concentrated fire on the Churchill, seeming to ignore the pummelling it was receiving from the Enterprise. Delta two joined in on the attack on the Churchill, pouring phaser energy against the weakening shields. Bolts from first Delta one, then Delta two broke through Churchill's shields, striking the nacelles, and igniting an explosion that traveled back to her warp core. She exploded in a brilliant fireball, catching weakened Delta one in the blast. Slowly the light faded from the two ships, leaving smaller fires to burn on as a pyre to the deceased.
Captain Dago had no time to mourn his fallen comrades; he was busy keeping his own crew alive.
"Shields failing on Mu one."
"Concentrate your fire on the warp core."
"They're loosing power. They're ejecting their core." A long cylindrical object punched through the bottom of the vessel, exploding harmlessly a few thousand metres away.
"Cease fire. Bring us about. I want Mu two."
*
"Keep us close Chakotay."
Chakotay didn't waste his energy acknowledging Admiral Nechayev; he was too busy making sure the Indomitable didn't collide with the Galaxy-class starship, Gamma one, they were shadowing. Admiral Nechayev had ordered them not to fire on Gamma one. Instead they used it for cover, circling round it while firing alternatively on target Beta, an Intrepid-class vessel that was in a firefight with the Hermes and Epsilon, a Nebula-class ship that was moving to engage the Enterprise.
"Beta's shields are fluctuating." Their ops officer, ensign Powell was fresh out of the academy and had never seen combat before. After a moment's hesitation at the beginning of the battle, she'd handled herself admirably.
"Mertois, concentrate your fire on target Beta. Let's help the Hermes finish it."
Chakotay brought them around by Gamma one's deflector dish and back into range. Mertois fired two photon torpedoes, eliminating Beta's shields. Two more phaser blasts finished the job, breaching Beta's hull.
"Chakotay, bring us back around to fire on Epsilon, and don't spare the torpedoes on this one Mr. Mertois."
Mertois responded by loosening a volley of five torpedoes on the ship. Seeing the shield fluctuations, the Defiant, still chasing fighters, fired off its own stream of phaser-fire. Fearing a warp-core breach, the Captain signalled his surrender.
"Mertois, on my mark, I want you to set five torpedoes as mines and drop them aft. Chakotay, get ready to get us out of here. Mark."
Though the Indomitable had been inside Gamma one's shields, it had been unable to fire because of its proximity to the larger ship. By dropping the torpedoes as mines, they gained a couple of extra seconds to escape. As soon as the torpedoes were away, Chakotay throttled up; pushing the powerful craft forward and overcoming the inertial dampeners. Even still, they were rocked by the shockwave as Gamma one exploded.
*
Onboard the Gamma two, Admiral Jellico was furious. His fleet was being taken apart in front of him. Spotting the Indomitable on the viewscreen ahead, he seized upon it.
"Lieutenant, signal the fleet to concentrate fire on the Indomitable."
"Yes Sir."
Jellico was rewarded a few moments later when the smaller ship was rocked from all sides by a swarm of fighters. The Defiant followed the fighters, destroying two, but not before the Indomitable started leaking plasma.
"Their shields are down. They've shut down the reactor core."
"Prepare boarding parties. I'll lead the first wave onto the Indomitable."
*
Chaos reigned onboard the Indomitable; sparks showered form a dozen overloaded consoles on the bridge, and the skeleton crew couldn't begin to repair the damage the concentrated attack had just inflicted upon the ship.
"Admiral I've had to shut down the reactor. Our shields are down, they can board us." Dr. Brahms was trying to keep the ship together
Admiral Nechayev sunk down into her chair. She was about to become a prisoner of war to Jellico.
Chakotay glanced back and saw defeat on his commanding officer's face. He was not ready to give up though. "Admiral, I have an idea."
*
Voyager shook again as Delta two fired again.
"Captain, the Indomitable is hailing us. Their shields are down, they're being boarded."
"Onscreen Harry."
The Indomitable's bridge flickered, and then came into focus. Admiral Nechayev sat in the command chair, back straight as always, a faint smile on her lips. Only the destruction around her gave an indication as to her dire situation. The sound of transporter beams interrupted anything she might have said.
Chakotay was still at the helm. Though his right side had been severely burned, there was still a fire in his eyes. He leaned forward and said "Caretaker." Before the channel went dead.
"Ayala, hail the fleet. Tell them we need Delta two off us now. Mr. Kim, lock onto everyone on the Indomitable and prepare to beam them off."
"Captain, the Defiant is responding, Delta two has broken off their attack."
"Ayala, transfer shield control to Ensign Kim. Ensign I want those shields back up again the instant you have everyone onboard."
"Aye Captain."
"Captain, the Indomitable is powering up, they're on a collision course with Gamma two."
"Harry?"
"Locking on Captain…I've got them. Shields back up."
The Indomitable made its final flight, plunging into the larger ship. It impacted at almost a 90-degree angle against the bottom of the saucer section. For a moment it seemed as though Gamma two would absorb the impact, but then the upper hull started to buckle and the reinforced shell of the Indomitable exploded outward to spin off into empty space.
Admiral Nechayev exited the turbolift just as the ruined ship's atmosphere was consumed, quenching the fire that poured through the gaping wound.
"Captain, open a hailing frequency to the remaining ships in the area. This is too wasteful to continue."
"Channel open."
"This is Admiral Nechayev to all ships. Your fleet has been broken; your commander is in custody. Don't prolong this battle."
"Captain, I'm receiving a unconditional surrender from Delta two on behalf of the fleet."
"Thank you Harry. Signal the other ships to stand down. Invite all Captains aboard in an hour. Let's get this sorted out." Janeway walked slowly to her ready room, ignoring Admiral Nechayev. Once inside she sank gradually onto her couch and let her head drop, exhaustion overtaking her.