Chapter 35 - Extra Innings by CaptainChewbacca
The bridge of Cardassia's Song was a barely constrained chaos from Damar's command pedestal. As he scanned the battle, things didn't look quite so grim as they had only a few minutes earlier. He watched in amazement as the Terran destroyers extended their shields around his Vole-ships, which continued to lob heavy blasts against the unity ships. The "Galactic Unity" had sent an immense fleet, but they hadn't expected to start fighting quite so soon, which meant they weren't properly ordered. The fleet was attacking in largely one group, unspecified, using simple numbers to pound back the two enemy fleets into submission.
"Fleet Status?" Damar knew he was losing ships fast.
"Almost twenty percent losses, Legate Damar." Garak at his shoulder like a phantom. Analysis of the outcome doesn't look promising. Unless we can turn this around soon, I expect total losses within the hour."
"I suppose you have another plan?" Silently, Damar wondered why he had civilian oversight on this mission.
"Actually, I do." Garak tapped a few buttons. "With the position our ships are currently at, we can destroy almost sixty percent of the Terran fleet. Once we do that, we can use the debris as a screen and retreat to Cardassian spa-"
A loud crack emanated from Garak's jaw as Damar's fist connected solidly, sending him on his back to the floor. The Commissioner was in shock. "You listen to me, you pathetic worm." Damar was visibly enraged. "Civilian orders got us into this mess, and I have no doubt more civilian advice would be most unhelpful. I am not going to betray Sisko like some Terran general and run home. We are going to fight!" The last he said loud enough for the whole bridge.
Garak stood and rubbed his jaw as it clicked into place. On the tactical display, another Sartan exploded under a volley of plasma torpedoes. "We are going to die." He said under his breath.
--- --- ---
On the bridge of the Transcendence, Fleet Commander Ariidon was very pleased. He studied the display and smiled. The unenlightened Terrans and Cardassians had been in the middle of a large engagement when his fleet stumbled upon them. Although this meant that both fleets were somewhat diminished, that also meant that to get to Bajor, he would have to go through the fleets. And now they seemed to be working together, a most upsetting development. "Form up assault groups nineteen through forty, and have them mass at the center of our formation to split them." No need for overcomplicated work, the sheer power of the unity fleet would overwhelm them.
"Commander, we still are not able to destroy the Cardassian mauler-ships." A Pronhoulite lieutenant was monitoring the battle. His tail twitched in frustration. "The Imperial destroyers continue to deflect our fire, and their Superdreadnoughts are equipped with far better torpedoes than we anticipated."
The commander sighed. "Increase fire on the Imperial destroyers, and dispatch the sixth Superdreadnought group to disable the Imperials." He gave his orders with disinterest. There was no challenge here, only waiting.
As Ariidon watched the battle display, a ship suddenly appeared beyond the edge of the Imperial fleet. "What is that?" He pointed to the red dot that was now approaching the Imperial rear.
"An Imperial Sovereign-class, sir. It has taken heavy damage, but all its systems are operating at full efficiency." The Pronhoulite twitched again. "I see no way it could be functioning with such damage."
"Ignore it." Ariidon lapsed back to an amused boredom. "One ship is of no consequence."
--- --- ---
"Are you sure?" Sisko leaned forward on his throne.
"I'm sure, Admiral." The lieutenant continued to scan. "The Enterprise is somehow up and running, all systems operational."
"Signal them, get me Admiral Lore." This is good sign, Sisko thought. Morale had taken a hit when the banner ship of the Empire went down, but now it was charging to the fore.
"Admiral, I have the Enterprise." Sisko nodded.
On the screen he could see the ruin of the flag bridge of the Enterprise. Consoles were torn from their mounts, wires were dangling from the ceiling, and bodies littered the floor. But most disturbing was what was in the center of the image. There sat Admiral Lore on his command throne with a coil of glowing optical cable connected to one of his cranial ports. The cord shimmered with the volume of data traveling through it. Sisko was speechless.
"Hello, Admiral Sisko." Lore's mouth didn't move, but his voice came over the display from the Enterprise's systems. "I suppose an explanation is in order."
"You're damn right it is, Lore." Sisko felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It would be the M-5 debacle all over again. "What have you done?"
"The main computer core sustained heavy damage due to a warp-field backwash when two cores were ejected. All main systems were offline." Lore continued to stare straight ahead, not moving. "A Cardassian boarding party anesthetized over ninety-five percent of the crew, but I was able to overcome them. Unfortunately, environmental controls were offline, and the crew needed an antidote within ten minutes."
"So you thought you'd handle it yourself.?" There was an incredulous tone in Sisko's voice.
"Indeed, Sir. The crew has been treated, and should regain consciousness within fifteen minutes. I felt I could contribute to the battle in the meantime."
Sisko sighed and rubbed his head. What the hell. "Agreed, Admiral Lore. The command of the second group will remain with Commodore Minchori, but you are free to engage all Unity targets. We have a ceasefire agreement with the Cardassian fleet for the duration of the engagement."
A handful of heartbeats passed in silence. "Understood. Enterprise out." The display went back to the battle. A pair of wraiths passed over a Unity dreadnought group, tearing jagged holes into their ablative armor. The comm clicked to signal a message from Kira.
"Are you sure this is wise, Admiral? You know what happened to the M5."
"Yes, Captain." Sisko leaned back in his chair. "But right now I doubt we could stop Lore if we wanted to."
--- --- ---
The ISS Enterprise flew through the fleet with more agility than any ship her size had a right to be. Lore could see through every sensor, in every direction and in every spectrum. He marveled at the beauty of the EM signatures of the phaser blasts, of the radiation spikes emanating from the torpedoes that grazed his shields. Every hull seal, every conduit on the ship tingled in Lore's mind. He WAS the Enterprise. He was a ship of war.
Acquiring targets at extreme range, Lore sent volleys of quantum torpedoes to break up formations of Unity ships. He twisted, dodged, and wove a curtain of deadly energy around himself. Again and again he fired his phaser lances through ships, all the while cycling his shields so that they met individual hits with maximum strength, at a speed no humanoid mind could comprehend. He was actually using LESS energy for his shields than normal, but was absorbing far more damage.
Suddenly, Lore found himself in the middle of the Unity fleet, coming up hard on their Monitor ship. It was immense, but Lore's keen sensors detected a weakness. He powered up his torpedo launchers and emptied them into the rear of the ship before banking away. A flurry of blue-white explosions rocked the back of the vessel as its engines went dead. Lore mused, as he fought his way back to the fleet, that the Transcendence would never move again without significant repairs.
--- --- ---
"Commander! Main engines are down, as are warp cores four, seven and eight!" Alarms blared across the bridge of the Unity command ship.
"Seal the drive section at once!" Ariidon bellowed over the din. "We'll get by on thrusters until we can effect repairs. They can tow us to Bajor if we need." He glanced to his weapons officer. "How is our weapon status?"
"Full power, Commander."
"Excellent." Ariidon sat down. "Show them they aren't the only ones that can make crippling strikes."
--- --- ---
"Incoming!" The Saratoga was rocked by plasma blasts. A large battlegroup had broken through the line and was now pounding Kira mercilessly. "INCREASE SHIELDS! Target their weapons!"
"No effect, Captain! Primary power relays are offline!" There was panic in the air. The lights dimmed and came back on. "We just lost main power, Captain. We're on reserves and those are dropping fast."
Kira stood glaring in silent fury at the ships on the screen. Their blue lights glowed like the eyes of predators. "Abandon ship." She turned to her crew. "Abandon ship. Signal all crew. I'm going to the flag bridge with the Admiral. We'll engage the forcefields and continue to direct from there."
Crewmen scrambled to escape pods as Kira headed for her private turbolift. "Computer, activate automated combat sequence Beta four." The doors closed and she sank eight levels to the flag bridge.
The doors opened into a still bustling room. Flag staff would not be permitted to evacuate as long as the Admiral remained. "How bad is it, Admiral?" Kira took her seat next to Ben.
"Could be worse," he smiled to her. "The Cardassians and us are each down almost twenty-five percent, and we have a long way to go before we have numbers on the Unity."
"Can we retreat?" Kira checked the displays. Things were indeed going bad. Half of Eddington's group was gone, Minchori was fast becoming surrounded along with his fleet, and the Saratoga was now abandoned.
"No, we can't." Sisko shook his head. "If we did, they'd pick us off as we ran. Their weapons have a range better than our upgraded torpedoes. Hell, we can't even warp-ram them for all of the subspace interference around here." He looked at his XO "We're in trouble, Nerys."
"I know, Ben." Kira smiled. "At least I'm going to die for the right man." The ship shuddered under another volley and the rear wall of the bridge exploded. A sheet of fire swept across the bridge, throwing everyone to the floor. Sisko rolled over, trying to find a railing to steady himself. His grasping hand reached out, and instead found a small box. Instinctively, he held it to his chest and pressed the gems on its four sides.
The top of the box opened, and a shimmering white light flashed out.
In the middle of the fleet, a great wheel of light appeared. Over twenty kilometers across, it blossomed from nothingness into a great hole in space, with a golden light shining from it. All of the ships near it were brushed aside by the shock and arcs of energy coming from it, except the Saratoga. A wave on white energy suddenly leapt from the surface of Bajor, streaking faster than light into the hole. It dragged the Saratoga with it into the golden light, and then everything vanished.
--- --- ---
What is it? It is not the Sisko.
It is the Sisko, but another one. Another game.
"Game?" Suddenly Sisko was standing on the main deck of DS9.
"Another game." Jennifer was suddenly next to him. "You are another game. Our Sisko taught us about such things. "
"What? Who are you? Where am I?" He reached out to grab her, but she vanished. He turned around and was in his quarters.
Now his son Jake was speaking to him. "You are the Sisko. Another, Sisko. Your game is ending."
"Yes, I am losing the battle." Sisko looked at the being with his son's face. The eyes were not ones he recognized. "Why do you care?"
"We are of Bajor." Kira was at his side. "You are of Bajor. You will take our word to them. You have many tasks."
"You're damn right I do." He had better things to do than play riddles with aliens. Like find his son. "And winning that battle is one of them."
"He cannot win." Now Julian was speaking to Kira. "We must change the game."
"It is not linear." Kira shook her head.
"But he is of Bajor. Bajor must remain linear. Its game must not end." Julian looked to Sisko. "Will you play the game?"
"Will I fight? Yes." Sisko crossed his arms.
"We must tell him more, he must learn." Now Jennifer was standing with them.
"Not yet. He is not ready." Julian stretched out his hand, palm up, to Sisko. "We will send you help, to win the game. In one of your year's time, you will return to us at this place, and we will speak more." There was a flash of light, and Sisko was back on the floor of the bridge. Kira was next to him, badly burned.
She looked into his eyes. "Emissary...?" Her head dropped as she gasped for air. Her lungs were scarred, and now breathing was almost impossible.
"Medic!" Sisko bellowed and a blue-uniformed man came running. He knelt to treat Kira. "Give me a sensor report!"
"Admiral!" The lieutenant's voice was filled with disbelief. "I'm detecting almost three thousand old-style Jem'Hadar destroyers emerging from the anomaly.
"What?"
--- --- ---
"What?" Legate Damar was dumbfounded.
"I said, sir, that a Jem'Hadar fleet has emerged from the wormhole and is hailing us. They are looking for Gul-Dukat and are awaiting orders. They don't recognize the hull signatures, but they claim to be allies of the Cardassian Union."
Damar and Garak looked at each other. "What the hell is going on, Garak?"
Garak slowly craned his neck back. "I would say an opportunity, my dear Legate." Garak smiled. "Signal the lead Jem'Hadar ship, and give them our sensor feed, with the Unity fleet as enemy targets."
"Yes... YES!" Damar laughed out loud. "Order them to make every possible effort to destroy the Unity fleet."
--- --- ---
"What?" Fleet Commander Ariidon was dumbfounded.
"Commander, they are old style Jem'Hadar attack-class destroyers. They could be old Dominion remnants off the white and out for revenge, I don't know." The tactical officer's voice was quavering.
"They came from behind and started firing and ramming our ships on their rear sections, where shield strength was weakest They are wreaking havoc with our ships!" On the screen fireballs continued to blossom as the small fighters tore through the Unity fleet like locusts.
How in the universe could this be happening? Ariidon's mind whirled. "Signal all ships! Rotate modulation and target them. Keep trying to transmit-"
"Commander! There are eighteen destroyers closing in on our position at flank speed!"
"Evasive action! Bring weapons..." Ariidon remembered that the Transcendence's weapons were offline. "Screening fire, intercept-" But he never got a chance to finish the order, as over a dozen Jem'Hadar fighters tore through the armor and superstructure of the ship at full impulse.
Victory was life... and death.
--- --- ---
On the Flag Bridge of the Saratoga crewmen were cheering. The Jem'Hadar ships had destroyed most of the Unity capital ships, and now the smaller ones were fleeing into the subspace corridors.
"Stand down, all ships!" Sisko smiled and rolled his baseball in his hands. "Begin repairs and begin to bring the fleet under order for return to Bajor.
"Incoming transmission from the Cardassia's Song, Admiral."
Sisko turned to the screen and saw similar jubilation on Damar's bridge. "Well done, Admiral Sisko." Damar smiled. "I don't know where those ships came from, but I'm betting they were your doing. Someday you'll have to tell me."
"I look forward to it, Legate." Sisko laughed. "My ships will render you whatever assistance you need in retrieving your injured crewmen, and in making any repairs to your ships necessary to get you under way." An edge came into his voice. "In one day all operational ships will leave the system."
"Understood, Admiral." Damar nodded, his eyes narrowing. "And I offer to you the same assistance."
"Thank you, Legate." Sisko turned to end the transmission.
"Oh, Admiral?"
"Yes, Legate?" Sisko raised an eyebrow.
"Find your son." Damar. Gave a military nod, and the channel closed.
"A home run, Admiral?" Kira was in her seat, groggy from the medication she had been given.
Admiral Sisko sat on his throne and began to check damage reports. "I'd call it a Grand Slam, Captain."
The bridge of Cardassia's Song was a barely constrained chaos from Damar's command pedestal. As he scanned the battle, things didn't look quite so grim as they had only a few minutes earlier. He watched in amazement as the Terran destroyers extended their shields around his Vole-ships, which continued to lob heavy blasts against the unity ships. The "Galactic Unity" had sent an immense fleet, but they hadn't expected to start fighting quite so soon, which meant they weren't properly ordered. The fleet was attacking in largely one group, unspecified, using simple numbers to pound back the two enemy fleets into submission.
"Fleet Status?" Damar knew he was losing ships fast.
"Almost twenty percent losses, Legate Damar." Garak at his shoulder like a phantom. Analysis of the outcome doesn't look promising. Unless we can turn this around soon, I expect total losses within the hour."
"I suppose you have another plan?" Silently, Damar wondered why he had civilian oversight on this mission.
"Actually, I do." Garak tapped a few buttons. "With the position our ships are currently at, we can destroy almost sixty percent of the Terran fleet. Once we do that, we can use the debris as a screen and retreat to Cardassian spa-"
A loud crack emanated from Garak's jaw as Damar's fist connected solidly, sending him on his back to the floor. The Commissioner was in shock. "You listen to me, you pathetic worm." Damar was visibly enraged. "Civilian orders got us into this mess, and I have no doubt more civilian advice would be most unhelpful. I am not going to betray Sisko like some Terran general and run home. We are going to fight!" The last he said loud enough for the whole bridge.
Garak stood and rubbed his jaw as it clicked into place. On the tactical display, another Sartan exploded under a volley of plasma torpedoes. "We are going to die." He said under his breath.
--- --- ---
On the bridge of the Transcendence, Fleet Commander Ariidon was very pleased. He studied the display and smiled. The unenlightened Terrans and Cardassians had been in the middle of a large engagement when his fleet stumbled upon them. Although this meant that both fleets were somewhat diminished, that also meant that to get to Bajor, he would have to go through the fleets. And now they seemed to be working together, a most upsetting development. "Form up assault groups nineteen through forty, and have them mass at the center of our formation to split them." No need for overcomplicated work, the sheer power of the unity fleet would overwhelm them.
"Commander, we still are not able to destroy the Cardassian mauler-ships." A Pronhoulite lieutenant was monitoring the battle. His tail twitched in frustration. "The Imperial destroyers continue to deflect our fire, and their Superdreadnoughts are equipped with far better torpedoes than we anticipated."
The commander sighed. "Increase fire on the Imperial destroyers, and dispatch the sixth Superdreadnought group to disable the Imperials." He gave his orders with disinterest. There was no challenge here, only waiting.
As Ariidon watched the battle display, a ship suddenly appeared beyond the edge of the Imperial fleet. "What is that?" He pointed to the red dot that was now approaching the Imperial rear.
"An Imperial Sovereign-class, sir. It has taken heavy damage, but all its systems are operating at full efficiency." The Pronhoulite twitched again. "I see no way it could be functioning with such damage."
"Ignore it." Ariidon lapsed back to an amused boredom. "One ship is of no consequence."
--- --- ---
"Are you sure?" Sisko leaned forward on his throne.
"I'm sure, Admiral." The lieutenant continued to scan. "The Enterprise is somehow up and running, all systems operational."
"Signal them, get me Admiral Lore." This is good sign, Sisko thought. Morale had taken a hit when the banner ship of the Empire went down, but now it was charging to the fore.
"Admiral, I have the Enterprise." Sisko nodded.
On the screen he could see the ruin of the flag bridge of the Enterprise. Consoles were torn from their mounts, wires were dangling from the ceiling, and bodies littered the floor. But most disturbing was what was in the center of the image. There sat Admiral Lore on his command throne with a coil of glowing optical cable connected to one of his cranial ports. The cord shimmered with the volume of data traveling through it. Sisko was speechless.
"Hello, Admiral Sisko." Lore's mouth didn't move, but his voice came over the display from the Enterprise's systems. "I suppose an explanation is in order."
"You're damn right it is, Lore." Sisko felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It would be the M-5 debacle all over again. "What have you done?"
"The main computer core sustained heavy damage due to a warp-field backwash when two cores were ejected. All main systems were offline." Lore continued to stare straight ahead, not moving. "A Cardassian boarding party anesthetized over ninety-five percent of the crew, but I was able to overcome them. Unfortunately, environmental controls were offline, and the crew needed an antidote within ten minutes."
"So you thought you'd handle it yourself.?" There was an incredulous tone in Sisko's voice.
"Indeed, Sir. The crew has been treated, and should regain consciousness within fifteen minutes. I felt I could contribute to the battle in the meantime."
Sisko sighed and rubbed his head. What the hell. "Agreed, Admiral Lore. The command of the second group will remain with Commodore Minchori, but you are free to engage all Unity targets. We have a ceasefire agreement with the Cardassian fleet for the duration of the engagement."
A handful of heartbeats passed in silence. "Understood. Enterprise out." The display went back to the battle. A pair of wraiths passed over a Unity dreadnought group, tearing jagged holes into their ablative armor. The comm clicked to signal a message from Kira.
"Are you sure this is wise, Admiral? You know what happened to the M5."
"Yes, Captain." Sisko leaned back in his chair. "But right now I doubt we could stop Lore if we wanted to."
--- --- ---
The ISS Enterprise flew through the fleet with more agility than any ship her size had a right to be. Lore could see through every sensor, in every direction and in every spectrum. He marveled at the beauty of the EM signatures of the phaser blasts, of the radiation spikes emanating from the torpedoes that grazed his shields. Every hull seal, every conduit on the ship tingled in Lore's mind. He WAS the Enterprise. He was a ship of war.
Acquiring targets at extreme range, Lore sent volleys of quantum torpedoes to break up formations of Unity ships. He twisted, dodged, and wove a curtain of deadly energy around himself. Again and again he fired his phaser lances through ships, all the while cycling his shields so that they met individual hits with maximum strength, at a speed no humanoid mind could comprehend. He was actually using LESS energy for his shields than normal, but was absorbing far more damage.
Suddenly, Lore found himself in the middle of the Unity fleet, coming up hard on their Monitor ship. It was immense, but Lore's keen sensors detected a weakness. He powered up his torpedo launchers and emptied them into the rear of the ship before banking away. A flurry of blue-white explosions rocked the back of the vessel as its engines went dead. Lore mused, as he fought his way back to the fleet, that the Transcendence would never move again without significant repairs.
--- --- ---
"Commander! Main engines are down, as are warp cores four, seven and eight!" Alarms blared across the bridge of the Unity command ship.
"Seal the drive section at once!" Ariidon bellowed over the din. "We'll get by on thrusters until we can effect repairs. They can tow us to Bajor if we need." He glanced to his weapons officer. "How is our weapon status?"
"Full power, Commander."
"Excellent." Ariidon sat down. "Show them they aren't the only ones that can make crippling strikes."
--- --- ---
"Incoming!" The Saratoga was rocked by plasma blasts. A large battlegroup had broken through the line and was now pounding Kira mercilessly. "INCREASE SHIELDS! Target their weapons!"
"No effect, Captain! Primary power relays are offline!" There was panic in the air. The lights dimmed and came back on. "We just lost main power, Captain. We're on reserves and those are dropping fast."
Kira stood glaring in silent fury at the ships on the screen. Their blue lights glowed like the eyes of predators. "Abandon ship." She turned to her crew. "Abandon ship. Signal all crew. I'm going to the flag bridge with the Admiral. We'll engage the forcefields and continue to direct from there."
Crewmen scrambled to escape pods as Kira headed for her private turbolift. "Computer, activate automated combat sequence Beta four." The doors closed and she sank eight levels to the flag bridge.
The doors opened into a still bustling room. Flag staff would not be permitted to evacuate as long as the Admiral remained. "How bad is it, Admiral?" Kira took her seat next to Ben.
"Could be worse," he smiled to her. "The Cardassians and us are each down almost twenty-five percent, and we have a long way to go before we have numbers on the Unity."
"Can we retreat?" Kira checked the displays. Things were indeed going bad. Half of Eddington's group was gone, Minchori was fast becoming surrounded along with his fleet, and the Saratoga was now abandoned.
"No, we can't." Sisko shook his head. "If we did, they'd pick us off as we ran. Their weapons have a range better than our upgraded torpedoes. Hell, we can't even warp-ram them for all of the subspace interference around here." He looked at his XO "We're in trouble, Nerys."
"I know, Ben." Kira smiled. "At least I'm going to die for the right man." The ship shuddered under another volley and the rear wall of the bridge exploded. A sheet of fire swept across the bridge, throwing everyone to the floor. Sisko rolled over, trying to find a railing to steady himself. His grasping hand reached out, and instead found a small box. Instinctively, he held it to his chest and pressed the gems on its four sides.
The top of the box opened, and a shimmering white light flashed out.
In the middle of the fleet, a great wheel of light appeared. Over twenty kilometers across, it blossomed from nothingness into a great hole in space, with a golden light shining from it. All of the ships near it were brushed aside by the shock and arcs of energy coming from it, except the Saratoga. A wave on white energy suddenly leapt from the surface of Bajor, streaking faster than light into the hole. It dragged the Saratoga with it into the golden light, and then everything vanished.
--- --- ---
What is it? It is not the Sisko.
It is the Sisko, but another one. Another game.
"Game?" Suddenly Sisko was standing on the main deck of DS9.
"Another game." Jennifer was suddenly next to him. "You are another game. Our Sisko taught us about such things. "
"What? Who are you? Where am I?" He reached out to grab her, but she vanished. He turned around and was in his quarters.
Now his son Jake was speaking to him. "You are the Sisko. Another, Sisko. Your game is ending."
"Yes, I am losing the battle." Sisko looked at the being with his son's face. The eyes were not ones he recognized. "Why do you care?"
"We are of Bajor." Kira was at his side. "You are of Bajor. You will take our word to them. You have many tasks."
"You're damn right I do." He had better things to do than play riddles with aliens. Like find his son. "And winning that battle is one of them."
"He cannot win." Now Julian was speaking to Kira. "We must change the game."
"It is not linear." Kira shook her head.
"But he is of Bajor. Bajor must remain linear. Its game must not end." Julian looked to Sisko. "Will you play the game?"
"Will I fight? Yes." Sisko crossed his arms.
"We must tell him more, he must learn." Now Jennifer was standing with them.
"Not yet. He is not ready." Julian stretched out his hand, palm up, to Sisko. "We will send you help, to win the game. In one of your year's time, you will return to us at this place, and we will speak more." There was a flash of light, and Sisko was back on the floor of the bridge. Kira was next to him, badly burned.
She looked into his eyes. "Emissary...?" Her head dropped as she gasped for air. Her lungs were scarred, and now breathing was almost impossible.
"Medic!" Sisko bellowed and a blue-uniformed man came running. He knelt to treat Kira. "Give me a sensor report!"
"Admiral!" The lieutenant's voice was filled with disbelief. "I'm detecting almost three thousand old-style Jem'Hadar destroyers emerging from the anomaly.
"What?"
--- --- ---
"What?" Legate Damar was dumbfounded.
"I said, sir, that a Jem'Hadar fleet has emerged from the wormhole and is hailing us. They are looking for Gul-Dukat and are awaiting orders. They don't recognize the hull signatures, but they claim to be allies of the Cardassian Union."
Damar and Garak looked at each other. "What the hell is going on, Garak?"
Garak slowly craned his neck back. "I would say an opportunity, my dear Legate." Garak smiled. "Signal the lead Jem'Hadar ship, and give them our sensor feed, with the Unity fleet as enemy targets."
"Yes... YES!" Damar laughed out loud. "Order them to make every possible effort to destroy the Unity fleet."
--- --- ---
"What?" Fleet Commander Ariidon was dumbfounded.
"Commander, they are old style Jem'Hadar attack-class destroyers. They could be old Dominion remnants off the white and out for revenge, I don't know." The tactical officer's voice was quavering.
"They came from behind and started firing and ramming our ships on their rear sections, where shield strength was weakest They are wreaking havoc with our ships!" On the screen fireballs continued to blossom as the small fighters tore through the Unity fleet like locusts.
How in the universe could this be happening? Ariidon's mind whirled. "Signal all ships! Rotate modulation and target them. Keep trying to transmit-"
"Commander! There are eighteen destroyers closing in on our position at flank speed!"
"Evasive action! Bring weapons..." Ariidon remembered that the Transcendence's weapons were offline. "Screening fire, intercept-" But he never got a chance to finish the order, as over a dozen Jem'Hadar fighters tore through the armor and superstructure of the ship at full impulse.
Victory was life... and death.
--- --- ---
On the Flag Bridge of the Saratoga crewmen were cheering. The Jem'Hadar ships had destroyed most of the Unity capital ships, and now the smaller ones were fleeing into the subspace corridors.
"Stand down, all ships!" Sisko smiled and rolled his baseball in his hands. "Begin repairs and begin to bring the fleet under order for return to Bajor.
"Incoming transmission from the Cardassia's Song, Admiral."
Sisko turned to the screen and saw similar jubilation on Damar's bridge. "Well done, Admiral Sisko." Damar smiled. "I don't know where those ships came from, but I'm betting they were your doing. Someday you'll have to tell me."
"I look forward to it, Legate." Sisko laughed. "My ships will render you whatever assistance you need in retrieving your injured crewmen, and in making any repairs to your ships necessary to get you under way." An edge came into his voice. "In one day all operational ships will leave the system."
"Understood, Admiral." Damar nodded, his eyes narrowing. "And I offer to you the same assistance."
"Thank you, Legate." Sisko turned to end the transmission.
"Oh, Admiral?"
"Yes, Legate?" Sisko raised an eyebrow.
"Find your son." Damar. Gave a military nod, and the channel closed.
"A home run, Admiral?" Kira was in her seat, groggy from the medication she had been given.
Admiral Sisko sat on his throne and began to check damage reports. "I'd call it a Grand Slam, Captain."