Sonata and Richard slowly walked though the virtual forest that existed
within their minds.
"We responded to your ship's distress signal; when we arrived at its co- ordinates, we found it unoccupied. Can you tell me what happened to everyone?" Sonata asked.
"Besides the fact they turned us into animals for use as some sort of exhibit? I've heard of some very strange things happening to starships and their crews. Evolution or de-evolution like mutations, rapid aging, crewman gaining God-like abilities and/or intelligence and ships being hurtled to the other side of the universe. I have to say, I never expected this when I boarded that transport!" Richard said.
"Indeed," Sonata responded, raising his left eyebrow. "This situation is not a logical conclusion to your trip. However, we must accept it and ascertain how to proceed. Firstly, how did they do this to you?"
"Well, it's difficult to describe,"
"Then show me. Concentrate on that memory, if necessary focus on a sight, smell or sound associated with it in order to re-construct it,"
Richard closed his eyes, deeply trying to concentrate. All around them, the forest turned a very bright white color until it faded into nothingness. For several seconds both were floating in a sea of energy. Sonata was about to give more advice when a large dark chamber slowly appeared around them.
Inside the chamber were dozens if not hundreds of pod like devices. In the row they stood in, Richard was in the pod directly in front of Sonata. The pod was nearly three times his size and an invisible field suspended him in it. Above the pod, a display showed the creature it was going to change him into. The controls for unlocking and altering his species as well as other settings were located on the front.
Several members of the species that captured the crew patrolled the rows, their boots clanging against the metal floor as they walked. Since this was a memory, they took no notice of Sonata.
Sonata walked over to the pod containing Richard. He looked in to see Richard stripped of his clothes and banging on it, trying to break free of it. This continued until one of the aliens walked over to him and typed several commands into the control on the front.
"Don't worry Human, this will all be over soon enough," he said. Sonata detected an almost apologetic sound in the alien's voice. His tone however, was mostly condescending, as though he could stop this but choose not to. When he pressed on a large blue button on the panel, the pod hummed to life. Light filled the inside and an expression of Panic filled Richard's face.
Sonata could hear the others screaming, begging the aliens to stop this. Some were angry, insisting they'd never get away with it while others tried desperately to escape. In many cases, animal like sounds quickly replaced their cries. Sonata looked into the pod at Richard and saw what it was doing to him.
Cream fur was growing on Richard's chest while brown fur grew elsewhere. As well, Richards body shape was reforming. He slowly shrunk as his proportions changed, making his torso long and his legs and arms short and stubby. A webbing developed between each of his fingers and toes as all were reshaped into the paws of an otter. Richard's face changed, his teeth becoming sharp and pointy as his jaw and nose changed into an otter muzzle. His human hair fell as his eyes and ears changed into otter equivalents. A long and strong tail grew from Richards's tailbone, growing nearly as thick and long as his torso. It was a fascinating, albeit disturbing process for Sonata to watch. He could tell Richard was in a lot of pain and appeared to be fading in and out of consciousness. A growing and squeaking like sound soon replaced his cries for mercy. When it was all over, a river otter floated in the pod.
Everything again grew fuzzy, turning white. Soon, the forest reformed and Richard was standing there before Sonata.
"That minute was one of the most terrifying in my life. The process was ... painful. Perhaps if they did something to ease the pain and I wanted it to happen then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad but as it was, it was horrible," Richard said.
"I regret you and the others had to go through this. Do you have any idea how this technology works or why these people are doing this?" Sonata asked.
"I heard some of them talking after. I don't think they expected us to retain our ability to comprehend what they were saying. They said the intended purpose for the pods was repairing severe injuries, curing diseases and birth defects. Unfortunately, someone could reprogram them for this purpose. Normally, such use is illegal but these guys are renegades and aren't part of their government. They said we were going to make them considerable profit, I assume this zoo paid them for us," Richard said.
"Your ordeal should hopefully be over soon. In the meantime, I must break the meld to inform the captain of what you've told me."
Richard nodded and thanked Sonata for the help before Sonata bowed his head and held his hands in a meditative stance to break the meld. Both he and Richard awoke to find sickbay dark, the pulsing red light of the klaxons casting a creepy glow on the room. Bashir and a nurse approached to both and scanned them to make sure they were okay.
"Lieutenant, were you able to make contact?" he asked.
"Yes; doctor, I must speak with the Captain," Sonata said.
"The captains busy at the moment; we've got an enemy ship closing in on our position," Bashir said.
The ship suddenly shook. Everyone steadied himself or herself as they wondered what was happening.
On the bridge, everyone was tense. The Li'Vek drew close and was firing spatial charges in an attempt to draw the Defiant out of cloak. Sisko sat with his hands folded under his chin, realizing they would no longer be able to run. Eventually, he knew that ship would fire its main weapons. While under cloak, a direct hit could potentially do catastrophic damage.
Standing up, Sisko turned to Worf.
"Mr. Worf, prepare to drop cloak, raise the shields and ready all weapons." The Li'Vek loomed over the planet, watching as space just ahead of them distorted slightly, forming into the defiant as her cloak was deactivated. "Tactical status," Sisko requested.
Worf scanned the Li'Vek, not happy with what he was seeing, clearly evidenced by his expression.
"Captain, that ship is heavily armed and well protected. We are no match for them," he informed the captain.
"If we can't fight our way out of this then we'll have to talk our way out. Hail them."
They quickly responded and the image of the commander appeared of the screen in place of the planet and his ship.
"This is Commander Ji'Vek of the imperial cruiser Li'Vek. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I am Captain Benjamin Sisko of the Federation Starship Defiant. We know you were the ones that attack our transport ship and took its crew and passengers. I want them returned to us immediately."
Ji'Vek appeared to be listening to a transmission while he addressed Sisko. Sisko had a feeling he was talking to his people on the surface and no doubt knew of the Defiant's away team's presence and possibly their location.
"Captain, you have no authority here. I suggest you leave now while your ship is still intact," Li'Vek arrogantly demanded.
"Commander, you'll find I don't respond well to threats," Sisko responded, the anger in his voice evident.
"Be realistic Captain. You've scanned our vessel as we have scanned yours; your weapons and shields are no match for ours. I'm giving you a chance to leave now ... while you still can. I will not give you another," Li'Vek said, immediately closing the channel.
"Captain, they're charging weapons," Worf reported.
"We can't leave the away teams behind and I'm not about to leave all those innocent people to their fate. Mr. Burke, evasive maneuvers, crewman Lang, try hailing one of those other ships; if we're not the only ones who's people they've done this to then perhaps they'd be willing to help."
The COM system suddenly chimed, Bashir calling the bridge. He informed Sisko of Sonata's findings, which only increased the Captains determination.
"Captain, one of the ships is responding to our hails," Lang responded.
"Put them though," Sisko ordered.
Unfortunately, the Defiant rocked from weapons fire a second later. It seemed their time was up.
--
Kira and Odo ran in the direction of the away teams last lifesign readings. Kira had a feeling Jadzia had managed to mask them. They appeared headed in the direction of a kiosk. Unfortunately, several guards were closing in. Their ground speed was slightly slower then Kira and Odo, but they had a considerable lead. Odo had an idea and stopped Kira.
"We need to cover ground more quickly. I have an idea," he said.
Before Kira's eyes, he morphed into a majestic horse complete with a saddle. With a neigh, he beckoned Kira to ride him. She did so, climbing on top of him and he quickly began moving, soon running at a gallop speed, allowing the them to cover ground at a much faster speed.
They arrived at the Kiosk only a few minutes ahead of their pursuers. Kira dismounted and Odo resumed his humanoid form. Kira opened the door to find their comrades having taken shelter inside.
The three of them had their phasers ready and stood down with relief at the sight of Odo and Kira.
"Are we glad to see you guys," Jadzia said.
"And we you. We have several guards after us. We need to get out of here now," Kira answered.
"Agreed," O'Brien answered, tapping his combadge. "O'Brien to Defiant, five to beam up."
Sisko responded a few seconds later, obviously agitated.
"We're a bit ... busy at the moment Chief. We'll let you know when we can lower our shields. In the mean time, stay hidden!"
He closed the channel a few seconds later, leaving the team wondering what do to. With the guards getting closer by the second, Odo thought of something. Slowly opening the door and then closing it behind him, the team heard him morphing and wondered what he had planned.
--
The defiant shuddered heavily from the cruiser's weapons fire. Even as they maneuvered under and around it, multiple purple beams from emitters scattered all around the cruiser struck her.
A thin layer of smoke filled the bridge, making breathing difficult. The scent of singed circuitry accompanied the smoke, only adding to the already unpleasant atmosphere.
As another hit rocked her, a conduit at the rear of the bridge ruptured, pouring dark smoke into the area. Two of the consoles in the area shot sparks out just behind a pair of fleeing crewmen.
"Shields down to forty percent; hull breech on decks three and five. Emergency force fields are in place but I'm not sure how long they'll hold," Worf yelled.
"Mr. Burke, take us 12,000 kilometers above them then execute attack pattern epsilon-two-four, it may confuse their weapons," Sisko ordered.
"Yes sir," Mr. Burke acknowledged.
"Sir," Lang called out. Sisko looked in his direction. The crewman's hair was a mess and he had a nasty cut above his right eye as well as a tear on the right sleeve of his uniform from a console explosion he had just barley avoided. The Captain had ordered him to sickbay but they had their hands full at the moment and anyone still able bodied had little choice but to wait. "I've found a weakness in their shields in their dorsal section. We should be able to disable at least some of their weapons. It may not be much..."
"At this point crewman, I'll take any advantage you can give me. Mr. Worf, lock onto those coordinates, Mr. Burke, take us within 200 kilometers then enter a strafing course."
The Defiant soared above the cruiser, turning around and ruining directly at her, barrel rolling in an attempt to confuse their sensors. When she was within point blank range, she fired two quantum torpedoes. The blue weapons cruised from the launchers and smashed into the cruisers weapons array, producing an explosion that destroyed several of their weapons.
Lieutenant Burke took the Defiant over the cruisers dorsal section, flying her over it as Work fired several pot shots with the phasers. Just before they flew in front of the ship, Burke flew her up and over the cruiser, turning the Defiant around to face her.
"We've destroyed one of their primary weapon arrays and inflicted moderate damage to their dorsal section. However, their other weapons are still online. They're recharging those weapons and will have them functional in about five minutes." Lang reported.
"It's a start and enough time to get our teams out of there," Sisko answered.
"Captain, I'm picking up two more cruisers on an intercept course! They're the same design as that cruiser and they're charging weapons and ... targeting us," Worf reported.
"Ready evasive maneuvers," Sisko dejectedly.
--
Four guards ran by the kiosk containing the away teams. They stopped and scanned the area, certain they were detecting something.
"I believe they're in that that building," one of them said, pointing it out with her top right arm.
She motioned the others to get into an attack posture, not noticing the bulge just above the door.
When they slowly approached the door, that bulge began to ripple before four tendril like arms shot out from it. Each arm grabbed one of the guard's weapons while four more arms shot out and struck the guards, knocking each to the ground with enough force to stun them.
Kira and the others ran out of the building as Odo resumed his humanoid form seconds later. They each grabbed a dropped weapon and pointed them at the guards.
"Perhaps you'd like to tell us what is going on here and why you've done this to all these innocent people," she said to the lead female guard.
The guard looked at her with arrogance, obviously not intending to say anything.
---
The other two cruisers loomed closer to the Defiant as their fellow ship got its weapons back online. The Defiant was ready for one heck of a fight. However, before anyone had a chance to fire a shot, four other ships maneuvered between the Defiant and the approaching two of its attackers.
These ships were a brilliant white color with an elegant elliptical shape with nacelles at the port and starboard ends and impulse engines at the back and about half the size of the cruisers.
"Captain, we're being hailed by the lead vessel of those four," Lang reported.
"On screen,"
A female with light bluish-green skin, light yellow eyes and black hair appeared on screen. From her uniform design, she appeared to be the leader of the squadron of ships.
"Captain, we have observed your battle and are here to help. We contacted the government of this planet. They were not aware of the true nature of the species they were sold. Our people were abducted as yours were. We offer our assistance in putting an end to this," she said.
"Thank you for your help," Sisko responded, turning to Lang. "Mr. Lang, hail Commander Ji'Vek,"
The image of Ji'Vek appeared on the screen. His bridge was obviously damaged, not to the same degree as the Defiant's but enough that Sisko knew he had the advantage.
"You fought well Captain; perhaps another day we will meet in battle again," Li'Vek answered, quickly cutting the channel.
On the surface, the four guards in front of the away team de-materialized before them.
The Defiant watched as the commanders ship lead the two others away from the planet. Normally he'd orders a pursuit course but now; they had more important matters to attend to.
"Sisko to O'Brien are your teams all right down there?" he asked.
"Yes sir, we captured four guards that were pursing us but someone transported them away. Are you okay?" he asked.
"They were likely beamed up to one of the cruisers. We've managed to drive them off with some assistance. We took damage but we're intact. For now, we need to figure out what we're going to do with all those people down there."
---
"We responded to your ship's distress signal; when we arrived at its co- ordinates, we found it unoccupied. Can you tell me what happened to everyone?" Sonata asked.
"Besides the fact they turned us into animals for use as some sort of exhibit? I've heard of some very strange things happening to starships and their crews. Evolution or de-evolution like mutations, rapid aging, crewman gaining God-like abilities and/or intelligence and ships being hurtled to the other side of the universe. I have to say, I never expected this when I boarded that transport!" Richard said.
"Indeed," Sonata responded, raising his left eyebrow. "This situation is not a logical conclusion to your trip. However, we must accept it and ascertain how to proceed. Firstly, how did they do this to you?"
"Well, it's difficult to describe,"
"Then show me. Concentrate on that memory, if necessary focus on a sight, smell or sound associated with it in order to re-construct it,"
Richard closed his eyes, deeply trying to concentrate. All around them, the forest turned a very bright white color until it faded into nothingness. For several seconds both were floating in a sea of energy. Sonata was about to give more advice when a large dark chamber slowly appeared around them.
Inside the chamber were dozens if not hundreds of pod like devices. In the row they stood in, Richard was in the pod directly in front of Sonata. The pod was nearly three times his size and an invisible field suspended him in it. Above the pod, a display showed the creature it was going to change him into. The controls for unlocking and altering his species as well as other settings were located on the front.
Several members of the species that captured the crew patrolled the rows, their boots clanging against the metal floor as they walked. Since this was a memory, they took no notice of Sonata.
Sonata walked over to the pod containing Richard. He looked in to see Richard stripped of his clothes and banging on it, trying to break free of it. This continued until one of the aliens walked over to him and typed several commands into the control on the front.
"Don't worry Human, this will all be over soon enough," he said. Sonata detected an almost apologetic sound in the alien's voice. His tone however, was mostly condescending, as though he could stop this but choose not to. When he pressed on a large blue button on the panel, the pod hummed to life. Light filled the inside and an expression of Panic filled Richard's face.
Sonata could hear the others screaming, begging the aliens to stop this. Some were angry, insisting they'd never get away with it while others tried desperately to escape. In many cases, animal like sounds quickly replaced their cries. Sonata looked into the pod at Richard and saw what it was doing to him.
Cream fur was growing on Richard's chest while brown fur grew elsewhere. As well, Richards body shape was reforming. He slowly shrunk as his proportions changed, making his torso long and his legs and arms short and stubby. A webbing developed between each of his fingers and toes as all were reshaped into the paws of an otter. Richard's face changed, his teeth becoming sharp and pointy as his jaw and nose changed into an otter muzzle. His human hair fell as his eyes and ears changed into otter equivalents. A long and strong tail grew from Richards's tailbone, growing nearly as thick and long as his torso. It was a fascinating, albeit disturbing process for Sonata to watch. He could tell Richard was in a lot of pain and appeared to be fading in and out of consciousness. A growing and squeaking like sound soon replaced his cries for mercy. When it was all over, a river otter floated in the pod.
Everything again grew fuzzy, turning white. Soon, the forest reformed and Richard was standing there before Sonata.
"That minute was one of the most terrifying in my life. The process was ... painful. Perhaps if they did something to ease the pain and I wanted it to happen then maybe it wouldn't have been so bad but as it was, it was horrible," Richard said.
"I regret you and the others had to go through this. Do you have any idea how this technology works or why these people are doing this?" Sonata asked.
"I heard some of them talking after. I don't think they expected us to retain our ability to comprehend what they were saying. They said the intended purpose for the pods was repairing severe injuries, curing diseases and birth defects. Unfortunately, someone could reprogram them for this purpose. Normally, such use is illegal but these guys are renegades and aren't part of their government. They said we were going to make them considerable profit, I assume this zoo paid them for us," Richard said.
"Your ordeal should hopefully be over soon. In the meantime, I must break the meld to inform the captain of what you've told me."
Richard nodded and thanked Sonata for the help before Sonata bowed his head and held his hands in a meditative stance to break the meld. Both he and Richard awoke to find sickbay dark, the pulsing red light of the klaxons casting a creepy glow on the room. Bashir and a nurse approached to both and scanned them to make sure they were okay.
"Lieutenant, were you able to make contact?" he asked.
"Yes; doctor, I must speak with the Captain," Sonata said.
"The captains busy at the moment; we've got an enemy ship closing in on our position," Bashir said.
The ship suddenly shook. Everyone steadied himself or herself as they wondered what was happening.
On the bridge, everyone was tense. The Li'Vek drew close and was firing spatial charges in an attempt to draw the Defiant out of cloak. Sisko sat with his hands folded under his chin, realizing they would no longer be able to run. Eventually, he knew that ship would fire its main weapons. While under cloak, a direct hit could potentially do catastrophic damage.
Standing up, Sisko turned to Worf.
"Mr. Worf, prepare to drop cloak, raise the shields and ready all weapons." The Li'Vek loomed over the planet, watching as space just ahead of them distorted slightly, forming into the defiant as her cloak was deactivated. "Tactical status," Sisko requested.
Worf scanned the Li'Vek, not happy with what he was seeing, clearly evidenced by his expression.
"Captain, that ship is heavily armed and well protected. We are no match for them," he informed the captain.
"If we can't fight our way out of this then we'll have to talk our way out. Hail them."
They quickly responded and the image of the commander appeared of the screen in place of the planet and his ship.
"This is Commander Ji'Vek of the imperial cruiser Li'Vek. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I am Captain Benjamin Sisko of the Federation Starship Defiant. We know you were the ones that attack our transport ship and took its crew and passengers. I want them returned to us immediately."
Ji'Vek appeared to be listening to a transmission while he addressed Sisko. Sisko had a feeling he was talking to his people on the surface and no doubt knew of the Defiant's away team's presence and possibly their location.
"Captain, you have no authority here. I suggest you leave now while your ship is still intact," Li'Vek arrogantly demanded.
"Commander, you'll find I don't respond well to threats," Sisko responded, the anger in his voice evident.
"Be realistic Captain. You've scanned our vessel as we have scanned yours; your weapons and shields are no match for ours. I'm giving you a chance to leave now ... while you still can. I will not give you another," Li'Vek said, immediately closing the channel.
"Captain, they're charging weapons," Worf reported.
"We can't leave the away teams behind and I'm not about to leave all those innocent people to their fate. Mr. Burke, evasive maneuvers, crewman Lang, try hailing one of those other ships; if we're not the only ones who's people they've done this to then perhaps they'd be willing to help."
The COM system suddenly chimed, Bashir calling the bridge. He informed Sisko of Sonata's findings, which only increased the Captains determination.
"Captain, one of the ships is responding to our hails," Lang responded.
"Put them though," Sisko ordered.
Unfortunately, the Defiant rocked from weapons fire a second later. It seemed their time was up.
--
Kira and Odo ran in the direction of the away teams last lifesign readings. Kira had a feeling Jadzia had managed to mask them. They appeared headed in the direction of a kiosk. Unfortunately, several guards were closing in. Their ground speed was slightly slower then Kira and Odo, but they had a considerable lead. Odo had an idea and stopped Kira.
"We need to cover ground more quickly. I have an idea," he said.
Before Kira's eyes, he morphed into a majestic horse complete with a saddle. With a neigh, he beckoned Kira to ride him. She did so, climbing on top of him and he quickly began moving, soon running at a gallop speed, allowing the them to cover ground at a much faster speed.
They arrived at the Kiosk only a few minutes ahead of their pursuers. Kira dismounted and Odo resumed his humanoid form. Kira opened the door to find their comrades having taken shelter inside.
The three of them had their phasers ready and stood down with relief at the sight of Odo and Kira.
"Are we glad to see you guys," Jadzia said.
"And we you. We have several guards after us. We need to get out of here now," Kira answered.
"Agreed," O'Brien answered, tapping his combadge. "O'Brien to Defiant, five to beam up."
Sisko responded a few seconds later, obviously agitated.
"We're a bit ... busy at the moment Chief. We'll let you know when we can lower our shields. In the mean time, stay hidden!"
He closed the channel a few seconds later, leaving the team wondering what do to. With the guards getting closer by the second, Odo thought of something. Slowly opening the door and then closing it behind him, the team heard him morphing and wondered what he had planned.
--
The defiant shuddered heavily from the cruiser's weapons fire. Even as they maneuvered under and around it, multiple purple beams from emitters scattered all around the cruiser struck her.
A thin layer of smoke filled the bridge, making breathing difficult. The scent of singed circuitry accompanied the smoke, only adding to the already unpleasant atmosphere.
As another hit rocked her, a conduit at the rear of the bridge ruptured, pouring dark smoke into the area. Two of the consoles in the area shot sparks out just behind a pair of fleeing crewmen.
"Shields down to forty percent; hull breech on decks three and five. Emergency force fields are in place but I'm not sure how long they'll hold," Worf yelled.
"Mr. Burke, take us 12,000 kilometers above them then execute attack pattern epsilon-two-four, it may confuse their weapons," Sisko ordered.
"Yes sir," Mr. Burke acknowledged.
"Sir," Lang called out. Sisko looked in his direction. The crewman's hair was a mess and he had a nasty cut above his right eye as well as a tear on the right sleeve of his uniform from a console explosion he had just barley avoided. The Captain had ordered him to sickbay but they had their hands full at the moment and anyone still able bodied had little choice but to wait. "I've found a weakness in their shields in their dorsal section. We should be able to disable at least some of their weapons. It may not be much..."
"At this point crewman, I'll take any advantage you can give me. Mr. Worf, lock onto those coordinates, Mr. Burke, take us within 200 kilometers then enter a strafing course."
The Defiant soared above the cruiser, turning around and ruining directly at her, barrel rolling in an attempt to confuse their sensors. When she was within point blank range, she fired two quantum torpedoes. The blue weapons cruised from the launchers and smashed into the cruisers weapons array, producing an explosion that destroyed several of their weapons.
Lieutenant Burke took the Defiant over the cruisers dorsal section, flying her over it as Work fired several pot shots with the phasers. Just before they flew in front of the ship, Burke flew her up and over the cruiser, turning the Defiant around to face her.
"We've destroyed one of their primary weapon arrays and inflicted moderate damage to their dorsal section. However, their other weapons are still online. They're recharging those weapons and will have them functional in about five minutes." Lang reported.
"It's a start and enough time to get our teams out of there," Sisko answered.
"Captain, I'm picking up two more cruisers on an intercept course! They're the same design as that cruiser and they're charging weapons and ... targeting us," Worf reported.
"Ready evasive maneuvers," Sisko dejectedly.
--
Four guards ran by the kiosk containing the away teams. They stopped and scanned the area, certain they were detecting something.
"I believe they're in that that building," one of them said, pointing it out with her top right arm.
She motioned the others to get into an attack posture, not noticing the bulge just above the door.
When they slowly approached the door, that bulge began to ripple before four tendril like arms shot out from it. Each arm grabbed one of the guard's weapons while four more arms shot out and struck the guards, knocking each to the ground with enough force to stun them.
Kira and the others ran out of the building as Odo resumed his humanoid form seconds later. They each grabbed a dropped weapon and pointed them at the guards.
"Perhaps you'd like to tell us what is going on here and why you've done this to all these innocent people," she said to the lead female guard.
The guard looked at her with arrogance, obviously not intending to say anything.
---
The other two cruisers loomed closer to the Defiant as their fellow ship got its weapons back online. The Defiant was ready for one heck of a fight. However, before anyone had a chance to fire a shot, four other ships maneuvered between the Defiant and the approaching two of its attackers.
These ships were a brilliant white color with an elegant elliptical shape with nacelles at the port and starboard ends and impulse engines at the back and about half the size of the cruisers.
"Captain, we're being hailed by the lead vessel of those four," Lang reported.
"On screen,"
A female with light bluish-green skin, light yellow eyes and black hair appeared on screen. From her uniform design, she appeared to be the leader of the squadron of ships.
"Captain, we have observed your battle and are here to help. We contacted the government of this planet. They were not aware of the true nature of the species they were sold. Our people were abducted as yours were. We offer our assistance in putting an end to this," she said.
"Thank you for your help," Sisko responded, turning to Lang. "Mr. Lang, hail Commander Ji'Vek,"
The image of Ji'Vek appeared on the screen. His bridge was obviously damaged, not to the same degree as the Defiant's but enough that Sisko knew he had the advantage.
"You fought well Captain; perhaps another day we will meet in battle again," Li'Vek answered, quickly cutting the channel.
On the surface, the four guards in front of the away team de-materialized before them.
The Defiant watched as the commanders ship lead the two others away from the planet. Normally he'd orders a pursuit course but now; they had more important matters to attend to.
"Sisko to O'Brien are your teams all right down there?" he asked.
"Yes sir, we captured four guards that were pursing us but someone transported them away. Are you okay?" he asked.
"They were likely beamed up to one of the cruisers. We've managed to drive them off with some assistance. We took damage but we're intact. For now, we need to figure out what we're going to do with all those people down there."
---