On the battle scarred decks of the Enterprise, Captain Antilles organized a desperate defense.
"Here they come again!" Chief O'brien shouted and leveled his phaser at the end of the hallway.
The Stormtroopers charged again, repeating their nearly successful attempt to take the last strongpoint leading to sickbay. O'brien, Captain Antilles, and a dozen other mixed consular guards and crewmen fired as one and the first few imperials fell bonelessly to the floor sporting gaping wounds, reeled drunkenly and collapsed unconscious or in the case of those hit by Chief O'brien, vanished completely.
O'brien smiled grimly after each kill and kept his phaser set at maximum. He picked them up from the wounded and drained the power packs one after another. His wife, Keiko, worked in hydroponics, which, after all, had already fallen to the imperials.
The last of the defenders were torn, bloodied and outnumbered, but many refused to surrender or retreat further. Starfleet medical personnel rushed in and out of the fire fight to rescue their downed comrades, and not without loss. Nurse Ogawa lay trapped in a doorway across the hall from Captain Antilles, trying to hold in her pulped intestines with one hand and crawl away from the fighting with the other. Her eyes met with his and in that one instant he made a fateful decision.
"Cover me!" Antilles shouted. O'brien and the others fired as one and he charged across the hallway. He leaped over nurse Ogawa, then turned and pulled her inside the room by her shoulders.
"No! Get out!" She grated.
"Belay that Lieutenant. I'm getting you out of here."
The young woman shreiked in pain and flailed wildly. Antilles' muscular frame had no trouble hauling her out of the room and back across the hallway. He pulled her with one arm and fired his blaster with the other, just as the Stormtrooper charge reached its height.
The Stormtroopers advanced in rushes, the survivors of the first wave knelt and laid suppressive fire, while the second row tossed thermal detonators liberally down the hallways. The cacophony of explosions drowned out the cries of the wounded and the shriek of blaster fire. When the smoke cleared, the federation strongpoint: Antilles, O'brien, Ogawa, and the rest of the ad-hoc team were simply gone.
A Stormtrooper stood and surveyed the area with a bulky thermal sighting device, "they're all gone, we blasted them to atoms!"
"Search the area carefully, bring me some prisoners," barked the commander.
The troopers advanced cautiously down the blackened halls and over the twisted bodies of the fallen. CR-821 could not even hear his commander, only the sound of his blood rushing through his temples. He waved his EP-11 back and forth, waiting for some new rebel trick. The blaster fire was bad enough, but those disintegrating beams were the worst! Where did they get such an evil weapon? He turned the corner and found a doorway gaping open with light spilling into the hall. He keyed his throat mike and broadcast to the rest of the platoon.
"Sir, CR-821 here, contact front. Moving to investigate, out."
The commander and the bulk of the squad waited tensely in the hall, weapons out waiting for an ambush.
"What do you see troop?"
Static, then, "uh, sir, I've got a medical bay, doctors and dozens of patients--they've surrendered."
The commander let out the breath he had been holding, "groovy," he growled, then waved his squad forward.
They found CR-821 holding a half a dozen humanoids at bay with his blaster. They cowered in a cluster near dozens of wounded lying almost on top of one another all along the walls, both atop, between and under the normal hospitalization beds. All except for one older blonde woman in a blue jumpsuit; she stood her ground and was in the trooper's face, leaning heavily in a cane and shouting just as loud as he was.
"And I am telling you, whoever you are, that there are no weapons here, and that we have surrendered. So get the hell out of my sickbay, now!"
The stormtrooper commander stepped forward and motioned for CR-821 to back down. Once glance around the room showed a half dozen stormtroopers amongst the wounded, all apparently being treated along with the rebels.
"Ok baby, we'll go, but you try onetrick," he waved a gauntleted finger at her, "and we start executing prisoners."
"I accept," agreed Doctor Pulaski softly.
"Move on to the next deck, two men stay here. Comms! Alert the Devastator to send in medical droids and another two squads to evacuate the wounded and prisoners."
Catherine Pulaski stared at the retreating backs of the stormtroopers for a moment, and then turned back to the task of saving as many lives as possible. Did that man just call me, 'baby'?
The last two troopers took up position at the entrance to sickbay, standing silently like a pair of guardian statues.
Jean Luc Picard sat in his ready room, patiently watching the progress of the Imperials burning their way through the door. He sighed to himself and glanced around at the models of the various incarnations of the Enterprise throughout federation history, his own trinkets and keepsakes from a hundred worlds, and, on his desk, a PADD detailing engine readouts and personnel reviews waiting for his perusal. He set his phaser up on the table and picked up the PADD, and glanced at the names, then back up at the door. How did it come to this?
"Q! You wanted to see me humbled, well; you've got what you wanted. Stop this!" Picard shouted.
"Au contraire, mon Capitane," Q appeared behind the desk, looking out the window, hands clasped behind his back. He was clad a dark grey uniform with a small peaked cap and red and blue insignia on the chest. What makes you think that this--" he gestured with a gloved hand to indicate the Enterprise, and thus the entire situation. "--is what I wanted?"
Picard blinked, "My people are dead Q! My ship--"
"Ah, yes. You're precious ship. Tsk Tsk, Jean Luc, is your vision so limited. What did I say to you? I told you of the dangers, and yet you pushed blindly ahead," Q's strange uniform disappeared, replaced by a 20th century suit, fedora, tie, press badge, and bulky silver microphone. Q glanced up at the 'sky' in mock horror and wailed: "Oh, the humanity!"
"That's enough Q! I have had enough--" Picard launched out of his chair.
Q turned slowly, "Have you Picard? Have you really had enough?"
"Am I mad, or is that a hint of regret I hear in your voice Q?"
Q stepped forward and stared directly into Picard's eyes, "going down with the ship captain? I expected better from you."
"What would you have me do, Q, beg? I will do it if you make this all go away."
"Oh no Mon capitaine, this is no illusion. This is as real as your, primitive existence gets."
"So, we are doomed then," Picard sank back into his chair and placed a hand over his eyes.
Q sighed, "Oh, don't be so dramatic Jean-Luc. Where there is a will there is a way."
With a flash, Q vanished, leaving Captian Jean-Luc Picard alone with his thoughts.
Picard stood up and tapped his communicator, "Picard to Commander Riker."
"Riker here," came his first officer's disembodied voice.
"Listen carefully Number One, I am about to be captured, but I have one last order for you."
Less than a minute later, Picard's door burst open and imperial stormtroopers rushed inside.
Geordi Laforge pumped his good arm up in the air as the lights came on in main engineering, "Yes!"
"Data, we did it!" Ensign Gomez hugged the android for a moment as a brief rush of euphoria swept through the crew.
Readout panels and status boards lit up all over engineering, as the warp core began to flood the ship with power once again.
The race was on, for the remaining crew to shunt the power to still functioning systems and avoid further damage.
"Ok, we've got lights, full life support, the holo-deck, the main computer, no weapons yet, but half impulse and maybe warp, hmmm, blah blah blah... aha! transporters functioning!"
Data and Geordi looked at one another, and a big smile broke across the chief engineer's face.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Data?"
"I believe I understand your strategy, Geordi. Computer, locate commander Riker, Chief O'brien, Lt. Commander Worf, Doctor Pulaski, Counselor Troi, and Captain Picard."
"There he is, stun him!"
Jean-Luc Picard made a simple choice, he would not die, but instead he would live to fight another day.
The phaser fired once on wide beam, heavy stun and three troopers crumpled to the floor.
Before he could fire once more, a blue energy discharge struck Picard full on and he slumped over his desk.
A stormtrooper knelt over Picard and checked his vitals.
"He'll be ok, let's move him back to the breach with the others."
Moments before, O'brien and his ad hoc security team appeared aboard the battle bridge in the secondary hull, and with only a quick glance around recognized their situation.
"Thank you Geordi!" O'brien crowed. Even the consular guards laughed in relief at not being reduced to their component atoms.
Captain Antilles and Chief O'brien took control of the mob on the battle bridge and began to organize the survivors, the first order of business was to begin the saucer separation as soon as possible, but for that they would need at least one of the command crew.
"Picard to commander Riker," Riker smiled in spite of himself at hearing Captain Picard's voice.
"Riker here."
"Listen carefully Number One, I am about to be captured, but I have one last order for you." Picard swallowed heavily and aimed his phaser at the door as he spoke. "You are to conduct saucer separation and flee this system as quickly as possible. You will also send an away team to recover the driods and locate this general Kenobi," Picard paused, "Q was here Will, and we are not going home any time soon."
"Understood Captain, implementing part II now."
"Good luck, and godspeed number one."
"You too sir."
"Riker to Laforge, implement phase II."
Chief O'brien glanced around. Column after column of blue sparkles announced that his tranporters were working again, the lights flickered and came alive, and even the crew stations flared into life. Deanna Troi and princess Leia appeared on the battlebridge, along with the supine form of nurse Ogawa, and Lt. Commander Worf. Missing was Ensign Crusher, Doctor Pulaski, and his wife amongst many others. He knelt and checked the chief of security and the nurse.
"My god," He cried and tapped his communicator, "medical emergency, battlebridge!"
Deanna Troi rushed to his side, "I can feel them, and they're alive!"
Darth Vader stalked the halls of the Enterprise, lightsaber in hand. He moved slowly, and deliberately with a reinforced platoon of the Devastators best troops in tow. The Sith lord entered the Enterprise bridge with his entourage.
"Gentlemen, report."
"The Death star plans are NOT in the main computer," stated a Stormtrooper messenger.
Another Imperial officer strode up, "Lord Vader, no transmissions were sent by the blockade runner. But an escape pod was jettisoned during the fighting. No life sings were detected on board, but due to their matter transmission technology, the plans could have been sent anywhere."
" No commander, they are on the planet, I can feel it. Send a detatchment down to the surface, the princess could have hidden the plans in there," Vader turned again and saw a beautiful woman being escorted towards him, in shackles led by a pair of stormtroopers.
"Darth Vader," Guinan spat, "only you could be so bold. When you find out who you have been fooling with I am sure you will be as sur--"
"Do I know you?" Vader rumbled.
"My name is Guinan." She paused and stared into his eyes, "I'm the bartender," she added, and smiled brightly at the armored giant.
"That makes you part of the rebel alliance and a traitor, take her awa-wait." Vader stopped his tirade with his gauntleted hand pointing in her face.
"You! You were the one who opposed me."
Guinan took a bow, "with pride."
Vader nodded, "You may be strong in the force, but there will be time later to educate you fully, take her away."
Two Stormtroopers arrived, carrying Captain Picard's inert form between them.
"So," Vader paused for two long breaths, "this is Jhonnluke Pikard."
Suddenly, Picard's inert form disappeared and a moment later more columns of blue light erupted all around the bridge. The dozen Stormtroopers guarding the imperial officers vanished. The officers reacted with shock and did not notice until it was too late that four other transporter beams appeared in their midst and materialized as four federation officers. Three security officers and Commander Riker appeared and fired almost in the same instant and both of the Imperial officers remaining on the bridge fell to the floor.
Vader whipped around at the first sound of the transporters and ignited his lightsaber.
"Impressive, most impressive."
Riker whistled arrogantly at Darth Vader and nodded towards the main viewer, "check out your boys, looks like they're floating home. Unless you want to join them I suggest you drop that weapon and surrender."
Vader turned his head slightly, indeed there were the Stormtroopers floating helplessly in space just outside the enterprise saucer section. To their credit, all still held their blaster rifles and were trying to grab hold of one another to avoid floating away.
If Lord Vader had been a more humorous man, he might have laughed, but instead he strode forward, raised a gauntleted hand and concentrated the power of the dark side to manipulate matter. He 'speak' to objects and make them move, or obey his commands, his power was great indeed. What he chose to do with his power this time was to 'speak' a single word to the small fleshy part of one of the security officers known as the larynx, and the word he said was: 'crush.'