Shuttlecraft in Motion

"How's Mariner?" Rutherford asked pacing around his containment circle.

"She's stable. For now," Tendi sighed running the medical tricorder over Mariner's unconscious form. "I used the bone regenerator to knit together her broken ribs and managed to repair the tissue damage to her right kidney. She's stopped hemorrhaging and I injected her with half a liter of plasma. I'm just glad she finally passed out before I performed the microsurgery."

"The light sedative you gave her probably helped," Rutherford commented. "What about Stevens?"

"He's stable too," Tendi checked him worriedly. "I've done all I can with the medkit. What they both need is immediate treatment in the Cerritos' Sickbay."

"Hey, relax. You've done a great job," Rutherford assured her. "It's a heck of a lot more than I've been able to do. I bet Doctor T'Ana will be really proud of you when we get back to the ship."

"If we get back," Tendi gulped putting her tools back into the medkit.

Lipura'klan and two other Jem'Hadar suddenly entered the detention area. Lipura'klan deactivated the force field holding the three Starfleet officers before indicating Tendi. "Bring her."

"Huh?" Tendi blinked as a pair of Jem'Hadar grabbed her and relieved her of the medkit. "Ow! That hurts!"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Rutherford yelped. "Where are you taking her?"

"That is not your concern," Lipura'klan said reactivating the force field.

"Don't worry, Rutherford. I'll be alright!" Tendi called out as Lipura'klan and his men led her away. "Take care of Mariner and Stevens for me!"

"Okey-dokey," Rutherford sighed dejectedly slumping to floor.

"The medical officer has been released. We are bringing her to the outside of Entrance One," Lipura'klan reported.

"Excellent," Valiawen said standing in her office. "Deliver her to Squad Three. They will rendezvous with you there." She tapped the communicator on her wrist. "Valiawen to Squad Three. Report."

"We've completed our inspection of the Starfleet shuttlecraft," The implacable voice of a Jem'Hadar replied. "No sabotage or other preemptive security measures found. All associated Starfleet equipment has been cataloged, loaded and secured. We are in the process of familiarizing ourselves with the shuttlecraft's systems."

"Are you capable of piloting the shuttlecraft?" Valiawen asked.

"Yes, on a rudimentary level," The Jem'Hadar stated. "No members of Squad Three have received prior training as pilots."

"That's not surprising, but it should be sufficient. Bring the shuttlecraft to Entrance One. There should be sufficient clear space around it for you to land there," Valiawen ordered. "Squad Two will be waiting for you with one of the Starfleet prisoners. Take custody of her and use her to pilot the shuttlecraft into low orbit. Determine the limits of our communication range and the presence of any enemy ships."

"Understood," The Jem'Hadar acknowledged. "Recommend we first use the shuttlecraft to scan the planet to determine if there are any other hostile personnel on the surface while testing the prisoner's competency and level of cooperation."

"Very well," Valiawen allowed. "Squad Eight will be reassigned to take over your patrol sector. Report when you are ready to take the shuttlecraft into orbit."

"Understood. It will be done," The Jem'Hadar declared ending communications.

"Of course it will," Valiawen said turning to Boimler who was still secured to the chair. "Now we'll see just how much of what you've told me is accurate."

"Wait, you're sending Tendi to pilot our shuttlecraft?" Boimler gawked having listened to the entire set of conversations.

"That's correct," Valiawen studied him a moment. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no. Not at all," Boimler whistled innocently. "At least not for me. The Jem'Hadar on the other hand…"

"Okay, I can do this," Tendi told herself as the Alcatraz landed outside a different rocky cavern mouth before lowering the rear hatch. She timidly waved at the squad of six Jem'Hadar crammed inside the shuttlecraft. "Hi, everyone. I'm Tendi."

"I am First Vorax'aval," The leader of the Jem'Hadar in the shuttlecraft stated. He turned to address Lipura'klan and his men standing next to Tendi. "I am assuming custody of the prisoner. Your duties here are complete."

"Understood," Lipura'klan turned and reentered the entrance to the secret Dominion depot with his men.

"Take the pilot's seat," Vorax'aval ordered Tendi. "Any attempts at deception, escape or deviation from orders will be met with death."

"Right. Whatever you say," Tendi gulped carefully squeezing her way past the stacks of cargo containers and standing Jem'Hadar. "Sorry! Just trying to get by here. Oooo, nice ketracel-white shunt."

"Enough," Vorax'aval stood behind Tendi as she slid into the port pilot's seat. "Engage engines."

"Okay," Tendi nodded working the controls.

"Begin scanning the planet for Federation lifesigns or any Starfleet identification signals…aaahhhhhh!" Vorax'aval yelled as the Alcatraz rose a few meters before tearing off across the landscape.

"Ooopfff!" All of the Jem'Hadar were knocked off their feet and slammed against the rear of the shuttlecraft along with the various cargo containers.

"Bet this is your first time aboard a Starfleet shuttlecraft, huh?" Tendi asked as they zoomed over the craggy jungle. "So, let's get this scan started."

"Stop the shuttlecraft!" Vorax'aval roared while attempting to disentangle himself from his men and fallen array of cargo containers. "Cease piloting and step away from the controls immediately!"

"Sorry, can't do that," Tendi said. "It's against Starfleet safety regulations and will delay our scans of the planet. But I'm working as fast as I can. I'm diverting all available power to the sensors and engines. Including most of the power for the inertial dampers and the shuttlecraft's internal gravity net."

"What…yaaahhhhhh!" Vorax'aval and his men cried plastered to the rear hatch as the shuttlecraft made a sharp inclination to the right.

"Hmmm, no additional Starfleet combadge signals yet," Tendi reported flying dangerously close and parallel to a long, craggy mountain range. "Of course, most of the sensor readings are being blocked due to all the veins of kelbonite in the area. Guess we'll just have to get closer."

"Closer? What do you mean closer…WAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Vorax'aval screamed as the shuttlecraft rocketed towards the ground before shooting into a long, narrow canyon.

"Wheeeeee!" Tendi smiled as the shuttlecraft whizzed though the deep, winding canyon at literal breakneck speed. "This is fun! Hey, this reminds me of an old Earth movie Rutherford and I watched once."

"Aaaggghhhhhh!" The Jem'Hadar blanched as parts of the Alcatraz's hull scraped against the canyon walls.

"There. I figured that would work," Tendi beamed having the shuttlecraft perform a ninety-degree roll while zipping out from the canyon. "Got lots of sensor readings on that run. Everyone comfortable back there?" She turned around to look.

"No!" Vorax'aval yelled while vainly attempting to raise his pistol. "Comfort is only for the weak…WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING! LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT!"

"Huh?" Tendi turned back around to see a very large mountain rapidly fill the fore viewport. "Oops!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" The Jem'Hadar screamed as Tendi pulled back on the controls and sent the shuttlecraft soaring straight up the mountainside.

"Oooo, what a rush," Tendi chirped as they broke into the stratosphere. "Hey, a meteor shower. Cool!"

"Gaaahhhhhh!" Vorax'aval and his men wailed as the hull was dented in several places.

"Don't worry. I got this," Tendi waved weaving in and out among the falling meteors. "There, all clear."

"Thank the Founders," One of the Jem'Hadar muttered.

"But we can't get any definite planetary readings from up here," Tendi noted. "Guess we'll just have to go back down."

"WHA?! NO…WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Vorax'aval and his men shrieked as the shuttlecraft immediately did a quick 180 before plummeting like a thruster-propelled rock.

"PULL UP! PULL UP!" One uncharacteristically panicked Jem'Hadar wailed.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing," Tendi waved. "I think…"

"You think?!" Vorax'aval screamed.

"Ta-da!" Tendi grinned leveling off just before the shuttlecraft impacted the planet surface. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"I beg to differ!" One of the Jem'Hadar groaned.

"Now that series of Level Five electrical storms up ahead. That's something to worry about," Tendi checked the sensors.

"WHAT?!" The Jem'Hadar shouted.

KKKRRRAAA-BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

"YAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Vorax'aval yelled as massive bolts of lightning streaked around the shuttlecraft like starship-level phaser blasts.

"Don't worry, everyone," Tendi struggled to be heard over the deafening booms of lightning bursts. "I'm raising shields. They should protect us. I hope…"

"Jem'Hadar don't believe in hope," One of Vorax'aval's men began to twitch. "But if we did, now would be a good time!"

"Wow, these lightning storms cover nearly an eighth of the planet's southern hemisphere," Tendi noted studying the sensors. "Sorry about the delay getting us clear of them, but I had to divert power to the shields from the engines, thus slowing our speed."

"Thank the Founders," Vorax'aval moaned.

"We'll be breaking through the electrical storms right about now," Tendi continued as the shuttlecraft sailed over the largest of the planet's oceans. "And right into a Level Seven quasi-plasmidic cyclone."

"Level seven what…AAAUUUGGGHHHHHH!" The Jem'Hadar screamed as the shuttlecraft began to buck and spin around like a centrifuge.

"Boy, this planet sure experiences some interesting weather phenomena," Tendi commented casually. "Must be from all the atmospheric ionization and high energy particle emissions Commander Stevens mentioned. Things are still clear near your secret base though. Bet you're all glad to hear that."

"Not nearly as much as we'd be if we were there right now!" Vorax'aval cried. "Specifically on the surface and out of this infernal shuttlecraft!"

"Looks like the cyclonic front extends for quite a ways," Tendi studied the sensors. "Oh well, that leaves only one option left."

"If we're fortunate you are referring to death…YAAAHHHHHH!" The Jem'Hadar cried as the shuttlecraft nosed downward before rocketing straight into the ocean.

PLOOOOOOSSSHHH!

"See? All safe now," Tendi said cheerfully diving deep. "The shields and reinforced structural integrity field prevented the shuttlecraft's nose from completely crumpling upon impact. Gee, I didn't know shuttlecraft were capable of submersion. This is so cool!"

"You took us underwater?!" Vorax'aval cried. "Are you insane?!"

"Boy, this must be what being a cetacean feels like," Tendi chirped happily while having the shuttlecraft spin around like a corkscrew. "There are several cetaceans aboard the Cerritos you know. I can't wait to tell them all about this! Wheeeeee!"

"First, I don't feel so good," One Jem'Hadar turned even greener than Tendi.

"If my digestive system were active I would have emptied its contents long ago!" Another Jem'Hadar whimpered.

"Ah, look at all the deep lava blooms," Tendi marveled shooting through a field of billowing hydrothermal vents. "There must be some major tectonic activity on this planet. Oooo, and there are underwater lava geysers too! So bubbly, so pretty…"

WHOOOOOOSSSHHH!

"So hot and deadly if one of them hits us and cooks us all to a crisp," Tendi as the field of geysers began to erupt.

"WHAT?!" The Jem'Hadar yelled.

"Don't worry everyone. The Alcatraz is equipped with metaphasic shielding," Tendi assured weaving in and out amongst the lava plumes. "They should protect us. Although they were designed to handle the half Pascal of pressure of a star's corona and not the thirty-six megapascals we're under right now…"

"Oh no…" Vorax'aval gulped.

BRRROOOOOOWWWSSSHHHHHH!

"YAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" The Jem'Hadar screamed as the shuttlecraft was tossed about by jets of superheated water, bubbles and lava.

"Okay, all done scanning down here," Tendi reported. "Let's head back to the surface."

"Finally…GAAAHHHHHH!" Vorax'aval yelled as the Alcatraz flew upwards like a missile.

"Wahooo!" Tendi laughed maniacally sending the shuttlecraft spinning along its longitudinal axis. "I love being in Starfleet! I can't wait until I finish logging all my required flight hours and become a fully certified pilot!"

"More like certifiable!" One poor Jem'Hadar moaned.

"There, all clear of the storms," Tendi beamed as the shuttlecraft finally broke the surface of the water and flew into the troposphere once more. "Look at the pretty clouds. Oooo, there's something I've always wanted to try!"

"Oh no…GAAAHHHHHH!" Vorax'aval wailed as Tendi abruptly sent them into a seemingly bizarre series of aerial maneuvers.

"Are you flying this shuttlecraft upside-down?!" One Jem'Hadar shrieked in horror.

"Are you performing barrel-rolls?!" A second terrified Jem'Hadar screamed.

"I think we are going backwards!" A third Jem'Hadar began to sweat in fear. "Again!"

"Hehehehehe!" Tendi giggled glancing at a screen. A series of vapor trails spelling out the name 'D'Vana Tendi' in an elegant, signature-like script stretched across the skies. "This is so cool! Can you believe this is my first time piloting inside a planetary atmosphere?"

"This is not piloting," Vorax'aval hissed with one eye twitching like mad. "It is cruel, pitiless psychological torture!"

"Even the Cardassians treat their prisoners better than this!" A nearly white-faced Jem'Hadar cried.

"Founders save us!" The rest of the Jem'Hadar wept.

"Seeing all those underwater volcanos and lava vents was so neat," Tendi grinned altering the shuttlecraft's course. "Let's see what the inside of the above water ones are like."

"WHAT?!" Vorax'aval and his men shrieked as the shuttlecraft zoomed towards a towering, active chain of volcanoes. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"We have begun fueling the missiles," First Matana'son reported over Valiawen's wrist communicator. "Estimated completion time ten minutes."

"Excellent," Valiawen said bringing up the missile control panel on one of her office computer screens. "Begin running final diagnostic checks on all missile systems. I will enter the preliminary arming sequence once they are complete."

"Understood," Matana'son acknowledged dispassionately and signed off.

"Please! You have to listen to me!" Boimler pleaded straining at his restraints. "The war is over! What you're doing is not sanctioned by the Founders! They wouldn't want you to do this!"

"Be quiet," Valiawen glared at him warningly. "Do not try to presume the minds or intentions of gods. Such impertinence is considered very…unwise."

"Isn't that what you're doing? Trying to presume what the Founders want?" Boimler pressed. "You haven't received any orders to launch an attack. Or to blow yourselves up. You're the one trying to be the god around here, not me."

"I am not a god. I am a loyal servant of the Founders," Valiawen declared. "The Founders and the Dominion are at war with the Federation. I live to serve the Founders and work to defeat their enemies. It is the order of things."

"But we aren't enemies anymore. We haven't been for years," Boimler insisted. "Check with the shuttlecraft. There's no fleet of ships in orbit ready to raid or seize this depot. Use the shuttlecraft's comm system to contact the nearest neutral party to confirm everything I'm telling you."

"The Tibor nebula is virtually impenetrable to Federation sensors and communication signals, but not to the Dominion's," Valiawen said. "That is the primary reason the Founders chose this planet as the location for a supply depot. We will however use your shuttlecraft to eventually reestablish communications with the Dominion. If there are no Starfleet vessels in orbit."

"But there are no Dominion forces left in the Alpha Quadrant," Boimler pointed out. "Unless there are any more secret supply depots or bases they didn't tell us about."

"We'll see," Valiawen replied cryptically. "But you have given me an idea. We can use your shuttlecraft's stellar cartographical database to provide more detailed information about the missiles' planned course and use the shuttlecraft's limited sensors to better triangulate the missiles' guidance systems before launch."

Valiawen smiled and tapped her communicator. "Valiawen to Squad Three." Her words were meet by an unexpected silence. "Squad Three, report." More silence. "Anyone aboard the Starfleet shuttlecraft, respond." Still no reply. "Valiawen to Squad Two, have you heard from Squad Three?"

"Not since they took custody of the Starfleet prisoner," Lipura'klan answered.

"What?" Valiawen frowned. "Very well. Inform me if you receive any future information about Squad Three."

"Understood," Lipura'klan replied.

"The prisoner," Valiawen repeated closing the channel. "She must have done something to incapacitate the squad of Jem'Hadar guarding her." She turned to face Boimler. "How? What did she do?"

"I don't know," Boimler shrugged. "Though I can make a pretty good guess…"

"You'll do more than guess," Valiawen hissed taking out a deadly-looking Jem'Hadar combat knife. "You will tell me everything about your shuttlecraft and underestimated little medical officer. Right now."

"Oh no," Boimler gulped. "And to think I used to want to go on away missions!"