None But the Brave

"I swear this is the last time I sign up for a stupid, overnight away mission," Mariner vowed as another violent tremor shook the room.

"You didn't sign up," Tendi reminded. "We all received the same assignment notice on our duty rosters."

"Yeah, but I could have gotten us out of it by pulling a few strings," Mariner huffed moving to check the corridor. "But I didn't feel like using any of my stocks of Aldebaran whiskey or blackmail…"

BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH!

"Yikes!" Boimler yelped as several energy bolts shot through the open door.

"Great, looks like the Jem'Hadar have recovered from their naps and laughing fits and are massing to storm the room," Mariner quickly peeked into the corridor.

"Oops," Tendi blinked. "Guess the sedative dosages I gave them were too low. Sorry!"

"Don't worry, T. I'll handle this," Mariner quickly closed the door and shot out the controls. "There. That should hold 'em off for a while."

"Okay," Boimler gulped. "But now how are we going to get out of here?"

"Not a problem," Tendi grinned unloading a case of collapsible pattern enhancers from her pack. "I brought these with in case we couldn't fight our way out. There weren't any isolinear tags with the Alcatraz's supplies, but these should work just fine."

"Alright! Great thinking, Tendi!" Boimler grinned and began to swiftly set up the pattern enhancers. "These should allow the Alcatraz's emergency transporter to lock onto us through all the surrounding kelbonite."

"Ha, got it!" Rutherford whooped from the computer terminal. "I disarmed the missiles' warheads and am encrypting the arming sequences with new codes. And as a secondary precaution I'll reprogram the missiles' guidance systems to have them fly into orbit before falling back and crashing into the opposite side of the planet."

"Yay! Way to go, Rutherford!" Tendi cheered.

"I've also disabled all the diagnostic sensors so anyone who does try to arm or launch any of the missiles will think they've succeeded without detecting the sabotage," Rutherford beamed proudly. "Along with the rest of the depot's sensors to prevent any of us from being tracked."

"Great. And just in case none of that techno-stuff works…" Mariner pushed Rutherford aside and quickly shot out all the computer terminals. "There. Now let's go!"

"Pattern enhancers set," Boimler activated them as the door to the room began to buckle. The four ensigns quickly grabbed Stevens and moved to stand inside the glowing triangle of light. "Ready?"

"Ready," Tendi chirped reaching into her pack and pulling out a spare combadge. "Tendi to shuttlecraft Alcatraz, two to transport. Energize! Oooo, I've always wanted to say that!"

"Yeah, that never gets old," Rutherford smiled as he and Tendi were whisked away before rematerializing on top of a shallow pile of six unconscious Jem'Hadar sprawled inside the scorched, beat-up shuttlecraft. "Whoa!"

"Oh man!" Boimler gaped, stunned at the sight as he and Stevens transported in next. "What the heck happened here?"

"Oh, these are the guards who accompanied me while I flew the Alcatraz inside the chains of volcanoes," Tendi said casually as Mariner beamed in last. "Along with a few other places. Looks like the sedatives I gave them are still working."

"More like these poor souls are still passed out from fear after surviving a shuttle trip piloted by you," Mariner quipped lowering the rear hatch as the ground shook ominously. "Good. We're just outside one of the entrances to the base. You guys fire up the shuttle and toss out the pile of Sleeping Uglies while I collapse the entrance and seal their buddies inside for good."

"Right…wait, what?" Boimler gasped as Mariner turned her Jem'Hadar rifle to full power and took aim at the cavern. "No!"

"Hey!" Mariner yelped as Boimler unexpectedly leapt in front of her. "Boims! What are you doing? Get outta the way!"

"Stop! You can't seal the entrance yet!" Boimler protested blocking her shot. "Valiawen and the remaining Jem'Hadar are still in there! They'll be trapped!"

"That's the idea!" Mariner attempted to brush him aside.

"But they'll die!" Boimler stood his ground. "We have to save them!"

"Dude, are you nuts?!" Mariner gawked at him incredulously. "They tried to kill us! Repeatedly!"

"Actually, they only tried once," Tendi pointed out. "And only after we tried to escape…"

"That doesn't change anything," Mariner snapped insistently. "They're the enemy!"

"No, they're not," Boimler said spoiling her aim. "They're just a forgotten, overly-isolated group of people who are still fighting an old war because they don't know any other way. They're too stubborn for their own good and can't accept things have changed."

"Well that's their problem!" Mariner hissed. "We couldn't fit any more of them aboard the shuttle with us anyway. Besides, there must be another exit or two they can use to evacuate. By now they must have detected the inevitable build up of hot gases and ashes about to pour into their base."

"No they wouldn't. Rutherford disabled all of the depot's sensors, remember?" Boimler pointed out.

"And all the other entrances to the base appear to have been blocked by rockslides from the awakened volcano," Tendi piped up studying her tricorder. "This one is sheltered due to the shape of the volcano's dome. It should be protected from any falling ejecta or lava trails."

"Good, because the Alcatraz isn't going anywhere," Rutherford said having run a quick series of diagnostics. "Thrusters, warp and impulse engines are offline. They've all been completely burned out."

"Figures," Mariner groaned looking back. "Nice going, Tendi!"

"Oops," Tendi blushed. "Sorry!"

"So what do we do now?" Mariner asked as the ground continued to shake. "We can't just sit here. There's a fire storm on its way too. Yet another result of Tendi's latest attempt at piloting."

"Wait, I have an idea!" Rutherford opened one of the still loaded cargo containers. "I can reconfigure the series of geological monitoring equipment we brought into a network of thermal deflector units crosslinked with the shuttlecraft's still functioning shield generators. It'll be crude and the effective field radius will be small, but combined with the generators' metaphasic shields it should be enough to protect us from the fire storm, hot gases, tephra and any stray lava flows."

"Wouldn't the Alcatraz's shields alone protect us?" Boimler asked.

"Not over a prolonged period," Rutherford explained taking out a toolkit. "The combined heat and pressure would overwhelm a typical shuttlecraft's shields."

"Enough talking, Ruthy. Start setting up the shielded bubble o' safety," Mariner ordered as she and Boimler reentered the shuttlecraft. She quickly tore out one of the shield generators from a damaged bulkhead. "One good thing about a shuttle that's falling apart. It makes removing components a heck of a lot easier."

"Good. This will only take a few seconds," Rutherford's fingers flew over a scanner before attaching it to the generator. "That's it, all set. One shield generator connected to the shuttlecraft's still functioning microfusion reactors should shield us just fine, but I'll modify the other generator too just in case."

"Great," Boimler said picking up the modified shield generator and disconnecting it from the Alcatraz. "'Cause I need this one for something else."

"Huh?" Tendi looked up from checking on Stevens as Boimler headed out of the shuttlecraft. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Taking this to those who really need it," Boimler declared determinedly.

"Dude, are you crazy?" Mariner shouted in disbelief. "You're gonna risk your life to save a bunch of ruthless, genetically engineered killing machines?"

"They're people!" Boimler shot back. "They don't deserve to die pointlessly and alone on some secluded planet seventy thousand light years from home."

"You're talking about Vorta and Jem'Hadar!" Mariner shouted. "They'll shoot you the second you try to reenter their soon-to-be-oven-roasted little base! What you're planning is such a stupid, absurd thing to do!"

"Maybe," Boimler turned and stared straight into Mariner's eyes. "But it's the Starfleet thing to do."

"Oh wow," Tendi watched in awe as Boimler ran back into the cavern with the activated shield generator. The generator's condensed produced shield was just large enough to safely envelop him. "Good luck, Boimler!"

"Try not to overload the generator!" Rutherford shouted after him. "Its internal power storage is limited! It won't last long if you don't connect it directly to a vastly more powerful energy supply!"

"Thanks for the tip!" Boimler yelled back.

"Boims! Get you weaselly little, out-of-shape butt back here!" Mariner screamed as the air began to shimmer from the rapidly incoming fire storm while the ground continued to quake. "Boimler! BOIMLER!"

"Okay, I can do this," Boimler gulped babbling to himself as he staggered down the Dominion depot's shaking corridors. "At least I haven't run into any guards. They all must have recovered from their aberrant bouts of laughter. Wonder what caused that anyway? Probably a gas of some kind. Explains why the others were wearing breathing masks and why Tendi put one on me."

Boimler continued to run deeper into the depot while thinking to himself aloud. "Valiawen ran out just as the others rescued me. She saw the place shaking and knew we knew about the missiles. Mariner wrecked the controls in her office so Valiawen probably ordered all the Jem'Hadar to hold up inside the most protected, vital remaining area of the base. So that's either the fusion reactor room or another control station near the missile silos. Wherever they are. Well, here's hoping!"

Boimler's muscles strained as he dashed around a corner only to find himself faced with a squad of armed Jem'Hadar who immediately opened fire.

BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH!

"Aaahhhhhh!" Boimler yelped as the energy pulses blared against the generator's corresponding shield. He pressed on using the shield to force the Jem'Hadar back through a large doorway. "Sorry! Coming through! Just trying to save your lives!"

"You!" Valiawen shouted as Boimler entered a large storage bay. She and a squad of Jem'Hadar led by Matana'son stood next to a semi-shielded command station along one of the room's walls. The rest of the Jem'Hadar garrison stood in neat rows in the middle of the room facing an open doorway which presumably led to the series of connected missile silos. "I knew you were lying the whole time! This is all your fault!"

"No, it isn't!" Boimler yelled running towards them. "The fire storm and volcanic eruptions are actually my erratic-piloting friend's fault. Your decision to die by missile implosion is completely self-inflicted!"

"Enough talking," Valiawen snapped signaling the Jem'Hadar. "Kill him!"

BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH! BWWWRZWH!

"Oh no!" Boimler yelped and fell to the floor as the glimmering shield began to fizzle against the overwhelming firepower barrage. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! HAAAUUUHHHHHH!"

"Yo, what up peoples!" Mariner whooped as she, Tendi and Rutherford ran into the bay carrying a pair of large packs while protected by their own trio-encompassing shield. "Mind if we crash the party?"

"It's the rest of the humans!" Valiawen shouted in surprise. "Kill them!"

"I'm Orion!" Tendi yelled in annoyance. "Can't you people tell the difference?"

"Huh?" Boimler blinked as his friends quickly joined him having caught the attacking Jem'Hadar off-guard. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, Boims," Mariner quipped cheekily as Rutherford quickly extended their shield to cover Boimler just as Boimler's shield generator winked off. "C'mon, man. Did you really think we'd let you go play hero all by yourself?"

"I'm not playing. This is serious!" Boimler tried to sound angry while managing to grin back. "Wait, where's Commander Stevens?"

"Back at the Alcatraz," Tendi explained. "Rutherford set the other modified shield generator to autocalibrate itself. Powered by the remaining microfusion reactors it should be enough to protect Stevens and the squad of unconscious Jem'Hadar."

"Is that safe?" Boimler gasped.

"A heck of a lot safer than it is here!" Mariner pointed out.

"Good point," Boimler gulped as more blistering firepower was unleashed against the new shield. "I didn't know there was a third shield generator onboard the Alcatraz."

"There wasn't," Mariner told him grimly. "Rutherford managed to cobble together a quick and dirty shield generator using some tricorders, combadges and replicator parts, but it won't hold for long. We're powering it using one of the shuttle's removed microfusion reactors."

"Which we'll now use to power yours," Rutherford said connecting Tendi's pack to Boimler's drained shield generator. His pack contained a second microfusion reactor and the makeshift shield generator. "We gambled we'd catch up to you in time before your shield generator ran out of power."

"Thanks," Boimler said reactivating his newly powered shield which Rutherford extended to cover them all. Combined with Rutherford's makeshift generator the Lower Deckers were now protected by a double layer of shields. "Come on! We have to force them out of that control station!"

"You got it, Boims," Mariner nodded. "Charge!"

"Stop them!" Valiawen ordered pointing at the Lower Deckers. The Jem'Hadar increased their fusillade, but were unable to prevent the four ensigns from forcing them away from the control station.

"Okay, this should work," Rutherford quickly dropped his pack, took out a toolkit and pried open a panel. "The controls are receiving power directly from the base's fusion reactors. One I connect Boimler's shield generator to the depot's energy grid it should be powerful enough to protect everyone here."

"Try to work fast," Tendi warned checking her tricorder. "Looks like a cloud of hot gases and tephra has entered the ventilation system and begun filling the depot. A wave of superheated gases and ash is going to enter this chamber in about thirty seconds."

"No pressure," Mariner quipped as the Jem'Hadar continued to bombard their shields. The outer one quickly began to flicker and collapse. "Uh, Ruthy? Your makeshift shield gizmo just died," Mariner warned as the improvised shield generator sparked and burned out. Only the shield produced by Boimler's generator remained. "We really need that other one plugged in. Any time now…"

"Almost got it," Rutherford's hands were a blur of tools and connections. "Just a few more seconds…"

"Give up, Starfleet!" Valiawen struggled to be heard over the din of weapons fire. "The missiles are fueled, armed and ready for launch including the one reserved for self-destruct! You can't stop the Dominion!"

"We're not trying to stop you! We're trying to save you!" Boimler yelled as Rutherford frantically worked to connect the shield generator.

"Save us?" Valiawen scoffed. "From what?"

HHHIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

WHHHOOOOOOOOOSSSHHH!

"From that!" Tendi yelped as a cloud of hot gases and ash began pouring out from the bay's various ventilation ducts. The Jem'Hadar nearest to them recoiled from the heat before being quickly blistered and burned alive.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhh!" Valiawen and the remaining Jem'Hadar reeled in agony and began to choke as the chamber swiftly filled with superheated gases and ash.

"Rutherford!" Boimler cried in horror.

"Got it!" Rutherford shouted. "Extending shields now!"

FZZZZZZZMMMKKKT!

"Wow!" Tendi gaped as the glowing shield flared with renewed life separating the four ensigns, Valiawen and the remaining living Jem'Hadar from the cloud of outpouring gases. "Yay! You did it! Way to go, Rutherford!"

"You sure the shield will hold?" Boimler asked.

"Pretty sure," Rutherford said checking the shield generator. "As long as the depot's fusion reactors remain online."

"Afraid we have a few more immediate problems," Mariner warned gesturing at the recovering Dominion personnel."

"Gahhh!" Valiawen wheezed lying on the floor while coughing violently and covered with burns. Most of the Jem'Hadar were in a similar though less impaired state.

"Here," Tendi quickly knelt next to Valiawen while pulling out a medkit from her pack. She swiftly loaded a hypospray and injected it into the Vorta. "This tri-ox compound should help you breathe."

"Huh?" Valiawen gasped in surprise as Tendi began running a dermal regenerator over her seared skin. "You…you are helping us?"

"Obviously," Mariner rolled her eyes. "Why, I'll never know."

"Uh oh," Rutherford gulped. "Guys, we have a problem."

"Oh great. Now what?" Mariner groaned.

"The thermal deflector and metaphasic shield modifications aren't holding up as well as I thought they would," Rutherford said looking at the cloud of deadly, superhot gases building against the shield. "The levels of gases and ash are too much in this enclosed space. We have to decrease either the heat or the pressure. Preferably both."

"How the heck do you expect us to do that?" Mariner asked. "Open a window?"

"There must be more openings somewhere. How else would they be able to launch the missiles?" Boimler borrowed Rutherford's tricorder and quickly scanned the area. "Oh great. The erupting volcano must have triggered more rockslides. The open silo hatches for the missiles are now blocked."

"Any chance the tremors or an outpouring lava flow will unblock them?" Tendi asked moving on to treat the Jem'Hadar.

"Not before the superheated gases and ash build up, overwhelm the shield generator and incinerate us where we stand," Rutherford said.

"Yet another mental image I could've done without," Boimler groaned. "Wait a second," He quickly checked the tricorder. "I got it! Rutherford, launch the missiles!"

"Uh, what now?" Rutherford blinked.

"Boims are you crazy?!" Mariner yelped. "What am I saying?!"

"We'll use the missiles to break through the rock and unblock the openings," Boimler explained. "You have a better idea?"

"Yeah, not coming back into this underground Dominion warren of death, but it's too late for that!" Mariner snapped. "No thanks to you!"

"You can rag me all you want about it later!" Boimler yelled. "Rutherford, launch the missiles!"

"Okey-dokey," Rutherford gulped and quickly worked the control panel.

"Man, you better be right about this, Boims," Mariner braced herself. "You sure you completely disarmed and disabled all the missile warheads, Ruthy?"

"Only one way to find out," Rutherford said entering the final command. "Missiles away!"

WHHHOOOOOOSSSHHH! WHHHOOOOOOSSSHHH! WHHHOOOOOOSSSHHH!

CCCRRRAAAAAASSSHHHHHH!

SMMMAAAAAASSSHHHHHH!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Everyone yelled as the entire bay shook from the impacts.

"Ohhh…" Boimler moaned with his ears bleeding from the concussion. "Ugh, are we dead?"

"No," Mariner groaned holding her head. "But not for lack of trying."

"Look, it worked!" Rutherford whooped pointing as the hot gases and ash began flowing out of the bay through the open door. The heat and pressure against the glowing shield lessened allowing it to stabilize. "Tricorder indicates all six missiles were able to punch their way through. They are heading into orbit."

"Whoopee," Mariner coughed. "Break out the champagne. Or better yet, the Romulan ale."

"Can you open the other blast doors leading to the silos?" Tendi asked. "It would provide more paths for the hot gases and ash to exit the depot."

"I think so," Rutherford said working the controls. "Ah, got it."

"Congratulations, Starfleet," Valiawen coughed, surprised she was still alive. "You may have prevented one missile from detonating and destroying this depot, but the rest of the missiles are away. Odds are good at least one of them will reach Tellar. The Founders will be pleased."

"No, they won't. The odds of either possibility are zero," Boimler turned towards her. "The missiles' warheads were all disarmed. And even if they weren't the guidance systems have been altered so the missiles will impact on the far side of this planet instead of hitting Tellar."

"You overrode my command codes?" Valiawen blinked, stunned. "Of course you did. You have one of those famed Starfleet engineers. No wonder you risked gaining control of this bay."

"Actually, I had reprogrammed the missiles earlier before we beamed out to our shuttlecraft," Rutherford corrected. "And I disabled the diagnostic sensors so you wouldn't detect the changes."

"We would've been safe from the hot gases, ash and carbon monoxide poisoning too," Mariner added. "But Boims here just had to decide you and your pebble-hided supertroopers were worth saving…"

"What?" Valiawen was beyond shocked as she stared agape at the four young ensigns. "You sabotaged the missiles, escaped clear from the depot, created a secure shelter for yourselves from the sudden volcanic eruption. Yet you came back to save the lives of loyal servants of the Dominion?"

"That's right," Tendi confirmed. "Though the causes for the volcanic eruptions weren't exactly natural…"

"But…why?" Valiawen asked, completely stunned and confused.

"Because we're Starfleet," Boimler declared passionately. "It's what we do."

"Yeah!" Tendi and Rutherford puffed up with pride.

"Exploring and saving lives is kinda a thing among Starfleet officers," Mariner quipped. "Whether we want to or not."

"But our peoples are still at war," Valiawen insisted.

"Not anymore. We haven't been for a long time," Boimler explained gently. "You've all been stuck here isolated for so long you can't even imagine things could have changed. The only war you're fighting right now is the one waging inside yourselves. An even if the Federation and Dominion were at war, we still would've come back and risked our lives to save you all anyway."

"Speak for yourself," Mariner muttered.

"Perhaps…perhaps it is possible the Founders have decided to change more than just their forms," Valiawen struggled with herself while looking thoughtful. "If they wish it, we shall serve them by doing the same. Thought some would say your attempt to save us was an incredibly risky mistake."

"A mistake we will take advantage of," A partially recovered Matana'son wheezed pointing his rifle at Boimler.

"NO!" Mariner, Tendi and Rutherford yelled.

"Eeep!" Boimler yelped freezing in surprise.

"Stop!" Valiawen shouted staring at Matana'son. "Stand down! All of you!"

"What?" Matana'son shot her a look.

"That is an order!" Valiawen snapped gazing around at the rest of the Jem'Hadar. "The Founders have willed a cessation of hostilities with the Federation. We shall obey their decision. Obedience brings Victory!"

Matana'son and the other Jem'Hadar froze and stared stonily at the four defenseless ensigns. "And Victory is life."

"More like the other way around," Boimler sighed in relief as the Jem'Hadar slowly lowered their weapons. "Living and cherishing life is a victory more precious than any won on a battlefield."

"An interesting notion," Valiawen said turning to Matana'son. "Though I doubt it will ever catch on among the Jem'Hadar, right First?"

"Huh?" Rutherford frowned glancing at Lipura'klan lying nearby. "I thought you were the First."

"Really? I thought it was the guy back on the Alcatraz," Tendi said. "I believe his name was Vorax'aval."

"They are all First of their respective squads," Valiawen explained. "Along with First, Third and Sixth of their associated platoons."

"Then who's First?" Boimler asked, confused.

"Oh no," Mariner groaned. "Here we go again…"