Chapter: Four.

The first time that I met, the then Lieutenant Junior, Hailey Dodge? Was the moment that she had beamed onboard of the USS Long Beach. I wasn't really impressed with the junior officer, but she did have a certain something, which I had no idea what it was at that time. Like many of my crew, I was instantly drawn to her, mainly because she rarely spoke. And when she spoke? It was often in analysis of any situation. I read her file, at the request of an Admiral, actually? He was my former Captain, from my Lieutenant days. He had known her, from birth. His own god-daughter, actually. The way he had described her, was a quiet officer with amazing potential, given the right environment and further training. In honour of my former Captain, whom had become a good friend over the years, I took a chance on an officer directly out of the Academy. I hadn't held high expectations of the young Lieutenant Dodge at first, but quickly, very quickly? I saw something within her that the fleet had lost and was in dire need of recovering. The Spark, which ignited a flame within her that many officers once had, and had lost over the years of their own careers. Once again, I took a chance on that one young and inexperienced officer by promoting her to the Chief Tactical position, even though she wasn't even the most experienced officer in the running on the ship. That role, that one position, made her into the woman that I am proud to call me close personal friend.

Skipping forwards a handful of years, and a promotion to Lieutenant Commander, I was once again stunned when Hailey Dodge, accepted the position as First Officer, on one condition. She would run said position not from the First Officer's seat? But from Tactical, a position that she was more than suited for. The entire crew, though that she would burn out within a month, but very quickly? One month turned into two and many more, as she excelled in those two roles in the midst of a war. I don't know if Hailey had something to prove, being as young as she is? But, she had begun to change and to develop a reputation amongst the crew of the Long Beach. Mainly due to one incident.

I wasn't there at the time, when a replacement officer boarded the ship, a replacement for her own department. Apparently, several crossed words had followed between the tactical officer and an engineer, to the point of almost a fight breaking out, in the Messhall. The then, Lieutenant Commander Dodge, was present at the time. The fight was terminated instantly and rather than confining the two officers to the Brig? Those officers where ordered to run, two laps of the entire saucer section of the USS Long Beach's outer rim whilst half drunk, as the two men where at the time and most shockingly enough? In their underwear.

Skipping forwards to that war-game, the moment I had heard that Hailey Dodge had been placed into the fleet, I began to wander why they had chosen her specifically for the 'Search and Destroy Mission', but it was Admiral Graham Alderman, whom had given away the target, even though he had no idea whom it was at the time when he said one thing to me. 'Judging by the target, Captain? I doubt you'll have any problems'. He must have suspected that Dodge was the target, more so as he had a personal score to settle with Hailey Dodge, one of those two officers whom she had humiliated several years ago, was one of his own Grandchildren.

After shockingly enough, slipping past the entire fleet and moving in on the drone orbiting that uninhabited world, and taking out the drone before we had even gotten close, my entire crew and myself? Had felt as humiliated as the rest of the Eight fleet. That's when I made the conscious choice to speak to the entire ship over the intercom.

"Attention all hands, this is the Captain. By now, you have probably all realised that phase one of this scenario has been completed by the target ship. But, what you may not know? Is whom is in command of that ship. Our former First Officer, Commander Hailey Dodge. I know that a lot of you have a score to settle with her, but for those of you whom do not know her? She has bar far, one of the finest tactical minds I have ever seen. If you don't know Hailey Dodge, then I urge you to speak with a member of the crew who does. Believe me when I say that many of the stories are true. What I am now asking of each person who knows her, how can we beat her?"

Many of the crew, wanted payback for the way that Hailey Dodge had treated them during her time onboard, but they also knew one thing about her. She relied on somewhat, unconventional tactics to achieve her goals. And that, is where the problem lay. As the eight fleet spread out in a standard search pattern across the containment zone, a message came through from Rear Admiral Graham Alderman, the administrator of Starbase forty-seven whom had taken command of the search and destroy mission. I guess that he was worried about Hailey and her unconventional tactics as he took personal command of the USS Orlando and had begun to split up the fleet even further. But, he had begun to rely on very old and somewhat, unreliable tactics of trying to draw out the Mercury by having all ships try to push the Mercury towards one location, where no doubt he was waiting with a fleet of ships to end the war game with a win for himself. I knew that Hailey would see that tactic, instantly and adjust her own method.

"Lieutenant West, how many ships are in the region, currently?"

"There are… twenty-eight starships in the region Sir. They're banging away on their sensors so hard? She could slip right by them, they wouldn't even see her. I can barely get a reading on anything…"

"Anything else, anything… out of the ordinary?" I asked, as I stood and paced the bridge, slowly.

"I'll try to narrow the sensors, hopefully I can cut through the interference… I got something. Looks like a civilian hauler, passing by the edge of the containment zone at warp-two. Focusing on… Contact! USS Mercury, Captain? She's at warp two point five, heading… directly towards the Hauler"

"On screen West"

Haulers, are considered as the largest ships in the Federation, although not a part of Starfleet? They are often larger than even the Galaxy class starships. The one displayed on the screen, was no different. I recognised that vessel the instant I saw it, and no doubt so had Hailey. The ship, named Arkansas Prize, is a privately owned and operated vessel on contract to Starfleet relief efforts to assist with the rebuild of the former Cardassian Union, after the Dominion betrayal and withdrawal and more importantly? It was heading back to Starbase Forty-Seven for resupply, before returning to Cardassia Prime for the relief effort. We where too far out, to make an effective run against the Mercury, due to the limitations of the war-game, and it was clear that Hailey and her crew, did not care about those limitations, due to the speed of the Mercury.

"Captain, should we alert the USS Galaxy? It is the closest vessel"

"Not yet… Commander Hart. We don't know Hailey's intentions. Bring us to warp two, but keep a sensor lock on the Mercury, at all times"

"Captain, I must protest. You are permitting your personal feelings towards your former First Officer, to cloud your judgement. The rules of this scenario, are clear"

"He's right Jack" Called my Science Officer, a woman I had known for ten years.

"Alright. Freddie, break silence and alert the Galaxy to the presence of the Mercury in their sector. Give them their course and heading, and alert them to the fact that the Mercury, appears to be operating with some form of stealth technology"

"Understood. Sending message, the Galaxy is responding and moving to intercept"

Those members of the bridge crew, whom had known Commander Hailey Dodge, had known what her possible plan was, but with a ship several times as large as the Mercury? The outcome could be highly dangerous for the small, science ship. All that we could do, was to try and to reach that ship before the completion of her plan. Her tactic although dangerous, was an impressive one, assuming that the helm officer was at least competent. The view screens onboard of every starship, had displayed in real time what the sensors had seen. But, with such a large ship ahead of the Mercury? Sensor images would be unreliable at best and none-existent at worst. That's when I began to second guess her tactics as I stepped towards the science station to peer over the shoulder of Lieutenant Holloway.

"Time?"

"One minute, Jack. Galaxy is moving to intercept. Her weapons, can't get a lock due to the Hauler's size"

"Why would Hailey, use such an obvious tactic? Remember those fighters she hid from in a runabout, during the war? It took us hours to find her"

"I remember, she was hiding between our own nacelles"

"Exactly Holloway, she knows that we know, that tactic. Damn it! She's going to wait until her signal has gone, before making a run. With that stealth technology they've somehow built? She could be at SB-47, before we knew what had happened"

"The Mercury, is breaking up sir… I'm starting to loose her signal. She's gone, sir"

"Scan for a warp signature. Hailey doesn't seem to care about the rules of the game, that much. Bare in mind her little probe trick"

"Captain, the USS Galaxy is reporting what appears to be an altered warp signature, heading away from the containment zone at warp three. Orders sir?"

"Tell the Galaxy to track that signal, we'll stay on the Hauler"

Hiding between the four warp nacelles of the Arkansas Prize, was a dangerous tactic for any ship as being in the wrong place, the radiation from the nacelles could cause serious damage to the Mercury. Since had we raised our shields, the impact would be recording by the Hauler's own sensors and as such, reported back to the pursuing fleet. Confining our small crew to the innermost sections of the Mercury, away from the outer hull, was the only way to ensure their safety and once inside? A modified shield frequency was implemented, and our shields raised to protect the crew from the radiation produced by the massive hauler. At the slow speed of warp two, we knew that it would take the Hauler, twelve hours to reach SB-47. And hidden inside of the ship's own warp field? We just hoped that none of their crew would look out of the window. I had one more, very delicate move to make to insure that that would not happen.

"Alright, this is where the fun begins. Open frequency 401 terahertz and encode with cipher 014"

"Hailey, that's a civilian frequency?"

"I know. Open the frequency, please"

"Channel, open"

"Attention, Arkansas Prize. This is the Starfleet vessel, USS Mercury transmitting a Code One-Alpha. Do you read me?"

'USS Who?'

"Mercury, I am Captain Dodge. Am I speaking with Joseph Jefferies?"

'I am Captain Joseph Jefferies. Who did you say you are again?'

"Hailey Dodge, we met two months ago. Do you remember me?"

'You're hard to forget, Dodge'

"That's what I hear. It's good to speak with you again Joseph. No doubt you can see us now, so I need your help with a delicate matter. We're riding in your six o'clock level, between your nacelles. That little nudge you felt a moment ago, was us entering your warp field. Nothing to be alarmed about, just a little war-game with the fleet and us as their target…"

'You're WHAT?' Cried out a shocked, deep male voice.

"Jefferies, you once told me that you where kicked out of the Service, do you want a little payback? Embarrass the hell out of the fleet?"

'Of course, what do you need?'

"Maintain your course towards Forty-Seven, once we're in position? We'll peel off and make our run towards our target. That's all we need you to do, just give us a ride"

'That's it? What's the catch, Dodge?'

"Just, play along Captain Jefferies. And I'll owe you one, I always repay my debts and you know that you want me in your corner. Or should I board your ship now, and check your cargo? The last I checked, Romulan Ale is still illegal in the Federation?"

'Maintain your position, and enjoy the ride. Jefferies, out!'

"Hailey, how the hell did you know he had Romulan Ale, onboard?" Called out my Acting First Officer.

"I took a gamble, Jonny. Our last encounter, he was trafficking several crates of Romulan Ale into the Federation as a side business, he's been doing it for years. Keep an eye on him, match every move he makes, for god sake, stay inside of his warp field. I'll be in my quarters"

Personally? I hate being in the debt of others, especially a known smuggler, even one working for Starfleet on a delicate matter. But, it was a means to an ends for myself and my crew. I had never thought I would say that, My Crew. I knew that, if I had completed the war game as requested, I would have my choice of assignments throughout the entire fleet, even Enterprise if I had asked for it and it would be granted. But, the more I was onboard of that tiny ship and with that crew? The more I began to question my own choice of career path. I had gotten a taste for command, hell? I could even make Captain before the age of thirty which would make me one of the youngest Captains, in the history of the fleet. And I had given up everything, to make that rank and position, everything.

For the first time since, as long as I could remember actually? I had a good nights sleep, almost seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. I awoke refreshed and ready to begin the final leg of our journey. A long shower, a cup of coffee and a quick breakfast later, I was just about ready to leave my quarters for the walk towards the bridge, I was actually at my door? When it opened to see Sara, about to ring my door chime.

"Sara, I was just about…"

"Can we talk, Hailey? Something you said the other day, I need to know"

"Is this about…?"

"Yes. I've been thinking about what you said. It doesn't make sense. I saw you dressing…"

"Alright, I've got only five minutes. Come in…"

Her body language, told me everything in that moment, I had seen it many times during our time at the Academy, she was angry at me, very angry. I waited, until the door closed behind her and as she turned towards me to speak, I instantly cut her off. I spoke first.

"First, you're wrong about me. I would never have betrayed you, you where one of my few friends. Let me finish…"

"Is that an order, Commander?"

"No, just a request. I know about my reputation, for a long time? I actually enjoyed it, until I came here. This ship and this crew? Has changed me and I think it's for the better. The truth is, I Was helping him, with his studies. And I can prove to you, a Doctor? That I did not sleep with him…"

"How?" Sara said, with an almost laughter, before I paced my quarters slowly, nervously.

"I arose quickly through the ranks, direct from the Academy as a Junior Lieutenant, by the time I stopped and looked around? I was a Lieutenant Commander, Chief of Tactical and First Officer. That's when I pushed myself, so hard? To make Commander, I wanted to make Captain, before turning thirty. The youngest captain in history, for a long time was James Kirk, at thirty-two, then Tryla Scott took his record, at just thirty. I turn twenty-nine, in six weeks and if this war-game mission is a success? I could have her beat by a year and a half"

"Wait a minute, how does that prove anything?" Sara asked, with confusion.

"Medically, a human female can prove that she has never been with anyone, intimately"

"Wait a minute, you mean that you've never… really?"

"I've been so focused on my career Sara? I haven't had time for any form of intimate relationship with anyone. If you don't believe me? I'll allow for a medical check"

"I believe you Hailey, just… no-one, never? What is wrong with people. I'm mean you can be a little intense, but your… well, you!"

"I've alienated just about everyone over these past eight years. There was a Petty Officer on the Long Beach, when I first arrived that I kinda liked, but? My career had taken over and then the war started. I thought that I couldn't serve the ship as I had wanted, whilst concerned for someone else, in that way. We where just starting to get serious, but I panicked and pushed him away. Something that I had always regretted"

"Where is he now?" Sara asked, as she sat in a chair in my quarters, for some reason? I felt as if I was being counselled by the ship's councillor.

"The Carpathia, married and expecting their first child. So you see Sara? I never betrayed you, I've never betrayed anyone. I would never betray my only friend in the universe. Just do me a huge favour, don't tell anyone what I've said? For better or worse? I am the captain of this ship and the captain of any ship, should be perfect am I right?"

"I will, keep my mouth shut on that one. However, when we get back to Earth? I may know someone, I think you would like, and like you? He's a little… unusual"

"Absolutely not Sara, now promise me on that one, please? If I am to find someone, it will be on my own terms. I could make that an order, if that's what you want?"

"Then you'd have to put said order, in writing and explain why. I doubt that you'd want that on any file. I know I wouldn't!"

I had never told anyone that I had never had an intimate relationship with anyone, not even my own mother. But, I trust Sara with every fibre of my being and beyond. But, only so far as I could see those wheels turning behind her gray eyes, I could see that she was planning on ignoring my request to try and set me up with someone. I just played along with her for the duration of the exercise, mainly as I was curious about whom she had had in mind.

The next day, after spending the majority of the night talking with Sara and reacquainting myself with one time best friend, whilst planning our next and final move against the fleet and the shipyard which had been set for destruction at the hands of the USS Mercury and her crew. I was on my way to the bridge when the intercom chirped into life with a somewhat, distressing call from the on-duty bridge officer. I ran as fast as I could through the empty corridors towards the bridge as Jonny, the new acting first officer turned towards me with a look of worry on his face as he reported the situation.

"Hailey, the shit has hit the fan. The Hauler, isn't heading to SB-47, it's been warned off by the Orlando"

"Alderman! Can they see us?" I replied with laughter, as I took to the centre seat.

"No, but we have passed by the majority of the defensive fleet. All that remains, are two Steamrunners and a Miranda class ship. Orders?"

"All hands, attention. This is Hailey. We're about to loose are cover. Now the good thing is? We have just three ships ahead of us, but they are beyond target range and heading in the opposite direction. Turning, would be slow at their speed and they would have to beat their own inertia, to catch us. I estimate that we have eight to ten seconds. Once we break free of the Prize's warp field? We activate our camouflage and run like hell. We do have one thing that they don't know about, our back-up plan. Chief, are you there?"

'Ready, and awaiting your orders, Hailey'

"Alright, once we're free and clear to navigate, launch the Rider and activate your camouflage. You'll be able to accelerate to full impulse, faster than we can. We'll distract the fleet, maybe even get shot down. It's all on you now, Chief. What is the Jem Ha'dar say, Victory is Life? Well, I have a new one. Victory, is a Promotion! do not look back, just run like hell…"

'Start the countdown…'

It was a bold, very bold plan to sacrifice queen on the chess board, in favour of a pawn. But as everyone who plays chess knows? Even a pawn, can become a queen. And that, was our plan, to sacrifice the Mercury in favour of the tiny shuttle known as Rider. By this time we knew that those other ships may have figured out our little camouflage tactic, if they hadn't? they where pretty stupid. I mean, our last encounter with a Starfleet hunter ship, was not that long ago and we had tricked them into thinking that we where an old Klingon Bird-of-Prey class ship, even opening a channel to the Starfleet ship, with modifications to our view screen to appear as a Klingon crew, drunk on Bloodwine and just heading back to the Empire, at a leisurely pace. We even sang a terrible rendition of a Klingon drinking song, which to be honest? Hurt my throat. I don't know how they had not figured that one out, before we hid in that old and decommissioned starbase.

Breaking free of the warp field of the Arkansas Prize, almost shook us apart, and as suspected? Those three ships saw us instantly as they must have modified their sensors to cut through our little stealth technology, or perhaps due to the fact that we almost shook apart, when we broke free. Once our presence was reported to the rest of the fleet, the observation ship, the USS Enterprise arrived on the scene to observe either or victory our failure. That's when I gave the order to the Rider.

"Rider, drop and run… now, Now, NOW!"

"The Rider, is away. What now, Captain?"

"Jonny, we need to give them time, limp the Mercury. Make it look like we sustained moderate damage after breaking free of that warp field"

"Aye Sir, three quarter impulse and slowly climbing"

"Hailey, incoming message from the Orlando. It's Admiral Alderman" Called out Petty Officer Patel, from the communications station.

"Patch him through, actually? Ship-wide. Let everyone hear this. This is going to be fun"

"Onscreen, you're on Admiral"

'Hiding in plain sight? Nice touch, Commander. Do you see those three ships on an intercept course?'

"Actually Admiral? I do, they're nothing to worry about and neither are you actually, you're too far away to get to us in time. Can you make it to our position, before we reach the dry-dock?"

'Order the fleet to Intercept the Mercury, full impulse. You're out of time Hailey, I though you where supposed to be good. This is the last desperate act, of a desperate little girl'

"I don't care if it's the first act, of Henry the Fifth… you're still going to loose this one, Graham"

'You are addressing a superior Officer, Commander!'

"No sir, not Superior? Just higher in rank. Catch me if you can… Mercury out. Jonny? Run!"