Hello world, I am back! Who knew that you got Freedom in college? I never really anticipated getting this much time to work on this story!

Now, let us address some comments and concerns:

Thaumh: Read on, my friend, read on :)

But for the second concern on the shields, I was not thinking about that honestly, so I will say the crew wasn't thinking about that either.

GuitarBOSS: Congrats, you have identified the theme of the story! But, looking back, I honestly think I rushed it. But, it is my first story. Parlay?

Chapter 13

The hostile ship was brought to the side of the Freedom. Different, primitive anchors reached out and attached themselves to the hull. Red-armored men began making their way across to greet their native ally, Hakoda.

Deanna sensed danger from the minute the ship was sighted. There was this overall, threatening feeling among the crew of the hostile ship. There was also confidence. As if they knew something.

Menacing tones could be heard, directed at Hakoda. She could not make out what was said. Did all Fire Nation members sound ... evil? While a relativistic word at best, Deanna could not describe it any other way.

Hakoda turned away, a stressed look on his face. His internal feelings matched this expression. The messenger of the other ship had probably told him that their two ships would be held up. She would have to find out for her self

"What did he tell you?" Deanna asked as Hakoda approached her.

"We are ordered to hold our position until more ships arrive, we are to form a fleet to prepare for an offensive on the northern water tribe."

The crew had been able to gather more information on the world they were now stuck on from casual conversation with the crew of the boat. From what Deanna gathered, Hakoda was from the southern water tribe, and the northern water tribe is the southern's more powerful sister tribe.

"They are the last stand against the Fire Nation, are they?" Deanna inquired.

"Yes," Hakoda confirmed, then continued, "We are to travel to a predetermined location just outside of the scouting range of their stronghold. We will attack on a certain day, a date after our scheduled invasion." He bowed his head as he finished.

"I see that this situation is obviously complicated," Deanna started, "Our only option is probably to fight them"

"I know" Hakoda responded, "And we have a good chance at winning that, we outnumber them 2 to 1. My problem is figuring out how to prevent them from communicating about two ships that have multi-national soldiers launching an invasion on the day they are at their weakest."

"How do they send messages?" Deanna questioned.

"Through messenger hawks," Hakoda responded, "Which..."

His voice trailed off into the distance. Deanna senses the inner workings of his brain in motion. Even under his leadership for only about a couple of weeks, she had gathered that Hakoda was an expert at coming up with plans. If he worked in Starfleet, he would have made a formidable tactical officer, or even a Captain, given his position at the present moment.

Speculation was interrupted by Hakoda.

"They have a chamber for these messenger hawks located on the bridge of the ship. It is located so that messages the recorder has written could be sent as quickly as possible. If I could get a small strike team to capture and hold that area while we fight the battle below.."

The instant struck Deanna. This was their moment. It was the perfect mission for the remaining members of the Enterprise to perform. She looked up to the stars. Worf had often alluded to destiny and otherworldly forces controlling their fate.

Q? The extra-dimensional being that loved toying with the crew members of the Enterprise ever-so often. No. Q may have powers some considered divine, but his habits and behaviors were very... human. If Q was behind the scenes of recent events, he would want them to know he was behind the scenes. If not Q, then everything could be attributed to coincidence. If life was a game of chance, however, someone had to be rolling the dice.

...

The pawns were set, the pieces were in motion, now, all that was needed was execution, and a little luck.

Deanna had volunteered for them to take part in the special strike Hakoda had proposed, the occupation of the "communication" center of the hostile Fire Navy ship.

Picard knew the risks, but he also knew the rewards. If it was not them, it would be someone else, and his crew would still be in danger from the incoming battle up ahead. Never mind that this operation was crucial to their personal goals as well.

Picard studied his now red-armored body. He felt as if he was in a renaissance reenactment play. This was no play, however, and breaking a leg would probably be the result of his performance if he wasn't careful. He would have to hope that would be the most of his worries.

"Ready?," arrived the voice and body of his first officer.

"We'll find out," Picard answered, and, as a closing statement, lifted his phaser, adjusted the settings on it, and hid it in a small red bag attached to the belt part of his Fire Nation armor.

"Are you ready number 1?", Picard returning the question.

"Always am" Riker quipped, before putting the helmet over his head.

Picard did the same and glanced out of the small side exit of the navy ship. He was met with two seas. On was the one he was currently sailing on, a clear and tranquil surface, blackened by the night and disturbed by the nearby vessels. The other sea was the one he previously traveled, empty and void, yet filled with amazing secrets and adventures that he and his crew had the pleasure of discovering.

Picard looked at the sky. How was the Enterprise? Was she now a simple mass of metal with vaporized humans filling the void space in her hull? Or was Geordi and the crew keeping her together with their sheer will?

No scientific data could support either situation. No philosophy could reason if his crew was alive or dead. All Picard had was faith.

Did the sky truly hide a being that was pulling the strings right now? A being even more omnipotent than the pesky Q?

Picard looked back down at the deceivingly tranquil waters. He had one goal, and he needed to execute it.

Both Picard and Riker leapt out of the metal opening and plunged into the waters below.

While the armor of the Fire Nation was primitive, it also weighed less than Picard had first expected when he had put it on. Hakoda said that they had tested the standard Fire Nation armor, and it proved not to weigh too heavily down on swimmers.

So far, Hakoda's claims had been correct. Picard could maneuver through the water well enough.

Picard stopped testing, and began to turn circle around the back of the Freedom. As he came to the other side, he saw the enemy ship, anchored next to the Enterprise. Bubbles appeared as he chuckled quietly in the waters. He had developed a bit more attachment to the other ship since he should have, only because it shared the name of the home he sought so much to return to.

Picard and Riker dove under the water once more. By the next breath, which Picard was personally glad to have, the two Starfleet officers had positioned themselves next to the hulking grey ship. Picard looked up, he could sense no activity on the surface, so they may have slipped by the patrol's viewpoint. However, he couldn't be sure, he was not Deanna.

Picard felt another ripple in the water, and saw a Fire nation speed boat make its way to their side of the boat. The three members of the boat spotted them. Picard held his breath, then sighed as one of the crew members took off his helmet, revealing a young face, turning it over on its top, then resuming normal orientation and returning the helmet onto his head. Picard gave a slightly noticeable thumbs up to his three other crew members.

"Port side contact!" Picard heard on the surface.

Picard saw one of the Fire Nation soldiers peer over the sides.

"State your purpose!" he shouted to the speed boat.

"Communication of battle plans, sir, our captain has several tactical plans for the Northern Water Tribe invasion!"

"Nicely executed, I don't think he expects anything," whispered Troi to Wesley. Wesley then followed his previous statement by holding out a scroll with a Fire Nation seal.

Wesley saw the man retreat back from the edge of the ship. He looked back at Consular Troi, did they not suspect anything? Wouldn't they wonder why their captain was not delivering the messages themselves? Wouldn't they wonder why they were not calling a meeting for all the captains?

Waiting did seem to be an eternity, but finally, a ladder was rolled down the side of the ship.

"Come aboard soldiers and we will discuss this matter in detail!" shouted one of the soldiers holding the ladder. Deanna looked futher down the side of the ship, Picard and Riker were nowhere to be seen.

Riker looked down at the knocked out guard at his feet. He was a bit faster getting in the side of the hull than Picard, and managed to get the attention of one guard. Unfortunately, his charm and wits were not enough, and Picard had to ruin the fun by cold cocking the man on the back of his head. Captains these days.

"Well Will? Remember all those inspections we went through at Starfleet, all those ceremonies?"

"Yes sir," Riker sighed, honestly, standing up straight for long hours was definitely not one of the perks of being in Starfleet.

"Time to pretend we are in one," Picard said as he straightened his posture. Will Riker sighed as he did the same.

The navy ship had a similar layout to the one Hakoda commanded. Picard and crew had weeks to memorize the different hallways and where they led. While Hakoda had said that each of the Fire Navy ships had their own personal touches, the basic layout was the same.

And in mere moments they reached the bridge.

The entrance was a large metal door with a small window near the top. Picard reached into his red bag and pulled out his phaser.

Will Riker did just the same.

Picard peered into the small opening. What met his eyes was alarming.

Worf, Deanna, and Wesley were lined up in the bridge. Their hands were behind their backs, and Worf and Crusher had gags on. One of the soldiers, probably a higher officer was threatening Deanna with a flame in his hand.

A face immediately blocked his view, a face of the unfriendly Fire Nation type. The fierce eyes narrowed at Picard's helmeted face. The door then slid open.

Picard could feel all eyes turning towards him, as all who occupied the bridge sensed a new presence.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Picard cautiously asked.

The man who greeted Picard, if one could call that a greeting, grunted in response, "Yes, if you were staring as intently as I think you were, you would have known we are in the middle of an interrogation here."

Picard looked around, Riker had entered the room, but was also firmly rooted in place at the entrance. The rest of Picard's crew had exasperated expressions on their faces. The last hope for the Enterprise, trapped in the enemy's lair.

"What is it that you need to deliver?" Deanna's interrogator suddenly asked, "And where did you get authorization to come on to the bridge?"

Picard paused, his hand gripped tightly on his Phaser, they knew. They knew probably even before Deanna , Worf, and Wesley boarded this ship. However, why didn't they send any messages? Hakoda, ever since the enemy ship had arrived, had assigned observers to spot any of their messenger hawks. So far, none had left the ship. The bigger question was, however, how did they know beforehand? Did this Fire Nation posses the intelligence that they were coming for them?

There was no more time to wonder, Hakoda's battle plans had to be executed if they were to stand a chance.

"I am here to discuss tactics with you on the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe."

A red beam of photonic energy concluded Picard's statement as it slammed into the chest of Deanna's interrogator.

Picard saw another soldier make a motion that the soldiers at Ba Sing Se made to produce their fire. He was soundly interrupted by a phaser strike from Riker.

The heat of the flames were suddenly felt as the other Fire Nation in the room began launching Fire bolts in their direction. Picard resorted to a standard tuck-and-roll to avoid the oncoming onslaught of heat energy. He finished off the move by squeezing off another shot, hitting his closest enemy.

Concentrate on the captain, and ignore the First Officer, nice. The minute everyone else was trying to turn Picard into charred meat, Riker had dashed for the hostages. He dealt with Deanna first, reaching into a scabbard located on his right hip to produce a dagger. While Riker was no expert with them, he did know how to saw bindings off.

Another bolt hit Picard in the chest. The armor was definitely well-designed for this kind of combat, though, Picard was still reeling from the Force of the shot. He had lost his phaser again in that exchange, and had to pull out his secondary weapon, a dagger, in order to stand a chance against his opponent.

"Let's make things a bit more intresting," his opponent sneered as he generated flames from his hands. Picard saw the flames compress into, daggers.

"Whoops, I made to many," he mockingly said, "I guess I will have to put both of these to equally good use."

The man closed his distance with Picard. Picard took a defensive stance, it was unwise to attack a man with two daggers, as the second dagger would be a definite counter-attack.

The man powered forward with an overhead stab. Picard managed to interrupt the blow midway at the top. Using the man's strength against him as he powered down, Picard redirected the hand and twisted, a sickening popping sound indicating the desired results.

"Damn you!" the man said, veins appearing on his forehead as he began taking swipes at Picard with his other Fire dagger. Picard maintained control of the man's wrist he had twisted, the flame from that hand had gone out. Picard braced his body opposite of the man's dagger hand, making it as difficult as possible for him to connect.

The man lunged forward, and Picard caught his foot with his own as the man's larger build stumbled down, weighed down by his own strength.

Picard had won the first round, but he doubted he would survive another, unless...phaser!

The problem was, the weapon Picard was way more adept at using was between him, and the temporarily fallen form of his opponent. There was no time.

Picard lunged for the weapon as the man was gathering himself. He then fired the weapon, hitting at point-blank range. The red beam of the phaser tamed the angry bull.

He scanned the room, no more hostiles. The second encounter with the Fire Nation soldiers had went incredibly better than the first. It should have been no surprise, Picard knew what to expect.

He then looked over to his crew members. Riker had freed them all, and so far, it looked like he had arrived when the interrogation was just starting.

Deanna was the first to speak, "They know."

"I was speculating on that possibility," Picard responded.

"They revealed they were waiting for more ships to arrive. They would use these as a coordinated effort to stop us. We were to be used as hostages for extra leverage."

The Fire Nation did know that there were fakes in the fleet. And now, they probably would know their position. Picard spotted an empty scroll, a brush and a bottle of ink resting on the central table of the bridge. He looked back on the officer who was torturing Deanna. He lit up, an idea was formed.

"Mr. Worf," Picard asked, turning to the Lieutenant, "Are you feeling well?"

"Yes sir," Worf responded with a confused look on his face.

"Do you think you can wake up this kind officer over here? I need something from him." Picard's finger revealed his location.

"Yes captain," Worf hesitantly responded. He walked to where Picard's finger was pointed. Hopefully he wasn't dead from the captain's phaser fire. Picard better have been smart enough to foresee this and set the phaser on stun.

Luckily, the man was still alive. Worf shook the man slightly, and he detected a flutter in his eyes.

The man groggily came too. When he spotted the others and the situation he was in, his expression turned from one of confusion to one of anger. Worf, upon seeing this, quickly restrained him.

"Release me you trash!" the man demanded.

Worf stood up, bringing the man up with him. Both of them faced Picard.

"I have a request of you," Picard began.

"Do you think I will follow orders from the likes of you?" the man shouted back.

"Yes," Picard continued, "Because really, you have nowhere else to go."

All walked to the observatory area of the bridge. A battle had erupted on the deck. While Picard's crew had been infiltrating the navy ship. Hakoda and the other captain had moved their respective ships to envelope the lone Fire Navy ship. The soldiers on there were fighting a losing battle on two fronts.

"So lieutenant, you have a chance to do something right to the world. Call it a redemption. You are to contrive a message reporting you were able to apprehend the two enemy warships. You are to report that the situation is under control and further assistance is not needed."

Picard pulled out his dagger as he said this. The man sneered.

"Not going to use those little flashy devices of yours, huh? Trying to appear all tough by pulling a dagger on me. Hah! We in the Fire Nation don't hide behind such puny devices, we.."

Picard slashed the man under the eye. Blood was drawn from the cut. Everyone in the room, was shocked by this action.

"Fulfill these orders, or a nastier cut is in store!"

The man sneered again at Picard as Worf led him to the table. Worf pulled out his own dagger as the man sat down on a stool stored with the table. He reached for the brush, dipped it in ink, and began scribbling furiously on the parchment.

The door burst open again, except it was a friend that entered, Tyro.

"Excellent job, I didn't see any messenger hawks escape." he voiced with obvious relief in his voice.

Tyro looked over to where Worf was stationed with the Fire Nation officer. He raised his eyebrow.

"What is going on over there?" he asked Riker

"Oh," Riker said, suddenly aware that the written language of their people was still unknown to all four of them, "This is an attempt to ward away the other ships."

Riker posed a weak smile after that. He then continued, the gears turning in his head, "Mr. Worf here is great at speaking, but unfortunately, he is illiterate. Would you mind inspecting the work of our friend over there?"

One of Tyro's eyebrow's went into the stratosphere once again. "You are letting an illiterate man inspect his work?"

"Well," Riker stuttered, "He does tend to make you not want to try anything under his nose."

"Don't worry," Tyro said, his expression lightening up, "I have that way with people as well. I will take over for Mr. Worf. In the meanwhile, tie up these unconscious bodies."

"Right," Riker responded, and proceeded to head towards the unconscious figures of the Fire Nation soldiers.

...

The man kept scribbling away with no sense of stopping. All "reason" had been overwritten. There was only the emotions, the fear.

The room was dark. It was clear unclean practices existed in these walls. It was not what he feared.

His fear stood at the entrance to the dark room. All strings, the engineers working with him, the guards, and even he were attached to her.

Out of fear, however, courage is created. And even as he wrote down every single schematic of his ship, of the shuttles, of the weapons, a part of him, another emotion, an emotion that was free from the control of this monster, was put down on the page.

Data looked up, and gave a small glare at Azula. Resistance is never futile.

As always, review, but only if you want to say something.

And dive, dive, dive, hit your burners pilots! 'Cause we got some Shivans to slay (Apocalypse, beginning of the end)!