Chapter 6
Five forms shimmered and appeared in an old-style transport effect. Immediately, Tzardoz grabbed the nearby Cardassian guard and wrung his neck. Carefully, he carried the still twitching body to a nearby airduct, ripped the cover off and stuffed the body inside. A couple of light taps restored the grating to the wall. Total time, less than 10 seconds. Lestan nodded appreciatively. Kirk grunted quietly and gave the Gorn a thumbs up gesture.
"Fan out. We're looking for a data access console." the Captain said quietly.
"Here, Sir." Selon offered, from a doorway. The little group quickly crowded into the room. Another Cardassian was slumped over his desk, stunned by a heavy phaser blast. He was working over prisoner specs. According to the screen, there was only one Federation captive currently incarcerated.
"One!?" Grave swore, "Out of a whole ship, ONE?"
"Quietly, Ensign." Darkraven murmured.
"Sorry, Sir." the smuggler said bitterly.
Selon had shoved the unconscious alien onto the floor, and was accessing a side panel in the terminal. Within seconds, Dalek had an on-line link with the base computer.
*Beginning download and data compression.*
"Hey! Don't forget to screw this place over." Grave added.
*Do not worry, Ensign. THAT is a foregone conclusion.* the AI chuckled.
"Do we have a location on... James Stettler?" Tzardoz rumbled.
"Prison section. Level K, block twenty."
"We're going to have to take the lifts." Kirk said grimly.
"Ummmmm, anyone speak Cardassian?" Thomas asked, looking up.
Everyone was silent for a moment.
"I... believe I can remember a few words." Lestan said dryly.
"Good. You speak to the lift controls." the Ensign grumbled.
Lestan's mind reached out, searching the area nearby for an unfamiliar mind. He encountered several. With a slight blink and twinge, he pulled the necessary information from them.
"Alright people, let's get moving." The Captain smiled, "Stay together, and keep yourselves alert."
"Nooooooooo shit." Grave sighed.
Selon snickered at the human's glum commentary.
The little group ducked from the room and moved swiftly down the hall to the nearest lift. As Tzardoz moved to palm the door open,
George spoke.
"Wait."
The old time Starfleet officer placed both hands and his ear against the door and closed his eyes. Time seemed to slow for a moment as he searched.
"Two in this lift. Coming down to our level. Be ready." he said, backing away.
Seconds later, two guards stepped from the door to be met by a huge lizard and a grimacing human. The battle was over as soon as it begun.
"Very fine work, Commander." The CSO complimented, dropping his dead guard on the floor beside the lift.
"Thanks, Lieutenant. You too." Kirk said cheerily, piling his opponent with the other.
"I do believe you both delight in killing, far too much." Lestan said disapprovingly.
"Hey, knowing what they do to prisoners, I have no sympathy." Grave grunted, walking into the lift.
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"Status report, Ensign?" Marius West rasped, sitting in the command chair. He had started his career on an Excelsior class, it seemed fitting to him that he should go out on one too.
"Cardassian ships are holding position on the other side of the planet, Sir." the little woman piped up cheerily. Marius shook his head. Did nothing dent this girl's exuberance?
"Keep Watching them. West to O'Mara." he said, nudging a switch on his chair.
*O'Mara here.* came the chief engineer's voice.
"I'm not happy just sitting here, hiding behind the planet. Do we have any way to disguise or hide ourselves a little better?"
*Funny you should ask, Commander.* the Irishman chuckled.
Moments later, the Star Tiger faded from view entirely.
"And you mean to tell me, we have full shields, and firing capability?" Marius asked.
*Yes Sir! All at a very moderate power consumption rate. Not as if that would matter, with the plant I've got operating down here.*
"How long can we stay like this?"
*Innnnnnnnndefinitely.*
"Chief, if I were twenty years younger, I'd marry you." Marius sighed, leaning back in the command chair.
*No thanks, Sir. You're just not my type.* the Engineer laughed.
*O'Mara out.*
"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Sir?" Kiko asked, impishly.
"You hush up down there, young lady." the elderly man scolded.
"Hushing up, Sir." she grinned at the former admiral and spun back to her station.
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Anton Gavrilov gritted his teeth, as the Illiad rocked beneath him. The Galaxy class vessel was taking a terrible beating at the hands of the Cardassian and Romulan vessels.
"Report!" he barked, looking at the images on the viewscreen.
"Sheilds down to sixty-seven percent. Phasers down to seventy-eight percent. Starboard power coupling shows severe stressing." the helmsman said, over the creaking and groaning of the ship.
"We've got to get out of here." the gray haired man muttered.
The Illiad rocked again, with the force of a combined torpedoe strike from the enemy vessels. Sparks few everywhere and the emergency lights came on for a moment.
"Warp drive offline, Sir. Engineering reports that the inertial dampeners also show signs of immanent failture." the new man at helm shouted, pushing the form of his unconcious crewmate out of the way.
"Damn! Prepare a message bouy for release to Starfleet."
"Sir, can't we call for help?"
"Who do you think would have the damn sense to answer us, Man? We're inside Cardassian territory, and being outgunned by a combined group of ships. NO Starfleet Captain's going to endanger their ship and crew to rescue us from this mess. We have to do it ourselves. Or die."
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Aboard the warship Proktos, a junior officer stared uncertainly at the display before him. Moments before, he had a very strange reading on his sensor display, and now that image was gone. Vanished as if it had never existed. internally, he had a dilemma. Inform his immediate superior, and run the risk of reprimand for his foolishness, or ignore the lost image. Cardassians did not tolerate stupidity in their ranks very well at all. They had almost as much respect for their own, as they had for their prisoners.
"Commander?" the youth finally spoke up, as the officer passed his station on a round of the bridge.
The man stopped and looked at the enlisted man.
"Sir, I had monitored a ghost image, in geosynchronos orbit on the opposite side of the planet, until a few moments ago. Then the image vanished."
The officer frowned.
"Have you run a sensor check?"
"Yes sir. Three times."
"How long did this image appear on the sensors?"
"Almost ten minutes."
"And then, for no reason, it vanished?"
"Yes Sir."
"Please sound red alert. Feed the ghost image's last coordinants to the navigator. If there's nothing there, fine. If there is..." the Commander smiled, his almost reptilian skin, crinkling.
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"Commander! Cardassian ship leaving orbit. She's moving to our position."
"Hmmmm. We've been spotted, then." Marius grunted. "Bridge to O'Mara."
*O'Mara here.*
"Cheif, how good is this cloaking device?"
*Talk to the expert. Klellan!* the engineer called.
*Yes, Commander, this is Klellan.* the calm voice of the Romulan engineer and spy came over the link.
"We've got a Cardassian warship heading our way. Can they have seen us?"
*Impossible, Sir. This device is of the latest design in the Empire. I was involved in it's inception and planning before I was imprisoned. I believe this to be the test model. We are utterly undetectable.*
"Just to be safe, we're shifting position. Any perceived problems with operating impulse engines while under cloak?"
*Just the residual trail they will leave. That's if the Science Officer on board is smart enough to think to scan for them.*
Marius sat silent for a moment, lost in thought.
"What if... we used maneuvering jets instead of impulse power?"
*Still, it would leave a trail, but I believe they would even be less likely to scann for it.*
"Helm, move us out of their way, maneuvering jets only."
Lia Stronn sat at the controls, and nodded, while making the necessary adjustments. Having the experience of the former Line Admiral aboard, gave them a chance at survival in this game. One considerably higher than they would have had without him.
"Firing jets now, Commander." the Counselor said quietly.
Marius gripped his seat, as the ancient ship shuddered and began to move slowly out of the way of the approaching Cardassian vessel. At an agonizing pace, the Star Tiger pirouetted and settled in below and behind the enemy's new orbit.
"Now we wait some more." the old man said dryly, staring intently at the viewscreen.
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"Level K, block 20." Lestan said, in flawless Cardassian. His crew looked at him, impressed. "Just a talent. I pick up and remember languages very easily." The Captain shrugged.
"Thank goodness for hobbies." Kirk smiled, flexing his hands.
"Now remember, everyone. This level will be more heavily guarded. Shoot first, ask questions later. Your hesitation could mean the death of one of us, or the prisoner." Lestan said seriously.
"Oooooh, I don't think you have to worry about that, Sir." Thomas Grave grinned evilly. He unholstered his phaser and set it to kill.
The lift slowed to a stop.
"We're heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeeeee." Kirk whispered queitly, and the doors slid open.
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"Sensor scans show nothing, Sir." the young officer said, nervously. Rocking back and forths on his heels, hands clasped behind his back, the senoir officer spoke.
"Scan for impulse trails."
"But Sir, if they're not within sensor range..."
"What if they're cloaked, Nosohn?" the older man smiled.
"Federation ships do not use cloaking devices!"
"So they tell us. Scan for impulse residues."
"Yes sir." the younger man turned to his consol and work feverishly for a moment. He checked, then double checked his findings. Bringing the Proktos here for no reason was bad enough. Making any more mistakes with sensor readings would cost him his place on the bridge, he was sure. Plus other... censures.
"No evidence of impulse engine operation at these coordinates for... twenty minutes! There was something here!"
"May still be here." the officer said, looking over the younger man's shoulder at the readings.
"Very odd. Those are not standard Federation engine readings. They almost seem Romulan."
"Perhaps the Romulan ship assisting the Plevok, brought another?"
"Pehaps. But I hardly think so. Scan the area for residuals we know are left by their cloaking device." the officer stepped back,
still watching over the younger man's shoulder.
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A red-alert type alarm sounded the lights had dimmed considerably on Level K. Four sets of invasion suppression troops had been sent in through the service tunnels. None had reported back, upon reaching the prison level. Making matters worse, the computers were down, which meant that communications were off line also. Above the Cardassian base, two warships were in orbit, and they could not be contacted. Even communicators seemed to be blocked.
Thomas Grave worked feverishly at the cell door which blocked them from their objective. One officer had managed to hit the control for fire supression, dropping blast doors in front of all of the cells. Selon had dropped him a second too late. Swearing loudly to himself, the former smuggler had the wall-plate off and was trying to establish an electrical connection to open the doors. It was not working.
"Here, let me try." Tzardoz rumbled, just behind the human.
"Be my guest, Greenie." the Ensign said, moving out of the way.
Grimly, the massive Gorn heaved back and slammed his fist into the door. A dent appeared. He repeated the process again. And again. And yet again. Finally, George Kirk stepped forward, and around the now bleeding lizard. Though incredibly strong, the alien CSO was not invulnerable.
"Enough, Lieutenant. Let me give it the ol' college try." the fledgling vampire grunted.
"Yes sir." the Gorn stepped back impatiently. George stepped close to the door.
"Hello in there! Move to the side of the cell. I'm coming in."
Kirk stepped back and slammed his fists and forearms into the blast doors. The metal shrieked and moaned, giving way considerably. The others stood in shock and surprise as the ancient Starfleet officer reached into the cracks in the door to gain purchase, and ripped them from their moorings. He turned and looked at Tzardoz, a big smile on his face.
"Good job, Lieutenant! You really loosened those babies up!"
"Uh... yes Sir. Thank you, Sir." Tzardoz mumbled, watching perplexedly, as a mere human smashed his way through Dura-steel blast doors.
As Kirk and Selon entered the room, which was dark, the noticed a form crumpled in the corner. Quickly, the Vulcan science officer moved forward, drawing a medical scanner from her belt. She ran it over the form.
"We are here just in time. There is not much left of this one to save." she said, with uncharacteristic bitterness.
"Is he stable enough to move?" Kirk asked sharply, kneeling beside the unconscious man.
"I would say, rather, we cannot do any more harm to him than has already been done."
"Fair enough." George gathered the form up in his arms and stood. "Lets get the hell out of here."
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"Sir, there is evidence of some sort of cloaking device in the area. It is not exactly Romulan, but it has most of the major characteristics." Nosohn frowned, pouring over his sensor readings.
"Flood the area with a tachyon particle burst. If there's a cloaked vessel in the area, will be able to read its outline with the sensors." the officer said.
"Yes Sir." the younger man bent to his task.
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"Welcome back, everyone!" transporter chief smiled, then looked at the injured man being carried by George Kirk. "Kyle to sickbay, beaming one injured directly to you." he quickly reversed the beam on one pad, and the two parties vanished, while Lestan and the rest trotted off the platform.
"Darkraven to bridge."
*West here. Damn good thing you're back. We've got a Cardassian warship in the area and he's reeeeaaally anxious to make our acquaintence.*
"On my way." the captain turned and headed for the doors, he stopped short, the rest of the rescue team bunching up behind him.
"Tzardoz..."
"Yes Sir?"
"Report to sickbay and get those injuries attended to."
"Yes Sir." the Gorn almost sighed. Time for another go-round with Doctor Franken.
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"We have them Sir!" Nosohn shouted, drawing the deck officer's attention.
"Identity?" the man asked calmly, ignoring the other's excitement.
"It appears to be an older class of Federation vessel. Excelsior?" he replied, quickly scrolling through the directory of enemy configurations.
The officer grunted.
"Well over a century old. Outfitted with a cloaking device. Contact the base." he turned and gestured to the communications officer.
The man frowned as he worked with the console.
"Sir, I am getting no response to my hails."
A grim look came over the officer's face.
"Lock all weapons on the Federation vessel and fire."
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"Sheilds up!" Marius roared, milli-seconds before the Star Tiger was rocked by a blast from the Cardassian ship.
The turbo-lift doors opened, admitting Lestan and the rest of the bridge crew.
"What's going ON Marius?" the Captain asked, skittering down to the deck.
"They flooded the area with tachyon particles and locked on our outline." the old man spat.
"Ah well. Sometimes the oldest tricks are still the best." Lestan smiled, as the former Line-Admiral rose and moved to the side, as another blast dissipated against their shields.
"Lestan to O'Mara."
*O'Mara here, Sir.*
"Drop the cloak."
*Sir?*
"Drop the cloak. They know we're here, it's superfluous at this point." the captain said serenely.
*Complying.*
The form of the Star Tiger shimmered and faded into view, facing the Cardassian warship.
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"Why are they still here?" the officer murmured, looking at the blazingly bright image of the Star Tiger, glowing on his forward viewer.
"Sir, I am reading an incredible level of energy output from that vessel." Nosohn said nervously.
"Explain."
"It almost looks as if..." the younger man never got a chance to finish, as the Proktos was rocked by a blast from the Federation ship. The lights went out, and sparks flew from all around the bridge.
"Why weren't our shields up?!" the officer roared from the darkness. Above the groaning of the injured crew, and the hissing of destroyed electrical equipment, Nosohn called out the reply.
"Shields WERE up, Sir."
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"Damage report on the Cardassian vessel?" the Captain asked.
"Warp drive, down. Impulse, down. Sheilds, down. Weapons, down. Life support, down." Grave replied, wolfishly.
"Good. Plot a course for the Illiad. I assume that by now, they'll be needing our help." Lestan smirked.
"Plotted and ready, Sir."
"Captain to O'Mara."
*Galen here.* came back the crisp reply.
"How are we down there, Chief?"
*Fresh as the Mornin' Dew, Sir. What do you require?*
"TransWarp?"
*REAlllllly? Your wish is my command!*
"Thank you. Lestan out."
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Gavrilov wiped a trail of sweat from his forehead, and hung grimly onto the arms of his command chair. Around him, several of the crew were injured, and he was rapidly losing power to shipboard systems. He estimated he would be able to last barely a few more minutes.
"Computer, bring up protocols for ship-wide self-destruct." the man said grimly.
"Sir, I have a text only message coming in! It's from the Star Tiger!"
"Read it."
"Base invaded. Prisoner recovered. On our way to your position. Signed Captain Lestan Darkraven and company."
"Oh just wonderful. Now not just one ship gets destroyed, but two."
On the viewscreen before them, a Romulan vessel vanished in a bright explosion. Instantly, two of the Cardassians whirled to meet the new attacker.
"What the hell was that?!?" Gavrilov gaped.
"Sir, the Star Tiger is here. They have apparently destroyed the Romulan reinforcement vessel."
"With what?!?"
"Well, Sir, it appeared to be some sort of phaser `shotgun.' "
"That's still on the R&D boards! How the hell did THEY get it!?!?"
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"Ooooooo. Impressive shooting, Lieutenant." the captain said, watching the burning bits of desbris from the Romulan ship.
"Thank you, Captain." the Gorn rumbled.
"Cardassian ships turning from the Illiad, Sir. They're locking on our position." Grave said, tightly.
"Sheilds to triple redundancy." the vampire replied, an unnatural calmness in his voice.
"Done, Sir." Kiko chirped, as the Star Tiger wobbled slightly from the combined salvo of half a dozen phaser blasts.
"Wow. Barely felt that." George Kirk commented, obviously impressed.
"Yes indeed. I'd say Galen and the engineering crew have outdone themselves." Lestan replied, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Helm, full about, I want a momentary shot to TransWarp, bringing us up behind their tails, then a full photon torpedo spread a second later."
"Yes Sir." Thomas Grave fairly smiled, hunched over the helm console. Tzardoz' toothy grin also seemed to express approval of the captain's order. The Star Tiger jerked, and leapt into TransWarp, a millisecond later, appearing behind the line of Cardassian warships. The Gorn roared triumphantly as he released a volley of torpedoes into their unsuspecting rears. The small fleet rocked and tumbled perilously, and struggled to come about to confront the attack from a new quarter. But the Excelsior class ship was already gone and attacking from a different quarter.
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"What the hell is going on out there?" The captain of the Illiad whispered, watching the ancient Federation Battlecruiser winking in and out of existence, seemingly everywhere at once.
"Captain, I know this is impossible, but is seems they have a TransWarp drive on board. And it's actually working!" a helmsman muttered, wiping sweat and blood from before his eyes.
"Can we get warp drive back on line and get the hell out of here?" he barked, eyes glued to the prancing and dancing battle going on before him.
"Engineering says we need twenty minutes to effect minimal repairs. We'll have limited warp capability."
"Notify Darkraven on the Star Tiger. See if he can keep them busy for that long."
"Yes sir."
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"Incoming message from the Illiad, Captain." Tzardoz rumbled.
"It says?"
"Captain Gavrilov wants to know if we can hold them off for twenty minutes while they effect repair of their warp drive."
Lestan chuckled and leaned forward, a predatory gleam in his eye.
"By that time, you may tell him, the Cardassians will be so much space dust."
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Down in Engineering, Galen O'Mara ran about, pell mel, barely avoiding collision with his men, who were all scurrying at the same rate of speed as himself. Even with the help of a starbase computer, and the ancient alien program called Dalek, it was a major undertaking, keeping the reams of strange equipment working together smoothly. With so many different technologies represented, something was bound to happen. When it finally did, it was a malfunction of the basest manner.
"OH SHIT!!!!!" an Ensign screamed, caught near an exploding power coupling. Instantly, weapons systems shut down, TransWarp shut down, the shields fell to the levels they had been designed at over a century ago.
White faced, Galen looked at the damage. The cable he had spliced together days ago, had burned through and exploded. Two violently sparking ends flailed about the engineering deck and several of his men had already been injured.
"Engineering to sickbay! I need medical assistance down here RIGHT NOW!"
*Galen, this is Lestan, what the hell happened? We've lost everything up here!*
"I've got a cable burned through Captain! Pumping so much energy through these old systems, something was bound to happen sooner or later. I'll get right on it, but it's going to take me some time."
On the bridge, Darkraven's face was set in a grim mask. The Cardassian ships were regrouping. There was no time. Without shields, they would be destroyed in seconds. He had a decision to make.
"Marius, you have the bridge." the Captain said, rising.
"Where the hell do you think YOU'RE going?" the old man roared, moving to face the CO.
"To engineering. There's no time for Galen to repair the damage. I must do it." and the Captain of the Star Tiger, in full view of a staring bridge crew, dissolved into mist and vanished through the deck plates. Marius' jaw dropped, and he sat heavily in the command seat.
"What the hell?" Thomas Grave whispered.
"Vampire." George Kirk smiled, showing his teeth.
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Lestan coalesced in engineering, standing near to Galen. The engineer nearly jumped out of his skin, as he turned to yell at a crewman and found his captain beside him.
"Where's the break?" the vampire said serenely, his eyes sweeping the scurrying forms on the engineering deck.
"Over there. I have men pulling on handling suits so they can grab the ends of the cable and reconnect them. We're going as fast as we can."
"I have no doubt. Unfortunately, Chief, it's not fast enough."
Lestan strode toward the two wildly snapping and crackling cables.
"Sir what are you... NO!" Galen screamed in horror as Lestan bent over and grasped both ends of the break, drawing them together. His hair stood on end, his facial muscles jerked into a death's head grimace and he started to smoke. At the same instant, power came back up across the board.
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"Fire!" Marius said, looking at the Cardassian warships, heading for them.
"Yes sir!" Tzardoz hissed, his large, scaley hands dancing across the weapons console. Large hiccup-like bursts of energy flew from the Star Tiger's phaser banks. In quick succession, four ships detonated in firey, nova-like explosions. The fifth ship rocked and tumbled out of the way, trying to move into position to continue the battle.
"Boy, these guys don't know when to give up!" Kiko murmured, watching the forward viewer.
"Bring us around again, Mr. Grave. They're trying for superior positioning, and I don't intend that we should let them have it." the old man in the captain's chair snarled.
"Yes sir. Coming about." the ensign said, hands dancing across the controls.
The Star Tiger lurched and shook, moving sluggishly in response to the helm's command.
"What's wrong?" Marius asked, straightening up and holding onto his seat, as the old ship vibrated.
"Something with the Inertial Dampeners. They're only operating at eighty percent." Selon replied.
"Can you bring them back up? We'll shake ourselves to pieces if this keeps up."
Selon worked over the engineering console for a moment before replying.
"It would seem this is a repair that must be affected from Engineering, Commander."
"Then go, Lieutenant. We need to buy the Illiad a bit more time, then we have to get the hell out of here before Cardassian reinforcements show up."
"Understood. I'm on my way." The beautiful Vulcan woman stood and moved off into the turbo-lift.
Marius turned his attention back to his enemy.
"Okay, Mr. Grave, keep us between them and the Illiad. We'll provide that big bitch with cover for as long as she needs." he stared at the limping vessel on the viewscreen.
"Yes Sir."
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Galen O'Mara was loudly losing his mind in Engineering. He and three other men were struggling to install a secondary power cable to replace the one the their captain was holding together. Lestan had fallen to his knees, his flesh burned a sickly brown color, what was left of his hair stood straight out on long patches. He shook like a man palsied, which was an amazement in itself; the power of a starship was coursing through his body and he was still alive. The Chief screamed almost hysterically at his men, moving them along as fast as possible in the placing of the jumper cable. It was upon this scene, that Selon entered the room. She took one look at the Captain and tapped her commm badge.
"Selon to Doctor Franken."
*This is Franken, what have you got for me?*
"Doctor, I believe your presence will be immediately required in Engineering. The Captain is in... dire trouble." the vulcan said, having a struggle to keep the emotions she was feeling from dominating her.
*On my way.* the older woman said curtly.
A moment later, Doctor Jane Franken materialized in Engineering. She took one look at Lestan and gasped. The vampire's skin, now almost black, had shrunken to his bones, and was cracked and smoking. No more blood poured from his body, as it seemed there was none left to give. Still, Darkraven held the cables together, eyes rolled back in his head, shaking and twitching like a leaf in a hurricane.
"We've almost got it!" Galen shrieked, over the sound of his commanding officer being crudely electrocuted. "Just another few seconds!"
Jane moved quickly to the comm unit mounted on the wall.
"This is Jane Franken. I want nine pints of blood replicated, STAT."
*What type, Doctor?*
"IT DOESN'T MATTER." the woman snarled, "Any type! Just do it now. I want it in a large bucket, and make sure that it's at ninty-eight point six."
*Yes, Doctor.* the puzzled voice said.
"Computer."
*Yes, Doctor Franken?* Dalek's , voice came over the unit now.
"I need emergeny bulkhead sheilds put in place in a straight line from here to the turbolift, and then from the lift to sickbay."
*Complying. May I inquire as to the nature of this request?*
"When Lestan drops those cables, he's going to be totally drained of blood. He won't be rational, at best. He's going to grab the nearest blood source and drain it immediately. I'm going to make sure it's under controlled conditions in MY Sickbay."
*Admirable thinking, Doctor.*
"Thanks. Get ready on my mark." the woman turned away and looked at the engineering crew. The cable was going into a socket just as she finished speaking. Lestan stopped shaking, and dropped unmoving to the floor. Several people moved towards him.
"GET BACK! DON'T GO NEAR HIM!!" the older woman bellowed. The crewmen jumped and backed off. On the floor, Lestan stirred feebly.
"Now." the doctor said, watching the ancient vampire struggle to rise. "Everyone, get out of sight, now!" she said, motioning with her hands. Instantly, the engineering crew ducked behind whatever piece of equipment was closest to them. The only ones in sight were Selon and the Doctor.
"How fast a runner are you?" Jane asked, eyeing the wobbly, shrunken thing that was the captain.
"Quite. Why?"
"Because you and I are elected to run ahead of him and draw his bloodlust to sickbay." the gray haired woman grabbed the Vulcan's arm and pulled her towards the door. Lestan was on his feet, drawing breaths in great, painful gasps. He looked truly like the living dead. There was no hint of humanity in his eyes.
"What about when we get to the lift?!" the science officer asked.
"Oh, I expect he'll follow us up." they began to move faster, as Lestan smelled their blood.
"What if he stops on another deck!?"
"He can't. I told Dalek to make a one way path from here to sickbay. We'd better run now, I think he's got the scent." Jane turned and bolted down the corridor, Selon right behind. Lestan shrieked and half shambled, half ran after them.
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Marius West hung grimly on to the command chair, and the Star Tiger vibrated violently and spun on her axis, belching out great balls of phased energy. The Cardassian ship had become smart enough to try avoiding the blasts, instead of meeting them head on. This strategy seemed to work much better than facing the destructive force being generated by the ancient Federation starship.
"Inertial Dampening still at eighty percent." Grave called, jockeying deftly around the bulk of the Illiad.
"What the hell is happening down there, Selon?" the old commander growled into the com link.
*I am currently involved in luring the Captain to sickbay, Commander. Perhaps you could contact Chief O'Mara, and ask him to undertake the repair?* the Lieutenant's voice panted.
"Why the hell do you have to lure Lestan to sickbay?" Marius asked, puzzled.
*Because he's in deep bloodlust right now, and he can't respond to rational thought. Otherwise, I'd ask him nicely to accompany me to sickbay!* Jane Franken wheezed.
"Do you two need help?"
*Oh no. We'll be fine. Just get us away from these damn Cardassians!* the doctor growled.
*Doctor, he's coming...* Selon said, her voice rising in pitch slightly.
*Oh, hells bells. Damn slow lifts... Franken out.*
The Commander sat there, a stupefied expression on his face.
"Well..." he said dryly, "isn't that special."
"I'd better go help them." George Kirk said, looking at Marius.
"Yes, I think that would be a good idea."
"Uh, let's see, how'd he do that?" the Commander muttered, and frowned. A moment later, he turned to vapor and vanished.
"I dislike it when they do that." Tzardoz shuddered.
"I think it's rather erotic." Lia Stronn purred.
"Oh, I bet you do." Marius quirked an eyebrow in the direction of the ship's councellor.
"Commander, the Illiad reports her warp drive is up and running. They want to know if we want them to hang around while we destroy the last Cardassian ship." Kiko Todesku said.
"Inform Captain Gavrilov that we will be following them shortly, but by all means, they may get their asses out of here. Use those exact words."
The little oriental woman blushed.
"Yes sir."