Sorry guys for the delay. Schools kept m pretty busy. I should be back to a regular schedule soon.

Chapter VIII: Full Circle Pt. II

The time had come. I had received mixed feelings. Janson said he felt like an old earth astronaut. Dr. Mkhlian felt no anxiety. Neither did Retan. I feared what would happen next.

"Captain, all preparations have been made we are ready to go. Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"Sir how did Romén know we were here?"

"Well Janson it is a Cardassian secret. I just cannot have the whole federation knowing now would I?" The truth was I had no idea, but I knew it was meant for us.

"I guess so."

"Good. Now we have to go make sure we can minimize damage to the ship, and it's systems. We are going to need to salvage all that we can."

"Yes sir." Janson, with his mind full of doubt left the cramped corridor. I searched the whole ship for more items of use. There were few items that could be used as weapons.

"Thirty Minutes to atmospheric entry." I heard from the computer through the Universal translator hidden in my belt. One thing I learned is to heed all warnings. I hurried my search. I checked all stations to make sure everything was right. I checked everything. All green. Only ten minutes until impact. The calculations had to be precise. Two major things could have gone wrong with this. We could come in too steep and the impact could have killed us, or the solar band could incinerate us. Either one would have prevented us from completing the mission. Five minutes until atmospheric entry. At that point in time I looked death in the face, and spat. He was not going to get me. Not now, not in the near future.

One minute until atmospheric entry and everyone was in the bridge. On a ship like this the bridge is the safest part of the ship. Guarded by the rest of the ship, making it the best choice for such a feat. Only thirty seconds left, and the ship started to lurch forward. For what seemed like hours we sat there watching the planet grow bigger until it filled the screen. We started to see through the clouds. Closer we came, and I started to recognize the continents. The invasion could be seen from orbit. They had shipyards all over the planet. We could see new artificial landmasses in the sea of Korent, but that was all before we hit the atmosphere. The flames licked up the side of the craft, completely blocking the view of the planet. The moment had a surreal feeling to it. It had a nostalgic feeling to as well. Except the first Cardassians in space died upon re-entry. It was a horrible way to go. The feelings were broken by the sound of multiple alarms going off. I tried my best to look but it was difficult due to the large amount of 'G's that were being generated. From Janson's position, he could manage to see what exactly was happening. What he found wasn't good.

"Sir, you are not gonna like this." He muttered, "The hull is being peeled off like a banana." As he spoke those words, fear began to rise from the pit of my stomach. It cannot end this way. It cannot. I will not let it. I screamed at myself internally.

"Do we have any power for stop it?" I expected a positive answer. But I received none. Instead the weirdest thing happened. The ship stopped shaking and we hovered above the city. It all happened so fast, but it was enough to ensure our survival. It was only a rumor on Retrous III. They were pockets in the atmosphere where gravity was not present. Our momentum was great enough to penetrate the other side, but it slowed us considerably. We were able to use the maneuvering thrusters to touch down as gently as possible. It all ended with a great thud as the thrusters died. For what seemed like hours we sat there in disbelief, and wonder at how this turned out. Our relief was short-lived. Our main concern now was getting out. Unfortunately for us the doors had fused shut during re-entry, and there was only enough air for another hour. No power, no environmental system, no escape. Even at it's weakest point the hull was too thick to cut through. Our only hope would be to restore power. But Retan's estimate would take too long. The wreckage blocking the part of the ship with the hull peeled off. It would take time but we might make it if we worked non-stop. Janson and I started moving the larger debris. Occasionally we would need help moving a bulkhead or mending cuts. There were only a few meters to go when Janson collapsed from the lack of oxygen. I was starting to feel the effects. I moved pound after pound of mangled steel. I started to get dizzy but never gave up. I was not going to sit by while my family dies because I was not able to do my job properly again. The dizziness increased, and my vision started to darken. I screamed at myself internally for failing. I thought it was all over. Right when I was about to accept that it was over, I moved a support beam and a wave of cool air hit my face. Despite the fresh air I collapsed but not from the lack of oxygen, but from exhaustion.

I awoke to the dark Renback caves just outside of the Capital City. It was comfortably warm in these caves, which helped me feel a lot better. I looked around and saw that the cave walls were covered in monitors. Displaying tactical information on their next attack. I tried to get up, but my muscles were making it difficult. I rose slowly and examined the plans, taking into account every possible variable. It was a sound strategy.

A hand touched my shoulder. I turned quickly around to see Dakmen's smiling face.

"I see you are enjoying our plans. As you can see we are planning to take over their shipyard near the Ordon coast. I am sure you saw it on your way in. am I right?"

I looked at him and smiled. "It was you. You told Romén we were coming." His grin grew. "Well we are here. Did you get the supplies from the crashed ship?"

His smile started to fade; "We were able to get one of the lockers before the Lert found it. We barely made with our lives, and yours."

"I see, but one locker will suffice for this mission. When do we mobilize?" The plan was solid, but the outcome might not be what they wanted. "What do you plan to do afterwards? Surely they will return in greater numbers."

His grin returned but it was bigger as he said, "What you think we are going to stop there? No. After that we will move on to the base located on the Western coast of Yelk'taer. And after that the new land mass they call Gretnor. One by one we will take on these Lert bases. Little by little we will build our forces. All it will take is one second of weakness and we will strike. After that we will lend a hand to that office job of yours."

I was impressed. This was planned out to include every possible variable.