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The following story takes place after "Needs of the Many"

Star Trek: Maximillian

Strength In Darkness

Chapter I

Captain Critch Starblade exited the turbolift slowly, unaccustomed to the response that he received with his new position. It seemed that the crew worked a little faster when he was around, and Critch couldn't figure out if it was because they were eager to impress him, or just wanted to show him what they could do. Regardless, it kept his ship running smoothly, and that was just the way he wanted it.

He had to let that sink in. His ship the Maximillian was under his control. It was something he had rarely even allowed himself to dream about, yet here it was. And all the responsibility that goes with it. Including, he sighed to himself as he strode forward onto the bridge, getting awoken from his desperately needed recharge time.

"Captain," it was just a simple greeting, but it still came as a bit of a jolt to Critch as he realized that his Xenobiologist had noticed him. Nirathi was a Horta, one of the first in the Federation to serve on a starship, but you certainly couldn't notice that by his actions. Despite the lack of arms, legs, or even standard communication tools, Nirathi was very successful at his position. A series of prototype telepathic enhancers had been added to the standard 'babelfish' universal translators, and so far they had worked fairly well. Nirathi was able to communicate with the crew without speaking, but could understand anything they could say without problems. Other devices had been arranged and developed so that he could do his work, and he had achieved success very quickly.

Critch nodded at him. "Howdy." And then stopped at the short ramp to the main section of the bridge, where his chair sat, and his command staff busily worked the ship. He stopped, taking it all in, and gazed around at his staff. He had handpicked his command crew from the finest of the Maximillian, as well as a few other ships throughout the fleet. He firmly believed that this was the finest crew on any ship, and looked forward to proving it. If he could stay awake, that is. He stifled a yawn as he appraised his people, many of them not realizing that he had arrived.

Jaydin Aleya, his Bajoran First Officer, who also served as Chief of Medical, a dual role that taxed her time, was one of his closest friends on the Max. She had seen him at his worst, and at his best. She, also, was his first choice for the position, and as far as he was concerned, the only choice. He knew that she would have to leave someday, as she also happened to be a very important figure on her home planet. (Home Again) For now, though, he was happy having her by his side.

Skrit, his second officer, and a unique energy being that had intertwined itself with the ship's former doctor Nathan Alexander several years before, now headed up the Security department, like most of the officers pulling double duty on the ship, and had proved himself capable on uncountable occasions.

His Science Officer, T'Purr Meowran, rounded out his command crew, serving as his third. Her Caitian history gave her a distinctive feline appearance that she shared with only her daughter on this ship, but she never let that stand in her way, and Critch didn't let it stand in his way of giving her the permanent job once he moved into the center seat.

One of the more talked about members of the crew was Overload, the last known intelligent Soong android. Together with her companion Databit, a perfect replica of the Enterprise's Data, only in an action-figure sized form, they had quickly replaced Critch in the Operations department. Despite Critch's initial misgivings, (A Great Adventure) things had worked out well with the pair, developing into a unique friendship. Surprisingly, Critch had also developed a rapport with Databit, who despite his incredible and insatiable curiosity was also a deep thinker, and they had had many conversations about their differing outlooks on life.

His Chief Engineer was similarly unique, the Squirrel-like being who had taken on the name Squirrelly. His true origins were mysterious, despite his recent explanation of his self over the airwaves of the Federation. (Forms of Life) His need for secrecy had led him to come up with a false history, and he was happy to just leave it at that. Critch understood his needs, but knew the time would come at some point that the whole story would have to be told.

Rounding out his bridge staff was his chief of Shuttle Operations and wing commander, Kelvok himself. He had dropped back into the familiar position after his Captaincy, and Critch was glad to have him on board. Not just for the experience that he brought with him, but also that Kelvok seemed to serve as a buffer between Critch and Admiral Turock T'Kill, who since the events had spent more time on the ship than he had since before the android had joined the Maximillian, something that Critch knew was because of his supposed untrustworthiness.

Critch himself had been through trying times, not just with the happenings with the plant-creatures, which were even now rumored to be popping up on unpopulated worlds outside of Federation space, despite their apparent destruction that had inadvertently lead to Critch becoming captain in the first place. (A Great Adventure, Needs of the Many) Before that, when his Marconian doppelganger had invaded this universe under the guise of bringing the now-deceased Admiral Robert Lyon to some sort of justice (Beyond the Final Frontier), Critch had discovered his true heritage, of a great and terrible conqueror in his home universe, the universe of the Marconians, where all life but their own had been wiped out or enslaved. His memories lost and then regained, Critch denied with every fiber of his being his former life, defeating his twin, but had told no one of what he had found out, only a lie that he had created; that he had discovered that he was to be a spy, to enter the Federation's good graces and pave the way for the eventual takeover of the worlds of the galaxy. But all that he had accomplished, trying endlessly to prove that he was more than he was meant to be, seemed to mean nothing in certain people's eyes.

Better get on with it. Critch thought to himself, as he said aloud, "What's going on?" His voice startled most of his bridge crew, and alerted them to his presence. Overload craned her head around even as she continued punching in commands on her console, and gave her standard greeting to him of "Droid!"

Jaydin turned to him, a padd in her hand. "We intercepted a distress signal, Captain." She smiled as she added his newfound rank. It was something she enjoyed teasing him about. "The signal cut off after just a moment, but we do have the coordinates."

T'Purr faced the main deck. "It seems to be a Gorn cruiser, at least from the codes they were transmitting on, and the slurred speech." She shook her head as Critch sat in his chair, adjusting it to his liking.

"Not like the Gorn to send out distress signals…or any signals at all for that matter."

"Agreed. There has been little seen of them since the destruction of their home world." Databit spoke from his perch on the Operations console. His voice carried throughout the bridge, thanks to a special enhancement that had been placed specially for his use.

"Thanks for reminding me about that… What's the problem? Why aren't we there yet?" Critch was eager to bring this to a close, and resume his recharge.

"The problem is that it's coming from the other side of the Romulan Neutral Zone." Skrit added.

Critch frowned. "I thought the Romulans had more important things to worry about right now."

Skrit nodded. "You'd think so, but the zone has become a battleground for insurgents, criminals, you know, bad people." Skrit grinned, but Critch just closed his eyes, not wishing to get drawn into a joking match.

Kelvok cleared his throat, drawing attention. "We should tread lightly, Captain. Our earlier run-in with the Romulans may not have been an isolated incident." (Home Again.)

"And I'd agree. Last thing we need on my first cruise is an interstellar disaster."

"But we can't just leave those people there!" Overload cried, adamantly. After a moment, Databit stood up straighter. "I agree."

"We don't even know if there is anyone there!" Critch sat back in his chair, quickly annoyed with the situation. He sighed heavily. "But…we have to make sure." He muttered something about regulations that was too quiet for anyone to hear. He nodded towards Jaydin's seat, and she took the hint and sat down as he gave the order. "Lieutenant Overload, Warp 8 to the last known location of the signal." He knew he was going to regret this. Shaking his head, he gave a command.

"Lets go."

Captain's Log, Captain Starblade reporting.

After a somewhat rude awakening, the command staff is now fully awake and on duty, and ready to investigate this unexpected signal.

This is my first mission as Captain of the Maximillian, and one thing is clear.

I really have to get my comm. System deactivated.

Fifteen painstaking minutes had passed since the signal had been received, and the Maximillian had just arrived at the predetermined coordinates. Quickly dripping out of warp, the ship moved to its slowest speed. Overload announced their arrival in her usual cheerful manner, as Critch studied the readouts on the arm of his command chair. "T'Purr…"

"On it." The Science Officer moved quickly to her screens, scanning them with quick eyes. "That's strange…There's nothing here! Only some subspace static!"

"Static, Commander?" Kelvok didn't like where this was heading.

T'Purr nodded. "Yes, from four distinct areas, all around us."

Critch nodded. "I don't like this. Filter out the static, and put it onscreen."

The screen lightened for a moment, and then four distinct green blobs, fading into view, quickly filled the blackness of this area of space. It only took Critch a moment to realize what they were becoming, as he noticed the static fall away from the sensors. He quickly stood, thinking up orders as fast as his reflexes could go. But the first words out of his mouth moved no one to do anything.

"Ah. Crap."

The shapes came into focus, and all viewers could see what they truly were. Skrit shouted at the screen. "Captain! Four Romulan Warbirds decloaking!"

The four green ships instantly began to attack, as though they were waiting for this instant for a very long time. Their phasers seared into the shields of the Maximillian, making them flare wildly. The attack was unrelenting, as the Warbirds put on an impressive display of tactics, diving and dodging around the almost stationary ship.

It wasn't stationary for long. The ship shook from the pounding it was taking, as Critch called out to the room. "Red alert! Hold on to something!" As he said this he fell out of his chair due to a sudden backwards lurch. As he sprawled on the floor, Jaydin barked orders. "Evasive maneuver Epsilon Kirk Delta!"

The Maximillian finally began to answer the attack, swerving out of the way of the attack, ducking underneath one of the Romulan ships. Critch climbed back into his seat, a bit embarrassed that one of the first acts he had taken was to disengage the seatbelt mechanisms. "Hail them!"

Ensign McDaniel answered back in a slightly Scottish tone. "All channels jammed, Captain." His tone was calm.

Databit stood up on uncertain legs. "Captain, I believe we have been led into a trap!"

A sharp lance of phaser fire struck the Maximillian on the right most side, searing through a weak portion of the shields. The resulting 'KABOOM" resounded throughout the ship, and the bridge. Despite the increasing shaking, Critch stood. "Fine…if they wanna play…Skrit, aim for the closest Warbird. Target engines." As he answered in the affirmative, Critch looked sternly upon the viewscreen.

"Fire."

Romulan Warbirds are fast, deadly ships. But against the full power of the Federation flagship, a one-on-one battle would not take long. Torpedoes and phasers alike poured out of the awoken Sovereign vessel, all striking the central column of their target. Within an instant, the red and blue fire was replaced with yellow flame, as the Warbird disintegrated into debris.

Databit let out a small "Yes!" Critch pumped his fist and exclaimed, "Got 'em!" And Overload glanced at a console. "Yeah, but they got us! Shields down on deck 8! They're coming over!" Indeed, small red dots were already appearing on the internal ships sensors.

Jaydin quickly issued orders. "Skrit, get your team down there!" As she said this, the energy being had already entered the turbolift.

"Halfway there, Commander." The ship shook again as the turbolift doors closed, and Critch stood back up.

"Now, Mr. Overload, give me a collision course."

She looked back, a look of bewilderment covering her face. "Collision course?"

"You heard me."

"Um…ok." She reluctantly keyed in the commands, and the Maximillian moved quickly towards a Warbird, firing quickly. The Romulan ship, turning gracefully, moved into a course with the same destination: Embedded in the hull of their enemy.

Oblivious to all of this, Skrit ducked behind a wall on deck eight. The rapid response team had done their part, taking out all but two invaders in the weakened section, but the battle was still ongoing. As Korjac fell to the floor, Skrit didn't have time to see if he was merely stunned or actually killed. As he pressed himself into the wall as much as he could, he tapped his communicator. "Bridge, send reinforcements down here! We need all the help we can get!"

No one on the bridge acknowledged the message; they were having issues of their own. The two ships were barreling down upon one another; both firing everything they could, but nothing could stop their progress. Jaydin glanced at the Captain, beginning to get a bit nervous, though she trusted him. Somewhat. "Um, Critch…?"

"Wait for it…"

Overload's eyes grew wide. "Droid! We have to move!"

"Wait for it…"

Nilrathi shifted uncomfortably. "Captain, I don't think…"

Critch yelled suddenly, "NOW!" Databit uttered an explicative, and the rest of the ship jumped as Overload pounded her console. The Maximillian suddenly increased its angle by 30 degrees, moving up, up, and over the Warbird it had been playing chicken with. The crew of the Warbird had no time to react, especially when they realized that there was another target right in front of them.

Another Warbird that had been chasing the Maximillian, lost in the heat of battle.

Critch smirked as the two ships rammed into each other, and disappeared in an enormous explosion, even as he held on to his chair to guard against the ensuing shockwave. "The one heading toward us forgot about the one behind us. The one behind us forgot about the one in front of us. It's really simple. We go up, they go down."

As the invisible shockwave, along with pieces of the two ships, struck the Maximillian, Skrit steadied himself against the wall. "Critch! Where's that team?"

Critch sat down comfortably, happier with the odds, even as Overload reported more bad news. "We've lost comm. to deck 8!"

T'Purr called over her shoulder, the security functions temporarily routed to her console. "Shields failing on decks 3, 4…most of them!"

"Great, better get to sickbay." Critch nodded towards his first officer as Jaydin began to head to the turbolift.

"On my way."

Green disruptor fire rushed by, close enough to Skrit's head that he could feel the heat. He shook it off. "Fine. We'll do this the hard way." In a bright flash of light, his humanoid form dissipated into a red electric streak, resembling an "S". Relishing in his true form, total electric energy, Skrit zapped up to the ceiling, and moved along it quickly. Thinking the electric streak was part of a system failing, the two Romulan agents ignored him, even as he reappeared as a human behind them. Before they even knew he was there, he had placed one hand, flowing with blue electricity, inside one of the Romulans, quickly electrocuting him. The disruptor flew through the air, and Skrit calmly grabbed it, and spied the other agent turning and aiming at him. Skrit fired first, and the Romulan dropped. The invasion was stopped, though not bloodlessly, and Skrit tapped his Com Badge, unsure if he could be heard or not. "Skrit to bridge. Deck eight is secure."

On the bridge, Kelvok raised an eyebrow as he moved to the viewscreen, to assess the situation. Behind him, Critch pinched the skin between his eyes. "Report!"

Kelvok turned. "All communications are down. Ninety-four percent of our shields have gone down as well, and our weapon systems are offline." The ship shook with incoming fire from the remaining Warbird, still a threat. Without missing a beat, Kelvok continued. "Ninety-five percent shields down."

Critch shook his head.

"Fantastic. What's the good news?"

"I did not say I had any, Captain. However, their shields are weak in one area…their engineering bays."

Captain's Log: Supplemental. We're screwed.

Jaydin is undoubtedly swamped in Sickbay, Skrit's whereabouts are unknown, though that's typical, and every member of my crew that are still conscious are doing their jobs. We're managing to dodge the Warbird for now, but that won't last for much longer. Enough time for a last log entry while I try to think this through. Things look bleak. No shields, no weapons, and we couldn't surrender if we wanted to. But there's always hope. There doesn't look like there's any way to win. But as a famous Captain said a long time ago…I don't like to lose.

Another barrage of fire had found the Maximillian, pock marking and searing the hull of the ship. Many of the letters had peeled off or been burned off, but the ship was still alive, if only barely.

"When you're done whispering into your book, we're a little busy here!" Overload yelled at Critch.

He snapped to attention. "You think your way, I'll think mine. Ok…so what else can we throw at them?"

T'Purr called from the back. "Could throw the 'bit."

As Overload responded with an indignant "Hey!" Critch shook his head. "Unfortunately, that's not an option. Reset that collision course. This time we mean it."

Kelvok shook his head. "We have lost that option as well. Main propulsion is offline."

"Great." Critch sank into his chair.

T'Purr's worried expression grew across her face, and she attempted to lighten the fearful mood. "Funny, I always thought it'd be the Borg that'd get us."

There was a beat, and then Critch's eyes snapped open. "The Borg?" He instantly sprang from his seat and leaped up to the upper level. "Squirrelly, you're with me. T'Purr, you have the bridge." In an instant, he had disappeared into the turbolift, leaving the remaining crew quite bewildered.

The phaser fire continued to burn into the hull, exposing many decks to space. A targeted torpedo destroyed the better part of Stellar Cartography. And life support had completely failed on most of the decks. None of this daunted Critch as he entered the transporter bay. He and Squirrelly crossed to the controls.

"You sure about this?" Squirrelly curled his tail up anxiously.

"…Not really."

"This could blow up in our faces. Literally."

"Relax, I used to be a transporter chief."

"Operative words. Used to be."

"Just follow my lead."

Kelvok turned from his position in the rear of the room where he was monitoring the power outputs of the Romulan Warbird. "Commander, I believe they are targeting our bridge."

T'Purr shook noticeably. "Critch…Hurry…"

"Now or never, Mr. Squirrelly. Hit it."

"Don't say I didn't tell you so…" As they hit the controls together, there was a bright flash, as a point-to-point transportation occurred…

In the engineering bay of the Romulan Warbird, the fact that the shields were down did not scare them. The mood was jovial; they were about to score a great victory. One of the two workers glanced around the room, satisfied that although they had taken damage, none of it was serious.

As he prepared to move on to other duties, a sharp whine caught his attention. He turned to see the last of a bright blue display, and the appearance of a rounded black object, with a countdown clock on it, in Federation standard. The clock had hit 2, and then 1, and then…

The Romulan ship exploded slowly from its warp core outward, ripped apart at the seams with the release of extraordinary power. There was a slight cheer from the bridge, which ebbed as the shockwave grew nearer, and then it struck with the force of a hundred torpedo blasts, shaking the ship to the core. There was a great grinding sound, and then…

Nothing. Darkness. Somewhere in the black Critch stood alone, glancing around him, startled slightly by the sudden loss of the ship around him. He took a step forward, and, satisfied that the ground was still there, spoke aloud to the darkness. "Well, how 'bout it."

Another voice cut through the dark, a gruff, older sounding voice. "Computer, deactivate holodeck." The darkness disappeared, replaced by a familiar looking series of squares, joined together by yellow lines, expanding out through a room twice the size of the standard Federation quarters. Critch met the gaze of the figures that appeared in front of him. Captain Kelvok, Admiral Blobbin, and Admiral Turock T'Kill.

"How 'bout it. Did I pass?"

Critch's gaze centered on T'Kill, his face challenging him. T'Kill met the look with one of his own. "As you know, this wasn't a pass-or-fail test."

"And you did swell! Better than some Admirals I know…" Blobbin attempted to defuse the tension, as was his specialty. The Baseball cap on his silver head with the giant flashing B did not help matters.

Kelvok filled in before T'Kill could continue. "Despite the loss of the Maximillian, you performed as I had expected. You should be proud."

Critch shrugged. "Fantastic." Centering his gaze on T'Kill again, he asked, sternly, "So are we done here?"

T'Kill straightened his uniform. "Yes…for now."

"Good." Critch moved towards the exit. The doors shushed open, and he left, marching quickly.

After he left their view, Blobbin sighed. "You're too hard on him, Turock."

Turock glanced at the ceiling. "We cannot forget what we know about him. By his own admission, he is an admitted spy, sent here by forces we cannot hope to defeat. (Beyond the Final Frontier) Intentional or not, this is a risk we shouldn't have taken."

Kelvok turned his head towards T'Kill. "I believe you are wrong, Admiral."

"I hope I am, Kelvok."

Critch sighed as he angrily marched through the quarters. He was an approved and fully vetted Captain, and had been a full-fledged member of this crew of 400 plus for almost ten years now. He had earned trust and respect from everyone that he had come across, except one. The half-Romulan/half-Human Admiral that seemed to overlook everything good that had been done in favor of putting the screws to someone that really didn't need the aggravation right now. He wasn't in the mood to discuss it right now, or even think about it. After checking in with the bridge, he was ready to get back to his scheduled sleep pattern before embarking on his first mission the next day. Considering the Admiral in charge, he doubted he'd be trusted with much more than garbage scow duty.

He entered the bridge of the Maximillian, the real one this time, and marveled at the technology that so perfectly recreated his crewmates, even as they had no idea they were being duplicated in the holodeck as they maintained order.

Overload greeted Critch cheerfully. "Hi, Droid!"

Critch nodded. "Howdy. All is well?"

"Yep! Databit's been practicing flying!"

"That would explain the nacelle I saw flying off on the way here." He joked. "Well, since everything appears ok…" Jaydin nodded at him. "Then I'm going to get some shut-eye. See you all…" A sudden insistent beeping from the communications console interrupted him. "...Now. What is that?"

"Checking." McDaniel tapped a few keys and pressed his earpiece into his ear. "Sounds like background static."

"On speakers." At Critch's command, the noise soon was heard throughout the bridge. At first, it did appear to be just noise. But soon everyone could hear the patterns, the rising and falling of the beats and the fuzziness of the sound.

"I hear a bit of binary in there, Captain." Skrit offered.

"Misplaced communication?"

"Or damaged."

Critch sighed, and sat down, Jaydin moving off to help T'Purr. "Get me a location, I'd like to know where this came from."

As the Bajoran and Caitian worked, Critch tried to pick out a voice, anything that would speed this along. He hated missing rest, but he hated mysteries too.

"Got it!" T'Purr said happily. "It's a very old pattern, very decayed, there must've been some damage, and it's not Federation. It's…"

She looked up suddenly. "Reman. It's a Reman ship."

Critch gave her a confused look. "Reman?"