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The following story takes place after "Needs of the Many"
Star Trek: Maximillian
Strength In Darkness
VI
The sensation of the coldness of space rushing over a body is one of the most unique feelings in the universe, although most can never feel it without losing their life or at least placing it in extreme jeopardy. The combination of extreme temperature, to say nothing about the intense pressures present combined to form the most dangerous of places. For an Errsedorian, a being completely comprised of mercury, however, the danger was muted somewhat.
Having been jettisoned out of the Maximillian seconds before it warped away, Admiral Blobbin, along with Databit, moved rapidly towards the still Romulan Warbird, obviously having nowhere else important to be. At least Blobbin hoped they didn't. If they did, it'd be a very long wait until the Maximillian came back, and he couldn't survive in the exterior of space forever. The word 'blobsicle' came into his mind, and he made a note to write that down later, as it would remind him of 'Bobsicle', and he was sure he'd known a few ensigns that had ended up that way. Made for good stories, anyway.
He was not able to speak, but he could tell from the small motions that Databit was making that the small android was unharmed, despite being completely submerged inside the mercury form. Blobbin assumed that he was just running tests, and decided he really didn't want to know what was going on, even if it was inside of him.
Being the form of a silver ball at this point, he was not able to change neither his direction nor his velocity much. Therefore, he knew there would be an impact. He tried to aim for a window, so as to sew the seeds of confusion inside the vessel. What would be more confusing then suddenly being struck by an undetectable silver asteroid? Not much, he bet himself. Finding his target, Blobbin formed a small fin, not unlike a shark's, and attempted to steer. He didn't move much, but he didn't have to, and he hit the porthole window dead-on. His form spread out a bit from the impact, but he quickly reformed, checked that Databit was okay, grinned at whoever was on the inside, and then rolled away, hoping for the desired effect.
Now it was Databit's turn. The small android, having quite enjoyed the ride, maneuvered towards Blobbin's body extent, and forced his way out. He felt exhilaration, and not a small amount of fear, as this was his first trip outside the ship into space. He knew very few would have this opportunity, so he took in as much as he could. But first and foremost, he did have a job to do. Wordlessly magnetizing his feet, an easy task for him, he began to trod across the ship's hull, Blobbin carefully pudding along behind him.
After about a minute, Databit found what he was looking for, a round wheel denoting an entrance hatch. He turned and pointed, and Blobbin nodded, the cold beginning to affect his motor skills slightly. He wasn't feeling quite as 'up' as he was a few minutes before, and he was starting to slow down. Recognizing the effects of space, Databit hurriedly moved to the wheel and grasped it as best he could with his small hands, and began to push it around. Blobbin helped, forming two grips, and after an agonizing few moments, the wheel began to move faster, and easier, and finally the hatch popped open. They entered slowly, closing the hatch behind them, and waited for the automatic pressurization cycle to complete. Once that was done, Databit pried the interior door open, and moved inside. Satisfied that the all was clear, Blobbin followed.
Now that everyone was restored to full combat readiness, the duty stations on the ship were re-staffed. Once again this vessel was at war, and the Reman Mkalo felt good. He knew the odds were highly stacked against them, but they had the tools, and the talent. They were bred for war, and he would be proud to fight and prove it. For now, however, he was merely a tool to be used as his commanders saw fit. So he marched, checking to make sure the ship was ready to go while checking for any sign of malfunction, and doing it proudly.
As he marched, he felt a slight tug on his pant leg. Stopping, he glanced down, and saw something he couldn't understand, a very small man with a pale face. He didn't catch the question, as it was in Federation and Mkalo had no translator of his own, so he just thought that the drink had done bad. He never saw the silver blob drop from the ceiling on his back, forcing him to the ground in a thud.
Databit grabbed the sides of the Reman's face and drove it into the ground twice, until he was satisfied that he was safely unconscious. Smiling up at Blobbin, who grinned back, they exchanged congratulations, and moved on, Databit saying his first words of the journey.
"I believe that the brig is nearby, one deck down."
"Good, my bunions are on fire!"
Blobbin sped up, and Databit had to jog to keep up, all the while asking how the Errsedorian could have bunions if he didn't have any feet.
The entire away team was now sitting, either on the bunks, or on the floor, listening to Critch and Turock's explanation, Overload shook her head. "Are you sure you just didn't want to see them so bad you just wished them into existence?"
Turock groaned, and Critch put his head in his hands. The Admiral shook his head. "Why haven't you learned yet that when an Admiral says something, it happened?" Critch glanced at him, but thought better of saying something. Turock stood with his back to the brig, facing everyone, as the Remans were ignoring everything that was going on anyway, if they could even understand him.
"Look, we're not imagining things here, and we're not giving false hope. We saw Blobbin just there. And I'd appreciate it if we finally got some sort of command respect on this ship for once. I am the commissioner of this vessel, am directly responsible for most of you having the positions that you have, and I…" Turock trailed off when he realized that no one was listening to him anymore. Instead they were simply staring behind him. Turning slowly, he saw about five Reman bodies strewn around the floor, and in the middle of all of them was Blobbin, grinning as broadly as ever, and Databit in a minute karate stance, breathing as though he had just got done doing heavy aerobics.
"Howdy!" Blobbin called as Databit recovered, and jumped up to the door controls, turning off the electric force field that kept them prisoner.
Critch was nearly knocked over by Overload, who rushed to her friend, picking him up and hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much! Thank you thank you thank you…" Critch shook an extended fin by Blobbin, while Turock shook his head.
"I told you! I told you we saw him! Why don't you people ever believe me?"
Blobbin shrugged. "Past experience I'd reckon."
Turock's face turned angry as Critch turned to him. "Thanks guys. Okay, we've got the element of surprise back, and we're not too far from their bridge. Do you have some kind of way to contact the Max?"
Databit nodded. "Affirmative. We are awaiting your command."
Critch smiled. "Give us one minute to sew some confusion out there. Then get them here, and we'll finish this." Databit nodded, as the Captain nodded at Kelvok. "A minute of payback should be enough." Then he said louder. "We ready?" There was a chorus of nods. "Then we go. Take 'em down quick, fight together. Move out!" And as they began to move, Critch smirked at Turock. "I'd like to be a great Captain, Admiral. But sometimes, I'll just settle for lucky." One by one they ran out into the hallways, all following their leader, their Captain. They came across two Remans in the hall, and neither one of them was prepared for battle. The team, silent as they could, took them down quickly, and left two unconscious bodies in their wake.
The bridge was quiet. Kimir stood quietly, allowing S'rka to impose his will on the ship. Despite the betrayal, something about these events simply did not sit right with the Reman commander. He wondered if S'rka was right, if he was truly losing his grip and if he was, what a horrible time to lose it. They were effectively cut off from all means of support. True, there was a plan, but now they would be forced to put it into play far earlier than they should have to, and he wasn't entirely sure that this ship could take the stress. Still, they would try. Remans would not quit, and the only thing that was going to get him out of commanding this vessel was his own death, and as far as he was concerned, it would take the death of this ship to make that happen.
His thoughts were broken as one of his officers' voices was growing louder. "Mkalo…respond, you dog!" Kimir grimaced at him, and the officer felt his gaze and lowered his head. "Apologies, commander…Mkalo does not respond to his call."
Kimir frowned, moving towards his station. "Why would he not respond?" It not making sense in his mind, Kimir tapped the console. "This is Commander Kimir. You will respond!"
Almost as if by cue, the away team chose that minute to enter the bridge. Knowing that this was the last time they could use surprise, they ran in yelling loudly, and quickly attacked the closest Reman to them. Kelvok chose the simple tactic to dispose of his chosen foe, as he punched him once, and then executed a nerve pinch that felled him. Overload decided that strength was her best asset, and simply picked up a Reman and threw him at another. "They sound like bowling pins!" She happily yelled, and moved to continue the fight. Turock moved towards Kimir, but was stopped by two Remans, growling. He steadied himself, and moved towards the right most one, blocking a punch from the other one; he kicked at the midsection of his target, sending him flailing backwards. He sent an elbow backwards then, knocking the other one back, and then advanced on the first adversary, who had recovered quickly. Blobbin chose the pratfall routine, forming a puddle and letting his chosen foil slip and fall. Then he enveloped the Reman within his mercury form and couldn't hold himself back from calling out "Have some cancer you Reman bastard!" Databit merely followed behind, making quite sure every Reman that hit the ground stayed there for some time.
Critch looked first for S'rka, and felt a twinge of sadness that his chosen one was nowhere near. He had quickly punched out a miscellaneous Reman, not bothering to hold his strength back, and noticed that this one had an old-style Romulan disruptor.
Turock grappled with his first Reman, pushing him back against the console, and reached up, quickly grabbing his head and bashing it three times against the console, knocking him out, falling into a bloody lump on the floor. He turned to a yell and saw the other Reman, recovered from the elbow, rushing towards him with a sharp knife. Before he could react, there was a sound of a disruptor firing, and a pained look came across the Reman's face, before he fell, revealing Critch and his new disruptor behind him. Turock furrowed his brow. "That was mine!"
"You snooze, you lose, Admiral." Critch grinned, even as the western doors opened and a new wave of Remans entered the room, ready for battle. The two looked at each other, and Turock winked. And then alongside Blobbin, Databit, Kelvok and Overload, they continued the fight.
Kimir cursed, and tried to plot an advantageous position. With their superior strength and numbers…no, this was a fight they would lose. There was only one way that this could be called a victory. The ship would have to self-destruct…He reached out to begin the procedure. He should just have enough time to complete it before he was noticed….
BOOM! The sound made the entire bridge shake, and the combatants, Kimir included, fell to the ground painfully. He looked up, seeing the viewscreen, and there, larger than life was the Sovereign class starship Maximillian, firing freely on the defenseless ship. He knew he had no time now, and he could see a light blinking on the communications station, waiting for someone to answer, to issue terms for surrender. But now there was no choice, and where a lowly Klingon would fight to the end of their life, Kimir did not want to die. He did not believe in honor that strongly. He began to crawl to the station, and was only stopped when a white-hot burst of pain moved through his back. Screaming in agony, he looked back to see S'rka, his hand holding the handle of what undoubtedly was a very sharp knife, grinning savagely. "S'rka" Was all Kimir could rasp out.
"Shhhh…." S'rka grinned. "This has been a long time coming…and now our victory is at hand…. You will live again, as my servant in the new Reman Empire!" He pulled the knife out, and began the downward slash towards Kimir again, this time to finish the job, but the blade never found its mark. Critch's foot had found S'rka's chest, sending him flying back into a row of consoles. Deeming him harmless, Critch kneeled over the bleeding Reman, and motioned Turock over. As Turock reached him, Critch glanced up, and noted that S'rka had disappeared, nowhere in sight. He stood up, and kept a look out, but it seemed the subcommander had left the battle entirely.
"Admiral…Admiral Turock…" Kimir struggled to get any words out, but if he were to die, than it would be with dignity.
Turock nodded. "I'm here...Commander, you must help us. Innocents will die, another war will begin…"
"Innocents…. Innocents always die…in war."
"We're not at war any more, Commander. We are allies!"
Kimir was silent, and Turock thought for sure that he had passed, but suddenly there was another rasping breath. "Console…code 5a…5b…1z….Katar….Katar contingency…." And with that, the body fell still.
Turock looked up. "Captain!"
"On it." Critch jumped to a console and began tapping in the code that Kimir had given. He had no idea what Katar, or a Katar contingency was, but he knew enough that whatever it was was not part of the code. Once he tapped the code in, he saw coordinates. Locations. Ship locations, to be exact. "Admiral, we've got them!" As he said this, a voice came over the intercom. It took a moment for the universal translator to process this, but when it did, it stopped the away team cold.
"Self destruct in thirty seconds…29…28…"
Critch looked up. "I didn't do it!"
"You're right!" S'rka stepped out of a darkened corridor, and started laughing, as the away team moved towards him. Critch raised an arm.
"No. He wants to die…we've got what we came for." He nodded towards Turock, and Databit tapped his own badge while climbing up, sitting on Critch's shoulder. Staring at S'rka, not hiding his disgust, Critch spoke to his ship. "Critch to Maximillian…get us the hell out of here." The last standing Reman was still laughing when the blue transporter beams faded out.