Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, or anything that is in this story.
A/N: I should give any reader fair warning that there are going to a lot of OCs in this story, and there's going to be a lot of character development, so if you don't like that sort of thing, then don't read.
Vulcan's Might
Chapter II
The Cardassian warship Relix moved through space, slicing through the emptiness like a knife through butter. Her captain sat rigidly in the command chair, staring at the viewscreen. Gul Emdel, rather suddenly, raised his hand, motioning for the attention of his second in command.
"What is our position?" Emdel asked, quietly.
"Four minutes from the border. We are at the rendezvous point." The response Emdel received caused him to frown.
"Drop to impulse. Scan for other ships." Emdel ordered.
"There are no ships detected."
"All stop. Full power to shields." Emdel was starting to get agitated. He was a member of the Military, in the serves of the Cardassian Fourth Order. And, like any true Cardassian, he didn't like being ordered away from the homeworld; he especially didn't like being ordered to the Breen Frontier.
"Sir, I'm detecting a large amount of gravimetric disturbances off our port bow. It's similar…no, it IS a vessel decloaking." Glin Furor announced form the tactical station.
"Arm Disruptors and torpedoes! Target the decloaking ship." Emdel said, grinning at the thought of destroying another vessel.
"We're being hailed, sir. It's a Cardassian frequency."
"On screen." Emdel bitterly ordered.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't attack my ship." Gul Motrog's image said.
Emdel stood from his char, an action he rarely took wile on his duty shift. "What the hell is a Galor-class ship doing with a cloaking device?"
"One of my technicians is preparing to beam aboard your ship; he will be bringing aboard a piece of…technology that he'll install. He'll also be making adjustments to your Defector Array and Dorsal Sensor Array. You will not interfere with him. Understand."
"Hold still." Doctor A'Dare ordered, turning her attention momentarily away from the captain of the Advent.
"I'm fine. I should be on the bridge." The captain's voice was a mixture of raw pain and youthful ignorance.
"You're not going anywhere. I still can't believe they gave you a ship."
"Hey! That's uncalled for. I'm an exhalent-" A series of coughs interrupted the captain's statement, and Doctor A'Dare quickly pressed a hypospray to the captain's neck.
"Thanks." The captain's voice was a little less coarse as the drugs almost instantaneously took effect. "Did you do something different with that?"
"I've had to increases the dosage two percent. But that's the last time I'll be able to do so; it's borderline toxic at this quantity."
"You said that fifteen percent ago." The captain said, giving a wry smile.
"Yes, well, pretty soon I won't be exaggerating. Now, you're to remain in bed for no less then the next forty hours." Doctor A'Dare said as she moved to the room's exit.
"Hold on now, doc. You can't expect me to stay in my quarters for the next two days."
"Captain, I think it would be best for you to listen to the good doctor." Lieutenant Thourman, the captain's personal aid, said.
"Alic! Whose side are you on?"
There was silence in the room for a moment. Doctor A'Dare stood by the door, just outside the range of the sensor that would cause the door to slide open. Alic Thourman was sitting on a gray sofa, contemplating how he should answer his captain's question. And Sebastian Acumen, captain of the Federation Starship Advent, was lying in his bed, several thick blankets covering him.
During this silence, all three, Doctor, captain, and aid, realized something was going to happen. They weren't positive what was going to happen, or if it end up being good or bad. But each and every person in the room knew, without the potential for a doubt, that something was about to happen.
"Captain Acumen, there's a priority one message from Admiral Radance. She wants to speak with you." Commander Trenton Gray, first officer of the Advent, informed his captain.
"Patch it through to my quarters. Doctor, Alic, you're both dismissed."
Vice-Admiral Serena Radance appeared on a nearby wall screen, and seemed taken aback when she saw Sebastian lying in bed. After a moment of composing herself, she asked, "Is this a bad time?"
"Not at all, Admiral. I was just having a checkup. To what do I owe this honor?"
"We've just started picking up multiple distresses-calls from the Celadon system. So far, we've been unable to establish contact with any of the ships that we're supposed to be rendezvous with, and Starbase Seventy-three-beta isn't responding to our hails."
"Do you want us to increase speed?" Sebastian asked, preparing to give that very order.
"No, I just want to make sure you're ready."
"Yes, Admiral." Sebastian said. As the transmission ended, Captain Sebastian Acumen pushed his blankets away, and stood. He headed out of his room, entering the hallway. Letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that Doctor A'Dare wasn't waiting for him, Sebastian headed to the turbolift; once inside, he declared the bridge as his destination.
"Captain on the bridge." Commander Gray said as soon as Sebastian stepped out of the Turbolift.
"How long till we drop out of warp?"
"Two minutes, captain." Trenton said, standing form the captain's chair and moving to his own seat.
"Scan the system." Sebastian ordered.
"We can't, sir." Trenton replied. "An unknown type of radiation is preventing sensors from functioning while in warp."
"Naturally. There's always a reason we can't see what we're flying into." Sebastian murmured to himself. Trenton gave him a slightly amused look.
The U.S.S. Advent started to shudder as power was diverted from several systems to both the Structural Integrity Field and the Inertial Dampeners. The view screen flashed white for a moment, before reverting to the normal display of space.
The view that met them chilled Captain Acumen; there was a large debris filed, two Nebula-class ships were burning wrecks, and a Sovereign-class starship, the newest ship built by Starfleet, was drifting in space. Everyone was silent on the bridge, and Sebastian wondered what kind of chaos the Enterprise's bridge was in, what with Admiral Radance no doubt trying to determine what happened.
"Scan for survivors." Sebastian said suddenly, realizing the Queen Elizabeth was still mostly intact. There were a few beeps as the operation officer, Ensign Walton, followed Sebastian's orders.
"Sensors indicate over six hundred survivors on the Queen Elizabeth. The Enterprise is moving to intercept."
"Helm, plot a parallel course. Bring us within transporter range of both the Enterprise and the Queen Elisabeth. Send a message to the Enterprise, requesting orders. And start beaming survivors to sickbay."
A chorus of "Yes, Sir" followed; for the next three hours there was silence on the bridge, the crew sensing the discontent of their captain. Then, with the suddenness that always accompanied tragedies, the Advent was hailed.
"Captain Acumen, please transport aboard the Enterprise." The order, rather then coming from the admiral, was given by Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Federation Starship Enterprise.
"Of course. I'll be their momentarily." Sebastian rose and, as an afterthought, called out to Trenton, "You have the bridge, commander."
Stepping onto the turbolift, Sebastian called out his destination. And when the doors slid shut, a tremble tore through the young captain. Against his will, his chest started to heave. He tried to resist, but his legs gave out, and he fell to his knees. Before the turbolift reached its destination, Captain Sebastian Acumen was passed out on the floor.
A/n: This is a short chapter, and for that, I apologize. I do hope that you liked it, but I'll understand if you didn't.
Good Day, and Good Night
~Tyler Willis.