Dauntless crept into Cerva space under cloak and hidden behind Bloodwing and the April as an additional measure. Leya hadn't been sure that the cloaking device had been sufficiently repaired to keep them hidden, and she'd insisted on both the slow pace and the additional masking from the other two ships.
T'Lessa sighed ever so slightly. The tension on the bridge was almost palpable, and try as she might it was getting to her. Perhaps I hit my head harder than I thought. Almost without realizing what she was doing, she was out of her chair and pacing the bridge.
"Captain." Toran's voice was quiet, just barely loud enough for T'Lessa to hear as she passed by.
T'Lessa stopped, glancing over at her inquisitively.
"Sit down," Toran hissed, her antennae twitching. "You're making everyone nervous."
T'Lessa responded to the exaggeration with a raised eyebrow. "I rather think everyone is nervous because of the circumstances of our mission, Lieutenant. Though I suppose if it would make you personally less agitated..."
Toran's normally pale blue skin flushed several shades darker as she dropped her eyes back to her station. "Sorry, ma'am." Very quietly, she took up the task of making sure no Cerva ships had seen them.
Without responding, T'Lessa returned to center of the bridge, feeling as though she were a coiled spring with no hope of release. They'd found nothing. Nothing to indicate the Dominion's plans. Nothing to show where their next target would be. And no ships in the area. It hardly seemed fair to go through such trouble to find nothing.
Just as T'Lessa returned to her chair, the proximity alarms shrieked. "Contact starboard!" Lieutenant Reeves cried from tactical, already bringing the weapons online. His fingers danced across the console. "Three Cerva battlecruisers, two Jem'Hadar scout ships. They haven't seen us....yet."
"Let's keep it that way, Mister Reeves." T'Lessa's face was set in stone despite the rising tension. "Toran."
"They're..." Toran paused, her antennae quivering. "...really heavily armed. Even with Bloodwing, I think we're outmatched." A light on her console flashed as the computer beeped at her. "Speak of the devil."
"Put her through." T'Lessa turned her gaze to the viewscreen as it flickered on. "Commander, what can we--?"
"Your cloak is failing!" Shiarrael cut her off. "Get it back before they see you!"
"What?" T'Lessa looked from the Romulan Commander to Reeves and back. "We haven't noticed a mal--"
Reeves looked up in shock. "Captain, she's right. We're about to lose our cloak entirely."
Wide-eyed, T'Lessa tapped her combadge. "T'Lessa to engineering. Commander Shaw!"
"I know! We're working on it!" Leya sounded harried and panicky. "We don't know what's causing it, so give us a min--"
"Commander, we don't have a minute. There are five Dominion ships off our starboard bow, and if you don't get the cloaking device fixed..."
"It's too late." Reeves' voice was deadly calm, as only a threat of impending doom could be. "They've seen us."