Chapter 8

Reunion

If Alec were to sprout wings and start flying around the cockpit of the Travioli he still wouldn't have been more surprised than he was at that moment. Standing in the doorway to the rear compartment, when she was supposed to be in the arboretum back on the Enterprise, was Rene. Her eyes reflected anger, but her face reflected bemused satisfaction. A stowaway was not part of his plan.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"How'd you get on board?" He stammered, only half coherent. He was stalling, trying to compose himself.

"I don't think that's the most interesting question on the table, do you?" She stepped away from the archway, allowing the proximity sensor to close the door. She was shrouded in darkness, but her footsteps could still be heard as she neared the consoles. The light from the panels illuminated her face. She no longer displayed any sign of what Alec interpreted as satisfaction, but full on anger. This was a side of her he had only seen a few times before and had hoped to never see again. He was tempted to put up a forcefield. "Alec, I know you better than you know yourself. I knew you wouldn't leave this be. That's how I knew to go right for the Travioli after I left our quarters."

"I'm turning us around and taking you back to the Enterprise."

"No, you're not!" Her voice was so stern it would have traveled to a nearby ship, even in the vacuum of space. "You are not leaving me alone. Besides, if you go back you'll have the Enterprise and the bounty hunters to face again. And you might not be able to get away this time."

Rene was right on both counts. She did know him better than he knew himself, but such was the case with married couples. And she was right about heading back. If he turned the ship around there was a good chance he'd be overtaken by his shipmates. He didn't have a warp flare to cover his escape if he did, nor did he believe they'd fall for it again. The only thing he could do was continue on course. "It will most likely be dangerous."

"I don't care." she said. Her voice started to tremble. He saw her eyes begin to shimmer in the light of the consoles.

Alec raised the light level just to be sure. It was then he could see the tears in her eyes. The last thing he wanted was for her to cry. He knew her to be as strong as he was, maybe even stronger. It took a lot to make her cry. He stood up and walked up the ramp. He reached out to console her but she turned away. "Rene, I'm sorry."

In a motion so fast that she wouldn't have been sure she had done it if not for the pain in her hand, she turned and struck him across the cheek with an open palm. "You promised me! Damn you, Alec, you promised me!" Rene knew that she had hurt him, even though he didn't show it. She no longer contained her tears. With her vision blurred, she fell into Alec's arms. "If you ever, ever leave me again, I swear..." Her voice trailed off.

"It wasn't an easy decision for me to make." said Alec, his voice had a tremble of its own.

"It was a decision you shouldn't have made on your own!" While she believed that, she also understood why Alec did what he did. He wanted to protect her by not getting her involved. But the only times she ever felt truly safe were when she was with him. "Where are we going anyway?"

"To visit some old friends. We're going to Deep Space Nine."

Captain Picard turned off his monitor. Admiral Nechayev took the news of Alec's rebellious behavior better than he thought she would. He was more concerned with how the Vesuvian government was going to react and the possible ramifications. He wondered how many more bounty hunters would go after him now that he was no longer aboard the most powerful starship in two quadrants. Alec couldn't stay undetected forever and it was only a matter of time before they tracked him down.

Picard sat at his desk for a few minutes going over the events of the past day in his hand. He wouldn't be surprised of Vesuvia requested another ship to represent the Federation, or if they chose to cancel their joining altogether.

Finally he left his ready room. Passing the tactical station he saw Lieutenant Edwards manning it, he had some bruising around his jaw. Edwards noticed his captain's gaze. "A souvenir from Commander Wilson, sir."

"Wouldn't you like to go to sickbay, Lieutenant?"

Edwards shook his head, wincing at the sudden pain. "No, sir. I'll let it serve as a reminder not to let my guard down."

Picard continued on to his command chair. His first officer was in wait. "What did the Admiral have to say?"

"She said to stay in orbit and wait for further orders."

Captain Benjamin Sisko sat wearily behind his desk. He had been watching the live transmission of the Vesuvia signing ceremony and had been shocked along with the rest of the Federation to learn of President Sha'Gra's death at the hands of a Starfleet officer. What made it more shocking was that the officer held responsible was one of those that had retrieved him from the Prophets' domain. Finally, the icing on the cake as it were, was the bounty announcement made by the extremists. In the two years since he had been back, this was the darkest day the Federation had faced.

He reached across the desk and picked up his baseball. Throwing it from hand to hand was something he did whenever he was distraught and needed to gather his thoughts. Normally it worked, but not this time. He owed a debt to Lieutenant Commander Alec Wilson, and the rest of those on board the Enterprise, and it was frustrating to see him in that kind of trouble.

It had been two years since the crews of Deep Space Nine and the Enterprise worked together and retrieved him from the Prophet's domain. The effort of the Enterprise in the wormhole was believed to have led to the ship's supposed destruction -a although because of the lack of any wreckage she was simply declared missing - until she was detected moving towards the Alpha Quadrant at transwarp speeds two months later. Learning that the ship had not been destroyed was a huge weight off of Sisko's conscience but he still bore a sense of responsibility upon learning they had spent two months in transit back home.

The first two weeks back in the realm of linear time was spent back at Starfleet Headquarters being debriefed, then he spent a few days at Starfleet Medical under the watchful eye of Dr. Katherine Pulaski to ensure there were no lasting effects of his time spent with the Prophets. When he was given a clean bill of health he was returned to the station.

During the time between his return and the return of the Enterprise he spent a good portion of his time getting to know Rene Wilson, wife of Alec Wilson, chief of security aboard the Enterprise. She had been left behind along with the rest of any non essential personel before the Enterprise entered the wormhole. She was a delightful woman who got along perfectly with his wife, Kasidy, and his song, Jake. When Rene made it clear that she wasn't going back to Earth, despite numerous pleas from her parents, they invited her to stay with them in their quarters while she was pregnant.

Sisko didn't remember much about his time spent with the Prophets. The only moments he did recall were brief instances of absolute crystal clarity that made the mysteries of the universe seem as clear as the window of his office. There were times where he longed for such understanding once more, but he was unwilling to trade what he had.

He not only had his wife and oldest son, but he also had his two-year old son, Joseph, to live his life with. Benjamin and Kasidy decided to name their child Joseph in honor of Benjamin's father, who had passed away not long before his birth.

Sisko's biggest disappointment upon his return came when he found the Romulans had broken off relations. He thought they had made such progress in securing peace in the final months of the war. A part of him couldn't help but wonder if they discovered they had been lured onto the Federation's side of the war under false pretenses which he himself had a hand in. But he was leaning towards the idea that they had planned it all along. No doubt they would have revealed they were aware of the subterfuge.

His muddling was interrupted by a voice coming over the comline. "Kira to Sisko."

"Go ahead, Colonel."

"Captain, we have an unscheduled ship heading towards the station at high warp."

"What kind of ship?"

"A Starfleet shuttle."

"I'll be right there." Sisko placed the baseball back on its pedestal. The doors to his office opened and he stepped into the control center of Deep Space Nine. Formerly a Cardassian mining station called Terok Nor, DS9 was commandeered by the Bajorans at the end of the Occupation and was now a major outpost in the sector. Located at the mouth of the wormhole, a spacial tunnel that connected the Alpha Quadrant to the Gamma Quadrant, the station often saw more than its fair share of interesting people and events.

DS9 was an outpost of major importance during the war. Being at the mouth of the wormhole put it at the forefront of any Dominion attack. The Federation even had to abandon it during an incident with a superior Dominion force. It was not long after the Cardassian Union joined the dreaded totalitarian society from the Gamma Quadrant.

Colonel Kira Nerys noticed her commanding officer standing at the top of the stairs that led down to the central console. Being the Bajoran liaison officer to Deep Space Nine, she had originally been opposed to having a Starfleet presence on the station. She felt her people could more than adequately handle things on their own, but on more than one occasion she found they were fortunate to have Starfleet around. "Captain, the incoming shuttle is moving at warp 9.2."

"Warp 9.2.? Starfleet shuttles don't go faster than warp 8.5. Dax, are you sure it's one of ours?"

Lieutenant Ezri Dax looked up from her science console. "I'm positive, Benjamin. Delta-Class." said the Trill.

"Top of the line." said Sisko. He never doubted the assessment of a Trill host that carried the Dax symbiont. She had not just the scientific experiences of the previous host, Jadzia, but that of seven other hosts over the past three hundred years, including that of Curzon, who had been Sisko's best friend and mentor. She was invaluable.

"The shuttle is coming out of warp." said Kira.

"On screen."

As if his second in command had anticipated his order, the viewscreen activated before he finished his sentence. In the center of the image was an infinite star field. Appearing out of nowhere among the stars was a flash of bright light. Emerging from that flash of light was a small spacecraft. The sight of a ship coming out of warp was a unique one. In the few seconds it took to slow to sublight speed, the ship seemed to leave an after image of itself in the fabric of space. The after images were only visible for a split second, but it was intriguing to behold.

"Any sign of the mothership?"

"No other ships in the vicinity." said Dax.

"What is the mothership?" asked Lieutenant Nog.

During the early stages of his career, his being a Ferengi would have raised questions of his competence where he stationed anywhere other than DS9. However, his friends and fellow officers knew what he was capable of and therefore listened to what he had to say. He had come a long way since his younger days as a troublemaking thief. But thanks to Jake Sisko, he developed a greater sense of morality, eventually changing his ways. Jake had even taught him to read. He manned the operations station, which was vacated by Chief Miles O'Brien, who left DS9 at the end of the war to go teach at Starfleet Academy.

"Good question, Lieutenant." said Sisko. He walked down the short staircase to the lower level of ops. "Colonel?"

"Checking." Kira accessed the station's database so she could identify the approaching shuttle. "The shuttle is the Travioli." She did not expect the next piece of information. "She's assigned to the Enterprise."

"But the Enterprise is still at Vesuvia. What would one of her shuttles be doing here?"

"You're going to get your answer, Nog. The Travioli is hailing us, Captain." Kira paused for a moment, her face puzzled. "On a secure channel."

"On screen, Colonel." The interior of a shuttle cockpit appeared. Sisko immediately took notice of a woman standing behind the pilot. He had gotten to know her rather well in the two months she was on the station, a tiny smile was spread across her face. And seated at the helm was the man she knew to be her husband. No smile was on his face. "Commander Wilson, it's been a long time."

"Indeed, Captain. It's good to see you again."

"May I ask what the purpose of your visit is on Deep Space Nine?"

"I'd like to discuss that in person if I may, sir. May I have access to one of your runabout pads? It's important that we get the Travioli out of sight as soon as possible."

After the Travioli landed on one of the vacant runabout pads and lowered out of site in the interior of the docking ring, Alec and Rene were led to Captain Sisko's office. Brief hellos were exchanged with their friends in ops, urgency forced them to leave pleasantries until later.

Alec brought Sisko up to date with everything that had happened. Word of his theft of the Travioli had not reached the rest of the quadrant. The most likely theory was that Starfleet was trying to contain the news so that more bounty hunters didn't come looking for him. It was a little comforting to know that Starfleet hadn't completely abandoned him even after he had gone renegade. They owe me.

Sisko at first had been skeptical about the idea if a conspiracy but once Alec showed him all the evidence his doubts were put to rest. Alec's account of the cave, the false autopsy report, the salt present in Sha'Gra's water, all pointed to someone with an agenda. Sisko considered this not just an attack on a friend, but on Starfleet. "So, Commander. What is it you plan to do?"

"Quite simple, actually. Track down those who did it, clear my name, and make them understand that this was the biggest mistake they'll ever make."

"And you came here to ask for help. You realize I could get in hot water just having you here and not reporting it?"

Alec's hopes dimmed. He knew Sisko to be a loyal Starfleet officer, one who didn't stick his neck out for just anyone. "I know what I'm asking, sir. And if you wish, you can just give the word and we'll go. You don't owe me a thing."

Sisko's tone was deep and commanding, it could have herded Klingons. "Oh you're wrong, Commander. I, my wife, and my sons are in your debt. And I always repay debts."

Alec breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Captain."

"How can we help?"

"If it's possible, I need to have my shuttle disguised somehow. A Delta-Class shuttle won't go unnoticed for very long. And I know there are some bounty hunters out there with more powerful ships than the Travioli that would love to get their hands on me."

To Sisko it seemed like an easy enough task. He had some of the most resourceful officers in Starfleet at his disposal. If there was any place Alec could go to have his request met, it was Deep Space Nine. "I'll get my people right on it."

Alec stood and extended his hand to the man who he was garnering more and more respect for. "I can't thank you enough, sir."

Sisko took his hand. "You can start by telling me about the time you destroyed that Jem'Hadar Battleship."

"You've got yourself a deal."

After they had left Captain Sisko's office, Alec and Rene made their way for the guest quarters assigned to them by Colonel Kira. After two days in a relatively cramped shuttle they welcomed the space. Rene was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. But Alec lay awake, his mind unable to shut down. His main thought was of how far he would eventually take his need to find those he was after. He had already stolen a shuttlecraft, and abandoned his wife. Although Rene had stowed away, he had not been aware of that at the time of his desertion, therefore he still felt as guilty as he would if she didn't.

There was only one place he could think of to begin his search: The underground caverns on Vesuvia. There was a chance, albeit a small one, that there was a clue somewhere down in the caves. Undoubtedly the perpetrators had covered their tracks, but Alec was hoping they had missed something.

Finally, fatigue began to make his eyelids grow heavy. He chose not to fight it, he did not know what was coming in the next few days, but he was fairly sure he was going to need as much rest as he could get to handle it.

Sisko sat in the wardroom with the rest of his senior staff. Two officers were present not that weren't in ops when Alec and Rene had arrived on the station. Lieutenant Commander Eric Jones was chief of security and an old rival of Alec's. He wasn't too popular among many on the station, except Quark. Dr. Julian Bashir was also seated at the table. He on the other hand was very popular on DS9. His genetically engineered background, which gave him a high I.Q. and improved hand-eye coordination, made him an excellent physician. He was also the live in lover of Lieutenant Ezri Dax, who was seated next to him.

Jones made his opinion clear very early. "Captain, how can you even think of helping him?"

If Sisko had to choose between having dinner with Gul Dukat and Jones, he'd choose Dukat ten times out of ten. Over the past two years they had clashed on more than one occasion. "Because, Commander, he's a fellow officer and he's in trouble. The last time I checked we helped those that were in need of it."

"Even if he has been framed, which I admit some of what he's said suggests, he's also stolen a shuttle, caused an explosion on the Enterprise, and assaulted an officer. We should report him to Starfleet before he does anything else."

"You will do no such thing, Commander." Sisko's gaze widened and his features hardened. "There is to be no contact with Starfleet about this. Do, and I'll slap you down so hard you'll wish you were back at the Academy. And if you think I'm bluffing, mister, just try me because nothing would make me happier." The emphasis grew stronger with each word. He continued the staring match with Jones, who was silent. "Am I understood, Commander?"

Jones could feel his face getting warm. Before Sisko came back he wasn't used to being talked down to. "Perfectly, sir."

"Good." Sisko noticed the relieved and amused looks on the other's faces. He knew they were tired of Jones' attitude and he couldn't blame them, he was a little tired of it as well. It was rare that he or Kira had to deal with it as Jones didn't give any sass to his superiors, and it didn't help that being a lieutenant commander meant that they were the only ones that outranked him. "Now, any suggestions on how we can help Commander Wilson disguise the Travioli?"

"If we still had the old Defiant I'd say remove the cloaking device and install it on the Travioli." said Kira.

"Why don't we just contact the Romulans and ask them for another one?" asked Bashir, attempting to remove some of the tension that still lingered from Sisko and Jones' exchange.

When the Dominion threat was first discovered, Captain Sisko, who was then still a commander, brought the prototype vessel U.S.S. Defiant to Deep Space Nine. Installed on her was a cloaking device that was on load from the Romulan Empire. They were allowed its use on two conditions: It was only to be used in the Gamma Quadrant, and they had to provide the Romulans with all information they gathered about the Dominion. Near the end of the war, the Defiant was destroyed in a devastating battle, and the cloaking device along with it. Shortly after, Starfleet assigned another Defiant-Class ship to DS9, the U.S.S. Sao Paulo. They were given special dispensation to rename the vessel 'Defiant.'

"I don't think they'll be as accommodating this time, Julian." said Dax.

"Well we won't know until we try, will we?"

"We're not contacting the Romulans, Doctor." Sisko knew Bashir was joking, but he just wanted it clear that now was not the time for jokes. He looked at Nog, who had thus far been quiet. The young Ferengi looked like he was thinking about something. "What about you, Mr. Nog? Anything to add?"

"Sir, I might have an idea, sir. It's actually a fairly old idea."

"Well let's hear it, Lieutenant." said Sisko supportively.

"It was the mention of the Romulans that got me thinking of it. Two hundred and thirty years ago, Earth's first warp 5 starship came across-"

"You mean the NX-01?" asked Sisko. He had an interest in Starfleet's beginnings that matched Nog's. "The first Enterprise?"

"Yes, sir, the same. Anyway, as I was saying. They came across a Romulan marauder that was attacking ships in Andorian space. It used holographic projections to disguise itself as a friendly ship to lure others in and attack them."

"Are you suggesting we try something like that with the Travioli?" asked Bashir. "What would we use?"

"I'm sure Uncle Quark will let us borrow some holographic projectors from one of his holosuites."

"Do you really think you can convince Quark to shutdown one of his precious holosuites?" said a disbelieving Kira. Her opinion of the Ferengi bartender, which had garnered much respect over the past few years, still saw him as a typical, greedy businessman.

"Don't worry about that, Colonel. I'm pretty sure I can talk him into it." said Nog, he made it clear he had something up his sleeve.

"Are you sure you can do this, Mr. Nog?" said Sisko. "If I remember correctly, the power signature of the marauder gave it away."

"That shouldn't be a problem, sir. Technology is a lot more advanced now than it was two hundred and thirty years ago."

"Well, unless someone has a better idea." Sisko noticed Jones staring off into space. He couldn't resist taking a jab at him. "Do you have any suggestions, Lieutenant?"

"None, sir." said Jones through clenched teeth.

"Speaking of Quark," said Sisko. "We're going to need some gossip control. I have no doubt that he knows Commander Wilson and his wife are on board. I know he wishes no harm to the Commander but Ferengi mouths tend to... open. No offense, Lieutenant."

"None taken, sir. I'll take care of that as well."

When Alec awoke, he realized that it was the first time in recent months that he had slept without having the recurring dream. It made him wonder if he had finally rid himself of its hold. Another thing that he noticed was that Rene did not lay next to him. He called out her name but she did not answer. Once more he called for her and again there was no response. Anxiety began to take over. Where is she? A horrid thought crossed his mind. What if the bounty hunters followed him here and took Rene while he was sleeping? Maybe Jones wasn't exactly dedicated to his safety. No, Jones might have it in for him, but when it all came down to it, he was a dedicated officer and would not wish him harm or let a grudge interfere with his duty.

He got out of bed and walked around their temporary quarters. He saw no sign of his wife, but he could smell her. If there was one thing he could pick up without any doubt, it was his wife's scent. She had been there not long before. When he exited the sonic shower area and went back into the living area, something caught his eye. The screen on the computer terminal was flashing. A shiver ran down Alec's spine as he considered it might be a ransom demand. If it came down to giving himself up for Rene's safety, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.

He was reluctant to activate the console out of fear of what might appear. The need to know quickly took over and he touched the screen. A message to him lay out across the monitor. Relief replaced anxiety as he realized it was from Rene.

"'Alec,'" he said, reading it aloud to himself. "'It took me a minute to figure out how to use this Cardassian computer but I think I got the hang of it. You're still sleeping right now, I'm going over to Ezri and Julian's for coffee. I didn't want to wake you because if anyone needs their sleep right now, it's you. I'll be back soon. Love, Rene.'" Hardly a note that a kidnapper would leave.

Alec looked at the empty bed. It had been a long time since he had taken any time off. Might as well take advantage of it. He climbed back into bed and went back to sleep.

Edwards raised a hand to his jaw, it was still sore from Alec's punch two days earlier. He expected it to be a few days before the pain was completely gone. It was a small price to pay for helping a friend.

President Ross declared a union wide day of mourning for President Sha'Gra. It was a noble gesture, but it did little to win over the Vesuvians. They demanded retribution for the death of their leader. Not all of them believed that Alec's escape was orchestrated by he alone. Many of them believed the Enterprise let him go so he could escape punishment. Captain Picard said that was purely speculative.

They still had no idea where Alec had gone, but managed to fix everything he had sabotaged. One more alteration was found. The targeting scanners were out of alignment, if they had tried to fire on the Travioli they wouldn't have been able to establish an accurate lock.

After Sha'Gra's body was cremated, there had been a change of government on Vesuvia. Bru'Dan had tried to sway the ruling council into letting him take control of the government. He argued the conclusion that the Federation was the wrong power to be allying themselves with and that a stronger, more definitive presence had to be established by their world. When he was asked how he would accomplish this, he declared his intention to establish a more permanent agreement with the Romulan Empire, and what would eventually lead to an alliance. Because of his currently inadeqaute political background, the council decided against his proposal and instead opted to follow the age old protocols.

Edwards was beginning to fear that what Alec had told him was wrong, and that the Romulans were behind everything. It wouldn't have been the first time they had tried to destroy the relations between the Federation and another culture. They had been attempting to destroy the Federation-Klingon alliance ever since its inception. An attempt on their behalf was made to disrupt the quadrant before the Federation was even created. They used a holographically covered marauder to drive Andorians and Tellarites to war by disguising it as a ship from the other's fleet.

His train of thought was lost when his tactical sensors began to sound. One of the bounty hunters was breaking orbit. It was the Nausicaan combat raider. It quickly left his sensors as it jumped into warp. "Captain, the Nausicaan ship has just left the system."

Picard was jarred by his own thoughts. Knowing where the bounty hunter was headed could give them a good idea of where Alec was. "Mr. Data, can you track it's course?"

"Yes, Captain. Just one moment. The ship is on a heading of 327 mark 015. Based on this trajectory, I believe it is heading for the Bajoran system."

"Of course." said Riker.

"Deep Space Nine." agreed Picard.

"Who else could he turn to for help?" Riker's rhetorical question was more of a statement. "Do you think they will?"

"They're good officers, some of the best in Starfleet. I'd expect no less of them."

Not long after Alec awoke the second time, Captain Sisko called him to the wardroom. The rest of the senior staff was already there, except Jones, which wasn't really all that surprising. They wanted to give him an update on how they planned to disguise the Travioli. He rather liked the idea of using holoprojectors. He had a passing familiarity with the Romulan marauder that Nog mentioned. He read something about it years ago when he was brushing up on early Starfleet history. The only difference was he wasn't going to be attacking defenseless ships.

"Not only will your shuttle look different," said Nog, showing them a computer generated demonstration on the wall monitor. "But it will emit the sensor readings to match. And if you're discovered, you can program the projector to recreate the image of another ship."

"Any ship?" asked Alec excitedly. "So I can go flying around space looking like a Borg cube?"

"Sorry, sir. It has to be a ship of comparable size. But with a length of twenty-one meters, that gives you countless options to choose from."

"Beggars can't be choosy. Thank you, Lieutenant."

"You're welcome, sir." The praise of a senior officer from the Federation flagship was a major boost to Nog's ego.

"Julian," said Alec. "Can I call upon your expertise to make a similar change to Rene and I?"

Bashir got his point right away. "It's been awhile since my last surgical alteration. I would welcome a chance. Anything in particular you had in mind?"

"Well, I've always wondered what I would look like as a Bajoran. And Rene loves Ezri's spots. I imagine she'd love some of her own. I know it's not exactly a full makeover, but everyone is going to be looking for a human. It could very well be enough to do the trick."

"One Bajoran and one Trill coming up." said Bashir. "Come by the infirmary when you get a chance. I was actually kind of hoping you had a challenge for me."

Alec thought for a moment. "I could try and pass as a Nausicaan." he said jokingly.

"Now there's a challenge."

In the cockpit of her ship she watched the long streaks shorten to singular shining points as her ship came out of warp. Her prey was close. After a day's travel at her ship's maximum velocity she arrived in the Bajoran system. Getting on board the old Cardassian space station would be easy enough, but attaining her prey should prove to be a challenge given his reputation, at least she hoped it would be. If there was one thing she despised it was prey that was too easy. Her last bounty didn't even require her to work up a sweat, not when the killing was involved anyway.

She maneuvered her ship towards the large Cardassian-made station with her thrusters. Any suspicion other than what her Nausicaan ship brought was not welcome. It did not worry her, Nausicaans were known to sell their ships to other species. She had been at this for years and had not once had her cover story doubted. Normally by the time anyone knew who she was it was too late. This time shouldn't be any different.

Deep Space Nine few larger in her viewport as she approached it. The station had an almost monstrous look to it. The six massive docking pylons looked like tentacles ready to reach out and wrap around any ships that came near it. She respected that. How the Cardassians allowed such a weak race to rise up and drive them away was beyond her comprehension. The Federation was understandable. They were a formidable adversary. Anyone that could overcome such things as the Borg and the Dominion had to be strong to it's core and was not to be taken lightly.

She made it a habit to learn as much about her prey as she could before attempting to apprehend them. Her general opinion of her current contract was that he would be as difficult as any she had brought in before, maybe even more difficult. A rundown of his Starfleet file showed that he had an impressive history.

Lieutenant Commander Alec Wilson was born on Luna in 2347. His parents, Paul and Dana, were killed by the Borg in the Battle of Wolf 359, the very same day that he proposed to his girlfriend, Rene Miller. He had the highest scores in his class during tactical training at Starfleet Academy and had since received numerous commendations by Starfleet. Most recently during the war when he was given the Christopher Pike Medal of Valour for destroying a Jem'Hadar Battleship. Upon graduating from the Academy he was one of the most sought after officers.

Two years ago, when the U.S.S. Enterprise was accidentally sent to the Delta Quadrant, he was kidnapped by the Borg and subjected to torture by the Queen of the Collective. Shortly after his kidnapping he was rescued by the U.S.S. Enterprise and the U.S.S. Voyager. The Borg Collective was destroyed and one Starfleet officer, Lieutenant James Moore, was lost during the attempt.

He was also a black belt in a Terran self defense style known as karate, and an expert in the use of an ancient Earth weapon called a katana. It should prove him to be an excellent physical adversary. His tactical knowledge was equally impressive. There was a quote in his file from his former commander, Captain Gleason of the U.S.S. Zhukov. It read as such: 'Alec Wilson is one of the most brilliant, gifted officers I have ever seen. You could put him behind the weapons console of an old Constitution-Class ship and pit him against a Galaxy-Class and he'd still be the odds on favorite.'

During her study of him she learned several other details: His favorite food was mashed potatoes, his favorite drink was Romulan Ale, his favorite song was an ancient Earth tune called Free Bird, and his favorite film was The Empire Strikes Back.

Once she was near enough to the station she opened a hailing frequency. "Deep Space Nine, this is the Ilkresh, requesting docking clearance." If the station didn't have the power to take on over 100 ships she might have just opened fire and boarded it, but given it's capacity she chose a more passive approach.

"This is Colonel Kira Nerys to Ilkresh. Please state the purpose for your unscheduled arrival."

She recognized the name of her questioner as that of the station's Bajoran liaison officer, second in command of Deep Space Nine. The militia officer would pose no threat in a physical confrontation. "I've been running my ship pretty hard the past few days. It and I could use a rest." Suspicion was probably already aroused by her vessel. However it had no identifiable markings, there was no way to ascertain her identity or true purpose for being on the station.

There was a short pause as she waited for a response. "Please proceed to the outer docking ring. Exact coordinates are being transmitted to you now."

Her navigational console beeped as the coordinates were received. "Thank you, Colonel. I am proceeding to the docking port."

Using her thrusters she maneuvered her ship towards her assigned port. Already at one of the docking ports was the U.S.S. Defiant. She had heard stories of its combat capabilities. As she moved closer to her port she could see the countless people walking past the windows of the promenade inside. Men, women, children, they were nothing but insects, pests, and she would kill all of them if need be to reach her objective.

Finally she reduced her speed to a few meters per second as she closed the gap. There was a shudder as her hull come in contact with the station. "Deep Space Nine to Ilkresh, you are safely docked and safe to disembark."

Tasmith had arrived.