"What happened?"
(Sighs) "Captain Anderson said that there were a few problems getting the supplies they need to drop off here, the negotiations have been on going since even before they arrived at the planet they were supposed to pick the supplies up"
"Okay, I get what's going on, red tape, how long do I have to wait?"
"Unknown Sentinel Portland"
"Right, guess I'm on leave unless something happens or you decide to give me something to do"
"No you're on leave until your ship arrives, allow yourself to get used to the Federation again after what you've been through you've earned it"
"Understood Captain"
Just then they lost all gravity in the station and the comms were down as well
"Okay I need to get to work"
She suddenly pushes herself off from the bulkhead like it was nothing and reaches the top floor of the Promenade which surprised everyone considering no one else was capable of moving at the moment
"Computer, potential reasons for loss of gravity and station wide communication?"
"This station has been sabotaged"
"Right, okay computer activate emergency Jedi protocol Omega, Beta, Theta, Sigma, Epsilon 1195 authorization code Portland 7 Alpha 2 Omega Omega 9, then activate emergency Sentinel protocol Delta, Alpha, Omega, Sigma, Sigma, Theta authorization code Portland 7 Alpha 2 Omega Omega 9"
"Protocols activated"
Suddenly everyone felt like there was normal gravity once more but considering everyone was still floating they knew it was just an illusion, they also saw the station go to yellow alert all on it's own and the comm system was restored and Sisko was told that the shields went up and the weapons systems on standby on their own
"Right, Sentinel Portland what exactly did you do?"
"No one but me is trained in zero gravity situations, I'll explain why I am a little later but not until the current situation is under control. Now then when the computer mentioned sabotage I realized that what's actually happened is that the station has been taken over by hostile forces that are currently cloaked, and no you can't detect these cloaks for some reason so I activated the stations defense systems, giving us a chance to survive long enough to fight back. The one program makes you feel like normal gravity is back on making it slightly easier to move about but if you're floating with nothing there to help you get a start you're not going any where's, that's the Jedi program it was designed by me before we ever got the designation of Sentinel's when I was at the academy and I wanted to remind myself a little bit of home, the Sentinel program is what activated the stations defense systems but it did so much more than that. It's currently making sure nothing else is affected like the life support systems or any other potentially critical systems that I might not be aware of, it also makes sure non critical systems are temporarily shut off so that all the power available goes to the critical systems and the protection program currently running"
"Can you do anything else?"
"Actually yes I can, if I meditate I might be able to get inside their minds and convince them to let us go but only with your permission Captain"
"Let's not do that yet, I know it's sometimes allowed but until it becomes absolutely necessary no Force suggesting the enemy"
"Yes sir, if they board I will need a phaser and of course I have no lightsaber currently"
"Oh you're going to be busy with those aren't you?"
"Ah so you know both Starfleet and Jedi Council policy when it comes to Jedi and Sentinel's"
"Yep, you have to make three lightsabers at once, but will the Force let you?"
"Don't worry it will, now then about that phaser"
That's when Constable Odo speaks up
"I believe I can handle that Captain, you should get back to Ops"
"Right and Odo make sure no one causes trouble, even though it's highly unlikely they could just keep an eye on people to make sure"
"Of course Captain, but I do have one question for Sentinel Portland what about the races that live on little to no gravity planets?"
"Oh the system did a quick species scan before activating the gravity controls, well pseudo activating the gravity controls I should say, everyone is feeling the weight they would naturally feel on their home planet, or if they live in space frequently and work and live on board ships normal ship gravity"
"And what about you and any other Sentinel's?"
"All Sentinel's except for me will feel normal ship gravity, but the system can also detect when I am there, helps that my activation code was used this time because I designed this specifically with the thought that I have anti gravity training in mind, so I feel just like before the program was activated but it won't be noticeable to normal people because everyone is able to move around more easily now. Though I wouldn't suggest trying to be too far from the ground and you do need some sort of starting measure to move about initially but after that normal movement"
"Okay, what do you need to do now Portland?"
""Ops, I need to go to Ops to see if I can't fix this from there, besides we need to try the diplomatic approach apparently and that can only be done in Ops...unless we're boarded but if that happens then we'll have to fight because I get the feeling that if we're boarded they will slaughter us"
(Sighs) "Odo make sure that even trained civilians have phasers"
"Sir you're not going to activate those protocols are you?"
"If it saves lives then yes Constable Odo I am going to activate those protocols, and Sentinel Portland I will debrief you on those protocols after this crisis is dealt with"
"Fine by the way, I'm taking the phaser Lt."
"Wha..."
Suddenly her arm goes up and a security officer suddenly loses his phaser from where it had been located just moments before
"Sentinel Portland..."
"Captain I do believe that the Lt. has neglected to tell either you or Constable Odo something for the past...two days I assume, actually he also hasn't told Doctor Bashir, which he should have done so immediately and he knows it too don't you Lt.?"
(Sighs) "Sentinel Portland it appears that the stories about Jedi are true, how long have you known?"
"Suspected the moment I saw you, confirmed it when we suddenly lost gravity only for everyone to pseudo regain it all of a sudden"
(Sighs) "I'll report to Doctor Bashir"
"Fine but you do know it will have to go further than normal because of your stupidity right?"
"I know"
"What is going on you two?"
"Sorry Captain, forgot you didn't know, the Lt. is injured, pretty badly from what I can tell and he never told anyone which is completely against protocol I might add, he's unfit for duty as such I took his phaser to sort of force him to get medical care that he needs"
"I will personally escort him to sick bay Sentinel, Captain seeing as how he's my man I should have noticed it sooner and as such will take responsibility to ensure he gets the medical attention he needs"
"Okay Odo, best do it now then, oh and Portland I think you have some explaining to do as to how and why you do zero gravity training"
"Naturally Captain, but like I said after the crisis yeah?"
"Of course, now then let's get to Ops and hope the solution can be found there"
"It should be...unless there's something that affects the system in another area of the station...like it's power source"
"I'll have O'Brian send one of his techs since he'll be needed on Ops"
They soon get to Ops to discover everyone having slight difficulty getting around but it was also very obvious that it was easier than it had been in the moments of pure weightlessness
"Okay we need to get our systems back up, what Sentinel Portland did is only a temporary solution"
"Captain Sisko's right, we need the station working fully again so any ideas?"
It would take three hours but finally they managed to get the station back online and also make the people who affected the station to back off and leave the area
"So Sentinel Portland about the explanation of how you can move about in zero gravity"
"Right, it actually happened before I became an official Padawan. You see I lost my intended Master on a mission before he could come and get me to begin our official Padawan/Master journey so I was supposed to be sent to the Agricultural Corps for three months to allow some of the Knights that had been on assignment at that time to finish and then I would be reevaluated to see if any of them would choose me or I would be permanently assigned to the Education Corp where if I ever got lucky I might meet a Knight who would make me their Padawan and if not I would have eventually tested for Knight status within the Education Corp. Well on the way there the ship was attacked and we were left drifting in space with zero gravity working on the ship, so we had to adapt and learn how to move in that environment and it lasted a whole month because of all sorts of issues getting rescue to us. It would be my Master that ultimate rescued us and as soon as we saw each other and started working together the Master/Padawan bond formed and I simply went back to Coruscant with her to make it official. After that my Master decided that zero gravity training would be included in my education at every opportunity because you never knew what trouble someone could get into on a Jedi mission. After I came to the Federation and joined Starfleet I decided to continue that training in secret and whenever possible I trained in the holodeck which can make any environment you need while still being safe and since I was simply doing zero gravity training I knew it would be perfectly safe at all times, of course I was busted within the first three months of my secret training but only by the Admiralty and only because of the fact that they wanted to do a test on my abilities seeing as how they had yet to see anything that a Jedi could do. After I graduated whenever I had the day off if I wasn't doing Jedi training I was doing zero gravity training, and no Captain I was never angry that zero gravity training was required in the Academy in fact I was quite glad it wasn't because that meant that while you guys prepared for practically every scenario it meant that the possibility of losing gravity was so low that it wasn't a concern which in my mind was a good thing. I simply continued the training I had in the Republic because by that time it was natural for me and was actually a part of my routine"
"That training helped a great deal today that's for sure, while it probably won't be mandatory, I might make a suggestion to the Academy that they at least subject there students to zero gravity training at least once in case something like this should happen again"
"I already made that suggestion Captain and as far as I can tell it hasn't happened yet so it might not happen ever or if it does it will be because of a harsh lesson, now then about the protocols that you and Constable Odo were arguing about"
"Yes, well after we took care of the situation we were in when you were believed dead Starfleet decided that it would offer defense training to any civilians that were willing to learn so as to be a means of defending their home if Starfleet was either unable to be quickly available or a situation like today where the station is so big there might not be Starfleet officers in the immediate area and getting to a specific location would be difficult"
"Like the National Guard or Reserves on the old United States"
"Exactly"
"Makes sense then"
"So I do believe you're supposed to be on leave until your ship arrives"
"As long as nothing else happens yes I should be, though I'm a bit surprised I'm not being ordered to get some refreshment training in at the Academy"
"You'll see why once the New Hope arrives"
"New Hope, that's the name of the ship, what class is it?"
"It's the newest ship in the Alliance class, built shortly before the stupid war and finished only days before you were rescued"
"Was it always going to be called New Hope?"
"Yes actually it was, because after you were declared KIA we decided to name a ship that had something in common with you and while it wasn't going to be your name and wouldn't have been for several years until after your death if ever we decided to name it New Hope because that's what you and the Sentinel's gave us from the start, a new hope that we weren't alone and could have peaceful negotiations with races we had never heard of before"
"So when will they arrive?"
"Soon, they finally got the whole supply mess sorted out and are headed our way now"
"That's good to hear, I think I'll meditate for now and of course you'll let me know when my ship arrives because I'll need to board immediately"
"Exactly, though you'll actually need to come to Ops so that you can be teleported onto your ship"
"Got it"
Ashland goes to meditate and expects to either see visions, or sort through her memory again because that did sometimes happen whenever a Jedi meditated, so that they could sort through any emotions they might not have been able to sort through at the time or analyze what they had done to see if they could have done anything better. What she got though were images of a time period that she wasn't quite sure of, she also couldn't quite tell if it was a vision or a hidden memory at first but as she continued watching she realized she was seeing a missing three month period of her Academy years. When she opened her eyes she knew that she had to contact the Admiralty and confront them, but not in her quarters like she would normally because she realized that what she had seen could affect the entire Federation so it was best that the confrontation happen in Ops so that DS9 was one of the first groups prepared for potential trouble. When she arrived at Ops everyone was a bit surprised because they actually thought she was still meditating, either that or doing something else to help her relax or sleep
"Sentinel Portland what can we do for you?"
"Contact the Admiralty, immediately Captain, there's something we need to talk about and since it could affect Starfleet and the Federation I want you guys in on this conversation"
The Admiralty quickly answers knowing that Portland was currently on DS9 and as soon as they saw her on the viewscreen they knew something was up