A/N: Holy hell, it's been a minute since I was last here, huh! Well. for all two readers of my stories, I'm sorry this took so long, but this story has been a bitch in some ways. Huge thanks, however, to my good friend DrZevil, who helped me get past the big technology-based writer's block. I hope this is a satisfactory continuation of the story for you!
Now that I'm passed the block, I will be working on this more. It's gotta be done. Take care all, until next time.
The main reason for the Terran Task Force setting up in the Badlands was simple: it was the site of numerous frequent incursions by the Mirror universe, and as such it represented the best place for a counter-attack to be staged. With their plans made - and Mirror Lydana having made some of her own in secret - the task force began setting off as soon as another portal had been detected.
"Tell the Klingons to tighten up formation!" Achebe ordered, as the Malinche shuddered under another Terran assault. "We need them to form the spearhead, if they don't punch through this entire mission is bust!"
The comms officer relayed the orders, and eventually the Klingons ships did as asked - several Birds of Prey pulled into tight formation around a K'tinga-class battlecruiser, tearing into the Terran ships with disruptor beams and cannons, while a pair of Federation Sao Paolo-class escorts unleashed a salvo of quantum torpedoes after them. The resulting combined assault blasted through most of the invaders, and a pair of Romulan Malem-class escorts finished off the few that survived with several well-placed plasma cannon volleys.
"All ships, through the portal, now!" Achebe shouted. "We have to get through before it closes!"
The assembled task force gave full power to their engines, the last ship slipping through the glowing portal just before it collapsed.
Achebe heaved a sigh of relief, albeit a short-lived one.
"Good work people, we're through," she said, then stiffened up again. "Now, let's get to work - and remember, we are in a very different universe. Assume everything is hostile until proven otherwise, and if anyone attacks us first, return fire with extreme prejudice."
Then, trying to keep the scorn from her expression, she tapped her commbadge.
"Admiral Kassai, stand by. We're en route to the Steadfast's location now."
Lydana's dark reflection was busy putting the last touches to her plan, tapping a few last commands into the computer terminal she had…'borrowed'. Unfortunately for people like Achebe, Lydana needed a tricorder for mission purposes, and that had given her a wealth of new tactical options for how to conduct her business.
No matter. How the work came to be done was secondary to the fact that it was done, and soon the Prime Universe version of Lydana would regret ever sending her double on this audacious, insane mission.
The ship shuddered as she began closing up the terminal's access panel, and continued to do so. Evidently, they had made contact with the enemy.
"Admiral Kassai," her commbadge chirped in the voice of an officer she hadn't bothered to remember, and she tapped it as if it had always been a part of her.
"Kassai, go."
"We're approaching the Steadfast, ma'am, we need to muster at the shuttles. Just wanted to let you know."
"Understood, I'll be there momentarily," she answered, channelling all of her knowledge about her counterpart's mode of speech and common mannerisms. She tapped the commbadge again, finished closing the panel, and hurried to the boarding shuttles.
It was time to put this plan into action.
The crew on Lydana's shuttle flinched as another boarding shuttle exploded, half-witnessed through the viewscreen at the front as they navigated through the firefight towards the immense I.S.S. Steadfast.
"Admiral, if you have any tricks, now is the time to use them!" the officer piloting called back, and Lydana responded without taking her eyes off her tricorder.
"We are still too far away," she said calmly, then tapped her commbadge. "Kassai to Achebe."
"Achebe here," the captain answered, and Lydana hid a smile at the barely-disguised disdain in her voice.
"We need more fighter cover," Lydana continued, "this plan will not work if we get swatted out of the sky first."
"Understood. Achebe out."
A moment later, a fresh wing of Peregrine fighters swept overhead, shooting down torpedoes and enemy fighters before surging forwards to harry the Terran ships.
A small tone chirruped from Lydana's tricorder, a small icon turning green, and she grinned wolfishly as she stabbed the icon with her thumb.
"Knock knock," she said in a sing-song tone, looking out of the viewscreen.
"Ma'am, we're getting…some transport readings around the Steadfast."
Achebe rose from her chair and moved over to her ops officer, even as the ship took another series of impacts.
"What do you mean?"
"Well…it looks like…"
The officer trailed off, fingers darting over his panel as he displayed the images on his console.
"Prophets…"
"That woman is cold," Achebe muttered, watching as dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of bodies appeared in the space around the immense dreadnought, all wearing the Terran uniform.
The shuttle pilot swallowed nervously, having seen what one of his passengers had just wrought, and navigated the boarding shuttle into position.
"N-no sign of hostiles onboard," he said, his throat suddenly dry. "B-beginning boarding transport sequence."
Mirror Lydana stood with her other passengers, her phaser drawn ready to fire the moment she encountered a threat…but she knew there was nothing to shoot.
The shuttle interior vanished as her team were teleported out, appearing in the dimly-lit bridge of the dreadnought, and they found no sign of any Terran crew anywhere. Reports began to come in from other areas where the boarders had been successful, and Lydana smiled to herself. Now she had to work quickly.
"Excuse me, Admiral?" another officer called to her, and she moved over to the Andorian examining the ops display.
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
"Some strange readings here, ma'am…looks like there's…I don't know, like there's something stored in the transporter pattern buffers. Let's-"
"No," Lydana interrupted quietly, surreptitiously thrusting a small blade into the man's vital organs. "Let's not."
She lowered the man to the deck quietly, knowing that her team were already taking up crew positions to begin getting the ship ready to move. Standing once more, she worked quickly at the terminal, reversing the teleport programme and pointing her phaser at a currently empty spot near the command chair.
At once a series of transporter beams appeared all around the Steadfast's bridge, as the real crew were beamed back into existence. The Starfleet crew who had beamed in with Lydana looked around in horror, which magnified when the 'Admiral' shot the Captain and First Officer straight away.
"I am Kassai Lydana of the Terran Empire," she declared to the bridge, "and I am taking over command of this vessel. If any of you wish to argue with me, you are welcome to try."
When no-one did so, she holstered her phaser and dropped into the captain's chair.
"Excellent! Now then, take your stations, raise shields, charge all weapons…and space the Starfleet crew."
Gradually the Terran forces were thinning, from damage or retreat, and Achebe had been informed that the Steadfast was beginning to move as well. Finally, they could be out of this hell-hole and-
An urgent tone sounded from the tactical station, and Achebe turned to face her tactical officer.
"Report."
"Ma'am, it's the dreadnought," she answered hurriedly. "She's coming about…and locking onto us!"
"What?!" Achebe snarled, and whipped around to her comms officer. "Chalos, hail the Steadfast!"
A moment later, the main screen lit with the face of Lydana, now clad in the cropped top and shorts commonplace among Terran women.
"What the hell are you doing, 'Admiral'?!" Achebe hissed, and Lydana's face merely twisted into a callous grin.
"I am taking my due, Captain," she said, her voice dripping poison honey, "and unfortunately for you I have my own mission. Be thankful I do not need you dead…yet."
The screen cut back to the dreadnought as Lydana closed the channel, in time to see the massive main weapon fire.
The phaser lance punched straight through the Malinche's shields, obliterating one of the nacelle support struts, before a second shot tore a hole the main hull of the vessel. Damage alarms wailed, crew screamed as they were thrown aside, the ship began to list as the impulse engines failed, and the Steadfast cloaked as it swept past before finally jumping to warp.