Paint and Powder
A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon
DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.
Defiant: "The Siege of AR-558" Part 2
A week. A week. Her captain, Nog, Ezri, so many others were stuck on a planet, fighting the Dominion... For a week. All alone.
It wasn't as though Defiant was just sitting in drydock, twiddling her thumbs, no. She fought hard where Starfleet needed her, across the Chin'Toka system. She helped save a Romulan warbird from destruction. She worked with the dreadnoughts Avenger and Bismarck to take down a Dominion super-battleship.
But every chance she could, she scanned AR-558 to see if there had been any progress made on breaking the Jem'hadar blockade. The Veracruz was doing her best with her battlegroup, but the Dominion were nothing if not determined.
The destruction of the Dominion super dreadnought had broken their support though. Just enough that Defiant and her sisters could break through. Defiant herself focused on the only remaining Cardassian ship in orbit-And took her down.
This left the rest of the Dominion task force vulnerable to Klingon, Romulan, and Federation shipgirls-To which the major capital ships retreated, and the Jem'hadar fighters tried to kamikaze them. But Veracruz's massive phaser and torpedo barrage intercepted them all.
Defiant's avatar stood ready on the transporter pad. She hefted up her bat over her shoulder.
"Worf, I'm ready to beam down," Defiant stated.
"Acknowledged. Qa'pla!" Worf stated.
Defiant beamed. This is why she loved Worf. She didn't need to justify her desire for violence for him.
He just approved.
"Energizing!"
Her sensors weren't getting much from the planet due to all the jamming. So she had chosen an open area near the rear area of the Dominion communications hub. However... She ended up on a plateau overlooking the hub tower. She ran at high speed, leaping up and dropping down onto the top of the hub. Defiant slid down the side of the hub, down to a lower level.
Defiant jumped off, and landed on a catwalk. She flipped over the railing, and landed... Right in the middle of several Jem'hadar soldiers.
"Hiya!"
They raised their rifles to fire, but Defiant was much faster-Firing her phasers and blasting them all down in a single swipe. She focused her sensors... And found Ferengi lifesigns.
She dashed towards the source, shooting her way through several Jem'hadar on the way there. She saw a door with light shining out. Several Jem'hadar were trying to break in, taking cover from phaser blasts. Defiant unleashed a barrage of phaser blasts, taking out all of them. She swept into the room, sweeping around...
And barely ducking a Ferengi phaser blast.
"Ah! Quark!"
"Defiant!" Quark gasped, holding his chest. "You...!"
Defiant tensed a bit, as she saw Nog lying on a bed. She ran over and checked his vitals.
Don't be dead don't be dead don't be dead...
His pulse was strong. He was just unconscious. She calmed down, and looked at Quark.
"He's all right," Quark said, "I mean, I think he is-"
"Keep watch over him!" Defiant ordered. Quark threw his arms out.
"What do you think I've been-?!"
Defiant dashed off, running at high speed. Her sensors picked up several Jem'hadar around a corner. One threw a grenade... Which she scooped up and tossed back into them before she leaped up over their heads. She landed and dashed off, just as the grenade went off.
BOOM!
Defiant broke out onto the front area of the communications hub. Barricades and walls had been erected for cover against the only way to the hub: A canyon. Jem'hadar were taking cover and firing from behind their own mobile cover, using portable forcefields, while others charged over the trenches and barricades. Her eyes locked onto her captain, up at the front, fighting off several Jem'hadar.
Defiant fired off multiple blasts, bringing down over a dozen of the genetically engineered soldiers as she dashed over the wounded, dying, and fighting Federation troops. One Jem'hadar swung his bayonet at her, which she blocked with her duranium arm. She hissed as her synthetic skin was sliced open... Then punched the Jem'hadar hard, shattering his skull.
Sisko wore a grateful look, picking his phaser rifle up and opening fire on the advancing Jem'hadar. Defiant joined him, sending her blasts out into the enemy troops. The Jem'hadar then began throwing grenades, which Defiant quickly began catching and throwing them back as fast as she could.
She managed to throw back five... Before the sixth went off in her hand.
"GAH!"
Defiant was thrown back, her personal forcefields strained and hand gone. She got back up, firing furiously with her phaser pistol to drive back the Jem'hadar. The Jem'hadar pulled back... And then a tall Cardassian figure slowly walked up.
She was tall, curvy, and dressed in ancient Hebitian battle armor. She smirked, and held up a battle rifle.
"Defiant," the Cardassian gynoid called, "how pleasant to meet you in person at last. I am the Kornek. I was hoping I could fight you."
She kicked a gynoid's head up, and it arced overhead. Defiant caught it with her remaining hand, and stared at the mangled head of the Veracruz's gynoid.
Kornek sniffed.
"I hope you'll prove more entertaining than she did..."
"That's hardly intimidating," Defiant scoffed, "Veracruz is fine-You just killed an avatar of her! And if you destroy my avatar, what's the point? I'm on my ship!"
"True," Kornek said, "but you care for your humanoids... And they can die."
She grinned.
"Want to find out how horribly I will make them die?"
Defiant gritted her teeth, and swung her baseball bat around with her remaining hand.
"I thought not," Kornek said in approval.
To be continued...