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.

Terok Nor: "Way of the Warrior"

2372

- - -

Terok's electronic and subspace senses were on fire with all the Klingon vessels now surrounding her. They'd shown up shortly after Defiant had docked with the Cardassian Detapa Council. In the physical world, she was getting all her defenses and security systems online.

Miles had declared there were two possible outcomes of her activating all her new weapons and defenses:

Either everything worked perfectly... Or she'd blow up.

Well, she'd lay odds on everything working perfectly. Not that she was the betting sort, but she had grown to trust her Chief of Operations.

However... Her crew would be fighting the physical battle. They couldn't offer as much help when it came to the cyber battle.

Even now, she stood in the Borderlands. Her "desktop" lay behind her. It was a representation of her Promenade: Straightforward and simple.

Yet over time, it had changed. The colors were warmer. There were decorative banners. She'd even added the Bajoran temple. It was nothing more than cosmetic changes... But changes they were.

Perhaps a reflection of how much she had changed. Though there was a much bigger reflection of that, as she allowed the other AI to log in.

"Wowwww," Defiant murmured, looking around her desktop, "It's just like the real thing!"

"Of course that's what you would notice, you idiot," Terok sighed, "Come on. Make yourself useful, brat."

"Okay!" Defiant said cheerfully, pulling out her baseball bat.

In the darkness of the Borderlands, over three dozen Klingon shipgirl AIs stood waiting, like an army about to lay siege. Negh'var stood out in front, a giant of a Klingon woman in the red and black robes of an ancient Klingon War Empress. Her eyes were electric blue, and on her head was a green crown matching her hull.

"Terok Nor! Defiant!" Negh'var shouted. "You will turn over the Detapa Council to us!"

Defiant made to shout something, but Terok put a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head. For once, the little warship AI obeyed, staying silent, as Terok turned her eyes to the Klingons.

"They're not Changelings," Terok shouted back, "You were wrong. Your war against my people is without merit. Without honor."

That stung a lot of the shipgirl AIs. Good.

"Are you content to fight dishonorably? Gaining false glory that will later come crashing down?" Terok further prodded. "Or are you going to be true Klingons-?"

"Enough!" Negh'var shouted, holding out her hand, "You could never understand true honor, Cardassian scrap pile! You and your little Federation brat should give up! Spare your crew's lives!"

Terok smirked, letting her natural Cardassian arrogance out.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing," Terok stated, "The Cardassians made me into a mining and command and control facility. The Federation and Bajorans have made me into a fortress. To defend the Alpha Quadrant, they have made me into a deadly weapons array. Surely you can see how many photon torpedoes I've got that I can launch on command? That's not all... My cyber defenses were similarly upgraded."

Terok shook her head.

"This is not a fight you can win. Convince your organics to give this up. Now. Just walk away."

Negh'var sneered.

"You're still a ramshackle old mining station," the Klingon stated, "And we will have you! Physically, electronically, it does not matter!"

She lifted up her bat'leth over her head.

"SISTERS! WE ATTACK!"

The Klingon AIs attacked furiously, as Terok's firewalls went up like shields around the desktop. They attacked from all sides, with viruses, decoders, and all manner of cyber weapons intended to breach her defenses. At the same time, the Klingon ships in the real world opened fire, attacking her shields with disruptors and torpedoes.

In the real world, Terok let her crew do most of the heavy lifting. They could handle it. In here... It was mostly up to her.

She would not fail them.

"Upgraded Defenses Line 1, online," Terok shouted. Walls sprung up out of the darkness, surrounding her Desktop, forming a huge, concentric fortress. The Klingon AIs fought harder, striking the walls with more intensive cyberattacks that took the form of Disruptors and assault rifles. Terok laughed mockingly, as she saw these efforts.

"You remain as unimaginative as ever," Terok scoffed, "We're in a realm controlled by our minds."

A storm appeared overhead. Terok's smirk grew.

"Don't be afraid to dream a bit bigger, darlings!" She shouted, as lightning, rain, wind, and hail rained down upon the Shipgirl AIs, washing them back from the walls.

"Cooool!" Defiant cried with a grin.

Yeah, I know, cyber fights don't resemble actual cyberwarfare... But it's Star Trek and shipgirls, of course I'm going to make it ridiculous as long as it's cool.