Deep in a desolate hellscape of snow and ice, a lone mound of snowy dirt begins to move, as if something is coming up from beneath it and a muffled voice can just be heard saying "Did I have to bury myself so deep?!" Soon a hand pops out of the snowy dirt, like a black and silver clawred daisy, soon joined by another hand, and then a skull as the full form of Dr. Zevil comes crawling out if this grave! He gets up, dusts himself off as he spits out a clump of dirt, and then notices you readers.
AN: Salutations and bienvenue, my dear readers! Sorry about the (looks at the calendar)…there wasn't a four there before. Heh, yeah, the only excuse I have is that writers block is a bitch…oh, and I was going blind. Well, almost anyway. Long story short, I'm getting old and should have been using eyedrops when I got my CPAP machine. I'm fine now, eyes are less dried out, and I can see fairly fine now, but will be going to the eye doctor soon.
Enough about me though! On with the story!
Quinzel, Engineering
"And what de hel do you tink you're doin?!" Growled Chief Engineer Clyde as he stomped over to the old Orion man kneeling in front of a burnt out power relay junction. Even kneeling down, it was clear that the Orion was only an inch or two shorter than the Swede but just as muscular, despite the large belly he was sporting. He had metal plates decorating his wrinkled head and bolts sticking out of his shoulders, that were on full display since the sleeves of his KDF uniform were torn off.
"I don't think I'm doing anything. I know that I'm fixing your power flow problems. Now shut up and watch me work." Was the Orion's snide reply, making the usually affable Engineer practically steaming out his ears with restrained anger. Things had been going relatively smoothly between the repair teams, but the Sor'mang's Chief Engineer was of a breed of engineer that thought his way was best and everyone else was an idiot. Clyde would know, he was the same according to his team and husband.
Before Clyde could say anything, the Orion got up. "Okay, send exactly thirty percent through the relay. Anymore and the solution won't work right, and we'll have a whole other problem."
Clyde was strongly considering not only denying this green bastard, but also kicking him out of Engineering. However, he took a breath and nodded to one of his team to do so. "You do realize dere are probably micro fractures under da corrosion-" Clyde started, but the Orion finished his sentence before he could.
"'That'll cause discharge and leave the relays beyond fixing?' Yeah kid, I do, now shut your face and watch." Was the Orion's gruff reply. Before Clyde could say anything in reply, or hit the other engineer, the command was imputed, and thirty percent of power went through the relays. Immediately sparks flew along the relays where the micro fractures had to be, but instead of further damaging them, the electricity was atomizing the corrosion. "Okay, cut the power. Any longer and we'll be back where we started."
Clyde hummed, clearly intrigued as he leaned down to get a closer look at the now dormant and corrosion free relays, muttering to himself. "Da corrosion is gone and da relay isn't damaged. Chemical reaction, for sure, but what kind? Thermochemical, no wait dose were electrical sparks, so an electrochemical reaction- wait… electrolysis!" Clyde took a long look at the spray gun that the Orion was still holding. "I'd wager dat ting is filled with a solution containing a form of sodium bicarbonate!" Clyde said with confidence.
"Plus a few other things." The Orion said cryptically, but with a small amount of amusement. "I've worked on almost every kind of ship a pirate fleet can have and the first rule we learn is that we don't always have the parts we need to fix em, so we had to get creative." The Orion studied Clyde. "I can only name a few Egineers that could have worked through that as fast as you did and that's after cutting a few off…you're alright kid. Name's Dreg."
"Clyde Jorgensen and I'd prefer ye call me Clyde over kid. I don't give a damn how old ye are, I'm no ones kid. Got it, old man?" Clyde said with a smile along with some steel in his voice.
Dreg laughed and clapped Clyde on the back. "Nice to meet a human with balls! Come on, Kid, we still got work to do to make this ship battle ready like your captain and my mistress wants." And the two were off, discussing engineering solutions and verbally sparing as they went.
Quinzel, Jefferies tube junction A-Seven Five Theta
"You're looking bluer than usual, fuzzball, what's up?" Said Rogers as she replaced another isolinear chip in one of the Jefferies tube access points. Xrithath, after considering the situation and not wanting to incur more of M'Zetta's wrath, sent over some repair teams from the Mo'Kai to help the Quinzel's repairs along. Among those teams was M'krrt, an eager gleam and pep in his step to help his enemies' turned allies, but his zeal was lessened when he found out he would be working with Lieutenant Commander Rogers.
"I-I don't know what you mean, Commander." M'krrt replied, fumbling with his stack of chips as he fumbled with his words, nearly dropping his multicolored cargo. He was standing in one of the multidirectional junctions of the Jefferies tubes as Rogers crouched down in one of the tubes and saw to the mending and replacing of the chips. "Just admiring the architecture of your ship. Far less utilitarian than Klingon ships."
Vic didn't need to be a mind reader to know something was up with feline humanoid. Not because of the architecture thing, that was pretty spot-on, but because of his behavior before. He had been letting out little sighs and had been uncharacteristically quiet as he worked. He wasn't a chatterbox, but he usually tried to strike up some kind of conversation about something sciencey, but that was usually with Di- 'Oh.' She thought, realization almost hitting her in the face.
"I'm sure Dinah misses working with you too, fuzzball." Vic was only slightly pleased when she heard the Farasin squeak and drop the chips. "No offense M'krrt, but I'm guessing old lizard lips didn't recruit you for your spy craft skills, cause you're pretty easy to read." Vic said with a chuckle.
"It was my brilliant and strategic mind that saw my way onto the General's inner circle." He said as he crouched down to pick up the chips, his gaze gaining a far away look as he mumbled "…plus my knowledge of mind alerting pharmaceuticals and poisons."
"What?" Vic asked, shocked, as she poked her head out of the tube.
"What?" M'krrt replied, a little startled and clearing forgetting what he had said…or appearing to at least.
Vic gave the cat person a suspicious look before shrugging her shoulders and going back into the tube, her hand shooting out a second later. "Gimme on of those red and white ones." M'krrt obliged and took the damaged card that the new one replaced and placed it in the box they brought for the broken ones. After a moment had passed, Vic spoke up. "You know, it's not going to be easy." Not needing to see the look of confusion on M'krrt's leonine face to know it was there, Vic continued. "To date someone with no emotions and barely understands the emotions of others."
M'krrt was quiet as Vic kept working on the chips, wondering if she had gone too far, but the KI officer soon spoke up. "Understanding the feelings of others and even myself can be difficult for me as well." He said gently, almost too quiet for Vic to hear. "I often feel alone, even among my own people. I am so much smarter and better than others- this isn't me boasting, it's just a scientific fact. While there are many in the KDF that are physically stronger than me, I am not just physically faster than they are, but mentally as well…but I pale in comparison Lieutenant Violet.
"She's smarter, faster, and stronger than anything the geneticists of my homeworld could create in a thousand lifetimes…and yet she still wants to be more. More than a machine, more than what her parent wanted her to be." His voice was filled with, not quite the obsessive reverence that Vic has heard some of the science nuts in Starfleet talk about Violet or any of the Soong's, but an admiring way that spoke of true feelings for her friend.
"Well…shit." Vic finally said as she let her arms flop to her side, startling M'krrt out of his euphoric daydreaming. "You're actually a nice guy…Fuck!" Vic pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "Why couldn't you all be like fucking Ariat or those crazy Duras sisters and be full on evil. It would have made being a bitch to you before so much easier." This last part was said in a whine as the engineer dragged her hands down her face.
She finally tiled her head back so she could see M'krrt, almost chuckling at his confused and slightly alarmed face, which was upside down from this angle. She huffed out a breath as she closed the panel, pleased with her work and slid out of the tube and grabbing hold of a convenient handle that let her get out in a more graceful way, she got out and turned to the humanoid feline.
Vic placed a hand on the Farasian's shoulder and smiled "You have my blessing to date my best friend." M'krrt looked shocked and then relieved at her words, but that soon changed as he felt her grip tighten. "But if you break her little clockwork heart, there is not a place in this or any universe where you can hide where I can't find you and do things that would make a Terran sick with disgust. Got it?"
It wasn't the words or the pain in his shoulder that made M'krrt believe her, it was the cold, lifeless, darkness in her eyes as she said all that. It was like looking in the eyes of Melvarion Rhino Shark's eyes. He simply nodded; not sure he could actually speak at the moment. Giving him a smile and a nod of her own, Vic picked up the box of discarded chips and started to go through another tube. "Come on, Fuzzball, we've got some more chips to check."
Quinzel, Mess hall
Vex was exhausted. She had just spent an hour, practically elbows deep in an Edosians chest cavity. She had to not only preform open heart surgery, but also make sure that the poor ensign didn't lose his central arm. Mrill would have helped if she wasn't busy closing the wound of a comatose lieutenant.
Fortunately, the two officers alive and no one died on the table today…not that there weren't plenty of dead, but she couldn't focus on that now. She had barely sat down at a table, when a tray of what Vex was going to charitably call food was dropped in front of her. "Eat." Said Dahar Master M'Zetta of all people. "Warrior's march with their stomachs, or some other human nonsense that the Klingons will say Kahless said." The Dahar master rolled her eyes at that as she sat down with her own tray.
"Thanks…I think?" Vex looked at the food in front of her and wasn't sure what to make of it. It looked like gruel but had the consistency of stale oatmeal and smelled faintly of fish. "Didn't realize that Dahar Masters were masters of the culinary arts." She said with a chuckle, picking up the spoon from her started to move her food around with…until the spoon got stuck and wouldn't budge.
M'Zetta let out a derisive bark of laughter. "Dear gods, no! There was only ever one Dahar Master I knew who could cook, and all Kolath did was find the Gagh from the forest floor. Kang relied on his wife to cook for him and Kor's idea of cooking was stealing a bottles of blood wine and stale bread from the galley, the old fool!" M'Zetta purred as she chuckled at a particular memory, but sobered as she leveled a searching glare on Vex. "But you know how skilled of a forager Kolath was, seeing as you hunted him on Medabli three."
Vex froze as she heard the planet's name but frowned. "That was Kolath?"
"You did not know?" M'Zetta asked, just as surprised. Then she laughed, long and hard, slamming her fist into the table and holding her side with her free arm. "That pompous baktag thought he had made a worthy enemy that day! You truly did not know?"
"No. Starfleet Intelligence was just barely free from Section Thirty One's control, so chain of command was a little muddy." Vex said, shaking her head in disbelief. "He flew circles around me and he couldn't have been older than twenty nine? Thirty?" She laughed then. "I swear I thought I was not only being hunted, but by a Gorn ninja assassin!" Both women laughed at that, though M'Zetta didn't know what a ninja was.
M'Zetta's laugh turned to a chuckle before stopping and saying, a small amount of mirth still in her voice "A shame you didn't have your Ferengi friend to give you intel back then, might have helped with your little hunt." Vex stopped laughing abruptly, opening her mouth to deny her claims or on Pharm's behalf, but M'Zetta held up a hand. "He is safe and will not come to any harm…well not physically, the High Council will be reviewing his business license, just to see him squirm for the trouble he's caused."
"Great, that means his prices are going to go up." Vex groaned slumping in her seat, honestly glad Pharm was walking away with a slap on the wrist. He could be an odious little toad, but he gave good intel and he honestly grew on you, like a fungus sure, but a useful fungus. Although that begged the question, and Vex asked "Was any of his intel good?"
"Oh yes, but the information he passed along hardly hurt the Empire as a whole, so that's why we're not killing him or sending him to Rura Penthe." M'Zetta said as she actually dared to take a bite of the food. "He also knows when to hold back, which the High Council appreciates."
Vex gave a grunt of agreement, knowing her superiors thought the same. Information brokers like Pharm often worked both sides, so Starfleet Intelligence often gave him throwaway information. "I'm guessing Xrithath knows what I talked to him about?"
"Yes, and before you make him into the monster his reputation has made him into, you should know something." M'Zetta pulled a padd from her coat pocket and slid it Vex.
Eyeing it with a healthy dose of trepidation, Vex picked up the padd and read it's contents. "Xrithath has been pushing the council to release Ariat from her deal?"
"Don't look so surprised, girl. He might play the part of the dark monster for his enemies, Xrithath is loyal to his crew and is wise to reward them their due." M'Zetta slid her now empty tray away from her and focused solely on Vex. "I have read all her files and all reports on Commander Iset, and while she is a clever little snake in the grass and a hard taskmaster to her crew, she has more than earned her freedom and should not have her son used as leverage against her. Which is what I will tell that whelp J'mpok and his little spymaster, K'men, after this mission."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Vex asked, very confused about the situation and the feelings that were churning inside her.
"Tomorrow, we fly into glorious battle that could determine the fate of an ancient race and the balance of power in this quadrant of space. In times like this, you must know the warriors at your side." The old feline fatal intoned, sounding more like the epic and wise master than ever before. Vex looked deep in this woman's eye's and saw not only the wisdom, but also the weight of years that she recognized in her own after taking the symbiont.
Vex lifted her spoon of gruel in salute. "To know the warriors at our side and the future battle." M'Zetta laughed and lifted her empty spoon and answering with classic Klingon toast of 'Qapla!', only laughing harder as Vex gagged on the taste of the food.
Quinzel, Bridge, the next day
It had taken the better part of the night and most of the morning, but the Quinzel was in fighting shape again and preparing to warp to the coordinates of the Preserver Archive. Vex was about to order a status report, when the lift deposited a welcome sight. "Admiral on deck!" she shouted as Zevil, with the assistance of an ornate black cane, slowly walked in to a room at attention and full of welcoming, smiling faces.
"At ease." He ordered with a smile of his own on his face as he came to stand by Vex's side. "Hope you don't mind my presence, captain, but I though my sick bed could do more help to someone in worse shape than I." This was only partly true and Vex knew it. Zevil had practically begged Mrill to let him out of Sick bay, showing that he was doing fine with his cane and new medicine. He did use the logic of someone more deserving of his place in Sick bay, given that they still had a back log of patients needing rest. Mrill reluctantly allowed him to go, but if he showed any sign of fatigue, he was to return immediately.
"Glad to have you, Admiral." Vex said with a grin, nodding to the empty chair on her right. "Mind taking the second officers' seat? Toro's is pulling operations duty with Vic and Dinah in engineering." She gave him a cheeky grin and nodded towards the helm. "Hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of borrowing your first officer."
"Borrowed my ass." Tyufia said, not even looking their way as she keyed in commands to set up the controls how she liked them. "I volunteered. No way in hell I'm sitting on the sidelines after these assholes tried to kill me three times."
"Given the circumstances, I'll overlook your liberty and your insubordination." Zevil said, nodding to Vex and adding an annoyed edge to his voice as he addressed his first officer, before taking his seat with a grateful sigh.
"Alright, people, let's get this show on the road. All stations, status report." Vex ordered as she too took her seat, doing a captain's tuck as she did, feeling it was warranted in the monment.
"All weapons and defenses primed and ready at tactical." Tynizi reported, a blush forming on her face as she heard her girlfriends voice in her head say "Ooo, so efficient. So sexy."
"All sensors and cyber armaments are standing by for your orders Captain." Toros said from his temporary station, fully healed thanks to Dr. Mrill.
"All security teams are standing by in case of boarding parties, Captain." Zevil reported as he activated his holo-console.
"Engineering here captain, speakin' to yeh over comes, are yeh receiving us?" said the disembodied voice of Chief Jorgenson.
"Reading you loud and clear chief, tell me something good." Vex said, a smile growing on her face as she saw her ship working so in sync.
"Warp core is strong and cloaking systems are ready at a moments notice. I've got Dinah and Vic ready with repair teams, just in case de worst should happen." Jorgenson told her and Vex could practically see the two engineers at stations with officers around them, just waiting for something to break or rupture.
"Good to know, chief, keep me in the loop." Vex turned to Zevil, the order to hail the Klingon ships on the tip of her tongue when he spoke up, letting her know that they were being hailed by the Klingons. Vex ordered the hails on screen and it showed the two on their respectivebridges and in their throne like chairs. "General, Dahar Master, are you and your crews ready to go?"
"The Mo'Kai stands ready to finish this mission." Xrithath said reservedly, showing a calm and cool exterior in the face of the battle to come.
"As does the Sor'mang. Let us send these frozen fools to the burning pits of Grethor!" M'Zetta's words were followed by the roar of the blood thirsty Klingons aboard her ship and even Xrithath's.
"It's good to have you both at our side. We're all clear on the plan when we arrive in the system?" Getting nods from the two high ranking officers, she gave a nod herself. "Good. Whatever happens, it's been a true honor to serve with you. Our people are still at war, but we are putting the needs of the many over the needs of the few. It might not mean much to the Empire, but Ambassador Spok would be proud. We leave on my command." Both feline and reptile nodded and the screen returned to space. "What's our status helm?"
"Ready to go on your command, Captain." Tyufia said, her tone serious and no longer carefree. She was in mission mode and would do everything in her power to complete the mission and bring the crew and the three people she loved as her family home safe.
Vex was about to give the standard command of engage, but something in her was telling her to say another famous command. Maybe it was the ultimate outcome of peace, maybe it was the fact she had mentioned Spock, but she found herself giving the command of "Hit it."
Tyufia gave a small grin, getting the hint instantly, and activated the warp drive. "Captain Pike would be proud." Zevil whispered to his friend, also understanding the reference.
Vex was about to say she didn't know what came over her, but the comms came online with the sound of the Klingon battle song, The Warrior's Anthem. She had heard it many times in her long life, knew the words by heart and even the translation.
Qoy qeylIs puqloD.
Hear! Sons of Kahless
Qoy puqbe'pu'.
Hear! Daughters too.
yoHbogh matlhbogh je SuvwI'
The blood of battle washes clean.
Say'moHchu' may' 'Iw.
The Warrior brave and true.
maSuv manong 'ej maHoHchu'.
We fight, we love, and then we kill.
nI'be' yInmaj 'ach wovqu'.
Our lives burn short and bright.
batlh maHeghbej 'ej yo' qIjDaq vavpu'ma' DImuv.
Then we die with honor and join our
pa' reH maSuvtaHqu'.
fathers in the Black Fleet where we
mamevQo'. maSuvtaH. ma'ov.
battle forever, battling on through the Eternal fight.
"I haven't heard the anthem since Imaga. Not since K'Valk…" Zevil whispered to himself but didn't finish the thought. He didn't need to, of course. Vex had been recovering from getting the symbiont at the time this happened in the war with the Klingons, but she had heard all about it from Kyla VanZyl, who had been Zevil's contact with Intelligence for the mission. K'Valk had led a mutiny in an effort to destroy the Doomsday Machine; however, the mutiny is defeated, and before he is thrown in the brig, he contacted Starfleet Intelligence for help.
After taking the ship, Zevil released K'Valk. K'Valk enlisted Zevil's help to complete his quest to destroy the Doomsday Machine. He later died though, honorably by all accounts, during an attempted suicide run on the Doomsday Machine. The Doomsday Machine wasn't destroyed, but it was damaged enough to give them the chance to finally end the world killing weapon, once and for all.
Vex had tried to reach out at the time, but Zevil had been busy with his promotion to Rear Admiral and was pulled to work on the recent problems arising from the Romulan Star Empire. Knowing what she did of his feelings about his Delta recruit missions, she wonders if Zevil blamed himself for the Klingons death. She would have said otherwise if they were alone, but not only were they surrounded by people, but they were dropping out of warp, signaling their arrival in the Lae'nas System.
It was pure chaos. The Breen were there as expected, but the fleet of Dominion ships was not. "All ships cloak now!" Vex ordered and the three ship disappeared, hopefully before anyone noticed among all the chaos.
"What the hell is the Dominion doing out here?!" Demanded Tyufia as the screen was once again taken up by the General and Dahar Master. "Do they want to restart the war?"
"These are not Dominion ships." Said M'Zetta. "I remember fighting these ships during the war, and the markings on these are different."
"The Dahar Master is correct." Said Ariat as she stepped into frame. "These are the Alpha Jem'Hadar that aligned with the True Way. I believe the Admiral and Commander Utprut faced them before."
"We did." Zevil said as everyone turned to him. "To make a long story short, a rouge changeling by the name of Laas convinced a group of changeling offspring that the Great Link had been destroyed in the war and they needed to form a New Link. They used abandon Dominion bases and grew new Vorta and Jem'Hadar soldiers, naming themselves Alpha Jem'Hadar."
"We stumbled upon this when we thought the True Way was working with the Terran Empire, or more accurately the Mirror version Leeta." Tyufia said, picking up the story. "We found a Vorta that knew the truth at a reactivated ketracel white factory and we brought him to the New Link and exposed Laas. After we left the planet, the Alpha Jem'Hadar said they were returning to the Dominion with the New Link." Tyufia turned back in the direction of the fighting ships. "Clearly not everyone got that memo."
"How does this effect the original plan?" asked the Dahar Master. The original plan they devised was that the Sor'mang, with its superior weapons and fighter squadrons, would attack Thot Trel's forces and distract them long enough to let the Intel ships drop off their away teams to secure the Archive. However, the Jem'Hadar had been an interesting addition to their list of problems, but not an unwelcome one.
"This could work in our favor." Said Xrithath, his claws scratching his chin in a thoughtful manner. "With the fighting around us going on, the Mo'kai and Quinzel can still fly in undetected to transporter range, however I believe that it would be wise to send our drones out to scramble all enemy sensors."
"Covering our tracks and giving the Sor'mang an edge in the fight till our ships can join in." Vex said as she got on Xrithaths train of thought. "Think you can deal with the Breen and the Alpha Jem'Hadar, Dahar Master?" Vex asked M'Zetta, a cheeky challenge in her voice.
"I am M'Zetta, that is the only answer you need to your ridiculous question, girl." M'Zetta replied in a haughty tone, looking so very superior. "Go on my signal. I will make it something obvious for you children to see." Without another word, she signed off, as did Xrithath.
An alert sounded and Toros spoke up. "The Sor'mang is sending out a hail on all frequencies. It is forcing all ships to hear it. Audio only."
"Yup, that would count as obvious. Let's move people! Full impulse!" Vex ordered as the M'Zetta's voice filled the airwaves.
"Hear me Breen and Jem'Hadar taHqeqs! I am M'Zetta of the I.K.S. Sor'mang, Daughter of none, first and only of my House, Huntress of hunters, blood and battle sister of Kor, Breaker of warriors, Culler of weakness, and Dahar Master of the Klingon Empire. You are wanted for the crimes of piracy, attacking Imperial vessels, war crimes of the Dominion War, and royally pissing me off!" At her words, the Sor'mang appeared, weapons ready and shuttle bays open to let loose squadrons of To'Duj fighters and even launch a HoH'SuS Bird-of-Prey from its aft section. "Pray to your gods, be they frozen or slime, for today you meet them! For today is a good day to die! For the Empire!" With that final war cry, the Sor'mang flew at full impulse at the Breen capital ship, letting loose a full barrage of its powerful auto cannons.
"I am extremely grateful she is on our side and that we did not meet her during the war!" Zevil shouted as they flew through the fighting ships, the inertia dampeners barely containing the motion of the ship as it bobbed, weaved, and even spun out of the way of the fighting ships. "I'm suddenly very thankful that Lieutenant M'Mutt is helmsman of the Fury and not you Commander!"
"Where do you think I learned these moves from?" Tyufia threw over her shoulder as she kept her eyes on the scene in front of her and her the sensor read out on her console in her peripheral.
"Keep it up Fia!" Vex encouraged before she ordered. "Toros, launch drones and have them scramble the enemies sensors." Getting the requisite 'Aye, ma'am', the Vulcan sent the cloaked drone swarms out to attack the enemies systems almost at the same time their Klingon counterpart did.
"We're twenty minutes from transporter range Cap- Holy shit!" Tynizi's report was turned into a shout of surprise as they all watched the Sor'mang ram itself through the Breen Capital ship, tearing it in half and causing an explosion, but not destroying it. "Any chance that killed Trel?" she asked, in awe as the Sor'mang kept fighting, barely a scratch marring her hull.
"We're not that lucky, commander." Zevil said, throwing a dubious glare at the practically destroyed Breen ship before looking at Vex. "We need to start heading to the Transporter room, Captain."
"We?" Vex repeated skeptically, and she would have tried to dissuade her superior and friend from that fallacy, but one look in his eyes and she knew. "Nothing I say will stop you from going down there with us, will it?"
"Welcome to my world!" Said Tyufia, still focusing on her flying, but couldn't resist a snarky comment. "It's easier just to let him do what he wants, he's just going to do it regardless and he has the bars for it anyway." Zevil's only comment was to stick his thumb at his First Officer in agreement. "Fifteen minutes by the way!"
Vex let out a huff and reluctantly nodded. "Tynizi, Zasva, Vic, Dinah, and apparently Zevil, you're with me. Toros, you have the Conn." Vex lead the way into the lift. Once inside, they rode the lift down to where the transporter room was and met up with Dinah and Vic, who already had their usual weapons of choice. The others get their usual weapons, Tynizi even getting a replica of the Shax special and even a pair of Dual Tetryon Rifles.
Vex holds out a phaser pistol to Zevil but pulls it out of his reach. "If a fight happens, you get behind us and let us do most of the fighting and absolutely no psychic fuckery. You're barely recovering from having your spine and brain used as Velocity disks, don't push yourself back into a coma or worse." Zevil looked like he was about to argue, but nodded, seeing her point.
Vex handed Zevil the pistol and turned to Dinah. "Any chance we can get a quick scan of the surface so we're not flying blind?"
"Negative Captain. If we stay any longer than necessary, we risk the ship." Dinah informed her as she took her place on the transporter. "However, the map fragments included landing coordinates for the transporters to lock onto."
"Least we won't have far to walk." Vic said as she checked over the contents of the duffle bag she was carrying as she and the others got onto the pad.
"We've worked with worse odds." Vex said before turning to the transporter chief. "Energize." With a swirl of blue light, they were now in a lush jungled area. "Stay low and check your fire, the Mo'Kai's away team is somewhere in this jungle too."
"More like here, lover." Vex rolled her eyes and turned around to see Ariat appear as she and her team deactivated their cloaking devices. Her team consisted of Gog, M'krrt, and two Klingon males. "General Xrithath sends his apologies for missing this little trip but thought he should oversee the fighting above while you managed things down here."
"I'll have to thank him for his trust in me." Vex said, only a little sarcasticly. She and Ariat knew that Xrithath would have his people give a full report on after this was all over. "Have spotted where the Archive is since you've been down here?"
"I've been scanning the planet since we've arrived, ma'am." Said M'krrt as he stepped forward with his tricorder out. "There appears to be a line of ruins made from the same mineral as the ruins on Defera. They appear to be leading to a large dais holding a tall obelisk."
"That must be where the entrance to the Archives is." Zevil told them. "Both accounts from the original Enterprise and the Enterprise-D mention obelisks as part of Preserver architecture and were found at sites of Preserver ruins."
"Unfortunately, this is where the bad news comes in." Ariat said with a huff. "We picked up Breen lifesigns where that obelisk is located. There are about seventy at the obelisk and several teams of five patrolling the forest."
"A frontal assault is out of the question then." Zevil said, stroking his chin in thought and looking to the group with a smirk. "Fortunately, we have multiple experts in subterfuge."
"Good thing I packed these then." Vic said, opening her duffle to show about twenty mechanical disks. "Turret and mortar fabricators, just enough to cut these assholes down and give us some breathing room to work."
"You want to do some strategic sleight of hand?" Ariat said with a thoughtful look on her face. "That might work, but it won't last long and we don't know how long it will take us to get into the Archives, not to mention the patrols around the perimeter."
"I've rigged them to set up and fire simultaneously from my tricorder and we can place them while under our cloaks but, and can't believe I'm going to say this, but Ariat is right." Vic said, looking like she had just eaten gagh as she did. "The turrets won't be shielded, and they'll be taken down fast if they're the soul target."
"What if they weren't?" Zasva said, speaking for the first time. "I can create telepresence duplicates of all us for the Breen to focus on too."
"I've only ever seen you do yourself when you do that and that was only ever one of you, are you sure you can do different people, let alone almost a dozen?" Vex asked, concerned for her first officer.
"Making them look like other people will be easy, but as for more than one? That's a bit trickier, but if the Admiral can hold in a grenade explosion," She gave a wry grin towards said admiral, "Then I should be able to do this…only thing is, I pretty sure I'll need to concentrate only on the duplicates, so I won't be able to move."
Out of the blue, Gog stepped forward and looked over Zasva. He grunted and then lifted her by the back of her uniform off the ground easily. "Excellent idea, Gog. Simplistic, but effective." Ariat commended the Nausicaan as he set the surprised Aenar down. "And if memory serves, those duplicates of yours won't have any weapons, correct?" Ariat didn't even wait for Zasva to reply as she pressed a button on her wrist communicator and a small drone holding a large bag decloaked and flew down towards them. Ariat opened the back and inside it was at least a dozen disrupters of various kinds. "After last time, I thought it wise to have some weapons standing by."
"I might also have an idea on how to get by the Breen as they're distracted." Tynizi said, her voice thoughtful as she pulled out her cloaking device. "Dinah, Tyufia did something to increase the range on my cloaking device so she could…." Tyniziz stopped talking as she remembered the dressing down from her girlfriend but shook her head to focus. "Doesn't matter why, but do you think you could do that to some of ours to keep us hidden? It'll be just like how we got to the surface."
"Loving the symmetry, Tynizi." Vex said, turning to Dinah she asked "Well Dinah?"
The android examined the cloaking device for a moment and looked up at Vex. "I believe that I can, Captain. I can combine one of our cloaking devices with one of the Mo'Kai's devices to increase the output to encompass all of us. However, we will only have minutes to secure entry. Neither devices were designed to cloak more than one person."
"Not…we. You." Gog rasped, gaining everyone's attention. "I…stay. Cover…you." He turned to look at Zevil directly. "My…fault. Must…atone."
Zevil would have argued against that idea, but it was Ariat who did so. "Don't so idiotic Gog!" She snapped, very angry all of the sudden. "I kicked you in the groin that day to knock some sense into you, not shake loose what sense you had left! We will find another-"
"No!" Roared Gog, looming over the Cardassian spy, shocking her into silence. "My duty. My choice. My honor." Then he did something quite shocking and placed his hand on her shoulder. "No longer…jailer, but…friend. Must keep…friend safe."
Ariat actually looked like she had tears in her eyes, which she was quick to wipe away. "Well, you were a piss poor jailer anyway." She glared up at him though. "But I will only consider calling you friend if you survive, idiotic monster."
"Commander." Spoke up one of the Klingon males as he and the other one stepped forward. "We will stay with Commander Gog and fight by his side and- if Kahless wills it, walk with him through the gates of Sto-vo-kor."
A disgruntled sound from Vic shattered whatever moment was going on. "What is with Klingons and dying in honor." She rifled through her duffle bag and shoved three disks into their hands. "I also packed a shield generator and some hard light barriers to use as cover. So, you don't have to die 'gloriously'." She huffed, clearly annoyed. "So can we please get to work?"
With the plan fleshed out as much as it was going too, the allied away teams quickly made their way to the obelisk and set up their attack of misdirection. Vic and the two Klingons moved quickly under their cloaks to set up the turrets and mortars in arc pattern to the west of the obelisk and the drone flew to and waited at a spot to the south where Zasva planned to manifest the telepresence away team.
The last thing to be done was the cloaking device, which Dinah and M'krrt were currently working on. "I think connecting both compensators will allow us to overclock the output longer, but only if we use the battery from my device. It is much more stable."
"I concur, but I propose we use the battery from mine as a failsafe. That should give us more time being cloaked." Dinah nodded in agreement as she started splicing the wires with her tools. M'krrt fidgeted a little, nervous on what he was about to ask the android, but she spoke up first.
"Were you able to scan the glowing patches purple substances around this area?" She asked, hands moving quickly yet expertly.
"I was!" M'krrt said, just a little too loud, earning a glare from his CO. Lowering his voice, he continued. "They appear to be some kind runoff, most likely from whatever power source the Archive uses. However, the fascinating thing about that its antimatter based!"
"Fascinating." Dinah said, coining a phrase from another android. "That would suggest that the Preservers had access to technology that is similar to our own now millions of years ago. Lieutenant Commander Rogers suggested to me that you might have feelings for me. Is this correct?"
The abruptness of the topic change had nothing on the bluntness of the question for M'krrt's nerves, but he did his best to roll with it. "I-I do, and do you reciprocate those feelings?"
"I am an android, I do not have feelings." Dinah said automatically. At M'krrt's lowering shoulders and drooping muzzle, she added. "However I have decided that I will be acquiring an emotion chip, either by my mothers hand or somewhere else, and I believe that you are the best candidate to explore those emotions with."
M'krrt was speechless once more, but was smart enough to read between the lines of the android's words and take the win, which elected a huge smile on his face that stayed there throughout the fusing of the two cloaking devices.
Fabricators set, weapons ready to use, and cloak ready to use. Everything was ready for our intrepid heroes to make their move. "Alright Vic, light em up." Vex ordered and Rogers nodded and imputed the command into her tricorder. Instantaneously, the disks formed the turrets and mortars and opened fire. The response was immediate as several Breen fell to the attack; the rest of the enemy combatants opened fire on the unseen enemy. "Your turn Number one."
At her Captain's order, Zasva concentrated hard on manifesting the fake away team at the right spot. At the weapons location, the duplicated away team manifested. "I got them made, but that was easy compared to moving them around." Zasva told them, face scrunched up in deep concentration. She attempted to move them individually, but the different points of view was making it difficult and causing a migraine for the psychic. "Having a hard time moving that many telepresence's."
"I think I can help with that." Zevil said as he limped over to stand in front of Zasva. Seeing Vex about to say something, Zevil spoke above her. "I will only using a small amount of psychic power for this, so stay quiet- and that's an order!" Zevil said with annoyance as Vex opened her mouth to speak. Zevil turned back to Zasva and took hold of her wrists and making sure she held his. "Now keep your eyes closed and open your mind, hear my truth and no lies. I am giving you a portion of my knowledge on how to concentrate on multiple points with psychic power, it's more for telekinesis, but this should still work."
"It is!" Zasva said, head still hurting, but able to control the telepresences individually and arm them. "Opening fire now!" As soon as the words left her mouth, the Breen were attacked from the south side by perfect copies of them. "If we're gonna go, it has to be now cause I can't hold this too long."
"Then let's head out." Vex nodded to Dinah, who activated the fused cloak and instantly, the allied teams disappeared. The walked as quick as they could with the Admiral and Gog carrying Zasva, but they made it in front of the obelisk with out notice. "Okay," Vex said as she took in the green marble of the obelisk and the surrounding area "I'm not liking that I'm not seeing a door."
"It is most likely that the entrance is hidden." Dinah said, electing groans from the rest of the group as she took out her tricorder and started scanning the area. "It is most likely that the Preservers wanted to make sure a race of sufficient technological ability would make it here. So, we should in theory be able to open the way forward."
"Just once on this whole mission, I wish that the Preservers would take it easy on us." Vic groaned. "It's like they think this whole thing can't be made any harder!" As if hearing her tempt fate, the fused cloaking device began to spark and sizzle in M'krrts hands, causing the cloaking field fade in and out.
"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Ariat growled as she and the others, sans Dinah and Zasva, readied their weapons. Proving that the universe had a sick sense of humor, Zasva let out a deep groan and her Telepresances flickered out of existence, causing some of the Breen to look around and see them fading in and out of existance, before the cloak suddenly just gave up.
"Hmm, longer than expected." Dinah observed, taking note of the nonexistent cloak before resuming her scanning with er tricorder.
"Dinah?" Vex said as she saw the Breen start to turn towards them. "Remember that talk we had about showing off?"
"Of course Captain, but I do not believe I was-" Dinah started but cut in.
"I want you to forget all of it and find us a way in fast!" Vex yelled as the Breen pointed their weapons and fired. The two Klingons deployed the shield and barriers just as the energy beams reached them.
Gog and Tynizi opened fire from their heavy weapons and took down several of the enemy in front of them, the others doing their best to help the two, all the while Dinah was typing away on her tricorder almost too fast to see, her eyes moving almost as fast as she read through all the data she was getting.
"We got more in coming from the west!" Vic yelled over the weapons fire. "And in worse news, the last of my turrets went down."
"How we lookin, Dinah?" Asked Vex as she ducked behind the one of the blinds.
"I believe I have found a way into the obelisk." Dinah said, in a calm tone that did not belong on a battlefield. "However, there is a problem I think you should-"
"For the love Mike, Dinah! Just open it!" Yelled Vic as she kicked a grenade back to where it was thrown from. Without further delay, Dinah pressed a command into her tricorder and a hatch opened up in front of the obelisk, right in the middle of their position, with stairs leading down.
"Alright, everyone whose going in, now's the time!" Vex shouted and the others started to go in. Right before she went down, Tynizi offered her cannon to Gog.
"I think you could use this more than I do right now!" She told him, pressing a switch on the side and a trigger and grip popped out underneath the canon right near the but of it, making it more of a huge rifle instead of a minigun. Gog took it so he was holding a massive gun in both hands, a certain gleam in his eyes as he turned to face the and fire.
Giving his back a quick nod of approval before going down herself, leaving Vex and Ariat the last to go down. Ariat turned to go down, but spun around and yelled at the Nausicaan's back. "You are not allowed to die unless it is by my hands Gog! Understand?!" Not even bothering to see if he'll reply, she went down with the others and Vex followed.
Catching up to Ariat before they joined the others, Vex said. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
"I do not need to be reassured about that lummox surviving." Ariat snapped. "In fact, I hope that moron does die, cause if doesn't he'll me a mopey mess for days." While her words were callous, her hurried wiping of her eyes of sentiment showed her true feelings on the matter.
Zevil stumbling and leaning against the wall stopped Vex from calling the Cardassian on her shit, both spies going to his side, Vex scanning him with her tricorder. She frowned when she saw the results and glared at the Admiral. "I knew you shouldn't have used your powers! We need to get you back to the ship."
"No!" Zevil snapped, loud enough that it got the others attention. "I started this and I will finish it!" Taking a breath to calm himself, Zevil said "Besides, I doubt the Quinzel is able to take the time to transport me or do so through the radiation of the antimatter runoff."
Vex glared and without breaking her stare down, she asked "Dinah?"
The android took a quick scan of the area and nodded. "He is correct captain. As we go lower in the Archive, the radiation run off from Preservers power source is increasing. It will not harm us, but will make getting a transporter lock extremely difficult, if not impossible."
"And I don't think we should take him up to the surface right now for obvious reasons, boss." Vic added, a touch cheekily. This earned her a light smack upside the head from Zasva.
"Not helping." She admonished before turning her blind gaze to her captain. "She does have a point, ma'am. Besides, we've come this far."
Vex's glare towards her friend intensified before she let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, you can stay." She said, but quickly added with an angry finger pointed in his face. "But after this mission, I'm going to pull every string I have collected in my career and get you a god damn counselor for your god damn ship."
"Good, hopefully your request will have more effect than mine or Tyufia's." Zevil sassed as he stood back up, leaning heavily on his cane and started walking, the rest of the joined crews following suit. They quickly found themselves in a large cavern with another obelisk, except this one came with a control console. What was also different were the large ovoid objects hanging from ceiling.
"What…is this?" Asked Ariat as she tried to take everything about the room. "What kind of Archive is this?"
"One of living history, my daughter." Said a disembodied voice. The away team looked around, weapons out and ready for a fight, as a yet unseen floor projector at top of the steps to the base of the obelisk lit up with the hologram of a humanoid with no hair and subtle features, including the ridges on its forehead. It seemed to be male but Vex learned a long time ago not to assume.
The hologram looked around at the different types of faces looking up at it. "So many of our children have come. What a wonder this new age must be." It said, its deep and serene voice a mixture of pride and wonder. "Welcome to the Archive, I am the Archivist. I am sure your journey was long, given the trials to gain the fragments."
"Nothing we couldn't handle, Archivist." Vex said, taking the initiative to be the speaker of the group. "What is the purpose of this Archive? Why was the way hidden for so long?"
"As I said, this is an Archive of living memory." The Archivist said. "The knowledge and the means to understand it are kept here. Knowledge that needed to be protected. The way needed to be hidden so that none of our children could find us till they were ready. We believed that it was best if our children had become advanced enough to understand and use the knowledge housed here."
"Starfleet is going to love you then." Ariat quipped sarcastically. Earning unamused glares from the rest of the group.
"What exactly is an 'Archive of living memory'?" Vex asked, but Zasva, M'krrt, and Zevil gasped before she could get her answer. She turned to see all three of them looking at the objects in the ceiling in shock. "What!? What's wrong?"
"By the Night Cloak…" Was all Zevil said as he looked up in awe.
"It…it took us a minute." M'krrt said, in breathy voice, his feline eyes blown wide with pure shock. "But that makes sense i-if… they're…"
"'I-if they're' what?" Ariat snapped at her junior officer, getting more than a little fed up with this whole thing.
"In cryogenic hibernation." Zasva said, unseeing eye's not even blinking and antennae twitching wildly. "We're only getting surface thoughts and none of it is coherent, but I think those are cryopods up there and they have actual Preservers inside."
Dinah took this opportunity to scan the pods and nodded. "They are correct Captain. I am reading feint lifesigns in deep cryo-sleep." She closed and put away her tricorder. "I cannot be certain, but it is a logical conclusion to assume that they house Preservers."
"I can confirm that they are." The Archivist said, a fatherly smile on its face. "Towards the end of our civilization, we hid a select few of our kind away to preserve our own species so that we might live in the new age of our children." The smile became broader as it said "We look forward to what the child races have accomplished."
"How many are stored here?" Tynizi said, looking around the cavern and wondering if there were more rooms like this deeper in.
"Enough to repopulate our races, but that is not all that is stored here." New holograms appeared around the Archivist; all were the double helix of DNA strands. "We also carry the complete genetic information the entire galaxy and are happy to share it freely."
"I'm so happy to hear how generous you are." Said the screeching voice of the one person the away team were hoping not to hear again. They all turned to see not only the mechanical mask of Thot Trel, but also a dozen Breen soldiers pointing weapons at them. "This looks familiar." The Breen commander said, a sneer clearly in his voice.
"How the hell are you still alive!?" Demanded Vic, indignant in the face of danger and the Thot's survival. "We threw a Dahar Master a in giant ass warship at you!"
"Simple, I wasn't on my ship." He said snidely, "My men and I beamed down when the Jem'Hadar arrived. I knew you lot couldn't be too far behind, so we followed the coordinates, found this place and laid a trap for you."
"That was what I was trying to tell you and the others, Captain." Dinah chimed in. "While I was working to open the archives, I noticed that hatch had clearly been opened an hour before we arrived. I would have told you about it, but I was ordered 'for the love of-'"
"Thanks, Dinah, I got it." Vex said dryly, not taking her eyes off the Thot. "So, what's the plan here, Trel? Use us to get onto our ships and take what's in this archive? My people won't do it."
"Neither will the General or the Dahar Master." Ariat said, arms crossed in defiance. "He won't think twice about sacrificing us if it means killing you."
A solemn nod from M'Krrt cooperated that sentiment, but that only made the Thot let out a screeching coughing noise that was a Breens version of a laugh. "He wouldn't risk these Archives and the weapon plans stored here."
"I am sorry, my child, but there are no such plans stored within this Archive." Said the Archivist drawing everyone's attention, not to mentions the Thots ire.
"You're lying! We were told that the power to create an empire was housed in this archive!" He screeched.
"Indeed, but the power in question was the genetic knowledge to revive our lost civilization." Was the Archivists reply.
While everyone was focused on the Thot as he digested this with fists clenched and body vibrating with fury, they all jumped at the sound of slowly building laughter. Vex turned a confused expression on the source, namely Zevil. "I'm- heh I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh." Zevil said as he attempted to compose himself. "But honestly, your stupidity is just too laughable."
"Is he usually this suicidal?" whispered Ariat to Vex as both women looked on as he laughed in the Thot's face, Ariat looking at him as if he had lost his mind and Vex looking at him suspiciously. Zevil would never loose it like this, he compartmentalized like she did, so he was clearly up to something. She made hand gestures to her people to be ready.
"And do you think it's smart to laugh at the man who decides if you live or die?" Growled Trel as he stomped over to loom over Zevil.
"Not only do I think it's smart, but it's also the best tactical option." Zevil said with final chuckle as he took a challenging step toward the Thot, getting well with in his personal space. "Especially when I'm still armed!" Almost too fast to see, Zevil twisted the handle of his cane and pointed the handle piece at the Thot. A phaser beam fired from the handle and toure through his shields and armor, letting out a blast of chilled air escape his suit and knocking Zevil back.
"Open fire! Defensive formation around the Archive controls!" Vex ordered as both sides opened fire and she ran to help Zevil up, slinging his arm over her shoulder and seeing the modified type two phaser. "Nice trick with the cane, Sherlock Holms would be proud." She told him with a wry grin there we go.
"Something I learned from Six, remind me to tell you about our first date if we survive!" Zevil told her, a smile of his own on his face as they formed up with the others, just as Vic activated a shield fabricator. "So, I counted twelve of them, there's eight of us, and I'm quite certain we used up all our fabrications and explosives outside. I don't like our chances."
A beeping from Ariat's wrist communicator brought a smirk to her face. "Then it's a good thing that we have benefit of wisdom." The sound of a vicious war cry could be heard from the caverns entrance as a whole hoard of Klingons, led by Gog and M'Zetta came and mowing down the remaining Breen, the Dahar Master doing so with only her Kur'leth. The other joined the fight and the Breen were whipped out.
"Once again," Zevil said as Tiny helped him stand and Dinah retrieved the rest of his cane. "I am very glad we didn't have to fight her during the war." Vex and the others Starfleet officers nodded in agreement, all glad the old Ferasan wasn't their enemy…for now.
Admiral's log, stardate: 86479.43
The threat of the Breen against the Deferi is over and a new dawn of discovery into the history of the Preservers has begun. Given their familiarity with the Preservers, the Federation and Klingon High Council have agreed to give stewardship and control of the Lae'nas III to the Deferi who, with the help of both Starfleet and the KDF in a continuous joint operation, will study the Archive and hopefully soon, bring the Perservers out among their "children". The Quinzel will be departing soon, to bring myself and Commander Utprut back to ESD. While I am remis to leave such an amazing font of historical knowledge, but an unforeseen Taskforce emergency requires my personal attention.
"I don't understand why the Borg took over one of your starbases. Why not destroy it?" Asked Ariat as Vex and the rest of her senior staff escorted Xrithath and his team to the transporter room to send them back to their ship.
They had just finished hammering out the logistics of the new joint operation with the Deferi with the heads of all three governments over subspace. Zevil and Tyufia were absent due to the recent attack on Starbase eighty-two and the U.S.S. Pheonix in the Sibiran System, Hotep Sector, both being needed to authorize a taskforce operation.
M'Zetta was also absent because, and this is a direct quote: "Why in the name of Fek'lhr's sodden codpiece would I want to bore myself with that drivel? Let J'mpok do it." And then promptly left the system. Needless to say, the Chancellor was not surprised that the Dahar Master wasn't there. In fact, he actually looked relieved.
"Why destroying a fully functioning starbase and waste time make a new one when you can easily upgrade the existing one with newly assimilated crew?" Vex asked. "Got to hand it to Borg, they don't waste resources."
"Clearly, you've been around me too long lover. That sounded positively Cardassian." Ariat leaned in beside her, whispering in her ear. "Am I rubbing off on you?"
Vex used every shred of her self-control not to shudder in pleasure. 'Okay, time to do this before I loose my nerve.' Vex placed her hand on Ariat's back and directed her to slow down so that they had some privacy away from the others. "Listen Ariat, when I first heard your voice over that comm, I wanted to strangle you and watch the light leave your eyes."
"You definitely have been spending too much time with me." The Cardassian snarked, but Vex went on as if she hadn't heard.
"But after learning about your son and why you…did what you did…" Vex stopped them as she looked for the right words. She turned to the other woman, and now that she knew what to look for, she could see the quilt in the other woman's eyes. "I don't think I can ever forget how you betrayed me and endangered everyone on this ship." A fraction of the mask Ariat put up cracked as she looked away in what was clearly shame. Vex cupped Ariat's cheek and turned her head to face her as she stepped forward and whispered, "But maybe I can forgive you."
Ariat sighed, her shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been lifted, and leaned her forward so that their foreheads were touching, both women closing theirs to enjoy and embrace this moment. "See you in the shadows, lover." Ariat whispered as she leaned forward, ghosted her lips over Vex's, and then moved last few fleet to go through the door into the transporter room.
Vex stayed their a moment, collected herself and joined the others. As she entered she saw something that only a few days previously would have been impossible: Klingon and Starfleet officers parting as friends. She could see Tynizi and Gog laughing about Gog's near last stand at the Archive, Mrill and Keeyas were deep in discussion over some kind of medical paper they wanted to work on together about what they discovered about Valixian biology, and finally M'Krrt was leaning down to kiss Dinah's hand, causing the android to head tilt in confusion and Vic to cross her arms and role her eyes.
"Quite the unusual sight for a group of spies on opposing sides." Xrithath growled thoughtfully as he stood over with Vex, taking in the scene as she did.
"If we keep these joint operations going, we might not be on opposing sides for much longer." Vex said with a smile, trying her best not to turn a hopeful gaze Ariat's way. She was only moderately successful. "I know our history is…strained, but you're going to do right by her aren't you?"
Xrithath let out a grunt of acknowledgement, not needing to know the 'her' in question. "She has more than won her and her son's freedom. If K'men doesn't like it, he can take it up with my teeth and claws." The way the general said, it almost sounded like he hopped the one-eyed spymaster would challenge him on this.
"Well after this adventure, I know better than to bet against you." Vex turned to the large reptiloid. "It was an honor to fight at your side, General. I honestly hope we can do it again in the future."
"As do I, Captain." He offered his massive hand to hers and she took, her hand disappearing in his. "We started as enemies, but now we call ourselves friends." The General shook his head in wonder, before releasing Vex's hand and joining his people. He taped a button on his communicator "Mo'Kai, jol yIchu!" And they were gone in a haze of red.
"You think we actually will be on the same side again?" Asked Vic as she and the others came over to Vex.
Vex smiled "I've seen a lot in all my lives, and the one truth I've found about the universe and all its wonder and mysteries is this: Anything is possible." And maybe, just maybe two spies on opposite sides can find happiness outside the shadows that dominate their lives. Someday.
Earth Space Dock, docking airlock four
Two days later
"This is overkill." Zevil groused as Vex 'wheeled' him out on a medical hover chair, his cane resting in his lap. "I can walk on my own." They were followed by Tyufia, Tynizi, and Zasva. The other members of the crew having said their goodbyes already.
"I warned you not to over do it on the mission." Vex told him, a definite air of smugness about the Trill. "I knew Mrill was gonna be pissed and force you to take it even easier as long as you were in her care."
"Well I'm officially under the Station's Chief Medical Officer's now that we're off your blasted ship." Without warning or further ado, Zevil planted his cane in front of them, stopping the chair and using the momentum to launch himself out of it. He was shaky for a moment, but stabilized and regained his composure. "Now, I will be walking on my own, if anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with the disciplinary hearing I'll set up for them. Understand?"
All four of the women held up their hands in surrender, Tynizi being the only one to take the Admiral seriously. Further fun at the Admirals expense was cut short by the sound of hurried footsteps. They all turned to see Six of Nine, walking calmly but briskly towards them with Commander Burgiss walking at a more sedate pace. Before Zevil can say anything to greet or reassure his love, she shoved a padd into his hands. "I need your digital signature on that. Now." She said, almost in a rush.
Not even reading it, Zevil did as she had asked. "What did I just sign?" He asked as she took it from him and imputed something into it.
"The forms allowing us to pursue our relationship and stay on the same ship." She said, looking up when she was finished. "Which was clearly filed weeks ago when we decided to engage in this romantic liaison."
"There's a form for that?!" Zevil, Tyufia, Tynizi, and Zasva asked in unison, all gaping at the extreme level of bureaucracy within Starfleet. Only Vex and Burgiss weren't surprised, the former shaking her head at her friends and subordinate's surprise. Everyone was snapped out of their surprise as Six rushed in Zevils arms and held him tight, burying her face in his neck. "I'm alright, I'm alright I promise. The cane makes it seem worse than it is." Zevil soothed as he used his free arm to return the embrace and relax into it.
After a moment, Six broke away from him and stood to attention. Clearly reassured at his presence and attitude about the situation. "The Pheonix has just docked and I have the reports from the taskforce Captains ready for you to read in your office, Admiral." She said, back to her usual stoicism.
"I have that sensor data you requested, sir." Burgiss said as he handed Zevil a padd of his own, which caught Vex's attention. Intelligence didn't usually hand out data from their sensors unless it was a dire situation.
Zevil and took it and quickly read it over, his face going from confused to stoney in an instant. "This has been confirmed?" Getting a worried nod from the Intel agent, Zevil nodded and turned to Vex. "I'm sorry, Vex, but I need to cut the goodbyes short and deal with this situation. Immediately."
"Anything I can help with?" Vex offered, not really liking the situation or the look in her friends eye.
"Nothing for you to worry about, Captain." He said curtly, going into full command mode. "Just a…disagreement in how the chain of command works." Zevil turned to Tyufia. "Check in with Rupert and see how the repairs are going and report back to me when you're done." With that, he turned and left, Six, Burgiss, and a reluctant Tyufia following him in his wake.
"…Captain-" Zasva started to say, but Vex lifted her hand.
"I already know, Number One." Vex said quietly, because she didn't need to be a psychic to see what just happened. Zevil lied to her. Something had happened that involved a member of Starfleet Intelligence giving a non-Intelligence Admiral confidential sensor data that made said Admiral almost have a conniption. She didn't know what her friend was getting into, but she would get to the bottom of it.
Epilogue
Admiral Zevil's Office
After activation of Damnation Protocol
Zevil stormed into his office, glad he sent Six to help Tyufia go over the repairs to the Hades. He did not want to see him like this. "Computer, seal this room and deactivate all sensor log recordings until ordered otherwise by me alone. Omega clearance Zevil-two-nine-six-alpha-omicron-seven." Zevil said, voice barely holding to his usually cold anger.
"Acknowledged. Room sealed and sensors deactivated." Said the disembodied voice of the computer and no sooner had it said so, then a psychic shockwave ripped out of Zevil followed by a roar of anger that soon turned into a wail of pain as he clutched his head and fell to his knees. He was still not cleared to use his powers like that, but given his emotional state, he didn't really care.
His worst fears had been realized and it had come from someone he thought of as a friend. Lydana had a recording of Chakotay Protocol being enaacted- something he can thank Vex for; he was sure. Lydana had used it to try and force him to bury the sensor data that showed she had unnecessarily risked a ship captained by someone mentally ill-equipped to face the Borg. Because of that decision, people had died.
This wasn't the first time Lydana had risked people and played chess with the lives of others. No one seemed above being used in Lydana's machinations, not even him and Quinn. Shaking his head to clear it, Zevil got up and looked at his reflection in the large window of his office, not liking the magenta blood leaking from his nose and eyes. Looking around at his office, Zevil was glad to see that most of the damage was his books falling out of their shelves, except for a single statue.
He went over and picked it up. It was about a foot tall and was a miniature recreation of the The Lucifer of Liège. He had come across it while studying human mythology and theology at the academy. It was supposed to be a depiction of Lucifer Morningstar, the first of the fallen angels and imprisoned lord of Hell. A moment of clarity hit him like a bolt of lightning. "Computer. Create a file for a new contingency protocol. My eyes only. Ultraviolet encryption."
"Please give designation for new protocol." The cumpter responded and Zevil looked down at the broken statue in his hand, determination in his eyes.
"Morningstar."
AN: Finished Fic number two! Oh god, I feel like this took longer than the last! I hope you've enjoyed this story and can't wait to read more.
For those of you who might be confused by the story's ending, I suggest you read MaliceUnchained's story Yeildpoint to find out what went down between Zevil and Lydana. Actually, just go and read his stories! They're amazing!
Until next story, I bid you adieu!