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.
TALES OF THE DOMION WAR – AN AUSPICIOUS CRANE
"RED ALERT – CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE – RED ALERT!"
Captain Jean-Luc Picard left his quarters at a run for the turbolift. The Enterprise-E had only just limped back to Earth from the Ba'ku Homeworld. They had eased into one of the orbital shipyards over Utopia Planitia for their inspection when all hell broke loose.
"Report, Number One," he said as the turbolift arrived at the bridge.
"Starfleet Command reports that approximately eight Breen Gal Chett-class vessels are attacking San Francisco," Commander William Riker said, standing at the tactical station. Picard wished that Worf had not been pulled away to the Defiant again, but he knew that Riker would be more than adequate.
"Take us out of dock, Lieutenant Branson," Picard ordered. "Emergency impulse once we're clear."
"Aye, sir," the Helm Officer said. Picard straightened his jacket before sitting in the command chair and looking at the viewscreen. "Enterprise?"
"Here, Jean-Luc," the ship's AI said, appearing before him. She looked tired, which might just have been an effect of her analogy system translating her battle damage into something her organic crew could instantly appreciate… or she could just be tired of the endless battles they seemed to be fighting, against enemies both foreign and domestic. "I mean, Captain." She gestured and a display of the Inner Solar System appeared. "Sorry, I was looking forward to that R&R. I don't know how the Breen got this close, but it isn't to attend a birthday party. Their shields and weapons are hot, and they're using something new… an energy dampening beam. It's already shutdown Yorktown."
"Your sister never seems to catch a break when it comes to unfriendly visitors to Earth," Riker quipped.
"I'll tell her you said that," Enterprise shot back.
Picard ignored them and focused on the eight intruders that had already shot past Mars and were aiming for Spacedock.
"Has the fleet managed to leave Spacedock?" he asked Enterprise.
"Not yet. Admiral Sonn is in command, and he was—"
"Preparing his battleplans, I'm sure," Picard interrupted. "If they don't get out of Spacedock now, they might find the history of the Whale Probe repeating itself in more ways than your sister being incapacitated."
"Warning them—Sir, the Breen have fired on Spacedock," Enterprise said flatly
"We've left dock, sir," Lieutenant Branson said.
"Get us to Earth, Lieutenant, maximum safe velocity. Engage."
"They're firing on San Francisco, Jean-Luc," Enterprise said after a few minutes. "Starfleet Command and the Academy are taking hits. The damage—just a moment, I'm picking up something else in Earth orbit."
"On screen," Picard ordered.
For a moment, the screen showed an empty patch of space, then with the characteristic shimmer of a cloaking device, a Starfleet vessel appeared. But it was not a vessel like any Jean-Luc Picard had ever seen. Beside him, Enterprise hissed like a wet cat.
The ship was a Sovereign-class like the Enterprise-E, but its hull was covered with strange black protuberances and glowing green conduits. It was a technology that he knew all too well, and which had covered this very ship just 2 years (or 312 years) ago, depending on your frame of reference. As he watched, an all-too-familiar green beam slashed out from the strange ship and sliced two of the Breen vessels in two. A series of quantum torpedoes took out two more before the Breen could turn and fire. Borg shielding apparently was unaffected by whatever weapon the Breen had.
"Sir, we're in range of the Breen," Riker called.
"Fire all weapons!" Picard ordered.
The two ships quickly made short work of the attackers, and the Borged Sovereign hailed the Enterprise. The image of a brown-haired human woman wearing an abbreviated Shinto shrine maiden's outfit with sleeves like a swan's wings saluted sharply on their screen. She wore a black combadge on her chest.
"U.S.S. Zuikaku, NCC-75955, assigned to Starfleet Intelligence," the AI said. "Glad to have the help, not that I needed it." She looked coolly over at Enterprise. "So, you're the great Grey Ghost, hmmm?"
"What did they do to you?" Enterprise almost screeched. "That's a… it's an abomi—"
"Enterprise," Picard said calmly, silencing his ship's AI. "We're happy to be of help, Zuikaku. Where's your commander?"
"I don't have one at the moment," she said. "I can run fully automated, which lets me be a lot sneakier. The Breen never saw me coming. If I hadn't had to wait for Admiral—"
Zuikaku's entire image glitched suddenly, with green lines running jaggedly through the image before they resolved. Her outfit turned into a standard Starfleet uniform, only with the division color replaced with black and a black combadge. On her face now were a few Borg implants.
"I will patrol the solar system for any other attackers, sir," she said. "Nothing will get past me now."
With that, the communications broke off and the Zuikaku vanished back under cloak.
"Well," Riker said, "that just happened."
"Section 31 bastards!" Enterprise screamed.
Written by jhosmer1.