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.
Defy All, Trust Roon
2382, Deep Space Nine, Quark's (LD S03E06)
By jhosmer1
Roon smiled happily as her future captain played at Dabo in the original Quark's. It was so precious to see him enjoying himself. Though those Dabo girl hussies were clinging to him awfully closely.
"Omigosh! Roon!"
Suddenly, a bunny-eared photon torpedo launched itself at Roon, clasping herself around the gynoid's waist.
"IheardyouwerebackbutIdidn'tknowyouwereatDS9,IthoughtyouwerestillatMemory—"
Roon's grin brightened as she looked down at the avatar of the USS Defiant. "Deffy, slow it down to human speed," she chided.
Defiant's grin threatened to split her face (Roon had that happen on occasion, when she had to a 🐩). "It is you! I was afraid they had to load your backups."
Roon sighed. "It was... touch and go, but I found my Captain," she said. "He's helping me get better." She nodded toward Boimler, who had just gotten a Double Dabo and was letting it ride. "And believe me," she whispered, "he can purge like no one else."
Defiant giggled. "I've got to introduce you to Rotarran and the others. They'll want to hear all your war stories."
Roon's face darkened.
2375, Second Battle of Chin'toka, Intrepid-X class, USS Roon
"Get us back online!" Captain Shusol shouted, antennae twitching wildly as the Andorian clung to his command chair.
"The Breen weapon has shut us down!" the Ops officer screamed.
Roon, her gynoid form fortunately unaffected by the Breen weapon, took over an empty station and tried to switch it to engineering. Nothing happened.
"Captain, you need to evacuate," she said, quickly flashing through the probabilities. "We are vulnerable to any—"
Breen and Jem'Hadar weapons impacted Roon's hull. She felt the loss of gravity and atmosphere instantly as the bridge was sheared open. Purely mechanical failsafes reported hull breeches throughout the ship. As her captain's lifeless body shot into space, Roon imagined she could feel the life signs in her hull plummeting.
"NOOOOOO!" she screamed into the airless void, her eyes glowing a fearsome yellow.
2382, DS9
"Right," Roon said dully. "War stories."
Defiant looked at her, abashed at her faux pas. "I'm sorry, Roon…"
"It's okay, Little One," the recovering Abyssal said.
"Hey, Roon," another voice cut in. "You OK?"
Roon looked up at Beckett Mariner, who had just entered Quark's with her girlfriend. For once, Roon could not manage a snarky double entendre.
"I'm OK, Mariner," Roon said. "Bad memories."
"I know what's that's like," Mariner said, though with sympathy in her eyes. "Hey, did you know that some of Jen's friends share your horrible taste? They were asking if Boimler was 'available.'"
The sadness fled Roon's eyes instantly. "What were their names? I will make those bitches wish they had never even heard of my Bradward!"
Later that night, Shax was pounding on the door of a public refresher, while doing a desperate dance. "Let me in, by the Prophets!"
Reviewing the arrest report later for "relieving oneself in public," Cerritos regretted telling Terok about Shax's "tacky Cardassian fascist eyesore" comment.
Author's Note: Inspired by the latest Lower Decks.
The Second Battle of Chin'toka seemed like a good fit for Roon's Abyssalfication. She was newly upgunned for this battle, and she had trained with Defiant and others for it, but it went so terribly wrong. Only one Klingon Bird of Prey survived, though the Black Boxes of several ship girls were retrieved. (Some were destroyed. The Female Changeling's order to let life boats escape did not include abominable intelligences.)
Of course, following this battle, Roon went Abyssal and started a desperate one-ship guerilla war against the Dominon... one that continued long after the war ended. Then Boimler found her. Happy ending?