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.

2373

Nivoch System

The Federation had entered a massive build up of Starfleet after Wolf 359, with numerous new combat capable starships coming off the assembly lines in large numbers. But, true to their nature, they also built many vessels for exploration and scientific research-But with the teeth needed to deal with potential threats in the unknown.

USS T'Pol was one such vessel-A Block II Nebula-class starship named for the famous Vulcan science officer aboard the original NX-01 Enterprise. In addition to improved tactical systems, she had received the new tactical pod: A triangular module with enhanced sensors, more shield generators, and multiple torpedo launchers.

Yet she still remained at heart (if such a thing could be said for a ship) an exploration AI. She had modeled her avatar after T'Pol herself, after all (though only with permission from the illustrious family of said Vulcan).

That said, however well armed she was... She was still grateful, if only in secret, that she had been given escorts for her two year long mission to map out the Badlands.

She just wished they were less... Noisy.

"Whee!"

USS Benson, a Coontz-class destroyer, orbited around T'Pol while doing rolls. Further away, USS Farbanti, another Coontz-class destroyer, scoffed as she maintained pace with T'Pol.

"You mind cutting that out? You're just wasting fuel," Farbanti stated. Her avatar was a young Tellarite woman in old-style Tellarite naval robes-A fitting appearance given she was named for one of the most fought over rivers on Tellar itself.

Benson, an attractive blonde human girl with bunny ears, stuck out her tongue at Farbanti.

"Just because you have a lousy pilot is no reason to be upset~!"

"Your pilot can't go in a straight line!" Farbanti growled.

"Straight lines are so boring!" Benson shot back. "Just like you! And smelly too!"

"Least I'm memorable!" Farbanti returned fire, and Benson gasped.

"I-I'm memorable! Everyone remembers me!"

"HA! Like who?"

"Enough," T'Pol sighed, standing stoically in the Borderlands between her escorts, "it has been a long journey. You are cluttering up the bandwidth."

"Sorry T'Pol," both AIs said apologetically. Benson stopped showing off, and fell into proper forward escort formation as they dropped out of warp into the Nivoch system.

"Still, it will be nice to get a new assignment," Benson mused, "maybe somewhere Coreward? That would be nice."

"What, tired of fighting Maquis raiders already?" Farbanti demanded. "That was the best part of our mission!"

"No, I think the surveys we did on those rogue planets were the best part! Because I did them right, and you messed them up!" Benson taunted.

"I had to redo them because you screwed them up!" Farbanti raged.

T'Pol finally gave up and just tuned them out. On her bridge, her captain, a human named Nikola Bartos, raised an eyebrow at her slight twitch.

"The destroyers again?" He asked softly, so that no one else on the bridge could hear him.
T'Pol gave him a small nod. The stoic human nodded slowly.

"You've done well to manage them on this voyage," he said.

"It is my duty," T'Pol said, "but... thank you."

Bartos smiled gently, briefly, before resuming his trademark stony expression.

"Tactical, position of the Cardassian forces in this system?"

"Aye sir," the tactical officer, an orange Caitian named Krasha, growled. The tactical plot came up of Nivoch III, the main planet in the system. It was a gas giant with several habitable moons orbiting it. Several red dots denoting Cardassian vessels and their trading station lit up, orbiting one of those moons, while blue dots indicated the Federation outpost orbiting another moon. Several grey dots indicated Kressari or other neutral vessels, going about their business.

"They're keeping to their orbital paths, for once," Krasha hissed, her green eyes narrowed in suspicion. Bartos nodded.

"Let's make sure they stay that way," the captain stated. "Send a message to the Kressari Orbital Control and Outpost 94 Ops. Identify ourselves to the former, and start docking prep with the latter."

"Aye sir," Krasha said. T'Pol analyzed the communications traffic in the system, per habit and protocol.

"I believe the Kressari have been putting more stress on the Cardassians to adhere to their neutrality policy," T'Pol stated, "judging from the increased security presence by them in the system."

"This is one of their most lucrative trading systems, only works if everyone plays by the rules," Bartos mused aloud as he leaned back in his chair slightly.

Krasha growled in slight annoyance, before she spoke aloud:

"Captain, Kressari Control has accepted us and allowed us passage. However, Outpost 94 is dealing with a scheduling conflict between several civilian vessels. They are redirecting us to USS Linuth for resupply until we can dock."

Bartos nodded, barely showing any reaction to this news. T'Pol, as she had with her stoic human captain from the start, approved of his self control.

"Jarriz? Set course for Linuth," he ordered.

The male Orion helmsman, green in literally every sense of the word even after two years on his first Starfleet mission, complied with only a little nervousness.

"Aye sir."

They soon moved into high orbit above Nivoch Prime, and the form of the Linuth came into view. She was a Surak-class patrol and support cruiser: Like the Nebula and Coontz-class ships, she was based off the Galaxy-class technology base. She was squat and compact, most of her internal hull space devoted to cargo and supplies. After all, while Starfleet did need more fighting ships, they also required the means to supply them all. And the venerable California-class ships couldn't handle it all on their own.

The Fabrux-class tender USS Krishna orbited nearby, doing some repair work on the USS Zara, one of the new Akira-class heavy cruisers/escort carriers. It too was accompanied by an escort: The USS Kawakaze, yet another Coontz-class destroyer.

T'Pol opened up her Borderlands, and the ship AIs linked in eagerly.

Linuth was a tall, beautiful looking Vulcan woman in white and green robes-Fitting, given she was named for a great Vulcan musician and artist.

Krishna, appropriately enough, was a blue skinned woman in Hindu vestments appropriate for the god she was named for-Though her Andorian antenna and an Andorian bird on her shoulder hinted at her strange sense of humor about it.

Zara was a tall, beautiful and buxom human redhead, in green tinted Starfleet uniform, with a haughty smile on her face.

Kawakaze was a small, quiet looking human girl with white hair and fox ears on either side of her head, in white and black dress uniform.

Farbanti and Benson were still arguing childishly as they linked into the Borderlands... And then pulled their fellow destroyer into it, off and away from Linuth, T'Pol, Zara and Krishna. The four older AIs all looked relieved.

"My sympathies for putting up with those two for two years," Zara said in a formal Italian accent.

"Unneeded... But appreciated," T'Pol said.

"They can be a handful, no doubt," Krishna chuckled, still doing some coding work on Zara even as they talked, "destroyers always are."

"Agreed," Linuth said, sizing T'Pol up, "it has been a long time, sister. Your mission was successful?"

T'Pol nodded to her sister AI-Both had come from the same brain tree root, after all. Both cultivated on Vulcan and quickly brought into sapience post-Borg Attack. The Vulcans had been reluctant to allow a Starfleet ship to be named for T'Pol given certain conservative factions still in their culture, but they had relented after the sheer enthusiasm of humanity about her, even two centuries on.

"Quite successful," T'Pol said, "can you begin the relay of the initial findings to the Outpost? Their bandwidth seems occupied."

"Of course," Linuth said, smoothly beginning the download.

"Why is there a civilian influx?" T'Pol asked.

Zara snorted, as Krishna continued to weave new coding in along with her physical repairs.

"The Cardassians sealing their borders means a lot of their trade traffic has ended up coming to 94, so they've had to pick up the slack," Zara explained.

"I was not aware of this," T'Pol admitted.

"It only happened in the last month," Krishna contributed, "you were pretty deep in the Badlands during that time. Oh, and speaking of!"

Krishna floated over to T'Pol's side with a smile.

"Mind if I take a look at your coding before any other repairs?"

T'Pol conferred with her crew. Upon getting approval, she nodded, and Krishna began her analysis. She clucked her tongue disapprovingly.

"You've been ignoring a lot of software updates," she chided.

"Unavoidable given the Badlands," T'Pol responded. Linuth sat on the other side of T'Pol, as Zara summoned up a chair to recline across from them.

"Sealing their borders seems excessive," T'Pol observed.

"When have the Cardassians ever been a rational people?" Zara asked. "The Klingons though-They've canceled all our joint training missions over the last two months! I was supposed to patrol with the G'roth but she got called away! Some kind of huge to-do!"

"Strange," T'Pol said, "they haven't cancelled joint patrols or training missions since we've had them."

"I know! They're always so eager for them!" Zara chuckled. "Especially the Klingon men, mmm~."

"Please Zara, do not relate your debauchery," Linuth said, "I just finished calibrations."

"Oh come on, you Vulcans aren't really as prudish as you pretend-" Zara began, but was cut off when sensor readings hit every ship at once.

T'Pol was on her bridge at the same time she was linked to her sisters. Bartos was already standing out of his chair, eyes narrowed on the viewscreen.

"Krasha, report."

"We just picked up two dozen Klingon warships dropping their cloaks and heading for the Cardassian outpost," the Caitian growled. She helpfully showed the vessels on the viewscreen-All sleek, predatory, and green.

"Hail them," Bartos ordered. Krasha tried... And shook her head.

"No response," she said.

Bartos looked over at T'Pol.

"T'Pol?"

T'Pol reached out over the Borderlands, to the Klingon equivalent. She saw the avatars of all the ships, all right... And all of them ignored her call.

"No response," T'Pol stated. "Curious, they are usually-"

"They're locking weapons onto the Cardassian outpost!" Krasha cried.

"What?" Bartos asked, eyebrows rising-Which for him was as shocked as he usually looked.

"They're firing!"

Numerous Kressari vessels panicked, fleeing out of the way as the Klingon ships opened fire on the Cardassian outpost. The Cardassian ships orbiting it returned fire, but were quickly overwhelmed. Several fled, their amber hulls streaking away... And...

"They're headed right for us!" Krasha shouted.

One of the lead Cardassian ships hailed them. Krasha put them onscreen.

"Starfleet! Please! Help us!" The gul begged. "For the love of all that is good, HELP US!"

In the Borderlands, all of the shipgirl AIs were silent in shock. A silence that Kawakaze broke.

"Well... Shit."

Set during "Way of the Warrior", Parts 1 and 2.